Due to the recent frequency regarding major studios releasing many of their classic cult movie titles as MOD (made on demand) DVDs, DVD Drive-In will now devote this space to capsule-sized reviews of such releases. Here, we will try to cover as many of these MOD DVDs as our time and pockets will allow, and you can also expect to see many turn up as regular reviews (as they have been in the past). Keep checking this space regularly for new additions!
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THE
SAVAGE WILD (1970) Director: Gordon Eastman, MGM Limited Edition Collection.
Somewhere in the Yukon, nature lover and filmmaker Gordon Eastman captures three
baby wolves and raises them while observing their everyday habits and interactions
with humans at the same time. His young, fearless daughter Maria makes two visits
to his camp during the long-term duration, and she too gets close to the wild
animals, feeding and handling them side by side with dad. One of the females
of the pack gets gangrene in her leg (after it's presumably shot by a big game
hunter) and has to have it removed, but fortunately has no trouble adapting
to the permanent handicap. This “docudrama” has Eastman directing,
producing, partially photographing, partially writing and fully narrating (which
makes up most of the dialog). The film starts off awkward with some unconvincing
improvising and the introduction of a redneck named Red (an overacting Carl
Spore) who with his perennially drunk sidekick, make a living shooting wolves
for their hides from the safety of a private airplane. The staged “conflict”
arising from the character causes one of the wolves to fall victim to the aforementioned
gunshot wound, but Red is soon forgotten about when he's left for dead. Once
the film decides it wants to be a nature documentary concentrating on Gordon,
his friends, his daughter and their interaction with the wolves, the film is
quite captivating and well photographed in Scope and Technicolor. American International
Pictures (AIP), here straying from the usual drive-in fare, but still advertising
the film with the usual exploitive ballyhoo, released it with a G rating. It’s
quite family friendly, despite a climatic bit where the wolves ambush and devour
a Caribou (which is shown mostly in long shots). That’s nature. The narration
was written largely by Earl E. Smith, who wrote the screenplays for a number
of 
motion
pictures, including THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK and THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN.
The appropriate Disney-like score is by Jaime Mendoza-Nava, who worked on most
of Charles Pierce’s directorial efforts. MGM has released THE SAVAGE WILD
as an MOD DVD as part of its Limited Edition Collection, presenting it in the
original 2.35:1 aspect ratio with anamorphic enhancement. MGM obviously went
back to the original negative for the transfer, because it looks scrumptious
in every way. Recommended for documentary film lovers and AIP completists. (George
R. Reis)
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DETECTIVE
SCHOOL DROPOUTS (1986), Director: Flippo Ottoni, MGM Limited Edition
Collection. In New York City, (the back cover's summary incorrectly refers
to it as Los Angeles) meek, nerdy Donald Wilson (David Landsberg) is so fixtated
on detective novels, it causes him to lose a string of jobs. One day, he stumbles
across a sign on a phone booth for Miller Detective Agency, which is nothing
more than a hoax, since its owner Paul Miller (Lorin Dreyfuss) is trying to
keep it from foreclosing. It seems that Paul has owed money to many people and
some will stop at nothing to get it. When Donald enrolls into the school, the
two soon get mixed up in a kidnapping plot involving two mafia families. The
two young lovers, from opposite families, Carlo (Christian De Sica) and Catherina
(Valeria Golino, HOT SHOTS!) are set to be married. The two families, of course,
are not happy about it and the leader orders trigger-happy hitman Bruno (George
Eastman, ANTHROPOPHAGUS) to go to New York and kidnap Catherina, who is also
in New York visiting her mafia-tied uncle, and take her back to Italy and have
Carlo in another arranged marriage, much to his dismay. The two inept detectives
then go to Italy to stop the marriage, reunite Carlo and Catherina, and put
an end to the long-time feud between the two families.
