The Kiss of the Vampire Directed by Don Sharp Written by Anthony Hinds 1963/UK Universal International Pictures/Hammer Films
First viewing/Netflix rental
[box] Dr. Ravna: [referring to Marianne] I will not say that she has not changed in any way., Mr. Harcourt. She has, as you may put it, grown up – tasted the more sophisticated, more erotic fruits of… life.
Gerald Harcourt: [realizing that she has been initiated into vampirism] Oh, my God!
Dr. Ravna: [officiouly] God is hardly involved, Mr. Harcourt.[/box]
Perhaps Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee could have injected some oomph into this underwhelming Gothic horror flick.
The story takes place in the early years of the last century. As the film begins, we witness a professor driving a stake through a coffin just as it is about to be lowered into the earth – this will be one of the few evidences of blood shown in the film. We then follow the journey of newlyweds Gerald and Marianne who are motoring through Europe. They run out of petrol and are forced to stay in a hotel that has fallen on hard times. It contains only one other guest – the professor we saw at the beginning.
The local aristocracy reaches out to the couple, inviting the two to dinner and then a ball. But it is soon clear that Dr, Ravna and his family have sinister intentions with regard to Marianne ….
This may be the least scary vampire movie ever made. When I think Hammer horror I think gore and ominous atmosphere. This movie is lacking in both as well as in good acting or storytelling. A disappointment.
8 1/2 Directed by Federico Fellini Written by Federico Fellini, Tulio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano, and Brunello Rondi 1963/Italy/France Cineriz/Francinex
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
[box] Guido: When did I go wrong? I really have nothing to say, but I want to say it all the same.[/box]
One of the few meta films that succeeds for me on every level.
Director Guido Anselmi (Marcello Mastroianni) attempts to take refuge from his many problems at a health spa. He is pursued by his entire production company and various aspirants for parts in his film. All these people want to know is what the film, which is actually in production, is to be about. Guido is unable to tell them or to escape them. To add to his problems both his mistress (Sandra Milo) and his long-suffering wife (Anouk Amie) have joined him.
Guido tries to escape into childhood memories and various fantasies. But he is constantly plagued by an internal and external critic who get the better of him before the glorious ending.
Fellini and I are on the same wave-length, at least through 1963, and I have loved this film since the first time I saw it. I don’t think the black-and-white cinematography and production design has ever been bettered. I find Guido’s creative and personal troubles and their resolution immensely satisfying.
8 1/2 won Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Costume Design, Black-and-White. It was nominated in the categories of Best Director; Best Writing, Story and Screenplay, Written Directly for the Screen; and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White. Nino Rota was clearly robbed for his fantastic score.
Monstrosity (AKA The Atomic Brain) Directed by Joseph V. Mascelli Written by Vy Russell, Sue Dwiggins, and Dean Dillman Jr. 1963/USA Cinema Venture
First viewing/Amazon Prime
[box] Narrator: As with the other bodies stolen from cemeteries, the nerve endings of the brain were too far gone to receive a proper transplant. The experiment failed to produce anything more than a walking, breathing zombie-like creature. But the doctor permitted her to wander about the laboratory – she was harmless and … [leering tone] at times even amusing.[/box]
Horror meets mild titillation in this truly weird and terrible brain transplant movie.
Dr. Frank’s experiments in atomic brain transplants are being financed Mrs. March, a wealthy, mean and nasty old woman. She hopes to have her 80-year-old brain transplanted into a sexy young body so that she can at last be “loved for herself.” For now her needs are satisfied by craven gigolo Victor.
Dr. Frank has been somewhat successful with transplanting animal brains into dead bodies leaving a Wolf Man like monstrosity to do his bidding. What he needs are some live bodies to work on. These arrive in the form of foreign young women – from Britain, Austria, and Latin America – hired by Mrs. March as domestics. On and on the story goes as experiments pile up, misfiring along the way to the fiery climax.
Once again the Random Number Generator has supplied a movie from the very bottom of the barrel to begin a new year. This one is bizarre in the extreme. The most amusing part is the sexy “British” girl’s – she’s named Bea! – sporadic attempts at an accent that range from Cockney to upper class. But there’s something for every bad movie lover here. It does drag at only just over an hour.
Cleopatra, the most expensive film ever made to date, opened. It was one of the biggest flops in film history (cost-overruns made the $2 million budget become $44 million). The off-screen extra-marital affair conducted between stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton) was beneficial for the film’s bottom line. Nevertheless, it took many years for the film to recoup its enormous costs.
Ampex began to offer its first consumer version of a videotape recorder, sold through the Neiman-Marcus Christmas catalogue for $30,000. The first theater originally designed as a multiplex opened – it was called Parkway Twin (for its two screens).
