A Trailer a Day Keeps the Boogeyman Away! The Nanny (1965)

“Would you trust the nanny . . . or the boy?”

THE NANNY (1965)

Director Seth Holt and screen writer Jimmy Sangster put Bette Davis in the role as Nanny based on the novel by Marryam Modell (Bunny Lake Is Missing).

Davis plays a kindly, attentive Nanny who is in charge of looking after precocious 10-year-old Joey Fane (William Dix-Tommy Stubbins in Doctor Dolittle), who has just been released from a hospital for emotionally disturbed children. It is believed that Joey was responsible for the bathtub drowning death of his little sister.

The film works so well fielding paranoia as Joey persecutes Nanny, trying to get his family to believe that it was Nanny who was the one who killed his sister and now looking to do him in. Once his mother Virgie Fane (Wendy Craig) becomes poisoned, a very tautly wound game of cat and mouse ensues as he enlists the help of the girl Bobbie who lives upstairs played by the wonderful Pamela Franklin. The film also stars Jill Bennett as Aunt Pen, James Villiers as Joey’s father Bill, and Maurice Denham as Dr. Beamaster. Bette Davis is purely marvelous as a very emotionally destructive older woman who has a few secrets that haunt her…

No one straddles the Grande Dame Guignol trope quite like the inimitable, the superb Bette Davis.

I’ll be doing a more extensive post about this film, as well as Dead Ringer 1964, as I just can’t get enough of those eyes – that voice…

Hush Hush"¦ Sweet Charlotte — **Hush… Hush Sweet Charlotte 1964.**

Yours truly, MonsterGirl

the clip joint: Daughter of Darkness (1948)

An obscure British Noir/Horror hybrid:

DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS (1948)

Directed by Lance Comfort (Devils of Darkness 1965) and based on the play ‘They Walk Alone’ by Max Catto, the film stars Anne Crawford as Bess Stanforth and Siobhan McKenna plays the disturbed Emily Beaudine. Maxwell Reed plays Dan, Barry Morse (Lt. Gerard The Fugative) plays Robert Stanforth, George Thorpe plays Mr Tallent, Honor Blackman as Julie Tallent and Liam Redmond is Father Cocoran.

Daughter of Darkness lobby card Father Cocoran

Emmie is a sensual creature but a quite bewildered young woman who works for Father Cocoran at the church. One day a carnival arrives in the town of Ballyconnen, where she meets Dan a young boxer, who tries to force himself on her under the moonlight. She uses her nails and scratches his face pretty badly.

Father Cocoran sends Emmie away to Yorkshire, where she is cared for by a nice family. But she has repressed her strange desires mixed with longing and repulsion toward men. Much like the hysteria of Catherine Deneuve’s character in Polanski’s Repulsion. The atmosphere is quite gripping and the psycho-sexual anxiety looms over this very obscure little British Noir/Horror odd gem with all sorts of iconography of religious symbolism, Gothic tones with the use of the organ music and the wonderful ‘hysterical woman’ archetype that I so love to write about.

The churches congregation demanding Emmie’s removal from the village as if she were a seductress witch, also goes to the hysteria around women’s sexuality, as Emmie is an ‘object’ of desire for so many around her.

MonsteGirl

“What a glorious feelin’, I’m happy again”: Thanks to Aurora from Once Upon a Screen… nominating me for the Versatile Blogger Award!

The beautiful man himself- Gene Kelly Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

When I learned that Aurora who has the most fabulous classic film Once upon a screen… and television blogs How Sweet It WasÂ nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award I immediately became overcome with gratitude. PS. Aurora, I agree Gene Kelly is sexier when he dances by himself, actually I’ve always felt that watching that beautiful man dance is truly sexier than anything else on earth!

Lately, I’ve been shown a lot of love and appreciation for this little blog of mine that often just takes on a life of it’s own, because as another wonderfully versatile blogger Dorian’s title would imply, Tales of the Easily Distracted Â I get so distracted…!!! and there’s just so much goodness out there, it’s hard to stay with one genre, or actor or film without becoming overwhelmed and going off on one of my tangents. In fact, there are too many films, tv shows, actors and characters I consider to be my favorites that it’s often hard for me to put into words how much they touch my life, and so I truly do try to shine a flashlight on the more off the beaten track sort of story.

