MCU Sunday #17 Thor: Ragnarok

 

 Preface: As promised last year, I plan to review every single currently available movie in what is known as the  Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) over the year 2024. These will appear in order of their release over that time period. This is the seventeenth installment. (Oh, and by the way, after I've exhausted all of the currently available MCU movies I will be rounding out the year with some of the other available movies made from the Marvel comics pantheon.)

Notes: In each of the MCU installments you will be seeing references to two recurring events that occur in nearly every MCU movie.

Where is Stan Lee?: Stan Lee was the driving genius behind Marvel Comics.  He usually shows up in a cameo.  Sometimes these are so quick you gotta be sure you don't blink. Occasionally he gets a line  of dialogue.

And the Credits Roll: You should always stay in the theater for the credits when watching a MCU movie, because during the credits and at the end there is a teaser (or two) that is worth the wait.  Often they were a teaser for the next installment of the films.

 

 

 

OK, first off, according to Wikipedia, Chris Hemsworth had started to get a little bored with playing a straightforward serious Thor.  So with this entry you get Hemsworth with a chance to show off his comedy chops. And I like a little comedy in my action movies, although actually I prefer one liners to actual long extended sequences.  But this film doesn't overdo it, even when the sequence is extended (such as the opening tête-à-tête  between Thor and Surtur)

Thor: Ragnarok:

Thor is a prisoner. Surtur (voiced by Clancy Brown). is preparing to initiate the Norse "end of the world" known as Ragnarok. To that effort, he must go to Asgard and unite his crown with The Eternal Flame.  But since it is being kept in Asgard under lock and key, as it were, Thor tells him  that might prove a bit difficult.  But Surtur reveals that Odin is no longer in charge at Asgard, and the throne is empty: Asgard defenseless.  

But Thor is not exactly a prisoner, after all.  He was apparently just lulling Surtur into a state of confidence in his capture.  He summons his hammer, Mjolnir, and does battle with Surtur and his devilish protectors. (all to the background music featuring Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song", which any time you get Zep as the background music, the scene improves 100 fold.)

 

With Surtur (apparently) defeated and his crown in Thor's possession, Thor returns to Asgard to find that Odin is still in Asgard....  Only he is idling and watching a play performed by Asgardian actors (and very pitiful actors at that, but that's not due to the REAL actors in the roles... after all, on that stage you get cameos by none other than Chris Hemsworth's brother, Luke, Sam Niell and Matt Damon.  They pull off the terrible acting with panache...)

 

The "play" is one that is a retelling of how Loki, the hero of Asgard, saved Asgard from destruction... Hmmm.  You know it and I know it and even Thor knows it.  That's not Odin.  The king is a fake.  It's really Loki posing as Odin.

Thor makes Loki take him to where Odin is, but Odin is not where Loki left him (a retirement home on Earth, ye gods).  And while Thor and Loki stand by observing the demolition of the rest home where Odin supposedly was, Loki disappears leaving behind a calling card that Thor finds that leads him to...

Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch).  And the doctor has basically one goal, to dispense with any perceived threats to the peace on Earth.  So he helps Thor find Odin (Anthony Hopkins) on the agreement that once he is found both Thor and Loki will return to Asgard, thus eliminating the threat to Earth that Strange perceives them to be.

 

In Norway they find Odin who informs them that Thor did not actually prevent Ragnarok.  The Goddess of Death, Hela (Cate Blanchett), is on her way and Ragnarok, which had only been kept from happening while Odin was still alive is now imminent.  (And yes, sorry folks, but Odin must make his exit... sorry Hopkins fans...) And one final reveal from Odin before his departure.  Hela is Odin's firstborn, ac sister that neither Thor nor Loki knew about.

 After Odin disappears (in virtually a puff of smoke) Hela makes he appearance. And proves to Thor and Loki that she is one Hela of a woman (sorry couldn't resist.) When she tells them both to kneel before their new queen, Thor decides that is not an option and tries to show her the error of her ways by throwing Mjolnir at her.  But she dispatches Mjolnir to rubble in quick order.  (OK, now we're really getting somewhere with the Thor saga.)

 

She ends up going to Asgard and naming herself queen, leaving behind Thor, who is not  exactly the same man without Mjolnir.  He ends up on the planet Sakkar, and attacked by warriors. 0And he ends up being captured by  them.  But he is rescued by Scrapper 142 (Tessa Thompson) who defeats said warriors and captures Thor for her own purposes.  (Gotta love these warrior women in the Thor saga, they are some real badasses,) And what are her purposes?  She intends to sell Thor to the Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum) of Sakkar as a gladiator to fight in his battles, known as the Contest of Champions. Basically the same thing as those entertaining battles the Emperors of Rome used to entertain the masses in Ancient Rome, I guess.

 

He is helped to adjust to his new life by a rock man named Korg (played by the movie's director Taika Waititi). Meanwhile, back on Asgard, Hela lays waste to the entire army of Asgardians who are not so receptive to their new ruler. Not exactly the best way to treat your new subjects, if you ask me.  Killing off all your subjects and you rule a world, sure, but rule over whom? Well, for starters an army of undead warriors brought to life from the power of the Eternal Flame.

So ultimately, back on Sakkar, Thor has plans to get his freedom back.  After all, all he has to do is defeat this Grandmaster's ultimate champions and his reward for doing so, as promised by the Grandmaster will be the freedom he wants. 

Where is Stan Lee?

In preparation for his fight, Thor has to get cleaned up. Including a trip to the barber.  And guess who the barber is?  (Man this guy really gets around...)

 

So Thor enters the ring to face the champion.  And surprise, surprise, the Grandmaster's champion is none other than... The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). (You were wondering where he had been all this time, weren't you?} 

 

Although Thor eventually starts to win the battle, The Grandmaster stops Thor from his win.  It seems the Grandmaster is not one who appreciates having to concede anything, especially if it is not in his favor.

Also during this time Thor discovers the true identity of Scrapper 1t seems she is the last of a race of warrior women called the Valkyrie. (And my hopes rise up  that somewhere along the way in this film,  the music will cue of for one of my favorite classical pieces... you know which one I mean...) Thor tries to appeal to her as a former vaunted warrior of Asgard, but initially she refuses to even acknowledge she is a Valkyrie.

Back at Asgard, Hela charges Skurge (Karl Urban) with the task of rounding up all the dissenters to her claim to the throne.  (Author interjection: I liked Urban as Skurge for the most part, but I found his choice of using a Cockney accent for the character a little off-putting.  Every other Asgardian uses a cultured accent for their roles, but he sounds like a dockworker from the  backwaters of London.)

 

Thor and Hulk try to escape from the Grandmaster, and eventually the Valkyrie comes on board to help.  It seems that, as the only surviving Valkyrie who were all defeated at the hands of Hela before Odin cast her into exile, she wants revenge on Hela just as badly as Thor.  Thus Thor forms a group called "The Revengers".

