Uncredited Co-Director (Animated Sequences) Walter Lantz
Screenplay by Charles Barton & Walter Lantz
Original Screenplay by Robert Lees & Frederic I. Rinaldo& John Grant
Universal Pictures1hr 23min / Not Rated
CAST:Bud Abbott (Chick), Lou Costello (Wilbur), Lon Chaney Jr. (Lawrence Talbot/The Wolf Man), Bela Lugosi (Count Dracula/Dr. Layhos), Glenn Strange (The Frankenstein Monster), Lenore Aubert (Sandra Mornay), Jane Randolph (Joan Raymond), Frank Ferguson (Mr. McDougal), Charles Bradstreet (Dr. Stevens), and Vincent Price (The Invisible Man’s voice/Uncredited)
Bela Lugosi, Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, and Glenn Strange in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
Certainly one of the best known horror comedies of all time, Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein holds a special place in the hearts of those that love both the Universal Monsters as well as the antics of Bud Abbot & Lou Costello. Surprisingly, the comedy team was not eager to do the film. They preferred scripts that were built around their routines. Lou Costello was blunt in his estimation of the proposed story, “My little girl could write something better than this!” The studio enticed them with an upfront payment of fifty thousand dollars and the addition of their favorite director to the project. Shot for an estimated $800,000.00 it turned out to be their most successful film. It also was a wise investment on the studio’s side; the team once again saved the studio from bankruptcy just as they had in 1941 with Buck Privates.
ABOVE: Lobby Card for Abbott & Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff (1949); Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, and William Frawley in Abbott & Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951); Lou Costello, Bud Abbott, and Marie Windsor in Abbott & Costello Meet the Mummy (1955)
Sadly, the film marked the end of the Universal Monsters reign with the exception of The Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954), and its two sequels. The film did boost the comedy teams popularity; they went on to meet other monsters in other films, but none of them would live up to this near perfect horror/comedy. Even bringing Boris Karloff on board and putting his name in the title (Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff), although a box office success, couldn’t rekindle the magic. Karloff met the duo once more in 1953’s Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Boris Karloff in Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953)
Abbott & Costello were supported by an astonishingly talented cast when they met Frankenstein. Lon Chaney Jr. was at his most conflicted, Bela Lugosi was pure evil with a haunting smile, and Glenn Strange’s Frankenstein is still only second to Karloff’s. Lenore Aubert (who was also in Abbott & Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff), is a standout as Dr. Mornay with her calm reserve and ironic delivery. She is most powerfully in character when challenging the infamously evil Count Dracula, refusing to perform an operation to give the Monster a new brain. It is in this scene that a minor gaff may be observed; the pair are standing in front of a mirror–and–the Count is casting a reflection!
The film opens moving through a foggy London night and finally to a building where window blinds open and Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) is staring out as the moon rises. It all happens accompanied by Frank Skinner’s excellent score (many of his music cues from the film were re-used in Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde). Skinner’s scoring foreshadows the script’s seamless blending of horror and comedy. The monsters lend themselves to slapstick with an aplomb that exceeds expectation. The villains behave much as they do in their own films and Abbott & Costello are at their very best as their foils.
Lou Costello & Frank Ferguson in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
The film’s simple plot begins when Wilbur (Costello) takes a call at the shipping company from Talbot. With extreme fear and frustration, he tries to warn Wilbur about two crates that they will be receiving for McDougal’s House of Horrors. Transforming into the Werewolf during the call, his speech is reduced to growls and snarls that cause Wilbur to hang up. Moments later, Mr. McDougal shows up at the counter demanding his shipping crates. He is not a patient man, and Lou’s confusion infuriates him. Ferguson was born to play this role and quickly becomes a potent adversary.
Bub Abbot, Lou Costello, Lenore Aubert & Frank Ferguson in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
Lou’s girlfriend, Sandra (Lenore Aubert) shows up and is not impressed by Mr. Ferguson as he complains about Wibur and then excitedly explains what is in the crates that he is checking on. Sandra goes to Wilbur and tells him that something has come up and she has to cancel their date. Once she reassures Wilbur that it is not another man that is the cause, she takes her leave.
Now having no faith in the shipping company, Ferguson demands that the crates be delivered to his House of Horrors to be reviewed with the insurance agent present. When they deliver the crates, the confusion begins as Wilbur sees both Dracula and Frankenstein are not only in the crates–they are alive–but naturally, Chick is always gone or looking the wrong way.
The duo incorporate some of their well know bits including the moving candle routine from Hold That Ghost (1941). The twist is that it is Dracula slowly opening the coffin that makes the candle move and it perfectly highlights the scene. Dracula & Frankenstein get out of the coffins before McDougal arrives with the insurance agent. Not being able to produce the Monster & Dracula, Wibur and Chick are arrested and hauled off to jail by McDougal and the insurance agent. Dracula and the Monster then take Dracula’s coffin and leave.
Glenn Strange, Lenore Aubert & Bela Lugosi in Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein
If you have seen the film, you know the rest. If not, or if you haven’t seen it for a long time, you will need to schedule a viewing. The film is both an important high point in Abbott & Costello’s career and a fitting farewell to the age of Gods and Monsters.
Facts, Rumors, and Hearsay
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein was banned in Finland for many years.
Bela Lugosi would play similar vampires in other films, but Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein would be only the second, and last, time that he would play Dracula in a feature film.
The film is included in the American film Institute’s 2000 list of the Top 100 Funniest American Movies & in 2001 the Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.
The scene in which Wilbur unwittingly sits on the lap the Monster required multiple takes. Costello improvised broadly, which caused Strange to keep losing it and laughing, ruining the takes.
The voice of the Invisible Man in the final shot of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is provided by Vincent Price; when Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man in 1951, Vincent Price is no where to be seen.
Vincent Price & floating cigarette in Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein
An American Werewolf in London (1981) is easily one of the most frightening films of its kind, yet manages to keep a dark sense of humor amid the slaughter. Fortified by an original and well crafted script & tight direction by John Landis, groundbreaking make-up/special effects (which brought Rick Baker his first Oscar), and an excellent cast that includes our scream queen, Jenny Agutter, the film is the high water mark in 80’s horror.
David Naughton & Jenny Agutter in An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Although Jenny Agutter’s character utters nothing close to a scream, she deserves her place in the Scream Queen hall of fame due to an exceptional performance as Nurse Alex Price. Not only does she bring a strong character to life, but does it with a sincerity that brings true pathos to the final shot. She would not return to the horror genre until 1987.
Jenny Agutter in An American Werewolf in London (1981)
One of the wonderful things about writing Scream Queens is the number of Screen Queens you run into. An Army brat born in Taunton, Somerset, England on 20 December 1952, she began acting in films early. At age 12 she appeared in East of Sudan (1964) which starred Anthony Quayle and Sylvia Sims. Here, she began a career that spans over 50 years and 114 screen credits to date, it is impossible to cover all of them, but the most important and unusual are well worth mentioning.
Jenny Agutter in East of Sudan (1964)
After East of Sudan, she appeared in a number of Television shows including, The Magical World of Disney (1966), Boy Meets Girl (1967), The Newcomers (1967-68) and The Railway Children Mini Series in a role that she reprized in a film version in 1970 (currently available on the Criterion Channel).
Jenny Agutter in Walkabout (1971)
In 1971 she appeared in Walkabout before doing more TV work from 1971 to 1975 including the TV movie Shelly (1972) where she played Mary Shelly before appearing in Logan’sRun (1976) with Michael York and Farrah Fawcett. Walkabout follows two children lost in the Australian outback who are aided by an Aboriginal boy on his ritual separation from his tribe, his walkabout. A moving film directed by Nicolas Roeg (Criterion Collection #10 & currently available on the Criterion Channel). This is one of her best early performances especially considering the original script was only 14 pages long and much of the film was improvised.
Logan’s Run had great box office but is a bit of a mixed bag and was not well received by the critics.
Michael York & Jenny Agutter in Logan’s Run (1976)
The fight between Jessica (Jenny Agutter) and Holly (Farrah Fawcett) was originally written to be longer, but was changed when the actresses pulled each others hair too violently. Fearing that if allowed to continue the women would end up in a real fight, director Michael Anderson cut the scene short.
Jenny Agutter & Farrah Fawcett fighting / Jenny Agutter and the hated green outfit
Agutter hated the green outfit that she had to wear in the film, and much later admitted that the reason she didn’t do Science Fiction conventions was because she feared someone would show up wearing that revealing garment.
Jenny Agutter & Donald Sutherland in The Eagle Has Landed (1976)
TheEagle Has Landed, also released in 1976 starred Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland, Robert Duvall, and Jenny Agutter. The film boasted a stellar cast, but its director, John Sturges was at the end of his career and according to Michael Caine only took the job to fund his expensive fishing habit. Indeed, once shooting was done, Sturges left and did not return to supervise the editing to the possible detriment of the finished film. The film was edited by 5 time Oscar nominee, Anne V. Coates who won the Oscar in 1962 for Lawrence of Arabia and applied her skills to complete shaping the suspenseful, well written and performed script.
Agutter then did more TV work, including a movie and a two part guest shot on The Six Million Dollar Man (1977) before landing the role in Anthony Shaffer’s Equus directed by Sidney Lumet and featuring Richard Burton and Peter Firth. It was a difficult play to bring to the screen that tested Lumet’s brilliance, and he was aided by a seasoned cast that included Joan Plowwright, and Jenny Agutter. In spite of all the talent involved and a cinematic treatment of the source material, the film was a box office failure.
Peter Firth & Jenny Agutter in Equus (1977)
I will not dwell on the irony of going from Equus to a spaghetti western, but this is indeed what happened. Agutter starred with Fabio Testi and Warren Oats in the oddly titled China 8, Liberty 37 (1978).
Warren Oates & Jenny Agutter in China 9, Liberty 37 (1978)
In the same year as An American Werewolf in London (1981), Agutter appeared in a Disney film about a woman that teaches a deaf child after her own hearing impaired son dies. (Amy is available on Vudu to buy or rent).
