Halloween Sing Along

 Aside from films, I am a music lover. I'm not bound by one type of music, or one period. There is beautiful music to be found everywhere. I love Beethoven. I live for the Beatles. I am of the belief that one of the greatest bands of the 1960s was The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band. I believe that one of the most creative bands around was 10cc. My first concert was Queen at the Spectum in Philadelphia. I managed to see The Ramones twice, David Bowie twice, Berlin & the Thompson Twins twice and The Moody Blues twice. I think Scott Joplin was one of the most creative geniuses of American Music History. And I think novelty records are underappreciated.

Which leads me to this subject. 

I have compiled a small group of Horror/Sci-fi themed Novelty Records just right for Halloween, for your listening enjoyment. I tried to steer clear of many of the usual faire for this time of year. So, if you want to hear "The Monster Mash" by Bobby "Boris" Pickett, you'll have to read someone else's blog. These are among my favorites that just don't get the proper airplay. 

Click on the picture and listen to some fun recordings that are of a monsterous nature. They sound so much better if you have a bowl of candy corn to dine on while you listen.

This first one goes out to all you Kaiju lovers. Here is Cornell Hurd and the Mondo Hot Pants Orchestra with "The Texas Behemoth".

The song "Psycho" was originally recorded by Leon Payne. It has been covered by a number of singers over the years, one of which was Elvis Costello on the album "Almost Blue". Here is an excellent version by Jack Kittel.

Rose and the Arrangement, or Possum, recorded the iconic song, "The Cockroach That Ate Cincinnati". It would later be covered by The Misfits and a couple of full orchestras.

The one and only Nervous Norvus, who gave us great tunes like "Transfusion", "Ape Call" and "Noon Balloon to Rangoon", gives a taste of science fiction with an alien known as "The Fang".

To continue with the alien theme, here are The Ran-Dells with the story of an intergalactic dance, "The Martian Hop".

Herb Sage & the Spices gives us a live version of their classic tale about love gone wrong, "Cannibal Cutie".

Carrying on the Cannibal theme, sometimes, a father and son don't see eye to eye about dinner. Here's the music hall sounds of Flanders & Swann with "The Reluctant Cannibal."

In the 1940s, Phil Harris gave us "The Thing", which you'll never get of, no matter what you do. An updated version comes to us this thing from the brilliant minds of Barnes & Barnes, who gave us "Fishheads". Here's "Something's in the Bag."

Speaking of coming home from the Beatles concert....Jimmy Cross shows us that true love knows no boundries, with "I Want My Baby Back."

To finish, one of my favorite bands, They Might Be Giants, sing about the unusual things you might see if you just "Turn Around".

So, there you have ten songs to get you in the mood for that movie marathon you're thinking about for Halloween, or another Political Debate, whichever scares you more. I hope you enjoy them. 

I'd like to thank Dr. Demento. I spent many a Sunday night listening to his syndicated radio show while growing up. Without the good Doctor, I would never know the delights of such "laughing wax", as he called them. 

Stay Demented!! 

Halloween Short Films

 As anyone who has read my blog or the blog at BloodyWhisper.com, I am a big fan of short films. I marvel at the talent that goes into telling a story in less time than it takes you to pour milk on your cereal. Halloween is one of the best subjects for films, short or feature. 

Here are some of my favorite short films with a Halloween theme. I will be providing the link, so you can watch them as well. I will steer clear of spoilers.

I'm going to start and finish in the same place, with Canadian director Marc Roussel. In 2006, he gives the viewer a tale of "Sweet Tooth", a man who has issues with Halloween.

Animation always tops my list of qualifications for a viewing. Mike Inel's "Missing Halloween" (2015) is the touching story of a lonely boy, who finds friendship on Halloween. 

Humor is always a help. In Adam Green's "Monster Problems" (2015), three monsters want to eat a boy who is going to bed after Trick-or-Treating. Arguments ensue, as does hilarity!

Miguel Ortega's tale of "The Green Ruby Pumpkin" (2012) shows a witch who rewards those who have the Halloween spirit with wonderful treats from her magical pumpkin. The film is beautiful in its vision, but is also a cautionary tale.

Aaron Yonda in 2007, gives us "The Life and Death of a Pumpkin", a chilling tale of vegetable horror not often found in the cinema.

To end this, we return to Marc Roussel, with his award-winning film "The Last Halloween". Four children Trick-or-Treat in a world falling apart. A magnificent story.

So, take some time. Click on the photos. Enjoy the films. See Halloween in ways that will amaze and even frighten you. 

Happy Halloween. 

 

Turner Rides Again

 

Every year, I try to give you kind folks a disembodied heads-up to horror showing in October. In that time, we have found that Turner Classics has a hand so hot that the skin is falling off. This year is no different. There are at least 105 times that the cable channel will show some form of horror film. Add to that Peter Cushing, who is the Star of the Month. Once again, Turner reigns supreme.

Let’s have a look:

The Stars

Peter Cushing films include (Oct 12) Dr. Who & the Daleks (1965) 9:30pm, Daleks: Earth Invasion 2150 A.D. (1966) 11pm, She (1965) 12:30am and Corruption (1967) 4:30am; (Oct19)  Horror of Dracula (1958) 9:30pm, The Mummy (1959) 11:15pm, The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) 1 am, Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) 2:45am and Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1970) 4:30am; and (Oct 26) Nothing but the Night (1972) 8pm, Madhouse (1974) 9:45pm, From Beyond the Grave (1973) 11:30pm, Scream & Scream Again (1970) , The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973) 3:15am and Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) 4:45am.

