Lady in White. Since it is October, I am continuing my annual tradition of finding different horror movies to watch every day and this is one I have never seen. It wasn't bad.
Last Movie You Watched...
- Thread starter ZannaPerry
- Start date
I finally watched The Martian. Fun flick.
Watched BlackkKlansman on a transatlantic flight the other day and it felt like I was making some sort of political statement just by watching it. Great movie. Funny at times, which I appreciated. Harder to watch now than it would have been in 2024 (I think it came out in 2018, which might be why I hadn't watched it earlier) but I really recommend it.
- Joined
- May 4, 2022
- Messages
- 1,436
- Reaction score
- 3,588
- Location
- Three Pines
- Website
- elaineburnes.com
Haley7
Registered
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2025
- Messages
- 42
- Reaction score
- 61
Had my annual October viewing of Hocus Pocus this weekend... now on to rewatch the Harry Potter series.
I really liked A House of Dynamite because Kathryn Bigelow makes some really good films, and this is one of them. It grabs you by the eyeballs from the beginning and never lets go until the end.
But the ending is why I didn't love A House of Dynamite as much as I wanted to. No spoilers, but there are parts that don't quite work, and the ending will be discussed and mulled over for some time.
I suggest watching and judging for yourself.
- Joined
- May 4, 2022
- Messages
- 1,436
- Reaction score
- 3,588
- Location
- Three Pines
- Website
- elaineburnes.com
Well, Halloween is just around the corner which means it's time to watch some thrillers, sci-fi, creature features and other types of scary (or not so scary 
) flicks from when the world was in Black & White.
I'll start with...
Murder In The Blue Room (1944)
Directed by Leslie Goodwins and starring Anne Gwynne, The Three Jazzybelles, Donald Cook, John Litel and several others.
- This is a murder mystery set in a haunted mansion of the kind that has a forbidden room, a dark past and an even darker secret, plus several musical interludes performed by the sublimely talented trio The Three Jazzybelles. Perhaps an unusual combination of genres, but it's fabulously charming and I had a grrrrreat time watching it
Norsebard
) flicks from when the world was in Black & White.I'll start with...
Murder In The Blue Room (1944)
Directed by Leslie Goodwins and starring Anne Gwynne, The Three Jazzybelles, Donald Cook, John Litel and several others.
- This is a murder mystery set in a haunted mansion of the kind that has a forbidden room, a dark past and an even darker secret, plus several musical interludes performed by the sublimely talented trio The Three Jazzybelles. Perhaps an unusual combination of genres, but it's fabulously charming and I had a grrrrreat time watching it
Norsebard
The Godfather.
It's streaming free (with ads, alas) on Pluto. And it's as great as it ever was. The performances, the score, the cinematography are all superlative. And it's one of the films that really transcends its rather trashy source and tells a much deeper story. (In middle school there was a battered paperback copy of the novel that all the girls passed around from hand to hand, with well-thumbed dogears for all the sexy scenes. It appealed very much to excitable twelve year olds.)
Tonight I'll go back and spend the evening with The Godfather Part II, which is even greater than the first.
(Godfather III? I deny it. Coppola should have known better.)
It's streaming free (with ads, alas) on Pluto. And it's as great as it ever was. The performances, the score, the cinematography are all superlative. And it's one of the films that really transcends its rather trashy source and tells a much deeper story. (In middle school there was a battered paperback copy of the novel that all the girls passed around from hand to hand, with well-thumbed dogears for all the sexy scenes. It appealed very much to excitable twelve year olds.)
Tonight I'll go back and spend the evening with The Godfather Part II, which is even greater than the first.
(Godfather III? I deny it. Coppola should have known better.)
More classic Halloween delights:
Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter (1966)
Directed by William Beaudine and starring John Lupton, Narda Onyx, Cal Bolder, Estelita Rodriguez, Steven Geray, Rayford Barnes and veteran Western star Jim Davis as Marshal MacPhee.
"Dr. Maria Frankenstein transplants an artificial brain of her own creation into the skull of Jesse James' slow-witted friend Hank Tracy and names him Igor..."
The IMDb blurb makes it sound as if it's a weird, weird mish-mash of completely unrelated genres, but it actually gels quite nicely with an entertaining Western part and an equally entertaining horror part. It's when the two parts hook up that things start to get a little unusual, but it's no less entertaining and it never outstays its welcome, IM-H-O.