Brian Frishman & Jenny Agutter in Amy (1981)
For the remainder of the 80’s, Agutter appeared in many TV shows including, Magnum, P.I. (1985), The Two Ronnies (1986), Murder, She Wrote (1986), The Twilight Zone (1986 & 87), and a number of TV movies. In 1987 she made a return to horror in director Freddie Francis’ (known as both a talented cinematographer & director as well of winner of 2 Oscars in cinematography for Sons and Lovers 1960 and Glory 1989), Dark Tower which was not released until 1989, and was an unfortunate waste of talent in spite of a cast including Michael Moriarty, Carol Lynley, and Kevin McCarthy.
Christine Elise & Jenny Agutter in Child’s Play 2 (1990)
Agutter fared slightly better in the sequel to the successful Child’s Play, but this would be her last foray into horror. She has said that Child’s Play 2 was one of the worst film production experiences she ever encountered.
Turning back to TV work, Agutter continued working through the 1990’s & 2000’s including Poirot in 2006 and a Midsomer Murders episode in 2009. In 2012 the actress made an appearance in The Avengers, and in 2014, Captain America: The Winter Soldier. In 2018 she was part of a wonderful ensemble cast let by the enigmatic Bill Nighy in Sometimes Always Never (available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime).
Bill Nighy, Sam Riley, Jenny Agutter, Tim McInnerny, Alice Lowe, Louis Healy & Ella-grace Gregoire in Sometimes Always Never (2018)
Currently she is still working as a regular on the popular Call the Midwife (Netflix, 2012-Present/The show has been renewed for the 10th & 11th seasons). From the opening episode in season one, Agutter claims the role of Sister Julienne and all that goes with it as though she has lived it. As Sister Julienne, she is the head of Nonnatus House overseeing both the nuns and the midwives as they navigate the poverty of the East End. She is part of an ensemble cast that delivers flawless performances in a well developed, written, and produced series. It is truly a crown on a long and eventful ongoing career.
Facts, Rumors & Hearsay
WALKABOUT: Although Girl is 14 years old in the movie, Jenny Agutter was 16 years old when the film was in production.
Jenny Agutter’s initial interest in participating in the film was sparked by a desire to meet the Beatles, who were considered as potential financiers for it.
CHILD’S PLAY 2: Veronica Cartwright was considered for the part of Joanne before Jenny Agutter was chosen.
EQUUS: Peter Firth and Jenny Agutter would star together in the English TV series Spooks, but in the United States was called MI 5
SOMETIMES ALWAYS NEVER: The title refers to the Sometimes, Always, Never Three-Button Rule. When wearing a suit with three buttons a man should sometimes button the top button, depending on the style of the suit, always button the middle button, and never button the bottom button.
Having started with a film that was good, bad, and absurd we now move to the good in this installment of Sci-Fi 1950’s. All three films were released in 1953, two of which are based on Ray Bradbury stories and one on a Curt Siodmak tale. The first is the Siodmak story from his novel of the same name, Donovan’s Brain. It is a mad scientist film with a well intentioned scientist (aren’t they all) who tries to salvage the brain of a maniacal business man (what could go wrong?) who’s dying and cannot be saved.
Donovan’s Brain (1953) United Artists
Donovan’s Brain (1953)
Directed by Felix Feist
Screenplay by Felix Feist based on the Adaptation by Hugh Brooke based on the Novel by Curt Siodmak
1hr 24min / Not Rated
CAST:Lew Ayres (Dr. Patrick J. Cory), Gene Evans (Dr. Frank Schratt), Nancy Reagan (Janice Cory / billed as Nancy Davis), Steve Brodie (Herbie Yocum), Tom Powers (Donovan’s Washington Advisor), Lisa Howard (Chloe Donovan), James Anderson (Chief Tuttle /billed as Kyle James)
Allow me to qualify including this somewhat dubious entry under ‘good’ as it should really be ‘bad/absurd’ but there are reasons. The first is the current state of the world as well as Nancy Davis’ appearance in the film. Dr. Patrick J. Corey is trying to save the brain of a less than admirable but powerful business man. In the process of doing this, the scientist’s own will is usurped by the will of the evil brain. The only time the scientist is free from the control of the brain–is when the brain sleeps. This is the horror of the story, but Dr. Cory outsmarts the brain by pulling off a reverse Dr. Frankenstein. The most ironically hilarious part of the film (of course unintended at the time) is when the doctor’s wife, Janice Cory (Nancy Davis aka: Nancy Reagan) bemoans the fact that a rich businessman could be so mean spirited that he could reduce his own tax payments at the cost of the poor.
It is a typical 50’s low budget film, but in the end an effort that does make an impression. And due to my love of irony, there’s no better time to take a look at this unusual take on Sci-Fi, or is it just plain horror? It is one of three adaptations of Siodmak’s novel. The first was The Lady and the Monster (1944) and the last and worst of all was the Freddie Francis directed, The Brain (1962).
Vera Ralston, Erich von Stroheim, & Richard Arlen in The Lady and the Monster (1944)
The novel was also parodied by Steve Martin in 1983’s The Man with Two Brains. It was not only one of Martin’s best efforts (although not given the recognition it deserved on its release), but was arguably the best film to come out of the spate of versions inspired by Siodmak’s novel.
Steve Martin & Kathleen Turner in The Man with Two Brains (1983)
Facts, Rumors, & Hearsay
Orson Welles played the part of Dr. Corey in Donovan’s Brain in a two part broadcast of radio’s Suspense, 18 May and 25 May 1944.
In Child’s Play (1988) Maggie (Dinah Manoff) is watching Donovan’s Brain after she puts Andy (Alex Vincent) to bed.
Siodmak was slated to direct, but was replaced by screenwriter Felix Feist. Possibly not the best decision made on the film.
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It Came from Outer Space(1953)
Directed by Jack Arnold
Screenplay by Harry Essex based on the Story by Ray Bradbury
CAST: Richard Carlson (John Putnam), Barbara Rush (Ellen Fields), Charles Drake (Sheriff Matt Warren), Joe Sawyer (Frank Daylon), Russell Johnson (George), Kathleen Hughes (Jane)
Richard Carlson & Barbara Rush in It Came from Outer Space (1953)
It Came from Outer Space was the first 3D film from director Jack Arnold who went on to direct the 3D classics, Creature from the Black Lagoon and Revenge of the Creature. Ricard Carlson was also the lead in the first Creature film opposite Julia Adams, where he once again played the level headed scientist trying to head off disaster. The main thrust of the film is the same basic conceit that powered, The Day the Earth Stood Still, but like most Ray Bradbury tales it is told on a smaller stage. Instead of an intentional landing in Washington D.C., the aliens crash land in a remote desert setting near a small town. It also foreshadows Invasion of the Body Snatchers with its diabolically misleading use of alien doubles of some of the townspeople, including an interesting performance by Russell Johnson (most remembered as The Professor in Gilligan’s Island).
An exceptional film with qualities beyond what most would expect looking back on this ill titled and misleadingly simplistic Sci-Fi entry. Good cast and script combine to create a memorable if somewhat troubling picture of the paranoia of the Cold War era. Once again, there’s no better time to revisit this classic than the present.
Facts, Rumors, & Hearsay
The screenplay is mostly based on Ray Bradbury’s treatments of his story, especially the dialogue even though it is credited to Harry Essex.
IT was the first 3-D film to be released by Universal Studios.
Steven Spielberg has cited this film as the inspiration for his film Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977).
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The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)
Directed by Eugene Lourie
Screenplay by Lou Morheim and Fred Freiberger
Based on the story, The Fog Horn by Ray Bradbury
Visual Effects by Ray Harryhausen
CAST: Paul Hubschmid (Professor Tom Nesbitt), Paula Raymond (Lee Hunter), Cecil Kellaway (Professor Thurgood Elson), Kenneth Tobey (Col. Jack Evans), Donald Woods (Capt. Phil Jackson), Lee Van Cleef (Corp. Stone), Steve Brodie (Sgt. Loomis), Ross Elliott (George Ritchie), Frank Ferguson (Dr. Morton), King Donovan (Dr. Ingersoll)
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms was based loosely on a wonderful Ray Bradbury story called, The Fog Horn, that is among the writer’s best. The film kicks it up a few notches beginning with the creature being freed from an arctic ice prison due to a nuclear test. Less poetic than in the original story (where the Beast is answering the call of the Fog Horn), but it makes sense and touches on the Cold War fears of the day without dwelling on them. Everyone is hesitant to believe that the creature that is being described could actually exist.
Paul Hubschmid & King Donovan, Paul Hubschmid & Paula Raymond, Paula Raymond, Cecil Kellaway, & King Donovan in The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms
Eventually brought to their senses by one violent attack after another, the government takes action. The creature is cornered in an amusement park, and the action reaches a crescendo. Ray Harryhausen’s animation is the real star of the production. Seen now and judged against today’s CGI Harryhausen’s work may appear primitive to some, but he laid the groundwork with a painstaking process that is still admired by both fans and film industry professionals.
The filming of Harryhausen’s stop-action sequences would often take one or two years. Harryhausen worked alone performing every facet of the filming himself. His most mythic sequence is the dueling skeletons in Jason and the Argonauts (1963). Harryhausen reportedly filmed about 13 frames of film a day which equates one half second of time, per day. Harryhausen began his career working with Willis O’Brien on The Mighty Joe Young (1949). It was a good apprenticeship, but he wasn’t getting credit for his work. His star rose quickly when he was brought on by Warner’s to do the animation/special effects on The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms.
Facts, Rumors, & Hearsay
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms was one of the highest grossing films of 1953, and is believed to be one of the inspirations for Tomoyuki Tanaka’s release of Godzilla (1954)
In the original 1953 version the shot where the cop is swallowed whole is cut, but is restored in the video version of the film.
The Beast was the first giant creature awakened by an atomic bomb.
