Crystal Balls in Film 5

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Crystal Balls! Movie Magic! Portentious and puzzling!

All of the material you have access to here -- the instructive booklets, the nostalgic postcards, the boldly graphic ephemera, and all of the historical information researched and shared from the mind of the woman who is making it all happen -- can easily fit into one 8 x 10 foot room in an old Victorian farmhouse, but you would never see it without the investment of the time it takes to produce such a site and the caloric input such a site requires in the form of food for the writer, graphic designer, and database manager, as well as the US currency needed to pay for the computers, software applications, scanners, electricity, and internet connectivity that bring it out of that little room and into the world.

So, as you can see, this site is the darling of many, and it is growing at a rapid rate ... but although it is "free," there also is a cost. The financial support of my Patreon subscribers -- my Patrons -- underwrites this cost.

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Crystal Balls in Film, Part Five

Well, i thought last week would be the conclusion of the "Crystal Balls in Film" series, but that turned out to be a premature prediction. We are back again, with yet MORE of these fine, funny, fascinating, fantastic, and freakish films that present crystallomancy in various lights, from amusing to outrageous and from occult to outré..

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  1916: "The Mysteries of Myra," starring Jean Sothern as Myra Maynard and Howard Estabrook as Dr. Payson Alden. in Episode 2 "The Poisoned Flower," Southern gives the double-thumbs-up sign that identifies members of The Black Order as she and Estabrook stare into the ominous orb.
  Black and white still.
  Genre: Horror.

• 

  1917: "Cleopatra," starring Theda Bara in the title role, Fritz Leiber Sr. as Julius Caesar, and Thurston Hall as Mark Antony. Theda Bara caresses her crystal, which is pretty obviously a light-weight blown glass sphere and not a priceless earth-born gem.
  Black and white still.
  Genre: Drama.

I am still obsessing over "The Mysteries of Myra," the mostly-missing 1916 horror fantasy chapter play by the famous occultist and Spiritualist Hereward Carrington. Another still has come to light, and i now have a list of all the chapters, one of which was never filmed and another of which was filmed by discarded by William Randolph Heart, whose motion picture company funded this eccentric project. After the chapters had covered every metaphysical topic from hypnotism and fairies to suicide and kidnapping, it seems that the "Voodoo" chapter was just too, too much for him to release. It may be that i will just have to bite the bullet and purchase both the book about this movie and the DVD tat compiles all of the remaining footage and working materials. It is not cheap. The Serial Squadron, who put this over-the-top project together represent the best of fandom -- but the cost is ... well, it's a luxury. Maybe next month ...

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  1932: "Sinister Hands," starring Jack Mulhall, Phyllis Barrington, Crauford Kent, with Mischa Auer as the Indian Swami Yomurda, who, of course, speaks with a Russo-Yiddishe accent, because ... you know, Mikhail Semyonovich Ounkovsky. I love this movie, and i love Mischa Auer.
  Black and white still.
  Genre: Mystery.

• 

  1933: "Fog," starring Donald Cook and Mary Brian, and featuring Helen Freeman as Madame Alva. A series of murders are committed in swift succession on board a liner crossing the Atlantic in a dense fog, and many of the passengers come under suspicion before the actual killer is bought to justice.
  Black and white still.
  Genre: Mystery.

The more of these vintage movie stills, lobby cards, and posters i see, the more of a critic of the prop departments of various studios i become. I can spot a real crystal, whether quartz (unlikely) or solid glass, and easily tell it from a hollow blown-glass sphere. I can tell an upside-down goldfish bowl painted milky-white inside and lit up by a lamp from a Murano glass sphere with swirls of encased air bubbles. It always looks a little tacky to see a character emoting over a hollow sphere. I want my crystal balls to have some weight to them, some gravitas.

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  1933: "Sucker Money," starring Mischa Auer and Mae Busch. {CAPTION}
  Black and white still.
  Genre: Drama.

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  1933: "Sucker Money," starring Mischa Auer and Mae Busch. {CAPTION}
  Colourized Alpha Video box.
  Genre: Drama.

I am also becoming aware of the wonders — and the failings — of various costume and set design departments at major, minor, and independent film studios. A good swami outfit did not require a big budget back then. Asian brocades, Turkish rugs, and few feathers worked wonders. Nylon satin did not. What is most interesting is that the "exotic" costumes, fabrics, furnishings, and decor of the silent, pr-Code, and pre-War period were so much more authentic-looking than the shiny satin of more recent years. Examining a still from even a cheap little production like "Rough House Rosie," starring Clara Bow, reveals depths of textile, metal craft, and woodworking history that are virtually archival in their detail.

