orsonwelles-1941

(The following is a review of the "Through the Looking Glass" portion) This is a senseless travesty that turns a classic children's book into a cheesy semi-horror picture. Disguised as star-studded family entertainment, this garbage is guaranteed to induce nightmares in all but the most desensitized children. Especially disturbing is the depiction of the Jabberwocky. My tough younger sister who is not normally rattled by monster movies was reduced to tears at the unnecessarily freaky depiction of this creature. The writers seem to have rejected the fact that in the book, the Jabberwocky is a cryptic metaphor for a difficult logic problem. In the film, it becomes a catalyst for sleepless nights for youngsters. Irwin Allen should have stuck to his true calling:disaster epics and left family entertainment to those more qualified to create it.

This is a satisfying little B gem from Associated Artists with a solid performance from Darro as a streetsmart, yet self-sacrificing adolescent willing to endure a tough reform school for the sake of protecting his foster family's good name. It never fails to amaze me how these low budget 1930s B-directors were able to pack so much plot into a one-hour movie and Boys' Reformatory is a prime example of what seems like a truly daunting task. Maybe it was because I watched this late at night but a certain plot twist towards the end really floored me. However, those accustomed to the grittier,more realistic exposes of the thirties juvenile justice system like Crime School that Warners was putting out about this time may be disappointed that this movie focuses more on the issues that caused the kids to be sent to reform school as opposed to the conditions inside the institution. Still if you are looking for one of the more entertaining, action-packed efforts of one of the great, but nearly forgotten young B actors, this movie is well worth your while. P.S. If you own a video projector, I don't recommend watching the DVD on the big screen as Alpha used a somewhat shaky 16mm for the source print. Nostalgia Family Video has this on VHS but I have no idea of the quality on that one.

Despite the nearly overwhelming subplot and a flubbed line that was not reshot,I genuinely enjoyed this low-budget stingfest. The CGI bees were a hell of a lot better than those in that made-for-cable travesty Deadly Swarm and the attacks were effectively staged. This coupled with the exuberantly over-the-top characterizations will guarantee this film cult status in about 20 years.