Screenplay by Alec Coppel & Samuel A. Taylor based on the Novel by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejoc
Contributing writer Maxwell Anderson
CAST:James Stewart (John ‘Scottie’ Ferguson), Kim Novak (Madeleine Elster/Judy Barton), Barbara Bel Geddes (Midge Wood), Tom Helmore (Gavin Elster), Konstantin Shayne (Pop Leibel), Henry Jones (Coroner), Raymond Bailey (Scottie’s Doctor), Ellen Corby (Manager of McKittrick Hotel)
On any viewing of Vertigo, the work of Bernard Herrmann and Saul Bass is what introduces us to the film. Herrmann’s music and Bass’ titles pull us into an other worldly frame of mind. We see part of a woman’s face as Herrmann’s haunting music continues from the Paramount/VistaVision logo. Then to her lips, then her eyes that move left, and and then right, and then back to us, then we zoom in on the right eye as the screen goes red and the title, VERTIGO moves forward out of the pupil and up and out of the frame presumably over our heads as the movie sometimes does as the story spins from the reel as Saul Bass’ spirals accompany the remainder of the titles.
Every great artist has a flawed or unfinished or impenetrable masterpiece, and this is unmistakably Hitchcock’s. Impenetrable for many in a way that has made it one of cinema’s great mysteries. It is both an open book to the viewer and a puzzle box. It was not well received on its initial release, but time has refocused opinion. It is now not only considered Hitchcock’s masterpiece, but also one of the greatest films ever made displacing Citizen Kane from its long held spot in cinema history. It is a film that demands multiple viewings and gives ample reward to the time invested. Once Scottie accepts Gavin’s (Tom Helmore) case , we are slowly seduced by the beautiful Madeline (Kim Novak). Stewart’s performance as the unhinged Scotty is unequaled in film. Ray Milland in Lost Weekend or Humphrey Bogart in Treasure of the Sierra Madre come to mind, but their characters hit a bottom–Scotty is in free fall. He is still in free fall in the final frame.
In Vertigo, fantasy and reality are not clearly defined. In much of the film, we are seeing through Scotty’s eyes. Can his perception be trusted? Scotty is a police detective and good man, but he has something horrible happen to him as he is pursuing a suspect across the roofs of San Francisco. Discovering his ‘vertigo’ in a way that causes the death of a fellow police officer impacts him more deeply than he knows. The chase ends when Scotty doesn’t make a jump between two buildings and almost slides off of the roof only managing to save himself by grabbing the gutter. The gutter does not look like it will hold his weight. The officer that tries to save him falls to his death as Scotty watches, helplessly hanging on as the man falls.
James Stewart in Vertigo (1958)
It is important to note that when the officer cries out to, “gimme your hand,” he is on a slanted clay tiled roof. A very slanted clay tile roof with no way for him to anchor himself when Scotty grabs his hand. The officer falls before Scotty has (if he even could have) taken his hand. Watching closely, we realize that if Scotty had taken his hand–they both would have plunged to their deaths. Conclusion, there was no escape. In addition, we never see how Scotty gets down.
This is the first of several unexplainable scenes in the film. How did he get down? Could that bending gutter really have held his weight until help arrived? Most viewers don’t think about this at all on the first viewing because everything moves so fast up to this point.
Barbara Bel Geddes in Vertigo (1958)Midge’s Studio Apartment
And then we find ourselves in the apartment/studio of his friend Midge (Barbara Bel Geddes). The pace of the narrative drops to a near stand still. Scotty is very comfortable here. He is relaxed and at home as he explains to her why he can no longer work as a detective. It’s the vertigo. She tries to bolster his self confidence, and it becomes clear that she has feelings for him. He even asks her not to be so ‘motherly’. They have dated in the past, and were even engaged for three weeks. Although it is not clear why it ended, it was Midge who broke it off. Scotty seems oblivious to her feelings, engulfed in his new freedom yet unaware that he is still dangling from the rooftop. This is revealed when he tries to demonstrate that he can overcome the vertigo by slowly exposing himself to gradual increases in height. Midge assists by giving him a step ladder, and it seems to be working. That is, until he looks out of the window and the added height of the building causes the acrophobia to kick in triggering the vertigo. He falls from the ladder into Midge’s arms. As she says, “Oh Johnnie,” we realize that he is safe here, but not in the outside world.
Continuing the measured pace, we go to see his college friend Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore), who has asked him to come to see him in the Mission District. When Scotty mentions Gavin to Midge as an old college chum, she does not recall him. We assume that this was during the time that Scotty and Midge were dating and engaged for three weeks while at university together. If she was as focused on Scotty even half as much at that time as she is now, it is no wonder that she doesn’t remember Elster. They assume that because it’s a Mission number, that Elster must be on the bum–and living on skid row. When Scottie arrives there, he finds that Elster has married into wealth and is working at his wife’s shipyard. Elster wants Scotty to follow his wife, Madeline. Elster tells Scotty, “it’s not what you think.” It certainly isn’t.
Alfred Hitchcock Cameo in Vertigo (1958) The Mission District, The Embarcadero Waterfrontnear Elster’s Shipyard Office
Elster relates to Scotty a tale that a staid, died in the blue cop would never believe. And to Scotty’s credit, he doesn’t. He does listen if not particularly patiently, at least earnestly. It seems a long dead woman named Carlotta Valdez has taken possession of Elster’s wife, Madeline. Scotty suggests a psychiatrist for both Madeline and Gavin. Gavin laughs it off and explains that is why he wants his wife followed. He wants to gather enough information before turning it over to a doctor. Scotty expresses his doubts about taking it on and even offers to get Elster a good private investigator. Elster’s argument is that it has to be someone he can trust. In the end Scotty gives in agreeing to go to Ernie’s Restaurant to observe Madeline without meeting her.
James Stewart in Vertigo (1958)The Bar at Ernie’s Restaurant
Next, we are moving toward the entrance of Ernie’s Restaurant still at the pace set in Midge’s studio. A lap dissolve reveals Scotty sitting at the bar, turned as though looking for someone. The camera pulls back panning to a wide shot where we think maybe we see Elster and a blonde woman on the far left. As the music comes up, we slowly move closer and realize it is Elster and the woman is wearing a striking black and emerald gown. At just that point the cut is back to Scotty at the bar and we realize that this was what he was turning to see when we entered. His expression is hard to read. Is it annoyance at having to be there at all? We now see Elster and Madeline from Scotty’s point of view as Elster signs the check and then cut back to Scotty who is still hard to read. Now we watch Madeline and Elster rise. Elster pulls out Madeline’s chair and we cut back to Scotty as he prepares for their exit by turning back to the bar.
Kim Novak in Vertigo (1958) Leaving Ernie’s Restaurant
Madeline is indeed magnificently beautiful as we see her walking toward us from Scotty’s point of view. Then she stops and turns back toward Elster as the maître d’ stops him and then she turns and continues, but then stops again as though waiting for Elster giving Scotty a chance to steal a glance as Elster rejoins her and they exit the restaurant. When we see Scotty again, there is a change in his attitude, it is subtle but it is there. This slow build up has an immediate effect. Scotty and the viewer are intrigued. Each step of the way, we are anticipating something. As is Scotty. We don’t know what yet, but we have been pulled in along with Scotty and now we can’t turn away.
Michael Stuhlbarg & Elisabeth Moss in Shirley (2020)
Shirley (2020) Neon
Directed by Josephine Decker
Screenplay by Sarah Gubbins based on the Novel by Susan Scarf Merrell
Cinematography Sturla Brandth Grovlen
107m / Rated R / Streaming June 5th
CAST: Elizabeth Moss ( Shirley Jackson), Odessa Young (Rose Nemser/Paula), Michael Stuhlbarg (Stanley Hyman), Logan Lerman (Fred Nemser), Victoria Pedretti (Katherine), Robert Wuhl (Randy Fisher), Paul O’Brien (Dean), Orlagh Cassidy (Caroline), Bisserat Tseggai (Peggy), Allen McCullough(Norman)
Shirley seeks to take us to a place where few are permitted to tread. To see into the mind of a deeply talented writer is indeed an honor, but as most places of great beauty, it is also fraught with hidden horrors. Josephine Decker achieves the impossible with a disjointed narrative that relies as much on visuals as it does on the helter skelter thought process of the titular character brought to explosive life by Elizabeth Moss. Fortunately, we are given a guide played with honesty and passion in an exceptional performance by Odessa Young (who also plays Paula the woman that vanished into the woods from Bennington College that Jackson is writing about and imagines as Rose). Sturla Brandth Grovlen’s cinematography explores Shirley’s world with with artful assurance and beauty.
Odessa Young in Shirley (2020)
The author is haunted by an idea that seems to be beyond her power as she is sinking deeper into illness. A young couple comes to live with her and her husband Stanley (Michael Stuhlbarg), and an uneasy bond develops between Jackson and Rose Nemar who is acting as caretaker for the writer’s home while her husband, Fred Nemser (Logan Lerman) is working with Jackson’s husband at Bennington College. Rose is first repelled by the couple and their strange dwelling, and then gradually drawn in by the bizarre antics taking place around her.
The entire cast works well spinning a suspenseful tale as the writer presses hard on her own psyche as well as Rose’s to bring Paula to life while Stanley hovers, fretting and encouraging at turns. The narrative moves with a supernatural subtlety between reality and the imagined while revealing the depth of the characters through the veil of near madness.
Certainly a bar raiser and one on the best films of the year to date. Kudos to all involved.
Screenplay by James Clavell based on a story by George Langelaan
1hr 34min / Not Rated
CAST: David Hedison (Andre Delambre), Patricia Owens (Helene Delambre), Vincent Price (Francois Delambre), Herbert Marshall (Inspector Charas), Kathleen Freeman (Emma), Betty Lou Gerson (Nurse Andersone), Charles Herbert (Philippe Delambre).
In Patricia Owens’ forty-nine film credits, The Fly is the only horror film. Yet she has earned her Scream Queen status if only for this shot:
Patricia Owns (1925-2000)
This 50’s Science Fiction horror story looked at teleportation before anyone was beamed up on the Enterprise. Andre Delambre (David Hedison) searches for the secret to teleporting matter and finds only the fly in the ointment of success. Instead of creating a usable teleportation device, he turns himself into part man part fly and the fly is slowly taking over his mind. A classic that sometimes strays from logic (not a Star Trek reference), but manages to convey the horror and pathos of good intentions gone wrong with credible performances from all and Vincent Price brings his special brand of suave to the proceedings.
