Not A Gas

 

 (amazon.com)

GASS-S-S-S-1970-A gas accidentally released kills anyone over 25! Coel (Robert Cuff, a very bad actor) is a dumb hippie who with his girlfriend Cilla (Elaine Giftos) roams the country meeting other freaks (portrayed by Ben Vereen, Bud Cort, Cindy Williams, Talia Shire, et. al.). Edgar Allan Poe rides around on a motorcycle and comments on the plot. Country Joe and The Fish make an appearance and provided the soundtrack. 

This was Roger Corman's last directorial effort for AIP and he said the studio cut the last scene where God appears. I'm not sure what the point of this movie is. Some kind of satire, maybe? The acting is terrible. It's been called Corman's most personal film. He should have kept it to himself. Screenwriter George Armitage later directed VIGILANTE FORCE (1976) and GROSSE POINTE BLANK (1997).

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Palance in Charge

 

 

WARRIORS 5-1962-An American paratrooper (Jack Palance) teams up with 5 Italian soldiers (including Venantino Venantini) and a hooker (Giovanna Ralli) to blow up a bridge to slow down the German army's advance right after Italy has surrendered during WW2. 

This slow-moving Italian production, directed Leopoldo Savona, was presented by AIP in the US. Co-star Venantini years later was in several infamous Italian zombie movies. Star Palance was in BARABBAS the year before and would star in Jean Luc Godard's CONTEMPT the next and have his own short lived TV series “The Greatest Show On Earth”.

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Poe One

 

 (imdb)

THE HOUSE OF USHER-1960-Philip Winthrop (Mark Damon who died in May 2024) comes to the Usher home to visit his fiancée' Madeline (Myrna Fahey). Brother Roderick (Vincent Price) says he must leave because Madeline is confined to her bed. Rod says that Philip can never marry her because both siblings suffer from an inherited disease that he calls a curse. Philip is told by Bristol, the butler (Harry Ellerbe) that Madeline walks in her sleep. Philip is determined to take his future wife away but Roderick forbids it. He shows Philip portraits of his ancestors who all came to bad ends. After a fight with her brother, Madeline dies. When she is put in the family tomb, Roderick admits he buried sis alive! After Philip has a nightmarish dream, Roderick seems to lose his mind believing Madeline is coming for revenge. However, it appears he's right! 

A great fiery climax caps this the first Edgar Allan Poe adaptation by Roger Corman and Richard Matheson (and Vincent Price). It may just be me but at times Damon's voice sounds like Derek (David Love) from TEENAGERS FROM OUTER SPACE!

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Ghost on The Beach

 

 (imdb)

THE GHOST IN THE INVISIBLE BIKINI-1966-Recently dead old guy Hiram Stokley (Boris Karloff; he did HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS the same year) is told by his dead sister Cicely (Susan Hart) that if he wants to go to heaven and be young again, he has to do one good deed. He decides to make sure his estate goes to his rightful heirs. Chuck Phillips (Tommy Kirk), "not very bright but a nice boy", Lili Norton (Deborah Walley), Myrtle Forbush (Patsy Kelly), plus his attorney Reggie Ripper (Basil Rathbone; in QUEEN OF BLOOD the same year) and his "vile sidekick" J. Sinister Hulk (Jesse White). 

After Myrtle's nephew Bobby (Aron Kincaid) and his friends arrive, Nancy Sinatra sings "Geronimo". The young people frug arrogantly and act dumb at the pool. Ripper introduces his daughter Sinestra (Quinn O'Hara) and she tries to kill Bobby. Then Princess Yolanda (Bobbi Shaw) and her Indian companion Chicken Feather (Benny Rubin) with a gorilla (George Barrows) show up to help get rid of the relatives. The Rats, a motorcycle gang led by Eric Von Zipper (Harvey Lembeck) arrive because their stupid leader falls in love with The Princess. Then Stokley's butler Malcolm (Francis X. Bushman in his last movie role) shows up to warn Chuck to leave. Meanwhile, Stokley watches on a crystal ball and comments and Cicely intervenes to help. Chuck's not very bright friend gets terrorized by some fake monsters and the slapstick finale takes place in a torture chamber. The Bobby Fuller 4 also perform. 

