Boris Karloff: Tales of Mystery Cover Gallery

 

Video - THE GHOST GOES WEST (1935)

THE GHOST GOES WEST is a charming British comedy that uses its supernatural story elements in witty ways. I first caught this hidden gem years ago on a late night cable broadcast. The word 'ghost' in the TV Guide listing made me curious enough to tape the film and watch it later. Rarely has a completely unknown film bowled me over so completely! I showed the film to a few friends over the next few months but it has now been a couple of decades since my last viewing. Time to watch it again and I recommend it to all of you too! 

Amazing Stories Magazine Cover Gallery

 

The Bloody Pit #192 - Martian Invasion 1953!

WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953) and INVADERS FROM MARS (1953) are two of the most beloved of the dozens of science fiction movies from that paranoid Cold War decade. Author Mark Clark joins me to compare and contrast them as we look at the massive differences in scale, budget and point of view that give each film its unique feel. Recent Blu-Ray releases allow a fresh evaluation of these movies and we dig into them from angles both personal and societal. Spoilers rise from every sandpit, so be aware!

 

We tackle the magnificent WAR OF THE WORLDS first, examining the elements taken from the source novel as well as from the classic Orson Wells radio adaptation. We discuss the story structure and the cast of amazing character actors familiar at the time from both radio shows and film. Design concepts and the faint traces of the book’s tripods are touched on before we dig into the film rushed to theaters to compete – INVADERS FROM MARS! The William Cameron Menzies production design is discussed as well as the ‘trashy science fiction magazines’ that seemed to inspire some of the incredible images. We argue a bit over our preferred length but both of us wish there was less military stock footage slowing things down. The alternate British ending is brought up and I detail how I wish the American version ended. We do go on!

 

If you have thoughts on either of these Martian invasion movies thebloodypit@gmail.com is the place to send them. Thank you for listening. 

THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951) Lobby Cards and Poster Art

This classic never seems to get old!

 

Umberto Lenzi's IRONMASTER (1983)

The flood of barbarian movies that stormed across movie screens in the early 1980s was at best a mixed blessing. A direct result of the big box office of CONAN THE BARBARIAN (1982), the slew of rip-offs was inevitable as was the variable quality level from production to production. Barbarian movies don’t require much in the way of big budgets and if you’re fairly clever it is possible to create a moderately believable fantasy realm with sword wielding men and women saving oppressed people from evil warlords. If you want to include a wizard slinging around magic spells the price tag might go up a little (‘Find me a cheap FX man, now!’) but there were ways to make that pay off well if it made the film stand out from the crowd.

To be completely clear, none of these movies are classics of cinema. In fact, I would say that most of them would be considered bad movies by non-aficionados of strange cinema. But when you get the desire to see muscled non-actors swing swords and flatly toss out poorly scripted dialog about their beloved princesses and nefarious evil plans there are few options other than cueing up a barbarian movie from the 1980s! The crazy costumes are a big plus as well with the evil characters often wearing objects that a lively audience can spend the film’s entire running time trying to identify.

One of my favorites of the barbarian rip-off genre is Umberto Lenzi’s IRONMASTER. This film is a cut above the average of its type with a good story, some impressive South Dakota scenery and a good amount of well integrated stock footage of dangerous animals. The battle scenes are well done and usually believable in their harshness as the actors work hard to sell the physical nature of their characters. And only a group of mad Italians would have the audacity to conclude such a gory, violent movie with a call for non-violence and pacifism. Chef’s kiss!

 

 

Trailers From Hell - CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA (1961)

Joe Dante talks a bit about one of Roger Corman's goofiest monster movies. I'm glad Dante points out it was a parody as many viewers manage to miss that aspect of this silly film. Plus, the steel-wool monster always makes me smile! 

Poster Art - WAR OF THE WORLDS (1953)

I will eventually get this podcast edited. Really.

 

Poster Art - INVADERS FROM MARS (1953)

I love this classic science fiction film and I'm thrilled with the recent Blu-Ray release. I'll be talking about it on The Bloody Pit podcast soon.