“Svengoolie” to present “Blood of Dracula” (1957), this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Svengoolie SvenPals everywhere will be jumping for joy for his upcoming big broadcast of a classic mammoth American-International Pictures* vampire monster/horror masterpiece.

“Svengoolie” to present “Blood of Dracula” (1957)

Original 1957 American-International Pictures*  theatrical trailer for Herbert L. Strock’s classic mammoth vampire-monster masterpiece production of “Blood of Dracula.” 

“The Blood of a Monster!” Original 1957 American-International Pictures* theatrical poster art for “Blood of Dracula.”

The legendary Berwyn/Chicago-based monster/horror film host will present his big broadcast premiere of “Blood of Dracula” (1957), this Sat.,; Sept. 25 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central on Me-TV.

The production of “Blood of Dracula” (1957) was directed by veteran film and television director Herbert L. Strock.  Some of Strock’s best-known classic mammoth American-International Pictures horror/monster feature masterpieces include “I Was a Teenage Frankenstein” (1957) with Whit Bissell, Phyllis Coates and George Lynn and  “How to Make a Monster” (1958) with Gary Conway,  Gary Clarke, Robert H. Harris, Paulene Myers and Paul Brinega.  Strock’s other productions include his classic mammoth United Artists 3-D sci-fi masterpiece production of “Gog” (1954, with Constance Dowling,  William Schallert, Richard Egan and Philip Van Zandt, the cult classic horror masterpiece “The Crawling Hand” (1963) with Allison Hayes of  “Attack of the 50 Foot Woman”  fame, a pre-“Gilligan’s Island” Alan Hale Jr., Arline Judge, Richard Arlen, Kent Taylor and Peter Breck; Strock’s production of “The Crawling Hand” was later riffed on “Mystery Science Theater 3000” in 1989 , In the latter part of his directorial career, Strock co-directed scenes for Richard Shorr’s horror-comedy production of “Witches’ Brew” (1980) Teri Garr, Lana Turner and Richard Benjamin.

The classic mammoth 1957 American-International* vampire-horror masterpiece production was produced by veteran producer Herman Cohen. Cohen previously produced Strock’s classic mammoth American-International monster masterpiece production of “I Was a Teenage Frankenstein” (1957), Gene Fowler Jr.’s classic mammoth American-International monster masterpiece production of “I Was a Teenage Werewolf” (1957, with young Michael Landon, who later went onto greater fame on three NBC television series throughout his career, notably for TV’s “Bonanza,” the NBC adaptation of “Little House on the Prairie” and “Highway to Heaven”), “How to Make A Monster” (1958) and his American-International sci-fi/creature production of  “Konga” (1961) with Paul Stockman, Michael Gough Margo Johns and Claire Gordon; which was recently showcased as a big broadcast premiere on Svengoolie’s Me-TV showcase.

Some of Herman Cohen’s latter production involvements throughout his film career include the production Jim O’Connolly’s classic mammoth Columbia Pictures horror-thriller-mystery masterpiece with Joan Crawford, Ty Hardin, Diana Dors, Judy Geeson and Michael Gough, “Berserk!” (1967) and Freddie Francis’ cult classic mammoth Warner Bros. creature-horror-thriller masterpiece production of “Trog” (1970) with Joan Crawford, Michael Gough, Kim Braden, Bernard Kay and a pre-“Keeping Up Appearances” David Griffin; the Cohen-Francis-Warners production of “Trog” marked one of the final feature film roles/final feature film appearances for Joan Crawford in her screen career.

Later in Cohen’s producing career, he set up his own distribution firm that distributed his own backlog of independently-financed cult classic feature films and other independently financed productions, Cobra Media; according to Dennis Mclellan’s 2002 Los Angeles Times remembrance article on the life and legacy of Herman Cohen.

James H. Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff, founders of American-International Pictures.

“Blood of Dracula” (1957) was co-produced and released by Samuel Z. Arkoff and James H. Nicholson’s independent distribution/releasing firm, American-International Pictures*; both Arkoff and Nicholson established American-International as the American Releasing Corporation in 1954, according to the Samuel Z. Arkoff papers collection housed at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California.   Arkoff later sold American-International to television and feature film production-syndication company Filmways in 1979, which was later acquired by Orion Pictures in 1982.  Orion, along with the majority of the American-International (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 (minus modern TV syndication of feature films & select American-International/Filmways/Orion TV productions, where the majority of the American-International/Filmways/Orion holdings are syndicated under MGM Television), the modern incarnation of MGM recently revived the “American-International Pictures” name for select theatrical releases/feature film productions.

