princessananka

What are some of your favorite movies that you'll be watching during the holidays? I love to wallow in nostalgia during this time so my top picks are from David O. Selznick: Gone With the Wind, Since You Went Away and that three-handkerchief weepie, Intermezzo, starring Ingrid Bergman in her American movie debut. I love listening to those lush musical scores that set the mood and that's why I'm also choosing the Bette Davis tear-jerker, Dark Victory. Max Steiner's score makes this gem unforgettable. For fun, and even though Halloween's over with, I still love to dip into my Univversal horror classics collection and browse through all the Mummy series, the Wolf Man, the Invisible Man and the Dracula classics. There are also those fun chillers like "Night Monster" and "Captive Wild Woman." Lassie Come Home is another wonderful tear-jerker and that beautiful Technicolor photography can't be beat. Also, I love to get out my original Nancy Drew mysteries (the ones with the blue binding), classic supernatural stories (i.e, Lovecraft, Machen, Blackwood, Wharton, etc.) and such well-thumbed tomes as Rebecca and Anne of Green Gables. What are some of your holiday favorites?

Ankers is fabulous as Kitty, the street walker, in Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror. She gives a knockout, rousing speech to all her bar buddies to find the killer of her boyfriend and the Nazi enemy of London. There are several ravishing close-ups of Ankers that were never to be repeated in any of her films and she looks like a real glamor queen. She would never look as gorgeous as she does in Voice of Terror. Also the confrontation scene between her and Elizabeth Russell in the marvelous, WEIRD WOMAN, is one of the best acted scenes in Universal's B-movie history. Russell acts like one possessed: "A woman lied! A WOMAN LIEDDDDDD!" And Ankers looks properly terrified. And that ending! It proves that Universal had no idea what to do with such great actresses as Ankers, Russell, Virginia Christine, Fay Helm, Doris Lloyd or such phenomenal looking starlets as Ramsay Ames and Acquanetta.

Don't forget Argento's greatest, "Inferno"--the color and lghting are fabulous. Also, you can't go wrong with "Tourist Trap" and those terrifying, living dummies! (the wooden kind,not the actors). There's also a real art house treat from London that was shown continuously on TV back in the early fifties Corridor of Mirrors, with the beautiful Ramsay Ames look-a-like, Edana Romey, and is out on DVD, made by film great, Eric Porter. I still like watching "White Zombie", back-to-back with "Carnival of Souls"--both notable for their great black-and-white photography. Now, it's back into the quicksand since I can't find no Tanna leaves. (Acquanetta, where did you hide'em?)

I caught this movie on either AMC or TCM and can't forget how dissapoined I was in it--primarily because of the monster. I won't give away the ending butI researched this film and from what I understand, the budget for The Maze was almost non-existent. It had a good cast, especially Richard Carlson who never dissapoints. The atmosphere was good, too, since it took place in an old castle. But the climax of the movie was a real let-down. Maybe you'll see it differently from me because this is a movie that screams for a remake where the budget is bigger and they can afford to create a monster that really scares.

Cinemafan, I first saw "Nicholas and Alexander" back in the late 60s and was completely dissapointed in it. Maybe I was expecting too much because after reading the fantastic book by Robert Massie, i became a Russian-phile, reading everything I could about the downfall of the Romanovs. My passion is still as intense today about the Russian Revolution. My main complaint about the movie is that the climax of the movie--where the Tsar and his family are executed--was so softened up that you felt none of the horror of what happened. It was like the creators were trying not to shock the sensibiities of the audience when they should have been shocked. The casting was fair but I felt the movie didn't capture the wild splendor of the tsar and his court. I was also dissapointed in the Rasputin character. I wasn't at all impressed with the actor who played the mad monk. Perhaps I'll feel differently when viewing it again today. It is definitely worth watching--at least once--and perhaps you'll thoroughly enjoy it.

I can see Bette Davis looking Kharis up and and down and spitting: "Whatta dump!"

