I GOT THE LIEBSTER AWARD AND I WANT TO SHARE IT WITH 11 BLOGGERS
I just received my first award, the Liebster Award, for the year 2014 from Damian Thomas Films…Etc. So now I’ll show you a picture of the award in case you are interested in things like that. Most people like to look at naked girls on the internet but hey if looking at awards is your thing here it is:
Now, what else do I have to do to represent this prestigious award? Oh yes I have to answer 11 questions from the blogger who nominated me. Here goes nothing.
1. What angers you the most when watching a movie in theaters?
The thing that angers me most is when some self-important moron decides to light up half the theater with their cell phone. Your mommy, your drug dealer or your crack whore girlfriend can wait until the movie is over. Get off the phone!
2. What do you love about watching movies in theaters?
It’s when the manager kicks out the self-important moron for using their cell phone in the theater. I’ve never been to the Alamo Drafthouse but I want to go there one day just so I can (possibly) see it happen. They have a ‘no talking, no texting’ rule, you know?
3. Name a movie you never want to watch. Ever.
That would be The Happy Hooker. My mother had a copy of the book and I read and re-read all the good parts. I don’t want to see it because I know what I see on the screen will not measure up to my imagination.
4. Name a movie you’re ashamed you haven’t seen yet.
I can’t think of one. Sorry.
5. Favorite weekend hangout?
Home and Barnes & Noble.
6. Favorite band or music artist for the past week?
Every year I listen to my collection of over 400 CD’s in Alphabetical-Chronological order. This past week has been all about Blue Öyster Cult.
7. 3D. Yay or Nay?
I could care less.
8. Name a movie you wish you could have been on the set while it was filming.
The Godfather or Goodfellas because they are arguably the two greatest mafia films ever made. As for a horror film that’s an easy one: The Howling or John Carpenter’s The Thing. I never get tired of those two films.
9. How do you stream movies (Computer, Blu-ray Player, Game Consoles like PS4 and Wii)?
Through my Playstation 3 or my Blu-ray mostly.
10. What are your top five favorite movie podcasts to listen to?
I’ve only listened to one podcast related to movies: Badasses, Boobs and Body Counts. I also occasionally post episodes from The Pit of Ultimate Dark Shadows. I’ll be posting episode 9 this Friday.
- Who is your movie celebrity crush? You have to answer for both guys and girls.
If I was going to pick a guy I would have say Michael Fassbender on the basis that he’s a fantastic actor. As for female celebrities I have so many it’s impossible to pick just one. Raquel Welch, Salma Hayek, Emma Stone, Julianne Moore come to mind.
I now have to pick 11 bloggers whom I wish to pick the Liebster Award to. They are in no particular order:
The Pit of Ultimate Dark Shadows
I will be sending each blogger a comment to let them know they have received the Liebster.
Finally, instead of 11 questions I have only one question I wish for them to answer:
Bigfoot or the Abominable Snowman-which one is sexier?
HERE COMES THE DEVIL
HERE COMES THE DEVIL-Mexico/United States-97 Mins. 2013
Francisco Barreiro as Felix in Here Comes the Devil
Laura Caro as Sol in Here Comes the Devil
Directed and Written by Adrián García Bogliano
It’s very disconcerting to read about a movie and want to see it and then find yourself disappointed when it’s over. That’s the feeling I got after seeing Here Comes the Devil, a film by Adrián García Bogliano. What’s even more disconcerting is that, strangely enough, I don’t think Here Comes the Devil likes itself very much either. It’s a film in search of an identity that it never truly finds. Is it a possession film or a ghost story? Perhaps it’s a revenge film or a ‘my kids are not quite what they seem’ film? For most of its 97 minute run time nothing seems to happen. It’s as if Bogliano wants us to go on a ride with him, but in a car that perpetually stalls.