This will mark Svengoolie’s second big coast-to-coast broadcast of “Blood of Dracula” (1957) on the airlanes of Me-TV.  He previously showcased the classic mammoth 1957 American-International* vampire-horror masterpiece production as a big broadcast premiere back in Sept. 2021.

Who was in the American-International* production of “Blood of Dracula” (1957)?

The players who appeared in the classic mammoth American-International* vampire monster/thriller masterpiece production of “Blood of Dracula” (1957) were Sandra Harrison (as Nancy Perkins), Gail Ganley (as Myra), Louise Lewis (as Miss Branding), Jerry Blaine (as Tab), Heather Ames (as Nola), Malcolm Atterbury (as Lt. Dunlap), Mary Adams (as Mrs. Thorndyke), Thomas Browne Henry (as Mr. Paul Perkins), Don Devlin (as Eddie), Jeanne Dean (as Mrs. Doris Perkins), Paul Maxwell (as the young doctor known as “Mike”), Richard Devon (as Det. Sgt. Stewart), Michael Hall (as Glenn), Edna Holland (as Ms. Rivers), Shirley Delancey (as Terry), Craig Duncan (as a Police Officer), Voltaire Perkins (as Dr. Lawson), Barbara Wilson (as Linda), Lynn Alden (as Ann), Carlyle Mitchell (as Stanley Mayther) and Jimmy Hayes (as Joe).

“Svengoolie” to present Hammer’s “The Curse of the Werewolf” (1961), this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Svengoolie SvenPals everywhere will be dancing & jumping for joy for his big broadcast of a classic mammoth Hammer Films-Universal Studios werewolf monster-horror masterpiece.

“Svengoolie” to present his big broadcast of Hammer’s “The Curse of the Werewolf” (1961)

Original 1961 Universal Studios theatrical trailer for Terence Fisher‘s classic mammoth Hammer Films-Universal werewolf monster-horror masterpiece, “The Curse of the Werewolf” (1961) with Oliver Reed.

“Half-Man.. Half-Wolf!” Original 1961 Universal Studios theatrical poster art element for the U.S. theatrical release of Terence Fisher’s Hammer production of “The Curse of the Werewolf.”

The legendary Berwyn/Chicago-based horror/creature/monster film host will present his big broadcast of “The Curse of the Werewolf” (1961), this Sat., March 4 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central on Me-TV.

The 1961 classic mammoth Hammer-Universal horror/monster masterpiece production was directed by veteran Hammer director Terence Fisher.  Fisher’s other classic mammoth Hammer horror masterpieces include “The Curse of Frankenstein” (1957) with Hammer horror legends Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing for Warner Bros., “Horror of Dracula” (1958), the Universal/Hammer rendition of  “The Mummy” (1959), “The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll” (1960) and “The Gorgon” (1964).

“The Curse of the Werewolf” (1961) was produced by veteran Hammer feature film producers Michael Carreras, Anthony Hinds and Anthony Nelson Keys.  Hinds also wrote the screenplay for Fisher’s classic mammoth 1961 Hammer-Universal werewolf monster masterpiece production under the pseudonym of “John Elder.”  Hinds/Elder’s screenplay was adapted from Guy Endore’s 1933 novel, “Werewolf of Paris;” according to David Sterritt’s Turner Classic Movies online article on the Fisher’s 1961 Hammer-Universal horror entry.

It was noted that Hammer & Universal’s “The Curse of the Werewolf” (1961) marked one of the only classic mammoth Hammer British horror feature film masterpiece productions that had a “werewolf”-based monster, according to IMDB.

Fisher’s classic mammoth Hammer-Universal horror masterpiece production of “The Curse of the Werewolf” was released in the United States as a double-feature presentation with another Hammer-Universal suspense/thriller masterpiece feature production, “The Shadow of the Cat” (1961) with Barbara Shelley, André Morell and William Lucas; according to an original 1961 Universal Studios exhibitors’ leaflet for the U.S. Hammer-Universal theatrical twinset release.  “The Shadow of the Cat” (1961) was produced under Hammer’s “B.H.P. Productions” moniker.

This will mark Svengoolie’s ninth big Me-TV broadcast of Terence Fisher’s “The Curse of the Werewolf” (1961) from coast-to-coast.  Sven previously showcased Fisher’s 1961 classic Hammer-Universal werewolf-creature-horror masterpiece as a big Me-TV coast-to-coast broadcast premiere back in Oct. 2011 and as regular Me-TV big broadcasts in Nov. 2012, Feb. 2013, Aug. 2013, June 2014, Aug. 2015, April 2017 and June 2020.

