DUEL IN THE ECLIPSE 1968 (SINISTER CINEMA)

Interesting Spaghetti western from the late 60's.

Lang Jeffries stars as Ross Logan/Django in this bizarre tale. This is also known as "Requiem For A Gringo" and even though it's a Euro western, it has a distinct Euro horror flavor it it some of the time.

Logan returns home after some military service and finds that his brother has been murdered by a gang of outlaws. This sets him on the trail of revenge. Logan is no ordinary man, he has an uncanny ability to predict and sometimes control the weather. This talent is never explained, but it is unique.

After much searching and gunplay Logan finds Porfirio Carranza (Fernando Sancho) and his gang. They are the ones who killed his brother, and everything leads to an epic shootout in a huge courtyard.

There is plenty of action for and Spaghetti Western fan and if that ain't enough you always have the incredibly sexy Femi Benussi as Alma, the main squeeze of Carranza. Benussi has always been a favorite of mine and I enjoy anything with her in it.

The print from Sinister is very good, but I do wish it was in widescreen as it was intended to be see. However, don't let that detract you from seeing a very unusual and entertaining Euro Western. By the way, the title does fit the end of the film.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Debbie Gibson is 50, Mickie James is 41, and Adrienne Reese is 32.

THE PATIENT IN ROOM 18 1938 (WARNER ARCHIVE)

Not too shabby of a film.

Patrick Knowles stars as Lance O' Leary a detective who didn't solve his last case so he is on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

He is sent to a private hospital for relaxation and instead he finds himself up to his eyeballs in murder. O' Leary starts to spend time with a nurse that works in the hospital by the name of Sara Keate (Ann Sheridan).

Lance is called upon in the hospital to solve the murder of several people over a mysterious package of radium. The film runs just under an hour and so it has to move quickly, which it does.

It is a light weight film that really doesn't take itself too seriously and it plays much like an "old dark house" thriller, but set in a swanky private hospital.

The cast does their best with the roles they have and Knowles is perfect for his. The rest of the cast includes Eric Stanley, Charles Trowbridge and John Ridgley.

The print from Warner Archive is very good, and again, I can recommend this to any 30's mystery fan. Good fun.

THE UNDYING MONSTER 1942 (KINO) BLU-RAY

This is a fine and often overlooked film of the horror genre.

John Brahm directed this tale about an old family curse.

The Hammond family seems to be under the curse of a strange creature who periodically kills members of said family. Oliver Hammond (John Howard) is attacked one night by the beast and barely survives.

His sister Helga (Heather Angel) refuses to believe in the curse of the monster until the above mentioned attack starts to make her think twice. She brings in an investigator named Robert Curtis (James Ellison) to find out what exactly is going on.

After much investigation and several attacks later it is discovered that Oliver himself is the monster and it has been covered up by the family doctor for many years.

The film is played as an average murder mystery until the final few minutes when you actually get a look at the werewolf monster of the title. Brahm handles the film with his usual finesse and it plays quite well. The restored Blu-ray of the film looks stunning and it was a pleasant surprise when Kino released this a while back.

If you like 40's horror films there is no reason not to like this semi-forgotten film from the early 40's. I recommend this title highly and if you want to see it do so.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

David Soul is 77, and Hugo Stiglitz is 80.

RIP DEE HARTFORD 1928-2018

I have been informed that the actress has passed away.

According to reports she died over a year ago, but the news is just coming out.

Hartford appeared in many productions for producer Irwin Allen including episodes of "Time Tunnel"< "lost In Space" and "Land Of The Giants".

She also starred in such shows as "Outer Limits" and the final episode of "The Twilight Zone" in 1964. A talented and beautiful lady who never seemed to get much attention as an actress.

As best I can tell she was 90 when she passed away.

RIP SID NOEL 1929-2020

Another of my favorite horror hosts has died.

Noel will always be remembered as "Morgus The Magnificent" to those that grew up with him.

Morgus debuted in New Orleans on WWL TV in 1959 and the rest is history. Morgus even made a movie entitled "The Wacky World Of Dr. Morgus" and I saw that film many, many years ago and enjoyed it.

He would show old movies on his kate night TV show and always had his sidekick "Chopsly" along for the fun. Noel made his Morgus character larger than life and ws something very different in the world of horror movie hosts. He even recorded a song called "Morgus The Magnificent" which was released as a single, and I am proud to say I own that one.

He passed away on Aug. 28th, 2020 at the age of 90. His legacy will continue to live with his many, many fans.

RIP "BULLET" BOB ARMSTRONG 1939-2020

A true legend of the sport of wrestling has passed away.

