From The Vault: The Man Who Watched Trains Go By or The Paris Express (1952)

THE MAN  WHO WATCHED TRAINS GO BY 1952 or The Paris Express

Claude Rains is The Man Who Watched Trains!

If you’ve been following my blog for a while you might have picked up on the fact that I adore Claude Rains, and any film his wonderful presence has graced. Masterpiece or B-grade picture, he brings an inimitable style to any movie! Here: Claude Rains plays a mild-mannered clerk named Kees Popinga who discovers that his boss Julius de Koster, Jr. (Herbert Lom) has wiped out the company funds, while under the influence of a beautiful Parisian girl, Michele Rozier played by Marta Toren.

Popinga takes the money and goes on the lam after killing de Koster, while the police are in hot pursuit.

Also starring the lovely Anouk Aimee as Jeanne the prostitute.

This obscure thriller is directed and co-scripted by Harold French based on the novel by George Simenon.

There are thousands of films in my collection, this is just one of them! See it for yourself-MonsterGirl

From The Vault: Female on The Beach (1955)

“A lone female on the beach is a kind of a target – a bait, you might say.”

FEMALE ON THE BEACH 1955

The immortal Joan Crawford is Lynn Markham, a widow who longs to be left alone at her beach house, where the previous tenant, Eloise Crandall (Judith Evelyn), had fallen to her death. Lynn’s neighbor turns out to be the gorgeous male specimen in the form of Jeff Chandler, playing Drummond Hall (Drummy), who might have had something to do with Eloise’s fatal fall off the porch. Of course, Drummy starts to move in on Lynn. Along for the ride are the marvelous duo of Natalie Schafer and Cecil Kellaway, who play Drummy’s crafty aunt and uncle, Osbert and Queenie Sorenson. And then there are the frequent visitations by realtor Amy Rawlinson, played by the always effervescent Jan Sterling, who is, of course, gaga over Drummy, the slick and sleazy gigolo with a rough past. Directed by Joseph Pevney (prolific in great television series spanning the 1960s-80s, not to mention the taut psycho-sexual drama THE STRANGE DOOR 1951, and PLAYGIRL 1956 starring the bigger than life – Shelley Winters.

The film is filled with the right amount of 50s kitsch and camp and delicious vulgarity under the sensationalized surface. It is an obscure Crawford goodie that enthusiasts of the actress and genre should add to their ‘must-see’ list!

Lynn: " I have a nasty imagination, and I'd like to be left alone with it!"
Lynn: ” I have a nasty imagination, and I’d like to be left alone with it!”

Lynn: “You must go with the house… like plumbing.”

“I don’t hate women, I just hate the way they are.”
Amy Rawlinson was played by the always-effervescent Jan Sterling.

There are thousands of films in my collection. This is just one of them! See it for yourself!-MonsterGirl

From The Vault: I Thank A Fool (1961)

I THANK A FOOL (1961)

Susan Hayward plays Christine Allison a physician prosecuted for euthanizing a patient. Peter Finch plays Stephen Dane the attorney who successfully put Allison in prison and now employs her to take charge of his mentally disturbed wife Liane, played by Diane Cilento. 

The film also co-stars Cyril Cusack as Captain Ferris and Kieron Moore as Roscoe and is directed by Robert Stevens. (Suspense 1949, Never Love A Stranger 1958.

“Love can make a killer out of a woman… and a fool out of any man!”

See it for yourself!-MonsterGirl

Fiend of The Day! Private Detective Loren Visser: Blood Simple (1984)

BLOOD SIMPLE (1983)

In a small Texas town, M. Emmett Walsh plays the ruthless and unsavory cowboy hat wearing, cigarette flickin’ Loren Visser, the Private ‘Dick’ who surly club owner Julian Marty (Dan Hedaya) hires to shadow his unfaithful wife Abby played by Francis McDormand.  Abby’s been stepping out with quiet, soft spoken bar tender Ray played by John Getz.

Jealousy, human cruelty, repressive machismo, and a lack of morality send the players into a whirlwind of stunning events. Ethan and Joel Coen wrote, produced, and directed this starkly gripping Neo Noirish thriller with a streak of mucky black humor and fine performances, that manages to paint an environment of alienation and passionless rage. The film creates a disturbing atmosphere of an Americana hell.

