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In honour of the Hallowe'en season, my husband and I decided to have a William Castle fest. We own a set of Castle films on dvd, and we decided it was time to re-watch some of them. I won't "review" them all on this post, I'll just talk about one of his campiest ( and that's really saying something, since this guy was the King of "scary" camp): The House on Haunted Hill . This has to be one of the silliest, ( but in a good way ), campiest "horror" films of all time. I mean, you know you're in for both of those things (silly and campy) when you see that it stars Vincent Price. Who doesn't love Vincent Price? He and Castle were a good match, since they both revelled shamelessly in good clean schlock. Sometimes Mr. Price was in a "serious" movie, please don't think I'm "dissing" either of these guys. I absolutely love both Vincent Price's and William Castle's work. Anyway, don't try to figure out the plot of The House on Haunted Hill , since I'm not sure it would hold together if you tried to make sense of it. Suffice to say, it involves a group of seven people, four men and three women ( including Price's character and his wife), who commit to spend the night in Price's haunted house. If they survive the night, they each receive the handsome stipend of $10,000. dollars. There's a lot of crazy and obviously rigged scary effects, like the blind housekeeper who apparently rolls around on wheels, a hanged woman dangling from the rafters, a severed head turning up in one of the guests' suitcases,....stuff like that. I'm afraid I can't say it's very frightening, but I don't believe it's intended to be. I think it's all meant to be funny, and it is...at least, I've seen it about 3 times now, and it always makes me laugh. The only name actor in the film besides Price is Elisha Cook Jr., who seems to be in a different movie altogether from the rest of them. He, or his character, appear to think The House on Haunted Hill is a real ghost story, and he keeps shaking his head and murmuring about how "They're all going to get us, the ghosts want us, " etc. Everybody else seems to be in on the joke that they're acting in a kind of pastiche of a horror movie. Elisha Cook of course knows this too, but for some reason they wrote his character as someone who actually believes the mansion is haunted; he doesn't seem to realize all the hokey scary effects are the work of some of the humans staying in the castle. If you watch The House on Haunted Hill in the spirit ( hey, a pun ! ) in which it was made, you'll enjoy it very much. Just don't think about the vat of acid in the basement too much. ( I mean, why is there a vat of acid sitting around in the castle's basement? They 'splain its presence there, but not very well. ) Oh, and watch for the "Emerge-O" effect of the skeleton rising from said vat of acid. Apparently if you saw the film in a theatre, the skeleton has a 3-D effect. Scary stuff !

For many newcomers to classic film, Lucy might be one of the few names they recognize on the channel. So it would be to TCM's benefit to showcase her films when appropriate. Often, a person will tune in to watch someone they know so they won't feel so lost watching these films from so long ago. And I doubt they "give a rest" to one of the most awarded actresses either. Big stars are always at the forefront, that's why they're big stars. Kate will always be in heavy rotation here.

I don't like horror movies. I don't hate them either. I just don't care for them. Next to romance movies, they are the most formulaic type of movie. Flat, predictable, little more than a succession of vignettes setting up victims for terror or mutilation. I've watched a number of them, or started to. Even made it all the way through some. But mostly watching one, I'm overcome by a violent indifference. As for the effects, ghastly makeup, warping walls, mucus-dripping monsters, instead of inducing pleasant tingly scares, they are most likely to make me laugh. (Yes, yes, I can already hear the cries for suspension of disbelief. I can tell you my disbelief is plenty well suspended. In fact, I'm watching it now swaying back-and-forth off to the side of my living room.) But there are horror movies I like and watch from time to time. Tonight's The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971), which I am watching right now, is a favorite of mine. And it occurred to me as I was waiting for it to start what the formula for a good horror movie is. A lot like what makes a good heist movie, in that the heist is the least important part, so in a good horror movie, the horror is the least important part. This is a provisional theory and subject to refinement, as in Carnival of Souls (1962), another favorite of mine, some of the best parts are the spooky scenes at the abandoned amusement park.

I came into possession of one myself, as a cast-off from my cousin when my aunt cleaned out his old toy chest. They were also used in Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. It will be fun to see 1964 Puerto Rico, if I'm home tonight.

