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Video/DVD |
MAC MAD
MAG MAI MAN MAR
MARK MOSTRO |
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M (1931/Lang/Nero Film) 118mins. BW.
Germany.
Aka: MOERDER UNTER UNS (MURDERER AMONG US).
Credits: Dir: Fritz Lang;
Prod: Seymour Nebenzal; Sc: Fritz Lang & Thea Von Harbou; Co-Sc: Paul Falkenberg,
Adolf Jansen & Karl Vash; Ph: Fritz Arno Wagner, Gustav
Rathje & Karl Vash; Ed: Paul Falkenberg; Art: Karl Vollbrecht & Emil Hasler; Des:
Horst von Harbou; Mus: Adolf Jansen & Edward Greig. The murderer's theme whistled by
Fritz Lang. From an article by Egon Jackson.
Cast: Peter Lorre, Otto
Wernicke, Gustav Grundgens, Theo Lingen, Theodor Loos, Ellen Widmann, Inge Landgut, Fritz
Gnass, Rudolf Blummer, Ernst Stahl-Nachbaur, Franz Stein, Fritz Odemar, Paul Kemp, Georg
John, Karl Platen, Gerhard Bienert, Rosa Valetti, Hertha von Walther, Heinrich Gretler,
Lotte Lubinger, Isenta, Leonard Steckel, Karchow, Edgar Pauly, Kepich Gunther, Neumann,
Krehan, Almas, Kurth, Balthaus, Leeser, Behal, Rosa Lichenstein, Carell, Lohnde, Dublin,
Loretto, Maja Norden, Josef Damen, Wulf, Bruno Ziener, Walth, Wanka, Wannemann, Otto
Waldis, Eckhof, Mascheck, Else Ehser, Matthis, Elzer, Mederow, Trutz, Stroux, Swinborne,
Faber, Margarete Melzer, Ilse Furstenberg, Trude Moos, Gelingk, Hadrian M. Netto,
Golstein, Nied, Anna Goltz, Klaus Pohl, Heinrich Gotho, Polland, Hadank, Rebane, Hartberg,
Rehkopf, Hempel, Reihsig, Hacker, Rhaden, Hoermann, Ritter, Sablotski, Sascha, Agnes
Schultz-Lichterfeld.
"I have no control over this evil thing inside me. The fire, the voices, the
torment...I have to obey it. I have to run...run...endless streets...I want to escape.
Berlin child murderer, Hans Beckert, (Lorre), is sought after, not only by Inspector
Lohmann, (Wernicke), but by criminal syndicates headed by Schrunker, (Grundgens), who
believe his actions to be intolerable and the heightened police presence stops them from
continuing their criminal activities. A blind man recognises the killer's whistling and
chalks the letter M on his coat. Consequently, the crime gangs capture the murderer and
subject him to a trial.
Lang's first sound project is an innovative and deeply disturbing film that blends
expressionism with realism to chilling effect.
Based on the true exploits of paedophile Peter Kurten, the "Vampire of
Dusseldorf" and served as Lorre's cinematic debut in a moving performance of the
tortured murderer. Real underworld figures had small roles as mobsters, but although this
added to authenticity, 24 of them were arrested during filming for crimes committed away
from the set.
Two powerful scenes include a mother waiting for her child who never returns and the hunt
for the killer by the city beggars.
Most prints run only 95 minutes, but the full original German version is rumoured to still
exist which ends with a brief courtroom coda that subtly changes the final message.
In 1933, a dubbed version was released in America in which Peter Lorre spoke his own
lines.
Badly remade in 1951 by Joseph Losey.THE MACABRE TRUNK (1936) see Baul Macarbro
DIE MACHT DER FINSTERNIS (1922/Neumann)
72mins. BW. Silent. Germany
Aka: THE POWER OF DARKNESS.
Credits: Dir: Robert Wiene. Adapted from a play by Leo
Tolstoy.
A man possesses strange powers over women.
MACISTE IN HELL (1926/Excelsior/Olympia)
BW. Silent. Italy.
Credits: Dir:Guido Brigone; Sfx: Segundo de Chomon. Loosely adapted from Dante's
"Inferno".
Cast: Bartolomeo Pagano.
Satan is depicted as a huge demon frozen in a lake of ice, with Brutus, Cassius and Judas
in his three mouths. Maciste enters the realm of the dead to battle with the demons.
Released in the United States in 1931. |
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THE MAD DOCTOR (1940/Paramount) 90mins. BW.
Aka: A DATE WITH DESTINY (UK).
Credits: Dir:Tim Whelan; Prod: George Arthur; Sc: Howard J. Green; Ph: Ted Tetzlaff;
Mus: Victor Young.
Cast: Basil Rathbone, Ellen Drew, John Howard,
Barbera Jo Allen (Vera Vague), Martin Kosleck, Ralph Morgan, Henry Victor.
"She knew the ecstasy and terror of loving him."
Sebastien, (Rathbone), a suave Viennese medico, is actually a fortune hunter who marries
wealthy women and then murders them with help of his friend and colleague in crime, Gretz,
(Kosleck). Then he meets a woman who is also slightly unbalanced.
An average and overlong melodrama heightened by Rathbone's portrayal. The relationship
between the two men subtly hints at homosexuality. THE MAD DOCTOR OF MARKET STREET (1942/Universal) 61mins. BW. US.
Credits: Dir:Joseph H. Lewis; A.Prod: Paul Malvern; Sc: Al Martin; Ph: Jerome Ash;
Ed: Ralph Dixon; Art: Jack Otterson & Ralph M. DeLacy; Sets: Russell A. Gausman; Tech:
Jess Moulin; Mus: Hans J. Salter. From the story "Terror of the Islands" by Al
Martin.
Cast: Lionel Atwill, Una Merkel, Claire Dodd, Nat
Pendleton, Richard Davies, Hardie Albright, Anne Nagel, Noble
Johnson, John Eldredge, Al Kikume, Milton Kibbee, Ray Mala, Rosina Galli, Byron
Shores, Tani Marsh, Boy d Davis, Alan Bridge, Charlotte Treadway, Clara Blore, Claire
Whitney, Vangie Beilby, Douglas Gordon, Guy Kingsford, Charles Sherlock, Eric Lonsdale,
Tavia Bunkley, Barry Bernard, Paul Parry, Bess Flowers, Tom Steele. |
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"Maniac's Mind! Skilled Hands! A Crazed Mind
Lusting For The Terrible Power Of Life!".
