TIS, you're The Italian Stallionette, and I love you, but don't ever take sides against the family again!

One remake that I liked a lot more than the original was Dawn Of The Dead.

Just found another one in my collection that I all but forgot about. "It Came From Beneath the Sea" (1956) another Kenneth Tobey flick. Its a low budget movie about a gigantic octopus that ends up in San Francisco bay (partially destroying the Golden Gate Bridge). It dwelled too much on the love interest angles but its worth a look to see some of the dated special effects.

Ok, I don't know where this movie would fit in or even what category it would be placed in because it was so terrible that no one could classify it!

For some reason this movie just popped into my head :

War Of The Gargantuans!

OMG! Anyone remember it?

Very astute observation SV. It's tempting for latter day directors and producers to substitute quanity of one sort or another for substance. The Fly and Thing remakes are faux productions compared to the originals.

Do I ever! I saw War of the Gargantuas in the theatres back around 1967(?) and have been avoiding it ever since! That was another film that used to turn up with some regularity on Chiller Theater on WPIX in NYC. That film was one of those that comprised the nadir of Russ Tamblyn's career. (That, and the crap he made for Al Adamson.) Hard to believe that it had only been a few years since Seven Brides For Seven Brothers and West Side Story. But, just like Nick Adams in Frankenstein Conquers the World, when Hollywood seemingly forgets you're alive, Japan beckons.

At least with Tamblyn, he's lived long enough to enjoy a rediscovery.

Re: SC and It Came From Beneath the Sea - I've always felt that anything by Ray Harryhausen was worth watching. I have a copy of this somewhere, though it's been a few years since I've hauled it out. As I remember the backstory, this was the famous "quintopus" - only five tentacles because the producers could only afford $50,000 for Harryhausen's services. Supposedly, he charged $10,000 per tentacle for his special effects stop-motion wizardry. Of course, nowadays, you wouldn't have to call in the military - just Lidia Bastianich! Presto! Instant Seafood Salad for a large gathering on It Came From Lidia's Family Table!

Signor V.

Agreed (about Ray Harryhausen). That brings up another group of good movies - all his "Sinbad" flicks!!

FWIW - The octopus in "It Came From Beneath the Sea" actually had SIX tentacles.

You're right - my mistake.

I think my misinformation came from (very) old articles on Harryhausen published in Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine.

According to Harryhausen himself, in his book Film Fantasy Scrapbook:

"For those of you that have seen the picture, you may or may not have noticed that the octopus only had six tentacles. By necessity, we had to work on a rather tight budget... I sometimes wonder if the budget had been cut anymore if we might not have ended up with an undulating tripod for the star villain of the picture."

Signor V.

Well, Carpenter's version is better too because the monster is more interesting. Its not some dude in a suit stalking the heroes, its really a faceless evil who's doing its biological duty to survive, and a bunch of guys who don't take care to being used for such a duty.

Plus, the ending is cooler.

THE FLY remake is better because you know why? Because Cronenberg is an intelligent mother fucker. Oh sure, an old-timer like you see only gore, but I see really a Monster movie tale in the best of traditions.

That is, the hero becoming a monster, and you are behind him, but you realize....he has to be put down. He is too much of a danger and threat for society to keep living.

Yet when that ending comes, Jeff Goldblum, now devoid of any of his original humanity, displays his last glimpse of humanity when he helps his woman kill him.

Besides, the remake has Goldblum's transformation not as goofy or as ridiculous as 1950s monster pictures go. We see a human/fly hybrid that is just so fucked up, its so biologically blissful. Plus, he rips an asshole's arm off at a bar. Whats not to like?

Then again, maybe my not-so-warm feelings for the original THE FLY stems from that whole idea of scientists being evil because they dare to play God or whatever nonsense. I know, people got pissed pff at them because of the Atomic bombs and all that (of course, I would blame more the governments who keep & arm them, but whatever) but still, its not only silly...its boring.

With the remake, the hero doesn't suffer for trying to play God. He suffers because he was careless. Now that makes more sense to me.

