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, CAROLINE MUNRO, JOHN FREDRIKSEN, JOHN ZACHERLE, CLEO MOORE , ROSALBA NERI, ERIKA BLANC, FEMI BENUSSI, SHIRLEY CORRIGAN, ROSANNA YANNI, MIRTA MILLER and, of course, CASEY KASEM.
Z'dar appeared in 121 films over the last 35 years. Some of his classic films were "Maniac Cop", "Maniac Cop 2", "Cherry 2000", "Beastmaster 2", and Mountain Mafia.
Z'Dar was in Pensacola, FL for a convention when he went into cardiac arrest. His legacy will always be with us, but we have lost a good actor and a good man.
Hard to believe this took place 11 years ago in Columbus, Ohio. It really doesn't seem that long ago.
This was a WWE card where the late Chris Benoit defended his WWE Heavyweight belt against Kane. That match is good in and of itself, but there are others that are better.
The Hell In The Cell match between Shawn Michaels and Triple H is a classic. It lasted 47 minutes and both competitors proved they had the ability to make a great match.
The best in my opinion was the four way match for the WWE Women's Title featuring Lita, Gail Kim, Victoria and Trish Stratus. Stratus ended up winning and becoming the only 5 time women's champ.
If you're a fan you'll enjoy the entire show. This event came right at the end of what is called the "Attitude Era" in pro wrestling.
James Cagney is Eddie Bartlett, a young man who gets out of WW1 and finds that things have changed. He cannot land a job to save his life so he turns to bootlegging liquor.
He soon becomes a top gangster within the city and he has his war buddy, George Halley played by Humphrey Bogart, working with him, until Halley decides he wants to be top man.
Told is a documentary style with narration and news clips, this film moves at a quick pace and should please any cinema fan. The rest of the cast includes Priscilla Lane, Frank McHugh, Paul Kelly, Joe Sawyer and John Hamilton.
One of the best of it's kind.
Night Gallery, in it's third and final year was a little bit different. It was cut to 30 minutes and usually featured only one story. It seems that the network tampered with it, and even though it changed, it still had plenty of terror to deliver one more time.
RETURN OF THE SORCERER 9/24/72....Vincent Price stars in this classic tale about a sorcerer who hires a young man to translate an Arabic book of the dead. A very chilling climax.
THE GIRL WITH THE HUNGRY EYES 10/1/72... Joanna Pettit again stars in this episode about a fashion model with a terrible secret.
FRIGHT NIGHT 10/15/72...A couple move into a haunted house with a most unusual trunk in the attic. Very good episode starring Stuart Whitman.
RARE OBJECTS 10/22/72...A gangster marked for death seeks sanctuary with a very odd collector.
SPECTER IN TAP SHOES 10/29/72...A young woman is haunted by the ghost of her sister who killed herself.
RING WITH THE RED VELVET ROPES 11/5/72...Chuck Conners stars as a boxing champ who challenges a new champion to a battle in his private ring.
YOU CAN COME UP NOW MRS. MILLIKAN/SMILE PLEASE....11/12/72 An inventor wants to prove he can bring his wife back from the dead, but he has to kill her first. This story is unforgettable in it's climax. the second is a thirty second vignette about a vampire having his picture taken.
THE OTHER WAY OUT 11/19/72... An executive who is involve in the unsolved murder of a dancer is blackmailed and offered a way out. Burl Ives and Ross Martin star in this classic episode with a great payoff.
FINNEGAN'S FLIGHT 12/3/72....A prisoner, serving a life sentence is helped by another convict who is a master of hypnosis. This is one episode that I cannot watch more than once. it's not that it is bad, but for some reason it just bothers me.
SHE'LL BE COMPANY FOR YOU 12/24/72...Leonard Nimoy stars in this episode about a cat, given to a man by his late wife's friend, that turns out to be more than just a pet kitty. Lorraine Gary co-stars and looks hotter than ever.
SOMETHING IN THE WOODWORK 1/14/73...An alcoholic woman finds a ghost living in her attic and uses it to get revenge on her ex husband. This show always scared me when I was younger.
DEATH ON A BARGE 3/4/73...A young man falls in love with a woman who has a very, very dark secret. Memorable.
WHISPER 5/13/73...Sally Field is a young woman who seeks out spirits for fun, until it's too late to turn back.
THE DOLL OF DEATH 5/20/73..A man who is humiliated on his wedding day plots revenge using voodoo in the West Indies.
HATRED UNTO DEATH/HOW TO CURE THE COMMON VAMPIRE 5/27/73...A gorilla captured in Africa rekindles a war with his hunter from hundreds of years ago. The second story is a short vignette about staking a vampire.
