Merry Christmas from Tarzan!

Click to enlarge each image.

 

Trailers From Hell - CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN (1943)

Joe Dante relates some details about this fun Universal thriller that we covered a while back on The Bloody Pit. Sadly, one detail is wrong. 

Santa Comic Book Covers

The Bloody Pit #207 - BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974)

December brings our annual Holiday Horror episode. This year we discuss the legendary Canadian film BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974) and we have much to say. Turns out this is our tenth year of this Holiday tradition which surprised and slightly freaked me out. But Troy Guinn and John Hudson are rightly proud of our decade long series and glad to finally talk about the one that might have started the whole sub-genre. Sadly, our ages are starting to show, starting with the fact that none of us can remember when we first saw this classic horror film. Very strange.

We dive right in and forego the usual plot synopsis in hopes that listeners will have seen the movie. We lament that we have never been able to read the 1976 novelization and note that a brand new one is coming out any day now. We talk about the actors quite a lot with Troy boldly stating that this is the best ensemble cast of any slasher film ever. Others may disagree. We take the time to point out that phone technology and the concept of an ‘obscene phone call’ seem to have gone the way of the 8-track tape. And we discuss the sure directorial hand of Bob Clark while lamenting his 1990’s career slide into profitable but inane children’s films. Also, we ask the serious question of whether John Saxon ever actually solved a crime onscreen. This will require research!

 

If you have thoughts on BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974) or any other Holiday Horror thebloodypit@gmail.com is the place to send them. Thank you for listening and beware of attic monsters. 

What I Watched in November 2024

Until the final credits rolled I was unaware that CONCLAVE (2024) was based on a novel by Robert Harris but it did not come as a shock. I have been impressed by previous adaptations of his work such as FATHERLAND (1994), ENIGMA (2001) and especially THE GHOST WRITER (2010) so if had known about the source material I might have seen the film sooner.

My enjoyment of CONCLAVE (2024) rests on three sturdy pillars. First, the gripping performances from a cast that seems nearly perfect at every turn. Both the big emotional moments and the dozens of smaller more nuanced things that need to be quietly communicated are handled brilliantly by the veteran ensemble of international actors. It was, in fact, the cast list that primarily drew me to the theater for this dramatic thriller in the first place and it was a joy to revel in their fine work. Second, the gradual mystery at the heart of the story that is only slowly revealed is fascinating and, cinematically, felt like a classic Hitchcockian careful build of tension. I went into this viewing with no knowledge of the high stakes mystery at the heart of the film’s story. I was under the impression that the movie was a straight drama about political intrigue so when the main character shifts into Sherlock Holmes mode I was surprised and pleased. (Have movie-goers been cheated of a potential excellent Holmes performance from Ralph Fiennes? Asking because I want it!) And third, my outsider’s curiosity about the hidden rituals and ceremonies of the Catholic Church. Having been raised in a much less structured church I find the complex details of older religious denominations to be a strange window to another world. This film allows a vision behind the scenes of one of the more organized and controlled processes of Catholicism. Few events both capture the attention of the entire world and serve as an example of the highly systematized form of religious leadership choice. I suppose I’ve always known that such circumstances would be rife with warring factions and larger decisions about the direction of the billion strong Church but this dramatization shows the battle in colorful strokes. I’m sure CONCLAVE is a simplified version of the wrangling that goes on when choosing a new pope, but the dark complexity of inescapable human nature gives the story a feeling of verisimilitude.

 

The List 

DRACULA VS FRANKENSTEIN (1971) – 4 (Al Adamson’s sloppy, silly monster mash) 

THE HAUNTING OF ROSALIND (1973) – 7 (TV movie of Henry James ghost tale)

CHILDREN OF THE CORN II: THE FINAL SACRIFICE (1993) – 5 (less bad than the first but still not good)

A WOMAN’S VENGENACE (1948) – 7 (noir tale)   

THE SCREAMING SKULL (1973) – 6 (TV movie)

CHILDREN OF THE CORN III: URBAN HARVEST (1995) – 4 (awful but the ending monster scene has to be witnessed) 

CHILDREN OF THE CORN IV: THE GATHERING (1996) – 4 (wastes three good actors)

CONCLAVE (2024) - 9 

CHILDREN OF THE CORN 666: ISSAC’S RETURN (199) – 4 (just nothing going on here) 