With that last statement, now I know I'm correct more than ever.

The show that gave us every PRE-1970, B grade Horror and Sci-Fi flick ever made! Excellent show!

CHILLER THEATER WPIX

You know something Vitelli, I think that the PRE-1970 Horror and Sci-Fi flicks, B films or not, had a certain attraction to them. Let's face it, in this day and age, with all the technology and the high budgets in hollywood, anyone can re-make a horror movie and add all these special effects and what have you.

But before that kind of progress, before the 1970's and up, the makers of these films actually did a pretty good job working with the technology that they had at the time and the low budgets that they were given. They had to have original thought and actually write their own scripts and storylines.

Exactly why I chose to discuss PRE- 1970 Horror and Sci-Fi movies.

Not for nothing, but no one even mentioned

I Was A Teenage Werewolf!



Check out this PHOTO GALLERY and listen to the typical B movie music that was commonly used back then! You have to love it!

Vitelli, you are going to love this one!

Here's one that I used to watch regularly in my younger days:

The Magic Sword (1962): This one couldn't seem to make up its mind if it was a fantasy film or a horror film, but I found it entertaining. It was made by '50s low-budget king Bert I. Gordon, and, truthfully, looks a little better nowadays that when it originally came out. Basil Rathbone and Estelle Winwood were perfectly cast as Evil Sorcerer and Good Sorceress, respectively. Gary Lockwood was Sir George and Maila "Vampira" Nurmi had a small role as - what else? - a vampirish hag.

True story: In 1973, when I was a senior in high school, our Drama Club was treated to a talk given after school by two professional actors. They weren't "stars", just working actors who wanted to tell us kids what the life of a professional actor was like. One of them was a face I had seen in many commercials at the time, but the other guy was also vaguely familiar. Then the name clicked: Liam Sullivan. He played the traitorous turncoat knight in The Magic Sword. There was a question and answer session at the end of the talk, and I spoke up, saying to Mr. Sullivan that I recognized him from one of his movie roles. He seemed genuinely pleased, and asked which one. "You were Sir Branton in The Magic Sword!" I said, cheerfully. A look of horror and embarassment overtook him and he seemed to actually shrink two sizes. He stammered that being a professional actor means that you sometimes take roles that, in retrospect, you wish you hadn't! Hoping to salvage the situation, I said how I liked the film, and liked his performance. He tried to smile a little, but I could see that The Magic Sword was not a film he wanted to be reminded of!

Hey, it wasn't that bad.

Signor V.

You mean Rebel Without a Razor?

Believe me, I was going to get around to that one! I was going through some tapes the other night and found it - it may be time to watch it again (if I'm soused enough).

Signor V.

Now thats a blast from the past!

I see they showed "Frankenstein vs. Dracula" the night before I was married. That should've been a foreboding of the marriage - she was "Dracula". (she sucked the life out of me ).

Boy, do I remember that piece of merde!!

(And yeah, I have it somewhere in the Vitelli Archives.)

What can you say about a bottom-of-the-barrel pile of drek that marked the cinematic swan-songs of both J. Carrol Naish and Lon Chaney Jr.?

They took some no-talent hairdresser named Roger Engel, gave him some dime-store Halloween Dracula fangs and the name "Zandor Vorkov" (courtesy of Forrest J Ackerman) and then tried to pass him off as an actor?! Gimme a break!

I think films like this one are only "worthwhile" once you're on your second (or third) six-pack.

But I have a feeling I'm preaching to the choir!

Signor V.

Chiller Theater? In Pgh. we had a similar saturday night movie. Can't remember the show's name. But it was hosted by Chilli Billi Cardilli who I believe also hosted Saturday Studio Wrestling and a few other programs.

Anyone remember the Beast with Five Fingers?

Bill "Chilly Billy" Cardille's Pittsburgh TV show was also called Chiller Theater. If I remember correctly, he also had a local hit record called "Chilly Billy's Vamp", though I've never actually heard it. Cardille had small roles in both versions of Night of the Living Dead.

