Three titles from the Warner Archive today that might whet your appetite for Halloween.
Confessions of an Opium Eater
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| Warner Archive / September 25, 2012 |
The Pitch
Vincent Price faces the death of 1,000 cuts in this delirious pulp adventure directed by Touch of Evil producer Albert Zugsmith. Returning to San Francisco after a long stay in the Orient, two-fisted mercenary Gilbert De Quincey (Price) finds himself caught in the midst of a Tong war. Descending deep below the surface of Chinatown, he plays one side against the other in a daring attempt to break up a human trafficking ring, where slave girls are auctioned for opium. A surreal, rip-roaring yarn packed with evil drug lords, secret passageways, illicit opium dens and more.
The Review
I can certainly confirm that this was one of the most psychotronic films that I’ve ever seen. For lack of a better word, this Asianploitation film features Price as the lone caucasian (save for an opium den cameo by another actor) in an all-Asian cast. Using the “mysterious” Orient as a setting, Price portrays a lone traveler who finds himself in the center of the action admist Chinese women slaves, drug kingpins, human trafficking and trippy opium sequences that must have been startling in the film was released in 1962. The story is a bit of a mess, not much more than a bunch of erratic vignettes, but the hey, the film does have, a wisecracking beautiful Asian dwarf. Take that, Academy Awards.
A mild recommendation, but a must-see for fans of strange and unusual cinema.
The Sorcerers
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| Warner Archive / September 25, 2012 |
The Pitch
Boris Karloff is at his mesmerizing best in this hypnotic chiller costarring Catherine Lacey (The Lady Vanishes) and directed by Michael Reeves (Witchfinder General). A disgraced hypnotist, Professor Marcus Monserret (Karloff) is about to have the last laugh. Inventing a machine that can control the minds of others, he lures Mike Roscoe (Ian Ogilvy) to his dingy flat to take part in a grand experiment. Discovering he can experience Mike’s sensations as well as his actions, Monserret envisions his device as a boon to science. His maniacal wife (Lacey), however, embittered by years of poverty, soon overpowers her husband and proceeds to use Mike for her own selfish gain.
The Review
There are very few actors in the history of cinema with a screen presence as intimidating as Boris Karloff, yet in this film the icon has become frail and disheveled portraying a down on his luck scientist in swinging London who has invented a device that not only controls minds, but also experience one’s emotions. Suffice to say, no good can come of this and the invention is exploited. Despite the lascivious plot description the film never really gels. It’s neither as suspenseful nor as voyeuristic as expected, with what feels like a forgotten tv script expanded to feature length. While the film has some atmosphere, it isn’t enough to make it particularly engaging.
The Face of Fu Manchu
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| Warner Archive / September 25, 2012 |
The Pitch
The world can breathe easier. Fu Manchu, the crimelord who knows the hidden powers of the mind, is dead. No less than Scotland Yard’s Nayland Smith witnessed the execution. But beware. Don’t expect Fu Manchu to die so conveniently when there’s still so much evil to perpetrate. Christopher Lee plays the malevolent anti hero of the popular Sax Rohmer novels for the first time in The Face of Fu Manchu. World domination is the ingenious fiend’s goal, one increasingly within his long-nailed grasp now that he’s discovered a secret potion so toxic that one drop can kill thousands. Pay heed, you Nayland Smiths of the world: The forces of evil are very much alive! Are you so foolish as to believe you can oppose the will of Fu Manchu?
The Review
After witnessing the execution of the notorious criminal Fu Manchu, Scotland Yard’s Nayland Smith is perplexed after a new series of murders begin with a methodology that matches that of the deceased mastermind. Smith and his sidekick, Carl Jannsen, are more than reminiscent of Holmes and Watson and their pursuit of Fu Manchu is tremendously entertaining and overall the film is a little silly, but with it’s tongue planted firmly in cheek, this Saturday matinee adventure is tremendous fun and a must see for fans of the genre. Highly recommended.
