"I saw what I saw when I saw it..."

What do Bud Abbott, Groucho Marx, Rex Reed, and Mahatma Ghandi all have in common? It could be a joke, given today's topic but it isn't. All four of these great men were born on October 2, and in a belated celebration of Bud Abbott in particular, I am going to talk about a few of the wonderful horror and mystery parodies that Bud and his partner, Lou Costello did. Before Scary Movie and all of the other modern parody films, Bud and Lou were using a mix of satire, parody, comedy, slapstick, straight man/funny man, and over all hijinks to create tons of classic movies, all of which remain hilarious to this day.

Perhaps the first purveyors of horror parody, Bud and Lou came out with such gems as Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Abbot and Costello Meet the Mummy, Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man, Africa Screams, Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Who Done It?, and Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a list of films longer than that of some modern Hollywood A-listers, yet only a portion of the Abbott and Costello films. Bud and Lou took their routine into the backdrops of these frightening horror films, using many of the actual cast members from the real movies themselves.

In Meet Frankenstein, they meet Lon Chaney, Jr. as the Wolf Man, Bela Lugosi as Dracula, and Glenn Strange as Frankenstein's monster. In Meet the Killer, they team up with a frightening Boris Karloff and do so again when he plays the other lead role in Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The films Meet the Mummy and Meet the Invisible Man do not use actual actors from the film, though some original footage is used in Meet The Invisible Man. These two films are strictly parodies of the originals. Africa Screams could easily be a King Kong parody, but instead has Bud and Lou mining for diamonds and encounter lions, headhunters, and giant apes. Who Done It? is a radio mystery near scary movie where Bud and Lou have to solve the murder committed at the station they hope to work at in a climatic, almost Hitchcock style ending filled with drama and suspense.

To me personally, Bud and Lou are the end-all, be-all of comedic teams. I love all of their films, but since it is Fright Fest and all, I can only focus on these select horror films. Somehow, they manage to make these films frightening and at the same time, laugh your pants of funny, which is a difficult thing for any film to do. Comedy and horror are genres that never really seem to exist, except when something is so horrible its funny or so funny its horrifying. These films I mentioned manage to cross genre lines and at the same time, be excellent examples of film. I could probably do an entire blog on the comedy of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, but I will limit myself to this one post for the time being.

Those of you who want to know more about Bud and Lou or are big fans yourself can check out the excellent web page their families created here, which totes itself as helping "Abbot and Costello Meet the Internet". The movie Africa Screams is public domain and can be watched here. The other films you will have to track down yourself. And just because, here is the entire "Who's On First Routine", since I cannot mention Bud and Lou without thinking of the routine of theirs that everyone recognizes.

Unrequited Love Comes Back from the Dead

There have been several incarnations of films about Mummies and Egyptian lore, but the first one that started it all was The Mummy in 1932, staring the legendary Boris Karloff. The script was written by John L. Balderston who contributed to the scripts of Dracula and Frankenstein, and was directed by Karl Freund, the Dracula cinematographer. One of the Monster Movie elite, Karloff was Bela Lugosi's main rival for the title of Horror King after the death of Lon Chaney, Sr. The movie is also in the pantheon of great horror films that overall add to our pop culture imagery of certain horror stereotypes. I found a version the film online that you can watch here, for those of you that are interested.

The premise of the movie is that Ancient Egyptian priest Imhotep (Karloff) is accidentally revived by an archaeological expedition, lead by Sir Joseph Whemple (Arthur Byron) that uncovers his mummy. Imhotep escapes from the archaeologists and goes through Cairo, looking for the reincarnation of his long-lost lover, the Princess Ankh-hes-en-amon (Zita Johann). Imhotep was mummified alive after trying to resurrect the dead princess and when he finds her, he intends to mummify her, make her his bride, and the two of them will live forever in a sort of Corpse Bride bliss. Ten years after Whemple originally set the mummy loose on an unsuspecting Egypt, he returns with son Frank in tow (David Manners) and use the help of Ardath Bay (Karloff) to help them locate the mummy's whereabouts. Bay abducts the beautiful Helen Grosvenor (Zita Johann) and it is up to Frank and Dr. Muller (Edward Van Sloan) to uncover the mystery of the mummy and save the day.

Karloff's Mummy isn't you're average last minute Halloween costume where you wrap yourself up in a bunch of toilet paper. His mummy is actually pretty convincing as a the revived soul of an ancient Egyptian priest. Again, make up magician Jack Pierce helped Karloff create his creature's iconic costume. Cotton, collodion, and spirit gum were attached to Karloff's face and clay into his hair. The linen bandages that create the long-staying image of the Mummy were previously treated with acid and burned in an oven before being wrapped around Karloff. The make up took eight hours to apply and only two to take off. The removal of the gum was painful to Karloff and he was quoted as saying putting on and taking off the Mummy costume was "the most trying ordeal I ever endured".

The success of the first Mummy movie spawned a good dozen or so sequels and spin-offs, most b movies such as The Mummy's Hand, The Mummy's Tomb, The Mummy's Ghost, and The Mummy's Curse. Comedic duo Abbott and Costello also poked fun of The Mummy and these b-sequels in the spectacular comedy Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy. Recent versions of The Mummy have been made in the past ten years or so, little of the original scripts and characters surviving. These new Mummy movies are more action/thriller films than actual horror films, as the original The Mummy was intended to be.

Where is the real evil?

