Monday, May 4, 2015

THE CAT AND THE CANARY / Universal Pictures - 1927

I've set our Way-Out Machine for Hollywood 1927, when things were way simpler. Our silent feature is based on the 1922 play by John Willard, it's all about the relatives of Cyrus West that have to wait 20 years after his death for the inheritance will to be read. This is another OLD DARK HOUSE style tale that was so very popular back then.

The original music was nothing to write home about, so, we're sans a sound clip...

Well, 20 years has passed since crazy old Cyrus West has died and it's time for all the relatives to be summoned to his estate and have the will read.

Of course, everyone arrives at night because it's a lot spookier. This black cat stops traffic!

Okay, here are four of the guys that have arrived for the reading of the will, one is The Cat. Do you know which one of them likes to eat Canaries?! We'll find out the answer at the end.

This is a horror comedy with lots of funny lines ending up on the dialogue cards!

Paul hides under the bed in the girls' room and gets an eyeful as they change into their nightgowns. He gets caught and has to leave the room through the window!

This is an actual dialogue card when one of the women gets really pissed off!

The Cat is loose in the house and looking for a little birdie to play with!

Later, a doctor comes to the house to examine Annabelle, who has been named the inheritor of Cyrus West's estate. He's there to determine if she is sane enough to receive the inheritance. It looks like he's the crazy one, though!

I love this make up job, it's really out there! The Cat is closing in on Annabelle but she doesn't know it quite yet. Paul got in a whirlwind of a tussle with the monster and was knocked out.

Here's The Cat moving in for the kill, closer and closer he comes!..

But, the cops show up and The Cat gets caught in the act! So, if you chose dude number 2 as the murderer, you're right! We will be back Wednesday for more dirt from The Dungeon!..

Saturday, May 2, 2015

HOT SATURDAY - "I'm Burning For You" (1934)

 Welcome to the Saturday Night Pre-Code Special down in The Dungeon! Before the "Code To Govern The Making Of Talking, Synchronized and Silent Motion Pictures," was enacted on June 13, 1934, it was anything goes! That's why you can watch silent movies, and wonder in disbelief that there was nudity, when the rest of society was still pretty much draped from head to toe! I don't have time to tell you all the details, but here's a couple of highlights of what had to stop! In the "Crimes Against The Law" category, 01 - "The technique of murder must be presented in a way that will not inspire imitation." But what they really wanted to crack down on was partying with alcohol and basically anything that had to do with sex! So you have stuff like "Scenes of passion should not be introduced when not essential to the plot!" So you get the idea, somebody suddenly got a moral stick up their butt, and movie making was changed until 1968 when the code was replaced by the MPAA film rating system! All you comic book fans will know that the same basic thing happened to comic books in 1954 until the early 2000's! Marvel abandoned the comics code completely in 2001!

What a fitting title for this Saturday Night Special!

Just another sleepy little town!

Here's Nancy (The Devil's Holiday) Carroll as the super sweet and pleasant bank worker Miss Ruth Brock!

Here's Cary Grant as the swanky playboy Romer Sheffield!  How cool do you have to be to wear a completely white suit? As cool as Archibald Alexander Leach, Cary Grant's birth name!

 Ruth's sister Annie steals her drawers, so she strips them off her, and takes them back! This is obviously a breach of future rule VI, COSTUME - 2. "Undressing scenes should be avoided, and never used save where essential to the plot."

 DITTO!!

 Not many guys could get away with wearing an ascot like that either, but Cary Grant always gets away with it effortlessly! This scene is an obvious breach of future code rule 4. "The use of liquor in American life, when not required by the plot or for proper characterization, will not be shown!" What a bunch of spoil sports!

Here's about 2 minutes of  "I'm Burning For You" written by Arthur Johnston and Sam Coslow, and sung by this unidentified road house torch singer! I'm sure it commits some kind of sin!

 VII DANCES - "Dances suggesting or representing sexual actions or indecent passion are forbidden!"

