Pre-Wolfman Lon

 

 (imdb)

A SCREAM IN THE NIGHT-1935-Jack Wilson (Lon Chaney Jr.) is in Singapore planning on arresting thief Johnny Fly (Manuel Lopez) with the help of local guy Wu Ting (Phillip Ahn). He meets old friend Edith (Shelia Terry) and her Uncle Joe (John Ince), who subsequently becomes a victim of Fly and is robbed. Fortunately, the robbers don't get his most valuable ruby, so Wilson and Inspector Green (Richard Cramer) expect Fly to strike again. Wu Ting goes undercover as a peddler but is killed by Butch Curtain (also played by Chaney), one eyed henchman to Fly and his moll, Mora (Zara Tazil). Fly finally gets the ruby by kidnapping Edith. Of course, Mora is jealous of her. Meanwhile, Jack arrests Butch and impersonates him. After a lot of static talk and some fights, good triumphs over evil. 

This musty low budget Astor production has some too dark scenes and bad acting but Chaney is good taking a page out of dad's playbook playing the dual role. It seems this wasn't released until 1943 when Lon had hit the big time. It's one of his 6 movies appearances in 1935.

 Co-Star Richard Cramer made over 200 movie appearances (he's in the WC Fields short A FATAL GLASS OF BEER) but may be more to familiar to some having menaced Laurel & Hardy in several films. John Ince, brother of the ill-fated Thomas, was a director during the silent era. Female lead Shelia Terry left the motion pictures by 1938. She committed suicide in 1957. Director Fred C. Newmeyer (also an actor) made SAFETY LAST! with Harold Lloyd and “Our Gang” shorts.

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France

 

 (imdb)

THE BLOOD ROSE-1970-While waiting on a doctor's report, famous painter Frederic Lansac (Phillippe Lemarie; SPIRITS OF THE DEAD (1968)) reflects on his relationship with Moira (Elizabeth Teissier). They become lovers but through a costume party Moira throws he meets Anne (Anny Duperey), and it's love at first sight. They go off to his chateau on the outskirts. Ann likes the place and wants to live there even after meeting Igor and Olaf, two little people Frederic's parents took in and allowed them to stay years before. Frederic and Anne decide to marry and plan a big medieval wedding. 

Unfortunately, a snubbed angry Moira shows up and backs Anne into a bonfire. She's set ablaze. The doctor's verdict, Anne will live but has to be confined to a wheelchair and is terribly scarred and of course bitter and mean. Frederic has become a little demented himself and can't paint but he's totally devoted to Anne. He has to hire a nurse Agnes (Michelle Perello), to take care of Anne while he's away. Frederic enlists the aid of a former doctor now turned botanist Prof. Romer (Dr. Orloff himself, Howard Vernon) who he later sort of blackmails into agreeing to cure his wife. They find a suitable donor in Agnes but Olaf and Igor accidentally kill her. Fortunately for Frederic, Agnes' sister Barbara (Olivia Robin) arrives looking for her. She becomes the new donor. After Romer is visited by a police inspector, he goes off to do the transplant. But he can't bring himself to cutting up Barbara. The rather sadistic ending includes some unintentional humor. 

French director Claude Mulot sometimes used the pseudonym Frederic Lansac on some of his films.

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Von Stroheim

 

 (imdb)

THE CRIME OF DR. CRESPI-1935-Teutonic, grouchy, self-assured Dr. Crespi (Erich Von Stroheim; 2 years before GRAND ILLUSION) agrees to operate on his former lover's husband Stephen Ross (John Bohn), a highly decorated doctor who used to be Crespi's assistant. The operation is a success but Ross dies anyway. Or does he? It seems Crespi is a mad scientist who injected Ross with a drug that makes him appear dead when in fact he can see and hear everything. Crespi wants him buried alive and even gloats about it to Ross' prone body. Ross is buried but is inadvertently saved when Dr. Thomas (Dwight Frye; in BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN the same year) exhumes the body believing Crespi poisoned Ross. Hungarian born John H. Auer directed this creaky melodramatic sort of horror tale with the credit “suggested” by Edgar Allan Poe's “The Premature Burial”.

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