SOMETHING THAT MIGHT MAKE PARTICULARLY GOOD HALLOWEEN VIEWING IS PATRICK MCHALE'S 10 PART "MINI-SERIES" FOR CARTOON NETWORK CALLED "OVER THE GARDEN WALL".
Originally to be entitled "TOME OF THE UNKNOWN" (the pilot version of which is available on the DVD), O.T.G.W. is a consciously old-fashioned feeling fairy tale which gathers its influences from many different quarters. There is quite a bit of Grimm's fairy tales about it, as well as echoes of such children's classics as THE WIZARD OF OZ, ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND and THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS. However, there are also strong influences of early 20th century music (from folk songs to country blues to New Orleans jazz), early 20th century advertising art, early cinematic cartoons by the Fleischer Brothers, Betty Boop, Bosko and Felix the Cat
as well as faint hints of Winsor McCay, the Studio Ghibli work of Hayao Miyazaki, the fright tales of Washington Irving and Nathaniel Hawthorne and a particularly strong call-back to those old Victorian Halloween postcards produced by the Tuck's Co.; the Pottsfield episode features those famous Tuck's Halloween postcard vegetable people (examples of which appear below).
"OVER THE GARDEN WALL" features the adventures of Wirt (voiced by Elijah Wood) and his little brother Gregory (voiced by Collin Dean) who become lost in the woods (is there are bigger fairy tale trope than THAT?!?!?!) and encounter all manner of strange beings.
Wirt and Greg are joined by a bluebird named Beatrice (voiced by Melanie Lynskey) and are menaced by The Beast (Samuel Ramey) loose in the woods.
Along the way they encounter a spooky old Woodsman (Christopher Lloyd),
Adelaide of the Woods (John Cleese), the townsfolk of Pottsfield led by a huge pumpkin-headed Enoch (Chris Isaak),
a Georgian tea baron named Quincy Endicott (John Cleese again) and a French Rococo tea baron named Marguerite Grey (Bebe Neuwirth), a put-upon girl named Lorna (Shannyn Sossamon) and her Auntie Whispers (Tim Curry) as well as a host of other oddball characters. Throughout their journey, they are also accompanied by a frog whom Gregory constantly renames in each episode (played by that LOVE BOAT theme-song-singin' Jack Jones). THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY's own Shirley Jones also plays Beatrice's mother.
The tone of the series, from the very first moment, is moody and autumnal; just perfect for October viewing. Autumn leaves are everywhere and the sky is frequently gray and overcast. The title card for the series is even framed in orange and black with a winged skull at the top. It isn't until the penultimate episode, in fact, that we learn explicitly that this IS all taking place at Halloween. The artwork for the background scenery in particular is absolutely exquisite; watching it you immediately feel yourself transported into this folkloric universe of the Unknown.
The aforementioned "old timey" look and feel of the show is quite deliberate and expertly done; however, here and there we are clued into the fact that this is actually taking place in the here and now. During the Pottsfield episode, Wirt asks to use their phone, for instance.
And the penultimate episode provides the backstory as to what happened before Wirt and Gregory became lost in the woods. Children of the 70s and 80s will thrill to the demonstration of how a pencil relates to a cassette tape! The off-kilter genius of this show combines a vivid depiction of the world of a child along with moments that alternate between funny and downright scary.
Whether you watch this all at once as if it were a movie (what I did) or else spread it out episode by episode amongst your Halloween movie viewing, I think any fan of horror and Halloween will love "OVER THE GARDEN WALL".
THE MUMMY!
