A Monogram B referred to variously by IMDB users
as "one of the worst (and/or dullest) movies I've ever seen!," which
it would be in prints less luminous than what Netflix tendered from among its
UA lease-holdings.Some pics are worth the watch just for access to quality we
seldom get from poverty row survivors. At least there's impression of what 1934
audiences saw in fresh-minted 35mm nitrate. Monogram put forth effort beyond
what "coffee-and-cake" producers so far had in talkies, Mystery Liner
adapted from known and then-recently deceased Edgar Wallace, with a cast recognizable,
if not stellar. Sci-fi elements lend at least faint interest, being revolved
around a remote control device that can steer vessels in mid-ocean. Will
impliedly-German agents seize upper hand from their own remote vantage? Kenneth
Strickfaden lab equipmentdecorates a villanous lair; we could wish for more extensive use
of it. Otherwise, Mystery Liner sails an ocean of exposition, unrelieved by
even pretence of action. A good cast of customary villains: Noah Beery, Edwin
Maxwell, Gustav von Seyffertitz, though in Mystery Liner's case, only one is
perfidious.
Setting aside King Kong, which he really had zip to do with (he died right after being signed), has there EVER been a good Edgar Wallace movie? He seems the king of the lamely plotted improbable thriller. Does anyone read him now?
I certainly haven't, but then it's all I can do most days to read expiration dates off mayonnaise jars. Too little time with so many books and Blu-Rays coming out!
The original Monogram had some substantial-looking productions to its credit in the mid-1930s. This was before "B" production was adopted by the majors, and before double features took hold. Most features from any company were "program pictures" -- standard seven- or eight-reel attractions intended to be shown as single features, supported by short subjects. So the early Monograms were made along the lines of similar product coming from other companies.
It wasn't until 1938, after Monogram had pulled out of the Republic merger and was competing with budget jobs from other studios, that Monogram concentrated on supporting fare for double features.
Edgar Wallace was prolific in a Steven King way. The joke used to be "I think I'll read the daily Edgar Wallace." In all fairness to Edgar Wallace he did write fairly entertaining pulp fiction. His novels were "mined" for innumerable b-movies and TV shows. Some of the more entertaining episodes of THE WILD, WILD WEST were straight-up Wallace pastiches.
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Setting aside King Kong, which he really had zip to do with (he died right after being signed), has there EVER been a good Edgar Wallace movie? He seems the king of the lamely plotted improbable thriller. Does anyone read him now?
I certainly haven't, but then it's all I can do most days to read expiration dates off mayonnaise jars. Too little time with so many books and Blu-Rays coming out!
The Edgar Wallace based German krimis from the 1960s are quite good. They start with THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE FROG (1959).
The original Monogram had some substantial-looking productions to its credit in the mid-1930s. This was before "B" production was adopted by the majors, and before double features took hold. Most features from any company were "program pictures" -- standard seven- or eight-reel attractions intended to be shown as single features, supported by short subjects. So the early Monograms were made along the lines of similar product coming from other companies.
It wasn't until 1938, after Monogram had pulled out of the Republic merger and was competing with budget jobs from other studios, that Monogram concentrated on supporting fare for double features.
Edgar Wallace was prolific in a Steven King way. The joke used to be "I think I'll read the daily Edgar Wallace." In all fairness to Edgar Wallace he did write fairly entertaining pulp fiction. His novels were "mined" for innumerable b-movies and TV shows. Some of the more entertaining episodes of THE WILD, WILD WEST were straight-up Wallace pastiches.
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