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.
October has always been my favorite month for movie watching and for Halloween this year I have watched many films in between a busy work schedule.
On this day I usually watch THE HAUNTING, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, HALLOWEEN (1978) and a few more. I have a very rare film to get ready to post called THE GHOST OF SIERRA DE COBRE, and it promises to make for good Halloween night viewing as well.
Again, I hope all of you have a great Halloween and take in some good or not so good movies.
On this day in 1938 Orson Welles and the Mercury Theater thru our country into a panic because of a live radio play based on a novel by H.G. Wells called WAR OF THE WORLDS.
I assume most people have heard the broadcast and although it doesn't have the power it did back in 1938, it's still a very good broadcast and extremely well done.
Welles was only 23 when he updated the story to modern times and did the radio play. The main panic was caused by those who tuned in late and actually thought they were hearing a Martian invasion.
Radio back in 1938 was the main form of mass communication and the world was much different than it is today. However, it does draw some frightening parallels to today. We have tins of fake news circulating everyday and most people tend to believe that as well, so I ask, Have things really changed that much?
I listen to the broadcast every October 30th and it still shines as a monument to how powerful radio was. If you haven't heard it, give it a listen. Welles was worried that the show would ruin his career, but instead he was invited to Hollywood and three years later he made CITIZEN KANE.
Linda Blair stars as Brenda, the leader of a group of high school girls called "The Satins".
One night they run afoul of a group of punks and play a prank on them. The leader of the gang called "Scars" is named Jake (Robert Dryer) is psychotic and they plot revenge. Only problem is is that they take their revenge seriously.
They kill one member of the group and then violently rape Brenda's mute sister Heather (Linnea Quigley). Brenda sets out with a tight leather jump suit, knives and a crossbow to kill the "Scars" one by one.
The violence quotient is upped considerably as the movie progresses and Blair does a damn good job as the young woman seeking the ultimate revenge. The blood flows freely as the gang members die one by one.
This movie contains some priceless dialogue and many scenes that are not easily forgotten. The rape scene is particularly disturbing. It just might be the most disturbing scene of it's kind in cinema history.
John Vernon turns in an unforgettable performance as the principle of the high school. This has been a favorite of mine since I first saw it in the mid 90's on VHS and cable TV.
The print and sound quality are excellent and the disc has many interviews with the cast. My favorite is, of course, the interview with lovely Linda Blair. One of the best people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.
The disc is hosted by Katarina Leigh Waters who gives us plenty of background info on the movie and the cast. It's always a pleasure to have her host the movies, and I hope there are many more to come.
A top notch release for 2018. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!
Mill Creek is releasing a new Blu-ray of the 80's slasher film HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME in retro VHS packaging and it will be a Wal-Mart only special and will be out on shelves on Oct. 30th...just a couple of days away.
Kino has announced that in early 2019 they will be adding THE LAND UNKNOWN to their Blu-ray listings. This is good news for all Universal monster movie fans and now I am hoping they will bring out CURSE OF THE UNDEAD.
BEETLES 9-27-87... An Archaeologist opens the coffin of a long dead Egyptian and is cursed with a most gruesome surprise. The ending reminded me a lot of the final tale in Creepshow.
MARY, MARY 10-4-87... Very odd tale of a reclusive and lonely woman who hides behind mannequins so she doesn't have to associate with people.
THE SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHER 10-11-87... A famous ghost hunter uses a special device to lure ghosts to him and a special camera for taking their photo. A clever story with a clever ending.
THE MOTH 10-18-87... Debbie Harry stars as a woman who practices the black arts. Before she dies she instructs her mother to capture the thing that comes out of her mouth upon death and keep it safe. Her mother has other ideas. One of the best in the entire series with a hell of a good twist at the end.
NO STRINGS 10-25-87...The series producer T.J. Castronovo stars as a gangster named Eddie Minelli who forces a puppeteer to use a gruesome new puppet, the bloody and very dead body on an enemy. This episode is one of my favorites.
