Tubi Thursday: Famous Ghost Stories (1961)

 Are you a fan of Ghost Stories?
What about Vincent Price?
Bert I. Gordon Films?

Well, I'm into all of that, so I streamed...

This was an unsold TV Pilot made in 1961.

We first see this House, which I assume is about to be stomped by Godzilla.

Price appears twice here, which is weird.

First as himself and then he appears as a Poltergeist (not that one) who wants to tell us some Ghost Stories- Famous ones at that!

See you at the End and never before, Mr. Price.

The Story follows a man (The Creature from The Black Lagoon's Richard Carlson) who is haunted by guilt, as he didn't try to save his Girlfriend Vi from falling, since she wouldn't let him leave her and get married.

He'd start to see weird things in the coming days, as his Fiancee and her Sister (played by Bert's Daughter).

Nobody else does.

As he learns that Vi, now a Ghost, will not leave him be, another wrinkle appears.

This guy- who took Vi to the Island- now wants to blackmail.

Why can't you trust this guy?

He's also a Ghost!

Well, not here.

He's Lloyd the Bartender from The Shining!

He's killed in this one, so is this canon to the King Tale?

Carlson can't seem to make his troubles go away.

Vi grows in power and vows to stop his happiness!

Now here's the real twist.

You ready?

This is just 1960's Tormented (also by Bert I. Gordon).
He just got Price to shoot the Intro and tried to resell this as a TV Show.

As a Film Buff, I should have seen through this.

Somehow, I have never seen Tormented, either as its own thing, on MST3K or on Rifftrax.
IMDB isn't much help, as the page for this says, 'You Might Also Like Tormented.'

Well, yeah, I'm watching it, aren't I?!?

The actual content is pretty good, if reliant on many of the same tricks over and over again.  After the 15th time something happens that only you can see, would you really still mention it to someone?

Price's part here does help, but he's only here for the Intro and Outro.  Would it have killed you to pick a Film that he was also in, Bert?!?

There are some good, silly effects on hand here.  It is still a Bert I. Gordon Film.

Do you pick this or Tormented?
This is the same, just with Price in the Intro and Outro, but also with the illusion of being a Show.  Having Price tease next week's Episode was genius.

Speaking of teases, the same Producer wanted to make a Show where famous Voice Actor Paul Frees interviews...Adolf Hitler?!?

Too soon?  Yes.

A Film so nice that Bert I. Gordon tried to sell it twice!  Honestly, it is pretty decent, but just know that this failed piece of TV History is a Copy-Paste job.

The Price is Right: Cry of the Banshee (1970)

 Sorry to all of you fans of Screaming Irish Ladies- it is just another Witch Hunter Movie.

This is Cry of the Banshee, a 1970 Film by Gordon Hessler.  It's part of a Vincent Price Anthology Set, which is a must have for me.

Like Witchfinder General, this deals with a Witch Hunter, although this one is in England.  Crikey!

The Plot involves Price brutalizing a small Town to his own gain.  However, he runs afoul of an actual Witch who can turn the tables on him.

This was Price's final Gothic Horror, so let's see if he went out with a bang...

Price is the evil Lord Whitman (of Clan Sampler) who makes his money by finding Witches.  This is different than him in Witchfinder General, as he just does so to consolidate and hold power.

He's not a true believer, but he is a bit of a bastard.

The Film is full of him (and most others in the Film) torturing, abusing and often killing women.

Naturally, Tarantino picked this for his first Film Festival.

His Family is all back in town, which spells doom for them.
I mean, you've seen a Horror Film before, right?

Great.

Him and his men break up a Coven and kill many, but leave the Leader- Oona- alive.

This is a mistake.

This leads to the title event happening, which is an Irish lore about said creature signaling imminent death.

The actual creature here is, basically, a Werewolf.  
Does this have anything to do with the mysterious guy with a connection to animals and his mysterious amulet?

All sorts of chaos is going to down in Act 3.

Torture.
Creature attacks.
A man yelling 'bullyman' repeatedly.

It's a doozy, but no SPOILERS this time.

It is unfortunately not his best Films, but it does have some positives.

Price, as always, delivers.  He's an eviler guy than in Witchfinder, as, again, that guy was a true believer.  This guy is just awful to everyone and thankfully gets what he deserves!

