A Christmas Carol 1910

A Christmas Carol ~ This 1910 version of Charles Dickens' classic holiday story is part of the Thomas Edison collection. When Edison was pioneering the motion picture industry at the start of the 20th century, he made dozens of amateur films, among them the first versions of Frankenstein, and this, A Christmas Carol.

Scrooge is portrayed by Marc McDermott, a stage actor from Australia who was a featured player of Edison's. Even without sound, his Scrooge is very George C. Scott-like, and comes across well despite the audio handicap. The short features some of the first use of double exposure filming to create a 'ghost' as a motion picture special effect. As it's only ten minutes long, and in the public domain, you can see the whole thing below:



Merry Christmas!

The Monsters Are Back

In this season of "Penny Dreadful," we have moved beyond the world of the penny dreadful and into the one of its American counterpart, the figuratively more expensive dime novel. As the protagonists have all gone their separate ways and formed new alliances - Lily and Dorian, Hecate and Ethan, Victor and Henry, Malcolm and Kaetenay - and spread to different corners of the world, it gives the show an HBO vibe with quick cutting to display the many characters. This tact also builds anticipation for when our 'heroes' once again meet and merge subplots.

As a fan of the original stories I was excited to see Caliban/John Clare, our Frankenstein monster, in the Arctic. I was yet equally excited to see him searching for his lost past in Chinatown. Might it be too much to wish for an appearance by another Victorian villain, Fu Manchu? Or might the legal rights be too difficult to navigate?

The concept of Victor Frankenstein and Henry Jekyll (a black man in this continuity) being old school chums and fellow outcasts is a charming and imaginative one. I like it quite a bit. Their clashing and contrasting philosophies of science and the evil of man make their partnership one of both madness and wonder, and I love that they are currently quartered in Bedlam, the prime place to conjure horror of that age. Think how they could anger God together.

I applaud the addition of Patti Lupone to the cast, though not in the part she had been playing (and should have gotten a Emmy for, the Cut-Wife), but as Dr. Seward, a gender-switched version of the character from Dracula. Notably she is a distant relative of her former role, and is not the only new addition from that book. We also have Renfield, complete with fly obsession, as her secretary and the titular monster himself in the guise of Alexander Sweet currently romancing Seward's patient Vanessa Ives.

Dracula is of course not the only big bad waiting in the wings, as Lily and Dorian Gray are still plotting a domination of the human race and are teaching a young girl, Justine, their evil ways. Reeve Carney and Billie Piper are deliciously evil and have certainly come a long way from Spider-Man and Rose Tyler, Defender of the Universe.

Patti Lupone is not the only new cast member this season, there's also award-winning Native American actor Wes Studi. Unfortunately he is filling the role of the magical Negro that Danny Sapani's Sembene thankfully avoided in the first two seasons. Hopefully there is more than meets the eye with his Kaetenay character in the dime novel sequences of this season.

I am unsure where the subplots in the American West are going, even though I am enjoying them the most, but I do hope the London stories end with that old kaiju eiga trick of turning the monsters against each other. That would be awesome. Either way, I'll be watching this season.

For a different point of view on "Penny Dreadful," please check out friend and author Marie Gilbert's reviews of the series here at Biff Bam Pop!.

The Return of Penny Dreadful

The Showtime series "Penny Dreadful" by John Logan returns to the air on May 3, 2015, even though the first episode of the second season is currently available OnDemand and on YouTube.

The series, taking on its titular genre much the same way as the films Pulp Fiction and True Romance, and the HBO series "True Detective," is a mad cross between The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and The Monster Squad with a strong steampunk sensibility. Taking its cues from classic Victorian monsters and turn of the century pulps, we get to see the likes of Dracula, Frankenstein, Dorian Gray and others at odds with other forces of evil and shades between.

John Logan has an awesome pedigree over and beyond this series, including providing scripts for Hugo, Gladiator, one of my favorites RKO 281, The Last Samurai, Any Given Sunday, Skyfall and the upcoming Spectre. He also pens the season two opener, which picks up the story seamlessly from the year before.

The stellar cast returns as well, all amazing and compelling. Demons and witches are stalking about, Billie Piper from "Doctor Who" presumably will be adjusting to her new role as the monster's bride, and a wax museum of horrors has been added to the mix for atmosphere. This should be an intriguing second season.

