A FEW MONTHS AGO I LISTED ALL THE APPEARANCES COUNT DRACULA MAKES IN MY VOLUMINOUS VAULT. Now, in honour of the Halloween Countdown, I thought I'd bring you werewolves I have known and loved -- some of my favourite furry furies that appear in movies and TV shows I'm lucky enough to own. These are not all the werewolves in cinema but merely those favourites which lurk in my video vault. You will also not find any TWILIGHT, any VAN HELSING or any UNDERWORLD werewolves here -- I said they were my favourites . . . not from movies which tested my gag reflex!
This list is in no particular order but who could think of beginning with anyone other than Lon Chaney Jr. as the tortured Lawrence Talbot the Wolf Man. From his first appearance in the Universal classic THE WOLF MAN (1941) through the subsequent sequels FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN, HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, HOUSE OF DRACULA, ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN and even such minor appearances in the classic ROUTE 66 episode "Lizard's Leg & Owlet's Wing" or the grade-Z Mexican monster movie FACE OF THE SCREAMING WEREWOLF. Lon's hard to beat as King Werewolf. Awrroooooooooooo!
Another superb-looking lycanthrope is Oliver Reed in Hammer's CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF. From the extremely odd opening title sequence with the crying werewolf's eyes through the back story of the peasant girl raped by the mad and bestial beggar (THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT's Richard Wordsworth), this Hammer shocker starts off well but then loses steam until the rousing finish atop a burning bell tower. But the visual look of Hammer's werewolf by Roy Ashton is extraordinarily good.
Herman Cohen wondered why no one was going to see his prestigiously made movies when he figured out teenagers didn't want to see middle-aged actors and characters. So he fought back with I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF and another werewolf its hard to resist. Michael Landon's werewolf, drooling toothpaste and wearing his letterman sweater, is one of the iconic horror images of the nifty fifties. Is there a particular reason why this great film isn't available on DVD yet?!?!?
Super-duper TV show SUPERNATURAL features the Winchester brothers fighting monsters, demons and sometimes angels. In the second season, the episode HEART ( originally aired March 22, 2007) features a heartstring-tugger with a lovely young woman who just happens to be a werewolf. Cue the gypsy violins for this tragic tearjerker.
The first werewolf from Universal of course wasn't Lon Chaney Jr.'s Lawrence Talbot. In fact, he wasn't even their second! THE WEREWOLF OF LONDON featured acerbic Henry Hull as the reluctant werewolf condemned to kill the one he loves. However, he got that way by being bitten by ANOTHER werewolf: Warner Oland (best known as one of cinema's Charlie Chans). Both monstrous men fight over the Mariphasa Lupina Lumina flower to cure them. Things don't end well. Hull apparently balked at makeup genius Jack Pierce's originally much-more-extensive werewolf makeup but I, for one, quite like the devilish, sleek look of this one as well.
The last place you'd expect to find a werewolf is in an episode of BARNEY MILLER but the 1974 third season episode entitled "Werewolf" gives us just that. The precinct gets a call from a guy named Kopechne who wants to be locked up before he kills somebody. When they get him downtown, they find he claims to be a werewolf. Detective Harris, whose spent the last few minutes rolling around the grass with Kopechne and ruining his sharp suit shouts "This city is one giant cuckoo clock!" and when the werewolf starts climbing the cage bars and howling, Barney hollers "This is a police station, not a horror movie!" Add to all this a UFO sighting in Central Park and a swine flu epidemic and you have one of the funniest BARNEY MILLER episodes.
20th Century Fox's beautiful-looking 1942 film THE UNDYING MONSTER featured a Hammond family cursed by the devil; the male heir will turn into a werewolf. When a series of horrific bestial attacks occur in the area, the curse appears to be coming true. With James Ellison, Heather Angel and John Howard starring in this John Brahm-directed seldom-seen sleeper, this film is a tad empty but looks absolutely gorgeous!
Back again to television, the folks at Filmation (who brought you the Archies and countless other Saturday morning cartoons) leapt on the horror bandwagon in 1970 with THE GROOVIE GOOLIES. Besides the Frankenstein Monster, Dracula and the Mummy, the Wolf Man was one of the stars. Wolfie was not even "loosely-based" on the persona of legendary DJ Wolfman Jack. And he wouldn't be the only TV character more-than-reminiscent of the rock & roll disc jockey either . . . because there was also . . .
Canada's kiddie TV series THE HILARIOUS HOUSE OF FRIGHTENSTEIN featured comedian Billy Van playing multiple roles including a rock & roll DJ Wolf Man! Arrrroooooo indeed! This was another favourite show I remember from my kiddiedom. Each episode Wolf Man would spin a current hit single and dance in front of a psychedelic video background. Ahhhh yes, the early 70's were groovalicious!
In 1981, John Landis' AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON was a humongous hit and looked at the werewolf movie in an entirely new way. Not to mention Rick Baker monster maker's groundbreaking special effects. But of course, my favourite part of the film is the Griffin Dunne character slowly rotting away before our eyes. However, David Naughton's werewolf is not to be sneezed at.
Then there's the same year's "competing" werewolf movie: Joe Dante's THE HOWLING. While I've always preferred the Landis film, this one is also quite impressive for the spectacular werewolf transformations. And who can forget Dee Wallace turning into that twitchy-nosed snow-werewolf?!?!
Another candidate for the king of lycanthropy is Paul Naschy whose ever-popular Waldemar Daninsky character spans countless Spanish werewolf movies including FURY OF THE WOLFMAN and ASSIGNMENT: TERROR with Michael Rennie. Daninsky's tragic persona gave Lawrence Talbot a run for his pathos money.
The second season of the new DOCTOR WHO series found the Doctor (David Tennant) and Rose (Billie Piper) teaming up with Queen Victoria (Pauline Collins) to battle an impressive-for-television CGI werewolf in the episode "TOOTH AND CLAW". It was this episode which saw the formation by Her Majesty of the Torchwood initiative which would later play a large part in the series and spin-off into its own programme starring John Barrowman.
Count Dracula in everything but name, Bela Lugosi plays Count Morla in the Columbia answer to Universal's monster-fests "RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE" which also featured a werewolf henchman named Andreas played by Matt Willis. The actor was no doubt chosen because of his slight facial resemblance to Lon Chaney Jr. and his werewolf makeup is adorable; sort of like a puppy dog -- which is what he is to Lugosi's vampire count.
A little-known film made by schlockmeister "Jungle Sam" Katzman in 1956 called simply "THE WEREWOLF" starring an unknown actor named Steven Ritch who gives a really fine, tragic performance as a man cursed with lycanthropy. The werewolf makeup is particularly nice and owes a little, I think, to Matt Willis' werewolf in RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE. . .only more savage-looking. What do you think?