Felix and Sol are the parents of two young children, Adolfo and Sarita (Alan Martinez and Michele Garcia). The children disappear after exploring a cave on a hill while the parents take a nap in the car (more on that nap in the next paragraph). When the children are found it soon becomes clear that they are not the same as before their disappearance. Felix and Sol’s suspicions are directed toward a local eccentric, Lucio; who they murder after finding the panties that Sarita wore on the day of hers and Adolfo’s disappearance in his home. After this, strange things begin to occur; doors that close on their own, lights that flicker and rocks are heard smashing the outside of the house but are never found. Felix suspects that someone saw them kill Lucio and is playing mind games; Sol believes there is a far more sinister explanation and receives further proof of this after an incident with their babysitter and from a startling revelation when she visits the cave where the children were last seen before they disappeared and were then found. It’s only after this discovery that Here Comes the Devil finds any semblance of identity; too little, too late.
The nap scene I mentioned in the previous paragraph quickly turns into a sex scene between Felix and Sol. I’ve seen tons of sex scenes in countless movies but this made me feel uncomfortable to the point of embarrassment. It also made me question the couple as parents. If my kids wanted to go to some cave I wouldn’t be committing sexual acts in the front seat of my car in broad daylight; I’d go with them to make sure they are safe. After Sol realizes that it is getting late and the children haven’t returned the next scene we see is a cup being filled with coffee that one of them, Sol or Felix, I don’t recall which, drinks. Your kids are missing and you stop for coffee? That is excellent parenting. It’s all this, the lack of identity and the films pacing (somewhere between snail and molasses) that make Here Comes the Devil one to avoid.
NO TRIVIA
½
Francisco Barreiro also appears in We Are What We Are (2010) and Loves Her Gun.
Laura Caro, Alan Martinez and Michele Garcia makes her film debut in Here Comes the Devil.
THE SEMI-DAILY ‘HORRIBLE’ HORROR MOVIE QUOTE OF THE DAY-APRIL 19, 2014
From Plan 9 from Outer Space and featuring Duke Moore as Lieutenant Harper:
But one thing’s sure. Inspector Clay is dead, murdered, and somebody’s responsible.
LEPRECHAUN
LEPRECHAUN-United States-92 Mins. 1993
Warwick Davis as Leprechaun in Leprechaun
Jennifer Aniston as Tory Reding in Leprechaun
Ken Olandt as Nathan Murphy in Leprechaun
Mark Holton as Ozzie in Leprechaun
Robert Gorman as Alex in Leprechaun
Directed and Written by Mark Jones
I wonder if after all these years if Jennifer Aniston wakes up in a cold sweat and the thought, “My God, what have I done?” running through her head. That’s exactly what I would be doing if my debut film was the debacle known as Leprechaun. Now I’ve never watched Troll 2, but I’ve heard that it falls into the ‘so bad it’s good’ category of horror movies. Leprechaun falls into the ‘it was a piece of crap, it is a piece of crap, it will always be a piece of crap’ category. What’s more appalling is that there have been at least 5 sequels and a soon to be released prequel (Leprechaun: Origins-starring WWE’s resident midget Hornswoggle) to this atrocity.
Aniston plays Tory Reding, an L.A. girl. Tory and her dad move into a fix-her-upper house located far from the pulse of L.A. in North Dakota. The previous owner of the house stole the leprechaun’s gold with the intention of living out his days in luxury. When the leprechaun comes seeking his stolen treasure he traps it in a wooden crate and set a four-leaf clover on top to keep it imprisoned within. Ten years later the leprechaun is freed and he soon cuts a bloody path to find his missing gold. It’s up to Tory, some strictly eye-candy painter named Nathan, his little brother Alex and a simpleton named Ozzie to stop the wee Irish monster before their luck runs out for good. I’m hard pressed to find any worse a menagerie of morons in any horror film before or since.
There’s not much more to be said about Leprechaun. There’s nothing to like about it or even raise it to some level of redemption. It’s poorly written, directed and acted and with sub-par make-up effects that would be more at home in a cheap haunted house at Halloween. One thing that does bear thought is the film’s tagline: “Your luck just ran out.” Considering that Jennifer Aniston has never had a true box-office hit those words now seem hauntingly prophetic.
