I’ve been a fan of Jeff Goldblum for most of my life. The man has had an amazingly successful career, starring in some of the most financially profitable films ever made, like JURASSIC PARK and INDEPENDENCE DAY!! One of the main reasons that Goldblum is extra special to me, however, is because of his small roles as bad guys in two different Charles Bronson movies in the 1970’s. First, he played one of the thugs who breaks into Paul Kersey’s apartment and assaults his wife and daughter in the original DEATH WISH (1974). Second, he plays a thug who, along with Robert Englund and another less famous guy, tries to rob and assault Raymond St. Ives in the film ST. IVES (1976). I’ve loved telling people about his appearances in these two films for decades, and I don’t see any reason to stop now.
To celebrate Jeff Goldblum’s birthday on the Shattered Lens, I’ve included an “overly edited” video of his appearance in ST. IVES, if nothing else so you could also see the young Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger). I wish I could share the full scene, but this is all I could find on YouTube. Anyway, happy birthday, Jeff! I hope it’s been a great one!
This sitcom looking picture is not a good indicator of the dark places this movie will go!
NEXT DOOR (1994) is a dark suburban satire that introduces us to college professor Matt Coler (James Woods), his lovely wife Karen (Kate Capshaw), and their son Bucky, who have recently moved out to the suburbs. As the movie begins, Matt, Karen and even Bucky seem to be slightly obsessing over their next-door neighbors, Lenny and Marci Benedetti (Randy Quaid and Lucinda Jenney). For one, Lenny and Marci enjoy engaging in sexual intercourse on their backyard lawn furniture within view of each of the Coler family members. That’s quite awkward, but more irritatingly, Lenny insists on constantly watering his front yard near Matt’s property, which is having an extremely damaging effect on Matt and Karen’s beloved azaleas. Invited over to the Benedetti’s house for a cookout, Matt and Karen hope to get to know their neighbors a little better, as well as make a polite request of Lenny to not water the area near the boundary of their yards quite so much. We soon find out that Lenny, who works at the local meat packing plant, is loud, obnoxious, smarter than he looks, and seems to have a really big chip on his shoulder towards Matt, who he doesn’t see as being much of a man. He even tells Karen that her husband is a child, and that’s why he went into teaching rather than getting “a real job.” This upsets Karen so she tells Matt it’s time to leave, but before going, they ask Lenny not to water the part of his yard near their flowers so much. That night, Lenny moves the sprinkler even closer to Matt’s yard, which puts the final death knell in the azaleas. Very annoyed, but not wanting to go too far, Matt gets even by spraying Lenny’s outdoor patio furniture with a lot of water as a prank. Lenny doesn’t handle Matt’s prank very well, and this is where things begin getting out of hand, igniting a full-blown feud between the two men. Soon the annoyances of wet furniture and dead flowers give way to outright horror involving poisoned family pets, police investigations, attempted sexual assault, and even attempted murder!
NEXT DOOR, which is a made for Showtime original, starts out as an amusing and entertaining film involving innocent pranks between James Woods’ meek teacher and Randy Quaid’s boorish butcher. As the intensity of the feud picks up between the men, and the retaliations become more and more sinister, I had to pick my jaw up off the floor as it goes to places that aren’t funny at all. The story seems to be trying to make a statement about the class divide, the survival of the fittest, and the danger that lurks behind the picket fences and in the backyards of the innocent looking neighborhoods around us. It does that job well, as I certainly sensed the real danger that the more “civilized” man found himself in when he came up against a man who didn’t really concern himself with societal norms. I have to give a lot of credit to Randy Quaid’s performance as Lenny for making me feel that way. He is simply a force of nature, and his portrayal of the beer guzzling, opinionated, blue collar bully is excellent in its unhingement! Sadly, I’ve known quite a few people who acted way too much like Lenny for my comfort. James Woods is also excellent as the somewhat timid, intelligent college professor who keeps thinking he can talk his way out of this predicament. We know how intense James Woods can be in his best roles, but he’s quite different here as the man who tries to remain reasonable until the very end of the film when he’s finally forced to take a stand for his family’s safety. He doesn’t have the showy role here, but I can definitely identify with his character, as that would be me in this situation. Kate Capshaw and Lucinda Jenney are both appealing as the suffering wives, providing some good support and wit to the proceedings, but this show belongs to the men.
