ksf-2
"Phantom" opens with the night janitor (Mantan Moreland) finding Mr. Cromwell dead on the floor of his office. The sound and picture quality are just terrible, so hopefully "someone" will give this a good restoration someday. This one stars Dick Purcell, who seems to have had a rough life all around - he was only married from March of 1942 to August of 1942. Odd. Then he ups and dies of a heart attack at age 35. Purcell works for the District Attorney, and thinks he has found the right suspect, but won't prosecute yet. John Hamilton is the suspect "John Harrison", who seems to have a great alibi, with tons of witnesses. Joan Woodbury is the reporter Barbara Mason, and part of Harrison's alibi. This is just a 61 minute shortie, so we don't get too deep into anyone's story, but it's not bad, as they go. Also interesting to see an early version of sign language, as Harrison is a deaf mute, and we see him spelling words out in court. The night janitor (Moreland) has the best lines and the best facial expressions here, giving the film a light tone. From the title, I was expecting a darker, horror film, but when they put him on the witness stand, he makes a monkey out of the lawyer. Better than I expect it to be. Directed by William Beaudine, who also had an interesting life. Note that he died in 1970, but was listed as director on films from 1974 and 1976. Started acting and writing in 1909. Wow. Low key, fun (but very predictable) film - catch it on Turner Classics.
dougdoepke
As expected from Monogram, the sets are cheap, the comedy broad, and the acting erratic. Still, the premise is engaging. That is, how can deaf-mute Harrison (Hamilton) manage to be in two places at once. If we're to believe our eyes, he's emceeing big public events in one part of town, while in another part, he's wringing people's necks. Pretty good trick. So the movie's more a howsitdun than a whodunit.Hamilton's excellent in the pivotal role. Looks like he's been doing sign language for years. Plus there's that unblinking stare, while we wonder what's behind it. Happily, Woodbury (Barbara) injects needed spark as a girl Friday, while Moreland enlivens with his bug-eyed comedic bit. Too bad he soon disappears (as another reviewer points out). Now, if casting had kept Moreland and dumped the unfunny cop Hymer, things would have improved—but then Moreland probably had to get over to the Charlie Chan set. And who is Dick Purcell, the supposed leading man. I kept looking for him, but he's so recessive, he's hard to spot. I guess all the good B-leading men were away at war, but then neither the script nor director Beaudine throws much Purcell's way.Anyway, despite the drawbacks, there's enough suspense-- especially around the piano-- to keep up interest and maybe even reaffirm the laws of physics.
mark.waltz
Racist overtones aside, there is a lot to recommend in this remake of The Sphinx where horror icon Lionel Atwill played a dual role, one a killer, the other his alibi. To prove you can't be two places at once, a deaf and mute philanthropist is off doing good deeds while the other is on nefarious sprees. The outcome is obvious but the method of revelation is what makes it more fun and intriguing. Replacing Atwill is an obscure actor named John Hamilton, a George Zucco look-alike who lacks the sinister image of both Atwill and Zucco. B fan favorite Joan Woodburry is the feisty reporter who fights for her belief in Hamilton's innocence while Dick Purcell is the detective trying to prove just the opposite. On the right side of the law are J. Farrell MacDonald and Warren Hymer, still typecast as a buffoon.There's racial overtones concerning the cowardly black porter played by Mantan Moreland who first encounters Hamilton then runs to his gin stash upon discovering the film's first corpse. Director William Beaudine speeds up the plot by instilling lots of humor, particularly a sequence with Hymer on the phone with his nagging wife who squeals like an old record on the wrong speed while Hymer hides the phone in a desk drawer. Like other Monogram remakes of their earlier films, this is even better than the original. It is pure entertainment without pretension made during the war ear that needed diversions like this.
estabansmythe
This is directed to the guy who gives the kudos in "Phantom Killer" to Jack Benny's valet/chef/chauffeur/right-hand-man Eddie "Rochester" Anderson. You got it wrong, fellow. That was not Rochester playing Nicodemus, the janitor who sees a man talk who can't talk. Nope. It was the great Mantan Moreland. BTW, this low budget Monogram 2-reeler is fun, especially if you're a fan of the dozens of Old Dark House mysteries that were produced in the 30s & 40s. Mantan, who died in 1973 at age 71, is probably best remembered these days as Birmingham Brown, Charlie Chan's driver and cohort to Charlie's Numbers One, Two & Three sons in 14 Charlie Chan movies from 1944-1949. Mantan also had solid roles in "King of the Zombies" (1941), "Dressed to Kill" (1941) with Lloyd Nolan as shamus Mike Shayne, "The Strange Case of Dr. RX" (1942) with another great, Lionel Atwill and many other fun films. He acted into the 1970s when he appeared in such TV series as "Love, American Style" and "Adam-12." Mantan has deservedly been remembered in beloved fashion by many and needs to be recognized here.
AD