THE GRAVE ROBBER 11-1-87... Arnold Stang stars as a mummy who comes to life and gets involved with a game of strip poker with those who profaned his tomb.
THE YATTERING AND JACK 11-8-87... Tony Carbone stars as a man haunted by a 3 foot demon who wants to claim his soul.
SEYMOURLAMA 11-15-87... Devin and David Gale star in this tale about a young man chosen to lead a far away country. The episode had potential, but is usually brought up as the worst of the entire series. I have read that some stupid people consider this racist, but as usual they are brainless idiots who should never be allowed behind a computer. Nothing racist here at all, but nothing funny either. Cathy Lipinski is gorgeous as Madame Wu, but sadly this is her only acting credit.
SORRY, RIGHT NUMBER 11-22-87...Deborah Harmon stars in this story about a woman who desperately tries to find out and help the crying woman on the other end of her phone. Again, this has a very cool twist at the end.
PAYMENT OVERDUE 2-14-88... A collections agent stars getting phone calls from a client that took drastic measures to end her financial woes. Part of the tale is very predictable, but the ending however isn't what I thought.
LOVE HUNGRY 2-21-88... Strange episode about a woman who is always eating and wants to go on a diet. She gets a hearing aid and a pair of glasses from a company which guarantees she will lose weight. The balance between comedy and outright horror is handled very well.
THE DEAL 2-28-88... A screenwriter tells his neighbor that he would give anything to have a top selling script and a bit of fame. His neighbor sets him up all to easily. There is always a price to pay is the lesson learned here.
THE APPRENTICE 5-1-88... A beautiful co-ed (Haviland Morris) gets a job at a museum called Colonial Village which shows life as it was in the 1600's. She soon finds things are all too real. Wayne Tippit and Gary Lahti also star.
THE CUTTY BLACK SOW 5-8-88... A top notch episode about a young boy who takes a deathbed warning from his great grandmother seriously as he tries to protect his family from a demon called the Cutty Black Sow. You won't soon forget the ending to this one.
DO NOT OPEN THIS BOX 5-18-88... A man named Charles is a meek and quiet inventor living with a nagging harpie of a wife named Rose (Eileen Heckart). They find a mysterious box that Rose opens and a postman (Richard B. Shull) comes back to get it. He promises a reward and Rose immediately takes advantage of that offer, but in the end she gets a big surprise.
FAMILY REUNION 5-22-88... Tom Savini directed this well crafted tale about a man who has taken his son from his wife and locks him away in a room every night. His mother (Patricia Tallman) vow to get him back no matter what. The father knows his son is a werewolf, but he has an even bigger shock in store.
GOING NATIVE 6-19-88... Kim Greist stars as a young woman who is really an alien sent to Earth to study humans. She gets caught up in a therapy group and she begins to unravel.
HUSH 7-10-88... A teenage babysitter and a young boy are terrorized by the boy's new invention. It's called a "sound eater" and it gets out of control.
BARTER 7-17-88... The lowest rated episode of the entire series and with good reason. By the summer of 1988 nobody was really watching this show anymore anyway and with junk like this is it no wonder. An alien named Klaatzu comes to Earth to help a young couple and their noisy son. This is actually a parody of "I Love Lucy" and has no business on a show like this. Awful.
BASHER MALONE 7-24-88... A professional wrestler named Basher Malone takes on a demon named Trog in the private basement of an crooked promoter. Vic Tayback and Brinke Stevens star.
That wrapped up a four year run and still to this day the show doesn't get the credit I think it deserves. On the DVD set at the end of Season Four there are a couple of unreleased shows from the creators of Tales From The Darkside. They are as follows....
AKHBAR'S DAUGHTER (No air date)... This bizarre tale tells the tale of a young man who has late night sexual encounters with a mysterious woman whom he thinks is the daughter of a very wealthy man, but the tables are turned in a surprise and somewhat grotesque ending.
ATTIC SUITE (No air date)... Brenda Vaccaro stars as a woman who along with her husband barely scrape by and are at the same time taking care of an elderly relative in an attic room. Vaccaro's character decides to rid them of the woman and gets a shocking surprise.
