ROCK ALL NIGHT 1957 (SHOUT TV)

It took all these years, but I finally got to see this rather obscure Roger Corman film.

This film has eluded me for over 50 years until this month. The simple story revolves around a small bar called Cloud Nine where a young woman named Julie (Abby Dalton) might just get her big break singing for the patrons.

Her manager, a hip talking cat called Sir Bop (Mel Welles) gets her the gig and her big night goes terribly wrong when she finds that she if too frightened to sing in front of people.

The patrons themselves are colorful and they include a young boxer named Lester (Beach Dickerson), his girlfriend Syl (Barboura Morris), a reporter (Richard Cutting), and Shorty (Dick Miller).

The bar is invaded by two killers, Jigger (Russel Johnson) and Joey (Jonathan Haze) who threaten to kill everyone and before you know it they are having a standoff with the cops.

This film really moves along in it's 62 minute running time and Miller steals the show with his smart mouth and a chip on his shoulder portrayal of Shorty. I admit he talks like I do today. He is unimpressed with people and tired of listening to everyone.

The Platters make an appearance and sing several songs which is always a plus for me. I love them. This film is a pop culture time capsule of the 50's and one that shouldn't be missed by and Corman fan or any Dick Miller fan.

The rest of the cast includes Bruno Ve Sota, Jeanne Cooper, Ed Nelson and Robin Morse.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Tsai Chin is 86, Sandy Descher is 74, Trinity Fatu is 32, and Dian Parkinson is 75.

RIP JOAN STALEY 1940-2019

A very beautiful actress has passed away.

Staley started her career in 1948 as a child star and moved onto many other roles in TV and in movies.

Staley is best known for her role as Deena in the 1961 low budget gem called "Valley Of The Dinosaurs". She also starred in a great western entitled "Gun Fight" and well as "The Ghost And Mr. Chicken".

She died on November 24th, 2019 at the age of 79.

VOODOO WOMAN 1957 (SHOUT TV)

It has been about 12 years since I saw this film, then someone told me it was available to watch on Shout TV and I decided to indulge myself.

I know a lot of people don't like this 50's horror gem, but I do. I just wish it would be made available on Blu-ray here in the US before I die.

Tom Conway stars as Dr. Roland Gerard, a madman who is conducting strange experiments deep in the jungle with a native tribe. His wife Susan (Mary Ellen Kay)is pretty much held hostage by her husband while he conducts experiments that turn native women into monsters.

Enter gold seeking, sadistic and cold blooded Marilyn Blanchard (Marla English) and her friend Rick Brady (Lance Fuller) and their guide Ted Bronson (Mike Conners) and things really get out of hand. Marilyn will do absolutely anything to obtain gold and then even includes killing her partner Rick and forcing her guide to help her under threat of being killed.

Marilyn and Ted arrive at the home of Dr. Gerard and Ted quickly makes friends with Gerard's wife and both plot their escape. Marilyn, however is someone that the good doctor has been looking for a very long time. He needs a totally cold blooded woman who can kill without remorse in order to create a being that is totally under his control and indestructible.

Gerard succeeds in turning Marilyn into a monster. but things don't go as planned. Even while transformed into a hideous monster Marilyn still has a deep need for gold. She kills the doctor and falls into a smoking pit in the middle of the jungle while trying to retrieve a golden cup.

Ted and Susan arrive at a small bar where the story opened and the bar tender tells them that he doesn't believe Marilyn is dead as she is too evil and strong willed. We are treated to a final shot of her emerging from the smoking pit once again transformed into the hideous monster.

This film is one of my childhood favorites and I will always have a soft spot for it. As an adult I have never lost my love for this film. To me anyway the film has a lot going for it including the fact that Edward L. Cahn directed. The monster is a refurbished "She Creature " costume with a flatter chest and a new head created by Paul Blaidell and then there is Marla English.

Marla was one of the sexiest women to EVER appear in front of a camera and her presence in this film gives it a boost. You can see this on Shout TV in a beautiful print if you so desire. I have no idea how long it will be available.

A Highly Recommended 50's horror treat from American International Pictures.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Jerry Lawler is 70, and John Layfield is 53.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Ed Harris is 69, Joe Dante is 73, Danielle Moinet is 36, and Juli Reding is 84.

THE ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN SEASON 1 1952-1953 (WARNER)

One of the best series ever created for Television.

The first season of this show really caught the public's eye and it ran for 6 years total. Things would change a lot as we will see as the seasons progress.

