7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD 1958 (COLUMBIA)

An absolute classic with effects by Ray Harryhausen.

Kerwin Matthews is Sinbad. He and his men discover an island inhabited by a race of cyclops. On the island they meet an man being chased by one. His name is Sokurah, and thus starts a great little adventure film.

Sokurah is an evil magician an when he was on the island he lost a lamp which enabled him to summon a genie. He wants the lamp back, so he takes drastic measures to get Sinbad to go back to the island. He shrinks the woman Sinbad loves to six inches in height an tells of a formula to make her normal, and part of that formula can only be found on the island.

Back on the island Sinbad fights Cyclops, a two headed bird called a Roc and a huge dragon that is Sokurah's pet. This film is non stop action and fun with all of the effects being handled by Harryhausen. There is even a skeleton who sword fights with Sinbad, an this scene was redone on a much larger scale for "Jason And The Argonauts".

Ray Harryhausen was a genius at stop motion animation, an to this day all of his stuff looks much better than any CGI garbage thrown in my face.

The rest of the cast includes Richard Eyre as the Genie, Kathryn Grant as the Princess, Torin Thatcher as Sokurah and Alec Mango as the Caliph. Grand entertainment for one and all, and not to be missed.

AMERICAN HOT WAX 1978 (DVD-R)

I have written about this film before, but this is such a classic that is needs to be re-visited.

Tim McIntire stars as Alan Freed, the Cleveland Disc Jockey who introduced Rock N' Roll to American audiences who listened to his "Big Beat" show.

In this film Freed is attempting to have his Rock N' Roll anniversary show move forward despite attempts by the bone headed police to stop it. This takes place in 1959 and the period is presented beautifully.

The soundtrack is excellent an you have performances by Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry and many others. Everything from the acting to the editing is top notch. This film has, sadly, never seen the light of day on DVD, and I am not sure it ever will. The music rights are complicated.

If you ever get a chance to see this film, I cannot recommend it enough. The rest of the cast includes Jay Leno, Fran Drescher, and Laraine Newman.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Michelle Pfeiffer is 57, Uma Thurman is 45, Eve Plumb is 57, Cheri Caffaro is 70, and Ted V. Mikels is 86.

MANOS THE RESTORATION!!

I have been told that the day is coming soon.

According to the FB page, the official release from Synapse with be Oct 13th, 2015!! This is great news!!

I think the Master will be pleased. I know I am.

RIP VERNE GAGNE 1926-2015

A true legend of pro wrestling has passed away.

A pioneer of pro wrestling in the golden years of the sport. Gagne was the biggest attraction the American Wrestling Association ever had, and he eventually bought the company, then began promoting some of the biggest stars in the industry.

During the 70's he had AWA Wrestling on several major stations including KWGN from Denver and has such great stars as Hulk Hogan, Nick Bokwinkle, Bobby Heenan and many more.

his legacy will live on forever in the business, and for people like me who grew up watching him, he will never be forgotten. Gagne was 89.

CHARLIE'S ANGELS SEASON 2 1977-1978 (SONY)

There are 24 episodes in season 2 and it was a season of change for the show.

1. ANGELS IN PARADISE 9/7/77....The show lost Farrah but gained my favorite all time "angel" Cheryl Ladd as Kris, Jill's sister. Charlie has been kidnapped and the angels are sent to Hawaii to rescue the never before seen boss.

2. ANGELS ON ICE 9/21/77....Kelly and Kris go undercover at an Ice show to find out why people keep disappearing from the act.

3. PRETTY ANGELS ALL IN A ROW 9/28/77....Someone is terrorizing the contestants of a beauty pageant and the angels are hired to find out why.

4. ANGEL FLIGHT 10/5/77...A close friend of Sabrina is being terrorized. She is a stewardess and the angels go undercover to solve the mystery.

5. CIRCUS OF TERROR 10/19/77...A circus owned by an old fashioned gypsy is plagued by accidents and murder. The angels enter the scene as performers to find the killer.

