“Svengoolie” presents his big broadcast of “Munster, Go Home!” (1966) for Sven’s Halloween BOOnanza 2026, this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Svengoolie Super SvenPals everywhere will be dancing and jumping for joy for his upcoming big Halloween BOOnanza 2026 broadcast of a classic mammoth Universal Studios “Munsters” monster/comedy feature masterpiece.

“Svengoolie” to present his big broadcast showcase of “Munster, Go Home!” (1966) for Sven’s Halloween BOOnanza 2026

A snippet from Earl Bellamy‘s classic mammoth 1966 Universal Studios “Munster” monster/comedy masterpiece production of “Munster, Go Home!” featuring Fred Gwynne, Yvonne DeCarlo, Butch Patrick, Al Lewis and Debbie Watson.

“America’s Funniest Family in their first full-length feature!” Original 1966 Universal Studios theatrical poster artwork for “Munster, Go Home!”

The legendary Berwyn/Chicago-based monster film host will present his big broadcast of “Munster, Go Home!” (1966) as part of Sven’s Halloween BOOnanza 2026 festival on the airlanes of Me-TV this Sat., Oct. 10 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central. The classic mammoth 1966 feature-length Universal “Munsters” monster-comedy masterpiece is one of Sven’s many requested classic mammoth Universal comedy feature film masterpieces and one of many favorites of fellow Super SvenPals/Super Tooners everywhere, alongside Charles Barton‘s classic mammoth Universal monster comedy masterpiece with Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Glenn Strange, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr., Lenore Aubert and Jane Randolph, “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” (1948) and Alan Rafkin‘s classic mammoth Universal ghoul comedy masterpiece with Don Knotts, Joan Staley, Liam Redmond, Dick Sargent, Skip Homeier, Reta Shaw, Philip Ober, Charles Lane, Dick Wilson and Hal Smith, “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken” (1966, “Attaboy, Luther!”)! -C.H.

Inspired by Universal/MCA’s classic mammoth monster-comedy TV masterpiece series, “The Munsters;” which aired from 1964-66, the studio’s classic mammoth feature-length “Munsters” monster-comedy masterpiece production was directed by veteran feature film and television director Earl Bellamy. Bellamy directed seven episodes of “The Munsters” throughout the original series run of the classic mammoth Universal/MCA TV monster-comedy masterpiece production.

Universal/MCA’s original plan for “Munster, Go Home!” was that the feature-length “Munsters” production was going to be produced as a made-for-TV movie for one of the three major networks at the time. Universal/MCA specialized in numerous “made-for-TV”/”TV movie of the week” productions at the time for the major networks in addition to feature films and TV series according to David Heeley’s 1996 documentary on the history of Universal Studios, “The Universal Story.” Because of the high expenses that were utilized for the production of episodes of “The Munsters” TV series, Universal/MCA executives determined that in order to offset the production costs of the classic mammoth “Munsters” monster masterpiece TV series, it was decided that “Munster, Go Home!” would be produced as a regular Universal theatrical feature film, according to Lorraine LoBianco’s Dec. 2020 Turner Classic Movies online article on Bellamy’s classic mammoth 1966 Universal “Munsters” monster-comedy masterpiece production of “Munster, Go Home!”

Alongside directing episodes of “The Munsters” and the Universal feature production of “Munster, Go Home!” (1966); Bellamy previously worked as a second unit director for rival studio Columbia Pictures, notably for Nicholas Ray’s classic mammoth Columbia film noir/mystery masterpiece production of “In A Lonely Place” (1950) with Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame and for Fred Zinnemann’s classic mammoth Columbia Pictures award-winning drama masterpiece adaptation of “From Here to Eternity” (1955) with Burt Lancaster, Donna Reed, Frank Sinatra, Montgomery Clift and young Ernest Borgnine. During his time at Columbia for the studio’s “Screen Gems” television unit, Bellamy later directed seven episodes of the classic mammoth TV adaptation of “Jungle Jim” with Johnny Weissmuller (adapted from the classic mammoth Columbia feature film adventure masterpiece series of the same name with Weissmuller in the title role) from 1955-56. Bellamy later reunited with Ernest Borgnine at Universal from 1964-65 when he directed six episodes of the classic mammoth MCA-Revue-Universal/ABC-TV comedy masterpiece series with Borgnine, Tim Conway, Joe Flynn and Carl Ballantine; “McHale’s Navy.”

“Munster, Go Home!” (1966) was produced by veteran television producers Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher.  Before “The Munsters” and “Munster, Go Home!” (1966), Connelly and Mosher were also known for their earlier MCA/Revue (Universal) TV family comedy series, “Leave It to Beaver” (1957-63), with Jerry Mathers, Tony Dow, Barbara Billingsley and Hugh Beaumont. Earl Bellamy also directed four episodes of “Leave It to Beaver” for MCA’s Revue/Universal TV unit from 1960-63. Alongside Connolly and Mosher, the screenplay for “Munster, Go Home!” (1966) was co-written by veteran screenwriter George Tibbles.

This will mark Sven’s tenth big broadcast of the legendary classic mammoth 1966 Universal feature-length “Munster” monster-comedy masterpiece on Me-TV from coast-to-coast. He previously showcased “Munster, Go Home!” (1966) on Me-TV as a big coast-to-coast broadcast premiere back in Feb. 2012* and as regular Sven/Me-TV big broadcasts back in July 2013, May 2014,Nov. 2015, April 2017, July 2018, May 2020, Nov. 2021 and Nov. 2023.

Who was in “Munster, Go Home!” (1966)?

The players who appeared in the 1966 Universal “Munster” monster feature-length comedy masterpiece were Fred Gwynne (as Herman Munster), Yvonne De Carlo (as Lily Munster), Al Lewis (as Grandpa Munster), Butch Patrick (as Eddie Munster), Debbie Watson (as the third Marilyn Munster, after Beverley Owen and Pat Priest in Universal’s “The Munsters” TV series), John Carradine (as Cruikshank), Hermione Gingold (as Lady Effigie Munster), Richard Dawson (as Joey), Terry-Thomas (as Freddie Munster), Bernard Fox (as Squire Lester Moresby), Robert Pine (as Roger Moresby), Arthur Malet (as Alfie) and Jack Dodson (in an uncredited role as a second ship steward).

“Svengoolie” presents his first 2026 “BOOnanza” showcase with his big premiere of “The Wizard of Oz” (1939); this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Svengoolie Super SvenPals everywhere will be dancing and jumping for joy for the start of his Halloween BOOnanza with a big broadcast premiere of one of the many definitive classic mammoth Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)* fantasy feature film masterpiece adaptations from the studio’s golden age.

“Svengoolie” presents his first 2026 “BOOnanza” showcase starting with his big premiere of “The Wizard of Oz” (1939)

A moment from Victor Fleming‘s classic mammoth Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)* fantasy masterpiece production of “The Wizard of Oz” (1939) with Judy Garland, Jack Haley and Ray Bolger.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s* Technicolor triumph! Original 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)* theatrical poster art for “The Wizard of Oz” with Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr and Jack Haley.

The legendary and iconic Berwyn/Chicago-based classic mammoth feature film masterpiece host will be kicking off his “Halloween BOOnanza” of 2026 beginning with the classic mammoth MGM* masterpiece adaptation of “The Wizard of Oz” (1939) this Sven Sat. evening, Oct. 3 on the airlanes of Me-TV at a special time at 7 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Central.

The classic mammoth 1939 MGM* fantasy feature film masterpiece adaptation of “The Wizard of Oz” was directed by veteran feature film director Victor Fleming. He previously directed the then-controversial classic mammoth MGM* romantic drama masterpiece production of “Red Dust” (1932, Fleming was uncredited for the production) with Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and Gene Raymond; the classic mammoth MGM* adventure masterpiece adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson‘s “Treasure Island” (1934) with Wallace Beery, Jackie Cooper, Lionel Barrymore, Otto Kruger, Nigel Bruce (later of the Twentieth Century Fox/Twentieth Century Studios and Universal Studios classic mammoth feature film mystery masterpiece adaptations of Arthur Conan Doyle‘s “Sherlock Holmes” with Basil Rathbone from 1939–46) and Lewis Stone (later of MGM’s* “Andy Hardy” film series fame with Mickey Rooney); the classic mammoth MGM* family drama masterpiece adaptation of Rudyard Kipling‘s novel, “Captains Courageous” (1937) with Freddie Bartholomew, Spencer Tracy, Rooney, Barrymore, Melvyn Douglas, John Carradine and future TV travelogue host Bill Burrud.

That same year, Fleming directed another major motion picture that was almost on the same scale as MGM’s* feature film adaptation of “The Wizard of Oz” for rival producer David O. Selznick; the feature film adaptation of Margaret Mitchell‘s “Gone with the Wind” (1939, released theatrically by MGM* as part of an agreement with Selznick) with Gable (as part of the distribution arrangement with MGM*, Gable; who was one of MGM’s* leading contractual players was loaned out for Selznick & Fleming’s 1939 production), Vivien Leigh, Hattie McDaniel, a pre-TV “Superman” George Reeves, Evelyn Keyes, Olivia de Havilland, Eddie “Rochester” Anderson (of “The Jack Benny Program” fame), Butterfly McQueen, Leslie Howard, Laura Hope Crews and Ward Bond.

Several of Fleming’s other productions included his classic mammoth MGM* horror/thriller drama masterpiece adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” (1941) with Tracy, Ingrid Bergman, Lana Turner, Donald Crisp, Ian Hunter, Barton MacLane (of the original incarnation of Warners’ “Torchy Blane” film series fame, of 1941’s “The Maltese Falcon” fame and later of TV’s “I Dream of Jeannie” fame from 1965 until his death in 1969) and C. Aubrey Smith.

Fleming’s final production before his death in 1949 was his classic mammoth biopic drama masterpiece of French heroine Joan d’Arc for veteran producer Walter Wanger, “Joan of Arc” (1948) with Bergman, José Ferrer, Irene Rich, Nestor Paiva (later of Universal’s “Gill-Man”/”Creature from the Black Lagoon” monster trilogy masterpiece series fame), Jimmy Lydon, Selena Royle, Robert Barrat, Leif Erickson, John Ireland, Henry Brandon, Morris Ankrum, Alan Napier (of 1944’s “The Uninvited” fame, later of 1956’s “The Mole People” fame and later of the 1966-68 “Batman” TV series fame), George Zucco and William Conrad (of Radio’s “Gunsmoke” fame, later of “Rocky & Bullwinkle” fame, later of TV’s “Cannon” fame and later of TV’s “Jake and the Fatman” fame). Upon the production’s 1950 general release after Fleming’s death, “Joan of Arc” was issued in an incomplete form until the film was fully restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive in 1998 with the complete 145 minute edition that had not been seen since the original 1948 premiere.

Veteran director George Cukor served in an uncredited position as a fill-in director for several scenes in “The Wizard of Oz” at MGM, veteran MGM-contracted director King Vidor served in an uncredited position as the director of the Kansas City scenes in the 1939 production, while Richard Thorpe served in an uncredited position as an initial director and Norman Taurog served in an uncredited position as the director of the actors’ test/audition sequences.

The classic mammoth 1939 MGM fantasy masterpiece was produced by veteran director/producer Mervyn LeRoy. Veteran MGM musical producer Arthur Freed served as an associate producer of Fleming and LeRoy’s production.

Adapted from L. Frank Baum‘s 1900 children’s fantasy novel of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz;” which was part of his series of “Oz” novels; the screenplay for Fleming and LeRoy’s classic mammoth 1939 MGM feature masterpiece adaptation of “The Wizard of Oz” was adapted as a screenplay by veteran screenwriter Noel Langley; Langley also contributed along with veteran MGM screenwriters Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf.

