Halloween 2021: October 11th

Dial M for Murder (1954)

Among Alfred Hitchcock's many classic films, not all of them were favorites of the director himself. In the years after “Dial M for Murder” was released, he was highly critical of the project. He considered it nothing more than a simple job, of transferring a popular stage play to celluloid, that was assigned to him. He was also annoyed that the studio, Warner Brothers, imposed shooting the movie in 3-D on him, just as the popularity of 3-D was about to die out. He felt that damaged the film's box office chances. Even if Hitch himself was dismissive of “Dial M for Murder,” the movie was popular with critics then and now. Fifty-seven years after it was first released, it is regarded as a classic. 

Former tennis pro Tony Wendice discovers his wife, Margot, is carrying on an affair with old friend and mystery author, Mark Halliday. Around the same time, he realizes he depends on his rich wife's money to survive. He hatches a plot to murder his wife, blackmailing an old college mate (and current criminal) named Swann into committing the act while he's out of the house. The scheme goes awry when Margot successfully stabs Swann to death while he's attempting to kill her. Margot is soon locked away for murdering the man, facing the death sentence, forcing Tony to change his plan. A nosy inspector from Scotland Yard attempts to unravel the truth.

As you'd probably expect from its roots as a stage show, “Dial M for Murder” is a dialogue-heavy movie. Among it's earliest scenes is a long exchange between Tony and Swann. The plan is laid out in excruciating detail, in-between long bouts of exposition where Tony explains how he knows Swann and how he intends to blackmail him into doing this. Of course, anyone who knows anything about writing knows the script would not be telling us this information unless something was going to go wrong. When it does, “Dial M for Murder's” proprieties change. As soon as the detective enters the story, it becomes something like an episode of “Columbo.” We, the viewer, knows how the crime happened. Now the entertainment value is derived from watching the characters discover that information too. 

The dialogue-driven story is not the only way we can tell “Dial M for Murder” was based on a stage play. Much of the movie takes place in-doors, in only one or two rooms. So much of the movie is interiors that the few exteriors, such as a shot of Grace Kelly walking down the street or the dramatic visual of her being photographed in a police line-up, really stick out. As much as Hitchcock disliked shooting the film in 3D, he ultimately used it to enliven a story that largely happens on one or two sets. The camera often creeps around the furniture. Objects like a lamp or a desk are foregrounded. A shot, peering down from the ceiling that places the chandelier closer to the viewer, is especially interesting. The three-dimensional visuals add depth to the setting, making “Dial M for Murder” a lot more interesting to look at than it otherwise might have been.

Like a lot of Hitchcock's thrillers, “Dial M for Murder” is not a perfect fit for a Halloween Horror-Fest. The movie is described better as a mystery, even though the viewer knows who the perpetrator will be from the very first scene. The score, or at least the opening and closing, are a bit too light-hearted for my taste. And yet, also like a lot of Hitchcock's thrillers, the film would influence grislier, future stories. The famous home invasion sequence was definitely an influence on the giallo genre. The focus is strictly on the terror of Margot is feeling in that moment, emphasized by the iconic shot of her hand reaching out towards the camera. Hitchcock frames the sequence almost like a sexual assault, as the attacker pins her down and lords over her body. The detail of the scissors sinking deeper into the man's back, after he falls backwards, feels like it probably made an impression on a young Dario Argento. You can see the DNA of this scene in any of the escalating murders of “Deep Red.” 

Aside from the virtuoso direction, the main pleasure of “Dial M for Murder” is its performances. Ray Milland, as Tony, is among the most genteel sociopaths ever to appear in film. When blackmailing Swann into murdering his wife, when coldly laying out every detail of the homicide, he never raises his voice or does anything outwardly malevolent. Instead, his tone is conversational and calm. The only time his mask of civility slips at all is when it looks like his scheme might be falling apart. Milland's utterly relaxed and charming demeanor makes Tony an all-the-more chilling villain.  John Williams, as the detective, is also fascinating to watch, as the gears turn and he puts two and two together. Grace Kelly, among the most prominent of Hitchcock's blondes, is certainly extremely vulnerable. Even if she's a bit too low-key in the second half, for my taste. 

