For lovers of movies from the silent era to modern day with an emphasis on horror, sci-fi, exploitation, WIP, westerns and anything of the fantastic and bizarre. THIS SITE IS DEDICATED TO BOB WILKINS, GEORGE ROMERO, ALAN FREED, ROGER CORMAN, HELGA LINE, CAROLINE MUNRO, JOHN FREDRIKSEN, JOHN ZACHERLE, CLEO MOORE , ROSALBA NERI, ERIKA BLANC, FEMI BENUSSI, SHIRLEY CORRIGAN, ROSANNA YANNI, MIRTA MILLER, KARIN DOR, BARBARA BOUCHET, MAMIE VAN DOREN, BARBARA STEELE and, of course, CASEY KASEM.
Friday, June 8, 2018
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...
James Darren is 82, Nancy Sinatra is 78, Ursula Buchfellner is 57, and Boz Scaggs is 78.
Thursday, June 7, 2018
THE VAMPIRE DOLL 1970 (ARROW) BLU-RAY
I have waited a very, very long time to see this and the other two Japanese vampire films from Michio Yamamoto, and now thanks to Arrow I have beautiful prints of each film.
Toho did far more than Godzilla films and it's a shame that that is all American audiences are really familiar with. I love and crave Japanese cinema, and this film is a perfect example as to why.
A beautiful young woman named Keiko Sagawa (Kayo Matsuo) goes to search for her missing brother who has disappeared after going to an old house looking for his girlfriend Yuko.
Keiko and her friends find much more than they bargained for when they stay at Yuko's home and her mother tells them that Yuko is dead. During the night Keiko sees both Yuko and her boyfriend walking around like ghostly white images.
This sets up some excellent mystery and terror that only the Japanese can do. Yamamoto made three of these films and every one is an excellent example of horror. There are some images in here that once seen are not forgotten.
Toho didn't use many of there actors from Godzilla films and the likes to make these movies, but the acting is still very well done by a cast of people I am not familiar with except a couple. The "ghost girl" images in this film have long been a part of Japanese culture and Japanese horror films dating back to the 50's and maybe farther.
The most enjoyable thing about this and the films like it, is that is crosses cultural boundaries. Here there are no crosses and holy water to fend off the evil as in most western vampire and ghost films. The sets are magnificent and the cast really makes you believe what you're seeing.
My hat is off to the lovely Yukiko Kobayashi in her role as the dead Yuko. She does give one some chills. If you haven't ever seen this movie I recommend you get the "Bloodthirsty Trilogy" set and see an entire different world of Toho. Yes the giant monster movies are great, but these are just as good in a world all their own. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED release and a good contender for release of the year.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...
Tom Jones is 78, Pamela Susan Shoop is 70, Anna Kournikova is 37, Mick Foley is 53, and Gary Kent is 85.
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
GUN CRAZY 1949 (WARNER ARCHIVE) BLU-RAY
The 1949 film noir classic finally comes to Blu-ray.
I was hoping this would come out soon and it was only a matter of time. I reviewed this a few years ago when it was available on DVD. It disappeared from sight for a while but now Warner Archive has brought it back in a beautiful Blu-ray presentation.
Joseph Lewis directed this brilliant study in insanity and sexual urges out of control. The movie opens with a young boy named Bart Tare, played by a very young Russ Tamblyn breaking a store window to steal a gun. In court we learn he has always had an overpowering love for guns and he is sent to reform school.
Flash ahead several years and Bart comes back to his hometown a grown man and out of the Army. He still has a love of guns. When he goes to a carnival in town that night with two friends, he meets and instantly falls in love with a sharp shooter called Annie Laurie Starr, who also has eyes for him after a sharp shooting competition.
Annie (Peggy Cummins) uses her feminine wiles to convince Bart (John Dall) that they need to start stealing money and live the good life. Before long the two are the most wanted thieves in the country. Bart has never been able to kill anyone, but Annie does during a robbery without remorse and now they are wanted for murder as well.
All of this is done in a great visual style very typical of film noir. Lewis even has us in the back seat of the car while Tare and Starr are looking for a parking place to rob a bank. The scene is a standout. I could rave all day about the greatness of this film. It is pure genius. I highly recommend this film for any movie fan. BTW, this Blu-ray has a wonderful extra called "Film Noir: Bringing Darkness To Light" and it's a doozy!!
The rest of the cast for this remarkable film include Berry Kroeger, Harry Lewis, Nedrick Young and Morris Carnovsky.
A huge thanks to Warner Archive for finally giving this a great Blu-ray release.
Monday, June 4, 2018
LONG HAIR OF DEATH 1964 (RARO) BLU-RAY
Excellent Barbara Steele horror film I hadn't seen in about 20 years.
Antonio Margheriti directed this tale that take place in the 15th century. A woman is accused of witchcraft and burned alive by the townsfolk.
However the real reason she is killed is because she refused the sexual advances of Count Humboldt (Giuliano Raffaelli). Her daughter knows this to be the truth and is also killed.
The woman, before she died layed out a curse on the Humboldt family and it starts to come true slowly but surely. Barbara Steele plays two roles as Mary and Helen Karnstein. As usual she looks extremely sexy and plays both parts hauntingly well.
