Fellow Svengoolie Super SvenPals everywhere will be dancing for joy his upcoming big broadcast premiere of a classic mammoth American-International thriller feature masterpiece adaptation.
“Svengoolie” to present his big broadcast premiere of “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961)
Original 1961 American-International Pictures theatrical release trailer for Roger Corman‘s classic mammoth thriller masterpiece adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe‘s “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961) with Vincent Price.
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“Down and still down it came!” Original 1961 American-International Pictures theatrical poster art for Roger Corman’s adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum.”
The legendary and iconic Berwyn/Chicago-based classic mammoth thriller feature film masterpiece host will present his big broadcast premiere of “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961) this Sat., June 15 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central on Me-TV.
The classic mammoth 1961 American-International thriller feature masterpiece adaptation of “The Pit and the Pendulum” was directed by legendary veteran feature film director-producer Roger Corman. Corman got into the motion picture business as a messenger for Twentieth Century Fox (Twentieth Century Studios) in 1948 after graduating from Stanford University with an Engineering degree and was promoted to the story department; according to a March 1957 profile on Corman in Motion Picture Exhibitor. After studying at Oxford University in 1950, Corman returned to Hollywood and sold his first original screenplay to Allied Artists; which was made into a film by veteran director Nathan Hertz Juran, titled “Highway Dragnet” (1954). Corman would later produce one of his classic creature and sci-fi fantasy feature film masterpieces for release thru Allied Artists, “Attack of the Crab Monsters” (1957) with a pre-“Gilligan’s Island” Russell Johnson, Pamela Duncan and Richard Garland.
For the majority of his career, Corman collaborated with Samuel Z. Arkoff and James H. Nicholson’s American-International Pictures and was responsible for most of the feature film successes for Arkoff and Nicholson’s motion picture releasing/distribution firm. The same year that he directed “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961) for Arkoff and Nicholson’s American-International, Corman and his brother; Gene Corman also concentrated on their own independent production-releasing firm at the time, Filmgroup. The Cormans set up Filmgroup in 1959, according to a Feb. 1959 article in Variety. The Cormans’ independent production-releasing firm was best known for their cult classic mammoth horror-comedy masterpiece production of “The Little Shop of Horrors” (1960) with Jonathan Haze, Jackie Joseph and young Jack Nicholson (Corman’s 1960 production inspired Howard Ashman’s latter 1982 Broadway musical-comedy, “Little Shop of Horrors” and Frank Oz’s modern classic mammoth 1986 Warner Bros. feature musical-comedy masterpiece film adaptation of “Little Shop of Horrors”). The slate of Roger and Gene’s* Filmgroup productions within 1961 included “Atlas” (1961) with Michael Forest, Barboura Morris and Frank Wolff; “Creature from the Haunted Sea” (1961) with Antony Carbone, Betsy Jones-Moreland, Robert Towne and Beach Dickerson. By this time, the theatrical distribution of the Cormans’ Filmgroup features were handled through the coast-to-coast distribution branches of Arkoff and Nicholson’s American-International (the Corman/Filmgroup features were released under the Filmgroup moniker), according to an original 1961 Corman/Filmgroup exhibitors’ trade advertisement.
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Roger Corman, ca. 1962/63.
Some of Corman’s best-known classic mammoth feature film masterpiece productions that he worked on include “The Fast and the Furious” (1954, with John Ireland and Dorothy Malone; one of the earliest films from Arkoff and Nicholson’s American-International), “It Conquered the World” (1956, with Peter Graves, Beverly Garland and young Lee Van Cleef), “Attack of the Crab Monsters” (1957, with a pre-“Gilligan’s Island” Russell Johnson and Pamela Duncan), “A Bucket of Blood” (1959, with Dick Miller), “X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes” (1963) with Ray Milland, Diana Van der Vlis, Don Rickles, Harold J. Stone, John Hoyt, Morris Ankrum, Bert Stevens and Hans Moebus “The Wild Angels” (1966, with Peter Fonda, Nancy Sinatra and Bruce Dern), Corman’s classic mammoth New World masterpiece productions of “Death Race 2000” (1975, with David Carradine, Simone Griffeth, young Sylvester Stallone and legendary Los Angeles radio disc jockey “The Real” Don Steele), Ron Howard’s “Grand Theft Auto” (1977, with Howard, Nancy Morgan, Marion Ross, Clint Howard and “The Real” Don Steele) and Allan Arkush and Joe Dante’s “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School” (1979, with legendary rock group The Ramones; along with P.J. Soles, Vincent Van Patten and “The Real” Don Steele).