Director Don Weis made this hokey dated beach movie but the old guys seem to having a good time.

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You Say Iorga, I Say Yorga

 

 (the moviedb.org)

THE LOVES OF COUNT IORGA, VAMPIRE-aka COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE-1970-At a botched seance trying to help a woman named Donna (Donna Anders), the medium Count Yorga (Robet Quarry) is later revealed to be a vampire. He puts the bite on a woman named Erica (Judy Lang). Her boyfriend Paul (Michael Murphy) suspects the count. A doctor named Jim Hayes (Roger Perry) examines Erica and finds her anemic with two puncture wounds on her neck. Later Paul and his friend Mike (producer Michael McCready) find Erica eating a rat (?). With his odd servant Brutah (Edward Walsh), Yorga plans to make Erica his eternal bride. After Paul is captured, Donna, Paul and Hayes go to the count with the plan of keeping him up until sunrise! That doesn't work. Yorga captures Donna and Hayes confronts Yorga. The doctor becomes a victim of the Count's vampire brides (including Marsha Jordan), leaving Mike to destroy the count. He succeeds but….

Vampire narration by George McCready (Michael's father). I never really cared for this movie. It's drawn out but effective at times. Supposedly planned as a soft-core porn film, it was later changed to straight horror but still maintains a kind of cheap porno atmosphere. Could have been better but considering the time….

Former actor Bob Kelljan made SCREAM, BLACULA, SCREAM in 1973 but worked mainly in TV.

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Bava

 

 (the moviedb.org)

BLACK SABBATH-1963-Three tales of terror are hosted by Boris Karloff in this Italian American co-production presented by AIP. 

The Drop of Water-A woman (Jacqueline Pierreux) is terrorized in her apartment after stealing a ring off a dead woman. Dripping water, weird lights and the dead woman seemingly back for revenge all help in the thief's demise. Credited as based on a story by Anton Chekov but he never wrote such a story.

The Telephone-A woman named Rosie (Michele Mercier) receives threatening phone calls from a man she thought was dead. Credited as a story by Tolstoy but not Leo, the author of “War and Peace” but a minor author Aleksei.

The Wurdaluk-A man (Mark Damon) stays with a family and awaits the return of their grandfather (Boris Karloff) who may now be a vampire. Based on a story by Guy de Maupassant. Usually said to be the only time King Karloff played a vampire.

Mario Bava directed this using lots of style and clever camera work. The original Italian version has a different story order, different music and alternate narration by Karloff. Plus an unusual ending for the vampire story. Bava made THE WHIP AND THE BODY the same year.

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Ribbit!

 

 (imdb)

FROGS-1972-Photographer Pickett Smith (Sam Elliot) is nearly run down in his boat by beer guzzling speed boat riding Clint Crockett (Adam Roarke) and his sister Karen (Joan Van Ark). They invite Smith to their granddaddy's estate that's being overrun by frogs. Gramps (Ray Milland), is a self-righteous SOB who seems bothered by his whole family. While exploring the island, Smith finds the dead body of a worker. The frogs seem to be taking over. Snakes and salamanders too. A particularly gruesome scene is the death of gramps' flaky butterfly collecting sister-in-law Iris (Hollis Irving) by leeches. Her husband is done in by a crocodile. 

Although there is death and aggressive animals all around, Gramps wants to continue with the 4th of July festivities. Everyone is eventually killed except for Smith, Karen and grandkids. Gramps regrets his decision to stay behind. The frogs don't kill anyone (despite the famous movie poster) but it seems like they are in charge.

This eco-horror from AIP is mostly talk with a death thrown in once in a while. The ecology and "nature fights back" themes were very popular in the 1970's. Director George McCowan worked mainly in TV but also directed THE MAGNIFCENT SEVEN RIDE! the same year as FROGS. He later made THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME (1979).

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Glen Was 60 Feet Tall...

