The Classic Sci-fi Ultimate Collection (Tarantula / The Mole People / The Incredible Shrinking Man / The Monolith Monsters / Monster on the Campus) (1955) Review

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(More customer reviews)I've been searching for each of these films individually for years, and to have them all at once is quite overwhelming. They are schlocky and tacky with bad acting...everything I expect from the genre, and I love it all. Love 'em or hate 'em, the video transfer of each film is crystal clear, and every aficianado of the 50's horror genre must have this in the collection. If you like this stuff, rejoice. If you don't, stay away, and don't criticize me because I do!

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There's nowhere to run and nowhere to hide as five incredible science fiction films crash down on DVD for the first time ever in The Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection.This fascinating, collectible set will shock, terrify and captivate you with film favorites from the golden age of Hollywood including Tarantula, The Mole People, The Incredible Shrinking Man,The Monolith Monsters and Monster on Campus.Featuring amazing, ground-breaking special effects, these classics set the standard for all sci-fi terror to come.

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The Boris Karloff Collection (Tower of London / The Black Castle / The Climax / The Strange Door / Night Key) (1939) Review

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(More customer reviews)Not to be confused with the other Karloff collection this is the one to get. All the films here look extremely good. Occasionally specks and dirt appear but it's rare . Of all the films here "The Black Castle" looks a bit inconsistent but overall looks quite good. "The Climax" has deep rich color capturing the original Technicolor hues although flesh tones appear to be off a tad and probably should have been color corrected. Audio goods good with no distortion and dialogue is clear on all the films. Extras include the original theatrical trailers and nothing else.
"Tower of London" features Karloff in top form with Vincent Price appearing in one of his earliest film roles. Using the sets for "Son of Frankenstein" director Roland V. Lee tells the infamous story of King Richard III. Karloff plays Mort his club footed assistant and the executioner who kills those in the line of succession so that Richard can reach the throne. This features one of Karloff's finest performances from the 30's as Mort the Executioner. Rathbone and Price are also both terrific in their performances as well. This film certainly deserved an audio commentary but doesn't get one.
"The Black Castle" features Karloff with Lon Chaney Jr. with the real heavy being played by Stephen McNally. Sir Richard Burton (Richard Greene) investigates the disappearence of two of his friends. He suspects that Count Von Bruno (McNally) has murdered them. Karloff plays the court physician with Chaney playing a giant mute named Gargon. Director Nathan Juran ("The 7th Voyage of Sinbad")gets the most atmosphere out of this b-movie minor classic. Writer Jerry Sackheim creates an appealing script with witty dialogue (as he did on "The Strange Door")borrowing liberally from other films. Karloff's role in the film is small but memorable and sympathetic.
In "The Climax" Dr. Hohner (Karloff)plays a theater physician with a mysterious past. It seems he murdered his mistress who was the star soprano years before. When a young beautiful rising opera star appears she reminds Hohner of his mistress and he becomes obsessed with making her his own private songbird if not that he's prepared to murder her. Directed by George Waggner ("The Wolf Man", "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man")it's a period piece that will appeal to some Karloff fans. It's more melodrama than horror.
Originally "The Climax" was thought of as a thriller to follow up the Claude Rains version of "Phantom of the Opera" by its producer/director George Waggner ("The Wolf Man"). Using the same standing sets as "Phantom" the film has much larger production values than the budget for the film and looks terrific in this transfer. Fans should be aware that like "Phantom" there's a lot of singing (it is, after all, set in the world of opera). "The Climax" will be an acquired taste for Karloff fans as he's not front and center. "The Strange Door" was part of a package of two films that Karloff made in the 50's along with "The Black Castle" which use the same sets. Of the two "The Strange Door" is a very good gothic horror thrillerthat benefits from strong performances by Karloff and Charles Laughton. Filled with witty, droll dialogue and sharp direction by TV and film vet Joseph Pevney ("The Wild Wild West", "Star Trek")the film is a real winner. Dennis de Beaulieu (Richard Wyler)is kept hostage and forced to marry the niece (Sally Forest)of Sire de Maletroit (Charles Laughton ably chewing the scenery)as part of a bizarre plot of revenge against Maletroit's brother (Paul Cavanagh). With the help of Voltan (Karloff) a servant Dennis and Blanche hope to escape the mad Maletroit."Night Key" is one of the few films here I don't recall seeing before. Karloff plays an inventor who has a special alarm system. His ideas stolen he plots revenage with the help of crooks using his special night key that will circumvent older wire alarm systems he designed. Featuring nice performances "Night Key" provides a great vehicle for Karloff as an actor but it's not really a horror film. It's a solid B-movie that fans of Karloff and the crime genre will enjoy.
Karloff fans can rejoice even the least of these films have solid performances from Karloff and the other actors. Now if we can just have a DVD set with his TV performances and the classic series "Thriller" Karloff fans will be completely happy.

