S.P. Oldham's Blog, page 45

Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 1956

I continue to work my way through the list of films posted in ScreenRant article ‘15 Black and White Horror Films That Are Still Scary as Hell’ – By Wednesday Lee Friday https://screenrant.com/scariest-black-and-white-ho...

Spoilers throughout.

This time I went with Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 1956 starring Kevin McCarthy and Diana Wynter.

The story is told in retrospect, as recounted by the main character Dr Miles Burnell and is more sci-fi than horror in my view.

Very typical of the 50’s, the women are once again all slender, beautiful, made up and immaculately dressed, the men similarly well-presented. So I was pleasantly surprised to find that the dialogue was a lot more natural than I expected, not stiff and overly formal as some of these older movies can sometimes be. I was disappointed that twice in the film Miles had to physically pick up and carry Becky – the stereotypical weak and feeble woman which, thankfully, does not seem to be so prevalent these days.

It’s obviously a plot device meant to move the story along, but I found it faintly ridiculous that a couple would be willing to sit up all night with a ‘prototype’ human, ostensibly a dead body, to ‘see what happens.’ That said, there are instances in reality where people really have kept dead bodies close to them, sometimes for extended periods of time, so maybe it is not so far-fetched after all. (https://www.ranker.com/list/12-people-who-were-found-living-with-dead-bodies/carly-kiel) I believe that in those cases the people concerned were suffering from mental illness or some kind of psychological or psychiatric condition. The film does state several times over that this is the general thinking of the medical profession in town – that there is an hysteria or a neurological disorder that is somehow catching. So okay, big pinch of salt taken and on we go…

I also found it a bit hard to swallow how they are all very blasé about what was going on, bothering to boil eggs for breakfast, pausing to make coffee. That, coupled with a few thrown in references to the marital status of the two main characters, struck me as being token efforts to add interest other than the main storyline. It seemed unnecessary. She stops to grab her cardigan after they defeat three ‘invaders’ and need to escape, fast! I just found throughout that little things like that jarred with me.

It came as no surprise that blame for the invasion was laid, possibly, at the feet of the scientific experimentation of the time. Mutation, alien life form etc… It is another example of film reflecting or expressing widely held concerns of the era. Totally understandable; it offered a wealth of ideas and opportunities for sci-fi and horror material. Film down the decades has done this of course, and will no doubt continue to do so, although I felt it got dangerously close to preachy in the scene where Becky and Miles are discussing the gradual erosion of humanity whilst hiding in the doctor’s office.

She gives them away when she displays fear at the thought the dog will get run over, after Miles cautions her not show any interest or animation. Yet, when they are being pursued, the aliens in human form show and express a great deal of interest and animation! Perhaps I am being picky, but I found a lot of little annoyances in this film.

“Sooner or later, you’ll have to go to sleep,” a good line for a sci-fi/horror I thought, as was “They’re here already! You’re next!” I realise this film was made many years before, but it put me in mind of a Doctor Who plotline, minus the good humour. The ending offers a glimmer a hope for mankind, but not for the film I’m afraid, as it was something of an anti-climax and very abrupt, too.

Scary as hell? Definitely not. I understand that this film is interesting in that it is a reflection of some widely held views, especially American, of the time, but sorry, this film just didn’t do it for me at all.

The Cabinet of Dr Caligari - Review -Wednesday Lee Friday’s list ’15 Black & White Horror Movies that are Scary as Hell.’

The Cabinet of Dr Caligari – Number 8 on Wednesday Lee Friday’s list ’15 Black & White Horror Movies that are Scary as Hell.’ https://screenrant.com/scariest-black-and-white-horror-movies-ever-all-time/

The music is genuinely chilling and sinister at first, but quickly becomes repetitive and annoying. Originally, I have no doubt it added a great deal of drama and intensity to this otherwise silent film.