Fred, i agree with you. This movie was a royal mess, thanks to Ayn Rand. Her contract gave her casting approval and she demanded that Gary Cooper star as Howard Roark. This destroyed the movie right there. Cooper was 30 years too old for the role. King Vidor wanted someone young and intense and lobbied for John Garfield who would have been perfect. But noooo. Rand said absolutely not. Vidor wanted Ida Lupino as the heroine and she would have been perfect but again Rand only wanted Patricia Neal. Rand later said in an interview that her heroines were always based on Greta Garbo, especially Dagney Taggart in "Atlas Shrugged." A young Garbo would have been ideal but Garbo was already in her forties--the same age as Cooper when he made this. There's been talk over the decades of redoing "Fountainhead" and also a new film of "Atlas Shrugged." Rock Hudson brought the rights to "Atlas" and several screenplays were written but alas! The new Hollywood has refused to even think of filming anything by Rand which is too bad. Her first book, "We the Living" would make a fantastic spectacular, set against the l914 Russian Revolution.

And perhaps we'll have Princess Ananka screaming at Kharis: "You gimpy-legged monster!" Bronxgirl,you're tooo much! Ha!

Hi, Bronxgirl, I,too,love your postings and always eagerly look to see what you've written. You're always on the mark and really know your movies! I remember Louise Albritton saying in an interview that she loved making "Son of Dracula" because it was such a change.She also went onto say how much she enjoyed working with Evelyn Ankers but said nothing about Lon Chaney. Ankers wrote in a delightful foreward to the book, "Classic B Movies" about how much she detested Lon Chaney and had absolutely no fond memoris of him at all! She also said that during the filming of "Weird Woman", she, Anne Gwynee and Elizabeth Russell laughed hysterically between shots about the idea that anyone could find Lon Chaney so attractive that they'd kill for him. Ramsay Ames also had bad experiences with Chaney during filming of "Mumym's ghost." She refused to say what those problems were to the interviewer but another source said that Chaney was usually pie-eyed drunk by twelve noon and Ames was afraid he'd trip and fall in the swamp with her and also while carrying her up that steep ramp at the end. Chaney must have been a handful to work with. And yes, I agree with you--Richard Denning was a major **** and I've always loved his swim-suit scenes in "Creature from the Black Lagoon." What an Adonis!

Greeat reply, Fred! Nuf' said.

Here's another delicious tidbit about the making of "Son of Dracula." The director said in an interview in a collection of interviews with horror directors in the 90s that while filming it, Lon Chaney was drinking more heavily than usual. For some reason, he became furious at Siodmak and came up from behind him and smashed a vase over his head. Dunno whether Chaney thought this was one of those break-away vases used in fight scenes but production was shut down while Siodmak was rushed to the hospital with blood streaming down this face and needing many stitches. Seems like this production had oodles of behind-the-scenes action that matched what was going on in front of the cameras. By the way, I think Chaney looked sexy and handsome in a cold, macho way as Count Dracula. That moustache and and slicked back hair gave him a sexy flair. Poor Evelyn Ankers definitely got gyped in her secondary, goodie-goodie role. No wonder she was fed up with movie-making by this time!

thisledown, you're so right about the fantastic performance of Virginia Christine as Princess Ananka. She gives it everything until you feel that she's a real, tragic person. The scene of her rising from the quicksand is indeed a shocker and beautifully photographed--with the shots of the sun--interpersed and that great musical soundtrack. After christine left Universal in the late 40s, she went to become one of Hollywood's favorite character actresses and she popped up in all the popuar series--from the Twilight Zone, Studio 90, Alfred Hitchcock, etc--to regular featured roles in such horror goodies as the original "Invasion fo the Body Snatchers." As usual, Universal did nothing with her outstanding talent, just as they criminally wasted the talents of Evelyn Ankers, who had been a very accomplished stage actress, and Ramsay Ames, the gloriously beautifull Princess Ananka in "The Mummy's Ghost."

