Happy & Safe Halloween 2023 from the writer/author of “Silver Screen Reflections” (A Brief Post)!

 

From Walkersville to Berwyn and everywhere, “Sven Hamby” returns for Halloween 2023 from the Home office of “Silver Screen Reflections” with fellow wonderful Super SvenPal/Super Tooner Sarah Rhodes/Sarahgoolie’s wonderful “Beta-Ray Svenny” art creation masterpiece on the “Silver Screen Reflections” wall of fame! Plus the return of my “Sven-O’Lantern!” Sven Hamby hopes all fellow wonderful Super Svengoolie/Sventoonie SvenPals/Super “Toon In With Me” Tooners/Super MST3K MSTies/Super classic film & TV aficionados/Super “Silver Screen Reflections” readers had a safe, fun, healthy & happy Halloween 2023!

From Walkersville to Berwyn and Beyond! Safe, healthy & happy Halloween/Halloween 2023 greetings to all fellow wonderful Super Svengoolie/Super Sventoonie SvenPals/Super “Toon In With Me” Tooners/Super “Mystery Science Theater 3000” MSTies/fellow Super classic mammopth film & TV aficionados/fellow Super readers of “Silver Screen Reflections!” 

Whether you were trick-or-treating, watching your favorite classic mammoth horror/monster/creature/sci-fi feature film/TV show masterpieces, classic Sven, classic Sventoonie, classic “Toon In With Me” and/or dancing along to your favorite Halloween tunes including the legendary & iconic Sven & the legendary and iconic Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon’s “The Svengoolie Stomp,” I hope everyone had a safe, fantastic, fun & wonderful Halloween/Halloween 2023!  Again, safety first, be good, keep healthy, stay well, cheers, peace & “Hi-Keeba” to all my fellow wonderful Super SvenPals, Super Tooners, Super MSTies, Super classic/cult film & TV enthusiasts & Super readers of “Silver Screen Reflections” throughout the galaxy!  Sven & Halloween 2023 Cheers! Peace! Yippee! “Yee-Howdy!” Hooray! Woo-Hoo! “Hi-Keeba!” -C.H,, a.k.a. “Sven Hamby” for Halloween 2023!

Svengoolie presents his twinset of “The Night Strangler” (1973) & “Trilogy of Terror” (1975), this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Super Svengoolie SvenPals everywhere will be dancing and jumping for joy for his big classic mammoth double-feature masterpiece festival of a big premiere of a classic mammoth 1973 made-for-TV supernatural movie masterpiece sequel & the return of another classic mammoth 1975 made-for-TV horror anthology movie masterpiece for “Halloween Boo-nanza 2023!”

“Svengoolie” presents his twinset of “The Night Strangler” (1973) & “Trilogy of Terror” (1975)

A snippet from Dan Curtis‘ classic mammoth 1973 ABC (American Broadcasting Company) “Kolchak/Movie of the Week” supernatural made-for-TV movie sequel masterpiece, “The Night Strangler” with Darren McGavin.

Compilation trailer for Dan Curtis‘ classic mammoth ABC (American Broadcasting Company) made-for-TV movie horror/thriller masterpiece, “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) with Karen Black.  Sidebar: This snippet was originally prepared/licensed by ABC for the latter MPI Home Video VHS release (MPI had most home entertainment rights to select ABC-produced programs and ABC News programs/specials/compilations at the time).  Due in part to the earlier success of the MPI VHS release of Curtis’ classic mammoth 1975 ABC made-for-TV horror anthology masterpiece, MPI licensed the DVD home entertainment distribution rights to “Trilogy of Terror” from ABC/Disney in 2006 for a brief amount of time under MPI’s Dark Sky Films imprint.  Viewer discretion is advised.

The legendary and iconic Berwyn/Chicago-based classic mammoth supernatural/horror feature film masterpiece host will present his big coast-to-coast made-for-TV supernatural/horror feature film masterpiece double-feature twinset showcase of “The Night Strangler” (1973) and “Trilogy of Terror” (1975). The aforementioned Sven double-feature twinset of “The Night Strangler” (1973) and “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) will begin this Sat., Oct. 28 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central on Me-TV!

Sven’s upcoming Sat., Oct. 28 2023 “Halloween Boo-nanza” twinset showcase of “The Night Strangler” (1973, at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central) and “Trilogy of Terror” (1975, at 10:30 p.m. Eastern/9:30 p.m. Central) will be the finale in Sven’s month-long “Halloween Boo-nanza” twinset feature film showcases.

At 12:30 a.m. Eastern/11:30 p.m. Central, another bonus episode of Rod Serling’s classic mammoth CBS-TV supernatural masterpiece series, “The Twilight Zone” will also be showcased- along with anoher festival of bonus episodes of another classic mammoth supernatural masterpiece TV series that’s connected to one of the feature films that Sven will be showcase for this week’s twinset festival- additional details will be revealed momentarily in this week’s edition of “Silver Screen Reflections.” -C.H.

VHS Cover art for the 2000 Anchor Bay (under license from ABC/Disney) VHS edition of Dan Curtis’ classic mammoth ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie sequel pilot masterpiece with Darren McGavin, “The Night Strangler” (1973).

Early 1980s MPI Home Video/ABC Video Enterprises VHS cover art for Dan Curtis’ ABC production of “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) with Karen Black & the Zuni figurine.

Both “The Night Strangler” and “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) were directed and 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 series masterpiece 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 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 Barnabas Collins in the latter/brief “Dark Shadows” series revival.

Alongside his “Dark Shadows” productions, the two ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV movies and the 1975 ABC made-for-TV movie production of “Trilogy of Terror,”  Curtis’ other productions include his classic mammoth critically-acclaimed Emmy award-winning Paramount Pictures/ABC 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 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 Strangler” (1973) was a sequel to the earlier classic mammoth ABC made-for-TV movie masterpiece production of “The Night Strangler” (1972), which was produced by Curtis and was directed for the ABC television network by veteran director John Llewellyn Moxey and featured Darren McGavin, Carol Lynley, Claude Akins, Larry Linville (of TV’s “M*A*S*H” fame), Simon Oakland and Barry Atwater.

1990s VHS cover art for the Columbia House-MCA/Universal (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment) VHS series collection of “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” (1974-75), part of Columbia House’s mail-order VHS cassette club.

The two classic mammoth ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie masterpiece pilots served as the inspiration for the classic mammoth brief Universal Studios supernatural TV series masterpiece that also aired on the ABC television network,  “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” (1974-75) with McGavin and Oakland reprising their roles from the two earlier ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie production pilots. For Svengoolie’s “Halloween Boo-nanza 2023,” Me-TV will be presenting an all-night festival of extra classic episodes of “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” this latenight Sat., Oct. 28 at 1:00 a.m. Eastern/Midnight Central on most Me-TV stations!

The screenplay for Curtis’ classic mammoth 1973 ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie sequel pilot masterpiece production of “The Night Strangler” and the stories for Curtis’ classic mammoth 1975 ABC made-for-TV movie production of “Trilogy of Terror” was written by veteran screenwriter Richard Matheson. For “Trilogy of Terror” (1975), Matheson’s original story idea for the “Julie” segment were adapted into a teleplay by veteran screenwriter William F. Nolan.

Matheson previously wrote the screenplay for Jack Arnold’s classic mammoth Universal Studios sci-fi/fantasy/visual effects masterpiece, “The Incredible Shrinking Man” (1957) with Grant Williams, Randy Stuart, April Kent, Paul Langton, Raymond Bailey (of TV’s “The Beverly Hillbillies” fame) and William Schallert and also wrote 16 episodes of Rod Serling‘s classic mammoth critically-acclaimed CBS television supernatural sci-fi/thriller/fantasy masterpiece series, “The Twilight Zone” (Matheson wrote for Serling’s series from 1959-64).   Matheson previously wrote the screenplay for Curtis and Moxey’s earlier classic mammoth 1972 ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV move masterpiece with veteran writer-producer Max Hodge.  The two aforementioned ABC “Kolchak” features were adapted from an original idea by veteran author Jeffrey Grant Rice.

Curtis’ “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie sequel, “The Night Strangler” (1973) originally aired on the ABC television network on Jan. 16, 1973 as part of the network’s “Tuesday Movie of the Week” series of feature-length productions produced and/or financed by ABC along with made-for-TV productions produced for the network by major studios/production firms, according to IMDB. Fun Fact: 15 years  after the original 1973 ABC TV network airing of “The Night Strangler,” yours truly/the writer-author of “Silver Screen Reflections” was born (Jan. 16, 1988)!  “The Night Strangler” qualifies as an early “Birthday” film in connection to my Jan. 16, 1988 Birthday! -C.H.