Who was in Terence Fisher’s Hammer-Universal production of “The Curse of the Werewolf” (1961)?

The players who appeared in Terence Fisher’s Hammer-Universal production of “The Curse of the Werewolf” (1961) were Oliver Reed (as Leon), Yvonne Romain (as a servant girl), Peter Sallis (as Don Enrique), Catherine Feller (as Cristina), Clifford Evans (as Alfredo), Anthony Dawson (as the Marques Siniestro), Josephine Llewellyn (as the Marquesa), David Conville (as Rico Gomez), Hira Talfrey (as Teresa), Richard Wordsworth (as a beggar), Joy Webster (as Isabel), Michael Ripper (as Old Soak) and Ewen Solon (as Don Fernando).

“Svengoolie” to present his big broadcast of “Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954) plus “Sventoonie;” this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Svengoolie SvenPals everywhere will be dancing & jumping for joy for his big broadcast of one of the many definitive classic mammoth Universal Studios monster/sci-fi masterpieces.

“Svengoolie” to present his big broadcast of “Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954), plus “Sventoonie” 

A snippet from Jack Arnold’s classic mammoth Universal Studios monster masterpiece production of “Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954) with Julie Adams.

“In underwater ‘3-D’!” Latter Universal Studios re-issue poster for Jack Arnold’s classic mammoth Universal monster masterpiece production of “Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954), for the 1970s anaglyph 3-D re-release.

The legendary Berwyn/Chicago-based classic mammoth monster/sci-fi/creature feature film masterpiece host will present his big broadcast of “Creature From the Black Lagoon” (1954), this Sat., Feb. 4 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central; followed by “Sventoonie” at 10:30 p.m. Eastern/9:30 p.m. Central on Me-TV.

The classic mammoth 1954 Universal “Creature” monster masterpiece production of “Creature from the Black Lagoon” was directed by veteran studio director Jack Arnold.   Some of Arnold’s other classic mammoth Universal sci-fi and fantasy feature film masterpiece productions include  “It Came from Outer Space” (1953, one of the first 3-D feature film productions for Universal); “Tarantula” (1955), “The Incredible Shrinking Man” (1957) and “Monster on the Campus” (1958).

Arnold’s classic mammoth Universal “Creature” monster masterpiece production of “Creature From the Black Lagoon” (1954) was produced by veteran actor-turned-veteran Universal Studios producer/production official William Alland.  The screenplay for “Creature From the Black Lagoon” (1954) was written by veteran screenwriters Harry Essex and Arthur Ross.

After the major box-office success of Arnold’s classic mammoth 1954 Universal “Creature” monster masterpiece production of “Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954); he filmed a classic mammoth 3-D Universal “Creature” monster masterpiece sequel, “Revenge of the Creature” (1955) with  Ricou Browning, Lori Nelson, Tom Hennesy, Ginger Stanley, Nestor Paiva, John Agar, young Clint Eastwood and John Bromfield.

Sidebar: On the evening Thurs., July 29, 1982; Son of Svengoolie’s WFLD/32 Berwyn/Chicago 3-D broadcast of Jack Arnold’s classic mammoth Universal “Creature” monster sequel masterpiece production of “Revenge of the Creature” (1955, presented in the anaglyph blue/red 3-D format for the classic Berwyn/Chicago Son of Sven 3-D big broadcast) was showcased, WFLD was one of many stations from coast-to-coast that acquired the local broadcast rights to a syndicated anaglyph 3-D version of “Revenge of the Creature” from Universal/MCA; WFLD teamed up with local Chicago/Berwyn 7-Eleven stores for Son of Svengoolie’s big 3-D broadcast, where viewers could purchase 3-D glasses with any 7-Eleven purchase prior to the 1982 big broadcast; according to footage Rick Klein’s FuzzyMemoriesTV : The Museum of Classic Chicago Television; Klein unearthed the classic 1982 WFLD Son of Svengoolie 3-D “Revenge of the Creature” big broadcast segments years ago. -C.H.

Universal produced and released their third and final classic mammoth “Gill-Man”/”Creature” monster masterpiece production, “The Creature Walks Among Us” (1956), with Ricou Browning,  Jeff Morrow, Leigh Snowden  and  Rex Reason.  The final Universal “Creature” monster production was directed by John Sherwood and was not filmed in 3-D.

