The Conqueror Worm (Also known as Witchfinder General)1968, United Kingdom, American International release, Color, about 88 minutes. Stars: Vincent Price as Matthew Hopkins, Hilary Dwyer as Sara, Rupert Davies as John Lowes, Robert Russell as John Stearne and Ian Ogilvy as Richard Marshall. Schlock-Meter rating: 9 and 1/2 stars out of 10.
By Doug Gibson
(I was watching a couple of interviews (recent) with the great John Waters on YouTube and one comment he made, when discussing "Multiple Maniacs," tickled my funny bone. Reminiscing about the outraged reviews his films would receive in the 1970s, Waters recalled that one review called "Multiple Maniacs" even worse than "The Conqueror Worm." Waters admitted he's never seen "The Conqueror Worm," but said he thought he'd like it. He would; it's a great film and here's a review:)
Ever wanted to see how really evil a person Vincent Price could portray in a film? Go rent, or buy, the Conqueror Worm. This is a magnificent film about 17th Century England and witch hunter Matthew Hopkins (Price) who is the law in a war-torn land. The plot: The sadistic Hopkins and his henchman Stearne (Russell) terrorize towns by executing “witches” and collecting cash for their services. In Brandiston, they torture an aged preacher. In order to save the preacher’s life, his niece Sara (Dwyer) agrees to be Hopkins’ sex slave. But after Stearne rapes Sara, Hopkins loses interest in Sara and kills her uncle.
Back from the wars arrives Sara’s intended Richard Marshall (Ogilvy) and when he finds out how his fiance has been treated, he swears vengeance and goes after the witch hunter, who lays a trap for Marshall. I won’t give away the climax, except to say that the intensity of the last scene has been matched by few cult films.
Atmosphere keeps The Conqueror Worm moving at a fast pace. The characters seem believable, whether they are in a pub, at war or witnessing the execution of a “witch.” Critic Danny Peary describes Price as never having been better. Peary also talks about the triumph of evil, which “will emerge victorious” despite whether Hopkins or Marshall kills the other. In the film, the viewer is jolted into a sense of overwhelming pessimism of the situation. One wonders at the end if the protagonist (Marshall) is really any better than Hopkins.
Credit to the gloomy but effective mood of Conqueror Worm goes to the director Michael Reeves. He was a major new talent in Britain in the 1960s. Besides Conqueror, he directed The Castle of the Living Dead, 1964, and The Sorcerers, 1967, with Boris Karloff. Sadly, Reeves took his own life in 1969.
Genre author James L. Neibaur has done his usual, solid, well-researched, enjoyable recap of a film great with "The W.C. Fields Films," (here) recently published by McFarland, http://www.mcfarlandbooks.com/ (800-253-2187).
Harry Langdon and Buster Keaton are among performers whom Neibaur has assessed. As with the others, the Fields book covers his films, chapter by chapter. Serving as bookends are an opening chapter on Fields' early life and work in vaudeville, and the final chapter covers his last years.
Neibaur is a talented enough researcher and writer to have the film chapters also provide a chronology of Fields' life. The plots, filmmaking intrigues, reviews, box office fates, cast reminiscing, also includes snippets of Fields' personal life, including his frequent health problems as he aged.
If you are a casual fan of Fields, like myself prior to reading this volume, you'll learn that he was a major vaudeville star who dipped his toes into films a little and then several years later, made the full leap, astutely realizing that was where the future, and money was. Some of the early silent films were remade in the sound era. A couple, both remade, that are on my list to see are "Running Wild" and "Sally of the Sawdust." (Remade as "Man on the Flying Trapeze" and "Poppy.")
Neibaur also notes that Fields struggled at times with silent films. Regretfully, some are lost, including all three of an ill-fated attempt to team Fields with comedian Chester Conklin. Ultimately, it was sound that moved Fields to higher stardom. Neibaur correctly points out that Fields' understated delivery of his lines became very popular with audiences. In fact, aside lines like Fields (in "The Bank Dick") muttering that he loves daughters, particularly those between 16 and 18, is dialogue that I don't think censors would have allowed less subtle actors to utter.