 

 (moriareviews.com)

WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST-1958-In this sequel Glen Manning, THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN, didn't die in the original. Instead, he survived and wound up in Mexico, a deformed, one eyed, deranged monster (now played by Dean Parkin) stealing food trucks and scaring locals. His sister Joyce (Sally Fraser) hears reports and contacts Mr. Swanson (George Becwar), whose truck disappeared and Major Baird (Roger Pace), useless army brass who advises sis to give up her quest. She visits Mexico to see a young boy Miguel who's in shock from an encounter with a monster and meets helpful Sgt. Murillo (Rico Alaniz). Later Baird and Dr. Carmichael (Russ Bender) come to investigate. They find a colossal footprint. ("That is a very big footprint") Baird wants to call in the military but Joyce says they should reason with Glen. After seeing the scarred giant, they decide to capture him. They drug him with some bread but have trouble finding a place to put him in the US. Finally, they tie him up in an airport hangar and we get a flashback to the original. Then he escapes but is recaptured. It's determined that Glen has irreversible brain damage and the army decides to send him to an isolated island but he escapes before they can move him. They trap him in Griffith Park but he terrorizes a bus load of school kids. Joyce's plea makes him put the bus down and commit suicide in the color finale. 

Who else but Bert I. Gordon (who passed away at age 100 in March) would be behind such giant shenanigans? It's low budget for sure with some sub-par sfx but the giant's “new look” is pretty cool.

Sally Fraser was in Mr. BIG's other “giant” movie in 1958, EARTH VS. THE SPIDER. Dean Parkin cut his teeth for this role by playing the “huge” title creature on Gordon's THE CYCLOPS the year before. Russ Bender has the distinction of playing two different characters in each film and getting killed in both!

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Roller Derby

 

 (imdb)

UNHOLY ROLLERS-1972-Karen Walker (Claudia Jennings in her first starring role) quits her job at a cat food factory to join a roller derby league run by sleazy cheap promoter Mr. Stern (Louis Quinn). She lives with her stripper sister Donna (Candice Roman) and Donna's boyfriend Greg (Alan Vint). Though she's harassed by the other players, she's a bit of a loose cannon herself. She has sex with Nick (Jay Varela), another skater. Mickey (Betty Ann Rees) and Jennifer (Roberta Collins) are two skaters who are afraid Karen will take their place. Later after injuring an opponent, she's beaten up by other skaters. After visiting her mom (Kathleen Freeman), it seems she'll be replaced herself. In the end she loses it and causes a huge riot. John Harmon plays a pervert doctor. 

This low budget AIP drama isn't bad but is probably only remembered today because of its star, former Playboy playmate, Claudia Jennings who became a cult figure after her tragic death in a car accident at age 29. Director Vernon Zimmerman later made FADE TO BLACK.

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Bank Robbery

 

 (imdb)

BOBBIE JO AND THE OUTLAW-1976-Reckless self-assured car thief Lyle Wheeler (Marjoe Gortner) hooks up with waitress Bobbie Joe (Lynda Carter) and her friend Essie (Belinda Balaski). He and Billie Jo become lovers and do a lot of nonsense until they meet up with BJ's sister Pearl (Merrie Lynn Ross) and her boyfriend Slick (Jesse Vint) and Lyle kills a factory guard. They all go on the run. During a police shootout, which they escape, Essie is killed. They decide to become bank robbers and killers. The tobacco chewing sheriff (Gene Drew) chases them and kills the wrong people at one point. 

This misguided "Bonnie & Clyde" influenced drama from AIP is OK to a point but just goes on too long. Director Mark L. Lester went on to make several high-profile movies like ROLLER BOOGIE (1979), CLASS OF 1984 (1982) and FIRESTARTER (1984) culminating with Arnold Schwarzenegger in COMMANDO. Screenwriter Vernon Zimmerman went on to direct FADE TO BLACK in 1980.

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Do You Believe?

 

 (amazon.com)

BURN, WITCH, BURN! -1962-Norman Taylor (Peter Wyngarde), a college professor finds out his wife Tansy (Janet Blair) has been using voodoo she learned in Jamaica to make him successful. After he makes her burn all her charms and talismans, a female student accuses him of rape and a male student threatens him with a gun. After a weird episode at their home, Tansy is convinced Norman will die, so she decides to take his place. He frantically searches for her. She almost drowns herself but Norman saves her using the occult practices he doesn't believe in. Flora Carr (Margret Jackson), a vengeful college secretary seems to be behind it, using voodoo to destroy The Taylors because she feels her husband Lindsey (Colin Gordon) was passed over in flavor of Norman. The climax is good. 