NEXT DOOR is a true horror film as far as I’m concerned, because if I found myself in this kind of situation with my own neighbor, I would consider it a nightmare. There have been a couple of times in my own life where I have found myself in situations with a neighbor that made me uncomfortable. One of those times involved our next-door neighbor driving across the boundary between their yard and ours and then taking our driveway out to the main road instead of using their own, less maintained driveway. This really bothered my wife as they had never asked if they could do it, and it had practically made a “path” that looked like a road at the boundary. Since it bothered my wife, we ended up having a polite conversation with our neighbors, they understood our concerns, and we worked out a plan that worked for all of us. A different time, however, one of our neighbors across the road left their pitbull out and it attacked our small dog in our own yard. It almost killed our dog, requiring her to have emergency surgery from our veterinarian to save her leg, and it also led to high vet bills. Our neighbors refused to discuss the situation with us, and being from West Virginia, my wife wanted us to take the situation to more extreme levels, including getting local law enforcement involved. In a situation like this, you have to truly consider how far you want to take a situation and then be prepared for the whatever events could follow. There’s a lot of unknown, and it’s pretty scary to be honest with you.
Ultimately, I would have to admit that I didn’t really enjoy NEXT DOOR very much, but I did find it fascinating. I appreciated the great performances of Woods and Quaid, but the movie made me very uncomfortable. If my discomfort was director Tony Bill’s (MY BODYGUARD, FIVE CORNERS, FLYBOYS) goal, it certainly worked. I just think that the farcical nature of the black humor at the beginning didn’t quite mesh with the dark and disturbing elements at the end. Or maybe it just took me places I wasn’t really prepared to go. Either way, it’s still an interesting relic of the 90’s made-for-premium-cable-TV movie. You never knew where those movies were headed! If you’re interested, as of this writing, it’s available for streaming on Tubi.
Gordon Fleming (Peter Mullan) the owner of a company that removes asbestos from old buildings, makes a bid for the work at the Danvers State Hospital in Massachusetts. In a desperate need for cash in his personal life, Gordon promises that his crew can complete the job in only one week, even though a job like this should normally take at least three weeks. His crew… Phil (David Caruso) is Gordon’s right hand man who tries to keep everyone else in line. This isn’t very easy these days considering that another member of the team is Hank (Josh Lucas), who’s currently “dating” (not the word Hank uses) Phil’s ex-girlfriend. The crew is rounded out by Mike (co-writer Stephen Gevedon), a law school dropout who seems to be way too smart to be doing this kind of work, and Jeff (Brendan Sexton III), Gordon’s nephew. As you might expect, once they begin the job, strange things start happening as the crew members find various items in the gigantic mental institution that once housed up to 2,400 people. Mike finds a box of tapes of nine therapy sessions detailing the case of Mary Hobbes, a patient with many personalities who may have murdered someone decades before. Meanwhile, Hank finds a stash of coins and other valuable items in one of the walls. A gambling addict, Hank goes back late that night when no one is around to collect his discovery. Things don’t go well and Hank doesn’t show up for work the next day. We’re led to believe that Hank has headed off to Florida for “casino school,” and this is where things start really getting weird as the pressure of the job and the strange events seem to be getting to the entire crew. When Jeff spots a very oddly acting Hank in the building a couple of days later, the sinister events at the Danvers State Hospital begin to completely unravel!
Director Brad Anderson’s SESSION 9 is a creepy, slow burn that’s best described as a psychological horror film. It’s one of those movies where you can’t trust what you’re seeing on screen because the story is about the disturbed and damaged human mind. In my opinion, this is the most haunting kind of horror film because there are so many examples in the real world of mentally disturbed people committing horrific acts of violence. My wife has spent the last decade of her nursing career in the area of forensic psychology where she takes care of mentally ill individuals who have committed these types of horrible atrocities, often against the very people in their lives who take care of them. This is real world stuff. And the film’s setting, the actual Danvers State Hospital, also known as the Danvers Lunatic Asylum, in Danvers, Massachusetts, which operated from 1878 to 1992, adds a lot to the atmospheric feel of dread in the film. The Neo Gothic architecture of the facility, and the labyrinth of tunnels connecting the various buildings are a perfect setting for the creepy elements of Anderson’s story, and he takes full advantage of the location. The story and the setting set the stage for what feels like true terror, and I have to admit that SESSION 9 has stayed with me after my initial viewing.