For another view of the series, check out the recaps of "Penny Dreadful" by my friend Marie Gilbert over at Biff Bam Pop! right here.

Penny Dreadful

Taking its name from the early pulps of Victorian times that chronicled the serial adventures of such monsters and horrors as Sweeney Todd, Spring-Heeled Jack, Black Bess, Varney the Vampire and countless fictional accounts of Jack the Ripper, Showtime's "Penny Dreadful" is amazing television.

Literally, the penny dreadfuls were internet rumors like the Slender Man gone mad, but in cheap paper form. If Snopes were around then, charging per click, they'd be rich. The penny dreadfuls were the soaps, the internet, and the bedtime boogieman cautionary tales of the Victorian age, and the precursors of the American dime novels and pulps.

The spirit of the original penny dreadfuls is alive and well in the Showtime series as it tries to blend various Gothic tales of horror into one web of continuity a la Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Among those in for weaving are Shelley's "Frankenstein," Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and the one that ties them together, Stoker's "Dracula." All are public domain, and easily manipulated into a new tapestry. I was a bit surprised that Stevenson's "Hyde" was not pulled into the mix, but perhaps that's a tidbit for the second season coming in 2015.

"Penny Dreadful" is the creation of screenwriter John Logan, who has penned as many of my favorite recent films as well as some I'm not so fond of. A select few include The Last Samurai, Gladiator, Skyfall (as well as the next two James Bond films), the ill-conceived Tim Burton nightmare version of Sweeney Todd, and the absolutely wonderful RKO 281. He is definitely a get for Showtime, as is executive producer Sam Mendes, who Logan met on Skyfall.

The story focuses on Sir Malcolm Murray (played by Timothy Dalton, speaking of Bond, but he's a much better heavy than hero in my opinion), a Victorian adventurer and explorer very much in the vein of Allan Quatermain, who is searching for his lost daughter Mina. We know from the start, simply from her name, where she's gone, and what Sir Malcolm will be up against, but sadly he does not. Dalton plays Murray as determined, obsessed, and someone who will "burn the world" to get his daughter back.

His servant and confidant is sadly the stereotypical 'magical Negro,' but I like him. Sembene, played by Danny Sapani of UK's "Misfits," possesses a certain second sight and reminds me of a cross between Mandrake's Lothar and Nonso Anozie's Renfield from NBC's failed TV steampunk version of "Dracula."

Along for the ride is also friend of the family (just barely, more like scarred outsider as we learn from flashbacks) Vanessa Ives. A free spirit of the time, she's played by Eva Green, never one of my favorite actresses, as I felt she was not right for her roles in Casino Royale of Starz' "Camelot," she is well cast here. A medium, a vessel for possession, possibly friend and foe, Miss Ives is the crux of the show. Through her the others characters are connected.

Ives brings in American gunslinger Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett, one of my favorite actors, especially in Bunraku) as firepower in Malcolm quest. Fleeing the US and riding with a Wild West show, he seems to have his share of secrets as well, the least of which are his drunken blackouts, and viewers' suspicion that he may be the Ripper menacing London behind the scenes of the show's main monsters.

Speaking of monsters, there is no shortage here. From singer/songwriter Harry Treadaway's creepy nerdpunk Victor Frankenstein to his two creations Proteus and Caliban to the sexy Reeve Carney, throwing off his Broadway Spider-Man typecasting to play the egomaniacal danger junkie Dorian Gray. He's still in the adrenaline business, but we get to see his face, and much much more of his body as well as his real accent.

Gray is after any new experience he can find, including bedding half the cast, including Brona Croft, the prostitute dying of consumption who has hooked up with Ethan. It seems as though she may also be the target for the Frankenstein monster's mate sooner or later. Just as Carney is trying to break genre typecasting, Brona is played by Billie Piper, everyone's favorite "Doctor Who" companion, Rose Tyler. I find her forced accent here annoying, but I guess she's still trying to shake off that whole Defender of the Universe thing.

The whole bunch of them are headed toward a confrontation with Dracula sooner or later, who himself seems to be more in the Nosferatu visual department, which when you go by the book is actually on mark. There are some wonderful homages and nods to the Stoker book, like the plague ship, and the way the flashback episode was done in an epistle, but by no means think this goes strictly by the book. The sudden and surprising death of David Warner's Van Helsing should cure you of that right quick.

