The Seventh Victim.

Review #2431: The Seventh Victim.

Cast: 

Tom Conway (Doctor Louis Judd), Jean Brooks (Jacqueline Gibson), Isabel Jewell (Frances Fallon), Kim Hunter (Mary Gibson), Evelyn Brent (Natalie Cortez), Erford Gage (Jason Hoag), Ben Bard (Mr. Brun), Hugh Beaumont (Gregory Ward), Chef Milani (Mr. Jacob), and Marguerita Sylva (Mrs. Bella Romari) Directed by Mark Robson (#1797 - Home of the Brave and #1931 - Valley of the Dolls)

Review: 

"It had a rather sinister quality, of something intangible but horribly real; it had an atmosphere. I think the actors and the director had to believe very strongly in the possibilities of disaster: that something was there. We believed it ourselves. We talked ourselves into believing it. We had a kind of fidelity to that feeling. We had the characters speak throughout in a deliberately quiet, polite and subdued manner, engendering a very calculated undercurrent of possible disaster."

This was the fourth of nine movies produced by Val Lewton in what you might call his horror cycle, all for RKO. The movie was written by Charles O'Neal and DeWitt Bodeen. The movie was to be directed by Jacques Tourneur, but he had other plans that saw the promotion of Mark Robson to direct. The Montreal native had actually studied at UCLA and Pacific Coast University School of Law but found his first work in film with the prop department at 20th Century Fox. But he did not settle there, later going to RKO Pictures that saw him start training in film editing. It was here that Robson served as an assistant to Robert Wise on the editing of Citizen Kane (1941), among other things. He then became a main editor for RKO that saw him work on, well, the Lewton features you probably would guess with Cat People (it was Robson who accidentally came up with that one particular sequence involving a bus) and so on. Robson would direct a handful of movies for RKO (which included four for Lewton) before going to various studios for a career that ultimately spanned over three decades. You can probably guess that this movie had a few phases before becoming what you see today: for one, there was initially a pitch involving a murder plot in oil wells before Lewton's supervision saw it go to, well, a cult in the Village, with Bodeen claiming to have based it on a real thing he saw in New York (the movie title refers to Jacqueline, as she is the seventh person condemned for betrayal in the history of the cult-although the cult does not go around killing people, they goad them instead). This was the third of four Lewton-connected movies released in 1943 (with this being released in August), with the others being I Walked with a Zombie (April), The Leopard Man (May), and The Ghost Ship (December). The movie was a flop with audiences at the time, with one cinema worker joking that they must've been the eighth victim. Of course, time has treated it differently (according to Robson, he was asked about the movie by the Boulting brothers who used to bicycle around London a print of the film, which was thought to be "an advanced, weird form of film-making").

I really wished I liked the movie more. But if you are into movies that might tangentially remind you of the dread found in later movies involving cults in one's wake such as, well, Rosemary's Baby (1968), this may be up your alley. The movie was shot in the course of 24 days, but the editing process (as overseen by Robson and John Lockert) was probably more crucial to, well, how things play out. A handful of scenes were cut from the film that relate to certain events in the film and the ending itself was trimmed to basically just end right after one certain sound is heard. It is a slow web to untangle for 71 minutes that probably is akin to actual life in not exactly going the way you think it will unfold for some sort of eerie feeling. That or basically one is watching a noir more than a straight horror film, but I suppose your taste (or patience) may vary. People come and go in the movie, since Hunter (in her film debut) probably is in the movie more than Brooks, although each do pretty well with what the movie shades out in wayward people looking for the way back (okay one is looking to die, but at least she knows where everybody goes anyway). The movie only really seems to gel into fascination in its latter half for me, mostly because it actually stops introducing people and shows what I guess is something about cults that claim to be big on the Devil (notice how they aren't actually stopped at the end, you just see some folks recite the Lord's Prayer at them - good thing they weren't doing anything like killing goats or evading their taxes, oooh!). I guess what I want to say is that it only vaguely holds my fascination because it has that same problem that I ended up having with Rosemary's Baby: get to the damn point, although at least you could almost watch this movie (71 minutes) twice in the time it takes to finish Rosemary. I want to feel like there is more of a looming threat than just a bunch of folks playing house because heaven forbid they go to a church or a bar to find "worship". At least the ending does do one thing right: it simply just ends, because even a thud works for effect. As a whole, it follows along the line of the prior Lewton-connected movies in fine quality with eye-catching titles and interesting imagination with the eerie things that come to lurk in everyday life, whether that involves loneliness or cults or the unknown.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Repeat Performance.

