(1932)
Dir - George Archainbaud
Overall: MEH
Somewhat historically significant as a vague precursor to later slasher movies and because of the real life suicide of one of its stars Peg Entwistle, (who makes her sole screen appearance here and jumped to her death off of the Hollywood sign mere weeks before the film's release), Thirteen Women is still forgettable otherwise. An adaptation of Tiffany Thayer's novel of the same name, fifteen minutes were trimmed to bring it down to an even more brisk fifty-nine for the final running time. This actually eliminated two entire characters, both of whom would have made up the thirteen in the title. Not that they were necessary since it is a monotonous story as is, with Myra Loy's exotic "Asian" character gradually picking off her former sorority sisters by convoluted means of manipulation through horoscope predictions. A silly idea to be sure and even though the story speaks somewhat to prejudice against mix-raced women, its themes are poorly conveyed if they are conveyed at all, so it just ends up being a hum-drum thriller.
(1939)
Dir - William Dieterle
Overall: GOOD
Sixteen years after Universal's legendary silent version with Lon Chaney, The Hunchback of Notre Dame was reinterpreted by RKO Pictures with Charles Laughton in the lead as Quasimodo. Plot wise it is considerably different from the last adaptation, moving some elements around and tweaking the relationships between several characters. The class dynamic concerning peasants and nobleman is still paramount with a strong emphasis being placed on the advent of the printing press and the poet Pierre Gringoire's romantic rallying of the people. A then eighteen year-old Maureen O'Hara appears as Esmeralda on account of Laughton who had already worked with her before, and this would in turn launch her wildly successful Hollywood career. In the lead role, Laughton is reliably excellent and gives the hunchback a voice for the first time, yet his physical transformation is not as complete as the one that Chaney committed to in his virtuosic performance, by comparison. Also, the happy ending is not in conjunction with Victor Hugo's novel, but it is a fitting deviation that does not dilute the expansive, impressive production overall.
(1939)
Dir - Sidney Lanfield
Overall: GOOD
The first in what would become a series of fourteen Sherlock Holmes films with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Holmes and Dr. John Watson respectfully, The Hound of the Baskervilles was one of two by 20th Century Fox before Universal would take over for the prominent bulk of them. It could hardly be said that Rathbone had a typecast career, yet this remains his most famous role if not for the sheer volume of times that he appeared as the character, but also due to his sly portrayal which helped set the benchmark this early on in the sound era. Both John Carradine and Lionel Atwill round out the familiar supporting horror movie actors, though matinee idol Richard Greene got top-billing over Rathbone for whatever reason. This particular Arthur Conan Doyle novel had been adapted for the screen twice before and it is one of the rare Holmes stories to allow for Gothic scenery and atmosphere, both of which this production stylishly has. Fog-drenched moors, howling demon dogs, an ominous family curse, and a minimal musical score let things play out in an eerily quiet fashion. It is mostly amusing for Rathbone's Holmes being twelve steps ahead of everybody, but the macabre mood is a wonderful addition as well.
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