Sumptuous music by Franz Reizenstein. Unusual that James Bernard doesn't handle the music for a Hammer Horror! Look! It's Dracula. Not Christopher Lee . . . I mean Raymond Huntley: one of the early stage Draculas! Cushing needs his leg set properly. George Pastell's gonna say THAT line: "He who robs the graves of Egypt dies!" Fezs are cool! Princess Ananka's bacherlorette pad. The Scroll of Life! An Aura of Menace! Big boom at the tomb! That's no way to treat a fragile Egyptian relic -- splash right in the bog! Christopher Lee's looking mighty awesome rising from the swamp. Pater gets his comeuppance via the mummy who lives. Flashback sequence . . . wherein Christopher Lee plays 'who's got your tongue'! "A fairy story, nothing more." Marvelous Michael Ripper steals the show as the drunken poacher. Mummy busts down the door and we have a Dracula strangle a Dracula. "Very scarifying, it was!" Ooo, Christopher Lee's eyes! The eyes of the Mummy! Yvonne Furneaux finally gets something to do after the one hour mark. French windows crash! Shotgun blast! Spear through the mummy's chest! Gee, Isobel looks like Ananka! Better scarper. A neighbourly call. "He's taken Isobel!" Shootout in the swamp! He meddled in things muddy.
THE WICKER MAN!
Citizen Kane of horror movies. Where's the kid? Where's the kid. Officer Edward Woodward will find out. Evil eye boat! Summerisle Summerisle Summerisle. How's your apples this year? Naughty pagans. Animal masks. Naked Britt Ekland doing the shimmy. Or actually naked Britt Ekland's body double. Hey, there's Ingrid Pitt! Where's the picture? There's no girl in that grave. Parthenogenesis. Christopher Lee has a bouffant! It's not wise to jump over campfires with your clothes on. Shocks are so much better absorbed with the knees bent. Sgt. Howie's dressed as Punch. Is that big thing from Pier 1 Imports? Fire! Hey, there's a twist ending.
"JUDGE FOR YOURSELF ITS BELIEVABILITY AND THEN TRY TO TELL YOURSELF, WHEREVER YOU MAY BE, IT COULDN'T HAPPEN HERE."
I can't think of a better way to start off the Halloween month of October than with "THE NIGHT STALKER". And I can't watch KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER without always thinking of visits as a kid to my grandparents' house. In particular, my grandfather who was a big fan of the TV movies and the TV series that followed.
The year is 1972. Richard M. Nixon is President. On January 11, the top song in the nation is Don McLean's "American Pie" followed by #2) Al Green's "Let's Stay Together", #3) Jonathan Edwards' "Sunshine", #4) Dennis Coffey and the Detroit Guitar Band's "Scorpio" and #5) Betty Wright's "Clean Up Woman". The big box office movies were HAROLD AND MAUDE, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, DIRTY HARRY and STRAW DOGS. And the best selling books were JONATHAN LIVINGSTONE SEAGULL, THE ODESSA FILE and DAY OF THE JACKAL. But on television that night would debut what would become the highest watched TV movie of all time: THE NIGHT STALKER starring Darren McGavin as Carl Kolchak the rumpled reporter in the straw hat and seersucker suit. The story, from Jeff Rice's unpublished novel "THE KOLCHAK PAPERS" featured a modern-day vampire on the loose in Las Vegas. The movie was a phenomenon which spawned a second TV movie called "THE NIGHT STALKER" in 1973.
