It! (1966)

Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

The greatest movie ever made..!

Let's be realistic.

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Disturbed assistant curator McDowall and his boss Ernest Clark discover an unscathed stone statue while surveying almost complete fire destruction of one of their warehouses. Clark is killed while McDowell is running an errand and he suspects the statue of foul play. McDowell is frustrated that he is passed over for the promotion to the boss's job and that quintessential 60's beauty Jill Haworth doesn't return his affections. Following a death in the museum involving the statue, the decision is made to sell it to a New York museum. Enter Jim Perkins, an expert from the New York museum to assess the authenticity of the statue. He and Haworth are attracted and he believes the statue is genuine. McDowell investigates the statue himself and discovers the secrets to its power and how to control it. He uses it destructively to address his frustrations and then becomes conflicted about his use of it. This is a well-done and acted British production. As the story progresses, it gets a little silly. Perkins would not have been my first choice for his role as the chemistry between he and Haworth isn't believable. This is still recommended for those who enjoy a fairly well-made horror flick.

It! is set during the 60's in London where a large fire has destroyed a warehouse, museum curator Harold Clark (Ernest Clark) is called to see if he can salvage anything so he & his assistant Arthur Pimm (Roddy McDowall) take a look through the burnt out ruins. Amazingly the only think worth saving is a seemingly perfectly preserved sixteenth century Czech carving of a large man, Grove mysteriously dies in the ruins & the statue is taken back to the museum where it is put on display. Then an electrician also dies near the statue as it suddenly falls on top of him, Pimm is sure that the statue has something to do with the death's & when American expert Jim Perkins (Paul Maxwell) says he thinks it's an authentic Golem his suspicions are confirmed. Pimm discovers the secret behind bringing the Golem to life in order to do his bidding but the power soon goes to Pimm's head...This American British co-production was written, produced & directed by Herbert J. Leder & is a rather odd little film that I imagine many won't have even heard of let alone seen. I am not quite sure what the makers of It! were thinking but the overall message seems to be that absolute power corrupts although in the case of Pimm who just happens to stumble on an infinitely powerful Golem he's more than a bit mad to start with as he steals jewels from his museum to give to his dead mummified mother whom he keeps at home. Yeah, there's a definite Norman Bates from Psycho (196) vibe going on here even to the extent Pimm steals his mothers corpse back at the end. The story starts off alright with this living Golem thing but then is looses it's way as Pimm who finds a way to control the Golem uses it's infinite power to try & impress a bit of skirt, yeah sure the blonde chick is sort of cute but she's just a bird & if I had infinite power in my grasp I can think of better ways to use it other than to try & get inside some girls panties. At almost 100 minutes it's a bit too long with a laughable ending in which this slow lumbering Golem manages to keep the entire British army out of a fenced castle where Pimm is holded up, can't they just go round the back or something? So while It! has a message & is watchable for what it is it's a little bit too odd to appeal to the masses & a really prolonged silly climax spoils a fairly decent build-up.It! does look very much like a Hammer horror production from the period with lavish sets, costumes & nice colour photography & the Golem itself does look quite imposing & creepy at times to start with but once it comes alive & starts walking around it looks a lot sillier. There's no real violence or gore & little actual horror either as the film focuses on it's moral message about the corrupting influence of power. There's a poor sequence trying to show the destruction of Hammersmith bridge & the dropping of a nuclear warhead which date the film badly & are also sloppily edited. At one point Pimm is given a 3 pound a week rise which at first I thought was rather low but then realised that I have never even had a pay-rise that much even more than forty years after this was made.Filmed in the UK this has nice enough production values although it's maybe not quite as good as the best hammer films from the period. The late veteran actor Roddy McDowall gives an suitably unbalanced performance while Jill Hayworth ably provides the glamour.It! is a strange film that is hard to categorise & as such maybe it's worth a watch if your after something a bit different but the ridiculous climax & an overall lack of something stops It! from being a forgotten gem, more of a misplaced piece of costume jewellery.

Anyone who has every followed the rich full and popular life of actor Roddy McDowall, knows and understands that here was a very underrated individual. Praised by the high and mighty for his unflagging integrity as well as his immeasurable friendship, he played many parts, but was seldom seen as a heavy. This film is called " IT " and has him playing Arthur Pimm, a museum curator who discovers a strange and powerful statue. It's original intentions were benign at first, the statue does whatever he is ordered to do. Eventually however it's limitless abilities leads to self-aggrandizement and disaster. From petty theft to ultimate murder, Pimm eventually realizes that such power in the hands of even the most innocent individual can and does lead to corruption. Despite becoming delusional and diabolical, his character is seen as pathetic and obsessively two dimensional, yet Roddy makes him dependent and sympathetic. The film is not considered among McDowall's best, indeed it is still a milestone for his many fans. Much time has elapsed and today stands as a cult Classic. Easily recommended to all. ****

**** SPOILERS **** This seems to have been written for a male teenage audience . The anti-hero Arthur Pimm comes across as a figure all alienated 17 year old lads will be able to relate to . He works for a completely unlikeable boss and finds the girl of his dreams is having it off with an older more sophisticated man . This is something I think we - And when I saw " we " I mean any male who`s ever been 17 - can all relate to that no matter what we don`t get what we deserve in life , we get considerably less than we deserve , especially where career and girls are involved , and we would just love if we came across a golem to control . Yeah that`d be brilliant send the golem out to waste anyone we didn`t like especially boys who were having sex with girls we fancied , man that`d be brilliant . Hey if I had one wish I`d wish for a golem in my christmas stocking . I think this feeling is called " teenage angst " or " male grief " but director/screenwriter Herbert J Leder puts a serious fly in the ointment by making Arthur Pimm a sort of British Norman Bates and I mean that literaly , Arthur`s mother is a decomposed corpse sitting in a rocking chair ! Yep he`s one hundred per cent whacko which means he becomes too over the top to relate to , and seeing as there`s so much teen angst and violent petulence on display Leder makes a mistake in casting Roddy McDowall as Pimm . McDowall is best known for his good guy roles and doesn`t make a very convincing sociopath especially when he was aged 38 when this was made , logically speaking the character of Pimm should be in his early 20s at the most . In other words Herbert J Leder seems to have misunderstood his audience There`s other flaws to the film . Despite the chilling image of the golem standing inside the burned out warehouse - A rather bleak one too I might add - IT! isn`t a very scary film and in many ways it`s just plain daft as we see the golem walking about under the command of Arthur Pimm