On March 13, 1981, one of the best werewolf movies ever made – director Joe Dante’s The Howling (watch it Here) made its debut on theatre screens in the United States. 42 years later, we’re celebrating The Howling with the latest episode of our video series Wtf Happened to This Horror Movie? To find out all about it, check out the video embedded above!
Scripted by John Sayles and Terence H. Winkless, The Howling was loosely based on a novel by Gary Brandner. Here’s the synopsis for the adaptation: In Los Angeles, television journalist Karen White is traumatized in the course of aiding the police in their arrest of a serial murderer. Her doctor recommends that she attend an isolated psychiatric retreat led by Dr. George Waggner. But while Karen is undergoing therapy, her colleague Chris, investigates the bizarre circumstances surrounding her shock. When his work leads him to suspect the supernatural,...
Scripted by John Sayles and Terence H. Winkless, The Howling was loosely based on a novel by Gary Brandner. Here’s the synopsis for the adaptation: In Los Angeles, television journalist Karen White is traumatized in the course of aiding the police in their arrest of a serial murderer. Her doctor recommends that she attend an isolated psychiatric retreat led by Dr. George Waggner. But while Karen is undergoing therapy, her colleague Chris, investigates the bizarre circumstances surrounding her shock. When his work leads him to suspect the supernatural,...
- 3/13/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Ted Donaldson, who starred as Bud Anderson on the original radio version of Father Knows Best and as Neely Nolan in the beloved family drama A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, the first feature directed by Elia Kazan, has died. He was 89.
Donaldson died Wednesday of complications from a fall in his Echo Park apartment in January, his friend Thomas Bruno told The Hollywood Reporter.
In his big-screen debut, Donaldson portrayed a boy who gets his pet caterpillar Curly to dance when he plays “Yes Sir, That’s My Baby” on the harmonica in the comedy fantasy Once Upon a Time (1944), starring Cary Grant and Janet Blair.
He also starred as Danny Mitchell in eight B-movies from Columbia Pictures that revolved around a German shepherd named Rusty. The first one, Adventures of Rusty (1945), featured Ace the Wonder Dog.
An only child, Donaldson was born in Brooklyn on Aug. 20, 1933. His father was...
Donaldson died Wednesday of complications from a fall in his Echo Park apartment in January, his friend Thomas Bruno told The Hollywood Reporter.
In his big-screen debut, Donaldson portrayed a boy who gets his pet caterpillar Curly to dance when he plays “Yes Sir, That’s My Baby” on the harmonica in the comedy fantasy Once Upon a Time (1944), starring Cary Grant and Janet Blair.
He also starred as Danny Mitchell in eight B-movies from Columbia Pictures that revolved around a German shepherd named Rusty. The first one, Adventures of Rusty (1945), featured Ace the Wonder Dog.
An only child, Donaldson was born in Brooklyn on Aug. 20, 1933. His father was...
- 3/3/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Mill Creek’s latest disc collection gathers three Columbia Sci-fi faves and throws in a Blu-ray debut for a fourth. It’s a good selection: two giant Ray Harryhausen monsters, one marginal bad-taste Sam Katzman zombie epic, and a quirky Lou Costello comedy with Dorothy Provine doing a wholesome take on Allison Hayes’ biggest role. Do these encodings measure up to fancier editions? We give them a spin.
Sci-Fi from the Vault: 4 Films
Blu-ray
Creature with the Atom Brain, It Came from Beneath the Sea, 20 Million Miles to Earth, The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock
Mill Creek Entertainment
1955-1959 / B&w / 303 min. / Street Date February 14, 2023 / Available from Mill Creek Entertainment / 29.99
Starring: Richard Denning; Kenneth Tobey & Faith Domergue; William Hopper & Joan Taylor; Lou Costello & Dorothy Provine.
Directed by Edward L. Cahn, Robert Gordon, Nathan Juran, Sidney Miller
Disc collectors are now tempted weekly by plenty of interesting disc releases...
Sci-Fi from the Vault: 4 Films
Blu-ray
Creature with the Atom Brain, It Came from Beneath the Sea, 20 Million Miles to Earth, The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock
Mill Creek Entertainment
1955-1959 / B&w / 303 min. / Street Date February 14, 2023 / Available from Mill Creek Entertainment / 29.99
Starring: Richard Denning; Kenneth Tobey & Faith Domergue; William Hopper & Joan Taylor; Lou Costello & Dorothy Provine.
Directed by Edward L. Cahn, Robert Gordon, Nathan Juran, Sidney Miller
Disc collectors are now tempted weekly by plenty of interesting disc releases...
- 2/25/2023
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
This remarkable black comedy is often listed as a horror film yet it has more nervous laughs than shivers. It’s a solid idea: cruelly marginalized old folks get madder than hell and just won’t take it any more. Or maybe they simply go nuts. The cast of ‘over seventies’ playing over eighty is just marvelous, and one murderous little pixie is a delight: Paula Trueman. Things do become absurd but the universally-understood premise stays firm. . . we’ll all be there sooner or later. “A Murder A Day Keeps the Landlord Away.”
Homebodies
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1974 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 96 min. / Street Date November 2, 2021 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Peter Brocco, Frances Fuller, William Hansen, Ruth McDevitt, Paula Trueman, Ian Wolfe, Linda Marsh, Douglas Fowley, Kenneth Tobey, Wesley Lau.
Cinematography: Isasdore Mankovsky
Art Director: John Retsek
Film Editor: Peter Parasheles
Original Music: Bernardo Segáll
Written by Larry Yust, Bennett Sims,...
Homebodies
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1974 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 96 min. / Street Date November 2, 2021 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Peter Brocco, Frances Fuller, William Hansen, Ruth McDevitt, Paula Trueman, Ian Wolfe, Linda Marsh, Douglas Fowley, Kenneth Tobey, Wesley Lau.
Cinematography: Isasdore Mankovsky
Art Director: John Retsek
Film Editor: Peter Parasheles
Original Music: Bernardo Segáll
Written by Larry Yust, Bennett Sims,...
- 12/11/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
This remarkable little black comedy is often listed as a horror film yet it has more nervous laughs than shivers. It’s a solid idea: cruelly maginalized old folks get madder than hell and just won’t take it any more. Or maybe more accurately, they simply go nuts. The cast of ‘over seventies’ playing over eighty is just marvelous, and one murderous little pixie is a delight: Paula Trueman. Things do become absurd but the universally-understood premise stays firm. . . we’ll all be there sooner or later. “A Murder A Day Keeps the Landlord Away.”
Homebodies
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1974 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 96 min. / Street Date November 2, 2021 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Peter Brocco, Frances Fuller, William Hansen, Ruth McDevitt, Paula Trueman, Ian Wolfe, Linda Marsh, Douglas Fowley, Kenneth Tobey, Wesley Lau.
Cinematography: Isasdore Mankovsky
Art Director: John Retsek
Film Editor: Peter Parasheles
Original Music: Bernardo Segáll
Written by Larry Yust,...
Homebodies
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1974 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 96 min. / Street Date November 2, 2021 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Peter Brocco, Frances Fuller, William Hansen, Ruth McDevitt, Paula Trueman, Ian Wolfe, Linda Marsh, Douglas Fowley, Kenneth Tobey, Wesley Lau.
Cinematography: Isasdore Mankovsky
Art Director: John Retsek
Film Editor: Peter Parasheles
Original Music: Bernardo Segáll
Written by Larry Yust,...
- 12/11/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Most people smile just at the mention of this show … nothing is more healthy than an old fashioned laugh. Zucker, Zucker & Abrahams’ non-stop joke fest finds good fun in movie spoofery without malice, and is populated by a squadron of old pros that once made the originals fly right, no matter how clunky they were. All hail Leslie Nielsen, Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack and Peter Graves, the veterans of countless ‘keep a straight face and pretend it’s serious’ groaners. It’s a 40th Anniversary new restoration. Now, finally, do I park in the red zone or the white zone?
Airplane!
Blu-ray
Paramount Presents
1980 / Color / 1.78 widescreen / 87 min. / Street Date July 21, 2020 / 22.99
Starring: Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Lloyd Bridges, Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack, Peter Graves, Lorna Patterson, Stephen Stucker, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Barbara Billingsley, Ethel Merman, James Hong, Maureen McGovern, Kenneth Tobey, Jimmie Walker, Kitten Natividad.
Cinematography: Joseph F. Biroc
Film Editor: Patrick Kennedy
Visual Effects: Robert Blalack,...
