DO YOU REMEMBER???

We've all had them.

Those classic "oh my God" moments from movies and TV from back in the day. I have hundreds of them. Back in the 60's, 70's and 80's times were much better and different and there were actually "shocking" moments in movies and TV.

In 1966 I first saw "The Blob" starring Steve McQueen and the one scene that scared me most was the death of the local doctor that our hero sees thru a window. That gave me nightmares for weeks. Then a scant 2 years later it was "Night Of The Living Dead" and the fear and tension thru the entire movie was a lot for me, but when we see the ghouls eating human remains cemented itself into my mind.

The 1970's was my most "horrific" decade for movies and TV as I was glued to both for most of my younger years. TV movies were great back then and there was a lot of horror being made for the small screen. I can never forget the film "Trilogy Of Terror" and the Zuni Fetish doll which is still, in my opinion, the BEST 22 minutes ever filmed for TV. It scared the living hell out of me, and believe it or not it still sends shudders up my spine to this day.

There was also the shocking twist ending to the film "Satan's Triangle" with Kim Novak. That was the talk of the schoolyard the next morning at school. I also caught a lot of syndicated TV shows from the past in the 70's including "The Twilight Zone", "The Outer Limits" and "Thriller". The Boris Karloff hosted "Thriller" was by far the darkest and I remember being terrified by the episode entitled "Pigeons From Hell". I never imagined such a thing could ever appear on TV, but it again cause many sleepless nights for me. The scenes in the old haunted house still stay with me to this day. I won't give much away about some of these things, but I do recommend you look them up and watch them if you want.

Late night TV in the 70's was also a great thing and I will never forget the ending to the long lost, never to be seen again film called "Distant Early Warning" starring Michael Parks fighting aliens at a lonely radar station in Alaska. I thought about that ending all day the following Saturday. As the 70's wore on I thought that after seeing graphic footage from the Vietnam War and drivers education films had made me immune to horror along comes "Dawn Of The Dead" and "Zombie".

The opening 20 minutes of Dawn is the single greatest opening moments of ANY film made before or since. The scenes in the apartment building are some of the greatest ever committed to film. Lucio Fulcis' "Zombie" gave me nightmare with the incredible death scene of gorgeous Olga Karlatos getting a huge splinter in her eye. That scene remains a standout in horror for me and many others.

In the 1980's I was working for United Artists and Turner Pictures and didn't have a lot of time for movies, but I managed to catch more than my share. A lot of them standout like "Creepshow" but the ONE single film that made my jaw hit the floor was a small little slasher entitled "Sleepaway Camp". The final 5 minutes of the film was one of the most unexpected things I had EVER seen!! Telling co-workers about the movie always garnered my some very strange looks, but damn...it blew my mind. There has never been an ending to compare with it. It has been called one of the most shocking endings in American cinema history!!

There are probably some I should mention and others I have simply forgotten about while writing this, but if you have some of your own I invite you to share them with me. This has just been horror related, but rest assured there were many, many "oh My God" moments in a lot of film noir such as "The Killing" and "The Big Combo" among others

Other OMG moments that were much different that terror included seeing lovely Mamie Van Doren seducing Russ Tamblyn in "High School Confidential" while taking a sexy bite out of an apple, or seeing the gorgeous Judy Pace for the first time in "Cotton Comes To Harlem" or drooling over Vonetta McGee in "The Norliss Tapes". These, as I said, are far different OMG moments, but they will always stay with me.

I am so happy to have grown up during times when everything was fresh and new and there was a surprise around every corner. I still watch these movies today and while I have seen them hundreds of times, I still get a little tinge of OMG when I watch, because I have never let that part of me disappear, and never will.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Kevin Nash is 61, Richard Roundtree is 78, Edy Williams is 79, and Marc Mero is 60.

AFRICAN TREASURE 1952 (AMAZON PRIME)

A good little film.

Ford Beebe directed this film which stars Johnny Sheffield as Bomba.

In this outing Bomba tries to stop some diamond smugglers from stealing a fortune hidden in the jungle. Arthur Space is one of the smugglers and he and his partner have enslaved a small tribe and if forcing them to work in the diamond mine.

Bomba runs across a beautiful woman looking for her missing father. Her name is Lita (Laurette Luez). Bomba agrees to help her and soon they discover the criminals.

Lita finds her father who has been enslaved as well and the smugglers believe they have killed Bomba. As it turns out they are wrong and Bomba captures them and proceeds to take them back to civilization to pay for their crimes.

However, the gangsters have a worse fate planned for them by mother nature. As I stated in the beginning of the review, I found this to be a good little film, and the action never slows down.

