Browning's THE THIRTEENTH CHAIR... in Murder and Mystery Forum

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Browning's THE THIRTEENTH CHAIR...

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Southern Beau	Re: Reposts	#21	[-]
Nov 7 05 6:59 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Hey....what's going on here?
dr mirakle	Re: Reposts	#22	[-]
Nov 8 05 7:01 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I can't believe Bela's spot on performance in The Raven hindered any offers of work. I believe it to be one of his best. Around this time he was offered a 3 picture, $25,000 contract in England with British International Pictures but turned it down. If the studios didn't like theatrical acting, then why didn't Karloff's hammy (but wonderful) performance in The Invisible Ray hinder his prospects?
Imhoteps Ashes	Re: Reposts	#23	[-]
Nov 9 05 12:23 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* A bit off topic, I was watching THE MUMMY for the first time the other day. Boris Karloff did a splendid job. But I think Lugosi would have been better suited for that role. Then it really would be a remake of DRACULA! But, seriously, that's a really interesting point. Especially when you consider that the film was originally CAGLIOSTRO. And for Lugosi - as he later confided in reporters - that was his dream role! It's a blessing for Bela that they changed it. "I'll show you what horror means!" - Fredric March, DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE (1932)
Southern Beau	Re: Reposts	#24	[-]
Nov 10 05 12:59 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* Around this time he was offered a 3 picture, $25,000 contract in England with British International Pictures but turned it down. Why?
dr mirakle	Re: Reposts	#25	[-]
Nov 10 05 7:44 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	He would have had to leave his dogs in quarentine for 6 months apparently - it's mentioned in Bojarski's Films of Bela Lugosi book. Also, as he was under contract at Universal and had to go back to do Invisible Ray, Dracula's Daughter and Postal Inspector, I suppose. I think Lugosi had impressed some British producer with his performance in Mystery of the Marie Celeste (awful US title: Phantom Ship).
taraco	Re:	#26	[-]
Nov 11 05 5:05 PM Burgomaster Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	>> If the studios didn't like theatrical acting, then why didn't Karloff's hammy (but wonderful) performance in The Invisible Ray hinder his prospects? Well, all things are relative and my supposition that THE RAVEN destroyed Lugosi's 'legitimate' career is just that, a supposition. But I think that while Karloff's performance in INVISIBLE RAY may be hammy, as you say, it hardly qualifies as the bewildering readings Lugosi gives to his role in THE RAVEN. Now again, I adore Lugosi and revel in his awkward starts and stops, his odd accents at the wrong part of the sentence, his out-of-place regal bearing when ordering a cup of coffee onscreen. But I just think most viewers -- and company executives -- would find Lugosi's performance in THE RAVEN too odd to think he could star in a 'normal' film. This is just my theory. And yes, he was quite effective in MARIE CELESTE, but even there, a bit overly agonized perhaps? But I still think these early 30s roles typecast him not as a horror star, but as someone who just could not compete effectively in the increasingly talky and fast-moving films of the later 30s and beyond. I love Bela, but Katharine Hepburn would have talked right through him before he got a line out. david
Southern Beau	Re:	#27	[-]
Nov 12 05 3:56 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* But I just think most viewers -- and company executives -- would find Lugosi's performance in THE RAVEN too odd to think he could star in a 'normal' film. This is just my theory. And yes, he was quite effective in MARIE CELESTE, but even there, a bit overly agonized perhaps? Agreed. I do regard MARIE CELESTE as one of Lugosi's better films simply because he's away from supernatural elements. As to turning down a contract with British producers, that really is too bad. It may have afforded him better roles...or just more work through the dry period of 1937-1939.
dr mirakle	Re:	#28	[-]
Nov 14 05 9:46 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I have to disagree. Dr Vollin is my favourite Lugosi role - I love the way he delivers the dialogue, as do many other Lugosi fans. It's the film that made me a Lugosi fan and gave him the edge over Karloff for me. IMHO.
taraco	Re:	#29	[-]
