Video - THE 1000 EYES OF DR. MABUSE (1960)

If you've never seen this fantastic thriller then now is your chance! Bringing the Mabuse character back from its 1933 grave this film was the beginning of a series of six films in the early 1960's. Each of them are worth seeing but this is the Fritz Lang entry they descend from. Now, if only they were all easier to see in English! Podcast on the way.

The Spider - Pulp Cover Gallery

I just read another of these over-the-top crime tales! I can't get enough of them.

The Bloody Pit #188 - THE INVISIBLE MAN'S REVENGE (1944)

Troy and I return to the Universal Horrors of the 1940’s to check out the fifth and last of the Invisible Man series. THE INVISIBLE MAN’S REVENGE (1944) is sometimes seen as a strong final entry but both of us find far too many loose ends and discordant elements to fully enjoy the film. I must caution you that we spoil this one completely early on and I find myself cursing more than normal as we discuss the questions the movie throws in our faces. Sorry about that.

 

This is an interesting film but mostly for the wrong reasons. We try to pinpoint all the spots where the original, nastier version of this story peeks through the softened final product. The amazing Gale Sondergaard is a victim of the alterations to the story and disappears after only two scenes – we were displeased by this! The timeline of the Robert Griffin character is confusing and neither of us can work out how he carried around a piece of paper with his name on it for five years but didn’t know his own identity. I spend time marveling at how unlikable Griffin is throughout the story. Jon Hall does a great job in the role but he is playing a man with no redeeming qualities and a hair-trigger propensity for violence. This is our hero? Following on from the previous sequels we get the series’ now standard irritating ‘humor’ culminating in a dart competition that goes on forever. Both of us found this to be the weakest of the Universal Invisible Man cycle and would be curious to find fans of the film to defend it.

 

If you do want to stick up for THE INVISIBLE MAN’S REVENGE drop us a note at thebloodypit@gmail.com – we really are interested in hearing a defense of this one. 

What I Watched in December 2023

Sorry this is being posted later than normal. I completely forgot about this regular monthly listing of my movie viewing! My only excuse is that I'm swamped with setting up and recording new podcasts and researching a new commentary track with a very short deadline. As you can tell from the list the Big G's latest screen adventure was the best film I saw in December and I suspect I am not alone in feeling that way. 

The List 

GODZILLA MINUS ONE (2023) – 10 

THE LADY IN THE MORGUE (1938) – 7 (second Bill Crane mystery is better than the first) 

SIROCCO (1951) – 5 (flat Bogart gun smuggler tale – it wants to be CASABLANCA so hard!) 

THE EARTH DIES SCREAMING (1964) – 6 (slight British sci-fi alien invasion film) 

THE FAMILY SECRET (1951) – 7 (Lee J. Cobb and John Derek in a crime drama) 

IT’S A WONDERFUL KNIFE (2023) – 7 (flawed but well done Christmas slasher) 

WHEN THE CLOCK STRIKES (1961) – 5 (Edward Cahn noir that is just too sappy)

THE HARDER THEY FALL (1956) – 7 (Bogart’s last is a tough look at the criminal side of boxing) 

SCOTLAND YARD INSPECTOR (1952) – 6 (Lady In The Fog) (Cesar Romero & Lois Maxwell in a British noir)

A CHRISTMAS HORROR STORY (2015) – 8 (rewatch) 

A FORCE OF ONE (1979) – 5 (poorly directed, sloppy Chuck Norris crime film) 

THE NINTH GUEST (1934) – 6 (play adaptation that is very similar to And Then There Were None) 

SCROOGE (1970) – 9 (rewatch) 

THE LAST MATCH (1991) – 4 (rewatch on Blu) (sloppy, silly and often dull Italian action film)

THE GOOD LIAR (2019) – 8 (excellent crime/con story) 

RAT MAN (1988) – 5 (bizarre, sloppy Italian horror effort – I may need a second viewing for clarity)

YANKEE (1966) – 7 (Tinto Brass spaghetti western) 

CHRISTMAS PRESENT (1986) – 7 (estranged friends play poker on Christmas Eve)