Inspired by Edgar Allan Poe‘s 1842 short story of the same name, the screenplay adaptation of Corman’s American-International feature adaptation of “The Pit and the Pendulum” was written by veteran author-screenwriter Richard Matheson. Matheson wrote the original story treatment for Jack Arnold’s classic mammoth Universal Studios sci-fi/fantasy/visual effects masterpiece, “The Incredible Shrinking Man” (1957) with Grant Williams, Randy Stuart, April Kent, Paul Langton, a pre-“Beverly Hillbillies” Raymond Bailey, William Schallert, Lock Martin of 1951’s “The Day the Earth Stood Still” fame and “Orangey the Cat” of 1951’s “Rhubarb,” 1955’s “This Island Earth” and 1961’s “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” fame.
Matheson also wrote the screenplay for Steven Spielberg‘s classic mammoth Universal Studios action-adventure-thriller masterpiece production of “Duel” (1971, originally produced as a Universal/ABC made-for-TV movie production and one of Spielberg’s earliest productions) with Dennis Weaver, Jacqueline Scott, Lucille Benson, Eddie Firestone, Lou Frizzell, Shirley O’ Hara, Gene Dynarski and Amy Douglass. Matheson also wrote the teleplay for John Llewellyn Moxey and Dan Curtis’ classic mammoth ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie masterpiece pilot, “The Night Stalker” (1972) with Darren McGavin, Carol Lynley, Claude Akins, Larry Linville (later of TV’s “M*A*S*H” fame), Simon Oakland, Ralph Meeker, Charles McGraw, Kent Smith, Elisha Cook Jr., Stanley Adams, Jordan Rhodes and Barry Atwater. The classic mammoth 1972 ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie masterpiece pilot also served as the inspiration for the classic mammoth ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie pilot sequel masterpiece, “The Night Strangler” (1973) and the brief classic mammoth Universal Studios/ABC TV supernatural masterpiece series, “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” (1974-75, both McGavin and Oakland reprised their roles for the aforementioned 1973 ABC made-for-TV movie sequel and the 1974-75 Universal/ABC “Kolchak” series).
The cinematography for Corman’s classic mammoth thriller adaptation masterpiece of “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961) was supervised by veteran cinematographer Floyd Crosby; the real-life father of legendary musician-singer-songwriter David Crosby.
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Samuel Z. Arkoff and James H. Nicholson.
Corman’s classic mammoth 1961 thriller masterpiece feature adaptation of Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum” was produced and released by Samuel Z. Arkoff and James H. Nicholson’s production/distribution/releasing firm, American-International Pictures; both Arkoff and Nicholson established American-International as the American Releasing Corporation in 1954, according to the Samuel Z. Arkoff papers collection housed at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. Arkoff later sold American-International to television and feature film production-syndication company Filmways in 1979, which was later acquired by Orion Pictures in 1982. Orion, along with the majority of the American-International/Filmways holdings** was then sold to the present incarnation of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in 1997. Inspired by MGM’s re-introduction of the “Orion Pictures” moniker for feature films and television productions (minus modern TV syndication of feature films, where the American-International/Filmways/Orion holdings are still syndicated under the MGM Television moniker), the modern incarnation of MGM recently revived the “American-International Pictures” (AIP) moniker for certain theatrical releases/feature film productions for theatrical release and premium streaming/video-on-demand service providers. “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961) marked the second feature in Corman’s “Poe” series of thriller feature film masterpiece adaptations for Arkoff and Nicholson’s American-International.
Sven’s upcoming June 15, 2024 big Me-TV broadcast premiere of “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961) will be presented in commemoration of Sven/Rich Koz’s upcoming 45th anniversary in the Berwyn/Chicago big broadcast television airlanes (Koz made his Berwyn/Chicago TV big broadcast debut as the “Son of Svengoolie” on Berwyn/Chicago’s WFLD back on June 16, 1979) and as a tribute to the Late, Legendary and Iconic Roger Corman (Corman died on May 9, 2024). -C.H.
Who was in Roger Corman’s classic mammoth American-International thriller feature masterpiece adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961)?
The players who appeared in Corman’s classic mammoth American-International thriller feature masterpiece adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961) were Vincent Price (in the dual roles of Nicholas Medina and Sebastian Medina), Barbara Steele (as Elizabeth Barnard Medina), John Kerr (as Francis Barnard), Luana Anders (as Catherine Medina), Antony Carbone (as Dr. Charles Leon), Patrick Westwood (as Maximillian), Lynette Bernay (as Maria, Bernay received screen credit under the nickname of Lynne Bernay), Larry Turner (as young Nicholas), Mary Menzies (as Isabella), Charles Victor (as Bartolome) and Randee Lynne Jensen (in an uncredited role as an extra).