Who was in “The Wizard of Oz” (1939)?

The players who appeared in Fleming’s classic mammoth Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)* fantasy masterpiece adaptation production of “The Wizard of Oz” (1939) were Judy Garland (as Dorothy), Frank Morgan (as Prof. Marvel/for those who haven’t seen the classic mammoth 1939 MGM masterpiece adaptation of “The Wizard of Oz,” the other characters that Morgan appeared in the production will not be revealed, you will have to see for yourself! -C.H.), Ray Bolger (in the dual roles of Hunk/the Scarecrow), Bert Lahr (in the dual roles of Zeke/the Cowardly Lion), Jack Haley (in the dual roles of Hickory/the Tin Woodsman), Terry (as Toto), Billie Burke (as Glinda), Charley Grapewin (as Uncle Henry), Clara Blandick (as Auntie Em), Margaret Hamilton (in the dual roles of Miss Elmira Gulch/the Wicked Witch of the West), Jerry Maren (in an uncredited role as a member of the Lollipop Guild), Betty Ann Cain, Billy Curtis, Daisy Earles Harry Earles and the Singer troupe (as Munchkins) and the vocal stylings of Ken Darby ( of the Ken Darby Singers fame) and veteran animated voice-over artists Pinto Colvig and Billy Bletcher (in uncredited positions for some of the vocalizations and choral dubs for the Munchkins).

“Svengoolie” presents his big broadcast of “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken” (1966) with Don Knotts and Joan Staley, this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Svengoolie Super SvenPals everywhere will be dancing and jumping for joy for his upcoming big broadcast of one of the definitive classic mammoth Universal Studios spook comedy masterpieces and one of many Sven favorites.

“Svengoolie” presents his big broadcast of “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken” (1966) with Don Knotts and Joan Staley

Original 1966 TV trailer for the original theatrical release of Alan Rafkin’s classic mammoth Universal Studios feature comedy masterpiece, “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken” with Don Knotts and Joan Staley.  Fun Fact: Contains the prototype for the latter “closing” logo for some of Universal/MCA’s theatrical feature film productions/releases with a promo title/slide for Universal Studios Hollywood (Universal City), a variant of the aforementioned Universal closing was later famously featured in John Landis‘ classic mammoth Universal feature comedy masterpiece,  “National Lampoon’s Animal House” (1978) and Landis’ classic mammoth Universal feature comedy masterpiece, “The Blues Brothers” (1980). -C.H.

“It’s the year’s funniest ‘yolk’!” Original 1966 Universal Studios theatrical poster artwork for “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken” with Don Knotts and Joan Staley.  

The legendary and iconic Berwyn/Chicago-based classic mammoth spook comedy feature film masterpiece host will present his big broadcast of “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken” (1966) on the airlanes of Me-TV this Sven Sat. evening, Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central.

The classic 1966 mammoth Universal spook comedy masterpiece of “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken” was directed by veteran feature film and television director  ​Alan Rafkin​.  Rafkin directed 27 episodes of Andy Griffith’s classic mammoth TV comedy masterpiece, “The Andy Griffith Show” from 1964-67 and five episodes of the classic mammoth television spin-off comedy masterpiece series of “The Andy Griffith Show,” “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.” with Jim Nabors in 1965.  

The screenplay for “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken” was written by veteran television writers ​Jim Fritzell​ and ​Everett Greenbaum​.  The television writing duo of Fritzell and Greenbaum were both known for the majority of their screenwriting careers for writing numerous episodes of “The Andy Griffith Show” from 1961-64 and for writing numerous episodes of the classic mammoth critically-acclaimed Twentieth Century Fox (Twentieth Century Studios) television comedy-drama adaptation masterpiece, “M*A*S*H” from 1974-78 (adapted from Robert Altman’s classic mammoth critically acclaimed 1970 Twentieth Century Fox/Twentieth Century Studios comedy-drama feature film masterpiece of the same name, “M*A*S*H”) .

“The Ghost and Mr. Chicken” (1966) was produced by veteran MCA-Revue-Universal television and film producer Edward J. Mantagne, who served as producer and executive producer of the studio’s classic mammoth TV comedy masterpiece series, “McHale’s Navy” (1962-66) with Ernest Borgnine, Tim Conway (in his pre-Carol Burnett Show days), Joe Flynn and Gavin MacLeod ((in his pre-“Mary Tyler Moore Show” & pre-“The Love Boat” days).

The orchestral source music score for Rafkin’s classic mammoth Universal ghoul comedy masterpiece production of “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken” (1966) was composed by veteran composer Vic Mizzy. Mizzy was known for his numerous TV and feature film source orchestral soundtrack score compositions throughout his career; including the famous title theme song for the classic mammoth 1964-66 Filmways/ABC television live-action sitcom masterpiece adaptation of Charles Addams’ “The Addams Family” (1964-66) with John Astin, Carolyn Jones, Jackie Coogan, Ted Cassidy, Lisa Loring, Ken Weatherwax and Marie Blake/Blossom Rock. 

Mizzy also worked on the original source orchestral soundtrack score recording for William Castle’s classic mammoth Universal macabre thriller masterpiece, “The Night Walker” (1964) with Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Taylor and a pre-“I Dream of Jeannie” Hayden Roarke.

This will mark Sven’s twelfth big broadcast of Rafkin’s classic mammoth 1966 Universal ghoul/spook comedy masterpiece on the airlanes of Me-TV.  He previously showcased of “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken” (1966) back in ​Nov. 2011*​, ​July 2012*​, ​Nov. 2014, ​April 2015​, ​Oct. 2017​, July 2018,  Feb. 2020, May 2021 (as part of Me-TV’s May 2021 “Month of Mayberry” tribute festival in connection to “The Andy Griffith Show”), July 2022, May 2023, Oct. 2024 as part of the Sven’s “Halloween Boo-nanza” showcase paired with Arthur Crabtree and Richard Gordon‘s classic mammoth sci-fi/creature feature masterpiece production of “Fiend Without A Face” (1958) and the big broadcast of the classic mammoth original documentary masterpiece on the life and career of Svengoolie/Rich Koz, “Svengoolie: Uncrypted” (2022) with guest cameos by fellow wonderful friends/Super SvenPals/Super Tooners/Super readers of “Silver Screen Reflections” Sarah Rhodes, Nanette Keir and Brian Bernardoni with the classic collection of select Son of Sven/Sven memorabilia items and props via fellow wonderful friends/Super SvenPals/Super readers of “Silver Screen Reflections” Dave Fuentes of “Terror From Beyond the Dave” fame and Warner Todd Huston and numerous surprises and back in Oct. 2025.

Who was in “The Ghost and Mister Chicken” (1966)?

The players who appeared in Rafkin’s classic mammoth 1966 Universal feature masterpiec production of “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken” (1966) were Don Knotts​ (as Luther Heggs), ​Joan Staley​ (as Alma Parker), ​Dick Sargent​ (as George Beckett), Hal Smith​ (in an uncredited role as Calver Weems),  Reta Shaw​ (as Mrs. Halcyon Maxwell), ​Dick Wilson​ (in an uncredited role as the town bandleader/bandmaster), ​Liam Redmond​ (as Kelsey), ​Skip Homeier​ (as Ollie Weaver)  Lurene Tuttle (as Mrs. Natalie Miller), Robert Cornthwaite (as Springer), Philip Ober​ (as Nicholas Simmons), Jesslyn Fax (as Mrs. Hutchinson), James Millhollin (as Mr. Milo Maxwell), Harry Hickox (as police chief Art Fuller),  Nydia Westman (as Mrs. Cobb), Charles Lane (as lawyer Whitlow), George Chandler (as Judge Harley Nast), Sandra Gould (as Loretta Pine), Ellen Corby (as Ms. Neva Tremaine) and Cliff Norton (as Charlie, the bailiff).

“Svengoolie” presents his big broadcast of “The Fly” (1958) with Vincent Price and David “Al” Hedison, this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Svengoolie Super SvenPals everywhere will be dancing and jumping for joy for his upcoming big broadcast of a classic mammoth 1958 Twentieth Century Fox (Twentieth Century Studios) sci-fi masterpiece.

“Svengoolie” presents his big broadcast of “The Fly” (1958) with Vincent Price and David “Al” Hedison

A moment from Kurt Neumann‘s classic mammoth Twentieth Century Fox (Twentieth Century Studios) sci-fi masterpiece, “The Fly” (1958) with Patricia Owens and David “Al” Hedison.

“The ‘new age’ of horror comes in on the ‘wings’ of ‘The Fly!’ ‘Fly High’ with ‘The Fly..’ from 20th!” Original 1958 Twentieth Century Fox (Twentieth Century Studios) exhibitors’ leaflet for “The Fly.”

The legendary and iconic Berwyn/Chicago-based classic mammoth sci-fi/fantasy feature film masterpiece host will present his big broadcast premiere of “The Fly” (1958) this Sven Sat. evening on the airlanes of Me-TV, Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central.

The classic mammoth 1958 Twentieth Century Fox (Twentieth Century Studios) sci-fi/fantasy feature masterpiece was directed and produced by veteran director/screenwriter Kurt Neumann. 

Neumann previously wrote the screenplay treatment in an uncredited role for Garrett Fort‘s screenplay for Lambert Hillyer’s classic mammoth Universal Studios “Dracula” vampire-monster sequel masterpiece production of “Dracula’s Daughter” (1936) with Gloria Holden, Otto Kruger, Marguerite Churchill, Edward Van Sloan, Hedda Hopper, Irving Pichel and E.E. Clive.  Two years before he wrote his original story concept for “Dracula’s Daughter,” Neumann previously directed his classic mammoth Universal mystery/horror masterpiece feature production of   “The Secret of the Blue Room” (1933) with Lionel Atwill, Gloria Stuart (of 1933’s “The Invisible Man” fame and of 1997’s “Titanic” fame), Paul Lukas, Edward Arnold, Onslow Stevens, Muriel Kirkland and William Janney.

Neumann also wrote the original story treatment for Lew Landers’ classic mammoth Columbia Pictures vampire/monster masterpiece, “The Return of the Vampire” (1943) with Bela Lugosi, Nina Foch, Matt Willis, Frieda Inescort, Roland Varno, Ottola Nesmith, Gilbert Emery, William Austin, Leslie Denison and Miles Mander; Neumann’s original story treatment was adapted for Landers’ 1943 Columbia production by veteran screenwriter Griffin Jay with additional dialogue by Randall Faye.

The screenplay for Neumann’s classic mammoth 1958 Twentieth Century Fox (Twentieth Century Studios) sci-fi/fantasy masterpiece production was written by veteran screenwriter and novelist James Clavell.  Clavell previously co-wrote the screenplay adaptation of Paul Brickhill‘s book  with W.R. Burnett of John Sturges‘ classic mammoth Mirisch/United Artists wartime drama masterpiece adaptation of “The Great Escape” (1963) with Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, James Donald, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn, David McCallum (later of TV’s “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” fame, TV’s “Sapphire and Steel” fame and TV’s “NCIS” fame) and John Leyton; he later directed and wrote the screenplay adaptation for the classic mammoth critically-acclaimed Columbia Pictures drama masterpiece production adaptation of E.R. Braithwaite‘s novel, “To Sir, With Love” (1967) with Sidney Poitier, Judy Geeson, Christian Roberts, Suzy Kendall, a pre-“Keeping Up Appearances” Patricia Routledge, a pre-“Ghoulies” and pre-“MacGyver” Michael Des Barres and Lulu (she sang the classic mammoth title masterpiece song of the same name).  Alongside his screenwriting and directorial career, Clavell was best known for his critically acclaimed novel of Shogun, which was adapted into the critically-acclaimed classic mammoth made-for-TV miniseries masterpiece; “Shogun” (1980, directed by Jerry London) with Richard Chamberlain, Toshirô Mifune, Yôko Shimada and John Rhys-Davies.