The escape from Sakkar is eminent.  Through a wormhole named "The Devil's Anus" (I didn't make that up... Really.. That's it's name...) Of course, the Grandmaster doesn't like it when he is not totally in charge.  So he intends to do everything within his power to prevent The Revengers from escaping.  The Grandmaster is not really a villain here, he's more like the comic relief of the film.  (And after all, have you EVER seen a movie in which Goldblum was an entirely evil villain?  I find it hard to hate him, even when he is not a sympathetic character.)

On Asgard, the final battle occurs as the sibling rivalry of Thor and Loki has now been replaced with the sibling rivalry of Thor and Hela.  And while Heimdall (Idris Elba) and the rebellion fight Skurge and his army of enforcers, Thor and Hela fight for supremacy on Asgard.  But will Asgard survive to be a realm worth ruling? One way or the other, we get to see a final battle which includes (oh, happy day!) Led Zeppelin's return to the soundtrack.  (OK, I'll try not to let it go to my head...)

 

And the Credits Roll:

In a mid credits scene Thor and Loki discuss whether it is a good idea to bring Loki back to Earth. And a spacecraft appears.  In the post credits, The Grandmaster confronts the revolution to take over Sakkar and proclaims it to be a "tie"... Maybe not.

OK. Final words on Thor: Ragnarok.  At this point it is a fight between Captain America: The First Avenger and this one for supremacy at the top of the rankings.  I haven't quite made my final decision at posting, but both are really good.  You know, if you've been following along this series of posts, that I prefer action over character development, and this one does not disappoint on that level.  I doubt there is anything longer than a 5 minute interval where something cool is not happening, and the battles in this one rival anything in that other movie.

On a personal note; I'm pretty sure that there are many alternate choices to have played Hela and she would have been just as intimidating.  But I don't think anyone else could have pulled off the role of The Grandmaster that Goldblum did.  Even though he is basically just a side story to the actual plot, I enjoyed every moment that he was on screen and was somewhat disappointed when his presence finally came to an end. 

And so, really, the only disappointing part of the film, as I stated earlier my hope, was that the classical piece "Ride of the Valkyries" did not make it on the soundtrack.  Of course, that piece was meant as a battle of multiple characters (it is "valkyries", after all not "valkyrie") so I guess I can give it a pass.

Well folks time to board the spaceship (or it's substitute, the old Plymouth0 and head to Earth (or home, as it were.  Drive safely.

Quiggy

MCU Sunday #16 Spider-Man: Homecoming

 

 Preface: As promised last year, I plan to review every single currently available movie in what is known as the  Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) over the year 2024. These will appear in order of their release over that time period. This is the sixteenth installment. (Oh, and by the way, after I've exhausted all of the currently available MCU movies I will be rounding out the year with some of the other available movies made from the Marvel comics pantheon.)

Notes: In each of the MCU installments you will be seeing references to two recurring events that occur in nearly every MCU movie.

Where is Stan Lee?: Stan Lee was the driving genius behind Marvel Comics.  He usually shows up in a cameo.  Sometimes these are so quick you gotta be sure you don't blink. Occasionally he gets a line  of dialogue.

And the Credits Roll: You should always stay in the theater for the credits when watching a MCU movie, because during the credits and at the end there is a teaser (or two) that is worth the wait.  Often they were a teaser for the next installment of the films.

  

The first thing to note here is that Spider-Man: Homecoming is not an origin story. For the origin of the current Spider-Man you will have to wait until after the MCU Sunday series ends, because The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 are not considered a part of the MCU series. These will appear in the Marvel Movies series that will follow after the MCU series has been completed.  

Andrew Garfield, the actor who had original played Spider-Man in those first two Spider-Man movies' was replaced.  Apparently there were some issues with Garfield and the studio, the best I can figure is that Garfield was not entirely on board with the way that the brass wanted to promote Spider-Man..  A story I read was that was a no-show for a promotional event, which probably wasn't the only issue (otherwise his ouster would seem rather egregious..)

Tom Holland was the next one in line for the role.  And Holland, in my opinion, was just a substitute for Tobey Maguire. His performance is mostly indistinguishable from Maguire's portrayal in those earlier Spider-Man movies. But by the time Captain America: Civil War came out Maguire, at about 40,  was way too old for the role.  But Holland did the part justice, especially as a teenager who is over-exuberant about his potential role as a superhero.

In the tradition of previous entries in the MCU, the studio got yet another big name to play the role of the villain: Michael Keaton as Vulture.  Having Keaton in the role was probably one of the better decisions made by Marvel.  Considering that Parker is a young, inexperienced (read: not-hardened) superhero, he really needed a (somewhat) sympathetic villain, and who else but Keaton (or maybe Tom Hanks) could have pulled that off?

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017):

The movie opens just after the Battle of New York (see The Avengers).  After the Avengers defeated the Chitauri's plans to invade, New York City was a mess.  Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton), the owner of a salvage company, is running an operation to clean up the damage. But a government bureaucracy gets involved and shuts down his salvage operation.  (And surely, his wasn't the only company involved in salvage, I'm sure, but then, I guess he was the only one who turned to super-crime as a result.)

But Toomes finds out that all of the Chitauri stuff they got had not been turned over to the authorities, and he decides to use it to make stuff (including what will become known as the suit he uses to be The Vulture.)

Flash forward to the present.  After having been called in to help in the fight with Captain America (see Captain America: Civil War), Peter. "Spider-Man" Parker (Tom Holland) is desperate to become a part of the Avengers. But less important things...you know...things like school, and keeping his role as Spider-Man a secret from his Aunt May (Marisa Tomei), keep getting in the way.  And then, of course, there's that whole "I want to be  a superhero", but he doesn't have a clue when his help is needed and when he is just butting in on regular things that aren't really crimes.

For instance, stopping a guy from trying to jimmy the lock on his car with a Slim Jim because he locked his keys in the car, thus not only annoying the actual car owner but setting off the car's alarm and annoying the rest of the neighborhood, too,  Including..

Where is Stan Lee?:

One of the neighbors, who was just trying to get some sleep, apparently, opens up his window and yells "Don't make me come down there, punk!"

 

The good thing is Spidey finally gets to do some good when he spots some guys trying to rip off an ATM. The bad news is the bad guys have some wicked technology that proves to destroy not only the building, but pretty much mess up half a city block.  When he finds the backpack he had his regular clothes in stolen he has to sneak home.  Only to find his best friend, Ned (Jacob Batalon) waiting in his room 

And Ned, being the total nerd, is stoked that his best friend is Spider-Man. But struggles with that whole "can you just keep a secret identity a secret, dude" thing.  Thus causing some seriously difficult situations... such as causing a girl he really likes, Liz (Laura Harrier), to invite him to a party because she wants him to bring his friend, Spider-Man, whom she is crushing on.  (Because, you know, Ned told her that Peter knows Spider-Man).