I don't even know the name of the proposed show these were supposed to be episodes of. If you've never seen TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE, I would recommend it for horror and George Romero fans.
The film is made up of three tales and Karen Black stars in all of them.
The first tale is called "Julie" and features Karen as a teacher who is stalked and eventually blackmailed into sex by a young student. However it turns out that nothing is like it seems and the twist ending is most effective. This tale is from a Richard Matheson story adapted for the screen by William F. Nolan.
The second story is called "Millicent and Therese". Black plays twins who are very different in many ways, yet much more the same than anyone would ever guess. Again this has a twist ending and it works well. This is another Matheson story adapted by Nolan.
The third and final tale is "Amelia". Richard Matheson adapted this from his own short story called "Prey". Black plays a young woman who is trapped in her apartment with a living Zuni fetish doll that has come to life. One of, if not THE best horror tales ever shot. Never in the history of cinema has a short story been so effectively done.
To this day I still get chills watching that little doll wreck havoc. I used to own a Zuni fetish like the doll in the film, but over the years it got stolen and I have never been able to replace it. Anyway this story is one that once seen is never forgotten. Many of us who saw this back in 1975 can never forget it.
The Blu-ray disc is a beautiful 4K transfer and looks better than ever. The extras include interviews with composer Robert Cobert and actress Black as she discusses her career and this film in particular.
Black states in the interview that this is the film she will always be remembered for and it just blows her mind, but she does understand why. A very interesting 16 minutes.Karen Black passed away in 2013, but this film will always keep her legacy alive and well. A perfect film for the Halloween season.
This film has been so popular it even spawned a sequel many years later called "Trilogy Of Terror 2" which is, believe it or not, just a good and the Zuni fetish returns. That film really needs a Blu-ray release.
THE CIRCUS 9-28-86... A newspaperman who likes to expose fakes comes to a strange circus to debunk a certain Dr. Nis who has many strange attractions.
I CAN'T HELP SAYING GOODBYE 10-3-86... A young girl has the ability to make people die just by touching them and saying goodbye.
THE BITTEREST PILL 10-12-86... A couple wins the lottery and their friend, an inventor comes to them for money. His super intellect pills accidentally fall into the hands of the couple's son.
FLORENCE BRAVO 10-19-86... A woman played by Lori Cardille moves into a house with her cheating husband and is visited by the ghost of a woman who killed her cheating husband. Interesting episode where nothing is really as it seems.
THE GEEZENSTACKS 10-26-86... A standout episode about a young girl whose doll house and it's inhabitants are not what they appear to be. The ending to this one is both shocking and amusing at the same time.
BLACK WIDOWS 11-2-86... A young woman on her wedding night discovers what the women in her family really are. This episode is a really creepy one and one of the best in the entire series.
HERETIC 11-9-86... An art dealer acquires a 16th century painting and soon finds himself in the court of the Inquisition for his crimes.
A SERPENT'S TOOTH 11-16-86... A mother who is disappointed with her children receives a serpent's tooth that produces magical and almost instant results. But things don't turn out as planned.
BAKER'S DOZEN 11-23-86... George Romero wrote the teleplay about a cookie baker who uses a very different ingredient in her cookies. An unscrupulous ad man gets wind of her and decides to make himself rich off of her. A shocking and wonderfully told tale as only Romero could write.
DELIVER US FROM GOODNESS 11-30-86... Off beat tale about a man running for political office and his saintly wife who does him campaign no good. She then decides to break the Ten Commandments to further his career bid.
SEASONS OF BELIEF 12-29-86... E.G. Marshall and Margaret Klenck play parents of two young children who are bored on Christmas Eve. The parents decide to scare the children with a horror story about a monster called The Grither. One of the best shows ever.
MISS MAY DUSA 1-18-87... A blind saxophone player meets a women in a New York subway. She appears to have amnesia and believes she is responsible for numerous deaths.
THE MILKMAN COMETH 1-25-87... Robert Forster is a down and out man who starts leaving mysterious notes for the morning milkman, and his luck changes. What is the terrifying secret?