Review #2056: Repeat Performance.

Cast: 

Louis Hayward (Barney Page), Joan Leslie (Sheila Page), Richard Basehart (William Williams), Virginia Field (Paula Costello), Tom Conway (John Friday), Natalie Schafer (Eloise Shaw), Benay Venuta (Bess Michaels), and Ilka Grüning (Mattle) Directed by Alfred L. Werker #676 - Shock, #721 - The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and #947 - He Walked by Night)

Review: 

Admittedly, some film directors stay anonymous when it comes to directing, even if there is some sort of promise with select film assignments. But Alfred L. Werker had a consistent career to give himself credit for, because it spanned four decades from his work as an assistant director in the silent era all the way to becoming a director by the time the 1920s ended. He even got to direct within the more noted studios such as 20th Century Fox for a time, and he was the one who directed the second of the Rathbone-Bruce series of Sherlock Holmes films in 1938. Strangely enough, his career saw him on both sides of the coin when it came to directors replacing directors without credit: he was brought into doing a re-shoot and re-editing on Erich von Stroheim's troubled Hello, Sister! (1933) and he was given credit for He Walked by Night (1949) although Anthony Mann contributed a certain amount of input as director. For this film, oddly enough, Werker was brought in by Eagle-Lion Films to do it over Jules Dassin (don't worry about Dassin, he got to direct useful efforts in that time with Brute Force (1947) and The Naked City (1948), so there's that). The film is based on the 1942 novel of the same name by William O'Farrell, with a screenplay by Walter Bullock that reversed the character traits of the lead characters (the man was the troubled shooter while the woman was an alcoholic, but the poet character was, well, a crossdresser); this change was done apparently because when they casted Leslie, they thought she would be more suited for a not-alcoholic role. It was one of the first releases from the studio of Eagle-Lion, who released a considerable number of films that year (no need for coincidences, but one of those features...was T-Men, by Mann), one that would not be a mere cheapie to be paired on package films. 

Okay, here's a film noir that could throw you for a loop: a movie that takes place over the course of 1946 where the lead character is reliving that year all over again after killing their husband on New Years Eve. It may very well be one of the first films to feature a time loop, although obviously it is certainly something to try and make an act out of one person trying to avoid destiny with twelve months to plan that happens to involve her as a stage actor. Apparently, there exists a restoration (as done in the mid-2000s, because it nearly languished in complete obscurity) of the film out there in the markets, which is possibly more intriguing than trying to search for it on the Internet, where at least one version has a "Nick at Nite" bumper at times or happens to have burned-in subtitles (TCM, if you were curious, only showed it first in 2019). The 92-minute runtime is perhaps a bit too long to truly hold up its premise, but it is a curious achievement. Hell, I suppose there are more stories and films about time loops than I thought there would be, aside from that one time you could see it on The Twilight Zone. It begs for some sort of suspense here, but instead it mostly goes about with the air of inevitability more than anything, which is only mildly involving. But one can at least see why Leslie, in the first of two films she did with Eagle-Lion (Northwest Stampede was done the following year), is a worthy presence to set the table in trying to avert a fait accompli. Try as she might in a knowing sense of vulnerability, her realization in the gut-churning countdown to December 31. Hayward is perhaps a bit overextended in trying to play this raving man of drunken bitterness, which results in a bit of hammy acting when it comes to the final setup of a guy doomed to be shot. So confident was Eagle-Lion with the audience reviews about Basehart was that they gave him better billing, which is pretty impressive for a guy going from stage work to his film debut. There is an alluring quality to him as the only one who goes with this idea of destiny, albeit as an eccentric (so yes, instead of cross-dressing, he just gets roped into the asylum because of a girl). The rest of the players do just fine in routines as the film eventually makes its way around what can and perhaps cannot be changed when it comes to thinking about looking at the past a certain way twice. As a whole, it is more curious than anything, but it makes at least some use of its premise with a few decent performances to make a useful recommendation. 

