STAY TUNED, TOO!

B MOVIE NIGHTMARE is on temporary hiatus while I finish up a new book project. Work, work, work!

We will be back in the new year if not before!

"TWICE THE THRILLS! TWICE THE CHILLS!"

"TWICE THE THRILLS! TWICE THE CHILLS!" Horror and Science Fiction Double Features, 1955 - 1974. Bryan Senn. McFarland; 2019. 

In this genuinely thrilling and well-written -- and humongous -- tome, author Senn covers all of the famous and infamous double-bills from various production companies (including AIP and Hammer Studios) throughout the fifties, sixties and early seventies. Senn writes with flair and intelligence about these mostly "B" horror/sci-fi/exploitation flicks, and it may make you want to revisit some of these gems or search out any movies that you have yet to see. They're all here, starting with Revenge of the Creature and Cult of the Cobra, continuing on with The Wasp Woman and Beast from Haunted Cave as well as Joan Crawford in Berserk and Torture Garden and winding up with Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell and Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter. Senn doesn't condescend to these movies, no matter how low the budget, and thank goodness he sticks to accurate and informative analysis instead of pretentious psycho-twaddle. Of course you're not going to agree with his estimation of every movie, some of which he likes way better than I do (and vice versa), but that's just part of the fun. A minor complaint is that Senn perhaps spends too much space on those atrocious Andy Milligan films -- even reading about them is a bit tiresome -- but he is nothing if not complete. Oversized trade paperback that is packed with illustrations. 

Verdict: If you love these kinds of movies, this book is a rare treat! ***1/2.

EYE ON SCIENCE FICTION

EYE ON SCIENCE FICTION: 20 Interviews with Classic SF and Horror Filmmakers. Tom Weaver. McFarland; 2003.  

Tom Weaver has put together a number of collections of interviews of people involved with horror/sci fi films of the past, and this is one of the very best. The great cover features a shot of the "cyclops" inside the alien spaceship in The Atomic Submarine. Inside are interviews with producer Herman Cohen (who describes poor Barbara Payton with a vulgar term); Mike Connors of Mannix and several B movies; Arnold Drake discussing his screenplay for The Flesh Eaters; David Hedison giving his frank opinion of his series Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea; Brett Halsey discussing his career in both American films and Italian giallo pictures; John Hart, who played both the Lone Ranger and Captain Africa; William Wellman Jr. on the lost Macumba Love; and others. 

Verdict: If you're like me, you'll devour this book practically in one sitting. ***1/2. 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2024.

HAVE A GREAT DAY (AND DON'T EAT TOO MUCH) !

B MOVIE NIGHTMARE WILL RETURN IN TWO WEEKS WITH MORE NEW REVIEWS! 

BACK SOON

B MOVIE NIGHTMARE will be back soon with all-new reviews of movies and books! 

B MOVIE NIGHTMARE: THE BOOK

B MOVIE NIGHTMARE: B Movies and Genre Films from Monsters to Spies. William Schoell.

Here it is! My first collection of reviews taken not from this blog, but from GREAT OLD MOVIES -- these reviews were originally posted many years ago. There are sections on horror films; sci fi films; movies of intrigue and suspense, including film noir; cliffhanger serials; monster movies; B movie series (Crime Doctor, Nancy Drew etc.); TV shows; exploitation films (admittedly the shortest section in the book); spies; and Alfred Hitchcock. Admittedly, Hitch rarely made a "B" movie but the book, like this blog, also covers genre movies from A to Z. The films are listed in chronological order in each section, and there are movie stills as well. Available in the following formats: Kindle, trade paperback, and hardcover. You can buy this book on Amazon.

SCIENCE FICTION CONFIDENTIAL: Interviews with 23 Monster Stars and Filmmakers. Tom Weaver. McFarland; 2002. 

Tom Weaver has assembled another crop of interviews with old time actors, producers etc. who at one point or another were involved with genre films, especially science fiction. Many of the names in this book are really obscure: Phoebe Dorin, who did a nightclub act and appeared on The Wild, Wild West with diminutive Michael Dunn; Russ Doughton, who produced The Blob, but there are a couple of more familiar names such as Dan O'Herlihy (who doesn't quite seem to belong in this book), David Hedison of The Fly and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, and Warren Stevens of Forbidden Planet fame. Not to mention prolific producers Richard and Alex Gordon. Speaking of The Blob, people involved with that production don't seem to be aware of earlier "blob" films such as The Creeping Unknown and Caltiki, the Immortal Monster (or just didn't want to admit it was a rip-off). Some of these people had genuine careers while others had only a brief flirtation with crazy "show biz." Some, like the very talented Jacqueline Scott [Macabre], have long careers without ever becoming quite famous. In any case, their stories are almost always interesting. 

