The Unholy Three (1930)

Premiered July 12, 1930.

This film was released 90 years ago today, so we thought it was a good time to post this out-of-season Christmas review!:

A ventriloquist who calls himself Professor Echo (Lon Chaney) works at a carnival where he shows off his voice-throwing skills and rips off the local rubes.

Others who work at the carnival include a strong man known as Hercules (Ivan Linow)...

...and Tweedledee (Harry Earles), who is billed as the "smallest adult in the world"...

...and a professional pickpocket named Rosie (Lila Lee).

When Tweedledee kicks a child during a fight, a riot breaks out and the carnival is shut down.

Echo tells Tweedledee and Hercules he has a new scam that will make them all rich.  He says the three of them will disappear and change their identities.  Tweedledee says plan sounds, "unholy," which prompts Echo to call this crew "The Unholy Three."

Echo also brings along his pet gorilla, which seems to be the only thing Hercules is afraid of.  Echo uses this to his advantage whenever Hercules doesn't fall in line.

Sometime later, the trio opens an exotic pets shop they can use as a front for their criminal operation.

Echo runs the pet shop under his new alias, a grandmother named Mrs. O'Grady.

Tweedledum poses as her grandson Willie.

And Hercules pretends he's Mrs. O'Grady's son-in-law Herman.

Rosie also works at the shop.  Echo has romantic ideas about Rosie, but he treats her with contempt.  Rosie is attracted to a pet shop employee named Hector McDonald (Elliott Nugent) and the attraction is mutual.

On Christmas Eve, Echo, Herman and Willie decide to steal a valuable ruby necklace from one of their customers.  Poor Hector has no idea that he works with criminals and buys a Christmas tree and lots of toys for Willie.  Hector hopes to spend a romantic evening trimming the tree with Rosie.

However, Echo gets jealous and decides stay behind and trim the tree as Mrs. O'Grady.  Hector tells Mrs. O'Grady he plans to ask Rosie to marry him.

Tweedledee and Herman go through with the robbery without Echo.  Herman ends up shooting and killing a man while stealing the necklace.  On Christmas morning, the trio decides to pin the theft and murder on Hector.  They plant the necklace in Hector's closet and he's arrested.

Hector tells the police and judge that Rosie and Mrs. O'Grady will provide him with an alibi.  However, Mrs. O'Grady and Rosie are nowhere to be found.  The Unholy Three have disappeared and are hiding out in a cabin in the mountains.  They've brought along Echo's gorilla and kidnapped Rosie. 

Will Hector be convicted for a crime he didn't commit?

J.A. Morris says:

If the premise for this movie sounds a bit ridiculous, that's because it is!  Prof. Echo needs a money-making scam, so the first idea that pops into his head is to open an exotic pet shop?  However, it's also ridiculously great!  The "Christmas Scam" is a something of a trope in holiday movies and I'm guessing this is one of the first times it's been featured on film. 

The Unholy Three has great historical importance.  It's the only sound film appearance of the great Lon Chaney, a major star of the silent era who today is best remembered as the star of The Phantom Of The Opera and The Hunchback Of Notre Dame.  It's a shame Chaney died several weeks after the release of this film, because he's great here and he had a scary, menacing voice.

The rest of the cast provide solid support. 

Director Jack Conway makes great use of shadows in several scenes.   Here's a good example of that:

If there's anything wrong with The Unholy Three, it's that there's a (never stated aloud) message that Carnival folks are inherently bad and strange people.  While Echo displays a few, fleeting moments of humanity, Hercules and Tweedledee don't have many redeeming qualities.  They seem to exist merely to steal money and kill people.  I'm sure this was the conventional wisdom about Carnival "freaks" when this film was made, but I still feel like it needs to be called out.

Strictly speaking, The Unholy Three is more of a "Christmas-adjacent" movie than a "Christmas movie," but Christmas plays a very important role in the plot.  The trimming of the tree sets a lot of actions in motion:it causes echo to stay behind, which leads to the robbery turning into a murder, which eventually leads to the framing of Hector.  An important conversation between Rosie and Hector takes place during Christmas dinner.

Christmas is also discussed during Hector's murder trial, so we decided the movie was "Christmas-y enough" for our blog!

The Unholy Three is a fascinating film and a good farewell film for Lon Chaney.  It's especially recommended for fans of Christmas crime films and for those who need a break from predictable holiday entertainment.

J.A. Morris's rating: 

3 candy canes

RigbyMel says: 

The Unholy Three is a strange and gripping film with a "high concept" plot featuring characters from a freak show and elaborate criminal schemes.  It's also historically significant as it's the only talkie the great silent film star Lon Chaney ever did as well as being his final movie.  (He died of lung cancer on August 26th, 1930, seven weeks after The Unholy Three was released.) This movie allows Chaney to show off his considerable acting talents and also demonstrates that, had he lived longer,  he could have continued to be successful in talking pictures.