Dr. Ralph Benson, (Atwill), is shipwrecked while fleeing a murder charge in Philadelphia
and finds himself on a remote island where he is now hailed as a god for saving the life
of the native queen, Princess Tanao. As the "god of life" he is able to continue
with his experiments in suspended animation, using the natives as guinea pigs. When
another shipwreck survivor arrives on the island the doctor's absolute tyranny is
threatened and the natives turn on him when he fails to revive a young boy to life.
Atwill's good performance barely manages to hold interest in this dull second feature
originally double-billed with The Wolfman (1941). THE MAD GENIUS (1931/Warner) 81mins. BW.
US.
Credits: Dir: Michael Curtiz;
Sc: J. Grubb Alexander & Harvey Thew; Ph: Barney McGill; Ed: Ralph Dawson; Sets: Anton Grot; Ballet sequences staged by Adolph Bolm. From the
play "The Idol" by Martin Brown and the novel "Trilby" by George du
Maurier.
Cast: John Barrymore, Marian Marsh, Donald Cook, Carmel Meyers, Charles Butterworth,
Mae Madison, Frankie Darrow, Luis Alberni, Andre Luguet, Boris Karloff.
"Have you heard of the Golem...made from mud and given a human soul? Frankenstein,
the monster created by man? Homonculus, the product of science?..all dreams brought to
life by mortals. I will create my own being!"
"Adults Only! Censors' orders!"
A club footed puppeteer named Ivan Tsarakov, (Barrymore), mesmerises Feyodor, a young
peasant boy, (Cook), whom he adopts in the hope of making him the foremost dancer of the
Russian ballet. However, his protogee later falls in love with Nana Carolova, (Marsh),
whom Tsarakov also desires and their relationship becomes somewhat strained when the
puppeteer tries to sepera te them. Tsarakov is eventually killed by the ballet master
Serge Bankieff, (Alberni), under the influence of a drug overdose, who axes him to death
and then drapes his broken body over a prop demon. Feyodor and Nana, now freed from
Tsarakov's influence, are reunited.
The stunning sets and Barrymore's extrordinary performance highlight this early sound film
that becomes just an average variation of Barrymore's performance as Svengali.
Karloff appears briefly as Feyodor's abusive foster father.
Although CITIZEN KANE claims to have been the first to effectively use full sets,
including the ceilings, this film contains full sets and predates KANE's claim by ten
years. |
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THE MAD GHOUL (1943/Universal) 64mins. BW. US. Released: Mar.
28th.'46.
Aka: THE MYSTERY OF THE MAD GHOUL.
Credits: Dir:James P. Hogan; Prod: Ben Pivar; Sc: Brenda Weisberg & Paul
Gangelin; Ph: Milton Krasner; Ed: Milton Carruth; Art: John B. Goodman & Martin
Obzina; Sets: Russell A. Gausman & Andrew J. Gilmore; Tech: Jess Moulin; Mu: Jack P. Pierce; Mus: Hans J. Salter.
From a story by Hans Kraly.
Cast: George Zucco, David Bruce, Evelyn Ankers, Turhan Bey, Robert
Armstrong, Charles McGraw, Milburn Stone, Rose Hobart, Andrew
Tombes, Addison Richards, Gus Glassmire, Gene O'Donnell, Lew Kelly, Is abelle Lamal, Bill
Ruhl, Hans Herbert, Bess Flowers, Cyril Ring.
"What am I? Alive or dead? Man or Beast? What have you done to me...?!"
Doctor Alfred Morris, (Zucco), discovers that heating mysterious ancient Mayan crystals
produces a noxious gas that puts people into catatonic state. When the victims are fed
certain herbs and a human heart they become controlled zombies. Morris's assistant Ted
Allison, (Bruce), happens to love a singer named Isobel, (Ankers), who Morris also
desires, so he administers the gas to his assistant and feeds him the required heart
ordering Ted to take him to see Isobel. However, Ted needs a constant supply of hearts to
stay a zombie, but the ensuing murders arouse the suspicions of investigative reporter Ken
"Snoop" McClure, (Armstrong), who sets himself up as bait to catch the "Mad
Ghoul" killer. Ted, using all his remaining willpower sets a trap for the doctor who
inhales some of the gas. Ted is shot and killed while Dr. Morris dies while scraping away
at a fresh grave for a heart.
An enjoyable grisly B-picture with Zucco relishing the scope that the role provides.
For the song "I Dreamt I Dwelt in Marble Halls" Ankers' voice was dubbed with
Lillian Cornell 's.
Originally double-billed with Son of Dracula (1943).MAD LOVE (1935/MGM.) 84mins. BW. US. Aka:
HANDS OF ORLAC (UK).
Credits: Dir: Karl Freund; Prod: John W. Considine Jnr.;
Sc: P.J. Wolfson, John L. Balderston & Guy Endore; Ph:
Chester Lyons & Gregg Toland; Ed: Hugh Wynn; Art: Cedric Gibbons, William A. Horning
& Edwin B. Willis; Mus: Dimitri Tiomkin. From the novel "Les Mains d'Orlac"
by Maurice Renard.
Cast: Colin Clive, Peter
Lorre, Frances Drake, Henry Kolker, Isabel Jewell, Keye
Luke, Edward Brophy, Sarah Hadden, Ted Healy, May Beatty, Billy Gilbert, Ian Wolfe, Charles Trowbridge, Murray Kinnell, Rollo Lloyd,
Philo McCullough, Edward Morris, Harvey Clark, Frank Darien, Clarence H. Wilson, Cora Sue
Collins, Sam Ash, Michael Mark.
Stephen Orlac, (Clive), a successful concert pianist, loses his hands in a train crash.
Dr. Gogol, (Lorre), is the clever surgeon who attaches new hands to the pianist, but the
hands are those of a murderer and an expert knife-thrower, (Lloyd), who seems to be taking
over Orlac's mind. However, Orlac is able to use the previous owner 's skills with a knife
to foil Dr. Gogol's attempts to steal his beautiful wife Yvonne, (Drake), with whom Gogol
has developed an unhealthy obsession after seeing her regular appearances at "Le
Theatre des Horreurs".
Unlike many of the horror films from this period, MAD LOVE, a remake of the German silent
film Orlac's Hande, pokes fun at the horror genre while nicely
maintaining its own horrific theme.
Lorre in his American film debut is at his best as the bald, pop-eyed Gogol, filled with
sinister intent. The film is only slightly marred by an annoying comic relief character
portrayed by Healy.
Freund took the opportunity of including the line "It went for a little
walk!" from his successful directorial debut, The Mummy
(1932); referring, this time, to a wax figure. Unfortunately he stopped directing after
this and returned to his camerawork.
THE MAD MONSTER (1942/PRC./Neufeld)
77mins. BW. US.