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  1939: "The Wizard of Oz," starring Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton and a cast of thousands. Once recovered from the discard pile in the prop house maintained by its creator, Kenneth Strickfaden, the Wicked Witch's 25-inch orb was outfitted with a stand that replicated the lost original, and a new working projector was installed inside it in 2018.
  Genre: Fantasy.

TEXT

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  Undated, 1930s: Mae West with a crystal ball. If this is from a film, we'd like to know the title. Otherwise, we will simply tag it as a famous actress in a random publicity still.
  Black and white publicity photo.

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  Undated, 1940s: Bandleader and comedian Ozzie Nelson dressed as a swami-style fortune teller. If this is from a film, we'd like to know the title. Otherwise, we will simply tag it as a famous acor in a random publicity still.
  Black and white publicity photo.

TEXT

• 

  1942: "The Falcon Takes Over," starring George Sanders, Lynn Bari, James Gleason, and featuring Turhan Bey as the phony psychic Jules Amthor. The Falcon and reporter Ann Riordan try to solve a string of murders after an ex-wrestler, released from jail, goes looking for his girl friend. The story is based on the Raymond Chandler detective mystery "Farewell, My Lovely," which was also made into a film under its true title. Bey would again portray a crystal gazer, sans turban, in "The Amazing Mr. X" in 1948.
  Black and white still.
  Genre: Detective, Crime, Drama.

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  1950: "Bunco Squad," starring Robert Sterling and Jean Dixon. {CAPTION}
  Black and white still.
  Genre: Film Noir.

TEXT

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  1950: "Bunco Squad," starring Robert Sterling and Jean Dixon. {CAPTION}
  Black and white still.
  Genre: Film Noir.

• 

  1950: "Bunco Squad," starring Robert Sterling and Jean Dixon. {CAPTION}
  Colour lobby card.
  Genre: Film Noir.

TEXT

• 

  1951: "Ghost Chasers," starring Huntz Hall, Billy Benedict, and David Gorcey (The Bowery Boys). {CAPTION}
  Colour lobby card.
  Genre: Comedy.

• 

  1958: "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad," starring Kerwin Mathews as Sinbad and Torin Thatcher as Sokurah the Magician. {CAPTION}
  Colour movie still.
  Genre: Fantasy.

TEXT

• 

  1960: "The Wizard of Baghdad," starring Dick Shawn as Genii-Ali Mahmud. {CAPTION}
  Colour movie poster.
  Genre: Comedy.

• 

  1960: "The Wizard of Baghdad," starring Dick Shawn as Genii-Ali Mahmud. {CAPTION}
  Colour movie poster.
  Genre: Comedy.

TEXT

• 

  1961: "The Wizard of Baghdad" starring Dick Shawn as Genii-Ali Mahmud. {CAPTION}
  Colour publicity still.
  Genre: Comedy.

• 

  1960: "The Wizard of Baghdad," starring Dick Shawn as Genii-Ali Mahmud and John Van Dreelen as Sultan Jullnar. {CAPTION}
  Black and white still.
  Genre: Comedy.

TEXT

• 

  2003: "Return of the King (Lord of the Rings)," starring Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn. {CAPTION}
  Black and white still.
  Genre: Fantasy.

• 

  2003: "Return of the King (Lord of the Rings)," starring Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn. {CAPTION}
  Colour movie still.
  Genre: Fantasy.

TEXT

• 

  2004: "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," featuring Sitara Shah as Parvati Patil and Afshan Azad as Padma Patil. {CAPTION}
  Colour movie still.
  Genre: Fantasy.

• 

  2004: "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," starring Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter and Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley. {CAPTION}
  Colour movie still.
  Genre: Fantasy.

Can you help by supplying a screen shot of a crystal ball scene in any of these movies?

