The Film Ron Howard Should've Watched Before Directing Splash

The Film: Night Tide (Phoenix Films, 1961). Directed and written by Curtis Harrington. Starring: Dennis Hopper, Linda Lawson, Gavin Muir, Luana Anders. Running time: 84 minutes.

My intro to the film: First viewed it in 1989. My old buddy and fellow film buff Dee Wolfe loaned it to me on VHS. Thanks, Dee! (Dee loaned me a lot of movies that I'll be reviewing here in the future...)

What can I say about this movie?: Ten things oughta sell this sucka: 1) Dennis Hopper at age 25 (six years after appearing in Rebel Without a Cause); 2) A mysterious woman named Mora (Linda Lawson) who's either a human or a sea creature/siren disguised as a woman (nah-nah-nah! I'm not givin' it away here!); 3) The great beatnik subterranean scene where Hopper's character Johnny Drake first meets the Mora - and the chemistry that later develops between them; 4) The strangely hypnotic scenes of early 1960s' Malibu and Santa Monica; 5) Luana Anders as the young woman who warns Hopper not to get involved with Mora; 6) The atmospheric cinematography by Vilis Lapenieks; 7) A surprisingly decent screenplay for such a low-budget movie by Curtis Harrington (Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet, Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?); 8) The film keeps you guessing whether Mora is really a mermaid/sea creature, and it finally resolves the mystery; 9) Why are all these people warning Hopper to stay away from Mora? Is she really so dangerous?; 10) You can watch the film free online at the Internet Archive. Most of the prints of the film that I've seen are pretty lousy in quality, but the beatnik musical sequences hold up extremely well.

Some additional ramblings: Night Tide is a compelling, dream-like, rock-bottom-budget film from the early 1960s. The oceanside setting of Night Tide, the beatnikish flute music throughout the movie and Hopper's believable performance as a confused young sailor add to the intrigue. We want the film to end happily for Johnny/Hopper, but the sense of dread deepens with each frame. This is the final film of character actor Gavin Muir, a recognizable face who appeared in countless Hollywood movies. He elevates the film several notches with his performance as Mora's troubled caretaker.

Bottom line: This movie is by no means a masterpiece, but an eerie and absorbing piece of cinema nonetheless. One of the better made low-budget films made during the heyday of Grade-Z drive-in fare. It paved the way for Herk Harvey's Carnival of Souls, released the following year. And Night Tide demonstrates that just because the budget is almost nonexistent, the film need not be a piece of schlock like The Beast of Yucca Flats.

Footnote that I didn't wish I had to add: The legendary Dennis Hopper is currently struggling with cancer. In October, the 73-year-old actor was admitted to the hospital with flu-like symptoms. While some news outlets are claiming that he is losing the battle against prostate cancer (source), he is in my thoughts. He is a wonderful actor. He has had such an amazing career. He is an icon of American cinema. And he ought to have many good years ahead of him in the movies. Let us all wish for a recovery for Dennis Hopper.

Roman Polanski's Work of Twisted Genius

The Movie: Repulsion (Compton Films, 1965). Directed by Roman Polanski. Written by Roman Polanski and Gerard Brach (adaptation and additional dialogue by David Stone). Starring Catherine Deneuve, Ian Hendry, John Fraser, Yvonne Ferneaux. Running time: 105 minutes.

My First Viewing: About 25 or 26 years ago, in a theater in Pasadena, California, with an Englishman named Mick who loved movies.