MY GHOSTWRITER THE VAMPIRE 2-1-87... A writer writes a hugely successful book because he had help from a real vampire. Once he decides to rid himself of the bloodsucker, things get very bad.
MY OWN PLACE 2-8-87... A man gets a very cheap apartment in New York but finds he has a most unusual roommate. Very odd episode.
RED LEADER 2-15-87...Very strange mixture of comedy and horror dealing with a ruthless businessman who is offered a top position in hell by none other than the Devil himself. Weird.
EVERYBODY NEEDS A LITTLE LOVE 2-22-87... Tales From the Darkside seemed to be obsessed with mannequins and here is yet another episode dealing with them. A lonely man seems to dote on a mannequin that he believes to be alive and well. This does have a very unique and twisted ending.
AULD ACQUAINTANCES 3-1-87... Two witches make a pact for a talisman which lasts 300 years and then one of them gets greedy. Linda Thorson is a very fetching witch indeed.
THE SOCIAL CLIMBER 3-8-87... A young man working in a shoe store can live other peoples lives by putting on their shoes. In the end he gets a shocking surprise.
THE SWAP 3-15-87... A very ugly man named Bubba, the son of a witch has a cheating wife that is trying to kill him, but he has a very dark surprise for her.
LET THE GAMES BEGIN 5-10-87... A man dies in a hotel room and an angel and a devil battle for possession of his soul.
THE ENORMOUS RADIO 5-17-87... A radio lets a couple hear their neighbors personal conversations. The episode is pretty simple, but it does hit home on a very good point. Eavesdropping always leads to tragedy.
James Karen will always be remembered for such cult hits as FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE SPACE MONSTER (my personal favorite), POLTERGEIST and RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD.
Karen started his career in 1948 and was one of the busiest character actors in the business. He appeared in many, many TV shows such as THE DEFENDERS, THE WALTONS, STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO and many more. His last movie was CYNTHIA made just this year.
Karen was also known to many people on the East coast as the spokesman for Pathmark Supermarkets. Karen made about 5000+ TV commercials and was a very well liked man in the industry.
My introduction to him was in the film I mentioned above, FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE SPACE MONSTER. He was 94.
The 1951 Howard Hawks production of THE THING is coming out on Nov. 20th from Warner Archive. I have no details as of yet, but it will probably be another bare bones release, but it should be an excellent upgrade.
This is one of the most requested titles for Blu-ray. I look forward to this!!
It has been 6 years since I wrote about this film on the blog, so I figured I would redo it.
A meteor falls to earth near a small California town and before you know it we are being invaded by Martians. Dr. Clayton Forrester (Gene Barry) and Sylvia Van Buren (Ann Robinson) are caught up together in the small town when the invasion starts.
As more and more meteors fall to Earth the armies of the world find they cannot defeat the invaders. Everyone reading this blog knows the plot and the film very well, I am sure.
I remember the excitement of seeing this for the first time on TV back in the 70's and every time I watch this I feel the same way. I love this movie. It is the quintessential 50's invasion film. The military battles with the Martian ships are still top notch to this day are without question the best scenes of their kind ever filmed.
The cast including Les Tremayne, Robert Cornthwaite, Lewis Martin and Paul Frees make this a very believable film. The Paramount disc has a great documentary on the making of the film as well as trailers and the original Orson Welles broadcast of 1938 on the CBS radio network.
This film and the radio broadcast are a HUGE part of my life and are perfect for watching and listening to during this time of year. No, it isn't available on Blu-ray, but you can still get the DVD, and I recommend you do. Again I have to thank my late, great mother for turning me on to this film and the radio show.
Diane Jergens began her actin career in 1946 at the age of 11 and retired from acting in 1966.
During her 20 years career she appeared in many TV shows such as "Dragnet", "The Life Of Riley", "The Bob Cummings Show" and many others. I, however remember her for some of the great films she made.
Some of the films Jergens appeared in include "Island Of Lost Women", "The Benny Goodman Story", "Teenage Rebel", and of course her best film "High School Confidential".