The color palette used is quite striking: soft, warm, pastel tones whenever we're out on the prairie with them bandidos tryin' ta evade tha Marshal, and stark colors whenever we visit the Frankenstein laboratory with all its bizarre machinery. Me likey!
It's a B-movie, of course, but the actors are on good form and the performances are spirited - now and then, they're a little too spirited, but that goes with the territory
John Lupton does a good job as an older, calmer Jesse James, and the seasoned veteran Jim Davis only needs to show up to add plenty of gravitas to the movie. Narda Onyx steals the show, however, as Dr. Maria Frankenstein. She has a wonderfully wicked gleam in the eye that almost makes the viewer root for her and her eeeeevil experiments!
Norsebard
Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter (1966)
Directed by William Beaudine and starring John Lupton, Narda Onyx, Cal Bolder, Estelita Rodriguez, Steven Geray, Rayford Barnes and veteran Western star Jim Davis as Marshal MacPhee.
"Dr. Maria Frankenstein transplants an artificial brain of her own creation into the skull of Jesse James' slow-witted friend Hank Tracy and names him Igor..."
The IMDb blurb makes it sound as if it's a weird, weird mish-mash of completely unrelated genres, but it actually gels quite nicely with an entertaining Western part and an equally entertaining horror part. It's when the two parts hook up that things start to get a little unusual, but it's no less entertaining and it never outstays its welcome, IM-H-O.
The color palette used is quite striking: soft, warm, pastel tones whenever we're out on the prairie with them bandidos tryin' ta evade tha Marshal, and stark colors whenever we visit the Frankenstein laboratory with all its bizarre machinery. Me likey!
It's a B-movie, of course, but the actors are on good form and the performances are spirited - now and then, they're a little too spirited, but that goes with the territory
John Lupton does a good job as an older, calmer Jesse James, and the seasoned veteran Jim Davis only needs to show up to add plenty of gravitas to the movie. Narda Onyx steals the show, however, as Dr. Maria Frankenstein. She has a wonderfully wicked gleam in the eye that almost makes the viewer root for her and her eeeeevil experiments!
Norsebard
And another one...
Fog Island (1945)
Directed by Terry O. Morse and starring George Zucco, Lionel Atwill, Sharon Douglas, Jacqueline DeWitt, Veda Ann Borg, Jerome Cowan and John Whitney.
"An investor recently released from prison invites a group of former business associates to a holiday in his island home, intending to exact revenge on them..."
Well, this isn't exactly a rollercoaster ride of thrills, spills, murder and mayhem. The movie is only 68 minutes long, and yet nothing happens until the 50-minute mark. There's a huge amount of scheming, backstabbing (figuratively as well as literally), and sneaking around in secret passages that are so poorly lit we can't even see who's doing the sneaking! Someone is murdered, then someone else is murdered, then someone else is murdered, and then all hell breaks loose in the final fifteen minutes! Unfortunately, it's almost too late for the poor viewer by then.
With hardly any well-known names or faces in the supporting cast, it's down to the commanding presence of George Zucco to keep everything going. The movie comes alive whenever he's at the center of attention in a scene... and yes, it falls asleep whenever he's away from the camera.
This is a public domain movie that can be viewed free and fully legit over at YouTube for those so inclined.
Norsebard
Fog Island (1945)
Directed by Terry O. Morse and starring George Zucco, Lionel Atwill, Sharon Douglas, Jacqueline DeWitt, Veda Ann Borg, Jerome Cowan and John Whitney.
"An investor recently released from prison invites a group of former business associates to a holiday in his island home, intending to exact revenge on them..."
Well, this isn't exactly a rollercoaster ride of thrills, spills, murder and mayhem. The movie is only 68 minutes long, and yet nothing happens until the 50-minute mark. There's a huge amount of scheming, backstabbing (figuratively as well as literally), and sneaking around in secret passages that are so poorly lit we can't even see who's doing the sneaking! Someone is murdered, then someone else is murdered, then someone else is murdered, and then all hell breaks loose in the final fifteen minutes!
Unfortunately, it's almost too late for the poor viewer by then.With hardly any well-known names or faces in the supporting cast, it's down to the commanding presence of George Zucco to keep everything going. The movie comes alive whenever he's at the center of attention in a scene... and yes, it falls asleep whenever he's away from the camera.