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BORIS KARLOFF COLLECTION - DVD Movie

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The Best of Abbott & Costello, Vol. 3 (Abbott & Costello Go to Mars / Abbott & Costello in the Foreign Legion / Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein / Abbott & Costello Meet the Invisible Man / Abbott & Costello Meet the Killer / Comin' Round the Mountain / Lost in Alaska / Mexican Hayride) (1950) Review

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(More customer reviews)This set is as solid a value as Volume One, perhaps more so. There are more weak films in this package than in the first volume but the strongest films included are among the pair's best. The transfers, once again are excellent. Because the material is newer the audio quality is better. This should be a must for all fans of Bud and Lou.
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein ****
This is (without a doubt) one of their best features. Between the presence of the full line of Universal Studio's famous monsters and the duo in top form there's hardly a moment in this film that doesn't work. The film features one of their strongest takes on the "moving candle" routine. The interplay between the pair while they read the about the legends of the monsters is fabulous. Lou's scene in the Monster's lap is not to be missed.
Mexican Hayride ***
This is a bit off the beaten track for Bud and Lou. It's one of the few times that Bud played somebody who was actually bad as opposed to just being frustrated with and (prone to) taking advantage of the slow-witted character Lou played. It is funny though. The bullfight is not to be missed. There's also the logic of how the stock " has to be good" and the bit with the "Mother-lode". It's not their best but is far from their worst. What it lacks in consistency it often makes up for in warmth.
Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer **
This should have been far better. The plot is sound enough and the cast was strong. Boris Karloff wasn't used nearly as well as he could have been. He's central to the film's best (and funniest) scene but languishes as a secondary character afterward. There aren't enough of the regular exchanges that take place between Bud and Lou. The ones that are there are too short. Because of it the film relies mainly on slapstick to generate laughs, a device which, without the character development created by those exchanges, doesn't work.
Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion ****
There's a level of spontaneity here that makes this one of the crown jewels of the set. It's true that some of he special effects look badly dated but that's not a big problem. This film, unlike a few of their vehicles (A&C meet the Killer to name one) gives plenty of opportunity for the two to play off each other. Even better, a lot of it looks to be "off the cuff", as if they were given a framework and allowed to run. Whatever was the case they're in top form. Hilarious!
Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man ****
This is probably second in stature only to Bud and Lou meeting all of the monsters. It deserves that ranking-it comes very close to being just as good. Lou's reaction to Tommy Nelson turning invisible is priceless. The big fight is a hoot. The special effects, for the time, are great. What's really impressive is how well the film maintains an atmosphere of mystery around outrageous comedy. Hats off to (Director) Charles Barton and the crew for that.
Comin' Round the Mountain ****
This one is a riot from the pair's first appearance to the end of the film when they finally get to the treasure. The sequence with the love potion is hysterical. That "clean country air" Lou got courtesy of the skunk in his suitcase was a howler. A lot of people writing about this movie complained about Dorothy Shay and her singing. I thought she was great. For the most her numbers ran with the flow of the story and helped keep the mood bright.
Lost in Alaska ***
Leave it to Lou to get into trouble with a piece of Whale meat. This film is uneven mostly because some of the gags are repeated too often. The boomerang episodes are one example; Lou's sinking for the third time is another. On the plus side there are times when the humour is right off the wall. Lou's attempt to save Tom Ewell is one. His encounter with the Alaskan Crabs is a riot. The incident with the Eskimo Medicine man is a replay of a scene with the Monster from the boys' meeting with Frankenstein but it's just as fresh as the first time. It's easy to imagine that the guy playing the witch doctor had just as much trouble getting through this scene as Glenn Strange did the first time around.
Abbott and Costello go to Mars **
The premise for this one is completely preposterous. A spaceship couldn't be built by a private company without government knowledge of it. The 1950's special effects don't stand up at all. The sequences they're used for are lame. It's far from being all bad though. Bud and Lou bring hilarity to the unbelievable. The Mardi Gras scenes and the interstellar lie detectors are pure fun. The sentiment the Venusian's Queen feels for Lou is something we all identify with. Weak outing or not the boys' charm is still there.

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The Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection, Vols. 1 & 2 Review

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(More customer reviews)Universal has finally seen the folly of their ways in selling this set exclusively via Best Buy and is re-releasing both volumes 1 & 2 in one set. Included are all ten films in the original sets, but once again there will be no extra features - just the films themselves and some trailers. If you love the great campy horror films of the 1950's you'll love this set. The following is from the press release on the new combined set:
Tarantula (1955, 81 min.)
An experiment to create a growth formula that could end starvation evolves into a nightmare when a contaminated spider grows gargantuan - with an appetite to match!
The Mole People (1956, 78 min.)
Deep below the surface of the earth, three scientists stumble upon a tyrannical tribe of albinos who have enslaved a mutant - and dangerous - race of mole people.
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957, 81 min.)
After encountering a mysterious radioactive mist, an ordinary businessman finds his physical size diminishing as his ordinary household becomes a terrifying trap of doom. By the way, who keeps a cat in the house with a six inch tall husband around?
The Monolith Monsters (1957, 76 min.)
In a desperate race against time and nature, a geologist and a scientist must find a way to stop effects of killer outer-space rocks that are literally petrifying people with fear!
Monster on the Campus (1958, 76 min)
Terror sweeps a college campus after the discovery of a prehistoric fish that turns animals and humans that come into contact with it into bloodthirsty monsters.
Dr. Cyclops (1940, 78 min) in COLOR!
A brilliant but deranged physicist shrinks his enemies to one-fifth of their normal size when they begin to challenge his unconventional experiments.
Cult of the Cobra (1955, 80 min)
Vengeance is sworn against six American GI's after they witness a clandestine ceremony worshiping beautiful women who can change into serpents.
The Land Unknown (1957, 79 min)
When a navy expedition crash-lands in a crater thousands of miles below sea level, they encounter a hot, tropical landscape of prehistoric terror filled with ferocious dinosaurs.
The Deadly Mantis (1957, 79 min)
A paleontologist teams up with the military to battle a huge praying mantis when it goes on the attack in metropolitan cities after being released from an Arctic iceberg.
The Leech Woman (1960, 77 min)
Determined to recapture her beauty, a woman discovers a compound that will restore youth - but only when it's combined with fluid taken from bodies of the newly dead.

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