“Svengoolie” to present his big broadcast premiere of “Valley of the Dragons” (1961), this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Svengoolie SvenPals everywhere will be excited for his big broadcast premiere of a classic Columbia Pictures sci-fi/fantasy creature feature.

“Svengoolie” presents his big broadcast premiere of “Valley of the Dragons” (1961)

Original 1961 Columbia Pictures theatrical trailer for “Valley of the Dragons,” with added Italian subtitles.

Original 1961 Columbia Pictures poster artwork for “Valley of the Dragons.”

The legendary Berwyn/Chicago-based sci-fi/fantasy film host will present his big broadcast premiere of “Valley of the Dragons” (1961), this Sat., April 20 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central on Me-TV.

The 1961 sci-fi/fantasy creature feature was directed by Columbia veteran Edward Bernds.  Bernds started out as a sound engineer for the studio, notably for his work on Frank Capra’s acclaimed Columbia features; including “It Happened One Night” (1934, with Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert), “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town” (1936, with Gary Cooper and Jean Arthur) and “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” (1939, with James Stewart, Arthur and Claude Rains).

Bernds later directed numerous Columbia short comedies featuring The Three Stooges (with Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Jerome “Curly” Howard from 1945 until Curly’s stroke in 1947 and the Stooges’ shorts with Shemp Howard from 1947–1952).  Bernds would later direct two feature-length Columbia “Stooge” productions with “Curly Joe” DeRita, “The Three Stooges Meet Hercules” and “The Three Stooges in Orbit” (both 1962).

Some of Bernds’ non-Columbia features that he directed were “Queen of Outer Space” (1958, for Allied Artists) with Zsa Zsa Gabor and the Twentieth Century Fox sequel to 1958’s “The Fly,” “Return of the Fly” (1959) with Vincent Price.

According to Clive Hirschorn’s retrospective book on Columbia Pictures, “The Columbia Story;” Bernds also wrote the screenplay for “Valley of the Dragons,” which was adapted from Donald Zimbalist ‘s story treatment.  Bernds and Zimbalist’s work was loosely inspired by Jules Verne’s novel, “Career of a Comet” (a.k.a., “Off on a Comet” and “Hector Servadac”).

Who was in “Valley of the Dragons” (1961)?

The players who appeared in Bernds’ 1961 Columbia sci-fi/fantasy creature feature were Cesare Danova (as Hector Servadac), Sean McClory (as Michael Denning), Joan Staley (as Deena), Danielle De Metz (as Nateeta), Gregg Martell (as Od-Loo), Gil Perkins (in the dual roles of Tarn and a Doctor), I. Stanford Jolley (as Patoo), Mike Lane (as Anoka), Roger Til (as Vidal), Mark Dempsey (as Andrews), Jerry Sunshine (as LeClerc) and Dolly Grey (as Mara).

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Hood College Film Series: Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Lady Vanishes” (1938), to be shown in Frederick on Fri., April 19

Fellow vintage cinema aficionados in the Frederick area will be interested in a classic British mystery-thriller feature from the “master of suspense.”

Hood College Film Series: “The Lady Vanishes” (1938)

Original 1938 Gaumont-British (GB) poster artwork for Alfred Hitchcock‘s “The Lady Vanishes.”

Hood College in Frederick, Maryland will be presenting “The Lady Vanishes” (1938) this Fri., April 19 at 7 p.m. (local time) as part of the college’s series of free monthly classic features; which was introduced recently.  The film will be introduced by Hood College professor Aaron Angello.   “The Lady Vanishes” will be shown on the big screen inside Hood College’s Hodson Auditorium at Rosenstock Hall.

“The Lady Vanishes” (1938) was directed by Alfred Hitchcock.  Hitchcock’s 1938 mystery-thriller was based off of Ethel Lina White’s story, “The Wheel Spins.”  The screenplay for Hitchcock’s “The Lady Vanishes” was written by Sidney Gilliat (who was credited in the film under the name of “Sidney Gilliatt”).  Hitchcock’s 1938 feature was produced by Gaumont-British and their Gainsborough Pictures unit (Gaumont-British was once connected to pioneering French film studio Gaumont) and was released theatrically in Great Britain by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, according to IMDB.

According to a 1939 U.S. theatrical trade ad, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation released Hitchcock’s feature in the United States (as a result of Fox’s late 1938 acquisition of Gaumont-British’s United States operations).

Who was in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Lady Vanishes” (1938)?