This film portrays the decay inside the cursed family better than other Italian horror films of it's ilk. One of the most disturbing scenes involves several villagers outside the Humboldt castle walls that are affected with a hideous plague.
I hadn't seen this film in years and the only copy I had for a long time was a muddy print that was in French with no subtitles. Thanks to Raro, we now have a beautiful, re-mastered print with dubbed English dialogue.
If you haven't had the chance to check out this little gem of a horror film, I think you should. Simply Remarkable.
Sunday, June 3, 2018
RIP ROBERT MANDAN 1932-2018
I have been informed that this very talented actor has passed away.
Mandan appeared in may things including "Married With Children". "Santa Barbara" and the excellent TV movie "The Norliss Tapes" but everyone really remembers him from a classic comedy take off on soap operas.
He played Chester Tate on the 4 year run of the show simply entitled "Soap". The show really hit home for a lot of people and it was Chester that carried it as far as I am concerned.
The talented Mandan was capable of playing straight drama or outrageous comedy, which isn't easy. He was 86.
RIP WILLIAM PHIPPS 1922-2018
Prolific actor of hundreds of TV shows and movies has died.
You may not know the name, but you would recognize his face. Phipps appeared in many, many horror and fantasy films. His acting career began in 1947 and ended in 2000.
Some of his films include "Five", "War Of The Worlds", "Cat Women Of The Moon" ( a personal favorite), "Invaders From Mars", "Savage Frontier", "The Twonky" and many more.
Some of his TV appearances include "The Twilight Zone", "Sugarfoot", "Surfside Six" just to name a few. Phipps passed away on June 1st at the age of 96.
CURSE OF THE CRYING WOMAN 1962 (CASA NEGRA)
I reviewed this back in 2012 from the Beverly Wilshire DVD. I finally managed to get a long OOP DVD from Casa Negra and it looks beautiful as did all of their stuff.
The story centers around a beautiful young woman named Amelia (Rosita Arenas) who comes to her aunts dilapidated home along with her husband Jaime (Abel Salazar).
Amelia learns that she is to inherit the curse of the crying woman at the stroke of midnight on her 25th birthday, and that is why her aunt wanted her there..to continue this.
This film is one of the most atmospheric I have ever seen and proves once again that there is NOTHING like Mexican horror cinema. Look for Julissa in a small role at the beginning of the film on a horse drawn carriage.
The print from the now defunct Casa Negra presents the film in a remastered edition in Spanish with English subtitles. It is a shame Casa went out of business as they released some really cool stuff.
If you like Mexican horror cinema as much as I do, this this is a no brainer, if you can find it at a good price. RECOMMENDED!!
Saturday, June 2, 2018
URANIUM BOOM 1956 (MILL CREEK)
Not a western by any means, but a very great way to conclude the 8 film set of western by William Castle.
This is another film I had never seen and and very thankful to Mill Creek for including it in their Castle set.
In Colorado, two men, Brad Collins (Dennis Morgan) and Grady Mathews (William Talman) stumble onto a huge Uranium strike. Grady stays behind while Brad goes to file a claim. Both men have already fought off several claim jumpers and all seems to be going well.
However, when Brad gets back to town he meets a beautiful woman named Jean (Patricia Medina) and they fall in love almost immediately and get married that same night.
When they return to the claim the next morning Grady is shocked to see his former girlfriend now married to Brad. This leads to a separation of the two men but Brad makes sure Grady gets all the money he has coming to him from the mine.
Grady opens his own firm and slowly starts trying to bring Brad down using a beautiful woman named Gail Windsor (Tina Carver). It almost works, but that is all I am going to say. The ending is very interesting and not anything like I thought was going to happen.
The print quality on this little Black and White gem is impeccable and looks better than I ever expected. As I said in the beginning, not a western by any means, but a damn good entry on this series. CHECK IT OUT!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...
Nikki Cox is 40, Sally Kellerman is 81, Jerry Mathers is 70, Susan Hart is 77, A.J. Styles is 40, Larry Pfohl (Lex Lugar) is 60, and gorgeous Jamie Szantyr (Velvet Sky) is 37.
Friday, June 1, 2018
DUEL ON THE MISSISSIPPI 1955 (MILL CREEK)
A rather different William Castle film.
This story takes place in 1820's Louisiana. Lex Barker stars as a young man who is sold into indentured servitude to a callous woman named Lili Scarlett (Patricia Medina). He has been sold because she holds a contact on his father plantation and it saves him from going to prison for the debt.
Lili comes to respect Barker's character of Andre Tulane, and they soon fall for each other. Tulane then helps Scarlett fight off pirates trying to steal the sugar crop and take over her riverboat. The pirates are led by her former fiancee Hugo Marat (Warren Stevens)
Andre is helped in the fighting by his close friend Rene LaFarge (Craig Stevens). This is a fast moving film with a very solid cast, and although it really doesn't fit into the western genre, it makes a good addition to the set from Mill Creek.
The color is beautiful and the story will get you interested thru the end of the movie. I had never seen this before and it was a pleasant surprise from Castle.
The rest of the cast for this film includes John Dehner, Ian Keith, Celia Lovsky and Mel Welles. Recommended!!
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