(1954)
Dir - John Brahm
Overall: GOOD
Somewhat of a companion piece to the previous year's House of Wax, (which was also in 3D and stared Vincent Price, though each was made by a different studio, Columbia in this case), The Mad Magician is not as strong or as memorable, but not altogether a failure by any stretch. Plausibility is indeed an issue as Price's stage magic inventor Gallico the Great with the use of elaborate masks and in disguising his voice manages to easily fool a number of people, (including an entire theater audience), into believing he is a different person despite the obvious difference in height and the fact that the people that he is masquerading as are proven to have identical fingerprints by the police. Though it takes a laughably long time for his murderous schemes to get uncovered, Price excels of course as the title character, only going overboard as necessary as he was consistently able. The film is paced briskly enough as well and has an appropriately macabre enough finish, though the very last scene is admittedly a bit dated and hokey.
(1958)
Dir - Kurt Neumann
Overall: GOOD
Remade famously and superiorly of course by David Cronenberg almost three decades later and launching two lesser sequels of its own, the initial The Fly still maintains a lauded reputation. Visually, it is notable with chief cinematographer Karl Struss making excellent use out of widescreen, CinemaScope camerawork and the DeLuxe Color process embellishes the elaborate laboratory equipment which rather vividly comes to life. Vincent Price in a supportive role is assuredly ham-less, but his presence in anything is always appreciated. German director Kurt Neumann helps concoct a good amount of subtle, unnerving scenes like a disintegrated cat meowing in the spooky ether, David Hedison's hooded, post-experiment gone awry scientist's cold, mysterious mannerisms, and of course the finale "Help me!" caught in a web spectacle which could have easily come off as ridiculous in a less controlled, tone-steady production than this. Naturally, The Fly has been so iconic as a sci-fi horror film for so long that it is unfortunately rather impossible to pack any genuine surprises or tension with a modern viewing, but it is no less of an exemplary work in the genre and still well deserving of its prestige.
(1959)
Dir - William Castle
Overall: GOOD
William Castle's most famous gimmick, (in his second and final collaboration with Vincent Price and third with screenwriter Robb White), was the Percepto! one used in The Tingler whereas Castle had a number of vibrating devices installed on select seats in larger theater venues showing the film across the country. Though its lasting legacy may owe its greatest debt to said stunt, it holds up well enough as an actual movie despite its consistent ridiculousness. This comes almost exclusively from the sketchy plot which has some of the laziest character behavior and Hollywood science "logic" ever brought to celluloid. The macabre set pieces involving hallucinatory LCD-induced experiences are a hoot though and the story line is so consistently irrational to the point that whether or not you are laughing at it or with it is ultimately irrelevant. Price himself gets to trip balls in one memorable scene and also gets to break the forth wall no less than three times near the end to further rev up the camp value. Castle and Price's previous outing The House on Haunted Hill was a masterpiece for both parties, but there is enough admirably fun qualities in The Tingler to make it an amusing if comparatively lesser project nonetheless.
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