Sex symbol Jayne Mansfield appeared naked (breasts and buttocks) in the unrated sex farce Promises! Promises, making her the first mainstream actress to appear nude in an American feature sound film. (The honor would have been held by Marilyn Monroe in Something’s Gotta Give (1962), but she died during production.) The provocative film was heavily publicized in Playboy‘s June 1963 issue, with pictures to prove it. That led to the magazine’s publisher Hugh Hefner being charged with obscenity (and later acquitted) — the only time in his life.
Actor/director Dick Powell died at the age of 58 in Los Angeles, CA — much too soon.
The biggest and saddest news of the year was the assassination of President John F. Kennedy Dallas, Texas on November 22. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as president later that day. Shooter Lee Harvey Oswald was murdered by Jack Ruby two days later. The FBI and the Warren Commission officially concluded that Oswald was the lone assassin, but various groups contradicted the findings of the Warren Report and believed that Kennedy was the victim of a conspiracy. After Kennedy’s death, Congress enacted many of his proposals, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
In Civil Rights, the year began with Alabama governor George Wallace declaring “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation for ever.” On April 3, African Americans in Birmingham, Ala., began daily nonviolent demonstrations and sit-ins . Over 400 protestors were arrested, including Dr. Martin Luther King. On August 28, King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. In September, Ku Klux Klan members bombed the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala.
“Sugar Shack” by Jimmy Gilmore and the Fireballs was the #1 song on Billboard‘s 1963 Year-End Chart of Pop Singles. The Reivers by William Faulkner won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Martin Luther King was Time Magazine’s Man of the Year.
The Beatles’ first full-length album “Please Please Me” was released in March. It topped the charts in the United Kingdom for thirty weeks until replaced by another Beatles album, “With The Beatles.” The band’s massive success in the USA would wait until 1964.
The Soviet Union launched the Vostok 6 spacecraft, carrying Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space. UK War Minister John Profumo resigned after admitting he lied about his relationship with Christine Keeler. Call girl Keeler was simultaneously involved with a Soviet Navy officer and a drug dealer.
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I have 139 films on my list for 1963, though I doubt that I will watch all of them. It can be found here.
I have now watched 116 films that were released in 1962. A complete list can be found here. It was a strong year and I had 19 films for my favorites list. They could have been sliced and diced in any number of ways – I aimed for a balance between List and non-List films. The films I reluctantly left off my Top Ten were: An Autumn Afternoon; Advise and Consent; Sanjuro; Gypsy; The Music Man; Jules and Jim; The Longest Day; Cape Fear; andVive le tour. The list is no particular order though Harakiri would remain at the top no matter how I compiled the list.
The Trial of Joan of Arc (Procès de Jeanne d’Arc) Directed by Robert Bresson Written by Robert Bresson from the transcript of the trial 1962/France Agnes Delahaie Productions
First viewing/FilmStruck
[box] Jeanne d’Arc: My voices were from God. All I did, I did at God’s command. My voices did not lie. My visions were from God.[/box]
As with many of Bresson’s films, this is slow going but beautiful.
Most of the dialogue was taken from the actual transcript of Joan’s trial. The English are, naturally, cast in a very bad light and possibly Bresson wrote the behind the scenes parts. The story concludes with Joan’s martyrdom at the stake.
Bresson directs in his usual “non-acting” style which is always distancing for me. Thankfully, the images were enough to keep me engaged. I had never noticed before but, at least in this one, Bresson focuses a lot of his attention on feet, cutting off the heads and torsos of his actors while they are in motion. His camera is much more lively than his actors or plot.
Directed by Don Siegel Written by Robert Pirosh and Richard Carr 1962/USA Paramount Pictures
First viewing/Netflix rental
[box] Pvt. John Reese: The outfit I came from was a real dilly. There was a general, a major, two captains, two lieutenants, and me. There’s a squad for you, buddy-o.
Platoon Sgt. Bill Pike: Sounds like a court martial board.[/box]
Steve McQueen is the ultimate bad boy soldier in this low-budget combat drama.
Everybody in a platoon situated on the Siegfried Line believes their squad will be sent home shortly. Instead Sgt. Pike (Fess Parker) announces they are going back into battle. Before they do, they are joined by the surly Pvt. Reese (McQueen). On the front, six of the men learn they will stay behind to divert the enemy while the bulk of the force is sent elsewhere. This is truly hell. Reese only makes it more hellish by trying to wage one-man warfare. With Charles Coburn, Bobbie Darin, and Bob Newhart as other GIs.
[box] IMDb trivia: At one point, a columnist was visiting the set, and he mentioned to another observer that Steve McQueen seemed to be his own worst enemy. Co-star Bobby Darin overheard the comment and quickly replied, ‘Not while I’m around’.”[/box]
Don Siegel certainly knew how to direct action and the combat scenes here are solid despite some financial limitations. The GIs conform to stereotypes that were born 20 years before but it’s kind of fun to see a cast that would carry us through the next 10-20 years do its stuff. I particularly liked Newhart, though admittedly his routine does not fit in with the tone of the film as a whole.
