31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 31: HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO ALL

I hope everyone reading this has a great Halloween with plenty of great horror films to watch.

A few days ago I mentioned some of my Halloween favorites I watch every year, and I am sure we all have those, but there are many more I can easily recommend.

Some great titles for the day include THE THING (1951), HORROR OF DRACULA, LET'S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH, CARNIVAL OF SOULS, CREEPSHOW, HALLOWEEN 3, HALLOWEEN (1978), and so many more.

It's all a matter of taste and everyone has different likes and dislikes. I am sure many would disagree with several films I reviewed here during this 31 Days.

Whatever you decide to look at I hope you have a very good Halloween, and as I always say...Halloween is 365 days a year in my world and I hope it is in yours too.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 31: DEATH RAY MIRROR OF DR. MABUSE 1966 (RETROMEDIA)

Another great little Dr. Mabuse film.

Peter Van Eyck is Maj. Bob Anders, a man who is on the trail of a master criminal who is possessed by Dr. Mabuse.

He, and a few other spies are on an island seeking the criminal who has gotten his hands on a eath ray and is more than willing to start World War 3.

The movies doesn't feel like a Mabuse film, but it is. James Bond was highly popular at the time and I think the producers wanted more of that kind of flavor. That doesn't make this less fun however.

The film has two directors, Hugo Fregonese and Victor De Santis and was made in 1964, but not released in the USA until 1967. The rest of the cast includes O. E. Hasse, Yvonne Furneaux, Walter Rilla and Dieter Eppler.

If you like the Mabuse films, you should enjoy this one, but expect something a little different. The print from Retromedia is not too bad and very watchable.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 30: THE RETURN OF DR. MABUSE 1961 (RETROMEDIA)

More thrills with the mastermind Dr. Mabuse.

FBI agent Joe Como (Lex Barker) is called in when a member of Interpol is murdered. He helps Commissioner Lohmann (Gert Frobe)investigate and soon finds the case is much bigger than he thought.

It seems that Mabuse (Wolfgang Preiss) is using mind controlled convicts to commit crimes including murder. Lohmann begins to doubt Como's loyalty after Como appears to have joined a mysterious organization which it trying to unite all crime organizations of the world.

Again, this film moves along quickly and never gets boring. I do admit that these are strictly for fans of German crime films, but they are well done for what they are.

Retromedia included this on a three Mabuse movie set "The Terrible Dr. Mabuse" and all three will be reviewed here. I liked this film a lot and recommend it for any fan of the genre. The plot is simple and brisk.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Henry Winkler is 72.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 29: THE INVISIBLE DR. MABUSE 1962 (RETROMEDIA)

A pretty cool mixture of crime and science fiction.

The deranged master criminal Dr. Mabuse is after an invisibility ray created by a Professor Erasmus (Rudolf Feranu).

A beautiful dancer named Maria (Karin Dor) is being stalked by an invisible admirer and seeks the aid of an FBI man, Joe Como (Lex Barker). All of this is tied to a bizarre murder and the above mentioned device.

The police are also seeking the invisibility machine as they know if Mabuse gets ahold of it he will use it to create an army of invisible soldiers. Como receives a few threatening letters but keeps the investigation going.

The story moves along at a good pace and as I have said before, it's always good to see Karin Dor in anything. Director Harald Reinl also helmed Barker and Dor in "Torture Chamber Of Dr. Sadism". He was also married to Dor at the time this was made.

Print quality from Retromedia is not bad at all and should satisfy fans.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Gabrielle Union is 45, and Ana Foxx is 29.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 28: BILLY THE KID VS. DRACULA 1966 (TCM VIEWING)

I hadn't seen this film in a long time, and was surprised to see this on TCM.

I know a lot of people don't like this film for various reasons, but I love it, and always have. Yes it's dopey and silly, but still a favorite of mine.

John Carradine stars as Dracula who assumes the persona of a man killed in an Apache raid and arrives at a ranch. He pretends to be the owner of the ranch and he sets his sites on the dead man's niece, Betty (Melinda Plowman). It just so happens that Betty is engaged to a young man named William Bonney (Chuck Courtney).

Bonney is, of course Billy The Kid, and the Count will not allow the marriage as he wants Betty himself for a bride. This is quite a movie indeed.

I have always been a fan of this film even if it's kinda stupid. It mixes two genres I really enjoy and has a cast to die for. There are some outstanding and unforgettable moments in this film including Carradines' Dracula calling the town doctor of "female backwoods pill slinger" and ol' Drac setting his sights on an Indian squaw.