There are two more episodes of the first season on Showtime, and you can read my good friend Marie Gilbert's weekly impressions of the show over at Biff Bam Pop! for another view. You should check it out, "Penny Dreadful" is not for the squeamish or the prudish (lots of sex, violence, and gore), but it is some of the best television going on right now.

Halloween at Biff Bam Pop!

All through October, Biff Bam Pop! has been celebrating 31 Days of Horror, special articles and reviews in the genre of horror.

Go on over to the Biff Bam Pop! website, your online home for comics, movies, music, television, video games, and more, and check it out. This month, you can check out articles about Carrie both old and new, John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness, Nothing Left to Fear, Metallica: Through the Never, and even The Human Centipede.

This month there is also an interview with Slash, terrific guest blogs by Alyssa Lobit, Liisa Ladouceur, Robin Renee, Justin McConnell, Jim Knipp, and great horror themed comics reviews from JP Fallavollita and Jason Shayer. And don't forget the television reviews from Marie Gilbert of "American Horror Story: Coven," "Sleepy Hollow," NBC's new "Dracula," and "The Walking Dead."

Some guy named Glenn Walker even wrote a few things over there, like stuff about The Monsters of Doctor Who, The Atlas Comics Monsters, Solomon Kane, and The Bride of Frankenstein

Please check it out, and Happy Halloween!

The Frankenstein Theory

The Frankenstein Theory ~ Shot similarly to The Blair Witch Project, a documentary crew follows the obsessed Professor John Venkenheim to the Arctic where he intends to prove that Frankenstein was not only true, but about his ancestor, and to vindicate his reputation once and for all. He believes he can find the Frankenstein monster.

This is a fascinating concept, and the film moves between actual movie and shaky cam documentary style well. Writer/director Andrew Weiner's background is in Troma and low budget horror, but this is a step above. I liked it.

Kris Lemche plays Venkenheim with perfect obsessive creepiness, but just enough compassion that you care about him. It's just this side of pity, but you do care for the buggy little fella. Joe Egender does him one better as the antsy paranoid meth-head and witness to the monster's present day shenanigans.

Tiny role, but camera crewman Brian Henderson made me laugh doing a funnier Dane Cook than Dane Cook. Timothy V. Murphy playing the wilderness guide who channels Robert Shaw in Jaws wonderfully is pretty entertaining too. I absolutely love him and his campfire story. Beautiful.

Granted, the film does fall apart a bit toward the last act, but there are enough good parts here to push it above say, Sharknado. I really kinda dug it, recommended for horror fans.

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast for the Week of 10-10-2012

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast is shot live every week at All Things Fun! - the South Jersey/Philadelphia area's best comics and gaming store, located in West Berlin, NJ.

Co-hosts Ed (keeper of the Thunderbolts roster) Evans, Allison (lumpy space princess) Eckel, and Glenn (spoiler boy) Walker discuss the new comics out this week in wicked high definition video, and also available on the YouTube. See it here!

Discussion featured in this week's special buckets and buttshots episode includes: Marvel NOW!, Uncanny Avengers #1, the secret phrase, AvsX fallout, more Avengers comics, Deadpool #62, Avenging Spider-Man #13, more minimum carnage, Ultimates and Xes, Fantastic Four #611, Batman: Death of the Family, Amanda Waller double-shot, Free Arrow, Allison's thing for smart guys with scars, Demon Knights #13, Frankenstein Agent of SHADE #13, Green Lantern Corps #13, MacGyver #1, the year without a Voltron, Ed's indies, Lady Death #22, Archer and Armstrong and junk, Allison's kids comics, and Ed's trades.


Be sure to check out the All Things Fun! website, and the All Things Fun! Blogs, by Allison and Glenn, now featuring The Vidcast Drinking Game so you can play along at home, and ATF! on YouTube (don't forget to subscribe to the channel while you're there, and leave a comment or two on the Vidcast as well!).

And be back here every Wednesday (or Tuesdays at midnight) to watch the new broadcast, and thereafter throughout the week!

Don't forget to get your secret phrase in to feedback@allthingsfun.net by Friday!

Hotel Transylvania

Hotel Transylvania ~ I gotta be up front with this one. It's not bad, but honestly I was expecting so much more from Genndy Tartakovsky's first foray into big screen animation. "Samurai Jack," "Dexter's Laboratory" and especially the most recent "Sym-Biotic Titan" are among my faves on Cartoon Network. Yeah, I know he also worked on "Star Wars: Clone Wars," but let's get real, it is sooo not in the same league.

