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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Joe

 

 (imdb)

MIGHTY JOE YOUNG-1949-Entrepreneur Max O'Hara (Robert Armstrong) goes to Africa to get wild animals for his new night club. What he finds is Joe, a giant gorilla raised by Jill (Terry Moore). Despite the protestations of big lug cowboy Gregg Johnson (Ben Johnson), O'Hara convinces Jill to bring Joe to America to be exhibited at his club. They're a big hit until 3 drunks (Douglas Fowley & Nestor Paiva are two of them) make him mad and he escapes and destroys the club. The poor ape is sentenced to be shot. A plot is hatched to save Joe leading to a climatic scene at a burning orphanage (tinted red) where Joe saves the lives of two children. 

This is a wonderful little fantasy with meticulous and brilliant stop motion SFX by (among others) Willis O'Brien, Marcel Delgado and Ray Harryhausen. It was directed by Ernest Schoedsack from a story by Merian C. Cooper (the screenplay is by Ruth Rose who also wrote the screenplay for KING KONG which was co-directed by Cooper and Schoedsack without credit!). Many familiar character actors have brief scenes in MIGHTY JOE YOUNG: Regis Toomey, James Flavin (also in KING KONG), Iris Adrian, Bobby Barber, Joe Devlin, Richard Farnsworth (also a stuntman on the film), Dwayne Hickman, Charles Lane, Franks J. Scannell, William Schallert and more. Wrestlers Henry Kulky, Sam Menacker, The Swedish Angel, Man Mountain Dean and Primo Canera also appear,

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Song of Kong

  (TCM.com)

SON OF KONG-1933-In the aftermath of King Kong's rampage, Carl Denham (Rboert Armstrong) is hiding out in a boarding house trying to avoid process servers. After he meets up again with Capt. Engelhorn (Frank Reicher), they leave NYC and wind up in the Dutch Indies. There they see a show of performing monkeys run by a young woman Hila (Helen Mack) and her father. At night the old man is drinking with a former ship captain Hellstrom (John Marston). The two have a fight and the old man is killed and their place burns down. 

Hellstrom it turns out sold the original map of Skull Island to Denham. He tells the two about another map that leads to a treasure on the island. They set sail and unknown to them Hilda has stowed aboard. Later due to Hellstrom's meddling the crew mutinies. Denham, Engelhorn, Hida and Charlie the cook (Victor Wong) are cast adrift. Hellstrom is thrown over too. They make it to the island but the chief of the natives (returning Noble Johnson) forces them to flee. On another part of the island they find a white haired mini-Kong who's much cuter, friendlier and more helpful than dad. Baby Kong (as he's referred to) fights a dinosaur and a giant bear. The group find a treasure but an earthquake strikes. Hellstrom is eaten by a sea serpent. The island sinks. Poor Kong Jr. drowns saving Denham's life. A ship picks up the survivors and they split the treasure Denham managed to save. 

Released just 9 months after KING KONG this sequel was produced by Ernest Schoedsack (who also directed) and Merian C. Cooper who presented the original. It features more amazing stop motion effects by Willis O'Brien and Harry Redmond Jr (both not credited). The story is more lighthearted than KK but the ending in some ways is much sadder.

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I've heard bad things about THE MEDALLION (2003) with Jackie Chan but I kind of enjoyed it. It's much better than the Hollywood lensed THE TUXEDO and in some ways rather similar. Chan is a detective who has to protect a young boy dubbed "The Chosen One". While doing this he's killed but the title object that the boy possesses brings him back to life and as a invulerable superman to boot! Some of the SFX do leave a bit to be desired but Jackie gets to actually kiss his girl (Claire Forlani) a couple of times. The biggest disapointment for me was the boring Julian Sands as the main villian and the great Anthony Wong wasted in a "lackey" role. English comedian Lee Evans is also around to act stupid and Gimli himself John Rhys-Davies appears too...



DRAGONS OF THE ORIENT (actually made in 1988) is really more like a travelogue than a documentary. It's mostly footage of temples, movies clips, segments of Jet Li as a kid and some nice martial arts style demonstrations (the "duck style" is the most unusual). For some reason two fictional characters are also present. A guy who claims to be Li's sparring partner and a woman claiming to be a reporter. They challenge each other then provide some narrration of their own but the voices are of the ridiculous dubbed '70's variety providing some unintenional chuckles.



FAST WORKERS from 1933 is interesting for a number of reasons. It's based on a play (called "Rivets") and much of it takes place on the frame of a soon to be skyscraper. Two riveters (Robert Armstrong & John Gilbert) have problems with a woman (Mae Clarke, Elizabeth in the original FRANKENSTEIN). Jealously threatens their friendship in this drama directed by the once great Tod Browning. Both he and Gilbert were at the end of their long careers. 

Browning who had made FREAKS the previous year and DRACULA 2 years before would make only three more movies: the disappointing MARK OF THE VAMPIRE, the clever DEVIL DOLL and the uninspired MIRACLES FOR SALE in 1939. He never made another film and died in 1962 poverty stricken and forgotten. 




John Gilbert was actually in "comeback mode" while making FAST WORKERS after several years of alcoholism and vicious rumors related to his "high feminine" voice. However he died of a heart attack in 1936 having made only one more film. Of course Robert Armstrong played Carl Denham in KING KONG (and SON OF KONG) the same year. FW also features the unique talents of Sterling Holloway...

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