When I read some of the wonderfully nostalgic tributes to the classic features and stars at Once upon a screen…, and How Sweet It Was, I get this warm glow of electric joy that tingles all over. And I feel like I’ve met old friends for tea or a dance in the rain.

And I agree with my new friend Aurora who I’m showing some much valued fondness here today not only because it is part of the good karma of the award to first thank the person who nominates you, and mention how ‘versatile’ they are, but I genuinely DO appreciate Aurora’s fantastic blogs, the way she looks at things and the way my blog has become such a nice little fit into a community of like minded people who have been absolutely delightful, gracious and completely generous to consider me… "Gooba gabba, gooba gabba, one of us, one of us!

Tod Browning's Freaks 1932 — *Tod Browning’s* Freaks 1932

So thank you Aurora Once upon a screen… for giving me this fabulous honor, I’ll do my best to answer 7 things about myself, and pass the torch on to other bloggers deserving of the appreciation, helping to grow this long table of celebration and make it extend outward as we all get to reminisce and learn more about the classics we love and find out more about each other…

7 THINGS ABOUT MYSELF…

1) My mother always said that she married my pop because he looked so much like Gene Kelly, and in fact when he was younger, he really did look a lot like him, although he never danced a lick in his life…

CapturFiles_2 — No one on earth moves quite like this gorgeous hunk of man… *Gene Kelly*

2) I believe in ghosts-

CapturFiles_1 — *Gene Tierney* as Lucy Muir and *Rex Harrison* as Captain Daniel Gregg in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir 1947

3) My pop would always take me to the local stationary store to get the latest Forrest J. Ackerman’s Famous Monsters of Filmland Magazine. I used to possess every copy when I was a little MonsterGirl, but alas, I gave them away and could now kick myself from here til a month of Sundays…

4) Although I’m often mistaken for having been classically trained, I am completely self taught on piano and can’t read a note of music…

*Peter Lorre i*n The Beast With Five Fingers 1946

5) I cleaned houses for over a decade to pay the rent, as being a musician fills your soul but not your belly…

Shirley Booth as Hazel retro tv show — *Shirley Booth* as Hazel from the 60s retro tv series

6) I started out wanting to become a fine artist before I knew that I had a musical aptitude at age 8. Playing piano resonated with me more than sketching…

Kirk Dougles poses in front of self portrait of Vincent — **1955 "” Kirk Douglas poses beside a self-portrait of Vincent Van Gogh, painted by the artist in 1886-1887 to show his remarkable resemblance to the great painter. "” Image by Â© Bettmann/CORBIS**

7) I love Peter Falk and his portrayal of cigar smoking, Columbo the funny little Lieutenant in the rumpled raincoat and Don Knott’s wiry and lovable deputy Barney Fife, that I had a woman on Etsy make dolls of them for me. I planned on having her do Edith Bunker and Aunt Bee as well, but she stopped making her wonderful creations to go back to school…

And here I go honoring the legacy of passing the Versatile Blogger Award nomination forward to just a few of the blogs I love and feel have that versatile flair, I want to give Aurora and these folks a great big hug…

Shadowplay

The Midnight Monster Show

Journey’s in Classic Film

OCD Viewer

Films From Beyond the Time Barrier

Radiation Cinema!

Goregirl’s Dungeon

From Midnight, With Love

SÃ©ance on a Wet Afternoon 1964: A Conspiracy of Madness Part II- “They're really quite adaptable, children. They're like"¦ little animals.”

As part of my double feature for Furious Cinema’s: Scenes of the Crime Blog-a-thon.

