Boris pulls it off with his great magneticism and superb voice.
The movie takes a strange twist towards the middle where he imprisons several people in his house and tells them over a loudspeaker that he intends to kill them off one at a time every fifteen minutes.
Check out some great Karloff photos here.
Showing posts with label movie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movie. Show all posts
Oct 30, 2009
Oct 28, 2009
Ghost Ship
Val Lewton.
The mute sailor sharpening his knife.
Loose hook, anchor chain scenes.
Gripping knife fight.
Talky at points.
Same sweet voiced Caribbean singer from I Walked with a Zombie.
Great atmosphere and genuine psychological suspense. Intense script, Val Lewton really worked hard on his films. RKO Radio pictures has a major laurel on it's crown with this one. Film students take note... for the sake of quality cinema goddamn it...
The mute sailor sharpening his knife.
Loose hook, anchor chain scenes.
Gripping knife fight.
Talky at points.
Same sweet voiced Caribbean singer from I Walked with a Zombie.
Great atmosphere and genuine psychological suspense. Intense script, Val Lewton really worked hard on his films. RKO Radio pictures has a major laurel on it's crown with this one. Film students take note... for the sake of quality cinema goddamn it...
Oct 13, 2009
13 Frightened Girls!
13 Frightened Girls (1963) William Castle
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056796/
I haven't seen many William Castle films, but I think I can safely say this isn't your typical Castle sort of movie. I found 13 Frightened Girls to be a fun, light suspense flick. Bits of suspense and campy plot and action really round it out. An engaging teenage caper for wholesome 60's teens. The title is a bit misleading as only one girl gets frightened on a regular basis. The 13 girls (from 13 different countries - turns out they are "contest winners" according to the trailer) are daughters of diplomats and world leaders and attend an exclusive school for girls. There's an interesting international element and when you add in their thick accents and awkward acting you get great camp potential. But alas, most hardly get any screen time, which is a bit of a shame. This is not a horror film by any means, like you might expect from castle, but rather a sort of teenage spy suspense fantasy. That isn't to say there arent moments of reasonably intense terror, of which there are a few surprising scenes given the innocent Parent Trap sort of tone of the film. Castle acheives some genuine suspense and seat squirming with some elegantly simple techniques, like throwing cats from off screen and dangling teenage girls over meathooks. The lead actress is perfect for the role and has a great set of lungs for all the screaming she gets to do.
I enjoyed the 1963 London locations and fashions. Lavish color and not a dull moment, except for the tennis match. A fellow viewer old enough to know noted the "great vigor" line was probably a reference to President Kennedy's popular phrase.
Original Trailer with cat throwing action! I'd turn it off after the cat, there are some light spoilers.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056796/
I haven't seen many William Castle films, but I think I can safely say this isn't your typical Castle sort of movie. I found 13 Frightened Girls to be a fun, light suspense flick. Bits of suspense and campy plot and action really round it out. An engaging teenage caper for wholesome 60's teens. The title is a bit misleading as only one girl gets frightened on a regular basis. The 13 girls (from 13 different countries - turns out they are "contest winners" according to the trailer) are daughters of diplomats and world leaders and attend an exclusive school for girls. There's an interesting international element and when you add in their thick accents and awkward acting you get great camp potential. But alas, most hardly get any screen time, which is a bit of a shame. This is not a horror film by any means, like you might expect from castle, but rather a sort of teenage spy suspense fantasy. That isn't to say there arent moments of reasonably intense terror, of which there are a few surprising scenes given the innocent Parent Trap sort of tone of the film. Castle acheives some genuine suspense and seat squirming with some elegantly simple techniques, like throwing cats from off screen and dangling teenage girls over meathooks. The lead actress is perfect for the role and has a great set of lungs for all the screaming she gets to do.
I enjoyed the 1963 London locations and fashions. Lavish color and not a dull moment, except for the tennis match. A fellow viewer old enough to know noted the "great vigor" line was probably a reference to President Kennedy's popular phrase.
Original Trailer with cat throwing action! I'd turn it off after the cat, there are some light spoilers.
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