Shameless Self Expression

The story of the young Jewish girl of the title (played by Diana Davila), her family and several other people attempting to hide in an attic from the Nazis during WWII. Donald Pleasence plays the fussy Mr. Dussel, who isn’t fond of children, especially precocious loudmouth children like Anne.   Made for ABC TV in America, this 1967 version of the world’s most famous diary is directed by Alex Segal (who did a lot of theatre-based TV directing gigs) and is based on the play by Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich. Adapted by James Lee (The silly Elvis movie “Change of Habit” , the landmark TV miniseries “Roots” ), it’s not one of the more effective presentations of the story, and perhaps that’s why it’s a bit of a forgotten relic, something Anne’s diary itself should never be rendered (In my view it’s the most important historical document of all-time). As a historical document there’s some interest here and some solid performances. However, I’d rather re-read Anne’s diary, or wat...

A vampire Count (Robert Tayman) is cornered and destroyed by the townsfolk after having bitten a local girl to feed on. However, in his final moments the Count curses the town. He also claims the blood of the townsfolk’s future generations will be the source of his eventual resurrection. Fifteen years later and the village of Schtetel is now ravaged by a plagued and shut off from any nearby towns. Somehow a travelling circus manages to get in to Schtetel. However, this is no ordinary circus. They are connected to the vanquished Count and have come to do their master’s bidding and resurrect him. Adrienne Corri plays the circus impresario of sorts, Thorley Walters is the town burgomaster, and David Prowse is the circus strongman.   Hammer always seemed to come up with fresh ideas for vampire movies, and this 1972 film from director Robert Young ( “Fierce Creatures” of all films) and screenwriter Jud Kinberg (the underrated “Reach for Glory” , the solid miniseries “To Catch a Kil...