The Fly (1958)
Betty Lou Gerson & Patricia Owens in The Fly (1958)
Patricia Owens & David Hedison in The Fly (1958)
Although she began her film career when she was 18 years old in Miss London Ltd., it wasn’t until she starred in The Fly that she gained notoriety. It is the film that she is best remembered for in a career that spanned twenty-five years and included forty-nine screen credits including feature films and television appearances. It was her only horror film with the exception of 1952’s Ghost Ship where she had a small part and was billed as, Joyce/Party Girl. Nevertheless, she holds a special place in the hearts of Scream Queen fans as the unfortunate wife of Andre Delambre in 1958’s The Fly.
In spite of her many screen appearances (a selection is pictured in the gallery below) co-starring with such luminaries as Marlon Brando, Joanne Woodward, Richard Widmark, Neville Brand, James Mason, Joan Fontaine, Lee Remick, Mary Tyler Moore, and Dan Duryea, she never achieved the stardom she deserved.
Mystery Junction (1951)
Island in the Sun (1957)
Sayonara (1957)
Martha Scott, Marlon Brando, & Patricia Ownes in Sayonara (1957)
No Down Payment (1957)
Jeffrey Hunter & Patricia Owens in No Down Payment (1957)
The Law and Jake Wade (1958)
Five Gates to Hell (1959)
These Thousand Hills (1959)
Patricia Owens in Hell to Eternity (1960)
Denise Darce, Margia Dean, Patricia Owens in 7 Women from Hell (1961)
X-15 an early Richard Donner film (1961)
Walk a Tightrope (1964)
The Destructors (1668)
Facts, Rumors & Hearsay
Patricia Owens had a fear of insects. Director Kurt Neumann took advantage of that by not letting her see the Fly makeup until the unmasking.
The vision of a fly is not comprised of multiple images as in the film, but it makes for a great effect.
Michael Rennie (The Day the Earth Stood Still) was considered for the part of the Fly but turned it down because his head would be covered for a large portion of the film.
Charles Herbert was a well known child actor of the time and was also in William Castle’s 13 Ghosts as well as Houseboat with Cary Grant and Please Don’t Eat the Daisies with Doris Day.
House on Haunted Hill (1959) Allied Artists
Directed by William Castle
Screenplay by Robb White
1hr 15min / Not Rated
CAST: Vincent Price (Fredrick Loren), Carol Ohmart (Annabelle Loren), Richard Long (Lance Schroeder), Alan Marshal (Dr. David Trent), Carolyn Craig (Nora Manning), Elisha Cook Jr. (Watson Pritchard), Julie Mitchum (Ruth Bridgers), Leona Anderson (Mrs. Slydes), Howard Hoffman (Jonas), Skeleton (Himself).
Carol Ohmart (1927-2002)
Vincent Price is at center of this wonderfully hokey haunted house mystery. Carol Ohmart (Annabelle Loren) who worked mainly in television made a perfect foil for the sinister Fredrick Loren (Vincent Price) in their marital game of cat and mouse. Having invited five guests who agree to be locked in a haunted house overnight to receive $10,000 each if they are alive in the morning.
Carol Ohmart in House on Haunted Hill (1959)
Scriptwriter Robb White was no stranger to horror having written Macabre (1958). He also wrote The Tingler (1959), and would go on to write 13 Ghosts (1960), and Homicidal (1961).
Carol Ohmart and Carolyn Craig in House on HauntedHill (1959)
Carolyn Craig (1934 -1970)
Carolyn Craig also worked mainly in television and this was her only outing in a horror film, but she did a wonderfully fright filled job. She was also in a small supporting role in Giant (1956) with James Dean & Elizabeth Taylor. She is constantly terrified in House on Haunted Hill and truly earned her scream queen crown as she is targeted as part of a sinister murder plot.
Carolyn Craig in House on Haunted Hill (1959) & Carolyn Craig and Elizabeth Taylor in Giant (1956) & Carolyn Craig in Portland Expose (1957)
Facts, Rumors & Hearsay
Exterior shots of the haunted house were filmed at The Ennis Brown House in Los Angeles. The house was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It was built in 1924 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Alfred Hitchcock noticed this films large grosses and was inspired to make his own low-budget horror film, Psycho (1960).
House on Haunted Hill was one of Allied Artist’s most profitable films, and yet it was allowed to fall into public domain.
Dementia 13(1963) AIP
Directed by Frances Ford Coppola
Written by Frances Ford Coppola, and 2nd Unit written by Jack Hill
1hr 15min / Not Rated
CAST: William Campbell (Richard Haloran), Luana Anders (Louise Haloran), Bart Patton (Billy Haloran), Mary Mitchel (Kane), Patrick Magee (Justin Caleb), Barbara Dowling (Kathleen Haloran)
This Roger Corman produced horror film was directed by a young Frances Coppola, later to be known as Frances Ford Coppola. Like many others, Coppola received his early opportunities from Corman. Corman had been shooting The Young Racers (1963) in Ireland with Coppola assisting and he let Coppola film Dementia 13 using the same set, crew, and actors providing Coppola could shoot around Corman’s schedule. Coppola did not finish the film, he was replaced on Corman’s directive by the co-writer, Jack Hill.
ABOVE: Luana Anders in Dementia 13
Luana Anders plays Louise who loses her husband to a heart attack while in a row boat, but is more concerned with his family’s money than alarmed by his death and reacts by dumping his body into the water. Anders worked in both movies and television. Her additional scream queen performances include: The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), the best forgotten, The Manipulator which starred a miscast Mickey Rooney (1971), and The Killing Kind (1972).
John-Savage and Luana Anders in The Killing Kind (1973)
She appeared in a number of other films including The Last Detail (1973), Shampoo (1975), The Missouri Breaks (1976), Goin’ South (1978), and Personal Best (1982). On television she appeared in everything from The Andy Griffith Show (1967) to Santa Barbara (1992).
Luana Anders in Reform School Girl (1957), The Andy Griffith Show (1960) TV, Easy Rider (1966), & Adam 12 (1968) TV
Circus of Horrors (1960) AIP
Directed by Sidney Hayers
Screenplay by George Baxt
1hr 28min / Not Rated
CAST: Anton Diffring (Dr. Schuler), Erika Remberg (Elissa Caro), Yvonne Monlaur (Nicole Vanet), Donald Pleasence (Vanet), Jane Hylton (Angela), Kenneth Griffith (Martin), Conrad Phillips (Inspector Arthur Ames), Jack Gwillim), Vanda Hudson (Magda von Meck), Yvonne Romain (Melina), Colette (Evelyn Morley Finsbury).
Erika Remberg in Circus of Horrors (1960)
A plastic surgeon flees from London to France after a botched surgery. In France, he performs a surgery on a circus owner’s daughter whose face has been disfigured in the blitz. Eventually he becomes the owner of the circus and continues to operate on women to make them into beauties and in return expects them to work as performers. The trouble begins when some of them wish to leave the circus. Anton Diffring’s performance powers the story as his character becomes more and more determined to keep the women against their will. The women start dying in horrible accidents staged in horrifying Grand Guignol circus scenes.
ABOVE: Yvonne Romaine & Anton Diffring, Vanda Hudson, and Erika Remberg in Circus of Horrors (1960)
Black Sunday (1960)AIP
Directed by Mario Bava
Screenplay by Ennio De Concini & Mario Serandrei based on the Short Story by Nikolay Gogal
English dialogue written by Geoge Higgins
Screenplay: Mario Bava, Marcello Coscia, and Dino De Palmauncredited
1hr 27min / Not Rated
CAST: Barbara Steele (Princess Asa Vajda/Katia Vajda), John Richardson ) Dr. Andrej Gorobec/Dr. Andreas Gorobec), Andrea Checchi (Dr. Choma Kruvajan/Dr. Thomas Kruvajan), Ivo Garrani (Prince Vajda), Arturo Dominici (Igor Javutich / Javuto)
One of the most influential of all of the Italian horror films is Mario Bava’s, La maschera del demonio (1960) (English title: Black Sunday). Not only is this Bava’s first film as a director, but it is also Barbara Steele’s first horror film as well as her first leading role.
ABOVE: Barbara Steele in Black Sunday (1960), Nightmare Castle (1965), The Long Hair of Death (1965), & Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968).
Quickly becoming the first lady of horror, Barbara Steele became so well known that she appeared in Fellini’s 8 1/2 (1963). Prior to her lead role in Black Sunday she was playing supporting and even unbilled roles. She gave a star making performance in Black Sunday and then went on to star in The Pit and the Pendulum (1961) with Vincent Price and Luana Anders. Produced and directed by Roger Corman, it was only the second in a series of films he would produce based on stories by Edgar Allen Poe.
Vincent Price & Barbara Steele in The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
Followed in 1962 byThe Horrible Dr. Hitchcock (left), an Italian gothic horror film with plenty of atmosphere, and a study in terror as the new bride of a respected doctor begins to suspect that there is something amiss in the manor.
In 1964 Danze Macabre (right/AKACastle of Blood) featured Steele as the ghost of Elizabeth Blackwood in a haunted castle. Alan Foster, a journalist is trying to get an interview with Edgar Allen Poe and he finds the writer in a shadowy pub telling one of his stories to Lord Thomas Blackwood. They discuss Poe’s stories and Poe advises that all of his tales are true. When the conversation turns to the afterlife, the journalist expresses his disbelief. Since it is All Hollow’s Eve,
Lord Thomas invites him to spend a night in his castle. A one hundred pound bet is offered, if he can stay the night. He agrees to the wager after the amount is lowered to ten pounds (he is just a poor journalist). He dismisses the warning that no one has ever survived to collect. What follows is a bizarre haunting that is atmospheric and has the feel of a story by Poe (certainly as much as any Roger Corman vehicle). The pacing is measured, but suits this gothic tale of infidelity, rage, and revenge. Steele is both seductive and unsettling as the object of Alan’s desire.
Facts, Rumors & Hearsay
Tim Burton told TV Guide that Black Sunday is his favorite horror film.
Included in the book, 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, edited by Steven Schneider.
Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb(1971) Hammer
Directed by Seth Holt
Screenplay by Christopher Wicking based on the Novel by Bram Stoker
1h 34min / PG
CAST: Andrew Keir (Fuchs), Valerie Leon (Margaret/Tara), James Villers (Corbeck), Hugh Burden (Dandridge), George Coulouris (Berigan), Mark Edwards (Tod Browning), Rosalie Crutchley (Helen Dickerson), Aubrey Morris (Doctor Putnum), David Markham (Doctor Burgess), Joan Young (Mrs. Caporal), Tamara Ustinov (Veronica)
Valerie Leon in Blood From the Mummy’s Tomb (1971)
Valerie Leon’s single claim to Scream Queen rests firmly on Hammer’s Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb (1971). It being the last and arguably the weakest entry in the Hammer Mummy series spotlights Leon’s contribution.
Valerie Leon & Jim Dale in Carry on Again Doctor (1969)
That and the simple fact that it was her only Hammer film, and yet she is still recalled with fondness by horror fans almost fifty years later! In interviews Leon has admitted that she would not do nudity and felt that alienated the producers at Hammer. By the seventies they were looking to update with the times, and they did so with films like The Vampire Lovers (1970)which starred Peter Cushing, Ingrid Pitt, and Madeline ‘Maddy’ Smith.
Malcome Farquhar & Valerie Leon in The Baron (1966),Valerie Leon & Roger Moore in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Peter Sellers, Anthony Chinn, Burt-Kwouk, Valerie Leon, and Elisabeth Welch in Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978), Sean Connery & Valerie Leon in Never Say Never Again (1983),
She felt that she missed opportunities because of her refusal to do as she was asked. Be that as it may, she still had work in film and television including two Bond films, Return of the Pink Panther and seven appearances in the popular ‘Carry On…” series of English comedies.
Facts, Rumors & Hearsay
Anthony Head (best known for his role of Rupert Giles in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) makes a brief appearance in an uncredited role.
Based on Bram Stoker’s novel “The Jewel of Seven Stars”, the seven stars can be seen (the Big Dipper) in many scenes throughout the film, either in crystal balls or ruby rings.
Trespassing Bergman (2013 / documentary) reflects that Ingmar Bergman had a tape copy of Blood From the Mummy’s Tomb at his home on Faro Island.
John Carpenter’s House of Horror
Hammer had been losing ground for some time in the US horror market. The results of some of their latest efforts were just plain bad. Night of the Living Dead (1968) and Rosemary’s Baby (1968) were both huge hits. Gothic horror, which Hammer had built its reputation on, had fallen out of fashion.
Christopher Lee & Peter Cushing in The Satanic Rites of Dracula
An attempt to bring Dracula into the present was dismal and even their most famous player thought it ludicrous, “I’m doing it under protest… I think it is fatuous. I can think of twenty adjectives – fatuous, pointless, absurd. It’s not a comedy, but it’s got a comic title. I don’t see the point,” Christopher Lee speaking at a press conference promoting The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973), which at the time was called Dracula is Dead… and Well and Living in London. Lee would not don the cape and fangs again.
Christopher Lee & Joanna Lumley in The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973)
To further drive in the stake, The Exorcist was also released in 1973. William Peter Blatty’s tale of a possessed child directed by William Friedkin had movie goers lining up for blocks when it opened. What happened next was John Carpenter.
Jamie Lee Curtis and Brian Andrews in Halloween (1978)
Halloween (1978) CIP
Directed by John Carpenter
Screenplay by John Carpenter and Debra Hill
1hr 31min / Rated R
CAST: Donald Pleasence (Loomis), Jamie Lee Curtis (Laurie), Nancy Kyes (Annie), P. J. Soles (Lynda), Charles Cyphers (Brackett), Kyle Richards (Lindsey), Brian Andrews (Tommy), John Michael Graham (Bob), Nancy Stephens (Marion)
From the first notes of the haunting score on black screen, audiences knew they were seeing something special. Halloween opened to good reviews and success at the box office. From a total budget of $350,000.00 the film went on to gross $47 million. It proved to be a major influence kick starting the slasher genre full force, but few if any of its imatators come anywhere near Carpenter & Hill’s level. Like the film that inspired it, Halloween changed viewer’s expectations forever. Simply said, it is economical in narrative and as purely cinematic as possible.
Jamie Lee Curtis & P. J. Soles in Halloween (1978)
The nod’s to Hitchcock were not subtle. Donald Pleasance’s character, Dr. Loomis was named after Marion’s lover in Psycho, Sam Loomis. Nancy Kyes was billed in the credits as Nancy Loomis. The most obvious of course was the casting of Janet Leigh’s daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie. John Carpenter’s score was not as complex as Bernard Herrmann’s, but it was used to full effect. Like Herrmann’s score, it was at least a third of the reason for the film’s success.
P. J. Soles &Nancy Kyes in Halloween (1978)
The casting of Curtis was perhaps the single most important decision made by Carpenter. If ever an actor made a role theirs, Curtis had as Laurie Strode. P. J. Soles and Nancy Kyes’ characters are as different from Laura as they are from each other. Their fully developed characters draw empathy from us effortlessly. They are not the standard fodder for the blade that will follow in the wake of Halloween.
Of course this film also launched the career of Jamie Lee Curtis who holds a special place in the annals of horror’s Scream Queens. She was the first Scream Queen to really fight back in spite of her fear, foreshadowing Scream’s (1996) Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell).
P. J. Soles
P. J. Soles had already played supporting roles in two horror films. The first in the forgettable horror anthology, Blood Bath (1975), and more notably as one of the mean girls in Carrie (1976) along with Nancy Allen. A seasoned Scream Queen from one of 1970’s biggest hits, she turned in as memorable a performance in Halloween as she had in Carrie.
Nancy Allen & P. J. Soles in Carrie (1976)
John Carpenter wrote the part of Lynda for P. J. Soles after seeing her in Carrie because he liked the way she said, “totally.” Her talent for the word earned her the nickname of ‘Totally girl’ for its many utterances in Halloween. Like her red baseball cap in Carrie, it had been sought out by the director. To date, Soles has 67 screen credits including 13 Girls which is in pre-production. The gallery below highlights some of her films. Always delivering an energetic performance in any role, Soles is a solid, talented, and versatile actor.
P.J. Soles & Dee Dee Ramone in Rock n Roll Hight School (1979)
P. J. Soles, Marla Rosenfield, and Chris Somma in Rock n Roll Hight School (1979)
P. J. Soles in Private Benjamin (1980)
P. J. Soles & Eileen Brennan in Private Benjamin (1980)
Bill Murray & P. J. Soles in Stripes (1981)
Bill Murray & P. J. Soles in Stripes (1981)
Stripes (1981)
Nancy Kyes (AKA Nancy Loomis)
Nancy Kyes’ first screen appearance was in John Carpenter’s cult classic, Assault on Precinct 13; she was also the wardrobe mistress for the film. Unfortunately, Kyes had a short film career in which she appeared in four John Carpenter productions.
Nancy Kyes in Assult on Precinct 13 (1976)
Nancy Keys, Austin Stoker, and Laurie Zimmer in Assault on Precinct 13 (1976)
NEXT: Scream Queens 1980 – 1990
Janet Leigh & Nancy Kyes in The Fog (1980)
Jamie Lee Curtis, Hal Holbrook, Janet Leigh, Tom Atkins, Nancy Kyes, and Ty Mitchell in The Fog (1980)
Halloween II (1981)
Tawny Moyor in Halloween (1981)
Nancy Kyes in Halloween II (1981)
Belinda Balaski in The Howling (1981)
Dee Wallace in The Howling (1981)
Betsy Baker, Bruce Campbell, Richard DeManicore, Ellen Sandweiss, and Theresa Tilly in The Evil Dead (1981)
ABOVE: Dick Powell & Anne Shirley in Murder, My Sweet (1944)
Raymond Chandler was a very different writer than Cornell Woolrich. Chandler favored the hard boiled school of detectives. Where Woolrich relied on taking the average joe from the light into the dark, Chandler starts with shadows that open like a flower only to reveal a deeper shade of black. That is the progression in both The Blue Dahlia and Murder, My Sweet.
Murder, My Sweet (1944) RKO
ABOVE: Dick Powell & Claire Trevor in Murder, My Sweet (1944)
Directed by Edward Dmytryk
Screenplay by John Paxton based on the Novel, Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler
1hr 35min / Not Rated
CAST: Dick Powell (Philip Marlowe), Claire Trevor (Helen Grayle/Velma Valento), Anne Shirley (Ann Grayle), Otto Kruger (Jules Amthor), Mike Mazurki (Joe ‘Moose’ Malloy), Miles Mander (Leuwen Grayle), Douglas Walton (Lindsay Marriott), Donald Douglas (Police Lt. Randall), Ralf Harolde (Dr. Sonderborg), Esther Howard (Jessie Florian), Ernie Adams (Bartender at Florian’s / uncredited)
Murder, My Sweet (1944) originally carried the title of the Chandler novel it was based on, Farewell, My Lovely. Low returns at the box office prompted the studio to change the title to Murder, My Sweet, because they felt that the public may be mistaking the film for another Dick Powell musical. Powell had made his name as a song and dance man, and rightly felt it had been played out. Wanting to be cast against type, Powell was trying to change that image. The box office picked up after the change of title. The effort paid off both at the box and in good reviews, and even Raymond Chandler has called Powell his favorite Marlowe. This film is prime noir in every sense of the word, from the script and photography, to the casting and performances.
The film begins with Roy Webb’s score (the main theme of which he recycled from his score for Stranger on the Third Floor – 1940 – with great success. Stranger on the Third Floor is regarded as the first true Noir film), and then an overhead still shot of an interrogation. The credits begin as the camera slowly moves in on the still image. At the end of the credits, the camera is flooded with the light from the lamp in the still photo, and we hear the interrogator speak as the camera pulls back and the still photo comes to life.
Philip Marlow (Dick Powell) has a bandage covering his eyes (above), and is not cooperating until Lt. Randall (Donald Douglas) arrives. When Randall enters the room, Marlow finally agrees to talk and the story begins. The beginning of Marlowe’s tale includes one of the best shots in Noir. Moose (Mike Mazurki) comes into Marlowe’s office office unannounced and we see him at the same time Marlowe does, as the neon flashes on and off outside; Moose’s reflection appears in the window (below).
