THE MONSTER (1925) Though a 'horror,' it still has plenty of humor, much of it on the dialog frames. Dr. Gustave Ziska (
Lon Chaney) goes mad, and makes the sanitarium where he works into a house of horror, but not the kind at the amusement park. Using a mirror placed on the road at night, Ziska causes his victims to crash, believing a collision with a oncoming car is imminent, they drive off the road a hit a large tree, etc.
Two men, rivals for the affections of the store owner's daughter both end up in the OLD DARK HOUSE, that since its being taken over by Ziska, had been equipped with secret passages, traps, etc. The daughter also is captured, as she had been driving with the more masculine guy. The least masculine guy, Johnny Goodlittle (
Johnny Arthur), though the hero, is cowardly and lacking in intelligence. He had just received his detective diploma via mail and now thinks of himself as an expert. Expecting the local law, etc., should now respect him, he uses a small
how to book to guide him. Clearly he is the comic relief; yet, somehow he wins the girl in the end.
A very different type of horror film, especially given Chaney's usual roles. Enjoyable, & worth seeing several times.
YOYO (1965) A rather odd French language film, at least during the 1st 20 minutes. Silent, except for music and exaggerated sound effects, it depicted the 1920s, as a very rich guy loses everything during the crash of 1929. Then comes the sound, and the guy seems married to a young female circus performer, but it was not clear on that point. Yoyo is their son, who rapidly grows up, and becomes the main character. He goes to war, is captured by the Germans, freed at war's end, and then resumes his career as a clown.
I was about to delete the film, because at about 10 minutes in, though amusing I still could not figure-out what it was about. Yet, giving it a few more minutes, & I was sufficiently entertained, & watched until the end.