The same year that he appeared in the dual characterizations of Nicholas and Sebastian Medina in Roger Corman’s classic mammoth American-International thriller masterpiece adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961), Vincent Price appeared in the role of Robur in William Witney‘s classic mammoth American-International fantasy/adventure adaptation masterpiece production of Jules Verne‘s “Master of the World” (1961) with Charles Bronson, Henry Hull (of 1935’s “Werewolf of London” fame), Mary Webster, Vito Scotti, David Frankham, Richard Harrison, Wally Campo and silent film legend “Snub” Pollard . Price also appeared in the role of Benakon in Fernando Cerchio‘s Italian production of “Nefertiti, Queen of the Nile” (1961, released under the title of “Queen of the Nile” in the United States) with Jeanne Crain, Edmund Purdom and Alberto Farnese). Price also appeared in the role of Romero in Mario Costa‘s Italian production of “Rage of the Buccaneers” (1961, released theatrically in the United States in 1963) with Ricardo Montalban (of 1948’s “On an Island With You” fame, 1967’s “Star Trek: The Original Series/Space Seed” fame, the original 1977-84 run of TV’s “Fantasy Island” fame and of 1982’s “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” fame), Giulia Rubini, Liana Orfei and Mario Feliciani.
Price appeared earlier in Corman’s classic mammoth American-International thriller masterpiece production of “House of Usher” (1960) with Myrna Fahey, Mark Damon and Harry Ellerbe.
Price also appeared in Corman’s classic mammoth American-International macabre-thriller masterpiece production adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s “Tales of Terror” (1962) with Basil Rathbone, Peter Lorre, Debra Paget, Lennie Weinrib (of interest to fellow wonderful legendary friends/Super Tooners/Super SvenPals of Toony & Bill’s “Toon In With Me,” Weinrib later provided the vocal stylings of the characters of Roland and Rattfink for the classic mammoth Mirisch-United Artists “Roland & Rattfink” cartoon masterpieces). Leona Gage, Joyce Jameson and David Frankham. “The Haunted Palace” (1963) with Debra Paget, Lon Chaney Jr., Frank Maxwell, Elisha Cook Jr. and I. Stanford Jolley, Reginald Le Borg‘s classic mammoth United Artists macabre thriller masterpiece production of “Diary of a Madman” (1963) with Nancy Kovack, Chris Warfield, Ian Wolfe, Elaine Devry and Dick Wilson and in Sidney Salkow‘s classic mammoth United Artists macabre thriller anthology masterpiece production of “Twice-Told Tales” (1963) with Sebastian Cabot, Richard Denning, Beverly Garland, Brett Halsey, Floyd Simmons and Gene Roth (which was United Artists’ answer to Corman’s classic mammoth American-International Poe feature film masterpiece adaptations- ironically, the majority of the American-International library would wind up in the same hands that acquired the majority of the post-1950 United Artists holdings- in an indirect way, the United Artists releases of Le Borg’s “Diary of a Madman” and Salkow’s “Twice-Told Tales” are in the same holdings of the current incarnational of MGM with Corman’s American-International “Poe” feature film masterpiece adaptations. -C.H.).
The same year that she was in “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961), Barbara Steele appeared in the role of Phyllis in an episode of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic mammoth MCA-Revue-Universal TV suspense-mystery-supernatural masterpiece anthology series, “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” (Steele appeared in the 1961 episode, “Beta Delta Gamma”). She later appeared in the role of Gloria Morin in Federico Fellini‘s classic mammoth critically-acclaimed and award-winning Cineriz Italian feature film masterpiece production of “8½” (1963, originally released in the United States through Joseph E. Levine‘s Embassy Pictures) with Marcello Mastroianni, Claudia Cardinale, Anouk Aimée, Sandra Milo, Rossella Falk and Madeleine Lebeau. She later appeared in Riccardo Freda‘s cult classic mammoth Italian horror masterpiece production of “The Ghost” (1963) with Peter Baldwin, Elio Jotta, Harriet Medin, Carol Bennet, Carlo Kechler, Umberto Raho and Reginald Price Anderson.
John Kerr previously appeared in the role of Lt. Joseph Cable in Joshua Logan‘s classic mammoth Todd-AO widescreen feature film musical masterpiece adaptation of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II‘s “South Pacific” (1958) with Rossano Brazzi, Mitzi Gaynor, John Kerr, Ray Walston (later of TV’s “My Favorite Martian” fame), Juanita Hall, France Nuyen, Russ Brown, Jack Mullaney, Tom Laughlin (later of “Billy Jack” fame), Ron Ely and young Doug McClure (later of TV’s “The Virginian” fame and of 1974/75’s “The Land that Time Forgot” fame).
Original production plans for Corman’s feature adaptation of Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961)
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“Until now, no one has dared to film this- the most diabolical classic of all time!” Original 1961 American-International exhibitors’ leaflet for Roger Corman’s adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum” with Vincent Price.