Fields' glory days were with Paramount, his shorts, including 'The Dentist" and films such as "It's' a Gift" and "Man on the Flying Trapeze," are classic gems. He had the ability to play a put-upon father, a conniving boozer father, a con man father and guardian, and still provide sympathy with audiences. Also, pairing Fields with a loud, overbearing spouse prone to overly loud proclamations was usually comic gold. Neibaur also notes Fields's care in determining the plots and dialogues of his films; a demand that perceptive directors usually followed.
Fields' is also an actor whose health deterioration one can track through his two decades of stardom. In "The Dentist," he's still relatively trim. By his last film, the offbeat, eccentric, original "Never Give a Sucker an Even Break," he's a bloated, obese man with a large, alcoholic red nose. His Paramount and Universal tenures were cut short by bad health and poor health practices. Tragedy always affected his health adversely, from friends' deaths to a toddler drowning in a pond on his property.
In his book, Neibaur includes Fields successful comeback with Universal, with films such as "My Little Chickadee," a must-see with Mae West (The two egos survived peacefully long enough to make a great film), "The Bank Dick," and "Never Give a Sucker an Even Break," a brilliant satire that Universal failed to understand, and played as a second-feature.
Prior to reading this book, I'd only seen Fields in "International House," which I bought to see Bela Lugosi," "The Dentist," "My Little Chickadee," and "It's a Gift," a film I've seen at least 20 times. The "W.C. Fields Films" has a lot of company with other great books about Fields. It serves however as a great source to learn more about the unique vintage comedy star, one of the few silent veterans to prosper in the sound era.
Since I read this book, I've seen several more films with Fields. Some of my favorites include "It's a Gift," "Man on the Flying Trapeze," "The Bank Dick" and "Never Give a Sucker an Even Break."
The prolific Mr. Neibaur, by the way, will soon have a book out on the Universal monster films.
"More psychedelic fun than a barrel of monkeys on mushrooms." - Details Magazine
Words cannot describe the comic weirdness, if not genius, of writer/director Trent Harris' 1991 cult classic - Rubin & Ed. The same can be said about his 1995 cult film - Plan 10 From Outer Space, which is a commentary on Mormon culture and Ed Wood's 1959 classic - Plan 9 From Outer Space. I find Rubin & Ed to be the greater of the two films, but both make a great double-feature together.
Ed Tuttle, played by Howard Hesseman, is a down on his luck, middle aged loser who will do anything to prove to his wife Rula (Karen Black) that he can provide a living for her. The problem is, it's too late for Tuttle because his wife has left him and wants nothing to do with him. He wears old 70s leisure suits and a toupee to cover his balding hair. Apparently Tuttle has been a complete failure his entire life, but he refuses to give up, which is part of the charm of his character.
Tuttle attends a get-rich-quick, pyramid scheme seminar called "The Power of Positive Real Estate," also known as "The Organization." Attendants are brainwashed into thinking that they can achieve great wealth and success in their lives by bringing others into the group and selling real estate. Little do they know that the seminar is a scheme to take away their time and money.
While passing out pamphlets to promote "The Organization," Tuttle runs into his first and only sales subject, Rubin Farr, played by eccentric cult actor Crispin Glover. Farr lives with his mother in a hotel, wears bell bottom pants and platform shoes, and listens to the loud music of Mahler all day, while occasionally lounging by the pool. Farr's mother is constantly on his case to make friends. This is where Tuttle makes his appearance. Two losers, Rubin and Ed, are now united.
Tuttle meets Farr at his hotel room and finds Farr's frozen dead cat in the kitchen freezer. Farr agrees to come with Tuttle to his seminar, but only if they can first find a proper place to bury the cat. The frozen cat, named Simon, is placed in a Coleman cooler. What follows for the rest of the movie is a buddy themed, road trip across Goblin State Park in Utah - only this time Bob Hope and Bing Crosby are nowhere to be found.
