Bad Movies You Love

[norfious]

While I really like Vincent Price as an actor, I must admit that some of his horror films aren't really cinematic gold; still, I enjoy them greatly. In fact, I made a point the other night to stay up late to watch "The House on Haunted Hill." I heard somewhere that in the original showing of this film in theaters, the theater isles and/or screens were outfitted with a zipline type device with a fake skeleton attached, and the skeleton would be deployed to accompany the skeleton-in-the-acid-pool scene.

[JackFavell]

Welcome to the SSO, norfious! I would have jumped out of my skin if that skeleton came zipping down the aisle near me!

I can't help but notice your wonderful avatar. I'm in heaven, I love Joseph Calleia (just ask anyone here)!

[CineMaven]

Norforious, Jack Favell loves Joseph Calleia.

[JackFavell]

See?

[RedRiver]

JF + JC

As horror films go, Vincent can be proud of his record. No, they're not on the level of James Whale or Island of Lost Souls. They don't have the quiet, poetic look of the Val Lewton thrillers. But Roger Corman's Poe adaptations are more than watchable. They're richly colorful. Stylish and literate. "Haunted Hill" is silly, but fun. THE INVISIBLE MAN RETURNS is fine. Human and sensitive, it's an admirable sequel to the outstanding original.

My friends in college liked THE COMEDY OF TERRORS. Somehow, I have yet to catch that one. It does sound funny!

[JackFavell]

Personally, Theatre of Blood is my favorite of Price's horror films.

[RedRiver]

Victoria Price, interviewed by none other than Svengoolie, said that was her father's favorite too!

[norfious]

See?

Ahaha, so I see! Well, it's great to meet another fan! And I'm glad you like my avatar. I was going to go with Ronald Colman, but I do love this pic of Mr. Calleia.

As horror films go, Vincent can be proud of his record. No, they're not on the level of James Whale or Island of Lost Souls. They don't have the quiet, poetic look of the Val Lewton thrillers. But Roger Corman's Poe adaptations are more than watchable. They're richly colorful. Stylish and literate. "Haunted Hill" is silly, but fun. THE INVISIBLE MAN RETURNS is fine. Human and sensitive, it's an admirable sequel to the outstanding original.

True. I really need to see more of Vincent Price's movies, and I'll be sure to check out those you mentioned! I am hoping TCM will play some next month for the Halloween season.

[Rita Hayworth]

Personally, Theatre of Blood is my favorite of Price's horror films.

Victoria Price, interviewed by none other than Svengoolie, said that was her father's favorite too!

Jack Favell and Red River ...
and the SSO Community

It is my favorite Vincent Price's Horror Film too.

[ChiO]

What on earth was Robert Aldrich hoping for? You could play this material straight or you could send it up, but Aldrich seems to do both, which gives Lylah its own special weirdness, which includes a reverence for the script. That isn’t a virtue when there are lines like “You’re moving like a deeply offended Tibetan yak!” Kiss Me Deadly was pulpy, The Big Knife was pretentious (endless yammer about “peritonitis of the soul” and such), and Lylah manages to be both pulpy and pretentious. Note the New Wave-style opening, such as the Godardian shots of the books about Lylah, which would work fine in a different sort of film.

There’s no sense of period—Lylah Clare was supposedly a 1930s star, but the pictures and clothes don’t look right for the period, and if the story is set in present-day 1968, as some of the hairstyles definitely are, some of the actors are too young for their parts. In this film, however, that would be a unnecessary coherence.

You say this as if it were a bad thing.

[Bronxgirl48]

kingrat, what is it about the name "Barney", given to Ernie Borgnine's characters in THE LEGEND OF LYLAH CLARE and THE OSCAR, that particularly telegraphs "ruthless" and "sleazy" in these '60's camp-fests?

I love and agree with everything in your LYLAH review, great job!

By the way, I'm always getting Milton Seltzer confused with Ned Glass.

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Bronxie, glad to see you here!

Kingrat, spot on for Lylah critical analysis. I watched Lylah for the first time ever last evening. I was ok as long as I kept telling myself that it has absolutely no basis in reality except for Ernest Borgnine as Barney. The clothes didn't fit the time, the weirdness of the relationship of the brunettes to the main characters was unsettling, and the longer I watched, I kept waiting for the Mad-Hatter to have an unbirthday party for either Lylah, Barney, Barney's son, or Peter Finch, and he didn't even act like he had a good time when he was in bed with Kim Novak. Then Ben M. says he had been devastated by the death of his love, Vivien Leigh, right before the film began production, and poor Kim just looked confused, and I think it was because of the portrait and she was probably confused in character because the portrait looked just like she is now in the sixties, but it happened in the thirties, but even the 30's lingerie she was wearing was actually a wired uplift brassiere from the sixties, and I think it would have much more sense if I had taken some benadryl and a glass of Messina Hof Paulo Porto....

[Bronxgirl48]

Merci, SueSue! I have moira to thank for allowing me to come crawling back to Broadway, er, I mean to SSO, because I've been away so long and couldn't access the site anymore. (my feeble explanation for this apparent shameless desertion is that I tend to get overwhelmed by all our TCM-related venue options and then start getting panic attacks, lol)

What in the wide world of sports was Elsa/Lylah doing strolling in the garden alongside Peter wearing hiphuggers and bra, with what appeared to be her shirt slung over the shoulders like a sweater? I thought Kim's screen persona -- sweet, mysterious, sensuous, tentative, insecure, a bit vacuous -- dovetailed perfectly with the alternately opaque and sponge-like personality of the Elsa Brinkmann character.

[Sue Sue Applegate]

Glad Moira opened the door.

I was just aghast at that garden gallomping. Peter Finch's Zarken just acted like that was a normal, run-of-the-mill stroll, but the coda to the scene is that the gardener was just concerned it was too hot in the hothouse? Huh?

I just think there were too many mushrooms in the ghoulash the night they finished the script.

And what a shame. Kim Novak was lovely, and she was trying to make sense of it all.