Season 1 had a lot of great stories, more violence than most "kiddie" shows of the day and a great cast. George Reeves starred as Clark Kent and Superman, Phyllis Coates was Lois Lane, Jack Larson was Jimmy Olsen, John Hamilton was Perry White and Robert Shayne was Inspector Henderson. The cast would make one change after season one, and we will get to that later.

The first season was also in beautiful black and white and ran 26 episodes...and here they are.

SUPERMAN ON EARTH 9/12/52...This is the opening episode which shows how Superman arrived on Earth as a child and was raised to be a man with very special powers and how he got the job at the Daily Planet newspaper.

THE HAUNTED LIGHTHOUSE 9/26/52...Jimmy Olsen visits his cousin on Moose Island and finds things aren't what he thought they were.

CASE OF THE TALKATIVE DUMMY 10/3/52...Clark, Lois and Jimmy investigate a ventriloquist whose dummy seems to be tied to several violent armored car robberies.

MYSTERY OF THE BROKEN STATUES 10/10/52...Strange story about gangsters going into various shops in Metropolis and destroying cheap items looking for clues to something. Lois and Jimmy investigate along with Clark and they get more than they bargained for.

THE MONKEY MYSTERY 10/17/52...An East European scientist has fallen in with criminals that want to steal his scientific secrets.

A NIGHT OF TERROR 10/24/52...Lois stumbles on a gang of criminals smuggling fugitives into Canada. One of the many episodes that was far more violent than anything else yet to come in the series.

THE BIRTHDAY LETTER 10/31/52...A crippled young girl writes Superman a letter asking to go to a fair for her birthday, but before he can arrive she is kidnapped by gangsters.

THE MIND MACHINE 11/7/52...Very well done tale about mobsters who force a scientist to use his mind control invention to destroy the minds of those who testify at a crime commission hearing.

RESCUE 11/14/52...Lois is trapped in a mine with an elderly prospector after it collapses and it's up to Superman to rescue them.

THE SECRET OF SUPERMAN 11/21/52...A doctor uses an advanced form of truth serum to discover who Superman really is.

NO HOLDS BARRED 11/28/52...A crooked wrestling promoter has kidnapped a swami from a foreign country and uses his knowledge of pressure points on the body to give his wrestler "Bad Luck" Brannigan an unfair advantage.

THE DESERTED VILLAGE 12/5/52...When Lois has trouble getting ahold of some friends in a small town she and Clark travel there only to discover that almost the entire town is deserted and people live in fear of a "monster".

THE STOLEN COSTUME 12/12/52...Clark's Superman outfit is stolen by a crook and he hires a detective to help find it. One of the most startling episodes as Superman, in order to protect his identity has to force to criminals tp live in icy seclusion at the North Pole for the rest of their lives. They die trying to escape however.

TREASURE OF THE INCAS 12/19/52...Lois, Clark and Jimmy trail a killer to Lima to recover a priceless treasure and nab the killer.

DOUBLE TROUBLE 12/26/52...Lois and Jimmy trail a killer only to find that the man they are looking for has already been killed by someone else...or has he?

MYSTERY IN WAX 1/2/53...The female owner of a wax museum collects living people for her private museum. One of the most bizarre episodes and one of the best of the entire 6 year run.

THE RUNAWAY ROBOT 1/9/53...The inventor of a robot is kidnapped bu gangsters who want to use the robot for criminal activity including burglary.

DRUMS OF DEATH 1/16.53...Perry White and Jimmy travel to Haiti to rescue Perry's sister from a dangerous voodoo cult.

THE EVIL THREE 1/23/53...Jimmy and Perry take a fishing vacation and end up at a dilapidated hotel run by three very masd and insane killers. Another great episode.

THE RIDDLE OF THE CHINESE JADE 1/30/53...A priceless Chinese statue is stolen and Superman must find the culprits before one of the thieves is killed by his partner.

THE HUMAN BOMB 2/6/53...A man named "Bet A Million" Butler makes a $100,000 wager that he can keep Superman completely helpless for 30 minutes.

CZAR OF THE UNDERWORLD 2/13/53...Inspector Henderson and Clark Kent are sent to Hollywood to make an expose about a crime czar and find murder on the movie set.

GHOST WOLF 2/20/53...A Timber Company is threatened when most of it's employees quit after several killing thought to be done by a werewolf.

CRIME WAVE 2/27/53...A crime wave sweeps Metropolis and Superman vows to but every top crime boss in jail.