This is a public domain movie that can be viewed free and fully legit over at YouTube for those so inclined.
Norsebard
Dead Men Walk
Directed by Sam Newfield and starring George Zucco (in a double role), Nedrick Young, Mary Carlisle, Fern Emmett, Hal Price and Dwight Frye as Zolarr, the Big Bad's henchman.
USA 1943
- "The twin of a kindly small-town physician returns from the grave for vengeance against his brother, who secretly killed him because the twin served Satan..."
And thus I arriveth at Dead Men Walk. Although the title hints at a zombie movie, it's actually a Gothic vampire tale that's far more effective than could be expected given the fact that it was a run-of-the-mill quickie (shot in less than a week!), filmed by a cheapo studio and directed by someone who typically made a movie in four or five days...
There are many keys to the movie's surprising quality, IMO. One is the excellent Noir-like cinematography that really shows off the sets they made for it. Another is the top-notch Gothic atmosphere in the shape of foreboding mansions, dark forests, creepy cemetaries and even creepier henchmen.
However, the #1 key is the lead actor George Zucco. Although he's been forgotten today, he was a major genre player who had plenty of gravitas and screen presence. He's one of those actors who only need to speak a single line of dialogue to snare us in fully. Here, he has plenty to do playing a pair of twin brothers who are caught in the eternal struggle between good and evil.
A very positive surprise!
Norsebard
Directed by Sam Newfield and starring George Zucco (in a double role), Nedrick Young, Mary Carlisle, Fern Emmett, Hal Price and Dwight Frye as Zolarr, the Big Bad's henchman.
USA 1943
- "The twin of a kindly small-town physician returns from the grave for vengeance against his brother, who secretly killed him because the twin served Satan..."And thus I arriveth at Dead Men Walk. Although the title hints at a zombie movie, it's actually a Gothic vampire tale that's far more effective than could be expected given the fact that it was a run-of-the-mill quickie (shot in less than a week!), filmed by a cheapo studio and directed by someone who typically made a movie in four or five days...
There are many keys to the movie's surprising quality, IMO. One is the excellent Noir-like cinematography that really shows off the sets they made for it. Another is the top-notch Gothic atmosphere in the shape of foreboding mansions, dark forests, creepy cemetaries and even creepier henchmen.
However, the #1 key is the lead actor George Zucco. Although he's been forgotten today, he was a major genre player who had plenty of gravitas and screen presence. He's one of those actors who only need to speak a single line of dialogue to snare us in fully. Here, he has plenty to do playing a pair of twin brothers who are caught in the eternal struggle between good and evil.
A very positive surprise!
Norsebard
The Night The World Exploded
Directed by Fred F. Sears and starring William Leslie, Kathryn Grant, Raymond Greenleaf and Tris(tram) Coffin.
USA 1957
- "Dr. Conway has perfected a machine which he believes will predict earthquakes, and has determined that one will strike California within 24 hours. He and his patron, Dr. Morton, attempt to convince the Governor but he cannot bring himself to declare an emergency when there is no proof the machine works - soon, he'll have all the evidence he needs..."
This 'Earth In Jeopardy' disaster flick is surprisingly modern in its approach and style of storytelling - or rather, today's various natural disaster-flicks follow the exact same plot beats this one did 68 years ago!
All the stock characters are present: the young, square-jawed, blind-to-anything-else-but-his-work scientist, the distinguished older mentor, the spunky female assistant who has a twinkle in her eye for the square-jawed hero, the Governor who doubts the doom-and-gloom news, and even the stiff-necked military types. The latter play a far smaller role here than they did in similar movies of the era, though.
The movie wastes very little time getting to the good stuff, and in the case of this genre, the good stuff comes as destructive earthquakes around the world. Clocking in at a mere 64 minutes, it maintains a pretty good head of steam for the most part with a few slow(er) talky-scenes here and there. The viewer is treated to plenty of stock footage and plenty of dodgy accents as the news reports tick in from the various nations affected by the tremors.
It's not all smooth sailing, however, as the 1950s make their presence felt in certain areas: although Kathryn Grant's spunky female assistant is an active element of an exciting action sequence where she continues to relay data readings while a cave is collapsing around her, she's reduced to the stereotypical Tearful Love Interest (TM) when the chips are down and the clock is really ticking toward the destruction of the world. Hmmm-yeah.