The year is 1974. Gerald Ford is President. On Friday the 13th of September, the top song in the nation is Paul Anka's "You're Havin' My Baby" followed by #2) Dionne Warwick's "Then Came You", #3) Billy Preston's "Nothing From Nothing", #4) Andy Kim's "Rock Me Gently" and #5) Eric Clapton's "I Shot the Sheriff". The big box office movies were Fellini's
AMARCORD, THE LONGEST YEAR and BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA. And the best selling books were JAWS, WATERSHIP DOWN and TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY. But on television that night debuted the first episode of the new ABC series KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER. I had seen THE NIGHT STALKER TV-movie either when it was first broadcast or in a subsequent airing. I don't recall having seen THE NIGHT STRANGLER. My grandfather and I were both big fans. I even recall getting at the time an issue of Marvel's humour comic book "ARRGH!" which had a parody entitled "THE NIGHT GAWKER";
this story quickly became a favourite and I reread it often. Naturally, we were both excited to hear about KOLCHAK becoming a weekly series and we waited in breathless anticipation of the series debut. Then the 4th episode titled simply "THE VAMPIRE" was a sequel to the first NIGHT STALKER movie in that a female vampire created by the original film's Janos Skorzeny (Barry Atwater) was on a terror rampage and Carl Kolchak had to track her down and end her reign of terror. This episode was fantastic and, while later episodes may not have been quite as great, the whole series was always fun, spooky and enjoyable. Sadly, ABC cancelled the show after only one season but my grandfather and I caught it in the following years frequently in reruns on late-night TV. The character of Carl Kolchak as played by Darren McGavin is a classic of television and the show obvious and admitted influence on later spookshows such as THE X-FILES is well-known. I never tire of watching the TV movies and the series with that exquisite early 70's ambiance and spooky monster mood even after all these decades. My grandfather died back in 1981 but these shows always bring me back to those days of my youth when a grandfather and his grandson could enjoy a fun and spooky hour of television together while creating lasting memories which come back to me strongly on this October day.
THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN!
Ground zero as far as the birth of a horror icon goes. Hammer takes gothic horror into blood-drenched colour. Hammer starts as they mean to continue. Cleavage. Blood blood blood. Severed body parts. Crackling electrical appliances. Cushing's the doc. Lee's his creature. Urquhart's the bewildered assistant. Court's romantic aspirations are worrisome. Oh no, look out for that bannister! Lee's creature rips the bandages away from his face and gives us that eye! Oh no, now he gets shot in that eye! Scream! Gushy blood! Swirling orange leaves! Dead white face and black black suit. A maid can be trouble. Oh, but not for long! A sticky end for the creature and the Doc ends up in a bit of a pickle. A sliced pickle.
ENTER FREELY AND AFRAID, MY LITTLE GOBLINS.
For it is time once again for the autumn chill to creep in on silent cat paws and the leaves to skitter down the street all crisped and sere. The month of October is nigh and that means this year's COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN has begun! All month long we will hopefully be able to chill you a little and thrill you a little. Your musty old crypt-keeper will endeavor to do his best. I will admit that this year it was a little more difficult than usual for me to claw my way out of my maggoty grave dirt and bring another countdown to all you bloodsuckers. The tana leaves I use for my daily energy tea have been in short supply; my delivery boy from Egypt kept getting his mummy-wrapping entangled in my deadly smogberry bushes I have planted all around the castle. So therefore ye old Crypt-Cerptser has been feeling a little more rundown than Frankenstein's creation with a short in his neck bolts! However, after one erroneous shipment of Chai tea, I have assurances that the tana leaf tea will once again start flowing copiously into the laboratory so that I will be able to bring you all manner of spooky stuff this October. In any event, I shall endeavor to do so.
Be that as it maim, the first item of business shall be my official dedication of this year's COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN here in the "Land of Cerpts & Honey". I would like to dedicate this year's proceedings to the towering "Prince of Darkness" who departed this vale of fears in 2015: Sir Christopher Lee. It is probably superfluous to point out just how much Christopher Lee meant to all fans of the horror genre and appreciators of Halloween. It is in that spirit that I hope to feature in this year's Countdown a "Christopher Lee film a day" all throughout October. What better way to remember this literal giant of horror than to immerse ourselves in his film work during the Halloween season. In addition to this, I hope to provide some more smatterings and splatterings, tricks and treats for your Halloween amusement. And don't forget to visit all the other blogs participating in Mr. John Rozum's "Countdown to Horror" -- one click on that "CRYPTKEEPER" badge over there on the righthand column will take you to his site where all the participating crypt-keepers' links may be found.
So remember to keep spooky and I hope to see you all through the month of October.
CONTINUING THIS BLOG'S 10TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION WITH ART FROM MARVEL AND DC COMICS' 1970's CALENDARS.