Charles Band's Full Moon videos were eagerly awaited by me at my local Blockbuster back in the early-early 90's because they were just so much cheesy direct-to-video fun. And one of the most bonkers ideas yet was when Full Moon decided to make a movie starring Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, the Wolf Man and the Mummy -- but played by "little people". This movie was called "THE CREEPS" and the monsters' short stature derived from a faulty mad scientist device which conjured them from the novels. The werewolf was particularly drooly in this one!
In 1969 during the first season of SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? an episode entitled "A GAGGLE OF GALLOPING GHOSTS" also featured the "big three" of Dracula, the Frankenstein Monster and the Wolf Man -- the werewolf particularly has gone down as an iconic Scooby-Doo monster. Warned by a gypsy fortune teller (voiced by the great June Foray) not to go to Franken Castle, those meddling kids go there anyway. Unfortunately, the end of the show reveals that the monsters are imposters. I know, spoiler alert!
In the early 80s, John Landis wanted to show us that Michael Jackson wasn't like other guys. And he did so with the epic music video for the title track to Michael Jackson's monster-selling album "THRILLER". The pre-King of Pop turns into a marvelous werewolf (or is that were-kitten) at the beginning of the video with a letterman jacket obviously in tribute to I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF. And this is all before Vincent Price raps!
The silver-masked icon of Mexican wrestler movies El Santo encountered the Wolf Man on several occasions: here is one of them as it occurred in the caves of SANTO VS. DRACULA Y EL HOMBRE LOBO! El Santo and his buddy Blue Demon also fought "El Hombre Lobo" in the classic Mexican wrestler monsterfest "SANTO Y BLUE DEMON VS. LOS MONSTRUOS". Love the belt!
Another favourite is the first Amicus "portmanteau" or "omnibus" film: 1965's "DR. TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS" in which there is a werewolf story imaginatively entitled "Werewolf". Architect Neil McCallum travels to his ancestral home in Scotland now owned by Ursula Howells to work on alterations to the old family pile. Hacking through a wall in the cellar, the coffin of Count Cosmo Valdemar is found (Hiya Paul Naschy!!!) who had previously owned the house before McCallum's ancestor killed him and the Count vowed revenge. And now the Count is emerging each night as a werewolf to put the bite on his victims. My favourite of all the Amicus "portmanteau" films (even though I think "FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE" is an even better one) owing to the fact that my cousin Loran introduced the film to me as a kid and we spent many a late night watching it in front of the flickering TV munching Oreos and popcorn and grooving to Biff Bailey's ancient voodoo tune!
The TV hit soap opera "DARK SHADOWS" featured more than one vampire to bedevil vampire Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid). Quentin Collins (David Selby) was a werewolf for a time and there was also another wolfie named Christopher. Hey, that looks like Christopher now. Bad . . . Bad werewolf! Stay on the paper!!! Barnabas seems to be saying.
The concept of WEREWOLVES ON WHEELS is too good to pass up. This is one which just HAD to be conceived as a movie poster first and then a movie second. Either way you slice it, werewolves riding around on motorcycles amidst devil cults is just about the purest example of 1970s horror as you can get!
One of the most recent (and best) examples of werewolves on television has to be the episode from season two of Marvel's THE SUPER HERO SQUAD entitled "THIS MAN-THING! THIS MONSTER!" written by none other than John Rozum: the father of this very Countdown to Halloween!!! Here we have Iron Man transported to a supernatural dimension where he encounters Marvel Comics' monster characters Man-Thing, Dracula and . . . wait for it . . . Werewolf-By-Night! Superb! One of my favourite episodes of this fun super-hero cartoon!
Back in the early-early 1990s, when I wasn't waiting for the newest Full Moon video to appear at my local video rental store, I was watching LOVE AND CURSES on Channel 17 at 11pm. Originally titled "SHE-WOLF OF LONDON", this syndicated series featured the "Moonlighting"-style adventures of parapsychologist Dr. Ian Matheson teamed up with a female werewolf Randi Wallace and was a lot of pure, brainless fun.
The film that answered the question: does the Wolf Man have nads? THE MONSTER SQUAD was pure 80's fun as a group of kids team-up to fight the classic Universal monsters including the aforementioned Wolf Man. Fondly remembered by all of us of a certain age.
Agatha Christie meets the Wolf Man! That's one way you could describe Amicus' early 70's "nice try" "THE BEAST MUST DIE" which is the only movie I know of which paused for a "werewolf break" in which the viewer is invited to guess which of the cast is a dirty ole werewolf. Actually the werewolf is just a poor old docile doggy with a carpet tied to its back. Peter Cushing, Calvin Lockhart, Anton Diffring and Michael Gambon found themselves adrift in this one.
It doesn't get more "poverty row" than this! PRC's wartime quickie THE MAD MONSTER directed by reliable sausage-maker Sam Newfield stars George Zucco as the mad scientist who unleashes a werewolf in overalls. Glenn Strange (Frankenstein's Monster in HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, HOUSE OF DRACULA and ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN) has a fondness for Oshkosh and does his best "Lon Chaney Jr. as Lenny" impression.
And I couldn't think of a better way to end this celebration of lycanthropy than to present one of the cutest werewolves of all: the claymation Wolf Man from the Rankin & Bass MAD MONSTER PARTY? which starred the voice of Boris Karloff himself as Dr. Frankenstein and Phyllis Diller as the Bride of Frankenstein. Seriously, that Wolf Man is just adorable! And that's where we end this "Mad Werewolf Party", gang. I hope you enjoyed seeing all of your furry friends again. If you still haven't gotten enough of a werewolf fix, don't forget to hurry on over to our sister blog BATHED IN THE LIGHT FROM ANDROMEDA for yesterday's werewolf songs as part of Day 5 of the Countdown to Halloween.
WELL FIENDS, IT LOOKS LIKE THIS BLOG WILL BE OFFICIALLY PARTICIPATING IN THE COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN AFTER ALL.
I was worried that I wouldn't be able to do it this year but I've managed to post every day and don't see any reason why that shouldn't continue. Long, involved posts or teeny capsule posts, this blog is not going to be left behind on the Halloween Hayride! So please check in every day for some Halloween goodness!
For example: tune in tomorrow when we're going to have a wild and wooly MAD WEREWOLF PARTY!!!
HERE'S ANOTHER PERFECT DVD TO GET YOU IN THE MOOD FOR THE HALLOWEEN SEASON: THE COMPLETE BOB WILKINS CREATURE FEATURES.
As most people know reading this blog, Bob Wilkins was a legendary horror host in California starting in the mid-60s until his death in 2009. Now, I grew up here on the east coast and my horror host growing up was the Philadelphia area's Dr. Shock (Joe Zawislak who died much too young in 1979) so naturally I never saw Wilkins show back then. That's why this DVD is such a treasure trove because it presents samples of Bob Wilkins' Creature Features broadcasts from the entire span of his career!