This will mark Sven’s tenth big broadcast of “Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954) from coast-to-coast on the airlanes of Me-TV.  He previously showcased Jack Arnold’s classic mammoth 1954 Universal  “Creature” monster masterpiece production as a coast-to-coast big broadcast premiere back in April 2011* and as regular big Me-TV broadcasts back in May 2012*, July 2014, Nov. 2015, July 2017, Dec. 2018, Feb.2019 (Sven’s Feb. 2019 big broadcast of “Creature From the Black Lagoon” was dedicated to the life, career and memory of the legendary Julie Adams; Adams died on Feb. 3, 2019) -C.H., Nov. 2019 and as a Sven/Me-TV big broadcast on my Birthday back on Jan. 16, 2021! -C.H.

Who was in Jack Arnold’s classic mammoth Universal “Creature” monster masterpiece production pof  “Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954)?

Julie Adams, Ben Chapman (in the “Creature” outfit) and Richard Carlson during the filming of “Creature from the Black Lagoon” (1954).

The players who appeared in Jack Arnold’s classic mammoth 1954 Universal “Creature” monster/sci-fi masterpiece production of “Creature from the Black Lagoon” were Julie Adams (as Kay Lawrence, alongside “Creature from the Black Lagoon,” Adams received screen credit in most of her Universal feature film appearances at the time under the name of Julia Adams),  veteran stunt performer Ginger Stanley (who was a stunt double for some of Julie Adams’ swimming sequences in “Creature from the Black Lagoon”).veteran stunt diver/stunt performer Ricou Browning (who appeared in an uncredited role in the Universal “Creature” monster costume for underwater sequences),  veteran stunt performer Ben Chapman (who appeared in an uncredited role in the Universal “Creature” monster costume for the land-based sequences),  Richard Carlson (as David Reed),  Richard Denning (as Mark Williams), Nestor Paiva (as Lucas),  Antonio Moreno (as Carl Maia), Bernie Gozier (as Zee), Henry A. Escalante (as Chico), Whit Bissell (as Dr. Thompson)

“Svengoolie” to present his big broadcast of “Godzilla, King of the Monsters!” (1954/56), plus “Sventoonie;” this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Svengoolie SvenPals everywhere will be dancing & jumping for joy for his big broadcast of one of the classic mammoth pioneering kaiju creature masterpieces from Toho Studios of Japan.

“Svengoolie” to present his big broadcast of “Godzilla, King of the Monsters!” (1954/56), plus “Sventoonie”

1956 theatrical release trailer for the North American dub of Ishirô Honda’s classic mammoth Toho Studios kaiju creature/monster masterpiece, “Godzilla, King of the Monsters!” with Raymond Burr, Burr’s sequences were filmed by Terry Morse.

“Incredible Titan of Terror!” 1956 Embassy/TransWorld theatrical poster art for the U.S. theatrical release of Toho Studios’ “Gojira/Godzilla,” “Godzilla, King of the Monsters!”

The legendary Berwyn/Chicago-based classic mammoth creature/sci-fi feature film masterpiece host will present his big broadcast of the classic mammoth Toho Studios kaiju creature/sci-fi masterpiece, “Godzilla, King of the Monsters!” (1954/56), this Sat., Jan. 28 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central; followed by “Sventoonie” at 10:30 p.m. Eastern/9:30 p.m. Central on the airlanes of Me-TV.

The classic  mammoth Toho Studios kaiju creature masterpiece production was directed by veteran director Ishirô Honda, who was credited under the name of “I. Honda” in the North American theatrical poster artwork for the 1956 theatrical release of the 1954 production.

Alongside “Godzilla, King of the Monsters!” (1954/56), Honda’s other best-known classic mammoth kaiju creature masterpiece productions for Toho Studios include “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 theatrically in the United States by Samuel Z. Arkoff and James H. Nicholson’s American-International Pictures under the title of “Godzilla vs. the Thing”), “Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster” (1964), “Frankenstein vs. Baragon” (1965), “The War of the Gargantuas” (1966), “Destroy All Monsters” (1968), “All Monsters Attack” (1969, released theatrically in the United States under the title of “Godzilla’s Revenge”) and “Terror of Mechagodzilla” (1975).   Several of his non-kaiju classic mammoth sci-fi masterpiece productions for Toho Studios included “The H-Man” (1958) and “Battle in Outer Space” (1959, both of Honda’s Toho productions of “The H-Man and “Battle in Outer Space” were released theatrically in the United States by Columbia Pictures, Sony/Columbia still owns the theatrical re-release, television syndication and home entertainment distribution rights to Honda’s classic mammoth Toho Studios masterpiece productions of “The H-Man,” “Battle in Outer Space” and “Mothra” in the United States).

