Scenes from the Morgue: Retro-Pulp Movie Ads

Random Drive-In Mash-Up :: The Ultimate in Diabolism!

2012-01-24T01:56:00.005-06:00

(July, 1976)

And with that, I'm off to my own all night horrorthon. That's right, time to head to Chicago for another bout with B-Fest -- 24 straight hours of fractured flickers. Thus, if I survive Ted V. Mikels, Don Dohler and Andy Milligan all in one sitting, updates will resume sometime in February. Via con queso, my friends.

A True Life Story You Will Never Forget -- See For Yourself! :: Charles B. Pierce's The Legend fo Boggy Creek (1972)

2012-01-19T03:24:00.010-06:00

(July, 1973)

Other Points of Interest:

Full film review at 3B Theater.

Poster campaign at the Archives.

The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972) P&L Productions :: Howco International Pictures / EP: L.W. Ledwell / P: Charles B. Pierce / AP: Earl E. Smith / D: Charles B. Pierce / W: Earl E. Smith / C: Charles B. Pierce / E: Tom Boutross / M: Jaime Mendoza-Nava / S: Vern Stierman, Chuck Pierce Jr., William Stumpp, Willie E. Smith, John P. Hixon, Louise Searcy

Apparently, I'm a Pirate -- and a Criminal in Some Circles...

2012-01-18T13:56:00.002-06:00

FYI.

The Good, The Bad, and The Allosaurus!

2012-01-15T01:29:00.010-06:00

(December, 1969)

Other Points of Interest:

Full film review of The Valley of Gwangi at 3B Theater.

Poster campaign for The Valley of Gwangi at the Archive.

The Valley of Gwangi (1969) Morningside Productions :: Warner Brothers/Seven Arts / P: Charles H. Schneer / AP: Ray Harryhausen / D: James O'Connolly / W: William Bast / C: Erwin Hillier / E: Henry Richardson / M: Jerome Moross / S: James Franciscus, Gila Golan, Richard Carlson, Laurence Naismith, Gustavo Rojo, Freda Jackson, Dennis Kilbane, Mario De Barros, Curtis Arden

Beware the Eyes that Paralyze!

2012-01-13T15:08:00.005-06:00

(April, 1964)

Hail and Happy Birthday to the King! :: You'll Love Loving Elvis Presley in Loving You (1957)

2012-01-08T02:25:00.011-06:00

(August, 1957)

Random Drive-In Mash-Up :: The Original A-Team!

2012-01-05T03:35:00.006-06:00

(July, 1967)

Celebrating the New Year 'til the Wee Hours of the Morning!

2012-01-01T00:50:00.008-06:00

(December, 1962)

The best I could do with the fine print:

And a very Happy New Year -- the Year of the Apocalypse, apparently -- to one and all from Scenes from the Morgue. Be sure to click and enlarge to get the full scope of this marathon bash. Also, stand by for a big earth-shaking announcement come next weekend.

A Big Chiller-Diller Double Biller!

2011-12-30T03:07:00.006-06:00

(March, 1958)

Other Points of Interest:

Full film review of The Monolith Monsters at 3B Theater.

Poster campaign for The Monolith Monsters.

The Monolith Monsters (1957) Universal International Pictures / P: Howard Christie / D: John Sherwood / W: Jack Arnold, Norman Jolley, Robert Fresco / C: Ellis W. Carter / E: Patrick McCormack / M: Irving Gertz, Henry Mancini, Herman Stein / S: Grant Williams, Lola Albright, Les Tremayne, Trevor Bardette, Phil Harvey, Linda Scheley

Love Slaves of the Amazon (1957) Jewel Productions :: Universal International / P: Curt Siodmak / AP: Terry O. Morse / D: Curt Siodmak / W: Curt Siodmak / C: Mario Pagés / E: Oswald Hafenrichter, Terry O. Morse / M: Irving Gertz, Henry Mancini, Herman Stein / S: Don Taylor, Gianna Segale, Eduardo Ciannelli, Harvey Chalk

Your Blood Will Turn Ice Cold -- If You Can Take It!

2011-12-28T04:29:00.004-06:00

(October, 1958)

Other Points of Interest:

Full review of It Conquered the World at 3B Theater.

The poster campaign for It Conquered the World.

The poster campaign for The She-Creature.

It Conquered the World (1956) Sunset Productions :: American International Pictures / EP: James H. Nicholson, Samuel Z. Arkoff / P: Roger Corman / D: Roger Corman / W: Lou Rusoff, Charles B. Griffith / C: Fred E. West / E: Charles Gross / M: Ronald Stein / S: Peter Graves, Lee Van Cleef, Beverly Garland, Sally Fraser, Russ Bender, Dick Miller, Jonathan Haze

The She-Creature (1956) Golden State Productions :: American International / EP: Samuel Z. Arkoff / P: Alex Gordon / AP: Israel Berman / D: Edward L. Cahn / W: Lou Rusoff / C: Frederick E. West / E: Ronald Sinclair / M: Ronald Stein / S: Marla English, Chester Morris, Tom Conway, Cathy Downs, Lance Fuller

Spending Christmas South of the Border with K. Gordon Murray Part II :: Santa Claus & His Helpers (1964)

2011-12-25T01:29:00.008-06:00

(November, 1964)

After the box-office success of his completely demented Mexican matinee-only import, Santa Claus -- where Rene Cardona apparently read a book about Salvador Dali, ate some bad Figgy Pudding, and then downed nine pints of Mad Dog before hammering out a script, K. Gordon Murray quickly commissioned three more features to be released with several other imported Fairy Tales. Santa Claus and His Helpers was the first. Here, to make them mesh better, Murray added his own versions of Stinky Skunk and the Big Bad Wolf from the lavish Little Red Riding Hood series in an attempt at some form of continuity with the second feature, The Queen's Swordsman.

