Reviews (2)

One of the best Roy Rogers Movies
One of the best of Roy's movies with a great musical ending, but it is the 54 minute cut version. Very good story and direction.

Comments on Song of Nevada
Visual quality of this video is fair to average. The sound track is good. This is a 54 minute cut version of this title. The original theatrical release had a running time of approximately 75 minutes. Uncut versions of this film can be found in private film collections, but none are known to be available on home video. This 1944 release is one of the first 3 films Roy starred in with Dale Evans. It is too bad that this title is not available on video in its original full length form, as this is one of the better Roy Rogers films. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

"You cannot escape the person you are."
In the film, "Strange Impersonation" chemist Nora Goodrich (Brenda Marshall) is close to perfecting a new form of anesthesia, and she's also fending off fiance and fellow chemist, Dr Lindstrom. Lindstrom is pushing for a wedding date, but Nora's ambition dictates the conclusion of her experiments before moving on to personal business. Nora decides to accelerate product testing by experimenting with the anesthetic at home. She enlists the help of lab assistant Arline Cole. The experiment, however, goes horribly wrong, and Nora's face is scarred beyond recognition.

Following a bizarre encounter with female blackmailer Jane Karaski, Nora seizes the opportunity to assume Jane's identity. Nora--as Jane--goes into hiding and then undergoes over a year's worth of intense plastic surgery to restore her face.

Director Anthony Mann is considered one of the great film noir directors. So for those interested in the genre, "Strange Impersonation" is a must-see. However, that said, viewers should be aware that the film is seeped in 1940s technology and science (Nora's lab--Nora's experiments, etc), and so much of the film seems extremely dated. There are literally beakers full of smoking concoctions. Also, the film has a very high camp quality. The fights between females, a hideously scarred face hidden by veils, and the nonsensical inability to identify a body because the face is damaged beyond recognition, all add up to a good laugh. While the performances of the main actors are up-to-standard, some of the minor characters are definitely bad actors.

"Strange Impersonation" is absolutely not in the same league as "The Postman Always Rings Twice," "Double Indemnity" or "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers." It's just too campy for that. However, I was extremely interested in Mann's portrayal of females in this film. Nora is a brilliant scientist, Arline is the wicked schemer, and Jane Karaski is a female thug. This is a film about strong women (not necessarily nice) who take fate into their own hands. The characters of the females are fascinating--whereas the males play only dull minor roles on the periphery of the film. "Strange Impersonation" is relatively short--68 minutes long, and if you want to see a "B" cult classic from the 40s, then this film--with all its flaws--is worth your while. This is a restored version of the film, and both the picture and sound were excellent quality--displacedhuman.

A NOTE TO CUSTOMER REVIEWERS...
Please warn readers about potential spoilers at the beginning of your reviews. The ending is revealed in one of the previous critiques. Thanks and happy viewing!

STRANGE "MOVIE".....
A chemist (Brenda Marshall) working on a new anesthetic takes the product home and tries it out. Her assistant (Hilary Brooke), who may be after Marshalls' husband, arranges an "accident" that reults in Marshalls' face being disfigured. Marshall then murders a woman trying to blackmail her over a previous car accident and has to go on the lam with the dead womans' identity. She plots to take revenge and everything snowballs into a nightmare worse than before. The finale sees it all as just a weird hallucination she experienced from the drug. Huh? All this mumbo jumbo is played out in a very short running time. I wouldn't call this a "movie" so much as a cheap experimental student project. There are no production values at all. The sets are cardboard and the acting is dull and at times amateurish. I know that Anthony Mann has a reputation as a low budget film noirist but this is the cheapest attempt at telling a story I've seen in a while. Ulmer's "Detour" is pretty cheap but at least it's interesting. This was interesting at first but the ending just left me flat. Low budget is one thing but out and out cheap is another. I will not fault this films' defenders. To each his or her own. But it's just too cheap for me to see more than once. So it's recommended for Manns' fans and others with their curiosity meter turned WAY up.

SKIN DEEP AND DEEPER
Skin deep is not deep enough.