6. ANGEL IN LOVE 10/26/77...The angels are called to a resort to investigate the death of the owners nephew.

7. UNIDENTIFIED FLYING ANGELS 11/2/77...In one of the most bizarre episodes ever, the angels are called in to investigate a phony UFO scheme and a missing elderly woman who happens to be very wealthy.

8. ANGELS ON THE AIR 11/9/77...A radio reporter is almost killed in the field an she enlists the angels to help find the person trying to kill her.

9. ANGEL BABY 11/16/77....The angels set out to stop a baby broker business. Kelly goes undercover as an unwed mother to smash the ring.

10. ANGELS IN THE WINGS 11/23/77...A mute man is causing chaos on the set of a musical an the angels must find out why.

11. MAGIC FIRE 11/30/77...An arsonist known as the Magic Man is setting mysterious fires. A magician friend of Charlies' is accused of the crimes and the angels must discover the truth.

12. SAMMY DAVIS JR. KIDNAP CAPER 12/7/77.... The angels are hired to protect Sammy Davis Jr. after a botched kidnap attempt at an event he was hosting.

13. ANGELS ON HORSEBACK 12/21/77...The angels investigate murders at a dude ranch and also discover a crime committed many years before.

14. GAME, SET, DEATH 1/4/78...At a women's tennis tournament a champion almost dies when someone tampers with her shower door, and this is only one of many attempted murders the angels must investigate. Gorgeous Tiffany Bolling stars.

15. HOURS OF DESPERATION 1/11/78...An insane criminal straps a bomb to Sabrina and forces Kelly and Kris to find the man who double crossed him during a robbery. One of the best episodes ever made.

16. DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH 1/18/78...An ex jewel thief helps the angels steal a diamond from a wealthy man's fortress-like home and return it to a museum.

17. ANGELS IN THE BACKFIELD 1/25/78...When a member of a female football team is attacked by masked bikers the angels join the team to solve the mystery.

18. THE SANDCASTLE MURDERS 2/1/78...The seaside town where Kris lives is being plagued by a strangler, and Kris may be the next victim.

19. ANGEL BLUES 2/8/78...Kris goes undercover as a reporter to look for the murderer of a singer who walked off stage and disappeared a few hours later.

20. MOTHER GOOSE IS RUNNING FOR HIS LIFE 2/15/78...A toymaker has a few close calls at his business and he calls on Charlie and the angels to investigate. Another very well made show.

21. LITTLE ANGELS OF THE NIGHT 2/22/78...In an apartment complex in which most of the tenants are prostitutes, a murderer is running loose killing the girls. The angels move in and try to pin the killer down.

22. THE JADE TRAP 3/1/78...A cat burglar is accused of the murder of a wealthy woman during a robbery, when in reality it was someone else.

23. ANGELS ON THE RUN 5/3/78...Kelly is kidnapped by diamond thieves who mistake her for another man's wife.

24. ANTIQUE ANGELS 5/10/78...Criminals use an antique car rally as a cover to steal radioactive elements so they can sell them to another country. Mala Powers stars.

All of these episodes were good in my opinion, but there were several standouts, as has been noted in the synopsis for them. Cheryl Ladd fit right in with the cast an stayed with the show until it's end.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Jessica Alba is 34, Ann-Margret is 74, and Kari Wuhrer is 48.

A SMALL TRIBUTE TO CASEY KASEM

Today, Casey would have turned 83.

There has not been a more influential person in my life than Casey. He held my attention at all times with his remarkable radio show "American Top 40".

During the 70's Casey was all I listened to on the radio when I could, an then when i discovered he made several low budget horror films, I simply had to see them.

I still listen to the original broadcasts of AT 40, an I have several hundred of them. I loved the man. I wanted to be on radio just like Casey, and I finally got to o that for a short time, an always thought of him when I did it.

Kasem will never be replaced, an this is the first time I couldn't list him in my Birthday blog entry. I miss him, but know he is in a much better place, but his legacy is still a huge part of my life, and always will be.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Sheena Easton is 56.

SHORT TAKES.....

I watched a couple of horror films the other day that deal with aircraft. Both have been discussed here before.

