DEADLY NIGHTSHADE

 

DEADLY NIGHTSHADE is one of those tight little thrillers that Britain used to produce after the Second World War and before the craze of super spies when James Bond took over with color and international adventures.

This 1953 film was produced by Baker & Berman, and directed by John Gilling, who did a number of films for them. While there are several familiar actors and actresses to us, some are not known because of the passage of time. This film contains both.

Emrys Jones was becoming a big name at the time. He did a bunch of mystery films and plays and was in the London production of DIAL M FOR MURDER. He tried to get a breakthrough screen role in a major film, but did not make it. What is interesting is that he preformed in a play called DOUBLE IMAGE, which seems to have some plot connection with DEADLY NIGHTSHADE.

At one point Zena Marshall was described as Britain's answer to Marilyn Monroe and a threat to Dorothy Lamour. Born in Kenya of French and Irish/English ancestry, Marshall turns up as Ann Farrington, who is married to an escaped convict, played by Jones. Marshall is best known for her role as Miss Taro in DR. NO. ("What's going on behind my back?"). Marshall did not need much makeup for her role in the first Bond film except around the eyes. She will always be remembered for her appearance in that film.

 

John Horsley played the Inspector Clements. His acting career is repleted with playing inspectors and sergeants, and he was in two of the The Duke films with Tom Conway. And Anglo film fans will recognize some of the baddies, including Marne Maitland and George Pastell.

 

 

From the Original Film Master!

BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE on a combo Blu-Ray/DVD with a 64 page booklet! The film will be sourced from an uncut master print. Coming from Artus in April!

 

The Artus DVD, Part 4

The doctor relents and goes with Carl. The hideaway is a windmill that reminds me of the windmill in MILL OF STONE WOMEN and BRIDES OF DRACULA, both made later and now considered classics. (BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE's Jimmy Sangster was involved with the screenplay of BRIDES.)

Once inside, Carl shows Callistratus' body, and then we see the heart in a glass jar that will replace the damaged heart. We assume it is the gravedigger's heart. The doctor performs the transplant. (It would be many decades before heart transplants would become a reality.) Once done, the doctor asks for more money in the future or else... The doctor would still be needed we think, but Carl has different intentions when he hears the threat. While Carl is making sure that the doctor will never threaten again, a bat comes out of the rafter and flies toward the camera. This "bat"is placed in the film later, and reminds me of the effect of Dracula's transformation in ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN.

The Artus DVD, Part 3

We now move to the tavern. It is filled with villagers, people drinking, carousing, dancing. Which brings us to a common feature of these Sadeian films: some women are shown wearing decolletage that hovers on showing more, but, in BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE, this is as far as it goes. The next film, JACK THE RIPPER, will show more in the Continental version.

Carl enters the tavern. When people notice it's him, the atmosphere changes immediately. The music and the revelry die.

One asks just what is Carl's affliction? Some parts of his body indicate stroke, but there is pronounced hair on his hand and the bridge between his eyebrows. One eye is completely bulging out, almost dropping. There's a large facial scar, and a jutting jaw and puffed-up face on that side. These suggest that Carl was born partially damaged at first, and that the people he met have increased his physical severity to made him a monster in human form. His rebellion was to hate people and almost a sexual desire to abuse a woman's beauty. He is the perfect assistant to someone unscrupulous and unfeeling toward humanity.

Carl goes to the back of the tavern, frightening people by his presence, and stops by the doctor that he wishes to go with him.

The Artus DVD, Part 2

Once the credits are finished, the film goes into the widescreen format:

Here you can see the difference with the earlier credits sequence, which is all in full-frame:

Carl, Dr. Callistratus' assistant, has been watching this. His back is turned to the camera, then he advances to the camera and turns around to withdraw a brutal knife. His face is still not seen. Carl backing into the camera is just for effect. It realistically does not make sense, considering what will happen next.

The digger is alone, the others at the grave having left. Carl turns again, and goes around a rock toward the digger. The digger hears him nearing, and shocked by what he sees, he puts up no fight, even as he holds a shovel in this hand.

More to come.

The Artus DVD, Part 1

I'm going to make a close study of the French Artus DVD, as what is seen is the most complete version of the film. The film was part of Artus' "British Horror" line. There is the original English language track, and also an option of watching the film in the French audio track. My screen captures are not precise in aspect ratio, but certainly as close to it as I can get. Also, I've boosted the contrast a bit, so that is easier to tell the edges of the frame.

The film starts off in full-screen mode:

What is important in the following two shots is that the left and right side give a demonstration of the ratio here.

The film, still in full-screen, goes into the title and credits. A couple of the credits are seen touching the bottom, a no-no in a theater if shown this way.

More analysis to come!