Our first selection perfectly ushers in the month of October (and also unofficially kicks off our annual "COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN") with gorgeous Mike Ploog monster art of the Monster of Frankenstein, Dracula, Werewolf By Night and Man-Thing from Marvel's 1975 calendar!
Dick Giordano flies solo with his depiction of Wonder Woman from DC's 1976 calendar.
Another glorious depiction of Marvel's horror characters - this time by Frank Brunner - as Dracula, Man-Thing and Werewolf By Night menace Paul Revere in Marvel's 1976 Bicentennial calendar.
Neal Adams ventures into the spooky sweepstakes for October's entry in DC's 1977 calendar as Deadman and the Spectre battle some animated Easter Island statues.
And finally Al Milgrom portrays this fight between Hawkman & Hawkgirl and some of DC's mystical characters (Felix Faust, Gentleman Ghost and Matter Master) taken from DC's 1978 calendar.
Now, in just a few moments, please join me at the launch of this year's "COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN". . .
AH, SEPTOBER HAS DAWNED ON US -- CRISP AND CLEAN -- AND WE ALL KNOW JUST WHAT THAT WILL MEAN. Yep, it's time once again for those wonderful pages from the 1970s calendars by DC and Marvel.
Firstly we have the Mighty Thor and his hoary host of Asgard from the Mighty Marvel calendar of 1975 drawn, it looks like to me, by Jack "King" Kirby and Joe Sinnott.
Secondly, from 1976 in DC's calendar we have Dick Giordano's portrait of Black Canary, Mary Marvel, Supergirl, Lois Lane and Hawkgirl.
Thirdly, also from 1976 but this time from Marvel's Bicentennial calendar we have. . . well just a cool bunch of heroes (Daredevil, Black Widow, Dr. Strange, Son of Satan, Power Man, Ghost Rider and Shang-Chi) as drawn by Sal Buscema. It's looks real "Defendersy" but represents no official membership I'm aware of.
Fourfully from DC's 1977 monumental calendar we have The Flash trying to rescue his wife Iris from the clutches of Gorilla Grodd as drawn by Irv Novick.
Fifthly, DC's 1978 calendar has a Freedom Fighters battle scene most likely drawn by Don Heck.
I HAVE TO ADMIT I'M ABSOLUTELY THRILLED & GOBSMACKED TO FIND OUT THAT A FAVOURITE BRITISH SUPERNATURAL TV SERIES IS RETURNING VIA AUDIO TO BIG FINISH PRODUCTIONS!
Probably around the year 1980 or 1981, I first saw "THE OMEGA FACTOR" on PBS and loved it. The first episode particularly was a knockout punch! Jack Gerson wrote this 10 part occult BBC series starring James Hazeldine and Louise Jameson (DOCTOR WHO's noble savage Leela) which, owing mostly to the influence of blue-nosed harridan Mary Whitehouse, never lived to see a second series. "THE OMEGA FACTOR" concerned skeptical journalist Tom Crane (Hazeldine) who wrote a series of articles about the occult. Tom's non-belief was soon shaken by the emergence of his own latent psychic powers in the wake of some nasty personal attacks by an Aleister Crowley-type evil magician who belonged to the mystical group called Omega. Crane's budding psychic powers bring him to the attention of a branch of the British government called Department 7 which specializes in research in the occult and psychic phenomenon as well as training those who demonstrate psychic ability. Teamed with Dept. 7's Dr. Anne Reynolds (Jameson), Crane joins the department in investigating occult phenomena years before anyone ever heard of THE X-FILES. This fairly popular TV series was torpedoed, as I said, by moralistic screeching from un-elected busybody Mrs. Whitehouse who, especially after watching an episode involving a girl possessed by a demon, proclaimed the show "evil"; the BBC disappointingly let the show lapse into oblivion.
