22) The Phantom of the Opera (1962)

22) The Phantom of the Opera (1962) Dir: Terence Fisher Date Released: August 15, 1962 Date Seen: January 15, 2012 Rating: 3.5/5

A Facebook friend of mine confessed that he thought that this was a misfire from the normally reliable Terence Fisher. So, being curious as to what a bad film by Terence Fisher looks like and being in love with the idea of a Phantom of the Opera adaptation starring Herbert Lom as the the titular ghoul, I checked this out. And, uh, I liked it. Not seeing much to dislike about this one, either. What am I missing? Great costumes, set design, humor and good acting--yeah, it's a Hammer pic by Terence Fisher, all right. Seriously, what's wrong with 'er? She's beautiful, she's rich, she's got 'uuuuuuge Herbert Lom!

331) The Mummy (1959)

331) The Mummy (1959) Dir: Terence Fisher Date Released: December 1959 Date Seen: October 15, 2010 Rating: 3.5/5

Seems like a rehash of Fisher's Horror of Dracula in a way but doesn't have the panache of that film, just the creaky affect. I enjoyed myself but still. 

422) So Long at the Fair (1950)

422) So Long at the Fair (1950) Dir: Terence Fisher and Antony Darnborough Date Released: March 1951 Date Seen: December 1, 2009 Rating: 3.25/5

I must confess that I'm at a loss when it comes to So Long at the Fair. I've seen bits and pieces of it on TV once or twice before, which is remarkable considering that it's a rather obscure Brit noir, but have never sat down and watched it all the way through until today. It was a frustrating experience because the foreignness of the film's mystery, the most alluring aspect of the viewing experience in any noir, wasn't as striking as the first time around. Having already seen Vicky Barton (Jean Simmons), a hapless Briton abroad in Paris, run from the concierge to the British consulate after her brother Johnny (David Tomlinson) seemingly vanishes without a trace of ever having accompanied her, the film just didn't grab me by the throat like it used to.

At the same time, the film itself is also to blame for my discombobulation. So Long at the Fair's beguiling anticlimax leaves much to be desired and too much unresolved for the sake of a perplexing ending that has something to do with a budding crisis in French nationalism and an inexplicable resurgence of the plague. Yeah...no amount of context in the film can prepare you ready for this ending.

As if that wasn't bad enough, the film's depiction of the British-French connection is consistently muddled at best. Brits in the film high-handedly dismiss the French as foreigners and hence inherently suspicious, which is especially strange considering that they in fact are tourists visiting Paris for the World's Fair. Conversely, the elaborate lengths that the French hotel workers go to to keep Vicky from her brother suggests that behind their clucking is a nation of proud victims unwilling to admit their powerlessness (also: what does it say about the film that you can only understand what the frogs are scheming behind Vicky's back if you speak French? There's an awful lot of unsubtitled French whizzing about in the film, making one wonder how tainted the film's Francophilia is).

In conclusion, he had the Black Death. Show's over, the end. Huh?