Now the format of this DVD is very unique and make it a perfect choice to play during a Halloween party as well as enjoyable viewing any October eve. The bottom of the screen has a constant "crawl" showing what movies Bob showed on every single episode of Creature Features ever broadcast - and the date each show aired as well.
Above that, the screen is usually split into left and right screens which shows clips from Bob Wilkins on one side and various monster movie posters, art and movie trailers on the other. These alternate back and forth making for a vital, eye-catching visual experience. The entire DVD begins with Bob's earliest B&W footage and progresses chronologically year to year. The graphics are kept bright, colourful and always moving for those viewers with low attention spans. Then, of course, there's Bob Wilkins' sparkling dry with which makes this DVD a gem. Unlike most horror hosts, Wilkins wore no costume or makeup but merely sat in his trademark rocking chair wearing his trademark glasses and smoking his trademark cigars.
Bob Wilkins is held in such well-deserved reverance by his fans because of his charm and wit; both of which he possessed in abundance. He famously described his show's format as "weak movies and unknown guests" and even more famously posted the credo "Watch Horror Films .... Keep America Strong". The California location for the programme also seems to have ensured Bob a great deal of major guest interviews including Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee, John Belushi, Donald Sutherland, John Landis, William Marshall and guest shots by countless others including Jack Benny, Gary Owens, Jim Nabors and even Ronald Reagan makes an appearance (all shown on the dvd) -- not forgetting the ever-suffering Harry Martin.
This DVD is simply a lot of fun to watch and plays like the video equivalent of a trick or treat bag filled with countless different candies. Like the previously mentioned GROTESQUERIES dvd below, this DVD is a must-see for your October viewing. So, I'll paraphrase Bob Wilkins himself by inviting all those of you out there with bad breath to join me in watching THE COMPLETE BOB WILKINS CREATURE FEATURES DVD -- and you people with nice breath . . . . you come along too!
I'VE BEEN BUYING VIDEOS FROM GREG LUCE'S SINISTER CINEMA SINCE THE MID-1980s AND I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT. Sinister Cinema has been a high-quality source of unavailable movies from the horror, science fiction, fantasy, and many many other genres so I don't understand why I was surprised when Greg unearthed this lost TV version of the hoary old dark house barnstormer "THE BAT".
I had honestly never even HEARD of this 1960 television production of "THE BAT" aired on the first pilot episode of the DOW HOUR OF GREAT MYSTERIES and God knows where Sinister Cinema unearthed it. The 50+ minute programme views exactly like a live stage production; it is from an original kinescope but the print and sound are way above average for such a thing. The show appears to have been filmed live but doesn't suffer from that awkwardness many "filmed-live" programmes have. And the main reason for that is probably the extremely accomplished cast of actors on display here: Helen Hayes, Jason Robards Jr. and Margaret Hamilton head a really nicely put-together cast including Bethel Leslie (who played Marta Land in 1999's MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE),
Shepperd Strudwick (ALL THE KING'S MEN) and Martin Brooks (best known as Dr. Rudy Wells who surgically implanted the bionics into THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN and THE BIONIC WOMAN).
The direction is by veteran TV director Paul Nickell who helmed everything from Playhouse 90, Naked City, Ben Casey, The Donna Reed Show, 77 Sunset Strip and Lassie; Nickell also apparently directed two following episodes of the Dow Hour based on John Dickson Carr's THE BURNING COURT and Wilkie Collins' THE WOMAN IN WHITE. Boy, I'd sure like to see those unearthed one of these days.
The atmosphere is nicely conjured during the course of the programme with lightning storms and frequent power outtages requiring many lighted candles. The rain lashes outside in some scenes like the best old dark house movies. The tone is kept light but not frivolous with Helen Hayes quipping the most bon mots with some sarcastic bite. Unfortunately, the first time we see the costumed fiend "The Bat" at the top of the stairs in full light, his bat leotards are quite laughable and almost derail the show.
Thankfully, that's the clearest shot we get of the Bat; we do see him running about the house but they are more briefly glimpsed and sometimes in a darkened room with lightning flashes to give him an aura of menace. And since it is made perfectly clear beforehand that the Bat is no supernatural creature but just a criminal in a costume, the "bat leotard" incident is not fatally damaging to the show. Helen Hayes, of course, is terrific in her role as Cordelia Van Gorder; if not quite as much fun as Agnes Moorehead was in the same role in the previous year's film version of THE BAT. Margaret Hamilton, best known of course as the Wicked Witch of the West in THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939), is suitably hysterical in her comic-relief role as the jittery maid; thankfully she does not go over the top with the hysterics and not once becomes annoying. Jason Robards is Jason Robards; totally reliable and playing it straight as the detective called in to investigate the recent housebreaking by the evil Bat. An oddity is that Joseph N. Welch is the "host" of the Dow Mystery programme. Now Joseph N. Welch is not an actor but notably was cast as the judge in ANATOMY OF A MURDER but in real life he is the man who chastised witch-hunting Senator Joseph McCarthy on live television with the line "Have you no sense of decency, sir". Welch became something of a celebrity during this time and that's presumably why he was picked to introduce the programme; something like the same thing happened to Senator Sam Irvin during the Watergate hearing -- thankfully no one asked Welch to make a record of "Bridge Over Troubled Water". Yeah, Sam Irvin DID!
There are numerous versions of the old warhouse Mary Roberts Rinehart play from the silent Roland West version (1926) and the two Roland West sound versions of THE BAT WHISPERS (1930) - West filmed one regular aspect version as well as an experimental "widescreen" version; both of which are available on DVD. Then of course there's the previously mentioned THE BAT (1959) starring Agnes Moorehead and Vincent Price which appear one short year before this TV version with Helen Hayes. However, even by the first silent film version, Rinehart's old chestnut of an old dark house play was ALREADY an old-fashioned cliche. So the film record of THE BAT seems to be a continual search to make different versions using the skeleton of the stage play. Do we really need yet another version of THE BAT and why should we bother watching a 1960 made-for-TV programme of it? Well, that's obviously up to the viewer. However, this TV version stands on its own and is well worth watching because it is quite a bit different than all the other versions of THE BAT on film. Also, if for no other reason than it's extreme rarity and relative unknown quality up until this point. Then there's the obvious quality of the programme and the cast which make it practically a must-see for all horror fans and a really nice thing to watch on the way to Halloween. As far as I know, there's only one place to get it and that's by clicking here for a link to take you over to Sinister Cinema.
WE ALL KNOW THE NEW UNIVERSAL CLASSIC MONSTERS ESSENTIAL COLLECTION BLU-RAY JUST CAME OUT.
It sells for about $160 retail and features 8 of the tip-top classic Universal horror films: DRACULA, FRANKENSTEIN, BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, THE MUMMY, THE WOLF MAN, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, THE INVISIBLE MAN and THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON plus a coffin-load of extras. These films are all remastered and appearing for the first time on Blu-Ray in a deluxe book-like box set. All well and good, you say. Yes, it should be, shouldn't it. However, as seems to be Universal's chronic tendency to screw-up these dvd -- and now blu-ray -- releases, this new blu-ray is something I'd dearly love to have but probably won't buy.