The Straight Dope: This is Roman Polanski's first English-language film, shot in mid-sixties London in glorious black and white. How to describe it to someone who hasn't see it? It's a deeply disturbing film, directed by a troubled man. I just noticed the film has a 100 percent approval rating over at Rotten Tomatoes, so the critics clearly love it. Polanski was only 32 when he made this dark horror film about a young woman Carole (played by ghostly Catherine Deneuve), a sensitive and troubled young Belgian beautician who's clearly on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She lives in a spacious London pad with her sister, Helen (Yvonne Ferneaux). There seems to be a lot of distance between the two sisters. Helen is more outgoing. She's a product of Swinging Sixties London culture. In fact, she goes on a vacation with a married man, leaving poor, tormented Carole alone in the flat for an extended period. This is where the nightmare begins, as Carole begins to spiral downward into total madness while she's a alone. The stark cinematography by Gilbert Taylor only adds another nightmarish layer onto this already surreal motion picture. Carole is not helped by the fact that she suffers from androphobia (the fear of men). While Helen is away, Carole retreats deeper and deeper into her own fragile insanity. She stays locked up in the flat, and all the food begins to go rotten (there is a scene of a decaying chicken that you will not ever forget). Best not to give too much away, other than to say that about midway through the film, you can tell it isn't going to end well. Let's just say there's a landlord in the film who really shouldn't have tried so aggressively to get Carole into bed.

Why I... uh... was troubled by this film: It's a damn disturbing movie. The rotting chicken has stayed in my mind for over a quarter of a century (that's a hell of an image not to be able to shake for 25-plus years). The film is now available from the Criterion Collection (right). There's a great sneak preview on the Criterion website (just tap the link in the previous sentence). Psychological horror films do not come any more unsettling than this one. Also, watching the film two and a half decades after I originally viewed it, I was struck by Polanski's ability to relate to women and portray them as multi-dimensional, fully realized characters. If you don't believe me, watch Repulsion - or have a look at Rosemary's Baby (1968), Chinatown (1974), Tess (1979) or Death and the Maiden (1994). Each film contains a complex female protagonist. You can trace Polanski's perceptiveness back to Repulsion.

Bottom Line: It may not be your cup of tea, but watch it anyway, if you want to see a nightmare beautifully portrayed on film. Only a troubled man like Roman Polanski, with the Holocaust in his background and a host of demons roaming around in his closet, could have created such an elegant and ultimately horrifying work of art. Grade: I am not going to grade films anymore. The "Bottom Line" entry should suffice.

Sleazy Exploitation at its Finest

The Film: The Hypnotic Eye (Allied Artists, 1960). Directed by George Blair. Screenplay by Gitta and William Woodfield. Starring Jacques Bergerac, Allison Hayes, Marcia Henderson, Joe Patridge, Guy Prescott. Running time: 79 minutes of pure joy.

When I first saw it: I can't exactly remember, but I'm quite certain Ronald Reagan was president at the time.

A few words about the film: The Hypnotic Eye is one of those films that you have to see to believe. It's genuinely entertaining. It was filmed in Los Angeles and has that great 1960 look about it (probably because it was made in 1960). The film features a shrink who smokes pipes (Guy Prescott), a macho police detective (Joe Patridge), the police detective's girlfriend (Marcia Henderson), a stage hypnotist called Desmond with a thick French accent that puts Pepe Le Pew to shame (Jacques Bergerac) and his hot assistant (Allison Hayes of Attack of the 50 Foot Woman fame). The premise: Several women who have seen Desmond's stage show end up disfiguring themselves in horrific ways. Turns out all these women not only saw the stage show, they were called up on stage by Desmond to be hypnotized. While they were under his spell, the prick leaned over and whispered in their ears, telling them to mutilate themselves in unthinkable ways. We follow the police detective and the shrink as they close in on Desmond. In order to trap Desmond in the act, the cop allows his dish of a sweetheart to be hypnotized by the maniacal Frenchman.

Why I dug it: This is a great gimmick film, in the tradition of William Castle's gimmick movies. The ads boasted: "NEW AUDIENCE-PARTICIPATION THRILL HYPNOMAGIC - It makes YOU part of the show..." As noted above, the film isn't very long (a minute short of 80 minutes), and there is never a dull moment. I stayed up late for this sucker back when I was a teenager in suburban Holladay, Utah, and I can honestly say it was worth waiting up for. I recorded the film on VHS and watched it over and over again. Before reviving this blog, I gave the film one more viewing and it still holds up beautifully after all these years. I've noticed it's available on DVD. Looks like I'm going to visit eBay after I finish this entry so I can once again relive the pleasures of Hypnomagic!