But while Peter is changing into the Spider-Man suit on the roof he sees something dirty going on across town and goes to check it out instead.  Where he finds a couple Toomes men engaged in trying to sell some of their advanced weaponry to a small-time hood who really only wants something like a simple revolver, not a super ray gun.

As the bad guys try to get away, Spidey gives chase. But just when he is about to catch up, in pops The Vulture, who wraps him up in a parachute that is part of Spidey's suit arsenal and drops him in the East River.  (Which would be bad enough, even if he wasn't tied up with trying to get entangled from the parachute... have you heard how much a mess that river is...?)

Spidey ends up having to be rescued.by Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.)  Or at least one of his remote controlled suits, since Stark is elsewhere.  And even though Peter tries to explain that he had a handle on it, Stark tells him to lay off the big stuff and just try to be the "friendly neighborhood Spider-Man."

Meanwhile, Toomes, still as The Vulture, has some serious words with the guy who is supposed to be "discreetly" getting rid of some of the weapons. Like the anti-gravity gun he left behind at the scene. He shoots the underling, who had been also known as The Shocker, and gives the moniker to the next guy in line, who is now The Shocker (Bokeem Woodbine).

And back on the home front, Peter, who has found the discarded anti-gravity ray-gun is trying to figure out what makes it work. And it turns out it has a tracking device that tells him where the bad guys are. Which turns out to be the same area where his school is going to a Jeopardy-like school function.  And since Peter is the smartest guy in the school, he gets on the school team.

But while he is doing his thing as Spidey, the team has to do their function without him.  After they win they celebrate by going to the Washington Monument.  Where the tracking device, which his friend Ned has in his backpack, also turns out to have some capabilities you don't want in a tall building.  Like turning into a bomb...

Spidey has to show up to save his friends who are on the elevator at the top of the Washington Monument before all hell breaks loose and the elevator makes an unscheduled descent. After saving the day, Spidey, who is gradually learning the things he can do with his suit by trial and error begins to track down The Vulture.  (If you've ever watched the old TV show The Greatest American Hero, you know how much difficulty he's going to have with that whole "trial and error" thing.)

(And hey, BTW, just in case you think I've been a little flippant in this review, I think the whole point might have been to kind of use that old TV show as a template for this entry.  The film has more funny moments than the entire series of MCU movies up to this point.  Which is not necessarily a bad thing.  The MCU could use a shot in the arm at some point.  It was getting a bit serious.  But it is going to get serious again real soon...)

So back at home base, Toomes is starting to get a little perturbed.  8 years without any frustration from either the government or even, God forbid, those "costumed bozos in Stark's tower". And then along comes this red-suited pipsqueak to put a kibosh on his work.  So he has only one choice; kill him.

When Spidey tries to stop the transfer of illegal weapons on a ferry, The Vulture shows up and tries to convince him that's a bad move.  To make his point he uses his own weapons to cause the ferry to split apart.  Even though Spider-Man makes a valiant effort to keep things together, ultimately it requires the help of a convenient appearance of Iron Man. And Iron Man/Stark is disappointed in Peter and takes away the enhanced suit he provided.

So Peter has to resume a normal life as what he is supposed to really be; a high school student just trying to get through the daily grind of life as a teenager. (How boring!)  But guess what?  The bonus is that, by just being a regular kid, he gets to go to the high school homecoming dance with Liz.  But when he shows up to picker her up for the dance he discovers that Liz's dad is Toomes. (geez, from bad to worse.  I mean your would-be girlfriend being the daughter of your would-be arch-nemesis?  That's really gotta suck...)

And because good old dad is driving the two to the dance he gets to chat a little with Peter.  And gradually comes to the conclusion that Peter is actually the guy who has been giving him problems in his illegal activities...  And he tells Peter in no uncertain terms that he'd better lay off or some really bad things are going to happen to the people he loves.  Especially, and make that ESPECIALLY, don't try to stop him from his current plan.  Which turns out to be a hijacking of a plane loaded down with advanced weaponry that belongs to the Avengers.

Without the advanced suit that Stark had provided him, Peter has to go back to his old suit.  Which may (or may not) be up to the task of defeating The Vulture.  The end result is Toomes is captured, of course, but in doing so Spidey also saves his life.

Once again, the ultimate battle in the tradition of superhero movies is the part we've all been waiting for, and the ultimate showdown between Spider-Man and The Vulture does not disappoint.  One thing I'd like to say: of all the villains and their advanced gadgetry that has appeared so far, I think my favorite is the Vulture suit. Although you don't get to see the villain's face when he's wearing it... (at least the comic book version of the Vulture wasn't afraid to let everyone know who he was.  And I do miss that neck line.  Although just before the final confrontation, Toomes is wearing a tufted jacket reminiscent of the comic book villain.)

And the Credits Roll: 

Toomes, now in jail, meets up with a former associate who says he heard a rumor that Toomes knows the secret identity of Spider-Man, but Toomes pretends ignorance.

So where does Spider-Man: Homecoming rank in the MCU pantheon?  I loved the comic twists that appeared in this one.  And as I said way back last year, because I was a teenager when I discovered Spider-Man, he is one of my favorites in the Marvel comics world.  Personally, however, I don't think Tom Holland is quite up to Tobey Maguire in terms of presence on screen.  But he will do for now.  He is definitely more entertaining a character than say Norton as The Incredible Hulk, and somewhat better than Ant-Man.  And thus, Spider-Man: Homecoming gets into the upper third of the pantheon on my rankings list.

Time to get all this spider goo off the Plymouth and head home.  Drive safe, folks.  You never know.  With Spider-Man on the job, you might have to deal with him thinking you are a criminal on the run from the law if you speed...

Quiggy

Hot Time in the Old Town

 

 

 

 

 This is my entry in the 6th Annual Golden Boy Blogathon hosted by The Wonderful World of Cinema and The Flapper Dame

 

 

 

 

The 50's were a different time altogether.  One can look at the average 50's drama and either wax nostalgic for lost innocence or maybe cringe at the closed-minded mores that governed what constituted "polite" society.  I have to admit I would probably have not fit in well in the 50's.  But then again, that stems from an upbringing that began sometime around 1970 (when I would have been 8, BTW).

Even so, those halcyon days did have a few things going for it that you would be hard pressed to find in today's world.  In the 50's people actually did things like give an itinerant bum a meal for doing a few chores around the house. And people did not look askance, and with a touch of suspicion at said stranger when he showed up.

