“Forgotten Hollywood”- A Microcosm of Today…
“`As we collectively prepare to hunker down for an undetermined period of time (despite assurances suggesting otherwise), I am reminded of a post-war movie that addressed a similar situation that involved a rapid-moving virus. It was called Isle of the Dead.
“`The 1945 production starred Boris Karloff, and it was produced by Val Lewton. The action takes place on a fictional island in Greece during the 1912 Balkan Wars. The island is quarantined because of the Septicemic Plague. Visitors start to drop dead after contracting the deadly disease. The eventual eradication of the plague comes when the hot, dry Sirocco winds arrive.
“`Lewton did three Gothic period movies with Karloff for RKO Radio Pictures. The legacy of Val Lewton: He bridged the horror genre between the Universal Pictures era that included Frankenstein, Dracula, The Invisible Man, and The Wolfman, and the Hammer monster flicks that starred Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing and the William Castle productions featuring Vincent Price. Val’s most famous work was Cat People in 1942. His persona was fictionally characterized by Kirk Douglas in The Bad and the Beautiful.
“`Karloff solidified his ghoulish persona when he collaborated with Lewton. Leonard Maltin and Martin Scorsese have expressed the influence this film had on their careers.
“`A quick reminder to stay healthy during these trying times.
Until next time> “never forget”
This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 18th, 2020 at 12:21 am and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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