According to the American Film Institute (AFI)’s database entry on Roger Corman’s classic mammoth American-International thriller feature masterpiece adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961), the veteran director had originally planned on filming his 1961 Poe feature adaptation entry in Italy. It was also reported that Corman also originally planned for his feature adaptation of “The Pit and the Pendulum” not to be produced or released by Samuel Z. Arkoff and Jim Nicholson’s American-International, but to be originally produced and released by Corman’s own Filmgroup company.
Corman returned to Arkoff and NIcholson’s American-International at the time to film “The Pit and the Pendulum” due in part to the success of his earlier classic mammoth American-International thriller feature adaptation masterpiece of Edgar Allan Poe’s “House of Usher” (1960) as part of a production contract deal, according to an article on Corman, Filmgroup and American-International that was published in the June 1961 edition of BoxOffice. It was also reported that Arkoff, Nicholson and Corman deemed that the traditional low-budget formula of the American-International and independent (Corman’s Filmgroup) feature productions at the time were not as successful as they once were. This prompted Arkoff and Nicholson’s firm to keep up with changing trends and tastes in cinema at the time- which was one of the keys to the company’s successes.
While American-International aimed at producing and releasing feature productions with larger budgets with color and widescreen cinematography due in part to the success of the earlier 1960 Corman/American-International production of “House of Usher”- Corman decided to focus less on his Filmgroup operation by accepting the production deal offer by re-joining Arkoff and Nicholson’s production/releasing firm. Arkoff and NIcholson scrapped the idea of the filming of Corman’s production of “The Pit and the Pendulum” on location in Italy and decided to rent sound stages at California Studios (today’s Raleigh Studios) in Hollywood, California for the 1961 production. This was part of Arkoff and Nicholson’s then-new plan for American-International to exclusively film the majority of their feature productions in Hollywood- this was possibly done as a cost-saving plan for those involved in the production.
It was also reported that Corman had originally intended to film his adaptation of Poe’s “The Masque of the Red Death” after production completed on “House of Usher” (1960), according to IMDB. The veteran director-producer felt that the premise of “The Masque of the Read Death” at the time was too similar to Ingmar Bergman‘s classic mammoth critically-acclaimed SF Studios (Svensk Filmindustri)** Swedish drama masterpiece production of “The Seventh Seal” (1957, with Max von Sydow)- and Corman chose “The Pit and the Pendulum” instead.
Roger Corman finally filmed his classic mammoth American-International thriller feature masterpiece adaptation of “The Masque of the Red Death” in 1964- Arkoff and Nicholson allocated production funds for Corman to film his 1964 Poe feature production on location in Britian.
The “Pendulum” in Corman’s American-International feature adaptation of Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961)
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Original 1961 American-International theatrical lobby card for “The Pit and the Pendulum” with Vincent Price.
The “Pendulum” in Corman’s classic mammoth American-International feature thriller masterpiece adaptation production of Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961) was constructed entirely out of rubber and wood elements, according to additional details from IMDB’s trivia section. It was also reported that actor John Kerr was scared of the mock “Pendulum” setup in Roger Corman’s 1961 Poe feature production- he thought that the setup was almost life-like and was worried about being strapped onto the table during the “Pendulum” sequence in the production. Corman assured Kerr that the mock “Pendulum” setup in the production of “The Pit and the Pendulum” was completely safe, the veteran producer-director decided to step in for Kerr during the overall construction of the setting.
For the final cut of the aforementioned sequence, it was reported that Corman removed several frames from the mock “Pendulum” sequence in order to give the audience the impression that the mock “blade” was moving faster and faster.
A mock “Pendulum” display for the original theatrical showing of “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961) in Chicago
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“No one admitted while the ‘Pendulum’ is swinging!” A custom “Pendulum” display for the original 1961 American-International theatrical showing of “The Pit and the Pendulum” at the now-defunct Roosevelt Theater in Chicago, Illinois.
Of interest fellow wonderful legendary friends/Super SvenPals/Super Tooners/Super readers of “Silver Screen Reflections” of Berwyn/Chicago, Illinois and beyond: During the original Chicago theatrical screening of Corman’s classic mammoth American-International thriller masterpiece adaptation of “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961), there was a mock “Pendulum” display that was constructed at one of Chicago’s movie palaces to interest theatergoers. According to a brief article that was published in the Oct. 1961 edition of Boxoffice Magazine, the now-defunct Roosevelt Theater in Chicago, Illinois showcased “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961), the theater marquee of the Roosevelt Theater had a mock beaverboard “Pendulum” swinging back and forth on the theater marquee. The mock “Swinging Pendulum” was controlled by theater management with a pulley-based system. A local actor and/or a theater official was dressed in a costume that was similar to Vincent Price’s costumed appearance in Corman’s classic mammoth 1961 American-International “Poe” thriller feature masterpiece production- and controlled the pulley-based “Pendulum” gimmick display system at the Roosevelt Theater.