DIE NOW PAY LATER 1972.....A sheriff thinks the sky rocketing death rate in a small town is being caused by a strange mortician who is having a clearance sale. This was a lost episode from season 2
ROOM FOR ONE LESS 1972....This is a short vignette about an elevator operator coping with overcrowding. This is another of the lost episodes from season 2
So ended the third year of a great show. On the 2 disc set you also get the lost episode from season 2 entitled WITCH'S FEAST starring Ruth Buzzi which is about three witches preparing a meal. Cute and very funny.
All in all a great show that is worth picking up. All three seasons are still available so get em while you can.
On May 12th, SATAN'S BLADE will appear on Blu-ray!! This 1984 film has been nearly impossible to see, but now thanks to Olive it will live again!! This one is high on my list!!
Stephen Boyd is a wealthy man who lives in a secluded mansion and is haunted by the ghost of his dead mother. His lonely life is interrupted when he givers refuge to a beautiful fugitive played by the incredibly sexy Marisa Mell.
Mell is the splitting image of his missing wife. This causes him to go even more insane as time passes. The two develop a bizarre relationship which leads down the road of insanity.
A lot of people had seen this on TV in the early 80's, but I never had the chance. The print from Sinister is missing the few nude scenes Mell has, which is a shame, but the movie is still good even without those.
Boyd gives a great performance as a man driven slowly insane by his own personal demons, and Mell steals the show with her stunning beauty. Thanks go to Greg Luce for letting us finally see this film. Recommended!!
It was the summer of 1979, June to be exact when this little film opened and became a very big hit. Robert Foxworth is a city doctor who is assigned to a small town in Maine which is having problems between Indians and the major corporations who want to take their land.
Talia Shire is his wife who is pregnant and hasn't told him yet. Foxworth soon discovers that something is very wrong in the area including fish almost three times their normal size. There have also been several grisly murders and the white men blame the Indians.
It's soon discovered that the nearby paper mill is putting mercury in the water and it is causing everything in the area to mutate, including humans. The main protagonist turns out to be a huge mutated bear-like monster that still to this day scares the crap outta me. It soon comes down to a terrifying fight for survival between a few people and this rampaging monster.
The ending is also something I will never forget and when I say ending I mean the final shot of the film! I love this film and really recommend it for any horror fan. The rest of the cast includes Richard Dysart, Armand Assante and Victoria Racimo.
Sally made quite a few films during her career and some of them are very familiar to people who read this blog. She starred in such films as "Vengeance Valley", "Hard, Fast and Beautiful", "Son Of Sinbad", "While The City Sleeps", and many others.
She was 86.
RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE 1944 (MILL CREEK)....Released on Jan. 1st, 1944 this horror film stars Bela Lugosi as a vampire named Armand Tesla who is first killed in 1918 and then brought back to life during WW2 after the metal stake is removed from his heart after a bombing.
Matt Willis is on hand as Andreas, a man cursed by Tesla to be a werewolf servant. This role is probably the most unique during this time period in film making. Tesla claims more victims while pretending to be a doctor named Hugo Bruckner.
This is pretty wild stuff from Columbia studios and it all comes together very well. I first stumbled onto this film back when I was very young on KWGN TV from Denver. A good thriller with a very interesting story. Recommended!!
THE WOMAN EATER 1959 (IMAGE)....George Coulouis stars as a man who brings a very odd plant back from Africa and proceeds to feed it women in order to extract a fluid that he hopes will revive the dead.
The plant monster is pretty cool looking and the cast does a good job with the material they have. Vera Day is the beautiful woman who becomes ensnared in the trap set by the mad doctor. This film is very obscure today and not talked about too much, and that is a shame.
The film isn't as bad as people make it out to be, and I do recommend it for 50's horror buffs.
Sinister Cinema brings us this film in widescreen, an beautiful black an white. It is a Japanese movie dubbed into Italian with English subtitles, but don't let that deter you.
This tale involves a hunchback that takes care of a house that is haunted by the ghosts of its previous owners. A trio of people arrive including a doctor, hie beautiful niece and his assistant. they soon find out that the house is indeed haunted as they are accosted by loud noises, bending doors and much more.
They all die horribly. The ending is really good and it is a mystery to me why this film hasn't been seen more. It reminded me of "The Haunting" and the Italian dubbing gives it a feel of a Mario Bava thriller.
I really recommend this film, and Sinister is to be commended for bringing this to the attention of film fans.
