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 10, 2022
Thursday, June 9, 2022
Wednesday, June 8, 2022
THE BRAIN EATERS 1959 (KINO) BLU-RAY
This wonderful little 50's sci-fi film finally gets a Blu-ray release.
This was available on VHS back in the day and I made a bootleg copy to DVD and I have been happy with that one, but I just couldn't resist this when Shout said they were going to release it.
Ed Nelson stars as a scientist who is investigating a strange cone shaped object to suddenly appears in an Illinois town called Riverdale. People in the town start disappearing and then coming back acting strange.
Nelson's character of Dr. Paul Kettering discovers that parasitic creatures from beneath the Earth are responsible for the change in people. These little monsters are intent on taking over the entire planet.
Director Bruno Ve Sota handles ther film very well and in it's brief running time of 60 minutes, the film never fails to entertain. It's based on Robert Heinlein's novel "The Puppet Masters".
Heinlein sued because the film was based on his work without his permission and AIP settled the suit out of court. The rest of the cast includes Joanna Lee, Alan Frost, Jack Hill, Jody Fair, Robert Ball and Leonard Nimoy.
It's a great little film that I love a hell of a lot and it's recommended for any 50's sci-fi fan. The presentation from Shput is beautiful and no, there are no extras, but who cares.
Tuesday, June 7, 2022
COMING ATTRACTIONS...
Some GREAT movies coming out soon.
We are just a fews days away from "Brain From Planet Arous" and "Love Slaves Of The Amazons" being released on beautiful Blu-ray by Film Detective and Kino respectively. These two have been long sought after by yours truely.
SRS has announced that this fall they are releasing the ultra rare SPACE MONSTER WANGMAGWI from South Korea. This has long been considered a lost film and it has never been released anywhere in the world on and media. Great news on this.
Kino will be releasing SAMSON AND THE 7 MIRACLES OF THE WORLD on Blu-ray very soon and the release includes both the US and Italian cuts of the film!!
RIP JIM SEALS 1941-2022
One half of the classic 70's rock duo is dead.
I LOVE 70's music...ALL OF IT...and this is real sad.
During the 70's in my prime growing up years Seals and Crofts were the bomb. Every tune they created I listened to and bought. The huge line of hits include such gems as "Summer Breeze", "I'll Play For You", "Get Closer", "Hummingbird" and so much more.
As I type this I am listening to "Summer Breeze. Jim Seals was an excellent songwriter and singer, and his legacy of classic music will outlive us all.
Jim passed away on June 6th, 2022 at the age of 80. LONG LIVE THE MUSIC OF SEALS AND CROFTS.
Monday, June 6, 2022
RIP LINDA LAWSON 1936-2022
A fine actress has passed away.
Linda Lawson started her acting career in 1958 on the TV series "Mike Hammer" and went on to appear in many TV shows including "Man With A Camera", "Peter Gunn", "One Step Beyond", "The Millionaire", Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and many, many more.
She was best known for one of her rare movie roles and that one was the 1961 horror film entitled "Night Tide" in which she played a woman named Mora, who was a member of an ancient race of people. Her co-star was Dennis Hopper.
Her last credited role was in a 2005 episode of ER. She passed away on May 18th at the age of 86.
Saturday, June 4, 2022
THE LIVING IDOL 1957 (KINO) BLU-RAY
A rare film finally gets it's due on this beautiful Blu-ray.
The final film of director Albert Lewin is a bizarre adventure, romance and horror film all wrapped up into one. This was filmed at Churubusco Azteca studios it's interesting to note that the great Mexican director Rene Cardona is listed as assistant director.
Steve Forrest stars as Terry Matthews, a man who is soon to marry a young woman named Juanita (Liliane Montevecchi). Juanita's father is investigating an archaeological digging that discovers a jaguar idol in an Aztec temple.
After her father is killed in an accident, Juanita goes into a depression and Terry thinks marriage is the answer. However, her guardian, Dr. Albert Stoner (James Robertson Justice) believes that the jaguar god has stolen her soul.
He actually befriends a jaguar believing that it is the one who has her soul. Things get really weird from here and it seems like a cross mixing of several Val Lewton films.
The beautiful widescreen print is also in gorgeous color and has a very different look to it. It's hard to describe, but if you've seen this you know what I mean.
For many years the only thing I had ever seen associated with this film was a lobby card which I still own. It's a lush and wonderful adventure tale that has been lost for way too long, and it seems that I have come across nothing but negative comments about it.
It's available from Kino with another Lewin film called "Pandora And The Flying Dutchman" which I will be adding here soon. I really think you should see this film. It's just too rare to miss and, well, it damned good.
Friday, June 3, 2022
THE GUN RUNNERS 1958 (KINO) BLU-RAY
This is a film version of the novel "To Have and Have Not" by Ernest Hemingway.
Audie Murphy stars as Sam Martin, a down on his luck charter boat skipper who is rapidly falling behind on his bills.
His first mate is a drunk named Harvey (Everett Sloane) and his only goal in life is to get another drink, but Sam keeps him on out of friendship. One day at a gambling house Sam meets a man named Hanagan (Eddie Albert) who hires Sam to take him fishing.
Hanagan brings along his gorgeous friend Eva (Gita Hall) who tries to make a play for Sam. Sam is happily married to Lucy (Patricia Owens) and so he resists her advances. As night falls, Hanagan convinces Sam to take him to Havana Cuba. Since this is in the early days of the Cuban revolution it's a dangerous place to go.
Unknown to Sam is that Hanagan is making gun deals with the revolutionaries and because Sam owes so much money he agrees to go along with it, especially after Hanagan buys his boat note from Sy Phillips (Paul Birch).
This is a very low budget drama and yet it works very well. The cast is top notch and the films moves along at a great pace. It's interesting to see Albert in the role of a cold blooded arms dealer and killer.
The standout in this film is Gita Hall, a beautiful Swedish woman whose film career consisted on only 2 movies, this and "Wolf Larson" in 1958. She is a stunner and the camera loves her. It's a shame she didn't make more films. Don Siegel directed this film with a lot of flair.
The rest of the cast includes Jack Elam, Richard Jaeckel, and Jack Daly. This is a very good adventure film and one that you might want to check out. The Blu-ray is a wonderful presentation.
Thursday, June 2, 2022
ALI BABA AND THE FORTY THIEVES 1943 (KINO) BLU-RAY
Yet another wonderful technicolor fantasy from Universal.
The Kino presentation of this film is simply beautiful. Maria Montez, Jon Hall and Turhen Bey star in this wild adventure about a young boy who is raised by 40 thieves and then seeks revenge against the evil Khan (Kurt Katch) who killed his father and rules the land with an iron fist.
That is the entire plot of this fun and colorful film that Universal turned out in 1943. Montez and Hall made 6 of these technicolor wonders and each one of them made tons of money for the studio. With these beautiful Blu-rays one can see why.
There is plenty of action and romance along the way as well as some good comedy. Hall is Ali Baba and he always makes a dashing hero. Maria Montez was a lovely woman who looked great in color and was perfect for these kinds of roles.
Kino has so far released 3 of these adventure films and they are planning to release the other three in a set this summer. It will be good to have the entire Montez/Hall Collection.
The rest of the cast includes Andy Devine, Frank Puglia, Ramsay Ames and Maroni Olsen. If you're looking for simple, escapist fun, this is the movie for you. I cannot recommend it enough.
Wednesday, June 1, 2022
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