Credits: Dir: Sam Newfield; Prod: Sigmund Neufeld & Sam Newfield; Sc: Fred Myton;
Ph: Jack Greenhalgh; Ed: Holbrook N. Todd; Sfx: Gene Stone; Mu: Harry Ross; Mus: David
Chudnow.
Cast: Johnny Downs, George Zucco, Anne Nagel, Sarah
Padden, Glenn Strange, Gordon DeMain, Reginald Barlow,
Robert Strange, Henry Hull, Eddie Holden, Mae Busch.
"Half man...half beast! One minute a harmless country boy...the next moment a
snarling, ferocious Wolf Man! A human monster with fangs of a beast!"
Dr. Lorenzo Cameron, (Zucco), ostrasized by his colleagues for his outlandish ideas, is
slowly going insane when he gives his simpl e minded handyman Pedro, (Strange), a blood
transfusion using concentrated wolf's blood in an experiment to create an army of
werewolves to combat the Nazis. The man becomes a werewolf to whom the doctor administers
an antidote when he chooses, using the unfortunate creature to slay those who scoffed at
his work. Reporter Tom Gregory, (Downs), investigates the killings.
A poorly developed shocker made in five days that fails to deliver what it initially
promises.
Newfield also directed the equally mediochre The Monster Maker (1944).
The film was banned by the British censor until 1952 and then only released with an X
certificate and a notice that read, "The public would be quite mistaken to think that
any personal characteristics could be passed on by blood transfusion. Animal blood is
never used for transfusions in the treatment of disease". |
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MADNESS (1919) see Wahnsinn THE MADNESS OF DOCTOR TUBE (1915) see La Folie du
Docteur Tube
MAGIA (1917/Corvin) BW. Silent.
Hungary.
Credits: Dir: Alexander Korda.
Cast: Mihaly Varkony.
A man gazing into Baron Munchausen's magic mirror discovers that the Baron is an ancient
magician who must feed on someone's blood every thousand full moons to survive.
THE MAGIC CLOAK OF OZ (1914/American Motion Picture)
45mins. BW. Silent.
Credits: Dir: J. Farrell MacDonald. From L. Frank Baum's story "Queen Zixi of
Ix".
Cast: Mildred Harris, Violet MacMillan, Fred Woodward.
A magical cloak, woven by the fairies of Oz, offers its wearer one special wish. The fairy
messenger searches for the most unhappy person he can find and stumbles upon Fluff,
(Harris), who with her brother Bud, (MacMillan), her aunt and their donkey Nickodemus,
(Woodward), has had to leave her home and travel to the city of Noland. Fluff makes her
wish to be happy again and upon their arrival at Noland, Bud is crowned King. Queen Zixi
of Ix steals the magic cloak and the Rolly Rogues attack Noland.
A charming addition to the Oz film series with the benefit of delightful animal costumes
including the donkey, a creature named Zoop, a lion and a crow.
THE MAGIC MIRROR (1908/Pathe) 1 reel. BW.
Silent. France.
Credits: Dir: Ferdinand Zecca.
An inventor applies a magical fluid to a mirror and his image emerges into the real world.
THE MAGIC RING (1906/Cecil Hepworth) 500 feet. BW.
Silent. UK.
Credits: Dir: Lewin Fitzhamon.
Cast: Dolly Lupone.
A youth uses a magic ring to save an imprisoned maiden, (Lupone), from an evil witch's
castle.
THE MAGIC SKIN (1913/Victor) 3 reels. BW. Silent.
US.
Adapted from Honore de Balzac's "Le Peau de Chagrin".
Cast: J. Warran Kerrigan.
A magical skin shrinks it's owner and his soul diminishes. |
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THE MAGIC SKIN (1915/Kleine/Edison) 5 reels. BW. Silent. US.
Credits: Dir & Sc: Richard Ridgeley. From the novel "Le Peau de
Chagrin" by Honore de Balzac. THE MAGIC SKIN
(1920) see Desire
THE MAGIC SWORD (1902/Robert W.
Paul) 180 feet. BW. Silent. UK.
Aka: A MEDIEVAL MYSTERY.
Credits: Dir & Sc: Walter R. Booth.
A medieval knight saves a lady from a giant ogre and a witch.
Also features a ghost, a good fairy and a magic cauldron.
Robert Paul built his one-stage studio in Muswell Hill, North London, copying the idea of
Georges Méliès' studio in Paris. Here he utilised a camera on rails to create the giants
by enlargement. He then double exposed the film against a normal sized background.
THE MAGIC SWORD (1949) see Cudotvorni
Mac
MAGICAL MATCHES (1912/Urbanora) 5mins. BW. Silent.
Matches take on the form of a skeleton that removes it's head.
THE MAGICIAN (1898) see Le Magicien
THE MAGICIAN (1900/Edison) BW. Silent. US.
A trick short depicting transformations, appearances and disappearances.
THE MAGICIAN (1927/MGM.) 80mins.
(6960 feet). BW. Silent. US.
Credits: Dir., Prod. & Sc: Rex Ingram; Ph: John F. Seitz; Ed: Grant Whytock; Art:
Henri Menessier; A.Des: Michael Powell; Tech: Harry Lachman & George Noffka.
From a novel by Somerset Maugham.
Cast: Paul Wegener, Alice Terry, Gladys Hamer, Firmin
Gremier, Ivan Petrovitch, Henry Wilson, Stowitts. |
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Hypnotist, Oliver Haddo, (Wegener), mesmerises Margaret
Dauncey, (Terry), on the night of her wedding and carries her off to his laboratory in a
castle where he plans to extract the blood from her heart to use in an ancient rite to
reanimate a corpse and discover the secrets of life. She escapes with the aid of her
fiance Dr. Arthur Burdon, (Petrovich), only to be lured back to the castle by the power of
Haddo's mind.
Filmed at Rex Ingram's own studios in Nice, THE MAGICIAN's central character was based on
the exploits of Alistair Crowley around which he weaved an artistic visual imagery. One
scene shows Terry in a laboratory being wooed by a statue of Pan that comes to life played
by a practically nude dancer named Stowitts.
James Whale studied the print before commencing on work for Frankenstein
(1931), evident by the close similarity of the laboratory sets.
Although considered to be a lost film for many years prints are now available in German
and English.LE MAGICIEN (1898/Star
Film) 65 feet. BW. Silent. France. Aka: THE MAGICIAN.
Credits: Georges Méliès.
A magician, (Melies), constantly disappears and reappears in various guises on different
parts of the stage and also turns himself into inanimate objects.
A MAGNETIC INFLUENCE (1912/Urbanora) 1 reel. BW.