SÃ©ance on a Wet Afternoon (1964)

SÃ©ance on a Wet Afternoon 1964 is an astonishing film by British actor/director/screenwriter Bryan Forbes (Whistle Down the Wind (1961), The L-Shaped Room (1962) King Rat (1965) The Wrong Box (1966), The Whisperers (1967) Deadfall (1968) The Raging Moon (1971) The Stepford Wives 1975) Forbes who also penned the screenplay was only nominated for a BAFTA but actually won the Writers Guild of Great Britain and the 1965 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America. Richard Attenborough was co-producer on the film as well. Forbes actually adds a slight spin on McShane’s novel by the way he introduces the presence of the Savage’s dead son Arthur. In an interview, Forbe recalls, ” It was a paperback written by an Australian, a very good paperback, but it had something we couldn’t use because in the book, I believe the child was killed, and we weren’t going to go down that way.”

In the same interview, Bryan Forbes talks about his original conception for the screenplay. “I was counting up the other day; I think I’ve written about 68 screenplays in my career, not all of which have reached the screen but which I’ve actually written. And you start with a blank sheet of paper and I had trouble writing it and at one point… I don’t think I told this to many people, we couldn’t as I say, ‘get it cast’ So I turned it into a burnt out homosexual case, that the medium became a sort of Maurice Woodruff who was living with a young man and it was sort of burnt out. Now had we got away with that it would have been an absolute trail blazer of a movie in 1962, I offered it to Alec Guinness and Tom Courtney and Tom said yes and after a month Guinness said no. But that would have been something. And then I sat down and rewrote another version. And changed certain things and eventually as I say, I managed to get Kim Stanley.”

SÃ©ance on a Wet Afternoon 1964Â is based on the novel by Mark McShane. Gerry Turpin received a BAFTA nomination for his stunningly riveting Cinematography. The incredible composer/conductor John Barry (Day of the Locust 1975, Somewhere in Time 1980) wrote the music for the film. Derek York did outstanding editing with art direction by Ray Simm.

Alan Roderick Jones and Peter James created the marvelously significant Set design that placed the narrative in the center of the proper mood.

The film stars the incomparable Kim Stanley as the extraordinary Myra Savage, Richard Attenborough plays her feeble husband Billy Savage who twists at Myra’s powerful instability.

Richard Attenborough actor — *Richard Attenborough* in the dark British Noir Crime Thriller Brighton Rock ( 1947).

Nanette Newman & Mark Eden are The Claytons. Gerald Sim is Detective Sergeant Beedle, who first starts poking around the Savage’s London house, and Patrick Magee plays Superintendent Walsh Margaret Lacey, Marie Burke, and Maria Kazan are the women at the first SÃ©ance, Lionel Gamlin appears at the SÃ©ances, MarianÂ Spencer is Mrs. Wintry, Godfrey James is Mrs. Clayton’s Chauffeur and Judith Donner is Amanda Clayton the freckled little girl who falls into Myra’s warped plot to achieve fame.

Much like Bunny Lake Is Missing, this film could be called a Post-Noir offering, yet it flawlessly fits into the psychological suspense-crime genre. Like Bunny Lake, the plot revolves around an unseen child.

What lies at the core of the film is not the crime itself. Again, while the film is seemingly a Post-Noir crime thriller on the surface, it truly is much more of a psychological morality play about the depths of loss and alienation driving a soul whose fragile psyche bends toward madness. It goes to the questions of maternal instinct and inherited destiny. It’s about human frailties and fractured human relationships that fuel both the alienation and the prevailing insanity.

THE PLOT:

Are these three women symbols, as in the ‘three sisters’ from Macbeth, signifying the ‘fates’?

Kim Stanley herself mystically occupies the role of Myra Savage, a professed spiritual medium who truly believes she’s the ‘real thing’ and who holds weekly Wednesday afternoon sÃ©ances in her London home. The film opens with the camera framed on the lit candle burning in the dark blackness and holds itself there silently for quite a few seconds before it moves to a close-up of hands clasped together in silent obeisance to the moment. We hear a quiet, measured voice speaking. As the camera moves from the hand grasped within the hand. “What"¦ what is it? No, no, no, no"¦ later, later, not now..” Myra whispers to her unseen companion, “A message, what? It’s a young face, he’s waving.” The youngest woman sitting around the table begins to cry. Myra continues. “Peaceful, very peaceful.” The candle crackles, threatening to burn out. “Oh no, no, ssshhh, hush, ssshhh. No, my darling, it’s alright, my precious no more, no more, no more.”