The cast of SESSION 9 is very effective. Though David Caruso receives top billing, the story really revolves around Gordon Fleming, portrayed by Peter Mullan. I primarily recognized Mullan from his interesting role as Jacob Snell in the excellent Netflix series OZARK, but he’s had quite a career as both an actor (TRAINSPOTTING, THE VANISHING) and director (THE MAGDALENE SISTERS). His quiet, internal performance is a solid anchor for the strange things going on around his crew. Caruso’s character is experiencing his own share of problems in his personal life, and the actor’s edgy intensity is a nice counterbalance to Mullan’s stillness. His life seems to be getting a little out of control and that dynamic works well for the moody paranoia of the film. Of the remaining performances, Josh Lucas seems to fair the best. His character isn’t really all that likable, but he does bring some humor to the role, and it’s ultimately the revelation of his character’s fate that begins to bring the story’s horrifying events to light.
As I mentioned earlier, SESSION 9 is a slow burn of a film. Brad Anderson takes his sweet time setting the story up by introducing us to the dynamic of the main characters and placing them in the spectacular environment of the institution’s decaying buildings. It takes a bit for the doom and gloom to really start kicking in, so it’s possible that impatient or distracted viewers could lose interest as not much seems to be happening. I also wasn’t very surprised when the revelations of the story finally came to light. If you’re paying attention, the end moments of the movie aren’t as big of a “gotcha” as they could have been. But that’s all okay, because the brilliance of SESSION 9 is ultimately the mood it creates and the impending sense of dread we feel for the final discovery of what some of our characters may be capable of. In those aspects, SESSION 9 is a resounding success.
I’ve had the Hong Kong horror flick RIGOR MORTIS (2013) sitting on my shelf for quite a few years. I remember reading a lot about it when it first came out in Hong Kong back in 2013, so I just went ahead and bought it. There was a lot of talk about it resurrecting the Hong Kong “hopping vampire” genre of films that was very popular in the 80’s, led by movies like the MR. VAMPIRE series and ENCOUNTERS OF THE SPOOKY KIND 2. My personal favorite Hong Kong films are the “heroic bloodshed” gangster films featuring actors like Chow Yun-Fat, Lau Ching-Wan and Andy Lau, but I do enjoy the idea of hopping vampires. In the spirit of October and Halloween, I decided to tear open the plastic wrap and finally give it a go!
Actor Chin Siu-Ho (portrayed by Hong Kong actor Chin Siu-Ho in a Meta version of himself) is suicidal after his wife leaves him and takes away their young son. He moves into a huge, dilapidated apartment building and immediately hangs himself. As his hung body is convulsing and jerking around, the supernatural story immediately kicks in and a pair of twin sister ghosts, who just happened to die tragically in the same apartment, emerge and take over his body. Out of nowhere, Yau (Anthony Chan), a neighbor, busts through the door, cuts the noose, and smashes Chin against a wall, saving his life and driving the ghosts out in one fell swoop! Yep, there are strange things afoot in this apartment complex and Yau decides to fill Chin in on a couple of items. First, he’s a vampire hunter, but there aren’t really any vampires left in Hong Kong, so he mostly just cooks rice these days. Second, there are a lot of ghosts hanging around the building that won’t leave, but there’s really no reason to be that scared of them because most of them aren’t trying to possess anyone, with the twin sisters being a notable exception. Wouldn’t you know it though, around the same time they’re having this conversation, an older neighbor named Tung (Richard Ng) slips and breaks his neck. Rather than just letting him die, his devastated wife Mui (Hee Ching Paw) goes to see her neighbor Gau (Fat Chung), a master practitioner of the blackest of black magic. Soon Gau has Tung’s dead body covered in dirt, wearing a mask made of Chinese coins and being fed crow’s blood. In seven days, Gau tells the wife, your husband will be back. I won’t go into all the details, because there are a bunch, but soon people will start dying, a vampire will be hopping, Yau will be living up to his family’s vampire hunting legacy, and Chin will be fighting ghosts and vampires, only this time without a director yelling “CUT” when things get dangerous!
