The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.

Review #1899: The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms.

Cast: 

Paul Hubschmid (Professor Tom Nesbitt), Paula Raymond (Lee Hunter), Cecil Kellaway (Dr. Thurgood Elson), Kenneth Tobey (Colonel Jack Evans), Donald Woods (Captain Phil Jackson), Ross Elliott (George Ritchie), Steve Brodie (Sgt. Loomis), Jack Pennick (Jacob Bowman), Michael Fox (ER doctor), Lee Van Cleef (Corporal Jason Stone), and Frank Ferguson (Dr. Morton) Directed by Eugène Lourié.

Review: 

The creature feature is a fun one to think about in the Atomic Age, considering that you had films that ranged from ones attacking Tokyo to ones involving irradiated ants or octopuses. Sure, there were movies you might call "monster movies" beforehand such as The Lost World (1925) or King Kong (1933), but you have to consider how the dawn of nuclear paranoia with the 1950s made for a whole new element of creature terror, primarily as B-productions...and this one came in 1953, before Godzilla (1954) and others of its ilk.  The film is loosely based on the short story "The Fog Horn", written by Ray Bradbury (you may remember Bradbury as the writer of numerous short stories and novels such as Fahrenheit 451). That story involved a lighthouse with a horn that attracts the attention of a lone sea monster. The studio bought the rights to the story when the screenplay was in development, probably because of the lingering similarities between sea monster and creature from beneath the sea (besides, who wouldn't want to say they were based on a Bradbury work?). The screenplay was done by Fred Freiberger, Eugène Lourié, Louis Morheim, and Robert Smith. The career of its director is a bit fascinating. This was the debut of Lourie, who directed just three more films after this one: The Colossus of New York (1958), The Giant Behemoth (1959), and Gorgo (1961). The Russian-born Frenchman was first inspired by film when he saw his first cinema theater in 1911 as a six-year-old, and he even appeared as a bit player in films starting in 1919. By the 1930s, he would do work as an art director that spanned numerous directors such as Jean Renoir and Clint Eastwood. Of course, he noted later in life that he was typecast as a director of science fiction because of his work with this film (incidentally, he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects on Krakatoa, East of Java in 1969).

Incidentally, Bradbury was a long-time friend of Ray Harryhausen. The Los Angeles native had an interest in animation since seeing King Kong (1933) numerous times, and he would study at the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California to hone skills in arts and sculpture. He would get a chance to work with his mentor Willis O'Brien as a technician on effects with the Academy Award awardee Mighty Joe Young (1949). When it came time for Fathoms, Harryhausen would get his first chance to do a film with himself in charge that saw him pioneering "Dynamation". The process required split-screen, rear projection, multiple pieces of glass between camera and screen with paint to black out the part that are meant to be in front of the creature required to be seen before using one that blackens out the reverse of the first glass. This required less building of miniatures that were apparent for stop-motion that could have a bit more interaction between creatures and actors. In total, Harryhausen would use the process for fifteen films from 1953 to 1981 as one of the most distinct effects people of the last half-century.

For an 80-minute movie made for roughly $200,000 (as produced by former Monogram associates in Jack Dietz and Hal E. Chester that saw distribution by Warner Bros.), it was a clear-cut success with audiences. It is a fun movie in its construction that pulls off spectacle with careful patience that never sells out for simply being a mash movie with no substance to it. Any movie that takes a little bit of time to cover how a nuclear weapons test goes. Sure, the actors aren't exactly doing stand-out performances, but making sure to not look goofy in the face of what is meant to be refreshing entertainment is something to give credit to, particularly since a handful of the actors were part of other monster movies besides being usual veterans of the screen, such as Tobey or Elliott. Hubschmid makes a solid lead in trying to make others believe a monster lurks while Kellaway works his charm in the "let's capture it alive" type to go with a soothing Raymond. They keep the edges at a fairly rounded level to make the scenarios work, whether that involves sharpshooting isotopes or trying to make people believe a monster exists. The effects are dazzling and effective in the moments required in making a capable threat, one seen terrorizing streets and even a lighthouse and rollercoaster ride with believability. My favorite part is the idea that the people can shoot the creature, which works for them shooting a hole in it before they find that the blood coming out from it is getting people really sick. That's one interesting way to have a scary monster that moves on four legs, one that can snatch police officers and chomp them and also get you sick if someone tries shooting holes in it. With a smooth monster, it is no wonder how this movie worked so well with audiences, because it is a fair treat that fit its era like a glove, pulling off entertainment with resourceful craftmanship fit for everyone.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

Review #1736: Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

Cast: 

Bud Abbott (Chick Young), Lou Costello (Wilbur Grey), Lon Chaney Jr. (Lawrence "Larry" Talbot / The Wolf Man), Béla Lugosi (Count Dracula), Glenn Strange (Frankenstein's monster), Lenore Aubert (Dr. Sandra Mornay), Jane Randolph (Joan Raymond), Frank Ferguson (Mr. McDougal), and Charles Bradstreet (Professor Stevens) Directed by Charles Barton.

