Monthly Archives: July 2023

CBS LATE MOVIE MONTH: Doctor Faustus (1967)

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Doctor Faustus was on the CBS Late Movie on August 14 and December 28, 1972 and August 30, 1973.

The only film directed by Richard Burton or Nevill Coghill, the actor’s Oxford University mentor, this adaption of The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe stars Burton as Doctor Faustus, Elizabeth Taylor as Helen of Troy and members of the Oxford University Dramatic Society.

It’s a stage play filmed in very stage play style, but yet you have to wonder what viewers who stumbled upon this in the middle of the night on the CBS Late Movie had to have felt like when they watched this. Shot on the sets at Dino De Laurentiis Cinematografica Studios in Rome, this movie was shot by Gábor Pogány, who would go on to be the cinematographer of Colt 38 Special Squad, Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii and Last Stop on the Night Train.

If celebrities as big as Burton and Taylor made a movie filled with this much occult energy in 2023, I have no idea how insane people would go. The cameras get gelled all over the corners, things get neon, skeletons appear and the idea that this is the sixth of thirteen movies that Liz and Dick would make together takes on numerological significance.

It’s an indulgent project just for Burton and if only he’d let go and gone wild in this instead of seemingly sleepwalking through the movie, but you know, you can’t have everything. Not when this looks so fantastic. It’s like Burton watched a few Bava movies late at night and was like, “I want that.” Imagine if he’d gone all the way and hired John Old and given him the money no one ever gave him before and they made something truly inspired — not that this isn’t — but something that shook the very foundations of our reality.

But hey — Liz painted silver and barely speaking and she was the biggest movie star there was at the time.

You can watch this on Tubi.

CBS LATE MOVIE MONTH: Elvis (1979)

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Elvis was on the CBS Late Movie on January 6, 1984.

As Elvis Presley (Kurt Russell) prepared for his first live performance in eight years at the International Hotel in Las Vegas, he remembers his life in this made-for-TV movie firected by John Carpenter and written by Anthony Lawrence.

Unlike so many of Carpenter’s work at this point, this wasn’t in the horror or fantasy genres. He told Film Comment, “I wanted to work with actors. I wanted to do a dramatic film. I wanted to do something different. And Elvis was the first thing that came along that I had any feeling for, personally-because I did have a feeling for Elvis, I liked him very much, cared about him. So it seemed like a pretty good package when it arrived. After it was over I was disappointed in some of my work, and I was disappointed that I didn’t have more participation in the editing.”

Elvis’ father is played by Russell’s own dad, Bing Russell, while his mother Gladys is Shelley Winters. The actress who played Priscilla, Season Hubley, would be married to Russell from 1979 to 1983. She’s the girl in the Chock Full O’Nuts that he encounters as Snake Pliskin in Escape from New York.

Russell visited the real Vernon at Graceland during filming. A supporter of the movie, Elvis’ father gave Kurt one of Elvis’s real jumpsuits, the Adonis. The actor had actually worked with Elvis, as his first movie was It Happened at the World’s Fair, a film during which he kicked Presley in the shins. He’s also the 12th cousin to Elvis.

He did not sing, though. That’s Ronnie McDowell. That said, Russell was so good at Elvis’ voice that he performed it in Forrest Gump.

When this was made, the drugs that fueled Elvis were only gossip. That part is missing, but the iconic stature of the King is what this movie is all about.

Also: another member of John Carpenter’s group of actors is in this. Charles Cyphers is also in his movies Assault On Precinct 13, The Fog, Halloween, Halloween II, Escape from New York and Someone’s Watching Me!

Watch this week’s DIA Double Feature with guest host Dianna Koch

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This past Saturday, Dianna Koch from Giallo of the Month Club joined us for Stagefright and Bad Dreams.

Now you can watch the episode and don’t even need to stay up late!

While you’re at it, check out the latest episode of Giallo of the Month Club, as Dianna and Liam O’Donnell from Cinepunx talk about White of the Eye. You can listen to it right here.

CBS LATE MOVIE MONTH: The Beasts Are On the Streets (1978)

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EDITOR’S NOTE: The Beasts Are On the Streets was on the CBS Late Movie on February 22, 1984 and March 8, 1985.