DETECTIVE
SCHOOL DROPOUTS may not be the greatest comedy ever made, but it never fails
to deliver endless sight gags and laughs. Having been a cable favorite for many
years (particularly Comedy Central), MGM has finally released this classic on
DVD as part of their Limited Edition Collection. Presented full frame (1.33:
1), the print suffers a lot from grain, speckling, and occasional picture jumps
(Note the disclaimer at the beginning saying it was made with the greatest souce
material available). The reason for this is it was sourced from a theatrical
print (see the MPAA rating card at the end of the movie for proof), but it looks
a lot better than the VHS copies out there. The mono audio is in near-perfect
condition. There is no trailer for the film or chapter stops, but the viewer
can move ahead at ten-minute intervals. (Kyle
McElravy)
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EYE
OF THE DEVIL (1966) Director: J. Lee Thompson, Warner Archive Collection.
In France, vineyard owner marquis Philippe de Montfaucon (David Niven) is called
back to his ancestral home, the massive castle Bellenac, after it’s reported
that the crops are failing. Philippe’s adoring wife Catherine (Deborah
Kerr) wants very much to accompany him, as do his two small children, but he
insists on going alone. The family eventually catches up with him at the castle,
and that turns out to be a big mistake, as they are surrounded by wicked and
shifty characters, as well as what appears to be pagan rituals enacted by a
sect in black hoods. This black & white occult thriller was made by an independent
British company called Filmways Pictures (also responsible for Roman Polanski’s
THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS) and released by MGM. The casting of Deborah Kerr
(a replacement for Kim Novak) somewhat evokes the far superior THE INNOCENTS
and the film is beautifully shot (mostly on location at the Château de
Hautefort in France) but the story is rather uninvolving and the zoom-ridden
direction by J. Lee Thompson (THE GUNS OF NAVARONE, CONQUEST OF and BATTLE FOR
THE PLANET OF THE APES) is mostly dull (except for a tense scene on the castle
top and several abstract nightmare 
sequences).
Although she had already worked in front of the cameras, the film “introduces”
the beautiful and talented Sharon Tate (her short-lived movie career of course
ended with that infamous 1969 tragedy) and an up-and-coming David Hemmings plays
her equally malevolent blond brother, who has a nasty habit of piercing white
doves with his bow and arrow. The supporting cast is exceptional (Donald Pleasence,
Flora Robson, Edward Mulhare), though it’s difficult to accept so many
English accents being passed off as French characters. Based on the novel, Day
of the Arrow, EYE OF THE DEVIL has never before been available on home
video in the U.S., and Warner premieres it on DVD as part of their Warner Archive
Collection. The black and white transfer on this “remastered edition”
looks quite sharp, with deep black levels, though there is some scattered dirt
and debris, especially during the opening credits. It’s been presented
widescreen (1.78:1) with anamorphic enhancement, and carries an adequate mono
English track. The original title, 13, can be seen on the brief end credits.
It’s really too bad Warner didn’t include the trailer or the vintage
featurette for this film entitled “All Eyes on Sharon Tate”: it
was present on the old laserdisc for THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS and TCM still
airs it in between movies. For more information on this title, click HERE.
(George
R. Reis)
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MACABRE
(1958) Director: William Castle. Warner Archive Collection. Director
William Castle had been directing various B programmers since the 1940s, but
MACABRE marked his first foray into horror, and also marked his first attempt
at using a marketing gimmick to entice theatergoers. Local physician Dr. Barrett
(William Prince) is facing the consequences of the suspicious death of his wife,
and the more recent death of his sister-in-law, as very few patients ever come
to visit. One day his office nurse gets an anonymous phone call saying that
Barrett’s young daughter has been buried alive in a small coffin, and
a frantic search in a graveyard, as well as a funeral parlor, commences, with
only a few hours to spare. Lots of characters and flashbacks come into play,
and the film also stars Jim Backus (“Gilligan’s Island”),
Christine White, Jacqueline Scott, Susan Morrow, Philip Tonge and Ellen Corby
(“The Waltons”). The gimmick here was a $1000 insurance policy (from
Lloyds of London) for anyone who “died of fright” during the screening,
and although Castle doesn’t appear on screen (as he would in subsequent
gimmick films) we are constantly reminded of this by a wall clock. The initial
film that Castle wanted to scare the pants of America with was inspired his
the influential French thriller, DIABOLIQUE, and the script was by frequent
Castle collaborator Robb White, based on The Marble Forest by Theo
Durrant (which was actually written chapter by chapter by members of the Mystery
Writers of America). Made in just a little over a week on a budget of $90,000,
Allied Artists had a huge hit with the film, and this lead to Castle’s
next production, THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL, which was even bigger. The film
is dead serious, that is until the wonderful animated end credits, which include
cartoon
renderings of Castle, White and some of the cast. Les Baxter did the music shortly
before his tenure at AIP. Never available on home video, this rarely seen effort
has been given a handsome MOD DVD presentation from the Warner Archive Collection,
with a widescreen (1.78:1) anamorphic transfer. The black and white film looks
excellent, with only some scattered debris and grain, and the mono English audio,
aside from the occasional pop, is adequate. Too bad the great trailer wasn’t
included. For more information on this title, click HERE.
