Tweet
Released by: MGM Limited Edition Collection
Released on: 6/27/2011
Director: Edward L. Cahn
Cast: Richard Anderson, Elaine Edwards, Adele Mara, Luis Van Rooten
Year: 1958
Purchase From Amazon
The Movie:
Edward L. Cahn's 1958 film, The Curse Of The Faceless Man, begins with an excavation of an archeological site in Pompeii where a strange unidentified body is uncovered. Adding to the mystery is the fact that the corpse has a large bronze medallion around its neck which has, inscribed on it, some strange letters. Enter and Italian archeologist named Carlo Fiorillo (Luis Van Rooten) who is curious as to the origins of the body, how it's been preserved so well, and how it came to be in the strange almost rock-like state that it's in.
He enlists the aid of a fancy-ass medical research expert named Dr. Paul Mallon (Richard Anderson) who thinks that Carlo's suspicions that the body may still contain some life are crazy talk - initially, that is. Soon enough Paul starts to wonder if maybe Carlo isn't so nutty after all, particularly when Paul's beautiful fiancé, Tina (Elaine Edwards), starts claiming that she's seen the body move under its own power. When various bit part players in the cast wind up with crushed heads, Paul starts to take all of this far more seriously.
Briskly paced and plenty atmospheric, Curse Of The Faceless Man is basically a 'mummy movie' in that it revolves around a dug up corpse who maybe isn't so dead as first thought running around and causing problems for the living. The similarities to the Universal mummy films that preceded it are definitely there and this movie doesn't try all too hard to differentiate itself from them - but you know what? If it ain't broke, don't fix it. A few stand out set pieces make the film memorable thanks to some atmospheric lighting and a cool looking monster - the classic 'monster carries the pretty lady away' shot you'd expect from a movie like this is there, as are some great shots of the body on display, moving slowly off of the slab and quite obviously up to no good.
At just over sixty minutes, it moves by very quickly, never even coming close to overstaying its welcome. It might not be a particularly original picture but it is a fun one, particularly for those of us who enjoy cheap, creaky old monster movies.
Video/Audio/Extras:
MGM's 1.33.1 fullframe transfer looks pretty good but not nearly as good as the recent HD broadcast that has been making the rounds, indicating that the disclaimer that plays before the movie stating that the best available existing elements were used is a bit of a falsehood. Regardless, the black and white image does show some wear and tear but overall the image is pretty stable and it looks fairly nice. Contrast is decent, black levels reasonably solid though never quite reference quality, and detail good as well.
The only audio option on the disc is an English language Dolby Digital Mono track, there are no alternate language tracks or subtitles provided. The clarity is generally fine, though there are bits that sound a little flat, which likely stems back to the source. Minor hiss is present once or twice but if you're not listening for it you probably won't be bothered by it.
The disc includes a static menu, chapter selection and that's it.
The Final Word:
The presentation won't blow you away and the film certainly could and should have looked better than it does here, but the presentation of this awesome old horror movie is watchable enough and the movie itself is still a blast.
