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.
Saturday, February 29, 2020
Friday, February 28, 2020
SLEEP OF DEATH 1978 (SINISTER CINEMA)
Unusual film to say the least.
Sadly, this is a pretty obscure film that got lost in the cracks of the film world in the late 70's. The movie is from a story by Sheridan Le Fanu and it does hold your attention.
The story revolves around a young aristocrat named Robert (Brenden Price) who want to visit Paris after the Revolution and enjoy gambling and women, but his father prohibits this and has even arranged a marriage for him.
His father dies before this can happen and so Robert takes his money and heads to Paris. One night he is eating dinner and meets the Marquis (Patrick Mcgee) who offers to show him around Paris to which Robert quickly accepts.
All seems to be going well except there have been two women who have had their throats torn out and some people speak of vampires. Robert meets a beautiful Countess (Marilu Tolo) and this leads to some very interesting problems as well.
This is a very well made period horror film that is shrouded in mystery. Some questions go unanswered and I don't want to give away much here because I think this is a film that should be seen by as many people as possible. The very interesting cast also includes Curt Jurgens, Per Oscarsson and Barry Cassin.
As I mentioned earlier, this film seems to have been lost in the cracks. At the time this came out there was a wave of huge "blockbuster" movies being released and this one got buried, which is a shame. It's just good entertainment on a different level.
The print from Sinister is beautiful and the film is Recommended.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...
Ali Larter is 44, Rae Dawn Chong is 59, Mimsy Farmer is 75, Stephanie Beacham is 73, Cristina Raines is 68, and Frank Bonner is 78.
Thursday, February 27, 2020
FENOMENAL AND THE TREASURE OF TUTANKHAMEN 1968 (SINISTER CINEMA)
Strange but fun Italian crime thriller.
Right from the opening scene of our hero Fenomenal thwarting a boat of drug dealers you know this will be fun.
A master criminal called Gregpry Falco (Gordon Mitchell) is plotting to steal treasure from a display of King Tut in a museum. He and his team work out every minute of the plan and are soon ready to go.
Mauro Parenti is Fenomenal and plays the part much like other characters such as "Diabolik" and others. He catches wind of the attempted crime and it there to stop Falco at every turn.
A young woman named Mike Shevlove (Lucretia Love) falls for out hero when he's not masked and she has her suspicions however. The action in this film is almost non-stop and it's a fun ride.
I had never heard of this film until Sinister had it as a new release. I don't know how this escaped under my radar, but I am glad I got a chance to see it.
If you like masked crime fighter films from Europe, you'll no doubt enjoy this dandy action film that shouldn't be missed. RECOMMENDED!! Crime fighters and Euro babes is always a winning combination.
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
RIP NIKKI FRITZ 1968-2020
This is post number 8000 for me and I wish it was good news. The "Bikini Drive-In" star has passed away.
If you watched any exploitation films during the 80's and 90's you know who this beautiful young woman was.
Fritz was in many, many films, especially those produced and directed by either Fred Olen Ray or Jim Wynorski. She appeared in such films as "Dinosaur Island", Burial Of The Rats", "Attack Of The 60' Centerfold", "Bikini Drive-In", "Illicit Dreams 2" just to name a few.
She was a horror and sci-fi film fan first and an actress in genre films second. Nikki passed away on Feb. 25th, 2020 after a long battle with cancer. Her date of birth has been disputed by some, but I am pretty sure it was 1968.
She was only 51. Thanks for the good time Nikki Fritz.
RIP ANDREE MELLY 1932-2020
The British actress has died.
Melly had a very long career in the motion picture business lasting almost 40 years.
She is best remembered by fans in the USA for her genre appearance in the 1960 Hammer film entitled "Brides Of Dracula" in which she played Gina, a woman doomed to a living death by a vampire.
She passed away on January 31st, 2020 at the age of 87.
TALES FROM THE TRENCHES 2019 EPISODE 7 MAD SCIENTISTS (SHOUT TV)
This episode went in a direction that was totally unexpected as far as movie discussion goes anyway.
This episode stars out by showing clips from "The Wasp Woman" which Corman directed in 1959, but they never do really talk about the film itself. "Forbidden World" is the next topic of discussion and it's very interesting to find out how this project came into being and how it got made. I really do love that film, and haven't seen it in a few years.