I'm taking a break from watching my just-purchased Universal Horror Classic Movie Archive. I'm now half-way through "Horror Island" which is proving to be a real bore. It's not a shock classic. It's a mystery with attempts at humor made throughout. The monster is actually a guy in a black cloak who spends his time running from room to room. You wonder why Universal didn't include "The Mad Ghoul", along with the very seldom seen Gale Sondergarrd classic, "Spider Woman Strikes Back." This;is a priceless gem that hasn't been telecast or seen in decades. I remember Brenda Joyce as the heroine who visits the Spider Woman for some reason. "Murders in the Rue Morgue" is a delicious shiver-fest and I love those Germanic expressionistic sets. Sidney Fox as the heroine is a nightmare in itself. She was a suicide in the early 40s from an overdose of pills. Her career certainly didn't take off, although she was rumored to have had an affair with the young Carl Laemmle Jr., who was responsible for her getting plum roles for awhile, especially the starring role in "Bad Sister," which was Bette Davis' first movie in l930.

Thanks to you, Dsclassic, I just ran over to my BestBuy and brought my Universal HOrror Classic Movie Archive-Vol.1 that contains those legendary goodies, "Night Monster," "Captive Wild Woman," etc. My one complaint is that Universal could easily have put the other two Ape Woman flicks on the same disc--Jungle Captive and the Jungle Woman. They're both very short, only about 60 minutes long and this would have made this disc even more wonderful. Well, guess we should be thankful for miracles. Now, I'm turning out the lights, turning off the phone, turning on the AC, getting my comfort food all ready and Weeeeee--I'll be in Universal heaven!

Have you memory of a film performance so bad it left you cringing and wondering: what the hell happened? Think Lucille Ball in "Mame," Barbara Streisand in "Hello, Dolly", Ray Milland in "The Thing With Two Heads," Frank Sinatra in Anything! I had such a cringe-inducing moment recently when I was watching TCM's telecast of the l958 megabomb--"Stage Struck"--Sidney Lumet's ghastly valentine to aspiring actresses everywhere. Whenever I saw Susan Strasberg enter the scene I felt myself recoiling. By the end, I was watching this disaster wtih half-squinted eyes, praying for it to end. Strasberg was portraying Eva Lovelace, the role originally played by Katherine Hepburn in l933's "Morning Glory" and which won Hepburn an Academy Award for her luminous portrayal of a young woman who wanted more than anything to be a great stage actress. Lumet chose Susan Strasberg over such talented gals back in l958 like Liz Taylor, Margaret O'Brien, Janet Leigh and Vera Miles. It was the most coveted female role that year. Every woman in Hollywood was dying to win it! Strasberg had made a splash on Broadway and her parents were none other than those two titans of stage acting: Lee and Paula Strasberg. Their daughter's casting in this highly coveted role was a major tragedy. Her only movie part was in "Picnic", as Kim Novak's sister. Strasberg portrayed her character throughout the movie with a brittle, arrogant, fake air, as if she was slumming. The worst part was when she massacred the big theatrical party scene attended by Henry Fonda, Christopher Plummer and Edward Marshall. When someone asks Strasberg if she plans to be a movie star, she shouts: "I'm a stage actress!" To prove it, she begins to declaim in a hollow, flat way lines from Romeo and Juliet. She begins: "Romeoooo, Romeooo, wherefore art thou Romeooo. "All accompanied by a strange grin. Everyone at the party freezes in stunned amazement--either at her electrifying talent or her lack thereof. Strasberg proved she was a fine Broadway actress but she had zero chemistry with that all-seeing camera. She was like numerous Broadway performers who made their way to Hollywood--like early musical stars, Fannie Brice and Marilyn Miller--but who couldn't connect with the camera. Yet, other stage performers--like Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh and James Dean--all proved that it was possible to transfer major talent from a theater to a movie sound stage with electrifying results. What's your favorite worst performance? Give some reasons why you think the performance just didn't work out.