THE UNKNOWN PEOPLE PART 1 8/10/53...Lois and Clark travel to Silsby where the worlds deepest oil well has been dug. Strange things begin to happen when mysterious creatures emerge from the well.

THE UNKNOWN PEOPLE PART 2 8/10/53...The strange creature terrorize a small town called Silsby and Superman finds it difficult to control the angry townspeople and the creatures. This 2 part episode was was released to theaters as "Superman And The Molemen".

That wraps it up for season 1. The series would stay in black and white for season 2 but there were changes coming, which I will tell you about when I post season 2. All in all a great show and still a great show in 2019.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Barbara Anderson is 76.

JET ATTACK 1958 (SHOUT TV)

Not too bad of a war film AIP.

A top US scientist is shot down behind enemy lines in Korea and it's up to three men to rescue him before the Koreans can learn any secrets.

Capt. Tom Arnett (John Agar), Lt. Bill Claiborne (Gregory Walcott) and Lt. Sandy Wilkinson (James Dobson) are the three men on the rescue mission. They also make contact with the Korean underground led by Capt. Chon (Victor Sen Yung) and an Russian nurse, Tanya Nikova (Audrey Totter) who happens tobe an old flame of Arnett's from previous missions.

There is a great deal of trouble locating where the missing US scientist is because no information has been made available since his plane went down. He is finally located in a small hospital and then it becomes a race against time to get him out before the North Koreans get hold of him.

This Edward L. Cahn quickie has been torn apart by way too many people over the years since it appeared in the book entitled "The 50 Worst Films Ever Made". It gets a bad rap that is undeserved.

I enjoyed this film, but then again I am a huge fan of director Cahn and actor Agar. It was rather strange seeing Totter as a Russian nurse, but that is part of this films charm.

There is a lot of stock footage and a few plot gaps, but overall I recommend you give this movie a look, at least once anyway before believing all the junk you read about it.

It's a hard film to see and when it appeared on Shout TV I decided to stream it and finally get a chance to see it. The rest of the cast includes Leonard Strong, Nicky Blair and Joseph Hamilton.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Betta St. John is 90, and Lisa Moretti is 58.

RAMBLINGS...

We are coming to that time of year again.

I mean Thanksgiving Day. My childhood memories of the holiday are filled with such movies as King Kong (1933), The Lost Continent (1968) and lots of family and food around.

However, as I have grown older I always watch Blood Freak and The Giant Claw on Thanksgiving. These are two films that fit the holiday like a glove.

I don't know what you do on this holiday, but whatever it is I hope you enjoy it and if you get time to sneak a movie in, do it. I encourage you to watch Blood Freak, you won't ever forget it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Christina Applegate is 48, Beverly Washburn is 76, and Kathryn Grant is 86.

RIP ARTHUR MARKS 1927-2019

A noted producer/director passes away.

Marks directed 76 episodes of the original Perry Mason series which I love dearly. He also directed some of my favorite films including "Class Of 74", "Bonnie's Kids", "Detroit 9000", "Bucktown", Friday Foster" and "J.D.'s Revenge" to name just a few.

Arthur Marks began his career as a young boy in bit parts and as an extra in many films during the 1930's. He then went to USC and then started working at MGM.

There is no doubt that Marks left a great legacy of films and TV shows for generations to enjoy. He passed away Nov. 13th, 2019 at the age of 92.

ITSY BITSY 2019 (SHOUT FACTORY)

A pleasant surprise.

A Shout Factory release and a good one. This film is creepy and has some excellent effects since they do not rely only on CGI.

Kara Spencer (Elizabeth Roberts) get a job in a small town as a private nurse for an elderly gentleman named Walter Clark (Bruce Davison). Clark is a collector of antiques and bizarre things from around the world.

On the day Kara arrives she interrupts a man who is trying to steal a priceless vase. The man destroys the vase and that releases an angry entity that bites him on the arm and he flees the house.

The mysterious being has taken on the shape of a huge spider and this is when the fun begins. We are treated to numerous shots of the creepy thing sitting in a bathtub while Kara searches her medicine cabinet. We also see it creeping under beds and into dark places through the house.

Kara's two children discover the spider first, but nobody believes them until it's too late. Sheriff Jane Dunne (Denise Crosby) offers to help Kara in whatever way she can as she knows Kara is having very personal problems in dealing with something which we come to find out is the death of her toddler son in a car accident.

Walter meets a very horrible demise at the hands of the creature and the final confrontation between Kara and the spider is something to be seen. It's done very, very well.