Veteran sci-fi/horror writers Charles Beaumont & Richard Matheson (both worked on TV's The Twilight Zone) collaborated on the script (based on Fritz Leiber's “Conjure Wife”) for AIP's James Nicolson who later turned it over to their British affiliate Anglo-Amalgamated. They wanted Peter Cushing to star but he was busy. 

Director Sidney Hayers (CIRCUS OF HORRORS) does a competent job of holding everything together despite a low budget and provides some good scares. In the 1980's he came to the US and directed for TV. The Universal Pictures “Inner Sanctum” entry WEIRD WOMAN (1944) is also based on Leiber's story. Known in the UK as NIGHT OF THE EAGLE, the US version has a short prologue by Paul Frees.

 (wikipedia)

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PS: There was also a band in the early 2000's called "Burn Witch Burn" lead by "Dead Milken" lead singer Rodney Linderman. Their only release is great!

 (amazon.com)

Sign The Book

 

 (imdb)

THE UNDEAD-1957-After a sinister intro by The Devil (Richard Devon), a weird guy named Quintas Ratcliff (Val Dufour) returns from Tibet to confront his former teacher with his regression experiments. Quintas regresses hooker Diana (Pamela Duncan) to a past life in some medieval time when persecution of witches was trending. She finds herself a condemned witch named Elaine, locked in a dungeon awaiting execution. She escapes but is accidentally locked in a coffin (with a corpse played by Paul Blaisdell) by feeble gravedigger Smolen (Mel Welles). Meanwhile Pendragon (Richard Garland) searches for proof of Elaine's innocence. A woman named Livia (Allison Hayes) pretends to care but is really a witch with imp companion (Bobby Barty) who's after Pendragon's heart. 

(Metaphorically speaking…).

 After Smolen frees Elaine from the coffin she meets Maud (Dorothy Neumann), a kind of witch who hides Elaine and tells Pendragon. Maud then challenges Livia. Bruno VeSota plays a pub owner who's decapitated. When Quintas realizes he's changed the past he goes back to try and fix things up. Livia convinces Pendragon the only way to help Elaine is to make a pact with the devil but Qunitas now a knight who somehow the devil knows dissuades Pendragon from signing. But if Elaine doesn't die by dawn all her future lives will cease to be. Will she submit to the executioner's axe? And what of Quintas? Will he make it back to the present? Dick Miller appears in one scene as a leper. 

This is a great low budget AIP production directed of course by Roger Corman with a lot of flair and imagination. There's some nice SFX and spooky settings. Screenwriters Charles Griffin and Mark Hanna also collaborated on Corman's best sci-fi/horror film NOT OF THIS EARTH the same year. Corman also made ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS in '57, written by Griffin and and starring Garland and Duncan.

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Werewolf vs. Frankenstein

 

 (imdb)

HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER-1958-On the movie set of "Werewolf Meets Frankenstein", make-up man Pete Drumond (Robert H. Harris) is regarded as a legend. He's made up Larry the werewolf (Gary Clarke) and Tony the monster (Gary Conway) for director Martin Brace (Thomas B Henry). However the "new regime" doesn't like monsters and they fire Pete and his assistant Rivero (Paul Brinegar). To get revenge Pete uses a special compound in his make-up to make the actors do his bidding. The monster actors kill the two executives. Pete himself even puts on some scary make-up to kill a nosy studio guard. John Ashley (as himself) shows up to croon a number. Robert Shayne has one scene as Larry's angry agent. Police Captain Hancock (Morris Ankrum) investigates. Malcolm Atterbury is a security guard. After the picture is finished and Pete is ready to leave, he invites the boys to his house to meet "his children", props and masks he made for his movies (including real AIP monsters from IT CONQUERED THE WORLD, INVASION OF THE SAUCER MEN and THE SHE CREATURE). Pete really loses it at the end. It seems he wants the actual heads of the young actors! A fire starts and destroys his collection ("I must save my children") The finale is in color. 

