Behind the scenes with Rathbone and Karloff

Please, do tell me what you think of the new blog design! I wanted some change, I think it works.

Anyway, I was "cruisin' the net" for Basil Rathbone pictures for a desktop wallpaper for myself (don't you all do that on your spare time?), when I found quite a few adorable behind-the-scenes photos. Since it was all too long ago since I even mentioned my eternal Rathbone love, why not share some of them with you?

Basil Rathbone being Peeping Tom on Olivia De Havilland.

I believe this is the first picture I've ever seen of Rathbone and a bikini broad!

If I was Veda Ann Borg sharing a couch with Rathbone on the set of Confession (1937), I would just... No wait, children may be reading this.

Basil Rathbone dancing with Marlene Dietrich, with David O. Selznick and wife behind them.

Isn't that cute? Rathbone kissing Dietrich.

That's "bromance", for you! Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Vincent Price and Peter Lorre sneaking up on them from behind.

I don't know who the guy to the left is, but I laughed out loud when I saw Karloff on monster make up with a cigarette in his mouth.

Poor quality on this photo, but I hadn't seen it before. Nancy Sinatra greets Karloff and Rathbone. Warning: Do not watch any recent photos of Nancy, if you don't want to have horrible nightmares. (Why can't women age with pride anymore? Why?)

Yes, Boris Karloff in drag. Obviously from the TV show "The Girl from U.N.C.L.E" (1966), with April Dancer (Stephanie Powers) to the left and Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn) to the right. Karloff played the evil mastermind "Mother Muffin". That's just lovely.

Drooling over here.

Yeah... I'm not drooling any more. Can anyone explain this photo to me?

Not a behind the scene photo, but a screenshot from The Masked Bride (1925) with Rathbone as Antoine, obviously trying to seduce Mae Murray. Why haven't I seen this film?

Horrific and Humurous birthday children

Born exactly one year apart, and complete opposite silver screen personas: Happy birthday to Boris Karloff and Harpo Marx!

Don't you just love Al Hirschfeld's caricatures?

Bela-thon: pt 1

In honor of one of the most iconic actor of the Universal horror era, Bela Lugosi, I have watched a handful of his coolest performances in order to write some brief reviews of those films.

The Romanian actor was born in what was then Austria-Hungary in a town called Lugos. His was born 20 October, 1882, with the incredible name combination Béla Ferenc Dezsõ Blaskó. (I dare you to pronounce it!) He obviously took his stage name from the name of his home town.

He began his career on the stage in 1901 and fought in WWI, being wounded three times. He had to flee to Germany in 1919 after having organized a left-wing actors' union. Next year he emigrated to America and continued his career as a character actor. His breakthrough came with his interpretation of Bram Stoker's Count Dracula on Broadway in 1927 (running for three years), and even more so with Tod Browning's film adaption of the novel in 1931.

Unfortunately Lugosi's career quickly declined; partly because of his habit of taking on any role offered to him, partly because of rivalry with other successful Universal actors like Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney Jr. His performances were still magical though, they were just not as appreciated as before. Before his death in 1956 he had become a forgotten drug addicted actor, only appreciated by the legendary B-director (or even C-director?) Edward D. Wood Jr. He had been married five times, and was buried dressed in his original Dracula cape.

On the very day of his birth 127 years ago I post three of my intended six Bela Lugosi film reviews: The Black Cat (1934), The Mystery of the Mary Celeste (1935) and The Raven (1935).

The Black Cat

Director: Edgar G. Ulmer

USA 1934

65 min

Starring: Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, David Manners, Julie Bishop, Egon Brecher and Lucille Lund, among others.


This is a typical example of earning money of a famous title, but not having anything to do with the original - in this case a tale by Edgar Allan Poe. (Notice that his name is misspelled on the poster above!) The only thing reminiscent of the original tale is the black cat as a symbol to forebode danger or bad luck.

What The Black Cat is not a typical example of is a 1930's horror film. If you have seen Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1920), you will agree with me on a striking visual resemblance between the two. German expressionism influenced Hollywood during the 1920's and 1930's, and the Art Deco sets here are a great example.

Okay, that didn't explain my statement of The Black Cat not being a typical Universal horror film. What makes it different is the insane plot, its insane characters and daring pre-code ingredients like satanism and necrophilia.

The two typical horror actors Lugosi and Karloff do not have typical roles, and they seem to enjoy their characterizations; Karloff shines as the madman Hjalmar Poelzig and Lugosi fascinates as revenge seeking Dr. Vitus Verdegast, all the way from the first scene in the train cabin to his unusual fate in the last one.