(George
R. Reis)
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THE
HYPNOTIC EYE (1960) Director: George Blair. Warner Archive Collection.
Beautiful young women are being self-mutilated in their homes in the most bizarre
sting of accidents (one washes her face in a sink full of acid, one sticks her
head over a lit burner, etc.). Detective Steve Kennedy (Joe Patridge) is baffled,
but after a friend (Merry Anders, THE TIME TRAVELERS) of his girlfriend Marcia
(Marcia Henderson) becomes one of the victims without any reasonable explanation,
a local performing hypnotist becomes the prime suspect. Celebrated stage hypnotist/magician
Desmond (Jacques Bergerac) and his glamorous assistant Justine (Allison Hayes)
pick the most lovely women from the audience to volunteer as part of his act;
he performs a stunt on them which involves a trance, makes them look into the
hypnotic eye (an annoying blinking electric device in the palm of his hand)
and they go home only to perform a sadistic tragedy on themselves that sometimes
ends in death. Marcia acts as a decoy, as one of Desmond’s on-stage volunteers,
and then goes out on the town with the heavy-accented scoundrel, with boyfriend
Steve never far behind. THE HYPNOTIC EYE is a fun, and rather sleazy Allied
Artists cheapie which used a (non) gimmick in “Hypnomagic” to try
and lure audiences in (this came out shortly after HORRORS OF THE BLACK MUSEUM,
which also 
capitalized
on the suggestive powers of hypnosis). Basically, this involved Bergerac appearing
to hypnotize the attending movie theater audience as he does the same to the
audience in the film (this probably didn’t work well at all at drive-ins)
in stunts involving them stamping their feet, extending their arms and believing
that the “hypnotic eye” balloon on their lap is as heavy as a sack
of led. The alluring Allison Hayes doesn’t seem to have much to do at
first, but her beautiful assistant character is instrumental as to why all the
sickening violence is occurring, and the climax is pretty terrific. There’s
a great scene in a beatnik coffee den (with Lawrence Lipton as the “King
of the Beatniks” performing a poem about a fanatical film lover) and Guy
Prescott (as Dr. Philip Hecht) warns the audience of the dangers of hypnotism,
in a winking sort of way, before the end credits pop up. Never before available
on home video, and rarely seen since TNT aired it back in the early 1990s, the
Warner Archive Collection brings THE HYPNOTIC EYE to us as an MOD DVD which
looks terrific. The black and white image has been anamorphically enhanced (1.78:1)
and the mono audio is clear. Aside from some minor speckling, the print source
is in excellent shape. No extras or trailer, and just a standard “Play
Movie” menu, but the presentation and cover art are indeed handsome for
this long-awaited cult favorite. For more information on this title, click HERE.
(George R. Reis)
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THE
DISEMBODIED (1957) Director: Walter Grauman. Warner Archive Collection.
