HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL: Castle's Classic Creepfest

HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL Limited Edition (Blu-ray)

1959 / 75 min

Film Masters

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

Wasn’t it great being little, when damn near everything scared you, like skeletons dangling from tethers? 

I wasn’t around when cinema’s greatest carnival barker, William Castle, was turning schlock into gold with such gimmicks as theater seat buzzers, fright insurance policies and, of course, “Emergo,” which was used to help turn House on Haunted Hill into one of his biggest hits. This was where a red-eyed skeleton would ‘float’ over the audience on a wire. Cheap and tacky, to be sure, but it put butts in seats.

Still, I remember the onscreen (also tethered) skeleton scaring me as a kid when I first watched this on TV, along with other ghostly figures lurking in dark closets. Then there was that dreaded pool of acid, which was used to destroy the bodies of murder victims, though one poor sap gets thrown in alive. Back then, acid ranked just behind lava and quicksand on my list of the most horrible ways to die and it seemed like a lot of horror villains had a vat of the stuff in their basement.

But who is the actual villain in House on Haunted Hill? When revisiting the film years later, I appreciated how the narrative’s surprising twists kept the viewer guessing, an aspect that elevated this one above the usual tacky treasures Castle was making at the time. And despite some imagery that’s still kinda spooky, one could even argue that it isn’t really a horror movie at all. The story itself unfolds more like a Scooby Doo mystery…with booze…and guns.

"Sounds like the couple upstairs have made up again."

The movie remains very entertaining, though perhaps aesthetically quaint compared to the bloody-but-joyless 1999 remake. The great Vincent Price shines as Frederick Loren, a cynical millionaire who invites a group of carefully chosen strangers to spend the night at a supposedly haunted mansion, offering $10,000 to each who takes him up on the offer. The house, of course, has a dark past, as ominously explained by its owner, Watson Pritchard (Elisha Cook Jr). That’s when the fun begins.

House on Haunted Hill is William Castle’s one true classic. In addition to atmospheric direction, an engaging story and interesting characters, the overall performances are quite good for a film of this type (though all that’s really required of Carolyn Craig is to scream every ten minutes). Even without “Emergo,” it remains one of the better haunted house movies of the 1950s. Having been released on Blu-ray before (most notably, in one of Shout Factory’s Vincent Price collections), I don’t know if this new edition from Film Masters is a significant technical upgrade, but the overall video/audio quality is pretty good. Kinda light on bonus material, though.

EXTRA KIBBLES

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By Heath Holland.

SUPPLEMENTAL BOOKLET - Includes an essay by Jason A. Ney.

Catnip Reviews: SHAKESPEARE'S SH*TSTORM, THE OGRE OF ATHENS, AIRPORT 4-FILM COLLECTION

Snack-sized opinions from the frisky felines at Free Kittens…

SHAKRESPEARE’S SHITSTORM (4K UHD/Blu-Ray) - If Dick Clark was the “World’s Oldest Teenager,” then Lloyd Kaufman is unquestionably the world’s oldest 12 year old boy. His sense of humor hasn’t changed one whit since first assuming the throne of low-budget bad taste in 1984 with The Toxic Avenger. If anything, he’s since plunged to new depths of immaturity, as demonstrated with Shakespeare’s Shitstorm. If nothing else, the title is accurate. Traces of The Tempest can be found if you squint hard enough, while massive amounts of spewing excrement are the catalyst to what can loosely be called a plot. Elsewhere, there’s plenty of the juvenile, scatological, gross out gags that helped build Kaufman's empire, along with heavy-handed “satire” attacking modern political correctness with the subtlety of a jackhammer. But I’ll give the Troma team props for one thing…Blu-ray & 4K releases of their titles are generally loaded with bonus material and this one is no exception. (2020/94 min/Troma Entertainment). KITTY CONSENSUS: 😼😼

THE OGRE OF ATHENS (Blu-ray) - In this 1956 obscurity, Thomas (Dinos Iliopoulos) is a lonely, nebbish banker who is suddenly mistaken for The Ogre, a notorious criminal who’s been terrorizing the city of Athens. But upon a chance meeting with a sultry dancer, he ends up falling-in with a crew of small time gangsters who are planning a big heist, believing Thomas to be The Ogre himself. Along the way, Thomas strikes up a friendship with another young dancer who’s unhappy with her life. Considered a milestone in Greek cinema, The Ogre of Athens features fine moments of perceptive human drama, charming comedy and even some film noir touches. Well worth seeking out, this disc also comes with a few supplements that offer valuable historical context.  (1956/104 min/Radiance Films). KITTY CONSENSUS: 😺😺😺