I won't clear up the plot for you, it's not interesting. The visual elements are - sets, lighting, camera angles, shadows. The actors are - Karloff, Lugosi, the weird servant and the only sane people in the movie: the newly weds staying at Poelzig's house after a car accident. Just watch it, if you haven't.

Hjalmar Poelzig: The phone is dead. Do you hear that, Vitus? Even the phone is dead.

The Mystery of the Mary Celeste aka The Phantom Ship

Director: Denis Clift

USA 1935

80 min

Starring: Bela Lugosi, Shirley Grey, Arthur Margetson, Edmund Willard and Dennis Hoey, among others.

On board the Mary Celeste the crew, thrown together in the last minute, realize that there is a murderer among them - killing them off one by one. Based on a true story.

The idea for the film is great, but the result was a pretty mediocre mystery film which is mostly entertaining for only two reasons: a brilliant Bela Lugosi as an old drunkard and the crew's jolly songs, the Whiskey song being my favorite. I had to keep myself from clapping my hands.

Aside from the film being an early Hammer production with a lot of unknown and bad actors, and therefore not surprisingly isn't of the best quality, there is one thing that bothered me. Bela Lugosi is the only famous name in the cast list - I just wonder who the murderer is...? I bet he will go on playing a drunk old man who likes to feed the black cat on board (yes, he brought along a black cat).

The boring leading man and the leading lady with a horrible singing voice. Seriously, buy ear plugs if you are going to watch this film.

I bet this film would be much better if the censor scissors hadn't gotten their way with it. We barely see the murders being committed, there are many brutal cuts (the director must have cried blood) - and there supposedly is a twist ending that got removed from the final print. Lugosi is even dubbed in one scene explaining the escape of two of the crew members (sorry, I spoiled something you probably had figured out by just looking at the poster), obviously a desperate attempt to change the ending of the film in the last minute.

Perhaps another print will be found in some vault somewhere? I would love to see that. The existing print is - I said it before, and I will say it again - mediocre.

The Raven

Director: Lew Landers

USA 1935

61 min

Starring: Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Lester Matthews, Irene Ware and Samuel S. Hinds, among others.

The Raven and The Black Cat have a lot of things in common. The most obvious thing is the Poe title and the two main actors, but also the fact that there are innocent people finding themselves imprisoned in a weird house. But this time the story has a little more to do with Poe.

Lugosi plays Dr. Richard Vollin, who is obsessed with Edgar Allan Poe's writing, and especially the torture devises we wrote about. Karloff is a man who has escaped from jail and wants to undergo plastic surgery to change his appearance. Vollin disfigures him on purpose, with the promise to fix him if he helps him with something horrible.

Vollin has fallen in love, in the way mentally unstable persons do, with a woman he saved the life of after a car accident. (The lady in question is played by the beautiful Irene Ware.) He invites her, her fiancée, her father Thatcher who resents Vollin's interest in his daughter (I can't understand why!) and some other guest to his mansion to stay the night, only for them to end up in a hidden torture chamber in his cellar.

This is one of the few roles where Lugosi got a really good chance to show off his acting skills, and I think his interpretation of Dr. Vollin influenced a lot of the now cliché mad doctors in many horror films yet to come.

Vollin: A knife.

Thatcher: What's it doing?

Vollin: Descending.

Thatcher: What are you trying to do to me?

Vollin: Torture you.

Stay tuned for White Zombie (1932), Son of Frankenstein (1939), and Glen or Glenda (1953)!

Tower of London (1939)

Tower of London

Director: Rowland V. Lee

USA 1939

92 min

Starring: Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Ian Hunter, Vincent Price, Barbara O'Neil and Ralph Forbes, among others.

Tower of London is an interesting film for several reasons. A) It's a good compilation of London's royal history and (mostly) myths, B) There are a heck of a lot of great actors, and C) The story is wildly entertaining, the action caught by a professional camera man. The fact that there are a lot of real life characters and historical facts (take that as you like - old myths and rumors are a kind of history too) is another great aspect of the film.

Sure, it's not perfect. As good as all actors are slightly overacting: rubbing their hands while making evil plans, villainous laughter in empty rooms and a young couple in love saying cheesy things like "Oh, my love! If only the King would allow us to get married!". But in a film like this, that only adds to the entertainment value. Except for Barbara O'Neil as King Richard IV's spouse, Queen Elizabeth Woodville. She is just terrible - repeatedly wide-open eyes staring in terror into the camera. Yuck. And I can't understand how Henry Tudor after several hours of torture still looks so clean? I need to know what kind of conditioner he uses.