Look folks, most new movies aren't worth anything in my opinion. but this is one of those exceptions. The acting is very good and as I said, the effects are top notch. I detest spiders and so this movie plays on a very real fear. If you get a chance you might want to see this. It was a great Halloween surprise and it comes with a high recommendation.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Beth Phoenix is 39, and Debra Lamb is 56.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Jeannie Bell is 76, Robert Towne is 85, and Ricou Browning is 89.

RIP MICHAEL J. POLLARD 1939-2019

A one of a kind actor has passed away.

Pollard was a character actor who appeared in hundreds of TV shows and movies. A short list of TV shows his was in includes "Many Loves Of Dobey Gillis", "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", "Star Trek", "Honey West", "Lost In Space" "Get Christie Love and "Movin' On".

As for movies he was in "Bonnie And Clyde", "Sleepaway Camp 3: Teenage Wasteland", "Dick Tracy", and "Skeeter" just to name a few.

You may not recognize his name, but the face was unmistakable. He passed away on Nov. 21st, 2019 at the age of 80.

There will never be another quite like him. I worked with him a few times...a one of a kind guy.

THE TWILIGHT ZONE 60TH ANNIVERSARY (THEATRICAL VIEWING)

On Nov. 14th Fathom Entertainment ran 6 episodes of the original series on the big screen, and what a treat it was.

I don't haunt theaters much anymore, but when something like this comes along I will without hesitation. The Twilight Zone is one of my five favorite TV series of all time.

The 6 episodes were WALKING DISTANCE, TIME ENOUGH AT LAST, THE INVADERS, TO SERVE MAN, EYE OF THE BEHOLDER and THE MONSTERS ARE DUE ON MAPLE STREET.

Anyone who is a fan of the show knows what these stories are about and they pretty much sum up everything series creator Rod Serling was passionate about in his short lifespan.

There was a small crowd in the theater when my roommate and I walked into the darkened room. I had already told her of my love for this show and that I sometimes get very sentimental during certain episodes including the first one entitled WALKING DISTANCE. I didn't fail her. I did, I think that episode has to be my all time favorite. It fits me like a glove.

As all of this classic goodness flickered across the screen I believe I was in heaven. My room mate actually jumped in her seat a couple of times during the episode entitled THE INVADERS in which Agnes Moorehead plays a woman fighting to miniature invaders from space. I have to admit I was happy to see that!!!

After the episodes ended they ran a documentary of Rod Serling , and as usual it was top notch. It was a great way to spend over 3 1/2 hours and I wish they would do more of that kind of thing where I live. The show had a profound effect on my life and I will carry it to the grave. Now my room mate has been quoting the Twilight Zone all week, and that is something I am proud of. The Twilight Zone "infection" has spread to another.

If you've never seen any episode of this great series I think you need to. It's simply not to be missed. Thanks to Fathom for letting us celebrate the 60th Anniversary of this high point of American Pop Culture.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Jamie Lee Curtis is 61, and Margaret Markov is 71.

COMING ATTRACTIONS...

I can't believe we are coming to the end of another year.

Coming up on Dec. 7th I will start posting my Top 45 DVD/Blu-ray releases of the year.

There has been so much released it's impossible to keep up, and with some health problems I had this year it was not feasible to see all of the movies that came out, even though I wanted to.

So, I am still tabulating the 45 best of 2019, and I'll start posting them on Dec. 7th. My God how time flies.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Deborah Shelton is 71, Nikki Bella is 36, and Brie Bella is 36.

ALLIGATOR ALLEY 2013 (MILL CREEK)

I can safely say that after seeing this movie I have seen just about everything!!

To give you an idea, the original titles was "Ragin' Cajun Redneck Gators". I kid you not.

The stereotypes run wild just like the gators in this film that is really like no other I have seen. A young female college student returns to the Bayou to see her redneck family.

She finds that her family and other are still feuding and the other family has been making moonshine using a new chemical which they have been dumping into the swamp. This is creating mutant alligators who are extremely vicious.

Not only are they vicious but if you get bitten and live you are also turned into an alligator!! This is somewhat reminding me of the 1959 sci-fi classic "The Alligator People" but don't get me wrong, that was a far superior film.

Anyway as things progress more people are killed and the young woman's entire family is transformed into alligators. Now, if you think that is all way too much to swallow just wait.

