Today’s song of the day is one that was used so memorably in An American Werewolf In London. From Creedence Clearwater Revival, here is Bad Moon Rising.
Bad Moon Rising
I see a bad moon rising. I see trouble on the way. I see earthquakes and lightning. I see bad times today.
Don’t go around tonight, Well, it’s bound to take your life, There’s a bad moon on the rise.
I hear hurricanes a-blowin’. I know the end is comin’ soon. I feel rivers overflowin’. I hear the voice of rage and ruin.
Don’t go around tonight, Well, it’s bound to take your life, There’s a bad moon on the rise. Alright!
Hope you got your things together. Hope you are quite prepared to die. Looks like we’re in for nasty weather. One eye is taken for an eye.
Well, don’t go round tonight, Well, it’s bound to take your life, There’s a bad moon on the rise.
Don’t come around tonight, Well, it’s bound to take your life, There’s a bad moon on the rise.
This October, I’m going to be doing something a little bit different with my contribution to 4 Shots From 4 Films. I’m going to be taking a little chronological tour of the history of horror cinema, moving from decade to decade.
What film would Alex Magana make if he were a robot? This is a question that no one wanted answered, but Elevate Studios said, TOUGH, you are gettin it! And get it we did!
Many worry that AI will take over the world and our jobs; well, I’m here to tell you that you are 50% correct! AI will likely take your job, but not the world because it’ll just be too busy making boring/terrible short films. Hey Robots, look I get that you feel like you got a full head of steam here, but why make terrible movies? We have people for that and those are jobs that are too good for you. This short is about a priest called into perform and exorcism and he proceeds to punch the possessed woman and the demon leaves her. Yes, that was the whole film. I feel less now that I have seen this.
I put together a short myself using AI to show what it will be like when AI displaces humans:
Will the Robot unalive us all? I don’t know, but they will sure try to bore us to death!
Future serious actor Robert Vaughn made his film debut in 1958’s TeenageCaveman. Directed by Roger Corman, TeenageCaveman tells the story of a rebellious young man (that’s Robert Vaughn) who chooses to defy his father’s warnings and venture beyond the caves and into “the forbidden zone.” He’s told that monsters roam in the forbidden zone and indeed, at least one of them does. However, neither the Teenage Caveman nor his father are prepared for what lies at the heart of the forbidden zone.
(What will he find out there, Dr. Zaius?)
Robert Vaughn later said that, out of all the bad films that he made, this was the worst. Personally, I think he was being a bit too hard on the film. It’s not good but it is definitely fun. Along with watching all of the dinosaur stock footage, you get to wonder how a caveman — especially a teenage caveman! — could possibly have such perfect hair. Even more importantly, if you stick with it, this film has a twist ending that has to be seen to be believed.
Tonight’s episode of Hammer House of Horror features antiques and cults! It’s a like a very British version of Friday the 13h: The Series. This episode is not necessarily one of my favorite episodes of this series. I always find the ending to be disappointing. The said, it does feature an intriguing story and a cast of Hammer veterans.
This episode originally aired on November 15th, 1980.
It’s hard to keep track in The Human Duplicators. Dr. Kolos (Richard Kiel) is an alien who is sent down to Earth. He thinks that he’s not an android but how can he be sure? He goes to the laboratory of Dr. Vaughan Dornheimer (George Macready) and tells Donheimer that they will be working together to create androids that are perfect duplicates for humans and that Kolos will be the “master.” But then an android is built of Dornheimer himself and android Dornhiemer declares that he is the master. Kolos is distracted because he’s fallen in love with Dornhiemer’s daughter, a blind pianist named Lisa (Dolores Faith).
Glenn Martin (George Nader) of the National Intelligence Agency is assigned to figure out what is happening at the Dornhiemer mansion and, wouldn’t you know it, there’s already an android version of Glenn. Glenn’s girlfriend is played the brassy Barbara Nichols, a comedic actress who was briefly groomed to be the next Marilyn Monroe and who comes on like the star of a burlesque show. Glenn’s boss is Austin Wells and he’s played by Hugh Beaumont, which makes this film feel like a weird episode of Leave It To Beaver where Wally has to save the world. I don’t think the bad guys ever duplicate Hugh Beaumont and that’s good because real trouble could be created by an evil version of Ward Cleaver.
The presence of Richard Kiel and Hugh Beaumont is really the only thing that The Human Duplicators have going for it. There are plenty of fights between Glenn and the androids but it turns out that the androids are easy to beat into oblivion so there’s not much suspense or excitement to be found. At times, it feels as if it’s trying to be an episode of The Avengers just without the wit of Patrick Macnee or the charm of Diana Rigg. The Human Duplicators seems to take itself very seriously and I’m not sure why.
After The Human Duplicators, Richard Kiel later went on to play Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker. Hugh Beaumont retired from the movies.
