Daily poster: The Haunted Palace.

The Haunted Palace.
Roger Corman's film version of H.P. Lovecraft's novella, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward. Distribution company, AIP, changed the name of the film to The Haunted Palace to fit the film into Corman's series of Edgar Allan Poe films. The only relation the film has to Poe's poem is the title and a few lines of voice over at the end of the film.

The Haunted Palace is Corman at his finest. The sets are clever and grand. The script is well written (I've heard that a young Francis Ford Coppola actually had a stab at cleaning up the dialog.) The acting is a bit punchy and melodramatic, but all right. Vincent Price is enchanting. I'm a huge sucker for Lon Chaney Jr. too. I just want to hug him; he makes me feel so sad. The villagers are fantastic. Leo Gordon is intense and raving. Big eyed Elisha Cook Jr. fosters the fear that Leo Gordon turns to hatred. A terrific group of actors.

The film is slow. This would be a prime candidate for a remake. Liam Neeson in the Price role.
I watched the film on DVD recently. I had only seen an old, crappy VHS of the film. On the DVD, the actor's makeup looks horrible. Grey-green against the actors flesh hued necks. Does not look good.

If you're an H.P. Lovecraft whore, like me, you have to see the film. Just to hear someone say Cthulhu and Yog-Sothoth in a film made in 1963 is thrilling.

Poster courtesy of Wrong Side of the Art.

In Bed With Invader.

Shot in winter 2011, this movie invite you to spend one night in Paris with the street artist Invader.

Speaking of Rollins.

Someone sent this to me a while back. It hits.

Daily poster: Son of Frankenstein.

Son of Frankenstein.
Kharis used to be my favorite Universal monster. In recent years, he has been replaced by the flute playing, sadistic, sociopath, Ygor. I believe Ygor is Bela Lugosi's finest role and the character deserves to rank up there with The Monster, Dracula, The Wolf Man, and all the other classic Universal monsters.
This poster is striking. Karloff's face is beautifully rendered and while the girl is straight out of some other film, she adds a certain amount of peril and excitement to the poster. Karloff's emotionless mug isn't exactly thrilling.

Vince sent me this funny email recently regarding Son of Frankenstein:

A couple of weeks ago I watched Son of Frankenstein on Turner Classic Movies. Now an interesting criticism of that movie came from writer Tom Weaver in an article he did on the Universal Frankenstein series in one of my magazines. He says that director Rowland V. Lee screws up the Monster's height, making him appear shorter than Wolf Frankenstein and Ygor. I saw for myself this isn't entirely true. He certainly isn't the shortest of the three. BUT Wolf IS the same height and Ygor is real close! Yet in all the other films, the Monster is easily a full head to a head and shoulder taller than anyone else.
What's screwy too is that the Monster is bulkier here than in any other film. He may not be fat but he sure looks like he has eaten both sides of the menu. I guess this is the reason Peter refers to him as a giant! At least in the sequel, The Ghost of Frankenstein, the Monster really does appear to be a giant.
And yes, I checked, Boris Karloff was wearing his big Monster boots and Basil Rathbone was still able to look him in the eye. For shame!
Plus in this ponderous (for Universal) horror96-minute picture, the Monster doesn't get off his rear until an hour into the movie. All I can say is Thank God for Ygor! Lugosi saves this movie just liked he saved Dracula.

Hahhahah, the pictures don't lie, The Monster looks a bit wee. I also completely agree with Vince that The Monster is oafy looking in Son of Frankenstein and like so many of the mid to late Universal monster movies, the monsters hardly get any damn action. Monsters are monsters through their actions, not through people talking about them being monsters!
Ah well, it's a decent outing, and like Vince and I both mentioned, Lugosi's performance as Ygor twists the wrist into giving Son of Frankenstein a thumbs up.


Poster courtesy of Wrong Side of the Art.

Texting during films, yeah, it's cool.