The candle flame cuts right up the middle of Myra’s face, giving her an ethereal look of serenity. Yet the flame acts as as a declaration of the duality or paradox of Myra’s conflicted motherhood, denoting a split or fracture in her personality. A bit of symbolic camera play. And quietly, as she begins to open her eyes, she snuffs the candle out with her fingers, and we are in total blackness for a split second. It is also in this first sÃ©ance that we see the presence of three women, which I infer as a signpost toward the symbolism of the three weird sisters or ‘fate’ from Shakespeare’s ”Macbeth’. Triggering a sort of marked destiny from this moment on.

As theÂ sÃ©ance guests leave the house, exiting into the pouring rain with their scarves and umbrellas, John Barry’s music is composed of trickling sparse notes like that of raindrops themselves, subtle, dripping, and as moody and dreamy as the opening sequence. The sparse melody is as slow and drawn out, and starkly subdued and somber as Myra’s voice when speaking to her child spirit guide that no one else can hear.

The film’s titles begin to roll as the camera catches little drops of rain on the lens and frames the Victorian house in a small puddle in the street. A very effective way to bring us into the dreary moodiness of the story. The house drew Forbes to it because of its characteristic turret.

Continue reading “SÃ©ance on a Wet Afternoon 1964: A Conspiracy of Madness Part II- “They're really quite adaptable, children. They're like"¦ little animals.”” →

Shhh… let’s all hold hands now… the sÃ©ance is almost about to begin!

I’ve been working furiously on SÃ©ance on a Wet Afternoon for the Scenes of the Crime Blogathon. My follow up to Bunny Lake Is Missing: Otto Preminger/Bryan Forbes: A Conspiracy of Madness double feature.

Stay tuned and keep your ears peeled for disembodied voices from the spirit world… it might just be me, or your old aunt Edna just stoppin’ by to say hello.

I’ll be in touch… MonsterGirl

Brian Schuck of Films From Beyond the Time Barrier has handed MonsterGirl ‘The Liebster Award!’

Brian Schuck of the outre cool Films From Beyond The Time Barrier has graced me with a ‘seal of approval’ for the much coveted Liebster Award. I have been secretly yearning for one of these, so when he tapped me I cheered with glee and became choked with emotion, I truly did…

I’ve been referred to as cheeky, I think I’m always kind, I try to be very thoughtful about the subjects and themes I’m covering, whether it’s a film noir with a sociological underpinning or a classic horror film that I just can’t help injecting a bit of my kitchen table philosophy into, I like to think critically about things, not be too preachy, I loathe that, and I am well aware of how long winded I can be, and because often enough I like to create a visual essay for the film or show I am talking about, with the gazillion images I pack into one single post, (enough to wallpaper your guest bedroom with), someone still felt I deserved the award. I’m getting Verklempt…

So now it’s my turn to pass along this honor by answering 11 random things about myself, answer the 10 wonderful questions that Brian has asked me to illuminate you with, and then to pay it forward to 11 other bloggers so that they might feel the glow from the glory of being recognized as the stunning new kid on the block in the blogasphere by some extremely witty and wonderful thinkers and writers. I love this award because it shows appreciation for the work we’ve all done and connects us all together making the world an even more deliciously collective consciousness pot luck. I adore reading the random facts about the people behind the always informative, serious or humorous, absolutely enjoyable and entertaining blogs that are not only original, inspire nostalgic exultation, and are endearing and thought provoking little personal tributes to the world of arts and entertainment. The Liebster Award is like a big kiss on the mouth from a very appreciative fan. Well, maybe not so much like a stalker, but it’s a really swell compliment indeed…

Here goes:

THESE ARE 11 LITTLE THINGS ABOUT MYSELF:

1) I have gypsy blood
2) my two favorite sounds in the world are purring and rain pouring down
3) I name everything"¦and I do mean everything.
4) When I play my concertina Ruby it frightens the cats.
5) Garlic is not my friend anymore.
6) I never went to school, I used to hide behind the shed until my Austrian Grandfather would find me and throw out curse words in German then chase me around the house telling my mother"¦ who would then let me stay home and sketch super heroes, read my comic books, make my Aurora Models of Universal Monsters and watch Dark Shadows with her.
7) My mother was a ballet dancer until her breasts grew too large, they told her to teach, she declined.
8) Kids really did tease me when I was growing up, they called me MonsterGirl, a name I wear with extreme pride today!
9) I think Vincent Price is absolutely one of the sexiest men who ever lived…
10) I talk to trees, animals, insects and inanimate objects as if they truly knew what I was saying"¦ I also talk to the vacuum cleaner Pearl and thank her after every job well done.
11) I was told by a several psychics that I had been burned as a witch in a past life.

1. What is your guiltiest movie pleasure?

Valley of the Dolls (1967), “Boobies Boobies Boobies nothin but Boobies, who needs ’em” need I say more…

2. What is your favorite character actor/actress?

If you get to know me you find out that asking me to pick ‘just one’ of anything is like trying to eat one potato chip. It just can’t be done, therefor with your indulgence you might have to bare with me while I mention just a few"¦ sorry

Ruth Gordon is the one I’d pick if you absolutely held a gun to my head and forced me to choose just one… then there’s Shelley Winters, Joan Blondell, Mildred Dunnock, Thelma Ritter, Judith Evelyn, Jeanette Nolan, Agnes Moorehead, Burgess Meredith, Cecil Kellaway, Harry Townes, George Macready, Roddy McDowall, Maurice Evans and Barnard Hughes.

3. What movie would you show to an alien visitor to best illustrate the meaning of life on earth and being human?

The Wizard of Oz (1939), because the truth about life is that home is right there ‘within’ yourself, but so many people have to hit their heads during a tornado and meet a man behind the curtain and a kindly witch to figure that out.

4. What movie made prior to 1970 would you show to a teen or twenty-something who insists that nothing that old could be any good?

I baby sat 8 and I0 year old sisters a few years back and we watched Them (1954),Â Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Creature from The Black Lagoon (1954). It wasn’t hard to get them to think critically about the ‘other’ and I never underestimated the power of our imaginations. They had a profound understanding of invading the Creature’s domain when he wasn’t bothering anybody and imposing a colonial point of view on this poor Gil man. They understood that it was icky to have an arranged or deranged marriage between two unwitting people sewn together and brought to life by lightning and a galvanic battery, and by the middle of Them we were all sadly exclaiming ‘They’ve killed Gramps Johnson‘ they loved it"¦ and a new generation of classic horror fans were born.

Otherwise I’d force everyone else to watch Robert Wise’s The Haunting (1963), Rosemary’s Baby (1968)or anything of Val Lewtons.

5. What movie or actor/actress that you were indifferent about or maybe even disliked at the start, has grown most in your estimation over the years?

Here I go again not naming just one, and I never disliked any of these actresses- Carol Lynley, Salome Jens, Eileen Heckert, Lois Nettleton, Teresa Wright, Kim Hunter and Myrna Loy.

6. What movie or actor/actress has declined the most over the years?

Citizen Kane (1941) I think it’s highly over rated, I’ve tried to re-experience it several times with an open mind but it just doesn’t resonate with me"¦ uh oh…here come the angry villagers with their hay forks, bale hooks and torches blazing… look out!

7. What actor or actress is most like you?

Let’s see, I am feral but classy, intuitive, passionate, kind , worship cats, believe in magic am sexy but not drop dead gorgeous, considered humorous, quirky, whimsical and delight small children and old people and my hair at times has been a bit frightful yet I never ‘scared the horses’,"¦As Queenie In Bell Book and Candle I was child-like and loved talking to cats. I must be"¦ Elsa Lanchester

8. Which would you prefer to do: direct, produce or write?

Well writing for sure, but I’d love to EditÂ or be involved in the Casting process.