I truly appreciate a movie like RIGOR MORTIS. Actor-director-producer-singer Juno Mak was only 29 years old when he directed this film that truly does pay lots of respect to the popular MR. VAMPIRE series of films from the 80’s. His casting goes a long way in bringing back those nostalgic memories. Actors Chin Siu-Ho, Anthony Chan, Billy Chau, Richard Ng, and Fat Chung all appeared in the MR. VAMPIRE series, along with tons of other films during the golden age of Hong Kong cinema, and its fun for me to see them all here. Chin Siu-Ho especially sticks out to me because of the film he made with Chow Yun-Fat in 1986 called THE SEVENTH CURSE. And the image of a slow-motion Richard Ng, decked out in full Hong Kong vampire regalia, hopping his way towards some serious trouble, is pure fan service. That part had me sitting up with a smile on my face.
While the tributes to the Hong Kong vampire genre are all here, the tone of RIGOR MORTIS is decidedly different. Completely foregoing the elements of slapstick and comedy that existed in the 80’s films, Mak has made a moody, supernatural film that’s full of emotionally damaged characters in need of some sort of purpose or redemption. Most of the characters are incapable of dealing with the difficult events of their life even remotely in a positive way, and it’s their collective bad decisions that lead to so much of the death and destruction in the film. Chin doesn’t know how to deal with his divorce, so he tries to kill himself, unleashing the twin sister ghosts. Auntie Mui so hates the prospect of being alone that she wants to bring back her dead husband, unleashing the vampire. And when the vampire and twin sister ghosts join forces, things get really crazy! Now that I write out the things that Chin and Mui are dealing with, Yau’s situation doesn’t really seem that bad. Sure, he may not get to fight vampires like his dad did, but is that any reason to mope around? Chin tells him that he makes the best glutinous rice in Hong Kong, and since Chin has been a successful actor, I’m sure he’s had a lot of the best glutinous rice around. The compliment doesn’t move Yau in any way, with the man brushing it off as meaningless. It’s actually kind of sad that Yau finding his purpose requires a supernatural unleashing of evil and many tragic victims. Come on Yau!
Since Director Mak is going for melancholy horror, to be truly successful, a movie like RIGOR MORTIS really needs good performances from its cast, and it needs to be somewhat scary. Chin Siu-Ho is good as the former actor whose life has turned into a dumpster fire. He’s introduced to us wearing shades that would have been perfectly at home on Chow Yun-Fat’s face in the Hong Kong Classic A BETTER TOMORROW (1986). I enjoyed that nod to Hong Kong’s legacy of cool action stars. Thinking back on it now, I may have criticized his character’s moping around, but Anthony Chan’s performance as the vampire hunter Yau is probably my favorite performance of the film. He’s a man who doesn’t care, until he does, and then he’s all in. I also liked Kara Hui as a woman whose life was destroyed in the same apartment that Chin now lives in, and who now just kind of wanders around the building with her son Pak. Her character is somewhat peripheral to the main story, but there is definitely something appealing about her performance. Heck, it may just be that she’s really pretty. Old veterans like Richard Ng, Fat Chung, and Hee Ching Paw give solid, professional performances just as you’d expect them to.
So, the performances in RIGOR MORTIS are good, but is the film scary? I will say that if there would be any criticism I would level at the film, it’s the fact that I just didn’t find it very scary, or really even that spooky for that matter. The setting, the dilapidated apartment building, seems like a perfect background for jump scares, yet there are very few. Mak seemed to prioritize special effects driven visuals over sending shivers down our spines. That’s not necessarily a bad thing because Mak does find some true horror in his story. For example, one of the most horrific scenes in the film is our first real image of the dangerous vampire, whose fingernails grow in front of us as it sets its sights on a truly innocent young victim, a scene that proves that no one is safe in the world of this film. However, if you’re looking for a movie that’s going to make you jump throughout its hour and forty-five-minute runtime, this film did not have that effect on me.
Ultimately, I would give RIGOR MORTIS a solid recommendation to any person who might appreciate a modern take on Hong Kong horror films of the 1980’s. I’d also recommend it to people who enjoy visually impressive horror films that rely more on mood than outright scares. I probably would not recommend it strongly to those who insist on lots of gotcha moments in their horror films. For me personally, I enjoyed it very much, and I’m glad I finally got around to watching it. It may be time to pull out my old DVD of MR. VAMPIRE for a revisit!