Clavell’s screenplay for “The Fly” (1958) was adapted from George Langelaan‘s original story concept.

Alongside Kurt Neumann’s producing duties, veteran producer Robert L. Lippert served as executive producer of the 1958 classic mammoth Twentieth Century Fox (Twentieth Century Studios) sci-fi/fantasy feature masterpiece production of “The Fly” (1958).  This was one of the few successful productions for Lippert, as he usually specialized in “B” westerns and low-budget sci-fi feature film productions.  Some of Lippert’s independently-produced low-budget productions were famously riffed on “Mystery Science Theater 3000;” notably Bert I. Gordon’s “King Dinosaur,” “The Lost Continent,” “Rocketship X-M,” “Jungle Goddess,” “Radar Secret Service” and “Last of the Wild Horses.”

Alongside “The Fly,” one of Lippert’s other successful productions was his co-production of Ubaldo Ragona and Sidney Salkow‘s classic mammoth zombie sci-fi/horror masterpiece adaptation of Richard Matheson‘s “The Last Man on Earth” (1964) with Vincent Price and Franca Bettoia for Samuel Z. Arkoff and James H. Nicholson’s American-International Pictures.

“The Fly” (1958) was originally planned as a production under Twentieth Century Fox (Twentieth Century Studios)’s “B” picture unit.  According to the American Film Institute (AFI)’s database article on “The Fly” (1958) and veteran film distributor Kit Parker’s extensive series of articles, the production of “The Fly” was going to be released by Twentieth Century Fox (Twentieth Century Studios), but not under the regular Twentieth Century Fox moniker.   

“The Fly” was originally planned as a release under the Regal Pictures, Inc. moniker, which was a “B” production unit headed by Robert L. Lippert.  Twentieth Century Fox (Twentieth Century Studios)’s function was to distribute, market and co-finance Lippert’s Regal productions.  Kurt Neumann previously worked with Robert L. Lippert, notably for the cult low-budget sci-fi production that was famously riffed on MST3K in 1990, “Rocketship X-M” (1950) with Lloyd Bridges of “Sea Hunt” and “Airplane!” fame, Osa Massen, John Emery, Noah Beery Jr., Hugh O’Brian and Morris Ankrum and one year before “The Fly,” the Regal production of “Kronos” (1957) with Jeff Morrow, Barbara Lawrence, John Emery, George O’Hanlon of Warner Bros.’ “Joe McDoakes” short subjects fame and later of TV’s “The Jetsons” fame and Ankrum.

Regal Pictures was set up as a “B” budget feature production unit for “B” features to be tagged along with ordinary Twentieth Century Fox (Twentieth Century Studios) CinemaScope widescreen “A” budget motion pictures. Regal was also set up between Lippert and then-Twentieth Century Fox (Twentieth Century Studios) head Spyros Skouras due to Lippert facing scrutiny under the Screen Actors Guild when he sold his previous motion pictures for television syndication.

Fearing that the “CinemaScope” name would be used for Lippert/Regal’s “B” productions, Twentieth Century Fox (Twentieth Century Studios) insisted that the name be changed to “RegalScope” for Lippert’s widescreen productions, though the Regal productions were filmed using Bausch & Lomb’s CinemaScope widescreen lens and exhibited with Bausch & Lomb CinemaScope projection lens.  The Regal “RegalScope” productions were mostly in black and white with monaural sound. 

Because of Lippert’s conflicts, “The Fly” (1958) was made into a regular Twentieth Century Fox (Twentieth Century Studios) “A” budget CinemaScope widescreen production with Kurt Neumann directing, along with cinematography by veteran cinematographer Karl Struss and a stereophonic source orchestral score soundtrack by veteran composer Bernhard Kaun.  According to the original 1958 Twentieth Century Fox (Twentieth Century Studios) poster art, “The Fly” was processed in “Terror-Color” by Deluxe Laboratories (today’s Deluxe Media), which was once the in-house film processing firm of Fox Film Corporation/Twentieth Century Fox (today’s Twentieth Century Studios).

This will mark Sven’s second big broadcast of “The Fly” (1958) on the airlanes of Me-TV. He previously showcased Neumann’s classic mammoth 1958 Twentieth Century Fox (Twentieth Century Studios) sci-fi/fantasy feature masterpiece as a Sven Halloween “BOO-nanza” big broadcast premiere back in Oct. 2025.

Who was in “The Fly” (1958)?

The players who appeared in Kurt Neumann’s classic mammoth Twentieth Century Fox (Twentieth Century Studios) sci-fi/fantasy masterpiece production of “The Fly” (1958) were Vincent Price (as François Delambre), Patricia Owens (as Helene Delambre), David “Al” Hedison (as Andre Delambre, “The Fly”), Kathleen Freeman (as Emma), Betty Lou Gerson (as Nurse Andersone), Herbert Marshall (as Insp. Charas) and Charles Herbert (as Phillipe Delambre).

“Svengoolie” presents his big premiere of “They Came from Beyond Space” (1967), this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Svengoolie Super SvenPals everywhere will be dancing and jumping for joy for his upcoming big broadcast premiere of a classic mammoth British sci-fi masterpiece.

“Svengoolie” presents his big premiere of “They Came from Beyond Space” (1967)

Original 1966/67 Embassy Pictures U.S. theatrical release trailer for Freddie Francis‘ classic mammoth Amicus sci-fi masterpiece production of “They Came from Beyond Space” with Robert Hutton, Jennifer Jayne and Michael Gough.

The legendary and iconic Berwyn/Chicago-based classic mammoth sci-fi feature film masterpiece host will present his big broadcast premiere of “They Came from Beyond Space” (1967) this Sven Sat. evening Sept. 5 on the airlanes of Me-TV at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central.

“They Came from Beyond Space” was directed by veteran feature film director Freddie Francis. Throughout his career in the film industry, Francis previously served as the cinematographer for Karel Reisz‘s Woodfall/British Lion romantic drama production of “Saturday Night and Sunday Morning” (1961, released theatrically in the United States through New York/New Jersey-based cinema circuit & film & TV distributor Walter Reade-Sterling/Walter Reade Organization’s Continental Film Distributors) with young Albert Finney (later of 1963’s “Tom Jones” fame and 1982’s “Annie” fame), Rachel Roberts, Shirley Anne Field and young Peter Sallis (also of 1961’s “Curse of the Werewolf” fame, later of BBC-TV’s “Last of the Summer Wine” fame and of interest to fellow wonderful friends/Super readers/Super Tooners of “Toon In With Me;” the original vocal stylings of Wallace in Nick Park & Aardman’s critically-acclaimed “Wallace and Gromit” classic mammoth stop-motion masterpiece productions).

Francis later directed his classic mammoth Universal Studios/Hammer Films thriller masterpiece production of “Nightmare” (1964) with David Knight, Moira Redmond, Jennie Linden and Brenda Bruce.

He also directed his classic mammoth Amicus horror/thriller masterpiece production of “The Skull” (1965) with British screen horror legends Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.

He later directed his classic mammoth Amicus thriller anthology masterpiece adaptation of “Tales from the Crypt” (1972, long before the critically-acclaimed modern classic mammoth 1989-96 HBO premium TV horror anthology masterpiece adaptation series of the same name) with Ralph Richardson, Joan Collins, Martin Boddey, Chloe Franks, Ian Hendry, Robin Phillips, David Markham, Richard Greene, Barbara Murray, Roy Dotrice, Nigel Patrick and Patrick Magee.  The 1972 feature adaptation of “Tales from the Crypt” was co-produced by broadcast station owner Metromedia, eleven years before the broadcast/multimedia giant acquired the original Berwyn/Chicago home TV station of Son of Sven/Sven/Rich Koz, WFLD/32 from the Field family/Field Communications/Field Enterprises in 1983. -C.H.  Ironically, Francis later directed an episode of the HBO “Tales from the Crypt” series adaptation near the conclusion of the HBO series run in 1996, titled “Last Respects” with Emma Samms, Kerry Fox, Julie Cox, Michael Denison and the vocal stylings of the “Cryptkeeper,” John Kassir.

Francis also directed the cult classic mammoth vampire/comedy masterpiece production of “Son of Dracula” (1972/74) with music legends and icons Harry Nilsson, ex-Beatle Ringo Starr (Starr also co-produced the 1972 production), Peter Frampton, Keith Moon, Leon Russell, John Bonham and Klaus Voormann plus  Suzanna Leigh and Dennis Price.

He later served as a cinematographer for David Lynch‘s classic mammoth Universal/Dino DeLaurentiis sci-fi masterpiece adaptation of Frank Herbert’s “Dune” (1984) with Kyle McLachlan, Virginia Madsen, José Ferrer, Francesca Annis, Alicia Witt, Dean Stockwell (of 1948’s “The Boy with Green Hair” fame and also of the original 1989-93 Universal/NBC “Quantum Leap” series fame), legendary rock musician/singer Sting and Patrick Stewart (later of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” fame and associated feature films and spin-off series in connection to Trek: TNG) and for Edward Zwick‘s classic mammoth TriStar critically-acclaimed Civil War drama masterpiece, “Glory” (1989) with Denzel Washington, Matthew Broderick, Morgan Freeman, Andre Braugher, Cary Elwes, John Finn, RonReaco Lee, Bob Minor, Richard Riehle and Raymond St. Jacques.

Adapted from Joseph Millard‘s sci-fi novel of “The Gods Hate Kansas,” Millard’s novel was adapted into a screenplay by veteran producer/writer Milton Subotsky. “They Came from Beyond Space” was produced by Subtosky and Max Rosenberg‘s production firm, Amicus Productions.  Subtosky and Rosenberg formed Amicus Productions in 1962, according to the British Film Institute.  In the same “house style” of British horror/thriller feature masterpiece productions as rival production company Hammer Films, Amicus usually formed co-production partnerships and alliances with the major Hollywood film studios/film distributors.

Joseph E. Levine and George Jessel, ca. 1962.

“They Came from Beyond Space” (1967) was released by veteran feature film producer/distributor/exhibitor Joseph E. Levine‘s releasing firm, Embassy Pictures; according to the original theatrical release trailer for the 1967 production. Levine established Embassy as a distributor of art-house, international and independently-produced feature film productions. The company was originally established by Levine in Boston, Massachusetts in the early 1940s, according to a 1987 Los Angeles Times obituary on the veteran film producer/distributor/exhibitor.

Joseph E. Levine originally acquired and licensed the North American theatrical releasing rights to the dubbed edition of Ishirô Honda’s classic mammoth Toho Studios kaiju creature/monster masterpiece from Japan, “Gojira“/“Godzilla, King of the Monsters!” (1954/56) With Haruo Nakajima, Ryosaku Takasugi, a pre-“Perry Mason” Raymond Burr,  Takashi Shimura, Momoko Kochi, Frank Iwanaga, Akira Takarada, Akihiko Hirata, Sachio Sakai, Fuyuki Murakami, Ren Yamamoto, Toyoaki Suzuki, Tadashi Okabe, Toranosuke Ogawa, Kenji Sahara, Mikel Conrad and the vocal stylings of James Hong, Sammee Tong and Paul Frees. Levine’s Embassy also specialized in importing several dubbed editions of Italian “sword and sandal” features to the United States, notably the “Hercules” series of features with “Hercules” (1958) and “Hercules Unchained” (1959) with Steve Reeves (both Hercules films were leased by Levine to Embassy’s major rival, Warner Bros. for expanded theatrical distribution).