Corman also discusses "Screamers" and how it was prepped for release in the US with it's outrageous claims on the movie posters and then he moves onto "Brain Dead" and "The Unborn" two very odd but fun films that he produced.
"Watchers 2" is a film Corman liked a lot but he does talk about some of the production problems that the film had. The episode also talks about a film I have never seen entitled "Attack Of The 50' Cheerleader" and again Corman talks about the casting and how he really didn't have too much to do with the film other than produce it.
The final two films talked about are "Piranha" which is of course, the 1978 Joe Dante directed classic which turned out to be one of New World Pictures biggest films ever and Pirahna from 1995, which wasn't a bad film, but no where as entertaining as the original, of course.
All in all a very entertaining episode, but they talked about a slew of different movies than I thought they were going to.
Tuesday, February 25, 2020
RIP BEN COOPER 1933-2020
The well known character actor has passed away.
Cooper started his film career in a small part in the 1950 film noir classic entitled "Side Street".
He starred in westerns during the 50's in such films as "The Woman They Almost Lynched", "Johnny Guitar" and my personal favorite "Gunfight At Comanche Creek."
His best role in my opinion was in the 1956 film noir "A Strange Adventure" which co-starred beautiful Marla English. You might not know his face. but you would recognize his face.
He passed away on Feb. 24th, 2020 at the age of 86.
Monday, February 24, 2020
RIP RUSS COCHRAN 1927-2020
The legendary publisher has died.
Cochran was the man responsible for bringing EC comics back into popular culture during the 1990's.
Cochran started to publish reprints of the original comic book classics in the 90's and I bought every single one of them. He then hasd them all put into various hard backed editions.
I don't have any picture of Russ, but thanks to him the EC comics live on and will always be with us. He passed away on Feb. 23rd at the age of 82. Squa Tront.
RIP BOB COBERT 1924-2020
The very talented music composer has passed away.
Cobert was the composer on some of the most terrifying TV movies ever made. His work with director/producer Dan Curtis is easily his best known work.
In 1968 he did the music for "The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" which was his first pairing with Curtis. Cobert moved on to other movies such as "House Of Dark Shadows", "Night Of Dark Shadows", "The Norliss Tapes", "Dracula", Trilogy Of Terror 2" and many more.
His music had a very distinct style and he has left behind such a legacy that many of us grew up with. If you've ever seen any of the above mentioned movies or others such as "Curse Of The Black Widow", the original "Trilogy Of Terror", "Dead Of Night" then you know what I am talking about.
Colbert was also the man behind the jarringly creepy music for "The Night Stalker" and "The Night Strangler". I first heard his work in the TV series "Dark Shadows" and have never forgotten it. Finally, Cobert also composed the music for the movie "Ladybug, Ladybug" which is a personal favorite of mine.
Cobert passed away on Feb. 19th, 2020 at the age of 95.
JEXI 2019 (LIONS GATE)
Oh my God. I haven't laughed so much at a movie in a long time.
This comedy came and went very quickly but I guess that is because it didn't deal with super heroes or left wing politics. It's just a raunchy as hell but very funny film with no message, but to entertain.
I am not familiar with anyone in the cast but Adam Devine stars as Phil, a total loser with no friends, no social life and a terrible job of making pop culture top 10 lists as well as being dependent on his cell phone.
When he is forced to upgrade after his phone is shattered he finds that his new phone has a system on it called "Jexi" and this system is about to change his life for better or worse.
Wanda Sykes plays the part of Denice, a woman who works for a cell phone store and her attitude is EXACTLY my attitude with customers. I was crying I was laughing so hard at her scenes. Humor is best when based on real life, and man this hits the nail on the head.
Jexi causes nothing but chaos at Phil's job by telling his boss that he's an idiot and much more I cannot print here. Phil meets a lovely young woman named Cate (Alexandra Shipp) and Jexi tries to set him up with her, but then when things start going good, the phone gets very jealous.
The cell phone sex scene gives a whole new meaning to "phone sex" and it's a riot. Once seen not too soon forgotten.
As I said earlier, humor comes from real life and I know many, many people like the characters in this film. Most are actually addicted to their cell phones and I see it everyday at my place of employment. No, I don't work for a cell phone company, but the customers are irritating and I sometimes have to pull a "Denice" on them, but in a more subtle manner.
