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Like so many late 1960s and early 1970s European horror movies, I first saw SPIRITS OF THE DEAD at my local drive-in (which thanks to COVID, are making something of a comeback). I saw the American International English dubbed version which has a Vincent Price voiceover during the credits. AIP was hoping to tie itContinue reading “SPIRITS OF THE DEAD (1968): 3 Edgar Allan Poe Stories / 3 Different Directors”

I have been a fan of all things Hammer for many years and though I was aware of HAMMER HOUSE OF MYSTERY & SUSPENSE, I had only seen some of the episodes on YouTube and that was a few years ago. I completely missed its American TV run in 1984 as FOX MYSTERY THEATRE. TheContinue reading “HAMMER HOUSE OF MYSTERY & SUSPENSE: Although The DVD Cover Is In German, The Series Is In English”

t has been over 40 years since this final installment of the Quatermass saga was first broadcast on TV and an abridged movie version released to theaters. The reception was lukewarm in both venues and it then basically disappeared for many years. As an American, I never saw the original 4 hour version and firstContinue reading “QUATERMASS: Condensation -vs- Adaptation Creates A Bittersweet CONCLUSION”

I first became acquainted with the Quatermass character in the late 1970s through the 3 Hammer film adaptations. The first two were done shortly after the TV shows aired. They featured American actor Brian Donlevy (who was chosen to sell the movies in the U.S. and who was definitely not author Nigel Kneale’s choice) inContinue reading “THE QUATERMASS TRILOGY: Classic 1950s Sci-Fi In The “Restored” BBC Edition”

I find it incomprehensible that this gem of a film about a Welsh village doomed to be flooded by a new dam is available only in a less than pristine print. The current DVD is simply a transfer from a VHS tape (one reviewer said the version he taped off of TV looked better). YouContinue reading “LAST DAYS OF DOLWYN Is A Wonderful Little Movie That Deserves A Quality Restoration”

And that is this 1989 movie which was first issued on VHS in 1997 and on DVD in 2000. Now an upgraded DVD and a new Blu-Ray have just been released in 2020. I am writing a review of the DVD because as I live in the United States, I have a Region 2 playerContinue reading “THE WOMAN IN BLACK (1989): My Ultimate Litmus Test For Ghost Stories On Film”

Movies portraying Jews in a positive light were a rarity in Hollywood despite the fact that all but one of the major studios were headed up by men who were Jewish in origin. The studio that wasn’t, 20th Century Pictures (soon to become 20th Century-Fox), wound up making THE HOUSE OF ROTHSCHILD. Darryl F. ZanuckContinue reading “THE HOUSE OF ROTHSCHILD (1934): A Remarkable Achievement That Is Still Worthwhile”

Oh to be 11 years old again, sitting in the Carolina Theater in Greenville SC in 1963 and looking up at the big screen, mesmerized by the meteor light show that opens THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS! The film was shot in Cinemascope so it literally filled that big screen making it an overwhelming experience…andContinue reading “THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS (U.K. Version) Is The Best So Far”

Just a little over a year after the release of ORSON WELLES GREAT MYSTERIES – VOL-1 comes VOLUME 2 and I found it to be consistently more satisfying than its predecessor. As the series was not released in its original broadcast order, it contains only 2 well known authors (W. Somerset Maugham, Dorothy L. Sayers)Continue reading “ORSON WELLES GREAT MYSTERIES – VOLUME 2 Is More Satisfying Than VOLUME 1”

As a fan of mysteries and supernatural stories, I was looking forward to seeing this series which I was completely unfamiliar with. One review states that it was meant to be shown on American TV hence the use of several American stars. However the classic British look of filmed exteriors and videotaped interiors would notContinue reading “ORSON WELLES GREAT MYSTERIES – VOL. 1: They Aren’t Great But They Are Definitely Worth Seeing”