Black Dragons! Lugosi and World War II propaganda!

Black Dragons is probably Bela Lugosi's oddest C-movie cheapie, and let's face it, the competition is fierce. But, oh, how I love these old '40s gems. It's a Monogram film, made under its Banner Productions. I'm sure it played in LA and NYC street theaters and smaller cities and towns, perhaps paired with an East Side Kids flick?

But I digress: Black Dragons, 1942, directed by William Nigh, runs 64 B&W minutes and stars Lugosi as Dr. Melcher and Monsieur Colomb. He's a sinister guy who pops up just as a bunch of American industrialists are getting mysteriouslybumped off. There is also pretty Joan Barclay as the niece of a Dr. Saunders, who is all mixed up in whatever is going on. It's also fun to see future Lone Ranger Clayton Moore as an FBI agent.

Now, we have mysterious deaths, we have Lugosi. It's all set to be a horror, right ... ahem, no. This is 1942, the U.S. is at war with the Axis, and Monogram head honcho Sam Katzman saw money to be made by creating a combination thriller/WW2 propaganda anti-Japanese film. So that's what Black Dragons is, and it makes the film an interesting historical curio piece.

You see, these U.S. industrialists are Japanese spies, created through plastic surgery to look like the American industrialists. Lugosi was the Nazi-like surgeon who did all this in Japan ... and then was doublecrossed and thrown in prison. Somehow -- the film sort of glosses over this -- Lugosi escaped Japan and headed to the U.S. to get his revenge on the spies.

As I mentioned, I love these time-capsule films. Monogram was famous for its bizarre intricate plots that its ultra-low budgets just could never keep up with. They dissolve into fun nonsensical action. Lugosi is Lugosi in this film. He's wonderful, whether he's coyly flirting with starlet Barclay or cleverly and calmly dispatching his victims. And there's also that wonderful, ubiquitous menacing, Monogram music.

The boom of video and DVD plus public domain has made Black Dragons easy to find. It's often in the $1 DVD bin at Wal-Mart or in the 20- to 50-set public domain offerings. Those with broadband Internet can watch it free on the Net. Buy it and enjoy an hour's diversion into a different filmmaking existence.

-- Doug Gibson

From Hell It Came – Giant Tree Monster Attacks Native Tribe!

By Steve D. Stones

Harry and Michael Medved released a book in 1980 entitled: The Golden Turkey Awards – The Worst Achievements In Hollywood History. In the book, the Tabonga walking tree monster in the film From Hell It Came is nominated in the category of “The Most Ridiculous Monster In Screen History.” The monster that wins in this category is Ro-Man, the gorilla with a scuba helmet, from Robot Monster.

Although the Tabonga monster is quite ridiculous, the film is still a lot of fun to watch. It would make a great double feature with Giant From The Unknown or Godmonster of Indian Flats.

A group of American scientists are conducting secret government experiments on a remote Pacific Island. The natives of the island grow fearful of the scientists and their experiments. They capture one of the Americans named Kimo and sacrifice him by driving a stake through his heart. Before his death, Kimo warns the natives that he will come back from the dead to avenge his death. He is buried in an upright grave with the stake still in his chest.

Soon, a giant tree monster begins to grow out of Kimo’s grave. The scientists discover the tree has a heartbeat and is radioactive. The tree is uprooted and begins to attack the natives.

Like the giant carpet shag monster in The Creeping Terror, victims of the Tabonga seem to intentionally fall to the ground to allow the creature to attack them. This adds to some of the unintentional humor of the film. Seeing pulsating tree bark as the creature’s heartbeat is also quite humorous. Rubbery, flimsy limbs of the creature flap in the wind as he walks around attacking the natives. The creature even has giant nostrils and big beady eyes, resembling something from a child’s nightmare. This is one fun movie! Enjoy!

I Bury The Living: Black Pins Seal Your Fate

By Steve D. Stones

This taut psychological horror film could just about rival any Alfred Hitchcock thriller of the same era. The film stars Richard Boone in the role of retail store President Bob Kraft. Kraft has been appointed by members of his family to help manage part time a local cemetery as a service to the community.

A large map of the cemetery is on display in the cemetery office. In the map, black colored pins are stuck in plots representing those who have passed on. White pins on the map represent those who are still living, but have a plot reserved for the future.

One day Kraft accidentally sticks two black pins in a plot reserved for a recently married young couple. The couple turn up dead the next day, having died in a car crash.

Kraft’s next victim is a toy maker named William Isham. Kraft randomly sticks a black pin in the map reserved for Isham. Isham is reported dead later that day.

To prove Kraft is not insane, the cemetery committee demands that he put black pins in the reserved plots of each of the members. One by one, each committee member turns up dead.

Various scenes in I Bury The Living are reminiscent of silent era German-Expressionist films. For example, as Kraft slowly begins to lose his mind in the cemetery office, the map on the wall slowly gets bigger and bigger. The map finally becomes so large that it nearly consumes the entire room, as Kraft puts a gun to his head to commit suicide. The map becomes a symbol of Kraft’s insane mind, much like the unstable, angular environments seen in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari representing the insane mind of the protagonist Francis.

A local Utah cable channel – channel 9 The Utah Education Network, has featured I Bury The Living a number of times on their Sci-Fi Friday program, which airs every Friday at 9 p.m. A big thumbs up for I Bury The Living! Watch the trailer above!

Vincent Price in The Tower of London

By Doug Gibson

I absolutely love this low-budget 1962 gothic adaptation of Shakespeare (well, sort of) that stars Vincent Price as the mad wannabe king Richard who goes around slaughtering anyone who gets in his way, all the while dealing with those voices in his head and derisive laughter only he can hear.

It's directed by Roger Corman, who can stretch a budget as far as it can go without snapping. The black and white adds to the grim mood. There are some chilling scenes. A young maiden is tortured to death on a stretching rack. A man is murdered when a cage with a hungry rat is placed over his head. The scenes of a climatic battle that leads to Richard's death are from the 1939 Tower of London, a fine adaptation starring Boris Karloff.

I want to spend a little time on star Vincent Price's performance. A characteristic of Price's is he can be truly evil while keeping his tongue in his cheek. In Tower, he is clearly mad, and carries a confused, pained expression on his face. It's excellent acting. The audience almost wants to feel sorry for a suffering madman doomed to defeat, but he's simply too evil to care about.

A great film, easy to find on TV or buy. Also stars Michael Pate, Joan Freeman and Sandra Knight. It's fast-paced at 79 minutes.

-- Doug Gibson