ACID - DELIRUM OF THE SENSES (1968) – 5 (drama/documentary on acid use) 

EXTRACTION II (2023) – 8 

I WAS A SHOPLIFTER (1950) – 7 (tight little noir) 

FERRYMAN MARIA (1936) – 6 (German original of Strangler of the Swamp) 

STRANGLER OF THE SWAMP (1946) – 7 (rewatch)

THE VULTURE (1966) – 6 (rewatch on YouTube) 

BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA (1959) – 6 

THE WEB (1947) – 8 

THE BAT (1926) – 8 

ODDITY (2024) – 8 (rewatch)

THE ADVENT CALENDAR (2021) - 8 (rewatch)

PENNIES FROM HEAVEN (1981) – 8 

LARCENY (1948) – 7 (noir with a great cast)

THE BAT (1959) – 7 (rewatch on Blu)

HERETIC (2024) – 8 

KISS THE BLOOD OFF MY HANDS (1948) – 5 (very mediocre noir)

TOMIE (1998) – 7 (Japanese horror tale that spawned many sequels)

ABANDONED (1949) – 7 (solid noir about a sordid crime) 

THE MURDER OF DR. HARRIGAN (1936) – 6 (fast murder mystery)

 

Wild, Wild Podcast - THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION (1968)

Join Adrian and I in the Orgone Accumulator as we travel back in time to the 1960s for a Sexual Revolution, thanks to Willhelm Reich and a little-known screenwriter called Dario Argento.

This is the final episode in our Psychedelic Mini-Season and we hope you have enjoyed turning on and dropping out with us. We would love to hear from you if you have any favorite psychedelic Italian films, or if you've ever had your name drawn out at random at the same time as your mum's whilst attending a sex party. You can contact us on Twitter or Instagram or by email at wildwildpodcast@gmail.com.

You can find our YouTube channel here.

We also now have a small but developing merch store on TeePublic, so check it out if you have always wanted to wear our logo so that other fans will know how cool you really are! 

BLACK CHRISTMAS (1974) Poster Art

 

Vintage Batman Toys

 

Audio - Fear on 4: Gobble Gobble by Paul Burns

"The fourth series of Fear on 4 began with this very Christmassy - and rather bleak - tale of one man's attempt to buy a turkey from a depressed farmer on Christmas Eve. 

Broadcast on Christmas Eve in 1992, this episode was repeated two years later on New Year's Eve, in deference to its particularly seasonal plotline." 

Poster Art for NOSFERATU (2024)

The Bloody Pit #206 - THE PEARL OF DEATH (1944)

Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce return to the show! I am joined by Beth Morris and Troy Guinn to discuss the next in Universal’s long running Sherlock Holmes series featuring the legendary detective in the 1940’s. This entry uses one of Arthur Conan Doyle’s original short stories to provide the basic plot – or does it? We look at the film’s very strong ties to a certain American crime fiction writer’s famous story that the script seems to borrow from. Is this a mash-up of two tales that taste great together?  

THE PEARL OF DEATH (1944) is a movie that doesn’t spring to mind as one of the best of the Universal Holmes films but perhaps it should. The series’ regulars are in fine form and returning guest actor Evelyn Ankers gets a lot to do as the main female baddie. She seems capable of getting any job in London and can disguise herself effectively in the bargain. In fact, this film has her character, Sherlock and the lead bad guy Giles Conover so often pretending to be someone else that it plays like there is a contest between them! And the film also sports the first screen appearances of Rondo Hatton as The Creeper. We talk a good deal about the way the plot unfolds and take note of how the screenplay seems to be digging into a Holmes character flaw to drive the story. Of course, there are the usual odd asides including a Tolkien reference that is quite out of place and a short debate about the correct size of a Yamaka or skullcap. We try to use our meager deductive reasoning skills but we tend to be more Watson than Holmes.

Thank you for listening to the show and thebloodypit@gmail.com is the place to send any thoughts. Stay warm and we’ll be back soon.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Remember to share the roast beast.

 

Video - PEARL OF DEATH (1944)

For those following along at home, here is the next film we are covering on The Bloody Pit podcast. It's the excellent Sherlock Holmes adventure based on the short story 'The Six Napoleons'. A better 69 minutes of 1940's mystery thriller fun would be hard to find!

Thanksgiving Comic Book Images!

Happy Turkey Day!

 

Film Noir Poster Art