Change Your Image
davey-bc
Reviews
The Signalman (1976)
The Best of the Series
I feel sure Dickens himself could not have filmed his story better. What a great loss Denholm Elliot is to the acting world having passed some years ago. Whatever he did he always was utterly convincing and here again he plays the title role with perfection. The location shooting is atmospheric and the situation, controlled as it is within the signal box and the isolated surroundings of a foggy railway embankment and tunnel, makes for a truly ghostly stage even before any such spectre appears ! The last of the great "Ghost Stories for Christmas " original series run, with the remaining two somewhat lacking (though good in their own way), The Signalman is the pinnacle of the filmed ghost story form and thank goodness it was made on film rather than video (as it is so much more real on film). Video output of the era was either obviously studio based and/or got wiped by the BBC. This film survived and is timeless and perfect.
The Beast in the Cellar (1971)
Two old dears, a secret and some murders
Two old dears living in the family home have a secret. There are murders going on . The murderer favours those in army uniform . One of the old dears is a bit bossy, the other whines a lot. They are sisters . They reminisce about daddy and the war. Miss bossy puts on an army overcoat before going down to the cellar with a torch . Very mysterious. The two old dears are Flora Robson and Beryl Reid , two big names in theatre and film . I must have first seen this film forty years ago and it seemed dated then, but for some reason it stuck in my mind and a recent viewing yielded nothing new I had missed but just a kind of comfort as we revisit old experiences. Don't expect big chills here but look upon it as a little curio. Yes Beryl is somewhat whinging and Flora is , well, Flora ....and it does seem to remind one of "Arsenic and Old Lace" without the laughs. The secret is not too hard to guess and the ending is as expected.
The Legend of Hell House (1973)
The sound of Sweep being murdered
Watching this film years ago when it was then a relatively recent film it frankly scared me stiff ! Well we have the creaky old gates, the big old gothic mansion in perpetual fog, the black cat and a sound score ( one can hardly call it music) that is as as ominous as they come. But now, all these years later these very things are it's downfall . It's all so ....cliché. The basic concept was not new even back in 1973 and "The Haunting" (Robert Wise) really did it better and is I think more watchable to this day. Still, "Hell House " is not a bad film, it is just more a product of its time. Four people spend time in a haunted house is the basic storyline. Two are psychic and the others are a scientist and his wife seeking to probe the mysteries of the haunted house and gain £100,000 each if they can prove to a millionaire that life exists beyond the veil. To be honest the millionaire seems so near to the end himself he may as well just wait and see . Any way, It's quite entertaining but the scares don't really hold up to modern day standards . A shadowy figure in the shower is actually well done, but when this transpires to be a rather unconvincing dead cat accompanied by what sounds like Sweep the dog of Sooty and Sweep fame being strangled (eeeeeeeeeh) it becomes rather comic . I do hope no fluffy hand puppets were genuinely hurt ! The actors do fine, even if a lot of what they are saying and doing is clichéd nonsense. All in all , although I say all this I do have a soft spot for this film and it is worth watching at least once. I just don't feel it has aged as well as perhaps it should have . Altogether now .....eeeeeeeeh !
Supernatural (1977)
A Lizard, a House and an Organ
A vague childhood memory of creepy organ music and a lizard and a big house. Somehow these elements do make sense more than 40 years later now that I view Supernatural again. I was surprised to learn that only 8 episodes were made . Of uneven quality, yes. Studio bound ..yes. But convincing sets and the contrivance of the stories taking place in confined indoor locations makes the lack of location shooting immaterial . My first revisit to these episodes was the one with Gordon Jackson and the Marionettes. What a good actor he was and the acting is first rate on all the episodes I have so far revisited. Ian Hendry and Billie Whitelaw also give stand out performances in my view. It seems a shame that these performances have been hidden away for so long . Worth watching just to see these actors again in contexts that are not the ones we most commonly see them in on the oft repeated shows . Gordon Jackson after all , was not just Mr Hudson or overseeing the antics of Bodie and Doyle ! These stories are slow by today's editing standards but serve as showcases for the talents we alas miss . If you like the old gothic classics and prefer horrors which are implied rather than shown in CGI ( which is rarely convincing anyway ) , you could give this short series a try.