William Holden, the aforementioned "bum", was 37 when this movie was made.  Not sure how old he is supposed to be in this film. For the sake of talking about the character, I'm going to say his character, Hal, is about 25, though.  Hal went to college (but flunked out in his junior year) and did a stint in the Army, and then bummed around for a bit.

But Holden looks damn good for 37, especially when his shirt is off.  According to my research, they had to shave his chest for those scenes.  (Possibly because they couldn't convincingly dye the hair on his chest good enough so it looked convincingly young?)

Picnic is based on an original play written by William Inge, a playwright who had some limited success on Broadway with four big hits, but later in life fell into depression because he felt nothing ever lived up to his first successes. Sad note: that depression eventually led to him committing suicide in 1973. 

 

 

 

 

Picnic (1955):

Pulling in to an unnamed town in Kansas (the opening train scene was filmed in Salina, as noticed by the sign on a building as it comes into town, but most of the film was shot in Hutchison), a train conductor lets Hal (William Holden) out of one of the cargo cars.  Hal tells the conductor he has a bigwig friend in town that he has come to see.  The conductor is, not surprisingly, unconvinced, but wishes him luck anyway.  Hal goes to use a nearby creek to wash up and then wanders in to town.

He sees young Millie (Susan Strasberg) playing in her yard, and while he watches her, the neighbor Mrs. Potts (Verna Felton) invites him in for a meal.  He repays the hospitality by doing some yard work.  Which is an excuse for him to take off his shirt.  Which garners attention from the whole family of girls next door; Millie, Madge (Kim Novak), and their mom, Flo (Betty Field).  As well as town schoolteacher, Rosemary (Rosalind Russell).

Madge

Millie

Mrs. Potts and Flo

Rosemary

Madge has a part time boy friend, Alan (Cliff Robertson), but she also has several admirers, including "Bomber" (Nick Adams).  She has plenty of potential prospects, obviously, but her mother says her time is short.  She only has her looks to snare a man for a short time because it is a quick leap from 20 to 40.  (She is just 19 at the time of the film).

Mom tells her that they made a mistake doting on her as a child, and that she spends more time and attention on Millie because she doesn't want to make the same mistakes.  She also tells her that she should get serious with Alan, because marriage to him, he being the richest prospect in town, would be a good thing for her.

(The idea that a woman is nothing on her own and needs to be married to be important in life is one of the issues I struggle with in watching 50's films.  But fortunately, that is one of the issues that this film addresses and, I think, attempts to dismantle, in it's own way.)

It turns out that Alan is the "old friend" that Hal has in town, so his tale of having a bigwig friend he told the conductor at the beginning is actually true.  Hal goes to Alan seeking out a job.  Hal has dreams of a cushy office job, but Alan tells him if he comes to work he'll basically have to start off small. Like as a laborer.

 At a local swimming hole, all the girls are entranced by this sexy new guy in town.  Millie tells her friends that Hal is taking her to the picnic. Although Millie is only about 15, if my math is right (Madge is 4 years older than Millie), and Hal is not interested in her other than just as a friend tagging along to the picnic, even Millie exhibits some attraction to him.

Mom is starting to get a little put off by Hal.  She wonders how he ever got in to college (it was a football scholarship), and how come the fraternity he joined with Alan pledged him, since apparently in those days fraternities usually had a little more :breeding" in their selection of candidates. (Mom is starting to show her feathers as an elitist, surprising since she is not in such an elitist environment.)

She is not the only elitist in the film.  Alan's father disapproves of Madge because she is from a lower economic class.  But elitism is not the main focal point of the film.  I may or may not be in the minority on this (and it's possible I am getting different signals, since this movie is often described as a tender and old-fashioned film), but I think there are a lot of proto-feminist ideas being put forth, at least in subtext.  The film seems to be saying that the old-fashioned view that women are nothing without a man in their lives is outdated. 

After all, Madge is resistant to the idea that she is only supposed to marry for the advancement of her status in town.  And Rosemary, who is on the verge of becoming the classic spinster and old maid, is desperate to get married. Not because she wants a man in her life, necessarily, else why should she try to latch on to a guy like Howard (Arthur O'Connell), who doesn't seem like all that much of a catch to me? Even Flo, as the mother whose husband left her to raise her two girls alone, seems to be a counterpoint to that tradition in the way she is portrayed.

The picnic scenes include several classic contests, none of which add to the movie in any way, but are apparently needed to convey the old-fashioned feeling of the small town  tradition. (And at least one reviewer I read during the preparations for this blog suggests that the director just took advantage of the use of the extras at a real celebration where he was filming to bulk up the film...)  But as the day winds down, we get a little more insight into the character of Hal and who he thinks he is (or who he wishes he was...) Never having become the man he wants to be in real life, he is not averse to building himself up in the eyes of the people with whom he is hanging out.

But is Hal anymore guilty than anyone else? It feels like everyone else in town is either running from their past, hiding from the future, or both. Alan seems to struggling with living up to his father's ideals Rosemary is, well, worried about becoming an old maid. Millie seems to hide behind books because she has to compete with her older sister who is "the pretty one" ( I kept expecting her to say "Everyone loves Madge. It's always Madge. Madge, Madge, Madge!) and she has to settle for what she can get. Flo has worries about her daughters futures because of the things she went through in her own past.  The only one who really seems comfortable in his own life is Howard..

At the end of the picnic is a dance.  Hal dances with Millie, which causes Madge to become a little jealous and she ends up dancing with Hal. (And James Wong Howe's lighting of this scene is one of the more impressive, because the camera makes the scene look more like a painting than an actual movie scene).  And Rosemary, who is getting drunk, decides she wants to dance with Hal, too.  But Hal rejects her advances and she tears his shirt in the struggle. And when Millie gets sick, and is discovered to have been drinking, Rosemary tries to pin the blame on Hal.

Hal, struggling with his own demons, to be sure, is becoming less and less enamored of this idyllic setting. He leaves the picnic, but Madge tags along. The relationship between Madge and Hal comes to a head, because Madge, like nearly all the women in the town, finds herself attracted to Hal. But Madge's attraction is more than just superficial.  Made likes the way that Hal doesn't make her feel like just a pretty face and nice figure. And the two kiss.

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Rosemary confronts Howard, making him come to a final decision over their long-term courtship. She insists that Howard HAS to marry her, and thus, we find that even Howard has his own little fears about the future.  As he he tells Rosemary, sometimes, as time goes on, you become complacent with the lot in life you've been given,, "until it becomes too late to change".  (and thus, for me, Howard becomes the most relatable character, since his lot in life is similar to mine.)

When Hal returns Alan's car, the police are waiting at his house. It seems Alan is a bit perturbed that Hal has been horning in on his relationship with Madge and has filed a report that Hal stole the car (when, after all, Hal has been loaned the car by Alan). Hal has a scuffle with Alan and then runs, but is chased by the police. He manages to elude them and shows up at Howard's house, asking for Howard to let him stay the night, planning to leave town the next day.