Moose wants Marlowe to find a girl named Velma Valento. He’s insistent and though he adds comedy relief, there is also something menacing about his presence. They banter and seeing that the very large man is not going to be discouraged (in addition the money Moose offers), Marlowe agrees to try to find Velma. They go to the bar where she used to sing before Moose went to prison, Florian’s.
“The joint looked like trouble, but that didn’t bother me. Nothing bothered me, the two twenties felt nice and snug against my appendix. I tried to picture him in love with somebody, but it didn’t work” Mike Mazurki, Dick Powell, & Ernie Adams in Murder, My Sweet (1944)
Moose manages to get into it with the bartender and they leave not knowing anymore than when they went in, but Marlowe looks up the original owner and pays her a visit. Jessie Forian (Ester Howard) is drunk, and Marlowe feeds her whiskey while trying to get information from her about Velma. This is a classic scene with as much humor as you can get away with in a Film Noir, and yet they are both playing for keeps. All Marlowe gets here is light on his whiskey and an old photo of Velma.
Esther Howard in Murder My Sweet (1944)
It isn’t until Marlowe returns to his office once again to find another visitor that things really get off to a running start. When Lindsay Marriott (Douglas Walton) shows up is when the maze begins to open. Marriott wants to hire Marlowe to accompany him on a fool’s errand. He is to meet an unknown person or persons to buy back a stolen necklace. Marlowe advises against it, but accepts the money and drives Marriot to the meeting place.
From this moment on, the tangled tale spins helter skelter, and Marlowe is hard pressed to keep up. The convoluted crisscrossing of greed and desire rivals the plot of the Maltese Falcon (1941) in its twisted intricacies.
Douglas Walton in Murder, My Sweet (1944)
Marlowe takes him to the rendezvous point and leaves him hiding in the back seat of his car. He tells him to keep his head down as he goes.
“You sit tight, I’ll go down and have a look see.”
When he returns to the car, Marlowe is hit in the head and when he comes to, a woman is looking down at him saying, “Are you all right? What happened?” but his vision is blurry and she runs off before he can fully recover. He then finds Marriott dead in the car. Marlowe returns to his office and is greeted by yet another unannounced visitor.
Ann Grayle (Anne Shirley) pretends to be a reporter looking for information. And the quick witted will recognize her from the scene where Marlowe is coming to after getting knocked out! Of course, the detective sees right through the subterfuge.
: Dick Powell in Murder, My Sweet (1944)
ABOVEand BELOW: Anne Shirley & Dick Powell in Murder, My Sweet (1944)
He questions her and gets answers that allow him to delve deeper into the widening abyss. Threating to turn her over to the police, Marlowe demands that Ann take him to see her father and step mother. This unexpectedly brings him face to face with someone that Lt. Randall mentioned and warned him about.
The meeting between the Grayles and Marlowe enlightens him less about what exactly is going on than it does about Helen Grayle (Claire Trevor). She openly flirts with him once her husband retires for the evening. Even when caught on the sofa slowly moving toward Marlowe by her step-daughter she is glib, “Strange girl,” is her only comment.
Miles Mander, Claire Trevor, Anne Shirley, Dick Powell, & Otto Kruger in Murder, My Sweet (1944)
The conversation he has with Jules Amthor (Otto Kruger) is civil but icy. Kruger is in top form as he exudes evil with a smile. Only in Hitchcocks’s Saboteur was he more sinister. Marlowe brushes by him with a hint that they’ll be seeing each other soon.
Claire Trevor, Dick Powell, Bernice-Ahi, & Anne Shirley in Murder, My Sweet (1944)
Marlowe’s at home and in the middle of cleaning himself up when Helen shows up and suggests going out to dinner. Marlowe accepts and they go to the Coconut Beach club and she quickly vanishes, but Marlowe finds Ann there and she is trying to buy him off the case. Then Moose shows up and things go down hill from as he is taken to “meet someone” in true noir fashion.
Guns, pistol whipping, and even drugs and hallucinations take the main stage as the plot unwinds like a crazy three armed sweater. There is a drunk sequence in a noir called Moontide (1942) that has visuals that may have influence Murder, My Sweet and in part along with Murder, My Sweet influenced Alfred Hitchcock in the making of similar sequences in Spellbound and Vertigo. What is certain is that Salvador Dali did the design on the sequence in Moontide. Dali was also hired by Hitchcock for Spellbound. Take a look at the video’s below and let me know what you think in the comments section below.
The drunk scene in Moontide was done by Salvador Dali who was in the art department. He was the nightmare sequence designer / set designer. This was a Fritz Lang project, but Lang was taken off the picture and replaced by Archie Mayo. Mayo had a reputation for not getting along with actors and being difficult. It is safe to say that this effort would have been better if Lang had finished the project.
Dali was again in the Art Department on Hitchcock’s Spellbound, and the dream sequence was based on designs by Salvador Dali.
The sequence in Murder, My Sweet is not exactly like any of the other sequences, but like Moontide has a connection to the films that followed in the general similarity of the work. Perhaps the best of all of these is the sequence in Vertigo. I may be biased because it is one of my favorite films, but take a look and let me know what you think.
You have either seen Murder, My Sweet and know what happens next, but will want to re-watch it, or you have never seen it and your curiosity will have the DVD, Blu-Ray, or streaming ordered before you get up from your chair. Trust me, any way you view it, you will be delighted by this perfect Film Noir.
Facts, Rumors, & Hearsay
RKO realized a profit of $597,000 ($8.5 M in 2018). This was not the first time the studio had been saved by a so called B film. (See Producers & Directors Series 1Val Lewton in F&TVR’s ARCHIVES: JULY 2018.)
As a result of the film’s success, plans to star Dick Powell in a series of musicals was abandoned and he was cast in more detective and action films.
To make Mike Mazurki even more frightening, Edward Dmytryk had the sets designed with slanted ceilings in order force the perspective. As Mazurki walked closer to the camera, an illusion on being even taller is created.
The Blue Dahlia (1946) Paramount
William Bendix, Hugh Beaumont, & Alan Ladd in The Blue Dahlia
Directed by George Marshall
Screenplay by Raymond Chandler
1hr 36 min / Not Rated
CAST: Alan Ladd (Johnny Morrison), Veronica Lake (Joyce Harwood), William Bendix (Buzz Wanchek), Howard Da Silva (Eddie Harwood), Doris Dowling (Helen Morrison), Tom Powers (Capt. Hendrickson), Hugh Beaumont ( George Copeland), Howard Freeman (Corelli), Don Costello (Leo), Will Wright (‘Dad’ Newell), Frank Faylen (Man Recommending a Motel), and Walter Sande (Heath).
The screenplay by Raymond Chandler begins with an economical prelude that manages in short hand to lay out the personalities and issues of the three soldiers on their return from service in the South Pacific during the Second World War. Getting off a bus marked, HOLLYWOOD they go into the first bar they see. The writing and the editing work in tandem throughout the film, moving the story and building suspense with a silky grace studded with prime Noir dialogue.
Buzz (William Bendix) is annoyed by the loud music from the juke box due to shell shock and the metal plate in his head. An exchange between him and the G.I. pumping coins into the juke escalates until the proprietor is ready to throw them out. William Bendix gives one of the best performance of his long career. He also appeared in a number of other Film Noir productions: The Dark Corner (1946), Cover Up (1949), The Big Steal (1949), and Detective Story (1951).
Hugh Beaumont is also well cast as the fellow airman who is an attorney and a good friend. He tries to reign in the afflicted Buzz and give Johnny (Alan Ladd) breathing room as his friend faces the reality of his tragically shattered home life. Beaumont’s cool and underplayed George is a perfect fit. Beaumont appeared in several other Film Noir productions: Apology for Murder (1945), Bury Me Dead (1947), and Johnny O’Clock (1947). He and Bendix work well off of one another, Beaumont as the well adjusted and methodic attorney, and Bendix as a shell shocked and brain damaged hot head.
Johnny’s wife, Helen (Doris Dowling) hasn’t written to him for some time while he was on duty. He does not know what he is going home to, but it is worse than he could have imagined. In a heated argument, he walks out into the pouring rain not knowing what to do and meets Joyce (Veronica Lake) when she offers him a ride. Meanwhile, Helen, unable to reach her lover, Eddie Harwood, calls the number that Johnny wrote down when Buzz called him. She is looking for someone to help her find Johnny. Buzz answers the phone and promises her that he will bring Johnny back even if he has to, “…frog march him.”
Doris Dowling & William Bendix in The Blue Dahlia
Dowling gives a performance that walks a tight rope between the damaged woman that has lost a child and the person that she must have been before the tragedy. In her exchanges with Buzz, that woman is briefly exposed, but when she interacts with her husband Johnny, or her lover Eddy she can’t be that woman and she reverts to the hard, paranoid woman who killed her child. The pathos is underlined by her innate good nature. Although she has less screen time than the other characters, she makes a strong impression that underscores Johnny’s sense of loss. This woman that she can no longer be with him because she cannot forgive herself, but is at ease for a few fleeting moments in the bar with Buzz. This is my favorite scene in the film because it displays her skill as an actress and quickly illuminates her character. Having met her in the bar, Buzz is not aware that the woman he is with is Helen. He is confused when she asks him to come to her rooms. She is not aware that he has come to see her either, because they don’t introduce themselves.
He is surprised that she lives in the complex but decides to join her to get out of the rain. He accompanies her and they go to her apartment. While Buzz is there, Helen calls Eddie (Howard Da Silva) and her angry persona returns as she tells him that she isn’t going to be dumped twice in one night.
He tells her he’ll be there in half an hour. We don’t see Buzz with her, but he is in the apartment when she makes the call. What we do see is Marlowe being picked up by Joyce in the rain. When we next see Buzz, he comes through the door of the apartment he and George are renting and he is soaking wet. When George asks him where he’s been, he only replies, “Out.” Next shot we see Eddie leaving Helen’s apartment in the rain. We note that house detective sees him leaving. Meanwhile, Johnny and Joyce are getting along very well. So well in fact that Joyce is having difficulty parting with her new friend. The next thing that happens is that Helen is found dead. She has been shot, and it looks bad for Buzz! This is one of the best examples of vintage Noir casting and story telling. All of the performances are noteworthy with stand outs among the supporting cast including Doris Dowling, Will Wright, and Howard Da Silva.