Three years before “They Came from Outer Space,” Levine’s Embassy also co-produced and released Nicholas Webster‘s cult classic holiday production of “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” (1964) with John Call, Vincent Beck, Bill McCutcheon, Ned Wertimer, young Pia Zadora and the music of Milton Delugg. Levine’s distribution firm also co-produced and released Bert I. Gordon‘s “Village of the Giants” (1965) with Ron “Ronny” Howard, Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon, Joy Harmon, Beau Bridges, Tisha Sterling, Johnny Crawford, Toni Basil, Tommy Kirk and The Beau Brummels.

Some of the notable critically-acclaimed classic mammoth Levine/Embassy-produced masterpiece features also include Mike Nichols‘ “The Graduate” (1967) with Anne Bancroft, Dustin Hoffman, Katharine Ross, William Daniels, Murray Hamilton, Buck Henry, Norman Fell, Alice Ghostley and the music of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel along with select jazz orchestrations of Dave Grusin; Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass‘ “Mad Monster Party?” (1967) with the vocal stylings of silver screen horror legend Boris Karloff, Allen Swift, Phyllis Diller, Gale Garnett and Ethel Ennis, Mel Brooks‘ “The Producers” (1968) with Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder, Dick Shawn, Kenneth Mars, Christopher Hewett (later of TV’s “Mr. Belvedere” fame), Estelle Winwood, Andréas Voutsinas, Renée Taylor, Frank Campanella, Lee Meredith, Barney Martin, Bill Macy (later of TV’s “Maude” fame) and William Hickey and Anthony Harvey‘s adaptation of James Goldman‘s “The Lion in Winter” (1968) with Peter O’Toole, Katharine Hepburn, Anthony Hopkins, Timothy Dalton and Jane Merrow.

In 1968, Levine sold his production/releasing firm to aviation, broadcasting, financial services and industrial conglomerate Avco Corporation. Rebadged by the conglomerate as Avco Embassy Pictures, Levine stayed on for several more years until departing the company in 1974 (due in part to Avco’s tinkering of Embassy Pictures and the conglomerate’s own financial problems at the time, which caused the firm to pause feature film productions).

Avco re-entered Embassy feature film production financing and distribution beginning in 1978 under the guidance of producer Robert Rheme, notably for the U.S. theatrical release of the animated adaptation of “Watership Down” (1978), John Carpenter‘s “The Fog” (1980) with Adrienne Barbeau of TV’s “Maude” fame, Jamie Lee Curtis, Janet Leigh, John Houseman, Tom Atkins and Hal Holbrook; Joe Dante‘s “The Howling” (1981) with Dee Wallace, Patrick Macnee of TV’s “The Avengers” fame, Dennis Dugan, Kevin McCarthy of 1957’s “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” fame, John Carradine and Slim Pickens; Carpenter’s “Escape From New York” (1981) with Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Isaac Hayes, Ernest Borgnine, Barbeau, Atkins, Harry Dean Stanton and Donald Pleasence and the U.S. distribution of Terry Gilliam and ex-Beatle George Harrison‘s “Time Bandits” (1981, produced by Harrison’s Handmade Films) with Sean Connery, John Cleese, Shelley Duvall, Katherine Helmond, Ian Holm, Michael Palin and Kenny Baker.

Despite the successes during Rheme’s supervision of Avco’s tenure of Embassy (Rheme left Avco for a production position at rival Universal Studios/MCA), the one-time conglomerate sold Embassy Pictures to veteran groundbreaking television producer Norman Lear at the end of 1981.

Lear consolidated Embassy with his Tandem and T.A.T. production/syndication companies along with the in-house P*I*T*S syndication subsidiary into a new Embassy Pictures/Embassy Television. The combined company even expanded into the growing home entertainment market with pioneering home entertainment executive Andre Blay.

Some of the major classic mammoth Embassy masterpiece features during Lear’s ownership of the company included Wes Craven‘s adaptation of “Swamp Thing” (1982) with Barbeau, Louis Jourdan, Dick Durock, Ray Wise and David Hess; Rob Reiner‘s “This is Spinal Tap” (1984) with Reiner, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Bruno Kirby, Fran Drescher (later of TV’s “The Nanny” fame), Patrick Macnee, Howard Hesseman (of TV’s “WKRP in Cincinnati” fame), Paul Shaffer (of TV’s “Saturday Night Live” and of TV’s “Late Night/Late Show with David Letterman” fame), Billy Crystal, young Dana Carvey, Fred Willard, Anjelica Huston (the real-life daughter of director/actor/writer John Huston), June Chadwick and Tony Hendra and Richard Attenborough‘s adaptation of “A Chorus Line” (1985) with Michael Douglas, Nicole Fosse, Yamil Borges, Sharon Brown, Cameron English, Gregg Burge and Jan Gan Boyd.

Lear sold his television and feature film production/distribution holdings to soft drink giant Coca-Cola in 1985; owner of Embassy’s then-major rival; Columbia Pictures (Coke acquired Columbia in 1982). Due to anti-trust concerns at the time, Coca-Cola sold off pieces of Embassy. While Columbia Pictures/Coca-Cola kept the Embassy Television/Embassy Telecommunications production/syndication unit and a long-term agreement for the North American TV syndication and cable/pay-cable rights of the majority of the Embassy feature film backlog on behalf of the successor of the Embassy feature film library*, the feature film holdings (including “They Came from Outer Space”) were sold to veteran feature film producer Dino De Laurentiis; who renamed Embassy Pictures as De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG) in 1986. Due to De Laurentiis’ numerous financial and box-office troubles for his distribution firm, the firm’s film backlog was sold to France-based Parafrance/Paravision International in 1988; which was then acquired by France’s Canal+/StudioCanal in 1994; which owns all global theatrical distribution/home entertainment licensing rights to the majority of the Embassy Pictures feature film library*.

*Sony (which acquired Columbia Pictures outright in 1989) still owns the North American TV/cable syndication rights to the majority of the Embassy Pictures feature film library on behalf of StudioCanal+, StudioCanal+ manages the worldwide streaming/premium streaming distribution rights to the majority of the Embassy Pictures feature film library. -C.H.

Who was in “They Came from Beyond Space” (1967)?

The players who appeared in Francis’ classic mammoth Amicus/Embassy sci-fi feature masterpiece production of “They Came from Beyond Space” (1967) were Robert Hutton (as Dr. Curtis Temple), Jennifer Jayne (as Lee Mason), Zia Mohyeddin (as Farge), Bernard Kay (as Richard Arden), Michael Gough (as the Master of the Moon), Robin Parkinson (as Maitland), Katy Wild (as a woman of the street), Kenneth Kendall (as a news presenter), Maurice Good (as Stilwell), Paul Bacon (as Dr. Rogers), Paul Bacon and Jack Lambert (as doctors); Frank Forsyth (as Blake), Terence Conoley (in an uncredited role as a Moon Guard), George Hilsdon (in an uncredited role as a guard) and Ernest “Kiwi” Kingston (in an uncredited role as the second gas station attendant).

“Svengoolie” presents his big broadcast of Dan Curtis’ “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) featuring Karen Black, this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Svengoolie Super SvenPals everywhere will be dancing and jumping for joy for his upcoming big broadcast of a classic mammoth made-for-network TV horror feature-length anthology movie masterpiece.

“Svengoolie” presents his big broadcast of Dan Curtis’ “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) featuring Karen Black

Compilation trailer for Dan Curtis‘ classic mammoth ABC made-for-TV movie horror/thriller/supernatural masterpiece, “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) with Karen Black.  Sidebar: This snippet was originally prepared/licensed by ABC for the latter VHS release via Illinois-based pioneering home entertainment distributor MPI Home Video (which would morph into today’s MPI Media Group, MPI had most home entertainment rights to select ABC-produced programs and ABC News programs/specials, MPI currently represents select home entertainment/physical media/streaming & select TV syndication rights to Dan Curtis’ select productions via Dan Curtis’ family/the estate of Dan Curtis).  Viewer discretion is advised.

“Karen Black is Sensational in ‘Trilogy of Terror’!” Original 1975 ABC Television Network newspaper advertising proof for the original “Tuesday Movie of the Week” airing of Dan Curtis’ “Trilogy of Terror” with Karen Black.

The legendary and iconic Berwyn/Chicago-based classic mammoth supernatural/horror film masterpiece host will present his big broadcast of “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) this Sat., Aug. 29 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central on the airlanes of Me-TV.

The classic mammoth 1975 ABC made-for-TV thriller anthology feature masterpiece production was directed by veteran television and feature film director-producer Dan Curtis.

Curtis was best-known for producing and directing his own classic mammoth ABC television network gothic horror masterpiece series production of “Dark Shadows” (1966-71)* with Jonathan Frid (in the lead role of vampire Barnabas Collins) and Grayson Hall (in the lead role of Dr. Julia Hoffman, also of 1972’s “Gargoyles” fame).  Curtis also directed two classic mammoth Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) gothic horror feature film masterpiece adaptations of his ABC-TV “Dark Shadows” series; “House of Dark Shadows” (1970) with Frid and “Night of Dark Shadows” (1971, produced and released around the same time that the ABC television network cancelled “Dark Shadows”).  20 years after the final ABC broadcast of “Dark Shadows,” Curtis reunited with MGM to produce a newer, short-lived primetime “Dark Shadows” series for rival network NBC in 1991 with Ben Cross in the role of vampire Barnabas Collins in the latter/brief Curtis/MGM/NBC “Dark Shadows” TV series revival.

Curtis was also involved with two classic mammoth ABC “Movie of the Week”/”Kolchak” made-for-TV movie supernatural masterpiece pilots, “The Night Stalker” (1972, produced by Curtis, directed by John Llewellyn Moxey) with  Darren McGavin (of the 1958-59 “Mickey Spillane’s Mike Hammer” TV adaptation series fame and later of 1983’s “A Christmas Story” fame), Carol Lynley (of 1972’s “The Poseidon Adventure” fame), Claude Akins (later of TV’s “Movin’ On” fame and TV’s “B.J. and the Bear“/“The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo” fame), Larry Linville (of  TV’s “M*A*S*H” fame), Simon Oakland (of Alfred Hitchcock‘s “Psycho” fame, Peter Yates’ “Bullitt” fame and TV’s “Black Sheep Squadron”/”Baa Baa Black Sheep” fame), Ralph Meeker, Charles McGraw, Kent Smith, Elisha Cook Jr., Stanley Adams, Jordan Rhodes and Barry Atwater and “The Night Strangler” (1973, produced and directed by Curtis) with McGavin, Oakland, Jo Ann Pflug (of Robert Altman‘s 1970 “M*A*S*H” feature film fame), Wally Cox (of TV’s “Mister Peepers” fame and of interest to fellow Super Tooners/Super SvenPals of Toony & Bill’s “Toon In With Me,” of the vocal stylings of TV’s “Underdog“ fame), Margaret Hamilton (of 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz” fame, 1940’s “The Invisible Woman” fame, 1960’s “13 Ghosts” fame and in the latter part of her acting career- “Cora” for TV commercials for Maxwell House Coffee ), Al “Grampa” Lewis (of TV’s “The Munsters” fame and of 1966’s “Munster, Go Home!“ fame), Richard Anderson (of 1956’s “Forbidden Planet” fame),veteran horror actor John Carradine, Kate Murtagh (of 1977’s “The Car” fame and on the album cover of Supertramp‘s “Breakfast In America“ fame), Nina Wayne, Virginia Peters, Ivor Francis, Diane Shalet, Anne Randall, Francoise Birnheim and Regina Parton/Ethel Parker.  The two classic mammoth ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie masterpieces later inspired the 1974-75 classic mammoth Universal Studios/ABC “Kolchak” supernatural masterpiece TV series, “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” with McGavin and Oakland reprising their roles from the two aforementioned classic mammoth Curtis/ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie masterpiece productions.  Darren McGavin also served as executive producer on the aforementioned Universal “Kolchak” series.

