Not Really Horror

 

 (imdb)

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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Last One For 2024

 

 (imdb)

THE CREMATORS-1972-A narrator tells us about a meteor that hit Earth many many years ago and a young Indian and a shark. In the present, bug expert Ian Thorne (Marvin Howard) finds a strange stone. When he sends it away to be analyzed it seems to be responsible for the mailman's death when he's burned alive by a ball of fire. Later Thorne gives a second stone to the weird looking Jeannie (Maria de Aragon). Then a pipe smoking local is burned by another fireball. After a lot of talk, a scientist tries to stop the fireball with a shotgun. 

The sfx, acting and direction are sub-par in this low budget sci-fi film directed and co-written by Harry Essex (OCTA-MAN (1971)) who in better times wrote the screenplay for THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (1954). The Cremators also features the second to last film score by Albert Glasser and the debut of SFX creator Doug Beswick (THE TERMINATOR, BEETLEJUICE). 

Lead actress de Aragon was later Greedo the alien (uncredited) in the first "Star Wars" movie.

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Atwill In Wax

MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM-1933-Eccentric and brilliant Ivan Igor (Lionel Atwill) owns a wax museum. His greedy partner burns the place down (with Igor in it) to collect the insurance money. A year later Igor is hiding out, a cripple. A disfigured guy in a long coat and top hat steals a dead female body from the morgue. Florence (Glenda Farrell) a wise talking reporter is practically fired from her job by her boss (Frank McHugh) unless she gets a story. 

Meanwhile Ralph (Allen Vincent), a sculptor who works for Igor introduces his girlfriend Charlotte (Fay Wray; the same year as KING KONG) to his boss. Igor believes she will be a perfect model for his Marie Antoinette figure. When she goes to visit Ralph at the museum at night Igor puts the moves on his “Marie”. She discovers his secrets. He can walk and has a wax mask covering his deformed face. Oh yeah, he's also mad (well, I wouldn't be happy about it myself). Fortunately, the police break in, Igor falls into a vat of wax and Charlotte is saved. Florence gets a great story and marries her boss. 

This classic horror tale from Warner Bros. was filmed in an early type of two tone Technicolor by director Michael Curtiz. Though the process was unpopular and costly it gives the film an eerie quality. Curtiz's other horror film from the year previous DOCTOR X was also filmed in the two tone process (with Atwill and Wray). MYSTERY was the last to use it.

Of course this was remade as HOUSE OF WAX IN 1953 with Vincent Price!

https://moviemeltdown.blogspot.com/2008/07/this-price-is-right.html

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