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HOLLYWOOD MORTUARY
Written and Directed by Ron Ford
Produced by Ron Ford, Randal Malone, Paula Pointer-Ford, David Benjamin, Michael Schwibs.
Edited by Jeff LeroyRandal Malone – Pierce Jackson Dawn
Ron Ford – Janos Blasko
Tim Sullivan – Pratt BorokofA few fellow reviewers suggested I see Ron Ford’s black comedy HOLLYWOOD MORTUARY. I think the phrase, “the greatest b-movie ever,” was used in the description. While I don’t think any film could live up to that moniker, this one does come close. It delivers everything from laughs and gore to great filmmaking and storytelling.
The time is the early 1940’s and the U.S. has just entered World War II. Hollywood isn’t interested in making horror pictures anymore, they want to make patriotic war films and personal dramas. This isn’t the greatest news for make-up artist Pierce Jackson Dawn, it’s puts him out of a job. For 15 years Dawn has created make-up for the industries leading stars, Pratt Borokof and Janos Blasko. Now Pratt is retired and Janos is a washed up heroin addict.
Dawn seeks advice from a Voodoo Priestess. Instead of listening to what she has to say, Dawn is more interested in how the Priestess stays so youthful looking. The secret’s in the make-up. The uses an ancient, voodoo secret that keeps keeps the body young, but when applied to dead, the make-up creates zombies.
As fate would have it, Janos overdoses and Pratt has a run in with his gardening shovel. Being in the film industry as long as he has, Dawn knows it is hype that sells movies. What better hype to regain interest in the horror field then to have the genre’s two greatest stars return from the dead and cause a little havok. Not only would the word of mouth create interest, but ticket lines around the block.
Dawn doesn’t count on one thing, the dead don’t like to be pushed around…
As a director, Ford knows the key is to keep things light. If the film were any darker, it wouldn’t have worked as well. When making a comedy as black as this one, you run the risk of distancing your audience. There is a fine line between being dark and offensive and just being mean. Ford knows this and never makes the mistake of crossing that line. He might teeter, but he never crosses. By keeping things lighter in tone, he allows you to sympathize with Dawn. Instead of being driven my madness, Dawn’s actions now stem from desperation and self-preservation.
Of all the films I’ve had the pleasure to review, this is easily the best acted. As Dawn, Randal Malone is simply fantastic. Another actor might have played the part more sinisterly, but Malone finds just the right note, a mixture of prissy elitism and conniving vanity. Instead of being portrayed as a vengeful victim of the Hollywood system, Dawn becomes a man who just wants to bend the rules in his favor and get a break.
Something Ford does to add a level of credibility to the film, he inserts interviews with former movie stars of the time such as Anita Page, as well as interviews with film historians and filmmakers of today like David DeCocteau. The commentary provides different possible motivations on why Dawn did what he did. They don’t allow you to know they man any better, they just reemphasis that nobody really knew the man at all.
The highlights of the film are the two once great rival stars Blasko and Bofokof played Ford and Tim Sullivan respectively. They steal every scene they are in. Blasko does what he can to fine work and support his habit, while Sullivan just wants to be left alone. Both just want to be remembered as men who contributed something worthwhile to the industry.
Ford seems to be a man of many talents, he writes, directs, and acts. Not every filmmaker has the talent to be able to work both in front of and behind the camera. Ford does. See for yourself. Do yourself a favor and pick up HOLLYWOOD MORTUARY.