AIRPORT - THE COMPLETE 4-FILM COLLECTION (Blu-ray) - This set is a disaster lover’s dream. Obviously products of their time - when disaster movies were plentiful and profitable - none of them are works of art, but remain tons of melodramatic fun...occasionally at their own expense. While the original Airport is widely considered the best one (and credited for popularizing the genre to begin with), I’ve always been more partial to Airport 1975 and Airport ‘77, both of which are more action driven. As for The Concorde - Airport ‘79…it’s still a morbidly fascinating, unintentionally hilarious train wreck. All four films have been given terrific 4K restorations, so they look and sound great, though I do wish more effort was put into providing some substantial bonus material. There’s a booklet featuring a perfunctory essay, along with insightful new audio commentaries for each, but considering their cultural impact of ‘70s cinema (for better or worse), surely they deserve a bit more. (1970-1979/470 min/Kino Lorber). KITTY CONSENSUS: 😼😼😼😼

THE RACKET: Saved By The Olives

THE RACKET (Blu-ray)

1951 / 89 min

Warner Archive Collection

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Mr. Paws😽

Robert Mitchum and Robert Ryan are a couple o’ film noir olives. 

There was a time when I decided to make martinis my drink of choice, probably because people in the movies looked cool drinking them. Then I actually tried one and…eh. As mixed drinks go, I suppose they do the job if you wanna cop a buzz, but I didn’t think there was anything all that special about it, save for the two plump olives marinating on a toothpick. Those were delicious, and I’m pretty sure I looked cool stirring my drink with ‘em.

If it was the olives I loved, I’d be better off sticking with a Bloody Mary, where a couple o’ fat Manzanillas make an already tasty beverage absolutely perfect. It’s the same with the two Roberts when it comes to film noir. Take 1947’s Crossfire, for example (which actually had three Roberts). Already a solid film, the presence of Mitchum, Ryan (and Young!) made it really crackle.

If Crossfire is a film noir Bloody Mary, then 1951’s The Racket is an example of a martini. It’s certainly watchable, but for the most part, it’s a standard-issue story of a big city police captain taking-on corruption and organized crime. For fans of the genre, there aren’t a hell of a lot of surprises, though John Cromwell’s meat-and-potatoes direction keeps the story moving fairly efficiently. But by throwing in a couple o’ Roberts, The Racket is suddenly a little more memorable.

"Eew...this one's mushy."

If there was such a thing as the Film Noir Hall of Fame, Robert Mitchum and Robert Ryan would be among the first inducted. They bring their indomitable badassery to characters that would have been forgettable otherwise. As the incorruptible Captain McQuigg, Mitchum is enjoyably stoic and unflappable. Ryan’s even more fun as Nick Scanlon, a hot-headed gangster whose violent methods bely his organization’s efforts to discreetly influence local politics. Ryan has been a bad guy or anti-hero in enough films that he could probably do it in his sleep, but who better to turn your generic antagonist into someone truly intimidating?

This is actually based on a popular Broadway play, so maybe the overall lack of action is indicative of the story’s stage origins. The Racket is ultimately second-tier noir, and its two stars have certainly done better films before and since. But they make it more palatable, much like the olives in my martini.

EXTRA KIBBLES

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By the one & only Eddie Muller, who’s always worth listening to.

TRAILER

Revisiting THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN in 4K

THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (4K UHD)

1957 / 83 min

Warner Archive Collection

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

Over the years, Warner Archive has done a fine job resurrecting and restoring classic & obscure WB and MGM titles on Blu-ray. Lately, they’ve been throwing their hat in the 4K ring, with impressive results. Both The Searchers and Get Carter recently got great video/audio facelifts. However, they were really only of interest for videophiles seeking technical upgrades, since neither included any new bonus material.

1957’s The Curse of Frankenstein is different matter altogether. The classic that put Hammer Films on the map has been beautifully restored for 4K in all its gothic glory, and has never looked or sounded better. But the icing on the cake is the sheer abundance of new and archival bonus material. Additionally, three versions of the film are offered, each presented in a different aspect ratio. Warner Archive, working closely with recently-resurrected Hammer Films, really pulled out all the stops for this one. For fans, this release is well-worth the upgrade, no matter what previous version you own.

