Arnold

ARNOLD opens with the unholy matrimony of Karen (Stella Stevens) and the non-living, coffin-bound title character. Karen has "married" Arnold postmortem, per his request, in order to inherit his vast fortune.

It's revealed during the reading of the will, that Karen is the only person whom Arnold trusted. His other "friends" and relatives include his daffy sister, Hester (Elsa Lanchester); the ultra-slimy, Robert (Roddy McDowall); Evan (Farley Granger); and Evan's mysterious, faithful servant, Dybbi (Jamie Farr).

It's not long before these detestable people start perishing in twisted, terrible ways. As Constable Hooke (Bernard Fox) investigates, the question is: Is Arnold committing murder from beyond the grave?

Soaked in an atmosphere of hilarious gloom, and boasting classic devices such as secret passages, paintings with eyeholes, etc., ARNOLD is a fun horror / comedy with a truly macabre sensibility.

Expect nothing of a serious nature, and you should enjoy yourself...

Arnold may be the most active corpse in the history of movies (we're not talking about zombies here). There he is, lying in his casket throughout the movie, and yet his presence dominates the world of the living, and his sardonic smile makes him look pretty darn alive. This highly original horror comedy has a morbid sense of humor and will keep you guessing all the way, but ultimately has one twist too many, becoming excessively illogical by the end. It's still recommended, perhaps as a double feature with "Terror In The Wax Museum", another 1973 film by the same director, with many of the same stars, with even the same "they never set foot outside the studio" feeling. (**1/2)

Despite being a cheaply made pot-boiler, this is amazingly brilliant. One might mistake this as a romantic comedy but it's a murder mystery with a creepy atmosphere throughout and some horrific moments that make its PG rating somewhat eyebrow raising. The story is solid and satisfying and there is some great dialogue. Even the minor characters have good lines and there own story arcs. The journeymen actors all put in good performances particularly Bernard Fox as the incompetent Constable Hooke who is supposed to be investigating the murders. If this was produced by Hammer, it would probably be a cult classic by now.

The Abominable Dr Phibes was quite successful. One of the first films to feature "creative deaths", it was soon followed by a sequel and imitations (Theater of Blood, also with Vincent Price).

Arnold follows the pattern of someone who may or may not be dead getting revenge on those who have wronged him. Here we have a corpse (is it really millionaire Arnold Dewellyn?) who lays in his coffin for the entire movie while tapes of his voice are played at various intervals. Arnold knows his greedy relatives are after his money, but he has a surprise for each of them. Who will survive???

This movie is basically a comedy, with some semi-gruesome murders (tame by today's standards) thrown in. If you like black-comedies (Murder By Death for example) you should enjoy this PG rated Bing Crosby Production (BCP). The cast is great: Stella Stevens, Roddy McDowell, Elsa Lanchester, Victor Buono, Charles Fox.

The movie did hardly any business in 1973. BCP sold the movie to be tacked on to double bills. In 1976 it was paired with Grizzly! In the mid 80's it finally came to television on the Late Show, and then a year later to video.

It is out of print now, and very hard to see (cable TV has NOT embraced it). It is a cult movie waiting to be discovered. It is certainly weird enough!

This is a pretty black little film, and I actually really like it. It makes you wonder how they got the money to put it together and got all the celebrities to be in it. Roddy McDowell and Stella Stevens were fresh off of "Poseidon Adventure." Was this a good career move? Who cares? They were both actors who were willing to work, even if it meant doing dumb movies.

Stella Stevens plays a woman carrying out the wishes of her lover, that she marry him after he is dead. That's how the movie STARTS, and it keeps going from there! What follows is a combination of campy 70's sitcom humor, a "And Then There Were None"-style "whodunnit" mystery and some grisly, inventive death scenes.

The pace is brisk as it moves to a surprise ending that is both satisfying and pretty disturbing for a "comedy." I respect a film that is willing to pretend to be all light and funny, then end so hatefully! The theme of this film is that everyone is money-grubbing, selfish and weak. Nasty, black-hearted, TRULY WEIRD (the opening song just kills me) and I love it! And Stella Stevens is gorgeous and amazing, as always.