X - The Man with the X-Ray Eyes

X - The Man with the X-Ray Eyes ~ This is one of those films, much talked about and rarely seen (at least by me). As a longtime listener to Mr. Movie Steve Friedman, I had heard about this movie on an almost weekly basis, and especially the ending. I was very pleased to finally have the chance to see X - The Man with the X-Ray Eyes, especially on the TCM Classic Cruise, and introduced by Ben Mankiewicz and producer Roger Corman himself.

Corman is 89 years old, and after his cancellation on last year's cruise, and seeing him at the port in a wheelchair before boarding, understandably there were some health concerns. There needn't have been. Though with a cane, he walked out onto the stage of the Buena Vista Theatre to a thunderous standing ovation.

Roger and Ben talked mainly about X, as the film's actual title card reads, and how it was made. In typical Corman fashion it was made in three weeks for $300,000. The mad acting skills of star Ray Milland and first timer Don Rickles were also up for discussion, and well deserved. Milland has always been one of the good ones, and I've always thought Rickles was a pretty amazing, if underrated, actor myself. The cast was rounded out by Diana Van der Vlis, an almost dead ringer for Elizabeth Mongomery, and a young Dick Miller.

The existence of another ending was discussed, and that had me both confused, and sitting through to the end of the credits like it was a Marvel Cinematic Universe flick. There's no alternate ending. Much like the urban legend of two different endings to King Kong Vs. Godzilla, it just does not exist. Corman states that the much-talked-about scary ending was made up by Stephen King, but that doesn't sound right either. Sounds like a job for Snopes.

Here, on stage, Corman claimed that the ending was the sole construction of Stephen King, in his book Danse Macabre, but according to Wikipedia (always the worst source on such things, but Snopes had no listing) Corman has in the past said that an ending was shot where Milland, after having torn his own eyes out, screams, "I can still see!" I guess we'll never know for sure.

The movie centers on Milland, an obsessed scientist working to improve human vision. So obsessed is he that he tests a new formula on himself, gaining an approximation of x-ray vision. The more formula he puts in his eyes, the more extensive his vision becomes, and of course the more insane he becomes. He wanders through the film, through a carnival, a scam, Las Vegas, and a tent revival, before taking a step into the still-horrific ending.

This was a fun watch, but not much beyond the typical early 1960s scifi fare, but decidedly ahead of its time all the same. Not as cool as I thought it would be, but that said, it just doesn't get any better when it's on the big screen and introduced by the director, a living legend himself.

The Raven

The Raven ~ Vincent Price was my gateway drug to Edgar Allan Poe. I remember in tenth grade, Mr. Tomasello apparently didn't like teaching English all that much and we had movie days pretty often. Perhaps it had to do with him being in charge of the A/V department or perhaps he just needed naps, but we had movie days a lot. Trust me, no one minded, and sometimes we really dug what was shown. Case in point, Price and Poe.

Vincent Price did these terrific, dramatic, and scary readings of Poe stories. The movies were just him, a dark background, and the mad words of Poe. The most dynamic was "The Tell-Tale Heart" and I'm pretty sure there was also "The Cask of Amontillado," and a third lost to the ages, perhaps it was even "The Raven." No matter my memory, I loved it, that I do remember.

That said, I've never been much of a fan of the Hammer horrors, at least not the remakes of Universal monsters, but the Poe stuff is so much fun. Seeing The Raven with Roger Corman on the TCM Classic Cruise would be the first time I'd seen it since a long lost Saturday afternoon horror feature decades before. I couldn't wait.

Robert Osborne interviewed Roger for a few minutes before the showing of the film. They talked of the difficulties of dealing with Peter Lorre who winged it as an actor and constantly ad-libbed and Boris Karloff who was always on script. As far as the rest of the cast, it included an extraordinarily young Jack Nicholson and Vincent Price, who, to paraphrase Corman, could do anything. The director got everyone to a happy medium.

The decision, after a few serious horror adaptations of Poe to do a comedy horror like The Raven. Corman felt he'd played all the horror out of Poe, and went in another direction. Based on the middle tale of Tales of Terror, also comedic, he felt it would work. They also talked about The Terror, which was created and filmed in just a matter of days because Corman still had time with the sets of The Raven. Oh, that Corman ingenuity!

The Raven begins and ends with that amazing Vincent Price recital of "The Raven" but the story has bits from the poem, mixed in with a tale rival sorcerers, culminating in a magic duel that, while long, puts similar magician's duels - like in Disney's The Sword in the Stone - to shame. The mad limited special effects are marvelous. Richard Matheson provided the script under Corman's direction. This was a lot of fun. Now I want to go back and watch all the other Corman/Poe flicks!

TCM Classic Cruise 2015

Folks who know me know that The Bride and I love the Disney Cruise Line. We've talked about it countless times on The Make Mine Magic Podcast, and are now platinum cruisers, with all sorts of bonuses and privileges. We love it. So last year when TCM announced they were having their Classic Cruise on the Disney Cruise Line, I jumped at the chance to combine two of my big loves - three if you count The Bride.