ALL THE CREATURES WERE STIRRING (2018) – 5 (interesting anthology Christmas horror) 

THE ADVENT CALENDAR (2021) – 8 (excellent Belgian Christmas horror) 

MERRY LITTLE BATMAN (2023) – 8 (fantastic animated Christmas tale) 

SPAWN OF THE NORTH (1938) – 8 (Alaska set adventure of fish rustlers) 

THE SPECTER OF TERROR (1973) – 5 (OK serial killer film from Spain - Maria Perschy is stalked)

HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS (1972) – 6 (solid Christmas set TV movie with an excellent cast) 

CURSE OF THE DOG GOD (1977) – 8 (Japanese folk horror) 

THE LEAGUE OF FRIGHTENED MEN (1937) – 6 (Nero Wolfe murder mystery)

THE BIG GUNDOWN (1966) – 8 (rewatch on Blu – Italian version) 

THE INVISIBLE MAN’S REVENGE (1944) – 5 (rewatch on Blu)

A THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS (1945) – 6 (colorful, light and too silly to matter – but fun enough) 

KING KONG LIVES (1986) – 5 (rewatch on Blu) (once it starts, I can’t look away!) 

HELLHOLE (1985) – 5 (nudity filled WIP film with Mary Warnov and Ray Sharkey) 

THE PACK (1977) – 7 (rewatch on Blu) 

AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM (2023) – 8 

WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953) – 8 (rewatch on Blu) 

ARABIAN NIGHTS (1942) – 7 (grand adventure with Jon Hall and Maria Montez) 

Wild, Wild Podcast Season 7: Episode 1 - KRIMINAL (1966)

The Wild, Wild Podcast emerges blinking into the night after the long dark Christmas break to bring you a new season dedicated to the heroes and villains (but mostly villains) of the films adapted from or inspired by the fumetti neri publishing phenomenon of the sixties (which is still going strong today in Italy).

Our first episode sees us going toe to toe with a devious, ruthless, devilishly handsome villain, Kriminal. He's self-serving, mean-spirited and will stop at nothing to get what he wants, in the comics at least. The films have him toned down a bit, as we explore in this discussion, which also covers such vital topics as the best way to shave and how to deal with your dad being Mussolini.

If you want to do some background reading on the most popular Italian comics of the sixties, there's a great resource here on Comic Vine.

We would love to hear from you if you have any favorite Italian comic-based films, or if you ever got beaten up and robbed by a man in a skull mask. You can contact us on Twitter and Instagram or by email at wildwildpodcast@gmail.com. Please also remember to rate and review us on your podcast platform of choice!

Random Peplum Poster Gallery

Not sure why but this is where my imagination is today.

 

Kriminal Cover Gallery

This nasty character is on my mind since I've recently watched his two 1960's film appearances. Wild, Wild Podcast on the way! 

 

Trailers From Hell - HORRORS OF THE BLACK MUSEUM (1959)

This is one of my favorite 'inventive deaths' movies! I think it might be a little too cruel at times, but watching Michael Gough chew the scenery like a hungry demon keeps me smiling the whole way through. Time to break out the Blu-Ray again! 

Book Review - Giallo Meltdown 2

Much like the first Giallo Meltdown book, Giallo Meltdown 2 is a breezy, funny trip through a lengthy viewing binge of European giallo films. With these books author Richard Glenn Schmidt is not trying to write a carefully researched examination of these movies. His goal is to present an almost stream of consciousness series of reactions to the films as they play out over several weeks. Structured like a peek at diary entries complete with ruminations on accompanying meals and unexpected delays in the forward motion of the project these books are a giggle inducing joy. It’s as if the reader is sitting on the couch next to Richard as he marathons through a pile of unwatched movies in his collection. This is as close as you’re likely to get to sharing the couch with an enthusiastic fan of the genre who enjoys nearly every entry, even if some of them are confusing or overly bizarre.

