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3.0 out of 5 stars
St. Clair's Karloff box: Some right, some Wong, December 11, 2007
This review is from: Boris Karloff Collection - 10 Movie Pack (DVD)
ST. CLAIR DVD multi-packs are reasonably priced, and offer fine quality video/audio transfers of unrestored public domain material. Discs are single-side recorded, plastic storage cases fairly sturdy, liner notes appear on box's back cover.
HIGHLIGHTS of the BORIS KARLOFF COLLECTION:
In Roger Corman's THE TERROR, Karloff costars with up-and-comer Jack Nicholson. An atmospheric color film somewhat hampered by a rushed production and two directors, THE TERROR feels like two different movies at times. Story involves a French military officer infatuated with a mysterious woman, and an eccentric old castle dweller.
Have you ever wondered what the person behind Rocky the Flying Squirrel and all the old witches in "Fractured Fairy Tales" looked like? If so, SABAKA is your chance to find out. Cartoon voice specialist June Foray appears as the High Priestess in this tale set in India about a revenge-obsessed elephant trainer. Good cast, so-so story.
DICK TRACY MEETS GRUESOME is one of the better entries in this 1930s-'40s movie series. Here, Karloff is a villain who robs banks by using nerve gas. Tracy is played by Ralph Byrd, who would continue this franchise on TV briefly in the early 1950s. Anne Gwynne, aka Tracy's girlfriend Tess Trueheart, was a popular pin-up girl during WWII.
LOWLIGHTS:
The four "Mr. Wong" movies in this set. Karloff is miscast, for he plays the somewhat eccentric Oriental detective stiffly (almost uncomfortably) and with a British accent. Well... at least the stories are good.
For a similar ST. CLAIR box set, check out their
BELA LUGOSI COLLECTION .
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Parenthetical numbers preceding titles are 1 to 10 viewer poll ratings found at a film resource website.
DISC ONE--
(2.6) Snake People (Mexico/USA-1971) - Boris Karloff (and an all-Mexican cast)
(4.8) The Terror (1963) - Boris Karloff/Jack Nicholson/Sandra Knight/Dick Miller/Jonathan Haze
(6.3) Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome (1947) - Boris Karloff/Ralph Byrd/Anne Gwynne (uncredited: Jason Robards Sr.)
(2.8) The Island Monster (Italy-1954) - Boris Karloff (and an all-Italian cast)
BONUS: Poster Gallery
DISC TWO--
(4.0) The Ape (1940) - Boris Karloff/Maris Wrixon/Ray Corrigan (as the ape)
(4.8) Juggernaut (UK-1936) - Boris Karloff/Joan Wyndham
(3.6) Sabaka (1954) - Nino Marcel/Boris Karloff/Reginald Denny/June Foray/Victor Jory/Jay Novello/Vito Scotti
(5,2) The Fatal Hour (1940) - Boris Karloff/Grant Withers/Marjorie Reynolds/Jason Robards Sr.
BONUS: Boris Karloff Trailers
DISC THREE--
(5.5) Mr. Wong In Chinatown (1939) - Boris Karloff/Marjorie Reynolds/Grant Withers
(5.5) Doomed To Die (1940) - Boris Karloff/Marjorie Reynolds/Grant Withers
(5.9) Mr. Wong, Detective (1938) - Boris Karloff/Grant Withers/Maxine Jennings
BONUS: Radio Program-- The Tell-Tale Heart
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