 

In a move that The Onion could not make up, a recent panel on film industry issues debated the concept of allowing theater patrons to text while watching a film. Billy Donnelly has a mind-bending, furiosity-inducing article over on Ain't it Cool News, HERE.
Sony Pictures, Regal Entertainment, and IMAX are all mentioned as endorsing the idea. Donnelly writes that the majority of those in attendance were keen on letting audience members text. The only real dissent was from Tim League of The Alamo Drafthouse chain of theaters. The topic came up as a possible way to woo young folks into theaters. Everyone involved seems to wax nostalgic for the old days, but they seem to forget the concept of reasonable ticket and snack prices for young people and the thing that really drove us to the theater, double features.
As theaters make the unfortunate move to digital projection, studios are saving boatloads of money on printing and shipping 35mm prints. Will the rental of films become cheaper for theaters? Once the hump of re-equiping is paid for, they should. But I think we know better.
Donnelly's article is well written and appropriately passionate. I love his take on IMAX's reaction to the new idea:

However, leave it to Greg Foster from IMAX to be the icing on the cake. His 17-year-old son always has his phone on him... I guess that makes him special from the rest of the population that also does, but Foster's theory on the matter is this: "We want them to pay $12 to $14 to come into an auditorium and watch a movie. But they’ve become accustomed to controlling their own existence.” He also believes they may “feel a little handcuffed" by not being able to use their phones during a movie. Good!! They're supposed to feel handcuffed. It's a rule that's been established for the greater good for the greatest number of people... not just for your kid. I guess people might feel a little handcuffed by their ability to just walk into a bank and take whatever money they want, too, regardless of whether or not it belongs to them, but guess what? That's the rule, unless you want to take the chance of winding up in handcuffs. Maybe it's my abundance of common sense, but I'm not seeing why anyone would want to cater to this particular crowd, when the majority of people who do follow the rules on not using your cell phone during a movie also have $12 to $14 they're willing to pay for a few hours of entertainment.

Rollins interviews V. Vale.

"Your curiosity is you."

V. Vale is one of my heroes. I honestly don't know much about the man, but I respect the hell out of his work. He created Search and Destroy, the bay area's grandaddy of punk 'zines in 1977. The 'zine was started while Vale worked at City Lights, with seed money from Allen Ginsburg and City Lights founder, Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

Vale later went on to write and publish the amazing RE/Search line of books.  

RE/Search #10 Incredibly Strange Films was my bible as a teenager. It is a book of interviews with independent filmmakers and and handful of essays on independent cinema. For me, it created an entire pantheon of filmmakers that I had never heard of, and have spent my life learning about. Mikels, Robins, Steckler, Lewis, Friedman, Sarno, on and on. Life changing stuff. I got V. Vale to autograph my copy a couple of years ago and he said, 'Wow, I've never been asked to sign one of these books. You've got a real rarity there.'   

V. Vale is a real inspiration to me. Stay curious. I'm glad I got to tell him to his face how important his work is to me.

I like Henry Rollins, but if you hate him, you'll probably hate this interview. He talks a lot.
V. Vale starts out a bit shy, but he eventually rips it up. Stick with it.

Sadako throws out first pitch.

WTF! Japanese culture never ceases to yank the crap from mine internals.

Sadako from Ringu (the original, Japanes, version of the film, The Ring) threw out the first pitch in this baseball game. Uh, all right.

Interrrogation: Happiness Bastard.

I'm pretty picky when it comes to designer toys. Happiness Bastard's Pewkies kicked me in the groin with delight. Kewpie dolls mixed with Universal horror icons; what could be sweeter?

Unfortunately, Happines Bastard's toy runs are super duper small and he sells out quickly. I'll do my best to post when the new Pewkie colorways hit his shop.

Thanks to Happiness Bastard for taking the time to answer my questions.