Peter R. Hunt is best known for his work on the James Bond movies, editing many of the early movies and directing one of my favorites, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

He also directed this Hanna-Barbera Production, written by Laurence Heath and Frederick Louis Fox, in which a tanker truck smashes into the fence of a Texas wildlife preserve, unleashing all of nature’s fury into the city, including bears, bison, zebras, rhinos, tigers, camels, antelopes, ostriches, elephants, lions and bears. Only Dr. Claire McCauley (Carol Lynley, Elevator) can save the day.

The strangeness of this movie comes from the fact that it uses the Hanna-Barbera audio library, so every sound effect for real happenings has the audio of a cartoon and what we know of cartoons, you know? It’s disconcerting.

A pre-Miami Vice Philip Michael Thomas is here, as is Bill Thurman, who is in several Larry Buchanan movies. He’s the pill-loving trucker who gets the movie in this mess.

Don’t expect Roar or Wild Beasts, but still, maybe you can ethically enjoy this film more, even if it doesn’t have some of the lunatic thrill of those other two animals gone wild films.

CBS LATE MOVIE MONTH: Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981)

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Omen III: The Final Conflict was on the CBS Late Movie on October 17, 1986.

Directed by Graham Baker (Alien Nation) and written by Andrew Birkin (Slade In Flame), this was released in Germany and Hungary as Barbara’s Baby, as if the third Omen movie wasn’t enough of a reason to get people into theaters.

It starts with the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom killing himself, setting Damian Thorn (Sam Neill) up for his father’s old job and his final path toward taking over the world. Yet Father DeCarlo (Rossano Brazzi) has found the Daggers of Megiddo from the ruins of the Thorn Museum that burned back at the end of Omen II, While Damian romances reporter Kate Reynolds (Lisa Harrow) and tries to take over her son Peter (Barnaby Holm), the priest and six other holy men attempt to destroy him.

Oh yes — after the alignment of stars in the Cassiopeia constellation on March 24, 1981, a second Star of Bethlehem appears and Damien orders his followers to kill all boys born in England on the morning of March 24, 1981, as one of them may be Jesus Christ. One of the followers even kills her own son with an iron.

But man, the end of this movie? Jesus himself shows up to kick Damian’s ass. I can only imagine that some audiences found this inspiring, others found it over the top and a lot just stayed home. I kind of love this movie for just how wild it gets, but it’s so far removed from the other films in the series. I can’t wait to see the fourth.

CBS LATE MOVIE MONTH: Terror of Frankenstein (1977)

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Terror of Frankenstein was on the CBS Late Movie on December 26, 1988 and May 12, 1989.

Directed and written by Calvin Floyd (In Search of Dracula), Terror of Frankenstein attempts to film an authentic version of the original source material. And then it misspells Mary Shelley’s name in the opening credits, but hey, you can’t have it all.

Shot in Ireland, this is the story of Victor Frankenstein (Leon Vitali) and his fiancee Elizabeth (Stacy Dorning). After leaving her behind for medical school, he becomes obsessed with reanimating dead tissue, which leads him to sew together corpses and create the being that so many simply refer to as Frankenstein, but the book refers to as Adam, played here by Per Oscarsson.

Frankenstein is frightened by what he has made, so he comes back home and his child follows, making life horrible for anyone connected with his creator.

Known as Victor Frankenstein in other countries, this was purchased by Sam Sherman — thanks DVD Drive-In — and given a new title before being released on video and syndicated. Of course it ended up on the CBS Late Movie, as that’s the perfect place for insomnia-aided eyes to find this lower budget, literary minded take on the traditional horror story.

CBS LATE MOVIE MONTH: Evil Stalks This House (1981)

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Evil Stalks This House was on the CBS Late Movie on January 8, April 29 and August 4, 1987.

This was a pilot for a horror anthology that would be called Tales of the Haunted. According to IMDB, this series was broadcast in syndication as 30-minute episodes shown over five consecutive nights. That means that each story would be a five-parter and then edited down to a 96-minute film.

Sadly, the initial syndicated run of this episode didn’t get great ratings.

Who knows if whatever would have emerged if this had become a series and if it would have been as deliriously weird as this movie, but one could hope, because wow — this one really goes for it.

Hosted by Christopher Lee — that part doesn’t appear on many of the roughly taped YouTube videos that are all the evidence that remains of this show — this tells the story of Stokes (Jack Palance), who drifts into two with two kids in tow who may or may not be his. After their car breaks down in a downpour, they make their way to the home of Maggie and Dody (Helen Hughes and Frances Hyland), who seem to be two easily conned older ladies taking care of a mentally handicapped man.