What makes this a special Bomba film for me is the fact that the gorgeous Laurette Luez stars in it. She is someone I never get to see enough of in movies and TV, but her beauty is stunning and I will watch anything with her in it.

The print on Amazon is very, very nice and as I have said before, if you're a fan of this kind of film, you won't be disappointed.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Kim Darby is 73.

RIP ENNIO MORRICONE 1928-2020

One of the greatest composers of music has passed away.

Morricone had over 300 music scores to his credit and that is quite an accomplishment.

He scored such claccis pictures as "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly", "A Fist Full Of Dollars", "Nightmare Castle", "For A Few Dollars More", "Danger Diabolik" and so many more.

He was born in Rome in 1928. His accomplishments in the world of film scoring at too numerous to mention here, but lets just say that everyone has heard a Morricone score at some point in their film watching life.

He passed away on July 6th, 2020 from complications after a fall. He was 91.

KING KONG VS. GODZILLA 1962 (CRITERION) BLU-RAY JAPANESE VERSION

It has been a very long time since I saw this version.

On the Criterion Showa Era Godzilla set this film is located on the 8th disc which is also loaded with tons of extras, and I mean tons.

This is a much better film without the added American scenes, and to me anyway, the story moves along better. It does have it's added comedy moments involving TV advertising and such, but it's much better in it's original form.

Godzilla emerges from an iceberg and sinks a submarine in the process while an advertising executive wants his two agents to go to an island in the Pacific and investigate the rumors of a huge monster worshiped by the natives as a God.

Finally both King Kong and Godzilla square off in a epic battle. This film has been a favorite since my early childhood and it always will be. The cast for the movie is perfect for what it is and includes two of the most beautiful Japanese actresses, Mia Hama and Akiko Wakabayashi. It was quite a treat to see both women in the same film. This film is being remade and should be released in November of 2020, but I already know it'll be nowhere near as good a the original.

The quality of this print it simply beautiful I was glad Criterion included it in the set. All of the extras on the disc are well worth taking a look at as well. I have said it before over the last month of reviewing this set, and I'll say it again, The Godzilla Showa Era Set is one, if not THE top release of 2020.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Sylvester Stallone is 74, Burt Ward is 75, and June Kenney is 87.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Lisa Montell is 87.

REMEMBERING AMERICAN TOP 40

I simply can't believe it's been 50 years since the first broadcast on July 4th, 1970.

The show was the brainchild of Casey Kasem and Don Bustany and on the first broadcast in was heard on 8 stations and soon became the most listened to syndicated show in the USA on over 600 plus station.

I listened to it religiously and kept my own written record of the songs and their chart movement. The show captivated me and I have every episode from the 70's and almost all of the 80's as well.

This is the show that made me want to get into broadcasting and be on the radio. Kasem passed away in 2014 but his legacy with AT 40 still lives on thru re-broadcasts as well as internet groups, books and much more.

As I write this I am indeed listening to the first ever broadcast of AT 40 and the memories come flooding back with great things. Wow....50 YEARS...very hard to believe. LONG LIVE AT 40 FROM THE 70'S AND 80'S.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Eva Marie Saint is 96, and Gina Lollobrigida is 93.

MONSTERS 1988-1990 SEASON 1

I never got a chance to watch this on it's initial run and am visiting it for the first time.

Produced by Richard Rubinstein, this show debuted the same year as "Tales From The Darkside" ended and it follows the same format, but each show features a different monster.

I am surprised this isn't better known, but I have been enjoying it a lot. It ran for 3 years and here is what season 1 has to offer.

THE FEVERMAN 10/22/88... A man tries to prove a local healer is a fake, but gets something very unexpected. David McCallum stars.

HOLLY'S HOUSE 10/29/88... Holly is a mechanized doll and host of a kiddie show, and she isn't as nice and cute as she appears to be. A fun little episode that really impressed me.

NEW YORK HONEY 11/5/88... A man blackmails his neighbor who makes a very tasty honey into sharing his profits and he also falls for the beekeepers sexy young girlfriend.

THE VAMPIRE HUNTER 11/12/88...Robert Lansing stars as a vampire hunter who tries to stop a bloodsucker from turning his young assistant into a creature like himself.

MY ZOMBIE LOVER 11/19/88... A great comedy episode about a night each year when the dead come back to life. A young dead man visits the home of a young woman he was to scared to admit he liked when he was alive. Tempestt Bledsoe stars. Gotta love the ending!!

WHERE'S THE REST OF ME 11/26/88... In a small South American country a mad doctor keeps body parts for harvesting until one of the cadavers comes back to seek revenge. Meat Loaf and Franco Harris star.