9. What 3 neglected, underdog movies are most deserving of a revival on TV, DVD and/or online?

Oh Liebster gods forgive me for breaking the rules but, I can’t just pick 3, off the top of my little knotty head (I bang it a lot) Sam Fuller’s The Naked Kiss (1964), Mark Robson’s Bedlam (1946) Thorold Dickinson’s The Queen of Spades (1949), Joseph L. Mankiewicz Suddenly, Last Summer (1959), Edward Dmytryk’s Walk on the Wild Side (1962), Aldrich’s Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte (1964), Max OphÃ¼ls Caught (1949), No Way Out (1950),Henry Hathaway’s The Dark Corner (1946), Phantom Lady (1944), Nightmare Alley (1947), The Man Who Laughs (1928), The Bad Seed (1956) The Killers (1946), Dead Ringer (1964), The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)

10. Boris Karloff or Bela Lugosi?

I’ve been saying it for years that I wish Boris Karloff was my grandfather. His lilting tone of voice, his gentle manner, and the dimension he brings to every role has made me love him like a kindly grandfather I wish could read me scary bed time stories with a warm glass of milk. In addition to his reputation as a true gentleman and an advocate for actors, his contributions are memorable and timeless treasures…

11. What unfamiliar movie genre terrain are you most keen to explore?

The Spaghetti Western…

Now it’s time to pass this torch along to the next group of worthy bloggers:

If you don’t see your blog here, please don’t hate me, it’s either because you’ve been tagged already, have a Liebster or it’s just that I purely have too much on my mind and couldn’t think of all of you as much as I do adore you…

CURTAIN CALL: Here are the 11 I pass the Liebster torch along to-

Cinema Enthusiast
Goregirl’s Dungeon
Furious Cinema
OCD Viewer
MonsterMinions
And So It Begins
Mettel Ray Movie Blog
Forgotten Films
Film Squish
The Motion Pictures
Silver Screenings

And if they should want to answer my 11 questions, it would be these little nuggets to chew on:

1-The Addams Family or The Munsters?
2-If you had to pick the most compelling cinematic ghost story which would you choose?
3-Who is your absolute favorite actor/actress and what would you like to ask them if you had the chance?
4-Which do you feel is the best film adaptation of a literary work?
5-What director do you feel really pushed or pushes the boundaries of film making and why?
6-Can we take Citizen Kane off the number one film of all time list for just a moment and suppose there is another, what would that be?
7-You’re trapped in an elevator for 26 hours, who would you want to be sweaty and thirsty with?
8-If you were an archetypal character from either, literature, film or television who would it be?
9-Who in your opinion is THE worst film, television or cartoon villain of all time?
10-Who is the most sympathetic character in a film?
11-What novel would you like to see adapted to the screen?

Auf Wiedersehen-der MonsterGirl

Quote of the day! The File on Thelma Jordon (1950)”I’m no good for any man for any longer than a kiss!”

..SHE’LL LIE…KILL OR KISS HER WAY OUT OF ANYTHING!

THE FILE ON THELMA JORDON (1950)

CapturFiles_5 — Barbara Stanwyck and Wendell Corey in Robert Siodmak’s The File on Thelma Jordon
*photo courtesy of Doctor Macro

Directed by Robert Siodmak (The Spiral Staircase 1945, The Killers 1946, Criss Cross 1949) this is a slick film-noir crime thriller with the ballsy Stanwyck as femme fatale Thelma Jordon in love with jewel thief Tony Laredo (Richard Rober) who gets her to steal from her rich aunt, and winds up shooting her, then making it look like a robbery. Wendell Corey plays gullible Cleve Marshall the assistant district attorney who manages to get Thelma an acquittal at trial. They start a passionate affair but Thelma is no good, and Tony reappears back in the picture… these things never end well…

“I’m no good for any man for any longer than a kiss!”

CapturFiles_4 — photo courtesy of Doctor Macro

“Maybe I am just a dame and didn’t know it!”

Maybe I’m just a dame and thought I was a MonsterGirl…

Jo Gabriel is MonsterGirl: Little Birds

I’m feeling a little nostalgic for the musiciany side of me this morning. I’ve got a lot of film posts coming up, but I don’t want to forget that my heart and roots are firmly grounded in being a singer/songwriter. For those of you who follow my little cinematic tirades, I though you might like to see a live performance of mine, and see the girl behind the MonsterGirl mask…

Here I am performing my song ‘Little Birds’ live at Hofstra University….