Actually, it's the day after, with Tiffany napping now, it will be a frightening blaze of movies rolling right into 2008...and I think I'll go ahead and tackle it at both ends...since the All Hallows Eve fest is still fresh in my mind, I'll do it too.
First, 2007...
Terror Train(1980) - Made at the height of the slasher boom, this is actually smarter than most of that ilk, with Jamie Lee Curtis, Ben Johnson and David Copperfield on board a murderous trip. Twisty thriller is more suspenseful than gory, surprisingly good. Scary how that happens some time. And yes Copperfield plays a magician. Grade: B
The Great Flamarion (1945) - Minor noir is mostly interesting to watch for early Anthony Mann directing Erich Von Stroheim in the leading role here (did the latter exert any control during the shoot?) - that parenthentical wondering is more interesting than this slim but slow-paced story, reduced to a literal crawl near the end. Dan Duryea supplies his nasal charm as "the other man." Grade: C
I Love a Mystery (1945) - This is really one of the great radio shows of all time, with a trio of adventurers (Jack, Doc and Reggie) going on luridly weird cases, usually with a supernatural bent. The movies (three in total, including The Unknown (1946)) aren't nearly as entertaining but they aren't bad either. Reggie is dropped in them (Tony Randall did his voice on radio BTW) and in the initial entry, Jack and Doc tackle the mystery of Jefferson Monk (smooth George MacReady), a man certain of his imminent death. The sequel, The Devil's Mask (1946), is a little worse, but still supplying plenty of fun '40-B movie thrills.
ILAM: B; DM: C+
Scary stuff...and now I jump ahead to the present day, finishing up the modern Halloween movie marathon we've had this year.
TO BE CONT'D
CP
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