Witness the birth of cinematic genres with 'Fantômas: In the Shadow of the Guillotine'

Fantômas: In the Shadow of the Guillotine (1913)
Starring: René Navarre, Edmund Breon, Renée Carl, André Volbert, and Jane Faber
Director: Louis Feuillade
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

Inspector Juve (Breon) finally captures the coldblooded, murderous master theif Fantômas (Navarre) and sees him given the death sentence. Can the villain with a thousand faces pull off one more impossible escape and cheat Death itself?

If you love movies, there are some films you should watch just because of the important place they occupy in the development of film. That is especially true these days when so many classic and important films are available from so many different sources, conveniently and cheaply (or even free).

Among the movies I've felt I really should watch are the silent thrillers from Louis Feuillade, because they are, without exageration, the foundation for everything that followed in that film genre. Although I've had complete DVD collections of both Feuillade's "Fantômas" and "The Vampires" series sitting in my "To Be Watched" pile for quite some time, I put off watching them because I have generally not enjoyed feature-length silent films dramas and thrillers. However, since I recently watched and loved "Seven Footprints to Satan" and "Nevada", I thought I'd finally get around to plugging a hole in my film history education.

I almost wish I hadn't waited this long to see "Fantômas: In the Shadow of the Guillotine", because it's a really good movie that's help up well. Also, as someone who loves detective films, horror movies, and crime dramas, it was fascinating to see how the elements that make up those genres appearance in their infancy... and how little has changed over the past century of cinematic story-telling.

Despite having many of the hallmarks and flaws of one of these early films--a static camera and actors that over-emote to a ridiculous degree--Feuillade keeps things moving with such a rapid pace that these problems don't become too annoying. Possibly due to this rapid pace, Feuillade mostly avoids the thing that kills my interest in many of these early dramas/thrillers--scenes that drag on and on and on, while the actors mill about, overacting. There are only two scenes in the film that go on a little longer than is good, and I think that I may have felt that way about one of them because I knew where the scene was going and I was eager for it to get there so I could enjoy the pay-off.)

The only real complaint I can mount about this thoroughly enjoyable film is that the relationship between Fantômas and a woman who provides him assistance is too murky for the film's own good. She may be his long-time lover, she may related to him and his criminal enterprises in some other way... but it's never explained. The only thing we know for sure is that Fantômas murdered her husband and that the name of an identity he was using was included in the husband's address book. That may even have been Fantômas's actual identity for all the audience knows. It could be that the movie-goers of 1913 knew all about the connection between the two characters, because this film was an adaptation of a hugely popular novel of the day, and director Feuillade could just have assume that the audience already knew how the two characters were tied to each other. Still--it annoys me when this assumption is made with adaptations of properties I'm familiar with, so even if this was the case, it kept me from giving this film Seven Stars (on my Ten Star scale).

If you have an interest in the history of film and where genre conventions come from, or if you just want to enjoy a fast-paced, old-timey crime drama, I think you'll find watching "Fantômas: In the Shadow of the Guillotine" is time well spent.

'Secret of the Blue Room' is a lesser effort from the Golden Age of Universal Horror flicks

Secret of the Blue Room (1933)
Starring: Paul Lukas, Gloria Stuart, Lionel Atwilll, Edward Arnold, William Janney, Onslow Stevens, and Robert Barrat
Director: Kurt Neumann
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

On the night Irene (Stuart) turns 21, three men hoping to marry her (Janney, Lukas, and Stevens) agree to prove their bravery and worthiness of her hand by each spending successive nights in the supposedly haunted Blue Room of her castle home. Their actions seem to awaken a deadly curse that has been dormant since shortly after Irene's birth... a curse that has already claimed three lives and will soon claim more.

"Secret of the Blue Room" is a locked room mystery crossed with the "dark old house" sub-genre of thrillers/horror that flourished during the 1930s and into the mid-1940s--and it was filmed on the same sets used for the 1932 film of the same genre "The Old Dark House.". It was made during what was a Golden Age for Universal and horror films, although it is one of the lesser efforts.