“Dial M for Murder” wasn't just an obvious influence on the new breed of more violent murder mysteries that would follow in the sixties and seventies. It's also been directly remade several time. The play was re-staged for television multiple times. 1998's “A Perfect Murder” was a big budget, big screen remake, though with a number of alterations to the story. Considering the stage play has been successfully revived a number of times since Hitchcock's iteration, I imagine another filmed adaptation will follow eventually. While it doesn't rank among the director's masterpieces, “Dial M for Murder” is well executed, absorbing, and brilliantly acted. [7/10]

The Day the World Ended (2001)

The Creature Feature series of films didn't have much in the way of star power. The odd appearance of a slumming star like Dan Aykroyd or a known character actor like Clea DuVall were about it as far as “name” talent in these movies went. The monsters were the stars. Yet “The Day the World Ended,” the fourth in the series, probably had the most recognizable performers on its marquee. Nastassja Kinski and Randy Quaid were both pretty far from the A-list – and Stephen Tobolowsky was never there – by 2001. Yet all of them were a lot better known than most of the cast members in “She Creature” or “Earth Vs. the Spider.” I don't know if this gave the penultimate entry in this project any more prestige, compared to the others, but it's kind of interesting.

Jennifer Stillman, a child psychologist, arrives in the town of Sierra Vista. She has been hired as the new student therapist at the local elementary school. Her first day on the job, she sees Ben – a nerdy kid bullied and ostracized by both other students and faculty – beaten up by another student. He mysteriously bloodies the boy's nose with just a look. Jennifer attempts to bond with the troubled Ben, who has a fascination with aliens. She soon learns that Ben's father, town doctor Michael, actually adopted him. That Ben's birth mother told him his real dad was an extraterrestrial. That the townsfolk refuse to discuss the past with Jennifer. After a monster appears in town and begins to viciously murder people, Jennifer will uncover more dark secrets about Ben and his parentage.

Compared to the other films in the Creature Feature series, which have been pretty stingy with their star monsters, “The Day the World Ended” features a surprising amount of its murderous beast. Referred to as just the Creature in the film and credits, but called The Visitor on the action figure packaging, it's a pretty neat design. The green reptilian beast has a large, cycloptic eye, an expanding maw full of razor-sharp teeth, a grasping rib cage on its chest, and a mane of snake-like tentacles dangling from its head and back. All throughout the movie, he's hunting people down and crushing their heads or ripping their faces off. Granted, the beast is still mostly kept off-screen or in the shadows. Yet “The Day the World Ended” does earn points for falling thoroughly into the “monster on the loose” genre. A sequence where the Visitor attacks the village diner in the middle-of-the-day is even mildly suspenseful. Throw in a hyper-intelligent dog and this would've been a pretty decent “Watchers” sequel. 

“The Day the World Ended” has enough intrigue in its story to keep me invested throughout its run time. The movie indulges in two common story tropes that I'm a sucker for: A Town with a Dark Secret and a misfit kid bonding with a sympathetic authority figure. From the minute Jessica arrives, it's apparent that the people of Sierra Vista are hiding something. Everyone treats her like an interloper and is suspicious of anyone digging into the past. Watching Ben, played decently by Bobby Edner, find a friend in Jessica is mildly touching. (Kinski is definitely slumming it here but is still clearly invested enough in the material.) It's even sort of sweet to see Randy Quaid as a somewhat likable father figure, reaching out to his oddball son. It isn't immediately apparent – though still pretty easy to guess – what the deal with the kid is. When the revelations come, and result in a bloody showdown with the monster, it's not without dramatic weight.

“The Day the World Ended” was directed by Terence Gross, a British filmmaker whose previous feature “Hotel Splendide,” received some respectable notices in 2000. Gross has a decent visual sense. The story seems to be set somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, if the use of fog and forest in the town is any indication. There's a certain warmth to the interiors here that I like. The film is also set in December and its bloody finale is partially lit by Christmas lights, a nice touch. “The Day the World Ended” still has its tacky touches. There's some cheap and ugly digital effects. The flashbacks and monster P.O.V. shots feature some shaky editing that bug me. Still, it looks a little less like a cheap TV movie than the other Creature Feature flicks.