The brainchild of American-International advertising manager Milton Moritz and the Balaban & Katz theater circuit (then a subsidiary of the American Broadcasting Company/ABC, then under the corporate name of American Broadcasting-Paramount Theaters/ABC-Paramount at the time), when the mock “Swinging Pendulum” at the Roosevelt Theater was in motion during the last 20 minutes of “The Pit and the Pendulum,” no one would be admitted during the final 20 minutes of the feature. American-International’s promotional officials also offered the mock “Swinging Pendulum” concept to participating theaters for the original theatrical screening of “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961) from coast-to-coast.
The Roosevelt Theater was established in 1921 and was later acquired by Balaban & Katz Theatres in 1923, according to Cinema Treasures. Balaban & Katz merged with Famous-Players Lasky/Paramount Pictures around 1925 (one of the co-founders of B&K, Barney Balaban became a top Paramount Pictures executive for many decades as a result of the theater circuit merger). After the 1948 studio consent decree, Paramount/B&K spun off their theaters; including the Roosevelt to a new organization- United Paramount Theaters, headed by Leonard Goldenson (the Chicago/midwest theater cluster was still under the Balaban & Katz name). Goldenson’s UPT circuit officially merged with the struggling American Broadcasting Company (ABC) radio & TV network in 1953, creating American Broadcasting-Paramount Theaters/ABC-Paramount (renamed American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. in 1965). The Roosevelt Theater shuttered operations in 1979. The now-former Roosevelt Theater space in Chicago later became home to AMC Theatres’ AMC Dine-In cineplex at Chicago’s Block 37 shopping complex.
An extra prologue was later added to the TV cut /syndicated TV edition of Corman’s “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961) and Vincent Price’s latter American-International “Poe” special for TV stations
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“The ‘King’ of the Weird, the Occult, the Horrible!” 1972 American-International Television syndication leaflet with Daily Variety’s praise of the classic mammoth American-International/Vincent Price/Poe feature film masterpieces and his 1970 special- “An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe” with a “Films for the 70’s” mention of “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961) and Variety’s praise of the American-International/Vincent Price/Poe syndication package for local TV stations.
For the latter TV airings of Corman’s classic mammoth American-International masterpiece adaptation production of “The Pit and the Pendulum,” it was reported an extra prologue was added to latter TV prints of the classic mammoth 1961 American-International/Corman “Poe” thriller masterpiece production. According to additional details from IMDB, American-International’s TV syndication unit added the extra prologue and extra footage to pad the running time of the feature for local TV stations who bought the American-International syndication package. It was reported that Luana Anders was the only original cast member from the original 1961 production who appeared in the “extra footage” segment in the American-International TV edition of Corman’s feature.
According to an original 1972 American-International TV syndication advertising leaflet for the studio’s series of classic mammoth American-International feature film masterpieces that were made available to local stations from coast-to-coast that was published in the Feb. 1972 edition of Broadcasting (Broadcasting & Cable), the studio offered the complete series of the classic mammoth American-International/Edgar Allan Poe thriller masterpieces; including the classic mammoth Kenneth Johnson/American-International made-for-TV masterpiece special on several Poe short stories read by Vincent Price, “An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe” (produced in 1970). Ironically, “The Pit and the Pendulum” was not offered in American-International’s “Poe” TV syndication package- Corman’s classic mammoth 1961 thriller feature adaptation masterpiece was offered in American-International’s “Films for the 70’s” TV syndication package.
Be sure to watch Svengoolie’s big broadcast premiere of “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961) featuring Vincent Price, this Sat. on Me-TV
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“Down and still down it came- to cross the region of the heart!” Original 1961 American-International horizontal poster art element for Roger Corman’s adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum.”
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Berwyn’s big broadcast legends and all fellow wonderful legendary friends/Super SvenPals/Super Tooners/Super readers of “Silver Screen Reflections” are almost ready to celebrate Sven/Rich’s 45th anniversary! The legendary Svengoolie (portrayed by the legendary Rich Koz), the legendary Kerwyn and all fellow wonderful legendary friends/Super SvenPals/Super Tooners/Super readers of “Silver Screen Reflections” are all dancing and jumping for joy for his upcoming big broadcast premiere of the legendary Roger Corman‘s classic mammoth American-International feature thriller masterpiece adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe‘s “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961) with the legendary Vincent Price, Barbara Steele, John Kerr, Luana Anders, Antony Carbone, Patrick Westwood, Lynette Bernay, Larry Turner, Mary Menzies, Charles Victor and Randee Lynne Jensen; this Sat. on Me-TV!