Her last appearance was on the TV show "The Addams Family" in 1966. She leaves behind 4 children and her husband Randy Sparks to whom she has been married to since 1963.
Diane passed away on Oct. 9th at the age of 83.
There were 24 episodes in the second season and most were very good. However as with all episodic TV there are always a few "not so hot" episodes.
THE IMPRESSIONIST 9-26-85... Chuck McCann stars as an impressionist who is blackmailed by the government into helping them communicate with a captive alien being who has a secret the government wants.
LIFEBOMB 10-6-85... A CEO with heart trouble who is working himself way too much receives an offer of something very special to keep him alive. Be careful what you wish for.
RING AROUND THE REDHEAD 10-13-85... Bizarre tale about a man on death row (John Heard) who tells a female reporter how after an earthquake he found a portal to another world and met Keena, a beautiful redhead that has sealed his fate. Penelope Ann Miller is Keena.
PARLOUR FLOOR FRONT 10-20-85... A couple rent an apartment and find they have a tenant in the front Parlour. Soon weird things start to happen and it is suspected that the tenant is using Voodoo.
HALLOWEEN CANDY 10-27-85... Tom Savini directed this excellent horror tale about a cranky old man who hates children and Halloween, but get a most horrible comeuppance for his deeds.
THE SATANIC PIANO 11-85... John Harrison directed this tale about a struggling composer who meets a very strange man with a new machine that can read minds and help him make new music. Lisa Bonet stars.
THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE 11-10-85... George Romero wrote this story about a radio talk show host who sadly discovers what he has become because of his anger towards people. Jerry Stiller gives an excellent performance as the angry host.
DISTANT SIGNALS 11-17-85... One of the most interesting and offbeat episodes ever done for this series. A mysterious man named Mr. Smith is a cult follower of a 60's detective show called Max Paradise. He come to Hollywood with a startling proposal to re-start the show with original cast members and to shoot in Black and White. Lenny van Dohlen is very god as Smith, but Darren McGavin steals the show as Van Conway, the actor who played Max Paradise.
THE TROUBLE WITH MARY JANE 11-24-85... A young girl is possessed by a demon and her mother hires two inept spiritualists to help her. Phyllis Diller and Lawrence Tierney star and I have to admit I have never seen a more bizarre combination.
URSA MINOR 12-1-85... A couple buy their daughter a teddy bear as a gift and that turns into days of terror for the couple. Very well done show.
EFFECT AND CAUSE 12-8-85...Susan Strasberg stars as a young artist who suddenly finds out she has the power to change reality and soon it gets totally out of control.
MONSTERS IN MY ROOM 12-22-85... A young boy who does not get along well with his step-father uses the monsters in his room to get revenge.
COMET WATCH 1-12-86... Strange episode starring Fritz Weaver in his second appearance on this series. In this episode a man finds out the truth about Halley's comet when a young woman falls out of his telescope. Weaver stars as Halley.
DREAM GIRL 1-19-86... Lou Cutell stars as a wimpy janitor who has the power to transport people into his dreams and fantasies. A very unique episode to say the least.
A NEW LEASE ON LIFE 1-26-86...A man moves into an apartment complex for a very inexpensive price. He is told he has to take the garbage out every night and put it in the disposal and he cannot drive nails into the walls. However, this is just the beginning. Marie Windsor stars.
PRINTER'S DEVIL 2-2-86... A failing writer is told to do animal sacrifices to become famous once again. Things soon get out of hand.
THE SHRINE 1-9-86... A woman has turned her daughters bedroom into a shrine and now after many years her daughter returns to see her and discovers there is a new and sinister tenant in the room. Coleen Gray stars.
THE OLD SOFT SHOE 1-16-86... A salesman rents a haunted room in a motel and falls under the spell of a lovely female ghost.
THE LAST CAR 2-23-86... Terrifying tale about a young woman who boards the last car on a train and finds the people on board to be very odd indeed. Begonya Plaza is excellent as the terrified young woman.
