It’s a new year of beautifully upgraded Blu-rays. Not to mention Blu-rays of some above average films released last year. There’s the Italian gothic The Ghost, the thrilling film noir Narrow Margin, the rousing Errol Flynn swashbuckler Captain Blood, the Italian “giallo” Torso, the marvelous Ma & Pa Kettle films, not to mention Ernest Borgnine as a ram-headed demon in The Devil’s Rain.
The Ghost (Severin) What a shivery thrill- this glorious 4K restoration by Severin of a 1963 gothic classic from the thought-to-be-lost negative. This was directed by Riccardo Freda (The Horrible Dr. Hitchcock) and starred the 60’s Italian queen of horror- the stunning, saucer-eyed beauty Barbara Steele. Set in 1910 Scotland, Steele plays Margaret, the unhappy wife of wheelchair-bound Dr. Hitchcock (Ellio Jotta), fond of holding séances dictated by his housekeeper Catherine (Harriet Medin). The young, handsome Doctor Livingston (Peter Baldwin) has been administering a weird concoction of poison and antidote as a cure for Hitchcock’s illness. Livingston is also having an affair with Margaret, who begs him to murder her controlling husband. Death and eerie hauntings follow, not to mention a new constrictive will to further infuriate Margaret. A visually arresting gothic stew, which has only been seen in crappy, blurry bootlegs because of the supposed public domain status. This restoration is a revelation. This 3-disc (with slipcover) Blu-ray edition contains over 4 hours of extras also! Including commentary by film historian Kat Ellinger; an audio interview with Barbara Steele and actress Harriet Medin; a video essay on the film by Tim Lucas and a featurette on the career of Barbara Steele. There’s also an 80-minute documentary on Italian horror films of the 1960s.
The Narrow Margin (Warner Archive). “What kind of dish was she? The sixty-cent special- cheap, flashy, strictly poison under the gravy,” is how Detective Sgt. Walter Brown (Charles McGraw) describes Mrs. Frankie Neall (Marie Windsor), who he has to transport on a train from Chicago to Los Angeles to testify against the mob. But, besides how difficult Mrs. Neall is, he has to contend with shadowy assassins on the train in this crackling film noir gem expertly directed by Richard Fleischer. Visionary production designer William Cameron Menzies shot some extra scenes for the movie at behest of RKO owner Howard Hughes, who at one point considering reshooting the movie with Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell. But this cast is perfection. McGraw’s gruff, no-nonsense Walter interplay with the salty, sardonic Marie Windsor (never better) is sheer heaven. With plenty of jaw-dropping surprises along the way, it just doesn’t get much better than this. The Blu-ray restoration is sublime.
On Borrowed Time (Warner Archive) In this delightfully strange, sentimental fantasy film, Lionel Barrymore plays the crusty, wheelchair-bound grandfather of his beloved orphaned grandson Pud (Bobs Watson). He tricks “Death”, or “Mr. Brink” (Sir Cedric Hardwicke) by having him climb up in his magical apple tree in the backyard which permanently traps him there. He is worried that Pud will end up with the hateful old biddy Aunt Demetria (Eily Malyon) once he dies. But without death, suffering patients and the elderly live on in pain and misery. Also, any animal or bird that touches the tree dies. Special features include a 1948 radio broadcast of On Borrowed Time with Lionel Barrymore and Vincent Price and “Great Scenes from Great Plays” a radio play starring Boris Karloff.
Interrupted Melody (Warner Archive) Tearjerking saga of the life of Australian prima donna Marjorie Lawrence (Eleanor Parker), who was known for her dramatic Wagner performances (she even rode horseback into the flames on stage at the Metropolitan Opera during Gotterdammerung). Glenn Ford plays her devoted doctor husband who helps her regain her life again after she collapses from polio. Trust me, there won’t be a dry eye in the house when she sings “Over the Rainbow” in her wheelchair for the crippled war troops at the Army base. Not to mention her triumphant return to the Met (wearing leg braces) to sing in Tristan und Isolde. Eileen Farrell provided the singing voice for the film and Eleanor Parker (an underrated great) was nominated for Best Actress for the 1955 film. A young, mustached Roger Moore plays Lawrence’s younger brother (who becomes her manager).