The players who appeared in Hitchcock’s 1938 mystery-thriller were Margaret Lockwood (as Iris Henderson), Michael Redgrave (as Gilbert), Dame May Whitty (as Miss Froy), Paul Lukas (as Dr. Hartz), Cecil Parker (as Mr. Tod Hunter), Linden Travers (as Mrs. Todhunter), Naunton Wayne (as Caldicott), Basil Radford (as Charters), Mary Clare (as the Baroness), Googie Withers (as Blanche), Catherine Lacey (as a Nun), Charles Oliver (as an officer) and an uncredited cameo appearance by Alfred Hitchcock (for those who have never seen “The Lady Vanishes,” Hitchcock’s cameo role will not be revealed in this post).

 

 

In commemoration of Turner Classic Movies’ 25th Anniversary (a brief post)

Leaflet for Turner Classic Movies, which was included with most classic Warner Bros. DVD releases many years ago (including pre-1948 WB and post-1948 WB classic features, along with Turner Entertainment’s holdings of classic RKO features and classic pre-1986 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer features).

The writer of “Silver Screen Reflections” commemorates Turner Classic Movies and the network’s 25th anniversary!  Happy 25th and here’s to many more years of classic features, cult features and rarely-seen classics on the network!  -C.H.

Frederick’s Holiday Cinemas and the “Rocker-Lounger” (written in connection to the end of Holiday Cinemas, 1969-2019, a brief post)

“A ‘new age’ in modern movie viewing!” 1969 grand opening advertisement for the now-defunct Holiday Cinema(s) from The Frederick News (News-Post); featuring a mention of the theater’s screening of “Funny Girl” (1968) and the “Rocker-Lounger” theatrical seating chair.

Sidebar: This was written in connection to the recent closure of Frederick’s second-run Holiday Cinemas twinplex, according to the April 10 edition of the Frederick News-Post.  Long before the Loudin organization (MDL Entertainment) managed and owned the Holiday, the theater originally opened as a first-run theater complex on Oct. 23, 1969, according to CinemaTreasures.

A more detailed post on the history of Frederick’s Holiday cineplex (written for the 45th anniversary of the theater in 2014) can be found on my previous cinema-oriented blog, “At the Matinee.” -C.H.

Looking back at a vintage pre-grand opening advertisement from the Oct. 22, 1969* edition of The News (News-Post) for the pre-twinplex Holiday Cinema (in Frederick, Maryland) with their opening night (Oct. 23, 1969) screening of the 1968 William Wyler–Ray Stark–Columbia musical biopic of Fanny Brice with Barbra Streisand and Omar Sharif, “Funny Girl;” there was also a new innovation that was mentioned in the advertisement.

According to the ad for the Holiday’s then-upcoming grand opening event, management boasted that the theater had the “first Western Maryland installation of the ‘Rocker-Lounger,’ an over-sized, permanently-mounted rocking chair!”

RiffTrax Live: “Octaman” to be shown in select theaters from coast-to-coast on April 18 (with a pre-recorded encore on April 24)

Fellow “RiffTrax” fans and “Mystery Science Theater 3000” MSTies will be interested in a live movie-riffing event of a cult creature feature from coast-to-coast.

It’s time for “RiffTrax Live: Octaman”

Artwork for the upcoming “RiffTrax Live!” edition of “Octaman” (1971).

RiffTrax, in conjunction with Fathom Events will be presenting “RiffTrax Live: Octaman” in participating theaters from coast-to-coast with a live theatrical telecast on Thurs., April 18 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central (local time, according to Fathom Events’ site).  A pre-recorded encore will occur in participating cinema venues from coast-to-coast on Wed., April 24 at 7:30 p.m. (all times local, according to Fathom).

Featuring “Mystery Science Theater 3000”/MST3K alums Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett; the “RiffTrax Live: Octaman” presentation will be broadcast live to participating cinema locations throughout the country, via satellite from the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville, Tennessee.

The RiffTrax crew will be riffing the cult creature feature, “Octaman” (1971).  “Octaman” was directed and written by Harry Essex.  Essex was known for writing the screenplay for Jack Arnold’s Universal sci-fi classic, “It Came from Outer Space” (1953) and Arnold’s Universal monster creature classic, “Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954).

The players who appeared in Essex’s 1971 creature feature entry were Pier Angeli (as Susan Lowry), Jeff Morrow (as Dr. John Willard, Morrow previously appeared in Joseph Newman’s 1955 Universal sci-fi classic; “This Island Earth” in the role of Exeter), Kerwin Matthews (as Dr. Rick Torres, Matthews previously appeared in the title role of Captain Sinbad in the 1958 Ray Harryhausen–Charles H. Schneer–Columbia classic, “The 7^th Voyage of Sinbad”), Read Morgan (as the “Octaman”), Jerome Guardino (as Johnny Caruso), David Essex (as an Indian, David Essex is the real-life son of Harry Essex), Robert Warner (as Steve), Buck Kartalian (as Raul).  According to Fathom Events’ official site, the creature make-up effects for the “Octaman” creature were created by a young Rick Baker; who went onto greater fame for his work in the fields of make-up and creature effects in modern cinema.

