Topic: Weekend Movie Marathon: Oldies but Goodies

[addicted2dvd]

Weekend Movie Marathon
Oldies but Goodies
Well... at least I hope goodies as some of the ones I watched this weekend I never seen before. This weekend I decided to dip into my classics collection. There is so many movies in my collection that is old (I consider pre-80's old) which I never seen before... so I want to watch some of those... as well as some of the classics that I know and love. So this weekend I watched...

Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome (1947)
A gang of criminals, which includes a piano player and an imposing former convict known as 'Gruesome', has found out about a scientist's secret formula for a gas that temporarily paralyzes anyone who breathes it. When Gruesome accidentally inhales some of the gas and passes out, the police think he is dead and take him to the morgue, where he later revives and escapes. This puzzling incident attracts the interest of Dick Tracy, and when the criminals later use the gas to rob a bank, Tracy realizes that he must devote his entire attention to stopping them.

My Thoughts:
This is one of the many old movies I have that I never seen before. I got this movie in the classic boxset I got for subscribing to Total Movie Magazine several years ago. It was a good movie I enjoyed every minute of it. Though it did seem a bit on the weird side for me to watch a movie that lasted only about an hour. But I imagine there is lots of classic movies with such a short length. I also liked seeing Boris Karloff in a non-horror role. But even  here he brings an eerie quality to his role. This is definitely a movie I can see myself watching again.

[addicted2dvd]

Cause for Alarm (1951)
While a man recuperates from a heart-attack, he obsesses with the thought that his wife and his doctor are having an affair, so decides to write a letter to the D.A. accusing the two of trying to kill him. After his wife mails the letter for him, he tells her of its contents which provokes his anger and he attacks her, dying on the spot from another heart attack. Though innocent, she is nevertheless desperate to somehow get the letter back.

My Thoughts:
This is another one that was in that free Total Movie boxset I got... and one of the few I have seen before. I enjoyed it this time just as much as the first time I saw it. It is a very good suspense thriller... and another one that is pretty short compared to movies we get now a day. This one clocks in at 74 minutes. Loretta Young did a marvelous job in this movie. This is one I would definitely recommend to any classic movie fan.

[addicted2dvd]

Night of the Living Dead (1968)
The plot (nuclear radiation awakens the dead) sounds silly, but more than one generation has had nightmares after seeing this landmark tale of flesh-craving corpses. While an endless army of rotting zombies prey on the living, a group of survivors desparately try to hold them off during one horrifying night. But no matter what they do, the dead just won't stay dead...

My Thoughts:
This is from a 3 movie DVD I have called Great Scary Movies it includes this one... House on Haunted Hill and The Terror. A true horror classic. One that I enjoy very much. But... and I may get flamed for this... but I for one prefer the remake to the original. Not because this one is a bad movie... I really do enjoy it a lot... but I just can not stand Barbara's character in this version! What a scared whining.... good for nothing character. I am so glad they fixed this only problem with the original... and made her a strong woman willing to fight for her life in the remake. I know this is a difference of when the films were made... but I always liked a strong female character in movies.

[Najemikon]

You as a horror fan should surely recognise the screaming useless damsel cliche! Barbara was a character very much of her time and repeated over and over again.

You can use Romero to track a mini-history of women in horror: from Barbara in Living to the more resilient Francine in Dawn; to Sarah in Day (with basic kick-ass capabilities to rival Ripley the following year) to erm... was there a decent bird in Land? I don't think there was! Judging from the trailers, Diary features a woman again though.

[addicted2dvd]

Oh yes... I do realize it. I just always hated it... for as long as I can remember I always loved a good strong woman role.

[Najemikon]

I agree. Except the word "role" is not required. I would exchange it for "thighs".


 

[addicted2dvd]

  Well that goes without saying... but do enjoy it in the roles as well! 

[addicted2dvd]

The Terror (1963)
Jack Nicholson plays a young officer in Napolean's army, lured to a castle by a beautiful mysterious woman. There he meets the baron (Boris Karloff) - and deep within the castle walls, he also discovers a great evil. Roger Corman Directed - with a little help from his friend Francis Ford Coppola.

My Thoughts:
This is only the second time watching this movie. Once several years ago when I first got the Great Scary Movies DVD and now. It is a pretty good movie... I really enjoyed it. But I tell you... I definitely did not recognize Jack Nicholson in this role! I thought he looked like a totally different person in his younger years.

[Najemikon]

Well that goes without saying... but do enjoy it in the roles as well! 

Now that, right there, is thinking outside the box! 

[addicted2dvd]

House on Haunted Hill (1959)
Eccentric Millionaire Frederick Loren ('Vincent Price') invites you to join a very special house party: the one guest who can manage to survive an entire night in his eerie (and locked) mansion will walk away with a big wad of cash. It seems simple enough - that is until the dead begin to stalk the living and there is no place to run.

My Thoughts:
Vincent Price has been a favorite classic horror actor of mine since I started to watched the classics. I have yet to see anything with him in it that I did not enjoy... and this one is definitely not an exception. This is one of my favorite Vincent Price movies! I really enjoyed every second of it... if you never seen the original House on Haunted Hill I highly recommend it!

[Najemikon]

Pete, have you ever seen Vincent Price in his non-horror roles? Laura is one of the best film noirs in any case and is always worth a look, but I think you would really enjoy Shock. A simple story and, in style at least, Price isn't far from one of his horror characters.

[addicted2dvd]

Thanks for the suggestions... will be looking into them

The only non-horror role I have seen him in so far is in Edward Scissorhands.

[addicted2dvd]

The Wolf Man (1941)
The original horror classic that introduced one of the screen's most infamous monsters! Lon Chaney, Jr. portrays Larry Talbot, who returns to his father's (Claude Rains) castle in Wales and meets a beautiful woman (Evelyn Ankers). One fateful night, Talbot escorts her to a local carnival where Jenny's fate is revealed by a mysterious gypsy fortune teller. The dreamlike atmospheres and elaborate settings combined with a chilling musical score make 'The Wolf Man' a masterpiece not only of the genre, but for all time!

My Thoughts:
I couldn't have this classics marathon without watching The Wolf Man... my favorite of the classic Universal monster movies. I have watched this movie countless times since I got the boxset years ago. The boxset with The Wolf Man, Dracula, Frankenstein, The invisible Man, The Mummy. Bride of Frankenstein, Creature from the Black Lagoon & Phantom of the Opera. This movie definitely has some classic horror greats with Claude Rains, Bela Legosi and Lon Chaney, Jr. I still can't believe they are making a remake of this movie... but I will try to remain open minded for it.