The Woman Who Came Back

Rating:
Summary: You Should Stay Away
Review: A contrived B-movie chiller about a woman who returns to her small New England hometown, and becomes convinced that she is possessed by the spirit of a witch who was burned 300 years before. The implausible coincidences of the storyline are almost made acceptable by the earnest performances of a fine cast (including Nancy Kelly, who would leave Hollywood the year after this film was released and return a decade later to win an Oscar nomination for recreating her Tony-award winning role in "The Bad Seed"), as well as some occasionally interesting cinematography and set decorations.

The Image Entertainment film-to-DVD transfer is unacceptably poor compared to the Fox Lorber-Sony VHS edition released in the early 1990's. The DVD source print is severely speckled (particularly in the first reels), has a couple of distracting jumps, and even freezes at one point (no, it's not dual-layered); none of these defects were present on the VHS edition. The movie itself might be a minor "guilty pleasure" that you would enjoy, but Image's substandard DVD transfer should not be supported with your money.

Rating:
Summary: You Should Stay Away
Review: A contrived B-movie chiller about a woman who returns to her small New England hometown, and becomes convinced that she is possessed by the spirit of a witch who was burned 300 years before. The implausible coincidences of the storyline are almost made acceptable by the earnest performances of a fine cast (including Nancy Kelly, who would leave Hollywood the year after this film was released and return a decade later to win an Oscar nomination for recreating her Tony-award winning role in "The Bad Seed"), as well as some occasionally interesting cinematography and set decorations.

The Image Entertainment film-to-DVD transfer is unacceptably poor compared to the Fox Lorber-Sony VHS edition released in the early 1990's. The DVD source print is severely speckled (particularly in the first reels), has a couple of distracting jumps, and even freezes at one point (no, it's not dual-layered); none of these defects were present on the VHS edition. The movie itself might be a minor "guilty pleasure" that you would enjoy, but Image's substandard DVD transfer should not be supported with your money.

Rating:
Summary: CAT PEOPLE made how much???!!!!!!!
Review: It goes without saying that horror films were aplenty in
first half of the 1940's. What with the war raging on two
fronts the general public, god bless 'em, needed that good old
commodity, Escapism! And boy oh boy, did Hollywood do its
best to deliver. Universal gave us its stock in trade with
the Frankenstein's, Mummy's, Invisible men, and even an
occasional Dracula. But respectability was not Universal's
forte and they liked to cut to the chase, something for which
we were all very grateful. Love stories were kept to a minimum
and the monsters prevailed, sending scores of youngsters under
their seats to the crashing cords of Hans Salter's thundering
symphonies. Other studios tried their hands, albeit awkwardly,
at frightening the masses but couldn't seem to find a formula
to call their own. The die had been cast. Universal's stamp
seemed irrevocable until RKO Studios threw a title to a former
Selznick man named Val Lewton. If the audiences would flock
to see a Wolfman... why not Cat People? One can only imagine
what went through Lewton's mind at the thought of producing
this "epic". And yet, it is sometimes the most adverse
elements that produce the most intriguing results. Thus it
was that a whole new body of work found its mark in horrordom.
The pychological, poetic terror that comprises Val Lewton's
efforts almost succeeded in giving the horror market a measure
of respectability, that up until that time, was unheard of.
Critics had tolerated the public's indulgence in "spook shows"
but now eyebrows were being raised. Gone were the boogey men,
the monsters, and the mad scientists. This was the real McCoy!
Deft performances,offbeat stories, and intelligent screenwriting
moved these efforts up a notch. One could actually watch these
films and not feel guilty. Though there were a number of
attempts to duplicate Universal's take on horror, the Val
Lewton approach seemed more elusive. Oddly enough, it was
Universal's WEIRD WOMAN that probably came closest to imitating
Lewton's stock in trade. Curiously, and quite late in the
cycle, Republic Pictures decided to jump on the merry-go-round
and churn out some Universal-style programmers. Again the
formula proved elusive and their oddball efforts like VALLEY
OF THE ZOMBIES and THE PHANTOM SPEAKS remain novelties at
best. But somehow, this poverty row wonder, know for its
riproaring serials and numerous oaters, achieved a much higher
rate of success with its Lewtonesque imitations. THE WOMAN WHO
CAME BACK, along with WHISPERING FOOTSTEPS and STRANGERS IN THE
NIGHT score high marks for attempting to do what other "more
respectable" studios dared not touch. After all, what did
Republic have to lose. They made shoot-em-ups, cornpone
comedies, and ersatz programmers, why not take a stab at
something different? Couldn't hurt? Perhaps that philosophy
allowed a free hand to weave this interesting tale. THE WOMAN
WHO CAME BACK spins an intriguing web. The opening is
exceptional and sets a tone that is never quite matched but
serves its story well. Witchcraft, reincarnation, curses
and mysterioso dominate this Salemesque tale. Nancy Kelley
is sometimes over-the-top but effective nonetheless, John
Loder's leading man seems as much a steal of Kent Smith's
character from CAT PEOPLE as should be expected, right down to
his stoic performance. By far, the most consistenly interesting
character is Otto Kruger, the cleric who serves as the voice
of reason. This production, though released by Republic, was
apparently an independently produced effort. What is odd, is
that Republic would choose to release such an uncharacteristic
item, especially so late in the horror cycle. As a guilty
pleasure, it ranks as a rather polished example of just how
good the poverty row fare could be. But alas, the ending is
a definite mishmash of how not to end a supernatural thriller.
Some things are best left unexplained, especially as in the case
of this minor gem. Unfortunately, no strings are left dangling
here, and every fantastic element is rationalized and refuted.
Still, for the most part, save for the ending, the story plays
fair and delivers what it promises, a stylish tale that merits
a sincere look. This film definitely deserves more attention
then it has received and makes one wish that Republic would have
pursued this type of chiller more often. If your tastes lean
toward atmospheric B-movies then this one is for you.