Directly under this post is horror host Dr. Gangrene's video review of the box set which does a better job than I could of describing the box set to you. After watching it, you'll notice that the one and only drawback he mentions about the spectacular looking blu-ray transfers of these classic Universal monster movies is that the discs don't come in trays but are in cardboard slots which force you to slide them in and out and thus scratch them. What exactly is the point in restoring and remastering these films to blu-ray if the cheapo packaging forces you to slide them in a cardboard slot (not even a separate sleeve which you'd have more control over) which unavoidably will scratch the discs resulting in playback issues in the future.
Now $160 bucks is a hefty price tag to ask for horror fans to shell out one more time for movies they've already purchased from Universal on DVD twice before this as well as on VHS back in the 90s. However, I for one would have no compunction about picking up a copy (especially as I've seen it on sale for just over $100) if it wasn't for those damn cardboard slots. Universal sadly has a history of disrespecting it's horror catalogue as far as DVD releases go. We all remember the infamous BELA LUGOSI COLLECTION which pissed off countless Boris Karloff fans -- well, I for one didn't mind that so much as the fact that Universal cheaply crammed too many movies on the front AND back of one dvd resulting in rampant playback issues such as skipping and freezing of the movie. My dvd in fact has a problem playing THE BLACK CAT and Universal's similar ABBOTT AND COSTELLO film collection also had the same problem: my A&C MEET THE KILLER, BORIS KARLOFF freezes about 10 minutes before the end of the film. I, and every other horror fan, would've gladly paid a higher price to have these films spread out on another dvd so we could actually watch the films we were buying. But now, we're stuck with DVDs which don't always play and the prospect of buying them ONCE AGAIN at some future time when Universal re-releases them presumably to blu-ray . . . and then packages them in cheapo cardboard sleeves in order to scratch them up and cause even more playback problems. Is this some love/hate relationship Universal has with their consumers? One wonders. It's also come to my attention that there are not one but TWO versions of this new blu-ray set available in England for much-cheaper -- the regular box which retails for 30+ pounds and the limited edition "coffin" box set which is 40+ pounds. And get this: apparently they come in digipak plastic trays instead of cardboard sleeves. But even here, we have a problem: the plastic trays holds TWO dvds - one on top of the other - resulting in a lesser but just as real potential for scratching. Sheesh! Can't Universal do ANYTHING right?!?!?!?!
Needless to say, I have not as yet bought the new blu-ray Universal Classic Monsters Collection and I'm not sure if I will. I bought the Universal Monsters Definitive Collection which came out on DVD in ... what. . . 1999 or thereabouts? I then bought the LEGACY collections -- all of 'em -- when they came out several years later. I even bought the "Anniversary Editions" of a couple of films (like DRACULA) which came out only a year or two AFTER the LEGACY collections. Remember them? With the brown "book-like" cases? That's not to mention the entire set of VHS releases which occurred back in the day. And I would've paid yet again for the new blu-ray. But I don't know that I will. For the pennies Universal saved putting their new blu-ray discs in cardboard scratching posts, they've probably lost the $100+ sale they would've made if they'd just given me 8 stinking plastic dvd trays. Is that good business?
SOME GHOSTS OF THE U.K.
In Elliot O'Donnell's 1911 tome "BYWAYS OF GHOST LAND" (now in the public domain), the author peruses all sorts of ghostly phenomena just right for Halloween reading so I thought a few excerpts here and there wouldn't go amiss. First up we have some ghostly hijinx from Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales:
"Banshees
It has been suggested that banshees are guardian spirits and evil genii; but I do not think so, for whereas one or other of the two latter phantasms (sometimes both) are in constant attendance on man, banshees only visit certain families before a catastrophe about to happen in those families, or before the death of a member of those families. As to their origin, little can be said, for little is at present known. Some say their attachment to a family is due to some crime perpetrated by a member of that family in the far dim past, whilst others attribute it to the fact that certain classes and races in bygone times dabbled in sorcery, thus attracting the elementals, which have haunted them ever since. Others, again, claim that banshees are mere thought materialisations handed down from one generation to another. But although no one knows the origin and nature of a banshee, the statements of those who have actually experienced these hauntings should surely carry far more weight and command more attention than the statements of those who only speak from hearsay; for it is, after all, only the sensation of actual experience that can guide us in the study of this subject; and, perhaps, through our "sensations" alone, the key to it will one day be found. A phantasm produces an effect on us totally unlike any that can be produced by physical agency--at least such is my experience--hence, for those who have never come in contact with the unknown to pronounce any verdict on it, is to my mind both futile and absurd. Of one thing, at least, I am sure, namely, that banshees are no more thought materialisations than they are cats--neither are they in any way traceable to telepathy or suggestion; they are entirely due to objective spirit forms. I do not base this assertion on a knowledge gained from other people's experiences--and surely the information thus gained cannot properly be termed knowledge--but from the sensations I myself, as a member of an old Irish clan, have experienced from the hauntings of the banshee--the banshee that down through the long links of my Celtic ancestry, through all vicissitudes, through all changes of fortune, has followed us, and will follow us, to the end of time. Because it is customary to speak of an Irish family ghost by its generic title, the banshee, it must not be supposed that every Irish family possessing a ghost is haunted by the same phantasm--the same banshee.
In Ireland, as in other countries, family ghosts are varied and distinct, and consequently there are many and varying forms of the banshee. To a member of our clan, a single wail signifies the advent of the banshee, which, when materialised, is not beautiful to look upon. The banshee does not necessarily signify its advent by one wail--that of a clan allied to us wails three times. Another banshee does not wail at all, but moans, and yet another heralds its approach with music. When materialised, to quote only a few instances, one banshee is in the form of a beautiful girl, another is in the form of a hideous prehistoric hag, and another in the form of a head--only a head with rough matted hair and malevolent, bestial eyes.
Scottish Ghosts
When it is remembered that the ancestors of the Highlanders, i.e., the Picts and Scots, originally came from Ireland and are of Formosian and Milesian descent, it will be readily understood that their proud old clans--and rightly proud, for who but a grovelling money grubber would not sooner be descended from a warrior, elected chief, on account of his all-round prowess, than from some measly hireling whose instincts were all mercenary?--possess ghosts that are nearly allied to the banshee. The Airlie family, whose headquarters are at Cortachy Castle, is haunted by the phantasm of a drummer that beats a tattoo before the death of one of the members of the clan. There is no question as to the genuineness of this haunting, its actuality is beyond dispute. All sorts of theories as to the origin of this ghostly drummer have been advanced by a prying, inquisitive public, but it is extremely doubtful if any of them approach the truth. Other families have pipers that pipe a dismal dirge, and skaters that are seen skating even when there is no ice, and always before a death or great calamity.