If you want a good laugh out loud film, this is it. A rare thing for me in this horrid 21st Century. My roommate got this at Redbox and it may be available other places if you want to just rent it. A VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FILM that has more comedy than I could ever mention here.
Sunday, February 23, 2020
COMING ATTRACTIONS...
This year just keeps getting better and better with some great new releases coming up.
Already available from Sinister Cinema are 39 new titles including a beautiful widescreen 35mm print of "The Devil's Hand" which is one of my favorite films. Other releases from Sinister include "Deadly Record" a very good mystery film and "Devil's Flute" a great Japanese murder mystery from 1979.
On April 14th Shout Factory will release "Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter" the Hammer classic starring Caroline Munro. On April 21st they bring to Blu-ray the 1958 thriller "The Spider" and Hammer films "Curse Of The Werewolf"
Coming up on April 28th Shout will bring us Hammer's "The Lost Continent".
On May 19th comes "Danger Diabolik" and seven days later on May 26th comes "How To Make A Monster". Both Blu-ray releases are welcome additions to any collection.
Severin has surprised the hell out of me with their upcoming release on April 21st called "Al Adamson: The Masterpiece Collection" which is a 14 disc 30 movie set which also includes a 126 page booklet about Adamson and his movies. This is the most extensive collection I have ever seen of any one film maker. It also includes the stunning documentary called "Blood and Flesh: The Reel Life and Ghastly Death of Al Adamson".
The price tag for this huge set is $170, but that breaks down to under 6 bucks per disc. The documentary will be sold separately and will also contain the Adamson classic "The Female Bunch".
More to come later, but I had to fill you in on these.
Saturday, February 22, 2020
LIGHT OF WESTERN STARS 1940 (SINISTER CINEMA)
A great little western!!
Victor Jory stars as Gene Stewart, a man who is trying to help a rancher named Hammond (Russell Hayden) whose ranch is being used by a con man named Nat Hayworth (Morris Ankrum) to smuggle guns into Mexico.
Hammond's daughter Madeline (Jo Ann Sayers) falls for Gene and tries to get him to change his hard drinking ways and to go straight, which he does after a lot of coaxing.
Stewart finally forces Hayworth to blow up his own supply of illegal weapons and a battle of wits ensues between the two men. Making matters worse are a crooked Sheriff named Tom Hawes (Tom Tyler) who is angry that he hasn't received his cut from the sales of the guns.
This is a very enjoyable film from Paramount with a ton of western actors including Noah Beery, Jr. as Poco who has one of the best lines in the film when he kills the Sheriff. Alan Ladd has a small role as Danny, a man who works for Stewart that is always being harassed by Sheriff Hawes.
The movie packs more action and gunfights in 64 minutes than a lot of much longer, bigger budgeted films. It's based on a Zane Grey novel and was directed by Lesley Selander.
I give this a very high recommendation and can tell you it's a good bet western fans will enjoy it. See, it!!
Friday, February 21, 2020
TARZAN IN ISTANBUL 1952 (SINISTER CINEMA)
A Tarzan film from Turkey.
This is a VERY rare film and is basically a remake of the 1932 MGM film "Tarzan The Ape Man" which starred Johnny Weissmuller.
In this epic Tamer Balci stars as Tarzan. A group of adventurers who have discovered a long missing explorers skeleton and a letter he was intending to mail to his brother. They decide to deliver it in person to him in Istanbul.
This leads to a new expedition looking for a missing treasure. The safari starts out fine, but is soon met with many dangers including herds of lions, tons of crocodiles and a tribe of very angry natives.
Tarzan helps them on the safari after meeting and taking a liking to the young woman of the group. After all is said and done only two members of the party survive as well as Tarzan. And he accompanies them to Istanbul in the final minute of the film.
This isn't too bad of a film, but it was made in 1952 and looks like it should be in the 1930's. I can only assume the film stock was not too good, and the movie does depend on tons of stock footage from other films.
I was really hard pressed to find anything on this film but I can tell you I liked it and found it no worse than many other films I have seen, and better than some others. The movie is subtitled in English and since it is so obscure, I really think you should check it out.
Thursday, February 20, 2020
RAMBLINGS....
This is actually a follow up to my last "Ramblings".
I hope some of you reading this remember the days gone by when you could turn your TV on on Saturday and watch some real classic monster movies.