Stokes learns that there are valuables all over the house, so despite promising to leave, he never does, even stealing the ladies’ heart medicine to keep them enslaved to him. They’re not so helpless, however, and the house is filled with horrifying traps like a quicksand pit in the basement, a deadly spider and a witch coven in the attic that bedevils Stokes and another grifter who also comes to take advantage.

The end of this movie totally steals the shock ending from The Baby and I could not love it any stronger.

Nearly a stage play that’s been shot on video, this was directed by Gordon Hessler (Cry of the Banshee, Pray for Death, The Woman Who Wouldn’t Die) and written by Louis D. Heyward (Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine, Planet of the Vampires, The Crimson Cult), I’ve seen this written up quite dismissively in reviews. But why? This is such a lost moment of strangeness with Palance absolutely snarling and hissing out every line with so many nightmare moments for impressionable kids who stayed up way to late to watch it on the CBS Late Movie.

You can watch this on YouTube.

LYCAN COLONY COMING FROM VISUAL VENGEANCE!

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A disgraced, alcoholic surgeon moves with his family to a small town in New Hampshire. Unknown to them, the entire town is populated with werewolves, some good and others very evil. They soon find themselves thrust into an ancient, mystical battle between the wolf packs that will change their family furever. An astoundingly ambitious and riveting example of pure outsider cinema, Lycan Colony’s reputation is well earned as every bizarre creative decision unfolds and you are dropped into its metaphysical alternate reality.

Lycan Colony is coming out October 24 from our friends at Visual Vengeance. And guess what? Bill and I did commentary for it!

Extras include a limited edition slipcase and a New Hampshire Forest Scent air freshener. Plus, you get commentary by director Rob Roy as well as us! There’s also a new interview with Ray, the full Rifftrax version of the movie, a blooper reel. a music video, the original trailer, a folded mini-poster and four-pages of liner notes that include an essay by me on the film! Plus a sticker set!

VAMPIRES AND OTHER STEREOTYPES COMING FROM VISUAL VENGEANCE!

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A pair of paranormal investigators are making their nightly rounds on the seedy streets of New York City when they encounter a group of party-hopping girls looking for a warehouse rave – who have also just accidentally opened a portal to hell. What follows is a night of practical effects monster mayhem as the group try to save themselves, and the entire planet, from a demonic invasion. The first feature from prolific 1990s Shot-On-Video writer, producer, director Kevin J. Lindenmuth, Vampires and Other Stereotypes delivers both the creatures and characters that perfectly illustrate the kind of homemade, offbeat genre movies that the video store era brought forth.

This comes out October 24 from Visual Vengeance and has 7 hours of bonus content!

The limited edition slipcase includes a new director-supervised SD master from 1-inch tape, three commentary tracks (director Kevin Lindenmuth; actor Mick McCleery and Lindenmuth; Tony Strauss of Weng’s Chop Magazine), interviews with Lindenmuth, Laura McLauchlin, Mick McCleery, Suzanne Turner, Sally Narkis, Ralis Kahn, Scott Sliger, Sung Pak and Joe Mauceri, as well as behind the scenes images, Lindenmuth’s early Super 8 films, a trailer, liner notes by Tony Strauss of Weng’s Chop Magazine, a poster and a sticker set.

CBS LATE MOVIE: In the Shadow of Kilimanjaro (1985)

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EDITOR’S NOTE: In the Shadow of Kilimanjaro was on the CBS Late Movie on May 3 and September 26, 1988.

The only movie directed by producer Raju Patel, this is the story of Jack Ringtree (Timothy Bottoms) and Chris Tucker (John Rhys-Davies) in Namanga, Kenya as they try to figure out a tribe of baboons that are capturing and killing people.

The film has this in the credits: “The film you have just seen is a fictionalized account of a true incident which took place in Africa during the serious drought in 1984. The producers wish to make it known that not a single animal was mistreated during the making of this motion picture. On completion of filming the Baboons were rehabilitated to their natural surroundings. The Baboons were captured under the supervision of the Kenyan Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife from the areas where they had been a nuisance to the local population.”

This is kind of like a zombie movie except, you know, with baboons. I wish I could say it was more exciting and wonder how a movie filled with human eating baboons can be slow, but there you have it. At least it has Irene Miracle from Inferno and Night Train Murders in it.