English Family Ghosts
There are a few old English families, too, families who, in all probability, can point to Celtic blood at some distant period in their history, that possess family ghosts. I have, for example, stayed in one house where, prior to a death, a boat is seen gliding noiselessly along a stream that flows through the grounds. The rower is invariably the person doomed to die. A friend of mine, who was very sceptical in such matters, was fishing in this stream late one evening when he suddenly saw a boat shoot round the bend. Much astonished--for he knew it could be no one from the house--he threw down his rod and watched. Nearer and nearer it came, but not a sound; the oars stirred and splashed the rippling, foaming water in absolute silence. Convinced now that what he beheld was nothing physical, my friend was greatly frightened, and, as the boat shot past him, he perceived in the rower his host's youngest son, who was then fighting in South Africa. He did not mention the incident to his friends, but he was scarcely surprised when, in the course of the next few days, a cablegram was received with the tidings that the material counterpart of his vision had been killed in action.
A white dove is the harbinger of death to the Arundels of Wardour; a white hare to an equally well-known family in Cornwall. Corby Castle in Cumberland has its "Radiant Boy"; whilst Mrs E. M. Ward has stated, in her reminiscences, that a certain room at Knebworth was once haunted by the phantasm of a boy with long yellow hair, called "The Yellow Boy," who never appeared to anyone in it, unless they were to die a violent death, the manner of which death he indicated by a series of ghastly pantomimics. Other families, I am told, lay claim to phantom coaches, clocks, beds, ladies in white, and a variety of ghostly phenomena whose manifestations are always a sinister omen.
Welsh Ghosts
In addition to corpse-candles and blue lights, the Welsh, according to Mr Wirt Sykes, in his work, "British Goblins", pp. 212-216, possess a species of ill-omened ghost that is not, however, restricted to any one family, but which visits promiscuously any house or village prior to a death. Sometimes it flaps its leathern wings against the window of the room containing the sick person, and in a broken, howling tone calls upon the latter to give up his life; whilst, at other times, according to Mr Dyer in his "Ghost World", it actually materialises and appears in the form of an old crone with streaming hair and a coat of blue, when it is called the "Ellyllon," and, like the banshee, presages death with a scream. Again, when it is called the "Cyhyraeth," and is never seen, it foretells the death of the insane, or those who have for a long time been ill, by moaning, groaning, and rattling shutters in the immediate vicinity of the doomed person."
HALLOWEEN IS ABOUT PUMPKINS CARVED INTO GRINNING JACK O'LANTERNS GLIMMERING ON A PORCH RAIL.
Halloween is about witches in pointed hats riding their broomsticks over the autumn moon. Halloween is about black cats and skeletons dancing in the pile of raked orange leaves at the corner of your street. Halloween is about sitting in the dark in from of your TV set with a bowl of Halloween candy as a monster movie flickers across the screen. And Halloween is about the newly re-released DVD of Blue Mouse Studio's "GROTESQUERIES"; there's nothing better to get you in the Halloween mood as October dawns.
You may remember I extensively reviewed the new GROTESQUERIES dvd back in 2008 -- for a refresher click on this link for the original post. I said at the time that the DVD was a joy to behold owing to the obvious love and attention lavished on the project by creators Chris Buchman, Rex Schneider, Steve Stanchfield and the rest of their uncanny group at Blue Mouse Studio. Well, now they've revised and tweaked the dvd to improve an already perfect Halloween treat and I thought this was a golden opportunity to urge you once again to quickly snap up a copy if you don't already own it. The revisions are nothing major: artist Rex Schneider, whose spectacularly spooky drawings grace everything from the dvd's animated menus to slideshows and Halloween songs, wanted to improve the owl and dogs seen at the beginning of the "Ghost's High Noon" montage and there is also a new three-page fold-out of programme notes inserted into the dvd case.
That being said, GROTESQUERIES is really a must-have for every Halloween season and you owe it to yourself to own a copy. From the spooky silent short films
and fright fest Felix the Cat cartoons,
from the Halloween-themed songs
and the funny faux movie theatre preview slides, from the whimsical tombstone inscription "Crypt Ticklers" to the scary slideshows of Halloween antique decorations and postcards,
GROTESQUERIES is an obvious labour of love by its creators. This dvd is jam-packed with trick-or-treat goodies and is much more than just a collection of old Halloween cartoons and shorts; it's simply one of the best uses of the DVD format I've yet seen and the ultimate viewing for a Halloween night.
The folks at Blue Mouse Studio including Chris Buchman (seen here with his buddy the "Red Death" from a Halloween TV show a couple decades ago which is sadly not featured on the GROTESQUERIES dvd . . .here's hoping for a volume 2 someday!) are really a nice bunch of people who care very much about this DVD and produce it themselves out of love of the subject. For anyone reading this who loves Halloween and horror films, I urge you to support them by picking up a copy of GROTESQUERIES.
The dvd is always available from them at their Blue Mouse Studio site for $19.95 plus $3 insured shipping or at their address at Blue Mouse Studio, 26829 37th Street, Gobles, Michigan, 49055. You can also snag a copy at Ron Adams' superb Creepy Classics website or else from amazon.com for the first half of October. But act fast because you really don't want to go through a Halloween without the GROTESQUERIES dvd. It's simply too much fun to miss!
AS YOU KNOW, HALLOWEEN IS A BIG THING IN MY LITTLE WORLD
and I usually like to participate in the yearly COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN blogathon. Perhaps you were wondering if I was going to this year. Well, the answer is yes . . . and no. Yes, in that my audio blog BATHED IN THE LIGHT FROM ANDROMEDA will indeed be officially participating by posting Halloween songs every day in October. However, due to circumstances beyond my console, I can't commit to this here blog's usual participation in the manner to which I would like. For a good idea of what I would like to do, click on the archive over on the right for "October 2011" to see what I did last year.
Now, having said that, I'm not going to abandon you all. In fact, I WILL try to due a mini-Halloween Countdown -- sort of a COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN LITE, I guess. While I can't know if I'll be able to post something every day, I will try to put up some little Halloweenie things on this blog as often as possible. Some days will be smaller, single paragraph blurbs while other days will be more in depth posts i.e. an updated post concerning the fantastic Halloween DVD "GROTESQUERIES" which I posted about here back in 2008 and which has been re-issued in a new edition. Halloween and all it stands for means to much for me to ignore no matter what difficulties are occuring in my personal life. So, I hope you will visit my audio blog BATHED IN THE LIGHT FROM ANDROMEDA each day for some gruesome tunes (which will remain up and NOT be taken down every day so don't worry if you miss a day -- they'll still be there) and also stop by here during October to see what treats I manage to pull from my little plastic pumpkin. In the immortal (if slightly paraphrased) words of Dr. Shock: "Let There Be Fright . . . . Lite"!