Captain Blood (Criterion) Gorgeous 4K UHD & Blu-ray of Warner Brothers’ rousing 1935 swashbuckler based on the best seller by Rafael Sabatini with dashing Errol Flynn as English physician Peter Blood- unjustly imprisoned and sold into slavery in the West Indies. He and his rebel crew escape and commandeer a Spanish ship, vowing to roam the Caribbean as pirates. “It’s the world against us and us against the world.” In a film filled with unbridled sadism and hints of homoeroticism, tragic Ross Alexander plays Jeremy Pitt, a ship navigator and loyal friend to Peter. When Pitt is tied up and whipped, Peter Blood attends his wounds with loving care. In fact, Flynn fought the studio to leave in Alexander’s underarm hair during that scene. Errol Flynn was a British actor who hadn’t really done much and putting him in the lead was a real risk for Warner Brothers. The first two weeks of filming showed Flynn uncertain on screen so producer Hal Wallis spoke to director Michael Curtiz to “work with the boy,” and he did and Flynn improved incredibly fast. They even went back to film some of the early scenes again. Also, lovely, elegant Olivia de Havilland was also new to the studio and the chemistry between Olivia and Errol was so electrifying they were paired in many movies afterwards including the enduring classic The Adventures of Robin Hood.
Lady of Burlesque (Film Masters) Based on Gypsy Rose Lee’s novel The G-String Murders, this breezy, 1943 wisecracking murder/comedy stars Barbara Stanwyck as burlesque headliner Dixie Daisy performing at S. B Foss’s Old Opera House. When she isn’t doing a bump and grind version of “Take it on the E-String,” she’s doing comedy routines with Biff Brannigan (Michael O’Shea), who adores her, and Mandy (Pinky Lee). But then someone starts strangling the strippers and Dixie and Biff attempt to solve the mystery. Directed by William A. Wellman, this title fell into public domain and has always looked muddy and horrible. Not anymore thanks to Film Masters’ 4K scan from a 35mm print.
The Devil’s Rain (Severin) Ernest Borgnine leads a satanic cult in a desert ghost town. He is hell-bent on retrieving a sacred book protected by the Preston family that has passed the volume down and hidden it for years. A wonderfully whacked-out 1975 film directed by Robert Fuest who brought in Anton LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan, as a technical advisor. Featuring an eclectic cast- William Shatner, Ida Lupino, Tom Skerritt, Keenan Wynn, Eddie Albert and a young John Travolta who melts at the end during the hellish downpour of the “devil’s rain.” What I always loved about this movie is the creepy mood and the fact that right from the beginning it’s so bizarre and confusing you feel maybe you missed the first half hour of the movie. This 4K UHD Blu-ray really looks extraordinary and comes with plenty of terrific extras, like interviews with Tom Skerritt; an interview with special effects artist Tom Burman; audio commentary with director Robert Fuest and an extra commentary track by film historian Stephen R. Bissette. Hail Borgnine!
Cabin Fever (Lionsgate) A 4K UHD steelbook release of director Eli Roth’s rip-snorting 2002 cult horror classic about a bunch of college students vacationing in a remote cabin in the woods battling an infectious flesh-eating disease. Rider Strong (from Boy Meets World), Jordan Ladd, James DeBello, Cerina Vincent and the wonderfully goofy Joey Kern play the unfortunate vacationers, and while the movie riffs on everything from Evil Dead, I Drink Your Blood, Night of the Living Dead, Rabid and even throws in the theme song from The Last House on the Left, it still manages to be outrageous, gory, outlandishly funny, and even scary as hell. The screenplay by Roth and Randy Pearlstein is surprisingly savvy and the dialogue has real bite and snap to it. This comes with audio commentary by the director and cast. The director’s short films; deleted scenes and a look back with Eli Roth on the film that jump-started his career.
