Not Andy Milligan

 

 (imdb)

LEGACY OF BLOOD-1971-Relatives gather at the home of the recently deceased but still rich Preston Dean (John Carradine) for the reading of his will. They will all get a share of his estate, but they have to immediately stay overnight at his old house.

 They are all a bunch of neurotics with various hangups including Gregory Dean (Jeff Morrow) and wife Laura (Merry Anders; in her last film role), Veronica Dean (Faith Domgerue) and Frank Mantee (John Russell). The sheriff (Rodolfo Acosta; also in his last movie) is called when a dog is killed but he's the first victim when his bloody severed head winds up on a plate in the fridge. "This is getting to be like some kind of horror film" says one of them. All their problems seem to stem from Dean's verbal and physical abuse of his family. After death by electrocution, the weird masochistic butler/ handyman Igor (Buck Kartalian) seems a likely suspect. There's more deaths and it ends on a comical note. 

Andy Mulligan made a horror movie with the same title the same year. This LEGACY OF BLOOD resembles a Milligan production but less sleazy and shoddy. Also known as WILL TO DIE. Morrow and Domgerue, of course in better days had co-starred together in THIS ISLAND EARTH.

Director Carl Monson later made PLEASE DON'T EAT MY MOTHER! (1973), a soft-core porn version of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, which Kartalian starred in. 

Thanks for reading! 

Harryhausen!

 

IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA-1955-Commander Pete Mathews (Kenneth Tobey) and professor Leslie Joyce (Faith Domergue; in THIS ISLAND EARTH the same year) are friendemies investigating a strange occurrence at sea. Brilliant scientist John Carter (Donald Curtis) joins them. They figure out it's a giant octopus which attacks and sinks a ship. While checking out the incident the trio come face to face with the monster and it kills a local deputy (Harry Lauter). Later it attacks the Golden Gate Bridge. Pete and John head a submarine to blow up the creature after it terrorizes San Francisco. It traps their sub and Pete has to go out and plant explosives. 

Despite a low budget this features some great Ray Harryhausen sfx. Too bad director Robert Gordon (THE JOE LOUIS STORY; a former actor) went into TV soon after this.

Thanks for reading!

Metaluna

THIS ISLAND EARTH-1955-In this Technicolor science fiction classic Dr. Cal Beacham (Rex Reason; in THE CREATURE WALKS AMONG US the next year) is saved from a jet crash by a mysterious beam. Later after receiving some weird directions he and his assistant Joe (Robert Nicols) build a communications device which puts them in touch with the high forehead alien Exeter (Jeff Morrow; also in THE CREATURE WALKS AMONG US the next year) who wants Beacham for his “special group”. The doc takes a pilot-less plane to a meeting Exeter has set up. He meets the alien who explains that his home planet of Metaluna needs uranium in their war against their enemies called The Zagons. 

Exeter has gathered scientists from over the world to help solve the problem but it's obvious he has an ulterior motive. Beacham meets Ruth Adams (Faith Domergue; in CULT OF THE COBRA the same year) who he has met before but she doesn't seem to remember him. He also meets Dr. Carlson (Russell Johnson) and Exeter's sinister assistant Brak (Lance Fuller) who wants to put the trio under a “transformer” to control them. They try to escape but are attacked by a death ray and Carlson is killed. Beacham and Ruth almost get away by plane but a beam brings them back. They go to Metaluna which is under attack by The Zagons. There they meet Exeter's boss The Monitor (Douglas Spencer; Scotty in THE THING) and encounter the famed Metaluna mutants. Metaluna's real mission is also revealed. They want to relocate to Earth and subjugate the human race but when The Monitor tries to put Beacham and Ruth in the Thought Transference Chamber to make them mindless slaves Exeter rebels and helps them escape being wounded in the process by a mutant. Metaluna is destroyed and after a quick appearance by another mutant who stowed away on their ship, Beacham and Ruth are returned to Earth. Exeter stays on board as the damaged ship crashes into the ocean. 

The same year as THIS ISLAND EARTH was made producer William Alland (the reporter trying to figure what “Rosebud” meant in CITIZEN KANE) also served the same capacity on THE REVENGE OF THE CREATURE and TARANTULA. ISLAND seems a bigger type of production with a lot of scientific mumbo jumbo, nice SFX and of course the famed Metaluna Mutant (made somewhat more well known than it should have been in the pages of FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND). For me it was always a little disappointing. 