Curtis’ “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) originally aired on the ABC television network on March 4, 1975 as an original “Movie of the Week” production of the network, according to additional details from IMDB.

According to additional details from IMDB, Curtis’ classic mammoth 1972 and 1975 made-for-TV  masterpiece productions were co-produced under the ABC television network’s in-house production subsidiary, “ABC Circle Films” (which later became “ABC Productions,” which is now known as “ABC Studios“/”ABC Signature“).  ABC later merged with radio & TV broadcast group Capital Cities Communications in 1985 to form Capital Cities/ABC, Inc.  Nearly a decade later, Capital Cities/ABC was acquired by the Walt Disney Company in 1996, the ABC Circle Films/ABC Productions/ABC Video Enterprises holdings would be immediately put into the hands of Disney’s in-house TV syndication unit (then-known as Buena Vista Television during the 1996 ABC/Disney merger).

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.

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 would later sell his production company to Warner Bros. in 1976), Universal Studios/MCA and Columbia Pictures/Screen Gems (Columbia’s TV unit was later rebadged 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 was previously shown on Svengoolie’s Me-TV showcases was 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.

“The Place To Be.. Tuesday!” Original Jan. 16, 1973 newspaper advertisement for the ABC television network’s evening lineup on that date, including “The Night Strangler” for Cedar Rapids, Iowa ABC affiliate KCRG-TV; “The Place to Be” was the slogan that ABC used for promoting their 1973-74 TV network season of shows and movies.

According to an original 1973 ABC television network ad that was featured in the Jan. 16, 1973 edition of the Cedar Rapids Gazette for Cedar Rapids, Iowa ABC affiliate KCRG-TV, the network programmed Curtis’ classic mammoth ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie masterpiece sequel production of “The Night Strangler” (1973) for their “Tuesday Movie of the Week” showcase in-between an episode of “Temperatures Rising” (with Cleavon Little of 1974’s “Blazing Saddles” fame and James Whitmore) and an episode of “Marcus Welby, M.D.” (with Robert Young and James Brolin).

Rare 1973 ABC promotional slide for “The Night Strangler” with Darren McGavin, sourced off of an off-air recording via ABC-owned KABC-TV Los Angeles from the Obsolete Video Services collection.

During the original Jan. 16, 1973 prime-time big broadcast airing/premiere of the “ABC Tuesday Movie of the Week Kolchak” sequel of ”The Night Strangler,” the alphabet network’s classic mammoth 1973 made-for-TV supernatural masterpiece production was shown opposite an episode of “Hawaii Five-O” (with Jack Lord) and the made-for-TV movie “The Voyage of the Yes” (with Desi Arnaz Jr. and Mike Evans) on CBS; the final episode of “Bonanza” (with Lorne Greene and Michael Landon and newcomer Mitch Vogel) and the pilot episode of “Hernandez/Hernandez: Houston P.D.” (with Henry Darrow, Ronny Cox, Dana Elcar of TV’s “Baa, Baa Black Sheep”/”Black Sheep Squadron” and “MacGyver” fame and Desmond Dhooge) on NBC; according to the Jan. 16, 1973 edition of the Hanover Evening Sun.

Re-purposed ABC promotional ad for “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) for a 1981 re-airing on ABC affiliate WPLG-TV/Miami. Not sure if this was part of an ABC overnight re-run or a syndicated package of films that ABC licensed to a syndicator at the time.  By 1981, ABC News’ “Nightline with Ted Koppel” would have aired in the 11:30 p.m. ET/10:30 p.m. CT weeknight timeslot on ABC stations- the WPLG re-broadcast of “Trilogy of Terror” was possibly from a weekend latenight movie airing on WPLG.

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 CBS and the Columbia Pictures made-for-TV movie production of “The Last Survivors” (1975) over on NBC.

For the original Jan. 16, 1973 ABC television network airing of “The Night Strangler” (1973) and the original March 4, 1975 ABC television network airing of “Trilogy of Terror” (1975): Curtis’ classic mammoth 1972 and 1975 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;” the original 1973 and 1975 ABC “Tuesday Movie of the Week” productions aired on WMAL-TV 7 (which became 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 CBS after the 1995 Baltimore TV affiliation switch, CBS-owned since the 1996 Westinghouse/Group W-CBS merger) in the Baltimore, Maryland area. -C.H.

For Sven/”The Night Strangler” (1973): In Sven/Rich’s home area of Berwyn/Chicago, Illinois; he previously showcased Curtis’ classic mammoth 1973 ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie sequel pilot masterpiece of “The Night Strangler” as a Berwyn/Chicago big broadcast premiere on his hometown TV station, WCIU-TV 26 back in Nov. 1996; according to IMDB.

For Sven/”Trilogy of Terror” (1975): This will mark Sven’s third big broadcast of Curtis’ classic mammoth 1975 ABC made-for-TV 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 wonderful Super SvenPals/Super Tooners Sarah Rhodes/Sarahgoolie, Nanette Keir and Brian Bernardoni, which was recently re-shown on Me-TV’s “Svengoolie Halloween Boo-nanza 2023” Latenight festival back on Oct. 14, 2022! -C.H.  Sven also re-broadcast “Trilogy of Terror” (1975) as a regular big broadcast on Me-TV back in Sept. 2023.

“The Night Strangler” (1973):

Who was in Dan Curtis’ classic mammoth ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV masterpiece sequel pilot of “The Night Strangler” (1973)?

Darren McGavin (as Carl Kolchak) in “The Night Strangler” (1973).

The players who appeared in Curtis’ classic mammoth 1973 ABC “Kolchak” supernatural made-for-TV sequel pilot masterpiece of “The Night Strangler” were  Darren McGavin (as Carl Kolchak, McGavin previously appeared in the title role of Mike Hammer in the classic mammoth 1958-59 MCA-Revue-Universal crime drama masterpiece adaptation of Mickey Spillane’s “Mike Hammer;” alongside his roles of Mike Hammer and Carl Kolchak, one of McGavin’s most famous screen appearances was in the role of Old Man Parker in Bob Clark and Jean Shepherd’s classic mammoth 1983 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/MGM holiday-comedy masterpiece with Peter Billingsley and Melinda Dillon, “A Christmas Story”), Jo Ann Pflug (as Louise Harper, Pflug previously appeared in the role of Lt. Dish in Robert Altman’s classic mammoth 1970 Twentieth Century Fox/Twentieth Century Studios wartime drama-medical comedy feature film masterpiece adaptation of “M*A*S*H” and later appeared in the classic mammoth Glen Larson/Twentieth Century Fox/Twentieth Century Studios action-adventure-comedy masterpiece series with Lee Majors from 1981-82, “The Fall Guy“), Wally Cox (as Titus Berry, Cox previously appeared in the title role of Robinson J. Peepers in the comedy series “Mister Peepers” with Tony Randall from 1952-55, of interest to fellow Super Tooners/Super SvenPals of Toony & Bill’s “Toon In With Me,” Cox lent his vocal stylings of the voice of the title cartoon character of Underdog in the classic mammoth 1964-73 TV cartoon masterpiece series, “Underdog“), Margaret Hamilton (as Prof. Crabwell, Hamilton previously appeared in her famous role of Miss Gulch/the Wicked Witch of the West in Victor Fleming’s classic mammoth 1939 MGM Technicolor feature film adaptation masterpiece of “The Wizard of Oz,” she previously appeared in  A. Edward Sutherland‘s classic mammoth 1940 Universal Studios “Invisible” comedy masterpiece with Virginia Bruce, “The Invisible Woman;” around the same time that she was in “The Night Strangler,” Hamilton also appeared in television ads in the role of “Cora” for Maxwell House Coffee ), Al Lewis (as Tramp, Lewis rose to greater fame for his role of Grampa Munster in the classic mammoth 1964-66 Universal Studios-CBS “Munster” monster comedy masterpiece series, “The Munsters” and in the classic mammoth 1966 Universal “Munster” monster-comedy feature-length masterpiece production of “Munster, Go Home!“), Richard Anderson (as Dr. Richard Malcolm, Anderson previously appeared in the role of Chief Quinn in Fred M. Wilcox’s classic mammoth 1956 MGM sci-fi masterpiece production of “Forbidden Planet” and appeared in 26 episodes of the classic mammoth CBS television drama masterpiece adaptation of  Erle Stanley Gardner‘s “Perry Mason” with Barbara Hale, William Hopper, Ray Collins and William Talman from 1964-66; To paraphrase Sven, “Richard Anderson was on.. ‘Perry Mason’!” -C.H.) veteran horror actor John Carradine, Kate Murtagh (as Janie Watkins, Murtaugh later appeared in Elliot Silverstein‘s classic mammoth 1977 Universal action-thriller masterpiece production of “The Car,” Murtagh later appeared in the role of a waitress for the album cover photo art for the legendary rock group Supertramp‘s classic mammoth 1979 rock album masterpiece released on the legendary Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss‘ A&M Records, “Breakfast In America“), Simon Oakland (as Tony Vincenzo, Oakland previously appeared in the role of Dr. Fred Richman in Alfred Hitchcock‘s classic mammoth 1960 Paramount Pictures suspense-thriller masterpiece production with Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins, “Psycho” and in Peter Yates’ classic mammoth 1968 Warner Bros.-Seven Arts action/crime drama masterpiece production with Steve McQueen and Robert Vaughn, “Bullitt;” Oakland later appeared in the classic mammoth 1976-78 Universal/NBC wartime drama masterpiece production of ”Baa, Baa Black Sheep”/”Black Sheep Squadron“), Nina Wayne (as Charisma Beauty), Virginia Peters (as Wilma Krakenheimer), Ivor Francis (as Dr. Webb), Diane Shalet (as Joyce Gabriel), Anne Randall (as Police officer Shiela), Francoise Birnheim (as the Restaurant Woman) and Regina Parton (as Merissa, Parton received screen credit under the pseudonym of Ethel Parker).