Horror! And Horror Again! American Releasing Corp's First Thunder!

2011-12-21T03:25:00.008-06:00

(September, 1957)

Brutes! Savages! The Great Congo Chainsaw Massacre! :: Jack Cardiff's Dark of the Sun (1968)

2011-12-18T01:57:00.012-06:00

(August, 1968)

Twin Rock'n Riot Show at the Grand!

2011-12-15T17:19:00.003-06:00

(September, 1958)

Other Points of Interest:

The Poster campaign for Dragstrip Riot.
The Poster campaign for Cool and the Crazy.

Dragstrip Riot (1958) Transworld Productions :: American International / EP: Jonathan Daniels, Victor Purcell / P: O’Dale Ireland / AP: Basil Bradbury / D: David Bradley / W: George Hodgins / C: Gil Warrenton / E: John A. Bushelman / S: Yvonne Lime, Gary Clarke, Connie Stevens, Bob Turnbull, Fay Wray

Cool and the Crazy (1958) Imperial Productions Inc. :: American International / P: Elmer C. Rhoden Jr. / D: William Witney / W: Richard C. Sarafian / C: Harry Birch / E: Helene Turner / S: Scott Marlowe, Richard Bakalyan, Gigi Perreau, Dickie Jones, Robert Hadden

Back from the Grave to Revenge His Legalized Murder! Michael Curtiz's The Walking Dead (1936)

2011-12-10T21:07:00.005-06:00

(April, 1936)

No (April) Fooling! Two New Spine-Tingling Shockers in Midnight Horror Show!

2011-12-08T13:44:00.008-06:00

(March, 1955)

Hear the Shoe? Fear the Shoe. The Man With One RED Shoe, That Is...

2011-12-02T22:17:00.005-06:00

(December, 1964)

Boob Tube'n :: Episode 20 :: Last Post Blow Out!

2011-11-29T14:17:00.013-06:00

(October, 1962)

(January, 1979)

(September, 1965)

(October, 1970)

(September, 1964)

(May, 1980)

(September, 1970)

(September, 1979)

(September, 1973)

(October, 1980)

(September, 1974)

Boob Tube'n :: Episode 19 :: The Devil and Arthur Fonzarelli.

2011-11-27T13:10:00.007-06:00

(October, 1979)

(September, 1962)

(September, 1976)

(September, 1970)

Boob Tube'n :: Episode 18 :: Get Your Gyps on Route 66.

2011-11-26T14:26:00.006-06:00

(October, 1960)

(July, 1980)

(September, 1965)

(October, 1980)

(October, 1973)

Boob Tube'n :: Episode 17 :: Happy Turkey Day All!

2011-11-25T13:56:00.003-06:00

(November, 1962)

Boob Tube'n :: Episode 16 :: The Post that Almost Wasn't.

2011-11-22T19:48:00.007-06:00

(September, 1979)

(October, 1980)

(October, 1979)

(October, 1980)

(October, 1973)

Boob Tube'n :: Episode 15 :: Tonight, We Gotta a Really Big Shoe.

2011-11-21T16:13:00.008-06:00

(September, 1964)

(February, 1981)

(October, 1963)

(August, 1978)

(October, 1973)

Boob Tube'n :: Episode 14 :: Ripped from Yesterday's Headlines Today!

2011-11-19T14:57:00.005-06:00

(October, 1973)

(April, 1979)

(September, 1964)

(September, 1981)

Boob Tube'n :: Episode 13 :: Spooky Coincidences.

2011-11-18T14:08:00.006-06:00

(May, 1980)

Honest. I actually planned to post this ad today weeks ago.
And for those of you who haven't heard the news...

Boob Tube'n :: Episode 12 :: RAWHIDE!

2011-11-17T14:02:00.006-06:00

(October, 1952)

(January, 1979)

(September, 1965)

(October, 1981)

Boob Tube'n :: Episode 11 :: Just Sit Right Back and You'll Hear a Tale...

2011-11-15T13:53:00.007-06:00

(September, 1973)

(October, 1978)

(September, 1981)

(September, 1965)

(April, 1980)

Boob Tube'n :: Episode 10 :: Still the One.

2011-11-14T14:19:00.006-06:00

(September, 1979)

(June, 1980)

(September, 1977)

Boob Tube'n :: Episode 9 :: And Where Were You the Night J.R. Got Shot?

2011-11-13T13:32:00.014-06:00

(October, 1980)

(And just look who made the front page.)

(November, 1980)

Okay, folks, since I have no idea how to disable Blogger's new view image pop up window, which doesn't allow you to zoom in, at all, for frak's sake, and since the view original button doesn't seem to appear when you click on images in Explorer, you're best viewing option is to just right click on any of the images and select view in new window or tab. Sorry for the inconvenience, but I don't know what else to do.

Boob Tube'n :: Episode 8 :: There are Those Who Believe that Life Here Began Out There...

2011-11-11T13:58:00.007-06:00

(September, 1978)

(October, 1978)

(September, 1978)

(December, 1978)

(May, 1979)

Boob Tube'n :: Episode 7 :: Fighting for Our Rights in Satin Tights...

2011-11-10T15:43:00.007-06:00

(September, 1962)

(October, 1978)

(September, 1964)

(September, 1970)

Remember, when you click on these images, when the pop-up screen appears, just click on the "show original" link in the bottom left hand corner and that should let you zoom in and take in all the glorious and demented details of these ginormous and gorgeous half-page ads.

Boob Tube'n :: Episode 6 :: This Post Possessed!