Facts, Rumors, & Heresay
Veronica Lake was given the part opposite Alan Ladd in part due to her petite stature of 4’11”. Since Ladd was only 5’6″, this meant easier filming because they would not have to make him look taller in their scenes together. They did however have that problem with Doris Dowling, but it was not as much of an issue with Ladd because they had fewer scenes together.
This was Raymond Chandler’s first original screenplay.
Chandler has claimed that he directed some of the scenes himself.
Lana Turner, Spencer Tracy & Ingrid Bergman in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ( 1941)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) MGM
Directed by Victor Fleming
Screenplay by John Lee Mahin based on the Novella by Robert Louis Stevenson
CAST: Spencer Tracy (Dr. Harry Jekyll / Mr. Hyde), Ingrid Bergman (Ivy Peterson), Lana Turner (Beatrix Emery), Donald Crisp (Sir Charles Emery), Ian Hunter (Dr. John Lanyon).
1hr 53min / Not Rated
Not the best known version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but certainly one of the most interesting due mainly to the stars; Victor Fleming’s production of Stevenson’s tale about science gone wrong and the ensuing madness has a dream cast headed up by Spencer Tracy who is supported by Lana Turner and Ingrid Bergman. Although she was the quintessential Sweater Girl, Lana Turner was much more than just another pretty face. One only need to see her paced performance in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to realize that she was also a gifted actress.
The roles were originally cast in reverse, but Ingrid Bergman knew better and suggested the role reversal with great success. Not only did Bergman’s performance suit the part of Ivy, but Turner was the ultimate beauty in a doomed relationship. It is perplexing to realize that at the time of its release, the film floundered at the box office. In addition, Ingrid Bergman felt that she was miscast even after making the switch from Beatrice to Ivy, and on viewing the film, Spencer Tracy thought his career was over.
Lana Turner & Spencer Tracy in Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941), Miriam Hopkins & Fredrick Marchin Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931).
Spencer Tracy may have been carrying the load of the critical attacks and it is even rumored that while visiting the set of the film, W. Somerset Maugham snidely commented, “Which one is he now, Jekyll or Hyde?” The New York Times review was merciless, calling Tracy’s Performance, “…more ludicrous than dreadful.” It is all the more a conundrum due to the simple fact that the performances are what carry this version and make it viewable today.
It should be said that the film is less based on Stevenson’s novel than on the script of the 1931 production that starred Fredrick March, Miriam Hopkins (in Ingrid Bergman’s role), and Ros Hobart (in Lana Turner’s role). Directed by Rouben Mamoulian and unrestrained by the Hayes Code, the earlier version is more of a horror film with a stronger sexual emphasis. Changes had to be made in the 1941 version due to the Hayes Office. Fleming’s film was more of a phycological drama than a horror film, and the sexuality had to be muted to avoid issues with the Code.
Frederick March was in much more make-up and his interpretation more animalistic than Tracy’s, which relied heavily on his acting and light make-up only. Some have criticized this portrayal as over the top, but it is subtlety modulated, and his personality change is severe and believable in both roles. When Hyde grins in the face of his victim’s discomfort, it is unsettling as we feel we can imagine his sinister thoughts. We know we are seeing evil without motivation; it is evil for its own sake. When he trips the waiter after tipping him, our chagrin is genuine.
Spencer Tracy & Lana Turner in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)
Turner as Jekyll’s fiancé, Beatrix is both beautiful and demure in a role that she underplays with great success. Bergman is Ivy, a bartender in a music hall who meets Dr. Jekyll by way of being rescued as she is attacked on her walk home from the music hall. Presumably dickering over cost with a prospective john (but that is only what you might imagine due to the Hayes Code having caused the roll to be changed from prostitute to barmaid). Dr. Jekyll and his colleague, Dr. John Lanyon (Ian Hunter) come to her defense and although she’s not hurt, she pretends injury, and the good doctor gallantly accompanies her to her room. She flirts with him as he puts her to bed. Of course, he knows that she is not really hurt at all, but too much of a gentleman to mention it. A good man, he is really trying to resist her wiles (Bergman is wonderful in the role) and his friend knocks just in time to save the him from himself.
Spencer Tracy & Ingrid Bergman in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)
He is saved from his evil side, but the memory will lurk in the darkness of his soul until his formula brings it to life in the mind of Mr. Hyde. Hyde quickly finds her and begins a relationship of mental terror and torment. Meanwhile, his fiancé is on a short vacation with her father, who does not approve of Dr. Jekyll’s research. Jekyll becomes more and more involved as Hyde in the torment of Ivy than with his research. He even neglects writing to his fiancé as his good side also become obsessed. Suspension of disbelief is strained as Ivy does not recognize Jekyll in the form of Hyde. Or does she suspect it on some level? Whatever the explanation, the cast in this film is formidable, and Lana Turner as Ivy is caught in a triangle that is doomed to the horror of the evil unleashed by science and nurtured by temptation.
Spencer Tracy & Ingrid Bergman in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)
Facts, Rumors & Hearsay
Spencer Tracy arrived at Clark Gable and Carole Lombard’s second wedding anniversary party wearing his make up as Mr Hyde.
Spencer Tracy wanted a realistic approach to the story. He envisioned Dr. Jekyll committing heinous deeds in a part of the city where he was not known, perhaps drunk or high on drugs. He was let down by the producers, who bought the screenplay for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931), and insisted on remaking that version. Tracy may have wished to have the story closer to the source: Stevenson’s novella mentions no female love interest for either Jekyll or Hyde.
Director Victor Fleming is said to have slapped both Ingrid Bergman and Lana Turner in scenes where tears were required, and with Turner even resorted to arm twisting!
The original pronunciation of the name Jekyll is jee-kle. In this movie it is pronounced jeh-kle which stuck as the popular pronunciation of the doctor’s name.
Other Films Based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s Gothic Novella
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920) Silent Directed by John S. Robertson Screenplay by Clara S. Beranger based on Novella by Robert Louis Stevenson CAST: John Barrymore, Martha Mansfield, Nita Naldi, and Brndon Hurst
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1960) AKA The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll Directed by Terence Fisher Screenplay by Wolf Mankowitz CAST: Paul Massie, Dawn Addams, and Christopher Lee
Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971) Directed by Roy Ward Baker Screenplay by Brian Clemens based on Novella by Robert Louis Stevenson CAST: Ralph Bates, Martine Beswick, and Gerald Sim
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1973) TV Movie Directed by David Winters Screenplay by Sherman Yellen based on Novella by Robert Louis Stevenson CAST: Kirk Douglas, Susan George, Stanley Holloway, Donald Pleasence, and Michael Redgrave
Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde (1995) Directed by David Price Story by David Price, Screenplay by Tim John & Oliver Bucher and William Davies & William Osborne suggested by the Novella by Robert Louis Stevenson CAST: Sean Young, Tim Daly, Lysette Anthony, Harvey Fierstein, and Thea Vidale
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (2003) Directed by Maurice Phillips Screenplay by Martyn Hesfor based on Novella by Robert Louis Stevenson CAST: John Hannah, David Warner, and Gerard Horan
Written by Joseph Stefano based on the Novel by Robert Bloch
CAST: Anthony Perkins (Norman Bates), Janet Leigh (Marion Crane), John Gavin (Sam Loomis), Vera Miles (Lila Crane), Martin Balsam (Detective Milton Arbogast), Vaughn Taylor (George Lowery), Frank Albertson (Tom Cassidy), John McIntire ( Sheriff Al Chambers), Patricia Hitchcock (Caroline), John Anderson (California Charlie), Mort Mills (Highway Patrol Officer).
1hr 49min / Rated R
Part 4:The Investigation
After Marion’s disappearance, her sister arrives at Sam Loomis’ store only moments before the arrival of a private investigator. Detective Milton Arbogast is sarcastically officious to the point of rudeness. Sam demands an explanation to the questions that he’s being asked, and the answers he receives mystify him. There is no question that he is telling the truth when he denies knowing anything about Marion and the forty-thousand dollars. Sam’s innocence, along with Lila’s confusion slowly brings the abrasive Arbogast around, but he has to satisfy his own suspicions first.
Arbogast sets out checking one motel after another until he finally stumbles onto the out of the way motel run by Norman Bates. His questioning of Norman starts off slowly, but it isn’t long before Arbogast’s aggressive insistence escalates Norman’s uneasiness and causes him to stumble and give the detective an answer that contradicts one of his previous responses. He is no match for the practiced detective, and Norman’s nerves unravel undermining his concentration to the point of mentioning his mother. He then refuses to continue the conversation and let’s Arbogast know he is no longer willing to speak to him. The sometimes subtle, sometimes sudden changes in mood and personality that Perkins brings to the character of Norman Bates rises to a level that makes it difficult for the viewer not to emphasize with him.
Arbogast leaves the motel and goes to a phone booth and calls Lila. He tells her that he is sure that Marion was at the Bates Motel, but feels that something is not right. Although Norman says she left the next morning, he thinks maybe Norman’s mother knows something that could help them locate Marion. He advises Lila that he is going back to try to speak to the mother. He also tells her that he believes that Sam did not know that Marion had come to see him. He assures her that he won’t be more than a hour. Up to this point, Arbogast has annoyed the viewer almost as much as he did Sam, Lila, and Norman, but when he talks to Lila he seems a different person, kind and comforting. Like the shot of him talking to Norman as his back is reflected in the mirror, it is a reverse reflection of what we see as he grills Norman. One more clue to the paradox that is being unfolded.
Much has been written about Hitchcock’s use of mirrors in Psycho to reflect the idea of a split personality. It is a reflection of Arbogast’s back because he is an unknown, like Norman. We don’t know what to think of him at this point. Arbogast’s is the most telling because the change in his personality is shown and happens right before the second murder.