“Trilogy of Terror” (1975):

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

“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 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; Bob Rafelson‘s classic mammoth 1970 Columbia Pictures Golden Globe award-winning drama masterpiece with Jack Nicholson, Ralph Waite, Sally Struthers of TV’s “All in the Family” fame, Fannie Flagg and Toni Basil; “Five Easy Pieces,” in the role of Myrtle Wilson in Jack Clayton‘s classic mammoth 1974 Paramount Pictures Academy Award-winning feature film adaptation masterpiece of F. Scott Fitzgerald‘s “The Great Gatsby” with Robert Redford, Mia Farrow, Mia Farrow, Sam Waterston, Lois Chiles, Howard Da Silva and Edward Herrmann and in the role of the role of Connie White in Robert Altman‘s classic mammoth 1975 Paramount Pictures Academy Award-winning music-drama-comedy masterpiece with Keith Carradine, Shelley Duvall, Ned Beatty, Geraldine Chaplin, Ronee Blakley, young Jeff Goldblum, Scott Glenn of 1972’s “Gargoyles” fame and Henry Gibson of Rowan and Martin’s “Laugh-In” fame, “Nashville;” she also appeared with her real-life son, Hunter Carson in Tobe Hooper‘s cult classic mammoth 1986 Cannon sci-fi masterpiece re-make of “Invaders from Mars“); Robert Burton (as Chad Foster), John Karlen (as Thomas Ammen, Karlen previously appeared in the dual roles of Willie Loomis, Carl Collins, Desmond Collins and Kendrick Young in Dan Curtis’ classic mammoth ABC television gothic vampire-horror masterpiece series, “Dark Shadows” from 1967-71; he also went onto greater fame for his role of Harvey Lacey in the classic mammoth 1982-88 Filmways/Orion/CBS television detective drama masterpiece series with Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless, “Cagney & Lacey” , Karlen later reprised his role of Harvey Lacey in several “Cagney & Lacey” made-for-TV movies with Daly and Gless from 1994–96 and also appeared in the role of Jake Morrisson in the classic mammoth 1991 Viacom/NBC “Perry Mason” made-for-TV movie masterpiece with Raymond Burr and Barbara Hale, “Perry Mason: The Case of the Glass Coffin;” To paraphrase Sven, “John Karlen was on.. ‘Perry Mason’!”), George Gaynes (as Dr. Chester Ramsey, he previously appeared in the role of Dr. Marderosian in Nathan Hertz Juran‘s classic mammoth 1973 Universal Studios werewolf monster masterpiece production with Kerwin Matthews, Elaine Devry, Scott Sealey, Robert J. Wilke, Susan Foster, Jack Lucas, Bob Homel, Loretta Temple, Harold Goodwin, Eric Gordon and Paul Baxley; “The Boy Who Cried Werewolf” and later appeared in the role of John Van Horn in Sydney Pollack‘s classic mammoth 1982 Columbia Pictures comedy masterpiece with Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Bill Murray, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Charles Durning, Geena Davis and a cameo by Pollack, “Tootsie” and in the role of Henry Warnimont in “Punky Brewster” from 1984-88, which originally aired on NBC and later became a first-run syndicated series for local TV stations), 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.

Svengoolie’s twinset of “A&C Meet Frankenstein” (1948) & “Invaders from Mars” (1986), plus “Svengoolie: Uncrypted,” this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Super Svengoolie SvenPals everywhere will be dancing and jumping for joy for his big classic mammoth double-feature comedy/monster/sci-fi masterpiece showcase and the return of a classic mammoth Sven documentary masterpiece for “Halloween Boo-nanza 2023!”

“Svengoolie” presents his big broadcast twinset of “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” (1948) and “Invaders from Mars” (1986), plus the return of “Svengoolie: Uncrypted” (2022)

A moment from Charles Barton’s classic mammoth 1948 Universal Studios comedy-monster masterpiece production featuring Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Glenn Strange and Bela Lugosi, “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.”

A brief collage of moments from Tobe Hooper’s cult classic mammoth 1986 Cannon comedy/sci-fi masterpiece adaptation production featuring Hunter Carson, Karen Black, Laraine Newman, Timothy Bottoms and Bud Cort, “Invaders from Mars;” compiled for the now-out-of-print Shout! Factory-Scream Factory (Shout! Studios)/MGM* Blu-Ray edition.

The legendary and iconic Berywn/Chicago-based classic mammoth monster/sci-fi/comedy feature film masterpiece host will present his big coast-to-coast double-feature twinset monster/sci-fi/comedy feature film masterpiece showcase of “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” (1948) and “Invaders from Mars” (1986). The aforementioned Sven double-feature twinset of “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” (1948) and “Invaders from Mars” (1986) will begin this Sat., Oct. 14 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central on Me-TV!

Fellow Super SvenPals/Super Tooners Sarah Rhodes/Sarahgoolie, Nanette Keir and Brian Bernardoni will return to the Me-TV airlanes with their cameos in the network’s classic mammoth Sven/Rich Koz documentary masterpiece, “Svengoolie: Uncrypted” (2022)!

After the aforementioned Sven double-feature twinset of “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” (1948, at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central) and “Invaders from Mars” (1986, at 10:30 p.m. Eastern/9:30 p.m. Central), Me-TV will be airing a latenight/overnight Sat. revival of the network’s classic mammoth documentary masterpiece on Sven/Rich Koz, “Svengoolie: Uncrypted” (2022) featuring fellow Super Svengoolie/Sventoonie SvenPals/Super “Toon In With Me” Tooners Sarah Rhodes/Sarahgoolie, Nanette Keir and Brian Bernardoni at 12:30 a.m Eastern/11:30 p.m. Central!  And top off the second installment of the Sven Saturday “Halloween Boo-nanza 2023” festival, Me-TV will also have a latenight/overnight festival of select episodes of Rod Serling’s classic mammoth 1959-64 CBS television supernatural masterpiece series; “The Twilight Zone” at 1:30 a.m. Eastern/12:30 a.m. Central!

Alongside Sven’s upcoming “Halloween Boo-nanza 2023” big broadcast festival of “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” (1948), “Invaders from Mars” (1986) and “Svengoolie: Uncrypted” (2022) featuring fellow Super SvenPals/Super Tooners Sarah Rhodes/Sarahgoolie, Nanette Keir and Brian Bernardoni; other Sven features and specials that will be showcased throughout the Oct. 2023 “Sven Saturday Halloween Boo-nanza” festival on Me-TV will include:

Oct. 21, 2023: Svengoolie’s big double-feature twinset broadcast featuring his big broadcast premiere of Dan Curtis‘ classic mammoth ABC “Kolchak” supernatural made-for-TV movie masterpiece with Darren McGavin, Simon Oakland and Larry Linville (of TV’s “M*A*S*H” fame), “The Night Stalker” (1972, at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central), followed by Sven’s big broadcast of the U.S. dubbing of Ishiro Honda‘s classic mammoth Toho Studios pioneering kaiju creature masterpiece production of “Gojira” featuring Raymond Burr of TV’s “Perry Mason” fame, “Godzilla: King of the Monsters!” (1954/56, at 10:30 p.m. Eastern/9:30 p.m. Central)!  And wait- there’s more! Me-TV will also have an all-night festival of classic episodes of the classic mammoth 1974-75 Universal Studios/ABC supernatural masterpiece series adaptation that was inspired by the two earlier classic mammoth Dan Curtis/ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie masterpieces, “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” with McGavin and Oakland (at 1:30 a.m. Eastern/12:30 a.m. Central)!

