The last of the Corman-Griffith black comedy trilogy. It's a madcap adventure with lots of fun stuff - the irreverent nature, the fact a clean shaven Robert Towne plays a leading role, the circumstances of its inception, the comedy of the monster with ping pong ball eyes.
It's not that a good movie. It was made too fast, even for Corman - it seems rushed and it's not that well directed. Little Shop of Horrors had more heart because Jonathan Haze was motivated by love and the monster just wanted to be fed - it wasn't his fault he was hooked on blood. There was a lovely core to the film.
This doesn't have that. Everything is a joke, and there are funny jokes, but there's no heart. Towne falls for a local girl who comes up at the end out of nowhere when it's been set up he's going to fall for Betsy Moreland, the creature is introduced far too late (this is the biggest flaw of the film), Tony Carbone is a joke gangster, ditto Betsy Moreland when some seriousness or at least genuine emotion would've helped. My attention drifted off a bit.
The best thing about it is the garnish around the side - the gags in the narration, the Beach Dickerson being allowed to impersonate animals, Dickerson impersonating animals, Moreland singing a song 'Creature from the Haunted Sea' on a boat while there's fighting (apparently this was added by Monte Hellman - I assume it's a homage to Claire Trevor in Key Largo), the gags about Towne's secret agent name. It's quotable.
No comments:
Post a Comment