I watched Bob Armstrong when I was growing up and always loved his "never say die" style of wrestling.

He started wrestling in the 1960's and his last match was in 2019. His 50 year career included many different titles in the Southeastern United States as he wrestled in WCW, Mid-South and on the indie circuit.

A talented performer who knew the business in and out. He had cancer of the shoulder, ribs and prostrate but refused treatment. They don't make em like Bob anymore.

He passed away at the age of 80 on Aug. 27th, 2020.

THEY MADE ME A KILLER 1946 (TUBI)

Fun little low budget film noir.

Robert Lowery stars as Tom Durling, a man fed up with things and looking for a new life somewhere where he will be happy. This doesn't last too long however.

Before you know it he is hoodwinked into becoming a getaway driver for a bank robbery and during the course of the robbery a policeman and an innocent bystander are killed. Tom is arrested, but escapes.

He seeks the aid of the bystanders sister to help find the real killers and prove himself innocent. The sister, June Reynolds (Barbara Britton) agrees to help him and they both find themselves in danger.

The criminals hide out in the basement of a small diner with the stolen loot and June takes a job at the eatery to help Tom investigate. Both discover the criminals and their lives are in serious jeopardy, but Tom succeeds in proving his innocence and even though their lives will never be the same, he and June fall in love.

This actually has a brighter ending than most film noir. The film is super fast paced and never slows down. Lowery was always good at portraying the "man caught in a web of trouble by mistake" and this is no different.

I liked this film a lot, and if you get a chance to see it, you should.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Tuesday Weld is 77, Barbara Bach is 73, and Robert Remus is 72.

RAMBLINGS...

Strictly personal stuff here that I figured some of you might relate to.

I mentioned several days ago that I was getting married on Oct. 31, 2020 and the woman I am going to spend the rest of my life with has been thru some wild movie stuff since we got together.

It's always interesting to see people's reactions to the kind of movies I like, but Ginger has been more accepting than anyone else I know. I have shown her such films as "The Puppet Masters", "The One And Only", "Heaven's Gate" and the great Humphrey Bogart film "Deadline USA" as well as the mandatory "Night Of The Living Dead".

However she has also gotten to see the films I made including "Tales Of The Damned", "Macabre Tales" and "Experiment Of Death".

She also expressed enthusiasm for seeing my films made on Super 8 and for some that can be quite a task. But Ginger took it in stride and really enjoyed seeing some of the weird stuff that has gone thru my mind. We viewed all 3 of my "The Intruders" trilogy, "Blood", "The Unknown World" and "Battleground".

She has yet to see "The Thing In The Garage" but heaven knows that is coming soon. I am also going to let her see "Seven Sins Of Daniel Tucker" which I starred in but didn't do anything else.

After seeing all of these off the wall films she admitted I had a very good imagination, and that is the true test of love. If you watch my movies and actually like them then that is the groundwork for a great lifelong relationship.

All kidding and self deprecation aside, it was most enjoyable to show her these efforts I did so many, many years ago. Kinda makes it all worth while.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Akiko Wakabayashi is 79, and Kirk Morris is 78.

FLIGHT OF THE LOST BALLOON 1961 (REEL VAULT)

I have talked about this film before and will again now that is have been released on DVD from Reel Vault.

This has always been one of my favorite adventure films and it's probably because I saw it at the right time in my life that I never forgot it.

It's a very simple story about the search for a missing adventurer. Marshall Thompson is Dr. Joseph Faraday and he has a hot air balloon he will use in an effort to rescue a missing adventurer named Hubert Warrington (Douglas Kennedy).

It turns out Warrington isn't really missing. He's being held in a torture chamber by a cruel Hindu who wants information on a hidden treasure.

Faraday is accompanied on his journey by the Hindu (James Lanphier) and a lovely young woman named Ellen Burton (Mala Powers). The battle cannibals and Condors on their way to find Warrington and finally they make their destination.

They also discover that it is an elaborate trap set by the Hindu to make Warrington talk. He plans to torture Ellen in order to get information on the treasure, so Faraday must try and save the day.

Most people don't have anything good to say about this film but I enjoyed it a lot and always will. The print isn't too bad on the DVD at all, but I do wish it had been in wide screen. Oh well you can't have everything.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Sean Connery is 90, and Tom Skerritt is 87.

RIP LORI NELSON 1933-2020

One of my favorite actresses of the 50's is gone.

One of the most beautiful women to ever grace a movie screen has passed away. Lori Nelson started her career in the 1952 film "Bend In The River" and never looked back.