There is a (somewhat) happy ending to it all, as eventually, most of the people facing bleak or uncertain futures do find fulfillment.  (Of sorts. Perhaps Howard's eventual change may not have been fulfilling enough for him as it was for Rosemary.  And I can identify with his resignation to go forward even if he was initially reluctant.) 

But that's not necessarily how it was planned out..  Apparently the original Inge play had a grimmer and starker ending,  Note: I got this information from Joe Bob Brigg's phenomenal treatise on "Sexy Movies That Changed History" Profoundly Erotic. Apparently the director, Joshua Logan, wanted a less bleak ending to the film than the playwright, William Inge, had initially conceived.  The play, as originally written, ended with Madge having turned into an old maid herself, rejected not only by Hal, but also having lost Alan's love, too, and is living a life in despair and shame.  This from the days when it was still a Broadway play.

 So some interesting tidbits of information I garnered;

First: Even though Holden himself thought he was too old for the role, he took it, mainly to fulfill a contract he had signed. It was the last one he had to make for the contract.  And he did not like his co-star Kim Novak all that much. And he had such a hard shoot with her, especially the scene where they had to dance. According to my info, he finally asked to be allowed to shoot that scene drunk, because it was the only way he could feel comfortable with dancing, especially with her.

And Novak, for her part, felt she was not quite adept enough for her role.  And it sometimes shows, if you ask me, The director apparently begged and pleaded to be able to cast someone (ANYBODY) else.  But producer was adamant that his new "ingenue" be given the primary role.  I personally was never that impressed with her as an actress.  Even Vertigo, which is probably considered her top performance, just never really clicked with me.

Rosalind Russell declined to be nominated for Best Supporting Actress in the movie because she felt her good days were still ahead of her and didn't want what she thought would be the death knell for her potential starring roles if she was classed in a "supporting actress" mold. And since at least two bravura performances were still in her future (in Auntie Mame and Gypsy) perhaps she wasn't wrong.

Cliff Robertson was just getting his start in the business. This was his first credited role.  And you know he had a pretty good career.  After all John F. Kennedy himself tagged Robertson as being the best choice to play him in P.T. 109 and he an Oscar for Charly.

But the most interesting piece of trivia I found concerned the woman who played Mrs. Potts, (whom I consider the most likeable character in the film). She had a pretty good career up until her death in 1966.  But one of her most memorable "roles"? Her picture was the one on the desk of Colonel Potter (Harry Morgan), who was identified as his wife, Mildred in the series. And this long after her passing. (Morgan's connection with her had to do with his long term association with Felton in two other TV series from the 50's, December Bride and Pete and Gladys).

I don't consider Picnic to be a true gem of the classic 50's small town life that some critics seem to identify it.  To me it seems hardly a step above Peyton Place, which is definitely not a movie you would associate with being a love letter to life as it was in those days.  But is it horrible? No, not really.  I just come away from it with a different view.

For further review: Previous entries in Golden Boy Blogathons:

The Horse Soldiers

The Devil's Brigade

Bridge on the River Kwai (as well as The Bridges of Toko-Ri)

MCU #15: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

 

 Preface: As promised last year, I plan to review every single currently available movie in what is known as the  Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) over the year 2024. These will appear in order of their release over that time period. This is the fifteenth installment. (Oh, and by the way, after I've exhausted all of the currently available MCU movies I will be rounding out the year with some of the other available movies made from the Marvel comics pantheon.)

Notes: In each of the MCU installments you will be seeing references to two recurring events that occur in nearly every MCU movie.

Where is Stan Lee?: Stan Lee was the driving genius behind Marvel Comics.  He usually shows up in a cameo.  Sometimes these are so quick you gotta be sure you don't blink. Occasionally he gets a line  of dialogue.

And the Credits Roll: You should always stay in the theater for the credits when watching a MCU movie, because during the credits and at the end there is a teaser (or two) that is worth the wait.  Often they were a teaser for the next installment of the films.

 

One of the best parts of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol .2 is the reunion of Kurt Russell and Sylvester Stallone in another film.  Not sure why Kurt Russell was never cast in the Expendables, although one site said it was because he didn't like the idea of ensemble casts in films. (Sort of like, I guess, "I'm OK with another star sharing screen time, but 6 or 7?  No,  thanks.") Anyway, after Tango and Cash, which was a success at the box office, you would think the pairing might have happened again, but it didn't.

Now, admittedly, this is not the same, since they never appear in the same scene in this one, but to have both in one film again was pretty cool. And, by the way, if you have a quick eye, you might also spot Ving Rhames in Stallone's character's crew of associates. 

 

 

The opening scenes involve a young couple driving down the road, singing along to the looking Glass song "Brandy". as it turns out, the couple is Peter Quill's (Star-Lord) parents, Meredith (Laura Haddock). an Earthling, and Ego (Kurt Russell/Aaron Schwartz), an alien. 

(Author question: Obviously Ego has told Meredith he is an alien, but did she accept it on face value or did he have to show his anatomically enhanced prowess first?)

Ego has taken her to a forest to show here something he has planted, which he says will grow and soon be all over the universe.  (That's some serious reproductive capabilities).

Flash forward to present day.  Our heroes, the Guardians, have been hired to protect some fancy batteries from a inter-dimensional creature called an Abelisk. 

 

Having succeeded in defeating the giant alien squid, the Guardians return the batteries to their employer and collect their reward, which turns out to be Gamora's (Zoe Saldana) sister, Nebula (Karen Gillian).  The plan from there is to turn over Nebula to the Xandars in exchange for a bounty on her.

But Rocket (Bradley Cooper) has stolen some of the batteries for his own purposes.  And, of course, the employers, the Sovereign are not exactly sympathetic and seen forces out to take the batteries back, They need to escape and are helped by a mysterious figure who destroys the entire fleet of remotely controlled Sovereign ships and crash land on the planet of Berhert.

So who is this mysterious figure who helped them?  We don't have to wait long to find out, as he has followed through the portal to Berhert.  It is Ego, who informs Peter that he is Ego, Peter's long lost father.

 

It turns out that Ego is a Celestial, (possibly the only one his kind),  and he created life in order to find purpose in life. (or at least, that's what I gathered,) He met Peter's mother during his quest and fathered him.  After his mother died, Ego hired Yondu (Michael Rooker) and the Ravager's to bring Peter to him.

But Yondu, being less scrupulous, betrayed his mission and kept him. So Ego has spent his life trying to track his son down.  And after hearing that Peter had held an Infinity Stone in his hands without suffering immediate death, he knew that Peter must be his long lost son (because, apparently  only a Celestial, or his progeny, can do that.)