TRIVIA
One scene required the Leprechaun to find and eat Lucky Charms cereal, which the company gave them permission to do. Upon seeing the finished film, the company was displeased and would not allow them to use the scene. The film makers had the choice to either cut the scene or to re-shoot it, costing them more money. They chose to re-shoot it, replacing the brand name with an obvious spoof of the name brand cereal, and, made one last additional surprise ending scene while they were filming. Furious with the cereal company for making them re-shoot the scene, they pulled the kid character aside and had him say a new line. His line, “Your luck just ran out!” was changed to “Fuck you, Lucky Charms!” as an obvious reference to the whole ordeal.
According to Warwick Davis, the movie was originally planned as a scary kid’s film, but the studio thought it would work better as a more adult horror, so inserts were filmed to increase the gore and violence.
Jennifer Aniston’s feature film debut.
The character of Deputy Tripet was named after David Tripet, who had been the executive in charge of production.
The video has sold less than 100,000 copies.
0 Blood Drops
Warwick Davis also appears in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Jennifer Aniston also appears in We’re the Millers and Office Space.
Ken Olandt also appears in Summer School and April Fool’s Day.
Mark Holton also appears in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure and Gacy.
Robert Gorman also appears in Forever Young and The Accidental Tourist.
THE SEMI-DAILY HORROR MOVIE QUOTE OF THE DAY-APRIL 15th, 2014
From Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood and featuring Kane Hodder as Jason Voorhees:
…
CAPTAIN KRONOS-VAMPIRE HUNTER
CAPTAIN KRONOS-VAMPIRE HUNTER-United Kingdom-91 Mins. 1974
Horst Janson as Kronos in Captain Kronos-Vampire Hunter
John Cater as Dr. Hieronymous Grost in Captain Kronos-Vampire Hunter
John Carson as Dr. Marcus in Captain Kronos-Vampire Hunter.
Caroline Munro as Carla in Captain Kronos-Vampire Hunter
Shane Briant as Paul Durward in Captain Kronos-Vampire Hunter
Ian Hendry as Kerro in Captain Kronos-Vampire Hunter
Wanda Ventham as Lady Durward in Captain Kronos-Vampire Hunter
Directed and written by Brian Clemens
Before there was Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy the Vampire Slayer; before there was Wesley Snipes as Blade; there was Horst Janson as-wait for it-Captain Kronos-Vampire Hunter! While Buffy might have had better high kicks and back flips and Blade may have had Whistler to forge cool vampire-killing weapons; Captain Kronos had Dr. Hieronymous Grost and his encyclopedic knowledge of vampires, his mighty sword and the beautiful, doe-eyed Caroline Munro at his side as he fought against the scourge of the un-dead.
The vampires that the good Captain engages are of a different breed than normal in that, instead of robbing its victims of their blood, it robs them of their youth. This is definitely a bit of a downer, especially when it comes to the vampire’s female conquests. Usually in a vampire film any time a young maiden is bitten she either dies or becomes a hot sexy female vampire. This vampire cuts out the middle man and goes straight to death and for that alone he must feel the cold steel of Captain Kronos’ blade.
As you can expect, Captain Kronos-Vampire Hunter is exciting, sword-swinging, vampire action in the Hammer Films tradition. Horst Janson portrays Kronos as larger than life even if he does occasionally deliver his lines a bit stiffly (It’s not really Janson’s fault; his voice was dubbed by another actor) . The supporting cast, especially John Cater as Grost and Munro as Carla do a more than adequate job of scenery-chewing and writer-director Brian Clemens moves the film along at a steady gallop.
Captain Kronos-Vampire Hunter was supposed to have been the first in a series of films for Hammer, but poor box office cancelled those plans. It’s a pity; despite a few tiny flaws I think a Captain Kronos franchise would have been quite fun.
TRIVIA
Ingrid Pitt has said in interviews she refused the Wanda Ventham cameo role.
Writer Brian Clemens had been keen to use Simon Oates as Captain Kronos.
Horst Janson also appears in The Devil May Laugh and Shout at the Devil.
