Fay Wray stopped by Shades of Gray to help us decorate for Christmas. Have you started putting up your decorations yet?
Showing posts with label Fay Wray. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fay Wray. Show all posts
Thursday, December 3, 2020
Saturday, December 12, 2009
The gift is a curse for 'The Clairvoyant'
The Clairvoyant (aka "The Evil Mind") (1934)
Starring: Claude Rains, Fay Wray and Jane Baxter
Director: Maurice Elvey
Rating: Six of Ten Stars
A stage magician specializing in a mind-reading act (Rains) starts having real psychic visions whenever the daughter of a newspaper publisher (Baxter) is near him. Although his newfound true psychic visions initially bring him fame and fortune, the blessings soon turn into miserable curses.
"The Clairvoyant" is a rare British horror film from the 1930s that features an interesting story and a superb cast. It even has a couple of third-act twists that I didn't see coming, and I can't say that very often what with all the movies I've watched.
Although everyone in the film is good, its stars, Claude Rains and Fay Wray, shine especially brightly.
Rains is very likeable and sympathetic as a professional entertainer who struggles with suddenly becoming a real-life psychic and then watches what he thought was a blessing turn into a curse.
As good as Rains is, Wray is even better. This is partly due to her part being well-written, but even more credit should go to the fact that she was a damn fine actress. If you've only seen her in "King Kong", you really need to see this film to see that her talents as an actress went much further than just being very attractive and able to scream better than just about anyone else. is then later torn between ambition and love for his wife.
"The Clairvoyant" is a film I wish they made more like. Despite its fantastic elements, the characters in it and their relationships seem very real, particularly that shared by Rains and Wray's characters. Theirs is a marriage that faces several challenges during the film, but the love they share for one another lets it survive and helps them overcome. It's the sort of relationship that should appear on screen more often.
Starring: Claude Rains, Fay Wray and Jane Baxter
Director: Maurice Elvey
Rating: Six of Ten Stars
A stage magician specializing in a mind-reading act (Rains) starts having real psychic visions whenever the daughter of a newspaper publisher (Baxter) is near him. Although his newfound true psychic visions initially bring him fame and fortune, the blessings soon turn into miserable curses.
"The Clairvoyant" is a rare British horror film from the 1930s that features an interesting story and a superb cast. It even has a couple of third-act twists that I didn't see coming, and I can't say that very often what with all the movies I've watched.
Although everyone in the film is good, its stars, Claude Rains and Fay Wray, shine especially brightly.
Rains is very likeable and sympathetic as a professional entertainer who struggles with suddenly becoming a real-life psychic and then watches what he thought was a blessing turn into a curse.
As good as Rains is, Wray is even better. This is partly due to her part being well-written, but even more credit should go to the fact that she was a damn fine actress. If you've only seen her in "King Kong", you really need to see this film to see that her talents as an actress went much further than just being very attractive and able to scream better than just about anyone else. is then later torn between ambition and love for his wife.
"The Clairvoyant" is a film I wish they made more like. Despite its fantastic elements, the characters in it and their relationships seem very real, particularly that shared by Rains and Wray's characters. Theirs is a marriage that faces several challenges during the film, but the love they share for one another lets it survive and helps them overcome. It's the sort of relationship that should appear on screen more often.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
'The Vampire Bat' is early horror film
that still entertains
The Vampire Bat (aka "Forced to Sin" and "The Blood Sucker") (1933)
Starring: Melvyn Douglas, Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Dwight Frye and Maude Eburne
Director: Frank Strayer
Rating: Six of Ten Stars
As a series of vampire-murders plunge a German village into superstitious hysteria, only Karl Brettschneider (Douglas), the local police inspector, refuses to believe in the undead. However, when one of the murders take place in a house where he is visiting with his girlfriend Ruth (Wray) and her boss Dr. Niemann (Atwill), even Karl starts to believe in vampires. But what is Niemann hiding behnd that locked door from his study... and how did Ruth come into possession of a cruxifix that belonged to one of the victims?
"The Vampire Bat" is part mystery film and part horror movie. It features a fairly simple script that is elevated by an excellent cast who all give fine performances--even the bit players put on great shows. Douglas and Wray are particularly good in the film, and they have an on-screen chemistry that makes the romance between their characters seem real. (In fact, the garden scene feels like one of the most realistic romantic exchanges of any film I've seen from this period.)
This is another minor classic from the formative years of the horror genre. It's no "White Zombie" or "Frankenstein", but it's a decent movie and it's made all the more interesting because the filmmakers didn't necessarily try to adhere to genre conventions because they didn't exist yet. I might have given this film a Seven rating if not for the underwhelming appearance of Ruth and Niemann's labs--the film's small budget shows more on that set than anywhere else in the picture--and for a structural issue with the story that ends up weakening the film's Big Reveal vis-a-vis the vampire murders.
