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I have frequently written articles in this publication dealing with England’s Hammer Films. Now it is time to pay tribute to Hammer’s chief competitor in the 1960s and 1970s, Amicus Productions. The primary impetus behind this tribute is the release on Blu-Ray later this month of the company’s flagship production, Dr Terror’s House of Horrors in honorContinue reading “AMICUS PRODUCTIONS: Horror Movies With Wit & Style (2015)”

This year marks the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare. It officially occurs on April 23rd (which also would have been Will’s 452nd birthday) and there will be worldwide observances. In accordance with that, this seems the ideal time to talk about some of the cinematic interpretations of Shakespeare. The oldest Shakespeare filmContinue reading “SHAKESPEARE ON FILM (2016)”

The Golden Age of American Horror movies starts out with Universal’s Dracula and Frankenstein in 1931 and ends in 1936 with the release of Dracula’s Daughter. While other Hollywood studios made horror films in the 1930s (like Paramount’s Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Warner Brothers’ Doctor X, and MGM’s Freaks), none was more closely associated with the genre than Universal. Other classic Universal films include The Mummy (1932), TheContinue reading “UNIVERSAL PICTURES SILENTS: The Dawn Of The American Horror Film (2016)”

The Hendersonville Film Society recently screened the restored 1952 version of Daphne Du Maurier’s My Cousin Rachel. As it coincided with the release of the 2017 version, it gave me the ideal opportunity to make a comparison of the two and expand on what my colleague Michelle Keenan said in her review. I saw the two versionsContinue reading “A TALE OF TWO RACHELS: Comparing The 1952 And 2017 Versions Of MY COUSIN RACHEL (2017)”

While CURUCU is far from being a good movie, it is not as bad as its reputation would suggest. Imdb is full of negative reviews especially those before 2010 but they start to improve after that. It all depends on what you are looking for. Marketed as a horror film by Universal and double billedContinue reading “CURUCU, BEAST OF THE AMAZON (1956): Not As Bad As Its Reputation”

For one reason or another I never managed to see THE MOLE PEOPLE until recently. It’s just about the only sci-fi film from the 1950s that I didn’t see on TV during my childhood. Now that I’ve finally caught up with it, I’m glad I did. It was a lot better than many reviews IContinue reading “THE MOLE PEOPLE: Solid But Forgotten B Movie From Sci-Fi’s Golden Age”

Between 1933 and 1936, Boris Karloff returned to his native England to make three movies. For many years these three films were out of circulation and some were considered lost. They resurfaced around the turn of the century. The first two THE GHOUL and THE MAN WHO CHANGED HIS MIND are available in excellent printsContinue reading “JUGGERNAUT aka THE DEMON DOCTOR (1936)”

From 1931-1946 Boris Karloff was the undisputed “King of Horror” in American movies. However outside of the Universal horrors, his Val Lewton pictures and the Columbia “Mad Doctor” series, Karloff made 3 movies in England between 1933 and 1936. Two of these films are remarkable while the third, JUGGERNAUT, is best forgotten. The first one,Continue reading “THE MAN WHO CHANGED HIS MIND (1936): Boris’ 2nd Brit Horror Film”

Most people, even some of his fans, don’t know that Boris Karloff (1887-1969), the so-called “King of the Monsters”, was born William Henry Pratt. His parents were Anglo-Indian and Karloff had a dark complexion which was covered by make-up in his movies. He left England in 1909 for Canada where he began appearing on stageContinue reading “THE GHOUL (1933): Boris Karloff’s Homecoming Movie Is A Gem About A Gem”

I have been a fan of John Bunny since I first saw A CURE FOR POKERITIS (1912) back in 1998 as part of the SLAPSTICK ENCYCLOPEDIA box set. I had never heard of him which is saying something as I have been a silent film enthusiast since 1962 when I first saw a Harold LloydContinue reading “JOHN BUNNY: Much Needed Documentary On America’s First Comedy Superstar”