Endless Ends

[Endless_Night]

Chicken. Horror.

1 - Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead. (2006)
2 - Attack of the Killer Chickens the Movie. (2015).

I like my horror kitsch, but this…this...is in a category all it's own.


What really bothers me about this is the plot of Poultrygeist sounds familiar.

 

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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

A double feature!

First, the 1931 pre-code version, which I have never seen before. The lead actor, Frederick March, won an academy award for his dual portrayal! I've always considered Ingrid Bergman the ultimate Ivy Pearson, but Miriam Hopkins was just fine in the role. Better than fine. And, like Bergman, a strikingly beautiful woman. Wowzer.

The pre-code movies are always interesting. The sexual innuendo and nudity are usually so much more pronounced, for one. This version had a little more nudity….

….but not enough to get excited about, people.


Now. Round two. Version 1941.

Huzzah.

 

[investor2020]

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Happy Halloween, Enny . . . but be careful . . . "Even a man who is pure in heart, and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright."

 

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Dr. Sleep (2019). Did not finish. Intolerable themes.

I need a mental cleanser.

 

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Happy Halloween, Enny . . . but be careful . . . "Even a man who is pure in heart, and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and the autumn moon is bright."

*shivers*

The good kind.

Much more attractive than their vampiric counterparts. Primal.

Werewolves are


Happy Halloween!!!!

 

[hotwords229_A]

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

A double feature!

First, the 1931 pre-code version, which I have never seen before. The lead actor, Frederick March, won an academy award for his dual portrayal! I've always considered Ingrid Bergman the ultimate Ivy Pearson, but Miriam Hopkins was just fine in the role. Better than fine. And, like Bergman, a strikingly beautiful woman. Wowzer.

The pre-code movies are always interesting. The sexual innuendo and nudity are usually so much more pronounced, for one. This version had a little more nudity….

….but not enough to get excited about, people.


Now. Round two. Version 1941.

Huzzah.

https://scifistdotcom.files.wordpress.com/2019/01/1931_jekyll_hyde_009_miriam_hopkins_fredric_march.jpg?w=667

I disagree. Miriam Hopkins IS worth getting excited about.

 

[Endless_Night]

Infighting, blood feuds, death threats. Controversy, brutal stress, sleepless nights.

Someone needs to write a book.

Wedding in the Time of Covid


(Not what you were expecting, huh? )


But, omg, seriously.

 

[Endless_Night]

Netflix. Remade. Rebecca.



Do you understand what I'm saying here, people?! Naturally I had to watch. (Need I say my expectation were looooooooow.) But first, let me mention the ultimate, the academy award winning, Hitchcock version.

Rebecca. (1940)

Whether you want to call it gothic horror or gothic romance, it is one impressive movie. Elegant casting, inclusion in several AFL lists, not to mention the suspense! Beautifully done, and I always enjoy a rewatch.

Which I did.

This weekend.

Then I hit the 2020 version.

Ehh. It was visually attractive, but the casting left me unmoved. Even Kristin Scott Thomas, who I'd had high hopes of as Mrs. Danvers. Moreover, there were plot and conversation changes. A couple of which seemed poorly nuanced with my understanding of the characters. Which got me wondering if memory served correctly. I've read the original, but it had been YEARS.

Rebecca. Daphne du Maurier, 1938.

So. Quick reread.

Wow. What a pleasure. I often prefer old movies and books, and this reminded me why. No flavorless deep-third POV. Instead, a full-bodied vocabulary, with obscure yet precise words, and lesser known (and fast becoming archaic) definitions.

Lush description, often delivered in ways unexpected. Characters with depth, built in deceptive layers. Secondary characters that hold their own while honing suspense with each appearance. A study in jealousy, semi auto-biographical, poetic devices for effect, and poetry I haven't heard of. (Okay. So that last one is not exactly difficult!)

Eighty years and it's never been out of print. Easy to see why….

*ahem*

To answer my original question, the 1940 Hitchcock version was - by far - the more faithful to the book script. Aside from the little matter of sanitizing the ending to placate the Hollywood production code.

'Cause, you know, morality.

 

[JennyNo1]

I'm glad you pre-reviewed this for me! I'll just stick with the book and the 1940 version.

Have you ever read anything by Thomas B. Costain? He wrote back in the 40's and 50's. His historical fiction novels are full of detail and adventure and just the right amount of romance. If you like Rebecca, I think you might enjoy him. A couple of titles are The Black Rose and The Darkness and the Dawn.

I think I'ma have to go back and re-read some du Maurier stuff now.

 

[hotwords229_A]

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There can be only one Mrs. Danvers.