One particularly funny dream sequence shows Rubin floating on a tube at Pineview Reservoir in Utah while his cat Simon is waterskiing behind a boat operated by a beautiful girl. Farr gives his most famous line in the film - "My cat can eat a whole watermelon!"
I was fortunate to have found a VHS copy of Rubin & Ed at a local thrift store for less than $1.00. Sources tell me that a used copy of Rubin & Ed on VHS will run anywhere from $40.00 to $100.00 on E-Bay and other movie sales sites. A new VHS copy will run you about $200.00. I often rented the film from Blockbuster Video and Hollywood Video in the 1990s from the "Cult Classics" section of both video stores.
I was also fortunate to have purchased a signed copy of Harris' Plan 10 From Outer Space on DVD at Sam Weller's book store in downtown Salt Lake City about 10 years ago. This is one of my most cherished movie collectibles, next to a clam-shelled 80s VHS copy of Andy Milligan's Torture Dungeon from Midnight Video.
To purchase Rubin & Ed on DVD or other films by director Trent Harris, visit his web store at http://www.echocave.net/rubin_ed.html. Hooray for the Echo People! Happy viewing.
Vernon Dent is ubiquitous to vintage comedy film. Genre fans and scholars know him well. The more casual film fan, the one who, say, has only sampled the Three Stooges shorts, can't recall his name but they sure do know his face. And, most importantly, Vernon Dent makes them laugh.
Dent's "I know that guy" persona is a lot like, say, the character actor Donald Meek. My wife and I, watching WC Fields and Mae West in "My Little Chickadee," saw Meeks play a faux preacher "marrying" the stars. "I know that guy. What's his name?" my wife said. "He's also in "You Can't Take It With You," I reply. (And several hundred other films ...) ... Vernon, by the way, worked with WC Fields in films.
It's the same with Vernon. Last year, on a Fox News segment, background film was rolling as comic relief. Suddenly, there's Vernon from an old Stooges short. "I know that guy. What's his name," said my son, who loves the Stooges and Harry Langdon shorts. (Dent, of course, is also a veteran of hundreds of films).
1) Vernon Dent is a
ubiquitous figure to the casual vintage comedy fan, the one who only watches
The Three Stooges. He’s the face without a name they always recognize. Describe
how Dent’s talents make him so memorable to fans when other frequent co-stars
are less noticeable to casual fans?
CASSARA: In the Three
Stooges comedies there had to be an authority figure to play against their
humor, it's called "comedy contrast." While there were plenty of
actors who could do that, Vernon brought with him a seemingly no-nonsense
approach and dealt out the punishment. It helped too that Vernon who was not a
tall man, nevertheless physically fit perfectly in the frame with the much
shorter Stooges. If one watches the Stooges even casually, he shows up in 56 of
their total product. That makes a lasting impression, so if one sees
"Vernon Dent" in the opening credits you know that the boys are
really going to get it!
2) Did the deaths of Vernon
Dent’s parents, have an effect on his life, career or personal, in your
opinion?
CASSARA: Vernon's father was
the owner of a saloon in San Jose, Calif., and was murdered when Vernon was a boy.
The local newspaper blamed the circumstance of the murder, not on the suspect
but on the "evils of alcohol." Vernon's mother made the boy swear on
his father's grave that he would never touch alcohol. Vernon's mother was a
non-professional thespian and encouraged her son's budding talents, she died
when he was only 20.
3) In his pre-Sennett career,
what were Vernon Dent’s greatest strengths in the shorts he made? How did these early films, as well as Sennett shorts, set up his career as a foil to
the stars of the shorts?
CASSARA: It should be noted
that Vernon was influenced by Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, while Roscoe
sang illustrated songs at the Unique Theater in San Jose. Vernon was a singer
first, even a published song writer. Vernon was the emcee while at Seal Beach,
Ca. when Hank Mann saw possibilities of him as a comic "heavy" to
Mann's comedies. Vernon graduated to his own starring series for "Folly
Comedies 1921-1922. His character was very similar to Fatty Arbuckle's film
persona to include a similar fitting hat. In those silent days, action was the
key. Vernon proved himself adept at physical comedy; making pratfalls and big
reactions. The Mack Sennett studios demanded a quick pace and sometimes very
dangerous stunts, he was also a "fat" character so necessary to play
off of others.
