Monday, July 31, 2017

COMING ATTRACTIONS.....

Paul Naschy strikes again via Shout Factory.

Shout has announced THE PAUL NASCHY COLLECTION VOL. 2 which will be available on Nov. 14th.

This five movie set includes HUNCHBACK OF THE MORGUE, THE DEVIL'S POSSESSED, THE WEREWOLF AND THE YETI, EXORCISM and A DRAGONFLY FOR EACH CORPSE.

No extras have been announced as I write this, but simply more excellent news of another top Blu-Ray release.

Sunday, July 30, 2017

Saturday, July 29, 2017

DICK TRACY VS. CRIME INC. (VCI) 1941

Another winner serial from Republic.

This is the 4th and final Tracy serial and this one carries a lot of science fiction elements with it.

In this one Tracy battle "The Ghost" a mysterious criminal who is capable of making himself invisible and plans to wipe out New York and every member of the city's crime commission.

There are some great action scenes in this and in particular two very violent fights between Tracy and The Ghost. The ending is the most violent of all the Tracy serials, and one you won't forget.

Ralph Byrd is Tracy, of course and the rest of the cast includes Michael Owen, Jan Wiley, Ralph Morgan, John Davidson and Kenneth Harlan.

If you like the old republic serials, I recommend you check this one out.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

David Warner is 76, Robert Fuller is 84, Delia Sheppard is 57, Tina Krause is 47, and Scott Steiner is 55.

Friday, July 28, 2017

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Elizabeth Berkley is 45, Charles Cyphers is 78, and Lisa Gastoni is 82.

Thursday, July 27, 2017

RIP JUNE FORAY 1917-2017

The voice of Rocky the Flying Squirrel has died.

The woman who provided the voices for some of my favorite cartoons has died at the age of 99.

Foray began her career in voices on a 1943 short called The Egg Cracker Suite and her future was set. She voiced hundreds of character from Rocky the Flying Squirrel and Natasha, all the way up to the Simpsons and beyond.

I don't think there is a person alive who hasn't at one point or another heard her voice on some animated show somewhere. A small sample of her work would include The Bugs Bunny Show, Yogi Bear, Beetle Bailey, Mr. Magoo and much more.

A couple of Twilight Zone episodes also featured her voice and those were Living Doll and The Bewitchin' Pool. Her talents were many and she helped form my cartoon addiction. RIP June.

FACE OF THE SCREAMING WEREWOLF 1965

Oh my God, Jerry Warren strikes again!!

Warren has taken two Mexican films, The Aztec Mummy and a horror comedy entitled The Castle of Terror and edited them both together along with some of his famous insert shots and made one hell of a mish mash film.

Two mummies are discovered and one turns out to be a werewolf which happens to kill a few people. Lon Chaney, Jr. portrays the wolfman and it's interesting to see him again in this footage. His scenes are from Castle Of Terror.

This is a really confusing film that makes no sense whatsoever, but it somehow is fun to watch, maybe because it is so inept.

The film run 59 minutes so it is essentially painless, but God, why did Warren do this anyway? If you have an hour to kill and you want to see Chaney in a final performance as a werewolf, here is your chance.

I will say Warren could make bad movies like nobody else.

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

SCORCHY 1976 (SHOUT FACTORY) BLU-RAY

An AIP favorite with the incredibly sexy Connie Stevens.

Stevens is a narcotics detective named Jackie Parker, who is hot on the trail of a drug lord who is smuggling drugs into the US via valuable art items.

The head of the entire operation in Seattle is Philip Bianco (Cesare Danova)and Parker is getting closer to having him arrested. Everything seems to be running smoothly until Carl Henrich (William Smith) decides he wants the drugs for himself and steals them from Bianco.

Parker's boss, Chief Frank O' Brien (Normann Burton) warns her to be careful, but the beautiful detective just continues to plunge headlong into a whirlwind of trouble.

Stevens brings a great sexuality to her role, and it is really a shame she didn't make more movies like this. The action never really stops and there are plenty of gun fights, car chases, fist fights and once scene where Henrich kills a young man who is making passionate love to Parker with a speargun. That scene came as a surprise.

I like this movie a hell of a lot and had it when it was first issued on DVD from Shout/ Timeless. The Blu-ray is beautiful and I cannot recommend it enough for exploitation and action fans.

If you haven't seen the film I won't spoil the end, but lets just say it's not what I would prefer, but it works really well for shock value.

