"Attack Of The Puppet People" had this fairly long scene with the record player playing this swingin' tune. The little people were given a chance at escaping when Franz's buddy Emil suddenly drops by to chat, causing quite a frustrating dilemma for Mr. Franz. Emil just will not go away & is played to perfection by Michael Mark, who had been playing an array of diverse unnamed characters such as thug, innkeeper, valet, sniper, informant, janitor, window washer, clerk, juror, prom chaperone, assistant cook, watchman, vagrant, head waiter, flower store man, peasant, bartender, miner, coachman, drunken fortune teller, Russian interpreter, cab driver, astonished Swiss villager, rug merchant, mechanic, small thief, gas station attendant, pottery vendor, timid man, Czech laborer in pain, poor farmer, Cuban fisherman, chestnut vendor, etc. etc. etc. since 1928!! What a guy! This one's for you Michael!
Emil Arrives
2 comments:
John Hoyt, after John Agar and the heroine are reduced to noraml size ... "But -- I'll be all alone!" Gets me every time!
Michael Mark had one IMMORTAL moment in movies. He played the father of Little Maria, who is drowned by the monster in the original, Whale-Karloff FRANKENSTEIN. He is the man who marches through the village holding his dead daughter in his arms, his face slack with shock, causing the wedding festivities to fall apart around him as he walks.
In 1973, I was with 800 people at a banquet at a sci-fi convention. Forry got up to speak, and he introduced the guest he had brought, who was Michael Mark. (I should add that both Gene Roddenberry and Harlan Ellison were in the room.) Forry said how he was Little Maria's father in FRANKENSTEIN. There was no mistaking his face. It was a surprise. No one knew he would be there, but EVERYONE remembered that great scene, and spontaneously, 800 people sprang to our feet and gave him a rousing standing ovation with cheers. He dizzolved into tears. It was a great moment, possibly the only standing ovation he ever received. He died only a few months later.
I will add that John Agar was also there, and when he was introduced, well, no standing ovation to put it mildly. Even though John Agar was the man who deflowered Shirley Temple.
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