Airplane!
Blu-ray
Paramount Presents
1980 / Color / 1.78 widescreen / 87 min. / Street Date July 21, 2020 / 22.99
Starring: Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Lloyd Bridges, Leslie Nielsen, Robert Stack, Peter Graves, Lorna Patterson, Stephen Stucker, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Barbara Billingsley, Ethel Merman, James Hong, Maureen McGovern, Kenneth Tobey, Jimmie Walker, Kitten Natividad.
Cinematography: Joseph F. Biroc
Film Editor: Patrick Kennedy
Visual Effects: Robert Blalack,...
- 9/1/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
The exclusive 4K Ultra-hd club welcomes a worthy new member, Joe Dante’s evergreen horror comedy (and Christmas delight) about a cute furry critter and its 2nd-generation horde of scaly, impish demons. These aren’t Gremlins from the Kremlin, but homegrown domestic terrorist monsters, and Dante contrasts their killer antics with a sentimental parody of small town America. No CGI … You will believe that the animatronic rascals can multiply like rabbits, break dance, and run amuck!
Gremlins
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital Code
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
1984 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 106 min. / Street Date October 1, 2019 / 41.99
Starring: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Keye Luke, Frances Lee McCain, Dick Miller, Jackie Joseph, Judge Reinhold, Polly Holliday, Belinda Balaski, Edward Andrews, Don Steele, Scott Brady, Corey Feldman, Harry Carey Jr., Chuck Jones, Glynn Turman, Jerry Goldsmith, William Schallert, Steven Spielberg, Kenneth Tobey.
Cinematography: John Hora
Film Editor: Tina Hirsch
Original Music: Jerry Goldsmith...
Gremlins
4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital Code
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
1984 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 106 min. / Street Date October 1, 2019 / 41.99
Starring: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Keye Luke, Frances Lee McCain, Dick Miller, Jackie Joseph, Judge Reinhold, Polly Holliday, Belinda Balaski, Edward Andrews, Don Steele, Scott Brady, Corey Feldman, Harry Carey Jr., Chuck Jones, Glynn Turman, Jerry Goldsmith, William Schallert, Steven Spielberg, Kenneth Tobey.
Cinematography: John Hora
Film Editor: Tina Hirsch
Original Music: Jerry Goldsmith...
- 9/28/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
John Wayne! Janet Leigh! Nifty jet-age flying sequences! Goofy, bad-taste sex jokes! Hans Conreid as a chortling Russian army officer! Howard Hughes’ personal fun project took seven years to make while he played games with the aerial footage. It’s a highly-polished absurd joke, but it’s certainly entertaining. See Hughes try to do for Janet Leigh what he did for Jane Russell — I assume Ms. Leigh was too shrewd to sign any long-term contracts! This German disc has excellent widescreen image and audio.
Jet Pilot
Blu-ray
Explosive Media GmbH
1957 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 113 min. / Düsenjäger / Street Date June 14 2018, 2019 / 12.99 euros
Starring: John Wayne, Janet Leigh, Jay C. Flippen, Paul Fix, Richard Rober, Roland Winters, Hans Conried, Ivan Triesault, Hall Bartlett, Gregg Barton, Gene Evans, Paul Frees, Harry Lauter, Nelson Leigh, Denver Pyle, Gene Roth, Kenneth Tobey, Mamie Van Doren, Carleton Young.
Cinematography: Winton C. Hoch
Aerial Stunts: Chuck Yeager
Original Music:...
Jet Pilot
Blu-ray
Explosive Media GmbH
1957 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 113 min. / Düsenjäger / Street Date June 14 2018, 2019 / 12.99 euros
Starring: John Wayne, Janet Leigh, Jay C. Flippen, Paul Fix, Richard Rober, Roland Winters, Hans Conried, Ivan Triesault, Hall Bartlett, Gregg Barton, Gene Evans, Paul Frees, Harry Lauter, Nelson Leigh, Denver Pyle, Gene Roth, Kenneth Tobey, Mamie Van Doren, Carleton Young.
Cinematography: Winton C. Hoch
Aerial Stunts: Chuck Yeager
Original Music:...
- 7/16/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Oh to be a child in the ‘50s; Saturday matinees, boxed popcorn and cheap soda, flung in the air as the latest nuclear tinged monster loomed over the screen, impartial in its destruction of the masses. That feeling of wonder and awe is definitely present in It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955), a fairly pro forma Atomic blast heightened immeasurably by the effects magic of Ray Harryhausen.
Released stateside in July as the top half of a double bill with Creature with the Atom Brain by Columbia Pictures, It Came pulled in close to $2 million against a $150,000 budget, and critics were dismissive except for Harryhausen’s wizardry. I can understand the under evaluation, although I think there’s a little more besides the show stopping effects that helps It Came work.
But first, a radioactive retelling: Naval Commander Pete Mathews (Kenneth Tobey – The Thing from Another World) is taking the...
Released stateside in July as the top half of a double bill with Creature with the Atom Brain by Columbia Pictures, It Came pulled in close to $2 million against a $150,000 budget, and critics were dismissive except for Harryhausen’s wizardry. I can understand the under evaluation, although I think there’s a little more besides the show stopping effects that helps It Came work.
But first, a radioactive retelling: Naval Commander Pete Mathews (Kenneth Tobey – The Thing from Another World) is taking the...
- 4/20/2019
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
Though long embraced by parents as family-friendly safe zones, Disney’s live action films were just as often called out for their squeaky clean posturing and regressive world views.
Fair enough – but as Noah Cross growled, “Politicians, ugly buildings and whores all get respectable if they last long enough” – and a good number of those mild-mannered entertainments, while not exactly ready for the arthouse, are at least worthy of a second look.
Disney Movie Club has released some of those Baby Boomer perennials in sterling Blu ray transfers – unfortunately available to club members only. Here’s part one in a rundown of the more tantalizing items.
Treasure Island, Davy Crockett,
Old Yeller, Pollyanna
Blu ray
Disney Movie Club
1950, ‘55, ‘56, ‘57, ‘60 / 1. 33:1, 1.85:1 / 96, 93, 81, 83, 134 Min.
Starring Robert Newton, Dorothy McGuire, Hayley Mills, Fess Parker
Cinematography by Freddie Young, Charles P. Boyle, Russell Harlan
Directed by Byron Haskin, Robert Stevenson, David Swift
Treasure Island – 1950
Thanks...
Fair enough – but as Noah Cross growled, “Politicians, ugly buildings and whores all get respectable if they last long enough” – and a good number of those mild-mannered entertainments, while not exactly ready for the arthouse, are at least worthy of a second look.
Disney Movie Club has released some of those Baby Boomer perennials in sterling Blu ray transfers – unfortunately available to club members only. Here’s part one in a rundown of the more tantalizing items.
Treasure Island, Davy Crockett,
Old Yeller, Pollyanna
Blu ray
Disney Movie Club
1950, ‘55, ‘56, ‘57, ‘60 / 1. 33:1, 1.85:1 / 96, 93, 81, 83, 134 Min.
Starring Robert Newton, Dorothy McGuire, Hayley Mills, Fess Parker
Cinematography by Freddie Young, Charles P. Boyle, Russell Harlan
Directed by Byron Haskin, Robert Stevenson, David Swift
Treasure Island – 1950
Thanks...
- 12/25/2018
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Hulk Hogan: “Okay you guys, listen up! People pay good money to see this movie! When they go out to a theater they want cold sodas, hot popcorn, and no monsters in the projection booth! Do I have to come up there myself? Do you think the Gremsters can stand up to the Hulkster? Well, if I were you, I’d run the rest of Gremlins 2! Right now! Sorry folks, it won’t happen again!”
Gremlins and Gremlins 2: The New Batch are screening This Saturday, December 15th, at the St. Andrews Cinema in St. Charles, Mo. The doors open at 2:00pm and the first film starts at 2:30. Admission for both films is $5. Gremlins will be introduced by Mark Dodson. Mark was the voice of Salicious Crumb in Return Of The Jedi and Mogwai in Gremlins. His other voice credits include Day Of The Dead and Star Wars The Force Awakens.
Gremlins and Gremlins 2: The New Batch are screening This Saturday, December 15th, at the St. Andrews Cinema in St. Charles, Mo. The doors open at 2:00pm and the first film starts at 2:30. Admission for both films is $5. Gremlins will be introduced by Mark Dodson. Mark was the voice of Salicious Crumb in Return Of The Jedi and Mogwai in Gremlins. His other voice credits include Day Of The Dead and Star Wars The Force Awakens.