 

[Endless_Night]

< Have you ever read anything by Thomas B. Costain? He wrote back in the 40's and 50's. >

I have not, but both those titles sound vaguely familiar. *googles*

Oh! One of them is a movie. Which I have not seen. *puts him on reading list*

Have you read any Susan Howatch or Taylor Caldwell? Both have rich writing styles. Both are rather famous for their historical fiction. Howatch does a Plantagenet treatment in at least two of her novels, plus has a couple of series involving the Church of England. Caldwell covers a wider time range, from ancient Greece to late 1800 century. Even a few novels more modern novels as well, with the occasional offbeat dabbling in religion (Grandmother and the Priests).

And, yeah. I'd give Rebecca (2020) a miss. Not bad, just…not gothic horror. Or a patch on the original.

 

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There can be only one Mrs. Danvers.

Have you noticed she makes NO facial expressions? Yet she pulls off relentlessly menacing.

*gulps*

 

[JennyNo1]

I have not, but both those titles sound vaguely familiar. *googles*

Oh! One of them is a movie. Which I have not seen. *puts him on reading list*

Have you read any Susan Howatch or Taylor Caldwell?

I have heard of Taylor Caldwell and may have read something of hers, but I'll check them out.

I forgot to mention, Costain has some works that are strictly histories of the Plantagenets, and they are pretty dry recitations of fact. Stick to his novels; I think he's even got a decent "William the Conqueror" for younger readers that's supposed to be pretty good. "The Silver Chalice" was a movie with a young Paul Newman, Virgina Mayo, Lorne Greene, and Natalie Wood.

 

[Endless_Night]

I have heard of Taylor Caldwell and may have read something of hers, but I'll check them out.

I forgot to mention, Costain has some works that are strictly histories of the Plantagenets, and they are pretty dry recitations of fact. Stick to his novels; I think he's even got a decent "William the Conqueror" for younger readers that's supposed to be pretty good. "The Silver Chalice" was a movie with a young Paul Newman, Virgina Mayo, Lorne Greene, and Natalie Wood.

Lots of good stuff for Caldwell. Unfortunately most of it is out of print. Which is just so annoying. Second hand book stores are a good bet.

Odd how the older books are more enjoyable, yes? My introduction to both authors was from my parents book shelves, and I have to say, on the whole, those books seem much better written.

Ack! I will definitely stick with Costain's novels. I'm having a hard time concentrating on anything too drab these days. Dry as dust recitation might put me right over the edge.

 

[JennyNo1]

Lots of good stuff for Caldwell. Unfortunately most of it is out of print. Which is just so annoying. Second hand book stores are a good bet.

Odd how the older books are more enjoyable, yes? My introduction to both authors was from my parents book shelves, and I have to say, on the whole, those books seem much better written.

Ack! I will definitely stick with Costain's novels. I'm having a hard time concentrating on anything too drab these days. Dry as dust recitation might put me right over the edge.

I found the Plantagenets series on Amazon Prime for Kindle, not realizing what they were like. So luckily I'm not stuck with books sitting around I won't read.

 

[hotwords229_A]

Have you noticed she makes NO facial expressions? Yet she pulls off relentlessly menacing.

*gulps*

She’s the Michael Myers of housekeepers.

 

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Thank. God. It. Is. Friday.

Note the above is not in acronym form. It's been a full word kind of week. Make that two weeks.

*thunk*


Even if it is Friday the Thirteenth.

Again. Full words.

 

[hotwords229_A]

Is it time for a Friday the 13th-athon?

 

[Endless_Night]

Is it time for a Friday the 13th-athon?

The perfect time! Except - and I can't believe I'm saying this - I'm kinda burnt out on horror movies.

I know! I know! The sky is falling.

My brain is just…fried. A little soothing film noir is in order. Picture a quartet. Pre code, wiggle code, post code, spoof. In particular order:

Tha Maltese Falcon (1931)
Satan Met a Lady (1936)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
The Black Bird (1975)

Can I sit through 4 movies by Monday morning?

*cracks knuckles delicately*

Honestly, no idea, but I am going to try!

*collapses in front of television*

Wish me luck.

 

[Endless_Night]

Way ahead of you, my good man! Part 2 is playing.

Dang it! Now I feel guilty for not being in the middle of a 13-athon.

Thirteenth-athon?

I don't know. One and a half French 75s.

It might be that I am schnockered.

Shonockered?

 

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Tha Maltese Falcon (1931)

Oooooh. Racy!

Innuendo, strip searches, homoerotica….

Did I spell that last one right?




Did I mention schnockered?

 

[hotwords229_A]

Oooooh. Racy!

Innuendo, strip searches, homoerotica….

Did I spell that last one right?




Did I mention schnockered?

I had no idea the Maltese Falcon was a remake!!! WOW!!! I need to see the original now.