The Film, for better or worse, is full of excess.  Lots of pointless nudity, implied torture and violence.  It's not a 'fun' Film by any stretch of the imagination.

I will mention that I saw the Director's Cut, as that is the preset version on the Disc.  For some odd reason, you have to go to Special Features to see the AIP Cut.

People were probably expecting more of a Creature Feature here and something Poe-related.  Alas, you don't get much of either.  They work in a random Poe line (like with General) to connect it and, again, there's no real Banshee.

This is a different kind of Price Film and I certainly don't hate it.  I also don't hate that this Cut has the Intro Credits restored- the ones that were animated by Terry Gilliam!

Next up, I go to one of the oldest DVDs in my pile that I haven't gotten to yet.  It is hard-boiled, full of Stars and probably a 2-parter.  Stay tuned...

Tubi Thursday: Scream and Scream Again (1970)

 Continuing our break from Giant Monster Films and China, let's stick to the '70s.

Here's a Film with a good Director, three Stars...and a Plot that barely uses any of them.

It is...

A man runs during the Stop and Start Credits.  Just run them or don't, Movies!

He wakes up in a Hospital and they cut off one of his legs.
Enough of him now...until we randomly cut to him later to show him losing more limbs.

The Police investigate a Murder.  The woman is found dead, but there's no blood!

Where's Count Yorga?
Is that Racial Profiling?

We sometimes cut to a fictitious European Country where the Police go after some people, attack another and then Peter Cushing arrives.

He tells the man behind the attack that he'll deal with him later...and he's promptly killed.

As the Police case goes on, we are shown that Christopher Lee is the Captain.

He doesn't do much...but he's here.

At least he's not dead yet.

The killer turns out to be this cross between Keith Moon and Mick Jagger.

He kills another girl and is caught in a Police Sting Operation.

He escapes...for the world's second longest Police Chase.  He's no OJ.

He shows off some super strength and endurance, biting off his own hand to escape some cuffs.  After another long chase (this one on foot), he ends up diving in a Vat of Acid...owned by Vincent Price (who's only shown up once- briefly)

It ended better for Rick & Morty.

How do these Plots- a Fascist Country, a Vampire killer, the amputations and the acid- connect?

Well, Scientists like Price are making robots (not the last time either) to replace us with our stupid, stupid minds (stupid!).

He...ends up fighting the Police's Doctor and then the bad Foreigner...before he meets Lee (for their only Scene) and dips himself in the acid too.

Oh and Lee is secretly an Alien- at least in the Book.

Did that info dump at the end seem like allot?  Well, it was just like that in the Film.

This one is...hard to rank.  On one hand, it has a complex narrative that eventually (mostly) comes together.  On the other hand, it takes the whole Film to make sense...and it still barely does.

It is a Film that I probably won't forget for quite a while though.

It's a shame that the Film used a scandalous Title (it was originally called 'The Disjointed Man') and three Horror Icons in random, small Roles to draw in the Audience.  It's still not a terrible Film.  Just don't expect straight Horror- it is more a Conspiracy Film that would be all the rage in the coming years.

See it with an open mind, but be prepared for lots of long, drawn out shots.  Just take them in...

A mis-marketed Film (by design) with is confusing as all get out.  It's...something.

'60s Trash?: House of a Thousand Dolls (1967)

 The more friendly version of a Rob Zombie Film?  I thought I was done with Rob Zombie-esque Titles after The House of Seven Corpses, but here we go.  This is House of a Thousand Dolls, a 1967 Film with Vincent Price.  To give some backstory, I found a random VHS in a Thrift Store.  Sadly, the tape would not allow me to copy it to DVD for easier viewing/screen capping.  Damn you, Hollywood Video!  The Film has since been released in other, non-dead Formats and I found it that way too.  I guess you figured that out on account of the fact that I'm reviewing the Film now, huh?  The Plot involves Tangier, Price and a Brothel.  Vincent Price is just about the last thing I want to think about when I think about Brothels (which everyone does all of the time, right?), but, oh well.  When bad guys are afoot, who else can stop them but a middle-aged Criminal Pathologist?  The Police- nah.  Daredevil- too far away.  I'm sure this guy has it covered!  To find out if my faith in him is justified, read on...

