Val
Lewton Double Features: Isle Of The Dead
(1945)/Bedlam
(1946) with Boris Karloff/The
Leopard Man/The
Ghost Ship
(both 1943/RKO/Warner Archive DVDs)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: C Films: B/B/B+/B+
PLEASE
NOTE:
Both Val
Lewton Double Feature
DVDs are now available from Warner Bros. through their Warner Archive
series and can be ordered from the link below.
Isle
of the Dead/Bedlam
While
best known for his horror roles, Boris Karloff stars in these two
fantastic films available from Warner Archives on DVD - Isle
of the Dead
(1945) and Bedlam
(1946), both of which were produced under horror legend Val Lewton
through RKO Pictures and the first of two sets we'll look at in this
review. These films show Karloff's range as an actor with large
speaking parts and period specific characters that show his strength
for theatrical performances.
In
Isle
of the Dead,
which is directed by Mark Robson (Valley
of the Dolls),
on a lonely Greek island, a disparate group of people are in fear.
Plague has come to the island making them virtual prisoners and then
there is talk of the vorvolakas, which is a vampire-like creature
that preys on the living. Among those trapped there is General
Nikolas Pherides, nicknamed the Watchdog, who is taken aback when he
is visits his wife's mausoleum only to find her grave empty. As
several of those quarantined die from the plague, paranoia sets in
creating a tense, fear-filled atmosphere. The film also stars Ellen
Drew, Marc Cramer, and Alan Napier.
Bedlam
centers around Nell Bowen, the spirited protege of rich Lord
Mortimer, becomes interested in the conditions of notorious St.
Mary's of Bethlehem Asylum (Bedlam). Encouraged by the Quaker
Hannay, she tries to bring support to reforming Bedlam, but the cruel
Master Sims who runs it has her committed there. The inmates,
however, have the last say. The film also stars Anna Lee, Billy
House, and Richard Fraser.
Both
films are presented in a full frame aspect ratio of 1.37:1 in black
and white that looks to have aged pretty nicely. The lossy Dolby
Digital 2.0 Mono audio is a restored mono track that sounds fine
considering the age of the film. It's a shame that this release
isn't on Blu-ray disc, but its nice to have them in general so there
isn't much to complain about.
The
only special feature on Bedlam is a feature length audio
commentary track by Tom Weaver, while we get no extras for Isle of
the Dead... at least a trailer would have been nice.
These
are two interesting Karloff performances that fans won't want to
miss.
The
Leopard Man/The
Ghost Ship
Two
more interesting Val Lewton horror thrillers from the RKO catalog
have also found their way to disc thanks to Warner Bros., the owners
of that catalog; The
Leopard Man
and The
Ghost Ship
(both 1943). Both incredibly unique and well made black and white
films, they feature great casts as well: Dennis O'Keefe, Margo, Kiki
Walker and Jean Brooks star in The
Leopard Man,
which is directed by the legendary Jacques Tourneur (Cat
People).
Richard Dix, Russell Wade, Edith Barrett star in The
Ghost Ship,
which is directed by Mark Robson. Similar not only in that they were
released in the same year and share the same producer in Val Lewton,
they both feature realistic worlds that are inhabited with
supernatural entities in some way.
In
The Leopard Man, under the encouragement of her manager, a
nightclub performer in New Mexico (Walker) takes a leashed real live
black leopard into the club as a publicity gimmick. But her rival,
angered by the attempt to upstage, scares the animal and it bolts.
In the days that follow, people are mauled and the countryside is
combed for the loose creature, but Kiki and her manager begin to
wonder if maybe the leopard is not responsible for the killings and
something else entirely...
In
The Ghost Ship, Tom Merriam (Wade) signs on the ship Altair as
third officer under Captain Stone (Dix). At first, things look good
as Stone sees Merriam as a younger version of himself and Merriam
sees Stone as the first adult to ever treat him as a friend. But
after a couple strange deaths of crew members, Merriam begins to
think Stone is a psychopathic madman obsessed with authority. He
tries to tell others, but no one believes him, and it only makes
Stone angry. Will anyone make it off the ship alive?
Both
films are presented in black and white standard definition with a
full frame aspect ratio of 1.37:1 and lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
tracks that sound fine, despite the age of the films. It seems that
both films are luckily in good condition, looking and sounding as
good as they can for the format.
Special
Features on the disc only apply to The
Leopard Man:
-
Commentary by William Friedkin (The
Exorcist)
-
Theatrical Trailer
A
little bummed that there are no extras for The
Ghost Ship
(not even a trailer?), but this is still a nice set to add to the
collection and worth seeking out. Hopefully high def. updates will
be in the near future for all four films, especially if they're as
impressive as the restoration of the 1942 original Cat
People
we just reviewed that Warner recently issued with Criterion on
Blu-ray at this link...
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/14527/Boxcar+Bertha+(1972/Scorsese/American+Internat
To
order either of the Warner Archive Val
Lewton Double Feature
DVD, go to this link for them and many more great web-exclusive
releases at:
http://www.wbshop.com/
-
James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