1. Who or what is Happiness Bastard? Are you a squad of hearty toy-making soldiers or a single badass? Where is your HQ?
Happiness Bastard is me, Bernhardt, just Bernhardt like Prince or Cher.  I chose the name because I saw it as the title of some old pulp paperback and love the thoughts is conjured up, I also think it may have been the name of the ultraman hero on this show called Shin Chan (I think that's the name).  I made my first toy (Shedorah) when I moved to Louisville Kentucky about 2 years ago.  It had been in the works for awhile but I was too broke to pull it off until I got settle in Louisville.

2. Talk about the roto-casting process. What materials do you use? Was it hard to learn or are you a roto-casting savant?
Roto Casting is a great process, it allows you to use alot less material than a solid cast would and eliminates the need for a vacuum pot.  The final product is a hollow cast piece that is pretty close to something that you get produced in a factory.  I spent at least one solid year studying casting in general, I poured over the mold making handbook on lunch breaks at a string of jobs I hated, and would stay up all night planning in my mind a good way to execute a great mold.  I found that Smooth on made a starter kit which was a huge help.  For about $80 dollars you get all you need to pull off a decent silicone mold, I had too buy 2 because I tend to think big (Shedorah is about the size of a bowling pin).  The resin I use is made specifically for rotocasting because it gels and then hardens, I am starting to experiment with other types and so far the results are great.

I don't think it was hard to learn the process, but I studied and planned and tried to really have the bugs hammered out in mind before I began.  Like anything you learn as you go, I still make mistakes and will always be my worse critic.  Either way it always ends with me having a cool new piece of plastic.

3. Who are your toy/art influences?
So many!!!!  I really love bootlegs and old dimestore toys.  The shabby and random paint jobs and mismatched colors and generic packaging are a huge inspiration for what I do.  The Pewkies were actually inspired by an old toy called Monster-niks, they are basically a troll doll with the head of Frankensten, Wolfman, and King Kong.  I had always wanted to do something with the soakies and I had wanted to make kewpies with gross heads so it just came together that way.  I am big on Kaiju, love the bizarre old ultraman characters and the like.  

As far as art goes the list is long and varied, I have always been a fan of Charles Burns, I would love to produce something like the teenage plague figure he did years ago.  I also really like Archer Prewitt's  Sof' Boy stuff, and definitely am inspired by the packaging and goodies he made up to go with it.  The prints I make, I like to think are half Gilbert and George and half Famous Monsters of Filmland.  I like to gravitate towards things with bright colors and dark subject matters, anything between garbage pail kids to Ivan Albrecht.  I see and consume so much that it is hard for me to settle on one particular. I have new favorites everyday. 

4. Can you talk about your 4" Vagina Mary? Who was the model? It really is a thing of beauty. The marbling is fantastic as well.
With the Mary there isn't much to say, its a found piece that I recast and has sort of took off.  The original is plaster with metalic paint, I can't find another one anywhere or any info on the original, its too good not to be put out there.  I am really happy how the marbled ones turned out, I think the marbling matches its texture very well.  I have thought about making them scented also but that may be too much.  

5. Universal monsters, talk about them.
I think the universal monsters are almost a gateway drug for counter culture.  They have been around forever as far as our generation is concerned, my grandmother is almost as old as Frankenstein.  They are fairly accessable and from there god only knows how far a horror kid can grow and in what direction.  

One of my favorite toys as a kid were the 4" Remco universal monster figures and I pined for the whole set of aurora monster models.  The soakies seem to be the next logical step for that collection.  I would really love to do a Dracula soaky head based on the Remco figure, Dracula isn't really my cup of tea but that figure has a great expression.

The old toys were simpler and much cooler than the highly detailed figures they put out today. They were fun and had imagination, not to mention marketing was not as sophisticated as it is now.  Todays toys are so protective, They wouldn't release a bubble bath bottle with a wolfman dripping blood from his mouth for a kid to have at bath time and are based on movie or TV show and then are gone as soon as the movie is gone or the show is off the air.  The Universal Monster toys didn't really start happening until long after the movie was out of the theater and its still going strong today for kids and adults alike.