Nov 18 05 12:46 AM Burgomaster Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	>> It's the film that made me a Lugosi fan and gave him the edge over Karloff for me. Believe it or not, I don't really disagree. Lugosi IS the Lugosi we all know and love in THE RAVEN. His performance is wonderful and memorable. If you are open to it. My point is only that I don't think it played that way to Hollywood executives, who rather than savor his iconoclastic performance instead I can imagine gnashed their teeth as they watched him step ever-so-carefully through the dialogue. The key word, of course, is 'imagine.' I don't know that's the case. But in all my years as a horror fan, with Lugosi one of my all-time idols, I never wondered why he didn't go on to 'bigger' things. It always seemed obvious to me that his style was too peculiar for regular movies, or at the least he wasn't given the opportunity to try. And I think THE RAVEN is one of the reasons studios gave up on him for a more mainstream career. And that's not to say THE RAVEN isn't a great example of Lugosi at his menacing best. david
Southern Beau	Re:	#30	[-]
Nov 18 05 9:03 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* It always seemed obvious to me that his style was too peculiar for regular movies, or at the least he wasn't given the opportunity to try. And I think THE RAVEN is one of the reasons studios gave up on him for a more mainstream career. Point well made. It's too bad, though, that he wasn't allowed to do more comedy. As bad as it was, Lugosi was hilarious in SCARED TO DEATH.
Return of the Ape Man	Re:	#31	[-]
Nov 21 05 5:01 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	*Quote:* As bad as it was, Lugosi was hilarious in SCARED TO DEATH. I didn't like SCARED TO DEATH when I first saw it, but over the years I've come to really like it...fun n' wacky stuff IMHO.
Borgo	Re: Browning's The Thirteenth Chair...	#32	[-]
Feb 7 06 1:02 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Just saw this movie for the first time last night and it was excellent! When the lights go out and you find your eyes fixated on a scant few dimly lit objects on the screen, well, the imagination can create some wonderfully vivid images! Browning and Lugosi...you can't go wrong. And Holmes Herbert: he amassed quite an extensive resume in the genre (The Terror, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Mystery of the Wax Museum, The Invisible Man, Mark of the Vampire, House of Secrets, The Thirteenth Chair - again in the 1937 MGM version, The Black Doll, Tower of London, British Intelligence, The Ghost of Frankenstein, Invisible Agent, The Undying Monster, Calling Dr. Death, The Uninvited, The Mummy's Curse, The Son of Dr. Jeykyll, etc.). The most prevalent thought that went through my mind watching this film wasn't trying to figure out whodunit, but the fact that this movie is 77 years old!! I've seen silents that are older, but they always seem somehow "frozen in time." I guess, by virtue of this being a "talkie", it just really drives the point home that this is an OLD film! You can see it, you can hear it. The hissing, crackling, and other imperfections are a requisite to enjoying this film (although the copy I have is of surprisingly good quality; better than some much newer films I've seen). Not recommended for the claustrophobic type. The film only has three exterior shots: the engaged couple on the balcony, one of the detectives outside near a row of bushes and another brief shot of the goings-on in the room as shown from the vantage point of outside the window. The rest of the movie takes place in a room or two and a hallway. A couple of tracking shots and zooms, but an otherwise stagey production (well it is a play adaptation after all). Very moody, however, and the manipulation of the dead man's body...whew, just creepy! What caught my eye most about the 46 year old Lugosi were his, more than usual, animated facial expressions. Perhaps an actor's holdover from the recently deceased "silent" days or Browning's lack of close-ups made it necessary to exaggerate, however slightly, ones mannerisms to express emotion. An enjoyable film, especially given its age...77 years old! Literally a "lifetime" ago.
Lawrence Nepodahl	The Thirteenth Chair...the 1937 version	#33	[-]
Oct 3 06 6:06 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I recorded and watched the 1937 version, directed by George B. Seitz, last evening. It was a very entertaining little mystery play. It was nice seeing Henry Daniell, Holmes Herbert, Robert Coote and Lewis Stone in this film. Has anyone else seen and enjoyed THIS version?
RestingPlacer	Re: The Thirteenth Chair...the 1937 version	#34	[-]
Oct 4 06 8:19 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I watched it too. It's quite a bit tighter than the early talkie, and of course without the same dead air time. I hadn't seen it before - only read of it in Everson's "More Classics of The Horror Film." The role was tailored to Margaret Wycherly, but I thought Dame May Whitty, though usually regal, was good in the role of the medium.

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Browning's THE THIRTEENTH CHAIR...