The Maze

I recently saw this film at a 3-D film festival in Hollywood. It was in polarized 3-D (Gray glasses not red & blue) It was so much fun to watch this film with an audience, the print was excellent and the 3-D perfect. The performances were over the top and that added to the fun, the surprise ending (that we aren't supposed to share with fellow movie go'ers, at least according to the movie trailer and poster) had people howling with laughter. By today's standards this is probably more comedy than horror but with the added dimension of 3-D (complete with cobwebs and bats coming out of the screen) this film was an entertaining romp into 50's horror.

The Maze (1953)

** (out of 4)

When her fiancé Gerald (Richard Carlson) leaves before their wedding with no real answer, Kitty (Veronica Hurst) and her aunt (Katherine Emery) follow him to his family's estate in Scotland. Once there the women discover that Gerald has aged for some reason and soon they realize that there's even more family secrets. THE MAZE is a hard film to judge because it contains some very good stuff but the problem is that the story itself is just boring and really drawn out for no good reason. The film features some terrific performances as well as a haunting atmosphere and these here make it worth sitting through. Director William Cameron Menzies (INVADERS FROM MARS) does a wonderful job building up the creepy atmosphere of the old castle. From the opening shots of the fog thick outside to the staircase with all the spider webs. The director really makes one believe you're in this location and he also puts the maze (much like the one later seen in THE SHINING) to good use. He also handles the B&W cinematography very well as the film looks terrific and the use of shadows is well done. Carlson turns in a good performance in the lead and I though both Hurst and Emery were good. The supporting players are good as well so with all of this what's the problem? The screenplay is incredibly weak and it just doesn't go anywhere. Gerald asks the women to leave. They tell a lie to where they can stay an extra day. They discuss what could possibly be happened. These three steps repeat themselves over and over and it's just really boring. I won't give away the secret but when it's finally revealed you really can't help but laugh. The effect of this reveal is also rather laughable. The film was originally shot in 3-D but watching the standard version I really didn't see anything that would really jump out. THE MAZE is an interesting film with a lot going for it but sadly most of the good stuff was just wasted.

The story is somewhat ordinary: "haunted" Scottish Castle, mysterious comings and goings, morose servants. Two women saying "I wonder where that door leads to." It turns in a bit of an unexpected direction, but all in all, the story and acting by themselves are worthless.

What makes this a recommended film is the way it is layered, its careful architecture. The reason is because the director was in fact a celebrated set designer/production manager. He thought in terms of spaces.

More: the thing was filmed in 3D. I did not see it that way, but the layering, the sense of containment was rare, and thrilling.

Readers often ask me about my notion of "architectural" films and I reluctantly send them to Welles' "Othello." But that film has other mysteries woven into it. Here, I have an example that is essentially pure.

One narrative device should be mentioned. We have a narrator that frames the thing, the way Ronald Reagan used to frame that TeeVee show presented by General Electric, and Hictcock did his show. She has the same manner, but herself is located spatially.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

Moody, atmospheric and beautifully lensed Gothic thriller about an ancestral castle and its dark secret. A man about to be married (Richard Carlson) is abruptly called away to his ancestral estate. He breaks off his engagement to the delectable Veronica Hurst and she and her aunt (Katherine Emery) then travel to the castle to find out what's going on. There is a maze out back and someone or something prowls its corridors late at night. Excellent storyline and quite suspenseful, at least until the shadowy creature is finally revealed. Then it's off to MST3K territory, unfortunately. Up to that point, a very good ride that may remind some of 1960's "The Haunting." The focus is often on Hurst, and justifiably so. She looks terrific, even with her 1950s perm and makeup. Definitely not one of Carlson's best, and the film is largely forgotten today.

I remember this film of old. It's a great, chilling, atmospheric horror picture about a man who moves into a Scottish castle, only to discover that there are strange goings-on in the corridors at night. And there are even stranger events taking place out back, in Hollywood's most familiar hedge maze. Yes, this is the maze you've seen in every feature-length film that ever involved a topiary puzzle, up to and including "The Shining." But the punchline to this story is about the last thing you would guess. I certainly didn't see it coming. This is a fine example of how good and convincing a movie can be even when the premise is utterly loopy, bordering on laughable. I'd recommend it to anyone.