By
Kristin Battestella
I’ve
sung the Hungarian Horror Hunk’s praises previously. However, there’s nothing
like spending an October evening with the unfortunately typecast and it
seems oft under appreciated Bela Lugosi, so here’s a spooky sampling to get the
Creatures of the Nights started!
The
Black Cat – Bela and Boris
together, Oh me oh my! Title aside,
there isn’t much Poe in this 1934 horror hit. However, a fun opening, great
trains, wonderful shadows, classical cues, and early thirties style accent the
boys beautifully. Our Man of the Hour looks good, classy, and handsome- a
gentleman of the time despite his military trauma and lost love. The ferociously juicy looking Karloff has a
great entrance, too. We just know something’s afoot! Both men are sympathetic in their motives,
but they have their own agendas, indeed. Whose vengeance is justified? Who’s
more sinister? Why choose? Not to mention the hidden kinky- bedroom scenes with
waifish, barely dressed ladies winding up men in smoking jackets- and how about
those iffy lines between wives, daughters, and dead bodies? These horror
heavyweights play chess and cross the occult line, and it’s simply glorious to
see them going head to head without hiding behind fantastical capes and makeup.
Though some may find Lugosi’s lengthy dialogue tough to understand, his torment
comes thru nonetheless thanks to hefty, passionate debates, secret rituals, and
good old fashioned blows. Toss in a bit of feline paranoia and mythology, a freaky
Deco cool house, and not often seen interwar consequences, and hot damn. Cat
lovers may both enjoy the motifs or be upset by the stereotypical ailurophobia fears,
but fans of the boys will adore this one, oh yes.
The
Corpse Vanishes – Besides a
totally cop out ending that almost undoes all the fun, I’m not sure why this
fast paced hour long 1942 deadfest received the MST3K treatment. We open with a shocking
death or two at the altar and proceed with hints of all the genre staples:
Elizabeth Russell (Cat People) and
her fountain of youth extremes, ingenue reporter Luana Walters (The She Creature) in creepy house with
foreign eccentrics, their weird staff, and a few deadly secrets. Yes, the
mystery is completely impractical today- Bela Lugosi stealing bridal bodies via
his strangely always on the scene suspicious hearst. Though he doesn’t speak much, Pimp Bela is
skilled and demented with a purpose in his mad scientist laboratory replete
with very big needles, screaming lady patients, and deformed servants in need
of a whippin’! It’s also amusing how
sassy newsfolk and none too bright authorities so readily use scandalous words
like drop dead and corpse so casually, “I have a
daughter…maybe she’ll drop dead, too!” The limited sets feel more like a
simplistic play, and nothing is scary, but there’s some demented and sinister
entertainment here.
Murders
in the Rue Morgue – This 1932
Lugosi vehicle inspired by Poe’s story of the same name takes a lot of liberties, with early Darwinism,
religious subtext, and saucy human/ape interactions. Despite editing cuts that
make for some confusion, there are a few great onscreen murders, sweet shadows,
screams, and other pre-code treats to circumvent the censors. Some sequences
seem downright nasty- animal hissings and damsel screams from the upstairs
bedroom! Our Man Bela is gloriously demented in his torturous looking mad
scientist laboratory. He creates a wonderfully twisted and wild-eyed showman
inside and out with superb presence and delivery. It’s totally different from
his alluringly classic Count, and yet we want to see more of his absolutely
creepy obsessions over angelic in white virginal victims. The scenes without
Lugosi are good in pace and storytelling, and yet his absence is apparent. Sidney Fox (The Bad Sister) and the rest of the cast are quite fine for the
time, and there are even brief shots of a real monkey to accent the man in a
monkey suit action. Hints of then-modern
stereotypes, 19th century trappings, and shades of King Kong in the finale aside, this is a
great little hour for Lugosi lovers and a must see for early horror fans.
I’m Torn
The
Gorilla –Lugosi joins Lionel
Atwill (House of Dracula) and The
Ritz Brothers (The Three Musketeers)
for this 1939 comedy horror murder mystery mix. Ironically, the slapstick humor
and crazy ladies are more annoying than laughable, and this film would have
been a lot better as a straight scary. The spooky décor, effects, and trick
lighting look great, and the underlying mysterious makes the Three
Stooges-esque comedy attempt feel completely out of place extraneous in this
quick hour. Fun crime montages work in seriousness and suspense, and the class
of our leading men holds the mystery, secrets, and scandal together. Lugosi has
a few wry, subtle, and bemusing moments that showcase his range, and his accent
isn’t that pronounced either. It’s as if
he and/or The Ritz Brothers are in completely separate films- even when they
are onscreen together. Make no mistake,
fans of the cast will delight piecemeal, for the Ritz funny isn’t bad and the
creepy is a-okay. But unfortunately, these elements just shouldn’t be together.
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