#Review of the hider by loren estleman movie
#Review of the hider by loren estleman full

I suspect it is no accident three people spelled their names differently than normal in the credits. Had he been top billed in this one, his career would likely have taken more than a mere six more years to take off. Director: Chester Erskine (as Chester Erskin (also uncredited on the screenplay).Ĭopies of this film available today credit Humphrey Bogart as the star, but that seems to have been unlikely in the 1934 release. Screenplay by Paul and Claire Sifton based on their play. Heggie, Henry Hull, Margaret Whycherly, Lynne Overman (as Lynn Overman), Richard Whorf, Helen Flint, Henry O’Neill, Moffatt Johnston (as Moffatt Johnson). I don’t think the second half of the story is as effective as the first, as Silence immediately puts into action a plan to stop the menace without causing either physical or psychic harm to anyone on the island. I think readers today would be impatient with the pace, and would want the events on the island to happen more quickly and be a lot more gruesome. The vacationers are not trapped on the island, but the isolation it does provide adds immensely to the sense of dread that Blackwood is able to produce. There is no detective work involved on the part of anyone, but the first half of the story - a long, slow evocative buildup to the eventual revelation to the horror that awaits - is both creepy and chilling. When Silence is at last called upon, he is able to be there the next day.Īnd of course Silence knows what is going on immediately. There is no animal life on the islands, but then howling in the night is heard, then footprints around their tents at night, then abortive attacks again at night from something that seems to be a large ferocious dog.

Something sinister is growing and about to happen. At first all is well, but by a clever means and ability with words I do not yet understand, Blackwood gradually makes the reader know that something is amiss in this otherwise idyllic paradise. Hubbard’s destination: a deserted island in the Baltic, together with a married couple, their daughter, and Peter Sangree, a young man who is the other man’s pupil and who is infatuated with the daughter, but only at a distance.

#Review of the hider by loren estleman full

He doesn’t show up until somewhere around the halfway point in “The Camp of the Dog,” a novella nearly 60 pages long, but at the beginning he serves full notice to Hubbard, his personal secretary and often companion in his adventures into the world of the supernatural, that he will be available on a moment’s notice, if needed. I know little about John Silence, except by reputation as the “Psychic Doctor,” and his name, which is an absolutely perfect one for someone in his profession. But from the little in the field I’ve read, this one I think is one of the better ones. It’s always seemed to be a contradiction in terms to me. I’ve never been a big fan of occult detective fiction. First published in John Silence, Physician Extraordinary (Nash, UK, 1908).

#Review of the hider by loren estleman movie

Overall, the movie leaves the viewer with the distinct impression that at another time, with another director, Welles really could have thrived and shined as the legendary fictional pirate cook.ĪLGERNON BLACKWOOD “The Camp of the Dog.” Reprinted in The Complete John Silence Stories, edited by S. Jim’s sense of wonder and excitement is, at the end of the day, what propels this somewhat tired affair. Young actor Kim Burfield, who portrays Jim Hawkins, is somewhat more of a presence, portraying the narrator/protagonist with wide- eyed charm and glee. Even Walter Slezak, who ordinarily is a standout actor, falls somewhat flat – pun intended, if you’ve seen the movie – as Squire Trelawney. Welles, whose pirate voice may or may not have been dubbed by another actor, grunts and slurs his way through this plodding affair. Produced by Harry Alan Towers, this somewhat genial, but ultimately unsatisfying adventure yarn based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel features the legendary Welles as Long John Silver.

It’s probably one of Orson Welles’ least known films and it’s most certainty that way for a reason. I had somewhat high hopes for Treasure Island, but I probably should have known better. Directors: Andrea Bianchi (as Andrew White), John Hough (English language version), Antonio Margheriti. Orson Welles, Kim Burfield, Lionel Stander, Walter Slezak, Ángel del Pozo, Rik Battaglia.