Farentino, James

The Innocents is a surprisingly good 1961 psychological horror film too, starring Deborah Kerr. I never knew about it until I caught it on TCM back in 2018. Also Like The Haunting and The Legend of Hell House

And to be fair, there were several other people, who were able to round up the oldest materials for me - including yanceycravat. Thanks to all, now I have had schedules from their entire history for some time. Then there is another guy (not a poster here) who shares his own independent "broadcast log" project with me after the end of each broadcast month. He has a completely different approach and documents what was actually shown, independent from whatever each schedule said. Though he does note any discrepancies for me. That is what eventually makes it into my past records (2011-present). I take this info, integrate it, generate results, then put it up on a website. This is effectively just a once a month thing for me, a good balance in order for it to continue to be practical for me. Then there are a few other unrelated things, like my daily schedule upload, but I just check in to make sure they are still working at a basic software level. Cmovieviewer takes my once-a-month work and makes determinations based on more recent developments (in-between my monthly updates). He is usually quite active on here, as he provides updates on his own. That is a big help. Thanks! Then of course there is everyone else who notices things and posts about it. It is truly a group project!

THE TURN OF THE SCREW/ THE INNOCENTS MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH THE RAVEN PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE THE WOMAN IN BLACK

I really like Carnival of Souls too. I think a good horror film has atmosphere, good photography, effective acting and a good story - which I think Carnival of Souls has. The special effects in this movie are just a few wavy lines but it doesn't matter. There is great atmosphere in this story that brings horror to a small town where there is a deserted carnival on the outskirts inhabited by "souls". I like that Carnival of Souls leaves unanswered questions. Did she imagine these events while she was dying? Was she in "purgatory"? A parallel universe? suffering from mental illness? I think it is open to your own interpretation which makes the story interesting. Some of my other favorite horror films include: "Get Out" (2017), Nosferatu (1922) and Frankenstein (1931).

"Sunrise, Sunset"-- Fiddler on The Roof Next: Another hit song adapted for a movie from a Broadway musical classic-- with NOT so well known songwriters

Perhaps OT, but I was doing a bit of research on Phantom and found out a couple of interesting things. The shot of Mary Philbin on the floor after unmasking the Phantom was actually the result of Lon Chaney. Director Rupert Julian had been trying to get a take of it that satisfied him and finally just left for the day. Lon Chaney asked the crew to stay so they could get the shot. Considering the great respect Chaney garnered, they agreed. He told them to start shooting and not stop whatever happened. Chaney then began yelling at and insulting Philbin, calling her a terrible actress and reducing her to tears. Then he lifted his fist like he was going to strike her. She fell to the floor and Chaney said that was the scene they wanted. He then apologized to Philbin saying he didn't mean any of those things but was just trying to get the correct reaction. Phantom was a very troubled production with director Julian and Lon Chaney hating each other, the director and several male members of the cast obsessed with Philbin, and Rupert Julian walking off the set with Edward Sedgewick, mainly known for directing Buster Keaton comedies, finishing direction of the film. The other thing I found was that Mary Philbin did not leave acting in 1929 because of sound. She basically just became a recluse at age 27. When people wondered what happened to her in 1964 and went looking for her she was still living in her mother and stepfather's house 35 years later, though they were both long deceased. Philbin lived until 1993.

Tammy Next: A Very Touching Song

I'm not ashamed to admit it, but because I come across as a film snob, people are surprised when I tell them that I absolutely love MISS CONGENIALITY.

I did a quick review of Ball's 30s and 40s film career when she was signed to RKO and than MGM, and I don't think the suits were short-sighted. RKO used her in many films and she just didn't become a major star - audiences favored other actresses. In addition she wasn't known as a dramatic actress and this limited her career to light or romantic comedies. That was OK for the 30s but not once WWII started. So I view it more as timing; Ball just wasn't at the same level as Jean Arthur or other older actresses (similar in style) during the late 30s and early 40s. WWII put a damper on comedy (unless one was part of the Preston Sturges group of players). When comedy started to make a comeback especially with Judy Holiday at Columbia, Ball was also under contract with the studio and Holiday got the better roles. Ball found her place with her T.V. show.

And which now brings to mind one of Johnny Carson's Carnac The Magnificent lines: "Pickeled herring...Dr. Christain Barnard...Doris Day." "Name a sturgeon, a surgeon, and a virgin."