Herman Cohen (he also wrote the screenplay and has a cameo as a projectionist) produced this through AIP with Samuel Arkoff and Jack Nicholsen as the executive producers. The same year director Herbert L. Strock worked on “The Veil” series starring Boris Karloff.

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I Was A Teenage Dracula

 

 (imdb)

BLOOD OF DRACULA-1957-Nancy (Sandra Harrison), a trouble teenager is dropped off at Sherwood, a prep school, by her stupid father (Thomas B. Henry) and his new gold digging bride (Jean Dean). With her headstrong attitude she runs afoul of Myra (Gail Ganley) and her secret society. Myra also assists a mad woman teacher scientist Mrs. Branding (Louise Lewis) who wants to save the world from itself and says "We live in a world ruled by men for men" when her thesis is rejected. She decides to use Nancy in her incomprehensible experiments. The girls have a party crashed by three boys where a dork (Jerry Blaine) sings a song called "Puppy Love". Under Branding's subliminal hypnosis Nancy turns into a scary fanged vampire. She kills several people. Lt. Dunlap (Malcohm Atterbury) doesn't believe it when one of his officers (Richard Devon) says it's a vampire. Nancy's boyfriend comes to rescue her but all she can think about is his neck. In the climax she kills the doctor and falls on a stake and dies while her boyfriend cries and Myra regrets not telling about Branding's weird experiments.

This AIP teenage drive-in horror was produced by Herman Cohen who held the same capacity on I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF and I WAS A TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN. Both those movies had been written by BLOOD's screenwriter Aben Kandel (who would work with Cohen later on when the producer relocated to England). Director Herbert Strock had also made TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN. BLOOD OF DRACULA is ok as AIP teen oriented horror films go. The vampire is creepy but I kind of felt sorry for the Nancy character, a troubled kid no one seems to care about except her boyfriend who shows up to help her, only to see her die. Should have been called “I Was a Female Dracula”.

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Terror

 

THE TERROR FROM THE YEAR 5000-1958-In an "isolated area in Central Florida", Prof. Erling (Frederic Brown) and assistant Victor (John Stratton) are doing experiments with time. They receive a strange statue from the future and send it to old friend Dr. Robert Hedges (Ward Costello) who's surprised when carbon dating reveals the statue is from 5200 AD, 3000 years in the future! It's also radioactive prompting Hedges to pay a call on his old friend after another doctor suggests Erling might have tried to murder him! Later Hedges meets Claire Erling (Joyce Holden), the prof.'s daughter who sent the statue to Hedges but didn't know it was radioactive. Claire and caretaker Angelo (Fred Herrick) take Hedges by boat to their isolated island. While Erling realizes the potential dangers of what they are doing Victor, who is Claire's fiancee and takes an immediate dislike to Hedges, wants to forge ahead regardless of the risks. He's been doing some experimenting behind his boss's back. At night Hedges sees Vic throw some suit cases into the lagoon. Swimming with Claire the next day he finds them but leaves them. Then Erling and Victor show Hedges a demonstration of their machine which has made contact with the future! Doubting Hedges puts his school medallion in the machine and a coin comes back with a message in Latin: "save us". Later Vic expresses his dislike for Hedges, Claire gets undressed and Angelo is caught spying on her. Meanwhile Victor is attacked by something he brings back from the future. Hedges suspects trouble and brings it to the professor's attention but he scoffs having caught Hedges and Claire in a romantic embrace. The next day Hedges goes after the suitcases and Vic tries to kill him. Hedges wallops him in a watery fight and reveals Vic's scratches to be radiation burns. It's decided Vic needs medical help so they take him to the mainland hospital but he sneaks out and gets drunk. While the trio go to see "I Was A Teenage Frankenstein" Vic steals a boat and goes back to operate the machine. He pushes it to its highest level and after a small explosion a sparkly creature emerges. Later Hedges retrieves a mutant cat from the lagoon. Then poor old Angelo is killed by the sparkly monster (obviously a woman). A doctor comes to examine Vic and suggests sending a nurse. The nurse arrives by herself at night and while walking to the house meets the disfigured monster (Solome Jens) from the future who kills the nurse and steals her face. She arrives to take care of Vic but instead hypnotizes him to her will. It turns out in the future every 5th child born is a mutant due to radiation. They need healthy specimens to fix their problem. She wants Vic to go with her. Claire spoils their plans, reveals that the woman is actually a mutant herself and Hedges shoots her. She and Vic are killed and Erling gives a hopeful speech for the future. 