Silent.
A girl is under the influence of a hypnotist.
LE MAGNETISEUR (1897/Star Film)
65 feet. BW. Silent. France.
Aka: A HYPNOTIST AT WORK; WHILE UNDER THE HYPNOTIST'S INFLUENCE.
Credits: Georges Méliès.
A mesmerist puts a girl in a trance and magically strips her naked.
Another short made by the film pioneer Melies. This one uses a typical French theme.
LE MAIN DU DIABLE (1942/Tobis
Continental) BW. France.
Aka: THE DEVIL'S HAND (UK); CARNIVAL OF SINNERS (US).
Credits: Dir: Maurice Tourneur; Sc: Jean-Paul Le
Chanois; Ph: Armand Thirard; Mus: Roger Dumas. From the novel "Le Peau de
Chagrin" by Honore de Balzac.
Cast: Pierre Fresnay, Josseline Gaul, Palau, Noel Roquevert, Guillaume de Sax,
Andre Varennes, Pierre Larquey.
A struggling painter, (Fresnay), sells his soul to the Devil, (Palau), to achieve fame,
recognition and the woman he desires. In order for the painter to save his soul before he
dies, he must seek out the identity of the owner of a living hand, the symbol of his
contract, and return it to its grave.
A highly stylised version of the Faust legend and an implied criticism of those who were
collaborating with the present German occupational government.
One of director Tourneur's final films made in his homeland.
Released in America during 1947 as CARNIVAL OF SINNERS to compete with the backlog of
French films released after the second world war.
LA MAIN DU SQUELETTE (1915) Aka:
THE HAND OF THE SKELETON
LA MAISON HANTEE (1907) Aka: THE
HAUNTED HOUSE |
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MAN ALIVE (1945/RKO.) 70mins. BW. US.
Credits: Dir: Ray Enright; Sc: Edward Harvey Blum.
Cast: Pat O'Brien, Adolphe Menjou, Ellen Drew, Jason Robards, Rudy Vallee, Jack
Norton, Fortunio Bonanova, Joseph Crehan, Jonathan Hale, Minna Gombell.
When a man, (O'Brien), is killed in a car accident his ghost returns to try and prevent
his wife, (Drew), from marrying an old boyfriend, (Valee).
A well paced and charming wartime comedy that features seances, afterlife
misunderstandings and thunderstorms. THE MAN AND
HIS BOTTLE (1908/Cecil M. Hepworth) 350 feet. BW. Silent. UK.
Credits: Dir: Lewin Fitzhamon.
Cast: Thurston Harris.
A drunk is tormented by demons and monsters who then imprison him in a whiskey bottle.
MAN AND HIS MATE (1940) see One
Million B.C.
MAN FROM BEYOND (1921/Houdini Films) 7 reels BW.
Silent. US.
Credits: Dir: Burton King; Sc: Harry Houdini & Coolidge Streeter; Ph: Frank
Zucker, I.B. Ruby, Harry Fischbeck, A.G. Penrod, L. Dunmyre & L.D. Littlefield.
Cast: Harry Houdini, Nita Naldi, Jane Connelly, Arthur Maude, Luis Alberni.
An explorer, (Houdini), in the Arctic North is frozen alive in suspended animation for
century and reawakened in the present day.
THE MAN FROM MARS (1923) see Radio
Mania |
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THE MAN IN BLACK (1949/Hammer) 75mins. BW. UK.
Credits: Dir: Francis Searle; Prod: Anthony Hinds; Sc: John Gilling; Ph: Cedric
Williams. From a story by Francis Searle and a radio series by John Dickson Carr.
Cast: Betty Ann Davies, Sidney James, Valentine Dyall,
Anthony Forwood, Hazel Perwarden, Shelia Burrell, Courtenay Hope, Lawrence Baskcomb, Molly
Palmer, Gerald Case.
When occult fanatic Henry Clavering, (James), dies he leaves his entire estate in trust
for his daughter from a previous marriage, Joan, (Perwarden), when she is twenty one.
However, if his present wife, Bertha, (Davies), proves that his daughter is insane she
will inherit the fortune instead. Henry has actually faked his own death using his
knowledge of yoga to find out if his wife is a murderess. THE MAN IN HALF MOON STREET (1944/Paramount) 92mins.
BW. US.
Credits: Dir: Ralph M. Murphy; Prod: Wally MacEwan; Sc: Charles Kenyon; Ph:
Henry Sharp; Ed: Tom Neff; Art: Hans Drier & Walter
Tyler; Sfx. & Mu: Wally Westmore; Mus: Milkos Rozsa.
From the play and story by Barre Lyndon. Adapted by Garrett Fort.
Cast: Nils Asther, Helen Walker, Brandon Hurst,
Reinhold Schunzel, Paul Cavanagh, Morton Lowry, Matthew Balton, Edmond Beron. Off-screen
voice: Irving Pichel.
"Even the one girl who loved enough to ask no questions - had to face the fearful
truth!"
A handsome young scientist is actually a ninety year old man who receives regular
glandular transplants, but when he misses an operation he ages sixty years in a few
minutes and dies.
A tedious romantic drama with a science fiction theme remade as The Man Who Could
Cheat Death by Hammer in 1959.
THE MAN IN THE MIRROR (1936) BW.
Credits: Dir: Maurice Elvey.
Cast: Edward Everett Horton.
Businessman Jeremy Dike's life is transformed when his alter ego emerges from the mirror
and gives him the courage to stand up for himself.
THE MAN IN THE MOON (1897) see La
Lune a un Metre
THE MAN IN THE TRUNK (1942/TCF.)
70mins. BW. US.
Credits: Dir: Malcolm St. Clair; Sc: John Larkin.
Cast: Raymond Walburn, Lynne Roberts, George Holmes, J. Carrol Naish, Dorothy
Peterson, Milton Parsons.
The ghost of a murder victim helps an attourney find his killer.
An uneven spooky comedy.
THE MAN IN THE WHITE CLOAK (1913/Great Northern)
45mins. BW. Silent. Denmark.
Features a spectre.
MAN MADE MONSTER (1941/Universal)
68mins. BW. US.
Aka: THE ATOMIC MONSTER; THE ELECTRIC MAN (UK); THE MYSTERIOUS DOCTOR R (Shooting Title).
Credits: Dir: George Waggner; Prod: Jack Bernhard; Sc:
Joseph West (George Waggner); Ph: Elwood Bredell; Ed: Arthur Hilton; Art: Jack Otterson
& Harold H. MacArthur; Sfx: John P. Fulton; Sets: Russell
A. Gausman; Tech: Charles Carroll; Mu: Jack P. Pierce; Mus:
Hans J. Salter & Charles Previn. From "The Electric Man" by Harry J. Essex,
Sid Schwartz & Len Golas.