She worked for Universal studios during their heyday and was first brought to my attention in "Ma And Pa Kettle At The Fair" which was also made in 1952. Her beauty captivated me and I sought out every film she was ever in.

Fans who read this are probably familiar with such films as "Underwater" and "Revenge Of The Creature" which she made at Universal. She also starred in my favorite Roger Corman film "Day The World Ended" and that is the film that I really fell head over heels in love with her.

Her other screen credits included "Hot Rod Girl", "Mohawk" and "Untamed Youth". Beauty, acting ability and all round talent made her an icon of my formative years.

She leaves behind a wonderful legacy of films and TV appearances that I for one will alway cherish. She passed away on Aug. 23rd, 2020 at the age of 87 from Alzheimer's Disease. RIP to a very wonderful lady.

COMING ATTRACTIONS...

I have been rather delinquent with this as life has gotten so busy, but here is a quick roundup of what is coming soon.

Mill Creek is releasing a 2 disc blu-ray set if Hammer films on 11/17/20. This is a good bet for Hammer film fans as it contains some films not released by them before.

Shout Factory is bringing to Blu-ray the 1960 Hammer film "Brides Of Dracula" and "the 50's classic "How To Make A Monster". Both are due Nov. 10th as is "War Of The Colossal Beast".

On Aug. 25th...which is tomorrow Shout will release "Attack Of The Crab Monsters" and "The Universal Horror Collection Vol. 6 which will include the very sought after film "the Thing That Couldn't Die". Both are Blu-ray of course.

Vinegar Syndrome is releasing the very rare Mexican gore film "The Grave Robbers". It's a very obscure film worth checking out. Lots of bondage, gore and some good scares.

And finally Scorpion is releasing the Blu-ray of "Fury Of The Wolfman" on 8/31/20.

That's a very short rundown of everything coming out that I can mention at this time. If I get anymore info on other films, I'll list it here as soon as I can.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Vince McMahon is 75, Raven De La Croix is 73, and Connie Mason is 83.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Barbara Eden is 89, and Vera Miles is 91.

JOHNNY GUNMAN 1957 (TUBI)

Interesting little film that nobody seems to know about.

Two rival New York gangsters, Allie (Johnny Seven) and Johnny G. (Martin E. Brooks), are involved in a turf war after a top mob boss is arrested by the Feds.

The movie is set up to show both men talking and making decisions about each other and all of this scene switching brings both characters to a meeting in the interesting ending.

This is a very rare film from the 1950's and it's a shame more people don't know about it, especially noir fans. It has a great jazz score and tons of excellent scenes and set pieces.

I had never heard of this film and came across it by accident on Tubi and gave it a whirl. I was not disappointed. The performances are all good and director Art Ford is very capable of handling the directing chores.

If you get a chance, check this one out. I haven't said too much about the film here simply because I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen the film yet.

MONSTERS 1988-1990 SEASON 2

The second season of Monsters proved to be just as enjoyable as the first.

THE FACE 10-1-89...Two crooks kill an old lady in her home during a robbery. She bites one of them and he discovers that he has her face growing on his hand. A very odd and bizarre episode with a kicker ending.

PORTRAIT OF AN ARTIST 10-8-89...A man searching for his missing daughter gets more than he could have ever imagined when he looks up her last employer. Darren McGavin stars.

A BOND OF SILK 10-15-89...A newlywed couple book a basement room in a rundown hotel only to find it occupied by a giant spider. Extremely creepy episode.

RERUN 10-22-89...A young woman summons her dead lover from the grave and trouble ensues. Very lackluster episode, but still worth watching.

LOVE HURTS 10-29-89...A young woman tries to get her lover away from his wife via voodoo.

THE FARMERS DAUGHTER 11-5/89...A salesman falls in love with the young daughter of an elderly farm couple. She lives in the attic and has a big surprise for the salesman.

JAR 11-12-89...A shady private investigator is on the case of a woman who uses the content of a mysterious jar to get rid of her husband.

THE DEMONS 11-19-89...Comedy episode about a greedy demon accidentally capturing a salesman from Chicago who must now grant all of the demons wishes.

REAPER 11-26-89...A elderly man in a rest home who fears death makes a deal with the Grim Reaper to get him other souls so he may live a bit longer. Things don't go as planned however. A top notch episode.

THE MANDRAKE ROOT 12-10-89...A woman finds her dead grandmothers exotic plant in the basement and discovers it lives off of human blood.

HALF AS OLD AS TIME 12-17-89...An elderly man asks his archaeologist daughter to help him find a fountain of youth that has been a hidden secret of Native Americans for centuries.

