OLIVER TWIST, THE GORILLA and THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL

[The Burgomaster]

Yup, those are the 3 movies I watched this weekend (along with 3 episodes of THE TIME TUNNEL).

OLIVER TWIST (2005) - This is Roman Polanski's very worthy remake of the Charles Dickens classic.  This version is probably the most downbeat that I have seen and does a good job capturing the filth and decadence of the seedy sections of 1880s London.  The cast is excellent, although the casting of the musical version (especially Oliver Reed as Bill Sykes) will never be beat.  Recommended.

THE GORILLA (1939) - This is a forgettable Ritz Brothers comedy co-starring Lionel Atwill, Bela Lugosi (as a butler), and Patsy Kelly (who was in ROSEMARY'S BABY three decades later).  If you aren't familiar with the Ritz Brothers, they are 3 guys who all have the same personality, which makes them very boring to watch.  The Marx Brothers, Abbott and Costello, the Three Stooges, and other comedy teams were all appealing because each member of the team had a distinct personality and an individual schtick.  Not so with the Ritz Brothers.  You can't tell one from another because they all act the same.  In this movie, they play three detectives (wearing hats and trench coats) trying to solve a series of murders committed by a mysterious killer known as "The Gorilla."  Every time something scary happens, the Ritz brothers "mug" for the camera.  That's the extent of the comedy: making funny faces.  This is in the HORROR CLASSICS 50 MOVIE PACK.  But don't be fooled.  It isn't a horror movie.  It's a comedy that isn't very funny.

THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (1958) - This is a fun William Castle flick that I have seen about 7 or 8 times.  Any movie that features Vincent Price, Elisha Cook, Jr., and a floating skeleton is definitely worth repeat viewings.  This is also in the HORROR CLASSICS 50 MOVIE PACK.  It has one of the best audio and video transfers of any movie in this 12 disc set.

I also watched 3 episodes of THE TIME TUNNEL:

* Doug and Tony emerge from the time tunnel just before the attack on Pearl Harbor.  They get involved with Tony's father and with Tony when he was a little kid.

* Doug and Tony get captured by British Troops during the War of 1812.  Carroll (Archie Bunker) O'Connor is one of the guest stars and he plays 2 roles.

* Doug and Tony find themselves on the island of Krakatoa shortly before it exploded in the most massive volcanic eruption of all time.  Ellen (THE EXORCIST) Burstyn is one of the guest stars, but her name appears as "Ellen McRae" in the credits.

[peter johnson]

 3 of the best episodes --
The 1812 one involved lots of footage from other films --
Just a great series all around --
peter johnson/denny crane

[Derf]

I saw the title of this post and immediately started trying to make them all into a single movie: Oliver Twist, the Gorilla, and the House on Haunted Hill starring George Barrows (Robot Monster) as a poor, orphaned gorilla ("Please, sir, may I have some more banana pudding?") who encounters flying skeletons in a creepy mansion near the orphanage and defeats the plans of the evil Frederick Loren (Vincent Price) to drive a small, diverse group of primates (a chimpanzee, an orangutan, a howler monkey, a gibbon, a ring-tailed lemur and Tom Cruise) to suicide. He manages to save all but Cruise, who commits (career) suicide by jumping on the furniture repeatedly, singing "Ten Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed/ One fell off and broke his head," at which point he does precisely that, to the cheers of all.

I think it's a hit!

[odinn7]

Nice idea Derf. I'd pay to see it.

[Scott]

OLIVER TWIST (1948) is a great one.

THE GORILLA isn't great, but I liked this Bela Lugosi film and even though the Ritz Brothers aren't really funny, somehow I enjoyed seeing this comedy team of the era. THE GORILLA is much better than Bela Lugosi's THE BROOKLYN GORILLA which had a very very bad comedy team that looked like Lewis and Martin. Bela Lugosi's best Ape film is APE MAN. So this is how I rate Lugosi's ape films



1) Ape Man (1943) ******
2) The Gorilla (1939) *****
3) The Brooklyn Gorilla (1952) *

THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL is a must for all on this messageboard. Starring Vincent Price and directed by William Castle.

[LH-C]

<>

I haven't seen Polanski's version yet, but the 1999 miniseries was very good. Robert Lindsay's portrayal of Fagin was haunting and disturbing.

[The Burgomaster]

Ben Kingsley plays Fagin in Polanski's version and he's very good.

[The Conqueroo]

And Don't Forget To Have Cindy Sheehan Show Up On An Episode of ":Desperate Housewives"Along With Ben Affleck and The AFLAC Duck Trtying To Sell AFLAC Insurance,Then Have Morgan Freeman Narrate An Episode of "Desperate Housewives":"I Wish I Could say That Mary Alice Young,Like Andy DuFrain,Fought The Good Fight.Unfortunately,She Did Not Survive!!".Then Heath Ledger and Jake Gylenhaal Ride Up To ASsk For Directions To "Brokeback Mountain"and Hank Hill Shows Up To Deliver Some Propane When Theyr'de All Taken Hostage By AlQuida,And Bruce Willis Shows Up Guns Blazing And Yelling "YIPPIE KI YAY PAMELA MARTHA FOCKER!!And Will Smith Does The Same Yelling "AWHELLNAW!!!"While Tom Cruise Tries To Convetrt Them All To Scientology!!Then It All Ends Up On "American Idol"With Simon Cowell Saying "I Don't Mean To Be Rude,But That Waas The Worst Performance Ever!!"But Paula and Randy Overrule With Randy Jackson Saying "DAWG!!!WELCOME TO HOLLYWOOD!!!",While Jessica Simpson Wonders "How Chicken of the Sea Be Tuna When The can Says Chicken?"Then The Warner Brothers Orchestra Plays The Closing Theme To Looney Tunes and Porky Pig Says "ThThThThat's All Folks!!".