Mademoiselle Fifi (1944)

Pretty seamstress Elizabeth (Simone Simon) shares a coach ride with a variety of upper class people during the Franco-Prussian war. When a German officer called Mademoiselle Fifi (yea, the strapping dude played by the dashing Kurt Kreuger had a lady's name - that wasn't properly explained) holds up the coach until she dines with him, the others at first support her defiance. When they realize how much their business interests suffer by her defiance, they convince her to "Dine with" him. She dines with him but the others assume that she "dined with" him, but in reality she just dined with him. They are cold to her when the coach is allowed to continue.

At her destination also arrives the new priest. The old priest would not ring the church bell out of defiance to the Germans. The officers make all the pretty seamstresses wear "lady of quality" dresses so that they can have a party with them. At first Elizabeth defies them but she is convinced by the others that they will lose their jobs if she does not go.

Based on a Guy de Maupassant story (as was the basic premise of Stagecoach), this is a story about people standing up to a threat even though their personal interests are in jeopardy. Something not lost on 1944's France. In the original story Elizabeth was no seamstress and she totally "dined with" Fifi, nudge nudge. Also, the fifi nickname was an implication that he preferred to dine with men.

Hey, look, Batman's Alfred! He was also in Cat People. Also, Jason Robards' father. Lots of contract players here.

This movie hit my radar because it A) was produced by Val Lewton, B) was directed by Robert Wise, and C) starred the adorable Simone Simon. While the sets were excellent and it was wonderfully directed, it was something of a snoozer. Maybe the story resonated better during the war.

Glad I saw it, held my interest, won't see again. AMRU 3.

The Seventh Victim (1943)

A young woman (Kim Hunter) must leave school because her sister disappeared and stopped paying the tuition. Setting out to look for her, she finds her sister's friends don't always tell the truth, and that she has gotten herself involved in something nefarious.

Perhaps two parts Noir mystery and one part Horror, but I'm inclined to overlook that. Finally I have seen all nine of Val Lewton's horror-esque films. He did five others completely outside the genre before dropping dead. Eventually I'll hit those as well.

Here's something curious. Tom Conway played the same character as in Cat People, curiouser still if you saw Cat People. Jean Brooks and he were in nine films together. Her other Lewton film, The Leopard Man, was not one of them. She would die at my age. Booze is short on nutrition.

Let's talk of Vallie, shall we? Born in Crimea back when it was illegally occupied by Russian forces, his family moved to America looking for a better life. RKO was reeling financially and needed someone who could churn out economically successful films on a tight budget and schedule. Showing the great decision making skills that got them into this mess, they chose a young man who never before produced a film. Oddly, it worked.

Seldom do I focus on producers. Ok, never do I focus on producers. But Val Lewton was not your average producer. He had a much larger hand in the creation of his films than usual. He personally worked on the scripts, was involved with the art direction, carefully chose who he wanted to work with, and his films all had his signature style whether they were directed by Jacques Tourneur or Robert Wise. The films have great atmosphere, are well crafted, and by and large very enjoyable. Avid readers may remember the one I gave a failing grade to.

One of my objectives when starting this blog (I had several) was to find these forgotten gems. Great, nuanced films I had never heard of. Here exactly is what I was looking for.

The Seventh Victim has some thrilling parts, lots of mystery, and that Lewton atmosphere. While it is as well crafted as Lewton's other works, I will say the film could have made use of some more horror elements. I will say no more because I did enjoy it. Maybe fifth best of his nine and AMRU 3.5. I just wish the devil worshipers were more satan-y.

The Ghost Ship (1943)

A young officer gets a job on a merchant ship as third officer. But this is a cursed ship. One might call it a "Ghost Ship". Others would just call it a bore.

Not much with the story. Is the captain coo-coo, or is the new office overreacting? No supernatural element, no mystery, no suspense. What we have is a well constructed movie with a poorly constructed story. It came on the same DVD as The Leopard Man, and being just over 60 minutes, I had to watch it before returnage. Plus it's a Val Lewton movie and I previously acknowledged that I will watch them all. This is the poorest effort so far.