Hotel Transylvania is not bad, but it's not that good either. Simplistic, and borrowing more than a little from Rankin/Bass' Mad Monster Party? from decades ago, it struggles more than it needs to by using the voice talents (and I use the word 'talent' very loosely) of Adam Sandler as Dracula. It's like listening to Sandler's annoying Opera Man voice for almost two hours. Where there's Sandler, there's also Kevin James as Frankenstein, as well as a cornucopia of unfunny "Saturday Night Live" veterans.

This one is good for the kids, but might be a bit much to take for the adults. Be warned, the end breaks into a rap celebration that must be missed. Embarrassing for all involved. Seeing Steve Buscemi involved in this movie tells me he owes somebody a big favor, or he needs to fire his agent. As for Genndy Tartakovsky, his next project is rumored to be a big budget animated Popeye. I'm hoping for the best, and not more of this.

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast for the Week of 5-9-2012

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast is shot live every week at All Things Fun! - the South Jersey/Philadelphia area's best comics and gaming store, located in West Berlin, NJ.

Co-hosts Ultimate Ed Evans, Allison (OCD Girl) Eckel, and Grumpy Glenn Walker discuss the new comics out this week in two fun video segments, in wicked high definition, and available on the YouTube. See it here!

Discussion featured in this brand new extended episode includes: Free Comic Book Day 2012 aftermath, Night of the Owls, The Culling, Demon Knights #9, Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #9, Suicide Squad vs. Resurrection Man, Night Force #3, Rob Liefield's Deathstroke #9, Mark Poulton instore appearance, Green Lantern #9, Fables and Fairest, the Avengers titles of the week, Allison goes OCD over AvsX, Avenging Spider-Man #7, the X-Men titles of the week, Captain America's tricky numbering, Ultimate Comics The Ultimates #10, Ultimate Comics X-Men #11, Fanboys Vs. Zombies #2 and grout dogs, The Walking Dead #97, Invincible, Ed's indies, Frankenstein Alive Alive #1 by Steve Niles and Bernie Wrightson, Takio #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming, Allison's kids comics, and Ed's trades and toys.



Be sure to check out the fantastic new All Things Fun! website, and the All Things Fun! Blogs, by Allison and Glenn, and ATF! on YouTube.

Special thanks go to Dina Evans who keeps us all in line, and on the straight and narrow, and runs the show from behind the scenes. And be back here every Wednesday (or Tuesdays at midnight) to watch the new broadcast, and thereafter throughout the week!

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast for the Week of 4-11-2012

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast is shot live every week at All Things Fun! - the area's best comics and gaming store, located in West Berlin, NJ.

Co-hosts Ed (The Unit) Evans, Allison (Demon Knight) Eckel, and Glenn (Nightmare) Walker discuss the new comics out this week in two fun video segments, in wicked high definition, and available on the YouTube. See it here!

Discussion featured in this brand new extended episode includes: Free Comic Book Day 2012, Grifter #8, Batwoman #8, Allison plows through, The Culling, Green Lantern #8, The Shade #7, Frankenstein #8, Deathstroke #8, Legion stuff, AvsX the first trade, Ultimate X-Men #10, Fantastic Four #605, Deadpool #53, Avengers titles of the week, Journey into Mystery #636, Ed's Marvels, The Unit, Allison's kids comics, Bionic Man and Woman, indies from everyone, Fin Fang Foom sans pants, trades, and a cameo by Dina's finger.



Be sure to check out the exciting new All Things Fun! website, and the All Things Fun! Blogs, by Allison and Glenn, and ATF! on YouTube.

Special thanks go to Dina Evans who keeps us all in line, and on the straight and narrow, and runs the show from behind the scenes. And be back here every Wednesday (or Tuesdays at midnight) to watch the new broadcast, and thereafter throughout the week!

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast for the Week of 4-4-2012

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast is shot live every week at All Things Fun! - the area's best comics and gaming store, located in West Berlin, NJ.

Co-hosts Ed (Supreme) Evans, Allison (Fairest) Eckel, and Glenn (Via Skype) Walker discuss the new comics out this week in two fun video segments, in wicked high definition, and available on the YouTube. See it here!