Back in the day I could always see such great classics as IT CONQUERED THE WORLD...INVASION OF THE SAUCERMEN....I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF....I WAS A TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN....THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN....TERROR FROM THE YEAR 5000....and then catch some great westerns such as APACHE WOMAN...THE OKLAHOMA WOMAN and even some adventure like NAKED PARADISE. Those were good times indeed.
I thought I'd never see those again after stations quit showing them until the golden era of VHS when RCA released the first 5 films I listed above and a few others such as THE FEMALE JUNGLE and THE BRAIN EATERS. The Sci-Fi channel was up and running in those days and ran good old movies instead of the crap they run today. They even played some of these classics including TERROR FROM THE YEAR 5000.
Since the advent of DVD and Blu-ray a lot of fans have been anxiously awaiting these to be released, but to no avail. The rights holder, Susan Hart has adamantly refused to release any of them.
A few days ago I mentioned that there was talk she might be working out a deal with Shout Factory for these films. Lo and behold I got the info today and it isn't going to happen. Susan mentioned this in a phone call. There was almost a glee in her voice as she happily said she is giving Shout Factory absolutely nothing. Sad news indeed.
However even though a lot of fans are upset, everyone must remember that these are owned property and if the owner doesn't want to sell she doesn't have to. I have been very fortunate to have these either from Sci-Fi network airings or DVD recordings I made from the VHS tapes, but many do not have these and would like to see these films again.
We can only keep hoping, but it does look pretty dismal for these films to ever get a release. I guess for now I can only say this....RIP TO THE JAMES NICHOLSON HALF OF THE AIP CATALOG OF FILMS.
TALES FROM THE TRENCHES 2019 EPISODE 6 WARRIOR WOMEN (SHOUT TV)
Some of my favorite Corman produced films are discussed here.
The first film is "The Arena" which stars Pam Grier and Margaret Markov. Corman relates that at first producer Mark Damon didn't want Markov in the film, but Corman insisted and won. After the movie was finished Markov and Damon married.
The next film is "The Hot Box" also starring Markov, and a film I really enjoyed. Corman then moves on to "Barbarian Queen" and talks about how beautiful Lana Clarkson was, but her height of 6 feet kept her from making a lot of movies. In talking about making "TNT Jackson" Corman recounts how the "Ebony Fist Award" was a totally made up concept, but garnered tons of publicity for the film and it's star Jeannie Bell.
"Silk", "The Sisterhood" and "Caged Heat" wrap up a most interesting episode about some of the best Corman produced films ever made. There is a lot of talk about feminism being the core to these films, but to me that is wrong. These films are great exploitation films that feature beautiful women in strong roles.
All of this feminism crap just rattles the hell out of me, and that's all I'll say on that disgusting topic.
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
RIP JOSE MOJICA MARINS 1936-2020
The absolute KING of Brazilian cinema is gone.
Marins started his bizarre film career in 1950 by making a short entitled Reino Sangreto and in 1964 he took the film world of Brazil by storm with his one of a kind film entitled "At Midnight I'll Take Your Soul".
That was the first in a long series of films he produced, directed and starred in. In the films he played "Coffin Joe" a bizarre character who was always looking for the perfect woman. His woman had to be able to stand intense pain and suffering in order to be his bride.
I enjoyed every film Marins made and I have never seen anything else like them. He was virtually unknown in America until the 80's and 90's when most of us were finally able to see and appreciate his work.
Marins was surprised himself by all the fame he gathered in the US after his films were discovered. He was indeed a one of a kind film maker and we will NEVER see another quite like him. Marins died on Feb. 18th, 2020 at the age of 83.
RIP Coffin Joe.
PINTO RUSTLERS 1936 (SINISTER CINEMA)
Harry S. Webb directed this fine western starring Tom Tyler.
Tyler plays Tom Evans, a young man who is orphaned by a gang of killers who dispose of his father during a robbery.
Evans plots his revenge by posing as a notorious outlaw in order to work his way inside the gang and get the goods on them.
This is a very standard western from the time period, and it works very well. This was, of course, a Reliable Pictures release and it's a good time waster for an hour.
The rest of the cast for this somewhat obscure western includes Al St. John, George Walsh, Marie Burton, and Bud Osborne. Recommended for "B" western fans.
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
RIP JA'NET DUBOIS 1945-2020
The actress best known as Willona Woods has passed away.
