Necromancy (1972)

Necromancy. A look at the darkest corners of humanity. Necromancy. A terrifying journey through the history of witchcraft and sorcery. Necromancy. Orson Welles! Necromancy. You won't believe what sights are shown in this horrifying feature. Necromancy. Unlike anything you could ever imagine. And so on.

Necromancy is a film that I built up in my own mind for decades, having seen the trailer for it on so many VHS rentals back in the 1980s. I "knew" two things about it. It was a horror movie. It featured Orson Welles. Only now, an entire four decades later, can I categorically state that it's also really bad.

Pamela Franklin plays Lori Brandon, a sensitive and troubled woman who has to move across the country with her husband, Frank (Michael Ontkean), when he's given a great new job offer. Lori has good reason to be sensitive and troubled, having very recently lost a child who was stillborn, and everything that happens throughout the rest of the movie seems designed to play on her maternal instincts, especially when it comes to the eccentric Cato (Welles) detailing his pursuit of necromancy in the hope of one day resurrecting his dead son, Timothy.

Directed by Bert I. Gordon (who made his name with much more outlandish, and entertaining, movies that earned him the nickname Mr. BIG), and co-written with Gail March (her first feature, and one of only two she is credited for), Necromancy is a bit silly and, worst of all, a bit dull. It's one of those movies trying to impress by showing the dark arts juxtaposed with modern life in America, although these things often still take place in the more isolated communities, but makes the mistake of going for hallucinatory moments and paranoia ahead of paranoia and suffocation. The third act is particularly weak, and that's surely when things should have been building up to something as dark and memorable as we were promised by that foreboding and chilling trailer (well, it seemed foreboding and chilling to the child version of me, but now it actually looks pretty much in line with the film, and I know why we didn't rush to rent it).

Franklin tries her best in a role that requires her to be on edge and wide-eyed throughout, but she's not helped by the fact that the movie cannot be carried by anyone else. Ontkean doesn't have a lot to do once he's set off the main chain of events, Teddy Quinn has to walk around and look a bit dazed as the spirit of Timothy, and Welles acts as if he will give his all for one take of every line he has to utter before then sitting down to snort with derision at the schlock he's agreed to star in for the sake of a (hopefully) decent pay packet. 

Necromancy is not good. It's probably already forgotten, if it was known at all, by the majority of film fans. It held a special place in my heart for years though, and I can't say that I fully regret finally tracking it down to give it a watch. It feels as if I managed to revisit a childhood home and find some long-lost favourite toy that I can now see was just a dirt-covered and mangled Boglin I found in a field. Nobody, including myself, can pretend it is great, but nostalgia means that I cannot completely dismiss the effect it had on me.

4/10

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Netflix And Chill: The Stranger (1946)

I deliberately picked this one, that hadn't previously been on my radar, to show that there are SOME older titles tucked away on Netflix (although they are few and far between).

Edward G. Robinson plays Mr. Wilson, someone who works for the United Nations War Crimes Commission. He's hunting for Franz Kindler, a famous Nazi criminal believed to now be hiding away in America, and decides to make the unorthodox move of releasing one of his former associates, one Konrad Meinike (Konstantin Shayne), to flush him out. The only thing known about Kindler is that he has an obsession, bordering on mania, with clocks. But it's not long until Wilson finds a prime suspect, in the shape of a man named Charles Rankin (Orson Welles), leading to a race against time to prove who he really is, and take him down.

As well as giving himself a main role, Welles also directs this interesting and tense film noir (unsurprisingly), which leads to some extra polish being laid over what could have easily been a disposable piece of pulp. This is not a mystery film, it's a game of cat and mouse with both main parties involved soon guessing what the other is up to and trying to circumvent their plans. And it's a film about a man convinced that he has done the right thing, according to his own ideology, who then tries to keep himself going "in the right direction" until it looks as if he is doomed to fail. At that point, anyone and everyone can be sacrificed as he tries to ensure his freedom.

Based on an original story by Victor Trivas, who helped with Decla Dunning to adapt it for the screen, carried over the finish line by Anthony Veiller, this is a familiar tale of an insidious threat hiding in Anytown, USA. It's interestingly structured, especially when you see how quickly the mystery element is done away with, and builds tension brilliantly in a couple of impressive set-pieces that essentially bookend the movie.

Although Shayne does well in his small role, and there are solid performances here from Loretta Young (the woman who unwittingly marries a war criminal) and Richard Long (playing her brother), it's often hard for a film directed by, and starring, Welles to not be dominated by him. He always knew how to give himself magical moments of cinema, and he does it again here, especially good as he continues to be charming and horribly persuasive in a way that gives just the tiniest glimpse of how people like him become leaders and maintain self-belief in the face of overwhelming criticism from sensible and compassionate humans. Robinson is a worthy adversary for him, and has an equal level of confidence, given the edge by the fact that he is on the side of what is actually right.

I'm not sure how well-known this is to people, it was certainly not one that had previously been on my radar, but it's definitely worth checking out for fans of film noir, and for fans of either of the two main stars. Something relatively simple is given more complexity and weight than others may have afforded it, and the ending is up there with some of the all-time great noirs, so I'm glad I stumbled across it, and I now happily recommend it to others.

8/10

There's a pricey, but nice, package available here.
Americans can get a nice disc here.

