Classic Horror Films - Day 10 (ROSEMARY'S BABY - 1968)

A young married couple (Mia Farrow and John Cassavetes), trying unsuccessfully to conceive, finally have it happen when the husband strikes a deal with the devil worshippers next door. All of this is unbeknownst to the poor wife/mother who soon realizes she could be having Satan's child. The supporting cast is excellent including a nutty Ruth Gordon, Ralph Bellamy, Patsy Kelly, and Elisha Cook.

Classic Horror Films - Day 9 (DRACULA - 1931)

After a harrowing ride through the Carpathian mountains in eastern Europe, Renfield enters castle Dracula to finalize the transferral of Carfax Abbey in London to Count Dracula, who is in actuality a vampire. Renfield is drugged by the eerily hypnotic count, and turned into one of his thralls, protecting him during his sea voyage to London. After sucking the blood and turning the young Lucy Weston into a vampire, Dracula turns his attention to her friend Mina Seward, daughter of Dr. Seward who then calls in a specialist, Dr. Van Helsing, to diagnose the sudden deterioration of Mina's health. Van Helsing, realizing that Dracula is indeed a vampire, tries to prepare Mina's fiance, John Harker, and Dr. Seward for what is to come and the measures that will have to be taken to prevent Mina from becoming one of the undead.

Bela Lugosi is Dracula in a commanding performance. His mannerisms and speech while some find distracting works for me as it makes his Dracula far different from other actors who have taken on this classic role. Dwight Frye is also good as Renfield and Edward Van Sloan is solid as Van Helsing. I was also impressed with actress Helen Chandler as Mina. I think she was very underrdated and never had the film career she should have had. Anyway this is a faithful and solid film adaptation of Bram Stoker's horror classic Dracula.

The Women of Hammer Films - Hazel Court

Hazel appeared in two Hammer films: The Curse Of Frankenstein (1957) and The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959). It is noted that she was Hammer's first pin-up girl. She was born in Birmingham, England in 1926. She was a leading student at her hometown's School of Drama and landed a contract with the J. Arthur Rank Organisation. She starred in numerous films for that company but never really had a big hit. She made her first successful film while loaned out to another studio for Holiday Camp in 1947. During this time, she took off to get married and raise a daughter and her career suffered for it. She appeared in the schockly Devil Girl From Mars in 1954 and nothing else of note until Hammer came calling with The Curse Of Frankenstein. Hazel starred as the prim Elizabeth in the first of Hammer horror films. She was so successful in the film, that Hammer brought her back for The Man Who Could Cheat Death. These two films re-energized Hazel's career and she became known for horror films after that. She made 5 films for Roger Corman including The Raven and The Masque of Red Death with such co-stars as Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, and Peter Lorre. After film work dried up, Hazel wound up appearing in several TV series during the late 60's and 70's including Gidget, Mission Impossible, Mannix, McMillan & Wife, and The Wild, Wild West. During her later years she was a fan favorite at conventions all around the world. Hazel died in 2008 at the age of 82 of a heart attack. Forever remembered as the first Hammer girl.

Classic Horror Films Schedule

Here is the remaing schedule for my classic horror films series:

Oct 9th: Dracula (1931)
Oct 10th: Rosemary's Baby
Oct 11th: Village of the Damned (1960)
Oct 12th: Cat People (1942)
Oct 13th: Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?
Oct 14th: Hush Hush...Sweet Charlotte
Oct 15th: Don't Look Now
Oct 16th: Suspiria
Oct 17th: Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1956)
Oct 18th: Sisters
Oct 19th: The Seventh Victim
Oct 20th: Frenzy
Oct 21st: Dr.Jekyll And Mr. Hyde (1941)
Oct 22nd: The Boston Strangler
Oct 23rd: The Haunting (1963)
Oct 24th: House On Haunted Hill (1959)
Oct 25th: Jaws
Oct 26th: Die! Die! My Darling
Oct 27th: Wait Until Dark
Oct 28th: The Omen
Oct 29th: Horror Of Dracula
Oct 30th: Countess Dracula
Oct 31st: Frankenstein

Classic Horror Films - Day 8 (I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE - 1943)

A young Canadian nurse named Betsy (Frances Dee) comes to the West Indies to care for Jessica (Christine Gordon) the wife of a plantation manager Paul Holland (played by Tom Conway). Jessica seems to be suffering from a kind of mental paralysis as a result of fever. When she falls in love with Paul, Betsy determines to cure Jessica even if she needs to use a voodoo ceremony, to give Paul what she thinks he wants. A very amtospheric movie with more suspense and dramatic than an actual horror film. Think Rebecca mixed with voodoo worship. It was cool seeing actress Frances Dee, usually in light comedies and westerns in this type of movie. I Walked With A Zombie is a good suspense film that will give you a scare of two. Made by the team of director Jacques Tourneur and producer Val Lewton, who also collaborated on Cat People and The Leopard Man.

Be My Guest: KC (Classic Movies)

My good friend KC is my guest this month, so let's get right to our discussion.

Monty: Who are your Top 5 favorite actors/actresses?

KC:This is a cruel question! But I’m game. Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck, Ingrid Bergman,
Cary Grant, James Cagney are my Mount Rushmore of classic Hollywood.
Monty: Great pics KC. I'm a big Cary Grant fan as well.


