Ulmer, Edgar G

The Bela Lugosi Collection (Murders in the Rue Morgue / The Black Cat / The Raven / The Invisible Ray / Black Friday)

Detour

Hannibal

VCI is very pleased to present this epic motion picture, which has been mastered from the original negatives and presented in all its widescreen glory for the first time on home video! Love and war intertwine in this fanciful adaptation of history. The brilliant Carthaginian general, Hannibal (Victor Mature) despises Rome. Fueled by vengeance, he drives his army of elephants through the treacherous, frozen Alps into Italy, crushing anyone who dared to oppose him. As a strategy to break the morale of his enemies, Hannibal captures the beautiful Sylvia of Rome (Rita Gam) so she may see the might of his army and spread the news of impending doom to her people. However, a love grows between the two that will eventually be his undoing. This big-budget spectacle produced by Warner Bros. was shot in Technicolor and SuperCinescope and literally features a cast of thousands... over 4,000 foot-soldiers, 1,500 horsemen, 45 elephants and a vast assortment of war machines were employed in the historic battle of Cannae alone. Bonus Features: Anamorphic Widescreen Enhanced for 16 x 9 Monitors, Photo & Poster Gallery, Original Theatrical Trailer, Bios, Scene Selection Menu. Specs: DVD9; Dolby Digital Mono; 100 minutes; Color; 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio; MPAA - NR; Year - 1960; SRP - $14.99.

The Man From Planet X

Daring reporter John Lawrence (Robert Clarke) narrates this gripping tale of an alien's attempt to take over a tiny village in Scotland. As the story opens, Lawrence is visiting his old friend, Professor Elliot, who's made the startling discovery of a new planet that is approaching Earth at breakneck speed. Soon Elliot's lovely daughter, Enid, has spotted a mysterious craft in the middle of the moor. Lawrence and Elliot decide to investigate, inexplicably allowing the clearly evil Dr. Mears to assist. Lost the plot? Not to worry! The Man from Planet X cheerfully helps slower viewers by offering expository dialogue as frequently as humanly possible. "Look!" says Elliot, "It seems as if he's trying to turn that knob to the right, but doesn't have the strength or coordination," as the alien tries to turn the knob to the right, but doesn't have the strength or coordination. All seems lost as the alien begins using telepathy to control the local villagers. Luckily for the Earth, the alien's superior mind-control powers are not matched with superior common sense--he never bothers to give his slaves such crucial commands as "Don't tell the enemy my entire plan!" or "Let me know if any outsiders show up!" or "By the way, don't follow the commands of anybody but me!" A guaranteed hoot of an evening. --Ali Davis

Detour

Suspense as startling as a strangled scream! This is it, the defining motion picture in all of "film noir," written by Academy Award-nominee Martin Goldsmith (The Narrow Margin) and directed by legendary B-movie maker Edgar G. Ulmer (Daughter of Dr. Jekyll, The Black Cat). Tom Neal (The Brute Man, The Pride of the Yankees), handsome 1940's leading man, brings to thrilling life a down-on-his-luck nightclub performer who takes one wrong turn and picks up the meanest femme fatale in all of "noir," played to perfection by the incomparable Ann Savage (The Dark Horse, The Spider) in one of the most powerful and riveting performances ever recorded on celluloid.

Carnegie Hall

This 1947 curio, saluting and partly filmed at the New York City cultural landmark, begins with a shot of the building's exterior. Except that the "exterior" is a photograph with a dramatic yet distinctly ersatz night sky optically sutured above it. In short, Edgar G. Ulmer, the poet of Poverty Row, is up to his usual tricks--wresting dynamic imagery out of next-to-nothing, even if Carnegie Hall represents a comparatively upscale endeavor in his expressionist/minimalist career.

The film boasts an epic running time of 136 minutes and about half an hour's worth of narrative. Silent-film actress Seena Owen is credited with the story, about an Irish immigrant (Marsha Hunt) whose mystical rapport with the Hall leads to her rise from cleaning woman to a kind of house-mother who helps musically talented kids go far. That's partly because her son (William Prince) has gone right out of her life, asserting a passion for "modern music" (i.e., Vaughn Monroe's dance band) over the classics to which she is devoted. The latter are exuberantly performed or conducted by the likes of Fritz Reiner, Leopold Stokowski, Risë Stevens, Ezio Pinza, and--most memorably--Artur Rubinstein and Jascha Heifetz, who rate the most extended and visually bravura treatment.

It's easy to kid this as virtually a one-film glossary of camp. Yet its sincerity seems genuine, and Ulmer's resourcefulness at devising angles to exalt the bond between music and musician, performer and audience, is occasionally breathtaking. (Cinematographer and effects wizard Eugen Schüfftan was a key collaborator.) The black and white is lustrous in this digital transfer from the original 35mm nitrate negative. --Richard T. Jameson

St. Benny the Dip

The Man from Planet X

The weirdest visitor the Earth has ever seen! When a space traveler lands in the foggy moors of the scottish Highlands, his intentions are anything but evil-until he gets a lesson in just how silly some members of the human race can be. Written and produced by Aubrey Wisberg and Jack Pollexfen.

Tomorrow We Live

Pirates Of Capri: Edgar G. Ulmer Collection #4

In the tradition of Zorro and Batman, star Louis Hayward is Count Amalfi by day--debonair playboy and confidant to Queen Carolina (Binnie Barnes)--and the mysterious Captain Sirocco by night--heroic leader of rebellious pirates. Using his insider's position, Sirocco hopes for a triumphant revolution over the forces of tyranny, but only if he can keep his secret identity hidden. One of Edgar Ulmer's most lavishly produced features, this swashbuckling adventure is packed with action and intrigue, set to a sumptuous musical score by the incomparable Nino Rota. The fourth volume in the highly acclaimed collection of genre classics by low-budget auteur Edgar G. Ulmer, this deluxe collector's edition also features a never-before-seen, never-broadcast TV pilot for a "Swiss Family Robinson" series that Ulmer directed in full color in 1958.