The movie is obviously just a B-quickie, but the earthquake effects are surprisingly effective, IMO, and the acting is generally okay if a little anonymous. Grant steals the show during the moments where she's allowed to show some spunk.
Not bad at all for a 68-year-old disaster flick! Worth a watch, and perhaps even more than once.
Norsebard
Directed by Fred F. Sears and starring William Leslie, Kathryn Grant, Raymond Greenleaf and Tris(tram) Coffin.
USA 1957
- "Dr. Conway has perfected a machine which he believes will predict earthquakes, and has determined that one will strike California within 24 hours. He and his patron, Dr. Morton, attempt to convince the Governor but he cannot bring himself to declare an emergency when there is no proof the machine works - soon, he'll have all the evidence he needs..."
This 'Earth In Jeopardy' disaster flick is surprisingly modern in its approach and style of storytelling - or rather, today's various natural disaster-flicks follow the exact same plot beats this one did 68 years ago!
All the stock characters are present: the young, square-jawed, blind-to-anything-else-but-his-work scientist, the distinguished older mentor, the spunky female assistant who has a twinkle in her eye for the square-jawed hero, the Governor who doubts the doom-and-gloom news, and even the stiff-necked military types. The latter play a far smaller role here than they did in similar movies of the era, though.
The movie wastes very little time getting to the good stuff, and in the case of this genre, the good stuff comes as destructive earthquakes around the world. Clocking in at a mere 64 minutes, it maintains a pretty good head of steam for the most part with a few slow(er) talky-scenes here and there. The viewer is treated to plenty of stock footage and plenty of dodgy accents as the news reports tick in from the various nations affected by the tremors.
It's not all smooth sailing, however, as the 1950s make their presence felt in certain areas: although Kathryn Grant's spunky female assistant is an active element of an exciting action sequence where she continues to relay data readings while a cave is collapsing around her, she's reduced to the stereotypical Tearful Love Interest (TM) when the chips are down and the clock is really ticking toward the destruction of the world. Hmmm-yeah.
The movie is obviously just a B-quickie, but the earthquake effects are surprisingly effective, IMO, and the acting is generally okay if a little anonymous. Grant steals the show during the moments where she's allowed to show some spunk.
Not bad at all for a 68-year-old disaster flick! Worth a watch, and perhaps even more than once.
Norsebard
She-Wolf Of London
Directed by Jean Yarbrough and starring June Lockhart, Sara Haden, Don Porter, Jan Wiley, Martin Kosleck, Lloyd Corrigan and Emily Halyon.
USA 1946
- "A young heiress finds evidence suggesting that at night she acts under the influence of a family curse and has begun committing ghastly murders in a nearby park."
Hmmm, this doesn't have the thrills I expected it to have. The basic story is sound, but I don't feel they get enough out of it. Many of the classic elements are present: a growing sense of dread, sneaking around in a foggy park in the dark of night, effective fright music and a few Gasp! moments... but on the flipside of that, it's too heavy on the talking-talking-talking and too light on the actual suspense, IM-H-O.
It really should have been more lurid and colorful with such a title, perhaps akin to Daughter Of Dr. Jekyll (1957) that tells a closely related story.
Regarding the actors, everyone is on fairly good form save perhaps for the leading lady who seems a little lost at times - June Lockhart apparently confirmed that years later in an interview. Although Don Porter has a solid presence, many a scene is stolen by Lloyd Corrigan and Sara Haden as a Scotland Yard detective and the leading lady's mother, respectively.
Norsebard
Directed by Jean Yarbrough and starring June Lockhart, Sara Haden, Don Porter, Jan Wiley, Martin Kosleck, Lloyd Corrigan and Emily Halyon.
USA 1946
- "A young heiress finds evidence suggesting that at night she acts under the influence of a family curse and has begun committing ghastly murders in a nearby park."
Hmmm, this doesn't have the thrills I expected it to have. The basic story is sound, but I don't feel they get enough out of it. Many of the classic elements are present: a growing sense of dread, sneaking around in a foggy park in the dark of night, effective fright music and a few Gasp! moments... but on the flipside of that, it's too heavy on the talking-talking-talking and too light on the actual suspense, IM-H-O.It really should have been more lurid and colorful with such a title, perhaps akin to Daughter Of Dr. Jekyll (1957) that tells a closely related story.