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Cat People (1942).

Review #1898: Cat People.

Cast: 

Simone Simon (Irena Dubrovna), Kent Smith (Oliver Reed), Tom Conway (Dr. Louis Judd), Jane Randolph (Alice Moore), Jack Holt ('Commodore' C. R. Cooper), Steve Soldi (The Organ Grinder), and Alan Napier ('Doc' Carver) Directed by Jacques Tourneur (#998 - I Walked with a Zombie)

Review: 

Oh yes, there was plenty of horror schlock to go around in the 1930s and 1940s, but one cannot forget about the ones besides the studio fare of the era. In 1942, an era of B-movie horror at RKO Radio Pictures began reaching theaters, with Val Lewton being tasked to do features for the studio; he had been hired after previously serving as story editor on films for David O. Selznick. Granted, they were not the cheapest type of horror film of their time, because even the Poverty Row studios like Producers Releasing Corporation made horror films too, but Lewton's run of producing horror B-movies made a distinct mark on horror cinema. It all started with this film, with Lewton picking both the director (Jacques Tourneur) and writer (DeWitt Bodeen), and each contributed to the script treatment, which had cat-related literature as research, with wither Tourneur or Lewton responsible for the modern setting as opposed to a period piece. One other part of the film crew was Mark Robson, who served as editor before cultivating a career of directing films in his own right. The film, reusing sets from films such as The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), was made for roughly $141,000. The film was a fair success for RKO despite mild reviews, which led to a semi-sequel with The Curse of the Cat People (1944) that saw three of the main four actors from the previous film return while Lewton served as producer and contributed script details (attempts by him to not use that particular title failed), and it happened to be the debut feature for a future famous name in Robert Wise. A remake was done in 1982. Lewton would produce eleven films for RKO from 1942 to 1946 before the death of Charles Koerner (executive vice president who supported Lewton while also being known as the guy who fired Orson Welles from RKO) along with Lewton's ailing health led to him not having employment with RKO. Lewton did produce a few features afterwards, but he died in 1951 at the age of 46. Among the notable horror films that he did were the aforementioned Cat film alongside I Walked with a Zombie (1943) and Isle of the Dead (1945). Tourneur had started his directing career with films in his native France in 1931, but it was these films that rose him into eventual status at RKO in the 1940s before he added freelance work to his output that saw a variety of genres to go with horror, most notably with Night of the Demon (1957).