I have always disliked one of the actresses you mention, and been a big fan of the other. I've always found Katharine Hepburn irritating; she almost always strikes me as smug, a bit like the Tracy Lord character she portrays so convincingly in The Philadelphia Story. Tracy is "perfect", or thinks she is. I actually like this film, and Hepburn's performance in it, but I do think no one could have played Tracy better in part because she seems so suited to Katharine Hepburn's persona. Anyway, I don't dislike Hepburn as much as I used to -- I used to loathe her. Now I can watch and even enjoy quite a few of her films (including, yes, Alice Adams ). But she'll always be one of my least favourite actresses from the "classic" era. Now, Lucille Ball is a whole different story ( and not the Philadelphia one, either. sorry.) I like her as much as I dislike Hepburn. Lucy was so talented and clever. So was Katharine Hepburn, but Lucy was also extremely likable. In fact, I enjoy just about everything I've ever seen Lucille Ball in; she always makes whatever she's in more entertaining. Having "said my piece" about each of these actresses, I will say, I don't think TCM should "retire" either of them or their films , " for a while" . Just because I don't like Katharine Hepburn doesn't mean there aren't people out there who do, and I'm sure they appreciate TCM's airing her work. There are lots of actors I'm not crazy about or am indifferent to, but just because I'm not interested in them doesn't mean I want TCM to stop showing their films. I watch something TCM airs when I think I'll enjoy it, and find something else to watch or do ( like read, for instance) when I don't. I know there are always many people who watch TCM who are fans of actors, directors, producers, who I don't like. But I wouldn't want to deprive them of seeing artists they like on the station, just because I don't share their enthusiasm .

Wow, I had no idea! (Mine was Gloria Grahame: The Big Heat, Odds Against Tomorrow, Melvin and Howard)

I like most of the films previously mentioned that I've seen. I don't even know that it's fair to call Pillow and Jason guilty pleasures. They're genre films, and very much of their era to be sure, but also still widely beloved by audiences, and respected for their contributions to cinema (Pillow Talk for its mid-century style, sharp script for the time, and ushering in many of the tropes that evolved into the modern romantic comedy; and Jason and the Argonauts for its still impressive special effects in the process of stop-motion, among the great Harryhausen's best!). I don't know that The V.I.P.'s deserves to be in the same category as those true gems, but nonetheless, like a previous poster, I enjoyed that as well. It's sort of a precursor to the "Jet-Set," rich people behaving badly primetime soaps and miniseries that swept through the zeitgeist in the subsequent two decades. It's got a lot of style, and true that it's one of Liz's more attractive and appealing roles from the Richard Burton phase of her career (the fur hat, and that dressing gown you could also wear on the red carpet in a pinch; how can you not love it!). Right to point out Margaret Rutherford, who won an Oscar for her role in this! Is the plot anything to write home about? As I said to my wife as the credits rolled, "So it was a disaster movie without the disaster." My contribution to this discussion would be Too Much, Too Soon (1958), the much derided biopic of Diana Barrymore from her eponymous memoir. I think Errol Flynn was memorable and heartbreaking in his all too few scenes as John Barrymore. His recitation of "Once More Unto the Breach" before falling drunkenly off the yacht hits it out of the park, and Flynn really "got" this character 😂. Dorothy Malone as Diana may shamelessly overplay the signature mix of charisma and camp that earned her a fluke Academy Award for Written on the Wind, but no one can say she's not committed to the part!

Tex Avery’s cartoon “Symphony in Slang”

A Matter of Life and Death (1946)

The aliens run around Puerto Rico with 1964-model air blaster toy guns made by Wham-O. I had one of those toys. Their space ship resembled the design of the lunar landing module and that was neat for 1965. Most of us know James Karen. Lou Cutell (leering Nadir) had an extensive career in movies and TV. Bald Martian Bruce Glover (dad of Crispin Glover) was Mr. Wint in Diamonds Are Forever and another still-active actor with major credits. Bad girl space princess Marilyn Hanold was a Playboy Playmate. I was shocked to read she married a wealthy oil man. Sven should have a lot of fun talking about this goofball movie.

I Died a Thousand Times (1956)

Sunday, October 31 midnight. As the Earth Turns (2019). This is supposed to be made from found footage of a film shot in 1938 but it appears that may be a prank. It had very mixed reviews.

Joan Leslie

That often works best with scary stories.

Veta Louise--Jimmy Stewart's sister in "Harvey", played by Josephine Hull

Nosferatu (1922) Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)

"Dis-Donc" by Marguerite Monnot from Irma la Douce (on B'way 1960/61; movie 1963). Song adapted to use without lyrics for the film. Here's the song from the Broadway show. It's played over the credits in the film version. Next: Another song with a French setting

I like Carnival of Souls too. It is just so quirky and low budget. I think what generally makes a good horror movie is atmosphere and suspense. This is why Hammer Horror is so often a near miss for me. Everything looks so brand spanking new, like it just came from the local home and garden store. Nothing looks old and neglected.