However one can never forget the close up shots of a young German woman's face as she recognizes the vampire from an earlier attack. These shots alone make the film worth while. The rest of the cast includes Virginia Christine, Bing Russell and Olive Carey.

One small it of trivia is that the director, William "One Shot" Beaudine lost most of his money in the stock market crash of 1929 and spent the rest of his life trying to make that money back, one low budget film at a time, and as people who read this blog know, he made a hell of a lot of them.

Enjoy this little gem for Halloween, and have a good time.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Christy Hemme is 37.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 27: THEY WON'T BELIEVE ME 1947 (TCM VIEWING)

Another great film noir gem that you might enjoy over the Halloween season.

Robert Young stars as Larry Ballentine, a man who is unhappily married to his wife Greta (Rita Johnson). Larry likes to flirt with other women. He meets a young lady named Janice Bell (Jane Greer) and they have a short relationship until Janice calls it off.

This sets Larry back and he returns to his wife. Greta knows he is a cad, but she needs him none the less. Soon Larry meets the beautiful Verna Carlson (Susan Heywood)and they hit it off very, very well.

Larry keeps up the two timing and Verna leaves him, but only for a while. Things get complicated and Larry and Verna makes plans to leave together, but she is killed in an automobile crash which Larry survives.

Thru a series of happy coincidence the police identify Verna's body as that of Greta and that let's Larry scheme to kill Greta. That is the point where the movie makes an even sharper turn and throws a huge surprise in your face.

The ending is a shocker, even though it isn't what the director really wanted to shoot. If you have never seen this film I highly recommend you do. It may not be a horror film, but Halloween is also very good for murder mysteries and film noir.

The rest of the cast includes Tom Powers, Frank Ferguson, and Harry Harvey.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Lara Parker is 79, and Jayne Kennedy is 66.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 26: RIDE IN THE WHIRLWIND 1966 ( TCM VIEWING)

Yes, I know you are probably saying "a western on the 31 days of Halloween?"

To me horror is not just in horror films, it encompasses a lot of stuff in every genre,and this is an excellent example.

Monte Hellman directed this gem about three cowboys who are mistaken for outlaw and relentlessly pursued by a vigilante posse.

The three men heading for a job in Waco stop for food and sleep at a cabin where some outlaws are hiding out, and that is their downfall. The men, Vern (Cameron Mitchell), Wes (Jack Nicholson), and Otis (Tom Filer) are forced to become horse thieves and killers in a desperate effort to survive.

This minimalist western is available from Criterion and the print I saw on TCM is the best I have ever seen the film looking. It was shot back to back with another Hellman western called "The Shooting".

I include this in the 31 Days of Halloween because the terror of the three men who have been thrown into something they have no control over is a gripping as anything in a horror film. The performances by everyone in the cast is perfect. When first released the film got hardly any play until 1972, which is a shame, but better late than never.

The rest of the cast for this "noir-western" includes Millie Perkins, Harry Dean Stanton, katherine Squire, and Rupert Crosse. Another HighlyRecommended film!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Jaclyn Smith is 72, and Dana Kimmell is 58.

RIP FATS DOMINO 1928-2017

One of the giants of Rock n' Roll has died.

Antoine Domino was a piano prodigy whose first five records all sold over a million copies. He was part of the birth of Rock in 1955 and from then on he never looked back.

Domino was one of the first musicians to be inducted into the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame and his impact on the music business cannot ever be underestimated.

He gave up touring to stay in his home town of Baton Rouge, LA and lost everything in Hurricane Katrina, but he did manage to bounce back and continued performing. He died in Harvey, LA at the age of 89.

He appeared in several films including "Shake, Rattle and Rock", "The Girl Can't Help It" and "Jamboree". I still listen to his music to this day and it NEVER gets old. Long Live BLUEBERRY HILL!!

RIP ROBERT GUILLAUME 1927-2017

Benson has passed away.

While he never made genre films like I talk about here, Guillaume will always be remembered for his portrayal of the cynical butler on the TV show Soap named Benson.

He went on to his own show which was a spin off of Soap which was simply entitled Benson which aired from 1979-1986. He was born in St. Louis and got his career on TV and the movies started in 1966 in the film Porgy in Wein. He was 89.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 25: I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE 1943 (TCM VIEWING)

This is how to make a horror film!

Frances Dee stars as Betsy Connell, a nurse from Canada who is called to a small Caribbean island to care for the wife of a sugar plantation owner.