- 12/10/2018
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Exciting news for fans of classic sci-fi! Kenneth Tobey and James Arness in The Thing From Another World (1951) is available on Blu-ray from Warner Archives. Ordering information can be found Here
Howard Hawks’ production of The Thing From Another World, adapted from the classic story “Who Goes There?” by Science Fiction Grandmaster John W. Campbell, is a pitch perfect example of genre filmmaking at its finest and, much like his entire oeuvre – from screwball comedy to melodrama to hardboiled detective to western – a treasure that makes movie magic. Under Christian Nyby’s lean direction, Charles Lederer’s rapid-fire dialogue and a cast of fine journeymen performers, this tale of scientists and servicemen confronting the unknown above the Arctic Circle shines with crisp atomic-age radiation in this scintillating HD presentation in all its glorious Black and White wonder.
Arctic researchers discover a huge, frozen spaceling inside a crash-landed UFO, then fight...
Howard Hawks’ production of The Thing From Another World, adapted from the classic story “Who Goes There?” by Science Fiction Grandmaster John W. Campbell, is a pitch perfect example of genre filmmaking at its finest and, much like his entire oeuvre – from screwball comedy to melodrama to hardboiled detective to western – a treasure that makes movie magic. Under Christian Nyby’s lean direction, Charles Lederer’s rapid-fire dialogue and a cast of fine journeymen performers, this tale of scientists and servicemen confronting the unknown above the Arctic Circle shines with crisp atomic-age radiation in this scintillating HD presentation in all its glorious Black and White wonder.
Arctic researchers discover a huge, frozen spaceling inside a crash-landed UFO, then fight...
- 12/10/2018
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Intrepid soldiers and scientists battle a bloodsucking alien invader at the top of the world! The Warner Archive Collection releases Howard Hawks’ incomparable Science Fiction thriller, a long-desired favorite. Long handicapped by missing scenes, this Rko classic is intact again, complete with its nerve-rattling bombastic Dimitri Tiomkin music score.
The Thing from Another World
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1951 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 87 min. / Street Date December 18, 2018 / 21.99
Starring: Margaret Sheridan, Kenneth Tobey, Robert Cornthwaite, Douglas Spencer, James R. Young, Dewey Martin, Robert Nichols, William Self, Eduard Franz, James Arness, Paul Frees, George Fenneman, John Dierkes.
Cinematography: Russell Harlan
Art Direction: Albert S. D’Agostino, John J. Hughes
Film Editor: Roland Gross
Original Music: Dimitri Tiomkin
Written by Charles Lederer from a short story by John W. Campbell Jr.
Produced by Howard Hawks
Directed by Christian Nyby
Still one of the all-time favorites of 1950s science fiction filmmaking, Howard Hawks’ The Thing from Another World...
The Thing from Another World
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1951 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 87 min. / Street Date December 18, 2018 / 21.99
Starring: Margaret Sheridan, Kenneth Tobey, Robert Cornthwaite, Douglas Spencer, James R. Young, Dewey Martin, Robert Nichols, William Self, Eduard Franz, James Arness, Paul Frees, George Fenneman, John Dierkes.
Cinematography: Russell Harlan
Art Direction: Albert S. D’Agostino, John J. Hughes
Film Editor: Roland Gross
Original Music: Dimitri Tiomkin
Written by Charles Lederer from a short story by John W. Campbell Jr.
Produced by Howard Hawks
Directed by Christian Nyby
Still one of the all-time favorites of 1950s science fiction filmmaking, Howard Hawks’ The Thing from Another World...
- 12/6/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
“It’s under the Big ‘W’!” A smart cop show goes all ‘Dragnet’ on a trio of criminal cases in the good old City of the Angels. To figure out who gunned down a top detective, rough tough FBI agent Broderick Crawford must get to the bottom of three separate dramas, each involving a beautiful woman. The producers know how to get attention for their show — the climactic shootout takes place under the Hollywood Sign.
Down 3 Dark Streets
Blu-ray
ClassicFlix
1954 / B&W / 1:75 widescreen / 86 min. / Street Date April 24, 2018 / 29.99
Starring: Broderick Crawford, Ruth Roman, Martha Hyer, Marisa Pavan, Max Showalter, Kenneth Tobey, Gene Reynolds, William Johnstone, Harlan Warde, Jay Adler, Claude Akins, Suzanne Alexander, Joe Bassett, Michael Fox, John Indrisano, Milton Parsons, Stafford Repp, William Schallert, Charles Tannen.
Cinematography: Joseph Biroc
Film Editor: Grant Whytock
Production Design: Edward (Ted) Haworth
Original Music: Paul Sawtell
Written by Bernard C. Schoenfeld, ‘The Gordons...
Down 3 Dark Streets
Blu-ray
ClassicFlix
1954 / B&W / 1:75 widescreen / 86 min. / Street Date April 24, 2018 / 29.99
Starring: Broderick Crawford, Ruth Roman, Martha Hyer, Marisa Pavan, Max Showalter, Kenneth Tobey, Gene Reynolds, William Johnstone, Harlan Warde, Jay Adler, Claude Akins, Suzanne Alexander, Joe Bassett, Michael Fox, John Indrisano, Milton Parsons, Stafford Repp, William Schallert, Charles Tannen.
Cinematography: Joseph Biroc
Film Editor: Grant Whytock
Production Design: Edward (Ted) Haworth
Original Music: Paul Sawtell
Written by Bernard C. Schoenfeld, ‘The Gordons...
- 4/28/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
CineSavant reaches back one year to pick up a notable low-key horror from the team of Levy-Gardner-Laven and good old United Artists. They have a respected actor, a workable concept and a horror screenplay from an unusual source for the 1950s . . . a (gasp) woman. More civilized monster movies just aren’t out there, although this one could have used a more creative title.
The Vampire
Blu-ray
Scream Factory
1957 / B&W / 1:78 widescreen / 75 min. / Street Date April 11, 2017 / 27.99
Starring: John Beal, Coleen Gray, Kenneth Tobey, Lydia Reed, Dabbs Greer, Herb Vigran, Paul Brinegar, Ann Staunton, James Griffith.
Cinematography: Jack MacKenzie
Film Editor: John Faure
Original Music: Gerald Fried
Written and story by Pat Fielder
Produced by Arthur Gardner, Arnold Laven, Jules V. Levy
Directed by Paul Landres
I long ago gave up keeping track of all the aberrant vampire movies that were produced after horror became a direct-to-video staple and finally a streaming staple.
The Vampire
Blu-ray
Scream Factory
1957 / B&W / 1:78 widescreen / 75 min. / Street Date April 11, 2017 / 27.99
Starring: John Beal, Coleen Gray, Kenneth Tobey, Lydia Reed, Dabbs Greer, Herb Vigran, Paul Brinegar, Ann Staunton, James Griffith.
Cinematography: Jack MacKenzie
Film Editor: John Faure
Original Music: Gerald Fried
Written and story by Pat Fielder
Produced by Arthur Gardner, Arnold Laven, Jules V. Levy
Directed by Paul Landres
I long ago gave up keeping track of all the aberrant vampire movies that were produced after horror became a direct-to-video staple and finally a streaming staple.
- 4/17/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Guest Reviewer Lee Broughton is back, with a rodent roundup of horror, or more accurately, psychological suspense interrupted by a few salacious slayings. What would Mickey say?
The brief synopses of Daniel Mann’s Willard and Phil Karlson’s Ben that appeared in the horror movie books and magazines that kids in the UK loved to pore over during the late 1970s always gave the impression that this pair of killer rat films were hardcore horror shows.
In truth, the actual horror content of both films is relatively mild and infrequent. In spite of this, Willard and Ben still tend to be discussed in terms of their relation to the often more extreme movies that appeared in the “animals attack” cycle of horror films that flourished during the 1970s.
That particular subgenre represents something of a niche interest area that is governed by a pretty tight set of boundaries. The...
The brief synopses of Daniel Mann’s Willard and Phil Karlson’s Ben that appeared in the horror movie books and magazines that kids in the UK loved to pore over during the late 1970s always gave the impression that this pair of killer rat films were hardcore horror shows.
In truth, the actual horror content of both films is relatively mild and infrequent. In spite of this, Willard and Ben still tend to be discussed in terms of their relation to the often more extreme movies that appeared in the “animals attack” cycle of horror films that flourished during the 1970s.
