The Bishop’s Wife (1947)
The Bishop (David Niven) is having trouble with the main contributor of funds for the cathedral he wants to build to the glory of God. He prays for guidance and is sent an angel (Cary Grant) who helps him understand his priorities. I’ve always found Grant one of the most instantly likable of the ‘30s-‘40s movie stars and this is a good vehicle for him, more so than for Niven or Loretta Young (the Bishop’s wife) though both have their moments. Not really on a par with It’s a Wonderful Life or the next movie, but still it has some of the charm of the old fashioned holiday movies about ambition and pride versus love and humility. One thought: The suspension of disbelief in this one may not be the existence of angels but that Niven could be a Bishop. (One of the few 1940s movies I’ve seen in which I don’t recall once seeing anyone light a cigarette.)
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Stars Edmund Gwenn as Santa and Natalie Wood as a skeptical child; Maureen O’Hara and John Payne play pleasant diversions from Santa and the little girl. This is the original and if you haven’t seen the original, you really should. It has the old movie magic that salvages sentimental materials, not least because it finds and highlights the humor in the circumstances and provides some nice scenes for character actors like Thelma Ritter, Frank Albertson, Porter Hall, Gene Lockhart and William Frawley. Like The Bishop’s Wife this demonstrates how to make effective fantasy movies without massive special effects.
Krampus (2015)
Almost. This one almost works in part because Toni Collette, Adam Scott and Conchata Ferrell among others including a group of child actors, do a good job of selling the premise: A young boy is deeply hurt that his family no longer takes Christmas as seriously as he does. He writes Santa asking for his family to return to their earlier happiness and companionship. In a fit of anger and despair he tears up the letter and tosses it out the window and watches it disappear, wafted away by the wind. And then the terror starts with a blizzard and finally with the appearance of Krampus, the anti-Santa, who doesn’t give but takes. Krampus has some neat puppets, a nicely done animated sequence telling the grandmother’s story of her childhood meeting with Krampus, and a few funny moments and a few scary moments, but when it abandons the satirical for the horror it loses something. Among Christmas movies, Black Christmas (1974) did Christmas horror better, and Gremlins (1984) balanced horror and satire better.
The Lair of the White Worm (1988)
Based on a Bram Stoker novel that wasn’t Dracula, it takes its title from the novel. An evil reemerges in the English countryside after an old Roman ruin is partially unearthed and the skull of what appears to be a giant serpent is found among the ruins. It’s been years since I first saw this and my older self observed,
1) The opening credits and music suggest this as homage to Hammer Horror.
2) Hugh Grant has been playing Hugh Grant longer than I’d remembered. His level of comfort, ease and good humor in front of a camera was already evident. (It leads one to wonder if all Brits with surname Grant are charming, though Archie Leech might be skeptical of that assertion.)
3) If I’d remembered Peter Capaldi was in this, I might have paid more attention to his turn as Dr. Who. He’s not at all at a disadvantage playing across from Grant or Amanda Donohoe, and has a few scenes that are quite good.
4) Sammi Davis and Catherine Oxenburg aren’t given all that much to do except play bait.
5) In a just world, this would have made Amanda Donohoe a major star. In a semi-just world, she’d have become a distaff Peter Cushing or Vincent Price. Donohoe takes control of the film and it works as both comedy and horror because of her energy and gleeful inhabiting of her role; she has as light a touch with comedy as Grant, and more so than with the male stars when she’s off screen you start hoping she’ll show up soon because she’s so good at being bad.
6) Make up and costuming help Donohoe carry off her characterization, both gradually becoming more snake-like as the movie progresses.
7) Director Ken Russell was a perverse guy, or at least his movie-making was obsessed with sexuality: His earlier movie, Gothic, was a more serious exploration of the connections between Gothic and sex. This one is more forked-tongue-in-cheek and he seems to be having fun tying in as many mythic and cultural snake references as possible – the scene where Donohoe pops out of a wicker basket should be just stupid, but it works as an over-the-top visual aimed at nerds of all ages, as though he and Donohoe are acknowledging the silliness and reveling in it.
Blood From the Mummy’s Tomb (1971)
Based on another novel by Bram Stoker that wasn’t Dracula (The Jewel of the Seven Stars), this also features a female monster. An expedition finds the tomb of the Queen of Death, who was deemed so dangerous by Egyptian priests she was killed and her name removed from all records (with one tiny exception). Upon opening her sarcophagus the expedition members find her body is as it was when she was entombed, intact except for her right hand having been cut off, the stump of which is still bleeding. This should have been a clue to turn and run, but no. I haven’t seen this one before so now I understand why some older male fans on the Internet speak of Valerie Leon breathlessly; she was tall and full-figured, her eyes quite arresting when properly kohl-ed – er – mascara-ed. Being a later entry from Hammer Studios the director, Seth Holt, takes advantage of her beauty with revealing negligees and (pseudo-)Egyptian garb. And Leon puts in a good effort but exhibits none of the panache of Amanda Donohoe or if she had it, Holt didn’t know what to do with it. For what it is, Blood is entertaining – Hammer Horror, taking itself seriously and aided by several actors besides Leon, notably Andrew Keir (Quatermass and the Pit) and James Villiers (Asylum) – and the closing shot is smart and effective. Just don’t do what I did; if you’re at all interested watch this before watching Lair of the White Worm.
Randy M.