Monty: Describe in detail why your number 1 favorite actor/actress is your favorite.

KC: Bette Davis believed that acting should be larger than life, and that if you wanted real life, you could see it on the street corner. I like that she could back that belief with ability, so that even when she did go over-the-top, she was still turning in a great performance.
Monty: Once again Bette is the choice. Believe it or not but nearly everyone of my guests have chosen Bette as their favorite KC.


Monty: Describe your first classic movie experience.
KC: I think it must have been watching the Wizard of Oz (1939) on TV when I was really small. I’m sure I had no idea how old that movie was. I remember thinking the black and white scenes were strange, and not understanding why they weren’t in color.
Monty: I believe I was around 9 or 10 when I first saw Oz and it blew me away.

Monty: What is your absolute favorite movie?

KC: I can whittle it down to three: All About Eve, Notorious and My Man Godfrey. Everything impresses me about these movies, from script and execution to the casts.
Monty: Yes to all three KC. Especially All About Eve.


Monty: Describe the perfect way for you to watch a classic movie.
KC: On my big green couch with a snack. I used to like to go to the repertory theater, but people talk so much now. They’re all used to watching movies at home and talking whenever they please. It’s disappointing. I love my couch though.
Monty: I love my couch as well KC.


Monty: What is your favorite time period and why: the 20's, the 30's, the 40's, the 50's or the 60's?

KC: My favorite movie period is the 30’s. I love the zing of early musicals, the rough edges of the pre-codes and the lively, romantic feel of screwball comedies.
Monty: KC, my favorite period is the 30's as well, mainly because that's when screwball comedies were at their zenith.




Monty: Any current stars catch your fancy, if so who are they?

KC: I’ve liked Kristen Bell ever since Veronica Mars, though I haven’t seen her in anything nearly as good since. Matt Damon is so subtle that often it seems no one notices just how good he is. I thought Michael Jai White was hilarious in Black Dynamite; I’d love to see more of him. I’d see anything with Marion Cotillard.
Monty: I used to watch Veronica Mars and thought Bell was awesome.


Monty: What is your favorite movie quote?

KC: From The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947). I love to say this out of the blue and confuse people:
Hey, you remind me of a man.
What man?
Man with the power.
What power?
The power of hoodoo.
Hoodo?
You do
What?
Remind me of a man


Monty: Classic...

Monty: If you could be any movie character, who would it be and why?
KC: This is a tough one, because one of the reasons I like movies is that I can live vicariously through all these people doing outlandish things, but I don’t have to suffer the consequences of their actions.

It would be fun to be Carole Lombard in My Man Godfrey. She comes off like a real nitwit—but notice how she always eventually gets what she wants? This one is dumb like a fox.
Monty: Awesome KC. I love Carole Lombard.
KC: This is going to sound odd, but it might also be fun to be Woody Strode in The Professionals (1966). His physicality was awesome—I’d love to be able to slide off a horse with such elegance, or to charge up a hill without getting out of breath.
Monty: Unusual but still an excellent choice.


KC: Thanks for having me as your guest Monty! It was really fun to answer your questions.
Monty: No Problem KC...glad you could do it and I really enjoyed your answers.

Classic Horror Films - Day 7 (STRAW DOGS - 1971)

A young American (Dustin Hoffman) and his English wife (Susan George) come to rural England and face increasingly vicious local harassment. He is bullied and his wife is attacked. And he is very meek and non-confrontational, but then he gets pushed to far and decides to fight back. Things get nasty when that happens. And it's on after that. Quite violent and bloody from director Sam Peckinpah. Hoffman is top notch as David, as he goes from timid to hard core before the movie is over. And George delivers a solid performance as well.

Happy Birthday Carole Lombard (1908-1942)

I already posted about Carole on my other blog, Screwball Cinema about today being her birthday. But I had to post about her on here as well. For me, Carole Lombard was the greates actress ever. I loved her in everything she did. She especially shined in all those screwball comedies like Nothing Sacred, Twenthieth Century, To Be Or Not To Be, and Mr. and Mrs. Smith to name a few. Her life was tragically cut short due to that plane crash in 1942 but she left behind a legacy of great work. So, Happy Birthday Carole. And I will take a break from horror movies today to watch at least one of her films.

Classic Horror Films - Day 6 (REPULSION - 1965)

Catherine Deneuve stars as Carol Ledoux, a Belgian manicurist living with her sister, Helen (Yvonne Furneaux), in a London flat. Simultaneously attracted and repulsed by sex, Carol is a virgin who finds her sister's relationship with a married man, Michael (Ian Hendry), extremely disturbing. When her sister and Michael go on holiday, Carol begins to disintegrate mentally, hallucinating bizarre encounters, being forced into taking a sabbatical from her job and ultimately committing a pair of murders in her deranged state. A strange but effective thriller. Catherine Deneuve gives a terrific performance as the young woman who becomes unhinged. Very creepy.

Happy Birthday Kate Winslet

Happy Birthday to Kate Winslet, who is one of my favorite modern actresses. My favorite Kate films are Titanic, Sense & Sensibility, The Holiday, and Heavenly Creatures.