*contains spoilers Bloch and Harrington did The Cat Creature together and there is a “cat woman” to be found in that movie similarly dressed as the one in the 1942 Cat People movie. Obviously, both were fans and influenced by producer Val Lewton’s movies from the 1940s – the running times of the tv movies…
Read more Actor Ray Milland Meets The Sea Serpent (Part Two)
*contains spoilers The first time I saw Hearts of Fire (1987) was, surprisingly, on a big screen. For a film which tanked in London and was deemed not worthy of theatrical release in the United States this is definitely surprising. But there was a guy at the Gold Coast Theatre when I lived and worked…
*contains spoilers Ashley is an interesting actress, big in the theatre, with a distinctive voice. She was nominated for a Golden Globe way back in 1965 for her role in The Carpetbaggers. It is there she met her future husband George Peppard (1928-94 lung cancer). She took time out to have a child and reportedly…
Read more Enter the Hong Kong Action Trio of Director Robert Clouse (Part Two)
*contains spoilers Mars Needs Women (1967) came next and was an original screenplay, like Swamp Creature, and not a remake of a 1950s movie. It begins with women who are enjoying themselves – on a tennis court, in a nightclub and in a shower – suddenly disappearing. Then the military are informed via teletype from…
Read more The Cult of the Azalea Pictures by Larry Buchanan (Part Two)
*contains spoilers Filmmaker Larry Buchanan (1923-2004 collapsed lung) is feted for his bad movies and the worst of these are his Azalea Pictures. They are a series of eight movies, which were shot on budgets of about $30,000 each, starting in the mid-1960s. Produced by American International Pictures they were the first of the colour…
Read more The Cult of the Azalea Pictures by Larry Buchanan (Part One)
*contains spoilers Farrah Fawcett (1947-2009 anal cancer) or Farrah Fawcett-Majors, as she was known for a spell, was one of Charlie’s Angels (tv series 1976, 78-80) who hoped to kick-start a film career in the late 1970s and early 80s. She failed but the results are far from disgraceful. Married to the Six Million Dollar…
*contains spoilers Yes, The Slime People is every bit as awful as its title suggests. But I love it just the same! It has grown on me like slime on a rock or stuck to the bottom of my shoes like the putrid slush of cadaverous remains!! It stars one of my favourite actors Robert…
*contains spoilers The second movie made by Lee is the far more atrocious, yet in some ways more fun, Killers from Space. According to Myles Wilder, who told Tom Weaver, the film was shot in six days using his father’s money and actual office for the office scenes as well as other cheap locations –…
Read more W. Lee Wilder’s Terrible Trilogy that Wouldn’t Die! (Part Two)
*contains spoilers Pity director Billy Wilder’s (born Samuel 1906-2002 pneumonia) older brother, whose name was William but was known as W. Lee Wilder (1904-82). Long estranged from each another, while Billy was receiving Oscar nominations and scoring wins, his brother, who Billy jokingly called “a dull son of a bitch”, was making some of the…
Read more W. Lee Wilder’s Terrible Trilogy that Wouldn’t Die! (Part One)