Jealousy, murder, plastic surgery and revenge in a Hitchcockian tour de force from Director Anthony Mann ("El Cid," "Desperate," "Bamboo Blond," "God's Little Acre").

Mann was widely praised for his meticulous eye for detail and his instinctive sense of mise en scene which he prominently shows in "Strange Impersonation."

The radiant and beautiful Brenda Marshall is a scientist who spurns marriage for her pioneering breakthroughs in the science of anesthetics. That's right, anesthetics. But YOU won't fall asleep watching this very surreal, sly, primitive, artful but low budget tale with a stunning, surprise ending. (Full Screen, B&W, 68 minutes, Not Rated)...

A FEMINIST "DARK PASSAGE"
This cool movie has the production values of a Three Stooges short (Shemp-era), but the writing and acting more than make up for it. The story recalls the best stories by Cornell Woolrich (The Bride Wore Black) and David Goodis (Dark Passage). It's gratifying to see a noir film from the 40's that has so many strong female characters in it. This is an undiscovered gem. Kudos to Kino. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Enjoyable Serial Of Federal Law Officer vs. Crime Lord
Federal Operator 99 is one of Republic's best serials, combining action-filled cliffhangers with an engaging cast and several good twists.

Marten Lamont is Jerry Blake, Operator 99. Part James Bond (he speaks with a mild English accent, is quite charming looking, and gets into traps worthy of Ian Fleming), part Joe Friday, and part Frank Bullitt, Jerry Blake is after Jim Belmont (George J. Lewis), an escaped crimelord with a unique characteristic; he is a musician with a talent for piano, which he plays incessently for relaxation; his taste for music figures prominently in one of his robberies, when he kidnaps a famed violinest to swipe his expensive Stradivarius.

Both Blake and Belmont are ably backed by two lovely ladies - Joyce Kingston (Helen Talbot) and Rita Parker (Lorna Gray), both of whom get quite involved in the action - at one point both ladies fight for the wheel of an out of control truck. Rita shows herself to be as mean as any gunsel (she calmly sticks a flaming lighter in the face of a kidnapped Countess to make her spill the beans on hidden crown jewels), while Joyce is Cloudy Russo to Jerry's Popeye Doyle (she rescues him from one of Belmont's traps and kills the driver of a car trying to knock them over a cliff).

Both couples become ever more frustrated at the cat-and-mouse game that proceeds; there is a great scene where Belmont is playing piano while Rita glumly stares into space. Jerry Blake, meanwhile, becomes noticably less confident over the course of the story; he records a letter to his superiors in Washington, and displays a very real sense of failure in reporting on Belmont's escapes.

But when Belmont's chief gunman Matt Farrell (Hal Taliafero) is nabbed after the botched Stradivarius heist, Belmont and Rita kidnap Joyce, hoping to trade her for Farrell. Jerry gets the break needed and tracks them down to an abandoned theatre. Rita hides herself and the bound-and-gagged Joyce in a closet, but Blake fools Belmont and a gun battle ensues, in which the closet in hit by Belmont's gunfire and one of the ladies perishes. Blake pursues Belmont throughout the theatre, dodging thrown knives as he closes on his quarry.

If you've never seen an old Saturday serial, this is one to start with. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

One of the best Roy Rogers Movies
One of the best of Roy's movies with a great musical ending, but it is the 54 minute cut version. Very good story and direction.

Comments on Song of Nevada
Visual quality of this video is fair to average. The sound track is good. This is a 54 minute cut version of this title. The original theatrical release had a running time of approximately 75 minutes. Uncut versions of this film can be found in private film collections, but none are known to be available on home video. This 1944 release is one of the first 3 films Roy starred in with Dale Evans. It is too bad that this title is not available on video in its original full length form, as this is one of the better Roy Rogers films. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A low-budget, low on the chills & thrills, Republican serial
"The Black Widow" is a 13-episode serial put out by Republican Pictures in 1947. "The Daily Clarion" hires detective story author Steve Colt (Bruce Edwards) to investigatee the murders of several scientists who were working on an project developing an atomic rocket. Behind the murders is Sombra (Carol Forman), a fortune teller who is also a spy from an unnamed Asian country (how inscrutable, right?). Sombra is trying to steal the atomic rocket and lures the unsuspecting scientists to her parlor where she disposes of them with the venom of (you will never guess) a black widow spider. Virginia Lindley plays Colt's love interest, Joyce Winters. But it is Forman who provides the few meager thrills in this low-budget, uninspiring serial (Scott Rivers nails it on the head). Indeed, there are better examples of this once popular form of Saturday morning movie entertainment than this, which might explain why this two tape set is #5 in the Cliffhanger Series. This was not the "24" of its day, but I still advocate watching these episodes one a week, just to milk it for all it is worth.