In our Cold Open, we see a bunch of people- including Price- attending what seems to be a Funeral.

However, it's not.

Instead, a woman pops out screaming and we learn why- she was kidnapped and brought here to Tangier.

Here to Tangier isn't a Band's Name yet, right?

A Couple- George Nader from Robot Monster and Ann Smyrner from Reptilicus- go to Tangier on vacation and run into an old friend with a problem.

You see, he's tracked his missing girlfriend to here.

His search ends...poorly.

He runs afoul of the pair that are running The House of Dolls, the Brothel which kidnapped his girlfriend.

It is run by Price and his lady companion, who proceed to kidnap his Girlfriend.

He's also a Stage Magician, since people had to work multiple jobs even in 1967.

To keep the man from finding out the truth, Price pretends to help him.  He's quite subtle, as you can see.

He continues to work with the Police, who suspect Price since...well, wouldn't you?

Bad guys keep coming for him, leading to a very '60s thing- normal-looking guys in suits having prolonged fist fights.

There are a few here and it feels like something that must have been exciting for audiences.

Price talks about how he plans to get out, since the heat is up too high.

His cohort confronts our Hero and agrees to help rescue his girlfriend, if he helps her and Price get out.

Will he agree?

Yes and no.

Her plan falls apart when everyone swarms the House, good and bad alike.

In a big scuffle, our Hero makes Price fall to his death.  The woman says that he shouldn't have died, since he was the King of Hearts.

Not so fast- the Detective and our Hero then reveal that she was actually in charge.  Oh.  Okay.  The End.

A pretty so-so affair.  For as salacious as the Film sounds, there's not much there.  The basic premise- women are kidnapped and forced to work at a Brothel- is obviously not a light-hearted affair.  The Film just doesn't do much with it.  There's a funny story or two about how they were concerned about interference from people in the Area when they made it.  They supposedly kept a guy on payroll who's job it was to dress like Abraham Lincoln in case people came around looking for a reason to shut them down.  No, really.  Is it just me or does that make the Film look MORE kinky?!?  It's just me, isn't it?  Anyhow, this Film is built up by reports to be like Caligula, wherein they shot really dirty/freaky stuff when the serious Actors were away.  They got a fun surprise when they saw what was shot without them!  In this case, not so much.  Is it just that 50 years have gone by and things have changed that much?  Eh, maybe?  If you get past that, it's a fairly by-the-numbers affair of Macho Guy in Suit fights other Guys in Suits.  The little bit of intrigue is only hinted at and the big reveal is kind of tossed in at the last minute.  Price does his best with this part, but he can only do so much.  If they had somehow switched the Leads out and Price was running around Tangier as a bad-ass Criminal Pathologist, I would be all in!  As it is, House of 1,000 Dolls is a decent, dated affair, but nothing more.  Having mentioned all of the Action, is it worth asking if this Film inspired The Bourne Identity?

Next up, a Film that seems to be inspired by an oft-remade Sci-Fi/Horror Film.  When in doubt, cast one of the Film's Stars in yours.  Stay tuned...

Old School TV: Alfred Hitchcock Presents- 'The Perfect Crime'

 Good Evening, Readers.  One of my Christmas Presents was a DVD with 4 Episodes of the Classic TV Show that you see listed above.  The Disc was chosen due to a name on it- Vincent Price.

You all know that I love Vincent Price by now, right?

Well, let's see how well his Guest Starring Role on this 1958 Episode went...

Price plays a Detective who is sitting at Home one night.  He's quite a celebrated one.

His night is interrupted by a Guest- a Lawyer who often defended those accused/proven guilty by Price.

They discuss Price's previous cases and he sticks on one in particular.

He tells him a shocking possible truth- his last Case (which ended in conviction and the Death Penalty) was wrong!

He claims that Price missed key evidence and that that wrong man was executed for it.

He posits a story in which the executed man was there, but not actually the killer.  Instead, he took the fall for his star-crossed lover.

Of course, we don't actually *know* if this is true.

Regardless, it fails to matter as Price attacks him from behind after being blackmailed with the knowledge (thus ruining Price's reputation as a faultless Detective).