Curtis also directed his classic mammoth made-for-TV horror/vampire monster masterpiece adaptation that was inspired by Bram Stoker‘s gothic novel,  “Dan Curtis’ Dracula” (1974) with Jack Palance, Simon Ward, Nigel Davenport, Pamela Brown, Fiona Lewis, Penelope Horner, Murray Brown, Virginia Wetherell, Barbara Lindley,  Sarah Douglas,  George Pravda, Hana Maria Pravda, Reg Lye, Fred Stone, Roy Spencer, John Challis, Nigel Gregory, John Pennington, Martyn Read, Gita Denise, Sandra Caron and Eddie Powell; Curtis’ classic mammoth made-for-TV movie adaptation of “Dracula” aired in 1974 on that now-disgraced television network with the “eye” trademark.

Curtis also directed his own classic mammoth made-for-TV thriller movie masterpiece production of “Dead of Night” (1977) that aired on the NBC television network that featured Ed Begley Jr., E.J. André, Ann Doran, Christina Hart, Patrick Macnee, Anjanette Comer, Joan Hackett, Elisha Cook Jr., Horst Buchholz, Lee Montgomery, the vocal stylings of John Dehner, Orin Cannon, Jean Le Bouvier, Dick McGarvin, Karen Hurley, Michael Talbott, Gail Bowman, Lars Green, Joan Lemmo and Jeff Reese. The aforementioned 1977 production was partially inspired by an earlier one-hour pilot teleplay that Curis co-directed with Lela Swift for ABC that never materialized into a series, titled “Dead of Night: A Darkness at Blaisedon” (1969) with Cal Bellini, Thayer David, Marj Dusay, Louis Edmonds, Ingrid Helmke and Kerwin Mathews (of 1958’s “The 7th Voyage of Sinbad” fame and of 1973’s “The Boy Who Cried Werewolf” fame).

Curtis also directed the classic mammoth critically-acclaimed Emmy award-winning made-for-TV wartime drama masterpiece miniseries adaptation of Herman Wouk‘s “The Winds of War” (1983) with Robert Mitchum, Ali MacGraw, Ralph Bellamy, John Houseman, Topol (of 1971’s “Fiddler on the Roof” fame), Polly Bergen and Peter Graves (of TV’s “Mission: Impossible” fame, 1980’s “Airplane!” fame and host of TV’s “A&E Biography” fame) and a follow-up classic mammoth critically-acclaimed Emmy award-winning made-for-TV wartime drama masterpiece sequel miniseries adaptation that was co-produced entirely by ABC, Herman Wouk’s “War and Remembrance” (1988-89) with Mitchum, Bellamy, Topol, Bergen, Sami Frey, Robert Hardy, Jane Seymour and William Schallert.

The screenplay of Curtis’ classic mammoth 1975 ABC made-for-TV horror/supernatural/thriller anthology masterpiece production of “Trilogy of Terror” was written by veteran screenwriter William F. Nolan and was based off of several original story ideas by veteran screenwriter Richard Matheson.  Nolan previously co-authored George Clayton Johnson‘s classic mammoth futuristic sci-fi thriller novel masterpiece that was later adapated by Michael Anderson for the classic mammoth Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) futuristic sci-fi/thriller masterpiece production with Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Roscoe Lee Browne, Farrah Fawcett (Farrah Fawcett-Majors), Peter Ustinov and Richard Jordan; “Logan’s Run” (1976).

Matheson previously wrote the original story for Jack Arnold’sclassic mammoth Universal Studios sci-fi/fantasy/visual effects masterpiece, “The Incredible Shrinking Man” (1957) with Grant Williams, Randy Stuart, April Kent, Paul Langton, Raymond Bailey, William Schallert, Frank J. Scannell, Helene Marshall, Diana Darrin, Lock Martin and Orangey the Cat.  Matheson later wrote the screenplay for the classic mammoth Roger Corman/American-International 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.  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-TV made-for-TV movie masterpiece 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) and two of the teleplay installments in Curtis’ classic mammoth ABC made-for-TV supernatural/thriller anthology masterpiece feature, “Trilogy of Terror” (1975).

“Trilogy of Terror” (1975) originally aired on the ABC television network on March 4, 1975 as part of the network’s “Tuesday Movie of the Week”/”Movie of the Week” series of feature-length productions produced and/or financed by ABC, according to IMDB and an original 1975 ABC print advertisement for the network presentation of “Trilogy of Terror.”   The alphabet network began their “Movie of the Week” series in 1969

The animated/scanimation-filmed “ABC Movie of the Week” opening/closing graphics and bumpers contained a signature piece of music that was composed by legendary composer Burt Bacharach, which was an instrumental version of one of his original songs, “Nikki.”  An orchestral album cut version of Bacharach’s “Nikki” composition was released on the composer’s self-titled album via the legendary Herb Alpert & Jerry Moss‘ recorded music firm, A&M Records in 1971; according to Discogs.

According to additional details from IMDB, Curtis and Moxey’s classic mammoth 1972 made-for-TV supernatural feature masterpiece production was co-produced under one of the in-house production subsidiaries of the ABC television network “ABC Circle Films” (which later became “ABC Productions,” which then morphed into “ABC Studios“/”ABC Signature“).  Alongside “Trilogy of Terror” (1975), the two original classic mammoth ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie pilot masterpieces, the network’s self-produced made-for-TV movies, miniseries, “afterschool specials” and original productions that were produced under ABC’s “ABC Circle Films” moniker, one of the other well-known ABC-TV original productions that was produced under the network’s “ABC Circle Films” imprint was the network’s classic mammoth romantic detective series, “Moonlighting” (1985-89) with Cybill Shepherd, Bruce Willis and the famous opening title song track performed by Al Jarreau.  ABC merged with radio & TV broadcast group Capital Cities Communications in 1985 to form Capital Cities/ABC, Inc.  Capital Cities/ABC was later acquired by the Walt Disney Company in 1996, the ABC Circle Films/ABC Productions/ABC Video Enterprises holdings would be immediately placed under Disney’s in-house TV production/syndication unit (then-known as Buena Vista Television, currently trading under the Disney Platform Distribution moniker).

After The Walt Disney Company’s acquisition of then-rival film & TV studio Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation from controversial tabloid newspaper/media baron Rupert Murdoch in 2017 (Disney renamed Twentieth Century Fox as Twentieth Century Studios and the TV production/syndication unit was renamed Twentieth Television, which was already an existing name for the TV syndication unit of Twentieth Century Fox), Disney consolidated ABC’s entertainment production subsidiaries under the Twentieth Television moniker (for example, Jimmy Kimmel’s ABC-TV latenight show is now co-produced under the Disney-owned Twentieth Television moniker after being previously co-produced under Disney’s “Touchstone” moniker and the ABC Studios/ABC Signature monikers).

Alongside feature-length productions that were produced by the network’s in-house production unit, ABC also contracted with veteran producer Aaron Spelling‘s production company, veteran producer and documentarian David L. Wolper‘s production outfit (Wolper later sold his production company to Warner Bros. in 1976 and formed a longtime production alliance with Warners), Universal Studios/MCA and Columbia Pictures/Screen Gems (Columbia’s TV unit was later rebadged by the studio as Columbia Pictures Television in 1974) to produce made-for-TV movies for the network’s “Movie of the Week” showcases, according to Michael McKenna’s retrospective book on ABC’s slate of made-for-TV movies, “The ABC Movie of the Week: Big Movies for the Small Screen” and the Film Score Monthly forum.  Speaking of the “ABC Movie of the Week,” other classic mammoth made-for-TV features that have been showcased on Svengoolie’s Me-TV big broadcasts include young Steven Spielberg‘s classic mammoth Universal/ABC made-for-TV action thriller masterpiece production of “Duel” (1971) with Dennis Weaver; which marked one of the earliest classic mammoth major masterpiece productions for the young veteran director and Curtis’ classic mammoth ABC made-for-TV horror-anthology masterpiece production of “Trilogy of Terror” (1975).

For the original March 4, 1975 ABC television network airing of “Trilogy of Terror:”Curtis’ classic mammoth ABC made-for-TV 1975 horror/thriller masterpiece aired on ABC-owned WLS-TV in Berwyn/Chicago, Illinois and on a regional scale for the home region of “Silver Screen Reflections;” the original 1975 ABC showing of Curtis’ “Trilogy of Terror” aired on WMAL-TV 7 (which became the now-disgraced and infamous WJLA-7 in 1977 ; WJLA/7 previously carried Me-TV in the Washington, D.C./Frederick, Maryland area from 2013-17) in the Washington, D.C./Frederick, Maryland area; ,WTPA-TV 27 (which became WHTM-27 in 1980) in the Gettysburg/Hanover/York/Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area and WJZ-TV Channel 13 (which later became affiliated with the now-disgraced & infamous network with the “eye” logo after the 1995 Baltimore TV affiliation switch, C*S-owned since the 1996 Westinghouse/Group W-C*S merger ) in the Baltimore, Maryland area. -C.H.

According to the March 4, 1975 issue of The Gettysburg Times, ABC programmed Dan Curtis’ “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) for the “Tuesday Movie of the Week” showcase in-between an episode of “Happy Days” (titled “Fonzie Joins the Band”) and an episode of “Marcus Welby, M.D.” (titled “Dark Corridors”).  During the original March 4, 1975 prime-time big broadcast airing of the “ABC Tuesday Movie of the Week”/”Trilogy of Terror,” the alphabet network & Dan Curtis’ classic mammoth 1975 made-for-TV horror-thriller masterpiece production was shown opposite an episode of “M*A*S*H” (titled “Payday”) and the First Annual “People’s Choice Awards” over on C*S nd the Columbia Pictures made-for-TV movie production of “The Last Survivors” (1975) over on NBC.

During the original March 4, 1975 ABC big broadcast network TV premiere of Dan Curtis’ “Trilogy of Terror,” it was reported that several ABC-affiliated stations from coast-to-coast did not clear Curtis’ classic mammoth 1975 made-for-TV horror anthology movie masterpiece production for prime-time.

According to a March 17, 1975 issue of Broadcasting (Broadcasting and Cable), several ABC affiliates were concerned and felt that ABC’s airing of “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) would scare off viewers in prime-time; yet ABC placed a viewer discretion disclaimer in the original network promos/commercials for Curtis’ 1975 production; according to a latter commercial for a syndicated airing of “Trilogy of Terror” that was unearthed on YouTube.

Several ABC affiliates decided to delay Curtis’ “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) by airing it in the Latenight timeslot in place of ABC’s then-Latenight programming lineup, “Wide World of Entertainment” in New Orleans, Louisiana (WVUE, which was affiliated with ABC until 1995); Miami, Florida (now-former ABC affiliate WPLG; though WPLG would later air a syndicated airing of “Trilogy of Terror” In 1981); Milwaukee, Wisconsin (WITI, which was affiliated with ABC until 1977) and Fresno, California (KJEO/KGPE, which was affiliated with ABC until 1985; when the network moved to KFSN as a result of the Capital Cities/ABC merger since KFSN was owned by Capital Cities prior to the station group’s merger with ABC).

The only ABC-affiliated station that declined to show the original 1975 network airing of Curtis’ “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) in any timeslot was Duluth, Minnesota’s ABC affiliate (and future Me-TV affiliate) WDIO-TV.

