Keep Your Eyes On Quintillas

 

CURSE OF THE FACELESS MAN-1958-At a dig in Pompei, a worker discovers a box of jewels and a 2000 year old kind of mummified man. While being transported in the back of a truck it shows signs of life. Carlo Fiorillo (Luis Van Rooten), head of the Pompei museum calls in Dr. Paul Mallon (Richard Anderson) to examine the body. He's assisted by former lover Maria (Adele Mara), Fiorillo's daughter and her fiancee Enrico (Gar Moore). 

Meanwhile the body comes to life and kills the truck driver. The truck crashes but the body is found intact and un-moving. Another egghead Dr. Emmanuel (Felix Locher) translates a medallion found on the body. It seems there's a curse that caused Mt. Vesuvius to erupt. They also learn the body's name is Quintillas (Bob Bryant). Paul's fiancee Tina (Elaine Edwards), an artist, paints a picture that looks like the body after seeing it in a dream. After viewing the body Tina becomes obsessed-hypnotized by it and visits the museum at night to make a sketch (apparently no locks are employed; she walks right in through the front door). While she's drawing, the body gets up and she faints. A guard's bullets fail to stop it. The body puts the medallion on Tina and becomes immobile again. Paul, Carlo and Maria put the brooch near the prone body of Q and he gets up and clobbers Paul who tried to stop him with an ax. Quintillas goes after Tina and chases her before collapsing again. When Emmanuel regresses Tina they learn she is the reincarnation of Q's lost love. After killing En-rico, Q grabs Tina and heads for the sea. The confused monster thinks he's saving his love from Vesuvius' destruction. The water dissolves Quintillas and Paul rescues Tina. 

Slight Mummy inspired movie has a few nice touches by the great Edward L. Cahn and like many of Cahn's pictures a narrator gives the whole thing a kind of documentary type feel. In this case the narrator is the uncredited Morris Ankrum. The screenplay is by Jerome Bixby (who also penned IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE for Cahn a few years later).

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Rock is Reborn!

SECONDS-1966-Arthur Hamilton (John Randolph), a successful bank executive feels his life has lost it’s meaning. He is persuaded by an old friend (Murray Hamilton) he long thought dead to seek out an agency known only as “The Company” and become “reborn”. Through plastic surgery and other unexplained medical procedures they will provide him with a new body, face and identity for a fee. When he at first balks at the idea he is kind of blackmailed into signing. He becomes a well known painter Tony Wilson (now portrayed by Rock Hudson). He has a house in Malibu and a helpful manservant (Wesley Addy). He meets Nora (Salome Jens from TERROR IN THE YEAR 5000 AD!) and she takes him to a wild hippie party where he’s stripped naked and has wine or something poured over him. He seems fine with Nora and his new career and life until he gets drunk at a party and begins to blab about his former life. It turns out all his neighbors are “reborns” and even Nora is working for The Company. Wilson decides his new persona isn’t for him and asks The Company to make him “reborn again”. This leads to complications as Wilson realizes it’s not what he expects it to be.

Will Geer plays the old man who seems to be behind it all and Richard Anderson is the doctor who does the operation. Jeff Corey, Khigh Dhiegh, Karl Swenson, Edger Stehli and Frank Campanella all have small but key roles. Although there’s a lot of talk and soul searching it’s handled very well.

SECONDS was directed by John Frankenhiemer after his blockbusters BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ, SEVEN DAYS IN MAY and THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE. It did poorly but has become something of a cult film and a reexamination of the film has brought about some (deservedly) good reviews. It’s excellent black and white photography is by veteran James Wong Howe. It’s based on a novel by David Ely.

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