Eight decades have been kinder to the film, which was a moderate success with audiences while having a decent if not spectacular reaction from others (i.e. not as hyperbolic as Freaks). In fact, the reputation of the film has perhaps been a bit overstated depending on the perspective of who is evaluating it, which either rests on being a sophisticated classic or just a good B-movie. I think it is merely pretty good, not exactly outclassing the creature features such as with Universal of the time but instead going for something a bit different in creativity. At any rate, the power of imagination is what matters most for the output of the RKO run with Lewton and company. Tournier himself described the film as "very poor" (in terms of the script and story progression) and "very childish" while also not being happy with Simon's acting. At any rate, it is the examination of "the Other" that matters most, where it is not only a movie about someone who may or may not be a cat but also a tragedy of how one loses their bearings in mind and with people. Superstitions and legends matter most to those who have the words to back it up, basically, whether that involves panthers or something else. It is a 73-minute movie with the most careful of touches that lives and dies on how you treat the road to seeing if someone is a cat-person or not, one that treats it seriously without veering into ridicule territory (RKO tried to push for more shots of, well, take a guess, but the filmmakers did play it carefully in shooting). Oh sure, you could save yourself the time by peeking to see whether the title is going to be what the title is, but sometimes it is the imagination of where the truth lies that is more useful to consider. With that in mind, Simon is serviceable up to a point: one can see the vulnerabilities present in a withering role like this and give her credit while also thinking that she pulls it off a majority of the time in shaky grace rather than an absolute one. Smith, tasked with being the ordinary fellow in a movie with the most careful of all tensions, does exactly what is required, one with striking causality towards how he treats Simon and Randolph when paired with either that makes for the tension needed. Conway is harder to peg down, mostly because he isn't exactly just the doctor character playing exposition nor one who has as much time to corral against Simon, but his last sequence does show exactly what would hope to see from a moderate actor. One of the most striking things to linger from the film is a moment that lasts for less than a minute: the first jump scare. Imagine if you will, a quiet little scene with growing tension, one that has you curious in your seat, things move carefully, and then bam, a loud noise strikes out of nowhere, with this one being the sound of an incoming bus. The jump scare became more of a thing in the 1970s with slashers, but it's always interesting to see where horror tricks can come from, especially when done right. As a whole, I think it is a pretty good movie, maybe not exactly the kind of movie that is great in any one area, but it would prove just right for a night out with the proper mindset of patience.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

12 to the Moon.

Review #1247: 12 to the Moon.

Cast: 
Ken Clark (Capt. John Anderson), Michi Kobi (Dr. Hideko Murata), Tom Conway (Dr. Feodor Orloff), Anthony Dexter (Dr. Luis Vargas), John Wengraf (Dr. Erich Heinrich), Robert Montgomery Jr. (Dr. Rod Murdock), Phillip Baird (Dr. William Rochester), Richard Weber (Dr. David Ruskin), Muzaffer Tema (Dr. Selim Hamid), Roger Til (Dr. Etienne Martel), Cory Devlin (Dr. Asmara Markonen), Anna-Lisa (Dr. Sigrid Bomark), and Francis X. Bushman (Secretary General of the International Space Order) Directed by David Bradley (#824 - Talk About a Stranger)

Review: 
It only proves natural to land on a science fiction movie, but it also proves interesting to do a film involving people trying to travel to the Moon on this particular month and year, what with a film ship name of "Lunar Eagle 1". It was released in the time of the Space Age, sandwiched between the dawn of Sputnik 1 and Explorer 1 just a few years earlier and the Earth orbiting missions of Yuri Gagarin and John Glenn that would occur the year after the release of the film. It proves interesting to note the ideas the film has with travel to the moon - not only does the mission include a mix of men and women of several countries (only the second film to do so, with First Spaceship on Venus being released just months earlier), it also includes a bunch of animals like cats and monkeys with them as well (one's really got to know if the cats will raise any new kittens on the moon, which I guess is the curiosity the cat lobby wanted to know). It wouldn't be hard to think this was made on the cheap fast. After all, this was a film shot in eight days on a $150,000 budget, utilizing devices around them such as editing machines for communication devices, or darkroom timers with obscured brand names. But ambition can outride a dearth of money or big-name talent if done right. Really, the most notable person behind this is John Alton as cinematographer, with this being his penultimate work of over three decades of work that ranged, doing work such as He Walked by Night (1948) and the balletwork in An American in Paris (1951). 