Back on Berhent, Yondu attempts to recapture the Guardians.  But only Rocket, Baby Groot (Vin Diesel) and the hostage, Nebula, are on the planet.  Nebula convinces Baby Groot that she must be freed from her bondage so she can help.  But her purposes are not exactly altruistic (of course).

When Yondu proves to be too sympathetic to Peter, a mutiny occurs and Taserface (Chis Sullivan) takes command, capturing Yondu as his prisoner and executing all of those who side with Yondu.  Nebula agrees to help them, but she wants Gamora for her own, because she wants to kill her sister. And also, she wants to collect the bounty on the Guardians by the Sovereign. Using the Ravagers sense of mercenary tactics, she convinces them to join with her, taking only as her part, her sister and 10% of the bounty.  The money she plans to use to buy a warship to take and fight her father, Thanos, whom she hates almost, but not quite, as much as Gamora.

Oh, and something I forgot.  Apparently Yondu had too much of a tendency to go out on his own, disregarding the edicts of his Ravager race, so he has been an outcast from his own society.  And Stakar (Sylvester Stallone) has been holding on to a grudge against him ever since. 

 

Yondu and Rocket break out of prison and go looking for Peter, while Nebula is also looking for Gamora.  They use a kind of warp drive to get to where he his, passing through 100s of other worlds, which includes one populated by a race called The Watchers (See the Marvel comic book or the TV series What If for more on these guys.)

Where is Stan Lee? 

Stan is on the Watchers world giving a background on himself as says "Well, at that time I was a Federal Express man" (referring to his cameo on Captain America: Civil War, which some people postulate means that he is basically playing the same character throughout the series, only in different guises...) 

 Nebula finds Gamora and attempts to kill her, but wrecks her ship and Gamora saves her.  The two end up reconciling after a heart to heart talk, although Nebula still holds on to her grudge against her father for pitting the two of them together in the first place (and his sadistic dismantling of her physical being to be replaced by mechanical things...)

Ego and Peter have a talk and Ego reveals to Peter his true nature as the son of a Celestial.  But Ego has some ulterior motives that are not revealed to Peter at the time.  Yet Ego's "ally", Mantis (Pom Kiementieff), has a line on what Ego really intends, which she eventually reveals to Drax (Dave Bautista).  Yet Ego does reveal that he has impregnated thousands of women on thousands of worlds, but when the offspring failed to show signs of Celestial power, he had them killed.  He also reveals that he was the one who caused this death of Peter's mother (which of course does not set well with Peter). 

So Peter, it turns out, is not on board with his father's plans to remake the universe in his own image.  And thus the real villain of the film is revealed.  And the guardians now have a goal to prevent Ego from following through with his nefarious plans.  But can a cadre of mortals really defeat a god?

And the Credits Roll:

 In one scene, Kraglin (Sean Gunn, brother of the director James) tries to learn how to use Yondu's mind arrow. In a second scene Stakar addresses some allies reuniting the Ravagers. In a third(!) scene, the leader of the Sovereign has created a new A.I. which she hopes will be capable of destroying the Guardians.  And it yet even another (fourth!) post credit scene, Peter admonishes a now teenager Groot for having such a messy room.

 

The final solution may (or may not) be satisfying. Personally I think it was too easy, considering that he is indeed one of the most powerful villains to appear in the franchise. Of course, if they didn't defeat him it would still be an ongoing battle even now.  As much as I liked the interaction here, though, I have to say that Vol 2 is not in the top 10 of my favorites (even now with only 15 movies reviewed.) It remains to be seen how long it stays as far at the bottom it is, however, since I am only ranking these upon this cycle of viewings.

Time to fire up the old Plymouth and head home.  I sure am glad I don't have to pass through 700 dimensions before I get there.  Drive safely, folks. 

Quiggy

 

Is There A Doctor in the House?

 

This is my entry for the Favorite Stars in B Movies Blogathon hosted by Films from Beyond the Time Barrier.

If Roger Corman can be considered the king of "B" movies, then the King of "B" movie stars would almost certainly be Vincent Price. Price made almost his entire career out of the kind of movies that would be standard fare at the drive-in. And he had a voice that is instantly recognizable. You don't even have to know beforehand that he appears at the end of the Michael Jackson song "Thriller". Once the words come across "Darkness falls across the land...", everybody knew, "Hey, that's Vincent Price!"

And absolutely nobody could emit an evil laugh that could send chills down your spine like Price.

American International Pictures, the distributors of the Dr. Phibes movies, went to the Price well a number of times over it's almost 30 years of existence.  The reason that AIP is one of my favorite studios is that it was one of the primary distributors of what are now classics in the drive-in movie pantheon. (If you've read this blog for a while, you know that, even though I have strayed from the original premise of the blog, my primary interest is in the low budget horror and sci-fi stuff that was primarily the fare du jour for the average drive-in.)

And although it can't be said that Price kept the studio afloat during those years, enough of it's output featured this drive-in movie hero that it can safely be said he made them a lot of money.

Over the years Price made a variety of films, some true horror, and some with such comic feel to them, despite the horror aspect, that they could almost be considered comedies.  I think the Dr. Phibes films could fall into that second category.  Black comedy (not "black" as in race, but "black" as in dark) is something that sometimes takes a special (some might say twisted) mind.

The gothic horror theme was in decline by the 70's, although it had had a nice run through the 60's. Was this a last hurrah for the theme?  Not entirely, although it didn't quite crop up all that often afterwards.  But if anyone could have still pulled it off, it was Price.  

OK, after extolling the virtues of Price, I need to add something else. The movie starts out in the titles with words that always get my heart pumping: 

"James H. Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff Present" 

Those words meant I was getting high quality stuff in the next hour and a half or so,  They were the driving genius behind bringing us such classics as:

I Was a Teenage Werewolf

A Bucket of Blood

X: the Man with X-Ray Eyes

Panic in the Year Zero!

Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine

The Amazing Colossal Man

And a slew of others.  They were the driving force behind and original creators of American Pictures International and were highly influential in creating my love of trashy drive-in movies (none of which I was old enough to see during the first run, of course, but highly attractive to me now).  The fact that all of the above have links to previous posts on The Midnite Drive-In are a testament to how much I appreciate these two guys.

The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971):

"Love means never having to say you're ugly." That (corrupted) line from a (then) recent movie Love Story was the tag line for the film. (I didn't make it up, so don't blame me... There it is on the poster.)

The story takes place sometime in the 1920's. Mad genius Dr. Anton Phibes lives his life in a secluded mansion where he is the leader of his own band. Not a band in the traditional sense of the word. The band consists solely of one real person, Dr. Phibes himself, playing the oversized organ (and with an oversized ego to match...). The rest are animatronic players. 

