Naschycast listener Brad had a very 'Naschy' birthday celebration recently and sent along this photo of his cake. When I say he had a Naschy celebration I don't mean he turned into a werewolf and went on a killing rampage under the full moon. Instead he asked for and received a number of Euro-Trash bootleg movies most of which featured Senor Molina. Ya gotta love that! And you really gotta love his wife for indulging and sharing this request for bizarre movies. There are wonderful ladies out there folks and Brad seems to have found one. Happy belated birthday!
I just can't stop! Until last week I had never seen this ad art for THE AWFUL DR. ORLOFF and I'm starting to wonder if there might be even more images for this film out there to be discovered. I'll do some more hunting. This film is one of my Franco favorites and every time I see Howard Vernon in another film I always think of him as Orloff carrying out his mad plans.
Well- El Santo doesn't have the boobies. He's just onscreen with the boobies. If you understand what I'm trying to say. Back in June of last year it was noted at the Vampiros and Monstruos blog that the legendary nude version of SANTO Y EL TESORO DE DRACULA (1969) had been found confirming its existence. At that time there was no news about anyone having the chance to SEE this version of the film but that it had been located made Mexican Wrestling movie fans and monster movie fans extremely happy as they lurked in their basement bunkers.
Now it appears that lucky fans in Mexico City will be the first to actually get to see Santo leer at nude ladies while kicking Dracula's sorry ass. The film will debut next week in Guadalajara's International Film Festival as the centerpiece of a selection of vampire movies chosen by famed director Guillermo del Toro. This print of the long sought film was found by chance when producer Guillermo Calderon Stell's grandniece was researching her family's film making past. We live in exciting times my friends. I can only hope that one day I will be able to walk out of my basement with a copy of this movie clutched fiercely in my hands so that I can shout to the Heavens "We got another one!" Last year the missing footage from METROPOLIS turns up in South America and now this.
So with EL VAMPIRO Y EL SEXO off the 'lost' list I can start asking where a print of LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT might finally turn up. Might I suggest Argentina or Peru? The southern hemisphere seems to be where all the cool missing movies are being found these days.
After much discussion with a buddy it appears that I'll be attending this year's Monster Bash convention in Butler, PA! This will be my first visit to the con in five years (I think) and I'm really looking forward to it. The dealer room at this show is a cult film lover's dream come true and it's always a blast to meet like minded movie fans to discuss the geeky things we love. I can hardly wait! Two of my long time crushes will be there- Dawn Wells and Caroline Munro. I have to take up meditation or something to keep me calm when I meet them. Gotta stay cool. Gotta be composed. Breathe.
She wasn't my favorite female cast member but Gilligan's Island was a much prettier place with Miss Louise than without her. I especially loved her turn as Count Gilligan's evil bride lurking around that creepy castle! That particular episode should have been a TV series on its own.
About a year and a half ago illustrator, filmmaker, screenwriter and actor Frank Dietz (yes, he's all of these things and more) used the opportunity of a gathering of Monster Kids to create something fun. Getting everyone seated and comfortable (hard enough) he presented his opinions on various subjects and then asked the rest of the assembled geeky brain trust to 'discuss' as cameras rolled. That what he was asking about were a number of films considered the lessor lights of the classic horror genre prompted all of us to voice our thoughts with considerable vigor. Indeed, I think the level of defense many of the movies in question received took Frank a bit by surprise. That none of us were above making fun of even those films we loved certainly made the conversation entertaining... at least for us. And it was one hell of a good way to pass a couple of hours with friends.
Frank has started editing some of the footage together for the rest of the world to check out. He's done a fine job of pulling clips from the film under discussion to illustrate points and making most of us sound much more coherent than we have any right to after the large dinner we had all just eaten! The first video focuses on a film I love but that Frank is right to pick apart. His dim view of THE MUMMY'S CURSE turns out to be a minority opinion.
We’re back with our second Beyond Naschy mini-episode in which we talk about…well… a lot of things actually, but we try to stay on topic. The IMDb lists THE STRANGE LOVES OF THE VAMPIRE as a 1977 release but it turns out that Phil Hardy’s guide to horror films claims it as a 1975 film so your guess is as good as ours. I think it is likely that the film debuted in the US in 1977 and Europe two years earlier making both dates accurate depending on your location. Further complicating things is that in the US the film was given the misleading title of NIGHT OF THE WALKING DEAD! I suspect that drive-in patrons in ’77 expecting a zombie movie, maybe even a sequel to NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, had to feel disappointment but I can’t imagine the sight of the frequently nude Emma Cohen made the men in the audience unhappy. Wowsa!
Only available as a bootleg sourced from a Dutch VHS tape (I mistakenly say Turkish in the show!) with subtitles hardcoded onto the screen this turns out to still be a film well worth hunting down. Although we complain a lot about the crappy print quality the film’s strengths win us over and it joins my long list of movies that need a good DVD release. Settle in and listen as we try not to spoil the movie while praising its finer points, and we don’t mean just the several sets of impressive nipples on display. Write us at naschycast@gmail.com and let us know what you think of our efforts.