That particular subgenre represents something of a niche interest area that is governed by a pretty tight set of boundaries. The...
- 11/11/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Do you think older crime thrillers weren’t violent enough? This shocker from 1948 shook up America with its true story of a vicious killer who has a murderous solution to every problem, and uses special talents to evade police detection. Richard Basehart made his acting breakthrough as Roy Martin, a barely disguised version of the real life ‘Machine Gun Walker.
He Walked by Night
Blu-ray
ClassicFlix
1948 / B&W /1:37 flat full frame / 79 min. / Street Date November 7, 2017 / 39.99
Starring: Richard Basehart, Scott Brady, Roy Roberts, Whit Bissell, James Cardwell, Jack Webb, Dorothy Adams, Ann Doran, Byron Foulger, Reed Hadley (narrator), Thomas Browne Henry, Tommy Kelly, John McGuire, Kenneth Tobey.
Cinematography: John Alton
Art Direction: Edward Ilou
Film Editor: Alfred De Gaetano
Original Music: Leonid Raab
Written by John C. Higgins and Crane Wilbur
Produced by Bryan Foy, Robert T. Kane
Directed by Alfred L. Werker
Talk about a movie with a dynamite...
He Walked by Night
Blu-ray
ClassicFlix
1948 / B&W /1:37 flat full frame / 79 min. / Street Date November 7, 2017 / 39.99
Starring: Richard Basehart, Scott Brady, Roy Roberts, Whit Bissell, James Cardwell, Jack Webb, Dorothy Adams, Ann Doran, Byron Foulger, Reed Hadley (narrator), Thomas Browne Henry, Tommy Kelly, John McGuire, Kenneth Tobey.
Cinematography: John Alton
Art Direction: Edward Ilou
Film Editor: Alfred De Gaetano
Original Music: Leonid Raab
Written by John C. Higgins and Crane Wilbur
Produced by Bryan Foy, Robert T. Kane
Directed by Alfred L. Werker
Talk about a movie with a dynamite...
- 11/7/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Since the early days of home video Ray Harryhausen’s films have been a lightning rod for companies eager to one-up the competition with bigger and brighter releases of the beloved animator’s work. Located in the UK, Powerhouse/Indicator is the latest to jump on the bandwagon with lavishly appointed blu ray sets each featuring three of his films. Though all these movies have been previously released through other companies, Powerhouse has upped the ante with fresh transfers and a broad slate of new extras.
The Wonderful Worlds of Ray Harryhausen, Vol. One: 1955-1960
Blu-ray – All Region
Powerhouse/Indicator
2001 / 1:85 / Street Date September 25, 2017
Starring Kenneth Tobey, William Hopper, Kerwin Matthews
Cinematography: Henry Freulich, Irving Lippman, Carlo Ventimiglia, Wilkie Cooper
Film Editor: Jerome Thoms, Edwin H. Bryant, Raymond Poulton
Produced by Sam Katzman, Charles H. Schneer
Music: Mischa Bakaleinikoff, Bernard Herrmann
Directed by Robert Gordon, Nathan Juran, Jack Sher
It Came from Beneath the Sea...
The Wonderful Worlds of Ray Harryhausen, Vol. One: 1955-1960
Blu-ray – All Region
Powerhouse/Indicator
2001 / 1:85 / Street Date September 25, 2017
Starring Kenneth Tobey, William Hopper, Kerwin Matthews
Cinematography: Henry Freulich, Irving Lippman, Carlo Ventimiglia, Wilkie Cooper
Film Editor: Jerome Thoms, Edwin H. Bryant, Raymond Poulton
Produced by Sam Katzman, Charles H. Schneer
Music: Mischa Bakaleinikoff, Bernard Herrmann
Directed by Robert Gordon, Nathan Juran, Jack Sher
It Came from Beneath the Sea...
- 9/30/2017
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
July 18th Blu-ray & DVD Releases Include Kong: Skull Island, Resident Evil: Vendetta, The Bat People
For the brand new Blu-ray and DVD offerings coming out on Tuesday, July 18th, we have an eclectic assortment of titles, both new and old. As far as cult classics go, The Bat People, Freeway, Stalker, and Stormy Monday are all making their HD debuts on Blu this week, and if you missed Kong: Skull Island, Free Fire or Buster’s Mal Heart during their theatrical runs, now you’ll have a chance to catch up with these films on their home entertainment releases.
Other notable release for July 18th include Resident Evil: Vendetta, Another Evil, Lake Alice, and The Expanse: Season Two.
The Bat People (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
Half Man, Half Bat, All Terror!
From director Jerry Jameson (Airport 77, Raise The Titanic) comes a high-flying horror from the darkest corner of the drive-in: The Bat People!
When Dr. John Beck and his wife Cathy fall into an underground cave,...
Other notable release for July 18th include Resident Evil: Vendetta, Another Evil, Lake Alice, and The Expanse: Season Two.
The Bat People (Scream Factory, Blu-ray)
Half Man, Half Bat, All Terror!
From director Jerry Jameson (Airport 77, Raise The Titanic) comes a high-flying horror from the darkest corner of the drive-in: The Bat People!
When Dr. John Beck and his wife Cathy fall into an underground cave,...
- 7/18/2017
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
“You say you hate Washington’s Birthday or Thanksgiving and nobody cares, but you say you hate Christmas and people treat you like you’re a leper.”
Gremlins plays midnights this weekend (May 5th and 6th) at The Tivoli Theater as part of the Reel late at The Tivoli Midnight series.
It’s Christmas in American picture-postcard town Kingston Falls. Billy Peltzer is given an unusual present; a cute little furry creature called a Mogwai. He is delighted with the gift until he accidentally gets it wet and it quickly multiplies. Worse still is to come when the new creatures are fed after midnight and transform into horribly mischievous Gremlins …
Gremlins (1984) is a fabulous flick, because it somehow manages to be both a sentimental good-natured modern-day fairytale, and an uproariously riotous comic horror film that stomps all over the nice wholesome image of Christmas and small-town America. The script by...
Gremlins plays midnights this weekend (May 5th and 6th) at The Tivoli Theater as part of the Reel late at The Tivoli Midnight series.
It’s Christmas in American picture-postcard town Kingston Falls. Billy Peltzer is given an unusual present; a cute little furry creature called a Mogwai. He is delighted with the gift until he accidentally gets it wet and it quickly multiplies. Worse still is to come when the new creatures are fed after midnight and transform into horribly mischievous Gremlins …
Gremlins (1984) is a fabulous flick, because it somehow manages to be both a sentimental good-natured modern-day fairytale, and an uproariously riotous comic horror film that stomps all over the nice wholesome image of Christmas and small-town America. The script by...
- 5/1/2017
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Long live Michael Laughlin. Two years after he released one of my favorite early ‘80s oddities, Strange Behavior (I wrote about it here), he was back to unleash the next chapter in a proposed ‘Strange’ trilogy, Strange Invaders (1983). And while the former is a tribute to Mad Scientist films of the ‘50s via an updated Slasher take, the latter tips its fedora to the great Alien Invasion films of the same era. It may not reach the same dizzyingly weird heights, but Strange Invaders is an affectionate romp that captures the feel of those bygone drive-in classics and solidifies Laughlin’s unique voice.
A co-production between Emi Films and Lone Wolf McQuade Associates, Strange Invaders was released by Orion Pictures in mid September stateside to positive reviews and lackluster box office. Returning only a quarter of its $5 million plus budget, this was the Way of the Laughlin – everyone liked his movies,...
A co-production between Emi Films and Lone Wolf McQuade Associates, Strange Invaders was released by Orion Pictures in mid September stateside to positive reviews and lackluster box office. Returning only a quarter of its $5 million plus budget, this was the Way of the Laughlin – everyone liked his movies,...
- 4/8/2017
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
A few years ago, in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the death of influential film critic Pauline Kael, I wrote the following:
“I think (Kael) did a lot to expose the truth… that directors, writers and actors who often work awfully close to the surface may still have subterranean levels of achievement or purpose or commentary that they themselves may be least qualified to articulate. It’s what’s behind her disdain for Antonioni’s pontificating at the Cannes film festival; it’s what behind the high percentage of uselessness of proliferating DVD commentaries in which we get to hear every dull anecdote, redundant explication of plot development and any other inanity that strikes the director of the latest Jennifer Aniston rom-com to blurt out breathlessly; and it is what’s behind a director like Eli Roth, who tailors the subtext of something like Hostel Part II almost as...
