Thanks for the signature, Ziggy/666. I thought "they hate Sventoonie over here too!?" then realized it was you.
Lucille Ball's first movie was The Bowery (1933). She's billed on IMDB as "Blonde (uncredited)." I've seen the film many times but have never been able to pinpoint which uncredited blonde she is, though there are a few possibilities. The film is on YouTube but will probably never be shown on television. It's pre-code with some of the most outrageous politically incorrect bits you will ever see, from the very first shot.
Swithin,
Actually, I enjoy some of Hammer horror films, but not all, e.g. I'm not a fan of the recreations by Hammer of the Universal monsters. I find those films stodgy (apart from The Scars of Dracula, which I haven't seen for decades and remember fondly.) But I do like many other Hammer horror films, so will look in on Svengoolie tomorrow.EP Millstone wrote: ↑January 20th, 2023, 9:30 pmSwithin,
If you enjoy Hammer Film horrors, I think that you'll find Kiss of the Vampire a treat. It is one of Hammer's superior productions, boasting solid direction by Don Sharp -- a dextrous and estimable filmmaker whose sharp (as in acute) sense of dynamic pacing is a hallmark of his movies -- a novel, crackerjack story by John Elder (Hammer producer Anthony Hinds), and a first-rate, top-notch cast. The memorable ending was a leftover twist intended for Brides of Dracula but discarded, in part, at the behest of BoD star Peter Cushing.
Actually, I enjoy some of Hammer horror films, but not all, e.g. I'm not a fan of the recreations by Hammer of the Universal monsters. I find those films stodgy (apart from The Scars of Dracula, which I haven't seen for decades and remember fondly.) But I do like many other Hammer horror films, so will look in on Svengoolie tomorrow.EP Millstone wrote: ↑January 20th, 2023, 9:30 pmSwithin,
If you enjoy Hammer Film horrors, I think that you'll find Kiss of the Vampire a treat. It is one of Hammer's superior productions, boasting solid direction by Don Sharp -- a dextrous and estimable filmmaker whose sharp (as in acute) sense of dynamic pacing is a hallmark of his movies -- a novel, crackerjack story by John Elder (Hammer producer Anthony Hinds), and a first-rate, top-notch cast. The memorable ending was a leftover twist intended for Brides of Dracula but discarded, in part, at the behest of BoD star Peter Cushing.
I will adopt the playbook of some around here who unabashedly thrusts their opinions on others (usu. in the mode of "I don't give a rat's rear end...etc.) whether they damn well like it or not. I remember many, many, many, many years ago I actually got scared watching House on Haunted Hill and at that time was young and impressionable. Now I am grown up and cannot for the life of me understand why other grown-ups can watch this stuff. And friend Swithin, did I actually read a post of yours where they actually teach Horror in Universities over there across the pond, home to the great BBC where repeated brilliancies of screen marvels are produced apace. What budget would knowingly spend money on (gasp) Horror? What kind education are they offering over there? Do I detect a fall from Grace since Independence? Is it true now that without the Empire, the realm has shrunk to such decadence that Horror is being taught in all those high and exalted Institutions of higher learning. Woe to this modern world. Why would anyone stoop so low as Dracula one time at all, when one could be watching The Jewell and the Crown or even La Boheme for at least the 1,000th time each. Yes, Italy ; that used to be a "place where angels fear to tread" but now have risen to equality, even without an empire.Swithin wrote: ↑January 20th, 2023, 9:59 pmActually, I enjoy some of Hammer horror films, but not all, e.g. I'm not a fan of the recreations by Hammer of the Universal monsters. I find those films stodgy (apart from The Scars of Dracula, which I haven't seen for decades and remember fondly.) But I do like many other Hammer horror films, so will look in on Svengoolie tomorrow.EP Millstone wrote: ↑January 20th, 2023, 9:30 pmSwithin,
If you enjoy Hammer Film horrors, I think that you'll find Kiss of the Vampire a treat. It is one of Hammer's superior productions, boasting solid direction by Don Sharp -- a dextrous and estimable filmmaker whose sharp (as in acute) sense of dynamic pacing is a hallmark of his movies -- a novel, crackerjack story by John Elder (Hammer producer Anthony Hinds), and a first-rate, top-notch cast. The memorable ending was a leftover twist intended for Brides of Dracula but discarded, in part, at the behest of BoD star Peter Cushing.