The final Gamera film involves a young woman who finds an egg that a monster hatches from. She actually decides to raise the monster as her pet, but things get a little out of hand as the beast gets bigger and bigger.
Gamera shows up and has to fight the monster in a battle that Japan and the world may not survive. He also has to contend with a flock of Gyaos monsters as well. The Gyaos take a back seat to Iris once the monster is full grown. It is unique and very convincing.
If you're a Gamera fan you will want to see this. This concludes my reviews of all 11 Gamera films from 1965-1999. Some of it was very hard to get thru, but this film more than made up for it.
Walcott was an admired actor who appeared in other films such as "Mister Roberts", "Eiger Sanction" and "Norma Rae".
He gained the most fame from starring in Ed Wood's film "Plan Nine" and in various interviews he always lamented the way the entire project was handled.
Walcott was a gentleman and very well respected. He was 87 and passed away from natural causes.
Jim Davis and Robert Griffith are scientists who launch several rockets into space with test animals and insects aboard. One of them crashes in Africa and soon there are reports of giant monsters terrifying the natives.
The two travel to Africa and find giant wasps running amok. This is one of those films you really have to stick with as there is a lot of stock footage from "Stanley And Livingston" during the course of the journey.
However, the giant wasps are pretty cool and the film does pick up towards the end. I have always liked this film and I don't care what others say. It's an alright way to spend 72 minutes on a Saturday afternoon or evening.
I have seen many different prints of this film, and still have yet to see one with the original color ending except for the VHS from Admit One during the 80's. Oh well, still a good 50's big bug film.
BRIDES OF BLOOD 1968 (ALPHA)....John Ashley stars along with Kent Taylor and Beverly Hills in this first "Blood Island" film.
it seems that the island of literally mutating due to exposure of radioactivity. The trees attack people, there is mutated animal and insect life an the islanders sacrifice young women to some mysterious being.
Taylor's oversexed wife (Hills) is very dissatisfied with her hubby and looks to any native that might give her what she wants. He is more interested in the bizarre island that her. Ashley investigates why the islanders are sacrificing young women and finds that they are used to satisfy a raging monster that comes around every few nights.
There is plenty of gore in this Philippine made sci-fi treat. The monster is very cool looking and tears his female victims apart. This was a hell of a way to start the "Blood Island" trilogy. It is the best in my opinion an it really holds your attention well.
THE YESTERDAY MACHINE 1963 (SUBSTANCE)... This is a pretty good made in Texas thriller about a Nazi who uses a time machine an tries to alter the outcome of WW2. Tim Holt stars as Lt. Partane, a man investigating the mysterious shooting of a male cheerleader and the disappearance of his girlfriend.
It seems that the mad doctor wants to bring Hitler back thru time. he has already brought soldiers from the Civil War to modern times as well as a female Nubian slave from 3000 years ago.
I have always liked this film and find it very entertaining. The DVD is very good. The picture quality isn't the sharpest, but what does one expect. If you can find this I think you should check it out.
This film was released in 1952 in Finland. It centers around an archeological team that uncovers the tomb of a witch that was buried in a swamp about 300 years prior.
She comes back to life and runs around naked until she is befriended by a young man who doesn't believe in all the superstitions. The ending is kind of a bizarre let down, but it does add a twist to the goings on.
The print from Sinister is excellent and is spoken in Finnish but subtitled into English. Another great job by Greg Luce and his company to bring a very rare title to the DVD market. The black an white photography is very good for a film of this kind, and I do recommend this for anyone who wants to see rare horror films.
John Ashley stars as a doctor in a small village in the Philippines who runs across voodoo.
Lovely Marlene Clark stars as a witch who uses her black magic to kill a few people an to attempt to kill another woman she sees as a rival for Ashley's affection.
This is not a well made film, but it will hold your attention. Clark makes for a very fetching witch an there are a few effective shocks in the film.
This film was made in 1974, but due to much legal wrangling, it couldn't be released until Ashley died in 1997!! Sinister has a beautiful print and you just might want to check it out.
Iloosh Khoshabe and Mario Novelli star as the Maciste brothers who, while building a temple find a mysterious underground world run by an evil queen.
Anthony Steffen is Prince Akim who helps the Brothers Maciste fight the evil kingdom. There is plenty of fighting and muscle popping to entertain the audience for films like this, and there is plenty of sci-fi for other fans.
If you like these kinds of films, I know I do, then check it out. It does have a different feel to it.
