Cult Camp Classics 2 - Women in Peril (1950)

Oh No She Didn't!

Buy it for Trog!

I can hardly believe this movie had escaped me for all my cult movie loving years--until now! Well, I can die happy!

La Crawford acts her brains out in every ridiculous scene in Trog. She manages to utilize the many devices at her disposal (as usual) to conjure up a character who is smarter and more in control than anyone else in the room. It must have been written into her contracts that she have access to the latest technological gadgets and gizmos--she once again makes the most of said devices here. And of course, she did a stint of hand modeling to prove how ageless her character was--painted nails and all.

With a treasure trove of ridiculous moments that rival her gunslinging, piano playing, lesbian stalker fleeing scenes in Johnny Guitar, Crawford goes for the Best Actress in the Universe award in every scene. See Joan playing catch with the trogladyte, teaching him to play dolls, or scolding him into submission. You have to give her credit for looking past the Bad--and I do mean "Bad" with a capital B--Halloween mask, and seeing the sweet harmless creature within. She lets him roam the property at her institute freely, and even encourages her daughter to see no harm in his unchained presence--even though he's already killed one spelunker by beating him to death with his fists while a fellow cave digger witnesses the heinous crime. Perhaps Trog wasn't as harmless as Joan thought--he might have been, at least in my estimation, possibly the best recommendation she could have to finally meet her maker--bad karma and all! Nothing could be scarier than being in this! June 10, 2008

Campy Trash Fun - Great for a Theme Party!

What a collection! I would probably not buy any one of these DVDs separately, but as a set at about $9 each on Amazon, who could resist?!? You get Joan Crawford's final film, "Trog" (1970), Lana Turner's psychedelic camp classic "The Big Cube" (1969), and the best of the bunch, "Caged" (1950).

"Trog" is probably the worst of the bunch, but still lots of fun. What a great movie to watch like Mystery Science Theater and have your guests make commentary! The movie starts out in a cheap set representing a cave; 3 young students go exploring and find Trog, the missing link, who was once frozen but is now reanimated. This is why he has been able to survive so long. Somehow, these boys are able to swim practically naked in frigid waters (the realistic ice crystals in the cave tell us it's cold!) to get to Trog without so much as a shiver or any sign of hypothermia. You must leave all reason behind if you decide to watch this film. After Trog attackes the boys, 2 escape are under the care of noted anthropologist, Dr. Brockton (Joan Crawford). She decides to study Trog and try to "train" him to be more human and makes startling progress, however, she is thwarted by (you guessed it) the evil religious bigot Sam Murdock (Michael Gough). Naturally science and religion don't mix in this movie and a final showdown is inevitable. The costuming of Trog is probably the most laughable element here; it looks like a bad costume at a Halloween fraternity party. Although the film is high in the corn factor, you have to hand it to Joan Crawford. Not once do you ever get the impression that she is being lazy about her role. She is the one solid thing about this film, which makes it even sadder since this was her last movie. What a sad swansong...but she was a true professional to the end. A theatrical trailer is included here.

"The Big Cube" stars screen glamour queen Lana Turner. Although not her last film, she was past her days as a box office star and had already begun accepting a few low-quality roles. This one is slightly-less laughable than "Trog." Lana plays Adriana Roman, an actress who has retired to marry wealthy Charles Winthrop (Dan O'Herlihy). Charles also has beautiful daughter, Lisa (Karin Mossberg), who inexplicably speaks with a Swedish accent. Lisa has unknowingly fallen in with a bad crowd that party and use LSD; the ringleader, Johnny (George Chakiris), sees Lisa as his new bankroll and begins to romance her. When Adriana & Charles have an accident at sea, the widowed Adriana is left as the one who must decide whether Lisa gets her inheritance or not. Since Lisa has chosen to be with a druggie, Adriana turns her down. Johnny attempts to gaslight Adriana with LSD. You'll have to watch to find out the chilling conclusion! Again, so much is laughable here like Trog, but Lana is a trooper and does the best that she can with this campy story and poor script. It is amazing what a great cast this movie has, too; Oscar winner Chakiris ("West Side Story"), Oscar nominated Turner, Richard Egan, and Dan O'Herlihy (who had played Turner's love interest in "Imitation of Life"). Apparently the majority of the budget went to the stars salaries and not the script. And let's not forget Pamela Rodgers as Bibi, the bimbo fun-loving friend of Lisa. Pamela went on to bigger fame in the hit TV series "Laugh-In." The psychedelic effects are fab, too, and there's plenty of drugs, sex (well, as much as is allowed in 1968), and rock and roll music (or something like it) to make this one the hit of a trashy movie party! A theatrical trailer is also included.