Before her landmark role in ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT WOMAN and some of her other,
more popular horror films, Allison Hayes starred in this jungle-bound voodoo
thriller, one of several she did for B movie producer Ben Schwalb (THE HYPNOTIC
EYE, TICKLE ME). Hayes plays native woman and secret jungle priestess Tonda,
who’s bored with her much older doctor husband (John Wengraf) and is constantly
attempting to end his life with her little voodoo dolls (which she ties string
around the necks off, or sticks pins in). In comes “white man” Tom
Maxwell (Paul Burke, THE PSYCHIC KILLER) who needs the aid of the good doc when
one of his expedition companions is injured. When leggy Tonda isn’t teasing
just about every other man in the village, she’s seducing Tom and pleading
with him to assist her in the extinction of her husband, and although she’s
almost impossible to resist, Tom’s good conscious wins in the end. This
rather confusing 66-minute Z level thriller (which played on a double bill with
FROM HELL IT CAME, also available from the Warner Archive Collection) is 
recommended
to 1950s horror film completists and the many Allison Hayes fans out there,
but all others might want to skip it. With her amazing (and I mean amazing!)
figure, Hayes does an exotic dance in a two-piece native outfit, and she plays
a sexy bitch like no one else! Dean Fredericks, star of THE PHANTOM PLANET,
plays a native with a little circle on his forehead (what this represents, who
knows?). The Warner Archive Collection’s MOD presentation of THE DISEMBODIED
has more than its fair share of speckling and dirt and debris, but the black
and white, anamorphic widescreen (1.78:1) transfer still looks quite sharp and
the mono English audio doesn’t have any noticeable problems. No extras
or trailer, and just a standard “Play Movie” menu. For more information
on this title, click HERE.
(George
R. Reis)
THE
SOUL OF A MONSTER (1944) Director: Will Jason. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
Kindly surgeon, George Winson (George Macready, THE ALLIGATOR PEOPLE) lies on
his deathbed after contracting an illness from one of his patients and his wife
Ann (Jeanne Bates) calls on unknown powers to save him. A strange woman named
Lilyan (Rose Hobart) appears from nowhere and in a scene very reminiscent of
Val Lewton, she walks though the town. She avoids getting run over by a car,
electrocution by live power-lines, etc. Could this woman be sent by the Devil
himself? George recovers, but he's dominated by Lilyan, and leaves his wife.
When the evil woman tempts him into letting his best friend Roger (Jim Bannon)
die, the good doctor realizes that Lilyan wants his soul in exchange for the
chance to continue living. But as we all know, the age-old saying is, "a
life for a life, a soul for a soul". The film's title sequence is very
reminiscent of 
RETURN
OF THE VAMPIRE, made the same year, and would make a good double bill over the
Halloween season. The full frame, black and white image quality is fine, as
is the mono sound. The box art is very good indeed and I only hope Sony continues
with original poster art for their MOD DVDs and not the generic blue covers.
The disc is made on the purple dye DVD-R discs, where as Retromedia's MOD disc
of DESTROY ALL PLANETS is a silver disc and looks a lot more professional all
around. The prices are very high on all on these MOD discs and one has to ask
is it worth a purchase? In this case, I was happy, however, that is the film
buff in me talking. When one thinks that a Sony "Icon" set costs less
and has much more content, it's a bit of a cheat. For more information on this
title, click HERE.
(Kevin
W. Wardle)
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A
STUDY IN TERROR (1965) Director: James Hill. Sony Pictures Home
Entertainment. In late 19th century London, Jack the Ripper is viciously
murdering prostitutes on the streets of Whitechapel, and Inspector Lestrade
(Frank Finlay) is baffled. Detective Sherlock Holmes (John Neville) and his
chubby companion Dr. Watson (Donald Houston, Hammer’s MANIAC) read about
the murders in the newspapers, and are drawn into an investigation, as Holmes
firmly believes The Ripper will continue his madness. The sleuthing duo’s
investigation brings them to the estate of an Aristocratic feuding family, a
pawn shop, a whore-infested pub and a soup kitchen. The latter place is where
they hope to find the whereabouts of their main suspect; a missing young man
disowned by his father (a Lord) due to his intent on being a surgeon. Compton,
a British sexploitation film company co-founded by Tony Tenser (later to form
Tigon) produced this inevitable “Holmes VS. Jack the Ripper” opus
under their banner, and it was executive p
roduced
by the great Herman Cohen (HORRORS OF BLACK MUSEUM, BERSERK, etc.). With an
original story by Donald and Derek Ford (which apparently was subject to at
least one re-write), it’s a handsomely produced British horror entry (shot
on location and at Shepperton Studios) with an awesome cast and a confident,
rather physical Holmes in Neville. Despite mixed reviews and mediocre box office
business at the time of its release, it’s become something of a fan favorite,
and deservedly so. The solid story allows for a number of engaging characters
and builds a puzzling case for our detectives, and the film is a rather classy
affair that’s not afraid to show a welcomed 1960s sleazy slide with several
gory murders and a fair share of bosomy streetwalkers (played by the likes of
Hammer starlet Edina Ronay and “Carry On” perennial Barbara Windsor)
to slice and dice. The fine cast includes John Fraser, Adrienne Corri, Anthony
Quayle, Cecil Parker, Georgia Brown, Barry Jones, Terry Downes (THE FEARLESS
VAMPIRE KILLERS) and "Special Guest Star" Robert Morley as Sherlock’s
brother Mycroft. An impossibly young Judi Dench plays Sally Young, who operates
the soup kitchen.