The Mirror Crack’d (Kino Lorber) A 4K UHD release of a sardonically fun, all-star Agatha Christie adaptation starring the sublime Angela Lansbury as the elderly, but wily, sleuth Miss Marple, and Elizabeth Taylor plays a famous movie star visiting a small English town. During a party in her honor, a local woman is poisoned and she may have not been the intended victim. With Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis, Geraldine Chaplin and a delicious Kim Novak, playing bitchy movie star Lola Brewster. Kim has some of the best lines, including her comment about a director’s last picture, “I could eat a can of Kodak and puke a better film.” (Anyone with knowledge of the tragic life of actress Gene Tierney might have an advantage solving the mystery).
Dead Man (Criterion) 4K UHD release of Jim Jarmusch’s dazzling, stoned-out 1995 saga set in ye old Wild West. Johnny Depp plays the bespectacled, foppishly attired William Blake, an accountant who arrives out west for a job and ends up on the run and wanted for murder. Gary Farmer plays a Native American who accompanies him, mistaking him for the poet of the same name. This strange, bleakly funny journey is like flipping through a book of Remington lithographs while on peyote. The 4K restoration was supervised and approved by the director. The extras include footage of Neil Young composing the score; an interview with Gary Farmer; deleted scenes; and William Blake poems recited by members of the cast.
Keeper (Decal Releasing) Director Osgood Perkins’ underrated, defiantly bizarre relationship/folk-horror tale stars Rossif Sutherland as Malcom, a doctor celebrating the one-year anniversary with artist girlfriend Liz (Tatiana Maslany) by taking her to his secluded house in the woods. Things get off to a rocky start when Malcom’s creepy cousin Darren (Birkett Turton) (who lives next door) makes an unwelcome visit with his pretty, vapid, model girlfriend. Malcom is called back to the city because of a dying patient and Liz begins seeing apparitions in the woods and even more disturbing sights in the cabin. Is Liz (who is conflicted about her relationship to begin with) just seeing things, or is this scarily real? I’ll admit to having a head-scratching time at first, but, eventually, when you begin to realize what is actually going on, the film really kicks into gear. Trust me, you’ll never look at honey again the same way. Osgood Perkins’ use of music in the film, from Peggy Lee’s haunting “I Don’t Want to Play in Your Yard” to Elvin Bishop’s “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” is genius.
One Battle After Another (Warner Brothers) Paul Thomas Anderson’s delightfully deranged interpretation of the Thomas Pynchon novel Vineland unleashes his filmmaking virtuosity in thrilling ways. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Bob, a member of a radical revolutionary group calling themselves the French 75. He is separated from his sexual partner, the volatile Perifidia (Teyana Taylor), and goes on the run with his baby daughter Willa after a disastrous bank robbery. Years have passed, and stoner Bob and his grown daughter (beautifully played Chase Infiniti) are hiding out in Northern California until the deranged Colonel Lockjaw (a riotous Sean Penn) relentlessly comes after them. Benicio del Toro is a hoot as a laid-back migrant smuggler who aids his friend Bob. DiCaprio hasn’t been this great in some time. Anderson’s camerawork and breathless pace, mixed with cracked dark humor, really all comes together beautifully in this loony, comic Battle of Algiers.
Ma & Pa Kettle (Complete Collection) (Universal) At the very top of my guilty pleasure list is the Ma & Pa Kettle movies that Universal put out in the 1950s. The Egg & I was a best-selling novel by Betty MacDonald about a housewife who settles down with her husband on a farm she is ill-equipped to handle. It was made into a genial comedy starring Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray. But the memorable characters from that movie were the neighbors Ma & Pa Kettle, played hilariously by Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride. They lived in a ramshackle, run-down farmhouse. Pa was lazy and smoked a pipe full of tobacco while Ma cooked, cleaned for 15 kids. (I always thought that breeding was what Pa was best at). This set (in stunning Blu-ray) includes The Egg & I (1947) and all the rest of the Ma & Pa Kettle franchise. The Further Adventures of Ma & Pa Kettle (1949) is where Pa wins a contest writing a jingle for a tobacco company and they win a riotously modernized home; Ma & Pa Kettle Go to Town (1950) is where they win a trip to New York and wrangle with a bunch of crooks; Ma & Pa Kettle Back on the Farm (1951) is when the Kettle’s son Tom (Richard Long) and his wife (Meg Randall) have a baby but the snooty mother-in-law (Barbara Brown) forces the Kettles out of their own home for “hygiene” purposes. Some of my other favorites- when they go to Paris (Ma & Pa Kettle on Vacation) and vacation (Ma & Pa Kettle at Wakiki) and Ma tangling with mean old Birdie Hicks (wonderful Esther Dale) in Ma & Pa Kettle at the Fair.