John Cater also appears in The Woman in Black (1989) and The Abominable Dr. Phibes.
John Carson also appears in Taste the Blood of Dracula and Doomsday.
Caroline Munro also appears in Where’s Jack? and The Spy Who Loved Me.
Shane Briant also appears in Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell and Lady Chatterley’s Lover.
Ian Hendry also appears in Get Carter (1971) and Repulsion.
Wanda Ventham also appears in Asylum (2005) and The Blood Beast Terror.
THE SEMI-DAILY HORROR MOVIE QUOTE OF THE DAY-APRIL 13, 2014
From A Nightmare on Elm Street:
One, two, Freddy’s coming for you. Three, four, better lock your door. Five, six, grab your crucifix. Seven, eight, gonna stay up late. Nine, ten, never sleep again.
ULTIMATE WARRIOR 1959-2014
Ultimate Warrior
James Hellwig aka Ultimate Warrior
I was inspired by my friend Alex Laybourne to write this post. After reading his recent post about the life, and passing, of James Hellwig aka The Ultimate Warrior I noticed that we had a lot in common, and some differences, as far as the sport of professional wrestling is concerned. We can both admit to loving wrestling when we were children. My first show came at 10 years old in 1972 in South Carolina at the Spartanburg Memorial Auditorium. The main event was ‘Nature Boy’ Ric Flair and the late Johnny Valentine vs. ‘Number One’ Paul Jones and the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’ Andre the Giant. I was hooked, mesmerized. Every Saturday afternoon I was tuned in to Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling to see my heroes Wahoo McDaniel, Paul Jones, Rufus R, Jones, Johnny Weaver and others as they did battle against the likes of Blackjack Mulligan (Robert Windham, father of Barry Windham and grandfather of current WWE Superstar Bray Wyatt), Ivan Koloff, and the Anderson Brothers, Ole and Gene. Like Alex, I would go to the shows and I would scream my lungs out until I was certain that I had ruptured my larynx and would never be able to speak clearly again. Little did I know that dreaded day of discovery was lurking like a beast just around the corner? Wrestling is staged? No way. I refused to believe it. Even when I saw the occasional punch that didn’t quite make the mark or that move that looked a bit too assisted. Fake or not I loved pro wrestling then and I’ll be a son of a bitch if I don’t love it over 40 years later. But alas, here is where Alex and I have a difference of view and I would be a hypocrite if I said anything to the contrary: I never liked The Ultimate Warrior.
My dislike for Warrior wasn’t so much for the man himself as it was for the character that he portrayed. See, I always believed that the greatest professional wrestlers were the ones that could make you believe that what they were doing in that ring was 100% real. Ric Flair could do it. So could Ricky Steamboat. Kurt Angle is another one who comes to mind. The Ultimate Warrior-not so much. I always thought that he was wasting valuable energy running to the ring and shaking the ropes like a man possessed of some fiery entity. I never bought into the way he defeated opponents in mere seconds. It just didn’t seem real to me. However, I will admit to loving it whenever Warrior defeated Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania VI for the WWF Championship. Remember how I said I disliked not the man, James Hellwig, but the character of Ultimate Warrior? My disdain for Hogan runs even deeper; I don’t like the wrestler and I don’t think very highly of the man. But then again that is another story for another day.
Cut to April 7, 2014. Monday Night Raw is on and my wife and I are watching it in our living room. Halfway into the show Ultimate Warrior’s music hits and he comes out to a huge pop from the audience. Mind you, at this point he is only James Hellwig; no face-paint, no tassels, no shaggy mane; just a man in a suit and a tie. But then he steps into the ring and the transformation begins. He puts on a mask identical to the face paint. He wears a long coat with his likeness airbrushed across the back. He begins to speak; it is not Hellwig, but the Ultimate Warrior whose voice we hear. With words that are now eerily prophetic he tells us that one day every man’s heart will beat its final beat and his lungs will draw their final breath. He shakes the ropes, bringing to mind his glory days. This is his way of saying to the generation that watched him in his prime and to the people perhaps seeing him for the first time, “Thank you for loving me, thank you for coming to see me and most of all thank you for remembering me.” As I watched this I could feel my dislike melt away. I realized that the running, the rope-shaking, the fast wins were all a part of a character who was trying to make a name for himself in a business that is widely known for chewing people up and spitting them out. Like Randy Savage, Roddy Piper and others here was a man who just wanted to entertain people and that is exactly what he did and by golly he did it big.
