Vicky Barton (Jean Simmons) and her brother Johnny (David Tomlinson) arrive in Paris on the eve of the 1889 World’s Fair. They’re traveling through, but Vicky, excited about her first trip to Paris, convinces Johnny to spend the next day in the city and take her to the fair. That night, the siblings dine in Montmartre and see a show at the Moulin Rouge.

“I’m having so much fun! I hope I don’t disappear.”

The next morning, Vicky waits for her brother to pick her up for breakfast. When he’s late, Vicky visits the hotel desk to get Johnny’s room key and check on him. Not only do they not have his key, but the proprietor tells Vicky no such room exists and Johnny was never there.

“I’m looking for my oh hello.”

Frantic, Vicky searches for Johnny and tries desperately to prove he was with her. The more she insists her story is true, the more people think she’s crazy. With no money, no friends, and no proof, how will Vicky find her brother?

So Long at the Fair follows the main ideas originated in Anselma Heine’s story “Die Erscheinung” (“The Apparition”), in the Richard Oswald-directed silent anthology film Eerie Tales (1919). The concept appears again in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes in 1938. Based on Ethel Lina White’s 1936 story, “The Wheel Spins”, The Lady Vanishes adds Fascists and spies to the already tense tale of a young woman who meets the elderly Miss Froy (Dame May Whitty) on a train and then can’t prove she was ever there. In that film, Iris Henderson (Margaret Lockwood) finally convinces Gilbert (Michael Redgrave) she’s not a nut and the two fight fear, indifference, and bad guys to find their friend. Hitchcock recycled the story again for his Alfred Hitchcock Presents television series in 1955 in the episode Into Thin Air starring his daughter Patricia. That show involves a daughter searching for her missing mother and gives Alexander Woollcott story credit. The stories mostly feature young women in the lead roles who spend the majority of the stories trying to prove to pretty much everyone that they’re not insane and “Oh, could you please look for my brother/friend/mom?”

“Have you met Dad?”

So Long at the Fair differs from the other manifestations of this idea in its presentation. The Jean Simmons version was a Gainsborough Pictures production which means lavish sets, period costumes, and pearl-clutching drama. Costume drama is not usually my favorite film genre, but So Long at the Fair is a good film with some genuinely tense moments. That probably has a lot to do with the cast and director.

This means no vampires.

Jean Simmons carries the film well. She’s a sweet, innocent girl in peril, but she’s smart and strong enough to stand up for herself and find her brother. She could easily have gone all limp and useless, but the story and the actress are stronger and that makes it more fun to watch. Along with Simmons, the cast includes a few other up-and-coming British actors who acquit themselves well and look lovely too. Honor Blackman has a small part as does the wonderful Andre Morel and the gorgeous Dirk Bogarde. Bogarde has a nice supporting role as a well-heeled artist living in Paris who helps Simmons in her brother quest. Bogarde is young and handsome and terrifically appealing in this film. He and Simmons look good together. Did I mention Dirk Bogarde is incredibly attractive? Oh all right. I’ll stop. He is though.

See?

Another reason So Long at the Fair works as more than a vehicle for young stars is the direction by the talented Terence Fisher. Fisher directed a boatload of noir, thriller, and horror films for Hammer Film Productions from the 1950s through the 1970s and his ability in those genres transforms So Long at the Fair from the usual Gainsborough melodrama to a more thrilling mystery and makes the heroine’s situation that much more frightening.

When in doubt, ask some nuns.

Unlike Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965) and other Gaslight-type films, we know Vicky’s brother exists. We’ve seen him. The question is will Vicky ever see him again?

I wrote this piece for the British Invaders Blogathon presented by Terence Towles Canote and his site A Shroud of Thoughts

Thanks for the inspiration, Terence!

Things look rocky in the small German village of Vandorf.  A slew of mysterious deaths in the woods surrounding Castle Borski have the villagers scared and the police baffled.

It looks friendly enough.

When they discover a young woman dead in the woods and her fiancé conveniently hanging from a nearby tree, authorities have their scapegoat.  It beats the locals blaming Megaera (Medusa’s sister), after all.  Unsatisfied with the law’s conclusions, the young man’s father, Professor Jules Heitz (Michael Goodliffe) questions local physician, Dr. Namaroff (Peter Cushing).  Namaroff won’t let Heitz near the body of the young girl and Heitz knows something’s up.  Later, in the woods near the empty castle, he discovers what.  It doesn’t go well.

“Man, am I stoned.”

Heitz’s son, Paul (Richard Pasco) arrives in Vandorf to bury his father and brother and investigate their deaths.  Paul will have to contend with local resistance including Dr. Namaroff and his lovely nurse, Carla Hoffman (Barbara Shelley), and some pesky mythological creatures, if he wants the truth.

“Do you think he knows I switched his coffee to decaf?”

Paul is sure the simple local folk have simply got the wrong end of the stick because there can’t possibly be a snake-haired killer lurking around an abandoned fortress.  I mean, it’s 1910!  Oh Paul, when will you ever learn?  Paul’s father left detailed notes on all he saw before fully Gorgonizing.  Is that like Martinizing?  Now his son knows how it feels to turn to stone years before ELO would sing about it.

“Don’t look at me, man.”

Anyway, Paul manages to get himself partially Gorgonized which leaves him a bit stiff and makes his hair go prematurely gray.  Carla digs the salt and pepper look and the two hit it off.  Then they all ride off into the sunset.  Not so fast, bub!  Things happen and Paul wants answers and Paul’s teacher, Professor Meister (Christopher Lee!) shows up and hassles the constabulary, but we still don’t know who’s killing everyone.

“I’m here now.  You can all relax.”

Will Paul and Carla pair off?  Will Dr. Namaroff tell Paul the truth…ever?  Will the real Gorgon please stand up?

Hammer Film stalwart Terence Fisher (Horror of Dracula) directs THE GORGON as a horror/mystery.  He keeps the audience guessing and shows his creature sparingly.  Sydney Pearson and Ray Caple do a terrific job on Megaera and Fisher teases us with short glimpses of the mythical beast.  James Bernard’s score, played on an early synthesizer, the Novachord, is appropriately spooky and John Gilling’s adaptation is fun.

Tonight on Gorgon wild…

THE GORGON is an entertaining film that blends an ancient myth with a quasi-modern setting.  The actors, all Hammer veterans, are talented and I love anything with Cushing and Lee.