Nope, I Can't Escape February Without A Dummy Attack

The 1940s are easily my biggest blind spot when it comes to cinema, particularly of the genre persuasion. Save for a few Val Lewton gems, I've seen virtually nothing from those years, so any chance to expand upon that is welcome. But I'll be honest about something:

I didn't know Dead of Night had a ventriloquist's dummy.

And I am not happy about that one bit.

Quick Plot: An architect drives out to a country home for a weekend design job only to immediately realize the bevy of socialites gathered there have been appearing regularly in his nightmares, despite the fact that he hasn't met a single one. Through cigarette smoke and '40s style chatter, the sextet begins to share their own personal stories of the supernatural.

That's right folks: it's an anthology!

Here's what we've got:

-Story 1 is the traditional "room for one more" tale as an injured racecar driver constantly sees a hearse driver with an ominous message
-Next up is a good old fashioned child ghost yarn set in a spooky but crowded house at a festive Christmas party
-Story 3 follows a wealthy woman's poor decision in buying her beloved a haunted wall mirror that once witnessed a violent crime. This story is the best thing in the world for two reasons:

1. It gives us such wonderfully aristocratic dialogue as "What do you want to do tonight? Dress up? Spend a lot of money?"

and


2. The lead wears a different headpiece in EVERY SINGLE SCENE. I know, I know. You're thinking "but it's one segment in an anthology, how many scenes can there be?" Well, as many scenes as there were fabulous headpieces in the costume shop's trunk.

-In the fourth tale, a pair of cheekily competitive golfers makes a friendly wager that involves the loser surrendering his lady love and drowning himself in a nearby lake, only to return to happily haunt the victorious (and cheating) newlywed. It's a strange blend of light-hearted comedy and, you know, the tale of suicide and ghostings.

-Finally, we get to The Worst Thing In the World: Michael Redgrave as a ventriloquist with a misbehaving dummy named Hugo.

I don't want to talk about it, even if this IS February's Attack of the Shorties.

In my 31 years on this planet, there a few lessons I've picked up. Perhaps the most life-saving ones are thus:

There are only two things in this world to fear: ventriloquist's dummies and caterpillars.

The sight of both instantly shrivel me into the fetal position, leaking a steady stream of urine and tears in what can only qualify as an exceedingly slippery floor environment.

You'd think Dead of Night being made in 1945 would help diminish that fear a tad. Hugo may speak like a helium-high scoundrel, but, well, he's just a typical black and white wooden doll whose movements can only be manipulated so much! you say, as if you have ANY understanding of the ancient evil arts.

Ventriloquist's dummies are never, without pretty much any exception ever, not evil. Even Pee-Wee Hermann knew this! 

Back on the impossible track that is resisting the urge to lock myself in a closet and instead discuss the movie: it's good. Perhaps because my 1940s film experience is so bare, even the fast-paced dialogue and highly mannered speaking feels fresh and different. None of the stories go on too long, and if they threaten to, such a crime is easily excused because LOOK AT THOSE FABULOUS HATS!

But the movie also features a dummy. A high-pitched voice dummy that does terrible things.

It's hard to forgive something like that.

High Points
HATS!

Low Points

DUMMIES!

Lessons learned
It’s jolly unpleasant when you find yourself smack up against the supernatural

Because a chap becomes a ghost surely doesn’t mean he’s no longer a gentleman

If you're wealthy, 'curious' and 'tragic' essentially mean the same thing

Rent/Bury/Buy
Long out of print, Dead of Night is well worth watching both for its pedigree as an early anthology and because it's simply a good movie. Even though it has a dummy. A dummy that is probably plotting in his little soprano voice an elaborate routine to torture me, singing and making vaudvillian puns throughout the process.

I am not happy about this.

I Dreamed a Deathdream In the Dead of Night

Anyone who’s ever lost someone they love--be it a parent, lover, or beloved family dog--knows what it’s like to dream that he or she or it is still happily breathing as if nothing final ever happened. Bob Clark’s Deathdream (aka Dead of Night) knows that, and like many a similar tale before it (some even also called Dead of Night), the film taps into the innate sadness of mourning.

With skin peeling.

Quick Plot: Andy is a soldier in Vietnam meeting a quick end as a sniper bullet takes his life. Back home, his overbearing mother Christine begs him to come back.

He does.

Of course, those who've read The Monkey’s Paw or seen that Simpsons episode know that such a supernatural second lease can’t be good. Despite his mother’s happiness, Andy’s father Charles and sister Cathy can’t look past the utter oddness of Andy’s behavior. Even the family dog isn’t comfortable in his presence, and if that's not a sign that something is amiss, I'm not a crazy cat lady.

There’s also the small matter of a dead truck driver and family physician, both of whom saw Andy just before their grisly ends. The real strain, however, seems to be on Charles and Christine’s marriage, something that clearly came second on Christine’s list of priorities.

Deathdream was directed by Black Christmas’ Bob Clark with a screenplay by his Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things cohort Alan Ormsby. There’s nothing overly revolutionary about Deathdream’s story, but the Clark/Ormsby approach is something truly special. Rather than focus on the supernatural, Deathdream is far more concerned with its characters, namely, Christine and Charles.

Played by veteran actors John Marley and Lynn Carlin, Charles and Christine are the real heart of this film, a middle-aged married couple who might be more in love with other things. For Christine, it’s Andy, her favorite child and blatant obsession. Charles seems a little more balanced, although one gets the feeling that his monkey’s paw wish would be more aimed at resurrecting his beloved dog than wife. Lost in the middle is their daughter Cathy, a nice enough young woman who watches her family fall apart but doesn’t seem important enough to any of them to make a difference.

Deathdream is a sad, haunting little film that finds its true horror in the utter devastation of a family torn apart. We don’t know Andy before his enlistment, but an awkward double date is enough to show us how much everything has changed (and not JUST because, you know, he’s a talking zombie in a turtleneck). Deathdream isn’t a an out-and-out anti-war film, but the sentiment does come across in a subtle, never forced manner. The tragedy of the film stems more from a woman’s inability to accept her son’s death, but to ignore the implications certainly misses some of the deeper points.

Also, the film is FREAKY.

Though there’s never any doubt that Andy has come back as something of a monster, the slow reveal of just how awful his condition is comes across quite effectively. With huge glasses and a Joker grin plastered upon his pale face, Andy seems like a walking vampire in the sun. It’s incredibly creepy, and yet once we learn a little more about Andy, made much more sad.

High Points

For such a character-based genre film like Deathdream, it’s a strange but kind of perfect choice to open so quickly. Within seconds, Andy is shot, killed, and sent home. The economy with which Clark and Ormsby establish the basic plot is impressive and smart

Low Notes

I suppose youngest child Cathy gets a little lost in the shuffle of, you know, having her older brother killed in the Vietnam War then return in talking zombie form.

Lessons Learned

Never marry a man who can’t carve a roast beef

Everyone changes eventually

World War II was quite the war!

Rent/Bury/Buy

Deathdream is a hearty recommend but only when you’re in a particular mood for melancholy horror. The film takes its time in showing the unraveling of the Brooks family, and while there ARE some shocking moments, the film is more eerily sad than actually scary. Pour some wine, grab a nearby household pet, and watch Deathdream (currently on Netflix Instant) knowing everything is okay.