Returning to the motel, he does not see any sign of Norman. He goes into the house. He starts up the stairs slowly. When he gets to the top of the landing we are startled as Mrs. Bates appears suddenly and stabs him violently. Arbogast staggers backward down the staircase and is followed by the deranged old woman. The scene culminates in a continuation of the vicious stabbing. Like the shower scene, this comes out of nowhere and the shock sends us reeling as we watch helplessly.
Back at Sam Loomis’ store, Lila begins to worry after more than two hours passes and there is no sign of Arbogast. She is convinced that something must have happened to the detective or they would have heard from him. They go to see the Sheriff at his home in the middle of the night, and in the course of trying to convince the Sheriff and his wife that there is something amiss are informed that Mrs. Bates has been dead for ten years. They are more confused than ever as their investigation enters its final stage. They decide to see for themselves what is going on at the Bates Motel.
The next day after seeing the sheriff and his wife at church, they drive to the motel and pretend that they are a married couple wanting to rent a cabin. Lila decides that she wants to go into the house to talk to Norman’s mother. Once they are sure Norman has returned to the house, they go to cabin 1 and examine it. Finding the scrap of paper in the toilet, Lila sees as proof that Marion has been there. Sam reminds her that Norman has never denied that Marion was there. Lila believes that the figures on the paper prove that her sister was going to return the money. It is then that Lila decides to try to find and talk to the old woman. She suggests that Sam be the decoy and she go to the house.
The plan is for Sam to keep Norman busy talking. This turns out to be more difficult than expected. Sam’s questions anger and then bore him. After the ordeal with Arbogast, Norman grows impatient quickly and realizes that he’s being stalled. Hitting Sam in the head with a heavy vase, he then runs to the house.
Lila has been investigating the house. She goes up the stairs to the mother’s room, but finds it empty except for her own reflections in the mirrors that startle her. She is only further confused by what she finds in the empty room. She then heads down stairs and is in the entryway just as Norman is coming up the stairs, and she runs and hides behind the stair case. She sees him come in as she hides in the little stairwell that leads down to the fruit cellar doors. Bates looks in that direction, but chooses to run up the stairs. Of course, he thinks, she’s gone to mother’s room.
Meanwhile, Lila goes down the stairs, unable to resist the lure of the beckoning doors of the fruit cellar. Coming through the door, she immediately sees Norman’s mother sitting with her back to the door as if asleep in the chair. Saying, “Mrs. Bates,” she walks toward her. Then she gently touches the woman’s shoulder, but instead of a response the chair slowly turns to reveal a hideous cadaver and Lila screams. Her up swung hand hits a hanging light as Norman bursts through the door wearing a wig and his mother’s clothes and is closely followed by Sam. Sam grabs and restrains him.
Denouement
This is the only place Psycho falters. It is a scene that has been inserted solely to explain what happened. Aside from being unnecessary, it is clumsy and serves only to pull the audience out of the spell that the film has so carefully cast. The explanation that the psychiatrist gives is overblown and his presentation is both hammy and stagey. All this is moot, because Hitchcock only included it because he had to due to executive pressure. In spite of bringing the incredible flow of the narrative to a jolting halt, it is not enough to ruin the film. Even the noted Hitchcock scholar, Donald Spoto only has this to say about this scene in his excellent, The Art of Alfred Hitchcock:
“The verbal explanation offered later by the psychiatrist at the courthouse adds nothing more…(than what is seen in the last shot as Sam restrains Norman)…The attempt to provide neat psychoanalytic maps to the contours of Norman’s twisted mind seems jejune.”
Donald Spoto The Art of Alfred Hitchcock: Fifty Years of His Motion Pictures
Spoto calls it boring. He was being kind. I would like to see a director’s cut with the scene eradicated from the film. Then the film would end like this…
then to here..
and finally…
The Film Score
No other film score has had such an impact on its audience. It is impossible to imagine Psycho without Bernard Herrmann’s score. The two are joined as with no other film and score. The ‘all strings’ choice that Herrmann made was so perfect for the subject and theme of the film that it is as important as all of the other elements combined. Though partly necessitated by budget limitations: he created a score for what is essentially a low budget black and white film that transcends its limitations in part due to the magnificent score. Herrmann called it a ‘black and white’ score which is perfect, because the sound so reflects what is happening on the screen that just hearing the music takes the listener back to the scenes as they flash in the mind as if projected on the air. In this case, the freedom Hitchcock gave the composer did have a immense impact on the finished film. Herrmann has said that director’s don’t know music and that Hitchcock wanted a ‘jazz score’ with no music in the famous shower scene but Herrmann knew better and had written a piece for that key scene instinctively. When Hitchcock finally admitted that the scene did need music, Herrmann had just what the director desired. Hitchcock reinforced the importance of this when he doubled Herrmann’s fee for the film. See Note by Note: Bernard Herrmann (F&TVRArchives/September) for more on Herrmann’s film scores.
F&TVR is proud to have as a contributor, John Harbourne whose art speaks for itself, below he explains how he works:
“When I’m approaching a new drawing I’ll watch the film a few times, make sketches, read the source novel and research online, looking for that angle that will give me the essence of the story.“John Harbourne from his site: https://johnharbourneartist.com
Facts, Rumors & Hearsay
Alfred Hitchcock doubled Barnard Herrmann’s salary to $34,501. Hitchcock later said, “Thirty-three percent of the effect of Psycho was due to the music.”
Bernard Herrmann has said, “Alfred Hitchcock only finishes a picture 60 percent, I have to finish it for him.”
The shower scene made Janet Leigh realize how vulnerable a woman was in a shower. To the end of her life, she always took baths.
Hitchcock received an angry letter from a man whose daughter stopped taking baths after seeing Diabolique (1955), and now was refusing to take showers after seeing Psycho. Hitchcock responded with a letter saying, “Send her to the dry cleaners.”
To enhance the voyeuristic feel of the film Hitchcock used a 50 mm lens on his 35 mm camera which most closely approximates human vision. In the scenes where Norman is spying on Marion, this effect is realized.
Still one of the most fully realized of all of the superhero films, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man is flawless, from the casting, to the dynamic between Peter Parker and his Aunt and Uncle, to the fumbling of the teen-age love triangle. All the leads are a spot on and Raimi doesn’t miss a trick as he brings Lee and Ditko’s amazing creation to life. David Koepp’s script is well developed and retains the spirit of the origin of Spider-Man while deepening the pathos and humor. It is as though we are looking into Stan Lee’s mind as he re-imagines the story in the 21st century. So much of what he wrote in the 1960’s blossoms on the screen with all of the power of his imagination as envisioned through Sam Raimi’s eyes.
Kirsten Dunst & Tobey Maguire in Spider-Man (2002)
Toby Maguire makes the perfect Peter Parker with his self effacing demeanor and stubborn resolve. James Franco is the ideal counterpoint with his over confident swagger and questionable morals. They are opposites except in their attraction to the same girl and together, they weave Mary Jane into a web that binds them in their inarticulateness. Kirsten Dunst underplays Mary Jane; her pauses are well timed as she tries to figure out what it is about Spider-Man that so strongly attracts her while Peter remains an enigma.
James Franco & Willem Defoe in Spider-Man (2002)
Willem Defoe’s performance is powerful in both roles of Norman Osborne/Green Goblin as he slowly looses his mind under all the pressure of his business disintegrating.
Cliff Roberson, Rosemary Harris, & J.K. Simmons in Spider-Man (2002)
Cliff Robertson & Rosemary Harris fully embody Peter’s Aunt & Uncle with seemingly effortless performances that are stand outs as supporting roles. J.K. Simmons was born to play J. Jonah Jameson and runs with it. Of course Bruce Campbell shows up to give us some comic relief as Peter tries to win money to buy a car so he can impress M.J. Everything goes wrong from that point on.
Tobey Maguire & Bruce Campbell in Spider-Man (2002)
There are a number of wonderful scenes in this movie and the kiss in the rain is among the great screen kisses. Spider-Man is and has long been one of Stan Lee’s most popular creations. This film brought his web slinger to an even wider audience by bringing it to life as it was imagined by so many of the readers of the early comic books. Spider-Man’s continuing popularity stems from the way that Stan Lee imagined the character right from the start. It was an interesting concept because it was unique among costumed heroes of the time.
Quite simply, Lee found a way to make the conventional super-hero sidekick the lead. It was a character that young readers could truly identify with, and that is what the readers responded to. In their wonderful book, The Comic Book Heroes (Prima, 1997) Gerard Jones and Will Jacobs call the chapter on Spider-Man, “The Hero Who Could Be You”. In the chapter they use the debut of Spider-Man in Amazing Fantasy # 15 (August, 1962) from which the first film draws heavily and describes the character as:
“Here was a solo hero, not a kid sidekick or a team member, who was really a teenager, and a teenager who wasn’t happy-go-lucky or goofily cute but truly complex and tormented.”
And:
“His first thoughts were of money and glory. Here was a believably ambivalent hero, who grew into his superheroic role by way of his personal life.”
Gerard Jones & Will Jacobs, The Comic Book Heroes (Prima, 1997)
Peter Parker was redefining the role of the hero behind the mask and became more believable than most of the existing characters and by extension so was Spider-Man. Young readers (and some not so young) were soon clamoring for more. Stan’s universe was in its infancy and there was so much more to come, but Spider-Man was destined to lead the way.
Like much of comic book history, the actual process in creating the character depends on who you ask, but according to Jones & Jacobs it was a collaboration between Lee and his two top artists, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. Lee felt that Kirby’s interpretation of the character made Spider-Man too noble which is not what Lee had in mind. Ditko’s more unusual style better suited the fledging hero and the stories that Lee had to tell. It was this decision by Lee and the follow-up, which were the first stories, that began the odyssey of the friendly, neighborhood Spider-Man.
Stan Lee’s cameo in Spider-Man (2002)
Facts, Rumors & Hearsay
Spider-Man was the first Marvel movie to showcase the riffling pages Marvel logo.
Tobey Maguire had a problem in the now-famous upside-down kissing scene: his sinuses kept filling up with water from the downpour.
Peter’s costume designs were drawn by Phil Jimenez, who was artist on DC’s Wonder Woman at the time.
The Daily Bugle newspaper building in the film is actually the Flatiron building, a famous Manhattan landmark that was built in 1902.
