Not Really Horror

 

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FACE OF FIRE-1959-In a small town, a good old boy named Monk (James Whitmore) saves his employer's son from a fire. The kid is ok but Monk severely disfigured. A judge (Robert F. Simon) suggests he should be killed but his employer (Cameron Mitchell) wants to help him. Monk tries to act normal but no one wants anything to do with him. After a lot of conflict there's a happy ending. Also with Royal Dano, Bettye Ackerman, Richard Erdman and Lois Maxwell (a few years later she was “Miss Moneypenny” in the James Bond series). 

Albert Band directed and co-wrote the screenplay which was adapted from the Stephen Crane story “The Monster”. This is not a horror movie although it was sometimes advertised as one.

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I Don't Know Any Sane Ghouls. Do You?

 

THE MAD GHOUL-1943-Dr. Alfred Morris (George Zucco), who teaches at a local college recreates a poison gas that an ancient Mayan tribe used to cause “life in death”. He hires a student, Ned Allison (David Bruce), to help him over the summer. Ned is in love with a radio singer named Isabel Lewis (Evelyn Ankers). When Morris says things like “There is no good or evil. Only true and false”, it's obvious he's mad. To top that, he's in love with Isabel too and in order to get Ned out of the way, the deranged doc turns his student into a living dead slave via the ancient concoction. Ned turns into a pasty-faced ghoul who carries out the doc's bidding. 

 (imdb)

Later they visit a cemetery where ghoul-Ned performs a cardiectomy because a human heart is needed to bring Ned back to the land of the living. Police Sgt. Macklin (Miburn Stone) and newspaperman “Scoop” McClure (Robert Armstrong) investigate. It turns out the antidote isn't permanent. Ned goes to another town where Isabel is performing to propose but Isabel doesn't love him anymore. She now prefers her pianist Erik (Turhan Bey). After she spurns him, he turns back into a ghoul and he and the doc visit a cemetery and take the caretaker's heart. When the doc finds out Isabel & Erik are an item, he sends Ned to kill Erik but Isabel's scream saves him. Meanwhile McClure figures out that a new heart stealing murder happens whenever Isabel gives a recital. He sets a trap to catch the deadly duo but he's killed in the process. The Sgt. and his detective Garrity (Charles McGraw) up their game to catch the killer. Later, when things get too hot and Ned suspects he's being used, (“What am I? Alive or Dead?”), the doc sends Ned to kill Erik then himself but Ned tricks the doc into inhaling the gas himself. Ned goes to the recital hall but is killed by the cops before he can carry out the murder. The doc dies at the cemetery unable to procure a human heart. Also with Rose Hobart and Addison Richards. 

This enjoyable, eerie Universal quickie was the last film directed by James P. Hogan (LIFE RETURNS (1934) who died of a heart attack shortly after this was finished. He had also been directed much of the “Ellery Queen” series at the time. The great George Zucco had another banner year in 1943, appearing in SHERLOCK HOLMES IN WASHINGTON, 2 PRC productions: DEAD MEN WALK and THE BLACK RAVEN and The Ritz brothers comedy NEVER A DULL MOMENT. Top billed David Bruce was in the “Inner Sanctum” entry CALLING DR. DEATH the same year as The Mad Ghoul. Leading lady Evelyn Ankers was also in among other things SON OF DRACULA.

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Phantoms (?)

 

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PHANTOMS-1998-A woman (Joanna Going) and her younger sister (Rose McGowan) visit an old resort town in Colorado and find the whole population missing. After they discover some decapitated bodies, they meet the local sheriff (Ben Affleck) and his two deputies (Liev Schreiber and Mickey Katt). Katt's character is such an asshole but thankfully has his face ripped off by some kind of giant moth. It turns out something dubbed “The Ancient Enemy” is controlling things. The army steps in and walks around in decontamination suits. It kills in various ways and reanimates its victims. Peter O'Toole hams it up as an expert on the blob like amoeba monster. 