Chaney manages to be menacing in old lady drag!

It's also interesting to note that The Unholy Three is a remake of a 1925 silent movie (also starring Lon Chaney and Harry Earles).  The original version is silent and does NOT take place during Christmas.  Remakes have been around pretty much as long as Hollywood has, it would seem!   The addition of the Christmas angle to the remake serves to increase dramatic tension.

Poster from the 1925 version of the film.

Harry Earles, who plays the creepy and merciless Tweedledee/Little Willie, actually grew up as a circus and sideshow entertainer and was a part of several other important early movies such as Freaks (1932). He and his siblings were among the Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz (1939).   (Harry is one of the members of the Lollipop Guild.)  The way Tweedledee is written is ... not sensitive.  However, Earles makes it memorable and it's worth noting that he was able to have an acting career in a time when disabled and different folks were really not afforded a lot of  opportunities.

I also find the film intriguing from a material culture angle.  Viewers get extended glimpses of 1920s/30s Christmas decorations and the inside of a pet shop, for example. 

On their return from Christmas shopping, Hector helps Rosie remove her galoshes

There's even a "feather tree" (one of the first artificial Christmas trees), which is a holdover from Victorian Christmas celebrations, in the background of some shots. 

Hector gets ready to feed a cockatiel in the pet shop

It provides us with little glimpses into bygone days and small details that might be unfamiliar to modern audiences.

A feather tree (on the table) as well as a wreath and a paper bell (in the window) are on display in this shot

Christmas is central to the plot as the primary crime - murder, in the course of a robbery - occurs on Christmas Eve and there are tense Christmas morning visits from police, jewels hidden in toys, and even a touch of Christmas romance between poor dopey Hector and soon to be reformed criminal Rosie.

A "cozy" Christmas morning visit from a police detective

The Unholy Three is definitely worth a look  -- especially if one is interested in caper and/or pre-code movies or if one is a fan of Lon Chaney's work!

RigbyMel's rating: 

3 candy canes

Halloween (1978)

 Premiered October 25, 1978.

"Death has come to your little town, Sheriff. Now you can either ignore it, or you can help me to stop it."
-Dr. Sam Loomis to Sheriff Brackett

Halloween Night, 1963:
In Haddonfield, IL,  6 year-old Michael Myers brutally murdered his sister Judith with a butcher knife. Michael's parents arrive and see him leaving the house with the murder weapon.

Michael Myers' parents arrive home just after the 1st murder.

October 30,1978:  Michael has spent every day of his life incarcerated at Smith's Grove Sanitarium since he murdered his sister.  His psychiatrist, Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) is picking him up to attend a hearing.  He mentions that Michael has been catatonic since he killed Judith, and hasn't spoken since that night.  Loomis believes Michael is "purely and simply evil" and incapable of being rehabilitated.  Michael steals Loomis' car and escapes.  Loomis is convinced Myers will return to his hometown.

The next day, Halloween, in Haddonfield, brainy high school student Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis)  is getting ready for school.  Her father Morgan, a real estate agent, asks her to drop off keys at the Myers House, which is up for sale.  She runs into a neighborhood boy named Tommy (Brian Andrews), who believes the Myers place is haunted.  Laurie drops the key off under the mat, never noticing that someone is inside the house.  Laurie is scheduled to babysit Tommy that night, they make plans carve Jack O'Lanterns & watch horror movies. 

The Myers house, abandoned & neglected for 15 years.

Later, at school, Laurie looks out the window and realizes she's being watched by a man wearing a white mask. She spots him a few more times that day.  Her friends Annie Brackett (Nancy Loomis) and Lynda van der Klok (P.J. Soles) mock her & say she's imagining things.  They discuss their respective boyfriends and their plans for Halloween.  Laurie has no plans, which is why she's babysitting Tommy.  Lynda and Annie tease her, because she never seems to have plans.  Laurie doesn't date much, she says "guys think I'm too smart".  

Laurie Strode feels like she's being stalked.

At Tommy's elementary school, kids get out of class and run home in their costumes.  Tommy is taunted by a gang of older kids, they say the Bogeyman will get him.  The kids make Tommy trip & fall, causing him to break the pumpkin he's carrying.  As the boys leave the scene, Michael Myers (perhaps the "real" Bogeyman?) arrives and scares them away.

"He's gonna get you!  The Bogeyman is coming!"

After school, Laurie and Annie are driving around getting high.  They notice Annie's dad, Sheriff Leigh Brackett (Charles Cyphers) outside a local hardware store.  He tells them a robbery has occurred in the store, some masks, knives and rope have been stolen.  Loomis appears at the scene of the crime and tells the Sheriff that Michael is in town and probably robbed the store.  Sheriff Bracket isn't sure about Loomis' story.