Hey, thanks for the headsup, Dclassic, regarding Night Monster, Captive Wild Woman, etc. being on DVD. I'll make a quick trip to my Best buy in about an hour and grab it! As I mentionedo on another thread, I brought the l00-Horror Classic Boxed set from Best buy last weekend and have been in horror heaven. Many of these titles I've never heard of--which makes them all the more enticing. Still, Universal cannot be topped when it comes to legendary horror flicks that never grow and only grow better with the passage of time.

I've already listed several times my favorite Universal shockers that will be at the top of my list all this month of Halloween. Yet, I don't think anyone has really expressed reasons for why these classics grow in popularity with every passing year and find new fans every generation. I think the black-and-white photography burnishes these movies to gems to make them perpetual icons in our memories. Universal's horror unit was second-to-none in its technical expertise--from outstanding photography to great musical scores, and of course a talented group of charismatic thespians. Just look at what Ford Beebee did with l942's "Night Monster"--a low-budget production given an A-movie treatment with great acting, photography and musical scoring. Look also at "The Mummy's Ghost' and "The Mummy's Curse." Both were considered low-budget but thanks to gifted directors, cast and crew, they turned out to become unforgettable classics. "Frankenstein Meets the WolfMan" is another unforgettable treasure that grows in stature every year--especially after people watch that fantastic opening--of the grave robbers breaking into the tomb of Lawrence Talbot. You've got electrifyng shots of the full moon, flickerig shadows, terrifying music and it sets the tone for the whole great movie. Bravo to Universal for having left us such a great legacy--now if we could only get "Night Monster" and the Ape Woman series on DVD.

Although I really enjoy the Val Lewton movies, I think they've been way over-blown when they're compared to the Universal shockers. Lewton and his crew never missed a chance of sneering at Universal's mucho popular horror movies--especially "Frankenstein meets the Wolfman." Lewton told one interviewer that he hoped his movies would never fall into the same category of the wildly popular flicks about Dracula, The Wolf Man, the Invisible Man, etc. Lewton and his gang really had a field day ripping up Universal's "Captive Wild Woman." They thought it hilarious, since Lewton explored the same idea--of a woman changing into an animal--with his "Cat People" in which the Cat Woman is never seen. This Lewton movie has never frightened me or chilled me the way "Captive Wild Woman" does in the transformation scene of Paula DuPree (Acquanetta) into a gorilla-like monster that goes on the prowl for Evelyn Ankers. I think Lewton's gems can be enjoyed on a different level than those of Universal--just don't expect any eerie, mist-shrouded terrain and marvelous musical scores that always made Universal's classics stand out--the music usually being adapted from Frank Skinner's and Hans Salter's unforgettable scores from "Son of Frankenstein" and "The Wolf Man."

The silent version of "The Bat" is among the l00 movies included in the boxed set of horror flicks I just brought from Best Buy. I've seen it before but I agree, "The Bat Whispers" is an amazing movie and it's camera work is still awesome. Still, I'm glad to finally have the silent "The Bat" on DVD and this set, by the way, also has the silent "Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" and numerus l930s scary movies, like Ralph Morgan's "Condemned to Die" and Reginald Denny in "Midnight Phantom."

I've already mentioned this on another thread of Pick Your Own Favorite Halloween Movies but i've just returned from Best Buy where I brought me a boxed set of l00 Horror Movies for just $38.00!! Many of these titles I've never heard of but some that stood out were the l928 horror classic with Jack Pickford, "The Bat," along with several early Bela Lugosi titles like "The Phantom Creeps" and "The Bowery at Midnight." I can hardly wait to see Buster Crabbe in "Nabonga" and black actress Nina Mae McKinney in "The Devil's Daughter' and such delirious delights as "Invasion of the Bee Girls" and "Strangers of the Evening' with Zazu :Pitts and the Paul Naschy matserpiece, "Vengence of the Zombies." There's also Boris Karloff in "The Island Monster", "The Ghost Walks" with June Collyer and "Crimes at the Old Dark House" with Tod Slaughter. So guess what I'll be watching the week of Halloween? I'll come up for air now and then and give you a rundown of my l00 movie marathon.