Oct. 28, 2023: Svengoolie’s big double-feature finale twinset broadcast featuring his big broadcast premiere of Dan Curtis’ classic mammoth ABC “Kolchak” supernatural made-for-TV movie sequel masterpiece with Darren McGavin and Simon Oakland, “The Night Strangler” (1973, at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central) and Sven’s big broadcast of Curtis’ classic mammoth ABC made-for-TV horror anthology movie masterpiece with Karen Black, “Trilogy of Terror“* (1975, at 10: 30 p.m. Eastern/9:30 p.m. Central)! And wait- there’s more! An all-night festival of additional classic episodes of the classic mammoth Universal Studios/ABC supernatural masterpiece series with McGavin and Oakland, “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” (at 1:30 a.m. Eastern/12:30 a.m. Central)!

1988 MCA Home Video (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment) cover art for Charles Barton’s classic mammoth Universal monster-comedy masterpiece, “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” (1948), featuring elements from the original 1948 Universal theatrical poster art.

“Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” (1948) was directed by veteran Abbott and Costello feature film director Charles T. Barton.  Barton’s other classic mammoth Abbott and Costello comedy masterpiece feature film productions include directing the duo’s other classic mammoth Universal comedy masterpiece productions of  “The Time of their Lives” (1946), “Buck Privates Come Home” (1947; which was the sequel to Arthur Lubin’s earlier classic mammoth 1941 Universal wartime comedy masterpiece with Abbott and Costello and The Andrews Sisters, “Buck Privates”) and “The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap” (1947, featuring Marjorie Main of Universal’s classic mammoth “Ma and Pa Kettle” feature film comedy masterpiece productions).  Later in his feature film and television directorial career, Barton later directed one episode of the classic mammoth Universal Studios “Munsters” monster comedy masterpiece series with Fred Gwynne, Yvonne De Carlo, Al Lewis, Pat Priest and Butch Patrick, “The Munsters;” “Love Locked Out;” which aired on CBS television in 1965.   Earlier in his feature film directing career and alongside directing most of his productions at Universal, Barton also directed the Columbia Pictures “Five Little Peppers” feature film adaptation series, from 1939-40 and the classic mammoth Columbia Pictures musical comedy masterpiece with bandleader Ted Lewis, Nan Wynn, Michael Duane, Larry Parks and of interest of fellow Super Tooners/Super SvenPals of Toony & Bill’s “Toon In With Me”- veteran cartoon voice-over artist Billy Bletcher, “Is Everybody Happy?” (1943).

“Junior.. Junior!” Original 1948 Universal Studios tinted lobby card/publicity photo for “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” with Glenn Strange, Lou Costello and Lenore Aubert.

The classic mammoth 1948 Universal monster-comedy masterpiece was produced by veteran Universal producer Robert Arthur. Alongside “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” (1948); Arthur’s other classic mammoth Universal productions that he produced include Barton’s other classic mammoth Universal spook comedy-mystery masterpiece production with Bud Abbott, Lou Costello and horror film legend Boris Karloff, “Abbott and Costello Meet The Killer, Boris Karloff” (1949); Arthur Lubin‘s classic mammoth Universal comedy masterpiece and first feature film in the studio’s “Francis The Talking Mule” classic mammoth comedy masterpiece franchise series, “Francis” (1950) with Donald O’Connor, Patricia Medina, a pre-“Perry Mason” Ray Collins, Zasu Pitts, young Tony Curtis, the vocal stylings of Chill Wills and Molly the Mule; Blake Edwards‘ classic mammoth Universal comedy masterpiece with Cary Grant, Tony Curtis, Joan O’Brien, Dina Merrill, young Gavin MacLeod (later of TV’s “The Mary Tyler Moore” show fame and TV’s “The Love Boat” fame), young Marion Ross (later of TV’s “Happy Days” fame), “Operation Petticoat” (1959), Delbert Mann‘s classic mammoth Universal comedy masterpiece with Doris Day, Rock Hudson, a pre-“Odd Couple” Tony Randall, Edie Adams, a pre-“Brady Bunch” Ann B. Davis, Joe Flynn (of “McHale’s Navy” fame) and Jack Oakie; “Lover, Come Back” (1961) and Harry Keller‘s classic mammoth Universal comedy-fantasy masterpiece adaptation of Thomas Anstey Guthrie‘s novel with a pre-“I Dream of Jeannie” Barbara Eden, Tony Randall, Burl Ives and Philip Ober; “The Brass Bottle” (1964).  The screenplay for “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” (1948) was written by veteran Abbott and Costello gag writer John Grant, along with Robert Lees and Frederic I. Rinaldo.

“There’s no place on Earth to hide.” Original 1986 Cannon Group theatrical poster art for Tobe Hooper’s cult classic mammoth sci-fi masterpiece adaptation of “Invaders from Mars.”

The adaptation of “Invaders from Mars” (1986) was directed by veteran feature film director Tobe Hooper.  Some of Hooper’s best known classic mammoth /modern classic mammoth feature film masterpieces throughout his directorial career include his classic mammoth Bryanston horror-thriller masterpiece production with Gunnar Hansen, Marilyn Burns, Allen Danziger, Paul A. Partain, William Vail and the vocal stylings of young John Larroquette, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (1974); his classic mammoth supernatural thriller masterpiece for Steven Spielberg and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) with Heather O’Rourke, JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, Richard Lawson, Dominique Dunne and Dirk Blocker (son of the late Dan Blocker of TV’s “Bonanza” fame), “Poltergeist” (1982), his classic mammoth 1985 Cannon Group sci-fi/horror masterpiece with Steve Railsback, Mathilda May, Sir Patrick Stewart (of the 1984 adaptation of “Dune” and “Star Trek: The Next Generation” fame) and Peter Firth, “Lifeforce” and the second “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” installment for the Cannon Group, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2” (1986) with Dennis Hopper, Caroline Williams and Bill Moseley.

Hooper’s cult classic mammoth Cannon sci-fi masterpiece adaptation of “Invaders From Mars” (1986) was adapted from William Cameron Menzies’ earlier cult classic mammoth sci-fi masterpiece production of the same name, “Invaders From Mars” (1953); which was also produced by Edward L. Alperson Jr.

The original 1953 Menzies-Alperson version was originally released by Twentieth Century Fox (Twentieth Century Studios), according to IMDB.  Recently, a complete 4K restoration of the 1953 version of “Invaders From Mars’ was implemented by classic film distribution firm Ignite Films of the Netherlands , the UCLA Film and Television Archive, the George Eastman Museum and the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia for a 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray release; the complete restoration was finally showcased at the 2022 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival in Hollywood; California; according to the official Ignite Films site and Steve Pond’s April 2022 article for The Wrap.

Before directing numerous classic mammoth thriller/horror/sci-fi feature film productions and TV episodes in his directorial career, Hooper previously directed a classic mammoth TV documentary film masterpiece on the legendary folk music trio; Peter, Paul and Mary (Peter Yarrow, Noel Paul Stookey and Mary Travers); titled “Peter, Paul and Mary: The Song is Love” (1971).  Of interest to fellow Super Tooners/Super SvenPals of Toony & Bill Leff/Bill the Cartoon Curator’s “Toon In With Me” on Me-TV, Hooper’s classic mammoth 1971 made-for-TV documentary masterpiece on Peter, Paul and Mary was produced three years after the legendary folk trio was involved with a classic mammoth Warner Bros.-Seven Arts cartoon masterpiece that was adapted from one of their classic mammoth song recording masterpieces for Warner Bros. Records and was co-written by Noel Paul Stookey and directed by Alex Lovy, “Norman Normal” (1968, the legendary & iconic folk music trio’s recording of “Norman Normal” was previously issued two years earlier on Peter Paul and Mary’s classic mammoth 1966 Warner Bros. Records album masterpiece, “Album;” according to Discogs).

Media Home Entertainment publicity photo for the VHS release of Tobe Hooper’s Cannon adaptation of “Invaders from Mars” (1986).

The screenplay for Hooper’s adaptation of “Invaders from Mars” (1986) was written by veteran screenwriters Don Jakoby and Dan O’Bannon along with David Lipman and David Womark; based off the original 1953 screenplay by Richard Blake.  Don Jakoby previously wrote the screenplay for Hooper’s production of “Lifeforce” (1985) and O’Bannon previously co-wrote the screenplay with Ronald Shusett for Ridley Scott’s classic mammoth Twentieth Century Fox (Twentieth Century Studios) sci-fi masterpiece production with Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Yaphet Kotto, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, Ian Holm, Bolaji Badejo and Eddie Powell; “Alien” (1979).

