Mara of the Wilderness.

Review #948: Mara of the Wilderness.

Cast:
Adam West (Ken Williams), Lori Saunders (Mara Wade), Lelia Walsh (Mara Wade - Age Seven), Denver Pyle (Kelly), Theo Marcuse (Jarnagan), Roberto Contreras (Friday), Eve Brent (Mrs. Wade), Ed Kemmer (First Pilot), and Stuart Walsh (Second Pilot) Directed by Frank McDonald (#835 - Scared Stiff).

Review:
The wilderness leaves itself open to a variety of possibilities to set movies around, and this one certainly tries to use its location to make some fair quality entertainment. With this film (also known under the title Valley of the White Wolves), I can say that this is a decent movie that isn't really too special, but the main cast do pretty alright. West does a capable job, handling himself pretty well with the others; it's interesting to note that this was released just one year before he starred as Batman in the 1966 film and television series of the same name, which arguably stood out in people's minds more than his film roles. Saunders doesn't say too much, with her movements and facial expressions being feral-like that somewhat work, though at its heart the movie is more focused on adventure than the title character. Marcuse is the villain for the movie, and he certainly shows a brute nature of greed that is pretty effective. Contreras doesn't really have much to do, aside from reading lines one by one. For a film that lasts 91 minutes, it doesn't really seem to feel too long/short, though there isn't much in terms of chemistry between West and Saunders. The action scenes aren't too special; the scene with Saunders and Marcuse is okay, though there are quite a few cuts to Contreras' face before he turns on Marcuse (which you can guess pretty quickly); West's fights with Marcuse aren't long either, just having a quick resolution after some punches.  As stated by the end credits, this was photographed in the Deschutes National Forest, and the film does seem to work best when showing off the land, which looks quite beautiful, and it helps give the movie fine atmosphere.. While the movie isn't really anything too special, I can see this being acceptable family entertainment with some noteworthy talent involved; it may be a bit hard to find on DVD, but one can likely find it if one looks hard for it on the Internet. The level of enjoyment one finds in this can vary from either average to just a bit above average, depending on what you are looking for.

In any case, I wanted to do my own little tribute to Adam West, who had died one week ago. His work in the Batman series (and film - #177) is one that many people grew up with or heard about from their parents, and I can say that his portrayal stood out quite significantly. Rest in peace, Mr. West.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Scared Stiff.

Review #835: Scared Stiff.

Cast
Jack Haley (Larry Elliot), Ann Savage (Sally Warren), Barton MacLane (George Markham), Veda Ann Borg (Flo Rosson), Roger Pryor (Richardson), George E. Stone (Mink), Robert Emmett Keane (Prof. Wisner), Lucien Littlefield (Charles Waldeck / Preston Waldeck), Paul Hurst (Sheriff), Arthur Aylesworth (Emerson Cooke), Eily Malyon (Mrs. Cooke), and Buddy Swan (Oliver Waldeck) Directed by Frank McDonald.

Review
Scared Stiff (also known as Treasure of Fear) is the kind of movie that falls into someone's lap if one is either bored enough or just stumbles into public domain territory, with this being a comedy/murder mystery. Haley (who appeared in just six more films after this) plays a bumbling chess reporter (of course he does) who is assumed to be a murderer due to a dead guy on the same bus being found with a chess piece near him (seriously), alongside the other weirdo passengers, including his girlfriend, a boy genius (who throws a smoke bomb into a room at one point), and his mentor professor. Hijinks (and I put that extremely loosely) ensue in a mystery lumpier than mashed potatoes. There is a subplot about retrieving chess pieces from an antique chess set from the 13th century, which seems better than the main character, actually. Do you like a bumbling character played for some sort of laugh? Well, you'll have to find a better movie. Haley isn't very interesting to watch, becoming tedious to watch after a while. There really isn't much energy to the cast, which just go through the motions of a sluggish script. There really is no chemistry between Haley and Savage. The killer is in the movie briefly, to the point where he has no defining characteristics. The length of the movie is 65 minutes, which is some ways is it's own relief. On the whole, there are countless other movies from this time period that are more interesting to watch than this, ultimately. It doesn't inspire many laughs, nor elicit any interest in the mystery, simply put. You know the people that remake movies and the ensuing reactions over it? Try remaking this and see what happens, which is a better idea than watching the movie.

Overall, I give it 4 out of 10 stars.