"Caged" almost doesn't fit here; although some parts are a little dated and campy, the majority of this film is quite serious with a number of standout performances. Eleanor Parker is Marie Allen, a 19 year old who was somewhat innocently involved in her husband's botched armed robbery attempt (he is killed). Marie is sentenced to prison and mixed in with a lot of hardened criminals, an evil corrupt matron (Hope Emerson), and a few loonies to boot. It also turns out that Marie is pregnant; what a place to have a baby! Ruth Benton (Agnes Moorehead) runs the facility, and understands that mixing first-time offenders with hardened criminals is a bad formula; however, all of her attempts to improve the system fall on the deaf ears of the Board of Directors who only look at dollars and cents and have no desire to fix the system. Eleanor Parker gives a standout performance as Marie; watching her go from a scared naive girl to a hardened prisoner is amazing...at first it's difficult to believe that Parker could have been cast as the evil Baroness in "The Sound of Music," but watching her performance and transformation, it is not difficult to understand what a talented actress she was. Both Parker and Emerson were nominated for Oscars for this film (as was the script). Moorehead, Ellen Corby, Jane Darwell, and Betty Garden also give standout performances. Don't look for a happy ending; this film doesn't have one. It is meant to be a condemnation of the prison system at the time and this film does not go easy on its topic. As with the other 2, there is a theatrical trailer included.

Overall, this is a great set at a great price. "Caged" is definitely the best of the three, and it's too bad there aren't more extras with it, as it truly is an enjoyable (if somewhat depressing) movie. The picture quality on all three is very good; "Caged" is in black and white, but the other two are in color. Warners has definitely used good sources for all three films. March 3, 2008

Gobs of fun

What more can you ask for?! Lana and Joan! We're talkin' about some SERIOUS peril and hard to find as well. March 1, 2008

tomb of the unknown love

Miss Crawford's last picture! Doesn't that count for something? Joan plays Dr. Brockton, in "Trog." This is her last picture. And despite what you may have heard about it, Joan is actually very good in it. No matter what, Joan was always the consummate professional. November 10, 2007

Women in jeopardy

I am not sure if "Women in Jeopardy" really qualifies as a genre of film, but it is certainly is an appropriate label for certain movies. In Warner Brothers second volume of Cult Camp Classics, we are given three depictions of Women in Peril. As I often seem to note with watching these sorts of movies, they can only be cult classics because they would never qualify as true classics.

Actually, the first movie, Caged, is really good. It is an early women-in-prison movie, with Eleanor Parker as a nineteen-year-old girl sent to prison after accidentally becoming an accessory to a robbery. She starts off as a nice girl in over her head, but the system will transform her into something darker. Agnes Moorehead, most well-known for playing the nasty Endora on Bewitched, plays a nicer role as the prison warden whose attempts at reform and true rehabilitation are derailed by politics.

The Big Cube is not good. A past-her-prime Lana Turner plays a retired stage actress who marries a widower and gets a stepdaughter who, despite a seemingly good education, is actually dumb as the proverbial post. When Turner's husband dies, the stepdaughter - urged on by her gold digging lover - conspires to lace Turner's sedatives with LSD in an attempt to have her committed. As often happens in these 1960s movies involving the drug culture, all youth are condescendingly treated as self-absorbed idiots.

Some big-name actors get to finish their careers with a bang. Henry Fonda, for example, capped his acting life with On Golden Pond. Joan Crawford, on the other hand, ended with Trog, a reworking of King Kong without the good effects or writing. The title creature is a missing link in bad makeup who emerges out of his cave and winds up captured by scientist Joan Crawford. Of course, he eventually is loosed on an unsuspecting populace with deadly effects.

While Caged is near-great, The Big Cube and Trog are bad, and except for occasionally campy moments, they don't even rate "so-bad-they're-good" mention. While the first Warner Brothers set was a lot of fun and had some nice extras, this one is more bare-bones (with only trailers). I suppose if you're a completist out to get all these Cult Camp Classic sets, you will need to pick up this one, but this is certainly a weaker collection.
October 6, 2007

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