This will mark Sven’s fifth big broadcast of Dan Curtis’ classic mammoth 1975 ABC made-for-TV anthology movie masterpiece production on the airlanes of Me-TV.  He previously showcased “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) as a big broadcast premiere back in Sept. 2022 for the start of the 2022 “Svengoolie’s Halloween Boo-nanza” festival along with the original Sept. 2022 premiere of the classic mammoth Me-TV documentary masterpiece on Svengoolie/Rich Koz, “Svengoolie: Uncrypted” (2022) featuring fellow Super SvenPals/Super Tooners/Super readers of “Silver Screen Reflections” Sarah Rhodes, Nanette Keir, Brian Bernardoni plus the Sven collections of fellow wonderful friends/Super SvenPals/Super readers of “Silver Screen Reflections” Dave Fuentes of “Terror from Beyond the Dave” fame and Warner Todd Huston!  “Trilogy of Terror” then aired as regular Sven/Me-TV big broadcasts back in Sept. 2023, Oct. 2023 and in April 2024.

Who was in Dan Curtis’ classic mammoth ABC made-for-TV masterpiece production of “Trilogy of Terror” (1975)

The players who appeared in Dan Curtis’ classic mammoth ABC made-for-TV horror/thriller masterpiece production of “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) were Karen Black  (in the dual roles of Julie, Millicent, Therese and Amelia); Robert Burton (as Chad Foster), John Karlen (as Thomas Ammen), George Gaynes (as Dr. Chester Ramsey), Jim Storm (as Eddie Nells), Kathryn Reynolds (as Anne Richards), Orin Cannon (as a motel clerk), Gregory Harrison (as Arthur Moore), Tracy Curtis (as Tracy) and the vocal stylings of Walker Edmiston (for those who have not seen “Trilogy of Terror,” the writer/author of “Silver Screen Reflections” will not reveal what character Edmiston voiced in Curtis’ classic mammoth 1975 made-for-TV horror-thriller masterpiece). -C.H.

Remembering my Father, Charles David Hamby (1947-2026)

Sidebar: I haven’t been on the airlanes of “Silver Screen Reflections” in awhile.

Remembering my Father, Charles David Hamby (Dec. 17, 1947-Aug. 3, 2026)

I am in a state of sadness. The light has gone out in my life.My #Father died this morning at Hospice at the age of 78. :-(I know that he is reunited with my late #Mother in heaven. I truly miss the both of them.Farewell to my Father (Dec, 17, 1947-Aug. 3, 2026). Photographed back in 2009.

— Christopher Hamby (@chrishambyfilms.bsky.social) 2026-08-04T03:16:37.056Z

On August 3, 2026; the light went out in my life that morning.   My Father, Charles David Hamby died on that day.

Thinking back to my Father, he; along with my Late Mother (Nov. 28, 1948-Nov. 9, 2024) brought a lot of joy and happiness. Just like my Mother, he truly introduced me to the world of classic film, TV and cartoon masterpieces in my early years; which helped instill my self-interest and knowledge in the field of classic film, TV and cartoon masterpieces.

“Svengoolie” presents his big broadcast of “The Night Stalker” (1972) with Darren McGavin, Simon Oakland, Claude Akins & Larry Linville; this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Svengoolie Super SvenPals everywhere will be dancing and jumping for joy for his upcoming big broadcast of one of the classic mammoth ABC-TV “Kolchak” made-for-TV supernatural/thriller movie/TV “movie of the week” pilot masterpieces.

“Svengoolie” presents his big broadcast of “The Night Stalker” (1972) with Darren McGavin, Simon Oakland, Claude Akins and Larry Linville

Original 1972 ABC (American Broadcasting Company)-TV “Tuesday Movie of the Week: World Premiere” opening bumper/preview for Dan Curtis and John Llewellyn Moxey’s classic mammoth ABC supernatural “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie pilot masterpiece featuring Darren McGavin in the role of Carl Kolchak with Claude Akins and Simon Oakland, “The Night Stalker;” featuring narration in the original 1972 ABC “The Night Stalker” promo by veteran ABC network & promotional voice-over artist Ernie Anderson (Anderson was also a veteran TV monster/sci-fi/horror feature film host in Cleveland, Ohio in the 1960s on WJW-TV under the name of “Ghoulardi”).

“A World Premiere!” Original 1972 American Broadcasting Company (ABC) Television Network newspaper advertisement for the network’s “Movie of the Week”/”Kolchak” premiere movie of “The Night Stalker” with Darren McGavin and Carol Lynley.

The legendary and iconic classic mammoth supernatural/fantasy feature film masterpiece host will present his big broadcast of “The Night Stalker” (1972), this Sat.; July 25 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central on Me-TV.

The classic mammoth 1972 ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie pilot masterpiece was produced by veteran TV and feature film director-producer Dan Curtis. Curtis was best-known for producing and directing his own classic mammoth ABC television network gothic horror masterpiece series production, “Dark Shadows” (1966-71) with Jonathan Frid (in the lead role of vampire Barnabas Collins) and Grayson Hall (in the lead role of Dr. Julia Hoffman, also of 1972’s “Gargoyles” fame).  Curtis also directed two classic mammoth Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) gothic horror feature film masterpiece adaptations of his ABC-TV “Dark Shadows” series; “House of Dark Shadows” (1970) with Frid and “Night of Dark Shadows” (1971, produced and released around the same time that ABC cancelled “Dark Shadows”).  20 years after the final ABC broadcast of “Dark Shadows,” Curtis reunited with MGM to produce a newer, short-lived primetime “Dark Shadows” series for rival network NBC in 1991 with Ben Cross in the role of vampire Barnabas Collins in the latter/brief Curtis/MGM/NBC “Dark Shadows” series revival.

Curtis also directed his classic mammoth made-for-TV movie vampire masterpiece production adaptation of Bram Stoker’s gothic vampire novel, titled  “Dan Curtis’ Dracula” (1974) with Jack Palance, Simon Ward, Nigel Davenport, Pamela Brown, Fiona Lewis, Penelope Horner, Murray Brown, Virginia Wetherell, Barbara Lindley,  Sarah Douglas,  George Pravda, Hana Maria Pravda, Reg Lye, Fred Stone, Roy Spencer, John Challis, Nigel Gregory, John Pennington, Martyn Read, Gita Denise, Sandra Caron and Eddie Powell.

Curtis also produced and directed his classic mammoth ABC made-for-TV thriller-horror anthology movie masterpiece production of “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) with  Karen Black , Robert Burton, John Karlen, George Gaynes, Jim Storm, Kathryn Reynolds, Orin Cannon, Gregory Harrison, Tracy Curtis  and the vocal stylings of Walker Edmiston.

The 1972 classic mammoth “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie masterpiece was directed by veteran TV and made-for-TV movie director-producer John Llewellyn Moxey.  Moxey previously directed seven episodes of the classic mammoth British action-drama TV series adaptation of Leslie Charteris’ novelizations for Lew Grade’s Associated Television (ATV)/ITC, “The Saint” with a pre-James Bond Roger Moore (Moxey directed episodes of “The Saint” from 1963-67).  Moxey later focused on directing productions in the United States.  Alongside “The Night Stalker” (1972), Moxey directed one episode of the classic mammoth William Castle/Columbia Pictures-Screen Gems/ABC supernatural/thriller masterpiece series, “Circle of Fear” (Moxley directed the 1972 episode of “Circle of Fear” titled “The New House” with Sebastian Cabot of TV’s “Family Affair” fame, David Birney, Barbara Parkins, Sam Jaffe and a cameo appearance by Castle).

He also directed one episode of the brief “Perry Mason” revival with Monte Markham, “The New Perry Mason” (Moxley directed the 1973 episode “The Case of the Ominous Oath”).  To paraphrase Sven, John Lewellen Moxey worked on ‘Almost Perry Mason!’ -C.H.  Near the conclusion of his directorial career, Moxey directed 18 episodes of the classic mammoth long-running Universal Studios TV detective/mystery masterpiece series with Angela Lansbury, “Murder, She Wrote” (Moxey directed his episodes of the series from 1984-91).

The screenplay for the classic mammoth Curtis-Moxey-ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie pilot masterpiece production of “The Night Stalker” (1972) was written by veteran screenwriter Richard Matheson.  Matheson previously wrote the original story for Jack Arnold’sclassic mammoth Universal Studios sci-fi/fantasy/visual effects masterpiece, “The Incredible Shrinking Man” (1957) with Grant Williams, Randy Stuart, April Kent, Paul Langton, Raymond Bailey, William Schallert, Frank J. Scannell, Helene Marshall, Diana Darrin, Lock Martin and Orangey the Cat.  Matheson later wrote the screenplay for the classic mammoth Roger Corman/American-International 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.  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.

Dan Curtis also directed the classic mammoth critically-acclaimed Emmy award-winning made-for-TV wartime drama masterpiece miniseries adaptation of Herman Wouk‘s “The Winds of War” (1983) that aired on ABC with Robert Mitchum, Ali MacGraw, Ralph Bellamy, John Houseman, Topol (of 1971’s “Fiddler on the Roof” fame), Polly Bergen and Peter Graves and a follow-up classic mammoth critically-acclaimed Emmy award-winning made-for-TV wartime drama masterpiece sequel miniseries adaptation that was produced entirely by ABC, Herman Wouk’s “War and Remembrance” (1988-89) with Mitchum, Bellamy, Topol, Bergen, Sami Frey, Robert Hardy, Jane Seymour and William Schallert.

“The Night Stalker” (1972) originally aired on the ABC television network on Jan. 11, 1972 as part of the network’s “Tuesday Movie of the Week”/”Movie of the Week: World Premiere” series of feature-length productions produced and/or financed by ABC along with made-for-TV productions produced for the network by the major studios/production firms.

According to additional details from IMDB, Curtis and Moxey’s classic mammoth 1972 made-for-TV supernatural feature masterpiece production was co-produced under one of the in-house production subsidiaries of the ABC television network “ABC Circle Films” (which later became “ABC Productions,” which then morphed into “ABC Studios“/”ABC Signature“).  Alongside the two original classic mammoth ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie pilot masterpieces, many made-for-TV movies, miniseries, “afterschool specials” and original productions that were produced under ABC’s “ABC Circle Films” moniker, one of the other well-known ABC-TV original productions that was produced under the “ABC Circle Films” imprint was the network’s classic mammoth romantic detective series, “Moonlighting” (1985-89) with Cybill Shepherd, Bruce Willis and the famous opening title song track performed by Al Jarreau.  ABC merged with radio & TV broadcast group Capital Cities Communications in 1985 to form Capital Cities/ABC, Inc.  Capital Cities/ABC was later acquired by the Walt Disney Company in 1996, the ABC Circle Films/ABC Productions/ABC Video Enterprises holdings would be immediately placed under Disney’s in-house TV production/syndication unit (then-known as Buena Vista Television, currently trading under the Disney Platform Distribution moniker).

After The Walt Disney Company’s acquisition of then-rival film & TV studio Twentieth Century Fox from controversial tabloid newspaper/media baron Rupert Murdoch* in 2017 (Disney renamed Twentieth Century Fox as Twentieth Century Studios and the TV production/syndication unit was renamed Twentieth Television, which was already an existing name for the TV syndication unit of Twentieth Century Fox), Disney consolidated ABC’s entertainment production subsidiaries under the Twentieth Television moniker (for example, Jimmy Kimmel’s ABC-TV latenight show is now co-produced under the Disney-owned Twentieth Television moniker after being previously co-produced under Disney’s “Touchstone” moniker and the ABC Studios/ABC Signature monikers).