Starring: Melvyn Douglas, Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray, Dwight Frye and Maude Eburne
Director: Frank Strayer
Rating: Six of Ten Stars
As a series of vampire-murders plunge a German village into superstitious hysteria, only Karl Brettschneider (Douglas), the local police inspector, refuses to believe in the undead. However, when one of the murders take place in a house where he is visiting with his girlfriend Ruth (Wray) and her boss Dr. Niemann (Atwill), even Karl starts to believe in vampires. But what is Niemann hiding behnd that locked door from his study... and how did Ruth come into possession of a cruxifix that belonged to one of the victims?
"The Vampire Bat" is part mystery film and part horror movie. It features a fairly simple script that is elevated by an excellent cast who all give fine performances--even the bit players put on great shows. Douglas and Wray are particularly good in the film, and they have an on-screen chemistry that makes the romance between their characters seem real. (In fact, the garden scene feels like one of the most realistic romantic exchanges of any film I've seen from this period.)
This is another minor classic from the formative years of the horror genre. It's no "White Zombie" or "Frankenstein", but it's a decent movie and it's made all the more interesting because the filmmakers didn't necessarily try to adhere to genre conventions because they didn't exist yet. I might have given this film a Seven rating if not for the underwhelming appearance of Ruth and Niemann's labs--the film's small budget shows more on that set than anywhere else in the picture--and for a structural issue with the story that ends up weakening the film's Big Reveal vis-a-vis the vampire murders.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Doctor X Double Feature
Doctor X (1932)
Starring: Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray and and Lee Taylor
Director: Michael Courtiz
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars
A killer is stalking Gotham, butchering women--young and old--with a scalpel and surgeon-like precision. When the police turn their investigation toward the medical research institute operated by Dr. Xavier (Atwill), he hopes to prevent the entire institute from being tarred by scandal by conducting a scientific experiment that will identify the killer on his staff. With the moral support of his beautiful daughter (Wray) and a wisecracking crime-beat reporter (Taylor) standing by for the scoop of the decade, Xavier brings his colleagues to his isolated country house... where the murderer soon proves himself quite unwilling to submit to Xavier's experiments, but not so shy about stabbing the house guests.
"Doctor X" is a fun little film that mixes the mystery, comedy, romance, and horror genres into a bubbling cauldron of craziness. From the collection of four surgeons at Xavier's institute, each more suspicious and apparently crazy than the one before; to Xavier's creepy butler; to Xavier himself, the cast of characters here provide a rich pool of suspects. Wray and Taylor offer something attractive to look at amidst the strange collection of doctors and the bizarre, shadow-haunted scenery of the picture, with Wray presenting both radiant beauty and a very charming, very smart character. (In fact, Wray's beauty surrounded by the calculated ugliness of the rest of the film is a contrast that heightens just about every aspect of the film.
Something that will strike viewers coming to this film without foreknowledge--as I did--will be struck by the fact that instead of the expected greys and blacks, the film appears to be in sepia tones... until Wray makes her first appearance on screen, wearing a dress that's a startling, vibrant green in among the shadows and reddish-brown tones of the majority of the scenery. Later, there are other splashes of red and green; "Doctor X" was shot in an early version of Techicolor, and, while I found the reddish and/or greenish tint that was cast over everything generally tiresome, the bright splashes of concentrated color wow'ed me every time they appeared.
As a historical artifact in the development of film techniques, or just as a fun little comedy/thriller that's crammed to the brim with mad scientists, "Doctor X" is a movie that I think any lover of classic films will enjoy immensely.
The Return of Doctor X (1939)
Starring: Wayne Morris, Dennis Morgan, John Litel, and Humphrey Bogart
Director: Vincent Sherman
Rating: Six of Ten Stars
After being fired from his job for making up a false news story about finding a famous actress murdered--who shows up quite alive and intent on suing the paper--journalist Walter Garnett (Morris) turns to a close friend and surgeon (Morgan) in an attempt to figure out how he could have mistaken a live woman for a dead body. The answer he finds is stranger than anything he could imagine, and he soon finds himself up to his neck in creepy MDs, including the strange Dr. Quense (Bogart).
"The Return of Doctor X" has nothing in common with the original "Doctor X" film, except that they were produced by the same company. There is no character or story similarity, despite the presence of murderous medical professionals and a character with the last name of "Xavier", as well as a wise-cracking reporter character. However, where "Doctor X" was a comedy with heavy doses of suspense and a touch of horror, "The Return" is a straight-forward horror movie with a heavy dose of comedy. The first movie was also far more impressive in its camerawork and set design, and this film, while competently filmed, suffers greatly by comparison.
This is a decent enough flick, if completely forgettable. Big-time Humphrey Bogart fans may get a kick out of seeing him in a role quite different from anything else he did during his career, but otherwise, this is the kind of movie to load in a multi-disk DVD player for use as background noise during a Halloween party.