 

Dr. Phibes has his doctorate in music and was a renowned musician in his heyday.  But he must be a genius in other realms too, because he didn't just buy that animatronic band or the other things he uses throughout this film at the neighborhood flea market. 

Doc spends his life in seclusion because the whole world thinks he is dead. Which helps when he begins his systematic attempt to exact revenge on the doctors who tried (but failed) to keep his wife alive after an accident.  And the reason the world thinks he is dead is because he was supposedly killed while racing back to London from Switzerland after hearing of his wife's predicament.

Phibes blames the doctors in charge of his wife's surgery for incompetence in their profession.  And thus has determined that each should die.  The method of their deaths is based on the Biblical plagues of the Old Testament, visited upon the Egyptians by the Hebrew God for their reluctance to free the Jews from captivity.  Why Biblical plagues? I have no idea.  It's not as if he is Jewish, at least I don't THINK he is...

(Of course, this being Hollywood, since some of those plagues in the Bible story were  not melodramatic enough, some changes were made.  For instance, there were no bats in the Biblical version, but the first victim is dispatched with them. Some of the others are just as tenuous.  Turning water to blood, for instance, appears to have been changed to draining one of his victims of their own blood.)

Assisting him is an assistant, called Vulnavia (Virginia North). Not his wife, just a helper who helps him in his quest.

Investigating these mysterious deaths is a police inspector, Trout (Peter Jeffrey), who despite the misgivings of his superiors, is convinced there must be some connection between the deaths of the doctors. 

(I guess having a sudden spate of odd deaths of people in the doctor profession all at once didn't raise any red flags with the superiors.  Or maybe they were just worried about the widespread panic that would result if the press got wind of it. Which is a legitimate concern with at least one of the bosses Trout confers with during his investigation.)

Doc hangs a Hebrew medallion on a wax sculpture after every death and burns the wax figure. I can't read ancient Hebrew, so I'm only assuming it is Hebrew, however, but otherwise the connection to the Biblical plagues and the medallions wouldn't make sense.

So Phibes' first victim (on screen), Dr. Dunwoody (Edward Burnham) is dispatched by bats (which apparently corresponds to the Biblical plague of flies. But flies can't be trained to act, and bats can, so...)

 

A reference to another victim who had recently been killed by bees, Dr. Cornton. (Possibly paralleled to the plague of boils, which may be similar to bee stings)  Which is where Inspector Trout begins his investigation, based on the coincidence of two doctors dying in mysterious ways.

The third victim, Dr, Hargreaves (Alex Scott), is choked to death by a frog mask (frogs plague, of course)

 

Trout finds out that the three victims had all worked under Dr. Vesalius (Joseph Cotten) and goes to him to find out some answers.

The fourth victim, Dr. Longsteet (Terry-Thomas), has his blood drained from him (which corresponds to the water turned to blood plague). You may not feel it so bad that Longstreet dies, because he is a pervert.  His last act on Earth is watching some 1920's porn...

 

Phibes ends up leaving behind the medallion he intended to hang on the wax sculpture.  It is found by Trout who goes to the guy who made them where he finds out that it is one of a set of ten he had made. And is told that the symbol is, indeed, Hebrew.  Which leads him to a rabbi who tells him that this particular one is a symbol of blood. And he also learns of the ten plagues. which is revealing, of course, since the first four victims have been dispatched in similar ways to the plagues.

30 minutes into the movie we FINALLY hear Vincent Price's voice (sort of: he has lost the use of his mouth because of the accident, but he can put a stethoscope-like device to his neck and vocalize, after a fashion), 30 minutes into a film starring Price before he even says one word seems like a long time, since Price's voice was probably the most noticeable part of his performances. 

Between his expounding that "nine killed you; nine shall die" to a picture of his wife, and Trout finding out from Vesalius that all the victims (plus a few others) had worked to try to save Phibes' wife, we get the full picture.  And there are potentially 5 more victims...

But since Phibes himself was apparently killed in a car accident while trying to race back to London, Trout is not sure who could be behind these strange occurrences.

The fifth victim is Dr. Hedgepath (David Hutcheson), who is killed by a hail making machine in his own car. (the plague of hailstones).

 

Gradually, based on the background that Trout discovers about Phibes' past, he starts to think that maybe, just maybe, Dr. Phibes didn't really die. An investigation of  the Phibes crypt reveals that there is a container with the ashes of someone inside, but that only proves that SOMEONE'S ashes were entombed.  Not necessarily Phibes himself. And Phibes' wife's crypt is empty.

Dr. Pitaj (Peter Gilmore) is the sixth victim, attacked by rats while trying to fly a plane ( the pestilence plague, perhaps?). Despite the efforts of the police to stop the plane before it takes off, he ends up dying by the rats and crashing the plane. (I read that originally they were going to do the scene on a boat, but some more rational person said "well, couldn't he just jump in the water and save himself?  Believe me, this is the better route, and the scarier one, if you ask me.)

 

And the seventh victim, Dr. Whitcombe (Maurice Kaufman) is skewered by the statue of a unicorn (the livestock plague? it's a stretch, I know. At this point, my being able to decipher those Hebrew symbols might have been helpful).

 

The eighth victim is not actually a doctor but a nurse (Susan Travers) who had been in attendance at the scene when Phibes' wife died.  She is dispatched by locusts, attracted by a goo he made from what appeared to be Brussels sprouts  (yet another reason for me to hate Brussels sprouts). And this despite the fact that "half of Scotland Yard" is surrounding the building complex. (Boy, this Phibes guy, he do get around.)

 

That leaves only the head doctor, Vesalius. (And, if you're keeping count, two plagues). So "darkness" and "first born" plagues remain. But Vesalius says his older brother is dead, so it's probably not going to be the "first born" one...  But, wait..., he DOES have a son himself...

OK, so I'll leave off here so you have something to maybe motivate and inspire you to watch. Gee, ain't I a stinker...?

But before I let you go to the intermission: 

Would you believe that Peter Cushing was in line for the Joseph Cotten role? The reason he had to back out was because his wife was very sick (she would actually pass away during the time the movie was filmed). Not that Joseph Cotten was bad, but I can see Vesalius being a very different character if Cushing had played him.

And while on the subject of Cotten, it's interesting to see how his star waxed and waned over the span of his career.  Although he never actually got nominated for an Oscar, he was in some very Oscar-worthy roles. And worked with the likes of Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock on numerous occasions. But he was also very obviously not ashamed to take a buck wherever it was. (Notably The Hearse, which was reviewed on this blog several years ago.)

 

Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972):

You just can't keep a bad man down... especially if there's money in a sequel...

It's only been a year since the release of The Abominable Dr. Phibes (or one minute since you read the story in the previous portion of this post).  But in terms of the history of the events in the two films,  it has been three years.