2011-11-09T17:42:00.005-06:00

(November, 1958)

(February, 1981)

(October, 1963)

(September, 1974)

Boob Tube'n :: Episode 5 :: Do You Know Where Your Daughter is Tonight?

2011-11-08T02:17:00.004-06:00

(September, 1979)

(November, 1961)

(October, 1964)

Boob Tube'n :: Episode 4 :: Tonight! On a Very Special Episode of Quincy M.E...

2011-11-07T13:41:00.006-06:00

(October, 1981)

(January, 1979)

(September, 1959)

(September, 1964)

Boob Tube'n :: Episode 3 :: Who Loves Ya, Baby!

2011-11-06T02:56:00.007-06:00

(October, 1973)

(February, 1979)

(September, 1964)

(October, 1973)

(October, 1959)

Boob Tube'n :: Episode 2 :: The Return of the Great One and Then Some!

2011-11-05T03:55:00.010-05:00

(October, 1958)

(February, 1981)

(October, 1970)

(October, 1973)

...Waitaminutewaitaminutewaitaminute.
There was a TV show starring Paul Lynde AND Cleavon Little.
In a situational comedy. Together.
And I didn't know about it?
...
...
...

MY LIFE AS A BOOB-TUBER IS A LIE!

Anyways ... I know Blogger kinda futched with the images when you click on them, but when the pop-up screen appears just click on the "show original" link in the bottom left hand corner and that should let you zoom in and take in all the glorious and demented details.

Boob Tube'n :: Episode 1 :: Also Starring Abe Vigoda, Dinah Shore and Peter Graves...

2011-11-04T01:39:00.010-05:00

(September, 1979)

(June, 1979)

(November, 1961)

(October, 1964)

I know Blogger kinda futched with the images when you click on them, but when the pop-up screen appears just click on the "show original" link in the bottom left hand corner and that should let you zoom in and take in all the glorious and demented details.

Boob Tube'N :: Please Stand By!

2011-11-02T14:10:00.003-05:00

Due to some unforeseen technical difficulties, Scene from the Morgue's shift from the big screen to the boob-tube will be delayed. But not for long, so until then...

Please stay tuned to this station for further developments.

Hey, Man! Dig This Crazy Show!

2011-10-31T01:21:00.009-05:00

(October, 1964)

As per Halloween tradition, another batch of Midnight Spookshow ads; this time with Dr. Jekyl and his, like, really Weird Show, man -- complete with a William Castle movie to boot. The Tingler. Wow. How cool is that?! I know Blogger kind futched with the images when you click on them but I made these exceptionally big. So, when you click on them and the pop-up screen appears, click on the "show original" link in the bottom left hand corner and that should let you zoom in and take in all the glorious and demented details. And, with that, I bid all you Boils and Ghouls out there a safe and spooktacular Hallowe'en.

Three Nights Only :: The World's Greatest HORRORAMA!

2011-10-28T00:31:00.007-05:00

(February, 1959)

A true "MONSTERPIECE" indeed.

It Creeps. It Leaks. It Glides. It Slides Across the Floor ... Right into the @#%* Gutter.

2011-10-23T18:59:00.009-05:00

Gutter on the left. *sigh*

Gutter on the right. *sigh*

Smush 'em together, and there ya go.
(Take THAT! Stupid gutter.)

(November, 1958)

Other Points of Interest:

The Poster campaign for The Blob at the Archive.
The Poster campaign for IMaMfOS at the Archive.
My full review of IMaMfOS at 3B Theater.

The Blob (1958) Fairview Productions-Tonylyn Productions Inc.-Paramount / P: Jack H. Harris / AP: Russell S. Doughten / D: Irvin S. Yeaworth / W: Theodore Simonson, Kate Phillips / C: Thomas Spalding / E: Alfred Hillmann / S: Steve McQueen, Aneta Corsaut, Earl Rowe, John Benson

I Married a Monster from Outer Space (1958) Paramount Pictures / P: Gene Fowler Jr. / D: Gene Fowler Jr. / W: Louis Vittes / C: Haskell Boggs / E: George Tomasini / S: Tom Tryon, Gloria Talbott, Peter Baldwin, John Eldredge

Random Drive-In Mash-Up :: Look What We've Dug Up -- An Avalanche of the Living Dead!

2011-10-19T02:27:00.007-05:00

(October, 1973)

A ghoulish triple feature for the ages? Maybe ... A triple-dip of rehashed imports? Most definitely ... First up is Elio Scardamaglia's La lama nel corpo, originally released as The Murder Clinic in 1968. The second feature is a re-titled version of Operazione paura, which I think is probably Mario Bava's most under-appreciated film, hamstrung out of the gate by its original, nonsensical domestic release title, Kill Baby, Kill. And lastly, we have Tombs of the Blind Dead guru Amando de Ossorio's Malenka, ironically enough billed last, here, in its initial release (circa 1973), that, I think, is worth the chance of staying up just to get a glimpse of Anita Ekberg and Rosanna Yanni.

Sam Katzman Double-Dip Guaranteed to Scare the "Yell" Out of You!

2011-10-16T15:03:00.003-05:00

(November, 1959)

SEE! The Kings of Horror Battle to Death, then Stick Around for Something that Truly Defy's Explanation...

2011-10-14T05:10:00.009-05:00

(April, 1972)

I always mistook the II of Independent International to stand for Incomprehensible and Idiotic. Here, a double feature case in point. Not that there's anything wrong with that ... Unfortunate gutter action on that second ad, but, on the bright side, we do have a second cameo appearance of my right thumb.

Truth in Advertising :: Fulci Trumps Needham :: 3 Days Only! Do You Dare!

2011-10-08T16:02:00.007-05:00

(July, 1983)

Yeah, pretty sure watching Stroker Ace will lead you directly to The Gates of Hell.