“I think (Kael) did a lot to expose the truth… that directors, writers and actors who often work awfully close to the surface may still have subterranean levels of achievement or purpose or commentary that they themselves may be least qualified to articulate. It’s what’s behind her disdain for Antonioni’s pontificating at the Cannes film festival; it’s what behind the high percentage of uselessness of proliferating DVD commentaries in which we get to hear every dull anecdote, redundant explication of plot development and any other inanity that strikes the director of the latest Jennifer Aniston rom-com to blurt out breathlessly; and it is what’s behind a director like Eli Roth, who tailors the subtext of something like Hostel Part II almost as...
- 4/2/2017
- by Dennis Cozzalio
- Trailers from Hell
Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Sam Moffitt, and Tom Stockman
Special effects legend Ray Harryhausen, whose dazzling and innovative visual effects work on fantasy adventure films such as Jason And The Argonauts and The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad passed away in 2013 at age 92. In 1933, the then-13-year-old Ray Harryhausen saw King Kong at a Hollywood theater and was inspired – not only by Kong, who was clearly not just a man in a gorilla suit, but also by the dinosaurs. He came out of the theatre “stunned and haunted. They looked absolutely lifelike … I wanted to know how it was done.” It was done by using stop-motion animation: jointed models filmed one frame at a time to simulate movement. Harryhausen was to become the prime exponent of the technique and its combination with live action. The influence of Harryhausen on film luminaries like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Peter Jackson, and...
Special effects legend Ray Harryhausen, whose dazzling and innovative visual effects work on fantasy adventure films such as Jason And The Argonauts and The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad passed away in 2013 at age 92. In 1933, the then-13-year-old Ray Harryhausen saw King Kong at a Hollywood theater and was inspired – not only by Kong, who was clearly not just a man in a gorilla suit, but also by the dinosaurs. He came out of the theatre “stunned and haunted. They looked absolutely lifelike … I wanted to know how it was done.” It was done by using stop-motion animation: jointed models filmed one frame at a time to simulate movement. Harryhausen was to become the prime exponent of the technique and its combination with live action. The influence of Harryhausen on film luminaries like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Peter Jackson, and...
- 6/29/2016
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Horror in the ‘50s tended to lean towards the sci-fi end of the spectrum. And why wouldn’t it? This was the atomic age, and hiding under your school desk during a bomb drill (the safest place to be!) was scarier than any monster Hollywood could muster. So as a form of social moralizing (or an excuse to display giant, mutated lizards on screen), filmmakers merged the fear of nuclear annihilation with the need for entertainment. Most filmmakers, that is. Paul Landres’ The Vampire (1957) is a deliberate ride through the (mostly) human condition, small in scope but surprisingly big on emotion. Just don’t expect any vampires, radioactive, sparkly, or otherwise.
What you do get is a story much closer to Stevenson than Stoker, a simple riff on Jekyll and Hyde shot through a cautionary tale about America’s then growing concern with pill poppin’. The Vampire is more concerned...
What you do get is a story much closer to Stevenson than Stoker, a simple riff on Jekyll and Hyde shot through a cautionary tale about America’s then growing concern with pill poppin’. The Vampire is more concerned...
- 6/25/2016
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
Continuing our series on Hollywood remakes, this week’s film is one of those lauded remakes that many say is better than the original. While a horror movie may not be in the Christmas spirit, this film does have a lot of snow in it. This week, Cinelinx looks at John Carpenter’s The Thing.
When people talk about remakes of old films, the one that is most often mentioned as being better than the original is John Carpenter’s 1982 horror flick, The Thing, which is a remake of the 1951 Howard Hawks classic The Thing From Another World. There’s a good argument to be made for the newer one. Not that the first one isn’t an excellent movie, but this is a rare occasion where the reputation of the remake seems to overshadow the original.
Both films were based on the short story “Who Goes There?” by John W.
When people talk about remakes of old films, the one that is most often mentioned as being better than the original is John Carpenter’s 1982 horror flick, The Thing, which is a remake of the 1951 Howard Hawks classic The Thing From Another World. There’s a good argument to be made for the newer one. Not that the first one isn’t an excellent movie, but this is a rare occasion where the reputation of the remake seems to overshadow the original.
Both films were based on the short story “Who Goes There?” by John W.
- 12/9/2015
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Rob Young)
- Cinelinx
I'll trade you two RKOs for two Warners', an even swap! This quartet of movie-magic wonderments offer a full course on old-school film effects wizardry at its best. Willis O'Brien passes the baton to disciple Ray Harryhausen, who dazzles us with his own effects magic for the first '50s giant monster epic. And the best monster thriller of the decade is offered at its original widescreen aspect ratio. It's all special enough to merit a mid-week review. Special Effects Collection Blu-ray The Son of Kong, Mighty Joe Young, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Them! Warner Home Video 1933-1954 / B&W / 1:37 Academy - 1:85 widescreen / 335 min. / Street Date October 27, 2015 / 54.96 or 19.98 separately Starring Robert Armstrong, Helen Mack,, Frank Reicher, Victor Wong; Robert Armstrong, Terry Moore, Ben Johnson, Frank McHugh; Paul Christian, Paula Raymond, Cecil Kellaway, Kenneth Tobey, Donald Woods, Lee Van Cleef; James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, James Arness, Onslow Stevens,...
- 10/23/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
In the 1980s, bored film critics sometimes claimed to see homoerotic themes in any 'buddy picture' about guys being friends with guys. Only one bold comedy dared to confront this notion directly -- in this show, Dennis Quaid spends a full two hours inside Martin Short, yet the finished picture is still perfectly suitable for all audiences and age groups! Savant Blu-ray Review Warner Home Video 1987 / Color /1.78:1 / 116 min. / Street Date August 4, 2015/ available through Warner Bros. / 13.09 Starring Dennis Quaid, Martin Short, Meg Ryan, Kevin McCarthy, Fiona Lewis, Vernon Wells, Robert Picardo Cinematography Andrew Laszlo Visual Effects Supervisor Dennis Muren Art Direction James H. Spencer Film Editor Kent Beyda Original Music Jerry Goldsmith Written by Jeffrey Boam, Chip Proser, story by Chip Proser Produced by Michael Finnell, Peter Guber, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Jon Peters, Chip Proser, Steven Spielberg Directed by Joe Dante
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Warner Home Video shows...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Warner Home Video shows...
- 8/31/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
By Lee Pfeiffer
Warner Home Entertainment has recently released their special edition DVD of director Joe Dante’s “Innerspace” on Blu-ray. The 1987 film is a sci-fi comedy that afforded Martin Short and Meg Ryan early career leading roles in a tale of inspired lunacy. The premise of the script centers on a narcissistic former military test pilot Tuck Pendelton (Dennis Quaid) who volunteers for an unprecedented scientific experiment. Doctors have the technology to shrink him and inject him into the body of a rabbit. They also obviously have the ability to bring him back into the outside world where he can resume his normal activities at his normal size. The purpose of the experiment is to allow medical technicians to eventually inject operatives into human beings so that they can perform miracle surgeries. However, there are some bad guys who are looking to benefit from the amazing technology by selling it to the highest bidder.
Warner Home Entertainment has recently released their special edition DVD of director Joe Dante’s “Innerspace” on Blu-ray. The 1987 film is a sci-fi comedy that afforded Martin Short and Meg Ryan early career leading roles in a tale of inspired lunacy. The premise of the script centers on a narcissistic former military test pilot Tuck Pendelton (Dennis Quaid) who volunteers for an unprecedented scientific experiment. Doctors have the technology to shrink him and inject him into the body of a rabbit. They also obviously have the ability to bring him back into the outside world where he can resume his normal activities at his normal size. The purpose of the experiment is to allow medical technicians to eventually inject operatives into human beings so that they can perform miracle surgeries. However, there are some bad guys who are looking to benefit from the amazing technology by selling it to the highest bidder.
- 8/29/2015
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
A kind of Bonnie and Clyde for the Nascar crowd, director John Hough (The Legend of Hell House) puts together an eccentric and original premise with an equally quirky cast including Vic Morrow, Kenneth Tobey and Roddy McDowall in support of stars Peter Fonda and Susan George, two misfits on the lam from the law after a supermarket robbery. Released mainly to drive-ins, Hough’s carefree crime chase brought in a more than respectable 14 million at the box office.