James Hellwig aka Ultimate Warrior passed away on April 8, 2014 at the young age of 54. He was a mere two years older at his time of passing than I am now at the age of 52. I send to his family my sincere condolences. I pray that he is resting peacefully. I’m sorry my initial dislike marred my view of him for so many years. It’s too late to change that. The past is past and there is no future. I can’t even think of any final, profound words to say. Rest in Peace is all that comes to mind.
DRACULA A.D. 1972
DRACULA A.D. 1972-United Kingdom-96 Mins. 1972
Christopher Lee as Count Dracula in Dracula A.D. 1972
Peter Cushing as Professor Van Helsing in Dracula A.D. 1972
Stephanie Beacham as Jessica Van Helsing in Dracula A.D. 1972
Christopher Neame as Johnny Alucard in Dracula A.D. 1972
Caroline Munro as Laura Bellows in Dracula A.D. 1972
Directed by Alan Gibson
Written by Don Houghton
Hey, hey what is happening righteous readers and bodacious bloggers? It’s time for a hip review of that somewhat square Hammer Films production of Dracula A.D. 1972 starring those cool cats Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing as toothy Count Dracula and his arch-nemesis Lawrence Van Helsing. Don’t ask me what happened to Abraham Van Helsing; I think the old guy must have been on vacation in the Bahamas or something.
After a prologue set in 1872 with the Count and Van Helsing doing battle on a stagecoach and the Count going down for the count and this weird dude in black scooping up his ashes we see a plane flying overhead to give us a hint that we are in swingin’ far out 1972. I think the sight of birds (that’s British for babes) in hot pants and go-go boots would have been clue enough if you ask me. Anyway, this creepy cat named Johnny Alucard (who looks just like the weird dude from 1872) gets a group of friends together and incites a black mass to summon Count Dracula back to the land of the living. Dracula uses Johnny to bring him ladies with luscious necks to suck blood from and to find the descendants of the Van Helsing family so he can destroy them once and for all. This Dracula dude is really bumming me out, man. First he sucks the life out of raven-haired Caroline Munro and then he wants to do the same to Stephanie Beacham as Van Helsing’s granddaughter Jessica. It’s a good thing grandpa Van Helsing, a descendant of Lawrence, is there to pull the plug on Dracula’s nefarious scheme.
Okay, I’m going to bring it all back home to 2014 for the rest of this review. Yes, Dracula A.D. 1972 is probably the worst of the Hammer/Christopher Lee/Peter Cushing Dracula series. There’s just something about bringing the Count in to the (then) modern era of 1972 that just doesn’t seem…right. It’s quasi-surrealistic to see Dracula chasing Van Helsing to the beat of a hip ’70′s soundtrack; or to see Dracula resplendent in his signature red-lined black cape among bell-bottoms and Beatle boots. All that aside; as bad as Dracula A.D. 1972 is I can say with one hundred and fifteen per cent assuredness that I would rather watch a million hours of bad Dracula movies than one millisecond of the Twilight saga. That’s not just righteous, that’s far out, bay-bay!!!
TRIVIA
Four actors in the film appeared in future James Bond films. Christopher Lee played Francisco Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), Caroline Munro played Naomi in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Michael Kitchen played Bill Tanner in James Bond(1995) and The World Is Not Enough (1999), and Christopher Neame played Fallon inLicence to Kill (1989).
Renamed for its French and Spanish releases because it was reached theaters there one year later.
Dracula’s taunting of Van Helsing in the church (“You would play your brains against mine, against me who has commanded nations?”) directly references Dracula’s dialogue from Stoker’s novel: “Whilst they played wits against me, against me who commanded nations, and intrigued for them, and fought for them, hundreds of years before they were born, I was countermining them.”