4) What
are the three best Harry Langdon/Vernon Dent Sennett shorts and why?
CASSARA: 1) HIS FIRST FLAME: This is the sweetest little
film full of charm and redemption. Harry is a naive nephew to Vernon's worldly
Uncle who works as a fireman. Harry overcomes his physical limitations and wins
the girl and his uncle's respect. This film holds up really well to modern
audiences, the lessons to be learned are still fresh and humorous. 2). HIS
MARRIAGE WOW : Harry almost plays the straight-man to Vernon's maniac
character. It's a visual delight as Vernon drives his car crazily and seeing
Harry as his captured passenger. 2) SATURDAY AFTERNOON: This short
made in 1925 establishes both as buddies, Harry is hen-pecked and Vernon is his
"wiser" friend who tries to fix them up with a couple of floozies.
Tiny Harry and big Vernon are perfectly contrasted together, this predates
Laurel and Hardy by a couple of years and might have been very influential.
5) You
mention something interesting in your biography, that perhaps Harry Langdon
would have had better success at First National had he taken his frequent
Sennett co-star Vernon Dent with him. How could Dent have improved, say,
“Three’s A Crowd,” if he had played Arthur Thalasso’s part, or the judge in
“The Chaser.” CASSARA: I'd hate to
speculate other than saying Vernon would have enhanced any screen appearance.
6) There was an effort to
make Dent a comedy pair team with Monty Collins, and of course many say he and
Langdon were teamed often without officially being a team. What were the
challenges in the 20s and 30s against succeeding as a comedy team? What were
the artistic challenges as well as the logistical challenges, such as exposure,
play dates and marketing? CASSARA: This is an
interesting question. Comedy teams were certainly popular in vaudeville but
often did not make it in film because one was a talking medium and the other
visual (during the silent era. For film teams to emerge there has to be a
business sense by the respective studio that the audience will be in demand of
said team. The comedians also have to have a strong respect for each other; the
typical set up is for a "comedian" and a "second banana" to
help set up the gags. Many teams failed because both wanted to be the funny
one. Stan Laurel for instance had a chance through the years to establish
himself as a solo comedian to lukewarm response. Frankly, he was not ready in
the early years to take on a partner. This changed when he was eventually
paired with Oliver Hardy, at the Hal Roach Studios. Audience reaction at the
two as a true team demanded more. The studio then marketed it to the
distributors and the public as such. Vernon and Harry were never a
"team" on equal footing, Harry was the star and Vernon was versatile
in comic support. While Harry had a defined character, Vernon did not.
More importantly, Harry wasn't ready to be a team in the 20's. On reflection in
later years he might have regretted it.
7) All of us want so badly to
see the lost Arvid Gillstrom Educational/Paramount shorts. Synopses seem to
tease us with plots for Vernon and Harry that would be appropriate for a
regular comedy team (Laurel and Hardy). Do you believe Paramount was pitching
the duo as a team, albeit maybe with a little more press toward Langdon? CASSARA: Gillstrom is a name
not heard of anymore, he was an important director and producer for Paramount
in his day. I think he was in line to make Harry Langdon comedies and Vernon
would have a big responsibility for the studio. As it was, Gillstrom directed
Vernon Dent and Bing Crosby in "Please," a two-reel comedy written by
Vernon. He also wrote the screenplays for Langdon/Dent series that are lost
now. Gillstrom died suddenly in 1935 and that ended any hopes of bigger fame at
Paramount.
8) Based on your biography,
Vernon seemed to have a wonderful final marriage. He settled into an eventual
well-paid character actor supporting role in Columbia shorts, with freedom to
do other work. His settling down into that role, was it due to domestic
happiness, and perhaps also that his diabetes was a growing concern CASSARA: Vernon was married
three times and his second wife passed away When Vernon was in this 30's.