While this is a far more workman-like picture than "Frankenstein" or "The Invisible Man" or "Werewolf of London", I have a hard time judging how much of what seems flawed in this picture is a result of the passage of time, and how much is weakness that was present from the beginning. This kind of story has been told and retold so many times since 1933, so it could be that what was effective then is less so now.

From a story perspective, the film suffers from the mystery at its core not being much of  a mystery. I had the broad strokes of the story figured out once the three suitors agreed to prove their courage by braving the possibility of death by sleeping in a cursed room. When Bad Things started happening, I was proven right... and although attempts were made at misdirection--a creepy stranger who is somehow in cahoots with the shady butler; the lord of the manor (played by Lionel Atwill) obviously trying to hide something; and a sleazy chauffeur and the nosy maid who may or may not be up to something--none really presented anything close to an alternate explanation to the mysterious events in the Blue Room. Although everything played out in a predictable fashion, the film at least unfolded at a rapid pace, and features such an excellent cast of actors that it wasn't dull. I felt the climactic chase and running gun-battle in a secret basement under the castle went on a bit too long, but otherwise I felt the pacing was spot on.

When it comes to the films cast, I feel like they all gave excellent performances. I particularly enjoyed Paul Lukas, who at the beginning of the film felt to me like a poor man's Bela Lugosi, but by the end I wanted to see what might be in store next for his character. On the other hand, I enjoyed Gloria Stuart from the beginning, but became disappointed  as the film wore on. It wasn't that she gave a bad performance, she just wasn't as good as she was in "The Old Dark House", where she basically outshone all the other cast members. Here, she has less to do from the outset and she fades into the background as the movie continues. This film is a prime example of why Stuart's film career never really got off the ground; she just didn't get enough interesting roles to play.

Speaking of Paul Lukas and Gloria Stuart, as much as I liked them in the film, their characters have a very creepy relationship. As mentioned above, the film opens on a young lady's 21st birthday... and there are four men in attendance: Her father (Lionel Atwill), a would-be suitor her age, a would-be suitor five or ten years older (Oslow Stevens), and a would-be suitor old enough to be her father (Paul Lukas). It's slightly gross to think of Lukas's character wanting to marry and bed a woman less than half his age... and for her father to be sitting right there and approving of the idea. It tainted the character--who is otherwise honorable and heroic--for me, and the movie in general.

"Secret of the Blue Room" is an adequate picture that I think hasn't weathered the passage of time as well as others in the same genre. If you like "it was a dark and stormy night"-type mysteries, I think you'll enjoy it... but at the same time, you should now there are better entries in the genre out there. (You can click on the Old Dark House tag at the bottom of this post to see my reviews of some of them.)

Meet our official Master of Ceremonies

For all of 2020, Bebe Daniels will serve as the Shades of Gray Master of Ceremonies. She will oversee our observations and celebrations of each major holiday during this year. Please be nice to her... but if you find any of our observances lacking, be sure to let her know!

Here is the official calendar of holidays that will be recognized here at Shades of Gray during 2020. Some will be recognized with a single post, some will receive several. (Others not on this may also be snuck it as celebratory moods strike us!)

Febuary: Valentine's Day
March: St. Patrick's Day
April: Easter
May: Cinco de Mayo and Memorial Day
June: Flag Day
July: U.S. Independence Day and Nude Day
August: National Watermelon Day
September: Labor Day
October: Halloween
November: Thanksgiving
December: Christmas and New Years


Click here to see a selection of past observances, or click on hoidays with links above to see specific celebrations

Musical Monday with Gin Wigmore

Gin Wigmore is a genre-defying performer whose sound has touches of rock, ragtime, blues, and more. She's almost the musical equivalent of this blog. She's here today to get your week started right with a song and some photos. (Despite the shirt, Wigmore is anything but Mickey Mouse!)

