Voodoo Island/The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake (Midnite Movies Double Feature)
by Edward L. Cahn, Reginald Le Borg
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Eduard Franz, Grant Richards, Henry Daniell, Lumsden Hare, Valerie FrenchDirector: Edward L. Cahn, Reginald Le Borg
Brand: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 148 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-09-20
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Movie Reviews of Voodoo Island/The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake (Midnite Movies Double Feature)
Movie Review: Wow! What a bargain!
Summary: 5 Stars
First of all, this is NOT a 2-disc set like it states in the data relating to this film, so don't be expecting that -- both movies are on one disc (one movie on each side) which is fine with me since they are both of very high quality.
If you're a cult film junkie like myself, you'll find that both of these films are a superb treat, "Voodoo Island" being slightly the better of the two. I'll address that one first:
This is a very well-shot B&W film with Boris Karloff radiating at its very center, only in this movie he does NOT play a monster. It was this film that showed me what a very fine actor Karloff really was. He plays a fairly genteel, but rugged, TV show personality who's investigating why a guy turned into a zombie on Voodoo Island, in the South Pacific (actually, shot in Hawaii). A developer wants to build a resort hotel there and he employs the hard-hitting Karloff to clear the way.
You'll see some other familiar cult film faces in this fine movie -- Elisha Cook, Jr., who played the strange little guy (homeowner) in the 1958 version of "House on Haunted Hill", (another awesome movie!), also does an equally fine job in this film. You'll similarly enjoy the man-eating (well... woman-eating) plants on Voodoo Island -- in a tongue-in-cheek sort of way, they're to die for!
And the grande coup for me was when, to my joy, I discovered that Les Baxter ("The Pit and the Pendulum," "Tales of Terror," and "The Raven", all AIP films), did the filmscore for this one. It's one of my very favorites, being of the atmospheric late 50s/early 60s-type of "atmospheric jungle score." Compare this mood music to to that in the great 1959 Frank Sinatra WW II (color) film, "Never so Few", (filmscore by the great Hugo Friedhofer).
I found that the clarity of the shots and locations in this one were just absolutely superb. There are a couple of goofy script spots in the film (e.g., the redundant calling on the radio at one point in the film), but this wasn't enough of a distraction to impact the larger story. There is a definite sense of nostalgia about this film, from the music to the old Douglas aircraft in which the principals fly into the islands -- most Baby Boomers will pick up on it.
The final super bonus is that this one was digitized from a 35 mm print, if you're interested in such minutia, and this IS a nice clear print. Wow! I LOVE watching this flick on my 32" flatscreen wide screen TV. It's just great!
As for "The Four Skulls of Johnathan Drake", I found this to be as much of a mystery (which helps to make it great) as it is a horror film and I liked it a great deal. Again the sets and locations were super (well, at least, fun) and, for me at least, this one doesn't ever drag at all. It also helps that this is another "voodoo jungle film"...sort of. I REALLY like jungle films, especially black magic ones, and while you don't get a sense of "jungle" here, you still get the ominous Hivaro Indian slinking around with his mouth sewn shut.
As far as the cast, with Paul Cavanaugh and Henry Daniell (playing a spectacular chief evil-doer, Dr. Zurich) included here, who could possibly ask for more? They're both incredible in this film. It's a very good 1959 B&W flick that I enjoy viewing over and over.
Summary of Voodoo Island/The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake (Midnite Movies Double Feature)
VOODOO ISLAND: Master of the macabre Boris Karloff delivers a rare non-monster performance as the leader of an investigation of mysterious disappearances on a South Pacific island that is the proposed site of an exclusive resort. But after a few encounters with carnivorous plants and zombies, he realizes that this might not be the ideal place for a vacation.and that his team will be lucky to make it off the island alive!THE FOUR SKULLS OF JONATHAN DRAKE: The sins of the fathers rest heavily on the heads of the sons - literally - in this fun-filled frightfest that'll keep you "awake and screaming through many a traumatic night" (Variety)! Faced with an age-old family curse that beheaded their forefathers, two brothers attempt to unravel the family plot.even as sinister forces attempt to put them into it!Horror DVD Video
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