The Naughty Bits

The naughty bits of BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE were censored in Great Britain and in America. The version most people know was cut according to the censorship board or releasing company of whichever country showed the film. As the "ultimate Sadeian movie" (CULT SHOCKING HORRORS), this was bound to happen. I think that Baker and Berman were prepared for this, as they wanted to push the envelope whenever possible in this film and in the few that followed: JACK THE RIPPER, THE FLESH AND THE FIENDS, and THE HELLFIRE CLUB. Those films had "Continental versions" and showed a bit more than what could be shown in the home countries. Besides, the publicity would be great.

Nowadays we don't have to worry about this kind of censorship and expect to see everything, even the naughty bits. Hammer Films had similar "Continental versions" during this time, and Baker and Berman were very much aware of what Hammer was doing.

BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE did not have the Continental version of their future Sadeian films (nudity), but it did have scenes that were cut: disturbing shots of gore and chained females tormented by a gloating and very ugly assistant.

The Artus French DVD has these scenes, possibly taken from 16mm, so the quality is a bit less than 35mm, but still very welcome, as they represent the full film as it was shot. The Italian film picture story magazine, MALIA, also had these scenes.

The Best Version?

Shout Factory TV, a new streaming service, has what appears to be the best version of BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE. Apparently, it is in HD quality and the colors are a bit better than what we've seen. The film doesn't seem to be complete, however, but the slightly-edited American version. I will do an analysis of various versions in the future. Meanwhile, there is Shout.

The Quest Continues

A couple of years before BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE, Baker and Berman tried to interest viewers, and, more importantly, the money men in their latest venture. Possibly they were also interested in a TV series with....

But let me get to films first. There were only two of them: BARBADOS QUEST (MURDER ON APPROVAL) and BREAKWAY. Both were in black-and-white and featured "The Falcon" himself--Tom Conway. Conway was the bother of George Sanders, and, like Sanders, he had been born in St. Petersburg, Russia. Both weren't of Russian heritage, however. Conway was born in 1904, Sanders in 1906. During the Russian Revolution, the family moved to England.

Conway took over the Falcon role from his brother and starred in ten Falcon films. He also did three films with Val Lewton, which are now considered classics. By the time that Baker and Berman became involved with Conway, he was older, obviously, and looked more worse for wear than ever, but still retained a charm and casualness that comes across on the screen. He also appeared to do his own stunt work, that is, his fighting scenes seemed as if he took the punch and gave it. The tumbles seemed his own, too. He was also an alcoholic from reports, and his more successful brother finally could not put up with him and ignored him totally. Conway died penniless in Venice, California at age 67. His liver was shot.

While his life story is not happy toward the end, he appears well enough to handle his first film for Baker and Berman. BARBADOS QUEST is one of the better films for the duo (about a stamp, no less!) and has some nifty dialogue going for it. It was also shown theatrically in the States as MURDER ON APPROVAL. Conway was back in BREAKAWAY, a less fascinating and witty film than the preceding one. From my research, BREAKAWAY never had an American theatrical showing. What is interesting about this film (aside from its use of a young Honor Blackman) is that several persons behind the scenes did future work in the Sadean-like films of Baker and Berman. The film was directed by Henry Cass (as was BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE) and Stanley Black (a Baker and Berman mainstay) provided the music.

Both films tried to legendize Tom "Duke" Martin, played by Conway. In the American pressbook the detective was heralded as "The Ace of Private Eyes!". And, the pressbook goes on: "He combines, in fact, those fascinating traits of all the great, fabled screen detectives. The logical mind of  'Sherlock Holmes,' the romantic flair of 'The Saint,' the wry humor of 'Raffles' and the debonair charm of 'The Falcon,' all sparkle in the characterization of  'The Duke'--the new role created by Tom Conway."

It is regrettable that a third film was not done, or a TV series, but perhaps everyone involved had had enough, and it was time to move on.

Blind Spot

Made either right before BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE or around that time is BLIND SPOT, a film with a story by Robert S. Baker and produced by Monty Berman. It doesn't officially have the two together in one capacity, with Berman carrying the heavy load of producer all by himself. The film is distributed by Butchers (yes, that's the name), and it is one of the many criminal black-and-white films produced in England. One must mention that this film is a remake of BLACKOUT, produced by Baker and Berman in 1950. But there is no mention of BLACKOUT's story (from Carl Nystrom) and screenplay (from director John Gilling). Baker is named in BLIND SPOT for his original story! Both Nystrom and Gilling worked for Baker and Berman, so a mystery as to the appropriate credit.

This film is unique in the time it was made as the ratio is in widescreen, as can be seen by the screen captures. This wider aspect ratio may have been a test run for future scope films from the duo or just innocently reading the tea leaves. The film can be seen on Amazon's Prime, as well as many such British black-and-white films, which otherwise would not be seen this readily.