Once on the island she meets Paul Holland (Tom Conway) whose wife is in a zombie-like trance. Holland slowly falls in love with Connell and a very dark and twisted family secret becomes more and more clear.

This was produced by Val Lewton, of course and that means the atmosphere is heavy and the darkness is deep. Jacques Tourneur directed this horror classic andd he has a way of making the most mundane scenes look very scary.

This film takes you back to a time in cinema when zombies were created by Voodoo and served their masters. This is how zombies were portrayed in films until 1968, and that is not a bad thing. Darby Jones is frightening as Carrfour, a tall and menacing zombie with a decaying face and menacing walk.

The rest of the cast for this very impressive film includes James Ellison, Edith Barrett, James Bell and Sir Lancelot. One more thing about this film, in case you have never seen it...the ending is abrupt and wonderfully done. Highly Recommended film.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Rosa Mendes is 38.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 24: TRAIN TO BUSAN 2016 (WELL GO USA) BLU-RAY

Absolutely one of the best horror films I have seen in many years!!!

This is a South Korean horror film that works on EVERY level. A young girl lives with her father and his mother. She wants nothing more than to visit her mom in Busan and her reluctant and very busy father agrees.

The early morning passengers arrive at the train station and the young girl named Soo-an sees several bizarre sights including a man jumping on another and a very ill and strange acting woman stumbling onto the train.

The train leaves the station and one of the train hostesses finds the very sick woman in convulsions. She is bitten by the woman and that starts one of the most riveting films you will ever see.

A zombie virus has broken out and spreads like wildfire thru train as several passengers attempt to stay alive. making matters worse, the virus has spread all thru Korea and the army is trying to contain it. No scene in this film is wasted and it never lets up for 2 hours.

There are many scenes you'll never forget, and the ending is a real sad downer. I don't think the end of any film ever hit me in the gut so hard as this one did.

There is really no explanation given for what is happening, and who really needs one anyway. Yoo Gong is excellent as the always busy father who fights for his and his daughters life during the crisis. Directed by Sang-ho-Yeon, a director who obviously knows how to handle a horror film very well.

I didn't go into too much detail here as I don't want to spoil anything for people that haven't seen this gem yet. For Halloween, you can't go wrong with this one. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 23: ZOMBEAVERS 2016 (FREESTYLE) BLU-RAY

Uhm, what can I say about a film like this?

A barrel of radioactive something or other falls off a truck driven by a careless driver texting instead of paying attention. The barrel releases a green spray that soon has an effect on everything around it.

At the same time three college girls are headed for a secluded cabin for a quiet weekend. However, before you know it, their boyfriends show up and the debauchery begins...until they are attacked by zombie beavers!!.

There are some big comedy moments in this film and some are well done, and others not so well done. The zombie beavers are a hoot by themselves, but when people get bitten by them they also turn into zombie beavers!! I mean they grow big teeth and huge flat tails!! I have not had such a good laugh at the movies in some time.

What helps this film a lot is that the actors play it serious and that always helps. I stayed watching the film thru the entire end credits where a lot of bloopers are located, and if you stick with the film further than that you get a hell of a bizarre lounge theme song entitled "Zombeavers".

The ending of the is a hoot what with the final scene being a virtual repeat of the opening involving two careless truck drivers.

If you haven't seen this film you might want to check it out. There are many thing to recommend including the beavers. the women, the T&A. yep, if you want light Halloween fare that will entertain, check it out.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

'Weird Al' Yankovic is 58, and Leah Van Dale is 30.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 22: PHANTOM RAIDERS 1940 (TCM VIEWING)

Pretty interesting film.

Walter Pidgeon stars as Nick Carter, a private investigator who is called in along with his assistant Bartholomew (Donald Meek)to investigate a rash of cargo ship sinkings.

While doing the investigation he runs into a man he knows named Al Taurez (Joseph Schildkraut). Carter soon discovers that Taurez is the brains behind the ship sinkings, but has a hell of a time proving it due to the clever way it's being done.

The bombings are done by remote control and radio waves making it very hard to pin it on anyone, but Nick manages to get it pinned on Taurez after many encounters with cut throats, gangsters and other sorted types.

Schildkraut gives a great performance in this film as does Donal Meek as Bartholomew. One of the better Nick Carter adventures with a tad of sci-fi thrown in, and while it may not be a Halloween horror type film, it does actually work well this time of year.

The rest of the cast includes Florence Rice, Cecil Kellaway, and Dwight Frye. Jacques Tourneur directed this little gem.

