HALLOWEEN HORRORFEST 2020: Supernatural (1933)

No sponsor today, so I turned to the Randomizer, and it presented me with a film I have never heard of starring someone I’d never expect to see in a horror film, 1933‘s Supernatural with Carole Lombard.

Ruth Rogen (Vivienne Osborne) strangled three men, and it might have been four if her most recent lover, Paul (Alan Dinehart) hadn’t tipped the police off on her.  She is sentenced to death and, days before her date with the electric chair, agrees to leave her body to Dr. Houston (H.B. Warner) for his experiments.  Houston believes that the spirit can transmigrate after death to other people, and is planning on using Ruth to test that theory...and Ruth does, as she transmigrates into the body of Roma (Lombard), who is mourning the death of her brother.  And since Paul is trying to pull a spiritualist scam on Roma, it’s very convenient when it comes to revenge....

As mentioned above, I have never heard of this film until recently, but it has something of a pedigree, as it was made by Victor and Edward Halprin, the brothers who made White Zombie the year before.  It suffered from tensions from the Halprins and Lombard, who wanted to do comedies, as well as an earthquake that disrupted production.  Apparently, it was too sexy for television, which is why it’s not well known...although I knew of White Zombie and Island of Lost Souls and Murders at the Zoo, which were also pre-code horror flicks that were not shown on television during my youth.

Maybe its obscurity is because of that reason, or because it was not a big success for Paramount Pictures in 1933...or maybe because it’s kinda not very good.

Supernatural is a brief film, running an hour and four minutes, and it seems to take forever to get started.  Once we’re introduced to Roma, we know where this is heading, but it’s not until the forty minute mark where the transference is made and the true story begins.  It seems like more emphasis is put on Paul, his phony spiritualist racket and his  murderous ruthlessness (although he actually had my sympathy when he killed the unfunny comic relief drunk) to make it clear that he’s the villain than it is building Roma up as a character so we can identify with her during her ordeal.  But since pretty much all the characters are nulls, I found it difficult to feel much of anything.

And I think that might be the core of the problem.  The Halprins apparently thought the plot in and of itself was so good that they didn’t have to invest in other aspects of the production and threw all their skills onto it to the detriment of other aspects.  But the plot is actually pretty standard, and save for Lombard, the cast can’t be bothered to fill out the vast blank spaces left by the brothers.  As such, there’s a lifelessness to the whole production that it never rises above.  Supernatural plods and stumbles and never has the dream-like qualities of Island of Lost Souls or the sombre nastiness of Murders In The Zoo to help us forge through it.

And yet, I think it could have been salvaged.  Lombard, even if she disliked working on the picture, is giving the film more energy than it deserves.  She’s so good at playing the Ruth-possessed Roma that I was convinced that she played both roles.  She’s so effective that the film could have dispensed without the obtrusive opticals of Ruth entering and leaving her body that were put there for the dumber members of the audience.  In fact, leaving those opticals out might have strengthened the film, allowing us to speculate on whether something supernatural was happening or if it was all in Ruth and/or Paul’s head ala’ the work of Val Lewton in the 40‘s.

I really wish I could have reported that Supernatural was some sort of forgotten gem that fell through the cracks.  But it’s not.  It’s just forgotten because...it’s forgettable.  I cannot recommend it.

Tomorrow our sponsors is the couple that maintain the Great Library of Dreams, namely Jim and Theresa Moon of Hypnogoria and Commentary Club!  The Moons have chosen a film I had not heard of until they picked it, a 1961 British number called House of Mystery!  They are representing The Dog Trust, a UK based organization that helps rescue and rehome, well, dogs!

There are Four Sponsorship Slots Left in the Halloween Horrorfest this year.  There are four ways you can claim a slot:

1) Becoming a Domicile of Dread Patreon at any level.  Patreons always get a free slot, as well as advance access to podcasts and other goodies!

2) buying me a coffee at Ko-Fi.  Suggested donation is $3

3) You can make a donation to Black Lives Matter.  Suggested donation is $10.  Please forward your receipt to me as proof.

4) making a donation to the charity chosen by a sponsor on his/her/their day. Like with the third possibility, please forward me proof of donation.

As with last year, if I end up with more sponsors than there are days in October, I will go into Horrorfest Overtime, which means Halloween goes into November for me--and you!