Noir November: The Third Man (1949)

A tale of death, friendship and black-market trading, The Third Man is a classic mystery thriller that uses a decent script, a great cast, and an evocative location, and creates something that ends up being more than the sum of its parts.

Joseph Cotten plays Holly Martins, a pulp novelist who travels to post-war Vienna to visit his friend, Harry Lime. Unfortunately, when he arrives he finds out that his friend has recently died. And then he finds out that a bunch of people thought he was mixed up in some criminal activities. Not willing to stand around and see his friend's name dragged through the mud, Martins starts to investigate the death. He soon finds out that there may be more to it than just a tragic accident.

Written by Graham Greene, this is a smart film that unfolds at a leisurely pace. Director Carol Reed uses his cast to great effect, simply allowing them to have their conversations and relay information in ways that manage to somehow seem both unfussy and yet never dull. That's due to the fact that the central characters are all nicely fleshed out, with more than one having a secret or two up their sleeves, and also down to great dialogue that spends a lot of time teasing viewers with intriguing details and hints of something being amiss before some great reveals in the second half.

Cotten makes for a likable lead, whether he's arguing with officials (mainly the Major played by Trevor Howard) or finding himself draw to a woman (Alida Valli) who has feelings for Lime. Despite being the main obstacle as Cotten conducts his investigation, Howard still manages to avoid becoming some kind of obvious villain of the piece, helped in no small part by a supporting turn from Bernard Lee (as a Sergeant who enjoys reading Martins' books). Valli is lovely, and her character has a real core of sadness that becomes more and more apparent as things play out. And then, last but not least, we have the man himself. Mr. Orson Welles. He's fantastic, and gets to make the most of his relatively limited screentime with some truly wonderful lines of dialogue, including one great speech that he came up with himself.

There are two other main characters worth mentioning. One, the setting. Made to appear both beautiful and mysterious and home to oh-so-many shadows, Vienna is both a wonderful setting for the events, and also integral to the plot development. Two, the music by Anton Karas. If you don't think you're aware of it then think again, The Third Man Theme (AKA The Harry Lime Theme) has to be, arguably, the most famous tune ever played on a zither. Even those who have yet to see the movie have, probably, heard at least a snippet of the main theme.

A sedate, intelligent thriller for those more interested in characters and morality than chases and cliffhangers (although it delivers some standard thrills in the finale), The Third Man is a film that won't lose its reputation as a classic any time soon. The pacing could be better, with some sections feeling slightly drawn out and one main section feeling slightly rushed, but that's a very minor criticism when considering how much greatness you get to experience in one sitting. Those characters, that music, those shadows, those camera angles. Just wonderful stuff.

9/10

http://www.amazon.com/Third-Man-Joseph-Cotten/dp/B000HEVTEA/ref=tmm_dvd_title_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-2&qid=1415887670

Noir November: Touch Of Evil (1958)

Written (well, he rewrote a script so much that he received credit) and directed by Orson Welles, based on the novel "Badge Of Evil" by Whit Masterson, Touch Of Evil is dark and disturbing stuff indeed. Yet it also remains highly entertaining, brilliantly cinematic, and mesmerising from start to finish.

The basic story concerns a death in a Mexican border town that sees Mexican Mike Vargas (Charlton Heston) clashing with revered Police Captain Hank Quinlan (Welles). The two men want to get to the bottom of the crime, but both have very different approaches. The former, also a target of some Mexican crime syndicates that he's been helping to break up and imprison, wants to investigate with due diligence and care, while Quinlan believes that he already knows who did it, and has a case that will stick. Meanwhile, some nasty types are hoping to get to Vargas through his pretty, new wife (Janet Leigh).

The biggest mistake that Touch Of Evil makes is having Charlton Heston cast as a Mexican. It just doesn't work well, and he doesn't look the part. However, viewing the film with the inclusion of Heston as a necessary evil (no pun intended) makes it easier. His name carried a lot of weight, he ended up inadvertently getting Welles on board as director, and kudos to him for taking such an interest in a film with such a discomforting premise (something he would do, intentionally or not, with a number of other movies in his career).

Despite not being believable as a Mexican, Heston does invest his main character with that stalwart nobility that he would bring to so many of his roles. This really works well in highlighting that central friction between Vargas and Quinlan, with Welles happy to paint himself in many darker shades. As soon as Quinlan appears we start to discover that he's not the nicest man to be around, but he gets results. But at what cost? Leigh puts in one of her best performances as the sweet young woman who looks set to be most damaged by the unfolding events, Joseph Calleia is very good as Police Sergeant Pete Menzies (who looks up to Quinlan, to a point), Akim Tamiroff does well as a devious crime boss, Dennis Weaver is a little bit too on edge, although enjoyable enough, as the night manager of a motel, and Joanna Moore and Marlene Dietrich do well with their small roles. Dietrich is particularly good in a role that seems to carry within it the many ghosts of her past.

There's a memorable score by Henry Mancini, direction from Welles that's damn near flawless, and a script full of some great moments of dialogue. The design of each sequence, from lighting to camera angles to shot duration, makes this a prime example of a movie that can be both enjoyed in terms of sheer cinematic pleasure and also studied as a masterclass in film-making.

If only they hadn't tried to pass Heston off as a Mexican, it would have been perfect.

9/10

http://www.amazon.com/Touch-Evil-Limited-Blu-ray-UltraViolet/dp/B00I3C1T1Q/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1415565266&sr=8-2&keywords=touch+of+evil