Hooper’s classic mammoth sci-fi thriller masterpiece adaptation of “Invaders of Mars” (1986) was produced and released by The Cannon Group, Inc. (a.k.a. Cannon Films), an independent releasing organization that was established by producers Dennis Friedland and Christopher C. Dewey.  Friedland and Dewey later sold Cannon to veteran feature film producers-film financiers Menahem Golan and his cousin, Yoram Globus in 1979; according to IMDB. During Golan and Globus’ ownership of the Cannon Group; the company specialized in producing, financing and releasing numerous cult action feature film productions.  Golan and Globus’ Cannon also owned various movie theaters throughout Europe and the United States (Golan and Globus acquired the Kansas City, Missouri based Commonwealth Theatres group in 1986), according to Geraldine Fabrikant’s 1986 New York Times article on the rise of Golan and Globus’ Cannon firm at the time.  The ownership of their own theaters would eventually cause numerous financial problems for Golan and Globus’ Cannon.

Cannon was later acquired by notorious financier Giancarlo Parretti around 1987-88. Parretti renamed the Cannon Group as Pathé Communications in 1989 after his brief involvement with France’s pioneering film studio, Pathé.  The majority of the Cannon Films/Cannon Group library holdings later became part of the modern incarnation of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) after Parretti’s brief ownership of MGM; according to IMDB, Al Degulach’s 1988 Los Angeles Times article and Peter Bart’s 2013 Variety article on Parretti’s financial shenanigans and brief ownership of MGM.  Sidebar: Though MGM owns the theatrical re-issue licensing and home entertainment licensing rights to the majority of the Cannon Group library, Paramount Global/Paramount Pictures (Viacom/the former ViacomCBS) currently owns the North American television syndication and premium pay-television/cable distribution-syndication rights to the majority of the Cannon Group feature film library, including “Invaders from Mars” (1986); which was part of a long-term TV syndication-distribution pact between Golan, Globus/Cannon and Viacom back in 1986, according to additional details from Fabrikant’s New York Times article and a 1986 Broadcasting (Broadcasting & Cable) article. -C.H.

Golan and Globus co-produced Hooper’s cult classic mammoth Cannon sci-fi masterpiece adaptation of “Invaders From Mars” (1986) with veteran producer-distributor  Edward L. Alperson Jr., veteran sci-fi/horror film collector-producer-distributor Wade Williams and veteran creative producer David Rodgers.

For “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” (1948), this will mark Sven’s 12th big broadcast of the classic mammoth 1948 Abbott and Costello Universal mammoth monster-comedy masterpiece production of “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” on Me-TV. He had previously showcased “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” (1948) on Me-TV from coast-to-coast back in Oct. 2011* as a big coast-to-coast Me-TV premiere and as regular Me-TV broadcasts back in Nov. 2013, Oct. 2014, April 2015, Oct. 2016, Nov. 2017, Oct. 2018, May 2019 (showcased during Sven’s “Monstrous May” 2019 festival of classic Universal “Frankenstein” mammoth monster masterpiece features) Nov. 2020, Sept. 2021 (part of Sven’s “Franken-Fest” festival of classic mammoth Universal “Frankenstein” monster feature film masterpieces) and Nov. 2022.

For “Invaders from Mars” (1986), this will mark Sven’s second big broadcast of Hooper’s cult classic mammoth 1986 Cannon sci-fi/comedy farce masterpiece adaptation of “Invaders from Mars” on the airlanes of Me-TV.  He previously showcased “Invaders from Mars” (1986) as a big broadcast premiere back in April 2022.

Svengoolie’s twinset of “Killer Klowns from Outer Space” & “The Crawling Eye,” plus Sventoonie; this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Super Svengoolie SvenPals everywhere will be dancing and jumping for joy for his first coast-to-coast classic mammoth double-feature sci-fi masterpiece showcase for “Halloween Boo-nanza 2023!”

“Svengoolie” presents his big broadcast twinset of “Killer Klowns from Outer Space” (1988) and “The Crawling Eye” (1958) 

A snippet from the Chiodo Bros.’ classic mammoth 1988 Trans World Entertainment* sci-fi farce masterpiece production of  “Killer Klowns from Outer Space.”

Truncated version of the original theatrical release trailer for Quentin Lawrence’s “The Crawling Eye” (1958) featuring Forrest Tucker, Jennifer Jayne and Laurence Payne.

The legendary and iconic  Berywn/Chicago-based classic mammoth sci-fi feature film masterpiece host will present his first coast-to-coast double-feature twinset sci-fi feature film masterpiece showcase of “Killer Klowns from Outer Space” (1988) and “The Crawling Eye” (1958).  The aforementioned Sven double-feature twinset will begin this Sat., Oct. 7 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central on Me-TV.

Sven’s upcoming Me-TV big broadcast double-feature twinset of “Killer Klowns from Outer Space” (1988) and “The Crawling Eye” (1958) will be the first Sven double-feature big broadcast twinset installment for the 2023 “Svengoolie’s Halloween Boo-nanza” festival throughout the month of October on the airlanes of Me-TV!

Alongside Sven’s upcoming “Halloween Boo-nanza” twinset of “Killer Klowns from Outer Space” and “The Crawling Eye,” other Sven features and specials that will be showcased throughout the Oct. 2023 “Sven Halloween Boo-nanza” festival on Me-TV will include:

Oct. 14, 2023: Svengoolie’s big double-feature twinset broadcast of the classic mammoth Universal Studios/Abbott and Costello comedy-monster feature film masterpiece featuring Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Glenn Strange, Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney Jr., “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” (1948, one of Sven’s most-requested classic mammoth Universal comedy-monster masterpieces at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central) and the cult classic mammoth Cannon sci-fi masterpiece re-make of “Invaders From Mars” (1986, at 10:30 p.m. Eastern/9:30 p.m. Central), followed by the big broadcast return of the classic mammoth Me-TV original documentary masterpiece on the life and career of Sven/Rich Koz featuring cameo guest appearances by fellow Super SvenPals/Super Tooners Sarah Rhodes/Sarahgoolie, Nanette Keir and Brian Bernardoni in “Svengoolie: Uncrypted” (2022, at 12:30 a.m. Eastern/11:30 p.m. Central)!  And wait- there’s more! An all-night marathon of Rod Serling‘s classic mammoth CBS supernatural masterpiece series, “The Twilight Zone” (1:30 a.m. Eastern/12:30 a.m. Central)!

Oct. 21, 2023: Svengoolie’s big double-feature twinset broadcast featuring his big broadcast premiere of Dan Curtis‘ classic mammoth ABC “Kolchak” supernatural made-for-TV movie masterpiece with Darren McGavin, Simon Oakland and Larry Linville (of TV’s “M*A*S*H” fame), “The Night Stalker” (1972, at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central), followed by Sven’s big broadcast of the U.S. dubbing of Ishiro Honda‘s classic mammoth Toho Studios pioneering kaiju creature masterpiece production of “Gojira” featuring Raymond Burr of TV’s “Perry Mason” fame, “Godzilla: King of the Monsters!” (1954/56, at 10:30 p.m. Eastern/9:30 p.m. Central)!  And wait- there’s more! Me-TV will also have an all-night festival of classic episodes of the classic mammoth 1974-75 Universal Studios/ABC supernatural masterpiece series adaptation that was inspired by the two earlier classic mammoth Dan Curtis/ABC “Kolchak” made-for-TV movie masterpieces, “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” with McGavin and Oakland (at 1:30 a.m. Eastern/12:30 a.m. Central)!

Oct. 22, 2023: Svengoolie’s big double-feature finale twinset broadcast featuring his big broadcast premiere of Dan Curtis’ classic mammoth ABC “Kolchak” supernatural made-for-TV movie sequel masterpiece with Darren McGavin and Simon Oakland, “The Night Strangler” (1973, at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central) and Sven’s big broadcast of Curtis’ classic mammoth ABC made-for-TV horror anthology movie masterpiece with Karen Black, “Trilogy of Terror“* (1975, at 10: 30 p.m. Eastern/9:30 p.m. Central)! And wait- there’s more! An all-night festival of additional classic episodes of the classic mammoth Universal Studios/ABC supernatural masterpiece series with McGavin and Oakland, “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” (at 1:30 a.m. Eastern/12:30 a.m. Central)!

Alongside Sven’s upcoming big broadcast twinset of “Killer Klowns from Outer Space” (1988) and “The Crawling Eye” (1958), Me-TV will also be showcasing the return of classic episodes of a classic mammoth spin-off cross-over masterpiece series featuring a recognizable personality from the network’s classic mammoth weekday morning cartoon masterpiece showcase series!

Here are some moments that didn't make the cut from our chat with Sven.

We tried getting him to take Gary off our hands but no dice! #sventoonie #metv pic.twitter.com/Mn0D55CR0B

— Sventoonie (@sventoonie) February 23, 2023

Watch special episodes of Sventoonie as part of the late-night BOOnanza Binge starting at 12:30AM | 11:30C. 🎩💀

Find the full schedule here: https://t.co/hseTLTeKGU pic.twitter.com/XIVsVg9e0r

— MeTV (@MeTV) October 4, 2023

A message from our leader 🫡👽

Catch the encore episodes of @sventoonie this Saturday, October 7th as part of the late-night BOOnanza Binge starting at 12:30AM | 11:30C!