HORROR AT 37,000 FEET 1973 (PARAMOUNT) An all star cast headlines this great made for TV horror film. The premise is about an ancient druid curse that comes to fruition during the flight that is transporting part of an ancient monastery.

Roy Thinnes is the man who is bringing this old relic to America. Soon the terror starts as the plane is suddenly stopped in midair and the evil spirit starts to freeze the inside of the plane.

The 10 passengers start acting like idiots and demand a sacrifice. The evil is beginning to control them as well. This is a slick an well made film, that when it first aired scared the crap outta me. it has a lot of great scares an the cast also features Buddy Ebson, Chuck Conners, Paul Winfield, William Shatner, and France Nuyen. See it and find out how TV used to be entertaining.

GOKE THE BODY SNATCHER FROM HELL 1968 (CRITERION) I was first introduced to this film on a rare VHS from a company called DeGregory Video back in the 80's. It has always remained elusive, but since Criterion brought it out we can all enjoy it.

A Japanese airliner encounters a blood red sky, birds crashing into it and a would be bomber, and an alien spacecraft before finally crashing in a remote area. The survivors are a pretty unsavory bunch including a crooked politician, his wife, an arms dealer who is happy for the current Vietnam War. Also on board is a lovely American woman who hates war and is on the way the claim her dead husbands body.

A hijacker is taken over in a very grisly way by the invaders. His head is split open and a strange silver substance enters into his body. He then stalks the rest of the cast and drains them of their blood. The survivors fight amongst themselves and endanger everyone as the alien closes in.

Finally only the a pilot and a stewardess are alive and they think they have killed the alien. The escape only to find all of Japan infested with the monsters. The earth is doomed.

This is one of four horror films turned out by a small Japanese film company called Shochiku. It's really a remarkable piece of work that all sci-fi fans should see.

THE SET UP 1949 (WARNER)

A classic film noir.

Robert Ryan stars as a washed up boxer who has a last chance to make something of himself in the ring. His wife, played by Audrey Totter is tired of him fighting and she wants him to quit.

His manager has secretly made a deal with a gangster to have the fight thrown in the third round. Ryan has no idea this has been done, actually wins the fight. That's when the gangsters move in and beat the hell out of him.

Director Robert Wise filmed this is real time, and it is the only movie of it's kind like that. The entire movie takes place in Ryan's hotel room and in the boxing ring, then a few shots are one outside of the arena as well. it is a very dark and moody film, and Wise knows how to direct and gets the best out of a top notch cast.

the film is a noir classic that shouldn't be missed. The rest of the cast consists of George Tobias, Wallace Ford, Percy Hilton and Phillip Pine.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Gina Torres is 46.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Stacy Haiduk is 47.

SHORT TAKES.....

Watched a couple of films the other day and, again, they have been talked about here before, but deserve another look.

THE CYCLOPS 1957 (WARNER ARCHIVE) Gloria Talbott stars in this thriller directed by Bert I Gordon. She and her party of three other men set out to find her long lost fiancee who has been missing in the mountains of Mexico for three years.

The party are told they cannot fly into the mountains by the Mexican police, but they do anyway and find nothing but trouble. Lon Chaney, Jr. is Marty, a greedy man who wants to find uranium, Tom Drake is the pilot and James Craig is the scientist who loves Talbotts' character.

The man they are looking for is found soon enough. It seems the uranium in the mountains has changed him into a mutated 25 foot giant. The mutated monster captures the small folks and kills Marty. The others must escape or die.

Some of the effects in this film don't work too well, but that is expected in any Gordon production as the money was very limited. If you like mindless 50's monster movies like I do, then this film will work for you.

DRACULA AD 1972...1972 (WARNER) Christopher Lee is back in a modernized Hammer classic about the Count being brought back to life via black magic in 1972.

Sexy Stephanie Beacham and her friends including Caroline Munro (who is simply stunning) are menaced by the revived Count and his helper Johnny Alucard, played by Christopher Neame. Peter Cushing is Van Helsing who must save his granddaughter (Beacham) from the blood sucker clutches.

