Handmade Movies - The Beast With Five Fingers!

The Beast with Five Fingers is a 1944 horror movie which tries its utmost to cash in on the palpable creepiness of the late great Peter Lorre. It does so successfully, but it takes its time about it.

The story is about a misanthropic concert pianist (Victor Francen) who some time before lost the use of one of his arms. He has since had great fame with a one-handed musical composition designed for him by a very talented man (Robert Alda) who spends his afternoons swindling tourists. Also he has a nurse (Andrea King) with whom he has a mad obsession, as well as a longtime librarian and sycophant (Lorre). He is a cruel fellow but when he dies he becomes quite popular due to his wealth and when after his funeral it seems his hand has been disconnected from his body and his roaming the house killing off his corrupt lawyer and making attempts on others, the story really gets to rocking. Also on board is a local constable (J. Carrol Nash)  who is very entertaining when he chooses to be.

This is a handsome movie, and truth told is put together with a lot of fantastic behind-the-scenes talent (Siodmak script, Steiner score, etc.), the kind of a talent a studio could muster in its heyday. Sadly all that talent goes mostly for naught as this story lacks the one thing which makes most horror flicks succeed, it lacks suspense. The culprit behind the shenanigans is pretty obvious and the movie doesn't really work all that hard to make you think the hand is actually crawling about on its own. We sense early that it's a scam and that undermines the potential horror of the set up.

But it has moments, most all of them owing to Peter Lorre's over-the-top performance. He does madmen like no one else and this guy is right up there with his best. Nash is also a lot of fun, but he's not in it very much and truth told as good a job as he does it cuts against the horror a bit too.

I give this one a mild recommendation, if only to see Lorre chewing scenery in fine fashion.

Anther handmade movie tomorrow, but sadly no Peter Lorre. 

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Handmade Movies - Mad Love!

Mad Love (also known as The Hands of Orloff) is a dandy horror flick from the golden age of horror. It features Peter Lorre in his Hollywood debut and he is utterly fascinating in the movie as an palpably insane surgeon whose mad obsession with an actress ignites the utterly weird goings-on in this yarn. The movie also stars Colin Clive and Frances Drake in some exceedingly memorable roles.

The story is a lurid one indeed. An actress named Yvonne is the star of a Parisian Grand Guignol production and every night she is watched greedily by a renowned physician named Gogol. Her husband Stephen Orlac is a famed concert pianist and the two are finally going to have a life together after having been married for a year. But the actress's retirement is not met well by Gogol who reveals his obsessive love for her, frightening her. But fate intervenes when Stephen is nearly killed in a train accident and his hands are nearly destroyed. Using her influence over Gogol, Yvonne convinces him to operate and in a desperate gamble he borrows the hands of a recently executed knife-murderer to replace those of Orlac's.

But the hands seem to have ambitions of their own and after many months of money-draining therapy Stephen is still unable to play music but he can fling a knife with the best of them. Yvonne goes again to Gogol who has gotten even crazier and he tries to convince the world that Stephen is a murderer by pretending to be the resurrected murderer (minus hands). Stephen is convinced and so are the police, but Gogol loses control and things go awry for him.

There are lots of great scenes in this one, almost all of them featuring the boggle-eyed Lorre at his best. You can almost feel his eyes as they wiggle and wobble across his face. And it's is suffering that comes through. Gogol is a sick sick puppy, a weird man who seems to thrive on pain, the pain he casually inflicts on those around him with his often callous disregard and more intense versions. He becomes aroused by the connection of torture and his beloved Yvonne who appears ideal to him as the victim of a house of torment.

Return tomorrow for another handmade movie starring Peter Lorre.

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Murder They Filmed!

Thanks to Turner Classic Movies, I've at long last been able to see Fritz Lang's classic M. This 1931 German-language talkie (Lang's first) tells the story of a city terrorized by a mysterious child murderer who lurks among the people innocuously but who has killed eight children. Peter Lorre is remarkable in the role and much to my surprise has far less screen time than I expected.

The focus of this movie is on the effects of the murders on the city itself, especially where it concerns the professional criminal class who suffer from the relentless police presence the murders have elicited. In an odd parallel storyline both the underworld and the police investigate and ultimately find the killer, who is brought to justice in a most unusual way indeed.

Lang's visuals of the city are often weirdly compelling and the distinctive mugs of the characters in this movie reminded me of the various faces in Island of Lost Souls the film adaptation of The Island of Dr.Moreau. I was also reminded of many of Will Eisner's layouts from The Spirit. The ending of the restored version which I saw offers up a much different take on the situation than I expected.

Another famous murder flick I've never seen until the last few days was the film adaptation of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood.

I've never read the book, though I've got it floating around here somewhere and may put it on the docket for this summer if I can locate it. It is another odd yarn which focuses to a much greater extent on two killers who for reasons which seem to even escape them, brutally kill an entire family.

The two killers are played by Scott Wilson and Robert Blake and both are striking and memorable in the roles. Wilson's character is loquacious and chillingly charming while Blake's is strange and by turns warm and malevolent. Both are compelling as they seem so matter of fact about their crimes that it becomes quite uncomfortable to watch them mingle with regular folks afterwards.