Verdict: More interviews with a couple of greats and many not-so-great. ***. 

SCIENCE FICTION STARS AND HORROR HEROES

SCIENCE FICTION STARS AND HORROR HEROES: Interviews with Actors, Directors, Producers, and Writers of the 1940s through 1960s. Tom Weaver. McFarland; 1991. 

This is another great collection of interviews conducted by Tom Weaver [Attack of the Monster Movie Makers], some of which appeared previously in various magazines. In this collection we look at everyone from Acquanetta of Captive Wild Woman fame to Robb White, who wrote House on Haunted Hill and Homicidal for William Castle. We learn that Noel Neill was rude to Phyllis Coates because Coates was hired first as Lois Lane for the TV Superman after Neill had been in two Superman serials. Yvette Vickers talks about working on Attack of the 50 Foot Woman and Attack of the Giant Leeches. Herk Harvey discusses making his low-budget classic Carnival of Souls, with its spooky amusement park scenes filmed at an abandoned pier called Saltair near Salt Lake. Nancy Kovack of Jason and the Argonauts frankly discusses her disappointment in her career. Interestingly enough, the person who comes off the worst is Richard Matheson, who seems boastful and even implies that he's better or more important than either Poe or Lovecraft! Kim Hunter, Anna Lee, Janet Leigh, composer Albert Glasser, and many others are interviewed in the book, which offers many fascinating behind-the-scenes details of the picture business, especially low-budget filmmaking. 

Verdict: Very worthwhile series of interviews. ***1/2. 

TALK'S CHEAP, ACTION'S EXPENSIVE: THE FILMS OF ROBERT L. LIPPERT

TALK'S CHEAP, ACTION'S EXPENSIVE: The Films of Robert L. Lippert. Mark Thomas McGee. BearManor; 2014. 

This is a very entertaining look at the output, life and career of Robert L. Lippert, a prolific producer of mostly B movies from the forties to sixties. The book is divided into four chapters or sections -- Screen Guild, Lippert Pictures, Regal Films and Associated Producers, Inc -- which examine different periods in Lippert's career. Genre films Lippert produced include The Lost Continent, Unknown World, The Quatermass Xperiment, The Fly (one of his most famous and successful pictures), The Last Man on Earth with Vincent Price, The Earth Dies Screaming, and The Horror of It All with Pat Boone; he also did non-genre films such as The Steel Helmet and The Baron of Arizona, also with Price, and many westerns. Lippert started out in the business by owning a chain of theaters, then decided to fill the theaters with his own productions. He entered into an association with 20th-Century Fox to make black and white cinemascope productions that didn't carry the Fox name and were released under the Regal banner. His various companies also released many films that were major money-makers, such as Rocketship X-M. Margia Dean [Sins of Jezebel], who appeared in many of Lippert's movies, was apparently cast so frequently because she was his mistress. Lippert frequently claimed that he gave audiences what they wanted and was more concerned with profit than artistic merit. Still, he was responsible for some memorable films throughout his long Hollywood career. Appendices list every film that Lippert had any kind of association with. 

Verdict: An engaging and informative trip down B Movie Memory Lane. ***1/2. 

BACK SOON

Vacation and finishing up some projects took up too much time this month, but B MOVIE NIGHTMARE will be back in a couple of weeks. 

IT CAME FROM 1957

IT CAME FROM 1957: A Critical Guide to the Year's Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. Rob Craig. 2013; McFarland.

1957 was a banner year for the release of films in the horror, fantasy, and science fiction genres, and this book chronologically looks at the prodigious output, including numerous double-bills and a few re-releases. In the first chapter, author Rob Craig puts the year into context, especially as it pertains to The Bomb -- its ethical implications, fear of nuclear attack, and especially of the effects of radiation on people, animals, and insects, the results of which were often shown in these movies.  

First a disclaimer. Scholarly books about film come in two categories. There are those written by people who are knowledgeable about cinematic technique and the different elements of film and analyze a movie in such terms. Then there are writers who are not so "film-aware" and focus more on psycho-sexual and sociopolitical aspects of film, examining -- frequently over-examining - real or imagined subtext, not that this is necessarily an invalid way of looking at films. It Came from 1957 could be called a combination of both types, because author Craig does seem film-aware, although he also indulges in examining non-cinematic  subtexts -- a little too much for my taste, which, for me at least, weakens the book.