Lon Chaney, Sr. has a small marathon of three films on Oct 14 with The Unholy Three (1925) at 10:15am, The Unknown (1927) at Noon and The Blackbird (1926) at 1pm.

Lon Chaney, Jr. films include the cult classic Spider Baby (1964) Oct 16 at 4:45pm (this was his last film), Indestructible Man (1956) Oct 29 at 4pm, and The Wolf Man (1941) Oct 31 at 4:45pm.

Boris Karloff films include The Ghoul (1933) Oct 9 at 8 pm, Black Sabbath (1963) Oct 16 at 12:15am, The Mummy (1932) Oct 24 at 5am, The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932) Oct 30 at 8am, The Walking Dead (1936) Oct 30 at 5:30pm, and The Body Snatcher (1945) Oct 31 at 3am.

Christopher Lee films (aside from appearances with Peter Cushing) include The Wicker Man (1974) 12:45am

Peter Lorre films include The Beast with Five Fingers (1946) Oct 26 at 6am, and Mad Love (1935) Oct 30 at 4:15pm.

Bela Lugosi films include Dracula (1931) Oct 2 at 8pm, Mark of the Vampire (1935) Oct 9 at 11pm and Oct 14 at 5:15pm, Island of Lost Souls (1932) Oct 30 at 10:45am, White Zombie (1932) Oct 30 at Noon, and The Vampire Bat (1933) Oct 30 at 1:30pm.

Vincent Price films (aside from appearances with Peter Cushing) include The House on Haunted Hill (1958) Oct 2 at 11pm, The Raven (1963) Oct 16 at 3:15pm, Twice Told Tales (1963) Oct 16 at 10pm, The Tingler (1959) Oct 23 at 11:15pm, and House of Wax (1953) Oct 31 at 9am.

Also found:

A Foreign Triple Feature on Oct 25 with Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages (1922) midnight, Diabolique (1955) 2 am and Eyes Without a Face (1959) 4:15 am.

A pair of Nasty Kids movies on Halloween with Children of the Damned (1964) 10:45am and The Bad Seed (1956) 12:30pm, not to mention that Village of the Damned (1960) is showing on Oct 16 at 9:15am.

Of course, the Giant Monsters dominate on Oct 12 with The Killer Shrews (1959) 7:45am, King Kong (1933) 9am, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) 11am and Godzilla (1954) 12:30pm, The Green Slime (1969) 4:45pm, and Night of the Lepus (1972) 6:330pm. Also, Them! (1954) is showing on Halloween at 10pm.

For laughs, there is Little Shop of Horrors (1960) Oct 16 at 8am, Roman Polanski’s The Fearless Vampire Killers (1966) Oct 17 at 1:45am, I Married a Witch (1942) Oct 19 at 6am, Topper (1937) Oct 22 at 2:30pm, Topper Takes a Trip (1939) Oct 22 at 4:15pm, and Angel on My Shoulder (1946) Oct 29 at 12:30pm.

 

Other Classics include:

The Haunting (1963) Oct 2 at 12:30am and Oct 31 at 6pm

Night of the Living Dead (1968) Oct 9 at 12:15am and Oct 22 at 1am

The Creature of the Black Lagoon (1954) Oct 12 at 2pm and Oct 23 at 8pm

Freaks (1932) Oct 14 at 4pm and Oct 31 at 6am

Devil Doll (1936) Oct 14 at 6:30pm and Oct 29 at 7am

Carnival of Souls (1962) Oct 16 at 12:15pm

Dead of Night (1945) Oct 16 at 8pm

Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933) Oct 22 at 11:30pm and Oct 30 at 2:45pm

The Blob (1958) Oct 23 at 9:30pm

The Thing from Another World (1951) Oct 23 at 12:45am

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) Oct 25 at 5:30pm

Doctor X (1932) Oct 30 at 6:30am and Return of Dr. X (1939) at 6:45pm

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932) Oct 31 at 7:35am

I Walked with a Zombie (1943) Oct 31 at 1:30am

 

Aside from some of the lesser known films from above, Turner has chosen a few that are not likely to be found showing anywhere else. They include Mario Bava’s Blood and Black Lace (1964) Oct 5 at 4:30pm, The 13^th Chair (1929) Oct 14 at 2:30pm, Francis Ford Coppola’s Dementia 13 (1963) Oct 16 at 1:45pm, Rollerball (1975) Oct 17 at 5:45pm, Ninja III: The Domination (1984) Oct 23 at 2:30am, Brainstorm (1983) Oct 24 at 2:15pm, From Hell It Came (1957) Oct 29 at 5:15pm, The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake (1959) Oct 30 at 8pm and The Seventh Victim (1943) Oct 31 at Midnight and Nov 1 at 10am.

This covers just about all the films to be shown in October at Turner. All times are Eastern Standard. 

Once again, I’d like to thank Turner Classics for its continued October efforts at doing their level best to scare the pants off us. It is kind of them to give us a whole month, while most stations barely give us the day!