Every so often in life something incredible happens when you least expect it. First, a little background… back in 2021, Charles Bronson celebrated his 100th birthday in heaven. At that point in my life, I had mostly celebrated my love of Bronson movies by myself. But back in 2021, I saw a news article that stated that Bronson fans around the world were celebrating his 100th birthday on social media using the hashtag #Bronson100. Following the hashtag on Twitter, I discovered a group of people who were doing a “live tweet” of the Bronson classic DEATH WISH 3! That night I met Doug Dietz, Chris Rauch, Lisa Marie Bowman, and many others who just wanted to celebrate Bronson like I did. These folks have become so important in my life! As I continued to search the world of social media for all things Charles Bronson, this time on Facebook, I came across the THIS WEEK IN CHARLES BRONSON PODCAST, run by a man from the Philadelphia area named Eric Todd. I made my request to join the page and was happy when they let me in. Soon I was sharing my love of Bronson, and they even asked me to be part of the podcast!! I guess they thought it would be nice to have someone on the podcast who sounded like the biggest hick in America. After all these years, I had found my people!! Eric and my friends in the THIS WEEK IN CHARLES BRONSON PODCAST Facebook group have become some of my very best friends. We would talk about Bronson and his movies on the show, but we thought it would always just be a bunch of Bronson geeks talking shop. And then another strange thing happened, we started reaching out to actors and actresses who had worked with Bronson and asked if they would come on the show. Lo and behold, many of them started saying YES! Soon Juan Fernandez (KINJITE: FORBIDDEN SUBJECTS), Jordan Rhodes (MR. MAJESTYK, THE INDIAN RUNNER), and Jan Gan Boyd (ASSASSINATION) had joined us for an episode!! It was so fun hearing their firsthand stories of working with Bronson. Which brings us back to Robert F. Lyons…
Robert F. Lyons was a hot young actor in the late 60’s and early 70’s. He was incredible in his debut film PENDULUM (1969) as the psychopath Paul Martin Anderson opposite George Peppard. Soon he was stealing scenes in movies like GETTING STRAIGHT (1970) with Elliot Gould and SHOOT OUT (1971) with Gregory Peck. Before long he was headlining his own films like the creepy THE TODD KILLINGS (1971) and the oddly titled DEALING: OR THE BERKELEY-TO-BOSTON FORTY-BRICK LOST-BAG BLUES (1972). As great as Robert F. Lyons is in these roles, his career as a leading man didn’t take off and he was soon back to character parts on movies and TV. He continued to play some really interesting parts along the way, like the awful Harrison Hancock in the Jesse Vint redneck action film BLACK OAK CONSPIRACY (1977) and the doomed vigilante Skeeter Norris in the TV horror film DARK NIGHT OF THE SCARECROW (1981). It was in the early 80’s when Robert F. Lyons, his friends call him Bobby, began working with Charles Bronson. It was also in the early 80’s when I discovered Charles Bronson. From 1982 to 1986, Bobby worked with Bronson in three of his classic Cannon films, first in DEATH WISH II (1982), followed by TEN TO MIDNIGHT (1983), and finally in MURPHY’S LAW (1986). I truly became Bronson’s biggest fan around the same time DEATH WISH 3 and MURPHY’S LAW were hitting home video. Lyons plays Bronson’s trusted partner Art Penney in MURPHY’S LAW, and I’ve watched the film at least 100 times in my life. Over the years, 10 TO MIDNIGHT has developed into my personal favorite Bronson / Cannon Films movie. If you’ve seen the film, Bobby’s in the interrogation scene where Bronson confronts the killer with his masturbation device and he’s also in the courtroom scene (spoiler alert!) where Bronson has to admit he planted the evidence against the killer. These are very memorable scenes in Bronson’s “slasher” film. Bobby, Charlie, and Jill Ireland got along great during these years, the same years I was becoming obsessed with my lifelong movie hero. In some ways, he was part of that obsession!
Later in his career, Bobby appeared on top notch TV shows like COLD CASE and CRIMINAL MINDS. He’s had a phenomenal, five-decade career as a working actor and teacher. Well, in 2024, Bobby agreed to join Eric Todd and me for an episode of the THIS WEEK IN CHARLES BRONSON PODCAST. Knowing how much I love Robert F. Lyons, Eric, who’s the host of the show, let me introduce him at the beginning. Introducing Bobby Lyons and being part of an interview with him is one of those incredible and unexpected things that have happened in my life. He’s the nicest guy, and he spent a couple of hours with us discussing Bronson, his movies, and everything else that came up. It’s one of the greatest nights of my life, and I’m sharing that podcast episode below! Please forgive me for totally fanboying out, but that’s just how it is. Happy Birthday Bobby Lyons! You’re in my film-watching Hall of Fame!
