The Bloody Pit #114 - DJANGO (1966)

Hundreds of westerns were made in the 1960’s and 70’s by European filmmakers looking to cash-in on the success of Sergio Leone’s breakout hit A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (1964). Within that huge volume of movies are a number that rival Leone’s work and sometimes surpass his level of quality. While I’m not sure that there are more than a dozen westerns made by other Italians that are as brilliant as THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY (1966) the ones made by another Sergio make the best case. Sergio Corbucci directed all kinds of films in his career but his first big hit was DJANGO (1966) and his follow up efforts with (and without) star Franco Nero are just as good as anything being made in the genre at the time. Set in a nearly deserted border town in a wet winter the film feels like a wallow in the muddiest spot on Earth. Caked in filth and dragging a coffin behind him Nero’s Django walks into this decaying hellhole with an agenda that will have the corpses piling up faster than graves can be dug.

Mark Maddox joins me to examine this classic Spaghetti Western from several angles. We note that its story is a variation of the plot of A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS and we trace that tale back to its literary origins. We talk about the rather graphic violence onscreen detailing how ahead of its time it is in the harsh, bloody actions we are shown. Franco Nero’s career is discussed as is his resemblance to one of the hosts of this podcast! The unforgettable theme song gets some attention along with some information about the impressive vocalist. Of course, many other westerns get talked about as we go with our long running argument about film rating scales nearly bringing the entire show to a halt in the final few minutes. Sorry about that!

If you have any comments or questions thebloodypit@gmail.com is the address or you can drop us a note over on the show’s FaceBook page. We’d love to hear from you as we decide which western to tackle next. Thanks for listening!

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Magazine - Little Shoppe of Horrors #44

I should have already mentioned that the latest issue of the venerable magazine focused on the classic Hammer films has come out. You can order it at the LINK HERE and pick up any back issues that you might have missed. The 'zine is always filled to the brim with great information, interviews and reviews that range all over the Hammer landscape and off occasionally into other British production houses from the 50's, 60's and 70's as well. I can't recommend Little Shoppe more highly so if you've never read an issue you can jump in anyplace that most interests you and find hours of good reading. It's a horror fan's dream come true. 

LSOH Website

The Bloody Pit #98 - MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE (1932)

Mark Maddox returns to the show to talk about one of the more overlooked of the Universal horror films of the 1930’s - MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE (1932). This movie’s lack of attention may be because it doesn’t have one of the classic monster characters as a draw or, possibly, because it is one of the darkest, nastiest sixty-one minutes the studio ever released! Luckily, I don’t think it will remain as underseen in the future as it has just gotten a tricked out new Blu-Ray release which gives the film the best visual presentation it’s ever received on home video. The picture is so sharp that you can almost see the evil thoughts as they flicker in Bela Lugosi’s eyes!

We start the episode with a brief discussion of some of some of the projects Mark has coming out soon including some fun information about the genesis of his cover art for the upcoming Blu-Ray of Hammer’s EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN. We then move into a rather scattered discussion of MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE, jumping from one topic to another as we explore the qualities that make it a unique part of the decade’s horror output. Lugosi’s masterful acting is examined along with his bizarre uni-brow. That is one strange look! The not-so hidden strain of bestiality embedded in the story is touched on as well as the fears of a Darwinian view of the world that the script uses to terrify its audience. We disagree about the inserted chimp scenes but both of us find some generally held ideas about this movie to be a bit silly. We bring up the legendary first edit of the film along with Tim Lucas’ Video Watchdog article (in issue #111) in which he proposed a way to re-edit the existing film to approximate the director’s original version. It’s a shame there wasn’t an attempt to include such a variation for the new Blu.

If you have any thoughts about this film or any other that we’ve discussed on the show, write to us at thebloodypit@gmail.com or over on the Facebook page. Mark will return in a few weeks to talk about another movie so you could even ask him some questions directly, if you wish. Thanks for listening!

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Mark Maddox Blu-Ray Covers!

One of the great joys of the past couple of years has been seeing my friend Mark get the opportunity to paint covers for the Blu-Ray releases of several classic horror films. 

And it seems that he has even more such work in the pipeline for 2020! 

These are the kind of covers these excellent films deserve! I hope there are a dozen more on the horizon. 

The Bloody Pit #97 - TERROR IS A MAN (1959)

I welcome artist Mark Maddox back to the show and we take a trip to Blood Island to survey the territory. TERROR IS A MAN (1959) is the first of what would become a series of Philippine produced horror films featuring monsters and bloody (for the times) violence. While the later films were colorful sleaze-fests this movie was shot in stark black and white with its horrors being moodier rather than grotesque. Not that the film skimps on horror thrills but, while it is pushing the outer edge of what was permissible in the 1950’s, it is still a more restrained tale than would come later.

Mark and I cut into this variation on Wells’ ‘Island of Doctor Moreau’ searching for the best parts and throwing out the worst. We disagree on a few elements with me decrying lip gloss and high heels while Mark makes the case for a shortened running time. But we agree on how much the film is improved by the recent HD release on Blu-Ray. This film has spent decades being presented to viewers in terrible prints on sub-par video releases that made it difficult to pay attention to the often excellent qualities onscreen. Now it’s possible to see the movie in a crisp, clear version that allows all the fine work done to be appreciated. Of course, it also allows us to focus on the less well-done aspects too. But this is a film that falls much more on the positive side than the negative and I will keep insisting on that until Mark shuts up!

We don’t stray too far off topic but if there are any odd side roads that you think we should travel down further in the future please let us know. The podcast email address is thebloodypit@gmail.com or we can be reached on the show’s FaceBook page. Thanks for listening and we’ll be back soon!

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Bond Unknown! - James Bond vs the Cthulhu Mythos

OK. The existence of this book may be the thing that gets me to forever stop thinking I've already seen the strangest thing I'll ever see. 

Because my buddy Mark Maddox painted the spectacular cover for this book I learned of it - but only today. Small Canadian press April Moon Books has put together two separate novelettes that feature Ian Fleming's master spy in adventures that have him encountering elements of the wider world of Lovecraft's Elder Gods Mythos. If I hadn't studied the details of this mad idea I would have considered it a hoax. I suspect that most people reading this blog have never heard of this either so I'm going to provide links for my fellow curious fans of these very different fictional worlds to learn more as well. What a time in which we live! 

Needless to say, I've ordered my copy already. 

AUTHOR EDWARD M. ERDELAC's BLOG ENTRY

APRIL MOON PRESS' ORDER PAGE