NIGHT FRIGHT 1968 (MILL CREEK)...This is a Texas made sci-fi film written by Russ Marker and directed by James Sullivan. John Agar stars as a sheriff in a small town that is investigating several murders. It seems an alien is responsible. The creature was created by a NASA project called "Operation Noah's Ark". The creature is suppose to be a melding of all the animal life that was mutated while in space.
People claim this is a remake of a film entitled "Demon From Devil's Lake", but I maintain it IS the same film. I enjoy any film made in Texas during the 60's. Other cast members such as Bill Thurman, Roger Ready and Carole Gilly appear in many such productions helmed in the south during this period. This film is really no worse than many others, so ignore what people say and see it for yourself.
THE ALIEN DEAD 1979 (RETROMEDIA)...Fred Olen Ray directed this zombie film about a boatload of passengers whose yacht is hit by a meteor. The dead come back as flesh eating ghouls and terrorize a small southern swamp town in Florida. I always enjoy this little film. Buster Crabbe is the Sheriff who really doesn't really do much.
A film made from hunger and love, and one that I will always recommend to anyone. Both of these made for a great Saturday double feature.
Ib Melchoir has died at the age of 97 from natural causes.
Melchoir wrote the screenplays for many of my favorite films including "Angry Red Planet", "Journey To The Seventh Planet", "Reptilicus", "Time Travelers", "Robinson Crusoe On Mars", the English language version of "Planet of the Vampires" as well as the story "The Racer" on which the film "Death Race 2000" was based.
He also wrote a few episodes of TV shows including "Man Into Space", "Outer Limits" and "13 Demon Street". His frist screenplay was for the film "Live Fast Die Young" back in 1958.
The second episode on this set was altered because at the time they couldn't find the short story "Witches' Feast", but that will be talked about later. Here is an episode run down on this five disc set.
BOY WHO PREDICTED EARTHQUAKES/MISS LOVECRAFT SENT ME/THE HAND OF BORGUS WEEMS/PHANTOM OF WHAT OPERA...9/15/71...Clint Howard is a young boy who can predict the future. A young babysitter is troubled by her client's mysterious son. Ray Milland stars in the third segment is a classic horror tale about a man who requests that a doctor cut off his right hand and finally Leslie Nielsen is a hilarious short take on the Phantom Of The Opera. What makes this last short tale even more fun is that all of the mistakes were left in!!
A DEATH IN THE FAMILY/THE MERCIFUL/CLASS OF 99/SATISFACTION GUARANTEED......9/22/71....A young thief hides in the funeral parlor of a very odd man (E.G. Marshall)/A short tale about a woman building a brick wall to help her husband (King Donovan)/ Vincent Price stars as a teacher who delivers a terrifying oral exam to a graduating class/A man arrives at an employment agency looking for a very specific kind of woman. This is the episode in which "Witches" Feast" should have been, but at the time the negative couldn't be located. It was found later and added onto the Season 3 disc as an extra.
SINCE AUNT ADA CAME TO STAY/WITH APOLOGIES TO MR. HYDE/FLIP SIDE OF SATAN...9/29/71...An elderly aunt turns out to be a witch looking for a young body to inhabit/Adam West in a short and funny story about Jekyll & Hyde/Arte Johnson is a DJ working at a very odd radio station.
A FEAR OF SPIDERS/JUNIOR/MARMALADE WINE/THE ACADEMY...10/6/71...Patrick O' Neil is a writer with a fear of spiders/A short tale about the responsibilities of being a parent/Rudy Vallee stars as a surgeon who waits out a storm with a braggart. This is a very experimental episode with minimal sets/Pat Boone stars as a man who visits a very odd Academy to put his son in there.
PHANTOM FARMHOUSE/SILENT SNOW, SECRET SNOW...10/13/71...A doctor is questioned when murders occur near where he works. David Carradine stars in this horrifying tale/Orson Wells narrates this tale of a boy who lives in a fantasy world of snow.
A QUESTION OF FEAR/THE DEVIL IS NOT MOCKED...10/27/71....Leslie Nielsen is a mercenary who bets $15,000 that he can spend the night in a haunted house/Nazi's invade a castle in WW2 and get a big surprise.
MIDNIGHT NEVER ENDS/BRENDA...11/3/71...A hitchhiker and his driver find a bizarre situation when they stop at a small diner/a young girl finds a most unusual friend on a small island.
THE DIARY/A MATTER OF SEMANTICS/BIG SURPRISE/PROFESSOR PEABODY'S LAST LECTURE....11/10/71....A destructive gossip columnist receives a diary that tells future events/A vampire visits a blood bank with a strange request/ John Carradine stars as an old hermit who promises three boys a big surprise if they dig a hole in the ground in a certain place/A college professor gives a lecture making fun of the Gods.