You know producer Buck Houghton had high hopes for the opening episode of Season 3 of THE TWILIGHT ZONE when it aired on September 15, 1961. It stars up and coming actors of the time, Charles Bronson and Elizabeth Montgomery, who were all over TV screens in the 50’s and early 60’s, with Bronson emerging as a strong character actor in movies as well. The two would be major stars within a few years, but they weren’t quite there yet.
This episode, titled “Two,” opens with “The Woman” (Elizabeth Montgomery), who is wearing a tattered dark military uniform, wandering into a bombed out, deserted city, and spotting the remains of a restaurant. Tired and hungry, she goes in and digs around until she finds an old can of chicken. As she’s opening the can, “The Man” (Charles Bronson), who’s wearing a tattered, light-colored uniform, walks in on her. Immediately attacking him with a combination of meat cleavers, bottles, pots and pans, The Man tries to hold her off until if becomes clear that he’s going to have to subdue her, which he does with one vicious punch that knocks her out cold. At this point it’s clear that these are the last two remaining survivors of a devastating war, on opposing sides no less, that completely destroyed the world. When The Man wakes The Woman up by dumping a pot of cold water on her face, he gives her back her chicken and tells her that there is no reason to fight anymore, as everyone else is dead. She doesn’t understand what he is saying so he walks off in frustration. The Woman doesn’t trust The Man, but she begrudgingly starts to follow him around to keep an eye on him. Will they kill each other? Will they join forces to survive? Could they even fall in love? Writer-Director Montgomery Pittman answers all of these questions over the course of the episode’s brisk 25 minutes.
The allegorical “Two” was a bold choice to open the popular TV show’s third season with its minimalist production set in a few sections of a single bombed-out town and featuring only two characters who barely even speak, especially Montgomery, who says two words throughout the entire episode. Not that much really happens either, so it’s the type of episode that lives or dies based on the performances of the lead actors, and Bronson and Montgomery both deliver outstanding work. Bronson, a dependable character actor at this point in his career, is especially good as The Man. His square-jawed stoicism unravels enough to reveal a weary vulnerability and desire for a connection with another person, even when they’re supposed to be mortal enemies. It’s ultimately a romantic part and Bronson kills it. For those who mostly know Bronson from his post DEATH WISH action star roles, parts like this are a revelation. Montgomery, still a few years away from beginning her iconic portrayal of Samantha in BEWITCHED, is quite beautiful even when she’s this grimy. Her performance as The Woman is even more challenging as it’s almost completely a physical performance, and she shines as her character transforms over the course of the episode.
Ultimately, “Two” may resolve its setup a little too quickly to be realistic, but I still enjoyed it immensely. The performances are outstanding and its hopeful denouement left me with a smile on my face.
Charles Bronson appeared in three episodes of the ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS T.V. series. His first two appearances came in the first season in early 1956 when Bronson was still in the early stages of his career. When “The Woman Who Wanted to Live” aired on February 6th, 1962, Bronson’s standing in the film and television community had risen dramatically. Since those first two appearances, he had headlined several low budget films (MACHINE GUN KELLY and SHOWDOWN AT BOOT HILL), starred in his own television series (MAN WITH A CAMERA), and even co-starred as one of the seven gunmen in the western classic, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN! As opposed to those two early appearances, Bronson was a well known commodity to audiences in 1962, and he was on the precipice of breaking out in even bigger roles, as THE GREAT ESCAPE and THE DIRTY DOZEN were just over the horizon!
In “The Woman Who Wanted To Live,” we meet escaped convict Ray Bardon (Charles Bronson), a hardened criminal who was shot in the arm when busting out of prison. In serious pain and in need of some quick cash and a getaway vehicle, Bardon robs a remote gas station, even killing the attendant when he makes a move for his gun. Soon a beautiful young woman named Lisa (Lola Albright) drives up to the station. Bardon wants to steal her car and take off, but surprisingly Lisa, who sees his wounds, convinces him to let her drive him wherever he wants to go. As Bardon wonders why she’s willing to help him, Lisa assures him that she will do whatever he wants her to do as she just wants to stay alive. As they flee into the night, they have to deal with a flat tire and a gang of dangerous thugs, but Lisa continues to help Bardon and even passes up a couple of opportunities to take off to safety. Why is Lisa so invested in Bardon’s survival? If you’re guessing there’s more to the story, you would definitely be right!
