Isle of the Dead (1945)

Who's In It: Boris Karloff (Frankenstein, The Mummy), Ellen Drew (The Mad Doctor, The Monster and the Girl), and Alan Napier (Batman).

What It's About: A ruthless general (Karloff) becomes increasingly suspicious that a young woman (Drew) on a quarantined island is a vampire-like creature.

How It Is: I need to see more of producer Val Lewton films. It's been years since I've seen The Body Snatcher, but Cat People is one of my favorite horror movies and I also enjoyed its less spooky sequel, The Curse of the Cat People. On of my favorite things about Cat People is something it shares in common with Isle of the Dead, so I'm curious to see if it pops up in more of Lewton's films.

Cat People and Isle of the Dead would make a great triple feature with Night of the Demon, which wasn't produced by Lewton, but was directed by sometimes Lewton collaborator Jacques Tourneur (who made Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie, and The Leopard Man for Lewton, as well as the less frightening Tale of Two Cities). What Cat People, Night of the Demon, and Isle of the Dead really have in common though is the theme of skepticism vs belief. All three films have characters claiming that something supernatural is occurring while other characters disbelieve. But better than just that, all three movies also wait until the very end to reveal who's right.

In Isle of the Dead, Karloff is the skeptic. He's trapped on a quarantined island with a varied group of people that includes a British consul named St Aubyn (Napier), his wife, and the wife's paid companion Thea. There's also a superstitious housekeeper who sees how ill Mrs St Aubyn is, how vibrant Thea is, and concludes that Thea is a supernatural creature draining the life from her mistress. Karloff's General Pherides scoffs at first, but the more he observes, the more he becomes convinced that there may be something to the housekeeper's tale.

I won't reveal whether or not Thea actually is some sort of life-sucking demon, but it's not spoiling anything to say that since Isle of the Dead is coy about the revelation for most of its run time, it progresses more like a thriller than a horror story. There are a couple of levels of danger going on: the danger that Mrs St Aubyn is in if Thea is a monster, and the danger that Thea is in from Pherides if she isn't.

It's a cool set up and the script adds another layer by having these conversations about skepticism and belief spill over into discussions of religion. At the beginning of the movie, Pherides doesn't just laugh at the housekeeper's theories, he's also an atheist. But as the story progresses, his openness towards the idea of a life-sucking monster is also reflected in his softening about religion. That raises all kinds of interesting questions about the connection between faith and imagination. Isle of the Dead doesn't attempt to answer these deeper questions, but I love that it makes me think about them.

Rating: Four out of five obsessed officers.

The Mummy (1932)

Who's In It: Boris Karloff (Frankenstein, The Black Cat, How the Grinch Stole Christmas), Zita Johann (Tiger Shark, The Sin of Nora Moran), David Manners (Dracula, The Black Cat), Edward Van Sloan (Frankenstein, Dracula), and Arthur Byron (The Prisoner of Shark Island).

What It's About: An ancient, undead being (Karloff) preys on a young woman (Johann) as the men in her life (Manners, Van Sloan, and Byron) try to protect her.

How It Is: The Mummy is essentially a remake of Dracula, from the plot description above to Edward Van Sloan and David Manner's basically playing Van Helsing and Harker all over again. Also, The Mummy's director Karl Freund was officially the cinematographer of Dracula, but making that film was such a chaotic mess that Tod Browning unofficially let (made?) Freund direct most of it. Add in an Egyptian protective charm that substitutes nicely for Dracula's crucifixes and the similarities are too many to ignore.

But if it's a remake, it's better than the movie it's imitating. The plots of both hinge on their leading ladies and Zita Johann's Helen is way more compelling than Helen Chandler's Mina. That's partly because Johann is a better actress (Chandler's melodramatic performance nearly ruins Dracula for me), but her character also has stronger ties to the villain and takes a more active role in fighting him. In fact, she ultimately saves herself from Karloff's Imhotep and the men just rush in afterwards to help clean up.

The pacing of The Mummy is brisker than Dracula, so it's a more exciting film. It also has more genuine chills. Imhotep is much creepier than Dracula, though he sacrifices Dracula's charisma to get there. That's one place where Dracula beats The Mummy. Imhotep is scarier, but I like Dracula more. I also prefer the gothic aesthetic of Dracula to The Mummy's Egyptian one, but that's a minor advantage. From a storytelling standpoint, I'll take The Mummy every time.