One of the crewmen is mute and he observes the action and partially narrates with an disembodied voice. That is a device that could work. Unfortunately, it didn't. Additionally, it may have raised our expectations way beyond what the narrative could deliver. Our first impression is we are in for a story of supernatural mystery, of otherworldly adventure. Not even close. Plus, it was hard to sympathize with the third mate nor fear the captain. The dialog, while never completely failing, is weak at best. This Caine Mutiny on the Bounty lacks both thrill and drama. Without an angle, without great dialog, without any kind of hook, the only thing it had going for itself was the nice sets and photography, and it was short. Not enough to live off of. AMRU 2.5.

The Leopard Man (1943)

The boyfriend-publicist of a backwater New Mexico entertainer comes up with a great stunt. He rents a tame panther for her to appear with to get attention and to disrupt the act of her castanet clapping rival. This works great for about two seconds before the panther escapes. Later, a poor girl is brutally murdered by the animal. Boyfriend-publicist can't help but think he must be somehow to blame.

Well, more girls are brutally murdered and boyfriend-publicist thinks they weren't done by his stunt-gone-wrong. He figures some sicko must be out there trying to make him look bad. What a dirty trick. Well ... watch the movie.

Beautifully photographed, solid acting, good script, and overall, a well put together film. I have become a fan of Val Lewton, and I suppose director Jacques Tourneur as well (he also did the excellent Night of the Demon). This is the third and last the two did together and I've loved them all. Lewton died young (my age) and only produced fourteen films, and I've seen eight of them (including the next one). Yet another will be on my DVR soon, and I expect to see them all.

Many films, even modern big budget movies, will have some rough patch. A spell of terrible acting or gawd-awful dialog. A draggy part or a scene that just didn't work. Not so with Lewton films. They lack huge budgets, special effects, or even great dialog, but they work front to back. Here I particularly liked the minor characters. They get little screen time but seem fully fleshed out. The craft of film making, at least B-Movie film making, at it's finest. The first death scene is completely non-graphic but wonderfully effective.

Billed as horror, but this is not. It has the feel of horror but lacks the elements (must have both, says me). Thriller, who-done-it, sure, but not horror. Still, great atmosphere and a wonderful film. At 66 minutes, it left me wanting more. AMRU 4. So, someone might be killing women pretending to be a panther. Then, why is it called "The Leopard Man"?

"This is a bad town for blonds"

Bedlam (1946)

The hot young protege Nell (Anna Lee) of fat Lord Mortimer (Billy "big as a" House) is horrified to see the treatment of patients at an asylum, and after a chance encounter with a Quaker, a strange thing happens to her: she starts giving a crap for someone besides herself. She pressures fatty into mandating reforms at Bedlam asylum and this sits none-too-well with apothecary general Sims (Boris Karloff). So, after hot Nell burns bridges with Big Morty, he and Sims conspire to have troublemaker Nell committed. Serves her right.

My Isle of the Dead DVD from the library was apparently a double feature. Another non-conventional horror movie by Val Lewton, but this time a bit better then than before. Above grade dialog (compared to choppy and sometimes downright Ed Woodian-like of Isle) and excellent sets and costumes. Plus strong acting performances all around. Not too Horror-like, but it had an Evil Karloff and the insanity angle, so it's in the club. Like Isle it was inspired by famous paintings (go look it up on Wikipedia, I ain't got time here!) and they even recreated some in scenes. It'll all go over your head unless you're into art, but suffice to say it's a well crafted film.

Hot Nell is wearing the dress Scarlet made from curtains in Gone with the Wind. Oh, how I hate that movie. One thing I found interesting is how they made Quakers seem downright interesting. I liked Bedlam much better than Isle, but alas, it gets the same score. I can't imagine seeing it a second time. AMRU 3.

"If you ask me, M'Lord, he's a stench in the nostrils, a sewer of ugliness, and a gutter brimming with slop."