The Bidding Room (2020)
Pointless
Probably one of the most pointless TV Formats ever devised. "I'll give you £20.... I'll give you £30 .....£35......Sold. How this ever got to air i do not know. There is no programme here. No substance. It has neither the interest of Antiques Roadshow, none of the mild excitement of an auction ....just a group of people making an offer. Go and watch the fish fry at your local chippie i would say...more interesting than this ill-conceived non-programme that has nothing going for it at all.
Ein Unbekannter rechnet ab (1974)
And then there was the '70's
With every decade or so , someone creates a retelling of this Agatha Christie tale of folks disappearing. By the way , none of the cosy Miss Marple here , this is not one of those and would appeal to those who would otherwise be discouraged by the twee style of Marple ! I probably first saw this version forty years ago and what has always stuck in my mind even all this time after is the music ! The film seems to be rarely shown now however I recently was pleased to see it repeated on Talking Pictures TV. An interesting cast mix and although the desert location adds a new interest, I feel this is not the best version yet is somehow engaging due to its '70's ness! Herbert Lom makes a good and convincing Doctor Armstrong and Oliver Reed is fascinating in his whispering delivery. Charles Aznavour gets to sing his signature tune and model a colourful jacket . Richard Attenborough, an actor capable of some of the best acting you will ever see (10 Rillington Place, Seance on a Wet Afternoon ) rather just walks through this film with an indignant stare and I'm afraid rather over does his finale for my money . The methods of dispatch do not seem to follow the Nursery Rhyme in some cases. However , it is always interesting to see how with each successive version of the story just how the murders will take place. There has to be a certain suspension of belief in just how agile and omnipresent the murderer appears to be, given who it is !The accusations scene near the start is the best of any of the versions , with that wonderful 70's lounge music underlying the tones of Orson Welles . All in all not the best version of the story ( the 1945 one still is) but worth a look for the curious. !!!!!!!MAJOR SPOILER ......I recall when this was shown many years ago on TV there was a sort of "make your mind up " break before the finale in which a narrator prompted us to guess the murderer, showing clips of the likely suspects but also saying "or is it xxxxxx , is xxxxx really dead ? " , even going so far as showing xxxx getting up from dead position ....it was rather a give away but I wonder if that version still exists ?
Pánico en el Transiberiano (1972)
Surprisingly Entertaining
My memories of this film were of something rather cheap with bargain basement production. Fast forward twenty years and having recently rewatched I found myself hooked. The title sequence suggests 70's cheap, but bare with it folks. Once the train gets going the story chugs along at pace and the pairing of Mr Lee and Mr Cushing is a delight. As others have noted, it's a bit like "The Thing" with a fossilised relic wreaking havoc as we discover it is not quite as dead as was thought. The confined location makes for suspenseful viewing as Fossil Face turns his red-eyed glare to anyone who crosses his path . It could quite easily have stayed that way , but half way through we find that a truly dead fossil can live on in another form and although we the audience share the secret it still makes for suspenseful viewing as the express train speeds ahead to a conclusion that delivers the twists and thrills we crave. An excellent performance from the monk and a wonderful interjection from Telly Savalas, shaking up the proceedings with gusto. Looks like he enjoyed himself ! I really enjoyed the film this time around. There is suspension of belief required but just go with it....with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee it's well worth the price of the train ticket.
Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Silk Stocking (2004)
Dull and Foggy
I have read all the original Sherlock Holmes stories many times. This borrows the occasional line from them to remind us we are watching a Holmes film. Rupert Everett mumbles his way almost inaudibly through the fog. He sounds utterly depressed and bored throughout the whole affair. The camera pans across the Baker Street lodgings in a manner which instantly shakes us out of any absorption we may have had and makes us realise we are watching a play. The fog machine works overtime and obliterates the faces of the actors. The other actors do a fair job but I'm sorry, there are too many faults to allow more than a one star rating.