DuBois began her TV career on the soap opera "Love Of Life" before moving into a few movies such as ""Diary Of A Mad Housewife" and "Five On The Black Hand Side".
Her most famous and well known role was that of Willona Woods on the very popular sitcom "Good Times" which ran from 1974 to 1979. After that series ended she appeared on other shows such as "Crazy Like A Fox", "Spencer" and many others.
She also appeared in Janet Jackson's video of "Control". If you grew up in the 70's and 80's as I did you will never forget some of her outstanding performances.
She died in her sleep on Feb. 17th, 2020 at the age of 74.
Monday, February 17, 2020
RIP LISA COMSHAW 1964-2020
The gorgeous red head has passed away.
Lisa Comshaw acted under several different names in her career including Toni Sinclair. Some of you may know he by that name.
She started in 1990 by appearing in many adult bondage films and then moved onto low budget exploitation films like "Bikini Med School" and "Island Girls".
Although her mainstream movie appearances were few, once you saw her you never forgot her. I am not sure what day she died, but it was complications from a stroke that brought an end to her life.
She was 55 which is way too young. He 56th birthday would have been tomorrow.
THE WITCH 1966 (SINISTER CINEMA)
Strange but interesting film.
Richard Johnson stars as Sergio Logan, a historian who answers an add in a local paper from someone looking for a historian to translate some erotic books.
Sergio arrives at an crumbling estate and finds that an elderly woman is the one that wants him to translate her late husbands books. Sergio recognizes her as a woman he has seen following him all over Rome.
At first Sergio refuses the job, but then he meets Auar (Rosanna Schiaffino) whom the elderly woman claims is her daughter. He falls for her very hard and finally accepts the job.
Needless to say, things get really bizarre from here. It turns out that both Aura and her mother have a dark secret and this secret slowly destroys Sergio.
This is a unique film that is somewhat of a cross between horror and art film, and that is an odd mixture. There are a lot of great camera shots inside the old estate and all of the actors do a great job.
Schiaffino is a stunning beauty and she is very convincing as the young woman who is more than she appears to be. This has to be one of the oddest films I have ever seen and there are a few times it slows down a lot, but if you stick with it the pay off is great.
I recommend this for any horror fan, but just don't expect the usual staples of a horror film and you'll be fine.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...
Hal Holbrook is 95, Jim Brown is 84, Lynne Moody is 74, Don Coscarelli is 66, and Yvonne Romain is 82.
Sunday, February 16, 2020
TALES FROM THE TRENCHES 2019 EPISODE 5 OUTSIDERS (SHOUT TV)
Get ready for some great action.
In this episode Roger talks about his many films dealing with people or groups who are on the outside of society.
It starts off with his film entitled "Cry Baby Killer" starring Jack Nicholson as a young man holding hostages in a drive in theater. I have seen this very rare film only once, and that was many years ago.
Corman then moves onto "Naked Angels" and then "Angels Hard As They Come". Both of these are very well made motorcycle gang films which came out by the hundreds after the success of Easy Rider.
"Black Oak Conspiracy", "Nashville Girl", "Bloodfist" and "The Spy Within" are all brought up and talked about. Corman has some very interesting stories to tell about "Bloodfist" and they are a hoot. The film was a huge hit however, and spawned about 5 sequels I believe.
This episode is a must for any Corman fan as it really touches on some of the great ideas this man had for making a successful film. A lot of fun indeed.
Saturday, February 15, 2020
UNCONQUERED BANDIT 1935 (SINISTER CINEMA)
Another fine Tom Tyler western from Reliable Pictures.
Tyler stars as Tom Morgan, a man whose father is killed by the nasty Cleyburn Gang.
He makes a deal with a wanted outlaw who is called "The Nighthawk" ( Slim Whitaker) to take his place. The plan is to steal everything Cleyburn (William Gould) owns and then marry his daughter and leave him with nothing.
Needless to say things don't really go as planned and the Nighthawk himself gets involved and plans a double cross.
This is a fast moving and very enjoyable "B" western that gets right down to business and then just keeps chugging along. Again, Tyler does a very credible job and gets into a lot of fist fights and gun play.
The rest of the cast for this great little western includes Lillian Gilmore, John Elliot and Earl Dwire. If you enjoy "B" westerns this is something you might want to check out.
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