Typical loud violent nonsense with the standard “shock” ending. Also with Robert Knepper and Bo Hopkins. It was adapted by author Dean R. Koontz from his own novel. Director Joe Chappelle had made the infamous HALLOWEEN: THE CURSE OF MICHAEL MYERS in 1995. After PHANTOMS he went into TV.

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More Spencer Williams

 

GO DOWN, DEATH!-1944-In this long forgotten “race” film, Big Jim Bottom (Spencer Williams who also directed) runs a gambling joint. He decides to frame the new reverend Jasper Jones (Samuel H. James) because he has too much influence on the town. His goons take an incriminating photo of Jones and a woman hired by Big Jim. Jim's adopted mother Caroline (Myra D. Hemmings) pleads with her son to end his bad ways but he refuses. She prays for guidance to a picture of her dead husband. His ghost/spirit comes back to help by taking the incriminating photos out of Jim's safe and giving them to Caroline. Jim tries to take them away from her. He pushes her to the floor and she hits her head. He pretends to not know anything when niece Betty Jean (Eddye Houston) comes into the room. Caroline lies in bed dying and a choir sings. Betty and Rev. Jones discuss the circumstances while Jim paces and drinks. When Caroline dies, the reverend gives a long sermon while images of heaven are shown. Jim's conscious gets the better of him and he drinks even more. He tries to run away but he can't escape the sinister accusing voice which shows him a vision of hell (from a foreign movie) where he'll “be with his own kind”. Later they find Jim dead in a canyon. 

Much like THE BLOOD OF JESUS it uses crude sfx, characters superimposed on other scenes and gospel singing. Sometimes there's dialogue but the actors' mouths don't move. The sermon the reverend gives is the poem “Go Down Death” by James W. Johnson. Although the acting and editing isn't very good it's nice to see this film rescued from obscurity. This is one of 14 movies actor Spencer Willimas directed between 1928 and 1949. Some were religious morality tales like this. Others were cool musicals. Williams later played Andy on the (now) controversial TV sit-com “The Amos 'n Andy Show”.

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Ozu Double Feature (sort of...)

 

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A STRAIGHTFORWARD BOY-1929-Once a 38-minute silent short, all that remains of this adaptation of an O. Henry story by Yasujiro Ozu is about 14 minutes. You get the gist of the comic tale, two kidnappers grab a little boy but he proves too much for them. It has a funny final scene.

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I GRADUATED, BUT…-1929-Unfortunately, this feature silent film by Ozu is very incomplete. Only around 10 minutes survives! A recent college graduate turns down a receptionist job thinking it's beneath him. He has no other offers and has to keep his secret from his wife and mother.

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McHale's Shop of Mystical Wonders

 

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MERLIN'S SHOP OF MYSTICAL WONDERS-1996-A grandpa (Ernest Borgnine) tells his grandson a story about the title place. While two women talk about not getting pregnant, one woman's son wanders into the shop and meets Mr. & Mrs. Merlin. Then jackass columnist Jonathan and his wife visit while some trolls watch them. Merlin gives him an ancient book of spells and tells him not to use it. Of course he does. Merlin also gives Jonathan's wife (who wants a baby) a wishing stone. For some reason, Jonathan turns his cat into a demon cat and it almost kills him. He also ages dramatically. When he makes a potion (using his wife's blood) and drinks it, he turns into a baby and the wife gets her wish. Next, a burglar steals a toy monkey from the shop. A woman gives it as a birthday present to a young boy. Plants die and then a goldfish. Later a fire breaks out and kills a doorman. A psychic tells the boy's father he has to perform an exorcism on the monkey. He throws it away. When it almost kills his son, he buries it. When grandma visits, she brings the monkey as a gift. It seems like it might kill them but Merlin saves the day. The second story which in some ways resembles a Stephen King short story written years before, is actually a re-edited short with a new ending, Writer/director Kenneth J. Berton never made another movie.

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English Wolf

 

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NIGHT WOLF-2010-Bloody awful English horror film with a family being terrorized in their house by a bloodthirsty creature. Simon MacCorkindale (in his last movie role) is their doomed father. After this director Jonathan Glendening followed with STRIPPERS VS. WEREWOLVES (2012). Also known as 13 HOURS. 

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