Find the full schedule here: https://t.co/JYNfjfTVSr#sventoonie #metv pic.twitter.com/o34zaCsSBO

— Toon In With Me (@tooninwithmetv) October 4, 2023

That same evening (Oct. 7), “Sventoonie” returns to the Me-TV airlanes with classic episodes of the “Svengoolie”/”Toon In With Me” cross-over spin-off series in a “Sventoonie” all-night festival (starting at 12:30 a.m. Eastern/11:30 p.m. Central)! 

“It’s ‘Craazzy’!” Original 1988 Trans World Entertainment* theatrical poster art for the Chiodo Bros.’ “Killer Klowns from Outer Space.”

“Killer Klowns from Outer Space” (1988) was directed, co-written and co-produced by veteran puppet/animatronic designer/puppeteer and stop-motion animator Stephen Chiodo.  Chiodo began his career as a graphic designer for the newscasts for ABC‘s network-owned TV station in New York City WABC-TV (sister station to ABC’s network-owned Berwyn/Chicago TV station, WLS-TV).  He later moved to the Washington, D.C. area to work with veteran animator/cartoonist Walt Kelly and director Marc Paul Chinoy as a production designer for the classic stop-motion animation adaptation of Kelly’s possum comic strip, “Pogo;” titled “I Go Pogo” (1980) with the vocal stylings of legends Vincent Price, Jonathan Winters, Ruth Buzzi (of Rowan & Martin’s “Laugh-In” fame), Stan Freberg and Arnold Stang (of the “Chunky” chocolate bar TV commercials fame). He later moved to Hollywood, California and joined his brothers Charles Chiodo and Edward Chiodo to form Chiodo Bros. Productions.

The Chiodo Bros. are best-known for their numerous custom props, puppets, animatronic, stop-motion animation creations and special effects for the motion picture and television industry over the years; including the design of the Critters for the New Line Cinema “Critters” series of films from 1986–92, animated effects consultants for Tim Burton‘s classic mammoth Warner Bros. feature comedy masterpiece featuring Paul “Pee-Wee Herman” Reubens, “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure” (1985), the motion control robot puppet “Catfish”** for Sony Imagesoft (today’s Sony Interactive Entertainment) & Digital Pictures’ full-motion video interactive video game for the Sega CD (attachment for the Sega Genesis) & 3DO game console formats, “Sewer Shark” (1992), the “Rankin/Bass“-style holiday stop-motion figurines for Jon Favreau‘s modern classic mammoth New Line Cinema holiday comedy masterpiece featuring Will Ferrell, “Elf” (2003); including the “Leon the Snowman” stop-motion character featuring the vocal stylings of the legendary Leon Redbone; the “supermarionation”-style figurines for Trey Parker & Matt Stone (of “South Park” fame)’s modern classic mammoth Paramount Pictures comedy-farce masterpiece, “Team America: World Police” (2004) and a stop-motion animated sequence for legendary Los Angeles-based horror/sci-fi film host Elvira (portrayed by Cassandra Petersen)’s brief classic mammoth syndicated masterpiece revival of “Elvira’s Movie Macabre” for her 2010 showcase of the cult classic mammoth Nicholas Webster-Embassy Pictures holiday-fantasy masterpiece production of “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” (1964).

Watch out! “Dean Wormer’s” long-lost “mascot” for “Faber College!” Oopsa Doopsa! Wrong John Vernon film! A moment from “Killer Klowns in Outer Space” (1988), featuring John Vernon.

The cult classic mammoth 1988 horror/sci-fi/comedy masterpiece production was co-produced by veteran executive producers/production officials Moshe Diamant and Paul Mason, along with veteran associate producers/production officials J.J. Lichauco Pelman, Christopher Roth, Eduard Sarlui and Helen Szabo; the real-life sister of Sarlui (she received screen credit under the name of Helen Sarlui-Tucker).  The Chiodo Bros.’ “Killer Klowns from Outer Space” (1988) was released through Moshe Diamant and Eduard Sarlui’s independent releasing firm Trans World Entertainment*; according to IMDB.  Trans World Entertainment* would be later folded into another production/releasing/distribution firm that was headed by Diamant, Epic Productions; according to Variety.  After a series of complicated ownership deals and due in part from Trans World’s reliance on financing for productions from France’s banking firm Crédit Lyonnais (the aforementioned banking firm would later have many financial problems of their own); the Chiodo Bros.’ production of “Killer Klowns from Outer Space” (1988) and the majority of the TWE/Epic Productions library* later wound up in the hands of the current incarnation of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), according to the Los Angeles Times.  Sidebar: Diamant and Saruli’s Trans World Entertainment* was not connected to a similar named company that specialized in mall-based and shopping center-based record and video stores. The other “Trans World Entertainment” now operates under the name of “Kaspien Holdings” for e-commerce sales; the company’s retail-based stores under the “FYE/For Your Entertainment” name throughout North America were later sold off to Canada’s Sunrise Records retail group. Though the two companies shared the “Trans World Entertainment” name, the two companies were never related in any form. -C.H.

“Waiting! Watching! Wanton!” “Maybe Yours!” The company that brought you “Rodan!” Original Distributors Corporation of America (DCA) theatrical poster artwork for “The Crawling Eye” (1958).

“The Crawling Eye” was directed by veteran British television and feature film director Quentin Lawrence.  Several of Lawrence’s best-known productions throughout his directorial career alongside “The Crawling Eye” (1958) include numerous British television series, including directing six episodes of the made-for-TV classic mammoth sci-fi masterpiece television adaptation of H.G. Wells’ “The Invisible Man” in 1959, one episode of the classic mammoth spy/secret agent masterpiece adventure series with Diana Rigg and Patrick Macnee; “The Avengers” (Lawrence directed the 1965 episode of “The Avengers,” “The Gravediggers”). Lawrence also worked on several episodes of Britain’s long-running Granada (ITV) soap opera/drama series; “Coronation Street” (Lawrence directed numerous episodes of the series from 1974-77, including filmed sequences). Another Granada (ITV) British television series that Lawrence worked on was 20 episodes of a brief comedy series with Peter Sallis (of “Last of the Summer Wine” and “Wallace and Gromit” fame) along with Arthur English (of “Are You Being Served?” fame), “The Ghosts of Motley Hall” (1976-78).

According to IMDB, “The Crawling Eye” (1958) was produced by Tempean Films in Great Britain.  Lawrence’s cult classic 1958 sci-fi masterpiece was released in Great Britain through  Eros Films Ltd., a production, distribution and motion picture exhibition company that was established by veteran British film distributors Phil and Sid Hyams.   Eros Films was also known as the British theatrical releasing firm that released the classic mammoth Arthur Crabtree– Richard Gordon sci-fi masterpiece production of “Fiend Without A Face” (1958) with  Marshall Thompson. Kim Parker, Kynaston Reeves, Stanley Maxted and Terence “Terry” Kilburn; the U.S. theatrical rights was handled by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) before Richard Gordon’s Gordon Films acquired the complete rights.

From an early 1960s advertising proof for the TV syndication of “The Crawling Eye” (1958), which was handled by pioneering TV syndicator/producer Eliot Hyman’s Seven Arts at the time.

The North American theatrical rights for “The Crawling Eye” (1958) was handled by independent releasing organization Distributors Corporation of America, which was also known as DCA.  DCA was known for releasing Will Price’s classic mammoth rock-and-roll revue masterpiece with the legendary “father of Rock & Roll,” Little Richard; young Tuesday Weld, the legendary La Vern Baker and the legendary pioneering New York Rock & Roll radio disc jockey Alan Freed; “Rock Rock Rock!” (1956, which was produced by Vanguard Productions, who also co-produced a latter classic mammoth Rock & Roll revue masterpiece feature with rival studio Warner Bros., titled “Jamboree!” in 1957). One of DCA’s other biggest successes was also the 1957 North American dub of Ishiro Honda’s classic mammoth kaiju creature-monster masterpiece production from Japan’s Toho Studios;  “Rodan” (1956) with veteran Toho Studios stunt performer Haruo Nakajima, Kenji Sahara, Yumi Shirakawa, Akio Koboril and Akihiko Hirata.