There are several reasons to check this new book out. First, both Giallo Meltdown books serve as an informative listing of possible future viewing with Richard giving you an enticing thumbnail sketch of each movie. If you want to concentrate on the most erotic efforts the genre has to offer you can make a search list as you read along. If you enjoy stories in which the solution somehow negates the entire reason for the mystery, you can jot them down. The same can be done for the less common tropes of the genre such as flashbacks that explain things in a confusing way or poorly filmed uses of vehicular homicide or pointless animal deaths. And I am pleased to report that there are nearly no spoilers offered in the book’s arch descriptions of the murder plots. The accounts of each film’s story touch on just enough details to entice the curious and amuse me.

Another reason I enjoyed this new collection of genre observations is that Richard actually spends some time breaking out a listing of Spanish gialli, a personal point of pleasure. There are many examples beyond the classic Paul Naschy effort BLUE EYES OF THE BROKEN DOLL (1974) so this book does a deep dive into several of the most obscure and even manages to create my current favorite chapter title in a movie related book – The Blood in Spain Falls Mainly From the Vein. Brilliant! Digging into the genre efforts from Spain points readers to both (very) obscure Naschy films and the long list of entertaining Hispanic related murder mysteries that lurk in mostly unexplored corners. I’ve been pushing for the genre cinema of Spain to get more attention for about a decade and I welcome any help.

And the book gets bonus points for its hysterical description of one of my favorite over-the-top  American giallo entries, Richard Rush’s COLOR OF NIGHT (1994). I’m a huge fan of Rush’s other films (check out THE STUNT MAN someday) but this thriller is one of the most unintentionally funny movies I have ever encountered and it was a joy to read the details of someone else’s first full viewing. I wish I had made notes back when I originally caught this years ago but I doubt my rattled thoughts would have been as amusing. I can almost recommend the entire book just for this section. My only qualification is that, unlike the author, I will certainly again watch this overstuffed psycho erotic sexual ball pit one day. Watching a talented filmmaker go this far off the rails is almost required repeat viewing.

As you can tell, I think this sequel Giallo Meltdown book is worth your time. It’s a light, fun read that serves well to point even long-time genre loving fans to new viewing possibilities. A lot of the rarer titles will be difficult to access but the descriptions here will only fuel your curiosity and desire to seek them out. 

The book can be purchased through Amazon in either paperback or ebook HERE. 

 

State by State Cryptid Guides!

 

These amusing 'guides' to the scary monsters resident in various United States give me a smile and send me searching for more information on the ones I had never heard of before. You can buy prints of these fun images HERE and maybe you should - for your peace of mind!

The Bloody Pit #187 - THE DEVIL'S WEDDING NIGHT (1973)

2024 begins with a 1970’s European horror gem! Bob Sargent joins Troy and I to discuss THE DEVIL’S WEDDING NIGHT (1973). It’s a fun gothic story with Mark Damon and Rosalba Neri (still using the Sara Bay stage name) about vampires, the ring of the Nibelungen and nudity. Lots of nudity! Warning – we completely spoil this one. Sorry but we had to dissect the final scene with its multiple endings.

As usual with this trio we let Bob pick the film and this time he hit a home run. It turned out to be a first viewing for Troy and it was fascinating to have his fresh take on this old favorite. We talk about the film’s genesis with star/producer Damon shopping the script around for a long while before getting it financed. The film is very much an R rated version of the Roger Corman Poe films done with a little less style and a lot less clothing. We pick at the story as we go along but each of us enjoyed the twin roles from the lead and sly, sexy performance from Neri. She is a sight to behold with her electric screen charisma registering here in gigawatts. Her abilities are impressive when just the slightest shift in the tilt of her head can communicate paragraphs of information.  We talk a bit about some of the anachronistic elements in the film and puzzle for a long time over where those satanic henchmen spend their time between virgin sacrifices. And we end up lamenting that this sleazy classic spawned no sequel! How did that happen?

If you have any comments on the film thebloodypit@gmail.com is the place to send them. Thank you for listening and we’ll be back soon.

Mystery In Space Cover Gallery

The beginning of a new year puts me in mind of scary science fiction stories!