Rating:
Summary: CAT PEOPLE made how much???!!!!!!!
Review: It goes without saying that horror films were aplenty in
first half of the 1940's. What with the war raging on two
fronts the general public, god bless 'em, needed that good old
commodity, Escapism! And boy oh boy, did Hollywood do its
best to deliver. Universal gave us its stock in trade with
the Frankenstein's, Mummy's, Invisible men, and even an
occasional Dracula. But respectability was not Universal's
forte and they liked to cut to the chase, something for which
we were all very grateful. Love stories were kept to a minimum
and the monsters prevailed, sending scores of youngsters under
their seats to the crashing cords of Hans Salter's thundering
symphonies. Other studios tried their hands, albeit awkwardly,
at frightening the masses but couldn't seem to find a formula
to call their own. The die had been cast. Universal's stamp
seemed irrevocable until RKO Studios threw a title to a former
Selznick man named Val Lewton. If the audiences would flock
to see a Wolfman... why not Cat People? One can only imagine
what went through Lewton's mind at the thought of producing
this "epic". And yet, it is sometimes the most adverse
elements that produce the most intriguing results. Thus it
was that a whole new body of work found its mark in horrordom.
The pychological, poetic terror that comprises Val Lewton's
efforts almost succeeded in giving the horror market a measure
of respectability, that up until that time, was unheard of.
Critics had tolerated the public's indulgence in "spook shows"
but now eyebrows were being raised. Gone were the boogey men,
the monsters, and the mad scientists. This was the real McCoy!
Deft performances,offbeat stories, and intelligent screenwriting
moved these efforts up a notch. One could actually watch these
films and not feel guilty. Though there were a number of
attempts to duplicate Universal's take on horror, the Val
Lewton approach seemed more elusive. Oddly enough, it was
Universal's WEIRD WOMAN that probably came closest to imitating
Lewton's stock in trade. Curiously, and quite late in the
cycle, Republic Pictures decided to jump on the merry-go-round
and churn out some Universal-style programmers. Again the
formula proved elusive and their oddball efforts like VALLEY
OF THE ZOMBIES and THE PHANTOM SPEAKS remain novelties at
best. But somehow, this poverty row wonder, know for its
riproaring serials and numerous oaters, achieved a much higher
rate of success with its Lewtonesque imitations. THE WOMAN WHO
CAME BACK, along with WHISPERING FOOTSTEPS and STRANGERS IN THE
NIGHT score high marks for attempting to do what other "more
respectable" studios dared not touch. After all, what did
Republic have to lose. They made shoot-em-ups, cornpone
comedies, and ersatz programmers, why not take a stab at
something different? Couldn't hurt? Perhaps that philosophy
allowed a free hand to weave this interesting tale. THE WOMAN
WHO CAME BACK spins an intriguing web. The opening is
exceptional and sets a tone that is never quite matched but
serves its story well. Witchcraft, reincarnation, curses
and mysterioso dominate this Salemesque tale. Nancy Kelley
is sometimes over-the-top but effective nonetheless, John
Loder's leading man seems as much a steal of Kent Smith's
character from CAT PEOPLE as should be expected, right down to
his stoic performance. By far, the most consistenly interesting
character is Otto Kruger, the cleric who serves as the voice
of reason. This production, though released by Republic, was
apparently an independently produced effort. What is odd, is
that Republic would choose to release such an uncharacteristic
item, especially so late in the horror cycle. As a guilty
pleasure, it ranks as a rather polished example of just how
good the poverty row fare could be. But alas, the ending is
a definite mishmash of how not to end a supernatural thriller.
Some things are best left unexplained, especially as in the case
of this minor gem. Unfortunately, no strings are left dangling
here, and every fantastic element is rationalized and refuted.
Still, for the most part, save for the ending, the story plays
fair and delivers what it promises, a stylish tale that merits
a sincere look. This film definitely deserves more attention
then it has received and makes one wish that Republic would have
pursued this type of chiller more often. If your tastes lean
toward atmospheric B-movies then this one is for you.