Are you quite done? Taisez-vous I'm trying to watch "I was a Teen-Age Werewolf!" Because it's a movie. Lighten up, willya?
Lafitte, I'm surprised at you, since I regard you as among our more sophisticated posters! I have a degree in Theology. My favorite course was Demonology. I also had a course in the horror film. The horror films which surfaced at the beginning at the invention of cinema, represent contemporary expressions of those human feelings -- fears, concerns, expressions of unconscious longings, or just plain wonder -- that used to be expressed in folk tales, myths, oral traditions, literature, visual art, etc. These feelings have been represented in the past in the killing of Tiamat by Marduk; in Euripides' play The Bacchae, in which women tear a man to pieces, his mother then putting her son's head on a pike; Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus or A Midsummer Night's Dream; paintings by Goya and Fusili; or in any number of stories in all religions. Today, they are expressed in the horror film. As you know I love The Jewel in the Crown, but the horror film offers a much more primitive and elemental insight into the human consciousness. Frankenstein and Dracula were novels before they were horror films; and before that, the germs of their stories lurked inside the human mind since the beginning of time. So my recommendation to you, Lafitte, would be to expand your horizons and embrace the genre.laffite wrote: ↑January 21st, 2023, 5:28 am
I will adopt the playbook of some around here who unabashedly thrusts their opinions on others (usu. in the mode of "I don't give a rat's rear end...etc.) whether they damn well like it or not. I remember many, many, many, many years ago I actually got scared watching House on Haunted Hill and at that time was young and impressionable. Now I am grown up and cannot for the life of me understand why other grown-ups can watch this stuff. And friend Swithin, did I actually read a post of yours where they actually teach Horror in Universities over there across the pond, home to the great BBC where repeated brilliancies of screen marvels are produced apace. What budget would knowingly spend money on (gasp) Horror? What kind education are they offering over there? Do I detect a fall from Grace since Independence? Is it true now that without the Empire, the realm has shrunk to such decadence that Horror is being taught in all those high and exalted Institutions of higher learning. Woe to this modern world. Why would anyone stoop so low as Dracula one time at all, when one could be watching The Jewell and the Crown or even La Boheme for at least the 1,000th time each. Yes, Italy ; that used to be a "place where angels fear to tread" but now have risen to equality, even without an empire.
I think that we might have engaged in this discussion on The TCM Message Boards, Swithin.
In the immortal words of Eric Von Zipper:
Yes, I think we did engage in this discussion before. That's why I didn't use the word "remake." But I find the movies in which Hammer uses the name "Frankenstein" or "Dracula" or "The Mummy" in the title, they tend to be rather stodgy and boring to me. Not because they use those names, rather because the films just turned out that way, i.e. boring.EP Millstone wrote: ↑January 21st, 2023, 5:25 pmI think that we might have engaged in this discussion on The TCM Message Boards, Swithin.
I don't regard Hammer Films such as The Curse of Frankenstein and Horror of Dracula (original British title Dracula) as "recreations" or remakes of Universal horror films. They are simply adaptations of the stories by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and Bram Stoker. Veering in an entirely different direction than Universal, Hammer focused on Baron Frankenstein as "The Monster" instead of Frankenstein's creation. Hammer's first interpretation of Dracula resembled the Universal classic in name only. With the exception of the series' finale, The Satanic Rites of Dracula (in which Christopher Lee adopted a Lugosian tone of voice), the subsequent follow-ups exhibit even less of a resemblance to Universal's treatments of The Count.
The Wolfman was an original character, created by Curt Siodmak. The story in The Curse of the Werewolf was a liberal adaptation of The Werewolf of Paris by Guy Endore.
The only Hammer Film that could be described as a remake of a Universal monster movie is its 1959 production The Mummy. For that flick, Hammer got the official "A-OK" by Universal to do a remake . . . which actually references The Mummy flicks starring Lon Chaney, Jr. as "Kharis."