Honestly, the final product isn't terrible, it just falters with clunky parts that can't hold an interesting international space angle together for 74 minutes. It is an odd little movie that surely will leave a few heads spinning with either confusion or a few chuckles - neither of which the filmmakers (or two writers with Fred Gebhardt and DeWitt Bodeen) probably wanted. Nobody pulls a real great performance with their respective time to make moments, but at least one can ride with these folks and pretend that each would be suitable to be on a big ridiculous mission like this, from the two with squabble over relatives taking out their relatives being the ones doing the final mission together to the French communist saboteur at the end. It would probably be too easy to give this movie flack for its holes in terms of science, since this was done before a picture of the Earth was even done, although I will say the moon picture writing being a bunch of random shapes that still gets translated is pretty amusing. Really, there are plenty of silly moments to sift through. The quicksand sequence is also a bit amusing to sit through, having about as much danger as if one just lied on their back on the beach and pretended to sink. One has to love the fact that the "The Great Coordinator of the Moon" want the crew to leave the cats with them right before they leave the place - guess the dog wasn't cool enough to belong on the Moon with the space folks, who we never actually see in person. Actually, the space helmets with "invisible electro magnetic ray screens" is just as hysterical to think about, if not more. The solar flare footage for the end when dealing with erupting a volcano to thaw out the world (yes, really) probably qualifies in the "taking the cake" competition. It could go on further, but let's just say that this is a movie with quite an imagination over what makes for a space movie, having plenty of cliches on less than half a tank of money and time to go with. In the end, this is a film that won't win any kind of award or notations for great entertainment quality, flailing the lines of mediocrity that only can come from a fast and cheap kind of sci-fi film as this, found in the bottom of an Internet search or multi-movie pack. You could get a laugh or two while looking at it with mild interest, for better or worse.

Next Time: Something truly deserving to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11...

Overall, I give it 5 out of 10 stars.

I Walked with a Zombie.

Review #998: I Walked with a Zombie.

Cast: 
Frances Dee (Betsy Connell), Tom Conway (Paul Holland), James Ellison (Wesley Rand), Edith Barrett (Mrs. Rand), James Bell (Dr. Maxwell), Christine Gordon (Jessica Holland), Theresa Harris (Alma), Sir Lancelot (Calypso Singer), and Darby Jones (Carrefour) Directed by Jacques Tourneur.

Review: 
This was based off an article of the same name written by Inez Wallace for American Weekly Magazine; this was the third film produced by Val Lewton, known for doing numerous low-budget horror films for RKO Pictures in the 1940s, and he had three rules given to him: The film would have to be made for under $150,000, it would have to run under 75 minutes and his supervisors gave him the film titles to utilize for the film. With a movie title like this, you certainly get what you came for, along with a fairly cohesive film. Just make sure you read the disclaimer on the credits "The characters and events depicted in this photoplay are fictional. Any similarity to actual persons, living, dead, or possessed, is purely coincidental." It differs from other horror films of the time in how it relies on mood and ambiguity than some sort of monster. It was Lewton's idea to fit the structure of the film like the novel Jane Eyre, and it certainly seems to make sense, seeing how compelling the characters seem to be. Dee and Conway manage to have a fairly interesting chemistry together, mostly because they don't really go for anything too melodramatic, instead having a natural feel that goes with the rest of the film. Barrett is also fairly decent as well, particularly due to her role being more useful than it might seem, and she takes good advantage of that. Gordon does a decent job in the title role as well. It has an exceptional atmosphere and a competent kind of plotting that makes for a breezily interesting experience. The story has numerous turns, and it certainly helps in keeping the film feel fresh while not letting itself become predictable - with a capably odd end scene. The parts with the people of the island aren't as riveting, but they aren't too harmful for the film. It's not a film that goes for scares, but it certainly reaches for chills and succeeds without much doubt in that regard. At 69 minutes, I find it to a fairly easy movie to recommend, sticking out quite nicely from other horror films of its time.

Well. Only one batch to go. The last review with only three digits for the number will be next week, while the big milestone review will follow a day later, as per tradition. No spoilers yet, folks.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.