This is a fairly cheap but fun AIP science fiction horror film made by producer/writer/director Robert J. Gurney who only directed 2 films after this and one was never even released! Among his other accomplishments are writing the screenplay for INVASION OF THE SAUCER MAN and producing REFORM SCHOOL GIRL. TERROR is supposedly based on a Henry Slesar short story “Bottle Baby”. Leading man Ward Costello became a frequent character actor on TV and in movies. The year before TERROR he played Joan of Arc's father in the TV adaptation of the Broadway play “The Lark” starring Julie Harris and Boris Karloff. Lead actress Joyce Holden had been in THE WEREWOLF (1956) and PRIVATE EYES (1953) (with The Bowery Boys). She retired from acting soon after making TERROR and when I originally finished this review she was still living. Unfortunately, she passed away in January 2022 at the age of 91. Co-star Frederic Brown popped up in a lot of things. On TV (PERRY MASON,GREEN ACRES,HAZEL), and in 2 Coleman Francis “movies” (THE SKYDIVERS, RED ZONE CUBA). “Future Woman” Salome Jens was making her feature film debut. Besides TV, she  costarred with Rock Hudson in John Frankenheimer's SECONDS (1966).

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The Last Poe

 

THE TOMB OF LIGEIA-1965-Local strange guy Verdon Fell (Vincent Price) mourns the passing of his young wife Ligeia (Elizabeth Sheppard). He develops an affliction toward sunlight and wears sunglasses a lot. After a fox hunt near Ligeia's tomb he meets Rowena (also Sheppard) who he eventually marries. The cloud of Ligeia's death hangs over their strange marriage. When Fell regresses Rowena to a child by hypnotism she begins to talk in Ligeia's voice. Then she has a weird dream where she's attacked by a cat and embraced by a dark figure. Fell acts weirder and weirder. Apparently though dead Ligeia (whose body was not buried but resides under the castle) still has a kind of necrophiliac spell on Fell. After Rowena seems to die from a cat attack, Fell burns Ligeia's body but she returns.... or does she?

This was the last of the Corman/Price Poe adaptations (written by Robert Towne). It was filmed in England and features more outdoors scenes than other projects. It's not bad but for me it's the weakest.

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Angel Angel

 

ANGEL, ANGEL DOWN WE GO-1969-Wacky hippie drug mess about Tara (folksinger Holly Near), the dumpy headcase daughter of decadent gay father (Charles Aidman) and self obsessed ex-porno actress mom (Jennifer Jones) who winds up taking drugs and having sex with weirdo rock star Bogart (Jordan Christopher) and freaky friends Joe (Lou Rawls), Santoro (Roddy McDowall) and Davey Davidson (Anna Livia). Bogart seduces mom and after she dies skydiving he whips dad to death with a chain. 

This movie is not very good and it's a shame to see Academy Award winning actress Jennifer Jones in such a sleazy production, one of the last produced by the legendary Sam Katzman and released through AIP. It's the only directing credit for screenwriter Robert Thom (it's based on an unproduced play he wrote) who was no stranger to off beat films previously writing WILD IN THE STREETS and THE LEGEND OF LYlAH CLARE. He later wrote DEATHRACE 2000 and CRAZY MAMA. Star Christopher had been the lead singer in "The Wild Ones" who after he left the band recorded the original version of "Wild Thing". 

