Change Your Image
norm.vogel@verizon.net
Reviews
Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
When's it gonna END?!?!?!!?
Now, don't get me wrong -- i'm a BIG fan of musicals. The BIG PROBLEM with this film is that there's too darned much SINGING! ENUFF ALREADY! I don't think that 5 minutes goes by without someone bursting into song! UNCLE! Because of this, the film (as interesting as it IS) goes on forever!
Another complaint i have is their journey to the island with the Lion King ruler. It doesn't belong in this film, sticks out like a sore thumb, and wastes even MORE time! Its' as if the Disney special effects dept just threw this in to say, "lookee what WE can do!".
The ONLY thing that redeems this film (and the ONLY reason i gave it a "5" is the "nazi attack" at the very end of the film. (Otherwise, i probably would've given it a "3").
This films should've been cut down to about an hour and 40 mins, or so.
A "Classic"? Hardly.
Norm Vogel
One Frightened Night (1935)
An EXCELLENT Old House Mystery
I have to agree with Eric Miller; this film is a GEM! A neat intro, all-star cast (for 1935) and an interesting story by the Great Stuart Palmer make this a top-notch film! If you're a fan of "Old House" films, this is a MUST-see!
There is a "goof" listed for this film: "A room which has been locked since 1915 contains up-to-date (1935) fixtures".
Whoever said that didn't watch the film closely, because they are incorrect! The locked room HAS NO visible lights -- the old man uses a candle when he enters with his niece.
The room they must be talking about is the "trophy room", complete with mummies, skulls, daggers and all sorts of "weird" things! (Two different rooms).
Norm Vogel www.normsfilms.com
A Face in the Fog (1936)
A great 30's mystery!
I've always been a fan of films where the killer is disguised in some way.....usually hunchbacked, a long cloak, a hat pulled down over his face, and a decided limp. That's why i LOVE this film! :)
(Other films with "disfigured murderers" are The Bat Whispers, Miss Pinkerton & the Cat & the Canary).
This film also uses a stock music track that was most noticeably used in "The Clutching Hand" serial...........viewing this film, it's difficult to believe that this film is a LATE 30's entry!!!
A weird-looking killer, known as "The Fiend" is out to murder the members of a Broadway show, with a most unusual weapon (no spoiler here!).
The lites go out, and the person is dead....they've been poisoned, but without a mark on them!
Two newpaper employees try to track 'em down (to get the scoop and the reward money for their honeymoon----they do, of course!).
Despite what the "trivia" says, this film IS NOT "LOST" !!!!!!!!!!!!! I have a copy of it, and i imagine that there are others out there somewhere.
This is a MUST SEE........IF you're lucky enuff to find it!
Norm
Tangled Destinies (1932)
An enjoyable little film!
I agree with what the other reviewers have said. It's basically a "no-star" cast -- the only people i recognised was the prizefighter and the head of the detectives (he was the doctor in The Monster Walks), but it still makes for some great viewing. I daresay (to use an old expression) that there's no other mystery quite like it!
My only complaint about this film was that the the "old lady" is obviously much, much younger than she appears......this might lead the viewer to concentrate on HER as the murderer, when all it is is a lousy makeup job!
Check it out if you get the chance to see it!
The Vampire Bat (1933)
A VERY under-rated film!
I take issue with the other reviewer's comments for the simple reason that this is a MYSTERY FILM, not a supernatural one! It is not the only film to have a seemingly "supernatural" explanation ("vampires"), but turns out to be a very mundance one.
Other films that come to mind are Edgar Wallace's "Before Dawn" and the (more famous) "Mark of the Vampire".
The film does a WONDERFUL job in creating a very "spooky atmosphere", similar DRACULA, when Renfield meets the Count on the staircase of his castle, or in MARK OF THE VAMPIRE, when the two people look thru the windows of the castle ruins and see a "corpse" playing an organ, while Luna descends using wings! VERY surreal!
If one likes these (often silent) atmospheric touches, THIS film is a MUST!
Norm Vogel
Who Killed Aunt Maggie? (1940)
Disappointing
I'm a fan of "Old House" movies and, when i heard about THIS one, i tried to get it for a long time.
When i finally DID, i was very disappointed. It's easy to spot the murderer, but that's not what makes it so disappointing.
This film has a top-notch cast - Eliz Paterson, Willie Best, Joyce Compton, Milton Parsons, Wendie Barrie, etc -- ALL veteran "Old House" actors. AND, a screenplay by the fantastic Stuart Palmer!
But, the movie drags on & on, with the usual "cut phone wires", "cars put out of commission", etc.....it would've benefited from some real SCARES.
It drags along, to an ending that doesn't make much sense. Don't waste your time on THIS one, unless you're a die-hard fan!
Murder in the Blue Room (1944)
Great, entertaining film!
This is a very hard-to-find 'old house film'....but SEE IT if you get a chance! The plot synopsis was given earlier, but i'd like to give my personal comments on it.
At first, the "Andrews Sisters clones" get on your nerves, but you grow to like 'em after a bit! Anne Gwynn is lovely, as always....
It's kind of a mish-mosh of musical, mystery, drama, but it WORKS!
See it if u can! MOST enjoyable!
King of the Zombies (1941)
A Terrific film!
This film (along with "Dr. X" & "Night Monster") rank as my all-time fave Top Three! (I own over 1k films)!