DCA also handled the original theatrical release of Ed Wood’s cult classic mammoth low-budget sci-fi masterpiece with the legendary Bela Lugosi, legendary pioneering Los Angeles, California TV horror film host Maila “Vampira” Nurmi, professional wrestler Tor Johnson and Criswell; “Plan 9 From Outer Space” (1957).   The distribution firm later released Robert Youngson’s classic mammoth comedy compilation masterpiece of Hal Roach‘s classic mammoth feature film comedy masterpiece moments, “The Golden Age of Comedy” (1957); which was then also released through competing rival studio Twentieth Century Fox (Twentieth Century Studios), according to a poster art element that was unearthed on Bonanza.com.

For “Killer Klowns in Outer Space” (1988), this will mark Sven’s second big coast-to-coast broadcast of the classic mammoth Chiodo Bros,-Trans World Entertainment sci-fi farce masterpiece production on Me-TV.  He previously showcased the Chiodos’ “Killer Klowns from Outer Space” (1988) as a Me-TV big broadcast premiere back in Feb. 2023.  In Sven’s home area of Berwyn/Chicago, he previously showcased the Chiodo Bros.’ cult classic mammoth 1988 horror/sci-fi/comedy masterpiece production of “Killer Klowns from Outer Space” as a Berwyn/Chicago big broadcast premiere on his hometown television station, WCIU-TV 26 back in Jan. 2011; according to IMDB.

For “The Crawling Eye” (1958), this will mark Sven’s fourth coast-to-coast big broadcast of the cult classic mammoth 1958 Quentin Lawrence sci-fi masterpiece on the airlanes of Me-TV.  He previously showcased Quentin Lawrence’s cult classic 1958 sci-fi/creature/fantasy masterpiece production of “”The Crawling Eye” as a big coast-to-coast broadcast premiere on the airlanes of Me-TV back in April 2021 from the safety “Sven Cave”/”Fortress of Svenitude” and as regular Me-TV big broadcasts back in Dec. 2021 and Nov. 2022. In Sven’s home area of Berwyn/Chicago, Illinois; he previously showcased Quentin Lawrence’s production of “The Crawling Eye” (1958) back in 2004 on his hometown television station, WCIU-TV 26/”The U”; according to IMDB.

“Svengoolie” to present his big broadcast of “Return of the Vampire” (1943) w/Bela Lugosi, this Sat. on Me-TV

***To fellow Super SvenPals/Super Tooners who missed my emergency Sven Saturday cable/internet outage alert tweet in connection to Sven/”Mr. Sardonicus” (1961): Complete details are explained in this week’s “Silver Screen Reflections,” alongside recent Twitter technical problems. -C.H.***

Fellow Svengoolie Super SvenPals everywhere will be dancing and jumping for joy for his big broadcast of a classic mammoth Columbia Pictures vampire monster masterpiece.

“Svengoolie” to present his big broadcast of “The Return of the Vampire” (1943) with Bela Lugosi

A snippet from Lew Landers’ classic mammoth Columbia Pictures vampire monster masterpiece of “The Return of the Vampire” (1943), featuring Bela Lugosi and Nina Foch.

“The Vampire Strikes at Night!” Original 1943 Columbia Pictures theatrical poster art element for Bela Lugosi in “Return of the Vampire,”

The legendary Berwyn/Chicago-based classic mammoth monster masterpiece feature film host will present his big expanded broadcast of “Return of the Vampire” (1943) this Sat., Sept. 23 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central on Me-TV.

The 1943 classic mammoth Columbia vampire monster masterpiece production of “Return of the Vampire” was directed by veteran feature film and television director Lew Landers.

Eight years before he directed “The Return of the Vampire,” Landers directed the classic Universal Studios screen thriller masterpiece adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” (1935) with Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff.  Landers was credited under the pseudonym of Louis Friedlander for the aforementioned Universal screen adaptation of Poe’s story.

Landers also directed the classic mammoth Columbia Super-Cinecolor fantasy feature production of “The Magic Carpet” (1951) with Lucille Ball around the same year that she appeared in her classic mammoth groundbreaking Desilu/CBS TV sitcom masterpiece series with real-life husband Desi Arnaz, “I Love Lucy” (1951-57; based off of the earlier CBS Radio series “My Favorite Husband”), a pre-“Perry Mason” Raymond Burr and John Agar.  He also directed several episodes of two successful television productions for Columbia’s Screen Gems television unit, including “The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin” (1956-59) and “Circus Boy” (1957), the latter series featured a pre-“Monkees” Micky Dolenz in the title role, Dolenz received screen credit under the pseudonym of Micky Braddock in “Circus Boy” with Noah Berry Jr.

“Return of the Vampire” was produced by veteran producer-director-writer Sam White.  The same year that “Return of the Vampire” was put into production, the veteran producer-director-writer also worked with Landers on his classic mammoth Columbia “Boston Blackie” mystery-detective adaptation feature film series masterpiece that same year, “After Midnight with Boston Blackie” (1943) with Chester Morris, Ann Savage and George E. Stone.  White also directed and co-produced his own classic mammoth Paramount Pictures musical-comedy masterpiece with veteran studio producers William H. Pine and William C. Thomas, “People Are Funny” (1946) with Jack Haley (of 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz” fame), Helen Walker, legendary crooner Rudy Vallee, legendary bandleader Ozzie Nelson, Frances Langford, radio/TV host Art Linkletter and of interest to fellow Super Tooners/Super SvenPals of Toony & Bill’s “Toon In With Me;” veteran cartoon voice-over artist Billy Bletcher.

Later in his career, Sam White served as an associate producer for the classic mammoth CBS television courtroom drama masterpiece series adaptation of Erle Stanley Gardner’s “Perry Mason” with Raymond Burr, Barbara Hale, William Hopper, Ray Collins and William Talman (White worked on 68 episodes of the series from 1957-59).  To paraphrase Sven, “Sam White worked on.. ‘Perry Mason’!” -C.H. 

The screenplay for the 1943 Columbia vampire-monster masterpiece production was written by veteran screenwriter Griffin Jay with additional dialogue by Randall Faye.

Jay previously wrote the screenplay for two classic mammoth Universal Studios “Mummy” monster sequel masterpieces that featured Lon Chaney Jr. in the role of the Mummy Kharis, Harold Young‘s “The Mummy’s Tomb” (1942) with Elyse Knox, Dick Foran, Turhan Bey, Wallace Ford and George Zucco and Reginald Le Borg‘s “The Mummy’s Ghost” (1944) with Ramsay Ames, Barton MacLane, John Carradine, Zucco and Frank Reicher.

 Jay and Faye’s screenplay for “Return of the Vampire” (1943/44) was based off of an original idea by Kurt Neumann.  Neumann previously wrote the screenplay treatment in an uncredited position 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.   Neumann later directed the classic mammoth Twentieth Century Fox (Twentieth Century Studios) sci-fi creature-fantasy masterpiece, “The Fly” (1958). with David “Al” Hedison (later of TV’s “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea” fame), Patricia Owens and the legendary Vincent Price.

Veteran Columbia Pictures/Screen Gems make-up artist Clay Campbell worked in an uncredited position on the monster make-up effects for Bela Lugosi’s characterization of Armand “Dr. Hugo Bruckner” Tesla and Matt Willis’ werewolf monster characterization of Andreas Obry, according to IMDB.

“Hey, ‘Moe’!” Duke York as Lupe the Wolf creature and Jerry “Curly: Howard in the classic mammoth Columbia “Three Stooges” short subject comedy masterpiece, “Idle Roomers” (1944), with veteran Columbia make-up artist Clay Campbell’s “Werewolf” make-up design.

Campbell also worked on other “werewolf” monster/creature make-up effects in other Columbia  productions, including  Duke York’s portrayal  of Lupe the Wolf creature in the classic mammoth Columbia comedy short subject with “The Three Stooges,” “Idle Roomers” (1944) with Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Curly Howard and the Fred F. Sears–Sam Katzman classic mammoth Columbia werewolf monster masterpiece production of “The Werewolf” (1956) with Steven Ritch in the title role of Duncan “Werewolf” Marsh.

Before working at Columbia, one of Campbell’s earliest well-known feature film make-up effect designs was for the wax figurines featured in Michael Curtiz’s classic mammoth Warner Bros. pioneering two-strip Technicolor horror-mystery masterpiece production of “Mystery of the Wax Museum” (1933) with Fay Wray (of 1933’s “King Kong” fame), Lionel  Atwill, Glenda Farrell (later of Warners’ “Torchy Blane” fame), Frank McHugh, Monica Bannister, Allen Vincent, Gavin Gordon, Edwin Maxwell and Holmes Herbert.

This will mark Sven’s third big broadcast of “The Return of the Vampire” (1943) on the airlanes of Me-TV.  He previously showcased Landers’ classic 1943 Columbia monster-vampire masterpiece as a big broadcast premiere back in Oct. 2018 and as a regular big broadcast back in Dec. 2020.

Who was in Lew Landers’ classic Columbia monster-vampire masterpiece production of “The Return of the Vampire” (1943)?