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Ray & Rosey

 

THE THING WITH TWO HEADS-1972-Ray Milland (obviously paying back old debts to AIP) stars as Maxwell Krishner, a dying racist doctor who plans to live forever by having his head transplanted to another body (like the millionaire in THE MAN WITHOUT A BODY). He's kind of pissed when his head is put on the body of an African American death row inmate Jack Moss (former football player Rosey Greer) who claims to be innocent. Rosey/Ray awakens from the operation early and escapes and takes slighted black doctor Fred Williams (Don Marshall) with him/them. They embark on a silly journey to find Jack's wife Lila (Chelsea Browne). They even ride a motorcycle in a dirt race! White cops chase them and smash ups ensue and Krishner's colleague Dr. Desmond (Roger Perry) looks for them too. 

After all these years I'm still not sure if this is intentionally funny or not. Typical '70's styles and attitudes abound. Jack gets away at the end but is never actually proven innocent. Co-writer and director Lee Frost (who also appears as a cop) had made LOVE CAMP #7 and CHAIN GANG WOMEN.

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Good Things Come In Threes

 

TALES OF TERROR-1962-This trilogy from AIP is based on stories by who else but Edgar Allen Poe. All three star Vincent Price (He also made THE RAVEN with Corman (and Lorre) the same year).

Morella-Daughter Lenora (Maggie Pierce) gets a disturbing unwelcome from her estranged dad Locke (Vincent Price), a recluse in a gloomy cobwebbed mansion where he mourns the death of his wife Morella (Leona Gage). He seems to blame Lenora for her death since she died in child birth. When Lenora finds the mummified body of her mom in bed Dad confesses that excessive partying actually killed her. After it seems Lenora dies, Morella possesses her body and kills Locke but Lenora really did the deed. Morella smiles...

The Black Cat-Drunken Montresor (Peter Lorre) mistreats his wife Annabel (Joyce Jameson) and her black cat. At a wine tasting he meets pompous wine expert Luchresi (Vincent Price). When Montresor gets very drunk, Luchresi takes him home and meets Annabel. They fall in love. Montresor finds out about their affair and walls them up in the basement. After a drunken dream where the clandestine lovers play catch with Montresor's head, the police arrive looking for his wife. Of course the hated cat was walled up with the couple. Uses parts from “The Tell Tale Heart” and “The Cask of Amontillado”.

The Facts in The Case of M. Valdemar-Carmichael (Basil Rathbone), a hypnotist helps relieve the pain of the dying Ernest Valdemar (Vincent again). His young assistant James (David Frankham) smells treachery. Valdemar agrees to be hypnotized on his death bed as part of Carmichael's weird experiment. James was right of course. The hypnotist will not let Valdemar die unless his wife Helene (Debra Paget), agrees to marry him. When Carmichael tries to molest her, Valdemar rises from his un-dead death bed and kills his tormentor.

Roger Corman (director) and Richard Matheson (screenplay) score again with this great anthology. The acting, direction and SFX are top notch and the middle story inspired Corman and Matheson to make A COMEDY OF TERRORS.

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Teens vs. Aliens

INVASION OF THE SAUCER MEN-1957-Aliens have invaded lovers point in the sleepy town of Hicksville, USA. Johnny Carter (Steve Terrell) and his girlfriend Joan (Gloria Castillo) hit one of the mini spacemen with their car. They call for help but the police don't believe them. There's also two bored con men, Joe (Frank Gorshin) and Artie (Lyn Osbourne). Artie seems to be the narrator at the beginning. Joe finds Johnny's car with the saucer man pinned under it. When he tries to move it he’s killed by some other saucer men who have some kind of metal rods in their fingers (like Wolverine). Old man Larkin (Raymond Hatton) calls the cops but when they come of course the alien corpse is gone and they think Johnny's been drinking. One saucer guy has a run in with Larkin's bull and kills it. Meanwhile Johnny and Joan enlist Artie to help them after being terrorized by a severed alien hand. Adults won't help so it's up to the lovebirds and their gang to stop the invaders. There's also a government cover up conducted by the army that accidentally destroys the spaceship. The aliens inject alcohol into their victims. Russ Bender is a doctor. Jason Johnson and Ed Nelson are in it too. Angelo Rossitto, Paul Blaisdell (who created the eerie aliens) and Bob Burns are the saucer-men. This whacky teenagers meet aliens movie was directed by Edward L. Cahn and much like his THE SHE CREATURE features memorable monsters but not that good of a story.

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