Random Multi-Plex Mash-Up :: That Prognosis May Be a Bit Premature...

2011-10-05T03:26:00.006-05:00

(June, 1982)

Visiting Hours: Such great artwork, such a crummy movie. So crummy, even The Shat couldn't save it. *sigh*

We're Back, with Miles and Miles O'Keeffe.

2011-10-01T03:17:00.010-05:00

(January, 1983)

a/k/a Ator the Fighting Eagle, Joe D'Amato's cheap Conan cash-in, which, of course, was followed by another barbaric boondoggle with The Blade Master -- a/k/a Ator the Invincible, but probably best known as MST3k fan favorite, Cave Dwellers.

Ator (1982) / EP: Helen Szabo / P: Alex Susmann / AP: Chris Trainor / D: Joe D'Amato / W: Joe D'Amato, Michele Soavi / C: Joe D'Amato / E: David Framer / S: Miles O'Keeffe, Sabrina Siani, Ritza Brown, Laura Gemser

Notice :: Sabbaticalization Time.

2011-08-31T03:48:00.005-05:00

E'yup. It's that time of year, folks. Time for another September Sabbatical, where I pull back from the keyboard and spend some quality time in the "meat space" for a whole month of mental recharging and to let my knuckles scab over and heal up before diving back into the morgue sometime in October. But before I go, here's a big clue of what's coming up after we get back:

That's right. We're switching mediums for the whole month of November. So, as they say on the old Boob-Tube, Stay Tuned.

Random Drive-In Mash-Up :: No One Under 18 Admitted With or Without an Adult!

2011-08-27T17:47:00.005-05:00

(October, 1964)

Consider it an Intervention by the Dynamic Duo of Quinn and Kotto :: Across 110th Street (1972)

2011-08-24T02:24:00.011-05:00

(May, 1973)

Blaxploitation or gritty Urban Drama -- whatever. Fandamntastic flick either way.

Across 110th Street (1972) Film Guarantors-United Artists / EP: Anthony Quinn, Barry Shear / P: Fouad Said, Ralph Serpe / AP: Richard Stenta / D: Barry Shear / W: Luther Davis, Wally Ferris / C: Jack Priestley / E: Byron 'Buzz' Brandt, Carl Pingitore / S: Anthony Quinn, Gloria Hendry, Yaphet Kotto, Antonio Fargas, Anthony Franciosa

Hallmark [Releasing] :: When You Care Enough to Blow Your Lunch.

2011-08-21T02:11:00.007-05:00

(September, 1973)

Remember: No one will be admitted while the coffin is being opened.

Some Double-Features are Born Perfect, Not Made.

2011-08-18T21:02:00.005-05:00

(September, 1972)

And sometimes, they just tend to crash into each other...

Random Drive-In Mash-Up :: Gangsters and Molls and a Dame Behind Bars.

2011-08-12T21:29:00.009-05:00

(September, 1973)

Always up for any movie where Warren Oates gets to butt heads with Ben Johnson. That, and an opportunity to witness director John Milius' gun fetish in all it's gory, multiple-round glory. As for our second feature, if you've ever wondered what an sexploitation prison movie directed by Cary Grant's ex-chauffeur would look like, well, here ya go.

Kay Kyser vs. the Boo-Boo-Boogie Men!

2011-08-08T14:50:00.007-05:00

(March, 1941)

Other Points of Interest:

Full review of You'll Find Out at 3B Theater.

The poster campaign for You'll Find Out at the Archive.

You’ll Find Out (1940) RKO-Radio Pictures / P: David Butler / D: David Butler / W: James V. Kern / C: Frank Redman / E: Irene Morra / S: Kay Kyser, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Helen Parrish, Dennis O’Keefe, Ginny Simms

How I Love Her :: Ida Lupino, That Is...

2011-08-02T02:53:00.007-05:00

(July, 1942)

Moontide is a fascinating, proto-noir film whose rocky production and subsequent box-office failure, unfortunately, and unjustly, relegated it to the musty vault of Forgotten Films and the Criminally Overlooked; just a footnote on the failure of Hollywood to import French actor Jean Gabin, who had resisted all Tinseltown overtures until France fell to Germany in 1940. Director Fritz Lang walked away from it during the pre-production phase. Ida Lupino was only in it because Joan Bennett got pregnant and had to bow out. Then, after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, producer Mark Hellinger had to move the entire shoot indoors when location shooting on the docks proved untenable due to National security risks. And on top of all that, Joseph Breen, Hollywood's censor extraordinaire, seemed to take a personal interest in this flick and proceeded to stomp the living hell out of anything that came within six nautical miles of the Hayes Code right out of John O'Hara and Nunnally Johnson's script. And when you take into account all the murder, mayhem, attempted suicides, raping and, yes, cannibalism in Willard Robinson's source novel, one can only wonder who thought it was even possible to film the doomed characters of Moontide in the first place.

But film it they did.

Gabin is great, but Lupino is even better, showing a rare vulnerability. I'm telling ya, she's so good in this. And both are supported by rock solid, out-of-character turns by beach bum Claude Raines and a murderous Thomas Mitchell. Archie Mayo subs in just fine for Lang, lots of shadows and fog, with an assist from Salvador Dali for a drunken, phantasmagorical dream sequence. And the move indoors just adds a surreal, dreamlike quality that makes this come off as kind of a demented fairy tale -- complete with a Daryl F. Zanuck mandated happy ending. (For the record, I agree with him on this change.) And for every five things Breen squashed, one or two things managed to slip through. Unfortunately, while dancing around Breen scissors, Moontide can't quite get its footing on what it really wants to be: a hard-edged thriller or sudsy melodrama -- but, eh, whaddaya gonna do; and please, don't let that schizo stuff scare you off or you're gonna miss a really good movie.