By the way, “The Day the World Ended” has even less to do with the fifties B-movie it shares a title with than the other films in the Creature Feature series. The Roger Corman original is shown on a TV at one point. Besides that, this one has no resembles to the post-apocalyptic movie that ostensibly inspired it. In fact, the story does not take place on a day when the world ends, so the title is totally meaningless. It's definitely not high art. The script isn't anything special and the movie still has its clumsy moments. Still, by the lackluster standards set by the other movies under the Creature Feature banner, this is one of the better ones. It's got some okay performances, a cool enough monster that does some stuff, and a story that doesn't totally suck. That's faint praise, for sure, but it's still something. [6/10]

Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1986): A Very Happy Ending

Sometimes, one of the joys of watching old genre television is seeing famous actors before they really became stars. Such as this episode of the mostly forgotten eighties revival of “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” which features a ten year old Joaquin Phoenix. (Still going by “Leaf” at the time.) “A Very Happy Ending” concerns Pagey, the deaf son of a rich man. He resents his father, who's never around, whom he blames for his deafness and the death of his mother. While sitting in an airport, waiting to be flown back home before his birthday party, he sees a mafia hitman named Irish Charley stab someone to death. The kid then attempts to blackmail Charley into knocking off his father. Over the course of a day, the two develop an unexpected relationship.

“A Very Happy Ending” has a strong premise that it utilizes effectively for the majority of its runtime. Even at this young an age, you can see why Joaquin Phoenix would go on to specialize in intense characters. The scene where Pagey rages against his dad is effective, all the child's resentment boiling over. He also plays well off Robert Loggia. The part of a blustery hitman is well within Loggia's wheelhouse but he's also as entertaining as he always is in the role. Watching the unrepentant killer explain to a child that he may not fully grasp the gravity of what he's asking here is interesting. There's some solid dramatic irony in seeing a professional murderer argue the moral high ground. 

There's a moment where it looks like “A Very Happy Ending” might be going in a truly unexpected, and exceptionally dark, direction. Charley finds the evidence the kid is blackmailing him with and raises his switchblade. It's dark in the room, so Pagey can't read his lips. Instead of mining this for tension, making the viewer wonder if a child is at risk, the episode wimps out hard. This foretells a twist ending that is a little too proud of itself and wraps the episode up on a sappy note. I'm also not sure what the point of making the kid deaf was. Though it does pay-off in a funny way in the host segment, where Hitchcock's words are inaudible under the noise of an airport bar. [6/10]

Tooth Fairy (2001)

Here in 2021, the formula required for a horror short film to go viral is well established. The sound design starts out quiet and soft. You establish a pattern as quickly as possible. After several minutes of build-up, you deliver something gory, shocking, or loud. When this is done well, you get internet classics like “Bedfellows” or “Lights Out.” When it's not, you get 99% of the horror shorts on Youtube. This formula must have had more novelty twenty years ago, when writer Joe Harris made his four-minute film “Tooth Fairy.” The short concerns a little boy being tucked into his bed, eager for the Tooth Fairy to appear that night and exchange his tooth for some money. His mother informs him to be a good boy and not to look when the Fairy appears. Naturally, he disobey and suffers the consequences. 

Like I said, “Tooth Fairy” is easy to predict. It's obvious from the minute the rules are introduced, the little boy is going to break them. The gruesome fate that befalls him is also heavily foreshadowed, by a shot of the kid's teddy bear with stitched up eyes. Jordan Johansen, the actor playing the little boy, gives a ridiculously hammy performance. The over-the-top faces he makes when seeing the (off-screen) Tooth Fairy are so goofy. Then again, maybe this matches the exaggerated script, which has a shining light showering the boy with gold coins before delivering his punishment. 

I will say this about Harris and “Tooth Fairy:” It's fairly well produced for what was obviously a low budget affair. The cinematography is decent, with a few mildly cool shots of the kid's bedroom or the mother rushing up the stairs. The use of colors, of cool greens and blues and glowing yellows, is well utilized. There's just no characters you care about here, meaning the heavily telegraphed and underwhelming final shock has little actual power. Yet I guess the idea of an evil Tooth Fairy, one of the few symbols of childhood innocence horror filmmakers hadn't corrupted at this point, caught someone's attention. The short must've circulated in the right offices and impressed the right people, because Harris – who has gone on to a successful career in comics – was able to sell a feature inspired by his movie. But more on that tomorrow... [5/10]