I caught this by accident on TCM a few weeks ago.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Jeff Goldblum is 65, Suzanne Snyder is 55, and Catherine Deneuve is 74.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 21: RAMBLINGS

Hope all of you have been able to catch some of you favorite horror films this October.

I have been watching quite a few movies as of late, which is usual during this season. I have been on the road a lot this month but some of the titles I watched include everything from "Dracula" the 1931 version to "House Of Dark Shadows", which is almost a staple in October.

Some of the other things that I recommend this time of year are "Island Of Terror", "Playgirls And the Vampire", "Vampire And The Ballerina", "Invisible Invaders" and "The Haunting" just to name a few.

I did get some interesting feedback from a reader of this blog a while back on what he watches in October and especially on Halloween night, and I found the list very interesting. If anyone else has a line they want to drop, feel free.

2018 looks like a good year so far for great DVD/Blu-Ray releases which includes such films as "Legend Of Hillbilly John" and "Projected Man". Both are high on my want list.

I am just a few weeks away from starting the listing of the best releases of the year, and it has been tough as there are so many great ones.

Again, as always, thanks for reading and commenting, and I hope the rest of your October is full of good and interesting horror films.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Paula Kelly is 74, Jack Taylor is 81, and Edith Scob is 80.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 20: BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY'S TOMB 1971 (TCM VIEWING)

I reviewed this film back in 2010 when I owned the DVD from Anchor Bay. That film has since been stolen from me, but I had a chance to re-visit it on TCM a while back.

The very gorgeous Valerie Leon stars as a young woman who becomes possessed by the spirit of an evil sorcerer named Queen Tera.

Her father gives her a ring for her birthday and that is when things start to happen. Every survivor from an expedition her father headed begins to die violent deaths.

Andrew Keir plays her father who is murdered rather early on in the film and that is an unexpected turn. As either Margaret or Queen Tera, Leon is simply stunning to see. Margaret is somewhat innocent and naive but Tera is vicious and savage in her wanting the items stolen from her burial site returned.

The rest of the cast for this film includes James Villiers, George Coulouris, Hugh Burden and Mark Edwards.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Diana Lorys is 77, Scott Hall is 59, and Bela Lugosi was born on this date in 1882.

RIP UMBERTO LENZI 1931-2017

One of the Godfathers of Italian cinema has died.

I just watched one of his most famous films the other night entitled "Nightmare City". Lenzi helmed many, many films in every genre during the 50's and lasing until the early 90's.

His "Nightmare City" gave the world the first fast moving zombies and it was a ground breaker as far as Italian zombie cinema was concerned. It remains to this day my favorite Lenzi film.

We have lost a lot of great horror film directors during this year and now Lenzi joins them. Some of his other films include "Spasmo", "Messalina vs.the Son Of Hercules", "Desert Commandos", "Cannibal Ferox" and "Hunt For the Golden Scorpion" just to name a few.

For those of us that love Italian cinema his death is a huge loss for us. He died in Italy on Oct. 19th at the age of 86.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 19: ERASERHEAD 1974 (TCM VIEWING)

I had never seen this film in it's entirety and now I think my brain is more damaged than it ever was.

David Lynch created a masterpiece here, and it is probably the hardest film I have ever tried to write a few lines about. But, here goes.

The movie is about a man named Henry Spencer (Jack Nance) who lives in a bleak apartment, has a bizarre girlfriend and very soon he and Mary have a child, well if you can call it that.

The baby is a mutant lizard thing that cries constantly. Mary's family is bizarre as well. The mother is paranoid and quiet, her father is a babbling idiot and grandma is a lifeless woman who just sits. The dinner scene where Henry is at their home is something out of a nightmare.

What they serve for dinner is disgusting, and if you haven't seen this film I won't spoil it for you. There is so much bizarre imagery in this film I couldn't begin to tell you all of it.

There has never been a film like this and there will never be another. It is available on DVD from The Criterion Collection, and I can easily recommend this movie. For Halloween time, it would be the most twisted thing you could ever see.

it's easier for you to see the film than for me to explain it all here. That would be an impossible task. Check it out.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 17-18: BOOMERANG 1947 (TCM VIEWING)

Fine film noir.

Now film noir may not be what everyone likes at Halloween time, but to me they are great anytime of the year.

Dana Andrews stars as Henry L. Harvey, a prosecutor working in a small Connecticut town in which a priest is shot in the head and killed.