MUSEUM HEARTS 1-7-90...A man and two women he cheated on are trapped in a basement with a very dark secret.

HABITAT 1-14-90...A woman who agreed to be an alien test subject loses her mind from loneliness.

BED AND BOAR 1-21-90...A salesman comes between a man and a woman having a fight in the hotel room next to his.

MR SWLABR 1-28-90...A boy discovers a toy in a cereal box that actually comes to life.

PERCHANCE TO DREAM 2-4-90...A man suffers a blow to the head and finds his nightmares becoming reality. Very bizarre but excellent episode.

ONE WOLF'S FAMILY 2-11-90...A family of werewolves must try and cope with their daughter who has fallen in love with a were-hyena.

THE OFFERING 2-18-90...A man in the hospital after an auto accident has the ability to see a mysterious giant insect praying on patients in the same hospital.

FAR BELOW 2-25-90...A man investigating why a subway crew is paid far more than anyone else gets a very unexpected surprise. Great episode.

MICRO MINDS 3-4-90...An astronomy student contact a dangerous life form that is very close to Earth.

REFUGEE 5-13-90...A top US spy must perform one last mission which is being complicated by two demons from Hell who are also after the same person as the spy.

THE GIFT 5-20-90...A kidnapped child is held in a mountain cabin where he discovers a strange being who offers him a way out for a price. Very interesting episode.

THE BARGAIN 5-27-90... A female bookstore owner does anything possible to woo a handsome customer, but as usual things don't work out as planned. Another very well made episode.

THE FAMILY MAN 6-3-90...A child who hates his mother's new boyfriend finds out his real secret after wearing an old pair of glasses.

That concludes season 2. Monsters was to return for one more year and it still had some great things to come.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Patty McCormack is 75, Eve Torres is 36, and Clarence Williams III is 81.

MYSTERY HOUSE 1938 (WARNER ARCHIVE)

Another fine Warner mystery film from the 30's.

A banker named Hubert Kingery invites several business associates to his hunting lodge and accuses one of them of forging company documents.

Later that night Kingery is shot and killed and so his daughter calls on Det. Lance O' Leary (Dick Purcell) to solve the mysterious killing. There are plenty of suspects and a couple of others are also killed.

This is a different kind of "old dark house" thriller in that it takes place in a hunting lodge, but everything else you expect is still here. The characters are a wonderful mixed lot of eccentric people.

Purcell is very good in the role of O' Leary and Ann Sheridan as Sarah Keate is perfect as the woman O' Leary falls for during the investigation. They both play off of each other so well.

The pacing is breakneck as the film only runs under an hour. If you like these kinds of films, then this is definitely for you. The ending is really no surprise, but it is fun watching it all unfold. The print is excellent and my hat is off to Warner Archive for getting this film onto DVD.

The rest of the cast includes Anne Nagel, William Hopper and Trevor Bardette.

FEAR NO MORE 1961 (SOMETHING WEIRD)

Another very good film noir.

Beautiful Mala Powers stars as a young woman named Sharon Carlin. She boards a train and all seems well until she encounters a man with a gun in her compartment as well as a dead body.

The gunman knocks her out and when she comes to she is facing questions from a detective who is all but accusing her of murder. Very confused and scared confused, she manages to escape the police and flee to a nearby highway.

Along the way she almost hit by a car driven by a man, Paul Colbert (Jacques Bergerac) who is trying to get his son back to his mothers house. Paul picks up Sharon and she tries to explain to him what has happened.

" Finally arriving at her apartment she finds an old friend staying there and soon he even turns up dead. The plot gets even more complicated as Sharon seems to be going mad.

This is a very well made noir that I had never heard of until I got the SWV DVD set "Weird Noir". It's a fast moving film and the actors make it even better with fine performances. I always enjoy seeing Powers in anything, and to me this is one of her best performances.

If you're a fan of film noir then this film is for you. The rest of the cast includes John Harding, Helena Nash, Peter Brocco and Anna Lee Carroll. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Jill St. John is 80, Diana Muldaur is 82, Debra Paget is 87, L. Q. Jones is 93, Darby Hinton is 63, and Lilian Garcia is 54.

THE PUPPET MASTERS 1994 (KINO) BLU-RAY

One of my favorite films that nobody seems to have seen or cares about.

This film came and went so fast that most people didn't even see it. Donald Sutherland stars as Andrew Nivens, a top man in the US Government who is called in to investigate a spaceship landing in a small Iowa town.

Andrew and his son Sam (Eric Thal) and assistant Mary Sefton (Julie Warner) travel to the scene and notice something is very wrong with both the spaceship and the people who are charging money to see it.