Regarding the actors, everyone is on fairly good form save perhaps for the leading lady who seems a little lost at times - June Lockhart apparently confirmed that years later in an interview. Although Don Porter has a solid presence, many a scene is stolen by Lloyd Corrigan and Sara Haden as a Scotland Yard detective and the leading lady's mother, respectively.
Norsebard
One Body Too Many
Directed by Frank McDonald and starring Jack Haley, Jean Harper, Bernard Nedell, Blanche Yurka, Lyle Talbot and Bela Lugosi as Merkil, the butler.
Horror comedy / Murder mystery
USA 1944
- "An insurance salesman arrives at a creepy mansion to discover his potential eccentric millionaire client already dead. Instead he gets embroiled in a house full of greedy, murderous relatives competing for the inheritance..."
This type of plot was far from new, even in 1944, so the screenwriters and the director had to boost other elements to keep it fresh and interesting. They did so by adding plenty of black (even morbid at times) humor and a dark, foreboding, gothic atmosphere to the proceedings. There's plenty of sneaking around in dark corridors and hidden passages, flashes of lightning creating spooky shadows, dead bodies disappearing / re-appearing in the oddest of places, paintings featuring moving eyes, creepy hands reaching out toward the hero... in short, all the classic gothic horror elements
The acting highlights come in the shape of Jack Haley who's a treat as the cowardly insurance salesman, and - of course - the horror legend Bela Lugosi who plays against type as a benign butler. It's quite a large cast, actually, which means there isn't time to flesh everyone out in the 75-minute running time. IM-H-O, they could easily have dropped two or three of the supporting characters without hurting the overall product.
The film was produced by the low-budget company Pine-Thomas Productions. Although the men behind it were apparently known as the 'Two Dollar Bills,' they almost always delivered the goods by creating solid B-pictures that pleased the audience, and One Body Too Many does exactly that even to this day, IM-H-O.
The only fly in the ointment is that the version found on Youtube comes from a poor print. It's not out of focus as such, but the edges are slightly blurry throughout, the frames show occasional artifacts, and the brightness-balance is offset too much toward the dark end of the spectrum which makes it a little difficult to see what's going on during some of the scenes. I guess those issues are inevitable given that the movie's in the public domain, but at least they don't detract too much from the viewing experience.
Definitely a fun way to spend an hour and fifteen minutes for the genre enthusiasts.
Norsebard
Directed by Frank McDonald and starring Jack Haley, Jean Harper, Bernard Nedell, Blanche Yurka, Lyle Talbot and Bela Lugosi as Merkil, the butler.
Horror comedy / Murder mystery
USA 1944
- "An insurance salesman arrives at a creepy mansion to discover his potential eccentric millionaire client already dead. Instead he gets embroiled in a house full of greedy, murderous relatives competing for the inheritance..."
This type of plot was far from new, even in 1944, so the screenwriters and the director had to boost other elements to keep it fresh and interesting. They did so by adding plenty of black (even morbid at times) humor and a dark, foreboding, gothic atmosphere to the proceedings. There's plenty of sneaking around in dark corridors and hidden passages, flashes of lightning creating spooky shadows, dead bodies disappearing / re-appearing in the oddest of places, paintings featuring moving eyes, creepy hands reaching out toward the hero... in short, all the classic gothic horror elements
The acting highlights come in the shape of Jack Haley who's a treat as the cowardly insurance salesman, and - of course - the horror legend Bela Lugosi who plays against type as a benign butler. It's quite a large cast, actually, which means there isn't time to flesh everyone out in the 75-minute running time. IM-H-O, they could easily have dropped two or three of the supporting characters without hurting the overall product.
The film was produced by the low-budget company Pine-Thomas Productions. Although the men behind it were apparently known as the 'Two Dollar Bills,' they almost always delivered the goods by creating solid B-pictures that pleased the audience, and One Body Too Many does exactly that even to this day, IM-H-O.
The only fly in the ointment is that the version found on Youtube comes from a poor print. It's not out of focus as such, but the edges are slightly blurry throughout, the frames show occasional artifacts, and the brightness-balance is offset too much toward the dark end of the spectrum which makes it a little difficult to see what's going on during some of the scenes. I guess those issues are inevitable given that the movie's in the public domain, but at least they don't detract too much from the viewing experience.
Definitely a fun way to spend an hour and fifteen minutes for the genre enthusiasts.
Norsebard