This is a very well made film directed by Alan Gibson. Lee and Cushing are excellent as usual. The women are all beautiful and we even get to hear The Stone ground sing "Alligator Man". What more could you ask for?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Lee Majors is 76, and Valerie Bertinelli is 55.

COMMON LAW WIFE 1963 (SINISTER CINEMA)

Oh my, another made in Texas classic.

Eric Sayers is credited as the director of this exploitation gem, but some sources claim Larry Buchanan also directed.

Shugfoot Rainey is a wealthy old man who attempts to throw out his current live in lover, Linda so he can have his niece, a sexy young woman who has come back from New Orleans after making a living as a stripper, can move in.

She goes by the name Baby Doll and creates nothing but problems for everyone. Shug tries to make peace between the two women, but that doesn't work out well. The ending to this film is somewhat shocking and very unexpected, an that is the reason to view this film.

Annabelle Weenick is Linda, Lacey Kelly is Baby Doll. Both of these women easily carry the movie. God, I love films made in the great state of Texas. Recommended!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Jack Nicholson is 78, Catherine Mary Stewart is 56, and Mark Damon is 82.

SHORT TAKES....

Two more films I recently watched as a double feature.

INVASION OF THE ASTRO MONSTER 1970 (CLASSIC MEDIA) AKA Godzilla Vs. Monster Zero. Nick Adams and the luscious Kumi Mizuno star in this classic monster bash. Aliens trick the earth into "lending" them Godzilla and Rodan in order to fight "Monster Zero" who is Ghidrah.

What the aliens really want is Earth to be a slave colony, and they unleash all three monsters upon the earth. This is one of the best Godzilla films of the period. Constant action and lots of monster fights and destruction. Mizuno is gorgeous as an alien woman who actually falls in love with an earthman, and it is her information that she secretly gives to Addams that saves the entire world.

Good Saturday afternoon fun.

THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN ALIVE 1960 (DVD-R) This is a rare film that sadly has been neglected. Ron Randall stars as a man who was set up by others for a murder he didn't commit. He escapes and is caught in a test area with an atom bomb. It goes off and he finds he has a body slowly turning to steel.

He seeks to get revenge on those that set him up and he does so one by one. The police are looking for him and his trail leads to his former girlfriend played by the very sexy Debra Paget, who never looked better than in this film in my opinion.

Morris Ankrum and Greg Palmer are the two policemen on the case. This is somewhat of a remake of the 1956 film "Indestructible Man". It has been sadly overlooked and that is a shame. I keep hoping this will turn up on DVD or Blu-ray, but there is little hope of that.

Anyway, I highly recommend this overlooked classic, if you can find it.

COMING ATTRACTIONS.....

A great group of films coming to Blu-ray and DVD.

Kino is making July a great month with several releases including "Crimson Cult", "Deranged", "Madhouse" with Vincent Price, "Black Sabbath", "House of 1000 Dolls" also with Price and finally "Truck Turner" with Isaac Hayes!!

These all promise to be great releases> I am especially waiting for "Truck Turner" and "House Of 1000 Dolls".

Shout Factory has announced that in August they will be releasing the 1979 classic "The Legacy" starring Katherine Ross and Sam Elliot. This is a long awaited film for me and Shout will be giving it to us in Blu-ray!! No date available yet.

HAPPY 43RD BIRTHDAY TO CARMEN ELECTRA

The actress/model is 43 today.

Still one of the most beautiful women in the world in my opinion anyway.

SHORT TAKES....

Watched a couple of gems the other day an they have been written on here before, but deserve a second look.

MILL OF THE STONE WOMEN 1960 (SINISTER CINEMA) This is an excellent example of Euro horror. Based on a story in "Flemish Tales", this one really packs a wallop. A young man is drawn to a mysterious windmill where a reclusive doctor lives with his lovely daughter and a lot of bizarre wax figures.

It seems the daughter is dying and the mad doctor kidnaps women an uses them to keep her alive. He then uses them as his wax figures to be put on display to make money to finance his experiments. The deep rich colors are really something to see, an the cast really plays it out well.

The film works on many levels and should be seen by any horror fan. The print from Sinister is beautiful.