Why? That "Master of Scared-Reaction Comedy", Mantan Moreland takes an (other-wise) dull film & adds a lot of "zip" into it! I think this was his finest role! He does MUCH to improve a cast who's acting (especially the two "heros") is as "wooden" as the zombies themselves!
My favorite line is when the "hero" & Mantan are walking through a dark secret passage, holding a torch. Voodoo drums begin to sound. "What's that?", says the Hero. "I dunno", answers Mantan, "...but it ain't GENE KRUPA!". A scream!
This film WILL offend the "Politically Correct" as "degrading Negro stereotypes", but these people have to realise that Morelan was a Comic GENIUS who also played these "scared reaction" comedy roles for BLACK directors, and the Black Movie-Going Community of the 30's and 40's.
You MUST SEE this film, if only for Mantan's marvellous comedy!
The Ghost Train (1941)
Improves with age!!!!!
Having seen this film a few more times (since my last review), I've come to enjoy this film!
Again, Askey's antics on the train are a bit tedious, but he's rather funny, mocking the station-master's story about the ghost train AND the body of the late station-master.
Check it out!
Körkarlen (1921)
A FANTASTIC silent film!
This, unfortunately, is a little-known film.....i say "unfortunately", because it ranks up there with the "classics" of the American silent screen!
It's about a legend of a "phantom chariot" that travells all over the world, picking up the souls of those who have died. The legend says tha the last person to die on New Year's Eve is condemned to drive the chariot for the next whole year.
It brings to mind the sequence of the "Ghost of Future Yet To Come" in Dicken's famous "Christmas Carol".
The double-exposure effects of the ghosts (esp. when they interact with the "live" people) are EXCELLENT!
If you love silent films, you MUST see THIS; it will "blow you away"!
Norm Vogel
Norm's Old Movie Heaven http://www.nvogel.com/film/film.html
Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow (1959)
THE Ultimate Drive-In Movie!
This film is soooo corny, that it's incredibly funny!
Hardly shown any more, but don't miss it if you get the chance!
If anyone is looking for a copy of it, pls go to "Norm's Old Movie Heaven"
The Cat's-Paw (1934)
One of Lloyd's best sound films!
As a Harold Lloyd fan, i agree with the other reviewer's comments, EXCEPT that I feel that "Movie Crazy" was his best sound film; "Cat's Paw" is a close second. (But, this is just MY opinion).
This film is a "hoot" from beginning to end and, in many scenes, George Barbier (the crook that gets him elected mayor) almost steals the show! (Especially at the end of the film).
One wishes that Una Merkel's character would be a bit more sympathetic to Harold, especially as the film progresses. Only in the last few minutes of the film do we find out her true feelings for him. (And, even then, there is no "romance" - kissing, etc).
This is a Must-See film!
The Comedy of Terrors (1963)
A VERY sad film...............
I'm a collector of CLASSIC horror films and (remembering this trio's triumphs of the past), watching this film was a sad experience.
Karloff is absolutely wasted, Rathbone doesn't seem to have the faintest idea what he's doing, and Lorre's acting is as dead as the corpes he's burying!
The only thing that keeps this film going is the over-acting of Vincent Price. If he would've played his part "straight", this film would've been a TOTAL FLOP. By over-acting, he enlivens it immensely.
The plot is worn andd moth-eaten, and it drags terribly in spots.
In fact, the only interesting thing about it is the appearance of Joe E. Brown, who doesn't look like he's aged much since his classic 30's comedies! (He even lets go with his famous "HEYYYYY!").
The film is worth seeing, however, because of it's "Gathering of the Greats", even tho it's their last "hurrah"!
R.I.P.
Night Monster (1942)
A CRREPY film!!!!
A wealthy invalid (who has no arms or legs) invites the 3 doctors who attended him to his eerie, fog-shrouded mansion, where they are strangled, one by one....."and on their faces was a look of unspeakable horror"!
I'm a mystery-film buff, and i can say without a shadow of a doubt that THIS films is my All-Time Fave "spooky mystery"......the music, Lugosi, shadows on the walls, a skeleton materialising in the library, the eerie swamp, etc make it EXTREMELY atmospheric and "nightmarish"!
(In case you're wondering, my 2nd fav "Old House" film is "Dr. X").
I remember watching this film on Sat. nites in the 60's, and having a hard time going to sleep afterward. And, it's STILL creepy, after all these years!
"I can see "it" on foggy nights, keeping to the shadows...and even the frogs stopped croaking as it passed thru....."
Citizen Kane (1941)
A GREAT film....but, THE best?
I saw CK for the first time last nite. I, too, was impressed by the story, camerawork, acting, etc. But, i don't think that i would say that it is "THE best film of all time".....ONE of the best, but how can ANYONE reduce it to ONE?
"Gone With the Wind", as good as it was, is much too long; "Wonderful Life" is terribly depressing, and films like "Man Who Came to Dinner" are extremely overrated. But, out of all the films i've mentioned, CK is THE BEST!
Without giving it away, what was meant by his last word, "Rosebud"? I know WHAT it (physically) is, but was the reason it was so important to him a reminder of simpler past, which he secretly longed for all his life? Or, am i mising something here?
I'd appreciate it if anyone could enlighten me on this, as i'd like to make sure that my interpretation is correct.
Thank you, Norm Vogel