THE LEGACY 12/3/88... An writer named Dale finds the private sanctuary of a long dead actor named Pulton Pierce. Very soon Dale's life starts down a VERY dark road.

SLEEPING DRAGON 12/10/88...During a raging snow storm scientists must fight for their lives against a prehistoric monster that is running loose in a lab complex. This is a very fun episode.

POOL SHARKS 12/17/88...A pool hustler gets involved in a game with a very sexy female who is not what she seems...or is she? Rebecca Downs steals this show with ease.

PILLOW TALK 12/24/88...A man whose bed is possessed by a bizarre creature like something out of Lovecraft story meets a woman (Mary Woronov) who starts to make him have second thoughts about everything. Bizarre and unusual episode.

ROUSE HIM NOT 12/31/88...A woman living in an old house is visited by a man who is researching a warlock who used to live in the home. They both get a surprise when they discover the warlock has come back to life. Alex Cord stars.

FOOLS GOLD 1/21/89...Three construction workes find a hidden treasure guarded by a very evil and nasty troll.

GLIM GLIM 2/4/89... Another bizarre episode. The last three surviving humans on Earth find an alien who might be able to help them. However human emotions play a big part and the ending is somewhat twisted and very sad. A HIGHLY RECOMMENDED episode.

PARENTS FROM SPACE 2/11/89...A young girl's cruel and uncaring parents are replaced by aliens who show her what love really is. Peggy Cass and Frank Gorshin star.

THE MOTHER INSTINCT 2/18/89...A woman develops a melon juice that produces great strength. Her evil son in law wants to steal it but finds she has the plants protected by blood worms. Great ending.

THEIR DIVIDED SELF 2/25/89... A doctor tries to counsel Siamese twins who are on the verge of killing each other.

TAPS 3/4/89...A female dancer tries to separate herself from her possessive partner, and she finds herself haunted in a most unusual way after dismembering him.

THE MATCH GAME 4/15/89...Grim and interesting story about two couples in a haunted mansion playing a story telling game. When an avenging dead man comes to life they realize the story they are telling is coming to life.

RAIN DANCE 4/22/89... Kent McCord and the gorgeous Teri Copley as a couple of treasure hunters who get way more than they bargained for when they receive a statue of an ancient Indian god.

COCOON 4/29/89...A cop asks his psychic girlfriend to help him identify a beautiful young woman involved in an auto accident who now has amnesia. A great twist ending.

ALL IN A DAY'S WORK 5/6/89...A man haunted by an evil doppelganger seeks the help of a white witch. Adrienne Barbeau stars.

SATAN IN THE SUBURBS 5/13/89...A charming demon enlists the aid of a young, single mother to help him write his biography before time runs out on him.

MANNIKINS OF HORROR 5/20/89... Based of the Robert Bloch story also featured in the 1972 movie "Asylum", this grim tale is about a brilliant doctor kept in an asylum in a 1984 type totalitarian world who is trying to give life to his small clay figurines before his time is up. A truly shocking and bizarre ending. ONE OF THE BEST!!

LA STREGA 5/27/89... Gorgeous Linda Blair stars as a young woman who may or may not be a witch that a young man has come to destroy.

That wraps up the first season of this great and still underrated little show. In season 2 there was still tons of fun to be had and some truly unforgettable episodes.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Susan Penhaligon is 71.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Chris Noel is 79, and Bret Hart is 63.

THE LOST VOLCANO 1950 (AMAZON PRIME)

This is one of many films from Monogram Studios starring Johnny Sheffield as Bomba.

I have not seen many of these films, but since I had nothing to do on this particular afternoon, I decided to give it a whirl,and it's wasn't too bad.

Two men kidnap a young boy named David (Tommy Ivo) when they discover that he knows the whereabouts to a fabulous treasure hidden inside a hidden volcano. The boy is friends with Bomba and so out young jungle hero is off to the rescue.

Along on the rescue as well is David's parents, Ruth and Paul (Marjorie Lord and Donald Woods) as well as their housekeeper, a young a beautiful woman named Nona (Elena Verdugo).

There is a lot of trekking thru the jungle and chasing the basd guys, but it's still a fun little movie. Sheffield, of course, starred in the Tarzan films of the 30's and 40's as Boy, the son of Tarzan, so seeing him in this setting is almost very natural.

The rest of the cast includes John Ridgley, Don C. Harvey, and Grandon Rhodes. The print on Amazon is very good and if you're a fan of these films you can't really go wrong.

I have since caught a couple more of these movies and will be listing them here in the future.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Pamela Anderson is 53, Olivia de Havilland is 104, Jean Marsh is 86, and Debbie Harry is 75.