We also follow the police led by John Forsythe, as they try to wrangle this pair who almost despite themselves elude the authorities rather effectively for quite a spell. 

Both of these movies offer insights into some very depraved minds, dark characters who are dangerous in that they seem at the same time so banal and commonplace.

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Monsters On Route 66!

"Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg, and howlet's wing,--
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble."
-from Shakespeare's Macbeth

I've read about this episode of the vintage TV show Route 66 forever. It is a breezy Halloween episode titled "Lizard's Leg and Owlet's Wing" and brings together a trio of classic monster movie greats. Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, and Lon Chaney Jr. are the famous monsters in this one.

The premise is pretty weak really, as we find the trio trying to bring monsters to a new market, ostensibly television and they are debating whether the classics will serve or as Karloff argues a new horror is called for. The debate is pretty tepid with Lorre and Chaney going to great lengths to pitch for the classic approach. With the aid of Martin Milner, they eventually partner up to frighten a gaggle of secretaries who are attending a conference.

There's more, but what horror fans want to know is that Lon Chaney appears in several make-ups, beginning the show in the Hunchback of Notre Dame garb, switching briefly to the Mummy, and then spending a great deal of the show as the Wolfman. His face is actually only glimpsed in one scene. Lorre having no classic make-ups to refer to must use his considerable mug to bring effect and he does so masterfully. Karloff, the reluctant member of the trio eventually dons the classic Frankenstein make-up for a few scenes, apparently the last time the famous actor did so.

The clash of imagery with old monsters trying to scare folks in a modern hotel are interesting. This one is supposed to say something about fate, love and such given its titled is derived from Shakespeare's Scottish play, but the subplots about women, men and some malarkey about love and whatnot are pretty confusing. Karloff does give a heartsick young woman a sweet speech about the nature of love at one point, but I'm still confused about how this all ties up.

But while they are trying to make the whole thing tie up it really just ends with each of the great actors getting a send off deserving of his status.

The show is diverting, the old actors are fun, but it's only as a curiosity that I can recommend this one, but I do recommend it.

Here's the episode in four parts.









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Halloween Monster Eats!

While Mummy Yummies and Fruit Brute didn't last all that long, the continued success of Frankenberry, Count Chocula, and Boo Berry prove the utter genius of this General Mills cereal concept. Outstanding!

Actually I don't much like the cereals all that much, too sweet, but I love the designs. Here's the official General Mills website. And if you go to this website and scroll down a bit you'll find some neat trivia on the monstery quintet.

And here are several commercials. It's great to hear the wonderful voices for Frankenberry, Count Chocula, and Boo Berry. The classic tones of Karloff, Lorre, and maybe a hint of Lugosi add luster to the characters. I have no idea who if anyone inspired Fruit Brute or Yummy Mummy. They seem pretty random.









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Karloff & Lugosi - Horror Classics!

This is a collection of minor movies with a single exception. Boris Karloff was a great actor, and when paired with Bela Lugosi a magnetic screen presence they made some beautiful movie music indeed. They don't get paired save in one flick, but it's still fun.



The Walking Dead is a great old horror flick. It offers up a very sympathetic Boris as a felon drawn into an underworld scheme to murder an honest judge. Karloff's character is convicted and executed for a crime he didn't commit, but thanks to the science of Edmund Gwynn he gets a new lease on life though his connection to the grave seems most potent indeed. Karloff's character of Ellman here becomes an avenging angel of sorts who seems to have God's blessing to return from the darkness and wreak revenge on those who plotted against him. Though he never lays a hand on any of them, he nonetheless has his revenge. It's a surprisingly tense movie and Boris has never been better.



Frankenstein 1970 is a fun bit of fluff from the 50's and offers up a much older Boris as the grandson of the infamous Baron Frankenstein. Of course he's still involved in the family business and uses the presence of an American TV show cast and crew to both finance and supply more personal donations to his evil cause. The movie is a bit slow, but it's got a solid cast and while some accuse Boris of overacting in this one, I loved his scene chewing a lot. There are few scares in this one but some interesting twists on the classic tale nonetheless.



Zombies on Broadway has an outstanding title and it has Bela Lugosi, so I'm going to watch it. But this one has quite a bit of material by the Abbott & Costello wannabe team of comedians here and too little Bela. Bela is good but needs much more screen time. There are some pretty good zombies here though, the guy from the classic Val Lewton movie is on hand. But the humor ain't much to laugh at aside from a great gimmick Bela has with a monkey and some filing drawers.



You'll Find Out starring Kay Kiser was the surprise of this set to me. I thought this would be the weakest offering but it's full of zest and having Boris, Bela and Peter Lorre all three on hand makes it worthy indeed. Kay Kiser is the star and he's not bad as an actor. The Kay Kiser band gets stranded at an old mansion filled with mystics and evil doctors and the usual haunted house shenanigans ensue. It's funny in places it supposed to be and mildly creepy where it ought to be. Karloff, Lugosi, and Lorre seem to play their parts straight and that helps immensely, letting the comedy come from the others. This movie was entertaining.

All four flicks are worth the time and for the price it's hard to go wrong.

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