Isle of the Dead (1945)

During the First Balkan War, right after commanding his bestus buddy ever to shoot himself in the head, the good General Pherides (Boris Karloff) decides to put flowers on his wife's grave. Said grave is on a nearby island and he brings new bestus buddy ever, an American reporter, along for the ride. 

After spending the night at a rural estate, they wake to find that one of the other guests has died of ... wait for it ... the Plague! 

Well, Pherides decides to take command of this band of civilians and quarantine the group until the disease has, well, run it's course. Along the way we get to know the odd collection of guests trapped on this Isle where people Die. The man who puts his faith in Hermes, while erroneously thinking he is the god of medicine, the young(ish) hottie(ish) who hates Pherides for his famous cruelty, and the old housekeeper who thinks the hottie is a vrykolakas, some sort of Greek vampire like thing. 

So, what are the horror elements here? (psst. spoilers) First, there's Boris. Next, there is death both by plague and murder. There's the element of the supernatural. Finally there is premature burial. Can't go wrong there, right? I'm not so sure. Good 'oll Val Lewton did a different kind of horror. Cat People and I Walked with a Zombie are great examples of excellent movies that stretch the genre. Here, it falls short for a couple of reasons. Not once, even or a second, did the viewer entertain the notion that pretty Thea was the undead. The only thing that legitimately lends to the argument is one decent startle moment. Other than that, it was Karloff does Wuthering Heights. 

But this movie was intended, made, and billed as horror, so I give it my horror label. It is also the least entertaining Lewton film so far. And Martin Scorsese called it one of the scariest horror movies of all time. Clearly he was thinking of Karloff's curly hair wig. AMRU 3.

Curse of the Cat People (1944)

The makers of Cat People got together and said "That seemed to have worked. Let's do a sequel." But instead they made a different movie and called it Curse of the Cat People.

The principle actors are back but now the story surrounds little Amy. She's a strange girl who doesn't play with the other children and believes in a fantasy world. Mom and Dad grow concerned. Amy befriends a crazy old shut-in, talks to ghosts, and is watched over by calypso singer Sir Lancelot. I won't say more lest I spoil the original. I'll say this, though. Ollie never does learn to act.

Curse of the Cat People has no cat people and, in my estimation, no curse either. What it does have are nuanced scenes and good atmosphere. But there is little to confuse with the original. Or horror movies in general. It's a thriller, I suppose, but despite elements of the supernatural, not horror. It falls short of the original, but still well worth watching. AMRU 3.

Cat People (1942)

Flavorless dork Ollie (Kent Smith) sees the exotic Irena (Simone Simon) at the zoo and falls in love. Creepily, he invites her up to his apartment and she, as a friendless stranger in an unfamiliar city, agrees. Love blooms.

But Irena has a problem. Apparently her Serbian village was cursed many years ago and if she were to become "intimate", she would turn into a savage cat-beast and devour her true love. Ollie comforts her by saying things like, that's foolish, and you should have your head examined, and that's foolish. For some reason that doesn't comfort her much, but they get married anyhow.

By the way, "intimate", in 1942's Hollywood lingo, meant to kiss. We don't see the actual marriage ceremony, so I'm not sure how that went over.

Anyhow, hot Irena agrees to see the shrink (Tom Conway) who'd like to test that, and some other, theories out, nudge, nudge, wink, wink. When marriage troubles start to get poor Ollie down, he starts to seek out the company of plain-jane co-worker, Alice. Also, jealousy too will summon the evil cat-beast.

Is it all in her head? Will Poor Ollie ever learn to act? Will the Doc get his comeuppance? Dark and moody, you should watch to find out.

I was sure I had saw Kent Smith before. His blank stares and cardboard acting struck me as familiar, but I hadn't seen anything else he was in. He had a very Buster Crabbe quality about him. Simone Simon, despite being the advanced age of 32, was absolutely captivating. Her accent was adorable. She alone is worth the cost of admission.