After watching all three of Charles Bronson’s episodes of ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS, I believe that “The Woman Who Wanted To Live” just may be the best of the bunch. It’s not as creepy as “And So Died Riabouchinska,” and it certainly doesn’t play up the black comedy like “There Was An Old Woman,” but it does pack quite the emotional punch. First, the story is very effective, as we watch the bond that seems to be developing between the escaped criminal and his captive. You can’t help but wonder if we may be watching two twisted souls who may actually need each other. Hitchcock was always good at throwing people into desperate situations together, and script definitely goes that route here. In the short 25 minutes contained in this episode, each character is given the opportunity to truly help the other, as she helps mend his wounds and he protects her from roadside thugs with bad intentions. Even as the two help each other, as the story plays on, a tightening grip seems to take hold on the audience as to why Lisa hasn’t escaped when she’s had her chances. The strength of the episode just may be the fact that when the big reveal happens, it’s as plain as the nose on your face even though I never considered it a single time, something I have in common with our criminal, Frank Bardon. Second, this episode features two excellent performances from the stars. Interestingly, Charles Bronson and Lola Albright would appear together in the Elvis movie, KID GALAHAD, later this same year. As usual, Bronson brings a real world intensity to the role of the wounded and desperate criminal. With his lived in features, Bronson is incapable of presenting himself in a way that doesn’t seem true and authentic, whether he’s playing a cop or a killer, and his presence here is a clear indicator of his impending stardom. In a tribute to Albright’s performance, the two stars have quite a nice chemistry together, and she steals the final scenes as her character transforms right in front of our eyes and we understand why she’s refused to run away.
With its strong script and the excellent lead performances from Bronson and Albright, I easily recommend “The Woman Who Wanted To Live” as a superior episode of ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS. This episode truly surprised me and has lingered with me since I first watched it a few days ago.
For a little bit of historical perspective, Charles Bronson was an up and coming young character actor when he appeared in the 25th episode of season 1 of ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS, “There Was an Old Woman,” which originally aired March 18, 1956. Having already shared the screen with the likes of Gary Cooper, Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn and Burt Lancaster, Bronson had an interesting face that would allow him to comfortably play a wide range of roles in 1950’s Hollywood, from Native Americans (DRUM BEAT and APACHE), murderous criminals (CRIME WAVE and BIG HOUSE USA), compassionate doctors (the TV series MEDIC), and even deaf mutes (HOUSE OF WAX). In the mid-1950’s, Bronson was alternating between character parts on the big screen and guest starring roles on the small screen. For someone like me, it’s fun looking back at these early years and roles when Bronson was a hungry, young actor just trying to keep working. Not blessed with matinee idol looks, he attacked his roles with a gusto that, with the benefit of hindsight, would form a foundation that would eventually lead to him becoming the most popular actor in the world a decade later.
In “There Was an old Woman,” down-on-their-luck married couple, Frank Bramwell (Charles Bronson) and Lorna Bramwell (Norma Crane), are desperate for cash. While finishing off their breakfast at the local cafe, they overhear a private conversation between a milkman and the counter guy concerning the vast wealth of a local old woman named Monica Laughton (Estelle Winwood), an eccentric widow who lives alone in a grand, outdated Victorian house. The Bramwell’s think they’ve won the lottery and soon they’ve hatched a scheme to work their way into Mrs. Laughton’s home in hopes of relieving her of all that money. Once inside her home, the young couple gets much more than they bargained for when they discover that the kind and proper old woman lives in a fantasy world of imaginary people, imaginary dinner parties, and imaginary funerals. They play along with her delusions for a while and set about looking for the money, but when they can’t find it, Frank pulls out his knife and threatens to kill Mrs. Laughton and all her “guests” if she doesn’t give them her money. Needless to say, Mrs. Laughton may be nutty, but she has a few tricks up her sleeve and the Bramwell’s just may be on their way to being permanent guests!