VOODOO ISLAND 1957 (MGM) Boris Karloff stars as a TV host whose job it is to expose superstition and voodoo as a hoax. He travels to a mysterious island that a big business man wants to build a hotel on. One of the six passengers on the flight to the island is under a voodoo spell and strange things happen on the flight as well as when they arrive on the island.

The group discovers man eating plants an strange voodoo rites. I first saw this when I was sick an home from school on KSTW TV in Seattle. I have always love this film an always will despite what others say. The rest of the cast includes Elisha Cook, Jr, Rhodes Reason, Beverly Tyler, Murvyn Vey, Jean Engstrom an a very young Adam West.

Director Reginald LeBorg does a good job with some pretty creepy scenes and a great music score. Recommended!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Hugh O' Brian is 90.

MALATESTA'S CARNIVAL OF BLOOD 1973 (WINDMILL)

If ever there was an odd movie this is it.

A very rare film indeed. It is a very surreal trip into horror that just seems to start. The actions of most of the characters is never explained beyond a simple point.

This bizarre carnival is full of cannibalistic ghouls who love to eat and watch silent movies on the cinema screen, a strange bloodsucking vampire named Blood, a demented dwarf named Bobo (Herve De Villechaize), and of course it's all overseen by the mysterious Malatesta.

Director Chris Speeth really knows how to bring out the oddness of his actors because it shows in every frame. If you are into very surreal films, then this is for you. It's not a bad film by any means, I love it, but it is not for everyone.

I am very glad American Zoetrope helped with getting this long lost gem out to the public once again. Recommended.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Melissa Joan Hart is 39, Eric Roberts is 59, Hayley Mills is 69, Melody Thomas Scott is 59, and Barbara Hale is 93.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Olivia Hussey is 64, Roddy Piper is 61, and Michael Forest is 86.

SHORT TAKES.....

A quick look at two vastly different films I watched as a double feature the other day.

CURSE OF THE BLACK WIDOW 1977 (DVD-R) When oh when is this Dan Curtis ditty going to be released on DVD? Tony Franciosa stars as a private investigator looking into the murder of several people in the San Francisco area. The bodies are usually drained of blood and have a huge gash in the chest.

Vic Morrow is the police detective who suspects what is happening, but will not admit it. As the story progresses they discover that a young woman, bitten by many spiders when she was involved in a plane crash as a child, might be the key to solving the murders.

The woman has the power to change into a huge black widow spider, and now the police and a private investigator must figure out how to get rid of it. This is typical Curtis material. It is well made, creepy as hell in spots, features excellent music by Robert Cobert and is very well cast. The rest of the cast includes, Donna Mills, Max Gail, Patty Duke, June Lockhart, June Allyson, Jeff Corey, Roz Kelly and Sid Caesar.

I don't understand why this is so late in getting to the DVD market, but I anxiously await it to show up.

BEAST OF HOLLOW MOUNTAIN 1956 (SHOUT FACTORY) This was my first Blu-ray purchase of 2014 when Shout first released it on a great double bill with "Neanderthal Man".

This is a good mixture of sci-fi and western genres. Guy Madison is a man who owns a ranch in Mexico and he has cattle that are mysteriously missing. the locals blame a strange beats that lives in a hollow mountain which is almost inaccessible and Madison does not believe that.

He soon learns that there is a monster and must confront it to save the town and the lady that he loves, played by Patricia Medina. The monster doesn't show up until almost an hour into the film and I hear a lot of people complain about that, but I like the western story as well so I can be very patient. Monster buffs just have to wait until the payoff comes.

The monster is an impressive work of stop motion animation, even though it was done in a hurry. This was an idea that Willis O' Brien had had for many years. He loved the idea of combining western and dinosaurs. The film credits him for the idea, but it wasn't until "Vally Of Gwangi" did that idea really come to pass.

I like this movie a lot and really recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Melody Patterson is 66.

RAMBLINGS.....

Just got a notification on FB that a friend of mine has scored a copy of Disney's "Song Of The South"! It is an original!!

That is one of my most sought after films!!! Congrats to Kay on the find!!!