Shameless Self Expression

Leonard Mann plays a photographer who has boarded a train with his girlfriend (Vera Krouska). When the train goes through a tunnel, Mann, the girlfriend and other passengers in the compartment realise that one of their fellow passengers is a bit murdered. Stabbed to death with a letter opener, in fact. Police inspector Robert Webber is on the case and immediately pegs Mann for the killer as the murder weapon belongs to him.   Stunning Greek scenery and blood are all this thin 1977 giallo from director Maurizio Pradeaux ( “Death Carries a Cane” with Simon Andreu) has going for it. It’s nowhere near enough for me. The plot and characters are of little interest, and lead actor Leonard Mann isn’t much fun to have around either. Fellow American Robert Webber is a bit more interesting but his role is stock. It’s all very stock-standard giallo, and not even especially stylish. The whole thing has been padded out with nonsense like a 5 minute scene in a club, including a musical p...

Barbara Stanwyck (in her final feature film) has nightly visions of an imaginary dream lover (Lloyd Bochner). Her blind and insecure rich husband (Hayden Rorke) thinks she’s having an affair with his lawyer (Robert Taylor). Somebody dies under suspicious circumstances, a dream man comes true, and Barbara Stanwyck screams a lot.  William Castle ( “House on Haunted Hill” ,  “ I Saw What You Did ” , “Mr. Sardonicus” ) eschews the gimmicks for the most part in this 1965 psychological mystery-thriller scripted by the one and only Robert Bloch ( “Psycho” , “Asylum ” ). They prove a good combo in this creepy little B-movie with the kind of irresistible plot that keeps me hooked as I try to figure it all out. It also has the kind of unnerving vibe about it that might haunt your own dreams if you watch it before bed. The plot is more Bloch than Castle (and a bit “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” ), but some of the optical tricks are very William Castle. Listen out for Paul Frees doing h...