If You Could Read My Mind...

 (imdb)

THE MIND READER-1933-A carnival huckster (Warren William) becomes “The Great Chandra”, a phony fortune teller. He's assisted by Frank (Allen Jenkins) and Sam (Clarence Muse). He meets pretty unemployed stenographer Sylvia (Constance Cummings) and hires her as his secretary. They start to fall in love, even after she discovers his mind reading act is phony. In a town where fortune telling is illegal, he helps the local sheriff by predicting a jewel robbery (he sent it up!). Later a woman (Mayo Methot) accuses Chandra of ruining her life with his “predictions”. When she commits suicide, Sylvia decides to leave him. He gives up the racket for her and becomes a brush salesman in NYC. 

Frank, now a chauffeur, gets Chandra involved in a new scheme exposing cheating husbands with his “power”. He's very successful behind Sylvia's back but he accidentally kills a disgruntled husband with Sylvia right outside his office. Somehow, she's arrested and put on trial for the killing. Chandra hides out in Mexico, drunk and guilt ridden. He exposes his whole act in front of an audience. Then he goes back to NY, confesses, exonerates Sylvia and tries to divorce her but she sticks by him. Final line: “It sure is tough to be going away just when beer is coming back”. 

The Mind Reader was directed by Roy Del Ruth (PHANTOM OF THE RUE MORGUE (1954)) who made the original version of THE MALTESE FALCON in 1931. His last feature film was THE ALLIGATOR PEOPLE in 1959.

The Magic of Chan

CHARLIE CHAN AT TREASURE ISLAND-1939-While flying from Hawaii to San Francisco the intrepid phony Asian detective (Sidney Toler) and number 2 son Jimmy (Sen Yung) investigate the murder of Chan's friend, a writer who just completed his new novel. A suspicious insurance agent (Douglass Dumbrille) steals the manuscript. After breaking the bad news to the writer's wife, CC is “kidnapped” by the SF police because their chief (Donald MacBride) is an old friend of his. He meets another old friend Pete Lewis (Douglas Fowley), a reporter who introduces Chan to The Great Rhadini (Cesar Romero), a famous magician/illusionist who's mind reading assistant is Lewis' girlfriend Eve Cairo (Pauline Moore). Through them Chan learns about Dr. Zodiac, a magician/guru who seems to be involved in some recent murders (including the writer who received a mysterious radiogram that mentioned Scorpio). The trio decide visit the doc at his headquarters. After a seance like demonstration he threatens them with a gun and they leave. Zodiac talks in a deep voice (Gerald Mohr) and looks like someone in disguise. Later Eve gives an exhibition of her psychic powers and kind of convinces Chan they are real. After investigating and the discovery that Dr. Z is wearing a disguise, Rhadini challenges Dr. Z to a contest which he accepts. An elaborate stage show is performed and eventually after another murder the real identity of  Dr. Zodiac is revealed. He'd gathered much info on people who came to him for a reading and was using blackmail. 

One of three Chan mysteries Norman Foster directed. He also made 5 in the MR. MOTO series. In 1943 he'd work with Orson Welles on JOURNEY INTO FEAR and IT'S ALL TRUE. 

The one up: CHARLIE CHAN IN THE CITY OF DARKNESS.

Thanks again for reading!

Private Eyes

PRIVATE EYES-1953-In another typical Bowery Boys outing Sach (Huntz Hall) gets punched in the nose and obtains the ability to read minds. Slip (Leo Gorcey) buys a detective agency and "the boys" (along with David Gorcey as Chuck and Bennie Bartlett as Butch) get involved with a stolen furs gang. 

It's the usual BB inanity with Sach doing his dumbest using a shotgun and homemade bomb to try and open a safe (he put the combination in it so he wouldn't lose it...). Later after a little kid is kidnapped and held for ransom Slip once again disguises himself as a German doctor and Sach dresses in drag as his female patient! 

Joyce Holden (TERROR IN THE YEAR 5000 AD) is the woman who's part of the gang but has a change of heart and helps out. Myron Healy is a dumb hospital attendant and Emil Sitka has a bigger role than usual. Also with Chick Chandler, Tim Ryan, Bill Phillips and Peter Mamkos. 

PE is like an overlong episode of The Abbott and Costello TV show combined with a lot of 3 Stooges gags. This figures since it was made by writer Ellwood Ullman and director Edward Bernds.

 Thanks for reading!

 

Bats and Rains

VAMPIRE BAT-1933-is a creaky low budget horror film from the early 30's but despite it's obvious restrictions and drawbacks it's fairly entertaining.

The great Lionel Atwill stars as Dr. Von Neimann, the local doctor in a village where vampire like murders are taking place. Whenever giant bats appear at night, some unfortunate local dies, the body drained of blood. Melvyn Douglas (who was in James Whale's THE OLD DARK HOUSE the year before) is the investigating police constable. Fay Wray (the same year as KING KONG) is his love interest.

The best performence though is by Dwight Frye, essaying another village idiot role (it would type-cast his career) as Herman, a bat loving red herring (who meets his demise at the famous Bronson Canyon).

Familiar '30's character actor Lionel Belmore (2 Lionels for the price of one! What a movie!) also appears. The photography is a little too dark at times and there's a lot of talk but it's short running time makes it enjoyable.

Screenwriter Edward T. Lowe had been writing movies since the '20's (including HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME with Lon Chaney). He later penned HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, HOUSE OF DRACULA, several Charlie Chan and Bulldog Drummond mysteries and other stuff.

Director Frank Strayer made several unusual movies in the '30's (THE MONSTER WALKS, THE GHOST WALKS and CONDEMNED TO LIVE) before devoting most of his time to the movie series based on the "Blondie" comic strip in the '40's.



I also recently saw THE CLAIRVOYANT (aka THE EVIL MIND)-1934-made one year later and also featuring Fay Wray.

The always entertaining Claude Rains (one year after his film debut in THE INVISIBLE MAN) stars as a phony mind reader named Maximus who's predictions start to come true whenever he's around a certain woman (English actress Jane Baxter). Wray is his assistant-wife who fears his new power. Rains' trance states are very eerie (especially his last!). It's ok and probably influenced a few future films.

Thanks for reading!