(February , 1943)

Bad luck had Moontide cycling through in the middle of the week for both its first and second run, meaning the ads were pretty limited and not quite the ballyhoo showpieces that were used to draw audiences in over the weekend. And so, since those ads are just a tad underwhelming, I figured I'd add a few bonus Lupino features for your viewing pleasure:

(March, 1941)

Please note the billing.
Yay, Ida!

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

(June, 1952)

Ida Lupino and Robert Ryan?
In the same movie? And Ward Bond, too?
Also co-directed by Nicholas Ray and our girl, Ida?
We can have such things?
Yes, please. And thank you!

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

(October, 1953)

The Hitch-Hiker.
One of my favorite flicks that Lupino directed.
A true white-knuckler, folks. Check it out.

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

This post is my meager contribution to The Ida Lupino Blogathon hosted by The Miss Ida Lupino fan page, a well-worth-your-while shrine to one of my favorite actresses. Hope you enjoyed it -- and please click on over and check out the other entries to help spread the Ida love.

Random Drive-In Mash-Up :: Oh, One of These Things is Not Like the Other...

2011-07-28T14:17:00.005-05:00

(July, 1963)

All of that, and free cigars? Coolness. And that is about as varied a line-up as a person could want. Positive this our first foray into spot-color, as well.

Random Drive-In Mash-Up :: Red Hot -- Raw and Rugged :: Lewis Seiler's Women's Prison (1955) and The Bamboo Prison (1954).

2011-07-25T04:12:00.014-05:00

(August, 1956)

And it only seems appropriate with this batch of ads that I throw the spotlight on another Blogathon I'll be participating in that's coming together over at the Miss Ida Lupino fan page. Jen, the proprietor of that well-worth-your-while shrine, has thrown out a wide net for participants, but time is limited as posts will start firing on the 1st of August; so click on over, sign up, and help spread the Ida love. What pic did I pick? Ah, for that you'll have to tune in and find out at the first of the month (-- meaning I have to make sure I can track the ads down first...)

I'm participating. Are you?

Random Multi-Plex Mash-Up :: Farmers, Doctors, Racers and Thieves.

2011-07-22T04:10:00.006-05:00

(September, 1977)

Criterion Takes Us All to The House of Pain this October!

2011-07-19T01:13:00.007-05:00

(April, 1933. Second Run.)

And in the fantastic news/it's about damned time department, it was just announced that the fine folks at Criterion will be releasing Island of Lost Souls on DVD and BluRay just in time for Halloween this year. I have only managed to see this once on cable many, many moons ago -- TNT, I think (and remember when they used to show this kind of stuff on the overnight? "We know drama." Yeesh...) -- on a less than stellar print, meaning I am so looking forward to seeing it again for realsies.

A criminally overdue release in any format, and cram-packed with the usual goodies, consider this thing Pre-Ordered!

Behold! The Trials and Tribulations of AHAB the Snakeman!

2011-07-14T01:46:00.012-05:00

(July, 1969)

And to think, when man first set foot on the moon, this guy was (allegedly) buried in a hole at the local drive-in with a buncha snakes...

Probably the most unique and untoppable answer ever to a Where were you when... query, am I right?

Tarzan and Frankenstein Conquer the Grand.

2011-07-10T01:57:00.009-05:00

(July, 1966)

In our first feature, Tarzan gets the James Bond treatment as he goes up against an evil mastermind (and his tanks, apparently), who is hell bent on cashing in on the mythical lost city of gold. As for our second feature, Toho starts to get a little trippy with this tale of a leftover World War II experiment that mutates into a giant monster, just in time to take on the giant lizard, Baragon, currently terrorizing the countryside. Good and demented, but nowhere near as much fun as the sequel, War of the Gargantuas.

Torn from Today's Headlines!

2011-07-06T12:48:00.007-05:00

(May, 1964)

The Strangler (1964) Bischoff-Diamond Corporation-Allied Artists / P: Samuel Bischoff, James Cresson, David Diamond / D: Burt Topper / W: Bill S. Ballinger / C: Jacques Marquette / E: Robert S. Eisen / S: Victor Buono, David McLean, Diane Sayer, Ellen Corby

Random Drive-In Mash-Up :: Russ Meyer's Blacksnake Moan!

2011-07-02T17:45:00.003-05:00

The Story of Three Fiendly Fellows and One Lovely Ghoul!

2011-06-29T01:27:00.011-05:00

(April, 1964)

Though it was produced by American International, was written by Richard Matheson, shot by Floyd Crosby, with a production design by Danny Haller, and it stars Vincent Price, Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff, The Comedy of Terrors was not part of Roger Corman's famed Poe Cycle. Whether that encourages you or discourages you, well, I say check it out anyway. Under the steady hand of veteran director Tourneur these genre veterans deliver the goods, resulting in a flick that is as funny as the title would imply.

The Comedy of Terrors (1963) American International / P: James H. Nicholson, Samuel Z. Arkoff / AP: Anthony Carras, Richard Matheson / D: Jacques Tourneur / W: Richard Matheson / C: Floyd Crosby / E: Anthony Carras / S: Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Basil Rathbone, Joyce Jameson and Rhubarb the Cat.

Giving the Diablo it's Duel.

2011-06-25T02:12:00.008-05:00

(July, 1966)

Having recently caught Soldier Blue on Netflix instant it got me to thinking about Ralph Nelson's other offbeat and, I think, far superior oater on the ills of racial intolerance, Duel at Diablo. It's also available for streaming for free from many sources, so, there's no excuse if you haven't seen this thing yet. You won't regret it. Honest.