For a little bit of historical perspective, Charles Bronson was an up and coming young character actor when he appeared in the 25th episode of season 1 of ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS, “There Was an Old Woman,” which originally aired March 18, 1956. Having already shared the screen with the likes of Gary Cooper, Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn and Burt Lancaster, Bronson had an interesting face that would allow him to comfortably play a wide range of roles in 1950’s Hollywood, from Native Americans (DRUM BEAT and APACHE), murderous criminals (CRIME WAVE and BIG HOUSE USA), compassionate doctors (the TV series MEDIC), and even deaf mutes (HOUSE OF WAX). In the mid-1950’s, Bronson was alternating between character parts on the big screen and guest starring roles on the small screen. For someone like me, it’s fun looking back at these early years and roles when Bronson was a hungry, young actor just trying to keep working. Not blessed with matinee idol looks, he attacked his roles with a gusto that, with the benefit of hindsight, would form a foundation that would eventually lead to him becoming the most popular actor in the world a decade later.
In “There Was an old Woman,” down-on-their-luck married couple, Frank Bramwell (Charles Bronson) and Lorna Bramwell (Norma Crane), are desperate for cash. While finishing off their breakfast at the local cafe, they overhear a private conversation between a milkman and the counter guy concerning the vast wealth of a local old woman named Monica Laughton (Estelle Winwood), an eccentric widow who lives alone in a grand, outdated Victorian house. The Bramwell’s think they’ve won the lottery and soon they’ve hatched a scheme to work their way into Mrs. Laughton’s home in hopes of relieving her of all that money. Once inside her home, the young couple gets much more than they bargained for when they discover that the kind and proper old woman lives in a fantasy world of imaginary people, imaginary dinner parties, and imaginary funerals. They play along with her delusions for a while and set about looking for the money, but when they can’t find it, Frank pulls out his knife and threatens to kill Mrs. Laughton and all her “guests” if she doesn’t give them her money. Needless to say, Mrs. Laughton may be nutty, but she has a few tricks up her sleeve and the Bramwell’s just may be on their way to being permanent guests!
If you enjoy entertainment that features black comedy, ironic twists of fate, and deadly danger in the most unexpected of places, you’ll enjoy this macabre gem of an episode. “There Was an Old Woman” sets the Bramwell’s up to think that they’re the ones in charge, until it’s revealed in an instant that they are in way over their head with the eccentric Mrs. Laughton. Bronson and Norma Crane are good as the married couple with bad intentions. I guess it would be more accurate to say that Bronson’s character has the bad intentions while Norma’s character just seems to have picked the wrong man. Bronson is in his amoral, bully-thug mode here, a type of role he played very well in the early years of his career. I thought Norma Crane projected a sort of innocent sweetness, and I felt sorry for her as events spiraled out of control. But the real star of the episode is Estelle Winwood as the delusional “old woman” of the title. She steals the show as Monica Laughton, delivering a fun and deceptively cunning performance as the grande dame who’s much more aware of the dangers around her than she lets on. She may be eccentric, but she’s nobody’s fool. Estelle Winwood is perfect in the role, a testament to a woman who was 73 years old when this episode aired and who would go on to work for over 20 more years, with her final role on an episode of the TV series QUINCY, M.E. that aired in 1980. One of the joys of watching older TV shows and movies is discovering more about some of these talented actors and actresses who starred in them. Winwood had an incredible, five decade career, and she would pass away in 1984 at 101 years of age.
Overall, I recommend “There Was an Old Woman” to any person who appreciates Alfred Hitchcock, vintage TV, black comedy, Charles Bronson, Norma Crane, and Estelle Winwood. It’s interesting and fun stuff!
For my money, the original Tomb of Dracula is still the best horror comic to ever show up at a newsstand. From 1975, The cover of Tomb of Dracula #41 is a classic. Credit for this goes to Gene Colan, Tom Palmer, and Gaspar Saladino.
So begins the monologue that serves as the centerpiece of the 1955 Ed Wood film, Bride of the Monster. The monologue is delivered by Bela Lugosi, appearing in one of his final roles.
Far too often, people tend to be snarky about the work that Lugosi did under the direction of Ed Wood. But you know what?
He actually delivers a pretty good performance in Bride of the Monster.
Ignore all of the stuff about atomic supermen and instead, just pay attention to the way Lugosi delivers the lines. Pay attention to the pain in his voice as he says that he has no home. Pay attention and you’ll discover that Lugosi actually gave a good performance in Bride of the Monster. He delivers the lines with such wounded pride that you can’t help but think that maybe we should let him create a race of atomic supermen.
Among the old horror icons, Lugosi has always been the most underrated actor. He got typecast early and he appeared in some unfortunate films but Bela Lugosi had real talent and you can see it in this scene.
Through the Shattered Lens 