In the days of silent film in Germany, writer and director Paul Wegener embarked on what may be considered the first movie trilogy about the Golem, a legendary Jewish monster created by a rabbi to help in the Jewish struggle against a religiously oppressive Europe. The first in the series, The Golem, was made in 1915 and is legendary not only because of its subject matter — which some consider antisemitic — but also has gained in legend because of its status as a lost film. Of course, this version is not entirely lost and if you scramble around the internet, you can find some precious remaining clips of the original film. The sequel was a short comedy film Wegener made in 1916 called The Golem and the Dancing Girl. The third and final movie and the only one to survive was the 1920 full length feature, which was a prequel to The Golem. It is the film which I intend to focus on.

The official title of the film in German is Der Golem, wie er in die Welt Kam translated into English as The Golem: How He Came Into the World and it details just what it says, the birth of the Golem. Another great public domain film, you can watch it here. Though not necessarily a horror film, the film I want to talk about in this post is often put into that genre, especially because of the time period during which it was made. I decided to include this during my Fright Fest because I found, like in many creature movies, the evil of this movie is not the monster but the monstrousness of society.

Now before we go on further and I start getting angry comments about antisemitism, let's put the film into a little perspective. It was made during the Weimar Republic in Germany, pre-Hitler's rise to power a year or so later. During the time period, movies did not have to be politically correct and though you can detect some antisemitic sentiments in the film, that doesn't mean you should not watch it and judge it for yourself. Any of you that want to can read the real Jewish legend of the Golem here and do your own comparison of the legend and the film. After watching it myself, I found it rather pro-Jewish, but that is irrelevant to you watching the film yourself. Personally, I prefer to be a bigger person, look past any political/antisemitic message this film might have, and focus instead on the filmography, which is splendid.

The film is a horror film of sorts, a creature flick one might say, and, like Frankenstein, involves the creation of a monster intended to help people but instead takes a dark turn. Accused of black magic and being a threat to the Christians of Prague, the Jews are told they have to leave. They create the Golem to defend their people against the dark force that threatens their existence. The Golem starts out kindly enough, doing what he is told and not causing any arm. More than anything, he helps out around the house of Rabbi Loew, who created him. The Golem more than anything is a good creature who wants to help others. Despite the rabbis intent for good and the Golem’s seemingly good nature, the Golem turns against his master at the end, because of the evil of the Rabbi’s assistant, and everything begins to unravel. There is also a subplot about the High Rabbi Loew’s daughter falling in love with the Emperor’s messenger who is sent to evict the Jews, for those of you who love forbidden romance.

The scenery is beautiful and seems to have the same production value as an epic film. Lighting is used wonderfully throughout the film. Since color is not an option during this period in film, lighting effects such as the ones found in this film are all that filmmakers could use to create such effects, which Wegener has done splendidly. The music of the film is also masterful and helps create the atmosphere that makes the film. Amazing special effects are used to portray the mysticism in the movie and use elements one might not suspect early film of having. The costuming is also magnificent, the costume of the Golem in particular. This truly is an all around wonderfully made film.

On a side note, this film is sponsored by a great blog called Filmschatten which features tons of forgotten and public domain films in their entirety for you to enjoy. I really hope you'll check out the blog, the film, and have some fun.

Laughing All the Way to the Madhouse

On this day in 1944, one of my personal favorite old movies was released: Arsenic and Old Lace. Directed by the legendary Frank Capra of You Can’t Take It With You and It’s A Wonderful Life fame and starring the just as legendary Cary Grant, the movie is a screwball comedy for the ages.

The plot is complex, as screwball comedies often are. Mortimer Brewster (Grant) is drama critic and famous writer of an anti-marriage book, which has not stopped him from getting engaged to Elaine Harper – played by the beautiful Priscilla Lane. Naturally, that is the most normal thing about Mortimer’s life. Throughout the film, he has to deal with Uncle Teddy, who believes he is Teddy Roosevelt and buries “yellow fever victims” in the basement. Add in Mortimer’s long lost, escapee prisoner brother (Raymond Massey) who has been styled by his accomplice to resemble Boris Karloff in Frankenstein, a pair of senile murderess old aunts, a reverend, a judge, a head of mental sanitarium, and half a dozen police officers, and you have a recipe for the chaos that quickly envelops Mortimer Brewster’s life.

Throughout the film, twists in the plot occur making for a darkly funny comedy. After watching the insane antics of the Brewster clan, you will definitely think better of your own family. The movie is based off of a play by the same name, written by German immigrant Joseph Kesselring. Though macabre in nature, the film is truly spectacular and carries on in the unbelievable yet hysterical tradition of comedies in its mode.

What saddens me is that it is rare to find a modern screwball comedy with such well done hilarity, suspension of disbelief, and absolutely superior storyline than those comedies of old. Nowadays, most comedies rely on bowel movement jokes or crude humor to get their laughs, choosing to push the boundaries more than try to write an actually intelligent joke. I’m all for pushing boundaries, but still, it would be nice to have my intelligence appreciated enough that contemporary Hollywood writers thought their audience was smart enough to work out a complex joke or humorous scenario. Often times, films that attempt to recapture the glory of the early screwballs fall terribly short and end up being laughed at for all the wrong reasons.

Classics like Arsenic and Old Lace can hardly go wrong, especially with an all-star pairing such as Capra and Grant. I honestly implore you to go check out Arsenic and Old Lace and I promise you will be barking mad with laughter at the end.