Of course we signed up again this year as soon as possible, and even though scheduling difficulties had us on two Disney cruises in the space of two weeks this past month, we decided it was something that just had to be done. ;-) Oh, the agony... just kidding it was pure heaven.

As we learned the hard way last year, you just can't do everything, sacrifices must be made as many events are scheduled opposite each other, and you gotta sleep sometime. Things that were missed this year were an interview with TCM host Robert Osborne, one of Alex Trebek's trivia events, and sadly, seeing Rio Bravo with guest Angie Dickinson. And yes, I can hear Derrick Ferguson screaming at me through the internet about that last one...

However I did get to see an interview with Roger Corman, as well as see the man introduce both The Raven and X - The Man with the X-Ray Eyes. I also saw The Razor's Edge (1946) with Robert Osborne and Alex Trebek (one of their favorite films), and presentations on Vaudeville and Aloha Wanderwell Baker, and Roger Corman. I also got to see interviews with Lou Gossett Jr., Eva Marie Saint, Ruta Lee, Ben Mankiewicz, Illeana Douglas, and Angie Dickinson.

I also got to see some amazing classic films on the big screen for the first time including In a Lonely Place, Night of the Hunter, Cape Fear, Spellbound, and The Mark of Zorro from 1940. There was also the terrific music of the Hot Sardines, the special TCM Anything Goes party night with 1930s cosplay and fireworks, and Illeana Douglas' "The Living Room Show" live on stage. All that, and so many good times with friends old and new. We're all looking forward to next year.

Keep an eye out here at Welcome to Hell and in upcoming episodes of The Make Mine Magic Podcast for more from the cruise.

The Little Shop of Horrors

The Little Shop of Horrors ~ Not the brilliant musical of film or stage, I'm talking about the original 1960 movie here. This Roger Corman extravaganza was filmed in two days for a mere $30,000 on the set of A Bucket of Blood, and it shows, but it was done with love, humor, and sincerity.

The tale of the killer plant was thought to be derived from a 1930s short story called "Green Thoughts," but was officially written by screenwriter Charles B. Griffith, who also wrote the aforementioned Bucket as well as Death Race 2000 for Corman. Boy finds plant, tries to impress girl, plant eats everyone - an age old story.

Everyone who remembers this flick probably does because of the great quick sequence by Jack Nicholson as the masochistic dental patient. But it also prominently features one of the best character actors, in my opinion, Dick Miller, as a flower-eating customer.

The underrated movie is badly acted, poorly staged, and looks incredibly cheap, but still it's a brilliant little black comedy combining horror, farce, and Jewish humor. It's worth watching at least once, especially if you love the musical. You'll see where lines and songs come from, and find yourself singing along where the music should be. Try it.

Quickies 5-14-2010

Starflight One ~ The synopsis for this 1983 gem reads, and I’m not joking, as follows: “By mistake the captain and passengers of the world’s first hypersonic airliner go past Australia, into space.” Also known as Starflight: The Plane That Couldn’t Land, it’s a disaster movie on a low budget telemovie scale starring the semi-warm cast of Lee Majors, Lauren Hutton, Ray Milland, Kirk Cameron, Robert Englund and Hal Linden. Just as bad as it sounds and would be fun if you make a drinking game out of it. This serious version of Airplane II is abysmal and yet sometimes unintentionally funny.

It’s Alive ~ This TV movie from 1968 is pretty cool, and riding on a smooth drive-in horror flick vibe, until you actually see the monster. Wow. This thing, a recycled prop costume from a previous film just as bad as this one, makes the monsters from the old “Doctor Who” TV series look professional. Hell, it makes Barney look like he walked out of Jurassic Park. This one’s okay excluding the monster. With the monster, it’s just terrible. An example of how one ‘special’ effect can ruin an entire flick.

Kitten with a Whip ~ This 1960s exploitation flick is indicative of the genre and one of the best with name stars. Sociopathic prison runaway Ann Margaret chills at aspiring senator John Forsythe’s home Desperate Hours style while the family is on vacation. This couldn’t have been better if William Castle or Roger Corman had directed it.

Yes Man ~ Jim Carrey plays a negative man who through a positive thinking guru forces himself to say yes to everything. Yeah, it’s kinda like Liar Liar only less funny. It’s not as bad as it could be as Zooey Deschanel saves all the scenes she’s in. As much as Zooey is a delight, Jim is equally a hyperactive and sullen brat. Not as bad as it could be, might be worth seeing if nothing else is on, and as long as you don’t pay for it.

Planet 51 ~ Other than the interesting twist of humans and aliens switching roles, which you can see in any of the previews, there’s really no surprises here. It’s fun animation for kids featuring pantless sea monkeys with Alien dogs in a retro 1950s world, along with The Rock being tiredly ironic for ninety minutes. The shine will wear off for adults pretty quickly.

Pineapple Express ~ You know those great action thrillers where some innocent bystanders witness a murder and then spend the rest of the flick being chased by the bad guys? Yeah, now imagine everyone in said flick is a stoner and/or a doper. Yep, you got it, that’s what Pineapple Express is. It’s funny, but it’s probably a lot funnier if you’re high.