The animated/scanimation-filmed “ABC Movie of the Week” opening/closing graphics and bumpers contained a signature piece of music that was composed by veteran composer Burt Bacharach, which was an instrumental version of one of his original songs, “Nikki.”  An orchestral album cut version of Bacharach’s “Nikki” composition was released on the composer’s self-titled album via Herb Alpert & Jerry Moss‘ recorded music firm, A&M Records in 1971; according to Discogs.

Alongside feature-length productions that were produced by the network’s in-house production unit, ABC also contracted with veteran producer Aaron Spelling‘s production company, veteran producer and documentarian David L. Wolper‘s production outfit (Wolper later sold his production company to Warner Bros. in 1976 and formed a longtime production alliance with Warners), Universal Studios/MCA and Columbia Pictures/Screen Gems (Columbia’s TV unit was later rebadged by the studio as Columbia Pictures Television in 1974) to produce made-for-TV movies for the network’s “Movie of the Week” showcases, according to Michael McKenna’s retrospective book on ABC’s slate of made-for-TV movies, “The ABC Movie of the Week: Big Movies for the Small Screen” and the Film Score Monthly forum.  Speaking of the “ABC Movie of the Week,” other classic mammoth made-for-TV features that have been showcased on Svengoolie’s Me-TV big broadcasts include young Steven Spielberg‘s classic mammoth Universal/ABC made-for-TV action thriller masterpiece production of “Duel” (1971) with Dennis Weaver; which marked one of the earliest classic mammoth major masterpiece productions for the young veteran director and Curtis’ classic mammoth ABC made-for-TV horror-anthology masterpiece production of “Trilogy of Terror” (1975).

According to the Jan. 11, 1972 edition of The Frederick Post (News-Post), ABC programmed Curtis and Moxey’s made-for-TV movie production of “The Night Stalker” for their “Tuesday Movie of the Week” showcase between an episode of “The Mod Squad” and an episode of “Marcus Welby, M.D.”  During the original Jan. 11, 1972 prime-time big broadcast airing/premiere of the “ABC Tuesday Movie of the Week”/”The Night Stalker,” the alphabet network’s classic mammoth 1972 made-for-TV supernatural masterpiece production was shown opposite episodes of “Hawaii Five-O” (with Jack Lord) and “Cannon” (with William Conrad) on the original incarnation of CBS and a news report along with an episode of “Nichols” (with James Garner) on NBC.

For the original ABC television network “Movie of the Week”/”Kolchak” made-for-TV movie pilot premiere of “The Night Stalker” (1972): For the original Jan. 11, 1972 ABC television network premiere/airing of “The Night Stalker” (1972): Curtis and Moxey’s classic mammoth ABC made-for-TV movie masterpieces aired on ABC-owned WLS-TV in Berwyn/Chicago, Illinois and on a regional scale for the home region/home office of “Silver Screen Reflections;” WMAL-TV 7 (which became the now-disgraced WJLA/7 in 1977; WJLA/7 previously carried Me-TV in the Washington, D.C./Frederick, Maryland area from 2013-17) in the Washington, D.C./Frederick, Maryland area; WTPA-TV 27 (which became WHTM-27 in 1980) in the Gettysburg/Hanover/York/Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area and then-Westinghouse/Group W-owned ABC affiliate WJZ-TV Channel 13 (which later became affiliated with the now-disgraced network with the “eyemark” after the 1995 Baltimore TV affiliation switch, network-owned since the 1996 Westinghouse/Group W-C*S merger) in the Baltimore, Maryland area.

This will mark Sven’s third big broadcast of the classic mammoth 1972 ABC “Kolchak” supernatural made-for-TV movie masterpiece pilot on the airlanes of Me-TV.   He previously showcased “The Night Strangler” (1972) as a coast-to-coast big broadcast premiere as part of “Svengoolie’s Halloween BOO-nanza” 2023 twinset with the North American dub of Ishiro Honda’s classic mammoth Toho Studios kaiju creature masterpiece featuring Haruo Nakajima and Raymond “Perry Mason” Burr, “Gojira/Godzilla: King of the Monsters!” (1954/56) back in Oct. 2023 and as a regular Sven/Me-TV big broadcast back in Sept. 2024.

In Sven/Rich’s home area of Berwyn/Chicago, he previously showcased the classic mammoth 1972 ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie pilot masterpiece as a Berwyn/Chicago Sven big broadcast premiere on his hometown TV station, WCIU-TV 26/”The U” back in May 1999, according to IMDB.

Who was in the classic mammoth ABC “Kolchak”/”Movie of the Week” made-for-TV supernatural movie pilot masterpiece production of “The Night Stalker” (1972)?

The players who appeared in Curtis and Moxey’s classic mammoth ABC “Kolchak”/”Movie of the Week” made-for-TV supernatural movie pilot masterpiece production of “The Night Stalker” (1972) were Darren McGavin (as Carl Kolchak), Carol Lynley (as Gail Foster), Claude Akins (as Sherriff Butcher), Larry Linville (as Makurji), Simon Oakland (as Tony Vincenzo),  Ralph Meeker (as Bernie Jenks), Charles McGraw (as Chief Masterson), Kent Smith (as D.A. Paine), Elisha Cook Jr. (as Mickey Crawford), Stanley Adams (as Fred Hurley), Jordan Rhodes (as Dr. O’Brien) and Barry Atwater (as Janos Skorzeny).

“Svengoolie” to present his big broadcast of “Invisible Agent” (1942) with Jon Hall & Peter Lorre; this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Svengoolie SvenPals everywhere will be dancing and jumping for joy for his upcoming big broadcast of a classic mammoth Universal Studios “Invisible” sci-fi masterpiece installment.

“Svengoolie” to present his big broadcast of “Invisible Agent” (1942) with Jon Hall & Peter Lorre

Original 1942 Universal Studios theatrical trailer for “Invisible Agent” with Jon Hall, Ilona Massey and Peter Lorre. One of the few instances that a 1940s-era Universal theatrical feature film release trailer has been preserved in its complete form.

“Today’s most amazing sensation!” Original 1942 Universal Studios theatrical poster art for “Invisible Agent.”

The legendary and iconic Berwyn/Chicago-based classic mammoth sci-fi feature film masterpiece host will present his big broadcast of “Invisible Agent” (1942) on the airlanes of Me-TV this Sven Sat. evening, July 4/Independence Day at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central.

The classic mammoth 1942 Universal wartime-era sci-fi masterpiece production was directed by veteran director Edwin L. Marin.  Alongside “Invisible Agent” (1942), Marin was mostly known for directing the classic mammoth Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) holiday drama masterpiece adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” (1938) with Reginald Owen, Terence “Terry” Kilburn (later of 1958’s ““Fiend Without A Face” fame), Gene Lockhart, Kathleen Lockhart, Ann Rutherford (also of MGM’s “Andy Hardy” feature film series fame with Mickey Rooney) and young Leo G. Carroll. Marin also directed the classic mammoth MGM “Maisie” comedy masterpiece feature film series with Ann Sothern in the title character role of Maisie Ravier from 1939-41. 

Marin also directed the classic mammoth Benedict Bogeaus holiday/comedy/drama masterpiece production of “Christmas Eve” (1947) with George Raft, Joan Blondell, Randolph Scott (in one of his few non-western feature film appearances), George Brent, Ann Harding, Reginald Denny, Dolores Moran, Douglass Dumbrille, Virginia Field, Dennis Hoey and John Litel; the classic mammoth RKO Radio Pictures comedy-drama masterpiece production of “Lady Luck” (1946) with Robert Young (later of TV’s “Father Knows Best” and “Marcus Welby” fame), Barbara Hale (later of TV’s “Perry Mason” fame) and Frank Morgan (of 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz” Fame).   Marin later worked on western feature films for the remainder of his career, including the classic mammoth Warner Bros. western feature film masterpiece, “Sugarfoot” (1951) with Randolph Scott, Adele Jergens, Raymond Massey, S.Z. “Cuddles” Sakall and Arthur Hunnicutt; which later inspired the classic mammoth Warner Bros./ABC TV western masterpiece series of the same name, “Sugarfoot” (1957-61) with Will Hutchins in the title role. 

The classic mammoth 1942 Universal wartime sci-fi masterpiece production of “Invisible Agent” was co-produced by veteran producer-director Frank Lloyd, who was known for directing the classic mammoth MGM Academy Award-winning adventure-drama masterpiece adaptation production of “Mutiny on the Bounty” (1935) with Charles Laughton, Clark Gable, Spring Byington, Movita, Franchot Tone and Donald Crisp. 

Veteran feature film & TV director-producer George Waggner served as an associate producer for Marin’s classic mammoth Universal sci-fi masterpiece production of “Invisible Agent;” Waggner previously directed  the classic mammoth Universal werewolf monster masterpiece production of “The Wolf Man” (1941), with Lon Chaney Jr., Evelyn Ankers, Claude Rains, Bela Lugosi, Maria Ouspenskaya, Ralph Bellamy, Warren William and Patric Knowles and later worked on numerous episodes of the classic mammoth Twentieth Century Fox (Twentieth Century Studios)/ABC TV live-action “Batman” TV series adaptation with Adam West and Burt Ward (Waggner directed episodes from 1966-67).

The screenplay for Marin’s classic mammoth Universal wartime sci-fi masterpiece production of “Invisible Agent” (1942) was written by veteran screenwriter and science-fiction author  Curt Siodmak. Alongside writing the screenplay for the classic mammoth Universal werewolf monster masterpiece production of “The Wolf Man” (1941), Siodmak’s other notable classic mammoth Universal monster and sci-fi feature film masterpiece screenplays that he wrote, include “The Invisible Man Returns” (1940), “The Invisible Woman” (1940), “Invisible Agent” (1942), “Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man” (1943), “Son of Dracula” (1943), “House of Frankenstein” (1944) and “Curucu, Beast of the Amazon” (1956).  Siodmak also worote the screenplay for Edward L. Cahn’s classic mammoth Columbia Pictures sci-fi masterpiece production of “Creature with the Atom Brain” (1955) with Richard Denning, Angela Stevens, S. John Launer, Michael Granger, Karl “the Killer” Davis, Gregory Gaye and Linda Bennett.

Elements of Siodmak’s screenplay for the 1942 classic mammoth Universal wartime sci-fi masterpiece production of “Invisible Agent” were partially inspired by H.G. Wells’ 1897 literary work of “The Invisible Man.”

“Invisible Agent” (1942) was produced for Universal by Frank Lloyd’s production firm, Frank Lloyd Productions, Inc.; according to the original 1942 Universal theatrical release trailer.  This was one of the few instances that a Universal sci-fi/monster/creature feature film masterpiece production was produced by a producer’s production firm for the studio at the time.

Edwin L. Marin’s classic mammoth Universal wartime/sci-fi masterpiece production of “Invisible Agent” (1942) marked the fourth entry in the studio’s “Invisible” feature film series, according to film historian Rudy Behlmer’s findings in the Universal supplemental featurette on the studio’s classic mammoth “Invisible” feature film masterpiece productions; “Now You See Him: The ‘Invisible Man’ Revealed!” (2000).    This was due to to the successes of James Whale‘s earlier classic mammoth Universal monster/sci-fi masterpiece adaptation of “The Invisible Man” (1933) with Claude Rains, Gloria Stuart and Una O’Connor; Joe May‘s classic mammoth Universal “Invisible Man” monster/sci-fi sequel masterpiece production of “The Invisible Man Returns” (1940) with Vincent Price, Nan Grey and a pre-“Batman” Alan Napier, Cecil Kellaway and A. Edward Sutherland‘s classic mammoth Universal “Invisible” comedy masterpiece production of “The Invisible Woman” (1940) with Virginia Bruce, John Barrymore, Margaret Hamilton (of 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz” fame), Shemp Howard (later of “The Three Stooges” fame), Charles Lane, Oskar Homolka and Charlie Ruggles.   