A quiet little masterpiece of suspense and mayhem, from the prolific brothers Coen!

Walsh is masterful as the sweaty, pale, and flabby lurking beast who manages to attract flies to his sweat-beaded forehead, and has the self-composure to not even swat them away. The impression is that he is human garbage that attracts flies, yet is comfortable understanding his place in this world. His cool and sardonic demeanor begins to unwind as the events spiral out of control, and the unrestrained beast within starts to emerge. Visser is truly a memorable fiend of the film!

‘THE WORLD IS FULL OF COMPLAINERS!”-Loren Visser

Beware of men who attract flies! – MonsterGirl

From The Vault: Edge of Fury (1958)

A night of tension… a moment of madness… and now he is at the edge of fury.

Michael Higgins plays a very disturbed young man named Richard Barrie who after being released from an institution, insinuates himself into the Hackett family. Edge of Fury is a very taut and disturbing thriller based on the book “Wisteria Cottage” by Robert Coates. Higgins plays a remorseless young beachcomber with psychopathic tendencies who assumes the guise of a friend to a mother and her two daughters who reside in their summer cottage.

“Edge of Fury” (1958) is a crime /noir film that takes viewers on a twisted journey into the mind of a psychopathic young man named Richard, brilliantly portrayed by Michael Higgins. who is a beachcomber with a troubled past, cunningly befriends a mother and her two daughters who are enjoying their summer at a picturesque seaside home.

Under the guise of friendship, Richard insinuates himself into their lives, gradually revealing his sinister intentions. As his true nature begins to surface, tensions rise, and a deadly game of manipulation ensues. The once-idyllic summer home becomes a battleground where survival is at stake.

Driven by a chilling performance from Michael Higgins, “Edge of Fury” delves into the dark recesses of the human psyche, exploring the depths of Richard’s psychopathy and the unsuspecting family’s fight for survival. With each twist and turn, the film keeps audiences on the edge of their seats, weaving a thrilling tale of suspense, deception, and the terrifying consequences of crossing paths with a disturbed mind.

Directed by Irving Lerner, “Edge of Fury” stands as a classic noir thriller, offering a gripping exploration of the disturbing complexities of human behavior and the destructive power of a psychopath’s manipulation.

Directed by Irving Lerner & Robert J Gurney Jr. Also stars Lois Holmes as Florence Hackett, Jean Allison as Eleanor Hackett, and Doris Fesette as Louisa Hackett.

“If anything should happen tonight, if anything should happen, don’t blame me…if anything should happen, darling.”

See it for yourself, MonsterGirl!

The Incredible DokTor Markesan-[Essay on Boris Karloff’s Thriller]

The Incredible Doktor Markesan played by Boris Karloff for one of Thriller’s most memorable episodes of the series!

A sign reads “NO TRESPASSING ~VIOLATORS WILL BE SHOT ON SIGHT~DokTor Konrad Markesan”

The Incredible DokTor Markesan aired Feb 26 1962 perhaps the most creepy of all the Thriller stories, originally appeared in Weird Tales Magazine and was taken from a story written by August Derleth and Mark Schorer, and adapted by Donald S Sanford and directed by Robert Florey. The rotting corpse makeup by Jack Barron actually predates Romero’s 1968 Night Of The Living Dead, which I feel only made both effectively more creepy by the B&W film.

Mort Stevens’s score begins as gravely contemplative and daydreamy single notes on the piano beckon us into this episode, then begins the darker, deeper cello strings foreboding and ominous. As the piano resolves into more somber chords, the young Fred Bancroft and his new bride Molly drive up to the entrance of Oakmoor. What has happened to the broad green lawns and the servants in starched white uniforms? They proceed to enter the house, the door having been strangely left unlocked. Seemingly vacant, Oakmoor is crocheted in cobwebs, from years of neglect. There is no electricity. Fred lights a candelabra and the couple continue to search for Fred’s Uncle Konrad. As they start to ascend the staircase, suddenly a door creaks open, the music sways from ominous to severe, and a sallow, blank, expressionless, Konrad Markesan steps out of the shadows. Uncle Konrad stares up at them, ashen, emotionless, his right hand poised in a state of rigor, he stares off, silent. Fred trying to ingratiate himself awkwardly, remains smiling, excruciatingly strained in the midst of his Uncle’s peculiarly inhospitable behavior. Molly acutely more aware of his uncle’s bizarre presence stands there obviously horrified and uncomfortable while Fred still flounders to make a connection with his relative. Molly chirps out a “Hello” and from the moment Fred holds out his hand to shake his Uncle’s, Markesan turns away and says “Come with me” and proceeds to leave the grand hallway.

