"The Manster"

What a strange Japanese movie.  The Americans in the movie carry most of the heavy parts and they were probably enlisted to give the movie some kind of gravitas.  An American reporter interviews a reclusive Japanese scientist who is trying to create some kind of new species.  Why--no one knows.  His latest experiment was a failure and he drugs the reporter and injects him with a serum that slowly changes him into a monster/manster.  Strangely enough, he grows another head and finally splits into two people.  So...it was the evil part of him that did these terrible crimes of killing people.  Is the unevil part of him then innocent.  His wife admits that he is guilty of something.  The movie ends with a ponderous question.  Worth seeing?  Well, maybe.  The viewer does sympathize with this poor reporter who turns very evil in the process of growing this other person. 

"Never Too Late"

The movie "Never Too Late" was part of a Horror movie collection but it is not a horror movie.  A squire plots to have a young woman for his own.  He frames her fiance for a crime while he is out of town.  The squire intercepts his letters and she thinks that he has rejected her.  The innocent man is sent to prison and endures terrible punishment.  The squire happens to regard the people at the prison as his children but he mistreats them horribly.  The "Never Too Late" is some kind of a punishment machine.  A clergyman visiting the prison becomes aware of the horrible conditions and reports them to the governor and reform eventually comes.  The trailer at the beginning of the movie suggests that it was based on historical fact.  It's not a bad movie but is pretty dated.  Stragnely enough, it's one of those movies that could be remade and could make a rather nice movie.  It's worth seeing, mostly for historical purposes.

"Teenage Zombies"

The move "Teenage Zombies" was definitely made in a hurry and since the date of the movie is 1959 I suspect that the producers were just trying to quickly appeal to a burgeoning youth market.  The Black and White movie starring Don Sullivan (where have I heard that name before) has a group of teenagers taking a boat ride to a stranded island.  Some kind of weird foreign scientist is trying to develop ways of controlling people by turning them into zombies.  Even the trusted sheriff is found to be in cahoots with them.  Why?  I cannot tell.  The special effects are almost non-existant.  The people go into some kind of a glass room and are gassed to turn them into either temporary or permanent zombies.  Why?  I cannot tell...wait a minute, I said that already.  The camera angles and the sets make it look like a home movie.  I think that I have produced better stuff in taking movies of myi family.  Hey, the nerve gas in the movie would probably help us forget this loser.  If you are an insomniac it might be helpful to try to watch this movie.  I doubt if an updated movie version would be made in a million years.

"The Devil's Messenger"

This is a somewhat strange combination of three black and white movies in one.  They are hosted by "Mr. D" in the form of Lon Chaney, Jr.  It is classic Lon Chaney.  He seems the same in any role that he takes.  The first segment involves a photographer who is faced with a beauty that haunts his pictures and dreams.  He slays her and then is remorseful and ends up in hell.  The second segment involes a scientist who is obsessed with a woman encased in ice--an "Ice Princess."  He slays the person who is researching the find and then tries to thaw out the girl (who supposedly comes to life) but finds himself also in hell.  The third segment finds a man who visits a fortuneteller who foretells his death.  Guess what?  He dies and ends up in hell.  The woman who lures all three to their hellish demise then plots with Chaney to destroy the world.  It's a strange combination of movies and hardly worth your time though the second segment does have its moments.  I am amazed at the basic morals suggested and the "reward" of hell for those who "sin."

C.S. Lewis

Alice and I saw "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" movie in the Wisconsin Dells just before New Years.  It was originally a fantasy novel for children written by C.S. Lewis and published in 1952 as the third book in the "Chronicles of Narnia."  We previously saw "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" but did not see the second movie in the series.  Frankly, I had trouble following the movie, especially the first half.  I simply struggle with C.S. Lewis and I'm not sure why.  The second half of the movie was better.  It was almost as if I finally understood the characters.  I recommend the movie but I confess that it was not my favorite movie of the year.  Alice loved it.

Switz Movie Blog: Getting Started

Switz Movie Blog: Getting Started: I am struggling getting this Blog started but I think I'm figuring it out.

Getting Started

Since I enjoy movies and especially old Black and White movies, I decided to Blog brief summaries of some of the movies I watch.  We'll see what happens.