docdespicable

I'd wanted to see this rather badly for years - maybe that was the reason, when I finally got my hands on the DVD, that it was a let-down. Too-high expectations. It's nice to see the Rankin/Bass team NOT cashing in on a holiday, of course. We're treated to an all-to-brief bit of Jack Gilford's "imitation of a pot of pea soup coming to a boil" that was one of his signature pieces, early in his career. The vocal talents are, for the most part, a delight: Tallulah Bankhead as the Sea Witch has a field day with the little she has to work with; Ed Wynn, as the unclothed Emperor, is very funny, though at times he sounds like he's reading from the script, while Terry-Thomas is perfect as the first tailor; Victor Borge, though, seems a bit subdued as his partner; Boris Karloff, perfect as the Rat, makes full use of his mellifluous voice and long experience in radio and voice-over work.

But those are the real hi-lights. The rest sort of fade out of memory. There are some extremely effective sequences - the Little Mermaid's journey to the lair of the Sea Witch, for example, would have had me under my seat, if I'd seen it in the theater as a child - but many of the other voice actors (well, all of them really) seem wasted in their roles. The performances are fine, but it's like being at a buffet where you only get a small taste of the delicacies - you want more.

I think that's part of the problem here. Another is the number of Anderson stories drawn upon - none of them has the time to build any depth, and none of them provides a real sense of resolution. Added to that is the parade of stars. Ray Bolger as the Pieman - the point of this was... what? He doesn't get to do much of what made him a great performer.

All of which is to say that THE DAYDREAMER isn't a bad little film - but it isn't a very good little film either.

There are far worse ways to spend an hour or so of your time. This movie was more than likely made for pocket change and contractual obligations, true; but despite not having someone like Val Lewton (who could conjure up palaces out of orange crates) behind it, this isn't at all bad. Nina Foch is quite capable and sympathetic, and ably supported by a raft of character actors who are old hands at this sort of thing.

There's plenty of atmosphere and suspense, with just enough mystery to keep your attention. As with some of the best of the afore-mentioned Lewton's work, until the denouement, you're never quite sure whether this is all in someone's mind or if there's a real bogeyman (or bogeywoman) stalking the night. Lon Chaney Jr's reputation is safe - or even Henry Hull - but the mug who called this the nadir of werewolfery is being a little harsh. With THE WOLF-MAN, Universal set the bar pretty high, after all. But if you're looking for some good old-fashioned fun, you could do much worse. If nothing else, it's an entertaining example of what can be done with some talent, care and craftsmanship, even if you couldn't quite buy dinner for a family of four to six people with the existing budget. Definitely check it out!

Oh, how I wish this was on DVD/VHS! A couple of other reviewers found this a pretty sad affair, but I have to disagree. In some instances, for those of us who saw it as kids, it was the first experience of some of the "elder statesmen" of comedy, and getting to see them interact with some of the then-new practitioners was a particular treat.

The show opens with Vincent Price looking very sinister and mysterious in a trench coat and fedora, relating to us the facts in one the most amazing cases he's ever encountered. Hope discovers that someone has sent out invitations to a party at his house, and goes home to get to the bottom of things. What follows alternates between comic and creepy, as necessarily brief (sometimes 1 or 2 lines) appearances are divided by shots of black-gloved hands pouncing on the guests, until Hope himself is dispatched. He then delivers his sign-off with wings and a harp, calling down to Price that he'd at least like to know who done it - but before Price can reveal the killer's identity, he too is strangled. The camera then cuts to the studio audience, as the black-clad killer removes his gloves, his hat and finally his mask, revealing Johnny Carson, who delivers the punchline, "Now I can be on EVERY night..." For those too young to remember, there was a period when Carson only hosted "The Tonight Show" 2 or 3 nights out of 5, the remainder of which had a guest host, not a few of whom were "bumped off" at Hope's party!

This special wasn't a brilliant piece of timeless television art, but it had some fun moments - Les Brown and His Band of Reknown, holed up in Bob's hall closet ("You never know when you're gonna need a good music cue..."), Phil Silvers and Jerry Colonna getting in a bit of their respective character bits, and (despite other reviewers' disgruntlement to the contrary), Groucho's exchange with "Groucho"-disguised Billy Barty, "I'm paying you a lot of dough for this - I'd better be having a good time!" George Kirby gets to do a few impressions (including an amazing Eddie "Rochester" Anderson), Harry Ritz gets in his licks, and a number of actors we don't typically associate with comedy get to play for a few laughs. If I had a complaint, it was not seeing more of my favorite performers in it - Red Skelton, Jimmy Durante, Jonathan Winters,... But there wasn't really enough time to do justice to all the guests as it was.

Maybe I'm just seeing it through the golden haze of my youth, but I remember enjoying "Joys" quite a lot and wishing everyone had had a bit more screen time.