Dragonwyck, Renault's Secret gems of horror pack

By CAINE GARDNER

Film Critic

With Halloween just over a month away, it's a good time to get your fright on. For those film buffs out there, Fox has released a three-DVD collection of "horror" films just in time for the scary season.

The Fox Horror Classics: Vol. 2 is billed as "three of Hollywood's finest and scariest movies." Yeah -- not so much. Granted the three pack is a collection of must haves for film geeks, but the use of the term 'scary' is a little much.

Two of the films were standouts for me. I liked the weirdness of Dr. Renault's Secret and I loved to gothic grandness of Dragonwyck.

Dr. Renault's Secret is the tale of a Dr. Larry Forbes (Shepperd Strudwick) who visits his fiancée in France and is the target of an unknown killer as soon as he arrives. Shortly after arriving he is greeted by Noel, Dr. Renault's assistant who is, for lack of a better word -- peculiar.

As the story progresses we learn that Noel might not be exactly what he seem to be. A gentle soul around Dr. Renault's daughter, Noel seems to have a primeval instinct that reveals itself and is a precursor of the unveiling of his true identity.

J. Carrol Naish plays the conflicted and sympathetic Noel, who if he follows his instincts will reveal the truth about Dr. Renault and the secret that threatens them both. George Zucco as Dr. Renault is wonderful and character actor Mike Mazurki plays the scoundrel Rogell to perfection.

Although not what I would consider a horror movie, Dr. Renault's Secret is a good film due in large part to the metamorphous of Naish's portrayal of Noel and his ability to revert the character back to its natural state.

For people who love old films because of the little inconstancies, look for a few little treasures in this film. At times you can see inexplicit shadows on walls that don't belong in the scenes and during the fight scene at the end of the movie, you see the actor adjust his wig after tossing his opponent. Ahhhh -- good stuff.

My favorite film of the bunch is the gothic romance Dragonwyck. Again not your stereotypical horror movie, but a good film nonetheless.

Dragonwyck stars a young Vincent Price (Nicholas Van Ryn) and a leading lady of the day Gene Tierney (Miranda Wells) and is a haunted tale of love, loss and obsession.

Miranda, a girl who is not content with her simple farm upbringing, receives a letter from a distant cousin requesting her to come and teach his daughter at their grand home of Dragonwyck and is more than happy to jump at the chance. The only thing standing in her way is her God-fearing father (Walter Huston). After convincing him that she thinks it's God's calling, he reluctantly lets her go.

Once arriving at Dragonwyck, she receives more of Nicholas' attention than his wife would like and that begins another arc in the story.

Nicholas was a patroon, or someone who owns large areas of land that others work, then offers goods, money or services. We see early that Nicholas is ruthless as he casts out a farmer for refusing to honor the ideals of the patroonship. This entire dynamic takes a more sinister and ironic turn at the end of the film.

As the flick unfolds, we learn that Nicholas' wife is unable to bear children and in turn he will have no son to leave his beloved Dragonwyck to -- the patroonship will end with him. Shortly thereafter, his wife succumbs to a fairly mild illness and he makes his intentions regarding Miranda known. Dum-Dum-Dum.

As his obsession for an heir grows, so does the depth of his insanity, culminating in a scene when he stares at a painting of his first wife, hands over his ears while a haunting melody chaotically churns in the background. The filmmaker used four separate tracks, played slightly out of sync to achieve the effect.

One of the strongest aspects of this film is the use of music. The music builds as the tension raises and leaves the viewer taking short quick gasps. The grandness of the music accents the impressiveness of Dragonwyck.

It's also nice to see a young Price in his infant stages of becoming the master of macabre. His powerful presence and ability to command attention in even the subtlest moments of the film is something to see.

Of the three films Chandu the Magician was probably my least favorite. I had great hopes with Bela Lugosi starring in it, but I just couldn't get into the flick.

The special effects in this film were amazing though. The filmmaker utilized every trick in the book and for the crowd back in 1932, I'm sure their heads were spinning.

Chandu was a popular radio thriller before it made leap to the silver screen. It tells the story of Frank Chandler, who becomes known as Chandu after begin trained by yogis in India. Then like every hero, he is sent out into the world to conquer evil by using his powers. Enter Lugosi.

Roxor (Lugosi) kidnaps Chandu's brother-in-law, wanting him to divulge the secrets of his weapon. What is it? You guessed it -- a death ray. Chandu must race against time to stop Roxor and save people from the death ray.

The way Chandu stops Roxor is cool and Lugosi's acting in the pivotal scene is great -- I just never got into it. I liked many things about it, but I thought it was too predictable. I know most movies of that time are, but this took it to the extreme.

Final Cut: Dragonwyck and Dr. Renault's Secret are more than enough reason to pick this set up. The package also includes some great commentary tracks as well as informative featurettes. The coolest feature in my opinion is the Dragonwyck radio show by Price and Tierney.

Fox Horror Classics: Vol. 2

Chandu The Magician (1932)

2 out of 4 stars

* Commentary by Author Gregory William Mank

* Masters of Magic: The World of Chandu featurette

* Restoration Comparison

* Still Gallery

Dr. Renault's Secret (1942)

2.5 stars out of 4

* Horror's Missing Link: Rediscovering Dr. Renault's Secret featurette

* Restoration Comparison

* Trailer

* Still Gallery

Dragonwyck (1946)

3 out of 4 stars

* Commentary by Author Steve Haberman and Filmmaker Constantine Nasr

* A House of Secrets: Exploring Dragonwyck featurette

* "Dragonwyck" Radio Show performed by Vincent Price and Gene Tierney

* Isolated Score Track

* Restoration Comparison

* Trailer

* Still Gallery