Elsa Lanchester Movies
Eccentric, high-voiced British comedienne/actress Elsa Lanchester started her career as a modern dancer, appearing with Isadora Duncan. Lanchester can be seen bringing unique and usually humorous interpretations to roles in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933), opposite husband Charles Laughton; The Bride of Frankenstein (1934), where she appears both as a subdued Mary Shelley and a hissing bride; David Copperfield and Naughty Marietta (both 1935); Tales of Manhattan (1942) and Forever and a Day (1943), both with Laughton; Lassie Come Home (1943), in which she is unusually subdued as the mother; The Bishop's Wife (1947); The Inspector General and The Secret Garden (1949); and Come to the Stable (1949), for which she was nominated for an Oscar. She and Laughton are riotous together in Witness for the Prosecution (1957), for which she was also Oscar-nominated, and she also appeared in Bell, Book and Candle (1958) and the Disney films Mary Poppins (1964), as the departing nanny Katie Nanna, and in That Darn Cat (1965). One of her best late performances was in Murder by Death (1976). Lanchester was also an actress at London's Old Vic, an outlandish singer, and a nightclub performer; she co-starred on The John Forsythe Show (1965-66), and was a regular on Nanny and the Professor in 1971. ~ Rovi- 1993
In this labor of love, the filmmaker tells the unusual and fascinating story of some older relatives of his who toured the U.S. for nearly seven decades as the Yale Puppeteers, putting on satirical performances which lampooned the public figures of their day. Their claim to theatrical fame comes from their seventeen year tenure at the Turnabout Theater in Hollywood from 1941 to 1956. This is where the folksinger Odetta got her start, and where Elsa Lanchester did much of her live stage work. In addition, two of the ninety-year old men interviewed were gay. However, since they had only recently publicly acknowledged their homosexuality, they were not yet up to speaking freely about their experiences and hardships. The documentary offers a unique window into social and show-business history. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Elsa Lanchester
- 1980
- PG
In this black comedy, a humble cab driver spends his days daydreaming of becoming a rock-star. His blissful reverie is one day interrupted when ends up inadvertently blamed for the assassination of a world-renowned nuclear scientist. Soon afterward he finds that he has a stowaway, the late scientist's chimpanzee, the only one who knows his master's secret formula, which if ever written down could cause the destruction of the world. Now the hapless taxi driver must evade both the cops and two villainous Russian Spies. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robby Benson, Linda Grovenor, (more)
As penned by Neil Simon, this satire of movie mysteries is set in motion when several prominent detectives are invited to the mansion of the reclusive Lionel Twain (Truman Capote). In Ten Little Indians fashion, the gathered sleuths are locked into the forbidding mansion, and subject to various death-dealing devices. While struggling for their lives, the vainglorious gumshoes continue to try to one-up one another. Each character is broadly based on a famous literary detective: Sidney Wang (Peter Sellers) is an aphorism-spouting Charlie Chan clone: Dick and Dora Charleston (David Niven and Maggie Smith) are patterned on the protagonists of the Thin Man flicks; Milo Perrier (James Coco), a Hercule Poirot takeoff, stalks through the proceedings declaring "I'm a Belgie, not a Frenchie!"; Sam Diamond (Peter Falk) is Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe and Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade rolled in one; and Jessica Marbles (Elsa Lanchester) is a dottier variation of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. Best bit: a "conversation" between blind butler Jamessir Bensonmum (Alec Guinness) and deaf-mute maid Yetta (Nancy Walker). The fade-out gag of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson showing up late for Lionel Twain's party was edited from the theatrical version of Murder by Death, but was restored for TV. The film marked the big-screen directorial debut of Robert Moore, who'd previously directed several of Neil Simon's Broadway productions. Moore went on to direct another Simon spoof, The Cheap Detective (1978), before his untimely death. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Eileen Brennan, Truman Capote, (more)
- 1973
- PG
Murder abounds at a wax museum after the owner decides to sell it, and seemingly waxen figures come alive. By the way, are wax images normally supposed to breathe when being filmed? ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi
- 1973
The Arnold of Arnold, like the Harry of The Trouble With Harry, is stone cold dead from the outset of this film. That doesn't stop Arnold's mistress Stella Stevens from marrying the corpse so as to come into his millions. The trick is to hide the fact that Arnold is indeed stiff as a mackerel. To accomplish this, a series of murders is a necessity. Special guest victims include Stevens' wastrel brother Roddy McDowall, her dotty sister Elsa Lanchester, handyman Jamie Farr, as well as lawyers Farley Granger and Patric Knowles. Also on hand are such dependables as Victor Buono, Shani Wallis, John McGiver and Bernard Fox. The script is by TV-sitcom stalwarts Jameson Brewer and John Fenton Murray. As one-joke films go, Arnold is as good as any. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1971
- PG
This film is based on the novel Ratman's Notebooks, by Stephen Gilbert. Bruce Davison is Willard Stiles, a 27-year-old mama's boy whose repressions are bottled up inside and come to the fore in his nervous nail-biting. As one character describes Willard, "Willard is basically an extrovert, but it's all inside." Willard and his possessive invalid mother, Henrietta (Elsa Lanchester), live in thrall to Al Martin (Ernest Borgnine), the man who took over a foundry business after the death of Willard's father. Willard inwardly seethes but mostly stays in his run-down mansion with his mother, making friends with the rats that infest the place -- he even names them, Ben and Socrates. However, when Henrietta dies, things change. Al, in a rage, kills one of Willard's pet rats. Not only that, but Al also fires Willard from his job at the foundry. Losing his patience, Willard meets with his rat friends to exact his revenge for a lifetime of humiliation and neurosis. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bruce Davison, Ernest Borgnine, (more)
An air-traffic reporter discovers that his partner--a St. Bernard dog--has accidentally swiped a priceless necklace from a jewel-smuggling gang. ~ John Bush, Rovi
Rascal, the Sterling North novel that has been a longtime fixture of Scholastic Magazine book clubs, was given Tiffany treatment by the Disney studios in 1969. Bill Mumy plays young Sterling North, whose Wisconsin childhood is enriched through his friendship with a stray raccoon. Though lacking the emotional depth of the novel, the film is distinguished by the lovingly detailed outdoor photography that has always been a Disney hallmark. Likewise a "regular" in the Disney canon are scenes of animals wreaking comic destruction and wild chase sequences, and Rascal does not flag when offering these. A favorite of the Saturday matinee circuit, Rascal has in recent years become a standard weekend TV offering whenever a sports event is rained out or otherwise delayed. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Steve Forrest, Bill Mumy, (more)
- 1969
- PG
Since she was a child, Natalie Miller (Patty Duke) has always thought she was an ugly ducking. When a boy called her "clown face", the six-year-old knocked out his front teeth with a shovel. Despite her mother's encouragement that she will grow up to be pretty, Natalie has never believed it will happen. When her parents bribe a young medical student to date her, Natalie discovers the ruse and moves out of her parent's house. She rents a Greenwich Village apartment from an eccentric landlady (Elsa Lanchester) and gets a job at the Topless Bottom Club. She rides a motorcycle to work, decorates her loft with a moose head, and rides up and down a dumbwaiter to get to her apartment. There Natalie meets David (James Farentino) an artist, and the two have a love affair before she discovers he is married. She considers returning home after finding him in bed with his wife. Al Pacino makes his first screen appearance in a minor role in this engaging drama. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Patty Duke, James Farentino, (more)
- 1969
This by-the-numbers TV movie features an all-star cast in a comedy of marital mix-ups and misunderstandings. Consultants Michael Callan and Ann Prentiss arrange the marriages of several couples, only to discover that all the unions are illegal. Among those affected are a cop (Christopher Connelly) and his hippie spouse (Heather Young); A bachelor at heart (Bill Daily) who thinks he'd be happier without his wife (Elinor Donahue); and a dull missus (Ruth Buzzi) and her "swinger" hubby (Herb Edelman). Whether or not the now-unmarried couples will want to tie the knot legally forms the basis of the comedy. In Name Only has innocently caused resentment among film buffs who've tuned in expecting to see the 1939 film In Name Only, a quite different dramatic opus starring Cary Grant and Carole Lombard. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Blackbeard's Ghost was one of the first Disney productions released after Walt's death. Peter Ustinov stars as the eponymous wraith, who returns to Earth to come to aid of his descendant, elderly Elsa Lanchester. The villains want to kick Lanchester and her friends out of their group home so that they can build a crooked casino. Good guy Dean Jones evokes the spirit of Blackbeard to thwart the bad guys. The supporting cast ranges from Richard Deacon to Gil Lamb, while Peter Ellenshaw performs the visual effects with mattes, miniatures, and process screens. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Peter Ustinov, Dean Jones, (more)
Elvis Presley hits the high seas in this musical comedy. Ted Jackson (Presley) is a former Navy frogman who divides his time between twin careers as a deep sea diver and nightclub singer. Ted discovers what he believes could be a fortune in Spanish gold aboard a sunken ship and sets out to rescue it with the help of go-go dancing yoga expert Jo Symington (Dodie Marshall). However, Gil Carey (Skip Ward) is also after the treasure and uses his girlfriend Dina Bishop (Pat Priest) to foil Ted's plans. Elvis sings six tunes in this picture, including the deathless "Yoga Is as Yoga Does" and "The Love Machine." ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Elvis Presley, Dodie Marshall, (more)
Though overlong even for a Hayley Mills vehicle, That Darn Cat is an expert blend of laughs and suspense. The eponymous feline is D.C., a Siamese belonging to sisters Hayley Mills and Dorothy Provine. One evening, D.C. comes flouncing home with a lady's wristwatch attached to her neck. The watch contains an unfinished plea for help scribbled on its back, written by Grayson Hall, a bank teller held captive in a neighboring house by robbers Neville Brand and Frank Gorshin. Mills and Provine contact the FBI, who send agent Dean Jones (who's allergic to cats) to investigate. In their efforts to locate and rescue Hall and capture the crooks, Jones and the two sisters embark upon a series of slapstick misadventures involving an unending stream of top character actors. The highlight is a lengthy sequence at the drive-in movie theatre managed by ulcerated Richard Deacon. That Darn Cat is based on Undercover Cat, a somewhat more serious suspense novel by The Gordons. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Hayley Mills, Dean Jones, (more)
- 1964
Intending to marry Cynthia (Anne Helm), Jay Menlow (Robert Morse) is stranded at the alter on the day of the blessed occasion. Left with a paid Honeymoon vacation in the Caribbean, Jay takes along best man Ross Kingsley (Robert Goulet) to the Boca Boca, a "honeymooners only" resort. Ross soon finds an attractive companion in the resort's social director, Lynn Hope (Nancy Kwan). Jay, on the other hand, shows signs of weakening to Cynthia's telephone apologies and Ross desperately attempts to prevent their reconciliation so he may continue to enjoy the arrangement. When Ross' employer Mr. Sampson (Keenan Wynn) arrives on the scene with his blank-headed mistress, Sherry (Jill St. John), things begin to get a bit crazy. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Sampson's wife (Elvia Allman) arrives looking for her philandering husband. Finally Cynthia appears on the frantic scene to ensure chaos in the proceedings. ~ Kristie Hassen, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Goulet, Nancy Kwan, (more)
- 1964
The infamous story of 19th century grave robbers Burke and Hare is given a new slant in this episode, told from the point-of-view of dimwitted Scottish laborer John McGregor (Andrew Duggan). In order to provide gin money for his sodden wife, Aggie (Elsa Lanchester), McGregor takes a job hauling what he thinks are boxes of tanbark to the Edinburgh Medical Academy. Eventually, McGregor figures out that those boxes actually contain the remains of those unfortunate souls who have been murdered by grave robbers Burke (Arthur Malet) and Hare (Michael Pate), who then sell the corpses for dissection purposes to a Dr. Knox (John Hoyt). Rather than summon the authorities, McGregor decides to use the grave robbers in a hastily improvised scheme to rid himself of his alcoholic spouse. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Andrew Duggan, Elsa Lanchester, (more)
Long resistant to film adaptations of her Mary Poppins books, P.L. Travers finally succumbed to the entreaties of Walt Disney, and the result is often considered the finest of Disney's personally supervised films. The Travers stories are bundled together to tell the story of the Edwardian-era British Banks family: the banker father (David Tomlinson), suffragette mother (Glynis Johns), and the two "impossible" children (Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber). The kids get the attention of their all-business father by bedevilling every new nanny in the Banks household. Whem Mr. Banks advertises conventionally for another nanny, the kids compose their own ad, asking for someone with a little kindness and imagination. Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews in her screen debut) answers the children's ad by arriving at the Banks home from the skies, parachuting downward with her umbrella. She immediately endears herself to the children. The next day they meet Mary's old chum Bert (Dick Van Dyke), currently employed as a sidewalk artist. Mary, Bert, and the children hop into one of Bert's chalk drawings and learn the nonsense song "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" in a cartoon countryside. Later, they pay a visit to Bert's Uncle Albert (Ed Wynn), who laughs so hard that he floats to the ceiling. Mr. Banks is pleased that his children are behaving better, but he's not happy with their fantastic stories. To show the children what the real world is like, he takes them to his bank. A series of disasters follow which result in his being fired from his job. Mary Poppins' role in all this leads to some moments when it is possible to fear that all her good work will be undone, but like the magical being she is, all her "mistakes" lead to a happy result by the end of the film. In 2001, Mary Poppins was rereleased in a special "sing-along" edition with subtitles added to the musical numbers so audiences could join in with the onscreen vocalists. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, (more)
Out of the beaches and into the boudoirs go Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello and the rest of the gang in Pajama Party. Actually, the whole megillah is as innocent as a newborn babe, but there's plenty of smirking and snickering during a wild 'n' wacky girl's slumber party. Frankie Avalon has only a cameo, relinquishing center stage to Tommy Kirk, playing a teenaged Martian (!) studying the lovemaking rituals of Earthlings. Old-timers Buster Keaton, Dorothy Lamour and Elsa Lanchester also weave in and out of the proceedings, with Keaton the only one who doesn't look as though he wishes he were somewhere else. And of course there's good old Harvey Lembeck as good old Eric "Why Me?" Von Zipper. Director Don Weis took over for Beach Party's William Asher in Pajama Party, remaining in charge for the ill-fated sequel Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tommy Kirk, Annette Funicello, (more)
John Van Druten's stage comedy Bell Book and Candle starred Rex Harrison and Lilli Palmer on Broadway. The 1958 filmed version stars James Stewart and Kim Novak, fresh from their successful teaming in Hitchcock's Vertigo. Novak plays Gillian Holroyd, a genuine, bonafide witch. Falling in love with publisher Sheperd Henderson (Stewart), Gillian casts a spell on him, obliging him to dump his fiancee and rush to her side. All of this goes against the grain of Gillian's mentor Mrs. De Pass (Hermione Gingold), who does her best to counterract the love spell. Meanwhile, Gillian's wacky warlock brother Nicky (Jack Lemmon) courts disaster by coauthoring a book on black magic with pompous, bibulous novelist Sidney Redlitch (Ernie Kovacs). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- James Stewart, Kim Novak, (more)
Having just recovered from a heart attack, fabled British barrister Sir Wilfred Robards (Charles Laughton) has been ordered by his doctor to give up everything he holds dear-brandy, cigars and especially courtroom cases. Robards' already shaky resolve to follow doctor's orders flies out the window when he takes up the defense of Leonard Vole (Tyrone Power), a personable young man accused of murdering a rich old widow. The case becomes something of a sticky wicket when Vole's "loving" German wife Christine (Marlene Dietrich) announces that she's not legally married to Robards' client-and she fully intends to appear as a witness for the prosecution! At the close of this film, a narrator implores the audience not to divulge the ending; we will herein honor that request. A delicious Billy Wilder mixture of humor, intrigue and melodrama, Witness for the Prosecution is distinguished by its hand-picked supporting cast: John Williams as the police inspector, Henry Daniell as Robards' law partner, Una O'Connor as the murder victim's stone-deaf maid, Torin Thatcher as the prosecutor, Ruta Lee as a sobbing courtroom spectator, and Charles Laughton's wife Elsa Lanchester as Robards' ever-chipper nurse (a role especially written for the film, so that Lanchester could look after Laughton on the set). And keep an eye out for that uncredited actress playing the vengeful-and pivotal-cockney. Adapted by Wilder, Harry Kurnitz and Larry Marcus from the play by Agatha Christie, Witness for the Prosecution was remade for television in 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, (more)
- 1956
In another "on the road" story arc, the Ricardos and the Mertzes prepare to vacation in Florida. When Lucy (Lucille Ball) loses two of the train tickets, she and Ethel (Vivian Vance) advertise for a traveling companion to help drive to Florida and pay expenses. The ad is answered by Mrs. Grundy (Elsa Lanchester), an eccentric health-food fanatic who seems to be in a terrible hurry to get to the Sunshine State. En route to their destination, Lucy and Ethel are confronted with "evidence" suggesting that Mrs. Grundy may be the notorious ax murderer Evelyn Holmby! Also appearing in this episode is a young, clean-shaven, decidedly pre-Cool Hand Luke Strother Martin. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Elsa Lanchester, Strother Martin, (more)
- 1955
Stranger in the Night stars Joan Fontaine as a turn-of-the -century widow who moves into a somewhat foreboding seaside estate. Fontaine assumes that her only companion is her housekeeper Elsa Lanchester, but she's wrong: the house is also "inhabited" by the ghost of a handsome sea captain (Michael Wilding). Yes, this is The Ghost and Mrs. Muir in a 60-minute TV slot (the original theatrical film ran nearly twice that length). Tom Conway costars as an amorous author--the same role played by Conway's brother George Sanders in the original Ghost and Mrs. Muir. Originally telecast October 17, 1956, on the TV anthology Twentieth Century Fox Hour. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 1955
The Glass Slipper is a charming retelling of the Cinderella story, eminently suitable for both kids and adults. Leslie Caron plays Ella, the plain-Jane stepsister of beautiful but mean-spirited Birdena (Amanda Blake) and Serafina (Lisa Daniels). While stepmother Widow Sonder (Elsa Lanchester) arranges wealthy marriages for her natural daughters, poor Ella hasn't got a chance. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Leslie Caron, Michael Wilding, Sr., (more)
- 1954
- G
According to some eyewitness reports, the feud between Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis was at its peak during the filming of Three Ring Circus. Other observers have noted that the boys behaved with thorough professionalism throughout the shoot. Whatever the case, the film offers a comparatively relaxed Martin and Lewis, wandering through a thinnish plot with amiable finesse. The boys play a couple of ex-GIs who use their discharge money to finance a trip to Florida, where Jerry Hotchkiss (Lewis) hopes to land a job as a circus clown. Pete Nelson (Martin) isn't quite as ambitious, though he decides to stick around when he meets gorgeous circus owner Jill Brent (Joanne Dru). As the plot rolls merrily on, Pete finds himself assisting temperamental aerialist Saadia (Zsa Zsa Gabor), while Jerry does his best (which is none too good) as the assistant to lion tamer Schlitz (Sig Ruman). When Puffo the Clown (Gene Sheldon) drinks himself into oblivion, Jerry takes Puffo's place, proving his worth by getting a crippled child to laugh. The songs are mostly forgettable, with the exception of the now-standard "It's a Great, Wide, Wonderful World." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, (more)
- 1954
Hell's Half Acre was written directly for the screen by Steve Fisher, whose I Wake Up Screaming remains one of the definitive "film noirs". The scene is a rundown section of Honolulu, where there dwells a group of wannabes, hasbeens and never-weres. While trying to go straight in this environment, ex-racketeer Chet Chester (Wendell Corey) is shaken down by his former criminal cohorts. Chester's girl friend Rose (Nancy Gates) kills one of his tormentors, whereupon Chester takes the blame, assuming that he's still got enough pull to get off with a light sentence. Meanwhile, Dona Williams (Evelyn Keyes) arrives on the scene, certain that Chester is her long-lost husband. When Rose is murdered, Chester escapes from jail, intending to prove Dona's innocence--and to square accounts with the 10-year-old son he never knew he had. Elsa Lanchester provides much-needed laughs as a dotty cabdriver. Dismissed upon its first release, Hell's Half Acre is now considered one of the most durable of Republic's mid-1950s features. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Wendell Corey, Evelyn Keyes, (more)
- 1953
Because of its misleadingly sensual title and the participation of screenwriter/director F. Hugh Herbert (author of the once-notorious "The Moon is Blue"), Girls of Pleasure Island was ballyhooed in 1953 as the ultimate in sex and sin. In truth, the film is an innocent, inconsequential WW II comedy, designed to showcase Paramount's crop of "new faces." Leo Genn plays Roger Halyard, a stiff-upper-lip British gentleman who lives on a South Pacific Island with his three nubile, naïve daughters, Violet (Joan Elan), Hester (Audrey Dalton) and Gloria (Dorothy Bromiley). Hoping to shelter the girls from the lascivious advances of the opposite sex, Halyard is thwarted when 1500 Marines arrive to transform the island into an aircraft landing base. Despite the best efforts of Halyard, his housekeeper Thelma (Elsa Lanchester),and marine colonel Reade (Phil Ober), romance blossoms between the three girls and a trio of handsome leathernecks (one of whom is a young Gene Barry). Top billing in Girls of Pleasure of Island is bestowed upon Don Taylor as Lieutenant Gilmartin, whose warm relationship with Hester Halyard (Dalton) carries most of the plotline. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Don Taylor, Leo Genn, (more)
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