Recycled Cliffhanging
When viewing the 13 increasingly lame chapters of "The Black Widow" (1947), it is apparent that the Golden Age of Movie Serials has ended. How could the reliable professionalism of Republic Pictures take such a nosedive? Except for the villainy of Carol Forman in the title role, "The Black Widow" offers few thrills or surprises. Instead, the producers rely on its vast catalogue of Republic serial stock footage to create a "new" chapterplay. The cost-cutting is painfully obvious throughout - made worse by a largely unappealing cast. Don't judge the art of movie serials by this fiasco.

This serial has crunch and pop: dig into Carol Forman (BW)
OK, so you've seen better acting. But that's not what you watch a serial for, is it? I like the 40's flavor and the furious activity. Lots of bizarre stuff in this one with exploding buildings and crashing cars aplenty. I especially enjoyed Carol Forman (the Black Widow) who slinked about as some sort of mystical queen--Madame Sondra. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Forget The Plot...
Forget the simplistic plot to this B western; that is if you are a railfan--as I am.

This is one of the all-time best American narrow-gauge steam railroad movies. The cinematography and Colorado settings don't get any better!

Too bad it's not on widescreen DVD--because this is an extended play pan & scan tape and the quality doesn't do the film justice. Plan on manning the tracking button while watching this tape. Paramount, get with it!

Jimmy Stewart's "Night Passage" is now out on DVD and that film uses some of the same locales, railroad equipment and plot elements as this film (with comic relief in both by Paul Fix!).

There are not enough railroad-themed DVD's being released. This is one of them--as well as Union Pacific, Whispering Smith, Denver & Rio Grande, Emperor of the North, Silver Streak and Tough Guys? Trains are not just movie props. They are historic records of our mechanical heritage well worth preserving!

3 stars for western buffs--5 for railfans. I'll give this period action yarn, but inadequate tape, a 4.

From the same director of WAR OF THE WORLDS!!!

saturday matinee western
A very bad B movie unless you are a railroad enthusiast (which I am) , or a ten year old boy ( there is no kissing). Ends with a lesson in not taking the law into your own hands.

Clear Technicolor missing.
On the VHS they recorded it super long play using a small amount of tape. This ruined the beautiful Technicolor. Still worth buying for the price, or cheaper, unless they redo it another way. Sound was not ruined. Picture clear enough to watch, but the details, such as leaves blowing in the wind, and the overall brillance of technicolor do not show through like they should.

A good railroad story
This film is about the rivalry between two railroads to build a route through the Rocky Mountains. Lots of action, some comedy, a little romance, wonderful scenery, and a spectacular crash between two locomotives make this an enjoyable film to watch.

A spectacular head on train crash at the end, however...
it is dynamite enhanced as every car explodes in a fire ball just after the locomotives touch. It's neat but not believable. The story line overall is fair to fairly good. If you're a rail fan or like dramatized history, this is a good show. There's great footage at the beginning of vintage diesels and passenger trains running through the mountains. END ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Solid, action-filled Republic B-western!
Although Allan "Rocky" Lane's Red Ryder is usually considered inferior to Bill Elliot's portrayal, I actually prefer him. He not only looks the part better, but his presence perfectly fits the comic book cowpoke.

STAGECOACH is one of the best Ryder films. It has a good, workable plot; it moves remarkably fast; the spunky cowgirl and little kid are great; and Roy Barcroft is an even slimier villian than usual.

Saddle up? You betchum! AL ... Read more