Cast: Lionel Atwill, Lon Chaney Jnr.,
Anne Nagel, Frank Albertson, Samuel S. Hinds, William B. Davidson, Ben Taggart, Connie
Bergen, Ivan Miller, John Dilson, Frank O'Connor, Russell Hicks, George Meader, Chester
Gan, Douglas Evans, Byron Foulger, William Hall, Victor Zimmerman, Gary Breckner, Mel
Ruick, John Ellis, Wright Kramer, Paul Scott, David Sharpe, Francis Sayles, Jessie Arnold,
Jack Gardner, James Blaine, Lowell Drew, Bob Reeves.
After surviving an accident that threw a bus into a high voltage electric tower
"Dynamo" Dan McCormick, (Chaney), lives and performs at a sideshow as "The
Electric Man" and is experimented on by Dr. Lawrence, (Hinds), who is curious about
his ability to absorb electricity, however, the doctor's assistant Dr. Rigas, (Atwill),
wants to continue the experiments and create a race of living zombies. To this end Rigas
pumps McCormick with larger amounts of energy, turning him into a monster that can kill
with the merest touch and forces him to kill Dr. Lawrence. Even the voltage of an electric
chair after he is captured does not destroy him, but when the creature finally
electrocutes Dr. Rigas, McCormick catches his rubber suit on some barbed wire and
discharges, shrinking to nothing but smoke.
An engrossing and well cast science fiction yarn. Budgeted at $86,000, the film was
originally planned as THE MAN IN THE CAB to star Karloff and Lugosi.
Universal bought the rights on August 1st 1935 but apparently lost interest in the project
and shelved it in favour of The Invisible Ray (1936).
Originally double-billed with Horror Island (1941). |
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THE MAN MONKEY (1909/Pathe) 1 reel. BW. Silent. France.
A hypnotist exchanges a man's brain with a monkey's brain. THE MAN MONKEY (1911/Cricks & Martin) 1 reel. BW. Silent. UK.
A man becomes ape-like after eating monkey nuts.
THE MAN OF MYSTERY (1917/Vitagraph) 5 reels. BW.
Silent. US.
Credits: Dir: Frederick A. Thompson.
Cast: E.H. Southern, Charlotte Ives, Vilda Varesi.
An ageing, deformed man trapped in the intense heat and sulphur fumes caused by an
erruption of Mount Vesuvius finds his youth restored and his deformities cured.
THE MAN OF STONE (1936) see Le
Golem
THE MAN OF THE WAX FIGURES (1913) see L'Homme aux Figures de Cire |
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THE MAN THEY COULD NOT HANG (1939/Columbia) 62mins. BW. US.
Credits: Dir:Nick Grinde; Prod: Wallace McDonald; Sc: Karl Brown; Ph:
Benjamin Kline; Ed: William Lyon; Art: Lionel Banks; Mus: Morris W. Stoloff. From a story
by Leslie T. White & George W. Sayre.
Cast:
Boris Karloff, Lorna Gray, Robert Wilcox, Roger Pryor, Don
Beddoe, Byron Foulger, James Craig, Ann Doran, Charles Trowbridge, Stanley Brown, Joseph
DeStefani, Dick Curtis, John Tyrell, John Dilson.
"Master monster of filmdom...terrifying as a doctor-turned-demon in a holocaust of
horror!"
Kindly Doctor Henryk Savaard, (Karloff), invents a mechanical heart designed to bring the
dead back to life and tests it on a volunteer, (Brown), but the police catch him in the
act, misinterpret the situation and Savaard is hanged for murder. His assistant Lang,
(Foulger), claims the body from the prison, follows the instructions on the use of the
device and revives the doctor's corpse, but the experience has unhinged the doctor's mind
and he embarks on a campaign of revenge against the jurors who convicted him.
Unfortunately his daughter dies, but Savaard manages to revive her before he is killed,
taking the secrets of rejuvanation with him.
Slightly unsatisfying in that the film ends before the ideas have been fully developed,
but Karloff still manages to steal the film from the rest of the cast.
The first in a five-picture contract Karloff made at Columbia, all of them feature him as
a mad scientist.THE MAN WHO
CHANGED HIS MIND (1936/Gainsborough) 66mins. BW. UK.
Aka: THE MAN WHO LIVED AGAIN (US); DR. MANIAC; THE BRAINSNATCHER.
Credits: Dir:Robert Stevenson; Prod: Michael Balcon; Sc: John
L. Balderston, L. DuGarde Peach & Sidney Gilliat; Ph: Jack Cox; Ed: R.E. Dearing
& Alfred Roome; Art: Vetchinsky; Mu: Roy Ashton; Mus: Louis Levy. From a story by John
L. Balderston. |
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Cast:
Boris Karloff, Anna Lee, Donald Calthrop, John Loder, Frank Cellier, Cecil Parker, Clive
Morton, Lyn Harding, D.J. Williams, Brian Pawley.
"As a love-crazed scientist...who lured sensation-seeking women to his
laboratory...for his insane experiments to discover the secret of eternal youth...!"
Dr. Laurience, (Karloff), has developed a brain transference machine, but his patron Lord
Haselwood, (Cellier), refuses to finance any further experiments, so he decides to
transfer the wealthy magnate's mind into the body of a crippled assistant Clayton,
(Calthrop), but unfortunately both men die during the operation. Laurience falls in love
with his other assistant Dr. Clare Wyatt, (Lee), but being too old for her he tries to
transfer his mind into the body of her boyfriend Dick Haselwood, (Loder). Eventually the
girl foils his plan.
Karloff continues his mad scientist role in the better of Karloff's British films of the
30's. This effectively creepy chiller's climactic laboratory scene recalls the fast paced
editing and low-key lighting of The Bride of Frankenstein. |
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THE MAN WHO CHEATED DEATH (1926) see Der Student von Prag THE MAN WHO COULD WORK MIRACLES (1936/London
Films) 82mins. BW. UK.
Credits: Dir: Lothar Mendes; Prod: Alexander Korda; Sc: H.G. Wells & Lajos Biro
(uncredited); Ph: Harold Rosson; Ed: William Hornbeck & Philip Charlot; Prod. Manager:
David B. Cunnynghame; Sets: Vincent Korda; Sfx: Ned Mann; Mus: Muir Mathieson & Mischa
Spoliansky. From a story by H.G. Wells.