Vernon met his future wife at a party at the Langdon's home and he was so
smitten, he proposed to her that night. Vernon was in love and they were both
dedicated to each other though Mrs. Dent had no interest in the movie business.
Vernon's wife worked at a bank for consistent income, aside from Vernon's
acting income he was also vested in real estate and owned a concession stand in
Westlake Park in Los Angeles. They both pitched in during the weekends.
9) What are Dent’s best
dramatic roles? CASSARA: Thomas Ince hired
Vernon for his feature: "Hail the Women" (1921). It is unfortunately
this is a lost film, Vernon had a prominent part. Mack Sennett cast Vernon as a
sinister and overbearing suitor of Mable Normand in the feature, "The
Extra Girl." (1923) He played a mean husband in the rarely seen
"Dragnet Patrol" even out bullying screen heavy Walter Long. Vernon's
most sensitive portrayal was the feature, "Beast of Berlin" (1939)
when Vernon's character is German citizen (a bartender) who is terrorized by
the Nazi soldiers. We hear Vernon cry in pain...it's heartbreaking.
10) What are the best examples of Dent singing
in films CASSARA: In the short
Technicolor film, "Good morning, Eve." Vernon (as Nero) sings
"Rhythm in the Bow," it's very catchy. He sings "There's No
Place Like Home" to a sequestered jury in "The Jury Goes 'Round and
Round" (1945). My favorites are when Vernon sings the old songs: "The
Waning Honeymoon" (Fainting Lover (1931), "When You and I were Young,
Maggie" (with Harry Langdon in Hooks and Jabs), and especially in Bing
Crosby's short "Please," Vernon challenges Bing to a singing
competition and bellows out "Dear Old Girl."
11) Has there ever been a comedian who had a
stare as humorously menacing as Dent? CASSARA: I think Vernon
carved this out for himself and sustained it through out his years at Columbia.
He forewarned the Stooges many times with his look of intolerance, Charley
Chase and Shemp Howard both got those stares in the baseball-themed "The
Heckler" and "Mr. Noisy." The audience could witness his many
stages of body language, but never the comedians. 12) Who did Dent pair best with in films? I imagine the
favorites are The Stooges or Langdon, or maybe you have another selection? CASSARA: For sustained
pairing there is no doubt; The Three Stooges for the sheer delicious physical
comedy and Harry Langdon for the obvious chemistry between them.
13) In your research, how is Dent received by genre
fans? Is he recognized for his supporting talents or seen as a comedy star who
couldn’t quite reach star status? CASSARA: Though Vernon
appeared in over 400 films, most of them are unavailable for viewing. We'll
never know what heights Vernon would have propelled to if Gillstrom had lived,
the same could be said about Thomas Ince who also died after casting Vernon in
a dramatic feature. Vernon knew everyone at Columbia Studios when he became one
of their prized stock-players in 1936, so who wants to change history? I had
the pleasure of giving a discourse at the last Three Stooges Convention in
2016, if the knowledgeable audience was any gauge, they held Vernon Dent in
highest esteem for his comic support.
14) In
your research, what more did you learn about the warm personal friendship
between Dent and Langdon? (Vernon, Harry, and their spouses seen in above photo.)
CASSARA: In Harry Langdon Jr.'s new book, it is reaffirmed how close Vernon and Harry were. Harry's widow
emphasized this to Junior, Vernon even took the boy to baseball games in his
father's absence. Vernon never had children but he would have been a great dad.
15) If
someone were to put on a Vernon Dent film festival, what 12 films would you
choose to include?
CASSARA:
Some titles I have already mentioned, those would have to be included in any
list. The rest go to just about any of The Three Stooges: "Slippery
Silks," "An Ache in Every Stake,"Idle Roomers,"
"Half-Wits Holiday," "Three Little Pirates," "Sing a
Song of Six Pants," "Squareheads of the Round Table,"
"Fuelin' Around," Malice in the Palace," (see Vernon above) "Scrambled
Brains," "The Tooth Will Out."