With the legendary Vincent Price, Barbara Steele, John Kerr, Luana Anders, Antony Carbone, Patrick Westwood, Lynette Bernay, Larry Turner, Mary Menzies, Charles Victor and Randee Lynne Jensen; you will not want to miss out on Svengoolie’s upcoming big broadcast premiere of Roger Corman’s classic mammoth American-International thriller masterpiece feature adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961) on the eve of Sven/Rich’s 45th big broadcast anniversary in the Berwyn/Chicago big broadcast TV airlanes, this Sat. on Me-TV! A wonderful treat for all fellow wonderful legendary friends/Super SvenPals/Super Tooners/Super aficionados of Roger Corman’s classic mammoth American-International “Poe” thriller feature film masterpieces everywhere with Sven’s extensive fun facts, the Berwyn musical trio of Sven, Doug and Anita; Sven and Kerwyn’s “Mail Call,” fellow wonderful legendary friends/Super SvenPals/Super Tooners’ “Spawn of Svengoolie”/”Sven Squad” guest video segments, classic Sven moments, Sven surprises and much, much more! One of many wonderful and fantastic ways to celebrate Svengoolie/Rich Koz’s upcoming 45th anniversary in the Berwyn/Chicago big broadcast airlanes on the eve of Sven/Rich’s 45th big broadcast anniversary in the Berwyn/Chicago TV big broadcast airlanes! You will not be disappointed! Highly recommended to all fellow wonderful legendary friends/Super SvenPals/Super Tooners/Super aficionados of classic mammoth Roger Corman/American-International “Poe” thriller feature film masterpiece aficionados everywhere!
*Sidebar: Not connected to legendary Chicago-based film critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel. -C.H.
**Sidebar #2: Sweden’s “Svensk Filmindustri” has no connection to Sven. -C.H.
“Svengoolie” to present his big broadcast premiere of “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961)
Sat., June 15 (the eve before Sven/Rich Koz’s 45th anniversary) at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central on Me-TV
To all my fellow wonderful legendary friends/Super Svengoolie SvenPals/Super “Toon In With Me” Tooners/Super readers/subscribers of “Silver Screen Reflections” everywhere: Seriously, Please, please be good, kind, courteous, safe and respectful to each other. Let’s all look to uplifting/positive enlightenment, encouragement and wisdom from Svengoolie, all fellow wonderful Super Svengoolie SvenPals/Super “Toon In With Me”/”Saturday Morning Cartoons” Tooners/Super Mystery Science Theater 3000/MST3K MSTies/Super classic film/television aficionados/Super readers of “Silver Screen Reflections” everywhere. Again, to all fellow wonderful Super Svengoolie SvenPals/Super “Toon In With Me”/”Saturday Morning Cartoons” Tooners/Super MST3K MSTies/Super classic film & TV aficionados/Super “Silver ScreenReflections” readers everywhere- To those who have not made a plan to get their vaccines yet, be sure to schedule your vaccines, booster vaccines against the newest COVID-19 variant & your flu shot by contacting your doctor/physician/healthcare professional soon, follow all precautions safely and seriously, wear a protective face mask/appropriate protective face covering, wash your hands for approximately 20 sec., avoid touching your face, practice proper social distancing/physical distancing protocols, use a tissue/sleeve when coughing/sneezing, stay home, keep healthy and stay well. Again, let’s all take preventative measures/steps by being safe, keeping healthy and staying well- and again, we fellow Super SvenPals everywhere highly recommend watching Kerwyn’s informative coronavirus/COVID-19 prevention safety public service announcement! Escape from anxiety, chaos and stress by relaxing and having fun with Sven and his Sat. evening big broadcasts of classic mammoth creature/sci-fi/monster/horror/fantasy feature film masterpieces on Me-TV’s big broadcast airlanes! Be sure to join in on the fun with all fellow wonderful legendary friends/Super SvenPals/Super Tooners everywhere during Sven’s Sat. evening Me-TV big broadcast premiere of Vincent Price in Roger Corman’s classic mammoth American-International feature masterpiece adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961), this Sat. on Me-TV on the eve of Sven/Rich’s 45th anniversary in the Berwyn/Chicago TV big broadcast airlanes and Toony & Bill’s “Toon In With Me” big broadcasts! Again, be good, safety first, keep healthy and stay well; Three Cheers & Two Thumbs Up to Sven/Rich Koz, the entire Sven/Sventoonie/”Toon In”/Me-TV production team & the entire crowd of fellow wonderful legendary friends/Super SvenPals/Super Tooners/Super MSTies/Super classic film/TV masterpiece aficionados/Super “Silver Screen Reflections” readers everywhere! To quote Svengoolie’s executive producer, Jim Roche: “#KeepCalmAndWatchSven!” –C.H.
Though I sound like a broken record and/or audiotape loop- Again, I absolutely miss live-tweeting/tweeting with all my fellow wonderful legendary friends/Super SvenPals/Super Tooners/Super readers of “Silver Screen Reflections” on the Sven, “Toon In” & live-tweeting/tweeting social media airlanes.