We cut to 2 years later and Price is returning from a long vacation.  He shows off his most recent Trophy- a Vase he made before he left.

Well, he committed The Perfect Crime after all.

A darkly-funny bit of TV.  Hitchcock was and is a brand name.  When you see that name, you expect certain things.  You expect a good Plot.  You expect some good Acting,  You expect a twist or two.  This is no exception for his Show.  The story involving a Master Detective facing down a possible failure from his past is good.  I like that we can infer that he was wrong, but we are never 100% made certain.  Its either that or I just refuse to believe that Price could fail, I suppose.  The use of Flashbacks is good here, something that TV Shows would definitely abuse in later years.  Price is quite good here as he stays rather sedate, not playing the Character broadly.  It is only a bit at the end that you get a more overtly humorous performance from him.  Even that is pretty mild and makes sense- he's very happy!  Gregory holds his own as a Character that starts out nice and slowly turns more vindictive.  His anger is justified, so he doesn't seem like a bad guy.  Well, at least not until the end, really.  At that point, he's pretty bad and gets a dark, but fitting punishment.  It also makes you wonder what kind of secret people are hiding when they show you their Pottery.  Who did you kill, Grandma?!?  It's a good Episode and a great use of Price.  I'll have to see if there are more treasures on this Disc, but, for now, I sleep like the dead...

It is also worth noting the fun that Hitchcock had to have had doing his 'blowing bubbles' Intro.  What a wacky guy!

8 Crazy Moments From 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'

As a fan of weird Films and TV Show, I'm drawn to the past.  With as much crazy as we get these days, there's a certain extra level of insanity from the 1960s.

Was it all of the Drugs?

Regardless, I talked a bit about this in the past, but I want to focus more on one Show that I've been watching weekly on DVR (since it runs at 4 AM on ME TV)...

An important note: the Show was semi-serious for the first 2 Seasons.  It was also in B&W.

As it got into Season 3 and 4, it was in Color and got crazy as hell.

Let me show you how...

8. Vincent Price as an Evil Pupeteer: Need I say more?

7. A Mummy: If you didn't know that this Show got weird, here's a Mummy.

Remember when this was about a Military Submarine and Science?  Well, here's a Mummy.

6. Irwin Allen's The Jungle: This one needs a bit of explanation, so bear with me...

An Alien hides on the ship in plain sight as part of the Crew.  He has tiny Soldiers that he can grow to help him.

His plan: terraform the Earth into a Jungle for his people.  Naturally, the Submarine is the first place to go...

5. Not the Illuminati: One day (or night- who can tell underwater), the ship is attacked by a strange force.

It turns out to be the work of these fish men who have a very complex plan.

Just kidding, they turn one crew Member into one of them (it is easily reversed FYI) and get beaten the way that all of these guys do.

4. A Magic Pirate- Why Not?: So Blackbeard is back.  Was he on the Show before?

He can teleport at will thanks to his magic sword and can turn people into his 'crew.'

Yes, the same guy who was turned into a fish man is transformed here.
Yes, these did air right after one another.

3. The Were-Yeti Episode: Right off the bat- yes, there is also an actual Werewolf Episode too.  This one, however, has some strange overlaps.

An attempt BY US at turning ice into Jungle leads to a Base in the Arctic going silent.
The survivors are taken on-board, but one man is not what he seems!

He transforms against his will- since the radiation that turns ice into jungle turns people into...this- as The Abominable Snowman!

2. Do you guys remember anything?!?: A Golden Lobster Alien shows up on board.  On any other Show, that would be the weirdest part.

After attacking the crew, it then speaks and says that isn't their enemy.  It says that it wants to help mankind.

It's lying.
They almost all fall for it.

The Captain makes a point about how you can only trick people once.  How did it trick you this time?  Every one of these creatures is the bad guy on this Show!!!

1. A Leprechaun: Need I say more?

I mean, really.

The final 2 Seasons have around 50 Episodes in total, so I'm not even covering all of the crazy.

If you're a fan of goofy Sci-Fi, check this out.  It's always played straight too, so it's the most enjoyable kind of nonsense!

Should I cover more Shows like this?  Let me know...