However, now that superb purveyor of DOCTOR WHO audio adventures Big Finish Productions has resurrected "THE OMEGA FACTOR" from the grave and just released the first in what I hope will be a series of new audio adventures. While both star Hazeldine and writer Gerson are no longer with us, Louise Jameson returns as Dr. Anne Reynolds - now in charge of Department 7 - with John Dorney playing the late Tom Crane's estranged son Adam in dramas set in the present day. From everything I've read and heard, I'm excited to give this a listen. And hopefully, in a little while, you can check back on this space for me reactions after hearing the episodes. Stay tuned...
NOW. . .AUGUST. Two anniversaries celebrated this month as well as, today, a very Happy Birthday Mama!
We begin with this wonderful selection from Marvel's 1975 calendar featuring a bevy of super-villains
DC's Bicentennial calendar provides a portrait of Billy Batson turning into Captain Marvel by Neal Adams and Dick Giordano.
The immortal Wally Wood provides this action shot of the Justice Society of America tackling Solomon Grundy from DC's 1977 calendar.
DC's 1978 calendar featured an odd match-up with Black Lightning fighting the Flash's foe Heat Wave portrayed by Rich Buckler and Vince Colletta
Marvel's 1976 Bicentennial calendar finds the Fantastic Four helping George Washington cross the Delaware.
After making the classic film noir PHANTOM LADY, director Robert Siodmak helmed THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE for RKO and what a little gem of a film it is!
A master of film noir, Siodmak tackles gothic horror in a film project originally spearheaded by David O. Selznick before he sold the property to RKO. From the very first moment of the film when we see the familiar RKO radio tower, the mood is set masterfully; superlative composer Roy Webb's brassy fanfare lasts only a few seconds when it suddenly dissolves into the evocative sound of wind and rain which then is overlain by eerie theremin as the title card appears on the screen.
The film title appears over a high camera shot looking down upon the eponymous spiral staircase and the top of Dorothy McGuire's head as she tentatively steps onto the top step and descends into the film itself. The film takes place sometime at the beginning of the 20th century as the first scene features a showing of a silent movie in the Village Hotel with Helen (Dorothy McGuire) in the audience. Upstairs, a woman with a lame foot is dressing to go out and, as she moves away from her clothes closet, the camera (brilliantly piloted by Nicholas Musuraca) lingers at the closet as we see the clothes stir and a crazed-looking eye peer out from the darkness.
The lame woman is quickly murdered by the hidden killer and a hue and cry is raised.
Helen, who has been mute since a childhood trauma, is urged to hurry home to the Warren mansion where she works as a servant because this is the third murder of a woman with a disability and/or disfigurement recently. While on her way home, the new local doctor in town Dr. Parry (Val Lewton vet Kent Smith) picks Helen up in his carriage. The Doc is sweet on Helen and the feeling is mutual. Dr. Parry is called away for a medical emergency and Helen has to walk the rest of the way home. By the time she nears the Warren mansion (which is further on the outskirts of town than the Addam's Family place), night has fallen. A little under 12 minutes into the film, the promise of the opening credits is fulfilled as the gorgeous cinematography and lighting provides a shot of McGuire in the windy night approaching the gloomy old mansion along a wrought-iron fence as the wind gusts and the autumn leaves swirl around her.
Apprehensively, in a "whistle past the graveyard" attitude, McGuire clacks a branch along the fence posts and enters the spooky grounds of the Warren house. A crash of thunder heralds the sudden downpour as Helen runs the lengthy approach to the house simultaneously searching her purse for the key. The fluid camera follows her as we pass a foreground tree and realize that there is a man in shadow hiding behind it watching her.
Helen drops the key in the mud as the man (who is the serial killer with the same crazed eye close-up) begins to approach her.
More lightning and thunder crashes as the theremin reappears on the soundtrack. The killer begins to lunge towards her as Helen finally finds the key in a mud puddle and races towards the house -- momentarily thwarting the killer's intentions.
