Saturday, September 11, 2010

THE MAN WHO COULD CHEAT DEATH - Richard Rodney Bennett - "Cheaters Never Win" (1959)

"The Man Who Could Cheat Death" is a pretty damn good movie by Dungeon standards, and it stars another one of our all-time faves, Anton Diffring!

Just in case you ever wondered why we call this blog "13," well, now you know, it's because of bamboozling concepts, and scenes like this!

"How was I to know there was a party going on? They were a splishin' and a splashin" that French bubbly wine all around the room! It's a top drawer bash to showcase the new work by famed artiste Dr. Georges Bonnet, "and the name of the place is, I like it like that!"

What makes someone a fave around these parts? It's very simple, something special, and Anton's got that down!! Anton Diffring was a brilliant actor who got typecast most of his career as a Nazi, because of his cold blue eyes and heavy accent! Sometimes though, he got roles like in "Circus Of Horrors" or this film, and he really got a chance to shine! "The Man Who Cheated Death" is so beautiful to look at, it's very hard to believe it was made in 1959!

Enter all horror fan's everywhere favorite, the ravishing Hazel Court, as the divine Miss Janine Dubois!

Dr. Bonnet and Janine used to be on a more personal level, and didn't exactly have a clean breakup, if you get my drift!!

Janine's close associate is Mr. Christopher Lee as Dr. Pierre Gerard, what a great pair!!

So just what the Hell is going on here anyway?

Dr. Georges has got a medical problem that requires a very special drug and secret treatment, that he is required to guard with his life, or he won't have one!!

Some nice 'before and after' shots to give you an idea of what happens when he waits too long to take his medicine!

Dr. Bonnet's current model and girlfriend mysteriously disappears, and he entices Janine Dubois to sit for him again!!

For the tamest photo in the world, it sure is pretty dang sexy! Hazel Court started her career in 1944, and ended up being in quite a few of the most classy classic horror films the 50's and 60's had to offer, and she looked good in all of them! Titles like "Devil Girl From Mars," "The Curse Of Frankenstein," "Dr. Blood's Coffin," "Premature Burial," "The Raven," and The Masque Of The Red Death!"

Literally, very old friends, Dr. Georges Bonnet and Arnold Marlé as Professor Ludwig Weiss, are reunited. As it turns out, the Professor is actually the younger of the two! Arnold had been acting since 1920 and played many different Professors over the years. In 1934, he was in a film called "Dood Water!"

The Doctor wants the Professor help him make some more of the crazy juice that keeps the fountain of youth running!

The disagreement gets ugly and Ludwig goes deep, in an effort to end the madness!

The music for "The Man Who Could Cheat Death" was written by Richard Rodney Bennett, a fantastic composer with a wide array of credits stretching from "The Safecracker" in 1958, to "The Billion Dollar Brain" in 1967, and all the way into the late 90's!

Dr. Georges is on a major bummer, but manages to save a couple of drops of the formula from a broken shard of glass. Just enough to enable him to go on a bit further!

Everything pretty much goes to Hell at that point, and we get to see a bit of what he looks like when he doesn't take his meds! It's a sad tale, but one that needed to be told! I give this movie 11 thumbs up!! There's nothing stopping you!

4 comments:

Prof. Grewbeard said...

god, just to see the BACK of Hazel Court in the nude!...

TABONGA! said...

GURLZ!!..

Christopher said...

Hazel Court was the kind of gal you would want to marry and settle down with..a wife and a mother! ;o)

Anonymous said...

The European prints had full blown topless shot of her, some serious mouthwatering tits.

Monster Music

Monster Music
AAARRGGHHH!!!! Ya'll Come On Back Now, Y'Hear??