Sandra Bullock is the modern equivalent of actresses like Irene Dunne and Jean Arthur who could move effortlessly between comedy and drama. My personal fave comedy of hers is Two Weeks Notice, in which she and Hugh Grant sparred brilliantly, she as a socially-conscious lawyer and he as an entitled and rather useless "executive" who needed her help more than he knew. A movie which I love but which seems to have made no impression on the movie-going public, so I generally get blank looks, is Isn't She Great? with Bette Midler as Jacqueline Susann and Nathan Lane as her agent/husband Irving Mansfield. OK, she looks almost nothing like the Jackie who was so publicly ubiquitous, so I guess that's why it got a big pass. But it has a great Paul Rudnick script and the supporting cast is stellar: Stockard Channing as her would-be legendary actress friend (think Vera Charles), John Cleese as her publisher looking for a "next big thing" and an amazing David Hyde Pierce as the poor guy assigned to be her editor. It's enormously clever, but heart-felt too as it moved into her slow death by cancer. Midler and Lane were at the top of their respective games and Channing was brilliant, as in a hospital bedside scene in which she simultaneously checks the labels on Jackie's prescription bottles, "comforts" her friend and positions herself for imaginary photographers should they materialize. Pierce handled high comedy and genuinely moving pathos equally well, a real feat that I'm not sure I expected of him. Love this movie, though I usually hesitate to bring it up because it mostly elicits the "Bette Midler doesn't look like Jackie" response. Too bad, because I think it's a treasure.

Let's see, I don't really hate to admit it, but I love the utterly soapy Taylor and Burton "stranded-in-airport" outing, "The V.I.P's". Maggie Smith, Rod Taylor, adorable Margaret Rutherford. La Liz looks so ripely beautiful in this, and her character is quite sympathetic. Even Louis Jourdan, as the would-be "other man" is wryly self-deprecating and charming, in a raffish way. I could be wrong, but I think maybe Terence Rattigan, or someone similar, wrote it, and it rings all the bells! I must watch it every year or so...

The Woman in White (1948) The Others (2001) (another) The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)

It's been years since I saw it but I remember enjoying THE LAND UNKNOWN, one of those low budget adventure films with cheap special effects in which the cast is running around in a jungle setting with hokey looking dinosaurs. The T Rex, in particular, was obviously some guy in a suit. There are quite a few films of this type, of course, going right back to the silent version of LOST WORLD. LAND UNKNOWN will never be regarded as a classic but if you're in a mood for a touch of adventure mixed with a few unintentional laughs you could do worse. Here are a couple of images to give you an idea of the "thrills" to be found in this one.

I posted a picture here years ago of the Halloween feature at the Historic Capital Theater in Rome NY. They had dry ice fogging the stage & the organist was wearing a cape. The organ rose up to the stage, dim red lighting and a soft white spot on him, an eerie sight. I think they screened some Castle film, 13 Ghosts or House On Haunted Hill for a perfect schlock evening of fun with others in a theater.

On Svengoolie tomorrow, October 30, 2021: Excerpt from the Psychotronic Encyclopedia: "Don't miss. It's the worst. The evil but beautiful Princess Marcuzan and her bald effeminate dwarf assistant Nadir arrive in Puerto Rico to kidnip women to use in repopulating their dying planet. Meanwhile Frank, an American astronaut who is actually an android, crash-lands near the aliens. He becomes Frankenstein, a crazed killer with only half a face. While wild go-going girls are kidnapped from a poolside party, scientists track down Frank, and a rock combo plays hits like "That's the way it's got to be." The rewired Frank battles the horrible alien mutant Mull and rescues the kidnapped Earth girls. Lots of rock music, stock footage, and laughs. Filmed in Puerto Rico. The actors are mostly New Yorkers. " The only actor I've heard of is James Karen, who used to do the Pathmark Supermarket ads in New York.