• 1918: "Betta, the Gipsy"
  • In Wales, a gypsy queen changes her sister's dead baby for one by the same father. The child grows up to marry her daughter.
  • Director: Charles Raymond | Stars: Marga Rubia Levy, Malvina Longfellow, George Foley, Edward Combermere

• 1922: "Haxan," a.k.a. "Witchcraft Through the Ages"
  • Fictionalized documentary showing the evolution of witchcraft, from its pagan roots to its confusion with hysteria in Eastern Europe.
  • Director: Benjamin Christensen | Stars: Benjamin Christensen, Elisabeth Christensen, Maren Pedersen, Clara Pontoppidan

• 1924: "The Thief of Bagdad"
  • A recalcitrant thief vies with a duplicitous Mongol ruler for the hand of a beautiful princess.
  • Director: Raoul Walsh | Stars: Douglas Fairbanks, Julanne Johnston, Snitz Edwards, Charles Belcher

• 1930: "Honeymoon Zeppelin"
  • A jealous fiancee returns her engagement ring and flies off with another man on a blimp bound for Havana. On the voyage, his rival proposes, so the jilted fiance rushes to intercept the zeppelin by seaplane.
  • Director: Mack Sennett | Stars: Nick Stuart, Marjorie Beebe, Daphne Pollard, Edward Earle

• 1932: "Sinister Hands" — Swami Yomurda (Mischa Auer)
  • During a séance at an elderly millionaire's house, the millionaire is murdered and detectives realize that everyone who was at the séance had a motive for killing the man.
  • Director: Armand Schaefer | Stars: Jack Mulhall, Phyllis Barrington, Crauford Kent

• 1934: "The Moonstone" — Yandoo (John Davidson)
  • A valuable gem from India is stolen in an old dark mansion and it is up to Scotland Yard to find out who took it.
  • Director: Reginald Barker | Stars: David Manners, Phyllis Barry, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Jameson Thomas

• 1937: High Flyers
  • Two men running a carnival airplane ride are hired to fly to retrieve what they think are photos for a reporter; actually, they are retrieving stolen diamonds.
  • Director: Edward F. Cline | Stars: Bert Wheeler, Robert Woolsey, Lupe Velez, Marjorie Lord

• 1939: "A Star is Shorn"
  • Bumbling talent agent Danny Webb tries to help a struggling actress get work.
  • Director: Del Lord | Stars: Danny Webb, Mary Treen, Ethelreda Leopold, Eugene Anderson Jr.

• 1941: "Playmates"
  • Lulu Monahan, the press agent for John Barrymore, is attempting to get a sponsor for a radio program.
  • Director: David Butler | Stars: Kay Kyser, John Barrymore, Lupe Velez, Ginny Simms

• 1942: "The Falcon Takes Over"
  • The Falcon and reporter Ann Riordan try to solve a string of murders after an ex-wrestler, released from jail, goes looking for his girl friend.
  • Director: Irving Reis | Stars: George Sanders, Lynn Bari, James Gleason, Allen Jenkins

• 1943: "No News Is Good News"
  • Robert Benchley ("The Answer Man") answers questions sent in by people.
  • Director: Will Jason | Stars: Robert Benchley, John B. Kennedy, Lon Poff

• 1946: "Aladin"
  • A Filipino adaptation of Aladdin and the Magic Lamp.
  • Director: Vicente Salumbides | Stars: Norma Blancaflor, Jaime de la Rosa, Naty Bernardo, Salvador Zaragoza

• 1947: "Le tempestaire"
  • In a village in Brittany, a worried young maid asks for help from a mysterious old man and his magical crystal ball in order to calm down the rough seas.
  • Director: Jean Epstein

• 1955: "Black Cats and Broomsticks"
  • An RKO-Pathe Screenliner short subject. Superstitions are examined in the context of mid-20th century America. Walking under ladders, spilt salt, stepping on cracks, haunted houses, voodoo dolls, and such illustrate the widespread belief in the supernatural.
  • Director: Larry O'Reilly | Star: Peter Roberts

• 1955: "A Time to Kill"
  • In the grounds of a dark, deserted mansion, a blackmailer collects money from his victim.
  • Director: Larry O'Reilly | Star: Peter Roberts

• 1957: "The End of the Fortune-Teller" ("Konec Jasnovidce")
  • Private clairvoyant Mathias Scibolini carries out his work with honesty and to the full satisfaction of his clients.
  • Directors: Ján Rohác, Vladimír Svitácek | Stars: Milos Kopecký, Frantisek Filipovský, Jirina Bohdalová, Vladimír Mensík

See Also

Lovely Ladies and Their Little Balls

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catherine yronwode
curator, historian, and docent
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Special thanks to my dear husband and creative partner nagasiva yronwode for illustrations, scans, and clean-ups.

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