Well, I jump-started my Halloween fave viewing pleasure by splurging at Best Buy while ago and brought me a l00-Horror Movie Boxed Set--for about $38.00! I simply couldn't resist it, primarily because among the l00 movies on 25 discs, there are such goodies as the rarely seen Jack Pickford l928 horror classic, "The Bat." There were also such irrisistible titles as, the l934 "One Frightened Night," Bela Lugosi's "The Phantom Creeps," the camp classic, "Manos: The Hands of Fate," "She Gods of Shark Reef" (I love that title), Barbara Steele in "The She Beast," and "Teenage Zombis.' There's even Arch Hall in the seriously well-done classic, "The Sadist." So, while I'm watching our already listed classics, I'll also be interpersing some of these marvelously hokey horror schlock from yesteryear. Now to check out Paul Naschy's masterpiece, "The Werewolf vs. the Vampire Women."

i think Atwill achieved his greatest role as the mad wax meister in "Mystery of the Wax Museum." He and Fay Wray were dynamite in the final sequence where he plans to turn her into a wax image of Marie Antoinette. Atwill seemed to relish each word he utters--in both the very beginning fo the movie where he's talking to his wax figures--and in that final sequence. Too bad that the scandal of l940 torpedoed his career and he ended his career playing secondary roles.

at his peak, John carradine was one sexy dude and terrific actor. Just watch him in "Captive Wild Woman" with sweat beading his face as he confronts his nurse--Fay Helm--and listens to her threat to denounce his experiments. There's a terrific close-up of Carradine as his eyes glitter with either lust--or homicidal fury. The same thing goes for Carradine as the High Priest in "The Mummy's Ghost." When Kharis brings Ramsay Ames into the shack and places her on the table, Carradine's eyes light up with undisguised lust. I've always thought these were his penultimate peaks in his long and varied career.

Dsclassic, you had quite a treat since both "Captive Wild Woman" and "Night Monster" are two of my all-time faves! In fact, you've given me a great idea on how to spend Saturday night--curled up in bed and watching these two fun and chilling gems. In "Captive Wild Woman", I love the sequence where Evelyn Ankers takes her sister to the creepy sanatorium of John Carradine's. The lighting and shadows are great and Ankers is always a delight to watch. I fell in love with Acquanetta in this movie and I think she was at her all-time best in "Tarzan and the Leoopard Woman." She was absolutely gorgeous and perfect for the campy role of the Leopard Woman. She should have had a much bigger career than she did. She was supposed to have played the role of Amina/Princess Ananka in "The Mummy's Ghost" but on the very first day of shooting, she tripped and suffered a minor arm fracture. Although I think Ramsay Ames was made for that role, it'd be interesting to see how Acquanetta would have done.

Two Hammer masterpieces that I meant to include in my favorites are the glorious "Brides of Dracula" and "The Creeping Flesh." "Brides" is one of the most gorgeous and opulent vampire movies ever made--with a fantastic cast. David Peele makes a beautiful Dorian Gray type vampire and his mother is played by the great Shakesperean actress, Martita Hunt. "The Creeping Flesh" may not be a Hammer release--sounds like maybe Amicus--but it's amazingly well done--about a crazed scientist, Peter Cushing, who experiments on a monster that is revived by water. It comes back to get a finger that was cut off. The scientists daughter turns into a crazed lunatic and murders men. It's actually two stories in one movie but it's done with extraordinary brilliance. Also, dont' forget the great "Horror Express" with an all-star cast and a beautifully atmospheric train of the early 20th century. One more: Tourist Trap, a very well done 1990 excursion into a horrific tourist attraction that attracts innocent youngsters, who're turned into mannequins. Starring Chuck Connors and great work by Jocelyn Jones.