REPUBLIC PICTURES: Horror Collection
Running Time 275 mintes
Available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber, here

by Rosalie Kicks, Old Sport & Editor in Chief

In today’s cinematic landscape it is hard to find a picture under 90 minutes. However, during the 1930s and 40s it was not uncommon for a film to have a swift runtime. Often, audiences would be gifted with a double feature and the second flick played would be commonly known as a “B” movie.

Its important to note that the term B movie encompasses a variety of genres and may include: sensational exploitation, horror, sci-fi, independent, and arthouse film. With each generation, the definition evolves. During the golden age of Tinseltown-which often is considered to be the late 1920s until early 1960s-a B movie typically would be shown as a follow-up to an “A” picture. The main distinguishing fact between the two types was their production costs. Typically a B movie would not even cover the petty cash that was needed to run an A picture. With the advent of television in the 1950s, the interest in producing B movies declined due to the studios transition to creating live action serials. Today, many would consider a straight to streaming flick a B movie.

I am particularly fond of B movies, particularly those made during the 1930s and 40s. Due to their small budgets, I feel there is a charm to these motion pictures as it required the filmmakers to get creative to ensure they got the most bang for their buck. I also love the minimal time investment they require. In under ninety minutes I know that my eyes will be taken on a wild ride that often will result in a story that never lets up on the gas. Recently, Kino Lorber released a collection of four B movie horror productions produced by Republic Pictures. This studio was active from 1935 until 1967, and is responsible for the making of close to 1,000 pictures. Below I examine each of the four flicks contained on this two disc Blu-ray set to determine if it would be worthy to add to your physical media collection. Let’s dig in!

The Lady and The Monster (1944)
Directed by George Sherman
Written by Dane Lussier and Frederick Kohner (screenplay) & Curt Siodmak (novel)
Starring Vera Ralston, Erich von Stroheim and Richard Arlen
Running Time 86 minutes

Back of the box synopsis:
Erich Von Stroheim plays a mad scientist bent on keeping the brain of millionaire William Donovan alive after he removes it from Donovan’s dying body. His assistant (Richard Arlen) serves as a host for Donovan’s brain impulses; the lady of the title (Vera Ralston) fights against the monstrous experiment.

Features that make it special…

• Audio Commentary with artist and film historian Stephen R. Bisette

• Sidebar (On Camera) with Tim Lucas and Stephen R. Bissette

Why you need to add it to your video library…

Often my ratings of pictures are cause for confusion to those I pal around with. What can I say… I am a sucker for atmosphere. Give me a fog filled landscape, a brooding manor, a gaggle of bats soaring through the air and I am willing to look past any sort of nonsensical plot or technical snafu.

With The Lady and The Monster, one is not only treated to a glorious ambience but a thrilling tale as well. As much as I loved the plot’s focus on brain science, my favorite aspect of this flick was the locations. The laboratory in which Professor Franz Mueller (Erich von Stroheim) conducts his experiments in is not only exquisite, but also housed in a castle making it the ultimate lair. I was quite fond of his demeanor as well. One of my favorite moments of the film was when he instructed his chambermaid to “Send me a sandwich to the lab!” I noted this particular demand for future use when I find myself in my own personal lab.

One thing is for sure, like many films of this era, it throws everything and the kitchen sink into the story which makes for a helluva zany experience. Very few films will feature a brain in a vat of liquid that telepathically communicates with another being in order to commit murder. In case you were wondering, the voice of the brain is absolutely aces.

The Phantom Speaks (1945)
Directed by John English
Written by John K. Butler
Starring Richard Arlen, Tom Powers, Stanley Ridges and Lynne Roberts
Running Time 69 minutes

Back of the box synopsis:

The vengeful spirit of an executed murderer (Tom Powers) enters the body of a physician (Stanley Ridges), and forces him to do its bidding-namely, murder. A newspaperman (Richard Arlen) must unravel the bloody supernatural secret before it’s too late.