After the murder there is a huge investigation, but no leads are found and the officials are baffled as to who the killer is. Political pressures mount until a man, John Waldron (Arthur Kennedy) is arrested and forced to sign a confession by the police.

Harvey begins to question if the man is really guilty and before you know it the politicians are after him to convict no matter what. This film is based on a real incident in the 1920's and director Elia Kazan really makes it work along with his excellent cast.

The supporting cast includes Jane Wyatt, Lee J. Cobb, and Ed Begley. This is available on DVD and is a highly recommended thriller with plenty of twists and turns, and as I said, it may not be a "horror" film, but it is horrifying in it's implications of innocent people being accused of a crime just for political gain.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Julie Adams is 91.

RIP DON PEDRO COLLEY 1938-2017

The Lord of the Undead has passed away at the age of 79.

Colley started his career in 1967 with an episode of Daktari and never looked back.

His deep rich voice made him a perfect villain or hero in many films. His two most famous genre roles were in "Beneath The Planet Of The Apes" in which he played a scarred underground mutant and to me his greatest role was as Baron Samedi in the classic film "Sugar Hill".

He died on Oct. 10 in his hometown of Klamath Falls, Oregon after losing his fight with cancer.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 16: RATTLERS 1976 (TCM VIEWING)

Interesting little thriller.

After two children are killed by rattlers a local Sheriff calls in a snake expert to find out why.

The snake attacks become more and more frequent. Sam Chew is Dr. Tom Parkinson who is accompanied by the lovely Ann Bradley (Elisabeth Chauvet).

During the course of the investigation it is discovered that the snakes have become very aggressive due to being contaminated with buried chemicals that the Army buried in the Mojave Desert.

The insane Colonel Stroud (Dan Priest) tries to cover everything up, but to no avail. This film is very simple on plot and some parts leave you scratching your head, but it's still an impressive little movie considering what the makes had for money and such.

I caught this by accident on TCM at a friends house and enjoyed myself watching this low budget thriller. I know Something Weird carried this on DVD and it is probably still available. Recommended.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Suzanne Somers is 71, Erin Brown is 38, and Christopher Mitchum is 74.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAYS 13-14-15: STRANGE CASE OF DR. RX 1942 (UNIVERSAL)

I have to leave town for a few days so this review will cover the next three days.

Very odd Universal film.

Lionel Atwill got second billing in this film, but his role is very, very small.

The plot involves police hiring a detective named Jerry Church (Patrick Knowles)to investigate the mysterious deaths of five men who were acquitted of crimes and have now been murdered by an avenger known as Dr. RX.

The movie plays more like a very light crime thriller with plenty of comedy thrown in. That comedy is handled by both Shemp Howard and Mantan Moreland, who play off of each other very well.

Lovely Anne Gwynne is Kit, Jerry's wife. Jerry has to dig thru a lot of clue's to find the mysterious killer, which he finally does after he almost has his brain replaced with that of a gorilla's.

Atwill's character of Dr. Fish is on hand to explain what we have just seen, and then the film ends. It is indeed one of the most bizarre Universal horror films I have ever seen and I had not seen it for years until I got this DVD.

The supporting cast includes Samuel S. Hinds, Paul Cavanagh, Mona Berrie and Edmund McDonald.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Ashanti is 37, Pamela Tiffin is 75, and Judy Bamber is 81.

31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN DAY 12: THE MAD GHOUL 1943 (UNIVERSAL)

George Zucco steals every scene he is in.

Zucco is Dr. Alfred Morris a college professor who has managed to duplicate an ancient Aztec drug that puts people into a living death state.

One of his students, Ted Allison (David Bruce)wants to work with the Prof. during the summer to help his grades so he can graduate and marry his fiancee Isabel Lewis (Evelyn Ankers).

Morris immediately subjects Ted to the poison gas and changes him into a zombie. Why you ask? Because the daft Professor wants to prove he can reverse the process. The requires blood from fresh human hearts from living or dead people. Therefore the Prof. has a zombified Ted digging up dead bodies for their hearts.

In the end Zucco gets what's coming to him in a grisly way. It's a good shock ending for a film from the time period. This was a very successful film yet it was one of the few Universal films that never had a sequel.

All of the performers do a great job and the rest of the cast includes Milburn Stone, Turhan Bey, Robert Armstrong and Charles McGraw. A wonderful chiller that should be seen by every horror fan, and one that is perfect for the Halloween season.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Deborah Foreman is 55, Susan Anton is 67, Robin Askwith is 67, and Brigitte Lahaie is 62.