Cast: Roland Young, Ralph Richardson, Ernest Thesiger,
Edward Chapman, Joan Gardner, Sophie Stewart, Robert
Cochran, George Zucco, Lawrence Hanray, George Sanders, Wallace Lupino, Lady Tree, Joan Hickson, Wally
Patch, Bernard Nedell, Ivan Brandt, Bruce Winston, Torin Thatcher, Mark Daly, Gertrude
Musgrove.
Draper's assistant, George McWhirter Fotheringay, (Young), is chosen to receive special
powers from some sporting gods to discover what lies in the human heart, but his newly
aquired omnipotence slowly sends him so insane with power that he tries to stop the Earth
from turning, almost killing everyone. He returns everything as it was before and in so
doing he relinquishes his powers.
A cosmic comedy with dull patches that are overshadowed by Young's excellent performance
as mild mannered Fotheringay.
THE MAN WHO LAUGHS (1909) see L'Homme
Qui Rit
THE MAN WHO LAUGHS (1921) see Das
Grisende Gesicht |
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THE MAN WHO LAUGHS (1928/Universal) 111mins. BW. Silent. US.
Credits: Dir: Paul Leni; Prod: Carl Laemmle ; Prod
Sup: Paul Kohner; Sc: J. Grubb Alexander, Charles E. Whittaker, Marion Ward & May
McLean (uncredited); Ph: Gilbert Warrenton; Ed: Maurice Pivar & Edward L. Cahn; Art:
Charles D. Hall; Story Sup: Dr. Bela Sekely; Titles: Walter Anthony; Costumes: David Cox
& Vera West; Prod. Staff: John M. Voshell, Jay Merchant & Louis Friedlander; Tech:
R.H. Newlands; Mu: Jack Pierce; Song Lyrics: "When Love
Comes Stealing" by Walter Hirsch, Lew Pollack & Erno Rapee. From the novel
"L'Homme Qui Rit" by Victor Hugo.
Cast: Conrad Veidt, Mary
Philbin, Olga Baclanova, Josephine Crowell, George
Siegmann, Brandon Hurst, Sam de Grasse, Stuart Holmes, Cesare Gravina, Nick de Ruiz, Edgar
Norton, Torben Meyer, Julius Molnar Jnr., Charles Puffy,
Frank Puglia, Jack Goodrich, Carmen Costello, John George,
Joe Murphy, Lon Poff, Henry Barrows, Broderick O'Farrell,
Jack Fowler, Templar Saxe, Henry Roquemore, Allan Sears, Howard Davies, Les Bates, Charles
Brinley, Antoine Vaverka, D'Arcy Corrigan, Scott Seaton, Louis Stern, Al H. Stewart,
Charles Hancock, Richard Bartlett, Zimbo the Dog.
In 17th. century England, a child whose face has been hideously disfigured into a
permanent grin is abandoned in a raging snowstorm after his Scottish father, (Veidt), is
excecuted in an iron maiden under orders of King James II for political defection. The
boy, named Gwynplaine, is rescued together with a little blind girl by Ursus, (Gravina), a
travelling showman. Fifteen years later, Gwymplaine, (Veidt), becomes a great public
attraction, but the blind girl Dea , (Philbin), can only see the goodness in his soul. It
is later discovered that Gwymplaine is heir to an estate and a title, and receives an
offer of marriage from the flirtatious Duchess Josiana, (Baclanova), but he renounces his
title and engagement to be with Dea, who loves him for who he is and not for his new found
wealth. Both set sail to another land to find peace and happiness.
One of Universal's most expensive and prestigious productions of the Twenties, hoping to
duplicate the success of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923).
The chilling scenes of the first half, especially the disturbing prologue, gives way later
to the script's pursuit of a happy ending and is therefore less effective. However, the
superb performances and atmospheric lighting make this a classic of early cinema.
After completion of the film, Conrad Veidt decided to refrain from playing any further
grotesque roles.
The film was also released with synchronised music and sound effects to boost its
competitive edge against the growing popularity of the "talkies". THE MAN WHO LIVED AGAIN (1936) see The Man Who
Changed his Mind
THE MAN WHO LIVED TWICE (1936/Columbia) 70mins. BW.
US.
Credits: Dir: Harry Lachman; Prod: Ben Pivar; Sc: Tom Van Dycke, Arthur Strawn &
Fred Niblo Jnr.; Ph: James Van Trees; Ed: Byron Robinson; Sfx: Kenneth Wheeler.
Cast: Ralph Bellamy, Marian Marsh, Thurston Hall, Isabel Jewell, Nana Bryant, Ward
Bond, Henry Kolker, Willard Robertson.
Slick Rawley, (Bellamy), a hideously scarred crook, offers himself as a guinea pig to Dr.
Schuyler, (Hall), who believes the mind of a criminal can be cured by brain surgery.
Combining this with plastic surgery, Rawley becomes the respectable James Blake,
(Bellamy), a compassionate and successful doctor with no recollect ion of his previous
life. Eventually, however, his past catches up with him.
An unusual crime caper with all honours going to Ralph Bellamy for his dual performance.
THE MAN WHO RECLAIMED HIS HEAD (1934/Universal)
81mins. BW. US.
Credits: Dir:Edward Ludwig; A.Prod: Henry Herigson; Prod: Carl
Laemmle Jnr. & Henry Henigson; Sc: Jean Bart (Marie Antoinette Sarlabous) &
Samuel Ornitz; Ph: Merrit B. Gerstad, Ed: Maurice Pivar & Murray Seldeen; Art: Albert S. D'Agostino; Sfx: John P.
Fulton; Sets: Russell A. Gausman; Mus: Heinz Roemheld. From a play by Jean Bart.
Cast: Claude Rains, Joan Bennett, Baby Jane (Juanita
Quigley), Henry O'Neill, Lawrence Grant, Wallace Ford, Lionel Atwill, Henry
Armetta, William B. Davidson, Gilbert Emery, Ferdinand Gottschalk, Hugh O'Connell, Rollo
Lloyd, Bessie Barriscale, Valerie Hobson, G.P. Huntley Jnr.,
Noel Francis, Carol Coombe, Phyllis Brooks, Craufurd Kent, Edward
Van Sloan, Montague Shaw, Lloyd Hughes, James Donlan, Bryant Washburn Snr., Lionel
Belmore, Norman Ainsley, Harry Cording, Tom Ricketts, Jose
Swickard, Ted Billings, John Ince, Russ Clark, Doris Lloyd,
Walter Walker, Edward Martindel, Purnell Pratt, Jameson Thomas,
Judith Wood, James Donlan, Boyd Irwin, Anderon Lawler, Will Stanton, George Davis, Emerson
Treacy, John Rutherford, Hyram A. Hoover, Lee Phelps, Rudy Cameron.
