Werewolf vs. Frankenstein

 

 (imdb)

HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER-1958-On the movie set of "Werewolf Meets Frankenstein", make-up man Pete Dumond (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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John Ashley

HIGH SCHOOL CAESAR-1960-At a high school for over aged teenagers tough guy Matt Stevens (John Ashley) and teen thug buddies rule with fists and intimidation. He even rigs the school election so he becomes class president and his little boy toy Cricket (Steve Stevens) becomes treasurer. The principal is a real dullard who has no idea what's going on. Matt is actually a spoiled rich kid whose parents aren't around. Despite being a big bully he’s unhappy and after ripping off some student dance money he goes home and cries. Trouble starts when Matt plans to set up Cricket with a girl named Wanda (Judy Nugent). He dispatches his girlfriend Lita (Darla Massey) to set this up but Wanda wants no part of it. Lita doesn't tell Matt and pretends the whole date is ready but Wanda only has eyes for Bob (Gary Vinson). At a place called The Wagon, Matt confronts Bob who punches Matt after he slaps Wanda (who called Matt a “pampered pretty boy”). Then Bob’s friend Kelly (Lowell Brown) wins Matt’s gold coin in a drag race. Later Matt forces Kelly off the road and he’s killed in a crash (Matt takes his coin back). Everything seems ok until two of his henchmen are almost caught stealing from the school. And when Matt kidnaps and tries to molest Wanda, Cricket in a jealous rage admits to everyone that Matt was responsible for Kelly's death. Matt’s birthday party is ruined when everyone turns against him and Bob roughs him up. He’s left alone in the dirt a whimpering jerk. 

HIGH SCHOOL CAESAR really pushes the envelope on adults playing teens and it's obvious this kind of teen drama was on the way out by 1960 to be replaced with “beach” movies. Ashley would co-star in a few (and suffer a starring role in Larry Buchanan's ATTACK OF THE EYE CREATURES) before acting in and producing horror movies in The Philippines. Writer/director O'Dale Ireland also made a movie called DATE BAIT (with Gary Clarke) the same year. Other than that his claim to fame is having edited Al Adamson's PSYCHO A GO GO!

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War! What Is It Good For?

SUICIDE BATTALION-AIP-1958 -B-movie genius Edward L. Cahn stikes again with this strange comedy drama set in the Pacific during WW2.

Hardnose Mike Conners leads the title squad which includes John Ashley and Russ Bender. Much of the film concerns the exploits of the troop while partying at a local watering hole (including Ashley courting a native girl). War is fun!!

Stock footage (of both US and Japanese armies, some of it quite graphic) abounds. When the mission finally gets underway the squad has a woman reporter (Jewell Lain) with them too! A lot of the usual soul searching ensues before they must destroy a captured base and retrieve some secret files. Connors (who starred in his first TV show TIGHTROPE the next year) even has time to fight a rival Lieutenant (Bing “Father Of Kurt” Russell) for the reporter’s affections. It’s fairly violent for the time and of course nearly everyone (except the leads) dies.

A narrator tells of a “cunning and savage enemy” and “the power crazed Japanese”, so obviously by ’58, the wounds of WW 2 still hadn’t closed.

SB was written by AIP vet Lou Rusoff (see CAT GIRL entry) and produced by Samuel Z. Arkoff. Music by Ronald Stein. Also starring Scott Peters, Walter Maslow, John McNamara and Sammee Tong.
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