The sequences for the North American dubbing of Honda’s classic mammoth Toho Studios kaiju creature masterpiece production were filmed by veteran editor-turned-director Terry O. Morse.    Alongside handling the 1956 North American sequences & dubbing for “Godzilla, King of the Monsters!” (1954/56), he also directed the Allied Artists crime drama production of “Young Dillinger” (1959) with Nick Adams, Robert Conrad, John Ashley, Mary Ann Mobley and young Victor Buono.   Earlier in his film career, he served as an editor for William A. Seiter‘s classic mammoth Warner Bros.-First National “Vitaphone” sound-on-disc comedy-drama masterpiece with Colleen Moore, “Why Be Good?” (1929, one of the final silent features for Warners with a complete Vitaphone sound-on-disc synchronized source orchestral music score with sound effects; it was considered a “lost” film until a complete print was found in Italy and restored/re-synchronized with the original Vitaphone soundtrack discs by Warners around 2012-14, the Vitaphone soundtrack discs were restored with the supervision of sound preservation expert Seth Winner). -C.H.

Later in his career, Morse also edited the classic mammoth Norman Taurog–Hal B. Wallis–Paramount Pictures musical masterpiece production of “Blue Hawaii” (1961) with the legendary Elvis Presley, Joan Blackman and Angela Lansbury and Byron Haskin‘s classic mammoth Paramount sci-fi masterpiece production of “Robinson Crusoe on Mars” (1964) with Paul Mantee, Victor Ludlin and a pre-“Batman” Adam West.

Original 1954 Toho Studios theatrical release trailer for Ishirô Honda’s classic mammoth kaiju creature masterpiece production of “Gojira“/”Godzilla” in Japan.

The 1956 North American theatrical version/theatrical dub of “Godzilla, King of the Monsters!” was lifted from Honda’s classic mammoth Toho Studios kaiju creature masterpiece production of “Gojira” (1954, a.k.a. “Godzilla“); filmed & released in Japan two years before the North American theatrical release.

The screenplay for the classic mammoth Toho Studios kaiju creature masterpiece production was written by Honda, along with veteran screenwriter Takeo Murata.  Honda and Murata’s screenplay was adapted from the novel, “The Giant Monster from 20, 000 Leagues Under the Sea;” which was written by veteran Toho Studios special effects supervisor Eiji Tsuburaya; along with writers Tomoyuki Tanaka and author Shigeru Kayama.   For the U.S. theatrical release of “Godzilla, King of the Monsters!” (1954/56), the screenplay for the U.S. footage elements and dubbed elements were written by Morse, along with veteran TV producer-writer Al C. Ward.

This will mark Svengoolie’s third big broadcast of the classic mammoth Honda-Morse-Toho Studios kaiju creature masterpiece production/edition of “Godzilla, King of the Monsters!” (1954/56) on Me-TV.  He previously showcased “Godzilla, King of the Monsters!” (1954/56) as a coast-to-coast big broadcast premiere back in Feb. 2017 as part of a Sven month-long salute to the classic mammoth Toho Studios “Gojira”/”Godzilla” kaiju creature feature film masterpieces and as a regular Me-TV big broadcast back in Jan. 2018.

Who was in “Godzilla, King of the Monsters!” (1954/56)?

The players who appeared in the U.S. dub of the classic mammoth Ishiro Honda-Terry Morse-Toho Studios kaiju creature masterpiece edition of “Godzilla, King of the Monsters!” (1954/56) were veteran stunt performer Haruo Nakajima (in an uncredited role in the trademark “Gojira/Godzilla” kaiju creature suit), Ryosaku Takasugi (in an uncredited role in additional sequences in the trademark “Gojira/Godzilla” kaiju creature suit), Raymond Burr (as Steve Martin*), Takashi Shimura (as Dr. Yamane), Momoko Kochi (as Emiko Yamane), Frank Iwanaga (as security officer Tomo Iwanaga), Akira Takarada (as Ogata), Akihiko Hirata (as Dr. Serizawa), Sachio Sakai (as Hagiwara), Fuyuki Murakami (as Dr. Tabada), Ren Yamamoto (as Seiji), Toyoaki Suzuki (as Shinkichi), Tadashi Okabe (as an assistant to Dr. Tabada), Toranosuke Ogawa (as the company president), Kenji Sahara (in an uncredited role as a passenger on a boat), James Hong (in an uncredited role for the vocal dubbing for Akira Takarada and Akihiko Hirata’s characters for the U.S. theatrical release of “Godzilla, King of the Monsters!”), Sammee Tong (in an uncredited role for the vocal dubbing for Takashi Shimura’s character in the U.S. theatrical release), Paul Frees (in an uncredited role for the vocal dubbing of unidentified character for the U.S. theatrical release) and Mikel Conrad (in an uncredited role as George Lawrence).