Hollyweird does everything it can to make us believe they hate stereotypes, but again that is only a one way street. It is made very clear in this film that anyone with a conservative view is nothing but an alcohol swilling, pot bellied, foul mouthed redneck. The issue doesn't bother me as I really don't care, but as a conservative person myself I thought that was a story killer right there.

Anyhow, the story starts out just fine, but when it takes a turn into alligator people it seems to fall apart and that is a shame because it could have been good, not great, but good. Sadly this is what passes for genre material today and it's no wonder many people look at these kinds of films and cringe.

If you so desire check it out.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Mie Hama is 76.

ZOMBIE SHARK 2014 (MILL CREEK)

Another wild shark movie for "Shark Week".

I gotta admit this was kinda fun. Four friends decide to spend a quite vacation at a local resort island, but things don't quite go as planned.

An experimental shark has escaped from what was thought to be a deserted lab. The shark is killed, but comes back to life as a zombie and thern it starts infecting other sharks.

The interesting thing is is that when the sharks bite humans and without consuming them, the humans themselves turn into zombies. Amber (Cassie Steele) and her friends soon find more trouble than they ever imagined fighting off both the sharks and human zombies.

Most of the major characters meets grisly deaths, which kind of surprised me a little, but they really aren't characters you care too much about anyway.

The fights between the zombies and humans is one of the weakest things I have ever seen. but then I attribute this to a very limited budget and the CGI effects are not up to par.

There is a lot of eye candy as most of the women parade around in bikinis, but that does not make a film good anyway. As I said, it was an enjoyable film as far as these go and I did find myself enjoying this more than I probably should have. Honestly, it is unique.

The film was retitled "Shark Island" and I assume that was because the ridiculous original title wouldn't fly with viewers, but they could have picked a title that was more catchy. Oh well.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Lorna Maitland 76, and Valli Kemp is 69.

SWAMP SHARK 2011 ( MILL CREEK)

It has been about 7 years since I last posted on this movie.

I re-watched it because it was part of a set and I figured "what the hell". After all, it is "shark week".

Kristy Swanson stars as Rachel Broussard who owns a small restaurant in a small bayou town who is always being annoyed by sleazy sheriff Watson (Robert Davi).

Watson is involved in an illegal animal smuggling operation and one of the specimens gets loose and heads for the swamp water. It's a large shark and soon it starts killing off the locals.

Rachel and her sister as well as others who work in the eatery set off in search of the mysterious killer and are joined by Deputy Stanley (Wade Boggs) who is actually an undercover federal agent.

The plot moves along very well for this type of film, and believe you me, there are a LOT of bad shark movies out there. With Swanson, Boggs and Davi it really helps the production level rise a bit.

Swanson still looks good to me as she was the original "Buffy The Vampire Slayer". If you want to see a good little "B" film effort, check this one out. Not as bad as you'd think.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Peta Wilson is 49, Andrea Marcovicci is 71, Shari Shattuck is 59, and Barbara Darrow is 88.

SANTA JAWS 2018 (MILL CREEK)

I must be insane to have watched this film.

In my life I have seen thousands of movies and there are a handfull that are so bizarre as to be unforgettable. This may very well be one of them.

When I picked this film up and saw the title I actually had to do a double take as it is one of those things you really cannot believe upon first seeing it. But here it was in all it's glory.

Part of this, well most of this is played as a comedy, however it just doesn't seem to mesh well with the horror elements of the story. It seems a young man named Cody (Reid Miller) has drawn a comic book entitled "Santa Jaws". During the holiday season he is grounded to his room for not doing well in school.

Suddenly he finds his comic book coming to life. Seems he has a magic pen that causes anything he draws to come to life. This sets up the rest of the film. Santa Jaws wears a red santa cap on his top fin and is decorated with Christmas lights!!! Oh, yes...it eats people and can only be harmed or destroyed by Christmas items!!

I have seen twisted plots and stuff before, but this one really takes the cake.The effects are bad as one sadly comes to expect in this CGI era, but seeing this shark with a santa hat will at least bring you a chuckle or two.

Sadly as well the budgets are so low in these films that all realism is abandoned. What I mean by this is that the standard plot involves a small group of people who must fight the threat and there is never any authority figure called in to help and most of the extras just stand around and wonder what the hell is going on.

It hard for me to explain here, but I am sure most of you know exactly what I am talking about. Anyway, if you want to see something totally different and way out in left field, then this is a film for you. You'll find your limits tested, but believe it or niot you might find something to actually like in this movie. Beware, the ending is...well...no, just check it out for yourself.