This will mark Sven’s fourth big broadcast of Marin’s classic mammoth 1942 Universal wartime sci-fi masterpiece production in the Universal “Invisible” series on the airlanes of Me-TV.  He previously showcased “Invisible Agent” (1942) as a coast-to-coast big broadcast premiere back in March 2015 and as regular Me-TV big broadcasts back in July 2016 and back in Dec. 2022. 

In his home area of Berwyn/Chicago, Sven/Rich Koz previously showcased “Invisible Agent” (1942) as a Berwyn/Chicago big broadcast premiere during his days as the “Son of Svengoolie” on WFLD back in May 1980; when the station was owned by the Marshall Field family’s Field Enterprises/Field Communications and as a Son of Sven/WFLD big broadcast back in Oct. 1983 when WFLD was part of Metromedia, according to IMDB.

Who was in Edwin L. Marin’s classic mammoth Universal wartime sci-fi masterpiece production of “Invisible Agent” (1942)?

The players who appeared in Edwin L. Marin’s classic mammoth Universal wartime sci-fi masterpiece production of “Invisible Agent” (1942) were Jon Hall (as Frank Raymond), Ilona Massey (as Maria Sorenson), Peter Lorre (as Baron Ikito), Sir Cedric Hardwicke  (as Conrad Stauffer), Keye Luke (as a surgeon), Holmes Herbert (as Sir Alfred Spencer), J. Edward Bromberg (as Karl Heiser), Albert Bassermann (as Arnold Schmidt), John Litel (as John Gardiner), Bobbie Hale  and Wallace Scott (in uncredited roles as British soldiers, a.k.a. “English Tommies”), John Burton (in an uncredited role as a Royal Air Force/RAF flier), James Craven (in an uncredited role as a ship’s radio operator), Leslie Denison (in an uncredited role as a British radio operator), Alberto Morin (in an uncredited role as a free Frenchman), Walter Tetley (in an uncredited role as a newsboy John Holland (in an uncredited role as Spencer’s secretary), Milburn Stone (in an uncredited role as a German sergeant), Sven Hugo Borg (in an uncredited role as a German captain) and Mabel Colcord (in an uncredited role as Gretl).

“Svengoolie” presents his big broadcast of Ishirô Honda’s “Destroy All Monsters” (1968), this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Svengoolie Super SvenPals everywhere will be jumping dancing for joy for his upcoming big broadcast of a classic mammoth kaiju creature masterpiece from Japan’s Toho Studios.

“Svengoolie” presents his big broadcast of “Destroy All Monsters” (1968/69)

Original 1968 Toho Studios theatrical trailer for the theatrical release of Ishirô Honda‘s “Destroy All Monsters” in Japan.

Original 1968 Toho Studios theatrical release poster art for “Destroy All Monsters” in Japan.

The legendary and iconic Berwyn/Chicago-based classic mammoth creature film masterpiece host will present his big broadcast of “Destroy All Monsters” (1968/69), this Sat., June 27 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central on the airlanes of Me-TV.

The classic mammoth 1968 Toho Studios kaiju creature battle masterpiece production of “Destroy All Monsters” was co-directed by veteran Toho Studios feature film director and the father of kaiju creature cinema, Ishirô Honda and veteran Toho Studios feature film director Jun Fukuda.

Honda’s best-known productions throughout his feature film directorial career include his classic mammoth Toho Studios pioneering kaiju creature masterpiece production of “Gojira”/”Godzilla” (1954, released in the United States under the title of “Godzilla, King of the Monsters!” with additional scenes directed by Terry O. Morse that featured Raymond Burr of TV’s “Perry Mason” fame), “Rodan“ (1956), “Mothra” (1961, released through Columbia Pictures in the United States), “King Kong vs. Godzilla” (1963, released through Universal Studios in the United States), “Mothra vs. Godzilla” (1964 released in the United States under the title of “Godzilla vs. the Thing”), “Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster” (1964), “The War of the Gargantuas” (1966), “All Monsters Attack” (1969, released theatrically in the United States under the title of “Godzilla’s Revenge”) and “Terror of Mechagodzilla” (1975).

Alongside his numerous classic mammoth Toho Studios kaiju creature cinema masterpiece productions throughout the majority of his filmmaking career, Honda also specialized in several classic mammoth sci-fi feature film masterpiece productions for Toho Studios included “The H-Man” (1958) and “Battle in Outer Space” (1959). Honda’s Toho productions of “The H-Man,” “Battle in Outer Space” and “Mothra” were released theatrically in the United States through Columbia Pictures by arrangement with Toho Studios. Columbia/Sony still owns the North American theatrical re-issue, television syndication and home entertainment/physical media/streaming distribution rights to Honda’s classic mammoth Toho Studios feature masterpiece productions of “The H-Man,” “Battle in Outer Space” and “Mothra.”

Jun Fukuda previously directed the classic mammoth Toho Studios action-adventure spy comedy masterpiece production of “Ironfinger” (1965) with Akira Takarada, Mie Hama and Ichirô Arishima; which was Toho Studios’ answer to the classic mammoth Guy Hamilton/Eon Productions/United Artists “James Bond”/”007” action-adventure spy masterpiece production of “Goldfinger” (1964) with Sean Connery. 

Fukuda’s first kaiju creature production was his classic mammoth Toho Studios kaiju creature battle masterpiece production of “Ebirah, Horror of the Deep” (1966).  His other classic mammoth Toho Studios kaiju creature masterpiece productions include “Son of Godzilla” (1967, released in the United States through the now-defunct New York/New Jersey-based theater/cinema circuit, the Walter Reade Organization and their Continental Releasing subsidiary), “Godzilla vs. Gigan” (1972), “Godzilla vs. Megalon” (1973), “Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla” (1974) and “Terror of Mechagodzilla” (1975).

The original screenplay for the classic mammoth Honda-Fukuda production of “Destroy All Monsters” (1968) for Toho Studios was co-written by Honda, along with veteran screenwriter Takeshi Kimura;  who received screen credit under the pseudonym of Kaoru Mabuchi.

Veteran producer Tomoyuki Tanaka produced the original Toho Studios theatrical release edition of Honda’s classic mammoth 1968 kaiju creature masterpiece production of “Destroy All Monsters” in Japan.  Tanaka helped supervise many of the classic mammoth Toho Studios “Gojira”/”Godzilla” kaiju creature feature masterpiece productions for the majority of his feature film producing career; dating back to Honda’s original classic mammoth 1954 Toho Studios “Gojira”/”Godzilla” kaiju creature masterpiece production and concluding with Tako Okawara‘s modern classic mammoth Toho Studios “Gojira”/”Godzilla” kajiu creature masterpiece production of “Godzilla vs. Destoroyah” (1995, the North American theatrical dub release was later handled through Columbia Pictures/Sony’s TriStar Pictures imprint).  Alongside Honda, it was noted that Tanaka was the other pioneer of Toho Studios’ classic mammoth kaiju creature masterpiece productions, notably for the studio’s classic mammoth “Gojira”/”Godzilla” kaiju feature film masterpiece productions.

Samuel Z. Arkoff and James H. Nicholson.

The U.S. dubbed edition of Ishiro Honda’s classic mammoth 1968 Toho Studios kaiju creature battle masterpiece production of “Destroy All Monsters” was handled by  Samuel Z. Arkoff and James H. Nicholson’s 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 (AIP)/Filmways holdings were then sold to the present incarnation of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in 1997.  Following MGM’s re-introduction of the “Orion Pictures” name for current feature films and current television productions, the modern incarnation of MGM recently revived the “American-International Pictures” name for select theatrical releases/feature film productions.

Alongside “Destroy All Monsters” (1968), Arkoff and Nicholson’s American-International Pictures also handled the North American theatrical dub releases of the classic mammoth Toho Studios kaiju creature battle masterpiece, “Mothra vs. Godzilla” (1964, released under the title of “Godzilla vs. the ‘Thing’”) and Yoshimitsu Banno’s classic mammoth Toho Studios “Gojira”/”Godzilla” kaiju creature masterpiece installment, “Godzilla vs. Hedorah” (1971, released in 1972 by American-International under the title of “Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster”).

According to additional details from Rob Craig’s retrospective book on Arkoff and Nicholson’s American-International Pictures, “A Comprehensive Guide to American-International Pictures;” it was reported that the North American theatrical dub/theatrical release of Ishiro Honda’s classic mammoth Toho Studios kaiju creature masterpiece production of “Destroy All Monsters” (1968) was released in several markets as a double-feature presentation with another production.   The second feature in the twinset was the American-International dub of Giuseppe Colizzi‘s Italian “Spaghetti Western” production of “God Forgives.. I Don’t” (1967/68) with Terence Hill, Bud Spencer and Frank Wolff.

This will mark Sven’s third big broadcast of the U.S. dub of Ishiro Honda’s classic mammoth Toho Studios kaiju battle masterpiece production of “Destroy All Monsters” (1968) on the airlanes of Me-TV. He previously showcased the dubbed edition of Honda’s classic mammoth Toho Studios kaiju creature battle masterpiece production as a coast-to-coast big broadcast premiere back in April 2023 and as a regular Sven big broadcast back in May 2024.

In Sven/Rich’s home area of Berwyn/Chicago, Illinois; he previous showcased the American-International edition of Honda’s classic mammoth Toho Studios kaiju masterpiece production of “Destroy All Monsters” during his WFLD/32 days as the “Son of Svengoolie” as a Berwyn/Chicago big broadcast premiere back in Sept. 1981 back when WFLD was part of the Marshall Field family and their Field Enterprises/Field Communications holdings, according to IMDB.

Who was in the Toho Studios kaiju creature masterpiece production of “Destroy All Monsters” (1968)?

The players who appeared in Ishirō Honda’s classic mammoth Toho Studios kaiju creature battle masterpiece production of “Destroy All Monsters” (1968) were veteran Toho Studios stunt performer/kaiju creature suit stunt performer Haruo Nakajima (in the dual kaiju creature roles of Gojira/Godzilla and Baragon and in a human role as one of the Military Advisors), veteran stunt performer Teruo Nigaki (as Rodan), veteran stunt performer Yû Sekita (in the dual kaiju creature roles of Anguirus and Gorosaurus and in a human role as one of the medical doctors), veteran stunt performer Masao “Little Man” Machan Fukazawa (as Minya/Manilla), veteran stunt performer Susumu Utsumi (as King Ghidorah), Kenji Sahara (as Commander Nishikawa), Akira Kubo (as SY-3 Capt. Katsuo Yamabe), Jun Tazaki (as Dr. Yoshido), Yukiko Kobayashi (as Kyoko Manabe), Yoshio Tsuchiya (as Dr. Otani), Kyôko Ai (as the Kilaak Queen), Andrew Hughes (as Dr. Stevenson), Chôtarô Tôgin (as Ogata), Yoshifumi Tajima (as a General), Hisaya Itô (as Maj. Tada), Yoshio Katsube (as a young scientist), Heihachirô Ôkawa (as an engineer), Ikio Sawamura (as an elderly farmer), Saburô Iketani (as a news anchor/presenter), Wataru Ômae (as an SY-3 astronaut), Yutaka Sada (as a police officer), Atsuko Takahashi, Rei Maki, Yoshio Miyata, Ari Sagawa, Kôko Mori, Midori Uchiyama, Wakako Tanabe and Michiko Ishii (as Kilaaks); Kazuo Suzuki, Tôru Ibuki, Susumu Kurobe and Minoru Itô (as Kilaak-controlled officers).