Rating: 4 out of 5 resurrected princesses.

Sewer spelunkers hate cephalopods

[Pulp Covers]

Tonight: Frankenstein on the big screen

Totally doing this tonight. It'll be David's first time seeing these movies.

I was about his age when the children's museum in my hometown ran a Halloween showing of Son of Frankenstein. That was my first time seeing any of the classic Frankenstein films and I can still remember the experience.

If you're interested in checking out a showing near you, Fathom Events has details.

Doomed to Die (1940)

Who's in it?: Boris Karloff; those other people from the Inspector Wong series.

What's it about?: Wong, Street, and Logan investigate the murder of a shipping magnate.

How is it?: It's a forgettable mystery, but has the same advantages of the other one I watched. That is, Police Captain William Street and reporter Bobbie Logan have some fun chemistry and I enjoy watching them argue and try to beat each other to the mystery's solution. Of course, Wong's always going to outdo both of them.

I wouldn't mind watching all six of the Wong films some day (this was the fifth, and the last one for Karloff; Keye Luke took over for the final movie), but I'm frustrated by 50 Horror Classics' including two of them in the set. One was a novelty; two feels like a rip-off. As much as I can be ripped off when I only paid 50 cents per movie, I guess. I really don't have room to gripe.

Anyway, under other circumstances I'd enjoy these more, but right now they just make me want to watch an actual horror movie. Or Charlie Chan.

Rating: Bad.

31 Days of Dracula | John Carradine (1944)

Unlike Frankenstein, Dracula didn't get a lot of direct sequels at Universal. There was Dracula's Daughter in 1936 and Son of Dracula in '43, but neither featured the Count. Dracula's Daughter had Edward Van Sloan reprise his role as Van Helsing against a new threat; Son of Dracula stars Lon Chaney, Jr. as the title character.

It wasn't until 1944's House of Frankenstein - when Universal decided to put its three biggest monster stars in the same movie - that another Count Dracula was called for. I haven't been able to learn why Lugosi didn't return for it - he was clearly willing to do it for Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein - but for whatever reason, the role went to John Carradine for both House of Frankenstein and it's sequel, House of Dracula.

Carradine's difficult to get used to for those expecting a Lugosi-like Count, but he does have his charms. He's still cultured and refined, his tall, lanky frame is imposing, and he's got a great, deep voice. Of the three Dracula's we've looked at so far, he's probably the closest to Bram Stoker's description. It's too bad the two movies are so silly, but they're also a lot of fun. House of Frankenstein features Karloff's return to the series (as the mad scientist this time) and J. Carrol Naish (who appears in tonight's 50 Horror Classics movie) as his hunchbacked companion. House of Dracula is probably most notable for having a pretty, female hunchback.

The Ape (1940)

Who's in it?: Boris Karloff

What's it about?: A well-meaning mad scientist uses the escape of a circus gorilla to cover up the murders the scientist commits to further his research.

How is it?: Karloff is a different kind of mad scientist, because he really does have good intentions. He's trying to help a young girl who suffers from the same paralyzing disease that killed his daughter. To do that though, he needs spinal fluid from recently deceased bodies. The movie does a nice job of showing the progression of Karloff's descent into madness. His first victim actually is killed by the escaped gorilla, but as Karloff needs more fluid, he gets more involved. It's heartbreaking to watch him, especially because the film constantly dangles hope in front of him.

As sad as it is though, it's also got its fun moments. The gorilla costume is awesome and there's also a good police procedural as the local sheriff tracks the ape and tries to stop the murders.

Rating: Good.

The Fatal Hour (1940)

Who's in it?: Boris Karloff; Marjorie Reynolds (Holiday Inn); Grant Withers (Fort Apache, Rio Grande)

What's it about?: An undercover cop's death leads to more murder for Inspector Wong to solve.

How is it?: The only reason it's in the 50 Horror Classics collection is because it stars Boris Karloff. It's not a horror movie though; just a straight up murder mystery, the third in the series with Karloff as Chinese detective James Lee Wong.