Big time cowboy-western actor Randolph Scott plays Bill Fadden, Ruth's old flame from seven years earlier!

Ruth Brock gets wrongfully accused of spending the night at Romer's pad, and the catty rumor mill cranks into high gear!

Ruth is fired from her job for her supposed infidelities so she goes out in the rain to find Bill Fadden who is on a dig up in the mountains! It starts raining like Hell, and before she can find the cave he's dwelling in, she passes out from exhaustion!

 See how they like to twist everything around! Bill innocently undresses Ruth to dry out her clothes and get her warm, but it turns into another evil sexual innuendo!

 She's naked under there, so I'm pretty sure that would violate future rule VI. COSTUME - 1. - "Complete nudity is never permitted.This includes nudity in fact or silhouette, or any lecherous or licentious notice thereof by other characters in the picture."

Bill and Ruth were all set to get married until he falls into all the traps of gossip and lies, and he ends up driving Ruth into the arms of Romer Sheffield who doesn't mind at all because he was madly in love with her anyway! 
I got this movie from Amazon! It's included in a nice three DVD set called "Pre-Code Hollywood Collection" that includes a total of 6 movies, and a copy of the whole "Code To Govern The Making Of Talking, Synchronized and Silent Motion Pictures," so you can bet this won't be the last of the Pre-Code thrills around here! If you don't want to own it, but you still want to watch "Hot Saturday," there's a nice version streaming for free right here on YouTube!

Friday, May 1, 2015

THE MONSTERS OF PAUL BLAISDELL - Part 2

Welcome back for Part 2 of the amazing work of Paul Blaisdell. Part 1 focused on all his major creations, now, we'll take a look at the other work in his portfolio...

Paul's first monster was a rubber puppet for the Corman production of THE BEAST WITH A MILLION EYES in 1955. Although the posters for the movie were some of the best ever conceived, the movie itself didn't even come close in delivering the goods. This movie always reminded me of a story by Al Feldstein in EC's WEIRD SCIENCE Comic from around 1953.

Paul came up with a totally unique flying insect umbrella alien for Corman's NOT OF THIS EARTH in 1957. Lucky me, I saw this one with my neighbors at the theater when it was released, back when kids would walk 5 miles to the show and back with no complaints.

Again in 1957, Paul played the part of a corpse in Corman's THE UNDEAD (Eegah!! had the 1-sheet). They even threw in his little bat things from IT CONQUERED THE WORLD.

1957 was a very busy year for Paul. Bert I. Gordon had him construct the giant needle used to inject Glenn in THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN. I'm pretty sure Paul and wife Jackie also made the miniature furniture and food props.

Paul also had small acting parts in these two 1957 JD flicks for Alex Gordon.

In 1958 Herman Cohen used Paul's personal collection of masks and heads in the climax for HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER. The priceless pieces were burned without the knowledge or permission of Paul, needless to say it was one dirty trick played on him. Burn in Hell Herman Cohen, you sorry sack of shit...

Paul was back with Bert Gordon in 1958 for EARTH vs. THE SPIDER, another one I saw at the time. Paul created the shriveled up motorcycle cop, a victim of The Spider.

Also in 1958 him and Jackie worked on ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE (saw this one too) where they created some of the props and designs.

Then, Paul helped Roger Corman out again with the construction of the Beastman creature for TEENAGE CAVEMAN in 1959. It looks like parts of the monster from NIGHT OF THE BLOOD BEAST were used in the making of this thing.

Columbia reused the costume from IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE for the aliens in INVISIBLE INVADERS in 1959, but, this time they're white.

Paul then created the horror magazine FANTASTIC MONSTERS OF THE FILMS in 1962 and included Devil's Workshop where he showed you how to make your own little monsters!!

Paul was only 55 when he died in 1983, he lived out the years after his movie career as a carpenter in the friendly little community of Topanga Canyon.

Monster Music

Monster Music
AAARRGGHHH!!!! Ya'll Come On Back Now, Y'Hear??