4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking.
I can’t let this October pass without paying tribute to one of my favorite directors. It’s time for….
4 Shots From 4 Dario Argento Films
Profondo Rosso (1975, dir by Dario Argento)
Suspiria (1977, dir by Dario Argento)
Inferno (1980, dir by Dario Argento)
Tenebrae (1982, dir by Dario Argento)
The third and final entry in Universal’s Paula Dupree/The Ape Woman series, JUNGLE CAPTIVE was released in 1945. I’m happy to report it’s a slight upgrade on JUNGLE WOMAN – by no means a classic horror movie, but certainly more enjoyable than that wretched sequel to CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN . The budget is lower-than-low, but the performances and script are far better, and it makes a good finale to the Ape Woman saga.
Hulking brute man Moloch, henchman of biochemist Mr. Stendahl (who’s not a doctor, by the way), strangles a morgue attendant and steals the body of the Ape Woman from it’s slab (where we left it in the last film). Inspector Harrigan is called in on the case, and a lab smock found near the abandoned crashed-and-burned meat wagon leads him to Stendahl’s lab, where he encounters pretty assistant Ann and her fiancé Don working (actually, they’re necking…
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It’s all about faith.
It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown first aired in 1966 and it has aired every year since. For 52 years, audiences have watched as Charlie Brown gets a rock, Snoopy flies his doghouse, and Linus and Sally spend the night in the pumpkin patch, waiting for the Great Pumpkin to show up. I watched it every year. Usually, I watch it twice.
Why has It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown withstood the test of time?
Some of it is the animation. Snoopy flying that doghouse makes me smile every time. So does Lucy and Linus searching for the perfect pumpkin and Charlie Brown’s messed up ghost costume. (How clumsy is Charlie Brown with a pair of scissors?) I love that, if you pay attention, you can actually see the rock getting tossed in Charlie Brown’s trick or treat bag.
Some of it is because we can relate to the characters. Who hasn’t done a happy dance when, like Charlie Brown getting an invitation to Violet’s party, they feel like they’ve finally been accepted?
But for me, It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is all about faith.
It’s about Charlie Brown’s faith that Violet meant to invite him to her party. Even after Lucy tells him it had to have been a mistake, Charlie Brown still goes to the party. It’s about Charlie Brown’s faith that he’ll get candy. Even after he gets a rock at every house, he still keeps trying. He doesn’t give up.
It’s about Snoopy’s faith that he’ll defeat the Red Baron, even though World War I has long since ended and doghouses can’t actually fly. No matter how many times his doghouse is shot down, Snoopy keeps chasing his enemy.
And finally, it’s about Linus’s faith that some night, the Great Pumpkin will emerge from a sincere pumpkin patch and will bring toys to all the good children on Halloween night. It doesn’t matter that people laugh at him. It doesn’t matter that he might miss out on the chance to get candy. What matters is that Linus believes and nothing can shake that belief. Even when Sally abandons him, Linus stays in that pumpkin patch and waits.
And when the night passes without the Great Pumpkin showing up, Linus doesn’t give up. Instead, he says that he’ll find a new pumpkin patch next year and a new one after that. Linus will wait every year the Great Pumpkin because he has something more important than candy. He has faith.
And, every year, we’ll be right there waiting with him. Because even if we don’t believe in The Great Pumpkin, we do believe in Linus.
It’s all about faith.
It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown gets an encore airing tonight on CBS.
It’s just not Halloween without Frankenstein and his monster. This unholy duo have been frightening audiences in print, movies, and art for nearly 200 years. Below are just a few examples of Frankenstein and his monster through the ages:
1831
1910
1931
1932
1957
1973
1976
1984
1994
2004
2015
1957’s I Was A Teenage Werewolf combines two genres that were very popular in the late 50s.
On the one hand, it’s a film about a teenage rebel. Tony Rivers (Michael Landon) is a teenager that means well but he keeps losing his temper. If he can’t learn to control his anger, he could very well be looking at a life behind bars.
On the other hand, it’s also a horror film. When Tony visits a hypnotist (Whit Bissell), the end result is Tony turning into a werewolf and going on a rampage, all while still wearing his letterman jacket.
All in all, this is a pretty fun little movie. You can check out my review of it by clicking here.
And you can watch the movie below!
by Virgil Finlay
“I do not love men: I love what devours them.”
― André Gide, Prometheus Illbound
by Albert Kralis
Well, it’s not quite Halloween but it will be Halloween very soon! To be honest, Halloween starts the weekend before the 31st. So, happy Halloween!
This song, of course, comes from Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. There’s many different covers that you can find floating around YouTube. This is one of my favorites.
Enjoy!
Through the Shattered Lens 