 Michael pops out from behind a hedge & gives Laurie a scare!

Michael continues to stalk Laurie and her friends all over Haddonfield.  Before Halloween Night is over, Michael will go on a murderous rampage and Laurie's life will never be the same.

J.A. Morris says:

The younger version of myself was a connoisseur of slasher movies.  From about age 11 to 15, I watched as many as I could.  I clearly remember the first time Halloween aired on network TV in 1981.  A few friends of mine came over to my house to watch it. I found the NBC opening for the first broadcast of Halloween (isn't the internet great?), check it out here:


I went on to watch many of the sequels and imitators: Halloween II, some of the Friday The 13 movies,etc.  I say this just to prove my slasher/gore fan "bona fides".
But even then, I realized how formulaic they were.  Eventually I found the "plots" of slasher movies to be insulting and moved on.   

Halloween is the blueprint for just about every slasher film that followed.  Michael Myers is a mute, masked psychopath who seems to be invulnerable.  He commits heinous acts of murder in a typical small town or suburb.   

I'll start with what works in Halloween:
-Donald Pleasence is excellent as Dr. Loomis, flirting with but never quite going over the top.  He's obsessed with capturing Michael.  We get the impression that his attempt to "cure" Myers has driven Loomis crazy as well.  
-Jamie Lee Curtis is good, especially when you consider this was her first role.  She earns her title as "Scream Queen" with aplomb here.  It should be noted that she's the only real teenage actress in this movie (the other "teens" are played by actresses pushing 30).
-P.J. Soles (best remembered as Riff Randell in Rock N Roll High School) has a one-dimensional role, but she's memorable as Laurie's friend Lynda, with her incessant use of the word "totally".  
-Nick Castle (better known as a director & screenwriter) also does a good job as Michael Myers (he's credited as playing "The Shape").  It's a thankless role with no dialog, but Castle still makes an impression behind the mask.  Speaking of the mask, it should be noted that Michael's mask is a "Captain Kirk" mask painted white.
-Director John Carpenter has some nice moments where he keeps the audience on edge.  At several times, we think Myers will strike, only to be faked out.  And it's worth noting that Carpenter made the film on a $320,000 shoestring budget. 
-Haddonfield's Sheriff is named after Leigh Brackett, a famed SciFi author & screenwriter.  Brackett passed away about a month before Halloween was filmed. 
-Of course the best thing about this film and the Halloween franchise is the main title music, composed by John Carpenter.  Give it a listen and try getting it out of your head:

Now for what doesn't work:
-For starters, we're told Michael Myers has been catatonic for 15 years. Loomis says he saw no emotions or reactions from him when they met.  So how does Michael know how to drive?  There's a throwaway line from Loomis ("Maybe someone around here gave him lessons!") about this that is never elaborated upon.  If Michael doesn't steal Loomis' car, there's no movie.  I don't care if there were retcons created to explain this, it's a major problem.

- Moreover, Haddonfield is 150 miles from the sanitarium.  How did Myers get to his old home?  Did he secretly invent & make a GPS during "the catatonic years".

-Shortly after Michael's escape,  Loomis says he warned everyone about how dangerous Myers could be.  But we get a scene where Sheriff Brackett blames Loomis for any (future) killings implying Loomis got Myers out of incarceration.  How?  When?  Perhaps something was edited out?  Is Carpenter trying (and failing) to make a statement about law enforcement officials?  Low budget or not, that's a big gaffe.

Sheriff Brackett confronts Loomis outside of the Myers house.

-What is Michael's motivation?  I know, his "motivation" is he's a homicidal maniac.  But why does he target Laurie and her friends?  Do they remind him of his sister?  Are Annie and Lynda targeted because they're always talking about having sex?  But Laurie isn't like them, why does he pursue her?  Are Lynda and Laurie targeted because they're babysitting kids (like his sister Judith was watching him when he offed her) who are around the same age he was when he killed Judith?  I can't defend the existence of the Friday,The 13th franchise, but at least Jason and Pamela Vorhees had an obvious (if twisted) reason for killing Crystal Lake camp counselors.

-Why is Michael Myers invincible?  I won't spoil the movie, but he takes punishment here that would kill any normal person and keeps coming after Laurie.  Loomis describes him as an incarnation of pure evil, but how did killing his sister give him superpowers?

And finally, Halloween may have inspired dozens of imitators, but that doesn't necessarily make it a good film.  Inspiring a bad genre isn't necessarily a good thing.

One last note, Michael Myers' body count includes an unfortunate German Shepard named Lester who attempts to guard his house.  You don't see any of his killing, but I know some folks avoid movies where this sort of thing happens to dogs.

If you're going to watch a slasher film, watch this one.  Its Halloween setting makes it a bit more watchable than the average slasher flick.  But it's still not a very good movie.

My rating:

2 Jack O'Lanterns.