Review: 

Oh, sure, I had been waiting to do this film for a time. Technically speaking, the idea of doing a Universal horror film with tinges of comedy isn't exactly the newest concept, since a handful of the classic films had comic relief (ranging from Una O'Connor to Wallace Ford), with varying results. Of course, by the time of 1948 (now under the moniker of Universal-International), the well was starting to run a bit dry with the monsters they had brought in and used over the prevailing decade, and I'm sure you remember that House of Dracula (1946) and its middling quality of bringing in monsters with little plot to support it (the next serious horror film wasn't until Creature from the Black Lagoon). You might wonder why this is even being covered at all...well, because it is one of the more memorable features involving the studio and its monsters, and all it took was two comedians at their relative peak. Bud Abbott and Lou Costello first worked together in 1935 because Costello's regular partner was sick; as such, they would do a variety of burlesque sketches together, and they would start doing radio together in 1938, with their own show coming in 1940 (which lasted nine years). In 1940, they were signed by Universal Studios for supporting roles with One Night in the Tropics; this and The Naughty Nineties (1945) contain the two doing their most famous routine with "Who's on First?" (which I'm sure you know a little about, at least for baseball). Buck Privates (1941), their first film as stars, started them on a path of box office demand.

This wasn't exactly their first foray into comedy-horror, having ventured into it with stuff such as Hold that Ghost (1941), which had its own gag involving a candle. But it would be their first of numerous films with them encountering monsters, which would include one with Boris Karloff (named in the title as "the Killer", for some reason), one with the Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and The Mummy (while each was made with Universal, the middle involved a character not previously featured in a Universal film). This was the 22nd collaboration between the duo in a film, for which they did 36 together from 1940 to 1956 (with 28 done at Universal), including a television and radio series. So, yea, there's that to think about. Producer Robert Arthur suggested the idea first, with Oscar Brodney and Bertram Milhauser being brought in to consult on writing before being dismissed. Ultimately, it would be written by Robert Lees and Frederic I. Rinaldo (who had written the aforementioned Ghost film along with stuff such as 1940's The Invisible Woman); Costello hated the initial idea, but a cash advance and choice of director soothed him. So yeah, we have a comedy that plays on the clichés from before without deluding into all of the cheesy failings that can come from weak efforts. In other words, it's a nice chuckler of a movie that happens to be a nice swan song for folks interested in the original Universal line (ranging from the curiosity of the actors to the fair sets and so on), complete with a budget of $800,000 that helps to show the benefits that come from not being trapped in all the B-movie elements. No matter how experienced or not one is with the comic duo or the monsters, there is something for everyone that is readily apparent and quick to please for 83 minutes, with a good majority of the gags working well. Abbott is a quality straight man, jawing his way through the odd duck stuff that happens in and offside from him, which we can appreciate. Costello plays the other side in amusement in wisecracking franticness that gels perfectly with the honed-down Abbott (because hey, seeing a monster is one thing, having other see it is another); each have their little lines to shine, with Costello getting the benefit of being paired with Aubert and Randolph for curiosity (each by the way are just fine, including a neat heel turn for one of them).

Among the actors playing monsters, the easiest highlight is Lugosi, returning to play Dracula (somehow, he had been in such a down state in his career that the studio thought he was dead at first). He was said to have liked the humor on the set (quoted by his son as laughing just as hard as others who would be around to hear the gags), although he would not be as patient if a scene was not progressing as efficiently as possible. He probably has more things to do than he did in the original movie (complete with a transformation sequence in animation by Walter Lantz), and this includes actually being involved in the climax without trouble of woodenness. Folks familiar with Chaney and his sympathetic role will find nothing too different and therefore find it suitable. Strange is nobody's idea of the ideal monster portrayal, but he fits the imposing nature needed in those short moments required (including one on his lap). The table scene near the end with Dracula and the Wolfman going after each other while someone is tied to the bed near them is pretty interesting, although the demise sequences are a little too convenient (still, continuity is a puddle). As a whole, the gags and overall pacing in horror cliches make for a worthy swan song for Lugosi and Chaney (who of course kept working, just not so much for Universal as stars) while being a favorite to have a frightful laugh with, goofy but right on target.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Next Time: The Creature Walks Among Us.