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The Invisible Man, a review by Rogmeister

The Invisible Man (1933)
Director: James Whale
Cast: Claude Rains, Gloria Stuart, Una O'Connor, William Harrigan, E.E. Clive (plus a few "don't blink or you'll miss them" bits for John Carradine and Walter Brennan)

This is based on a novel by early science fiction writer H.G. Wells.  It is about a scientist who discovers a way to turn himself invisible...but he hasn't found an antidote and the chemicals he has given himself are driving him insane and he runs amuck in a British countryside village.  This is probably more science fiction than horror but I still enjoy watching it this time of year as the wintry landscape evokes a similar feel to some other classic scary movies though it doesn't quite reach that level, but Una O'Connor certainly gives us her best screaming fits.  I enjoyed the film a great deal and it's ironic that Claude Rains (in one of his earliest roles) is in the entire film without his face actually being seen...until the final shot. 

I decided to watch this as my first entry in this marathon since the leading lady is Gloria Stuart...who passed away just days ago at the age of 100.  She certainly looks nothing here like she did in her great come-back role as the older Rose in "Titanic".  She is young and vibrant, a perfect leading lady for such an early time.  I watched this via the Legacy Collection of The Invisible Man which includes 5 total films, four Invisible Man movies and one Invisible Woman film.  The picture and sound quality are first-rate and I highly recommend this film.  It's also a very short film...an hour and 11 minutes.  They don't make 'em that short anymore! 

(From 2010 October Horror Marathon (Discussion thread) on October 2nd, 2010)

A Place in the Sun, a review by Antares

A Place in the Sun





Year: 1951
Film Studio: Paramount Pictures
Genre: Romance, Drama
Length: 121 Min.

Director
George Stevens (1904)

Writing
Theodore Dreiser (1871)...Novel "An American Tragedy"
Patrick Kearney (1893)...Play "An American Tragedy"
Michael Wilson (1914)...Screenplay
Harry Brown (1917)...Screenplay

Producer
Ivan Moffat (1918)
George Stevens (1904)

Cinematographer
William C. Mellor (1903)

Music
Franz Waxman (1906)...Composer

Stars
Montgomery Clift (1920) as George Eastman
Elizabeth Taylor (1932) as Angela Vickers
Shelley Winters (1920) as Alice Tripp
Anne Revere (1903) as Hannah Eastman
Keefe Brasselle (1923) as Earl Eastman
Fred Clark (1914) as Bellows, defense attorney
Raymond Burr (1917) as Dist. Atty. R. Frank Marlowe
Herbert Heyes (1889) as Charles Eastman

Review
       The Fifties would bring about many changes to the film industry. Technologies that had helped us defeat the Axis powers were now being used to make everyday life in America more convenient and more informed. Television would become the guiding force in entertainment over the next decade and the major threat to the power of the Hollywood studios. With the weakening of the Hays code, producers and studio executives decided that racier subject matter would best hold back the tide of growing popularity with television, and keep their coffers filled. Just ten years earlier it would have been unthinkable to make a film based on the novel An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser. But times had changed, and a story about an illegitimate pregnancy and the murder that ensues, would be considered tame in the light of the atrocities that had occurred during the war. George Stevens softened the story by dwelling more on the love relationship of the characters as portrayed by Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor.

       This would be the first pairing of these two screen icons, and the chemistry between the two was electric. They would appear in two more films together, Raintree County, and Suddenly, Last Summer, with the former being the last time we would see Clift in all his youthful glory. The car accident that would alter his facial features, would also lead to a dependency on painkillers, and his performances in all later projects would seem distant and detached. But for the time being, he was beginning his ascent to the top of the most popular actors list, as he would follow this film two years later with From Here to Eternity. Taylor would become his lifetime friend and confidant and over the next decade would help him in his times of trouble. A Place in the SunReview Criterion4 Stars - Historically important film, considered a classic.

(From A Place in the Sun (1951) on November 5th, 2010)

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