As for the movie itself, The Curse of Frankenstein remains wonderfully entertaining all these years later. A loose adaptation of Mary Shelley’s perennial classic, this may not be the greatest Frankenstein film, but it’s still a lot of ghoulish fun (and pretty gruesome for its time). And at the center is Peter Cushing’s star-making performance as the titular character. Stopping just short of camp, he effortlessly conveys the mad doctor’s cold-blooded obsession that eventually drives him to murder in order to bring his creation to life.

"How 'bout we get a few fish for this thing?"

Elsewhere, Christopher Lee is (unintentionally?) amusing as ‘The Creature,’ which was one of his first prominent roles and paved the way for him to become one of Hammer’s go-to horror stars. Speaking of which, The Curse of Frankenstein isn’t the first Hammer film, but unquestionably the one that introduced the aesthetic template that served the studio well for the next 20-or-so years. In that respect, the film has considerable historic importance, which every self-respecting horror fan should experience at least once.

And the history lesson doesn’t stop with the movie. The numerous bonus features cover most of the movie’s production and cultural impact, as well as people on both sides of the camera whose best known work would be with Hammer. My only quip - and it’s a minor one - is that these are needlessly spread out across all three discs. For the sake of convenience, it might have been preferable to stick all of them on one disc, with all the cuts of the film on the other two. But that’s probably nitpicking, because other than that, this is an essential pick-up for classic horror lovers.

EXTRA KIBBLES

3 VERSIONS OF THE FILM - UK 1.66:1 theatrical aspect ratio version; 1.37:1 open matte aspect ratio version; US 1.85:1 theatrical aspect ratio version.

FEATURETTES (spread out over over all three discs) - Beside the Seaside is an affectionate look at the life of Peter Cushing, as told to actress Madeline Smith by author Wayne Kinsey (this is my favorite of the bonus features); Reviving The Curse of Frankenstein is a look at the restoration process; Recreating the Creature shows a few modern make-up artists recreating Christopher Lee’s monster make-up; A Fitting Vocation focuses on costume designer Molly Arbuthnot; Topped and Tailed is an interview with actor Melvyn Hayes (young Victor); Good or Tuesday? is about screenwriter Jimmy Sangster; Painting with Fine Brushes is a feature about cinematographer Jack Asher; A Gothic Tribute to Frankenstein is a look at Mary Shelley’s novel and its screen history; Frankenstein Reborn is a retrospective making-of featurette; Life with Sir is a tribute to Peter Cushing; The Resurrection Men has horror publisher discussing the movie’s impact on the genre; Hideous Progeny features historian Christopher Frayling discussing the history of gothic horror; Torrents of Light is another tribute to cinematographer Jack Asher; Diabolus in Musica is an appreciation of composer James Bernard.

4 AUDIO COMMENTARIES - 1) By Kim Newman, Barry Forshaw & Stephen Jones; 2) By Marcus Hearn & Jonathan Rigby; 3) By Heidi Honeycutt & Toby Roan; 4) Dr. Steve Haberman & Constantine Nasr. These commentaries are available on specific versions of the film.

ALTERNATIVE EYEBALL SCENE 

8MM CUT DOWN - Back in the day, fans could buy truncated versions of movie an 8mm film, to be shown with home projectors. Here’s one for The Curse of Frankenstein, trimmed down to 10 minutes.

IMAGE GALLERY - Posters, lobby cards, stills, etc.

TRAILER

UK CENSOR CARD - Originally appeared on-screen before the movie.

The Good, Bad & Ugly of PATTERNS

PATTERNS (Blu-ray)

1956 / 83 min

Film Masters

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Mr. Paws😺

The boutique label, Film Masters, is mostly known for releasing older films that have been largely forgotten. Many are low budget - sometimes really low budget - obscurities that’ll never be mistaken for lost masterpieces. But whether it’s an overlooked gem or Corman-cranked cheapie, these discs generally boast great restorations and bonus material that’s often more informative and entertaining than the movies themselves…

…which makes this release of 1956’s Patterns a little perplexing. Written by Rod Serling (based on his teleplay for a Kraft Television Theatre episode that aired a year earlier), it’s a genuinely great film. And if all you know of Serling are his classic, genre-bending series, The Twilight Zone and Night Gallery, it’s something of a revelation. Instead of a sci-fi tinged allegory or creepy slice of horror, the film is a compelling drama of corporate greed and office politics. 