Discussion featured in this brand new extended episode includes: AvsX hangover, Animal Man and Swamp Thing, Red Lanterns, Action Comics #8, Stormwatch #8, Night Force #2, Batwing two ways, Frankenstein in Men of War #8, Checkmate, Fairest #2, Amazing Spider-Man #683, Daredevil #10.1, Venom and the Secret Avengers, "Is that Red Hulk or Green Hulk?", the X-titles, don't talk about X-Club, alphabetized Avengers, Fanboys Vs. Zombies #1, Voltron Year One, Brilliant #3 and long letters columns, the return of Supreme, Ed's indies, and Allison's kids comics.



Be sure to check out the thrilling new All Things Fun! website, and the All Things Fun! Blogs, by Allison and Glenn, and ATF! on YouTube.

Special thanks go to Dina Evans who keeps us all in line, and on the straight and narrow, and runs the show from behind the scenes. And be back here every Wednesday (or Tuesdays at midnight) to watch the new broadcast, and thereafter throughout the week!

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast for 3-14-2012

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast is shot live every week at All Things Fun! - the area's best comics and gaming store, located in West Berlin, NJ.

Co-hosts Ed (Hand of the King) Evans, Allison (Zenescope Girl) Eckel, and Glenn (Real Head of Hair) Walker discuss the new comics out this week in two fun video segments, in wicked high definition, and available on the YouTube. See it here!

This first segment includes discussion of the following topics: Green Lantern #7, Deathstroke still not a pirate, Frankenstein and the Humanids, Suicide Squad #7, Batman and Robin #7, Legion Lost thoughts, Batgirl #7, Superboy #7, Demon Knights #7, the rest of the New 52 DCs, Fantastic Four #604, fun with audio including Avengers #24 and Avengers Assemble #1, and multiple Zodiacs.



The discussion continues here in segment two including: Punisher #9 by Greg Rucka, Journey into Mystery #635, Incredible Hulk #6 by Jason Aaron, Captain America #9, Ant-Man for kids, Ed's X-titles, inside Kitty Pryde, Allison's Zenescope Comics, pantsless fairies, Robert Kirkman's free pass, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 #7, Knights of the Dinner Table #184, Ed's indies, Game of Thrones goodies, kids comics, trades, and glasses.



Be sure to check out the thrilling new All Things Fun! website, and the All Things Fun! Blogs, by Allison and Glenn, and ATF! on YouTube.

Special thanks go to Dina Evans who keeps us all in line, and on the straight and narrow, and runs the show from behind the scenes. And be back here every Wednesday (or Tuesdays at midnight) to watch the new broadcast, and thereafter throughout the week!

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast for 10-12-2011

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast is shot live in a real comics and gaming store in West Berlin, NJ - All Things Fun! - co-hosts Ed (they let me talk in the first segment) Evans, Allison (come see me at New York Comic Con) Eckel and Glenn (hey you kids get off my lawn) Walker discuss the new comics out this week in two fun video segments, now in high definition, and also available on YouTube. See it here!

The first segment includes discussion of the following topics: Happy Anniversary, The New York Comic Con, American Vampire #5, the second issues of the DC New 52, including Mister Terrific #2, Batwoman #2 (why is she so white?), Jeff Lemire's Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #2, Deathstroke's and Harley Quinn's Suicide Squads respectively, Green Lantern #2, Gail Simone's Batgirl #2, Paul Cornell's Demon Knights #2 and the rest, and remember, don't be a meat shield.



The discussion continues in segment two including: Miscellaneous Marvels, including All-Winners Squad Band of Heroes #5, Dan Slott's Spider-Island, Punishers, New X-Men and other X-books, Ed's indies, including Star Wars, Dead Rising, Orchid #1, Allison's kids comics, including Super Dinosaur #5 and All-New Batman The Brave and the Bold #12, Ed's trades, and the Angry Bird of Prey.



Be sure to check out the All Things Fun! website, and the All Things Fun! Blogs, by Allison and Glenn, and ATF! on YouTube.

And be back here every Wednesday morning at 11:30 AM EST to watch the new broadcast, and thereafter throughout the week!

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast for 9-14-2011

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast is shot live in a real comics and gaming store in West Berlin, NJ - All Things Fun! - co-hosts Allison (The Fangirl) Eckel and Glenn (The Misanthrope) Walker (Ed Evans will be back in two weeks) discuss the new comics out this week in two fun video segments, now in high definition, and also available on YouTube. See it here!