Duel at Diablo (1966) Cherokee Productions-United Artists / P: Ralph Nelson , Fred Engel / D: Ralph Nelson / W: Marvin Albert, Michael Grilikhes / C: Charles F. Wheeler / E: Fredric Steinkamp / S: James Garner, Sidney Poitier, Bibi Andersson, Bill Travers, Dennis Weaver

Chop! Chop! Fizz! Fizz! Oh, What a Deceased This Is...

2011-06-22T01:39:00.011-05:00

(June, 1965)

Prolific actor William Conrad only directed three features films in his storied career, all of them coming out in 1965, and all of them are pretty twisted. Two on a Guillotine was first, and tells the tale of a Mad Magician who promises to come back from the grave. That nugget and the fact that his estranged daughter must spend seven nights in dear old dead dad's kooky mansion to collect her inheritance has me itching to make this my second purchase from the [fleecers at the] Warner Archives. Hmmmmnnn ... Wait. Dean Jones, a man who is like a second father to me, is in this, too? And it was directed by Frank Cannon? Sold!

Two on a Guillotine (1965) Warner Bros. / P: William Conrad / D: William Conrad / W: John Kneubuhl, Henry Slesar / C: Sam Leavitt / E: William H. Ziegler / S: Connie Stevens, Dean Jones, Virginia Gregg, Cesar Romero

What Would You Do if You Knew the World Would End in Four Months?

2011-06-17T14:51:00.009-05:00

(May, 1962)

You can't do much better than Val Guest's interpretation of the end of the world in this sobering, What-if? Sci-Fi tale. The What-if? being what would happen when the Super-Powers inadvertently detonate underground nuclear devices simultaneously that has the unexpected side-effect of altering the Earth's solar orbit, bringing us closer to the sun with each day passed. Basically the movie breaks down into two parts: the first half focusing on a couple of newspaper reporters (Judd, McKern) who uncover and expose the real reason behind a stifling heatwave and other, strange meteorological phenomenon. And then the shit really hits the fan in the second as the world heats up and dries out, with humanity's last and only hope riding on another round of underground detonations. And all of that topped off by a killer ending that really, really resonates. Love this flick.

The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961) Pax Films-Universal / P: Val Guest / AP: Frank Sherwin Green / D: Val Guest / W: Wolf Mankowitz, Val Guest / C: Harry Waxman / S: Edward Judd, Janet Munro, Leo McKern

All New Double Super-Shocker Show!

2011-06-12T00:49:00.007-05:00

(July, 1958)

That's some funky art for Hammer's inaugural Dracula export, soon destined to drop the Horror of and just be plain Dracula. As for the second feature that couldn't die, I don't find the gookie that our dear dead decapitated head is sporting to be terrifying but down right adorable!

Horror of Dracula (1958) Hammer-Universal Pictures / EP: Michael Carreras / P: Anthony Hinds / AP: Anthony Nelson Keys / D: Terence Fisher / W: Jimmy Sangster / C: Jack Asher / S: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Melissa Stribling, Michael Gough

The Thing that Couldn't Die (1958) Universal International / P: Will Cowan / D: Will Cowan / W: David Duncan / C: Russell Metty / S: William Reynolds, Andra Martin, Jeffrey Stone

Random Drive-In Mash-Up :: Deep Throat Comes Full Circle...

2011-06-08T20:57:00.009-05:00

(July, 1975)

... Circle jerk that is. Or would that be the Oval Jerk?

Linda Lovelace for President (1975) Winters Hollywood Entertainment Holdings Corp.-General Film Corp. / D: Claudio Guzmán / W: Jack Margolis / C: Robert Birchall / P: Arthur Marks, William B. Silberkleit, Charles Stroud, David Winters / S: Linda Lovelace, Fuddle Bagley, Val Bisoglio, Micky Dolenz

Cry Rape a/k/a The Brutes (1970) Roger Fritz Filmproduktion-Joseph Brenner Associates / D: Roger Fritz / W: Roger Fritz, Jürgen Knop / C: Egon Mann / P: Roger Fritz / S: Helga Anders, Klaus Löwitsch, Arthur Brauss

Warner Bros. Astounding New Shock Sensation!

2011-06-04T21:38:00.011-05:00

(June, 1954)

Posted in Honor of...

James Arness
(1923-2011)

My take on this, that and THEM!

THEM (1954) Warner Bros. / D: Gordon Douglas / W: Ted Sherdeman, Russell S. Hughes, George Worthing Yates / C: Sid Hickox / P: David Weisbart / S: James Arness, James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon

EXPOSED! What Makes them Evil When They Came in (at least) Part Good.

2011-06-01T14:15:00.007-05:00

(September, 1950)

After inspiring the screenplay for Cagney's White Heat (1949), for her next project, screenwriter Virginia Kellogg clandestinely arranged for herself to be incarcerated for a spell to help expose the true dirt on life inside a women's penitentiary, which served as a blueprint for Caged, ushering in the era of Women in Prison flicks that we all know and love.

Caged (1950) Warner Bros. / D: John Cromwell / W: Virginia Kellogg, Bernard Schoenfeld / C: Carl Guthrie / P: Jerry Wald / S: Eleanor Parker, Agnes Moorehead, Ellen Corby, Jan Sterling

Random Drive-In Mash-Up :: Why We Fight.

2011-05-30T01:01:00.002-05:00

(May, 1965)

Have a safe and happy Memorial Day folks.

The Truth About "Those" Camps...