The acting is ok but the story isn't that engaging. It's based on three short novels by Raymond F. Jones, a prolific science fiction short story writer at the time. Director Joseph Newman started out doing short subjects and eventually feature films like 711 OCEAN DRIVE and THE OUTCASTS OF POKER FLATS. Science fiction was not a subject he was familiar with and Universal was unhappy with some of his scenes. They brought in Jack Arnold (who worked with producer Alland frequently) to re-shoot the Metaluna scenes. A sequel was planned but never made. ISLAND also features Richard Deacon, Olan Soule and Coleman Francis in uncredited roles. 

Thanks for reading! 

Snakes On Everythig

CULT OF THE COBRA-1955-In this Universal horror story, 6 US G.I.s stationed somewhere in Asia and almost ready to return to the states meet a snake charmer (Leonard Strong) who gets them into a secret ceremony where (he says) a human being will change into a snake. They get drunk, put on hooded robes and go see the ritual. Though they were forbidden to take pictures one stupid guy (James Dobson) takes a flash picture. A riot ensues wherein the GIs beat up the cultists and burn the place but not before one of cultists (un-billed Ed Platt!) curses them with death. ("One by one you will die!") The stupid guy runs away with a basket containing the snake and gets bit. He survives but later is killed. The rest return to the states. Marshall Thompson is Tom Markel, a commercial artist who meets the mysterious Lisa Moya (Faith Domergue) who turns out to be a snake! His other pals include his roommate is Paul Able (Richard Long), ladies man Carl Turner (Jack Kelly), bowling alley owner Rico (David Janssen) and Pete (William Reynolds). While Tom falls in love with her, Lisa does away with his friends by turning into a cobra and killing them. Later Lisa realizes she's in love with Tom. It's the age old question: Can a woman who turns into a snake find happiness with the man she loves after killing all of his friends?

Paul figures out what's going on but no one believes him until he and Tom are the only ones left alive. When cobra-Lisa threatens Paul's fiance' (Kathleen Hughes; IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE) Tom uses a coat rack to subdue the deadly reptile as it transforms back into Lisa after it's dead.

CULT isn't a bad little film. It has a good cast and the cobra attacks are ok but it's drawback is it's predictable story. The minute the dark, enigmatic Lisa character shows up you know where it's all going. Director Francis D. Lyon worked in TV and later made the very low budget films DESTINATION INNER SPACE and CASTLE OF EVIL (both starring Scott Brady).

Almost every male star went on to have his own TV show. Star Faith Domergue had a busy year in '55. Besides playing a cobra woman she was in THE ISLAND EARTH, IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA and THE ATOMIC MAN. COTC also features bits by Olan Soule, Myrna Hansen and Bing Russell. A  hot dog vendor in quick scene looks to me like Ben Frommer (he mostly has his back to the camera) who was in Ed Woods' BRIDE OF THE MONSTER the same year....

Thanks for reading!

Crazy '70's Stuff!

HOUSE OF SEVEN CORPSES-1974-6 murders are shown in 6 portraits depicting the untimely end of all the members of The Beel family during the credits. A seventh frame is empty. Then a woman practices witchcraft. Something goes wrong and she about to commit suicide when we learn it is only the filming of a horror movie on The Beel estate. John Carradine is the the caretaker Mr. Price who spoils the scene and then relates the history of the Beel family to the film within a film's director Eric Hartman (John Ireland) and his crew members. Every person in the family came to a tragic death. After a lot of talk and the cast and crew filming scenes for the movie (based on the Tibetan of the Dead!) the lead actress Gayle (Faith Domergue from THIS ISLAND EARTH) finds the dead remains of her beloved cat. They all blame Price who is wondering around in the nearby graveyard. After more filming a corpse comes to life and kills Price. Then it kills a couple of technicians. Then while filming a scene Gayle accidentally shoots her leading man to death. The corpse then kills her by hanging. After the seemingly possessed co-director tries to kill Harman another corpse rises from the grave. Hartman cracks up when he discovers the dead bodies and his film stock exposed. ("my film! my film!"). Death by falling camera follows. It seems a curse (used in the film within a film) re-enacted the famous murders and the death of a young actress is the seventh...maybe???

HOUSE OF SEVEN CORPSES was the only feature film directed by Paul Harrison (he also co-wrote the screenplay). He mostly worked in TV writing many episodes of the Saturday morning kids' show HR PUFNSTUF.

Thanks for reading!