Sound So Nice They Had To Tell Them Twice

TWICE TOLD TALES-1963-This trio of tales are based on stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne and were probably made to cash in on AIP's successful Corman/Poe series (TALES OF TERROR was released the year before). While director Sidney Salkow is no Roger Corman, he does a capable job on such a noticeably low budget. And he got “Poe” star Vincent Price to be in all three segments! (He's also the narrator)

In “Dr. Heidegger's Experiment”, the old doctor of the title (Sebastian Cabot) celebrates his over 40 year friendship with Alex Melbourne (Price) but the doc still pines for his lost love Sylvia (Mari Blanchard) who died on their wedding night. When a storm damages her tomb, the duo investigates and finds her ancient body preserved with no signs of decay. After some experimentation, Dr. H. finds that the water seeping into her tomb is actually some kind of eternal youth serum. He and his friend drink it and become young again. The doctor decides to use the serum on his dead wife. He brings her back to life with tragic (but predictable) results.

Next is “Rappacino's Daughter”, where a once famous scientist (Price again) has made his daughter (Joyce Taylor) poisonous through the infusion of a deadly plant into her blood stream (or something like that). Anything she touches dies. He has presumably done this to “protect her from sin” after his own wife's infidelity. A young medical student (Price's RETURN OF THE FLY co-star Brett Halsey) falls in love with her. The scientist tricks the student into becoming poisonous too. The student's professor (Abraham Sofaer) creates a serum that might cure them. The deadly love birds drink it and die. The scientist commits suicide.

The final segment is a truncated version of the novel “The House of Seven Gables”, a version of which Price co-starred in in the 1940's. Jerold Pyncheon (Price of course) and his wife Alice (Beverley Garland) return to the haunted house he grew up in and where every male Pyncheon has died. Jerold wants a treasure hidden in a secret vault but a family foe Jonathan Maulle (Richard Denning) stands in his way. Alice becomes possessed by the spirit of a woman who once loved a Maulle ancestor, who was hung by a Pyncheon ancestor. When Jerold's sour puss sister (Jacqueline DeWit) says she deserves a share of the elusive booty he kills her and then buries Alice alive! After finding the treasure he's strangled by a skeleton hand. Somehow Maulle rescues Alice as the House of Seven Gables crumbles. Gene Roth has a small role as a cab driver.

Screenwriter/producer Robert E. Kent worked with Edward L. Cahn on some of the best horror/Sci-Fi movies of the '50's (IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE, INVISIBLE INVADERS). Despite it's budgetary drawbacks TTT is entertaining. Director Sidney Salkow worked with Price again when he co-directed LAST MAN ON EARTH.

Thanks for reading! 

Music I Like...

Like a lot of people I like to listen to music but when I’m feeling really depressed and out of it I like to listen to really weird, strange and/or bad music and it usually lifts my spirit. A brief sampling if I may:

Brian Dewan Tells The Story-This guy may seem weird but he’s pretty unique. He sings very unusual songs playing most of them on his home made electrified zither! Most of his songs have strange subject matter: “Waste Paper Basket Fire” (about not panicking during one), “My Eye” (about cutting out his eye because his father’s ghost wants it!) and “Cowboy Outlaw” (based on a real story about a stuffed human being everyone thought was a mannequin!) are just a few. I wish he’d put out a second CD.

In Outer Space-Lucia Pamela-This woman was a real entertaining odd ball. She plays the accordion, sings and claims to have recorded the whole album on the moon. Though she sings mostly off key there is something quite lovable about her.

Bob Dylan: Poet-Sebastian Cabot: Actor-Forget William Shatner’s “The Transformed Man”. When it comes to actors singing badly this is the champion! Here the original Mr. French from the ‘60’s TV series “Family Affair” “interprets” the songs of the former Robert Zimmerman of Hibling, Minnesota. He really does act out a lot of the songs even using different voices at one stage. He seems mean on “Like A Rolling Stone”, uncaring on “It Ain’t Me Babe” and really loses it on “Who Killed Davey Moore?”. This was recently re-issued on CD so everyone can die of laughter! (What would Buffy & Jody think?)

Criswell Predicts-There is no music on this (except for a added track on the CD). Criswell was a psychic who said he could read the future. He was in three movies for Ed Wood, Jr. (Jeffery Jones portrayed him in Tim Burton bio movie), appeared occasionally on “The Tonight Show” in the ‘60’s and his newspaper column appeared in The Buy-Lines here in NYC. He also predicted UFOs would land in Washington DC in 1991 and that the world would end in 1999! He mispronounces some words (but hell, so does Geo. Bush!). Very funny stuff!! I have read that he did predict JFK would not run for re-election!

The Golden Throat Collections-These notorious CDs were put out by Rhino Records years ago and are still available (I think). Here you can get a sampling of some really bad singers, good singers doing horrible arrangements and good singers singing good arrangements that for some reason the people who complied this just thought were strange (i.e.: Andy Griffith doing “House Of The Rising Sun”).

99 CHICKS-Ray Haydock & The Boppers-This guy was kind of like a rock and roll Ed Wood, Jr.! He acted in a few low budget horror movies by Ray Dennis Steckler, wrote for “Famous Monsters Of Filmland ” in the ‘60’s and started his own magazine, then penned several lurid paperback novels. He also made a bunch of fun Gene Vincent inspired demos & singles that some very bright person had the good sense to collect and release on CD. It’s great stuff and includes dialogue from a movie he starred in (RAT PFINK & BOO BOO; don’t ask….). Unfortunately he suffered from metal illness his whole life and died tragically.

PIANOSAURUS-This band was better to see live than to hear on a record but since they broke up years ago it’s all we got! They played popish, bubblegum like rock but all their instruments were toys! Plastic guitars, mini-drums, toy pianos! They even do a cover of John Lee Hooker’s “Dimples”! Boy could we use a band like them now!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for reading!