Here are the TCM premieres for November, as determined by MovieCollectorOH’s TCM schedules database. Notes: - The dates shown are based on a programming day starting at 6 am ET and running past midnight. - Shorts and cartoons are listed separately. Feature Films Nov 5 - Taking Tiger Mountain (1983) Nov 6 - Blondie Plays Cupid (1940) Nov 6 - Blondie in Society (1941) Nov 6 - Blondie's Blessed Event (1942) Nov 7 - Three Outlaw Samurai (1964) Nov 7 - Sword of the Beast (1965) Nov 10 - Arrest Bulldog Drummond (1939) Nov 13 - One False Move (1991) Nov 14 - The Baker's Wife (1938) Nov 16 - Listen to a Stranger (1973) (doc.) Nov 16 - Flavio (1961) (doc.) Nov 19 - King of Cool (2020) (doc.) (also shown on 20th and 26th) Nov 19 - The Loveless (1982) Nov 21 - The Double Life of Veronique (1991) Nov 23 - The Man in Grey (1943) Nov 23 - Leadbelly (1976) Nov 23 - Solomon Northrup's Odyssey (1984) Nov 23 - Gordon Parks: Moments Without Proper Names (1988) (doc.) Nov 24 - Where the Lilies Bloom (1974) Nov 26 - Lust in the Dust (1984) Shorts Nov 13 - That Goes Double (1932) Cartoons Nov 6 - MGM: Scat Cats (1957) Nov 6 - Popeye: Popeye's Premiere (1949) Nov 13 - Popeye: Lumberjack and Jill (1949) Nov 20 - Popeye: Hot Air Aces (1949) Thanks as always to MCOH!

I would say Richard Long was as least as well known as Cook in 1959. Long was in 4 of the Ma and Pa Kettle films and that was a popular serial. But I assume Long is better known today for his T.V. work than his films. Long did get one staring film role in Cult of the Cobra with Faith Domergue. Saw this for the first time a few months ago. It was only OK, but Faith was way too low key. Anyhow, yea, William Castle is good campy fun.

FLYING DOWN TO RIO (1933)

The the Shores of Tripoli (1942)

I missed the first hour and most of the second, here some good ones: TOM AND JERRY/MGM CARTOONS Northwest Hounded Police (1946) A very funny Droopy cartoon by Tex Avery. A wolf convict escapes from Alka Fizz prison and is pursued by Mountie Sgt. McPoodle (Droopy). Great running gag of Droopy showing up everywhere the wolf hides. The wolf has many hilarious eye popping, screaming moments. Magical Maestro (1952)- a hilarious cartoon about a bull dog opera singer who kicks a magician out of his theater. The magician poses as the conductor and with his magic wand keeps turning the singer into different things. He ends up a cowboy singer, a little boy singing "A Tisket A Tasket" , Carmen Miranda and the funniest was a Polynesian dance routine. BUGS BUNNY AND FRIENDS A Witch's Tangled Hare (1959) A guy that looks like Shakespeare is trying write a new play hanging around Macbeth's castle. Witch Hazel is trying to cook Bugs. Many funny scenes with those two. Birth Of A Notion (1947) A hilarious Daffy cartoon. He ends up in a house with a Peter Lorre mad scientist and his dumb dog Leopold. Lorre wants Daffy's wishbone for an experiment. Funniest scene is when Daffy slaps Lorre around ( OH YOU MAD! IMPETUOUS! BOY YOU!) Transylvania 6-500 (1963) Bugs ends up in the castle of the vampire Count Bloodcount. A very funny running gag is Bugs using magic words "abracadabra" and "hocus pocus" which keeps turning the Count into a bat and back again. Funniest is when he combines the words like" abraca pocus" and "pocus cadabra."

Sure! I'd love a grabbag of suspense horror cinema.

8. The Beverley Hillbillies Jesse White, Phil Silvers and King Donovan played shady characters who out to get the Clampett's money.

Walker, Nora -- played by Sally Field on TV's Brothers & Sisters

Randy Rainbow

Try Central European films.

I'm not sure there are any movies I'm ashamed to admit I liked. I'll have to think about it.

the music playing with the two zooming around on the vespa really starts to get irritating but I do like the scene where the aliens crash the pool party. this one schtootz swims across the pool then climbs on the diving board and starts doing this silly dance which abruptly ends when he is obliterated by one of the aliens with a disintergrator gun. that I did enjoy.

I am also a collector of vintage hats! In fact, I am actually wearing one today. My office allowed us to wear Halloween costumes today and since I don't have a Halloween costume, I wore my 1940's outfit that I usually wear to swing/jazz concerts. It was an excuse to wear it, after all. Were it socially acceptable, I would dress in 1930's - 1940's fashion every day, to be sure. I love hats, though. Nowadays I wear a wide brim wool fedora-esque hat quite often. Back in college, I used to wear my vintage hats to my classes and just around. For some reason I stopped doing so, but perhaps I should return to the practice. Someday I want to wear my straw skimmer out somewhere, as that's my favorite piece in my collection.

Mork and Mindy