2011-05-28T02:07:00.007-05:00

(November, 1961)

Seven Women from Hell (1961) Associated Producers-20th Century Fox / D: Robert Webb / W: Jesse Lasky, Pat Silver / C: Floyd Crosby / P: Harry Spalding / S: Patricia Owens, Denise Darcel, Yvonne Craig, Cesar Romero

Pirates of Tortuga (1961) Clover Productions-20th Century Fox / D: Robert Webb / W: Jesse Lasky, Melvin Levy, Pat Silver / C: Ellis W. Carter / P: Sam Katzman / S: Ken Scott, Letícia Román, Dave King

Drama that Explodes in Your Face!

2011-05-25T02:05:00.002-05:00

(November, 1953)

And look at that. I finally purchased my first Warner Archive DVD; something I swore I'd never do due to the steep price for what amounted to nothing but a glorified, no-frills DVD-R. And that movie is? Split Second. Used. For a lot less than the $26 Warner's was asking for. Though that might have been worth it to get my hands on this flick that I've seen only once, which was enough to hook many moons ago, and had me searching for a copy ever since. The directorial debut of Dick Powell, the movie had me at hello with a cast that included McNally, Sterling and Hunnicut. The fantastic plot they plug into is just gravy. Here, McNally plays an escaped prisoner who gathers up a group of hostages as he steals their cars on the way to his hideout, a ghost town near White Sands, NM, that's well within the predicted blast radius of another, impending A-Bomb test. So, we've got a taut and tensile race against the clock as the criminal forces one of his hostages to lure her doctor husband into the desert to patch up his partner before the bomb goes off, culminating in an ending that beat Aldrich to the punch by about a month and half.

Split Second (1953) RKO Radio Pictures / D: Dick Powell / W: William Bowers, Irving Wallace / C: Nicholas Musuraca / P: Edmund Grainger / S: Stephen McNally, Alexis Smith, Jan Sterling, Arthur Hunnicutt

Random Drive-In Mash-Up :: If This One Doesn't Scare You ... You're Already Dead! (+ Bonus Naughty Bits!)

2011-05-21T16:28:00.011-05:00

Bonus Fine Print:

(June, 1979)

Blast from the Past :: Harry O. Hoyt's The Lost World (1925)

2011-05-19T12:56:00.007-05:00

(October, 1927)

Here are some second run ads for The Lost World, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fanciful tale of a stop-motion dinosaur safari on an isolated plateau deep in the darkest nether regions of the Amazon. Fueled by some outstanding work by F/X guru Willis H. O'Brien and his modeling chum, Marcel Delgado, this edition also features a cameo appearance by my index finger. I could have digitally removed it, sure, but I feared the digit wouldn't speak to me ever again, and so, I decided to let him have his moment.

The Lost World (1925) First National Pictures / D: Harry O. Hoyt / W: Marion Fairfax / C: Arthur Edeson / P: Jamie White / S: Wallace Beery, Bessie Love, Lloyd Hughes

Plumbing the Depths of Hellish Horror with a Roger Corman Double-Dip in a Glorious Widevision Color.

2011-05-15T14:22:00.009-05:00

(May, 1959)

Night of the Blood Beast (1958) Balboa Productions-American International / D: Bernard L. Kowalski / W: Gene Corman, Martin Varno / C: John M. Nickolaus Jr. / P: Roger Corman, Gene Corman / S: John Baer, Angela Greene, Ed Nelson

She Gods of Shark Reef (1958) American International / D: Roger Corman / W: Robert Hill, Victor Stoloff / C: Floyd Crosby / P: Ludwig H. Gerber / S: Bill Cord, Don Durant and Lisa Montell

The Glories, the Triumphs, the Conquests of the World's Mightiest Mortal!

2011-05-11T19:52:00.001-05:00

(August, 1960)

Lotta gutter action with this update but the sheer volume of awesomeness still shines through. Fantastic ads, frenzied battle scenes, beautiful babes and a lot of butt-steak. Fun movie, and the only thing that would make it even better, despite it being cast adrift in public domain hell, is if someone could finally get a widescreen print of Hercules Unchained into circulation just like they finally managed to do with it's predecessor, a fate this film truly deserves.

Hercules Unchained (1959) Galatea Film-Lux-Warner Bros. / D: Pietro Francisci / W: Ennio De Concini, Pietro Francisci / C: Mario Bava / P: Ferruccio De Martino, Bruno Vailati / S: Steve Reeves, Sylva Koscina, Sylvia Lopez, Gabriele Antonini

Random Drive-In Mash-Up :: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly and the Seven Return.

2011-05-09T02:47:00.005-05:00

(August, 1968)

Girls Beware! PRC Potboiler Bubbles Out of the Swamp.

2011-05-06T01:27:00.007-05:00

(October, 1946)

Strangler of the Swamp (1946) Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC) / D: Frank Wisbar / W: Frank Wisbar / C: James S. Brown Jr. / P: Raoul Pagel / S: Rosemary La Planche, Robert Barrat, Blake Edwards, Charles Middleton

The Devil's Mask (1946) Columbia Pictures / D: Henry Levin / W: Charles O'Neal / C: Henry Freulich / P: Wallace MacDonald / S: Anita Louise, Jim Bannon, Michael Duane

The Greatest Blood-Show Ever!

2011-05-03T11:39:00.009-05:00

(September, 1973)

Vampire Circus (1972) Hammer-20th Century Fox / D: Robert Young / W: Judson Kinberg / C: Moray Grant / P: Michael Carreras, Wilbur Stark / S: Adrienne Corri, Thorley Walters, Anthony Higgins

Countess Dracula (1971) Hammer-20th Century Fox / D: Peter Sasdy / W: Jeremy Paul / C: Ken Talbot / P: Alexander Paal / S: Ingrid Pitt, Nigel Green, Sandor Elès, Lesley-Anne Down

Walloping You with a Full-Loaf of Sensurround!

