Search results

Our Monday and Tuesday movies, to finish out the month, were both rewatches. My goal was to get 13 movies in, and we did a little better than I expected. 21. The Rocketeer (1991) — Maybe a bit of a stretch as an October movie, but the documentary on Rondo Hatton included with House of Horrors...

We finished up the Universal Horror Collection, volume 4 with these two. 19. The Climax (1944) NEW — In this color film Boris Karloff plays a doctor affiliated with an opera. Far too much is given away in the opening scene stripping the movie of any tension. It’s worth watching once for...

18. Night Monster (1942) — From volume four of the Universal Horror Collection, Night Monster features Bela Lugosi and Lionel Atwill, but neither gets as much screen time as I would have liked. Ralph Morgan plays a wealthy recluse whose body was crippled by a medical treatment that went awry...

17. Night Key (1937) NEW — The only explanation for the inclusion of this film in volume four of the Universal Horror Collection is the presence of Boris Karloff in the lead role as an inventor taken advantage of by the owner of a security alarm company. It’s not horror; it’s a crime thriller...

16. The Horrible Dr. Hitchcock (1964) NEW — We followed up Black Sunday with another Italian film starring Barbara Steele. Robert Flemyng plays the title character, a doctor who has an unhealthy obsession with death and a talent for crafting anesthetics. Steele plays his second wife brought back...

15. Black Sunday (1969) NEW — I know this one is a landmark in horror, but I never explored Mario Bava or Italian horror in general. We watched the original Italian cut on the Kino Lorber release. While the story is a bit disjointed at times, it’s compelling and filled with wonderfully...

14. The Black Cat (1941) — This comedy-thriller has a great cast including Basil Rathbone, Bela Lugosi, and Broderick Crawford. It treads familiar ground with a group of rivals trapped in an old house and, in this case, waiting for a wealthy widow to die. It’s a fun movie but, after two comedies...

We took advantage of a rainy Saturday afternoon to watch two hour-long movies to reach my minimum goal of 13 for October. I don't remember seeing either of these before. 12. Man-Made Monster (1941) NEW — This movie seemed so much longer than one hour. It gets off to a promising start with Lon...

11. The Tower of London (1939) — We started working through the third volume in the Universal Horror Collection series with this solid historical thriller. There are fine performances by Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, and Vincent Price among others. The sets are very atmospheric, and the shots...

10. King Kong (1976) — I watched this Dino De Laurentiis production on Prime. It has been decades since I last saw it. The story sticks pretty close to the outline of the original with updates to take it into the 1970s. While it’s impressive to look at, and was even more so when it was released...

9. The Undying Monster (1942) NEW — Directed by John Brahm and calling to mind The Wolfman and The Hound of the Baskervilles, this thriller falls short of its potential. The story is of an old English family whose male line lives under a curse. There are some wonderfully atmospheric scenes...

8. Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932) — My wife and I had different reactions to this one which neither of us had seen in a long time. I love the atmosphere, but she felt the story needed more substance. The relationship to the Poe story is tenuous with Bela Lugosi playing a mad scientist type not...

7. Mark of the Vampire (1935) — The best things that can be said about this movie are that it has a lot of great talent and a lot of potential. Unfortunately, what we have falls well short of the potential. Tod Browning directed – it’s based on his lost silent film London After Midnight – and...

5. King Kong (1933) — This movie is always problematic. A landmark in cinema, hugely influential, and still an exciting story. But it’s also a story deeply steeped in racism which keeps me from loving it the way I did when I was much younger. 💀💀💀💀 6. RKO Production 601 (2005) NEW — Subtitled...

4. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) — We’ve watched this many times – both the film and as a stage play – and it was on our list for last year. We were visiting friends who suggested watching it, and who am I to turn down a chance to see this wonderful film again. 💀💀💀💀🦴

3. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932) — This was our first time watching the recent Warner Archive release. We ended up watching it twice more with the two commentary tracks playing. Both are excellent and revealed things about the film we missed the first time through. Fredric March is excellent in...

I've been really busy and haven't been on the site much, but I love this challenge so much that I'm back for another year. Murder (1930) NEW — We started off our month with an early Hitchcock we’d not seen before. This is more of a whodunit than a suspense film. Herbert Marshall is excellent as...