16. Is there
anything you have discovered since your book was released? CASSARA: Most definitely. I heard from a woman who was a teenager when Vernon
was at home and blind unable to work. She used to check on him while his wife
was at work. One day she came in and she caught Vernon at the dinner table with
TWO pies in front of him furnished by a buddy. Vernon sensed her presence and
slightly panicked (he was on a strict diet). He tried to buy her off with
"Keep your mouth shut and the other pie is yours." That's how much he
valued his sweets. I also heard from a man who said he was Vernon's lawn mower
as a boy. Vernon offered him any of his souvenirs and artifacts. Apparently
Vernon collected stills from all his pictures and had them autographed by his
co-stars. Where they went nobody knows.
I also found out something unique about Vernon that I'm not sure if he was
conscious of himself. The very uncommon surname of "Mann"
seemed to pop up in his life: He went to Horace Mann school, Sam Mann was
Vernon's stage idol and who encouraged Vernon to continue impersonating him
with his foreign dialects, Gus Mann hired him for the "Jewel City
Cafe," Hank Mann hired Vernon as his comic heavy, and Helen Mann played
opposite of him in "The Girl Rush" (1931). If I were to ever write a
play about Vernon I would start with the temperance movement, Vernon's father's
death, and weave it around all the "Mann" coincidences. I can see it
now... Thanks so much, Bill, for the interview.
Harry Langdon Jr., whose father, film comedian Harry Langdon will be dead 73 years this December, recalls as a very young child visiting the set of "Zenobia," (1939) in which his dad starred with Oliver Hardy. As Langdon Jr. recounts, he was given a handful of double-headed nails by a stage worker. Perplexed at the oddly shaped nails, his father explained to Junior that they were used to make it easier to tear down sets.
"Nothing on a stage is permanent," Langdon senior told his son.
The stage anecdote is from the book's introduction. Langdon Jr. is the narrator of a scrapbook that offers photos, artwork, press clippings, promotional clippings, film posters, letters, pay stubs, and more.
The narration is appropriately understated; the scrapbook is what the book's about, but it appropriately moves the reader through the life of Langdon and his career. The book serves as a well-done illustrated history of his life.
Some of the early photos, when Langdon was in vaudeville, in blackface, with "lightning sketches" he performed on the stage, and scrapbook items from his later hits "Johnny's New Car" and "After the Ball ..." will be priceless to fans. The recent publications of photos capturing Langdon's vaudeville days finally draw to a deserved close the Capra-inspired myth that he was a simpleton who had to be taught to be a film star.
I love the scrapbook additions of the Principle Pictures films that are mostly lost, as well as the contract. We learn in the book that one unreleased film, and lost, his very first, "The Skyscraper," was in a Pathe catalog in 1925 under a different title, "Mail and Female."
The book is full of tidbits that are of great interest to Langdon fans and all vintage comedy fans. There is a two-page promotional sheet for the lost film, "Heart Trouble," that is worth the cost of the Scrapbook.
Langdon Jr. notes that his mother, Mabel Langdon, carefully preserved these items. She survived her husband's death for well over 50 years. Langdon's highly talented art is in the scrapbook, including newspaper comic strips he did.
His personal life has a role in the book too. One pay stub for a film, "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum," shows that two thirds of Langdon's about $20,000 salary went for alimony. Another pay stub shows Langdon, in his own handwriting, noting a portion that goes to alimony.
The book is divided into sections, taking the reader through Langdon's life. His death is as sadly abrupt in the Scrapbook as it must have been in December of 1944. It's ultimately pointless to ponder how a Langdon in his late 60s, 70s, and later may have fared in TV. But it's hard not to.
Fortunately, his reputation was installed by critic James Agee, who in the late 1940s, tabbed him as one of the Big Four of silent comedy, along with Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd.
In regards to Capra, the book doesn't shy away from that fact that Capra was correct that Langdon's move into more personal films, after "The Strong Man," hurt his career. It would be silly to refute the obvious. Also, Langdon took responsibility for those box office failures, and even criticized the later First National films.