“Svengoolie” to present his big broadcast premiere of “The Son of Dr. Jekyll” (1951), this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Svengoolie SvenPals everywhere will be jumping for joy about his big broadcast premiere of a rare Columbia Pictures horror classic.

“Svengoolie” presents his big broadcast premiere of “The Son of Dr. Jekyll” (1951)

Sidebar: As of this writing, the original Columbia theatrical trailer to “The Son of Dr. Jekyll” (1951) is unavailable on YouTube or any other online video service platform.  -C.H.

Original Columbia Pictures theatrical poster artwork for “The Son of Dr. Jekyll” (1951).

The legendary Berwyn/Chicago-based horror film host will present his big broadcast premiere of “The Son of Dr. Jekyll” (1951), this Sat., April 13 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central on Me-TV.

“The Son of Dr. Jekyll” (1951) was directed by Seymour Friedman, who also worked on two films in Columbia’s “Boston Blackie” mystery film adaptation series with Chester Morris; “Trapped by Boston Blackie” (1948) and “Boston Blackie’s Chinese Venture” (1949).

Friedman later served as a production manager for Columbia’s “Screen Gems” television unit.  He supervised numerous episodes of “Father Knows Best” (from 1958-60), “Hazel” (from 1961-66), “Bewitched” (from 1964-66), “I Dream of Jeannie” (from 1965-66) and the pilot episode of “The Monkees” (1966).

The screenplay for “The Son of Dr. Jekyll” (1951) was written by Mortimer Braus, a veteran Columbia B-unit screenwriter and Jack Pollexfen, a former newspaper reporter.  Braus and Pollexfen’s screenplay was a loose continuation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel, “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”  Some of the well-known screen adaptations of Stevenson’s thriller were John S. Robertson’s 1920 Paramount adaptation of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” with John Barrymore as Henry Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, Rouben Mamoulian’s Academy Award-winning 1931 Paramount adaptation with Frederic March and Victor Fleming’s 1941 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer adaptation with Spencer Tracy.

Who was in “The Son of Dr. Jekyll” (1951)?

The players who appeared in Friedman’s 1951 Columbia horror production were Louis Hayward (in the dual roles of Edward Jekyll/Mr. Hyde), Jody Lawrance (as Lynn Utterson), Alexander Knox (as Dr. Curtis Lanyon), Lester Matthews (as Sir John Utterson), Gavin Muir (as Richard Daniels), Paul Cavanagh (as Inspector Stoddard), Rhys Williams (as Michaels) and a young Hamilton Camp (in an uncredited role as William Bennett).

“Svengoolie” to showcase his big broadcast of “House of Dracula” (1945), this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Svengoolie SvenPals everywhere will be excited about his upcoming big broadcast showcase of a classic Universal Studios monster cavalcade with several monster cinema legends.

Theatrical trailer for Universal Studios’ “House of Dracula” (1945), altered for Realart Pictures’ latter re-release.

“Svengoolie” presents his big broadcast of “House of Dracula” (1945), this Sat. on Me-TV

Original Universal Studios poster art for “House of Dracula” (1945).

The legendary Berwyn/Chicago-based monster film host will present his big broadcast of “House of Dracula” (1945), this Sat.; April 6 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central on Me-TV.

“House of Dracula” (1945) was directed by veteran actor-turned-director Erle C. Kenton. Kenton also directed the Paramount screen adaptation of H.G. Wells’ “Island of Lost Souls” (1932).  The director’s other Universal features include two Bud Abbott and Lou Costello comedy films, “Who Done It?” and “Pardon My Sarong” (both 1942).  Kenton also worked on two previous Universal monster productions, “Ghost of Frankenstein” (1942) and “House of Frankenstein” (1944).

This will mark Sven’s sixth big broadcast showcase of “House of Dracula” (1945) on Me-TV.  He previously showcased the 1945 Universal monster entry back in April 2011*, July 2012*, June 2013, Feb. 2014 and July 2016.

Who was in “House of Dracula” (1945)?

The players who appeared in “House of Dracula” (1945) were John Carradine (as Count Dracula, a.k.a. Baron Latos), Lon Chaney Jr. (as Larry Talbot/the “Wolf Man”), Glenn Strange (as Frankenstein’s monster), Jane Adams (as Nina), Lionel Atwill (as Inspector Holtz), Martha O’Driscoll as Miliza Morelle, Onslow Stevens (as Dr. Franz Edelmann), Skelton Knaggs (as Steinmuhl), Ludwig Stossel (as Siegfried), Jane Nigh and Harry Lamont (in uncredited roles as villagers).