The Dungeon of Harrow Directed by Pat Boyette Written by Pat Boyette and Henry Garcia 1962/USA Herts-Lion International Corp.
First viewing/Netflix rental
[box] Cassandra: You’re quite safe now. You’re in the castle of Count Lorente De Sade.[/box]
Writer/director Pat Boyette gives Ed Wood a run for his money in the bad movie department.
As the film begins, the dying Aaron Fallon bemoans the end of his line. We segue into flashback. Fallon and the captain are the only survivors of a shipwreck (which seems to have been staged in a bathtub). They wash up on the island of the evil Count de Sade. His companions all seem to be slaves with no hesitation to carry out his maniacal orders. We eventually learn that there is a deadly secret locked up in the Count’s basement.
This movie is really terrible in all its aspects. The acting may be the worst part. Some of the actors seem to have learned their lines phonetically. The poor print and sound on the DVD I received did not help, though I strongly suspect that the quality may just reflect the original. Is this bad enough to be enjoyable? Just barely.
Cleo from 5 to 7 (Cléo de 5 à 7) Directed by Agnes Varda Written by Agnes Varda 1962/France/Italy Cine Tamaris/Rome Paris Films
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
[box] We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us. Joseph Campbell [/box]
The second time around seemed much funnier than the first but just as satisfying.
Cleo (Corrine Marchand) is a beautiful up-and-coming pop singer. On this particular day, she is waiting to find out the results of medical tests that may show she has cancer. The story plays out in almost real time over the last two hours before she is to get hold of her doctor. Starting with a fortune teller, all signs point toward illness and death. Cleo spends part of her remaining time making frivolous purchases, complaining, and otherwise indulging her ego and other vices.
Finally, she is so worried and fed up that she yanks off her hair piece, changes clothes, and heads off to see a girl friend. The friend drops Cleo off in a park where she meets up with a young soldier who, though about to go off to war himself, is content to hear about the troubles of his new acquaintance.
I just love the sly way that Varda plays with expectations in this film! I also liked the expose of the utter silliness that lies behind much feminine glamor and beauty. I kept yelling at Cleo to do something about her hair. When she did, my heart soared. Another plus is the Michel LeGrand score. I highly recommend this movie which puts the “new” in New Wave.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Directed by Vincente Minnelli Written by Robert Ardrey and John Gay from a novel by Vicente Blasco Ibañez 1962/USA/Mexico Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Moctezuma Films/Olallo Rubio
First viewing/YouTube rental
“Poor Humanity, crazed with fear, was fleeing in all directions on hearing the thundering pace of the Plague, War, Hunger and Death.” ― Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
This movie is just too darned long … and miscast.
I’m not familiar with the source novel or the 1921 original. The film updates the story from WWI to WWII and presumably changes the plot in other ways as well.
The story begins in 1938. Anyway, Grandpa Julio Madariaga (Lee J. Cobb) is a life-loving Argentine and the patriarch of a large family. One of his daughters married Frenchman Marcelo Desnoyers (Charles Boyer) and bore playboy Julio (Glenn Ford) and idealist Chi Chi (Yvette Mimeaux). The other daughter married German Karl von Hartrott (Paul Lukas) who bore Heinrich (Karl Böhm), an early Nazi supporter. The Desnoyers end up moving back to Paris while the Hartrotts relocate to Germany. It doesn’t take a genius to see where this is going.
Upon arrival in Pairs, Julio takes up a paintbrush but actually spends most of his time in the high life. That is until he begins a tempestuous love affair with Marguerite Lanier (Ingrid Thulin), who is married to idealistic newspaper publisher Etienne Laurier (Paul Heinreid). After France is invaded, Etienne is conveniently taken out of the picture by his activities for the French Resistance. He is eventually imprisoned and released home. Marguerite calls it quits and Julio is moved to join the Resistance himself. And so on …
This movie is almost three hours long. It could have been cut to two hours without sacrificing much but likely still would have been dull. It was a major flop at the box office.
For me, one of the main problems was Glenn Ford. The hero of the silent version was Rudolph Valentino. By this point in his career, Ford was much too stodgy to play a dashing and romantic leading man. I read that the director was keen on Alain Delon who would have been perfect in the part but was vetoed by the producers.
I’ve been a classic movie fan for many years. My original mission was to see as many movies as I could get my hands on for every year from 1929 to 1970. I have completed that mission.
I then carried on with my chronological journey and and stopped midway through 1978. You can find my reviews of 1934-1978 films and “Top 10” lists for the 1929-1936 and 1944-77 films I saw here. For the past several months I have circled back to view the pre-Code films that were never reviewed here.
I’m a retired Foreign Service Officer living in Indio, California. When I’m not watching movies, I’m probably traveling, watching birds, knitting, or reading.
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