- 7/3/2015
- by TFH Team
- Trailers from Hell
Teresa Wright: Later years (See preceding post: "Teresa Wright: From Marlon Brando to Matt Damon.") Teresa Wright and Robert Anderson were divorced in 1978. They would remain friends in the ensuing years.[1] Wright spent most of the last decade of her life in Connecticut, making only sporadic public appearances. In 1998, she could be seen with her grandson, film producer Jonah Smith, at New York's Yankee Stadium, where she threw the ceremonial first pitch.[2] Wright also became involved in the Greater New York chapter of the Als Association. (The Pride of the Yankees subject, Lou Gehrig, died of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in 1941.) The week she turned 82 in October 2000, Wright attended the 20th anniversary celebration of Somewhere in Time, where she posed for pictures with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. In March 2003, she was a guest at the 75th Academy Awards, in the segment showcasing Oscar-winning actors of the past. Two years later,...
- 3/15/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Young Robert Redford and politics: 'The Candidate' and 'All the President's Men' (photo: Robert Redford as Bob Woodward in 'All the President's Men') A young Robert Redford can be seen The Candidate, All the President's Men, Three Days of the Condor, and Downhill Racer as Turner Classic Movies' Redford series comes to a close this evening. The world of politics is the focus of the first three films, each one of them well-regarded box-office hits. The last title, which shows that politics is part of life no matter what, is set in the world of competitive sports. 'The Candidate' In the Michael Ritichie-directed The Candidate (1972), Robert Redford plays idealistic liberal Democrat Bob McKay, who, with no chance of winning, is convinced to run against the Republican incumbent in a fight for a California seat in Congress. See, McKay is too handsome. Too young. Too liberal.
- 1/28/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Veterans Day movies on TCM: From 'The Sullivans' to 'Patton' (photo: George C. Scott in 'Patton') This evening, Turner Classic Movies is presenting five war or war-related films in celebration of Veterans Day. For those outside the United States, Veterans Day is not to be confused with Memorial Day, which takes place in late May. (Scroll down to check out TCM's Veterans Day movie schedule.) It's good to be aware that in the last century alone, the U.S. has been involved in more than a dozen armed conflicts, from World War I to the invasion of Iraq, not including direct or indirect military interventions in countries as disparate as Iran, Guatemala, and Chile. As to be expected in a society that reveres people in uniform, American war movies have almost invariably glorified American soldiers even in those rare instances when they have dared to criticize the military establishment.
- 11/12/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
James Garner movies on TCM: ‘Grand Prix,’ ‘Victor Victoria’ among highlights (photo: James Garner ca. 1960) James Garner, whose film and television career spanned more than five decades, died of "natural causes" at age 86 on July 19, 2014, in the Los Angeles suburb of Brentwood. On Monday, July 28, Turner Classic Movies will present an all-day marathon of James Garner movies (see below) as a tribute to the Oscar-nominated star of Murphy’s Romance and Emmy-winning star of the television series The Rockford Files. Among the highlights in TCM’s James Garner film lineup is John Frankenheimer’s Monaco-set Grand Prix (1966), an all-star, race-car drama featuring Garner as a Formula One driver who has an affair with the wife (Jessica Walter) of his former teammate (Brian Bedford). Among the other Grand Prix drivers facing their own personal issues are Yves Montand and Antonio Sabato, while Akira Kurosawa’s (male) muse Toshiro Mifune plays a...
- 7/25/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Craig Hill, who played P.T. Moore, the co-owner of a helicopter chartering company, in the 1950s syndicated TV adventure series Whirlybirds, died Monday, the Spanish newspaper Ara reported. He was 88. Hill, who also appeared as the prison-bound first-time offender at the beginning of the Kirk Douglas cop classic Detective Story (1951), died in Barcelona, family members told the newspaper. He had lived in Spain for decades. Whirlybirds, from Desilu Productions, aired for three seasons and 111 half-hour episodes, from February 1957 to January 1960. Moore and his partner, Chuck Martin (Kenneth Tobey), flew Bell
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- 4/21/2014
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Back in 1983 Jim Wynorski shot his first film, The Lost Empire, which has itself been "lost" for several years. Finally, on April 22nd it's getting its long-awaited home video release on DVD.
From the Press Release:
In 1983 a young director stepped behind the camera for the first time and began to shoot a film which he thought might be both his first and his last. An ardent fan of "B" cinema, Jim Wynorski decided to cram this film with everything he loved.
"I got my first break doing The Lost Empire for Plitt Theatres," says Jim Wynorski. "The late owner, Henry Plitt (a decorated war hero), wanted to make a low budget sci-fi action picture as a tax loss. I never knew that when I made the show, so I put my heart and soul into the project. When it finally got completed, Plitt actually liked it enough to give...
From the Press Release:
In 1983 a young director stepped behind the camera for the first time and began to shoot a film which he thought might be both his first and his last. An ardent fan of "B" cinema, Jim Wynorski decided to cram this film with everything he loved.
"I got my first break doing The Lost Empire for Plitt Theatres," says Jim Wynorski. "The late owner, Henry Plitt (a decorated war hero), wanted to make a low budget sci-fi action picture as a tax loss. I never knew that when I made the show, so I put my heart and soul into the project. When it finally got completed, Plitt actually liked it enough to give...
- 2/26/2014
- by Debi Moore
- DreadCentral.com
Ryan Lambie Jun 26, 2017
35 years ago, The Thing was panned by critics. We take a look at the angry reaction and its modern status as a horror classic...
It's the summer of 1982, and director John Carpenter is on the cusp of releasing his latest movie, The Thing. For the 34-year-old filmmaker, the release marks the end of a major undertaking: the culmination of months of shooting on freezing cold sets and snowy British Columbia locations, not to mention the execution of complex and time-consuming practical effects scenes.
See related Twin Peaks season 3 episode 7 review: There’s A Body All Right Twin Peaks season 3 episode 6 review: Don’t Die Twin Peaks season 3 episode 5 review: Case Files
Carpenter was understandably proud of the results: after such independent hits as Assault On Precinct 13, Halloween and Escape From New York, this was his first studio movie (for Universal) and also his most expensive to date,...
35 years ago, The Thing was panned by critics. We take a look at the angry reaction and its modern status as a horror classic...
It's the summer of 1982, and director John Carpenter is on the cusp of releasing his latest movie, The Thing. For the 34-year-old filmmaker, the release marks the end of a major undertaking: the culmination of months of shooting on freezing cold sets and snowy British Columbia locations, not to mention the execution of complex and time-consuming practical effects scenes.
See related Twin Peaks season 3 episode 7 review: There’s A Body All Right Twin Peaks season 3 episode 6 review: Don’t Die Twin Peaks season 3 episode 5 review: Case Files
Carpenter was understandably proud of the results: after such independent hits as Assault On Precinct 13, Halloween and Escape From New York, this was his first studio movie (for Universal) and also his most expensive to date,...
- 1/17/2014
- Den of Geek
Feature Ryan Lambie 20 Jan 2014 - 06:27
John Carpenter's The Thing was panned by reviewers in 1982. We take a look at the angry critical reaction and the later reassessment...
It's the summer of 1982, and director John Carpenter is on the cusp of releasing his latest movie, The Thing. For the 34-year-old filmmaker, the release marks the end of a major undertaking: the culmination of months of shooting on freezing cold sets and snowy British Columbia locations, not to mention the execution of complex and time-consuming practical effects scenes.
Carpenter was understandably proud of the results: after the independent such independent hits as Assault On Precinct 13, Halloween and Escape From New York, this was his first studio movie (for Universal) and also his most expensive to date, with a budget of around $15m. And while The Thing had appeared in cinemas before (in the guise of Howard Hawks and Christian Nyby's 1951 sci-fi shocker,...
John Carpenter's The Thing was panned by reviewers in 1982. We take a look at the angry critical reaction and the later reassessment...
It's the summer of 1982, and director John Carpenter is on the cusp of releasing his latest movie, The Thing. For the 34-year-old filmmaker, the release marks the end of a major undertaking: the culmination of months of shooting on freezing cold sets and snowy British Columbia locations, not to mention the execution of complex and time-consuming practical effects scenes.
Carpenter was understandably proud of the results: after the independent such independent hits as Assault On Precinct 13, Halloween and Escape From New York, this was his first studio movie (for Universal) and also his most expensive to date, with a budget of around $15m. And while The Thing had appeared in cinemas before (in the guise of Howard Hawks and Christian Nyby's 1951 sci-fi shocker,...