As is the general opinion of the world, London has a filthy and bloody history behind its royal throne. Tower of London picks one of the most treacherous and evil parts of its history, where everyone in the game are able to commit any crime to be the ruler of England.

Our main character, and the one who's side you're probably on, is Richard, Duke of Gloucester (Rathbone with a most laughable fringe). He is the brother and right hand of King Edward IV (unibrow Ian Hunter), but his most faithful companion is the clubfoot Mord (Karloff) who is in command of the torture chamber. (Quite ironically, "mord" is the Swedish word for "murder".) Richard's goal is, of course, to become the King of England. But unfortunately there are persons ahead of him in succession of the throne, and must therefore be eliminated.

I won't reveal too much of the storyline (don't skip history classes), but it's a mish-mash of plotting, marrying, killing and even more plotting. The main theme is The Duke of Gloucester's plan to get to the throne - and after each murder he destroys a miniature doll of the victim he keeps in a little doll house. See film clip below.

Scene: Early in the film we witness an execution, something the filthy Londoners of course think of as everyday entertainment. The victim is Lord Devere, and who plays him? Basil Rathbone's own son, Rodion Rathbone (credited as John Rodion)! He had come to America in the late 1930's to improve his relationship with his father, and obviously jumped on the occasion to be in one of his father's movies. (He only appeared in two motion pictures.) With these facts in mind, it makes it even more bizarre to watch The Duke of Gloucester's pleased smile while seeing his son's head roll, don't you think?

And how lovely isn't the sentimental scene with Rathbone and Karloff?

Scene: I also cut out a short scene that entertained me a lot. The three brothers discuss private matters in a little room: King Edward IV (Hunter), George, Duke of Clarence (Price) and Richard, Duke of Gloucester (Rathbone). They are all excellent actors, especially Ian Hunter, in my opinion. We see a 28 year old Vincent Price in his third screen appearance ever, a very flattering role.

All in all, this is that kind of a movie you wish you grew up with. I always love to see a Basil Rathbone film I haven't seen before, and I was far away from disappointment - my favorite naughty parts of the British history were here - the disappearance of the two boy princes, and a fatal amount of wine in a barrel. I need to have this film on DVD, that's for sure.

No to some irrelevant stuff:

I usually find it entertaining when watching movies with real life characters in them, to look up how alike the actors are the original persons. I often get surprised at the effort put into their appearances, because the similarities are often obvious. I give you some examples below, and tell me what you think! (Unfortunately Mord was a made-up character. The only thing about the film that I'm disappointed with.)

Basil Rathbone vs. Duke of Gloucester, later Richard III of England:

Ian Hunter vs. Edward IV of England:

Vincent Price vs. Duke of Clarence:

Barbara O'Neil vs. Queen Elizabeth Woodville:

Ralph Forbes vs. Henry Tudor, later Henry VII of England:

And finally, Princes Edward and Richard aka "Princes in the Tower":

To finish this off, I will include a drooling Vincent Price from one of my favorite scenes - the drinking to death game between Duke of Clarence and Duke of Gloucester.

Lovely.

A journey from despair to hysteria

Just let me sleep it off...

Some movie recommendations from Elizabeth [Oh By Jingo! Oh By Gee!] caused me an emotional roller coaster yesterday. I know that I have a tendency to sink into the world of film, especially when I watch them alone and with a headset - there's nothing from the outside world that can reach me. But to go from inconsolable crying to almost choking to death with laughter (by now I sound like Jean Arthur) is something out of the ordinary, even for me. (Oh well, it doesn't happen every day...)

And for once, I will try to hold my promise to keep the blog post short. (Sure, no one has complained about them being too long, but personally I admire people who can express themselves in a short and concise way, and not, to directly translate a Swedish expression, "word poo".)

Mrs. Miniver

Director: William Wyler

USA 1942

134 min

Starring: Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Teresa Wright, Henry Travers, Dame May Whitty, Richard Ney and Henry Wilcoxon, among others.

See it on YouTube here.

When I am seriously curious about a film I haven't yet seen, I try to read as little about it as possible not to get it spoiled. Therefore I was quite shocked at finding Mrs. Miniver not being a sweet, cosy, utopian small town story (ey, I only judged by the title...), but rather a beautiful, smalltown nightmare. All the sweetness and sincere joy and appreciation for the fellow man only adds to the tragedy.