I find beauty in "Three's A Crowd" and "The Chaser," but understand why they may have perplexed audiences 90 years ago. In his narration, Langdon Jr. doesn't flinch from pointing out the disaster Langdon's second marriage to Helen Walton was. The Scrapbook takes us through the lean years of the 1930s, when work was scarce, and trips around the world were required to make money. It also captures the happiness of Mabel and Harry's union, and Harry's joy to have a family with a son. Langdon Jr. notes that one reason he remembers his father so well is because the family revolved around Harry's life.
I hope this scrapbook sells well. It's a gem, easily worth its cost. I like that fans and others were involved in its creation. Film historian and author Ed Watz is credited for his contributions, as is former magazine publisher and writer Michael Copner. So is Cologne-based artist Birgit Kreps, who provides absolutely gorgeous hand coloring to many of the Scrapbook items. Finally, two of my dearest Facebook friends, super Langdon fans, Jessica Carlson and Nicole Arciola, are among those credited for their assistance.
It;s been a good year for Harry Langdon, heck a good decade-plus, with three biographies, some DVD releases, and this Scrapbook. What can we do to get Turner Classic Movies to air a Langdon First National Feature. How about accompanying it with an interview with his son featuring this scrapbook?
Thank goodness for Kino Lorber Video. They are a top of the line New York company who is dedicated to digitally restoring and distributing classic forgotten horror films in the DVD and Blu-Ray format. Many of the films they distribute are in the public domain. Kino Lorber's print of Invisible Ghost (1941) (buy it here) is sharp and beautiful, unlike the worn out quality of public domain prints.
Bela Lugosi plays kindly Dr. Kessler who thinks his wife has died and roams his home as a ghost. She appears at his window at night, causing him to go into a strange trance to commit murders. Mrs. Kessler is actually held as a hostage by the gardener in the garage cellar of the Kessler mansion. She suffers from brain damage due to an automobile accident.
Dr. Kessler's first victim is the young maid, Cecile Mannix. Mannix was once romantically involved with Ralph Dickson, played by John McGuire. Dickson is the fiance of Kessler's daughter Virginia. Because of their romantic involvement, Dickson is accused of the murder and executed.
Ralph's brother Paul arrives to unravel the mystery as to why his brother was blamed for the murder. He is mistaken at first as the ghost of his deceased brother because the two look so much alike. Paul soon discovers that Kessler is the murderer. Kessler is later arrested after going through a trance.
Some of the humor in the film is a bit politically incorrect for our time. For example, after Kessler's black butler Evans, played by Claurence Muse, mistakes Ralph's brother Paul for Ralph, he asks the gardener "Do I look pale? I sure feel pale." This is meant to be a strange joke with regard to Evans' skin color.
The film was also known as Murder By The Stars and The Phantom Monster. During production, it was known as The Phantom Killer. Producer Sam Katzman and actor Bela Lugosi made a total of nine films together for Monogram Pictures. Invisible Ghost is their first and considered one of their best.
As with all of Lugosi's work, he is a true professional in Invisible Ghost and gives a great performance. Even his more hammy scenes of walking slowly with his coat stretched out to strangle his victims seems to work in the film. He dines at a long table, pretending to speak with the spirit of his wife at the other end of the table as they both enjoy a meal. A bit campy, but still fun to watch.
Speaking of Kino Lorber, don't miss their Blu-Ray print of Lugosi's 1931 horror classic - White Zombie. This is a must have for any serious fan of classic horror films. Like Invisible Ghost, the print is sharp and beautiful. Happy viewing. (Watch a non-Blu-Ray version above).
The Conqueror Worm (Also known as Witchfinder General)1968, United Kingdom, American International release, Color, about 88 minutes. Stars: Vincent Price as Matthew Hopkins, Hilary Dwyer as Sara, Rupert Davies as John Lowes, Robert Russell as John Stearne and Ian Ogilvy as Richard Marshall. Schlock-Meter rating: 9 and 1/2 stars out of 10.
