The Monkey's Paw (1948) -
As this film began there was a lot of character establishment and considering how short the film was that certainly made it drag before anything really happened, almost right before the end.
I actually thought that 'The Simpson's' (1987-) version was much better, more succinct and interesting. It probably had a higher budget too, because this one didn't exactly scream A-list stars and high production values.
There were some obvious plot holes in the story too - Tom entered a Motorcycle Race on the first day he owned the bike and he received the prize money, despite skidding out of the race to name but two of them.
I would imagine that the scares were tame even by the standards of 1948 and I could easily have watched this with a small child without them being frightened even slightly. That's if they could be bothered with it.
I was glad of my TV's subtitles for the Irish character of Seamus Kelly (Michael Martin Harvey), because he played the accent so thickly at times, but that's all I could really say about the cast.
It was a cautionary tale of "Careful What You Wish For", because everything comes at a cost and it was a vehicle that has been used many times since and not just in cartoons.
If you want the gist of the story watch 'The Simpson's' and be entertained, but if you only want something for a bit of background noise, put this one on as there was far less to concentrate on, but personally I would avoid it.
440.11/1000.
As this film began there was a lot of character establishment and considering how short the film was that certainly made it drag before anything really happened, almost right before the end.
I actually thought that 'The Simpson's' (1987-) version was much better, more succinct and interesting. It probably had a higher budget too, because this one didn't exactly scream A-list stars and high production values.
There were some obvious plot holes in the story too - Tom entered a Motorcycle Race on the first day he owned the bike and he received the prize money, despite skidding out of the race to name but two of them.
I would imagine that the scares were tame even by the standards of 1948 and I could easily have watched this with a small child without them being frightened even slightly. That's if they could be bothered with it.
I was glad of my TV's subtitles for the Irish character of Seamus Kelly (Michael Martin Harvey), because he played the accent so thickly at times, but that's all I could really say about the cast.
It was a cautionary tale of "Careful What You Wish For", because everything comes at a cost and it was a vehicle that has been used many times since and not just in cartoons.
If you want the gist of the story watch 'The Simpson's' and be entertained, but if you only want something for a bit of background noise, put this one on as there was far less to concentrate on, but personally I would avoid it.
440.11/1000.