Features that make it special…

• Audio Commentary with novelist and critic Tim Lucas

Why you need to add it to your video library…

Ya know what gets me out on the dance floor? Organ music. The soothing forlorn sound truly rattles my bones and gets my toes tapping. The Phantom Speaks’s use of the organ as a score, heightens the thrills and adds to the unsettling tale of supernatural possession.

Overall this yarn is crazy in the best ways possible. How is a guy that is supposed to be six feet under rollicking around town on a killing spree? Welllll the logical answer is of corpse: a ghost is loose! This plot contains several elements that are right up my alley including: murder, seance discussions, and journos. With a brisk runtime, this picture does not waste any time getting started and by the time the credits hit, you will be much like the character little Mary Fabian (as seen above)… you will have seen some things.

The Catman of Paris (1946)
Directed by Lesley Selander
Written by Sherman L. Lowe
Starring Carl Esmond, Lenore Aubert, Adele Mara and Douglass Dumbrille
Running Time 65 minutes

Back of the box synopsis:

After a mysterious cat-like creature slaughters people close to him, Parisian Charles Regnier (Carl Esmond) is suspected of murder. Charles fears that he is the beast, but his paramour Marie (Lenore Aubert) and best friend Henry (Douglass Dumbrille) believe he’s innocent… until the Catman begins to stalk Marie!

Features that make it special…

• Audio Commentary with film historians David Del Valle and Miles Hunter

Why you need to add it to your video library…

The Catman of Paris is an example of a high return on a minimal investment when you are speaking in terms of time spent. My main issue with this flick is that the story in my head was a lot better than how it played out on screen. Nevertheless, there were still several moments sprinkled through out that make this picture worth a watch, especially since Lenore Aubert is part of the cast. She is best known for her role in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) in which she plays a sinister doctor that has plans to assist Dracula (Bela Lugosi) with reviving Frankenstein’s monster. I have always been fond of Lenore and was delighted when she showed up.

“You suspect me of turning myself into a cat to kill an old man…”

The imagery that is shown prior to the person becoming the titular CATMAN is baffling. The stock footage à la Ed Wood that is utilized is nonsensical, yet I love it. The sounds made when the cat attacks the victims is absolutely precious. However, I do wish they would have had the catman commit the kills via a pounce.

Valley of The Zombies (1946)
Directed by Philip Ford
Written by Dorrell McGowan and Stuart E. McGowan (screenplay) & Royal K. Cole and Sherman L. Lowe (original story)
Starring Robert Livingston, Lorna Gray and Ian Keith
Running Time 56 minutes

Back of the box synopsis:

Long-dead madman Ormand Murks (Ian Keith) once believed that endless blood transfusions would make him immortal. Now resurrected via voodoo, he stalks the city for human blood. A woman (Adrian Booth) falls under Ormand’s hypnotic, vampiric spell.

Features that make it special…

• Audio Commentary with film historians David Del Valle and Miles Hunter

Why you need to add it your library…

I enjoyed the plot of a walking cadaver thieving blood under the pale moonlight but it goes a bit off the rails when a novice detecting duo attempt to solve the crime. I did appreciate the picture’s accurate portrayal of police authorities as a gaggle of boobs. Their ineptness is inevitably what is cause for the amateur investigating to occur. Fortunately Valley of The Zombies is over before it wears out its welcome. With mention of catalepsy, witnessing a hypnotic trance, and someone being described as a “big! brain specialist” are enough reason for me to recommend this as a must watch. The real icing on the cake though is a scene in which a woman discovers a corpse in an icebox and remarks that she was not scared, she just “didn’t like the way it was presented”. They truly don’t make movies like they used to.

There are a lot of ways to squander four hours and thirty-five minutes, why not do so by watching a few horror flicks presented as 4K scans from HD masters compliments of Paramount pictures. At less than ten bucks a flick, I can’t think of a better way to spend your spiders (aka money). As I see it, it is an investment that will provide thrills and chills now and in the afterlife.

Republic Pictures: Horror Collection is available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber, here