Though obviously trying to capitalize on the popularity of Charlie Chan, the Wong series can't compete. It's always fun to watch Karloff - and I'm glad the movie's included in the collection, even if doesn't belong - but Wong doesn't have half the charm of his more famous predecessor. He's pleasant and dignified, but Karloff never exactly disappears into any role he plays and that doesn't change just because he's in yellowface. It's hard not to be cynical about Inspector Wong when it's really just about Karloff as a detective and - Hey! Charlie Chan is popular; let's make him Asian!

One cool thing about the Wong series is that he has a pretty good supporting cast in reporter Bobbie Logan (Reynolds) and Police Captain Bill Street (Withers). Wong stays one step ahead of them, but I like the romantic tension between the couple as they fight and try to out-sleuth each other. It's a refreshingly different approach from Charlie Chan's bumbling son as sidekick.

Rating: Okay.

The Terror (1963)

Who's in it?: Boris Karloff; Jack Nicholson (yes, THAT Jack Nicholson); Sandra Knight (Frankenstein's Daughter, Thunder Road)

What's it about?: An officer (Nicholson) is separated from Napoleon's army and gets entangled in ghostly goings on in a baron's (Karloff) spooky castle.

How is it?: Hammer horror a la Roger Corman. Corman does a nice job replicating the mood of Hammer films, but there are two major problems with The Terror. First, Jack Nicholson is as convincing as you imagine he'd be playing a French officer. He's a strangely likable hero, but completely out of place in this period piece.

The more serious problem though is that the story makes no sense. It starts off confusing enough with Nicholson's meeting a girl (Knight) who may be a local villager in thrall to a witch, some sort of Ladyhawke-like were-raptor, the ghost of Karloff's dead wife, or something else entirely. That's all weird and cool; I like being kept on my toes. But the more twists and surprise revelations the screenplay reveals, the less it all holds together. By the end, there's some whackadoo supernatural stuff going on that can't be resolved with the rest of the stor; it's just there to be shocking.

Karloff was 76 years old when he made The Terror, so he's not very physical in it, except in the climax. I don't want to spoil details, but the biggest shock in the film is Karloff's impressive burst of activity at the end after watching him shuffle slowly around the castle for the first hour. Regardless of his activity level though, Karloff easily outacts everyone else in the movie.

Rating: Turkey, but worth watching for Karloff fans or anyone interested in the novelty of young Jack Nicholson and Roger Corman's trying to emulate Hammer's period-horror films.

Even the phones are dead!

Giant Robot Warriors, Poe's visitor, and the Treasure of Constantinople

Kill All Monsters!-Related

I got my Amazon confirmation that Monster Attack Network is on its way. Which reminds me that I also need to check out Stuart Moore and Ryan Kelly's GRW: Giant Robot Warriors from AiT/PlanetLar.

Dust to Dust-Related

Northfield, Minnesota is kicking off its Defeat of Jesse James Days. The official festival isn't until September 6-9, but they have Royalty coronations this weekend and there was a hogroast last night to get things started.

Adventure

Delilah Dirk and the Treasure of Constantinople looks and sounds wonderful. (Thanks to Kevin Melrose for the link.)

Jungle

I'm always up for a new Jungle Book movie.

Horror

RKO is probably my favorite movie studio of all time, so I'm really hoping the revitalization effort works for them. A remake of Karloff's Isle of the Dead sounds like a good place to start. It's nostalgic, but offbeat.

I hate that I'm such a slow reader. Otherwise I'd be all caught up on the 30 Days of Night novels. Especially this one about my favorite 3o Days character Dane. Fortunately, Rod Lott is much faster and has the review.

The mysterious visitor to Edgar Allen Poe's grave has been revealed. Anticlimactically, unfortunately.

Fantasy

Frank Beddor's Looking Glass Wars is an exciting, fast-moving alternate take on the Alice in Wonderland story and I loved it. The sequel, Seeing Redd, comes out next week.

Thanks to Charles Raymond for directing me to artist Sarah Mensinga's wonderful work.

Stuff Nobody Cares About But Me

My son was absolutely freaked out by the scene in Ratatouille where Remy's dad takes him to the gruesome window of a rat-trap shop. We had to leave right after that. Good thing we're not planning a trip to Paris soon, because that shop is real.

I got a very nice email today from First Second about my latest review of one of their books. I didn't ask, but hopefully they won't mind me sharing this nice compliment: "You’re always seeing to the heart of the books we put out, and that’s such a fantastic thing." I love that.