I'VE BEEN COLLECTING OLD RADIO SHOWS SINCE CIRCA 1977 since I was about 12 or 13 and my friend Ed Jacoby introduced me to an episode of "FIBBER MCGEE & MOLLY". Ever since then I was hooked and I've amassed a not insubstantial vault of every radio show under the sun. However, through all these years I had never even HEARD of something called "THE COMIC WEEKLY MAN". But ever since first hearing it a couple weeks ago, I've been totally enamored of the naive charm of it.
THE COMIC WEEKLY MAN was a radio show broadcast from the years 1947 to 1954 in which the aforementioned "nameless" Comic Weekly Man literally read the Hearst newspaper's Sunday funnies from their "Puck: The Comic Weekly" section of the paper. The man himself was never credited on the programme but in fact was busy radio actor Lon Clark (1912-1998) who is probably best-known for playing the lead in the popular "NICK CARTER, MASTER DETECTIVE" radio show as well as appearing in everything from "LIGHTS OUT" to "THE MARCH OF TIME".
As the Comic Weekly Man, Clark began each programme singing the insanely-catchy theme song: "I'm the Comic Weekly Man, the jolly Comic Weekly Man and I'm here to read the funnies to you happy boys and honeys..." accompanied by the ubiquitous old-time radio organ. Clark not only read the funnies, he enacted all the male character voices and sang songs and jingles tailored to each of the funnies from FLASH GORDON to BEETLE BAILEY to DONALD DUCK. He was accompanied by little "Miss Honey" (also uncredited) as the eager, tiny tot to whom the Comic Weekly Man read the funnies; this actress also provided most of the female voices as well. There's just something so entertaining about these programmes; the idea for the show seems like it would wear pretty thin quite fast but in fact each half-hour programme flies by leaving you just as eager as Miss Honey for more of the same. In fact, the show becomes addictive! I'm particularly fond of those episodes on or around Halloween and Christmas time. Lon Clark was a jobbing radio actor who made the Comic Weekly Man must-listening not only for the kiddies but, one suspects, also for their parents. Luckily for you and I, there is an entire vast chunk of THE COMIC WEEKLY MAN programmes available for a free listen over at the Internet Archive: here is the link for them - just click here to wallow in the wonderfulness of this superb old-radio show which revives the kid in us all. Each show is playable separately on a nice and easy player - no fuss no muss and all fun!!! Lon Clark would've been 100 years old this year and I can think of no better way to celebrate his talent than to listen to THE COMIC WEEKLY MAN. You owe it to yourself. Make yourself a nice cup of coffee, tea or hot cocoa, plop your laptop down on the living room carpet and lie down in front of it as the magic of old radio transports you back to those thrilling days of yesteryear.
"SPARKS THAT FALL LIKE MISSILES OF HATE": HELL'S HINGES (1916).
This silent co-directed by Charles Swickard, William S. Hart and Clifford Smith features really the first Western movie superstar: the laconic William S. Hart himself. Born in New York in the same year that Abraham Lincoln was shot, Hart grew up in the Midwest when it still held on to what was left of the "real Old West". Hart went on the stage and made a hit in a 1905 production of "THE SQUAW MAN" and soon ended up in Hollywood usually playing his patented "good-badman" (Edward Buscombe, THE OXFORD HISTORY OF WORLD CINEMA, 1997) -- I guess something like the male equivalent of the "whore with the heart of gold"??? Anyway, in 1913 Thomas Ince snapped up the actor to appear in many Westerns shot at his legendary Santa Ynez, California studio known as "Inceville" where Hart headlined a lot of oaters (both two-reelers and features) for two years. Both Ince and Hart moved to Triangle Films in 1915 where, a year later, they made "HELL'S HINGES"; which was quite the box-office winner.
The story goes. . . Reverand Robert Henley (Jack Standing) is a parson whose faith is rather wishy-washy; in fact he's being sent west by his church superiors to a small prairie town in order to keep Henley away from the "temptations of the big city". Henley's pious sister Faith (Claire Williams) goes with him to "help him settle in". Unfortunately, the town which the Henleys are sent to is nicknamed "Hell's Hinges" because it's one of the most wicked towns in the west! Now, here we have the well-known Western trope of the wicked Western town civilised usually by a "good" woman from the East. And if that was the story here, this would be a rather forgettable movie. However, HELL'S HINGES turns that already hackneyed plot on its ear. Rev. Henley and his sister succeed in building a church in town despite local boss Silk Miller (Alfred Hollingsworth) hiring cynical gunman "Blaze" Tracy (William S. Hart) to run them out of town. During their first church meeting, the rowdy townspeople bust in and turn the services into a hootenanny. "Blaze" arrives and, upon seeing the oh-so-good Faith Henley, is quickly converted to Christianity and becomes her defender. "I reckon God ain't wantin' me much, ma'am," says "Blaze", "but when I look at you, I feel I've been ridin' the wrong trail." The weak-willed charlatan preacher Bob Henley is shortly corrupted by whiskey at Silk Miller's saloon doled out by town prostitute (Louise Glaum) and is soon helping the naughty townspeople burn down his own church while "Blaze" Tracy is out of town. Somehow during the kerfuffle Henley is shot and killed. When "Blaze" finally rides into town and sees Faith cowering over her murdered brother while the church burns to the ground, he is filled with righteous rage and heads over to Silk Miller's saloon where he corrals all the wicked townsfolk inside and set it on fire -- refusing to let any of them leave! The film ends with a great deal of Old Testament wrath all around and the town levelled by the "sparks that fall like missiles of hate" quoted at the beginning of this post. The entire film, actually, is surprisingly grim and downbeat for a Western where the sinful town actually defeats the moral, religious Easterners this time around. There is a small ray of hope tacked onto the film's ending but all in all the entire tone of the film is quite surprisingly gritty.
***
HELL'S HINGES (at least the print I saw) moves along at quite a clip and is under an hour in length; this probably ensures there aren't any "draggy" bits where the movie slows to a crawl. Everything happens in an economical, plot-driven fashion and the movie hurtles towards it's dark climax before you know it. The usual melodramatic "silent film-style" of acting is also missing; everyone in the film follows a more natural, less stylized acting style probably signaled by the quiet, stoic acting of Hart himself. This is a film I wouldn't mind seeing remade but the perfect star for it would be Clint Eastwood and he should've remade it about 20 years ago. Even though William S. Hart didn't become a star until he was around 50 years of age, Eastwood today is still rather too old for the part now. There is something of the feel of Eastwood's own "UNFORGIVEN" about this film and I wonder if ole Clint has seen "HELL'S HINGES". All in all, though not a spectacularly great film, HELL'S HINGES is a solid Western which is quite interesting in its deviations from typical Western tropes of the time (and long after as well); and at it's 53 minute running time should be seen by those interested in early cinema or Westerns as a genre. This, in fact, is quite easy to do since I watched the entire film on youtube and here's the link:
click here to watch HELL'S HINGES on youtube
Go check it out.