Regarded as a leader and an important film in German Expressionism, to my unqualified eye the scenery has a child’s picture book, almost cartoonish appearance, more akin to a stage play than a film, with some oddly unsettling perspectives to boot. There are lots of strange patterns on walls, floors etc which throughout the entire film made me think of some sort of abstract art style. Doors open at weird angles, there are lots of distorted shapes littered throughout the film. I know, I know, that IS expressionism...

The Clerk’s stool and desk are absurdly high, giving the scene when Dr. Caligari petitions him a strange quality. Perhaps this is historically accurate, or perhaps it was for reasons of dramatic impact. I think the latter, signifying Caligari’s status in comparison to that of the officious Town Clerk. We see the police officers also sitting on very high stools, seemingly to convey the same message.

I had to google translate the word ‘Irrenanstalt’ written on the wall when Mr. Frances follows Dr. Caligari after he has been exposed. For those of you who don’t know, the word means ‘mental institution’ or ‘asylum.’ I also noticed a recurrence of the number 5, on the Clerk’s podium and on the walls of the prison, but I have no idea what meaning, if any, can be attached to that. After a little research I found this link. Make of it what you will: https://mysticalnumbers.com/number-5/

I confess to being confused by the ending. SPOILER ALERT: If Dr. Caligari was discovered, put in the straight jacket and presumably incarcerated as an inmate of the asylum, how is it that later on he is still Director and has Mr. Frances incarcerated as insane? Are we supposed to think that it was all in Mr. Frances head and if so, how is it that Jane is also insane? If not, then how is Caligari once again free and acting as Director of the asylum? Or is it that they were all insane from the start, that the entire story takes place in Mr. Frances’ head/within the asylum walls and Caligari is in fact sane? An interesting twist on the story.

If you were inclined to go deeper, I think this film throws up some interesting questions about personal responsibility and culpability, in particular; if you persuade or force someone to commit murder on your behalf, how much of the responsibility is actually yours if you never so much as held the knife, so to speak?

There is most definitely a dark and unsettling feel to this film, though I can’t help but wonder how much of that is the sheer age, the theatrical qualities mentioned above, including the bizarre whiting of the actors faces and the strange backdrops rather than the film itself. Like most of the films on this list it would not stand up as horror today. It should be remembered that it was made in 1920, not long after the First World War – I can’t help wondering if this had any effect on the way in which the film was made?

What I can say about this film is that this is the first of the 15 that has truly made me think. I was not familiar with the story before I watched it, which helped me stick with it. To be honest I found it hard going to watch, because of all the inevitable overacting, curious dramatic poses, facial expressions and face make up applied with a trowel – all in keeping with the era and with stage drama, I suppose – coupled with the arty styling of the sets, which I found distracting and irritating. Personal choice only, of course.

Scary as hell? No. Slightly unsettling? Yes. Food for thought too. If you haven’t seen it and don’t mind silent films then it might be for you, but for me, once was enough. 

Insole Court - The Library (Blue Room)

At the wonderful Insole Court in Llandaff, Cardiff. The Library is a dark yet deeply attractive room, the shelves behind me housing some rare books, including a set of works by Ruskin. I prefer to think of it as the Blue Room, but that is entirely unofficial and just my personal slant!

As I understand it, the house was saved from demolition by the local community, who gathered together to keep it from the hands of the authorities. Thank goodness for that too! The grounds are beautiful, as is the house, and a very important part of local history. The house is still undergoing renovation and so is somewhat bare in many rooms, whilst other areas are not yet open to the public, but it is nonetheless still well worth a visit. I look forward to going back in the future to see the progress it makes.

Thank you and credit to my lovely sister Sylvia Williams for taking this photo of me posing in front of some of the books, set upon a solid old set of shelves. This room would be a great place to sit and write a ghost story, if you took a chair by the big bay window and providing, of course, that you are not afraid of the odd misplaced shadow, or inexplicable creaking floorboard or two...