A CHOICE OF DREAMS 5-4-86... Abe Vigoda is a cruel gangster who has terminal cancer. A young doctor offers to save his life for the sum of 10 million dollars.
STRANGE LOVE 5-11-86... A doctor is called to a home and finds that his patients are actually vampires. He easily falls in love with the gorgeous female and they both plot the demise of Edmund the husband. Marcia Cross is stunning as Marie, a very seductive bloodsucker.
THE UNHAPPY MEDIUM 5-18-86... A televangelist dies and his greedy family is ready to collect all of his money....however he is niot done with them yet. Stella Stevens stars.
FEAR OF FLOATING 5-25-86... Strange story about a young man who has the ability to float in the air like a balloon. This is a hit and miss episode that I, to this day, don't really know what to make of.
THE CASAVIN CURSE 7-13-86... A beautiful woman believes she is under a curse because all of her lovers have been killed in brutal ways. This is a great episode not to be missed.
On Oct. 29th, 1983 many independent TV stations across the country ran a special Halloween show called "Tales From The Dark Side" with a half hour episode called "Trick Or Treat" starring Bernard Hughes as a storekeeper who likes to keep people in debt. Every Halloween he gives their children a chance to take the IOU's and clear the debt, but there is a catch.
Needless to say Hughes character gets way more than he bargained for in the end. The show proved to be a ratings winner and the actual first season of the 4 year long series premiered on Sept. 30th, 1984.
The first season had 23 episodes and most were very well done with some great casts.
THE NEW MAN 9-30-84...Vic Tayback stars as a reformed alcoholic working for a real estate company. One day he gets a visit at work from his young son, but he doesn't remember having a young son.
I'LL GIVE YOU A MILLION 10-7-84...Two very wealthy men make a bet over their eternal souls. Keenan Wynn is outstanding in this episode which is extremely well done.
PAIN KILLER 10-14-84...Farley Granger, Peggy Cass and Lou Jacobi star in this bizarre episode about a man whose main pain in his life is a nagging wife. He sees a mysterious doctor that just might have the cure.
THE ODDS 10-21-84... A bookie who never refuses a bet meets an old "friend" who bets that he will be dead by 8pm the following evening of natural causes. Danny Aiello and Tom Noonan star.
MOOKIE AND POOKIE 11-4-84... Mookie (Justine Bateman) and Pookie (Ron Asher) are twins and this is their nicknames for each other. Mookie is really Susan and Pookie is her brother Kevin. Kevin is terminally ill. However, they are determined to stay together forever, no matter what. Tippi Hedren plays their mother.
SLIPPAGE 11-11-84...David Patrick Kelly stars as a man who finds he is slowly ceasing to exist. This is a very bizarre and well done episode.
INSIDE THE CLOSET 11-18-84...Probably one of the most classic episodes of this entire series. Fritz Weaver stars as a college professor who rents a small room to a female grad student played by Roberta Weiss. The young woman soon finds that something very sinister and odd is living in her closet. Tom Savini directed this all time classic.
THE WORD PROCESSOR OF THE GODS 11-25-84... Michael Gornick directed this episode penned by Stephen King nd starring Bruce Davison who finds that a word processor given to him by his dead son has the power to grant him anything he wishes.
A CASE OF THE STUBBORNS 12-2-84... Eddie Bracken stars as an old man who is dead, but refuses to stay that way. A surreal episode that balances comedy and horror well.
DJINN, NO CHASER 1-13-85...A man tells us in flashback how he and his wife purchased an ancient lamp and brought a genie into their lives. Colleen Camp and Kareem Abdul Jabbar star.
ALL A CLONE BY THE TELEPHONE 1-20-85... Leon, a failed TV writer played by Harry Anderson finds that his life and career are taken over by an answering machine. Dick Miller also stars as Leon's agent.
IN THE CARDS 1-27-85... Ted Gershuny directed this episode about a Tarot Card reader whose cards start predicting nothing but death and disaster. This is one of the darkest episodes of the entire run.