Torso (Arrow) 4K UHD release of a truly great 1973 Sergio Martino thriller. Suzy Kendall plays Jane, a student in Perugia, Italy- where co-eds are getting strangled by a masked madman who also takes a hacksaw to the bodies. Jane and her girlfriends go away for the weekend at a villa in the country, and unfortunately the killer follows them. There is one long suspense sequence in the house that is absolutely incredible. I also adore the original title: The Bodies Presented Traces of Carnal Violence. A big favorite of director Eli Roth.
The Mechanic (Kino Lorber) A 4K UHD release of Michael Winner’s 1972 twisty, action thriller about the insidious relationship between an assassin (Charles Bronson) and a young apprentice (Jan-Michael Vincent) he takes under his wing. Supposedly the original script alluded to a more overt homosexual union between the two men, but that was too hot for actors or studios to touch at the time, so it was omitted. However, there is enough subversive sexual tension in the film to have major film critics pick up on the fact there was more going on than just male bonding. You really want to ask- is that a gun in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?
The Doll (Klubb Super 8) This isn’t really a horror film, but more of a character study of a tragically lonely night watchman named Lundgren (Per Oscarsson), living in a rowdy, run-down rooming house filled with bratty children, pet cats that scratch, nosy neighbors, flagrant adulterers, and a landlady with scars covering half her face. One day at work Lundgren makes off with a female mannequin he finds in the basement, which he feels a deep connection to. He gets her home, places her on the bed with a covering and when he realizes he dropped one of her hands on the stairs he retrieves it and melts some wax to reattach the limb. That’s when he hears the doll exclaim, “ouch.” Lundren is overjoyed that his “doll” (Gio Petre) has come to life and tries to shower her with gifts, like bracelets and a ratty fur coat. At first the doll is grateful and exclaims that Lundgren makes her happy and that she doesn’t need anything else. But as days pass she changes. Her mood darkens. She forces him to stay home from work to keep her company. She is seized by jealousy because of another woman in the building. His mania and paranoia over the mannequin reach a feverish pitch which alarms others that live in the rooming house. There is this sense that something awful might happen and it actually does. Per Oscarsson was a well-respected theater and film legend, who won best actor at the Cannes Film festival for his performance in Hunger, a gritty Danish, neo-realist bummer of a movie. But he is incredible in The Doll– you watch in awe as he descends into madness. It’s a brilliant, shattering performance. The Doll is artfully directed by Arne Mattson (One Summer of Happiness) and beautifully acted (especially by Oscarsson). The film is genuinely heartbreaking.
House on the Edge of the Park (Severin) 4K release of this 1981 Italian shocker about two sickos who intrude on a country-house party filled with rich, bored, socialites. One of the intruders is played by The Last House on The Left’s David Hess. He plays Alex, a sadistic mechanic. There’s some nasty business with a straight razor that had grindhouse audiences rightfully squirming in their seats. Directed by Reggero Deodato (Cannibal Holocaust). Alex’s mentally challenged friend Ricky (played by the always wonderful Giovanni Lombardo Radice) is forced to participate in the violence, which eventually spins out of control. There are scores of extras but the restoration in 4K impressively brings out the vivid color scheme and flesh tones. A thoroughly reprehensible film which I guiltily admit I have great fondness for.