- 1/17/2014
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Air Force screens on October 19 at the Museum of the Moving Image's retrospective, The Complete Howard Hawks. For more of Dan Sallitt's writing on Hawks, go here and here.
Air Force occupies an unusual place in Howard Hawks' filmography. As a war propaganda film, its subject matter is necessarily tendentious, with an overt message that is not only coercive but also repetitive. Hawks, whose control over his choice of material was quite unusual by Hollywood standards of the time, shows no sign of resisting the project's wartime agenda, and willingly accepts the character stereotyping and up-front ideology that comes with the package: the eager young recruits, the cynic to be converted, the proud parent set up for loss. In addition, Hawks' streak of dark humor combines with the project's built-in tone of righteous vengeance against the Japanese in a way that can strike peacetime audiences as callous.
On the other hand,...
Air Force occupies an unusual place in Howard Hawks' filmography. As a war propaganda film, its subject matter is necessarily tendentious, with an overt message that is not only coercive but also repetitive. Hawks, whose control over his choice of material was quite unusual by Hollywood standards of the time, shows no sign of resisting the project's wartime agenda, and willingly accepts the character stereotyping and up-front ideology that comes with the package: the eager young recruits, the cynic to be converted, the proud parent set up for loss. In addition, Hawks' streak of dark humor combines with the project's built-in tone of righteous vengeance against the Japanese in a way that can strike peacetime audiences as callous.
On the other hand,...
- 10/14/2013
- by Dan Sallitt
- MUBI
Gregory Peck from ‘Duel in the Sun’ to ‘How the West Was Won’: TCM schedule (Pt) on August 15 (photo: Gregory Peck in ‘Duel in the Sun’) See previous post: “Gregory Peck Movies: Memorable Miscasting Tonight on Turner Classic Movies.” 3:00 Am Days Of Glory (1944). Director: Jacques Tourneur. Cast: Gregory Peck, Lowell Gilmore, Maria Palmer. Bw-86 mins. 4:30 Am Pork Chop Hill (1959). Director: Lewis Milestone. Cast: Gregory Peck, Harry Guardino, Rip Torn. Bw-98 mins. Letterbox Format. 6:15 Am The Valley Of Decision (1945). Director: Tay Garnett. Cast: Greer Garson, Gregory Peck, Donald Crisp. Bw-119 mins. 8:15 Am Spellbound (1945). Director: Alfred Hitchcock. Cast: Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Michael Chekhov, Leo G. Carroll, Rhonda Fleming, Bill Goodwin, Norman Lloyd, Steve Geray, John Emery, Donald Curtis, Art Baker, Wallace Ford, Regis Toomey, Paul Harvey, Jean Acker, Irving Bacon, Jacqueline deWit, Edward Fielding, Matt Moore, Addison Richards, Erskine Sanford, Constance Purdy. Bw-111 mins. 10:15 Am Designing Woman (1957). Director: Vincente Minnelli.
- 8/16/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Joan Fontaine movies: ‘This Above All,’ ‘Letter from an Unknown Woman’ (photo: Cary Grant, Joan Fontaine in ‘Suspicion’ publicity image) (See previous post: “Joan Fontaine Today.”) Also tonight on Turner Classic Movies, Joan Fontaine can be seen in today’s lone TCM premiere, the flag-waving 20th Century Fox release The Above All (1942), with Fontaine as an aristocratic (but socially conscious) English Rose named Prudence Cathaway (Fontaine was born to British parents in Japan) and Fox’s top male star, Tyrone Power, as her Awol romantic interest. This Above All was directed by Anatole Litvak, who would guide Olivia de Havilland in the major box-office hit The Snake Pit (1948), which earned her a Best Actress Oscar nod. In Max Ophüls’ darkly romantic Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948), Fontaine delivers not only what is probably the greatest performance of her career, but also one of the greatest movie performances ever. Letter from an Unknown Woman...
- 8/6/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Article by Jim Batts, Dana Jung, Sam Moffitt, and Tom Stockman
Special effects legend Ray Harryhausen, whose dazzling and innovative visual effects work on fantasy adventure films such as Jason And The Argonauts and The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad passed away last month at age 92. In 1933, the then-13-year-old Ray Harryhausen saw King Kong at a Hollywood theater and was inspired – not only by Kong, who was clearly not just a man in a gorilla suit, but also by the dinosaurs. He came out of the theatre “stunned and haunted. They looked absolutely lifelike … I wanted to know how it was done.” It was done by using stop-motion animation: jointed models filmed one frame at a time to simulate movement. Harryhausen was to become the prime exponent of the technique and its combination with live action. The influence of Harryhausen on film luminaries like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Peter Jackson,...
Special effects legend Ray Harryhausen, whose dazzling and innovative visual effects work on fantasy adventure films such as Jason And The Argonauts and The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad passed away last month at age 92. In 1933, the then-13-year-old Ray Harryhausen saw King Kong at a Hollywood theater and was inspired – not only by Kong, who was clearly not just a man in a gorilla suit, but also by the dinosaurs. He came out of the theatre “stunned and haunted. They looked absolutely lifelike … I wanted to know how it was done.” It was done by using stop-motion animation: jointed models filmed one frame at a time to simulate movement. Harryhausen was to become the prime exponent of the technique and its combination with live action. The influence of Harryhausen on film luminaries like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Peter Jackson,...
- 6/25/2013
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
1981 was a pretty exciting year for fans of werewolf cinema. Not only did we get John Landis' masterful An American Werewolf in London and a decent adaptation of Whitley Streiber's novel Wolfen, but there was also Joe Dante's The Howling, which is a clever little werewolf flick with a sense of humor that still holds up pretty darn well after all these years. No, the special effects aren't quite as amazing as those found in the John Landis movie, and some of the film's social commentary is stuck firmly in the late 1970s, but given how seldom we get new werewolf flicks these days, there's always something to be said for an old one that can still deliver the goods.
Loosely based on the novel of the same name by Gary Brandner, The Howling is about a TV reporter who suffers a violent assault from a mysterious killer...
Loosely based on the novel of the same name by Gary Brandner, The Howling is about a TV reporter who suffers a violent assault from a mysterious killer...
- 6/17/2013
- by Scott Weinberg
- FEARnet
Dirty Mary Crazy Larry
Directed by John Hough
Written by Leigh Chapman and Antonio Santean
1974, USA
A good percentage of the best American chase films were released in the decade that brought us a new wave of rebellious, edgy filmmakers who put muscle cars in the spotlight, and directed realistic, fast-paced action sequences highlighted by the incredible stunt work from Hollywood daredevils. Cutting right to the chase, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry is high on extreme stunts and crazy car crashes, created in a time when CGI didn’t exist. Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry remains one of the best in the genre: the stunts are extreme, the humor is dark, and the cars are awesome.
Released in 1974, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry is a ridiculous fun, heist picture driven by tough-guy dialogue, male posturing and a somewhat familiar premise. Adapted from Richard Unekis novel The Chase, the film follows a stock car...
Directed by John Hough
Written by Leigh Chapman and Antonio Santean
1974, USA
A good percentage of the best American chase films were released in the decade that brought us a new wave of rebellious, edgy filmmakers who put muscle cars in the spotlight, and directed realistic, fast-paced action sequences highlighted by the incredible stunt work from Hollywood daredevils. Cutting right to the chase, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry is high on extreme stunts and crazy car crashes, created in a time when CGI didn’t exist. Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry remains one of the best in the genre: the stunts are extreme, the humor is dark, and the cars are awesome.
Released in 1974, Dirty Mary Crazy Larry is a ridiculous fun, heist picture driven by tough-guy dialogue, male posturing and a somewhat familiar premise. Adapted from Richard Unekis novel The Chase, the film follows a stock car...
- 5/25/2013
- by Ricky da Conceição
- SoundOnSight
Whether you measure your movies by box office, reviews, or popular appeal, Sony’s $125 million remake of the 1990 Ah-nuld Schwarzenegger interplanetary action fest Total Recall looks like a strike-out. The movie opened with a lethal softness; a $25.7 million first weekend meaning Recall won’t even come close to making back its budget during its domestic theatrical run. In fact, despite 22 years of ticket price increases, it’s doubtful the movie will even match the original’s $119.3 million haul.