ANNIVERSARY DINNER 2-3-85... A couple planning their 25th anniversary dinner have an unexpected guest in the form of a young female hiker so they invite her to stay.
SNIP, SNIP 2-10-85... Two Warlocks battle over a winning lottery ticket. Carol Kane and Bud Cort star.
ANSWER ME 2-17-85... Jean Marsh stars in this one person show about a woman who is annoyed by the constant ringing phone in the adjoining apartment. One of the best and Marsh is excellent.
THE TEAR COLLECTOR 2-24-85... Jessica Harper stars as a young woman who can't stop crying until she meets a mysterious man who collects tears.
MADNESS ROOM 5-5-85... First rate episode about a couple who find a new room in their home thanks to a Ouija board and a "friendly" spirit. Stuart Whitman stars.
IF THE SHOES FIT 5-12-85... One of the most bizarre episodes of ANY TV show I have ever seen!! The first time I ever saw this I hated it, but after numerous viewings, I have come to realize this is a disguised masterpiece. Dick Shawn in a loudmouth politician named Bo Gumbs who believes politics is nothing but fun and games and entertainment. His stay at a very odd hotel proves him "oh so right".
LEVITATION 5-19-85... A young man at a carnival bugs and goads a has been circus performer to perform a trick called the "wireless levitation" which he abandoned many years before, and with good reason. Joe Turkel stars.
IT ALL COMES OUT IN THE WASH 5-26-85... Frank De Palma directed this episode about a crooked real estate man named Carl Gropper (Vince Edwards) who finds out that a Chinese laundry run by a man named Chow Ting (James Hong) can wash away sins.....for a heavy price.
BIGALOW'S LAST SMOKE 6-9-85... A smoker finds himself suddenly locked in his apartment, or what seems to be his apartment and punished every time he lights up. The ending to this one is a real kicker.
GRANDMA'S LAST WISH 6-16-85... An elderly woman whose family is moving her to a nursing home gets one last wish. She wants her cruel family to find out what it's like to grow old. A VERY timely episode that will never lose it's impact.
THE FALSE PROPHET 8-4-85... Ronee Blakley stars as a young woman who depends on an astrology machine to make all of her decisions, which does not bode well for her.
George Romero and Richard Rubenstein were two of the executive producers of the show and Romero wrote four episodes. This was just coming off of "Creepshow" and Romero was off and running on the small screem...I meant screen. The fun was just beginning.
Slater's long career in the wrestling business began in 1968 in Tampa, Florida.
During his long career Slater wrestled for the NWA, Mid-Atlantic Wrestling, Mid-South Wrestling, WWF and All Japan Pro Wrestling. He had some classic brawls with such stars as Dusty Rhodes and Jake Roberts.
When Slater was in Mid South he created legitimate heat when he took a beautiful black female he saw dancing in a club and made her his Valet. Her name was Lynda Newton AKA Dark Journey, and the fans in the South thought this was out of line.
Slater had a serious problem with pain killers and had a few run ins with the law. However, as far as the wrestling business goes, Slater had few equals. He died at the age of 67 on Oct. 18th, 2018.
Another nail in my childhood coffin.
Monica Rivers (Joan Crawford) runs a circus that is losing money. Before the opening credits we see a high wire act that ends is the death of the performer.
The police are called in to investigate. This does nothing but bolster the box office receipts for the circus. A new young man joins the circus named Frank Hawkins (Ty Hardin) and he is also a high wire performer with an act the has even more risk. Monica hires him and he quickly falls for her.
Monica's business partner and part time lover Albert Dorondo (Michael Gough) is soon killed by having a spike driven thru his head in one of the films more bizarre scenes. All of the other performers start getting nervous and gossiping, and Monica shuts them down and tells them "the show must go on".
The gorgeous Matilda (Diana Dors) suspects Monica is the killer and makes it well known to everybody. Monica and Matilda have several showdowns until Matilda is cut in half by a huge saw during a performance with her husband.