 

Continue reading “The Incredible DokTor Markesan-[Essay on Boris Karloff’s Thriller]” →

A Trailer a day keeps the Boogeyman away! The Thirteenth Chair (1937)

THE THIRTEENTH CHAIR (1937)

This little mystery gem Directed by George B. Seitz and based on the play by Bayard Veiller, takes place in Colonial India where the great Dame May Whitty (My Name is Julia Ross 1945, Green Dolphin Street 1947 and Night Must Fall 1937) plays Mme. Rosalie La Grange

a medium who arranges a seance to try and prove her daughter Nell O’Neill’s (Madge Evans)

innocence in a murder investigation. La Grange proceeds to help Inspector Marney (played by Lewis Stone) solve the crime.

The cast also includes Elissa Landi, Henry Daniell, and Charles Trowbridge.

Trivia from IMDb: The play opened on Broadway in New York City, New York, USA on 20 November 1916 and had 328 performances. Margaret Wycherly played the role of Rosalie La Grange, as she also did in the 1929 film version.


Delighted – MonsterGirl!

A Trailer a day keeps the Boogeyman away! The Terminal Man (1974)

THE TERMINAL MAN (1974)

Hoping to cure his violent seizures, a man agrees to a series of experimental microcomputers inserted into his brain but inadvertently discovers that violence now triggers a pleasurable response!

Written by science thriller great Michael Crichton and starring George Segal as the organically violent Harry Benson with Joan Hackett as Dr. Janet Ross. Also starring Richard Dysart, Donald Moffat, and Jill Clayburgh.

“Harry Benson is a brilliant computer scientist. For three minutes a day, he is violently homicidal.”

Terminally Yours, MonsterGirl!

A Trailer a day keeps the Boogeyman away! Girls on The Loose (1958)

Girls on The Loose 1958

Directed by Paul Heinreid and Starring Mara Corday, Lita Milan, Barbara Bostock, Joyce Barker  Abby Dalton, and Mark Richman as Lt Bill Hanley.

They were tough, hard as nails…mean!

Vera, the brain, who was a sucker for any man!

Agnes who is chicken!

Maria who had sticky fingers and a thirst like a fish!

Joyce… strong as an ox!

and Helen, singing and dancing Helen. Who fell in love with a cop and made the mistake of wanting to go straight?

“If you ever say that again, if you ever think it!… I’ll ram these scissors right through you, you thick ugly slob!”

MonsterGirl now in Jersey bids you all a warm, I’m back!

MonsterGirl & Meleva the Gypsy!

MonsterGirl is on the go! I’ll be back in a few weeks folks! Stay tuned…

I’m about to leave the beautiful coast of Maine and settle in for a while in Caldwell NJ! So MonsterGirl is on the move again, but not silent for long.I’ll be blogging and recording my music soon enough! But while this journey isn’t Wanderlust on my part, it certainly sort of brings out the true gypsy blood in me!!!!

So here’s to Maria Ouspenskaya as Meleva! I don’t have the earrings, but oy do I have the Babooshkas on hand. So hang in there, and I’ll be posting more in the next few weeks, once I get settled into my new digs.

PS: It’s an 110 year old Victorian and I swear it’s haunted!!!! It’ll make for some inspiring posts, I bet!

Maria Ouspenskaya plays Meleva the Gypsy in George Waggner’s 1941 Universal Horror Classic The Wolf Man 1941

Maria Ouspenskaya as Meleva the Gypsy!
Jo Gabriel singer/songwriter-gypsy and part time blogger as MonsterGirl

Written by the prolific Curt Siodmak and starring Lon Chaney Jr. as the ill- fated Lawrence Talbot the Wolfman, Claude Raines as Sir John Talbot Sr and Bela Lugosi as Bela the gypsy! Also starring Evelyn Ankers.

Here’s a to howling successful move to N.J friends!-Joey (MonsterGirl)