The music used in the church resurrection scene is “The Black Mass: An Electric Storm in Hell” from the 1969 album “An Electric Storm” by White Noise. The group themselves were an experimental space-age rock combo formed by David Vorhaus and featuring Delia Derbyshire & Brian Hodgson from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop.
Christopher Lee also appears in The Wicker Man and Dark Shadows.
Peter Cushing also appears in Top Secret! and Star Wars: Episode IV-A New Hope.
Stephanie Beacham also appears in The Wolves of Willoughby Chase and The Witches Hammer.
Caroline Munro also appears in Captain Kronos-Vampire Hunter and The Golden Voyage of Sinbad.
Christopher Neame also appears in The Prestige and Ghostbusters II.
FRANKENSTEIN: THE TRUE STORY
FRANKENSTEIN: THE TRUE STORY-United States-185 Mins. 1973
James Mason as Dr. John Polidori in Frankenstein: The True Story
Leonard Whiting as Dr. Victor Frankenstein in Frankenstein: The True Story
David McCallum as Dr. Henry Clerval in Frankenstein: The True Story
Jane Seymour as Agatha Prima in Frankenstein: The True Story
Michael Sarrazin as The Creature in Frankenstein: The True Story
Directed by Jack Smight
Teleplay by Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy
Based on the novel by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
I don’t know where to begin with my review of Frankenstein: The True Story. I saw this as a two-night mini-series when it first premiered in 1973; which would have made me 11 years old at the time. Little did I know at such a young age? I thought Frankenstein was all about a scientist who plays God by creating a man out of the body parts of other men. I mean, that was the original plot of Mary Shelley’s novel, right? Yeah, right. After Frankenstein: The True Story I’m more inclined to think that Dr. Frank-N-Furter was the real author of the classic novel. Let me put it to you this way and I do not in any way, shape or form intend to offend anyone (seriously, after nearly 800 posts you should know by now that I am capable of saying just about anything); but there is only one word to describe Frankenstein: The True Story and that is G-A-Y.
Let me break it down for you. Dr. Frankenstein creates the Creature, which we have established. One of the first things he says to the Creature is ‘beautiful’. That’s not so unusual except for the fact that he says this to the Creature a lot. Then, what else does the good doctor do? He shows the Creature off around town like he was his fiancé instead of his science project. Our good doctor is as giddy as a virgin on prom night when it comes to his patchwork man. What’s that? You’re asking what about when the Creature begins to turn bad? What about it? All that means is that the Creature is struggling and unsure of his feelings for Doctor Frankenstein. Is there another question? Yes, from the guy in the third row wearing the Elton John t-shirt; what is your question? Oh, you’re saying what about the female creature the doctor created for the Creature? As I recall, the Creature rips her head clean off of her shoulders. He also electrocutes Dr. Polidori by hoisting him up the mainsail during a ferocious lightning storm at sea. Let’s face it: there is nothing that is going to stand in the way of the Creature and his Vicky (that’s the Creature’s pet name for Victor).
Okay, before I go any further let me explain once again that I mean no offense to anyone of same-sex preference. It’s just that I’m used to the story of Frankenstein being all about Boris Karloff wearing bolts in his neck and asphalt boots and hanging midgets* by their neck from the ceiling. I’m used to Christopher Lee looking all pizza-faced and pathetic. I’m used to Colin Clive and Peter Cushing playing God and going the devil’s route. I’m not used to a Dr. Frankenstein who calls his creation a ‘dandy’ and shows him off at the opera. If it seems like I have nothing but disdain for Frankenstein: The True Story let me make it very clear that I in fact do not. I found the acting to be more than adequate for a television production. Leonard Whiting makes for a capable Dr. Frankenstein and Michael Sarrazin portrays with a raw emotion a Creature who starts out ‘beautiful’ and evolves to unspeakable ugliness. Another plus is make-up and special effects which hold up well for a production that is over 40 years old.