HOUSE WITH GHOST/MIDNIGHT VISIT TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD BLOOD BANK/DR. STRINGFELLOW'S REJUVENATOR/HELL'S BELLS...11/17/71...Gorgeous Joanna Pettet makes the first of four appearances on the show. here she is a woman who has a mysterious dream about a house/A vampire looks for his next victim and gets a funny surprise/Forrest Tucker stars as a man who sells fake potions in the old west/John Astin is a man who looks forward to going to hell when he dies.
THE DARK BOY/KEEP IN TOUCH...WE'LL THINK OF SOMETHING...11/24/71....A school teacher in 1900's Montana is haunted by a student who died a few years earlier/A man needs police help in finding an elusive woman (Joanna Pettet).
PICKMAN'S MODEL/THE DEAR DEPARTED/AN ACT OF CHIVALRY...12/1/71...Probably the most famous episode ever stars Bradford Dillman as an artist whose paintings of ghouls has a very macabre background. This is based on the famous story by H. P. Lovecraft/A fake fortune teller gets his comeuppance/a one minute short about a ghoul removing his hat in an elevator.
COOL AIR/CAMERA OBSCURA/QUOTH THE RAVEN....12/8/71...A man must live in a very cold room and the woman that loves him soon finds out why/A greedy business owner gets a taste of hell/a short about Edgar Allen Poe getting help writing a poem.
THE MESSIAH OF MOTT STREET/THE PAINTED MIRROR...12/15/71...A young boy looks for a savior to help his aged grandfather. Edward G. Robinson and Yaphet Kotto star/An antique store worker finds a mirror that is actually a doorway to a prehistoric world.
THE DIFFERENT ONES/TELL DAVID/LAGODA'S HEADS...12/29/71...A man with a deformed son arranges a planetary transfer/A woman stops at a house an gets a glimpse of her own future/A witch doctor kills an explorer and finds revenge is not only for him to enact.
GREEN FINGERS/THE FUNERAL/THE TUNE IN DAN'S CAFE....1/5/72...Another unforgettable episode stars Cameron Mitchell and Elsa Lanchester in a tale about a greedy land developer who finds out what really grows in an old lady's garden/A man arranges a late funeral for his client/A couple stop in a diner where the jukebox only plays one song.
LINDEMANN'S CATCH/THE LATE MR. PEDDINGTON/FEAST OF BLOOD.....1/12/72....A fisherman catches a mermaid whom he believes is human. This one has a kicker of an ending/A woman shops for a very cheap funeral for her husband/Sandra Locke stars as a woman who is given a brooch by her jilted suitor and it seems a little more than just a piece of jewelry. This episode is very hard to forget.
MIRACLE AT CAMAFEO/GHOST OF SORWORTH PLACE...1/19/72...Ray Danton stars as a con artist who pays a very big price for faking a healing/A beautiful young woman asks a man to stay with her at her mansion and rid it of it's ghost. Lovely Jill Ireland stars.
THE WAITING ROOM/LAST RITES FOR A DEAD DRUID...1/26/72.....A gunslinger finds himself in a small bar with a group of other gunslingers all of whom are dead/Bill Bixby stars in this tale of a man whose wife buys a very unusual statue.
DELIVERIES IN THE REAR/STOP KILLING ME/DEAD WEIGHT....2/9/72...Cornel Wilde is an anatomy teacher who gets a lesson in human life/A woman talks to a policeman about her husband who is killing her/A killer talks to a man about a way of escaping from this country to South America.
I'LL NEVER LEAVE YOU....EVER/THERE AREN'T ANYMORE MACBANES.....2/16/72.....A woman uses voodoo to get rid of her ill husband/A man turns to the occult for revenge and gets more than he bargained for.
THE SINS OF THE FATHER/YOU CAN'T GET HELP LIKE THAT ANYMORE....2/23/72...Unforgettable episode about a young man who is a "sin eater". Barbara Steele stars./A couple who like to torment their hired help get a surprise when a robot servant shows up.
THE CATERPILLAR/LITTLE GIRL LOST.....3/1/72...A man plans to kill another woman's husband so he can have her to himself. His plans to use an earwig doesn't go off as planned. This is an episode that is once seen, never forgotten. Joanna Pettet stars./A brilliant scientist believes his dead daughter is still alive and with him at all times.
The five DVD set also includes a look back at the show, it's painting and NBC promos for the show. All in all a great package for a great TV series. One that is very highly recommended. I will be reviewing Season 3 here in a few days.