Parting Shot: The very least that can be said about The Hypnotic Eye is that it's the best non-William Castle gimmick film ever made. The exteriors shot in Los Angeles give the film a wonderful noirish look, ripped straight out of the pages of James Ellroy (the demon dog would dig this film... I just know it). The self-mutilations are actually still quite shocking. Even today - a half century after the film was made - they can make the viewer squeamish. And as if all this isn't quite enough, there is a twist ending. Grade: B.

This muthah is the Citizen Kane of two-headed monster movies...

The Film: The Manster (Lopert Pictures Corporation, 1959? 1962? The date varies. Internet Movie Database lists it as 1959; Rotten Tomatoes also has a '59 release date; Wikipedia insists it was '62; AllMovie claims it was 1961. My DVD copy says '59; so far, '59 seems to be winning.) Directed by George P. Breakston and Kenneth G. Crane. Screenplay by William J. Sheldon, George P. Breakston. Starring Peter Dyneley, Jane Hylton, Tetsu Nakamura, Terri Zimmern. Running time: 72 minutes.

When I first saw it: Late 1970s, probably 1978 or 1979. 

A few words about it: The Manster kicks some major-league, jiggling booty. And you can take that to the bank, mister. An American foreign news correspondent in Tokyo named Larry Stanford (Peter Dyneley) interviews a reclusive Japanese scientist, Dr. Robert Suzuki (Tetsu Nakamura). Suzuki is a total nut. He has a big Mad Doctor Lab and he keeps his mutant wife in a cage (she's totally cool -- sort of like a female Japanese Hunchback of Notre Dame, and she drools and grunts... in short, this lady rules). The reclusive scientist injects correspondent with strange potion (after drugging his drink and knocking him out). Reclusive scientist instructs sultry babe (Terri Zimmern) to wine and dine Stanford. Sultry babe monitors correspondent as he becomes grouchier and grouchier. Soon, an eye appears on Stanford's shoulder, and eventually he sprouts a cocoanut-like head from his shoulder. Stanford also grows facial hair and looks like a two headed werewolf. He goes on a murderous rampage all over Tokyo. At a certain point, Larry splits into two people. Cocoanut Head gets his own body. Larry and Cocoanut Head battle it out. Cocoanut Head grabs the sultry babe and jumps in a nearby, conveniently located volcano. Larry knocks off Suzuki (unfortunately, he does this after Suzuki knocks off his caged mutant wife, the coolest character in the whole damn film). Larry's estranged wife arrives to pick up her hubby. In other words, it's a tired old plot that has been rehashed in movies a thousand times (not!). 

Why I dug it: I was about 10 or 11 when I saw The Manster. It was the movie of the week on Saturday night Creature Features. This movie had everything: Monsters, mutants, volcanoes, a mad scientist, a babe, a suave reporter. I watched it with my Aunt and Uncle and cousins (The Manster was my reward for enduring The Love Boat and Fantasy Island). The film came on TV late, around 11 or 11:30 p.m. By the time it was over, I was the only one awake! Everybody else had gone to bed. I was on the edge of the couch. I loved this movie! I spent the next twenty years searching for this sucker on VHS. Now, I own not one, not two, but three DVD copies of it!

Parting Shot: While it's the Citizen Kane of two-headed monster movies, that doesn't necessarily mean you'll like it. It's not a movie for everybody. It's a joint Japanese-American production, and you can tell it was filmed for about a thousand bucks and a bucket of chicken. The film is still loads of fun to watch and you really should see it, if you get a chance. It was the beginning of my love of low-budget schlock films. It's actually pretty well acted and the screenplay isn't half bad. I still watch it whenever I want to take a wonderful trip down Memory Lane... Grade: B.