Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter.

Review #1153: Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter.

Cast: 
John Lupton (Jesse James), Narda Onyx (Dr. Maria Frankenstein), Estelita Rodriguez (Juanita Lopez), Cal Bolder (Hank Tracy/Igor), Jim Davis (Marshal MacPhee), Steven Geray (Dr. Rudolph Frankenstein), Rayford Barnes (Lonny Curry), William Fawcett (Jensen, the pharmacist), and Nestor Paiva (Saloon Owner) Directed by William Beaudine (#463 - Billy the Kid versus Dracula and #535 - Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla)

Review: 
Older fans of mine will remember my coverage of Billy the Kid versus Dracula, which I covered all the way back in October of 2013, which served as part of a double feature with this film.

Admittedly, combining the genres of a western with horror could be interesting. I suppose there really must've been a push to make some cheap thrills and make a quick buck out of it while featuring outlaws from the Old West. The result is two films directed by Beaudine that were both shot in eight days while written by Carl K. Hittleman while shot at the Corrigan Ranch in Simi Valley, California. The only noteworthy thing to look at in this movie is the lab equipment, which came right from Kenneth Strickfaden, who had designed the electrical effects for Frankenstein (1931) and several other projects. It is easy to say both films are awful, but it may prove a bit difficult to figure out which one is "better" - as if one was comparing scab wounds. I could probably edit my description that I said about Billy the Kid versus Dracula and have it work now, as this is also a sloppy mess from beginning to end, starting with the hokey, if not drunkenly written premise of Jesse James in a horror film. Let's not forget that this film not only decides to depict him as having survived the shooting by Robert Ford in 1882, but also encounter the (grand)daughter of Frankenstein. If you can believe it, this film feels like a drag with its run-time of 83 minutes, probably since it takes half of its run-time for the two main characters to meet but also due to the fact that it feels like there are two plots mixed into one, and they are both pretty boring.

Lupton is pretty wooden, not really generating sort of interest in wanting to follow his outlaw character - as reading about the real Jesse James would probably be more interesting. Onyx (in her last film role) is the one who stands out, having plenty of ham and ridiculousness that would probably be suited for stuff such as Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), but then again it actually makes this film seem tolerable, even if it is let down by nearly everything else. Rodriguez (also in her last role prior to her death in 1966) is okay, but the romance between her and Lupton is as stilted as everything else in this movie, not being particularly convincing (I'd also like to point out that James was married at the time of his death - to his first cousin), seeming to fill time and plot. Bolder is bland as the heavy, and the effect used to turn him into the Monster (called Igor for some reason) is awful, since the stitches (on a bald head) is rubber tape. I especially take amusement that the Monster doesn't even wear a shirt, as if that is going to make all the difference for showing strength and terror. You may be surprised that there are two Frankensteins in this film. You may be even more surprised that they are siblings, since the age difference between the two (Onyx and Geray) is 27 years. Speaking of which, Geray isn't awful, having a reluctant nature to him that is somewhat believable to go along with. Honestly, there is nothing here to watch the movie for, since there are no real big spectacles, and the parts when the monster finally comes to life are just as lame as the parts leading up to it. You would actually be better off with The Beast of Hollow Mountain (1956) if you want something with horror and western elements, and that was an incredibly mediocre movie. The only way to watch both this and Billy the Kid versus Dracula is on a night where you want something fast and cheap (they are both in the public domain) and don't care what they deliver as long as they give you some sort of monster and hero to watch. In that sense, they are just fine as a double feature of terror to terrorize the audience in their spooky awfulness.

Overall, I give it 2 out of 10 stars.

The Beast of Hollow Mountain.

Review #1124: The Beast of Hollow Mountain.

Cast: 
Guy Madison (Jimmy Ryan), Patricia Medina (Sarita), Carlos Rivas (Felipe Sanchez), Eduardo Noriega (Enrique Rios), Julio Villarreal (Don Pedro), Mario Navarro (Panchito), Pascual García Peña (Pancho), and Lupe Carriles (Margarita) Directed by Edward Nassour and Ismael Rodríguez.

Review: 
What can one really say about a movie that combines a Western with dinosaurs? For the first hour, the only thing you can think is surprise that it takes so long to show the beast, and then the last twenty minutes the only thing you can think about is the sheer strange nature of a dinosaur being in a Western and share some sort of joy. Nothing says a good introduction like a faceless narrator telling us about this supposed hollow mountain in a back country that is supposedly evil - spooky, I suppose.  Filmed with an animation process called "Nassour Regiscope", the best parts of the film are obviously near the end with the monster, which certainly appeals to monster lover along with anyone looking for more than the conventional cattle rancher rival story presented for most of its 81 minute run-time. The idea for the film came from Willis O'Brien, who you may remember for his effects work on King Kong (1933) and Mighty Joe Young (1949), among others, although he was not involved with the film besides just giving the idea. This was an co-production between the USA and Mexico, filmed in CinemaScope (combined with stop-motion animation) while having English and Spanish versions filmed simultaneously.

Nobody from the cast generates too much excitement or interest. Madison and Medina fit the mold of conventional people in a movie that would've been just fine for prior decades. This can also apply to the generic adversary played by Noriega or the mildness of the kid played by Navarro. Everybody has a standard feel to them that is incredibly stale when faced with the fact that they dominate our attention for over an hour with barely a hint of a "beast", with the highlight moment to make fun of being a brawl between two characters that comes out of nowhere. Actually, I take that back, the sequence where footage of cattle stampeding is sped up to look more menacing is pretty amusing. The effects for the beast is interesting to look at, in a Saturday morning cartoon kind of way, complete with a large tongue. Four people provided effects work, with Louis DeWitt and Jack Rabin doing photographic effects, while Henry Lyon did model work and Nassour did the stop-motion animation work. The monster doesn't look too imposing in certain shots, and the minimal body count associated with it doesn't make for a particularly riveting experience, but on a basic level there is some enjoyment to be had with a dinosaur stalking a bunch of people. The climax is a bit abrupt, in that it just ends quickly without much closure given to these characters - for better or worse. One has a few options to watching this film - they could watch the film all the way as intended, or they could watch the 2017 riffing by Mystery Science Theater 3000, or they could simply watch the last 20 minutes with the dinosaurs. This isn't a good movie in any sense, but it will provide a basic mode of entertainment if one is in the mood for some junk.

Overall, I give it 5 out of 10 stars.