The players who appeared in Lew Landers’ classic mammoth Columbia monster-vampire masterpiece production of “The Return of the Vampire” (1943) were Bela Lugosi (as Armand Tesla, a.k.a. Dr. Hugo Bruckner), Nina Foch (as Nicki Saunders), Matt Willis (as Andreas Obry), Frieda Inescort (as Lady Jane Ainsley),  Roland Varno (as John Ainsley), Ottola Nesmith (as Governess Elsa Walter), Gilbert Emery (as Dr. Walter Saunders), William Austin (as Detective Gannett), Leslie Denison (as Detective Lynch) and Miles Mander (as Sir Frederick Fleet).

“Svengoolie” presents his big broadcast of William Castle’s “Mr. Sardonicus” (1961), this Sat. on Me-TV

Fellow Svengoolie SvenPals everywhere will be dancing and jumping for joy for his big broadcast of a classic mammoth Columbia Pictures macabre thriller masterpiece.

“Svengoolie” presents his big broadcast of William Castle’s “Mr. Sardonicus” (1961)

Original 1961 Columbia Pictures theatrical trailer for William Castle‘s classic mammoth macabre gimmick thriller masterpiece production of “Mr. Sardonicus,” with an introduction by Castle and his mention of the “Punishment Poll” gimmick for the original Columbia theatrical release.

“A man so evil- His face could stop a heart!” Original 1961 Columbia Pictures theatrical poster art element for the original Australian theatrical release of William Castle’s “Mr. Sardonicus.”

The legendary and iconic Berywn/Chicago-based classic mammoth macabre thriller feature film masterpiece host will present his big broadcast of “Mr. Sardonicus” (1961), this Sat.; Sept. 16 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central on Me-TV.

The classic 1961 Columbia macabre thriller was directed by the legendary master of macabre cinema, William Castle. For the majority of Castle’s motion picture career, he produced and directed numerous feature films for Columbia Pictures.

Before he went into the art and innovation of “gimmick” macabre-thriller feature film masterpiece productions, he directed numerous classic mammoth Columbia feature film masterpiece productions, including the western “Klondike Kate” (1943) with Glenda Farrell (of Warner Bros.’ “Torchy Blane” fame), Ann Savage, Tom Neal and future TV producer Sheldon Leonard.

He also directed four entries in Columbia’s “The Whistler” feature film adaptation series (adapted from the CBS Radio series of the same name) with Richard Dix, “The Whistler” (1944, also with Gloria Stuart of 1933’s “The Invisible Man” and 1997’s “Titanic” fame), “The Mark of the Whistler” (1944, also with Janis Carter and Porter Hall), “Voice of the Whistler” (1945, also with Lynn Merrick and Rhys Williams) and “Mysterious Intruder” (1946, also with Nina Vale and Barton MacLane of Warners’ “Torchy Blane” fame and later of TV’s “I Dream of Jeannie” fame in the latter part of his acting career) and four entries in Columbia’s “Crime Doctor” mystery feature film masterpiece adaptation series with Warner Baxter; “The Crime Doctor’s Warning” (1945, also with John Litel and Dusty Anderson), “Just Before Dawn” (1946, also with Adele Roberts and Martin Kosleck), “Crime Doctor’s Man Hunt” (1946, also with Ellen Drew and William Frawley; later of TV’s “I Love Lucy” and “My Three Sons”/”Binge the Cringe” fame) and “The Crime Doctor’s Gamble” (1947, also with Micheline Cheirel and Roger Dann).

Castle also produced Orson Welles‘ classic mammoth critically-acclaimed Columbia Pictures film noir-drama masterpiece production of “The Lady From Shanghai” (1947) with Welles, Rita Hayworth and Everett Sloane, Castle also co-wrote the screenplay for the aforementioned 1947 Columbia production with Welles and Sherwood King.   The veteran director-producer also directed hs classic mammoth Columbia feature-length adventure masterpiece and the very first 3-D film for Columbia Pictures, “Fort Ti” (1953) with George Montgomery, Joan Vohs, Irving Bacon and young Rusty Hamer (later of TV’s “Make Room For Daddy”/”The Danny Thomas Show” fame).

Alongside “Mr. Sardonicus” (1961) many of Castle’s classic mammoth Columbia macabre “gimmick” feature film masterpiece productions alongside include “The Tingler” (1959) with Vincent Price, Judith Evelyn and Darryl Hickman;  “13 Ghosts” (1960) with  Charles Herbert, Jo Morrow, Martin Milner (of TV’s “Route 66” and “Adam-12” fame) Margaret Hamilton (of 1939’s “The Wizard of Oz” fame) and John Van Dreelen, “Homicidal” (1961) with Glenn Corbett, “Zotz!” (1962) with Tom Poston (later of TV’s “Newhart” fame), Julia Meade, Jim Backus (of interest to fellow Super Tooners/Super SvenPals of Toony & Bill’s “Toon In With Me,” the vocalizations of “Mister Magoo” and his Live-Action appearances/of TV’s “Gilligan’s Island” fame), Margaret Dumont (who previously appeared in seven of The Marx Brothers’ classic mammoth feature film comedy masterpieces from 1929–41) and  Fred Clark, and “The Old, Dark House” (1963) with Poston and Janette Scott and “Strait-Jacket” (1964) with Joan Crawford, Diane Baker, Leif Erickson, young George Kennedy and young Lee Majors (later of TV’s “The Big Valley” and “The Six Million Dollar Man” fame).

Alongside Castle’s long career at Columbia, he also directed his earlier classic mammoth macabre gimmick thriller masterpiece productions for Allied Artists, notably “Macabre” (1958) with Jim Backus, Christine White and William Prince and “House on Haunted Hill” (1959) with Vincent Price, Carol Ohmart, Richard Long, Julie Mitchum, Elisha Cook Jr.,  Carolyn Craig, Alan Marshal and Leona Anderson. Castle also directed several classic mammoth macabre thriller masterpieces for rival Universal Studios, including “The Night Walker” (1964) with Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Taylor and Hayden Roarke (later of TV’s “I Dream of Jeannie” fame) and “I Saw What You Did” (1965) with Joan Crawford, John Ireland and Leif Erickson.  Castle later directed several productions for rival Paramount Pictures, including his classic mammoth Paramount comedy masterpiece production of “The Busy Body” (1967) with Sid Caesar, Richard Pryor, Anne Baxter and Robert Ryan and his classic mammoth Paramount sci-fi masterpiece production of “Project X” (1968) with Christopher George, Greta Baldwin, Henry Jones, Harold Gould and Monte Markham.   Near the end of his life, Castle later appeared in a cameo appearance in John Schlesinger‘s classic mammoth Paramount studio drama-thriller masterpiece production of “The Day of the Locust” (1975) with Karen Black, Donald Sutherland, Burgess Meredith and Geraldine Page.

Castle returned to Columbia Pictures to serve as an executive producer for the studio’s brief classic mammoth horror-thriller TV anthology masterpiece series, “Ghost Story/Circle of Fear” (1972-73), produced under Columbia’s Screen Gems TV unit for the NBC television network.

The screenplay for Castle’s 1961 macabre thriller was written by Ray Russell.   Russell’s screenplay was based off of his original short thriller story for Playboy Magazine, according to film historian Clive Hirschorn and his retrospective book on Columbia Pictures, “The Columbia Story.”  One year later, Russell wrote the screenplay for Castle’s classic mammoth Columbia fantasy masterpiece production; “Zotz!” ( according to IMDB).  Castle co-produced his classic mammoth 1961 Columbia macabre gimmick thriller masterpiece production with veteran producer Dona Holloway, she co-produced many of Castle’s latter productions.

This will mark Sven’s fourth big broadcast presentation of “Mr. Sardonicus” (1961) from coast-to-coast on Me-TV.  He previously aired the classic mammoth 1961 Castle-Columbia macabre thriller masterpiece as a coast-to-coast big broadcast premiere back in April 2018 and as regular big broadcasts back in Nov. 2018 and July 2019.

In Sven’s home area of Berwyn/Chicago, he previously showcased “Mr. Sardonicus” (1961) back in Nov. 2008 on his hometown TV station; WCIU-TV 26 (according to IMDB).

Who was in William Castle’s “Mr. Sardonicus” (1961)?

The players who appeared in Castle’s 1961 Columbia macabre screen thriller were Guy Rolfe (in the dual roles of Baron Sardonicus and Marek Toleslawski), Oscar Homolka (as Krull), Audrey Dalton (as Baroness Maude Sardonicus), Lorna Hanson (as Anna), Ronald Lewis (as Sir Robert Cargrave), Erika Peters (as Elenka Toleslawski), Vladimir Sokoloff (as Henryk Toleslawski) and cameo screen appearances by William Castle.