2011-04-29T01:27:00.014-05:00

(October, 1975)

You know, I'm not sure what did more damage to L.A. in this flick: the earthquake or the scenery chewing done by the majority of the cast. The levels on the Richter Scale were about even, after all, making it too close to call.

Earthquake (1974) The Filmakers Group-Universal Pictures / D: Mark Robson / W: George Fox, Mario Puzo / C: Philip Lathrop / P: Jennings Lang, Mark Robson, Bernard Donnenfeld / S: Charlton Heston, Ava Gardner, George Kennedy, Lorne Greene, Geneviève Bujold, Richard Roundtree, Victoria Principal, Marjoe Gortner

Just When You Thought it Was Safe to Go Back Into the Multi-Plex...

2011-04-26T02:46:00.012-05:00

Between you and me, I think I prefer this art (above)
over the happy water-skier that's about to get munched.

(July, 1978)

My brilliant dissertation on JAWS 2:

Not enough people get eaten.

The End.

JAWS 2 (1978) Universal Pictures / D: Jeannot Szwarc / W: Peter Benchley, Carl Gottlieb, Howard Sackler / C: Michael C. Butler / E: Steve Potter, Arthur Schmidt, Neil Travis / P: David Brown, Richard D. Zanuck, Joe Alves / S: Roy Scheider, Lorraine Gary, Murray Hamilton, Ann Dusenberry, Mark Gruner, Donna Wilkes, Keith Gordon

1001 Forbidden Secrets of the Vicious Virgin Jungle!

2011-04-23T18:00:00.009-05:00

(May, 1948)

Apparently, South Sea and Far East Goona Goona flicks were a genre all by themselves. Who knew, right? Well, anyways, depending on which translation you believe, Goona Goona either refers to a potent aphrodisiac or some kind of evil spell. Huh. On second thought, that might be considered the same thing in some circles. But not mine. And these films, about a baker's dozen of stock and travelogue footage fueled exploitaters concerned themselves with the same nookie nookie. This mondo-double feature of rehashed releases then continues with a trip to Africa, specifically a safari through the Belgian Congo, for a peek at the taboos of the local tribes -- in a National Geographic sense, if you know what I mean.

Goona-Goona (1932) First Division Pictures / D: Armand Denis, Andre Roosevelt / W: Andre Roosevelt / C: Al Friedlander / P: Armand Denis, Andre Roosevelt

Africa Speaks (1930) Walter Futter Productions-Columbia / D: Walter Futter / W: Walter Futter / C: Paul L. Hoefler / P: Paul L. Hoefler, Walter Futter / S: Harald Austin, Paul L. Hoefler, Lowell Thomas

Random Multi-Plex Mash-Up :: Biddee-Biddee-Biddee Wanna Go to the Movies, Buck?

2011-04-19T01:08:00.006-05:00

(April, 1979)

Just for Kicks ... Not for Kids.

2011-04-13T13:05:00.010-05:00

(September, 1978)

If being shot by cult-fave Ray Dennis Steckler isn't enough to bring you to something like The Erotic Adventures of Pinocchio, where our artificial stud's you-know-what grows instead of his nose when he gets randy, well, what if I told you Dyanne Thorne played his Fairy Godmother, whose spells usually backfire leaving her to run around in the buff. That's right: it's the She-Wolf of the SS by way of Walt Disney. Get thee to the adult video store! And while you're there, you might as well check out Bill Osco's Alice in Wonderland, his follow up to the equally demented Flesh Gordon, where cute-as-a-button Kristine DeBell plays Alice as a walking erectile-dysfunction cure-all. Trust me. You don't wanna know what Humpty Dumpty broke. Now send in the dancing nurses! And if you listen real close, that sound you just heard was Carlo Collodi's and Lewis Carroll's graves detonating.

The Erotic Adventures of Pinocchio (1971) Eve Productions-Cinépix Film Properties / D: Corey Allen / W: Chris Warfield, Corey Allen / C: Ray Dennis Steckler / P: Lawrence M. Daley, Chris Warfield, Nicholas Wowchuk / S: Alex Roman, Monica Gayle, Karen Smith, Dyanne Thorne

Alice in Wonderland: An X-Rated Musical Fantasy (1976) Cruiser Productions-General National Enterprises / D: Bud Townsend / W: Bucky Searles / C: Joseph Bardo / P: Bill Osco / S: Kristine DeBell, Bucky Searles, Gila Havana, Alan Novak

All the Horror of a Thousand Frightening Dreams in One Panic-Packed Show!

2011-04-09T15:56:00.010-05:00

(June, 1969)

Mad Doctor of Blood Island was the second in Eddie Romero and Hemisphere Pictures' Blood Island features. Having the dubious distinction of being the best of the lot, one of the film's promotional gimmicks were packs of green-colored liquid that audiences were supposed to consume at strategic points to guarantee a genuine Shriek Out Freak Out as folks got their Green Blood Grove On. As for our second feature shot in blood dripping color, Blood Demon was one of the many aliases of Harald Reinl's Gothic creepfest, whose reputation as high-octane nightmare fuel has been sadly diluted over the years for that very reason, having been seen by so many people under so many different titles I think its been unjustly lost in the shuffle.

Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1968) Hemisphere Pictures / D: Gerry DeLeon, Eddie Romero / W: Reuben Canoy / C: Justo Paulino / P: Kane W. Lynn, Eddie Romero / S: John Ashley, Angelique Pettyjohn, Ronald Remy, Alicia Alonzo

Blood Demon (1967) Constantin Film Produktion-Hemisphere Pictures / D: Harald Reinl / W: Manfred R. Köhler / C: Ernst W. Kalinke, Dieter Liphardt / P: Erwin Gitt / S: Lex Barker, Karin Dor, Christopher Lee, Carl Lange