And again, shame on that stupid corrupt/controversial wackadoodle scumbag billionaire schnook known as Barron Von Muskrat and his cronies for barring my access to the Twitter (or whatever the social media platform is now called) airlanes!- C.H.
The entire crowd of fellow wonderful Super SvenPals/Super Tooners highly recommend entering in the “Spawn of Svengoolie”/”Sven Squad” guest video cameo segments featured in Sven’s big broadcasts! Be sure to enter today via the official Svengoolie app for your smartphone/tablet device from Me-TV! Many fellow wonderful Super SvenPals/Super Tooners’ “Spawn of Sven”/”Sven Squad” guest cameo video masterpieces have been featured on Sven’s big broadcasts! All of us highly recommend entering! To those who haven’t done so yet, be sure to enter yours today! -C.H.
Extra! Extra! Extra! There’s something for everyone on the official Svengoolie/Sventoonie/”Toon In WIth Me”/Me-TV Mallonline store! Just in time for Father’s Day and/or any occasion- the brand-new Christopher Jones-designed Sven 45th anniversary tee, coffee mug, drinking glass and art card, along with the new official Svengoolie button-up shirt and the new official Sven snapback caps! Also includes official Sven apparel, “Toon In WIth Me” apparel and mugs, Sven stickers, Sven magnets, Sven buttons, Sven mugs, Sventoonie apparel, Sven smartphone cases, Sven pins, plus many more official Sven items on the official Sven/Me-TV Mall online store! Perfect for any occasion! And many perfect items for the Spring Holidays! Again, there’s something for everyone on the official Sven/”Toon In”/Sventoonie/Me-TV Mall online store! Theres something for everyone on the official Sven/Sventoonie/”Toon In”/Me-TV Mall online store! To quote Sven, “No Personal Checks! And only purchase official Sven/”Toon In With Me”/Sventoonie/Me-TV items! -C.H.
Extra! Extra! Extra! Cameo mentions of fellow wonderful legendary friends/Super SvenPals/Super Tooners/Super readers of “Silver Screen Reflections!”
Extra! Extra! Extra! Fellow wonderful legendary friends/Super SvenPals/Super Jammers/Super readers of “Silver Screen Reflections”/Super aficionados of the performing arts! To those who have not listened yet and/or to those who purchased the digital recordings of fellow wonderful legendary friend/Super SvenPal/Super Jammer/Super reader of “Silver Screen Reflections”/Super aficionado of the performing arts Jamie Lee’s wonderful modern classic horror-comedy musical masterpiece of selected songs from the original cast digital album recording of her wonderful classic mammoth modern horror-comedy-musical masterpiece, “Brides: World Premiere Sneak Peek,” be sure to listen on your favorite major digital music streaming service/platform! A complete list of major digital music streaming services/platforms that carries the original cast digital album recording of Jamie’s wonderful classic mammoth modern horror-comedy-musical masterpiece, “Brides: World Premiere Sneak Peek” is available on Jamie’s official website! An official QR code of participating digital streaming music services is also available to scan via Jamie’s official introductory video to “Brides: World Premiere Sneak Peek!” Listen throughout the Summer and beyond to Jamie’s wonderful modern classic horror-comedy musical masterpiece of selected songs from the original cast digital album recording of her wonderful classic mammoth modern horror-comedy-musical masterpiece, “Brides: World Premiere Sneak Peek!”
Congratulations to Jamie on the contining success of your wonderful digital album masterpiece of selected songs of the original cast recording of your wonderful original modern classic mammoth horror-comedy-musical masterpiece, “Brides: World Premiere Sneak Peek!” Very awesome, neat & cool! We’re all dancing and jumping for joy for you, Jamie, Gary, the entire cast/crew of “Brides/Brides: World Premiere Sneak Peek” and to the entire crowd of fellow wonderful legendary friends/Super SvenPals/Super Jammers/Super aficionados of the performing arts/Super readers of your wonderful 25YL horror-comedy masterpiece blogs and “Silver Screen Reflections” everywhere, Jamie! Safety first, three cheers/two thumbs up & all the best to Jamie, Gary, the entire cast and crew of “Brides/Brides: World Premiere Sneak Peek” and to the entire crowd of fellow wonderful legendary friends/Super SvenPals/Super Jammers/Super aficionados of the performing arts/Super readers of “Silver Screen Reflections” & your wonderful in-depth 25YL horror-comedy masterpiece articles everywhere, Jamie! Fingers Crossed/Cheers! Yippee! “Yee-Howdy!” Hooray! Woo-Hoo! “Hi-Keeba!” -C.H.