Mrs. Miniver (Garson) is the loving housewife of Clem Miniver (Pidgeon) in an English village anno 1939. The married couple's main problem by the beginning of the film is how to tell to one another that they both have too extravagant taste in their shopping for a middle class family (an expensive hat and a brand new car, guess who bought what), and their small children embarrassing the elder brother Vincent (Ney) and his love interest (Wright). This soon changes when Britain joins the World War II, and Vincent has to join the RAF, and Clem goes on a mission on the sea.

Just to further make this film crab ahold of the viewer, there is a sweet side story with a deer old station master, Mr. Ballard (Travers, who we recognize as the angel Clarence in It's a Wonderful Life, 1946), with a passion for roses. He names his most beautiful rose after Mrs. Miniver to enter the local flower contest. This makes it very hard to watch the scenes where the Germans start bombing England to pieces, not to mention the total loss of joy in the face of the otherwise so happy-go-lucky Vincent in the last scene. I frankly couldn't recognize him as the same actor at first.

Bombing of London, 1940.

This is such a beautiful and heart tearing film. Wyler admitted openly that he made the film for propaganda purposes, since he disliked America's isolationism from the ongoing war. The film helped the Americans to sympathize with their British equivalents. The last speech, held by Wilcoxon's vicar (supposedly re-written the night before shooting by Wyler and Wilcoxon), was used as war propaganda. It was translated into several languages and air-dropped in leaflets over Nazi occupied Europe on the request of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Since then, the speech has gone to history as The Wilcoxon Speech, after the actor who first performed it.

The final scene in a bombed church.

Well, in short this is a terrific film. Judging by my reaction (in total loss of hope, drowned in tears, inconsolable), I can be your witness that it's an emotionally gripping film. It got about a billion Oscar statues:

Best Actress in Leading Role - Greer Garson

Best Actress in Supporting Role - Teresa Wright

Best Cinematography B/W - Joseph Ruttenberg

Best Director - William Wyler

Best Picture

Best Writing, Screenplay

A popular rumor is that Greer Garson's acceptance speech lasted for over an hour, something that is completely wrong. She did however speak for five and a half minutes, and broke the record anyway.
Isn't it funny that Greer Garson later went and married Richard Ney, who plays her son in the film?

Yeah, grow a mustache so you look a little older!

Favorite scene: Mr. and Mrs. Miniver in the basement with their youngest children during an air raid. As most children do, they at first sleep through bombings and shootings, but when the bombs comes so near that the basement almost falls in on them, they wake up and are scared to death. There was something horrible in watching a helpless mother trying to keep her calm while comforting her children, who for once really has something to be frightened about.

***

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Director: Norman Z. McLeod

USA 1947

110 min

Starring: Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, Boris Karloff, Fay Bainter, Ann Rutherford and Florence Bates, among others.

See it on YouTube here.

After "The Miniver Experience", I needed something to cheer me up before I went to bed. And now I made the right choice!

Walter Mitty (Kaye) is a terribly absent-minded man who too often lets himself slip away into an exciting dream world of his own, where he is the admired hero and has a beautiful, helpless blonde (Mayo) on his arm.

His reality is however somewhat different. His work contains of control reading trash novels with poorly dresses women in despair on the front covers. His boss constantly steals his ideas and takes the credit himself, and Mitty's frequent daydreaming puts his employment at stake. On top of all, he's engaged to a girl (Rutherford) with a horribly spoiled dog, and an equally horrible mother-in-law (Bates, who also plays an annoying mother-in-law in the Powell/Loy comedy Love Crazy, 1941).

One day his path crosses that of his dreamgirl's real life twin, Rosalind van Hoorn (Mayo, again), and soon he is drawn into a dime novel plot of his own - only with the difference that this is for real, and he can't just snap out of it like he can with his fantasies.

This is such a sweet, entertaining and insane movie. I can't believe that I hadn't seen it before, because it's exactly my kind of humour. I think I like Danny Kaye... Boris Karloff was really frightening in a role that kind of mocks his earlier horror performances. And I certainly admire how Virignia Mayo manages to act opposite Kaye and keep from laughing at lines like "Oh, Gaylord!". She should have been rewarded with some kind of reward for that.

By the way; I read on IMDb that Mike Myers is doing a remake of this film, probably finished in 2010. I don't usually like remakes, but if they are done as an homage to the original and with great respect it can be really interesting. And if there is one actor today that can do this role, I definitely think that Mike Myers is the one. I'm curious as heck!

Favorite scene: The dream sequence below. One of them, at least. It's so hard to decide, the whole film is totally hilarious.