The first chapter of the book, although perhaps too long (many readers will be impatient to get to the actual movies) is quite well-written, informative and often fascinating. On the other hand, Craig is given to overstatement and over-simplifying far too often, and along with the good points he makes he also spouts unsubstantiated conspiracy theories in a way that at times seems childish. But the big problem for me is the pseudo-intellectual nature of the book, particularly in the section that covers the movies. There is nothing wrong with examining the sub-text of a film (even if it this sub-text was unintended) -- and to be fair Craig occasionally intimates that the writers and directors were in most cases just making silly horror flicks with no underlying themes or motives --  but he just takes it too far: the book literally has several laugh-out-loud moments. For example: 

"Yet, as we all are, the crab monster's very existence is challenged  by the horrific inroads of phallic culture via the burgeoning military-industrial complex, and its mascot -- baleful emblem of patriarchal intimidation -- the mushroom bomb that can easily kill us all."

Well ... I think even Roger Corman, who directed Attack of the Crab Monsters, the film in question, might scratch his head at that. It's not that it's hard to get -- it's just silly! At times Craig seems positively obsessed with phallic and vaginal symbols to the point where you're thinking of Dr. Frederic Wertham's debunked tome "Seduction of the Innocent," wherein he twisted panels every which way to come up with evidence of the comic book industry's horrible influence on teenagers. 

However, despite the horribly pretentious psycho-babble, the book can still be fun to read at times (tedious to digest at others). I agree with Craig's disdain for the over-rated Star Wars, love Crab Monsters possibly even more than he does, and can't help but be impressed by his enthusiasm for his subject, no matter how misguided at times. Craig is rather inconsistent when it comes to Bert I. Gordon, and there are times I suspect he was reviewing some movies from distant memory. The book also left me confused on where he stands on LGBT rights, as he finds homosexuality (often in a negative light) in certain films that honestly have no gay characters. 

Verdict: It was a very good year if a highly imperfect if interesting book. **1/2. 

COWBOYS, CREATURES AND CLASSICS: THE STORY OF REPUBLIC PICTURES

COWBOYS, CREATURES, AND CLASSICS: THE STORY OF REPUBLIC PICTURES. Chris Enss and Howard Kazanjian. Lyons Press/Rowman and Littlefield/2018.         

This big coffee table book looking into the history of Republic Pictures and its output, stars, genres, leading ladies, cowboys, serials, stunt men, and so on, is not without flaws, but it does provide a flavorful overview of the famous studio and is packed with lots of photos. Republic did not just do low-budget programmers but also came out with movies such as John Ford's The Quiet Man and the Joan Crawford western Johnny Guitar, among others. The book looks at how Republic Pictures played a significant role in John Wayne's career (and vice versa) and also looks at the studio's relationships with such as Gene Autrey and Roy Rogers. Studio founder Herbert J. Yates took a shine to skating star Vera Hruba Ralston, whom he later married, and nearly bankrupted the studio by trying to make a major star out of her. The emergence of television didn't help matters much, either, although Republic rented out sound stages to TV shows and also produced their own programs. This is a good, attractive-looking volume, although there are odd omissions. The appendix of films is not complete, especially when it comes to the serials -- no mention anywhere of the four Republic Dick Tracy serials, for instance.               

Verdict: Interesting and often informative look behind-the-scenes at Republic Pictures. ***                                                 

WELCOME!

I have been doing the Great Old Movies blog for about ten years -- covering all kinds of movies (primarily but not limited to those that are twenty-five years old) -- but much of the material I have covered can't necessarily be considered "great" nor especially classic. Of course, there are two things to remember: some acclaimed classic films with major stars don't wear well and may actually be rather poor (as you can tell if you've read my blog); and there are lots of "B" movies and genre films, as well as old TV shows, that are excellent. So B Movie Nightmare will be the sister blog to Great Old Movies, focusing on genre films (horror, sci-fi, fantasy, crime and detective, etc.), exploitation items, old, often-forgotten TV shows, and all the stuff that may not necessarily qualify as a "great old movie" but, conversely, may not be that bad at all. In addition, B Movie Nightmare will cover films, TV (as well as the occasional non-fiction book and novel) from all decades, even if I will concentrate primarily on older material. And, of course, I will cover the stinkers, hopefully in amusing fashion. 

Depending on my schedule, B Movie Nightmare will at first come out on a monthly basis, generally the last week of the month, while the first three weeks will be given over to Great Old Movies, (although it is possible that GOM may eventually go on a bi-weekly/twice monthly schedule). This is subject to change. 

The photos directly above are from the following pictures: Attack of the 50 Foot Woman with Allison Hayes; The Brasher Doubloon with George Montgomery playing Philip Marlowe; Bert I. Gordon's The Cyclops; and Jacques Tourneur's Curse of the Demon. The main blog photo up above is from William Castle's Homicidal, with Joan Marshall (as "Jean Arless") and Eugenie Leontovich.