Frankenstein: The True Story was initially released in 1973 and the Rocky Horror Picture Show would come out two years later in 1975. Looking back at this film it makes me wonder if Victor Frankenstein’s relationship with his Creature was inspiration for Dr. Frank-N-Furter and Rocky. Yes? No?
*I mean no offense to midgets with that sentence.
I don’t know where to begin with my review of Frankenstein: The True Story. I saw this as a two-night mini-series when it first premiered in 1973; which would have made me 11 years old at the time. Little did I know at such a young age? I thought Frankenstein was all about a scientist who plays God by creating a man out of the body parts of other men. I mean, that was the original plot of Mary Shelley’s novel, right? Yeah, right. After Frankenstein: The True Story I’m more inclined to think that Dr. Frank-N-Furter was the real author of the classic novel. Let me put it to you this way and I do not in any way, shape or form intend to offend anyone (seriously, after nearly 800 posts you should know by now that I am capable of saying just about anything); but there is only one word to describe Frankenstein: The True Story and that is G-A-Y.
Let me break it down for you. Dr. Frankenstein creates the Creature, which we have established. One of the first things he says to the Creature is ‘beautiful’. That’s not so unusual except for the fact that he says this to the Creature a lot. Then, what else does the good doctor do? He shows the Creature off around town like he was his fiancé instead of his science project. Our good doctor is as giddy as a virgin on prom night when it comes to his patchwork man. What’s that? You’re asking what about when the Creature begins to turn bad? What about it? All that means is that the Creature is struggling and unsure of his feelings for Doctor Frankenstein. Is there another question? Yes, from the guy in the third row wearing the Elton John t-shirt; what is your question? Oh, you’re saying what about the female creature the doctor created for the Creature? As I recall, the Creature rips her head clean off of her shoulders. He also electrocutes Dr. Polidori by hoisting him up the mainsail during a ferocious lightning storm at sea. Let’s face it: there is nothing that is going to stand in the way of the Creature and his Vicky (that’s the Creature’s pet name for Victor).
Okay, before I go any further let me explain once again that I mean no offense to anyone of same-sex preference. It’s just that I’m used to the story of Frankenstein being all about Boris Karloff wearing bolts in his neck and asphalt boots and hanging midgets* by their neck from the ceiling. I’m used to Christopher Lee looking all pizza-faced and pathetic. I’m used to Colin Clive and Peter Cushing playing God and going the devil’s route. I’m not used to a Dr. Frankenstein who calls his creation a ‘dandy’ and shows him off at the opera. If it seems like I have nothing but disdain for Frankenstein: The True Story let me make it very clear that I in fact do not. I found the acting to be more than adequate for a television production. Leonard Whiting makes for a capable Dr. Frankenstein and Michael Sarrazin portrays with a raw emotion a Creature who starts out ‘beautiful’ and evolves to unspeakable ugliness. Another plus is make-up and special effects which hold up well for a production that is over 40 years old.
Frankenstein: The True Story was initially released in 1973 and the Rocky Horror Picture Show would come out two years later in 1975. Looking back at this film it makes me wonder if Victor Frankenstein’s relationship with his Creature was inspiration for Dr. Frank-N-Furter and Rocky. Yes? No?
*I mean no offense to midgets with that sentence.
TRIVIA
The last film of Michael Wilding.
The footage of the ‘Figaro’ opera singer receiving applause is actually a shot of Susannah Foster’s curtain call from the 1943 version of The Phantom of the Opera.
Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy published their original version of the screenplay for this film because they were so unhappy with the way it had turned out. The published script differs from the final film in a number of ways. They were also unhappy with casting – they had requested that Jon Voight be offered the part of Victor Frankenstein – and their hope that John Boorman would be hired as director was also dashed.
James Mason also appears in North by Northwest and Lolita.
Leonard Whiting also appears in Romeo and Juliet and War is Hell.
David McCallum also appears in Night Ambush and A Night to Remember.
Jane Seymour also appears in Live and Let Die and Somewhere in Time.
Michael Sarrazin also appears in The Flim-Flam Man and They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
