Island of Lost Souls: (1932. dir: Erle C. Kenton) I've never been completely sold on Laughton as an actor. He'll be going along subtly and smoothly, on his way to a great performance, then at a crucial moment he'll tip one right over the top, a wink to the audience, perhaps a bid to be loved and understood, I don't know, but I'm generally disappointed. In Island, he comes unutterably close to giving a seamless performance as the power-mad doctor hiding his sadism behind the objective mask of science. Although he gives us the odd wink, he also strides boldly toward that rare beast, the consummate turn.
It's a small masterpiece, this first of three Hollywood re-imaginings of HG Wells' Island of Dr. Moreau, and utterly chilling, even today. Unfettered by the circling-but-not-yet-landed Hays Code, the references to rape and violence are unconcealed and all the more unsettling because they are interspecific. Even if you've read the book or seen the later (and lesser) films, its twists are unexpected, and, clocking in on DVD at a svelte 70 minutes, it keeps to a good clip without sacrificing atmosphere, which it has to spare.
the Thing from Another World: (1951. dir: Christian Nyby, with possible input from producer Howard Hawks) Understated, jolly banter between easy-going, likable characters on an Arctic military base is interrupted by a crashed UFO and its blood-drinking Vegetable Man occupant. It's a true classic, this. You know in the Bad and the Beautiful when Kirk Douglas and Barry Sullivan have to make a B-picture about terrifying cat-men on a budget and hit on the brilliant idea that the way to make them terrifying is to make damn sure they're hardly seen? That's the key to this one, as well. Despite James Arness' imposing stature, he looks pretty silly in his carrot-man outfit, so we only see him in sudden, vicious glimpses, and it works like mad. This is a low-key movie with great moments: when the men trace the shape of the fallen ship below the ice and realize it's spherical, for instance, or in the end-recap from the reporter relaying his story back home, with his chilling refrain: "Watch the skies! Keep watching the skies." A gem of fifties paranoia to file alongside Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
2 comments:
Both great films. I never liked THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD that much when I first saw it the night before seeing Carpenter's superior remake back in the summer of '82. I like the film a lot now... for the reasons you state (the camaraderie of the crew, etc.)... and because I'm a Hawks fan now. And yes, I'm definitely on the side that thinks Hawks directed it himself and gave credit to Nyby. There are just too many of Hawks's touches in it. I need to see ISLAND OF LOST SOULS again, especially now that it's been re-released by Criterion. Glad to know that it's still shocking.
I need to re-watch the Carpenter film. It's been years since I saw it. In fact, I should have a double feature and watch ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK again, too. I think I will.
Post a Comment