If you enjoy entertainment that features black comedy, ironic twists of fate, and deadly danger in the most unexpected of places, you’ll enjoy this macabre gem of an episode. “There Was an Old Woman” sets the Bramwell’s up to think that they’re the ones in charge, until it’s revealed in an instant that they are in way over their head with the eccentric Mrs. Laughton. Bronson and Norma Crane are good as the married couple with bad intentions. I guess it would be more accurate to say that Bronson’s character has the bad intentions while Norma’s character just seems to have picked the wrong man. Bronson is in his amoral, bully-thug mode here, a type of role he played very well in the early years of his career. I thought Norma Crane projected a sort of innocent sweetness, and I felt sorry for her as events spiraled out of control. But the real star of the episode is Estelle Winwood as the delusional “old woman” of the title. She steals the show as Monica Laughton, delivering a fun and deceptively cunning performance as the grande dame who’s much more aware of the dangers around her than she lets on. She may be eccentric, but she’s nobody’s fool. Estelle Winwood is perfect in the role, a testament to a woman who was 73 years old when this episode aired and who would go on to work for over 20 more years, with her final role on an episode of the TV series QUINCY, M.E. that aired in 1980. One of the joys of watching older TV shows and movies is discovering more about some of these talented actors and actresses who starred in them. Winwood had an incredible, five decade career, and she would pass away in 1984 at 101 years of age.
Overall, I recommend “There Was an Old Woman” to any person who appreciates Alfred Hitchcock, vintage TV, black comedy, Charles Bronson, Norma Crane, and Estelle Winwood. It’s interesting and fun stuff!
Charles Bronson played a cop a bunch of times in the 1980’s, but my personal favorite is Leo Kessler from 10 TO MIDNIGHT. Kessler wants to be a better dad to his daughter Lori (Lisa Eilbacher), but first he needs to catch a psychotic killer who’s murdering beautiful young women. One of the most interesting things about 10 TO MIDNIGHT is the way it tries to fuse a badass cop film with the popular slasher films of the 1980’s. It’s arguably Bronson’s best Cannon film, and Gene Davis is a certifiable creep as the slasher, Warren Stacy. Enjoy this infamous scene where Kessler confronts Stacy about his, ummm… private sexual activities!
As my readers probably know, I’m one of actor Charles Bronson’s biggest fans, and I’m always on the lookout for venues showing his films on the big screen. In the summer of 2024, the Ron Robinson theatre in downtown Little Rock screened the 1953 Vincent Price classic, HOUSE OF WAX, which features Bronson in one of his earliest on-screen roles. It was so early, he was still being billed as Charles Buchinsky! Of course I wasn’t going to miss it!
HOUSE OF WAX stars Vincent Price as Professor Henry Jarrod, a talented wax sculptor in early 20th-century New York City. Jarrod’s museum, which features historical figures that look amazingly lifelike, is his pride and joy. However, his business partner, Matthew Burke (Roy Roberts), has grown impatient with his investment and decides he wants to burn down the wax museum for the insurance money. When Jarrod refuses to take part in the fraudulent scheme, Burke sets the museum on fire, leaving Jarrod presumed dead in the process. But Jarrod survives, and with the help of his mute henchman Igor (Charles Bronson), returns to open a new wax museum with a dark and dangerous twist… his exhibits are eerily lifelike because they are real bodies coated in wax. As his former friend Sue Allen (Phyllis Kirk) and her boyfriend Scott Andrews (Paul Picerni) snoop around the house of wax, they begin to suspect that Jarrod has lost his mind and has descended into the mad depths of murder. Will they be able to expose Jarrod’s gruesome secret, or will they become his next exhibit?!!
Directed by André de Toth, HOUSE OF WAX is a landmark horror film, notable for its early use of 3D and Vincent Price’s excellent performance. The film’s strength lies in its undeniably creepy premise, that of turning human beings into wax sculptures, as well as Price’s ability to blend sophistication with menace. Jarrod is quite the sympathetic character at first, but he’s gradually revealed to be certifiably insane as a result of his near-death experience, and that transformation is quite scary. Young Charles Bronson’s portrayal of Igor is also quite freaky. His cold, blank, murderous stare says, “I’ll kill you and not even think twice about it.” His stalking of the heroine, played by Phyllis Kirk, in the dark, spooky house of wax near the end, is one of the true highlights of the movie. It’s also fun seeing Carolyn Jones (AKA Morticia Addams) show up as a spirited victim of the madman! Of course, you can’t help but notice the moments set up for the 3D effects, which come off as quite gimmicky at this point. I specifically took note of the movie’s use of paddleballs and leg kicks! I must admit, however, that these dated elements add to the overall charm of HOUSE OF WAX as a reminder of the olden days of 50’s Hollywood!
Overall, in my humble opinion, HOUSE OF WAX is a classic scary movie. It’s a perfect treat for fans of vintage horror as well as a testament to the magnetic screen presence of Vincent Price!
Through the Shattered Lens 