| Welcome to In The Balcony. We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Plus, you'll be eligible for the monthly $1 million prize. (Not really.) Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| The Corpse Vanishes; Orchid You Not! | |
|---|---|
| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 18 2008, 11:08 PM (1,038 Views) | |
| Vornoff | Feb 18 2008, 11:08 PM Post #1 |
|
Charter Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Just watched this in honor of Monogram Week and the BelaBration and I gotta say - I wasn't disappointed. I dunno what movie LG watched and commented on elsewhere here but this movie rocked! Yes, LG, the writing stunk, but who cares :wacko: What got my juices going was the really fun cast they got together for this cheapo. Besides Bela, who was not as maniacal as I would have liked, you had a ton of some of my fave b-movie actors. The gorgeous Luana Walters (I'm really becoming a big fan of hers) playing the perky, pesky, determined reporter bound and determined to put herself in peril to get the scoop on the disappearing brides. Then as her stalwart defender the often-evil Tris Coffin gives a lovely, stiff performance as a physician helping Dr. Lorenz (Bela). I was a little surprised that an intelligent doctor wouldn't see what a weird whack-job he was working with. Other faves Elizabeth Russell (Cat People ), Minerva Urecal, dwarfy Angelo Rossitto, Vince Barnett - does it ever stop! And the surprise, walkaway performance of the film - Frank Moran as a lumbering moron with a penchant for dead women. The scene where he's stalking Luana while eating a turkey leg (or something) cannot be missed. Another great thing about this one - secret doorways abound in the creepy old mansion and lead to dungeon-type passageways and a filthy laboratory. Thoroughly enjoyable 60 minutes spent with a fairly decent print from TCM. |
| "Doctor of nothing!" | |
![]() |
|
| Laughing Gravy | Dec 24 2014, 12:05 PM Post #2 |
|
Look for In The Balcony on Facebook!
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
![]() The Corpse Vanishes (1942) Dir. Wallace Fox ITB Shock Theatre #079 Well, I watched this one several times (well, three), including once via the Mystery Science Theater cut, trying to find a new angle on which to approach it. Naturally, I could regale you with smart-assed comments (which is, no doubt, what you 'spect from me) but what's the pernt? Bela Lugosi and the Monogram Nine are what they are, but let me just say this: Watching Monogram and Lippert Productions simultaneously, I see why "normal" people think the Monograms, films I always found bad but entertaining, to be very close to unwatchable. Harvey Gates, who'd been around writing movies almost as long as there'd been movies, scribed this, and he also wrote Black Dragons, so just be forewarned. New brides are dropping dead at the altar (talk about anti-climactic for the nervous grooms) and their corpses are being stolen. Turns out they’re secretly being poisoned by rare corsages presented by Dr. Bela Lugosi, who steals their bodies and uses a gland secretion to turn his 80-something-year-old wife into a young, beautiful babe. Wisecracking reporter (were there any other kind in 1940s movies?) Luana Walters and her boyfriend, family doctor Tris Coffin, are on the case, though. In Lugosi’s corner are Minerva Urecal and her twin sons, one of whom is a ferocious mindless necrophiliac and the other of whom is a dwarf, although that aside he’s relatively normal. Speaking of normal, Lugosi and his bride sleep in coffins. Separate coffins, naturally: the Hays Office doesn't mind necrophilia, so long as it's in separate beds. Million-dollar Dialog: Cheerful, smiling reporter after a young bride keels over: “It’s SENSATIONAL! Another kidnapping of a dead bride! What a story!” Same reporter, later advising her boyfriend how her evening went: “I’ve been up all night with DEAD people!” Same reporter, commenting on poisoned flower: "Peculiar, strange odor." Reporter's sidekick, wisecracking photographer: "Yeah, it'd make a swell romaine salad." Million-dollar Dialog That You Have to Hear in Your Head in Lugosi's Accent to Fully Appreciate: “In our dreams, our minds play strange TRICKS on us sometimes.” Bela, commenting on his odd sleeping habits: "I find a coffin much more comfortable than a bed. Many people do so, my dear. Is it so strange that I accept one while waiting for eternal death?" Uh, yeah, actually, it is. And let's take bets on what word Bela meant to say when he said "accept" and One-Take Katzman shouted, "Perfect! Next scene!" Bela's house, the usual impressive Monogram set on the inside (giant rooms, painted bricks, a smattering of beakers and electrical equipment that's never turned on, 14 secret passages into each room), on the outside is the worst matte painting I've ever seen; that should be hanging on the refrigerator of the mom of a 10-year-old art student. As for Luana Walters, I see why she changed her name to Susan after she made this, but sweetie, you'll never hide your past from us Balconeers. We're weasels. So to speak. There IS a scary part in this film; it's when Bela gives his wife a shot with a hypodermic needle the size of a javelin. Seriously, it's as big as the one they stuck the Colossal Man with. Yikes! Which makes me think, what was WITH Katzman and Monogram? Their "horror films" aren't so much "scary" as "screwy" and "bizarre". I'm not certain they had any idea what they were doing whatsoever. "Make sure you write in a retarded handyman and a midget butler; THAT'LL give Mr. and Mrs. Moviegoer some shocks 'n' chills!" Mr. Katzman must've instructed Mr. Gates and Mr. Fox. Other Notes:
Shown at 11:30 at night with a ghoulish TV host interrupting this thing with skits, it'd be palatable enough, I'm thinkin'. |
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
![]() |
|
| panzer the great & terrible | Dec 24 2014, 07:18 PM Post #3 |
|
Mouth Breather
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