And for those of you who think maybe the problem is Total Recall was outgunned opening while The Dark Knight Rises was still sucking up box office coin, entertain, at least for a moment if you will, the possibility the movie just plain sucks. According to Rotten Tomatoes’ canvas, almost 70% of reviewers – and over three-quarters of “top critics” – gave Total Recall a thumbs-down. Those who went to see the movie didn’t...
And for those of you who think maybe the problem is Total Recall was outgunned opening while The Dark Knight Rises was still sucking up box office coin, entertain, at least for a moment if you will, the possibility the movie just plain sucks. According to Rotten Tomatoes’ canvas, almost 70% of reviewers – and over three-quarters of “top critics” – gave Total Recall a thumbs-down. Those who went to see the movie didn’t...
- 8/15/2012
- by Bill Mesce
- SoundOnSight
Kenny Wormald, Footloose If early, rough estimates are correct, the Footloose remake will not reach the $20 million mark as some had been expecting. As per The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline.com, Footloose collected approximately $5.7 million on its Friday debut, which would translate into a $17 million weekend. Directed by Hustle & Flow and Black Snake Moan's Craig Brewer, the Paramount release stars relative newcomer Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough, Dennis Quaid, and Andie McDowell. Kevin Bacon starred in the 1984 original (itself a derivative effort similar to countless movies of the previous three decades). Hugh Jackman's Real Steel is expected to land in second place with $15m-$15.5m for the weekend, following grosses of $4.5m on Friday. At no. 3, the horror/thriller The Thing — another remake of an '80s flick (itself a remake of a 1951 B movie) — will likely cume at $10m-$11m after only $3.8m on Friday. Matthijs van Heijningen Jr....
- 10/15/2011
- by Zac Gille
- Alt Film Guide
John W. Campbell, Jr.'s 1938 seminal science-fiction/horror novella, Who Goes There?, has been adapted twice for the big screen, once, loosely, in 1951 as The Thing from Another World and the second time more faithfully in 1982 as The Thing (a.k.a. John Carpenter's The Thing). While the second adaptation relied heavily on state-of-the-art practical effects, heavy on the body horror, blood, and gore (along with claustrophobia and paranoia, of course), producer and ghost-director Howard Hawks (Rio Bravo, Red River, The Big Sleep, His Girl Friday) structured The Thing from Another World as a moody, atmospheric horror film, relying primarily on suspense, tension, and audience imagination to create a memorable theatrical experience.
Set at a research station in the Arctic (as opposed to Antarctica in Campbell's novella and Carpenter's 1982 adaptation), The Thing from Another World centers on the first encounter between humanity and an alien from outer space. We...
Set at a research station in the Arctic (as opposed to Antarctica in Campbell's novella and Carpenter's 1982 adaptation), The Thing from Another World centers on the first encounter between humanity and an alien from outer space. We...
- 8/18/2010
- by Mel Valentin
- Cinematical
U.S. Navy submariner Charles Griffiths was executive officer aboard the USS Hammerhead when he was asked to play Lt. Griff, Kenneth Tobey’s executive officer, in the 1955 sci-fi classic It Came from Beneath the Sea. The film featured Ray Harryhausen’s giant octopus, and Griff was one of the naval men assigned to destroy it.
Griffiths was born in Franklin, Pennsylvania, on March 15, 1922. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy during World War II, graduating in 1946. He joined the submarine corps, and served aboard numerous vessels. He had his first command on the USS Wahoo, and soon trained to serve on nuclear submarines. He continued to rise through the ranks, becoming Rear Admiral in 1971. He held numerous positions with the navy and was a Vice Admiral and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Submarine Warfare in Washington, D.C., when he retired in 1980.
Griffiths died of cancer in Annapolis,...
Griffiths was born in Franklin, Pennsylvania, on March 15, 1922. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy during World War II, graduating in 1946. He joined the submarine corps, and served aboard numerous vessels. He had his first command on the USS Wahoo, and soon trained to serve on nuclear submarines. He continued to rise through the ranks, becoming Rear Admiral in 1971. He held numerous positions with the navy and was a Vice Admiral and Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Submarine Warfare in Washington, D.C., when he retired in 1980.
Griffiths died of cancer in Annapolis,...
- 4/27/2010
- by Jesse
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
Simon Brew Aug 14, 2017
Is the named director of a film the one who's actually been calling the shots? Here are 11 where a 'ghost director' may have been involved.
It's not that uncommon for a director to take their name off a film, and to leave the moniker Alan Smithee or whatever the current equivalent is behind. However, what's considerably rarer is when a film is released under the name of one director, but it's later revealed or rumoured that, actually, other hands were at work, either for a solid chunk or even the entirety of a production. That a film was, for want of a better phrase, 'ghost directed'.
See related Gotham season 4: Barbara is set to form an all-female "power base"
Granted, some of these stories that we're about to tell have little chance of ever being fully confirmed, but here are some examples of where the helmer...
Is the named director of a film the one who's actually been calling the shots? Here are 11 where a 'ghost director' may have been involved.
It's not that uncommon for a director to take their name off a film, and to leave the moniker Alan Smithee or whatever the current equivalent is behind. However, what's considerably rarer is when a film is released under the name of one director, but it's later revealed or rumoured that, actually, other hands were at work, either for a solid chunk or even the entirety of a production. That a film was, for want of a better phrase, 'ghost directed'.
See related Gotham season 4: Barbara is set to form an all-female "power base"
Granted, some of these stories that we're about to tell have little chance of ever being fully confirmed, but here are some examples of where the helmer...
- 4/21/2010
- Den of Geek
While no blockbuster horror horror is due out this week, we do have some indie titles, straight to DVD and re-releases to choose from.
The Attic
About a month after Emma Callan (Elisabeth Moss) and her family move into their seemingly picture-perfect Victorian home, Emma starts to have ghastly visions of a girl who appears to be her twin but is pure evil. Since no one else has seen this doppelganger, Emma is faced with two terrifying prospects: Either she s going insane or she s actually being haunted by a malevolent spirit determined to destroy anyone who dares delve into the dark mysteries of The Attic. Co-starring John Savage and Catherine Mary Stewart, this riveting film from the director of Pet Cemetery will fire up your most intense fears while it makes your blood run cold!
Earth Vs The Flying Saucers (1956)
Re-released to DVD.Dr. Russell Marvin heads up Operation Skyhook,...
The Attic
About a month after Emma Callan (Elisabeth Moss) and her family move into their seemingly picture-perfect Victorian home, Emma starts to have ghastly visions of a girl who appears to be her twin but is pure evil. Since no one else has seen this doppelganger, Emma is faced with two terrifying prospects: Either she s going insane or she s actually being haunted by a malevolent spirit determined to destroy anyone who dares delve into the dark mysteries of The Attic. Co-starring John Savage and Catherine Mary Stewart, this riveting film from the director of Pet Cemetery will fire up your most intense fears while it makes your blood run cold!
Earth Vs The Flying Saucers (1956)
Re-released to DVD.Dr. Russell Marvin heads up Operation Skyhook,...
- 1/14/2008
- ZombieFriends.com
While no blockbuster horror horror is due out this week, we do have some indie titles, straight to DVD and re-releases to choose from.
The Attic
About a month after Emma Callan (Elisabeth Moss) and her family move into their seemingly picture-perfect Victorian home, Emma starts to have ghastly visions of a girl who appears to be her twin but is pure evil. Since no one else has seen this doppelganger, Emma is faced with two terrifying prospects: Either she s going insane or she s actually being haunted by a malevolent spirit determined to destroy anyone who dares delve into the dark mysteries of The Attic. Co-starring John Savage and Catherine Mary Stewart, this riveting film from the director of Pet Cemetery will fire up your most intense fears while it makes your blood run cold!
Earth Vs The Flying Saucers (1956)
Re-released to DVD.Dr. Russell Marvin heads up Operation Skyhook,...
The Attic
About a month after Emma Callan (Elisabeth Moss) and her family move into their seemingly picture-perfect Victorian home, Emma starts to have ghastly visions of a girl who appears to be her twin but is pure evil. Since no one else has seen this doppelganger, Emma is faced with two terrifying prospects: Either she s going insane or she s actually being haunted by a malevolent spirit determined to destroy anyone who dares delve into the dark mysteries of The Attic. Co-starring John Savage and Catherine Mary Stewart, this riveting film from the director of Pet Cemetery will fire up your most intense fears while it makes your blood run cold!
Earth Vs The Flying Saucers (1956)
Re-released to DVD.Dr. Russell Marvin heads up Operation Skyhook,...
- 1/14/2008
- ZombieFriends.com
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