But the movie has more to offer. It's slower pace and ambiguous ending differed greatly from the genre of the 30's. Producer Val Lewton was also responsible for I walked with a Zombie and The Body Snatcher which had a similar tone. I will look for more of his work.

I like to end with a good quote, but the one I wanted to use I can't find. The doctor asks Irena something like "You think if I were to kiss you, you would turn into a vicious animal?" and Irena responds "I know that I wouldn't want you to". Cute. AMRU 4.

The Body Snatcher (1945)

No, not one of the Invasion Of movies. 1945's The Body Snatcher is based on a Robert Louis Stevenson short story. I should see if I have a copy of it to see how close it comes. Here, the body snatcher is a man who steals dead bodies and sells them to medical students. His name is Cabman John Gray, but folks round town call him Boris.

Young hot-shot medical student has second thoughts about his chosen profession, but the cold hearted head doctor takes him under his wing and makes him his apprentice. Here he learns that not all cadavers the college uses are obtained in a strictly legal manner.

Young good doctor feels a little better about it when he decides to champion the case of a young girl who lost the use of her legs in the same accident that made her hot momma a widow. Hubba hubba. When young good doctor finally convinces old heartless doctor to actually touch a patient, he once again needs the service of even older, evil cabman.

But the body Boris brings back is a little fresher than most. If it weren't for the poor little girl, and her hot momma, he would have some serious misgivings about this arrangement. Besides, you can't turn in the guy who you buy dead bodies from.

Anyhow, we find out more of Cold Old Doctor and Evil Older Cabman's history together. Seems that the cabman did some serious time for protecting the identity of the old doctor, and he uses that fact to his advantage. How does it end? You'll just have to rent it. Bela Lugosi plays Ygor to the Old Doctor.

This came on the same DVD as I Walked with a Zombie and was something of a surprise. While I liked the former better, this had the same quality production. It was directed by Robert Wise, who has his name on films like The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Sound of Music, and West Side Story. Sadly, he also has his name attached with stinkers like Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

Now, everybody know the Bela Lugosi voice. I Vant to Bite your Neck! There is also a Boris Karloff voice, an over-the-top English accent parodied in the song, The Monster Mash. Here is the first film where I heard that voice. Boris was a bit over the top, but it worked. Each film I see him in I am impressed anew. AMRU 4.

I Walked with a Zombie (1943)

Francis Dee is hot nurse Betsy Connell. She's been hired to take care of the wife of a sugar plantation owner in the Caribbean. Seems the brain of said wife was burnt out by fever. Brains ....

Morose Husband Paul lives with flippant half brother Wesley and their mum. Wife's condition is strange and frightening, husband's demeanor is dark and brooding, while half-brother is drunk and disorderly. Slowly we piece together the family story. Did the good husband do this to her? Was it black magic? What secret is good-for-nothing Wesley hiding? And how come mum isn't around that much?

Well, Betsy falls for Paul and decides she will cure his wife for him. Not sure how that's going to help. But how can she do this when the doctor says it's hopeless? Well, hear them drum beats? The natives, they have BETTER doctors! No harm in bringing a comatose patient for a look-see.

Through this movie I came to the conclusion that my wife would actually like it. It was beautifully shot. Great sets and costumes. Good dialog. Very well made. Then I learned WHY my wife would like it. Apparently the director didn't like the story, so he adapted it to Jane Eyre. Sadly, the movie was returned before she could see it, not that she was all that willing to give it a try.

I can't emphasize enough how well this movie was made. No low budget quickie-sickie here. Darby Jones was creepy as a zombie-like person. The acting was top-notch and it had great atmosphere. The complexity of the story is most striking. Not horror is the conservative sense. Sure, elements of the supernatural abound, but it's all implied. It more than stands up to a second viewing. AMRU 4.5.

"Everything seems beautiful because you don't understand. Those flying fish, they're not leaping for joy, they're jumping in terror. Bigger fish want to eat them. That luminous water, it takes it's gleam from millions of tiny dead bodies. The glitter of putrescence. There is no beauty here, only death and decay."