And just in case you may have forgotten the diabolical actions of our villain, the film starts out by giving you an encapsulation of said events.  It also tells us that Phibes put himself in suspended animation, as opposed to having killed himself.

See, he was waiting until the moon is in the seventh house and Jupiter aligns with Mars... Wait, sorry,  that's a different movie... But he is waiting for a special alignment of the moon and the planets, one which had not occurred for 2000 years.  When that happens, the events that sent him into this suspended animation reverses and Dr. Phibes Rises Again.

Phibes has a goal.  His goal now is to find a way to get his beloved wife, Victoria (Caroline Munro), back from the dead and to eternal life.  Apparently, as stated by Phibes, he had been alive at that time and prepared for this moment.  (Wait a minute, Phibes already has eternal life?  And he had been preparing for this moment even then?  This is interesting.  Maybe there's more to Phibes than we previously thought...)

He has a map to an ancient Pharaoh's  tomb, beneath which, only every 2000 years flows a "River of Life". He revives his trusted assistant, Vulnavia (this time played by Valli Kemp), and none the worse for wear (which, if you watched the previous entry, you know her exit was not all that simple,,,) But upon reaching the secret room where he has stored the map, he finds it demolished and the map stolen.  Only one man could be responsible... Dr. Biederbeck (Robert Quarry).

Biederbeckand his friend Ambrose (Hugh Griffith {who, BTW, appeared in the first Phibes movie as the rabbi}) discuss their upcoming trip to Egypt.  Biederbeck has only one goal, to find the same "River of Life" that Phibes seeks, so all the treasure they find he graciously concedes to his friend.

Phibes breaks into the house after Biederbeck and Ambrose leave, dispatching Biederbeck's butler with a golden snake. 

Hours later, Inspector Trout (Peter Jeffrey) shows up.  Despite Biederbeck's insistence that discovering who stole the papyrus is more important, Trout, to his credit, insists that capturing the murderer is more paramount.  But as Biederbeck points out, if Trout finds the papyrus, whoever has it will in fact be the murderer.

Having regained his precious papyrus, Phibes takes Vulnavia and the corpse of his wife, and boards a ship bound for Egypt.  Without the papyrus, Biederbeck and Ambrose also board the same ship. (apparently they are just going to wing it...) But the purpose that Biederbeck has is stronger than any threat of failure.  For it seems he has been keeping himself alive with an elixir of life.

Ambrose goes searching the boat hold for Biederbeck's model of a mountain that will help explain Biederbeck's theories.  Unfortunately, instead of the model, Ambrose finds the corpse of Phibes' wife.  And Phibes dispatches him (through the rather mundane act of choking him..). And throws the body, encased in a large jar, overboard.  (It's amazing, given the genius that Phibes exhibits, that he doesn't know the jar will not actually sink. It floats to shore, where it is discovered by Trout.

The captain of the ship (Peter Cushing, who finally got his chance in a Phibes film) wants to spend precious time trying to find the body, but Biederbeck exhibits the same indifference to the mystery of his missing friend as he did for the murderer of his butler.  

The ship MUST continue it's journey forward. (And here, Biederbeck starts to take on the less appealing of the two villains.  At least Phibes does have some sympathetic feelings, even if it is only for his dead wife.)

In Egypt, Phibes and Vulnavia enter a secret passage under a statue of an ancient pharaoh, and behold! A modern (or 1920's modern, anyway) room, complete with art deco decorations.  (Phibes must have been a psychic as well as an ancient sorcerer to have envisioned how things would be in style at this time...)

Trout and his boss go to the shipping agent, Lombardo (Terry-Thomas (who had previously played one of Phibes victims in the first movie}). Lombardo reveals that among the passengers was a woman who had arranged to have an organ put in the manifest for her employer.  Immediately they ask if the employer's name was Phibes. (Now why on Earth would they ask that? Surely they thought he had really gone on to his eternal "reward" 3 years ago...) Lombardo tells them, however, that his name was "Smith". (yeah, right, like that is a real name of someone...)

Biederbeck arrives at the mountain to find that part of his investigation crew has already gone on.  A man named Hackett (Gerald Sim) tells him that Baker (Lewis Flander) and Shaver (John Thaw) would not wait, despite Biederbeck's insistence, and have proceeded without him.  Baker is dispatched by an eagle that guards the entrance.

Meanwhile, Phibes discovers a secret compartment under the mountain which, inside, contains the pharaoh's crypt. and a key, which although he apparently does not know where it fits, he does know that it fits some lock which will help him revive Victoria.  And so, he puts Victoria is a glass coffin and, using the available trolley cart tracks, puts her under the crypt. Where he knows that the River of Life will flow on the full moon and revive her.

(Side note: If you are having trouble with all this modern technology having been created centuries before, you are not alone.  But then, it is apparent that Phibes is not only a wizard at concocting odd deaths of his enemies, a wizard at creating musical automatons, a wizard at avoiding any unecessary complications from his actions, but just plain truth, a wizard...)

Biederbeck's inamorata, Diana (Fiona Lewis). whom he has brought along, begins to wonder about her lover and what drives him.  She has observed that he is obsessed with the mountain and it's secrets, but lacks anything revealing sympathy or concern for the bodies that keep piling up around him.  She demands to know more, but he won't tell her. 

And bodies DO keep piling up. Phibes dispatches one man by locking him up and killing him off with a batch of scorpions.  Another is crushed in a vise. Biederbeck is determined in his goal, however.  But he does exhibit some sense of sympathy. He sends Diana off with the only remaining member of his entourage, Hackett, to safety. But he did not take into consideration Phibes' own sense of determination. He tricks Hackett into leaving Diana alone and wile he is gone takes her hostage.  Then dispatches Hackett with a trick car cigarette lighter which is rigged to turn into a sand blaster (one of the most ingenious devices Phibes comes up with in both movies!)

Once again, I will leave the denouement for you to discover on your own.  If you are a Vincent Price fan you may already know how it turns out, anyway.  Or if you are a fan of these types of movies, you can probably make an educated guess. (But you'd probably be wrong... Now, you are curious, aren't you/  Hahahahahaha!)

Unfortunately, the Phibes saga ended here. Although AIP tried to get yet another Phibes movie going, none of the proposed sequels ever got off the ground floor. Imagine, if you will, though The Seven Fates of Dr. Phibes. Or even The Brides of Dr. Phibes. (Both were proposed titles that never got completed to the satisfaction of the potential producers.)

This post is dedicated to the memory of the man who made horror both scary and funny.  No one could pull off adding humor to horror like Price.  Thanks, Vincent, for 50+ years of scaring the hell out of (and making us laugh while doing it.)

Home awaits. Time to get this old Plymouth rolling.  Drive safely, folks.

Quiggy