But atypically, this Blu-ray is just a bare-bones disc with no bonus material or even a supplemental booklet that usually accompanies Film Masters releases (which I’ve always enjoyed). Considering Patterns is the work of one of the 20th Century’s most influential screenwriters, surely it’s deserving of some retrospective analysis and/or appreciation (if even just an audio commentary). Additionally, the actual video transfer isn’t quite up to snuff. For most of the running time, the picture and sound quality is decent, if unremarkable, until the key final scene, which suddenly turns noticeably murky and muddy, almost as if someone forgot to finish the job.

Bad vibes only.

Still, Patterns is a film worth discovering, with Van Heflin as Fred Staples, the newest executive at Ramsey & Company, a powerful industrial corporation. He’s initially hired to work alongside longtime vice president Bill Briggs (Ed Begley), whose compassion for others is the polar opposite of the company’s ruthless president, Walter Ramsey (Everett Sloane), relentlessly driven by profit and expansion, which leads to considerable conflict with Briggs. But Ramsey’s conniving agenda all along has been to push Briggs out by making him miserable enough to resign, then replace him with Staples as the new VP. This puts Staples in a moral quandary since he and Briggs have become close friends and partners. 

Though Fielder Cook’s direction is merely perfunctory, Sterling’s story and screenplay crackle with sharp dialogue and complex characters, bolstered by excellent performances from Heflin, Begley and Sloane, the last of whom is wonderfully hateful. Even devoid of a music score or much in the way of melodramatic flourishes, Patterns is a consistently engaging film that holds up to repeated viewings, even if it hasn’t yet gotten the Blu-ray release it deserves.

INVASION U.S.A. and the Propaganda Machine

INVASION U.S.A. and ROCKET ATTACK U.S.A. (Blu-ray)

1952-1960 / 136 min (2 movies)

Film Masters

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Mr. Paws😼

With this release, Film Masters unearths a big batch of Cold War propaganda with two silly slabs of budget-conscious buffoonery and some great bonus material for historical context. The overall quality of both films is kinda chuckleworthy, but considering today’s polarizing political climate, the blatant nationalism on display doesn’t feel quite as archaic as it should.

Of the two, 1952’s Invasion USA features better performances and production values. Still, it’s mostly a paranoid patchwork of stock footage and isolated scenes of its main characters’ reactions to a full scale attack by an unnamed communist enemy (though obviously the Soviet Union). America is getting her ass handed to her for most of the running time, at least until a final scene reveals the entire film to be a cautionary (and heavy-handed) call to action. But despite the dumb denouement, it’s still better than Chuck Norris’ braindead debacle with the same title and premise.

"We're here to stop you from decorating any more rooms."

Invasion USA is a Palme d’or contender compared to 1960’s Rocket Attack USA, depicting an American spy’s attempt to thwart Russia’s plans to nuke New York City. Hampered by shoddy production design, amateur-night performances and muddy camerawork, this is an interminable endurance test that feels much longer than its hour-long running time. On the plus side, the movie is made more watchable with the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode included as a bonus feature. It ain’t Joel and the robots at their best, but it sure beats enduring the film without them.

Speaking of which…as with many Film Masters Blu-ray releases, the additional supplemental material might be the real treasure here. Not only do they provide historical context, they are generally more interesting than the movies themselves. Jf nothing else, this two-disc set serves up a look back at an era of American propaganda that, if we’re lucky, will remain history.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - Better Dead Than Red: Hollywood vs. Communism in the 1950s looks back at how the “Red Scare” affected people in the movie business; A Matter of Minutes: Remembering Gerald Mohr is an interview his the actor’s son.

AND A VOICE SHALL BE HEARD - A short film that was shown with Invasion USA.

8 ATOMIC ERA PROPAGANDA SHORTS - Spread out over both discs, these are fascinating.

MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 EPISODE - Rocket Attack USA and the short, The Phantom Creeps.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - Invasion USA, by Jason A. Ney; Rocket Attack USA, by C. Cortney Joyner and Mark Jordan Legan.

SUPPLEMENTAL BOOKLET - Features a couple of essays by Don Stradley and Toby Roan.

TRAILERS

STILL GALLERY