The Bloody Pit #99 - THE WOLF MAN (1941)

Is this the last ‘great’ Universal monster movie? 

That is one of the questions Troy and I pose as we dive into a discussion of this beloved werewolf film. THE WOLF MAN (1941) is such an entertaining film that I, of course, found a way to begin our conversation with a few of the things that I find to be less than perfect. And from there it only gets odder as we dig into the questions the film always brings up about four-legged wolves and suddenly appearing clothing. But we start to color outside the lines when we consider the dark family relationships in Talbot castle as well as the unknown past of Bela the gypsy with his mother Maleva. And what was that gypsy lady’s real motivation for hanging around to help Larry once his animal side began rampaging in the night? She certainly had some sharp words for Lord Talbot in their one interaction. Is there a subtext of class anger between the two oldest characters in this tale bubbling just beneath the surface? Or is she just the world’s best werewolf whisperer? And what about pretty Gwen’s quick transition to being head-over-heels in love with a man who could be called a telescope stalker? Unhappy with her fiancé? Hussy? Gold-digger? The gossipy women of the town want to know!

I apologize for my out of place ramble about the Big Country album Steeltown at the beginning of the show. Sometimes I just can’t help myself. If you have any thoughts or comments, the email address remains thebloodypit@gmail.com and the show’s Facebook page is alive and well. We look forward to continuing this series of 1940’s shows and hope you enjoy what we do! Thanks for listening. 

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Trailers From Hell - X THE UNKNOWN (1957)

Joe Dante very quickly gives you a lot of good info about this very well done Hammer science fiction film. "The thinking man's BLOB" a year before THE BLOB? Maybe! 

Universal Monsters Behind the Scenes!

And a publicity shot for THE WOLF MAN (1941). 

Big Country - Flame of the West (video)

I was recently talking with Troy about the Big Country album this song comes from and saying that instead of Steeltown it could have been titled Tales of Grief, Pain, Loss and Regret. Rarely have rock & roll rhyming couplets been so dark!

This song is about a particular world leader and shows a part of history from another point of view.

 A stranger came by traveling

He went to every door

He said he'd lost his people

He'd come to look for more

And many did believe him

As he talked upon the square

The spell he wove upon us

Fills my body with despair

And in his eyes

Was the flame of the west

Until it burns

He never rests

He had the voice of an angel

And the face of a saint

And though they fell behind him

I knew what it was he ment

His eyes where full of demons

As he made his message clear

He strode the world like Ceaser

With a trident held as fear

And in his eyes

Was the flame of the west

Until it burns

He never rests

It's just how it's always been

One man with a ruling dream

And everyone falls for him

Heroines in an ancient film

It's just how it's always been

One man with a ruling dream

And everyone falls for him

Heroines in an ancient film

Called the flame of the west

Look out for that stranger

If you pass him on your way

He never sees a danger

In the darkening of the day

There will be dollars in his hand

He has all hell to pay

And he will pass them to you

If you promise you will stay

More Movie Posters From an Alternate World

Some of these.......WOW!  

What I Watched in February

After the complete mess of KING ARTHUR (2017) and the I-don't-give-a-crap-ness of a live-action version of Disney's ALADDIN (2019), it is wonderful to see Guy Ritchie back in the genre that he has a firm handle on  -  British gangsters. With THE GENTLEMEN (2020) he returns to modern-day London with various groups of serious criminals vying for smaller and larger slices of the crime pie. Richie's films of this type rise and fall on the strengths of their outrageous characters and the ability of the cast to embody these deadly villains in amusing fashion. In this case, he has hit one out of the park again. The cast is phenomenal, the twisty story is joyous in its clever reveals and the excitement level is always high. More like this please and less like King Arthur and Guy Ritchie can keep making these films for the rest of his life as far as I'm concerned.

Although I’m loath to admit it, I enjoy quite a lot of the film adaptations of H. P. Lovecraft’s horror fiction. Not all of what I enjoy are very good films but, in most cases, I’m pleased by the attempt to bring his often difficult work to the screen. So, when an actual good film based on HPL’s work gets made I’m overjoyed. Such is the case with Richard Stanley’s COLOR OUT OF SPACE (2020) which finds a way to both adapt and update to modern times one of the most interesting of his rural set tales. Taking the story as a solid base Stanley brings his own sensibilities and style to the tale letting it unfold naturally and, dare I say, colorfully. The film allows for deeper characters than on the page and the family relationships feel real as well adding a touch of humanity that Lovecraft usually seemed to view as superfluous. The horrors are well presented and I was happy to notice that a fair amount the dialog was lifted straight from the original tale. Well done! I look forward to the announced adaptation of The Dunwich Horror!

THE LIST 

DRAGGED ACROSS CONCRETE (2019) – 7

GOD FORGIVES, I DON’T (1967) – 6 (Spaghetti western – first teaming of Hill and Spencer)

THE SATANIST (1968) – 3 (silly, hour long soft-core porn)

TERROR IS A MAN (1959) – 7 (rewatch)

THE THING (1982) – 10 (rewatch)

HEART OF THE NORTH (1938) – 7 (Canadian Mountie film)

IN A VALLEY OF VIOLENCE (2016) – 8 (excellent western)

RODAN (1956) – 7 (the English dubbed version)

THE FALCON STRIKES BACK (1943) – 6 (rewatch)

THE IRISHMAN (2019) – 9 (brilliant if long gangster epic)

LOVE AND BULLETS (1979) – 6 (Bronson in a pretty good crime tale)

ERIK THE VIKING (1965) – 6 (interesting but overlong adventure)

ANON (2018) – 7 (sci-fi noir crime story)

THE BISHOP MURDER CASE (1929) – 6 (early talkie with Basil Rathbone as Philo Vance)

THE FALCON IN DANGER (1943) – 6

THE GENTLEMEN (2020) – 8

MEN IN BLACK INTERNATIONAL (2019) – 7 (shame this wasn’t a bigger hit)

COLOR OUT OF SPACE (2019) – 8

DOCTOR JEKYLL AND THE WOLFMAN (1973) – 8  (rewatch)

MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE (1932) – 7 (rewatch on Blu)

Canadian Mounted Police Artwork

One of the stranger reading habits I have is the unavoidable desire to read adventure tales of the Canadian Mounties during the winter months. Even if the story takes place in the Summertime I still want to read these things in the cooler times of year. Of course, I prefer that they take place in the driving snow with bitter temperatures causing ice to form on everything but I'll take anything I can get in this rather small genre. I don't expect many folks to understand this obsession much less share it, but if you like westerns you might enjoy this Northern variation. Maybe.