The rest of the cast includes Greg Evigan (his debut and he gets to be in bed with Stevens!!!), John Davis Carson, Joyce Jameson and Nick Dimitri.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Linda Harrison is 72, Susan George is 67, Celeste Yarnall is 73, and Suzanna Leigh is 72.

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Monday, July 24, 2017

COMING ATTRACTIONS....

Warner Archives has announced another of my favorite films coming to Blu-ray later this year.

THE GREEN SLIME is coming to Blu later in 2017 and although I don't have a date yet, I already know this will be in my collection.

One of the most fun movies I have ever had the pleasure of watching. it stars Robert Horton, Richard Jaeckel and the gorgeous Luciana Paluzzi.

When I find out a street date I will let you know. What a year 2017 has been so far for great releases on Blu-ray and DVD.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Lynda Carter is 66, and Torrie Wilson is 42.

Sunday, July 23, 2017

DECOY 1957-58 (FILM CHEST)

A groundbreaking TV show has been rescued from oblivion.

Beverly Garland stars as Policewoman Casey Jones in this excellent series that ran for 39 episodes.

This was an attempt to make a serious police show and the producers succeeded very well. If you watch it you will be reminded of Dragnet as the character of Jones talks directly to the camera at the end of every episode.

The 39 episodes are well written and some of the actors that appear include Zorah Lampert, Peter Falk and many, many more. I had seen a few of the episodes on discount discs before and the quality wasn't too hot.

Now Film Chest has rescued this show from oblivion and all of the episodes look fantastic. The three disc set also includes a very cool little booklet about the show, an episode guide and a guide to some of the actual new York locations the show was shot at.

If you're a fan of vintage TV, I would highly recommend this show. Also I can't see any Beverly Garland fan passing it by. Check it out.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Charisma Carpenter is 47, Ronny Cox is 79, Lydia Cornell is 64, and Erika Blanc is 75.

Saturday, July 22, 2017

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Shawn Michaels is 52, Erica Gavin is 70, Tisa Farrow is 66, and Mary Collinson is 65.

Friday, July 21, 2017

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Adrienne King is 62, and Ike Eisenmann is 55.

Thursday, July 20, 2017

RAMBLINGS....

I think this pretty much sums up what I feel...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Diana Rigg is 79, Camilla Keaton is 70, and Kim Carnes is 72.

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Tuesday, July 18, 2017

STAR SLAMMER 1986 (KINO)

Another Fred Olen Ray gem, and I mean that in a good way.

I was first introduced to this film during the boom of VHS and have always liked it.

Gorgeous Sandy Brooke is Taura who is arrested for a crime she didn't commit and sent to a prison ship and run by a maniacal lesbian warden.

Taura proves herself to her fellow inmates, including Mike (Susan Stokey), and both plot their escape. The plot is very simple and basic, but Ray uses it to his best advantage, which is usually the case.

All of the Ray regulars are in this film as well including Ross Hagen as Bantor ( a character who is bat-shit crazy), Dawn Wildsmith, John Carradine, Bobbi Bresee, Danita Aljuwani, beautiful Jade Barrett as Dr. Po, Johnny Legend and Aldo Ray as "The Inquisitor". I could never figure out why Jade Barrett didn't have a longer career unless she chose not to act anymore.

Anyhow, this film moves along well and has all the welcome Ray trappings including mutant monsters, beautiful women in very little clothing and over the top characters.

Watching films from Ray is like welcoming an old friend one hasn't seen in a while. I am glad Kino decided to release this and I hope they release more Ray titles soon. Recommended!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Audrey Landers is 61, Molly Culver is 50, and Al Snow is 54.

Monday, July 17, 2017

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Donald Sutherland is 82, P. J. Soles is 67, Diahann Carroll is 82, and Catherine Schell is 73.

Sunday, July 16, 2017

RIP MARTIN LANDAU 1928-2017

A very classy man has died.

Martin Landau is best know for his role in the TV show Mission Impossible and his role in the Tim Burton film Ed Wood in which Landau played Bela Lugosi.

Landau had a very interesting career as he appeared in everything from the original Twilight Zone, to Get Smart and everything in between. His movies included everything from Nevada Smith and A Town Called Hell to The Being and Without Warning.

I have often referred to Landau as a real actor which simply means one who works for a living and will take just about any job that came his way.

Landau passed away on July 15th at the age of 89.