"Accused-Of The World's Most Monstrous Crime!".
In Paris before the First World War, writer Paul Verin, (Rains), sick of poverty, takes up
an offer to ghost-write pacifist editorials for newspaper publisher Henri Dumont,
(Atwill), however, Dumont double-crosses Verin and arranges for him to be sent to the
battlefield to keep him out of the way of his new found political ambitions. Verin's mind
temporarily snaps, and returning home, he stalks Dumont, who he believes has stolen his
mind, and hacks off the publishers head.
Told in flashback, Universal built up the film as a full-blooded horror thriller, but in
truth it is more of a slow moving melodrama indicting war profiteers, but is one of the
first films to show a decapitation.
THE MAN WHO SOLD HIS SOUL TO THE DEVIL (1920)
see L'Homme Qui Vendit Son Ame du Diable
THE MAN WHO WOULDN'T DIE (1942/20th Century Fox)
73mins. BW. US.
Credits: Dir:Herbert I. Leeds; Prod: Sol M. Wurtzel; Sc: Arnaud D'Usseau; Ph: Joseph
P. MacDonald; Ed: Fred Allen; Art: Richard Day & Lewis Creber; Sets: Thomas Little;
Tech: Detective Lieutenant Frank L. James; Mus: David Raskin. From a novel by Clayton
Rawson and the character "Michael Shayne" by Brett Halliday.
Cast: Lloyd Nolan, Marjorie Weaver, Helene Reynolds, Henry Wilcoxon, Richard Derr,
Paul Harvey, Billy Bevan, Olin Howland, Robert Emmett Keane, Leroy Mason, Jeff Corey,
Francis Ford, Charles Irwin, Ruth Warren, Mary Field, Harry Carter.
"An empty grave! A cunning, gunning ghost!...and Michael Shayne! The demon dick is
out to manacle a maniacal phantom...what an assignment!"
Fast-talking private eye, Michael Shayne, (Nolan), is called to Dudley Wolff's country
manor by the daughter Catherine, (Weaver), to solve the mysterious events occuring there,
that include an intruder with glowing eyes, the disappearance of a criminal's corpse, and
the arrival of an East Indian magician.
The fifth and the best of the six Mike Shayne films starring Lloyd Nolan produced by 20th
Century Fox from the popular mystery stories.
THE MAN WITH NINE LIVES (1940/Columbia)
73mins. US. BW.
Aka: BEHIND THE DOOR (UK).
Credits: Dir: Nick Grinde; Prod: Wallace MacDonald; Sc: Karl Brown; Ph: Benjamin
Kline; Ed: Al Clarke; Art: Lionel Banks; Tech: Dr. Ralph S. Willard. From a story by
Harold Shumate. |
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Cast: Boris Karloff, Byron Foulger, Roger Pryor, Jo Ann
Sayers, Stanley Brown, Hal Taliaferro, John Dilson, Charles Trowbridge, Ernie Adams, Ivan
Miller, Lee Willard, Bruce Bennett.
"Resurrected from a tomb of ice!"
In a Canadian village Dr. Leon Kravaal, (Karloff), experiments with freezing as a cure for
cancer until one day he accidentally becomes encased in his own freezing machine along
with three police officers who were attempting to stop his experiments. Ten years later he
is defrosted, by Dr. Tim Mason, (Pryor), but Kravaal is now completely insane and makes
the lawmen his prisoners to use as guinea pigs in his experiments. Finally the doctor is
shot, but he hands over his notes to Dr. Mason, before he dies.
An excellent portrayal by Karloff in a compelling feature with some good special effects.
The film was shot in a Los Angeles ice-house previously used by Frank Capra to recreate
the Himalayan tundra in Lost Horizon (1937). THE MAN WITH THE LIMP (1923) see The
Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu
THE MAN WITH THE RUBBER HEAD (1902) see L'Homme a la Tete de Caoutchouc
THE MAN WITH TWO FACES (1934/Warner)
72mins. BW. US.
Credits: Dir: Archie Mayo; Sc: Tom Reed & Niven Busch; Ph: Tony Gaudio.
From the play "Dark Tower" by George S. Kaufman & Alexander Woollcott.
Cast: Louis Calhern, Denis DeMarne, Mary Astor, Edward G. Robinson, Ricardo
Cortez, John Eldredge, Mae Clarke.
An actor, (Robinson), disguises himself to protect his sister, (Astor), from her husband,
Mr. Chautard, (Calhern), who uses black magic and hypnotism to put beautiful women under
his spell.
A well scripted thriller that unusually allows the criminal to get away with his crime.
THE MAN WITH TWO LIVES (1942/Monogram) BW. US.
Credits: Dir: Phil Rosen.
Cast: Edward Norris, Addison Richards, Marlo Dwyer, Eleanor Lawson.
A man brought back from the brink of death the exact moment that a criminal is
electrocuted becomes a vessel for the killer's spirit who begins a crime wave against
those responsible for his execution.
Not as exciting or as innovative as one might expect.
THE MAN WITHOUT A SOUL (1916/London/Jury/Sherman/Cosmoto
Film) 7200 feet. BW. Silent. UK. Aka: I BELIEVE (US).
Credits: Dir., Prod. & Sc: George Loane Tucker. From story by Kenelm Foss.
Cast: Barbara Everest, Milton Rosmer, Edna Flugrath, Edward O'Neill, Kitty
Cavendish, Hubert Willis, Frank Stanmore, Charles Rock.
Theology student Stephen Ferrier, (Rosmer), loses his soul after a scientist revives his
corpse.
THE MAN WITHOUT DESIRE (1923/Atlas/Biocraft) 7000
feet BW. Silent. UK.
Credits: Dir:Adrian Brunel; Prod: Ivor Novello & Miles Mander; Sc: Frank Powell;
Ph: Henry Harris. From a story by Monckton Hoffe.
Cast: Ivor Novello, Nina Vanna, Sergio Marie, Chris Walker, Jane Dryden, Dorothy
Warren, Adrian Brunel.
Venice, 1723 and the distraught Count Vittorio Donoldo, (Novello), is put into suspended
animation after his sweetheart is poisoned. Two hundred years later he is revived and
encounters the reincarnation of his lady love, but sadly the feelings of the past are
gone.
MANDRAKE THE MAGICIAN (1939/Columbia) BW. Serial. 12
episodes.
Credits: Dir: Sam Nelson & Norman Denning.
Cast: Warren Hull, Doris Weston, Al Kikume, Rex Downing, Don Beddoe.
A famous magician stalks an underworld leader named The Wasp.