BLIND SPOT stars Robert MacKenzie an actor who looks like a cross between Fred MacMurray and Sterling Hayden.  All of MacKenzie's films seem to be made in Britain, so he was either originally Canadian or American, or else he had a great accent. With these black-and-white British films, a quota of using an American star was generally wanted.

The story has more interest in having the main character blind, but that doesn't last long, as he soon regains the sight lost in a military airplane accident. But before he regains his sight, the mystery is set in motion. He discovers a dead body at his feet and a tie-clipping with a RAF insignia. The rest of the film is okay, not particularly good or bad. It will hold interest if one is in the mood.

Unless you are a devotee of the IMDB even before you watch a film or pay attention to cast credits, you may be surprised by who turns up. I will say no more, other than he is important to the plot. And here he is....

A couple of years later, Robert MacKenzie made five episodes of the British series CHARLIE DRAKE, a slapstick comedy show somewhat similar in its skits to THE BENNY HILL SHOW. The last episode MacKenzie did in this series had an interesting name for his character. It was Dr. Wolfit!

One would like to view this episode to see if there is a mischievous wink on Donald Wolfit and some skit about BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE. It is doubtful that this show will turn up on Prime, however.

How Many Jacks Do You Have?

The Blu-Ray release of Baker and Berman's JACK THE RIPPER was met with enthusiasm. Severin, always "enterprising," was going to be the company putting it out. And then people got the Blu-Ray and there was criticism. The naysayers said quality was not as good as expected, there were cuts, etc., etc..... Apparently, Severin listened. Why? The Blu-Ray may have still needed a push to make if profitable. After all, the film was in black-and-white, the kiss of death for some regardless of the film's reputation.

Severin has recently released what they say is the European version (French language) in a separate package. While this could be free if one ordered one of their new and higher priced Blu-Rays (BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW), it was also available alone, but not for free. I bought it inexpensively from a seller in eBay.

The Blu-Ray arrived safe and sound, well packaged, so that there were zero complaints on my part. In the future I will review this Blu-Ray, and the one preceding it. After all, the film is one the hallmarks coming from Baker and Berman. And, yes, I know a few things already about this European cut....

How many Jacks can on have? Videos, DVDs, Blu-Rays...

I am still waiting for the ultimate addition to this film: a small scale model, similar to Aurora's controversial torture chamber "Monster Scenes," that depicts one of the bloody murders of the Ripper. It can be done, but we may have to wait for another version of the Baker and Berman classic.

The Eye of the Beholder

Beautiful, isn't it? The American artwork for BLOOD OF THE VAMPIRE. Universal-International went beyond the graphics of HORROR OF DRACULA, a film they released a few months earlier. I will have more on this poster art and HORROR OF DRACULA. But for now....

Chills and Thrills and Sloppiness

The other day I received my order from Amazon of the new paperbound of FROM GOTHIC CHILLS TO CULT TV THRILLS, subtitled THE BAKER AND BERMAN STORY. My interest was self-evident. However, I was dismayed that the book met my expectations. I had seen previous "We Belong Dead" material, which didn't impress me as being authoritative from a scholarly view. Nor was the book visually impressive. But I got the book anyway. After all, it was about Baker and Berman.

I immediately found out that it was self-published. That didn't bother me, as I use self-publication myself, but there is a warning sign. There usually is no outside editor and proofreader with such books. Being one's own writer, editor, proofreader can take time and even more time (tell me about it!), but done correctly, the results can be similar to what the "big boys" employ and can even surpass them. The fact that other people behind the scenes are credited in this book is not really doing a service to them. The book is sloppy. Whose fault is that?

*     *     *

THE BRITISH 'B' FILM has the same quotes, but footnotes both of them, so you know where they are from. Thankfully, GOTHIC CHILLS mentions one source, but not the other one. Frequently, the book does not mention sources, even the photos used and taken from the internet. Screenwriter Jimmy Sangster is quoted frequently, but where?

Photos. It is one thing to use a photo online without mentioning where it is from unless there is clear ownership and the name of the photographer, but another thing to use a photo in a book and stretched like this one:

 The real photo--from the IMDB:

And sometimes there are screen captures, but they can be stretched, too:

Many, if not all photos are taken from the internet. One impressive shot of Baker and Berman as elderly is taken from an online source, maybe this one.

The chapter I read had several instances of a semi-colon being used wrong. Its use was intrusive. There is also a space mark with the mark showing!

I can understand and sympathize that "mistakes can be made," but usually one or two are a limit. What I read has a lot more than one or two, and shows a frivolous attitude that is both baffling and disappointing.

As British-based, "We Belong Dead" should have better access to British material than those outside of Britain. This can be a plus, and still may be here, but at this point I don't know. I intend to take a look per film as I am researching a particular film. Though I am familiar with some of the films here, and sometimes very familiar, I will leave more criticism when I get to my own research.

So...good stuff in a way, but could have been much, much better.