Starring: Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray and and Lee Taylor
Director: Michael Courtiz
Rating: Eight of Ten Stars
A killer is stalking Gotham, butchering women--young and old--with a scalpel and surgeon-like precision. When the police turn their investigation toward the medical research institute operated by Dr. Xavier (Atwill), he hopes to prevent the entire institute from being tarred by scandal by conducting a scientific experiment that will identify the killer on his staff. With the moral support of his beautiful daughter (Wray) and a wisecracking crime-beat reporter (Taylor) standing by for the scoop of the decade, Xavier brings his colleagues to his isolated country house... where the murderer soon proves himself quite unwilling to submit to Xavier's experiments, but not so shy about stabbing the house guests.
"Doctor X" is a fun little film that mixes the mystery, comedy, romance, and horror genres into a bubbling cauldron of craziness. From the collection of four surgeons at Xavier's institute, each more suspicious and apparently crazy than the one before; to Xavier's creepy butler; to Xavier himself, the cast of characters here provide a rich pool of suspects. Wray and Taylor offer something attractive to look at amidst the strange collection of doctors and the bizarre, shadow-haunted scenery of the picture, with Wray presenting both radiant beauty and a very charming, very smart character. (In fact, Wray's beauty surrounded by the calculated ugliness of the rest of the film is a contrast that heightens just about every aspect of the film.
Something that will strike viewers coming to this film without foreknowledge--as I did--will be struck by the fact that instead of the expected greys and blacks, the film appears to be in sepia tones... until Wray makes her first appearance on screen, wearing a dress that's a startling, vibrant green in among the shadows and reddish-brown tones of the majority of the scenery. Later, there are other splashes of red and green; "Doctor X" was shot in an early version of Techicolor, and, while I found the reddish and/or greenish tint that was cast over everything generally tiresome, the bright splashes of concentrated color wow'ed me every time they appeared.
As a historical artifact in the development of film techniques, or just as a fun little comedy/thriller that's crammed to the brim with mad scientists, "Doctor X" is a movie that I think any lover of classic films will enjoy immensely.
The Return of Doctor X (1939)
Starring: Wayne Morris, Dennis Morgan, John Litel, and Humphrey Bogart
Director: Vincent Sherman
Rating: Six of Ten Stars
After being fired from his job for making up a false news story about finding a famous actress murdered--who shows up quite alive and intent on suing the paper--journalist Walter Garnett (Morris) turns to a close friend and surgeon (Morgan) in an attempt to figure out how he could have mistaken a live woman for a dead body. The answer he finds is stranger than anything he could imagine, and he soon finds himself up to his neck in creepy MDs, including the strange Dr. Quense (Bogart).
"The Return of Doctor X" has nothing in common with the original "Doctor X" film, except that they were produced by the same company. There is no character or story similarity, despite the presence of murderous medical professionals and a character with the last name of "Xavier", as well as a wise-cracking reporter character. However, where "Doctor X" was a comedy with heavy doses of suspense and a touch of horror, "The Return" is a straight-forward horror movie with a heavy dose of comedy. The first movie was also far more impressive in its camerawork and set design, and this film, while competently filmed, suffers greatly by comparison.
This is a decent enough flick, if completely forgettable. Big-time Humphrey Bogart fans may get a kick out of seeing him in a role quite different from anything else he did during his career, but otherwise, this is the kind of movie to load in a multi-disk DVD player for use as background noise during a Halloween party.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
'Woman in the Shadows' is predictable but fun
Woman in the Shadows (aka "Woman in the Dark") (1934)
Starring: Ralph Bellamy, Fay Wray and Melvyn Douglas
Director: Phil Rosen
Rating: Six of Ten Stars
Fresh from serving a prison term for manslaughter, John Bradley (Bellamy) finds himself on the run from the law after coming to the defense of a woman (Wray) fleeing her possessive boyfriend (Douglas).
"Woman in the Shadows" is a decent little "innocent man on the run" crime drama with a good script and equally good performances by the three stars and most of the supporting cast. (The comic relief character is more annoying than funny, but that may only partially be the actor's fault.)
This film is nothing spectacular, and the characters and storyline are what you expect at every turn, but it's nonetheless a fast-paced, solid bit of entertainment. It's like a 1930s version of an average summer-time action movie or drama. Nothing's going to surprise you, but if it's well-made you have a good time anyway.
Starring: Ralph Bellamy, Fay Wray and Melvyn Douglas
Director: Phil Rosen
Rating: Six of Ten Stars
Fresh from serving a prison term for manslaughter, John Bradley (Bellamy) finds himself on the run from the law after coming to the defense of a woman (Wray) fleeing her possessive boyfriend (Douglas).
"Woman in the Shadows" is a decent little "innocent man on the run" crime drama with a good script and equally good performances by the three stars and most of the supporting cast. (The comic relief character is more annoying than funny, but that may only partially be the actor's fault.)
This film is nothing spectacular, and the characters and storyline are what you expect at every turn, but it's nonetheless a fast-paced, solid bit of entertainment. It's like a 1930s version of an average summer-time action movie or drama. Nothing's going to surprise you, but if it's well-made you have a good time anyway.
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