Yet another evening of thrilling culture! It was the second Monday Night Silent Movie Horror Series, with the fabulous Dennis James again at the Mighty Wurlitzer – this time,
The Magician, directed by
Rex Ingram, and it was really creepy! The magician was a Svengali like mad scientist who was bent on creating life. He had discovered an ancient document with a recipe, which called for the “heart blood of a maiden.” Actually, it was quite specific. The maiden had to be a fair-haired, blue-eyed virgin. Happily, I would only qualify in one out of three. Poor Margaret, played by Alice Terry, who qualified in every respect, came under his spell and was whisked off to his tower laboratory on the morning she was to be married. Had the evil Dr. Haddo waited a few more hours, Margaret would only have qualified in two out of three. The hero was one of the few silent movie heroes who looked like a normal guy. i.e., no eye-liner or lipstick. He was very handsome, and reminded me of my
brother Frank. Buster Keaton also reminds me of my brother Frank, but this fellow, the doctor who early in the movie saved Margaret’s life (via surgery, not derring-do,) didn’t look much like Buster Keaton. Odd how that works, isn’t it? I mentioned the awfulness of the clothes in last week’s movie – ugly and horribly uncomfortable looking. The gowns the ladies wore in this movie were beautifully elegant, and actually looked comfortable. Dr. Haddo was just cutting a lovely gown off Margaret (you can see her lying on the surgical table in the background) when the intrepid Dr. Burden arrived to save her. Had she been prepped like the usual surgery patient, he would not have had to take this step, and she would have been a goner.
Yet another evening of thrilling culture! It was the second Monday Night Silent Movie Horror Series, with the fabulous Dennis James again at the Mighty Wurlitzer – this time, The Magician, directed by Rex Ingram, and it was really creepy! The magician was a Svengali like mad scientist who was bent on creating life. He had discovered an ancient document with a recipe, which called for the “heart blood of a maiden.” Actually, it was quite specific. The maiden had to be a fair-haired, blue-eyed virgin. Happily, I would only qualify in one out of three. Poor Margaret, played by Alice Terry, who qualified in every respect, came under his spell and was whisked off to his tower laboratory on the morning she was to be married. Had the evil Dr. Haddo waited a few more hours, Margaret would only have qualified in two out of three. The hero was one of the few silent movie heroes who looked like a normal guy. i.e., no eye-liner or lipstick. He was very handsome, and reminded me of my brother Frank. Buster Keaton also reminds me of my brother Frank, but this fellow, the doctor who early in the movie saved Margaret’s life (via surgery, not derring-do,) didn’t look much like Buster Keaton. Odd how that works, isn’t it? I mentioned the awfulness of the clothes in last week’s movie – ugly and horribly uncomfortable looking. The gowns the ladies wore in this movie were beautifully elegant, and actually looked comfortable. Dr. Haddo was just cutting a lovely gown off Margaret (you can see her lying on the surgical table in the background) when the intrepid Dr. Burden arrived to save her. Had she been prepped like the usual surgery patient, he would not have had to take this step, and she would have been a goner.
2 comments:
Another great movie! Unfortunately, I could find no cute photos online of Gladys Hamer. I liked the spooky fortress and the bats. :-)
Oh I get it - you're fair haired, LOL:) Isn't it funny how those movies can still creep us out? When you see all that realistic shock and gore on TV, it really is the mind that causes the most fright!
Take care,
Joan
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