Mon 29 Feb 2016
A Movie Review by Jonathan Lewis: SUPERNATURAL (1933).
Posted by Steve under Horror movies , Reviews[6] Comments
SUPERNATURAL. Paramount Pictures, 1933. Carole Lombard, Allan Dinehart, Vivienne Osborne, Randolph Scott, H. B. Warner. Director: Victor Halperin.
Much like White Zombie, which I reviewed here, Supernatural, also directed by Victor Halperin, doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. There are so many loose strands that one loses count. Add on top of that some sequences that really don’t even fit very coherently into this narratively challenged movie.
In much the same way as White Zombie, which I caught as part of the UCLA Festival of Restoration last year, Supernatural unfolds like a fairy tale, as if one is caught in a silly dream where plot takes a back seat to a simultaneously innocent and sinister atmosphere and mood.
Indeed, it’s all rather good, albeit senseless fun.
Featuring Carole Lombard and Randolph Scott as a couple who must face off against a con man, the disembodied spirit of a recently executed murderess, and possibly a murderer in their close circle, the film has so many subplots that ultimately go nowhere. With an omnipresent musical score than zips right along and a few ridiculously charming attempts at special effects, this pre-code horror (horror-comedy?) programmer still isn’t really what you’d call a solid work of filmmaking. But in spite of its numerous flaws, given the financial and technological restraints of the era, it’s nevertheless a far better product than you might initially think.
February 29th, 2016 at 10:58 am
Anything with Carole and Randy is worth a look.
February 29th, 2016 at 3:22 pm
Agreed. I’ll ask Jon if he can lend me his copy on DVD. I’ve never seen this one.
February 29th, 2016 at 3:46 pm
The opening sequence is terrific, and everything after that a bit of a let-down.
February 29th, 2016 at 4:17 pm
The cast lifts it up considerably, and some of the sequences are very good, but it works best as a mood piece than a coherent plot. Well worth seeing though. You don’t think of Scott in this genre, but he is in SHE and MURDER AT THE ZOO with Lionel Atwill.
February 29th, 2016 at 7:02 pm
I thought Vivienne Osborne’s performance was the highlight. Your assessment of the movie is pretty accurate – silly but great fun.
February 29th, 2016 at 7:06 pm
I found a copy of this from an online movie dealer at a decent price back in 2011, Steve. But he must’ve got in trouble for copyright infringement; his entire business has been shut down. I liked this flaws and all. I reviewed this several years ago on my blog in much more detail than Jonathan has and I’m more forgiving of its flaws. I tend to like lurid nonsensical thrillers of this era. And this is certainly enters the realm of the ridiculous! I still remember a sequence with a dead body being disposed of that was one of the better sequences of pure cinema, that is no dialogue, mostly visual with some sound effects. Lombard is best when she becomes possessed by the murderess. It’s a bit cornball but she’s so very different from any of her more well known comic roles.