This week on SVENGOOLIE...

[MissGoddess]

I caught the last 40 minutes or so of this and thought it was better than I expected! I think the cast helped---thanks for listing the whole plethora of TV favorites (I missed Janssen's appearance).

I got a little vibe of (the infinitely superior) CAT PEOPLE from it...and if this movie had followed Lewton a little more closely it would have been even better. Domergue was excellent, she does have a different look, doesn't she? Very striking (okay, bad pun).

[RedRiver]

CineMystique!

Not bad? I like this slinky lady! If this is a BAD movie, keep them coming. It's silly, but in a fun way. Not too complicated. Pretty exciting. And isn't it fun to see our TV friends! Dr. Richard Kimble, Jarred Barkley and Daktari. This was appropriate Saturday night fare when I was twelve. Even today it does the trick. Ssssss...

[RedRiver]

CineMagical! Do you have ME TV? Or did you watch the video? I guess I thought you were one of the Svengoolie deprived!

[CineMaven]

I got a little vibe of (the infinitely superior) CAT PEOPLE from it...and if this movie had followed Lewton a little more closely it would have been even better.

You're so right Miss G.. With a little more money and a more imaginative director, I think they really could've pulled it off. The film definitely had the talent. I like these kind of movies anyway.

Domergue was excellent, she does have a different look, doesn't she? Very striking (okay, bad pun).

Indeed!

CineMagical! Do you have ME TV? Or did you watch the video? I guess I thought you were one of the Svengoolie deprived!

Au contraire mon cine-frere. I am totally Svengoolie-deprived. I do have ANTENNA-TV on my Optimum Cablevision system and try to watch Hitchcock and Burns & Allen for a two-hour block of time nightly. It's just I've read such good reviews on these campy films on this thread, that I go onto YouTube ( if I don't have the film in my collection...Ollllaaaaay!! ) to check 'em out. On my nightstand right now is "MONSTER ON THE CAMPUS" ready to view. I know I know. It ain't "Pather Panchali" but what can I say...I'm just a simple country girl.

CineMagical??? Ha! And yet another name. I love it. Just don't call me CineHack!

[RedRiver]

Cine-Rama-Ding-Dong!

[RedRiver]

CineManiacal! Do old movies look good on You Tube? Are they wiggly and poorly focused? The main question, only I can answer. Do I want to buy a computer and pay for an internet service? Well, no. Not really. But if Maven the Raven enjoys some Saturday night camp through this high-tech source, that tells me a lot!

[CineMaven]

You wacky River you. When I watch movies on YouTube, in general they look pretty good.

Cine-Rama-Ding-Dong...HAAAA!!!! Cine-Raven signing out.

[RedRiver]

Tonight on Svengoolie: COWBOYS AND VAMPIRES! Only on free TV.

[Bronxgirl48]

Thanks for the Corman info, Western Guy! That's right, THE TERROR, not THE RAVEN...I don't even remember (close-ups of) Boris wrestling with Sandra Knight (or much of the movie, lol) Wasn't Sandra a teen-age vampire in...what was it? BLOOD OF DRACULA? oh heavens, my deteriorating memory!

Oooh, I haven't seen CURSE OF THE CRIMSON ALTAR or DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN. More bucket list additions, ha!

[RedRiver]

Again, if these are bad movies, you can insult my intelligence anytime! CURSE OF THE UNDEAD is well worth watching. The story is a little different. Personal and character driven. There's a macabre and literate flashback that tells the history of this particular curse. All filmed in a clear, explicit way that shows us exactly what the director wants us to know. Some movies make me say, "What am I looking at and why is it important?" Not this one!

Some well cast, if not award winning actors play the standard roles. Michael Pate is no great favorite. But he's cold and stern. Somebody you don't want to **** with. Bruce Gordon (I often call him Bruce Cabot, but that's somebody else) is the perennial bad guy, no less effective here than as Frank Nitti. And somebody named Edward Binns as the gentle, but committed sheriff. Sorry to neglect the ladies, but this is not exactly STEEL MAGNOLIAS!

This "Curse" is never dull, never ridiculous, occasionally clever. It's not DRACULA. It's not SHANE. But as vampire and cowboy movies go, there is worse out there!

Anybody know what's up next week?

[Western Guy]

No, that was Sandra Harrison who played the teenage vampire in BLOOD OF DRACULA. Sandra Knight (who also appeared with Robert Mitchum and son in THUNDER ROAD) was married to her THE TERROR co-star Jack Nicholson and is the mother of his daughter Jennifer.

I think your Bucket List won't be lacking, Bronxgirl, if you pass on both CRIMSON ALTAR and DRACULA vs. FRANKENSTEIN -- unless you're interested in seeing Chaney's total physical deterioration or want to take a gander at J. Carroll Naish's ill-fitting dentures. There's also the questionable value of seeing how far Russ Tamblyn's career had fallen.

[RedRiver]

It looks like KISS OF THE VAMPIRE (1963) is on Svengoolie's agenda tonight. Don't believe I know this one.

[moira finnie]

Hey, is it just me, or do couples on their honeymoon in Hammer Films always seem to visit obscure towns in darkest Bavaria where no one ventures out after sunset? In another allegorical tale about the chaotic effects of unleashed female lust, tonight on Svengoolie, we can see what the big attraction is when The Kiss of the Vampire (1963) is presented. This one looks like a winner.

As they often did in Hammer flicks, the Vampire rules of order seem to be quite flexible, since the creatures in this version can walk in the sun, sip normal adult beverages, and cut a rug at a dance. No Christopher Lee or Peter Cushing along for the ride, but the good reviews of this one make me curious about it.

Wish they would show The Devil Rides Out (1968), one of the best Hammer movies, but I suppose the cleavage and carnage of most of the studio's products are the big draw, especially around Halloween.

[Western Guy]

Actually Moira,TCM just showed THE DEVIL RIDES OUT (under its alternate title THE DEVIL'S BRIDE) a week ago today. It's played a couple of times on our favorite movie channel. I agree it's a good flick, with sinister Sir Christopher Lee in one of his infrequent (for the time) good guy roles.

[moira finnie]

Yeah, Stone, I saw that they aired it--but I missed it.

Did you know that Christopher Lee pushed Hammer for years to make this movie after he read the Dennis Wheatley novel? According to his autobiography, Lee saw it as a real cautionary tale. He was responsible for insisting on using the genuine prayer of exorcism that was used near the end of the film, which so carefully builds a case for the reality of evil and the need to guard against it. I guess a viewer can see it as a romp through black magic on one level, but the seriousness of the film's underlying themes always seemed to me to argue implicitly as a warning against becoming too accepting of evil (one of the reasons why sensationalism and depravity are so prevalent and such moneymakers in today's movies...but heck, what do I know?).