When
Columbia Pictures released the film in the U.S. in 1966, the ads jumped on Batman-mania,
with the tagline, “Here comes the original caped crusader!” with
such expressions as “POW”, “BIFF” and “BANG”
surrounding the sketched image of the Baker Street sleuth (see the DVD cover
above). Neville's Holmes does take part in several fights (with cinematographer
Desmond Dickinson using the "Dutch" angle at least once), so the comparisons
are actually somewhat justified. One of the last major Holmes films not released
as a legit U.S. DVD, it was hoped that A STUDY IN TERROR would get some kind
of special treatment to cash in on the recent Robert Downey Jr. Hollywood re-imagining
of Holmes, but alas, it now arrives from Sony as an MOD release. Not to worry;
despite not having a menu or any extras, the disc is a visual treat, presenting
the film in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with anamorphic enhancement. The
newly remastered presentation has vivid colors and crisp detail, putting the
old VHS and laserdisc transfers to shame, and the mono audio is clear with no
noticeable flaws. Highly recommended, especially to Sherlock Holmes and British
Horror Cinema completists. For more information on this title, click HERE.
(George
R. Reis)
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THE
MAN WHO TURNED TO STONE (1957) Director: László
Kardos. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. In a women’s reformatory
center, a number of inmates are dying in what’s being reported as random
heart attacks. After another inmate is found hanged in her quarters while everyone
else is attending a movie, suspicions arise and a concerned social worker (Charlotte
Austin, FRANKENSTEIN 1970) teams up with the incoming psychiatrist William Hudson
(ATTACK OF THE 50-FOOT WOMAN) to get to the bottom of things. The culprits of
these sudden deaths are the reformatory’s keepers: a group of 18th-century
European scientists, led by Dr. Murdock (Victory Jory, CAT-WOMEN OF THE MOON),
who have been able to remain immortal for ages by sucking 
energy
out of young women who are soaked in a bath of chemicals during the process.
The title of the film pretty much refers to Dr. Murdock’s mute, too-tall
lackey Eric (Friedrich von Ledebur in underwhelming skull-face make-up), who’s
always on a stone-turning verge, making him a lumbering Frankenstein-like monster
who is often seen carrying off pretty girls. Jean Willes (as inmate Tracy) was
in a handful of Three Stooges shorts, as well as numerous TV shows and movies.
A typical Sam Katzman Grade Z production scripted by Bernard Gordon, THE MAN
WHO TURNED TO STONE (which was originally released on a Columbia Pictures double
bill with ZOMBIES OF MORA TAU) has a familiar cast of character actors and is
recommended to any collector of cheap, black and white, 1950s monster flicks.
This really should have been included on Sony’s must-have set, “Icons
of Horror Collection: Sam Katzman” (released in 2007), but it has been
made available standalone as a MOD DVD. Despite the lackluster packaging (which
uses a generic stock photo rather than colorful poster art), the transfer is
quite good, presenting the film in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with anamorphic
enhancement. The black and white image has crisp detail, with only some scatterings
of film dirt, and though some night-time scenes are a bit dark, this is the
best this film has ever looked and the first time it’s ever been available
on home video. The mono audio is actually clear as a bell. As it looks to be
the trend with these Sony MOD discs, there's no menu (or trailer), but you can't
go wrong with the quality here. For more information on this title, click HERE.
(George R. Reis)
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