THE THEODORE HUFF MEMORIAL FILM SOCIETY January 19, 1960
|
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
My apologies for not being on hand this evening, although this may well
mean a sudden upsurge in efficiency. Only the cause of the s-i-l-e-n-t
photoplay could keep me away from a great personal favorite, "Dead of
Night"; in setting up tonight's show I had quite forgotten a conflicting
screening in Connecticut at which Leatrice Joy, Jacqueline Logan, Patsy
Ruth Miller and and Lois Wilson will be expecting to see some of their
films - along with a large proportion of the population of Greenwich.
So tonight the Huff Society has a field unit in action too: At the Adelphi
Hall, the projection will be in the extremely capable hands of Lou McMahon;
and the collection of the dollars will be in the equally capable (and I
trust equally honest) hands of Charlie Shibuk.
------------------------------------------------------- Wke ------------------------
Programme:
"Second Fiddle" (Hodkinson, 1922); with Mary Astor, Glen Hunter, William
Nally, Helenka Adamowska; directed by
Frank Tuttle.
This one-reel condensation of a 5-reeler of the early twenties gives quite
a good cross-section of the film as a whole. A product of a little outfit
called The Film Guild (an interesting company whose directors included
Frank Tuttle and Osgood Perkins) it was both charming and bizarre,
with moments of real horror. In all probability we will be showing the
complete film in the non-too-distant future.
"Bewitched Bunny" (Warners, 1956) Dir: Charles M. Jones
Although a most untypical Bugs Bunny, and far from being one of his best,
this little work is nicely in keeping with the spirit of our show tonight.
It starts out beautifully and introduces some wonderful new characters in
the persons of a witch and Hansel and Gretl. Then, sadly, it rather falls
to pieces. But the good elements make it well worth while.
"The Live Ghost" (Hal Roach-MGM, 1934)2 reels; dir: Charles Rogers
With Laurel & Hardy, Walter Long, Mae Busch, Arthur Housman
Often badly cut on tv (the Mae Busch scenes particularly), this is a good
Laurel and Hard with nice routines, effectively ferocious sound effects,
a fine piece of comic menace from Walter Long, and a few lines of dialogue
muhc funnier than the boys usually got in this period.
"DEAD OF NIGHT" (Ealing, 1945; 10 reels) Dirs: Cavalcanti, Robert Hamer,
Basil Dearden, Charles Crichton. With Mervyn Johns,
Michael Redgrave, Googie Withers, Fredric Valk, Sally Ann Howes, Basil
Radford, Naunton Wayne, Roland Culver, Ralph Michael, Anthony Baird.
Music: Georges Auric
There is perhaps little point in discussing this film in detail here;
there seems little dissention in the opinion that it is one of the screen's
top essays in horror, the more effective for its underplaying and suggestion.
To my mind, the mirror episode ranks with Dreyer's "Vampyr" as the eeriest
and most terrifying footage ever put on film. When released in the U.S. by
Universal, two episodes were cut - the Christmas Party (a gentle yet still
macabre episode) and the admittedly expendable comedy sequence. This did
have the result of making the film a more concentrated study in sheer
horror, but it also played havoc with the nightmare ending. TV played it
complete occasionally - and wrecked mood and tension by other cuts and by
commercials. So here it is - complete - and minus any advertising copy!
|
|
|