Betty Boop at her most nightmarish?

Ha! Ha! Ha! (1934)
Starring: Mae Questel (voice of Betty Boop)
Director; Dave Fleischer
Rating: Nine of Ten Stars

Betty and Koko escape the cartoon world, and when Koko develops a toothache from eating real-world candy, Betty tries her hand at dentistry. Surreal horror ensues.

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" is a fantastic bit of craftsmanship that sees cartoon characters roaming in and interacting with the real world, or real cars and other objects transforming into cartoons through a mixture of animation and standard film. It's a great deal of fun watch the cartoon world interact with the real one as seamlessly as it occurs in this picture.. at least until it turns nightmarish and terrifying.

It seems like I've been creeped out by cartoons from the 1930s a lot lately--"The Rocketeers", for example, contains the most horrific scene I've witnessed in just about anything--but "Ha! Ha! Ha!" is another one that I found to be an example of surrealistic horror on a Junji Ito level, with the world undergoing bizarre changes that may well ultimately lead to madness for all of humanity. It's not so much what's in this short film, but what isn't that keeps my imagination working once it's over... and it's not happy place that I find myself imagining.

But why don't you take a few minutes to watch this masterpiece of surreal humor and horror via the embedded YouTube video below. I'd also love to hear your take on it.

Firearms Friday with Elke Sommer

Born in 1940, German actress Elke Sommer spent some of her teenage years in England, and since she was fluid in both German and English, she thought about training for a career as a diplomatic translator, but upon winning a beauty contest while vacationing in Italy, she turned firmly toward modeling and acting instead.

During the 1960s and into the 1970s, Sommer was a reigning European sex symbol and she soon conquered America as well. She appeared in all manner of films--from light farces and sex comedies, to thrillers and gory horror films; from low-budget quickies, to big-budget blockbusters--and all manner parts. As the 1970s came to a close and her screen career began to cool, Sommer found success on television. She also turned to writing and painting, and she has been enjoying success as a gallery artist for more than 40 years now. She continues to take a film role every now and then, and she is currently filming the forthcoming sci-fi film "PhonY".

'The Vampire's Ghost' stumbles at the end

The Vampire's Ghost (1945)
Starring: John Abbott, Charles Gordon, Grant Withers, Peggy Stewart, Adele Mara, Roy Barcroft, Martin Wilkins, and Emmett Vogan
Director: Lesley Selander
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

An isolated trading post in Africa becomes the latest hunting ground of a world-weary vampire (Abbott).

"The Vampire's Ghost" is an interesting film that I think managed to transcend its quick-cash-grab roots. According to an interview given by screenwriter Leigh Brackett, this production was launched in response to Universal's successful revival of its 1930s horror characters--the Mummy, Dracula, and Frankenstein--and the popularity of their new kid, the Wolf Man. Tone- and style-wise, the film occupies a middle-ground between Val Lewton's atmospheric, psychological chillers from RKO and the pulp-fictiony, supernatural dramas of Universal's monster revivals.

Long-time horror fans will enjoy this movie for its unusual African setting and its swirling mix of European vampire lore and more "exotic" superstitions and beliefs. Fans with a narrower love of vampire movies will appreciate the villain of the story, the vampire Webb Fallon, is portrayed with more personality and a different flavor than is typical of films from this period. While Fallon is indisputably a monster, his main defining characteristic is not cartoonish, cape-swirling menace but rather a sort of jaded fatigue at having seen everything that's unfolding around him happen dozens upon dozens of times in the past. From his casually telling the hero where to look for information on how to destroy a vampire, to the air of resignation when he discovers attempts to take advantage of him and thus he feels obligated to exact revenge.