ANOTHER MASTER OF COMIC BOOK ART LEAVES US: THE GREAT JOE KUBERT (1926-2012).
From his trail-blazing work originating in the Golden Age of Comics straight through to the modern age, Joe Kubert was an icon to comic book lovers everywhere. He was also a mentor through his Joe Kubert School of Comic Book Art which taught countless artists their trade -- among them his talented sons who followed him into the comic book field. Kubert worked on countless comic book characters but was particularly known as "THE" Hawkman artist as well as doing decades of sublime work on war comics from SGT. ROCK to ENEMY ACE. This gallery of his artwork is only a tiny inkling of Joe Kubert's immense talent.
THE SUPER-COLOSSAL EYE-POPPING FLICKER PROJECT 2012 aka MY MOVIE YEAR.
In an effort to track all the movies I watch this year, I present this list in the interest of documentation. As we pass the 4th of July, I've managed to top 200 films . . . yeah, I know. . . I've been slacking, I realize that. I will also be adding movies as I watch them. So now, in order of eye-googling:
- HIGH TENSION
- CHARLES BEAUMONT: THE SHORT LIFE OF TWILIGHT ZONE'S MAGIC MAN
- THE HOST
- THE APARTMENT
- FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL
- HAVE SWORD WILL TRAVEL
- RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPSE
- THE SHOES OF THE FISHERMAN
- A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3: DREAM WARRIORS
- SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
- DOUBLE JEOPARDY
- X-MEN FIRST CLASS
- COCO CHANEL & IGOR STRAVINSKY
- SPIN
- THE RUSSIA HOUSE
- THE LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK 2
- THE HELP
- SOUL TRAIN: THE HIPPEST TRIP IN AMERICA
- ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND
- ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN
- LOST IN TRANSLATION
- THE UNION
- THE REAPING
- THOR
- STRANGE BREW
- GEORGE HARRISON: LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD
- GET HIM TO THE GREEK
- 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA (1997)
- THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS
- FILE IT UNDER FEAR
- MATANGO
- THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI
- THE PROPHECY
- BLACK CHRISTMAS
- MOBY DICK (2010)
- ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL
- LEMMY
- ED WOOD
- BLADE: TRINITY
- ROUNDERS
- A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (2010)
- MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS
- A SKIN TOO FEW: THE DAYS OF NICK DRAKE
- THE STING
- JEFFREY BERNARD IS UNWELL
- THE EARRINGS OF MADAME DE...
- UNFORGIVEN
- OSS 117: LOST IN RIO
- ABBOTT AND COSTELLO GO TO MARS
- THE MIST
- THE FOUR SEASONS
- THE WAY
- FREDDY VS. JASON
- GENERATION RX
- THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (1903)
- LA MAGIE MELIES
- EDGE OF DARKNESS
- THE LIVING PLAYING CARDS
- THE ONE-MAN BAND
- THE MUSIC LOVER
- THE INFERNAL CAKEWALK
- A TRIP TO THE MOON
- THE INFERNAL BOILING POT
- BARBE-BLEU aka BLUEBEARD
- EASY STREET (1917)
- ONE WEEK (1920)
- CHASING CHOO-CHOOS (1927)
- BIG BUSINESS (1929)
- COME DRINK WITH ME
- MOONSTRUCK
- IRON MAN
- DIABOLIQUE
- BILLY BUDD
- MACHETE MAIDENS UNLEASHED
- AS GOOD AS IT GETS
- THE OVERLANDERS
- THE MILKY WAY
- HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE
- THE PHANTOM OF LIBERTY
- VAMPIRE HUNTER D
- THE CARS THAT ATE PARIS
- TARZAN AND HIS MATE
- BEOWULF
- 49TH PARALLEL
- BE KIND REWIND
- CHARLIE CHAN AT THE WAX MUSEUM
- MURDER OVER NEW YORK
- THE PATIENT IN ROOM 18
- TARZAN FINDS A SON
- TARZAN'S SECRET TREASURE
- TARZAN'S NEW YORK ADVENTURE
- THE ROARING TWENTIES
- THE LOST SKELETON OF CADAVRA
- DARK AND STORMY NIGHT
- THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER
- CHARLIE CHAN IN BLACK MAGIC
- CHARLIE CHAN AT TREASURE ISLAND
- IT ALWAYS RAINS ON SUNDAY
- BRIGHTON ROCK
- THE GOOD DIE YOUNG
- PAYROLL
- CHARLIE CHAN AT THE OPERA
- CHARLIE CHAN'S SECRET
- TOP HAT
- THE BOURNE SUPREMACY
- THE THREE INVESTIGATORS AND THE SECRET OF SKELETON ISLAND
- CHARLIE CHAN IN RIO
- DEAD MEN TELL
- THE RULING CLASS
- KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS
- THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM
- KURONEKO
- SWINGTIME
- WATTSTAX
- THE MADNESS OF KING GEORGE
- MARY AND MAX
- RATATOUILLE
- THE STEPFORD WIVES
- ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE
- PEEPING TOM
- THE BIG BOSS
- SIN CITY
- ONE WAY PASSAGE
- JAMAICA INN
- RICH AND STRANGE
- BLACKMAIL
- 3 EVIL MASTERS
- THE BIRDCAGE
- IN SEARCH OF MOZART
- THE PRESTIGE
- LUMIERE AND COMPANY
- STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME
- FEARLESS
- NUMBER 17
- 'ROUND MIDNIGHT
- THE SMALLEST SHOW ON EARTH
- CAPE FEAR
- CRIME IN THE STREETS
- FIRST MEN IN THE MOON
- HEROES TWO
- YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT
- BAT WITHOUT WINGS
- BERGMAN ISLAND
- THE SWEET LADY WITH THE NASTY VOICE
- THE SHOCK DOCTRINE
- THE LAST LOVECRAFT: RELIC OF CTHULHU
- LET ME IN
- SWEET LIBERTY
- THE MACHINE GIRL
- CAMERAMAN: THE LIFE AND WORK OF JACK CARDIFF
- EL FANTASMA DEL CONVENTO
- DIRTY HO
- A CANTERBURY TALE
- THE AFRICAN QUEEN
- THE US VS. JOHN LENNON
- ANASTASIA
- THE LIGHT KEEPS ME COMPANY
- IMAGINE: JOHN LENNON
- ARABESQUE
- BEETLEJUICE
- JACK GOES BOATING
- HUGO
- THE ATOMIC CAFE
- FRANKENSTEIN
- DOCTOR X
- HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS
- THE WOODEN HORSE
- THE BLUE LAMP
- CHURCHILL
- 45/85
- BAREFOOT IN THE PARK (1981)
- INVASION
- CASTLE OF THE LIVING DEAD
- FULL CIRCLE aka THE HAUNTING OF JULIA
- HORROR EXPRESS
- RACE WITH THE DEVIL
- THE NAKED MONSTER
- FROM HELL IT CAME
- DEATHDREAM
- CORMAN'S WORLD
- COUNT DRACULA (1977)
- EL CONDE DRACULA aka COUNT DRACULA
- DAN CURTIS' DRACULA
- THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE
- MONSTER MANIA
- THE AWFUL DR. ORLOFF
- DRACULA, PRINCE OF DARKNESS
- SHE GODS OF SHARK REEF
- OPERA
- A FISH CALLED WANDA
- THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO (1975)
- THE SORCERERS
- GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE
- THE WICKER MAN
- THE WITCHES aka THE DEVIL'S OWN
- SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN
- HORRORS OF THE BLACK MUSEUM
- SPARROWS CAN'T SING
- DR. GOLDFOOT AND THE BIKINI MACHINE
- THE DARK
- HALF LIGHT
- THE KENNEL MURDER CASE
- NANCY DREW, REPORTER
- BLONDE VENUS
- GANJA AND HESS
- STORMY WEATHER
- DEAD MEN DON'T WEAR PLAID
- GASLIGHT (1940)
- FROM THE SKY DOWN
- WHISTLING IN THE DARK
- WITHOUT LOVE
- THE GAY DIVORCEE
- TRIANGLE
- AND THE BAND PLAYED ON
- THE BLACK CAT (1941)
- HORROR ISLAND
- HELP!