I go into this amount of detail of basically only the first 10 minutes of the film in order to somehow convey the beautifully evoked gothic atmosphere which Siodmak and Musuraca conjure to perfection. For truthfully, there's not much mystery here as to the identity of the killer so the greatest pleasure I think derives from the absolutely superlative cinematography and direction and the uniformly excellent performances of the cast. The beautiful exterior shot (looks like a glass painting to me, probably) as well as the interior of the Warren mansion (credited to veteran art director Albert S. D'Agostino and Jack Okey) are sumptuously Victorian and creepy with extreme noirish chiaroscuro lighting; the same as can be found in Siodmak's noirs like the aforementioned PHANTOM LADY as well as all the RKO films Musuraca lensed for Val Lewton's horror productions as well as my vote for the first film noir: STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR. The inside of the Warren house is all gaslight and candles! REBECCA and JANE EYRE will immediately come to mind.
Inside we have a gothically-disfunctional family with cranky Mrs. Warren (Ethel Barrymore) confined to her bed with her sons Professor Albert Warren (a somewhat somnambulant George Brent) and his black sheep step-brother Steven (Gordon Oliver). Also inhabiting the gloomy old pile are Albert's live-in secretary Blanche (Rhonda Fleming), the servant couple Mr. & Mrs. Oates (Rhys Williams & the wonderful Elsa Lanchester), a battleaxe of a nurse (Hitchcock veteran Sara Allgood) and the charming bulldog Carlton.
While the interior of the Warren place is all, as I've said, Victorian-looking, it strikes me as slightly odd that the actual spiral staircase of the title is extremely plain-looking: bare banisters and bare steps that look to be made of plain wood or even metal. Actually, with the conical walls surrounding the spiral staircase (also bare and plain) interspersed with windows showing the storm outside, the spiral staircase looks more like it's from the set of a lighthouse. Of course, anything to do with lighthouses is OK with me and the spiral staircase is usually only lit by a candle being carried by a person walking on it so it still looks great.
But I wonder if budget-conscious RKO reused some lighthouse set for this. The film is chock-full of superb Siodmakian film noir set pieces. One example is a scene where someone ventures into the dark cellar (by the light of a single candle, of course) and encounters the killer who, with a single sweep of a hand, extinguishes the candle and backs the victim into niche in the wall. The victim is lit cowering there by the candle until it is extinguished and the niche is then plunged into darkness while the walls on either side of it still are lit presumably by moonlight coming in from a window. The killer strangles the victim backed into the niche which is in total darkness; all we see are the victim's outstretched hands emerging from either side of the inky-black niche as the killer strangles the poor soul. Expertly done.
There are one or two patented "dream sequences" which were so popular in mid-40's suspense/films noir i.e. Hitchcock's SPELLBOUND or the classic MURDER, MY SWEET. These are from the killer's POV and in one disturbing example shows Helen as the killer sees her: with no mouth at all. All the cast perform very well indeed (with the possible exception of George Brent who appear almost zombie-like but that actually works for his character) with the character turns of Elsa Lanchester and Sara Allgood particularly good. The real shining light here, though, is Dorothy McGuire who is the heart and soul of the film and, with no dialogue, provides a vivid, human performance as the mute Helen with particularly expressive eyes.
THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE is, as I've said already, a little gem which would be wonderful to watch on a dark and stormy afternoon or in the dark of night with all your lights turned out!
MORE THAN HALF THE YEAR GONE ALREADY? Well, here's the latest installment of our look back at those classic Marvel and DC Comics calendars of the 70s.
First it's a visit to 1975 again with Captain America and the Falcon provided by the legendary John Romita.
Next our patriotic Justice League of America is rendered by Neal Adams & Dick Giordano from DC Comics' 1976 calendar.
And speaking of patriotic, Marvel naturally chose to depict Captain America for their July 1976 calendar page. And it's John Romita again providing this iconic portrait.
Next Joe Kubert provides a masterful depiction of Hawkman and Hawkgirl battling the Gentleman Ghost from DC's monumental 1977 calendar.
And finally this rather odd battle scene by Curt Swan and Dan Adkins finds Superman and Supergirl matching wits against Brainiac and Sinestro in this 1978 calendar entry from DC Comics.