Extra! Extra! Extra! Fellow wonderful legendary friends/Super SvenPals of Sven & “Sven-ology”/Super Tooners/Super readers of “Silver Screen Reflections” danced and jumped for jot for fellow wonderful legendary friend/Super SvenPal/Super reader of “Silver Screen Reflections” Chris “Mr. C.” Connolly’s wonderful recent series of “Sven-ology” big broadcasts on the airlanes of YouTube featuring his Sven/Rich Koz 45th anniversary countdown highlights show, plus cameo mentions of fellow wonderful legendary friends/Super SvenPals/Super Tooners/Super readers of “Silver Screen Reflections” Nanette Keir, Warner Todd Huston, Makayla Stormer, Jim Campbell, Junk Yard and a cameo mention of my “Silver Screen Reflections” Sven weekly classic film blog- which has about 99,122+ viewers/readers, almost up to 100,000+! And Chris’ most recent “Sven-ology” big broadcast contains highlights of Sven/Rich Koz’s recent in-person appearance at Chicago’s historic Music Box Theater for the theater’s “Godzilla vs. Music Box” festival of classic mammoth Toho Studios kaiju creature feature masterpieces with a screening of Ishiro Honda’s classic mammoth Toho Studios kaiju creature masterpiece production of “Destroy All Monsters” (1968) and cameo mentions of fellow wonderful legnedary friends/Super SvenPals/Super Tooners/Super readers of “Silver Screen Reflections” Warner & Dave Fuentes of “Terror From Beyond the Dave” fame! Be sure to watch Chris’ wonderful recent “Sven-ology” shows!
Congratulations to Chris on your wonderful recent “Sven-ology” big broadcasts on the countdown to Sven’s 45th anniversary and your highlights of Sven/Rich’s Music Box Theatre appearance! I’m very glad to hear that you enjoyed Sven’s recent in-person guest appearance at the Music Box Theatre for the showing of Ishiro Honda’s classic mammoth Toho Studios kaiju creature masterpiece, “Destroy All Monsters” (1968) with Dave and Warner! And thank you for all the wonderful shout-out greetings in connection to the ongoing success and increasing readership of my “Silver Screen Reflections Sven weekly classic film blog and the wisdom, concerns and advice in connection to my ongoing troubles with the Twitter airlanes, Nanette, Chris & all fellow wonderful legendary friends/Super SvenPals of “Sven-ology”/Super Tooners/Super readers of “Silver Screen Reflections” everywhere! Again, I’m very glad that you all enjoy reading my “Silver Screen Reflections” Sven classic film blog, Chris, Nanette, Sarah/Sarahgoolie, Drew, Jamie, Dave, Fanboy, Makayla, Brian, Warner, Mike, Dan, Junk Yard, Jim, Danny/Hollow, Chi-Star, Sven/Rich, Jim & to the entire crowd of fellow wonderful legendary friends/Super SvenPals/Super Tooners/Super viewers of “Sven-ology”/Super readers of “Silver Screen Reflections” everywhere! Highly appreciated! Very awesome, neat & cool! We’re all dancing and jumping for joy for all of you, Chris, Nanette, Sarah/Sarahgoolie, Drew, Dave, Jamie, Brian, Fanboy, Warner, Danny/Hollow, Junk Yard, Mike, Dan, Makayla, Chi-Star and to the entire crowd of fellow wonderful legendary friends/Super SvenPals/Super Tooners/Super readers of “Silver Screen Reflections” everywhere! Safety first, three cheers/two thumbs up & all the best to Chris C., Nanette, Sarah/Sarahgoolie, Drew, Jamie, Dave, Fanboy, John, Demi, Makayla, Brian, Warner, Mike, Dan, Danny/Hollow, Chi-Star, David C., Kerry, Jim, Sven/Rich & to the entire crowd of fellow wonderful legendary friends/Super SvenPals/Super Tooners/Super viewers of “Sven-ology”/Super readers of “Silver Screen Reflections” everywhere! Fingers Crossed/Cheers! Yippee! “Yee-Howdy!” Hooray! Woo-Hoo! “Hi-Keeba!” -C.H.
In connection to “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961):
![Original_1961_American_International_Lobby_Card_The_Pit_And_The_Pendulum](https://silverscreenreflex.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/original_1961_american_international_lobby_card_the_pit_and_the_pendulum.jpg)
Original 1961 American-International lobby card for “The Pit and the Pendulum.”
Roger Corman’s classic mammoth American-International masterpiece adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961) is also available on Blu-Ray Disc in Shout! Factory/Shout! Studio’s Vincent Price/American-International anthology box set, “The Vincent Price Collection” (sourced from MGM’s High-Definition restoration), by arrangement with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. (part of the current incarnation of MGM and their ownership of the majority of the American-International/Filmways/Orion feature film & TV holdings). Corman’s classic mammoth American-International masterpiece adaptation of “The Pit and the Pendulum” (1961) is also available to stream for free via Tubi’s commercial-supported streaming platform, by arrangement with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. (part of the current incarnation of MGM and their ownership of the majority of the American-International/Filmways/Orion feature film & TV holdings).