A detective who has been assigned to travel with the show is perplexed as to who is really to blame. Meanwhile Frank has convinced Monica to sell him a 25% share in the circus. Monica's daughter shows up unexpectedly much to the surprise of everyone. Angela (Judy Geeson) immediately goes to work in the circus with her mothers blessing.
The final shocking death and reveling of the murderer is interesting to say the least, and just in case you haven't seen the film I will not spoil it. The ending is a little contrived, but it in no way hampers the film.
The rest of the cast includes Robert Hardy, Geoffrey Keen and Milton Reid. I gotta admit Diana Dors was sorely underused in this film.
A few years ago I presented my top 40 releases for that time, and then I decided to increase the list to the Top 50.
It slowly increased to 60 and now this year I am listing the Top 70. There are just too many that have come out that I feel deserve credit for making 2018 a banner year.
I will begin listing these starting Nov. 24th, 2018 and it will run thru Jan. 5th 2019. The Cut off date is November 27th, so there will still be releases that won't be counted until next year.
Believe it or not I still have a lot of editing to get it down to 70! Halloween is just around the corner and there are, of course, many films I will watch that I do every year at this time. One of the best is THE HAUNTING from 1963. Absolutely one of the best films ever made.
I hope everyone has a great Halloween and gets their fill of many fine horror and sci-fi movies that are available.
It seemed kind of odd that Shout Factory turned this out as a single Blu-ray feature while at the same time Mill Creek turned it out on a double bill with "Berserk".
The Mill Creek print is excellent and it's a heck of a value at under $8.50 for two films.
Joan Crawford is Lucy Harbin, a woman who killed her husband and his lover 20 years ago with an ax. She is released from the asylum and goes to live at her brother's house in the country. Her brother, Bill Cutler (Leif Erickson) welcomes her into the home shared with his wife Emily (Rochelle Hudson) and Lucy's daughter Carol (Diane Baker).
Lucy has a very hard time adjusting but Carole seems to be helping her and things just start going good when all of a sudden an ax murder occurs and Lucy is suspected. Her doctor from the asylum comes to visit and he too gets his head chopped off.
Things start to come unraveled when the hired hand Leo Krause (George Kennedy) spots Carole hiding the doctor's car in a barn. Very soon Leo looses his head in a shocking scene for the time.
Lucy starts to believe she might be responsible but remember, this is a William Castle film, so not all is as it seems.
Many years ago when I was a kid my mother recommended this film to me and I saw it on a late show. I was 10 or 11 then and I liked the film, but it really didn't stand out. However, looking at it all these years later, it's a great film. Joan Crawford was nearing the end of her career and was making low budget horror films for Columbia studios, and she gives it her all.
Crawford easily steals the show and proves you don't have to be sloppy in you final acting days. I have always liked her as an actress and I really don't believe all of the negative crap I have read about her.
This is well worth the money to see this shocker looking beautiful on Blu-ray. RECOMMENDED!!!
The film opens with a group of men attempting to hang a young Mexican man for stealing a calf. The Sheriff comes to the aid of the young man as well as the mans father, but because of certain circumstances the young man is hung anyway.
The father, Juan Avila (Peter Mamakos) vows vengeance on the Sheriff named Cal and attempts to kill him on the spot. The Sheriff wins the shootout as he shoots Avila in the hand.
Flash forward a few years and Avila is still in the small town and bitter as ever. He rides into town and takes over the drinking hole. He holds the patrons hostage and vows to kill one of them every ten minutes until the Sheriff comes out and faces him one final time.
Slowly the tension builds until the simple but well done climax.
This is a very interesting film, which oacks more into 67 minutes than most modern films have in 2 plus hours! Directed by Richard C. Sarafian, who would go on to direct hundreds of TV shows and other classic movies in a long career, this film moves at a very quick pace and Sarafian knows how to handle the directing chores in an almost one set movie.
The cast is remarkable for a little low budget western and it includes House Peters, Jr. as the Sheriff, John A. Alonzo, I. Stanford Jolley and lovely Sandra Knight.
I am glad Alpha has made this available and the print they have is very, very good. If you like westerns with a twist, you might want to try this one.
