As I was watching " The Bat " (1926) last wednesday, I decided that I would also watch the 1959 remake starring Vincent Price and Agnes Moorehead.  I wanted to compare how it would translate from a silent film to one with sound... While renting a mansion belonging to a small town's bank manager, mystery writer Cornelia Van Gorder finds herself the target of a mysterious killer called, The Bat.  He's seeking a million dollars in stolen bank money... money he believes is hidden in the mansion. .. This film is notable for three of its stars: Vincent Price, Agnes Moorehead (Endora on the TV series " Bewitched "), and Darla Hood (from The Little Rascal films).   This movie marked Hood's last appearance in a movie. The story doesn't deviate too much from the original 1926 film, but there are some rather drastic changes in regards to characters.  Cornelia's maid is a lot more level headed than in the silent film; the niece is now just a friend,...

In celebration of Vincent Price's birthday yesterday, I sat down and watched, " The Last Man on Earth "... Dr. Robert Morgan lives in a world of the undead.  By day, he goes around to the various vampiric safe houses, and destroys the foul creatures.  By night, he searches for a cure to the plague that has turned humanity into the blood sucking monsters.  Soon however, Morgan learns who the real monster is... This is one of those films that is considered to be one of Vincent Price's classics.  It's not a bad movie- but it's not a great one either.  I enjoyed it, but not enough that I would re-watch it unless it was a Vampire Movie Night. The story is based on Richard Matheson's novel, " I Am Legend ."  Even though he acknowledged it as following his story quite closely (and he helped write the sceenplay), he was dissatisfied with the end result. It's a bit of a mixed bag.  The story is interesting, as are the characters.  There is ...

Today- May 27, 2011 marks the 100th birthday of that master of horror- Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Price had a father who was the President of the National Candy Company, and a grandfather that invented, "Dr. Price's Baking Powder"- the first cream of tartar baking powder, which secured the family's financial security. During the 1930's Vincent Price became interested in the theater, and started performing on stage in 1935.  Soon, in 1938, Price made his film debut in the film, " Service de Luxe ", but didn't start gaining recognition until 1944 when he starred in the Otto Preminger film, " Laura ". His first horror film was the Boris Karloff feature, " Tower of London " in 1939, which he followed up as the title character in " The Invisible Man Returns ".  he would reprise this role vocally at the end of 1948's " Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein ". Price was often ...

In 1958, the world was introduced to William Castle's movie, "Macabre," and the first of many "gimmicks" that he would use to promote his movies. The "gimmick" for "Macabre" was pretty simple compared to some of the later ones.  To market his movie, a certificate for a $1,000.00 life insurance policy- issued by Lloyd's of London was handed out to movie goers.  These certificates would only be redeemed if the movie goer died of fright during the movie.  To add to the flavor of this promotion, hearses were parked outside the theaters showing the movie, and nurses were placed in the lobbies... just in case. William Castle followed up the life insurance certificate with the introduction of "Emergo"- a new technology that helped to bring the audience closer to the action on the screen.  It was in fact, more 3D than 3D!  During the climatic scene of "House on Haunted Hill", this technology was used to add to the intensi...

In " William Castle Tribute II: Crime and Westerns ", I outlined a bit about William Castle's early films, which were mostly in the Crime Drama and Western genres.  I finished the article by stating that in 1958, he began to work his way into the hearts of horror fans. I said it because it's true. Up until that year, Crime Dramas and Westerns were popular- which was why many of Castle's early films were in those genres.  However, as the 1960's started to approach, the Horror and Suspense/Thriller genres were starting to gain in popularity... and the man that would become a staple of the Horror Industry went with that flow. William Castle's first foray into my favorite genre was with what most critics consider a Suspense/Thriller rather than a horror... even though I consider both to be closely connected.  In order to take this step, he mortgaged his own house into order to independently produce the movie.  The 15th of August, 1958 saw the first scen...

I have a confession to make: I'm a fan of black and white horror movies.  Why would I, a man born in the heyday of horror films like "Halloween", "Texas Chainsaw Massacre", and others be a fan of primitive black and white ones? Simple, they're fun, and "House on Haunted Hill" is an example of that fun. This 1959 B-movie was produced and directed by William Castle- the master of movie gimmicks like "Percepto"... the joy buzzer seats used for his movie, "The Tingler".  "House on Haunted Hill" had "Emergo"- a plastic skeleton that would "fly" over the audience at the appropriate moment in the movie.  The flying skeleton was quite popular (and is even credited in the end credits), and helped the movie to become quite successful.  The movie was so successful in fact that, Alfred Hitchcok was spurred to make "Psycho"... which in turned inspired William Castle to produce "Homicidal"...