It was. I don't remember it as awful, but we talked back to all the horror movies on TV, even the great ones. Maybe we started that to teach the little kids not to be scared -- I don't really remember -- but the heckling gradually became an art form, and the memories of those one-liners make it hard for me to judge those movies in terms of quality. I could list the films I like, but it would be the same list as everybody else's. universal horror has been thoroughly covered if you ask me. |
| Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious... | |
![]() |
|
| mort bakaprevski | Dec 24 2014, 08:12 PM Post #4 |
|
Balcony Gang, Foist Class
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
It may surprise you guys to find that my initial viewing of this scared the feces outa me. I think it was probably the first "horror" movie I'd ever seen. I spent a good deal of my youth without TV.... & when we got one it would be 5 or 6 years until the major studios released their films to TV. I saw my first Uni's when I was in high school & hitch-hiked up to Santa Ana to catch Realart re-releases. |
| "Nov Shmoz Ka Pop." | |
![]() |
|
| riddlerider | Dec 24 2014, 10:13 PM Post #5 |
|
Balcony Gang, Foist Class
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
I get that folks today don't find much merit in Monogram horror movies. Looking at them now, it's tough to believe they ever satisfied us. But like Mort said, if you caught them at the right age, they seemed pretty creepy — especially back in the dark ages when prime-time TV wasn't loaded with series that show entrail-ripping zombies and just-autopsied cadavers every five minutes. (And we wonder why today's kids are desensitized to violence.) I'd already seen stuff like The Corpse Vanishes, The Ape Man, and King of the Zombies a half-dozen times before viewing my first classic Universal horror film. They made an impression: I can still vividly remember seeing Corpse Vanishes for the first time while sitting in a laundromat. Like it was yesterday. It's not easy to watch the things these days through the eyes of that chubby eight-year-old who caught them on Chiller Theatre back in '61, but every now and then I can swing it. |
![]() |
|
| Laughing Gravy | Dec 24 2014, 11:00 PM Post #6 |
|
Look for In The Balcony on Facebook!
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
And see, to me, it was seeing the next generation of horror films - Earth vs. the Spider, I was a Teenage Werewolf, Attack of the Crab Monsters, Angry Red Planet, The Hypnotic Eye - that I took as perfectly chill-filled horror/sci-fi; it would've never occurred to us to make fun of that stuff, it was scary!
Edited by Laughing Gravy, Dec 26 2014, 09:06 AM.
|
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
![]() |
|
| rodney | Oct 28 2015, 08:58 AM Post #7 |
|
Charter Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Watched this last night, and really didn't mind it. It's absurd enough not to be scary, but still does manage to create a genuinely creepy vibe. Also, the story is slightly coherent. For what it is, my expectations were exceeded, and the Alpha print is pretty decent. |
![]() |
|
| The Batman | Oct 28 2015, 12:33 PM Post #8 |
![]()
Charter Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
I'm a Lugosi fan and enjoyed this one. In fact, I believe I have and have seen all of the "Monogram 9", but I would have to verify this with a list of those films. Which I am sure LG has listed somewhere around here and a helpful link will appear in this thread at any time. |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
![]() |
|
| Laughing Gravy | Oct 28 2015, 05:47 PM Post #9 |
|
Look for In The Balcony on Facebook!
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
I watched and reviewed them all as part of Shock Theatre |
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
![]() |
|
| The Batman | Oct 28 2015, 06:14 PM Post #10 |
![]()
Charter Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
And I've read every entry. But some start to run together, but no worries, I'm sure I can Google up the list. |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
![]() |
|
| Laughing Gravy | Oct 29 2015, 04:40 AM Post #11 |
|
Look for In The Balcony on Facebook!
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Oh, sure, make me feel all guilty... The Invisible Ghost Spooks Run Wild Black Dragons The Corpse Vanishes Bowery at Midnight The Ape Man Ghosts on the Loose Voodoo Man Return of the Ape Man |
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
![]() |
|
| The Batman | Oct 29 2015, 06:23 AM Post #12 |
![]()
Charter Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Yes, it worked! Thanks, LG. Looks like I have and have watched all 9 of the Lugosi Monograms, but it's been at least 5-6 years since I watched them and I'm tempted to dig them out for a rewatch to see how they hold up (or don't). The Invisible Ghost - 4/10 Spooks Run Wild - 6/10 Black Dragons - 7/10 The Corpse Vanishes - 6/10 Bowery at Midnight - have it, forgot to rate it, don't remember it The Ape Man - have it, forgot to rate it, don't remember it Ghosts on the Loose - 6/10 Voodoo Man - 6/10 Return of the Ape Man - have it, forgot to rate it, don't remember it |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
![]() |
|
| Laughing Gravy | Oct 29 2015, 06:50 AM Post #13 |
|
Look for In The Balcony on Facebook!
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
Gonna get the upcoming Voodoo Man Blu-Ray? I can't imagine considering those two East Side Kids installments "above average". Yikes! You're a funny guy. |
| "I'm glad that this question came up, because there are so many ways to answer it that one of them is bound to be right." - Robert Benchley | |
![]() |
|
| The Batman | Oct 29 2015, 07:47 AM Post #14 |
![]()
Charter Member
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]()
|
No, if it was from Kino or someone else that offered extras on the disc, I would pick it up. But Olive's bare bones release isn't worth it for me. The DVD I have now is quite nice. Yes, I've been told that. But I plan to rewatch the Monogram 9 and see how they hold up on a second viewing. |
| Always be yourself! Unless you can be Batman...then always be Batman! | |
![]() |
|
| « Previous Topic · Monogram Week · Next Topic » |





![]](http://z2.ifrm.com/static/1/pip_r.png)





6:30 AM Jul 11