- NORTH BY NORTHWEST
- MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
- THE SUNSHINE BOYS
- THE COMMITMENTS
- CLOCKWISE
- AMADEUS
- ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD
- SNEAKERS
- SOMMARLEK aka SUMMER INTERLUDE
- THE SEVENTH SEAL
- AND SOON THE DARKNESS
- LET'S GO COLLEGIATE
- THE GREEN ARCHER aka DER GRUNE BOGENSCHUTZE
- ANATOMY OF A MURDER
- PHILADELPHIA
- LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD
- BLAISE PASCAL
- KEY LARGO
- 7 FACES OF DR. LAO
- CASABLANCA
- KRONOS
- THE BEACH GIRLS AND THE MONSTER
- CALLAN
- EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS
- THE SILENCERS
- THE THREE CABALLEROS
- INHERIT THE WIND
- THE LAST PLAY AT SHEA
- A PERSONAL JOURNEY WITH MARTIN SCORSESE THROUGH AMERICAN MOVIES
- THE FACE OF FU MANCHU
- THE DA VINCI CODE
- DR. WHO AND THE DALEKS
- DALEKS' INVASION EARTH 2150 A.D.
- MY DINNER WITH ANDRE
- THE FURIES
- SILVER LODE
- THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE
- CRIME WAVE
- DECOY
- IMITATION OF LIFE
- EXECUTIVE SUITE
- THE BIG KNIFE
- WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE
- VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA
- FANTASTIC VOYAGE
- WARNING FROM SPACE
- REBEL MUSIC: THE BOB MARLEY STORY
- THE FOUNTAINHEAD
- SOME LIKE IT HOT
- LOLA MONTES
- HOT STUFF
- THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT
- TWO ROOMS: CELEBRATING THE SONGS OF ELTON JOHN & BERNIE TAUPIN
- THE TEMPEST
- VIAGGIO IN ITALIA
- BRASSED OFF
- BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
- THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
- GOD SAID 'HA'!
- ELEGY OF A VOYAGE
- LOOKING FOR RICHARD
- THE GHOUL (1975)
- DESTROY ALL MONSTERS!
- SARABAND FOR DEAD LOVERS
- LUDWIG
- AKIRA KUROSAWA'S DREAMS
- THE LOVE LETTER
- CATCH-22
- STANDING IN THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN
- RESPECT YOURSELF: THE STAX RECORDS STORY
- THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH
- THE LOST BOYS
- STAND BY ME
- ABSENTIA
- DON'T LOOK NOW
- NIGHT WATCH
- THE VAMPIRE LOVERS
- THE WEREWOLF
- SESSION 9
- THE MUMMY'S TOMB
- VAMPIRE CIRCUS
- MAD LOVE
- THE TINGLER
- AMERICAN SPLENDOR
- THE UNINVITED
- ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER
- THE BAND WAGON
- JACKIE BROWN
- GOSFORD PARK
- THE RULES OF THE GAME
- TWINS OF EVIL
- THE FLESH AND THE FURY: X-POSING TWINS OF EVIL
- INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1978)
- SO DARLING, SO DEADLY
- DEATH IS NIMBLE, DEATH IS QUICK
- CREATURE WITH THE BLUE HAND
- THE ITALIAN CONNECTION aka MANHUNT
- LUST FOR A VAMPIRE
- HEIMA
- THE MANITOU
- THE ORDER
- THE DOOR WITH SEVEN LOCKS
- THE SPRINKLER SPRINKLED aka WATERING THE GARDNER (1895)
- MONKEY BUSINESS (1931)
- M. HULOT'S HOLIDAY
- DER TIGER VON ESCHNAPUR
- DAS INDISCHE GRABMAL aka THE INDIAN TOMB
- THE CLASH: WESTWAY TO THE WORLD
- DEAD SNOW
- SIDEWAYS
- THE ANNIVERSARY
- WHISTLING IN DIXIE
- HELL'S HINGES
- DECISION AT SUNDOWN
- ZOMBIELAND
- MST3K: MERLIN'S SHOP OF MYSTICAL WONDERS
- THE AVENGER
- SEEMS LIKE OLD TIMES
- JUDEX
- THAT'S THE WAY OF THE WORLD
- SEABISCUIT
- THE CLIENT
- THE NAKED JUNGLE
- J. EDGAR
- SABRINA (1995)
- OUT OF MIND: THE STORIES OF H.P. LOVECRAFT
- DAGON
- THE SOCIAL NETWORK
- MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA
- LATE SPRING
- THE BLOOD OF A POET
- NOBODY'S FOOL
- ON GOLDEN POND
- STAR WARS
- THE GHOST BREAKERS
- MST3K: EEGAH!
- THE WOMAN IN BLACK
- MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000: THE MOVIE
- LE AMICHE
- WHISTLING IN BROOKLYN
- THE STRANGLER OF BLACKMOOR CASTLE
- THE CAT AND THE CANARY (1939)
- WHAT A CARVE UP
As it takes 360 degrees to turn around in a full circle (Hi Mia), it is with 360 films so far this year that I leave the list. Fear not, fair cellar dwellers, the list will continue but not until the end of the year. Sometime in December I will post a part two to this list and take up with movie #361. Until then, happy viewing! Watch a good movie today.