I remember watching him host wrestling on shows that were carried in the NYC area in the late '60s: "This is Bill Cardille, the voice of professional wrestling, welcoming you to sixty minutes of unorganized mayhem where anything is liable to happen - and usually does!" When Vince McMahon Jr. came on the scene, Cardille was out. Around 1973-74, I saw him hosting a wrestling show on a small upstate New York TV station (possible from Utica), though I don't know where that show actually originated.

From what the IMDb says on Cardille's bio page, he's still heard locally on a daily radio show.

Check out this site:

Chiller Theater Memories



As far as The Beast With Five Fingers, I remember it very well - I have it on tape somewhere in the Vitelli Archives. I mentioned it earlier in this thread. I'm betting a lot of other folks have seen it too.

Signor V.

I do remember some of those titles SC and SV mentioned. Most I'm sure I watched on the late show as a kid. I don't remember the Frankenstein Conquers the World, but is Nick Adams "Johnny Yuma" (Was A Rebel)fame.

You guys are very knowledgeable and have good memories because I don't remember any of the hosts/late shows you speak of. Were they local only?

I liked to watch the creature feature type late shows. You could always count on one station showing a horror flick on a Friday or Saturday night. Not anymore though.

TIS

Thnks for the Cardille update. It's been awhile. I psted elsewhere that the Invasionof the Saucer Men gave me nightmares as a kid. But I also remember that the Beast with Five Fingers did also. I think they remade it, but I haven't seen it.

TIS - Many major cities had local horror movie shows with popular hosts in the '50s and '60s (and occasionally later). Unfortunately, they were, as I said, local - and they were almost never recorded for posterity. So, just about nothing remains of the "legendary" years of these horror-show hosts.

olivant - If you mean a remake of Invasion of the Saucermen, I think it was called The Eye Creatures and was made in the early or mid 1960s. Haven't seen it, but heard it wasn't particularly good. If you mean The Beast With Five Fingers, I don't believe it was ever remade - though there have been a few other "crawling hand" films here and there.

Signor V.

Does anybody remember Day of the Triffids? I loved this movie as a kid.

One Halloween, when we were kids, we all got together down in my friend Junior's basement to watch scary movies. I had an 8MM projector ( way before VCR's became a common household item) and Junior had a bunch of 8MM horror movies. So I brought over my projector and a couple of horror movies that I owned. But I remember that Junior made us watch The Beast With 5 Fingers first because it was his favorite horror movie. I'll never forget that hand crawling up on the piano to play it!

To this very day, if that movie comes up in conversation, I always think of that Halloween down in Junior's basement watching 8MM horror movies.

I assume you refering to those local late night shows where such shows had a genre-themed MC running that setlist of pictures...damn, I hated that I missed it.

Or did I?

I still have fond memories of Joe Bob Briggs and the awesomeness that is MONSTERVISION on TNT. He would trash the hell out of the very movies shown....and tell you why they also rocked.

Definitely! I have it somewhere in the Archives, though I'll confess I haven't watched it in around fifteen years.

True story:

Late one Saturday night in the early 1970s, I was watching this film when it aired on my local NBC station. Right after the part where most of the world goes blind from the meteor shower, the screen faded to black and they went to a commercial. Suddenly, a deep-voiced announcer intoned, "Do you thank God that you can see?" I did quite a double-take. Turns out it was a public service announcement for a charity (might have been The Eye Bank). Talk about timing!

On a sadder note, Kieron Moore, who had a role in The Day of the Triffids died last month. And Kerwin Mathews, who had starring roles in Seventh Voyage of Sinbad and Three Worlds of Gulliver also passed away in July. (I always used to confuse the two actors.)

Signor V.

I was fortunate enough to catch which were probably re-runs of the famous Zacherley.

Even at the age of 8 years old, I could have given any of those horror show hosts a run for their money!





See Vitelli, you're not the only one that was into hollywood makeup and horror costumes!

I was thinking of the The Hand by Oliver Stone from 1981. It starred Michael Caine.

Thats you, DC????

Yes it is. I was about 8 years old in that photo.