A stylish potboiler with the benefit of the magician's illusions.
MANHUNT ON MYSTERY ISLAND (1945/Republic)
BW. Serial. 15 episodes. US.
Credits: Dir: Spencer Gordon Bennet, Wallace Grissell
& Yakima Canutt; Prod: Ronald Davidson; Sc: Albert Demond, Basil Dickey, Jesse Duffy,
Alan James, Grant Nelson & Joseph Poland.
Cast: Richard Bailey, Linda Stirling, Kenne Duncan, Roy Barcroft.
A criminologist searches the tropics for a missing scientist, but instead he encounters
the supernatural Captain Mephisto, (Barcroft), who uses a transformation chair to become
his alter ego and plans to gain control of a powerful atomic transmitter. His plans are
ultimately thwarted by the criminologist.
A tolerable cliffhanger with a good performance by Barcroft.
An edited feature length version was released in 1966 as CAPTAIN MEPHISTO AND THE
TRANSFORMATION MACHINE. |
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MANIAC (1934)THE MANIAC'S GUILLOTINE (1902/Hagger) BW. Silent. UK.
Credits: William Haggar.
Another short film made for Haggar's American bioscope machine which he took to
fairgrounds throughout Wales. The cast was made up of Haggar's family and friends.
LE MANOIR DU DIABLE (1896/Star Films)
2mins. (195 feet). BW. Silent. France.
Aka: THE HAUNTED CASTLE; THE MANOR OF THE DEVIL; THE DEVIL'S CASTLE; THE DEVIL'S MANOR.
Credits: Georges Méliès.
Cast: Georges Méliès.
In a medieval hall a bat circles and transforms into Mephistopheles, (Melies), who waves
his hand and a large cauldron appears. At another wave of his hand a beautiful woman
emerges from a puff of smoke and an old man appears from the floor carrying a book.
Everything disappears at a sign from the evil one then a cavalier arrives holding a cross
causes the Devil to throw up his arms and disappear in a cloud of smoke.
A rapid action film that lasts less than three minutes.
This was Melies last film of the year, his first big production and the first film with a
vampiric theme.
THE MANOR OF THE DEVIL (1896) see Manoir
du Diable
THE MANY HEADED MAN (1898) see Homme
de Tete
LE MARCHAND D'IMAGES (1910/Pathe)
1 reel. BW. Silent. France.
Aka: THE FAIRY BOOKSELLER.
Credits: Dir. & Sc: Gaston Velle.
Cast: Rene Alexandre, Berthe Bory, Little Lily.
A young boy on his way home from school is given a sheet of fairy stories by an old street
vendor. He becomes so engrossed in the stories that he is delayed in returning home,
where, overcome with tiredness, he falls asleep and dreams of fairyland, Bluebeard, Beauty
and the Beast, Puss in Boots, and an ogre.
MARIA MARTEN-THE MURDER IN THE RED BARN (1902/Harrison
& Co. Ltd.) 5mins. 400feet. BW. Silent. UK.
Credits: Dir. & Stage Manager: Dicky Winslow.
Cast: Mr. & Mrs. Fitzgerald.
In 1827, William Corder murders his pregnant mistress, Maria the mole-catcher's daughter,
but her mother dreams that her missing body is hidden in the barn. The floor is dug up,
the corpse is uncovered and Squire Corder is hanged.
A film in 5 scenes: "Maria's diguise", "The Murder", "The
Dream", "The Arrest", and "The Condemned Cell".
MARIA MARTEN (1908/William
Haggar & Sons/Tyler) 685feet. BW. Silent. UK.
Aka: THE RED BARN CRIME.
Credits: Dir:William Hagger.
Cast: Walter Haggar, Violet Haggar. |
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The wicked squire William Corder, (Haggar), is hanged for
the murder of his pregnant mistress, Maria.
The second screen adaptation of the actual murder of Maria Marten at the Red Barn in
Polstead, Suffolk. MARIA
MARTEN-THE MURDER IN THE RED BARN (1913/Motograph Films) 2850feet.
BW. Silent. UK.
Credits: Dir & Sc: Maurice Elvey.
Cast: Fred Groves, Elisabeth Risdon, Douglas Payne, Nessie Blackford, A.G. Ogden,
Mary McKenzie, Maurice Elvey.
Polstead, Suffolk in 1826, a squire kills his pregnant mistress Maria and is exposed by
her mother's dream.
Filmed at the actual location of the crime in Suffolk. Elvey appears as Captain Matthews.
MARIA MARTEN (1928/QTS./Ideal)
7430feet. BW. Silent. UK.
Credits: Dir:Walter West; Prod: Harry Rowson; Sc: Anonymous.
Cast: Warwick Ward, Trilby Clark, Frank Perfit, Dora Barton, James Knight, Tom
Morris, Chili Bouchier, Judd Green, Vesta
Sylva, Charles Ashton, Margot Armand.
Squire Corder, (Ward) , murders his pregnant mistress Maria, (Clark), and hides her corpse
beneath the floor of a nearby barn. The woman's mother suffers a dream that shows her the
location of her daughter's missing body. The police dig up the floor of the barn and the
murderer is hanged.
An accomplished adaptation of the true story, using some impressive camera techniques and
lighting. A print of this film still survives.
QTS and Ideal also produced an adaptation of Sweeny Todd the same
year.
MARIA MARTEN, OR THE MURDER IN THE RED
BARN (1935/King/MGM.) 67mins. BW. UK.
Credits: Dir: Milton Rosmer; Prod: George King; Sc:
Randal Faye; Ph: George Strellon; Ed: Chas Saunders; Art: D.W. Daniels; Mus: Lionel Claff.
Cast: Tod Slaughter, Ann Trevor, Sophie Stewart, Eric Portman, Clare Greet, D.J. Williams, Quentin McPherson, Gerrard Tyrell, Antonia
Brough, Dennis Hoey, Stella Rho, Len
Sharp.
Squire William Corder, (Slaughter), wins the affection of Maria Marten, (Stewart), but
when she announces she is pregnant, Corder schemes to get rid of her by murdering her in
the 'Red Barn'. The villain is brought justice when the girl's mother dreams of where her
body is hidden.
Based on a true story, this melodrama is heightened by Slaughter's barnstorming
performance.
Reissued in 1940 by Ambassador, MARIA MARTEN marked Tod Slaughter's debut in feature films
after appearing in the role of Corder for many performances on stage.
The killer's scalp is on display at a museum in Bury, St. Edmunds.
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MAC MAD
MAG MAI MAN MAR
MARK MOSTRO |
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Classic Horror Movies A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |