JOHN CARTER OF MARS - usually sold with sex

While I'm fully expecting Disney/Pixar's John Carter to be family fare, the story has often been sold using similar themes as, say, Conan The Barbarian. One man can sort everything out, and needs a sword far more than he needs clothes. The new movie will be the first time in decades that the story hasn't been sold with flesh as well as fantasy.

1917 - John Carter already sporting a daring mini-skirt



Frank Frazetta paperback cover art, 1970 

Another Frazetta, carefully depicted Barsooms

Mid-1970s UK paperback

1990 Marvel Comics adaption

1996, Dark Horse sends Tarzan to Mars

2012, Dynamite puts back the 'graphic' into graphic novels

Indeed, the current Dynamite Entertainment adaptions are now subject to a lawsuit for both the use of the character and it's pornographic representation. Presumably they missed Frank Frazetta's earlier works...



Large collection of cover artwork from a hundred years of reprints of John Carter novels on this FlickR account.

Much more about the many incarnations of John Carter here at the Barsoomia Wikia...

JOHN CARTER OF MARS in the 1970s

I'm looking forward to see Pixar's live-action adaption of John Carter this weekend, after first encountering the character in the 1970s when the eleven book series was reprinted.

1975 UK paperback, cover art by Bruce Pennington

Edgar Rice Burroughs first started writing the John Carter stories in 1912, but they blended into the 70s' sci-fi publishing boom despite being more about science-fantasy. New English Library used striking cover art for all their publications, making them look brand new.

New English Library also celebrated their artists with a large-format magazine, Science Fiction Monthly, which alongside short stories and articles, presented textless cover art and original sci-fi themed paintings that could easily be used as posters. The tabloid-sized magazine wasn't held together with staples, so it was easy disassemble.

DC Comics, 1973

DC Comics also ran these adaptions, half about John Carter of Mars, the other half about Pellucidar, another Burroughs' fantasy about a prehistoric 'cavemen and dinosaurs' civilisation at the Earth's core. The comic only lasted a dozen issues, but the epic story of John Carter has been tackled in several comics since.

Three Michael Moorcock novels, written as an homage to Edgar Rice Burroughs and H.G. Wells, were first published in 1965 but reprinted in 1971 by NEL, when I first read them. I mention them here because they've a very similar premise and style to the John Carter books. A young scientist, Michael Kane (!), who just happens to be an olympic swordsman, is sent by matter transmitter to the planet Mars many eons in the past. There he fights hostile Martians and fantastic animals using only primitive weapons and his wits. I enjoyed Moorcock's 'Martian trilogy' immensely as a teenager, though I never finished the John Carter novels...

Again the cover art, particularly for 'Masters of the Pit', captured my imagination in that it looked like a modern, photo-real image. Unlike many of the illustrations on John Carter novels and comics, the hero is bravely portrayed as naked, as described in the Moorcock novels. This artwork also appeared in an issue of Science Fiction Monthly magazine, without the text.

As a result, I still confuse the story of John Carter of Mars with this potent homage.

THE HAUNTED HOUSE OF HORROR (1969) - new DVD release

In November 2011, The Haunted House of Horror was finally released as a standalone DVD. It had previously only been available in Anchor Bay's Tigon Collection boxset, which saved the movie from a the limbo of murky VHS releases.

This new Odeon Entertainment release is an improvement, with a 16:9 anamorphic release which adds picture information at the sides. It also retains the director's frank and funny commentary track from the Tigon boxset. It's a PAL region 2 DVD for the UK.

A proto-slasher that beats from a decade before Halloween and Friday the 13th, it stars Frankie Avalon trying to get away from the smiling beaches, Jill Haworth, Dennis Price, George Sewell, Richard O' Sullivan...

I've added these details to my updated review of The Haunted House of Horror, and added more photos and screengrabs too.

Click here for the full article.

JAWS filming locations, part 3 - North and East: Brody's house, State Beach

Concluding this three-part photo-tour of Martha's Vineyard, an informal look for the filming locations for Jaws (1975).

VINEYARD HAVEN

At the end of Part 2, we were at the far west point of the island at Gay Head Cliffs, an area also called Aquinnah. We drove back across the island heading north to Vineyard Haven, a small town on the west side of a large natural harbour.

This was a far smaller town than it sounded in the guide book, but it's one of the busiest places on the island, with two docks for the huge car ferries from the mainland. Therefore, this is the most likely location for the 'tourists on the menu' montage in Jaws.

EAST CHOP

East Chop lighthouse

Driving to the other side of the harbour, in search of the Brody house on East Chop Drive, we had a look at East Chop lighthouse, one of five on the island.

Next door to the Brody house

This house isn't in the film, but it's between the lighthouse and the house used as the Brody family house in Jaws. I'm guessing that the location scout first suggested these houses because they were close to the picturesque lighthouse. 

The Brody house

Just down the hill from the lighthouse, the 'Brody house' has now been reclad, and the garage has been converted into a separate dwelling. 

Rear veranda just visible (which has a view of their jetty)

But the veranda at the back and their own little dock are still visible from the street. This end of the veranda was where Ellen Brody (Lorraine Gary) freaks out while looking at a book of shark attacks...

Other end of the veranda, and their private jetty (the far one)

It's a private residence, the owner didn't even want it used again for filming Jaws 2. So we didn't spend too long lurking outside, and certainly didn't trespass on any private land to get a better angle.

The jetty closest to the house is in a state of disrepair -
this should be where Michael Brody's birthday present was moored 

STATE BEACH

Taking the coast road south from East Chop to Edgartown takes you along a long sandbar which needs two bridges to complete it as a roadway. The larger of the two bridges (the more southern of the two) was made famous in the film, where the shark enters 'the pond' while a false alarm distracts the police patrols.

This beach and the bay are the reason Jaws was filmed here on Martha's Vineyard, as the water is very shallow for a long way out. Meaning that the huge tracking mechanism for the shark could be easily laid in shallow water, for both the beach and 'at sea' scenes. The huge wide bay was relatively sheltered from crosswinds and currents, but the horizon could still be clear of land, to maintain the illusion that they were filming far out at sea.

State Beach, looking north -
land curves round the horizon, sheltering the bay

This beach was used in two major scenes. The shark attack witnessed by Chief Brody while he's relaxing with his wife, and the crowded beach  scenes set on July 4th. The bandstand and the brightly colour-striped cabanas were all built for the film, but all there is to see now is sand and sea. Who knows exactly where Spielberg filmed his electrifying reverse-zoom close-up of Roy Scheider. 

Guessing where Scheider had his back rub

Reverse angle - this sea saw a lot of action

Behind most of the length of the beach is a long stretch of water called Sengekontacket Pond. The action in 'the pond' is easier to pinpoint, where Brody's son meets the shark while sailing with two friends, and the policeman's desperate run to try and help him after being distracted by the stampede. Brody runs along the bridge and jumps over the side onto a much smaller beach by the entrance to the pond.

The rocky breakwaters, the bridge and the channel into the pond have recently been remodelled though. I was disappointed that the distinctive wooden supports for the bridge are now concrete pillars.

The bridge leading to the pond -
the beach with the woman artist is at top left, "Sh... sh... shark!"

The bridge supports are no longer wooden -
dense trees surround the pond at the rear

Brody runs down along here to get to the pond -
I've no idea why I'm leaning like that

Looking south across the channel
at the 'artist's beach' and beyond

The artist's beach - the bridge is at right -
note how the bay stretches round the horizon

On the bridge, looking south - pond is on the right

On the bridge, looking at State Beach,
guessing where the bandstand stood

The beach seems much deeper than it was in the film

View from the artist's beach, looking across the channel

On the artist's beach, the pond can be seen at top

I wanted a shot of me standing here, blocking one of the most chilling angles in the film, when the shark submerges in this channel to go under the bridge and into the pond. To learn how they shot that, you'll need to read Memories from Martha's Vineyard.

Chief Brody can't have read this

The pond side of the bridge, recently remodelled

Reverse view, a small beach looking over the pond -
I thought this might be where the girl bathers see the boys in trouble

OAK BLUFFS

On our final morning, we left the island on a small ferry from Oak Bluffs. I don't think this town was seen in the film, but it's the largest town on Martha's Vineyard, with the prettiest buildings on the island, making it the most usual tourist destination for daytrippers. 

Oak Bluffs car ferry dock

As you can see above, this dock at Oak Bluffs can't be the one seen in the car ferry montage in Jaws. Every time I saw these ships, I could hear John Williams music.

Best Jaws souvenir shop on the island! (Closed on Mondays)

Just down from the harbour, on Spring Street, this shop makes a point of selling the best Jaws souvenirs. Of course, it was shut the day we were there. I suppose that gives us an excuse to go back!

Compared to some other of our 'location tours', we often had to use our imaginations. I spent a few moments at each spot, staring out to sea aimlessly wondering if that patch of water had seen any action. How desperate! For all I knew, we could have been in the wrong place at various parts of this tour. But I think we saw most of the locations that are still identifiable.

My main regret is that we couldn't find out where the closing shot (frame grab above) was filmed.  A stretch of deserted beach with a lighthouse in the distance. From what I'd read, I'd assumed it was the lighthouse at the top of Chappaquiddick, but we didn't have time to see that. I'm now thinking it looks more like the beach at Aquinnah with the Gay Head lighthouse top right. We also couldn't find any building that resembled the gutting shed where Brody and Hooper search the shark's stomach.