The supporting characters are mostly the stock figures you'd expect in a film like this, with a fairly bland young couple (Charles Gordon and Peggy Stewart) targeted as victims of the vampire, superstitious locals (foremost among these portrayed by Martin Wilkins), a devout cleric who is key to defeating the monster (Grant Withers), and so on. These stock characters are borrowed both from the standard gothic vampire story and from the jungle action/adventure tales that usually take place in this film's setting... but, as with the character of Webb Fallon, there are a few touches that allow them to be more interesting than what they might otherwise have been. It also helps that they are all portrayed by excellent actors. I've so far failed to mention Adele Mara who brings some random (and slightly goofy) sexiness to the picture while also, ultimately portraying one of the films more sympathetic characters, because jealousy plus a lack of understanding of what Webb Fallon truly is gets her into a whole lot of trouble.

Another fascinating aspect of the film is the notion that a vampire is weak in the presence of the power of God--whether a believer is waving religious symbol in its face or not. One of the more enjoyable scenes in the whole film is watching Fallon dealing with the devout Father Gilcrist and how simply being touched by him, and being in his general vicinity, drains Fallon's energy.

Unfortunately, this mostly interesting movie loses its way during its climax and ultimately ends on a disappointing, somewhat hollow ending where Webb Fallon dies off camera (while delivering a line that's  clearly looped from a scene earlier in the film) and some plot-threads that were set up very dramatically are left dangling without resolution. The botched ending cost the film a full star on my 0-10 star rating scale.

If you like classic horror movies, I think you'll mostly enjoy "The Vampire's Ghost". It really is an interesting and well-done film up to final minutes.

Picture Perfect Wednesday with Lily Gao

Lily Gao is a Canadian model and actress who has most recently been seen as the would-be U.N. Secretary General in the latest episodes of the sci-fi series "The Expanse" on Amazon Prime. (That's a show that's outside the scope of this blog, but I strongly recommend watching all four seasons of it. It just keeps getting better and better.)

Today, Ms. Gao is here to demonstrate the unifying theme at Shades of Gray.

Musical Monday with John Legend

Here at Shades of Gray, we first became aware of John Legend during the "controversy" surrounding his "updated" cover of the classic tune "Baby, It's Cold Outside." Like so much during the Era of Outrage, we can't decide if Legend was doing a spoof or being serious, and whether any of the folks running for the fainting couch were really as hysterical as they came across, or just playing for their 15 seconds in the spotlight.

Holiday shananigans aside, Legend has a number of pretty songs in his catalog, and we're kicking off the week with one them. It also features a stylish video, which you can watch below.
If this pretty love song is new to you, as it was to us, we hope you enjoy it!

'The Garage' at 100 years

The Garage (1920)
Starring: Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Buster Keaton, Harry McCoy, Molly Malone, and Dan Crimmins
Director: Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle
Rating: Seven of Ten Stars

Fatty and Buster (Arbuckle and Keaton) have a particularly chaotic workday at the combination gas station/firehouse where they work.

I am making this post exactly 100 years after "The Garage" was first released. Is it still worth watching today?

The answer to that question is an emphatic "YES!"

When this film was made, Buster Keaton had been a supporting player in short films directed by and starring Roscoe "Fatty Arbuckle" for three years; Arbuckle had given Keaton his break in film, and the two had become close friends. It was clear to both that it was time for Keaton to strike out on his own, and with this film, viewers got a taste of what Keaton would soon deliver once he struck out on his own. Keaton is the co-star of this film with Arbuckle, and he even gets some of the funnier solo bits and he is the driver of a couple of the better routines.

Story-wise, the film also holds together nicely, with the gags and stunts feeding smoothly into each other, as well as arising from, or prompting, plot-furthering character interaction. The presence of a female character who is both very much her own master and not the love interest or would-be love interest of either of the main characters also enhances the film, because it is a nice change from the common pattern in so many of these short films.

This fast-paced film can literally be described as provide a laugh-a-minute... but don't just take my word for it. I encourage you to take a little less than half an hour out of your day to enjoy a comedy that had stood the test of 100 years, and which will still amuse 100 years from now: it's embedded below via YouTube.