Turns out that the people in the area are being slowly possessed by aliens "slugs" that attach themselves to a person's back and take control of their entire body.

This is a good throwback to 50's sci-fi thrillers and it is, of course, based on Robert Heinlein's novel of the same name. The cast does a very good job with their roles and there are a lot of interesting set pieces.

The film does lose a little momentum about 2/3 of the way thru, but all in all, this is a good little film. The effects aren't bad at all and the aliens are repulsive enough. The rest of the cast includes Keith David and Yaphet Kotto.

On a personal note, I will never understand why this film failed so badly. It's sharp, on point and well done for the most part. I have seen plenty of worse films. If you haven't seen this, then I recommend you do and if you want let me know what you think of it. The first filmed adaptation of Heinlein's novel was back in 1958 and was called "The Brain Eaters".

The disc also includes interviews with Warner, David and a nice documentary on Heinlein.

DEADLINE U.S.A. 1952 (KINO) BLU-RAY

An excellent film noir starring Humphrey Bogart.

Bogart stars as Ed Hutchinson, the editor of a big city newspaper called "The Day". During a typical morning everyone finds that the owners of the paper are selling to a rival strictly for profit.

Hutchinson is upset by this but gets even more upset when one of his reporters is beaten up by thugs working for a top gangster named Rienzi (Martin Gable).

This sets off a race against time as Ed and his crew decide to expose Rienzi as a top racketeer before the paper folds. Slowly but surly they make headway despite Rienzi and his men trying to stop the paper.

This is a perfect example of what movie making should be. There are multiplse stories going on and the viewer never loses track of any of them. Director Richard Brooks handles everything very well.

The cast is top notch and includes many names such as Kim Hunter, Ed Begley, Ethel Barrymore, Jim Backus, Warren Stevens, Paul Stewart, Paul Dubov and many more.

If you're a film noir fan this is for you. Kino turned out a beautiful Blu-ray and it looks fantastic. It has been available for a while and I just got my disc in and enjoyed it as much as the first time I saw the film many years ago. The movie harkens back to a time when you could really believe what you read in a newspaper.

It's one of the best of it's kind so check it out.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Saraya Jade Bevis is 28.

THE HIDDEN HAND 1942 (WARNER ARCHIVE)

This is a fun little film.

Craig Stevens stars as a young attorney named Peter Thorne. He works for a very eccentric elderly woman who has a most unique plot planned to use against those who stand to inherit money from her estate.

Lorinda Channing (Cecil Cunningham) plans to use her insane brother whom she helped escape from as asylum after 10 years, to scare the inheritors and teach them a lesson. The brother is John Channing (Milton Parsons).

All of the people arrive at the mansion and Lorinda has a difficult time controlling her brother who really wants to kill people. The plot is full of twists and turns in this very entertaining Warner feature.

It's not by any means original because of the "old dark house" theme, but it is fun. Parsons is excellent is his role as the insane John. He always had a very recognizable face and was a character actor in hundreds of movies and TV shows.

The rest of the cast for this whodunnit includes Elisabeth Fraser, Willie Best, Frank Wilcox and Julie Bishop. The print from Warner Archive is beautiful and I can recommend this to any horror/mystery fan. Willie Best has some great scenes as the always scared butler whose food trays are disappearing at an alarming rate.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Julie Newmar is 87, Ann Blyth is 93, Gary Clarke is 87, and Mirta Miller is 72.

SH! THE OCTOPUS 1937 (WARNER ARCHIVE)

It has been a very long time since I saw this film, but it still has the same impact on me.

This is a very bizarre film about a criminal known as "The Octopus" who is trying to steal a secret device from an inventor. Two detectives, Kelly and Dempsey (Hugh Herbert and Allen Jenks) respectively, are stranded in a lighthouse with several people.

Little do they know that "The Octopus" is also there. Will the master criminal manage to steal the invention? Will the two bumbling detectives stop the theif?

Well I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen this movie, but I can say this....even thou the film makes little sense, it's an enjoyable comedy/horror film with one of the best and most shocking transformation scenes I have ever seen in a film.

It runs only 54 minutes and moves like rushing water and if you're a 30's horror/mystery fan you'll enjoy this movie. I first talked about it on this blog in 2015, I believe, or maybe it was longer, but I have never forgotten it.

The print from Warner Archive is excellent and should please every movie fan. One of the best.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Natasha Henstridge is 46, Mike Henry is 84, Barbara Bouchet is 77, Pat Priest is 84, Lori Nelson is 87, Abby Dalton is 88, and Gaylen Ross is 70.