This week on SVENGOOLIE...

[Western Guy]

Yes, apparently Christopher Lee owns a vast library of books devoted to the occult. In fact, when he had his own film production company, Charlamagne, he owned the rights to all of Dennis Wheatley's books but no Wheatley films were produced under that banner.

[RedRiver]

I almost blew off KISS OF THE VAMPIRE (OR Honeymoon in Bavaria) based on the fact that I had never heard of anybody in the cast. How good can it be? Answer: Pretty darn good! Scary and visual. You would have some idea what was going on without the dialogue; a sign of good filmmaking. Creepy and gothic, the strongest asset of the studio. And while I confess I dozed off a couple of times (It's not the movie. It's me), the story seemed mature and literate. Yes, I missed a little. But what I saw looked quite good.

In fact, it compares well to the best of Hammer's output. Some of their films, while rich in atmosphere and packaging, are a little too "quiet." Talk about this. Analyse that. Pretty soon I'm thinking, "Monsters! I want monsters!" Not so, with last night's feature. This one suits me just fine!

[Bronxgirl48]

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.

Thanks, Western Guy -- I keep mixing those two Sandras up.

I'll bet J. Carroll Naish's dentures have talent, that's how much I love him.

I like Russ in THE HAUNTING but would you believe I haven't seen anything else with him since that I can remember?

Was channel-surfing a while back and came upon a western with a very young Lon who is forced at gunpoint to fill in for Eddie Foy, Sr. (played by Foy, Jr.) on stage; i.e. dance. So poor Chaney gets up and does a routine that resembles Walter Brennan stomping on chickens.

[Western Guy]

Bronxgirl, that scene with a-dancin' Lon is from the film FRONTIER MARSHAL. I recently purchased the DVD of MY DARLING CLEMENTINE and that movie came as a bonus. John Carradine is also in FRONTIER MARSHAL, the first of many teamings with Chaney. Hmmm, wonder if those two socialized off the set. Coulda been interesting. Two thirsty thesbians.

I agree with you about J. Carroll Naish. Always adds so much to whatever project he was involved with. Truly one of the greatest supporting players. But again, kinda sad to see him in dreck like DRACULA vs. FRANKENSTEIN. And tragic to see him so frail. But apparently, on the set, he was the one who kept bolstering Lon, who was complaining about how old he and J. Carroll were. J. Carroll was obviously not one for sympathy, bless him. That aside, Chaney had tremendous respect for Naish and considered him one of Hollywood's top actors.

[RedRiver]

I would love to see FRONTIER MARSHAL.

[Western Guy]

Good flick, Red River - even though it plays even more loose with the facts than MY DARLING CLEMENTINE.

[Bronxgirl48]

Bronxgirl, that scene with a-dancin' Lon is from the film FRONTIER MARSHAL. I recently purchased the DVD of MY DARLING CLEMENTINE and that movie came as a bonus. John Carradine is also in FRONTIER MARSHAL, the first of many teamings with Chaney. Hmmm, wonder if those two socialized off the set. Coulda been interesting. Two thirsty thesbians.

I agree with you about J. Carroll Naish. Always adds so much to whatever project he was involved with. Truly one of the greatest supporting players. But again, kinda sad to see him in dreck like DRACULA vs. FRANKENSTEIN. And tragic to see him so frail. But apparently, on the set, he was the one who kept bolstering Lon, who was complaining about how old he and J. Carroll were. J. Carroll was obviously not one for sympathy, bless him. That aside, Chaney had tremendous respect for Naish and considered him one of Hollywood's top actors.

Western Guy, FRONTIER MARSHAL, from the little I saw of it, really does seem like it would be a satisfying offbeat low-budget companion piece to MY DARLING CLEMENTINE.

Great to hear that about J. Carroll Naish! What a pro, what a trouper! Even in HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, as hunchback Daniel (hey, maybe he should have been introduced to similarly afflicted Nina from HOUSE OF DRACULA), Naish brings a modicum of human dimension to an otherwise silly/contrived stereotyped horror-movie character within a gruesomely (in more ways than one, lol) sentimental script.

[RedRiver]

hey, maybe he should have been introduced to similarly afflicted Nina from HOUSE OF DRACULA

A match made in...well, not exactly Heaven!

[Western Guy]

Yeah, R.R. Maybe woulda mended his broken heart at losing Elena Verdugo to Chaney.

[CineMaven]

I almost blew off KISS OF THE VAMPIRE (OR Honeymoon in Bavaria) based on the fact that I had never heard of anybody in the cast. How good can it be? Answer: Pretty darn good! Scary and visual. You would have some idea what was going on without the dialogue; a sign of good filmmaking. Creepy and gothic, the strongest asset of the studio. And while I confess I dozed off a couple of times (It's not the movie. It's me), the story seemed mature and literate. Yes, I missed a little. But what I saw looked quite good.

In fact, it compares well to the best of Hammer's output. Some of their films, while rich in atmosphere and packaging, are a little too "quiet." Talk about this. Analyse that. Pretty soon I'm thinking, "Monsters! I want monsters!" Not so, with last night's feature. This one suits me just fine!

Damn! Damn damn damn Optimum Cablevision for not showing Me-TV and Svengoolie. "KISS OF THE VAMPIRE" is a good one. And one I haven't seen in many a years. And it's not on YouTube either in its entirety. But here's a smidgen for horror fans:

[youtube][/youtube]


CURSES!!! Great score too!!!

[RedRiver]

You never know what to expect from Hammer Films. Some are better than others. But most of them have something to offer.

[RedRiver]

It looks like we're back to Universal now. FRANKENSTEIN is up this weekend, followed by GHOST OF...

[moira finnie]

hey, maybe he should have been introduced to similarly afflicted Nina from HOUSE OF DRACULA

A match made in...well, not exactly Heaven!

Lovely thought. Looking forward to House of Frankenstein tonight. Is it just me or does it seem as though the movie had two directors? The compelling first scenes with Boris and J. Carrol Naish escaping and then stumbling on The Great Lampini's wagon are the best part of the movie, which kind of peters out later. I like most of the actors involved, but wonder if there might have been script trouble along the way.

[RedRiver]

The HOUSE and CASTLE films are episodic. As if two or three stories were shot separately and patched together. I like them, though. They remind me of childhood, when my friends and I enjoyed them immensely.

[RedRiver]

In my TV market, STRANGERS ON A TRAIN is on opposite Svengoolie tonight. On PBS! This will be a tough choice.