But this trip has further cemented my love for Jaws, appreciating how much was made out of so little. Some films use spectacular locations for impressive imagery. Making a spectacular film full of unforgettable images in a quiet seaside town takes special talent.

Again, it was weird to visit a place for the first time that was already so familiar. Thankfully, no teenage impressions have been smashed - the visit didn't reveal any outrageous 'cheating' or disappointments. Just a wider view of a place I first saw through a letterbox.


Jaws tour - part 1: Edgartown - the heart of Amity Island

Jaws tour - part 2: bonfire beach, Katama Bay, Quint's dock

The making of Jaws - a look at the books and documentaries

My notes on the film
( All photographs in this post are copyright of Mark Hodgson and David Tarrington © 2011 )

NIGHT OF THE EAGLE / BURN WITCH, BURN (1962) - harsh lessons

BURN WITCH, BURN /
NIGHT OF THE EAGLE

(1962, UK)

A psychology professor (Peter Wyngarde) is sceptical that superstition has any place in a scientific world. He's unaware that his wife (Janet Blair) has been impressed by the power of voodoo witch doctors on a recent vacation. When in-fighting at the university gets nasty, she suspects that black magic is being used to foil her husband's chance of attaining a prestigious place in the senior faculty.

This is a taut, suspenseful, modern gothic whodunit, with the professor clinging onto logic despite an onslaught of coincidence. The testing of his disbelief in the occult parallels Dana Andrews' plight in Night of the Demon, for which this is an excellent companion, both British black-and-white productions.

This is probably less well known because it's caught between too many aliases. In the UK it's called Night of the Eagle, in the US Burn Witch, Burn! Both movie titles are appropriate, though one undersells it and the other oversells it. The short story on which it's based, 'Conjure Wife', was previously filmed as Weird Woman. Same story, four different names.

Like the best black magic horror movies, the story treads the edge of believability. There are those who certainly believe, and it nags that they might actually be able to nudge events for their own ends. The atmosphere of working and socialising with the same crowd means that after hours get-togethers are already unhealthy, prone to work-related back-biting and manoeuvring.

The supernatural elements are effectively sold by the careful cinematography and deadly serious performances. It's a shame that Peter Wyngarde didn't star in more films. His brusque angular features reminded me of James Bond's early appearance in newspaper comic strips. It's also a change from his usual villainous casting (as a ghost in The Innocents and the whiphand sadist in the infamous episode of The Avengers, 'The Hellfire Club'). He's better known for being an early Austin Powers fop on TV, Jason King, and wider still as the voice (and presumably the man behind the mask) of Klytus in Flash Gordon (1980).

His wife is played by Janet Blair, another terrific performance, though I'd only ever seen her in the 'Tourist Attraction' episode of The Outer Limits. Fans of Black Narcissus may spot Kathleen Byron amongst the faculty, but only in a small role. Margaret Johnston is another reason to watch. Again I'm mystified why her best work was on stage after seeing her work here.

Director Sidney Hayers previously made the delirious Circus of Horrors (1960), but the heavyweight horror credentials are the screenwriters Richard Matheson and Charles Beaumont. Matheson was already the main reason for seeing a film whether he'd written the source story or the script. He later adapted The Devil Rides Out for Hammer, convincing us again that black magic was at work. Beaumont was one of the leading story writers behind The Twilight Zone.

The author of 'Conjure Wife' was Fritz Leiber, whose fantasy and horror work is under-exploited onscreen. I've always wanted to see his sword and sorcery duo of viking and thief, Fahfrd and Grey Mouser visualised (as they have been in many comic adaptions). Theirs are my favourite stories of the genre, so evocatively written.

He even acted in a couple of movies taking the lead of his father, also called Fritz Leiber, who appeared in many Hollywood historical epics, like The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) and The Phantom of the Opera (1941). This is a little confusing as his father is billed as Fritz Leiber, so the author's movie credits are as Fritz Leiber Jr.

Another possible double-bill with Night of the Eagle could be Weird Woman (1944) from the Inner Sanctum Mystery series. This earlier adaption of 'Conjure Wife' stars Lon Chaney Jr in a more melodramatic, stagebound adaption. Another big plus in the cast is Elizabeth Russell, the fatal woman from so many Val Lewton thrillers. With a very different approach, it still packs some surprises, including cursed telephone calls that prefigure Ring (1999). This is available in the Inner Sanctum Mysteries DVD boxset in the US.

Night of the Eagle has been remastered so that it looks sharp and clean of dirt and scratches for this UK DVD from Optimum, but cropped to 16:9 widescreen anamorphic proves to me that the composition looks too cramped like this, and was originally intended for 1.66 presentation.

It's also available in the US as Burn, Witch, Burn on an MGM Limited Edition Collection made-on-demand DVD-R.