The first segment includes discussion of the following topics: The New DC 52 Batcave including Batman and Robin #1, Bruce Wayne's parenting skills, Batwoman #1, and Suicide Squad #1, also Red Lanterns #1, Green Lantern #1, Mister Terrific #1, Paul Cornell's Demon Knights #1, Superboy #1, and why does Deathstroke need his own title? We don't know.



The discussion continues in segment two including: Matt Fraction's Fear Itself Book Six, the rest of the Fear Itself titles, Mark Waid's Daredevil #3 joins Brian Michael Bendis' New Avengers #16, Allison's Spider-Island by Dan Slott and the rest of the Marvels, Allison's indies and kids comics including Buffy Season 9 and Super-Dinosaur #4, and the rest of the New DC 52 including Legion Lost, Grifter, Frankenstein and Resurrection Man, and the trades of the week. We miss you, Ed.



Be sure to check out the All Things Fun! website, and the All Things Fun! Blogs, by Allison and Glenn, and ATF! on YouTube.

And be back here every Wednesday morning at 11:30 AM EST to watch the new broadcast, and thereafter throughout the week!

This Week's All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast

The All Things Fun! New Comics Vidcast is shot live in a real comics and gaming store in West Berlin, NJ - All Things Fun! - co-hosts Ed (next register please) Evans, Allison (new spider-girl) Eckel and Glenn (squirrel boy) Walker discuss the new comics out this week in two fun video segments, now in high definition, and also available on YouTube. See it here!

The first segment includes discussion of the following topics: Welcome back Allison, Dan Slott's Spider-Island, the Fear Itself comics of the week, Teen Titans #99, Green Lantern status quo, The Batcave featuring Detective Comics #881, Red Robin and sorry, Batgirl.



The discussion continues in segment two including: The ATF! Midnight Release Party, the Flashpoint comics of the week, including Captain Cold coolness, wuss Dick Grayson, and wassup with Frankenstein, There's Something About Mera, ABC TV projects, Ed's leftovers, The Trial of the Flash, Ed's trades and toys, and Glenn does four comics in ten seconds.



In our special summer third segment with Thomas, the All Things Fun! Kids Vidcast features a kid's opinions on comics and toy-related genres. This segment includes his thoughts on: All New Batman The Brave and the Bold #10, the perils of henching, Ocean Master's wardrobe, SpongeBob Comics #4, don't draw in Allison's comics, Super Friends, Strawberry Shortcake #1, Mega Man #4, Pokemon Black and White manga, Spider-Man caps and Sonic schoolbags.



Be sure to check out the All Things Fun! website, and the All Things Fun! Blogs, by Allison and Glenn, and ATF! on YouTube.

And be back here every Wednesday morning at 11:30 AM EST to watch the new broadcast, and thereafter throughout the week!

The Magician

The Magician ~ This 1926 silent film is based on the 1908 novel by W. Somerset Maugham, which was in turn, based on the infamous Aleister Crowley. It was directed and adapted by Rex Ingram and starring his then-wife Alice Terry (The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and The Prisoner of Zenda). As presented on TCM’s Silent Sundays, this was a crisp clean print, something always important when dealing with the silents. It might be noted that while Ingram and Terry mentioned above had many films to their name, few survive.

A sculptress is nearly killed when her sculpture, a big scary thing, falls on her. A young surgeon miraculously saves her life and a romance blooms. Meanwhile Oliver Haddo, a magician/mad scientist played by German Paul Wegener, is seeking the means to create life. All Haddo needs is the blood of a virgin – and he sets his sights on the sculptress. The film rolls from there.

If the plot sounds a bit Frankenstein-ish, it is, and some of the imagery is reminiscent of that film, but remember, Universal’s Frankenstein is still six years away when The Magician was made. There are some quite horrific visuals here, right from the start, and especially one scene in Hell that rivals any in Haxan, complete with “Night on Bald Mountain” soundtrack. This proves that Hollywood was just as good at this kind of horror as Germany was, and they didn’t even need Lon Chaney for this one.

This rarely seen silent film is a classic and a must see. There are some gorgeous French locations (real or not, still stunning), great color tinting, an explosive ending and a wonderful score by Robert Israel. Recommended.