6. What is your favorite possession?
I have alot of really great stuff, art, toys, etc., I love it all, but my favorite thing to come home to is my dog Belvedere.  He is awesome!

7. What is the next project for Happiness Bastard?
My head is always full of ideas, right now there are some new colorways in the works for the pewkies, I am really excited about the frighting lighting set.  Also I have some new Pewkie heads in the works that are based on a series of cut out prints I did last Halloween that should fit well with the original sets, as well I am dying to make a gorilla head to fit on them.  I did do a set of small one inch Pewkies as junk mold that I may release.  As well looking for some artists to collaborate with for some painted versions and packaging.  I am also working on a figure called fright wig based on an old skull pencill sharpener I have and love.

VHS covers of gold.

 

Can you remember walking through the dusty shelves of your local video rental shop? All the wonderful covers staring at you, begging you to take them home. Collecting old VHS tapes and covers has a pretty solid undeground (as much as anything can be "underground") hobby for the last several years.
I walk along the fence of VHS collecting. I love old VHS cover art, it feels like home. But, it would take a lot of space and some of the more beautiful tapes are hella expensive.
VHSCollector.com just published their Top 16 Most Valuable U.S. Horror VHS'. Here is PART 1 and here is PART 2.

A lot of the choices fall into the so-bad-they're-good category for me. The reasons for each tapes value is different. An uncut edition of the film; wonderful or horrible artwork; extremely limited print run; an absolutely, must be seen to be believed, horrible film. In nearly all cases supply and demand dictate the collectibility of the tape. Extreme graphic violence on the cover also plays a strong part. VHSCollector.com writes, "The rule of thumb is if it shocked renters at the video store, its prices are sure to shock on eBay."
A really fun and informative pair of articles.

Happy birthday, Rondo Hatton.

Rondo Hatton was born on April 22, 1894. Rondo's parents were both teachers.
Rumor has it that Rondo was voted handsomest boy at Hillsborough High School. In the picture below, Rondo looks handsome enough. It notes that his nickname was "Krum." I also love the quote from Julius Caesar, "Yon Cassius hath a lean and hungry look; Such men are dangerous." I can't see how it fits in any way. Perhaps Rondo picked it. If not, it seems mean.
Rondo was also a punter for the football team.

Rondo worked as a reporter after high school. He then served in the Army during World War I. After the war, while Rondo was working again as a reporter his face began to slowly swell up. He was diagnosed with acromegaly.
Acromegaly is associated with gigantism; the anterior pituitary gland produces an excess of growth hormone. Soft tissues in the face grow, feet and hands grow, the skull can sometimes grow. Soft tissue in some internal organs may grow. The soft tissues of Rondo's vocal chords grew, creating a deeper voice. The disease required him to get extensive surgery on his teeth and at one point his cheekbones were replaced with metal braces.
Even with all of the horriblenes acromegaly delivered to him, Rondo was usually very upbeat. He once said, "In a veteran's hospital, you will see so many guys so much worse off than you are that.. well, if there's anything left in you, you quit feeling sorry for yourself."

In 1930, a Hollywood director, Henry King, spotted Rondo while he was working as a reporter and hired him. Rondo appeared in two films and then went back to reporting.
Rondo married a woman named May, who, ironically had previously been in an extremely unhappy marriage with a dashing young man. Within a few years, Rondo's condition got much worse. The bones in his feet deteriorated so bad, he couldn't walk for a short time. He needed money and decided to move to Hollywood to pursue acting full time. With his beautiful mug, Rondo quickly secured work and paid for braces.
Rondo acted in more than a dozen films, mostly uncredited. In 1944 he played The Hoxton Creeper in the Sherlock Holmes film, The Pearl of Death, and began making a name for himself.
My buddy Vince did a lot of research for this article. He adds, "Even in his supporting roles in films like Jungle Captive and The Spider Woman Strikes Back, Hatton received exploitational billing on the movie posters as Moloch the Brute and Mario the Monster Man."
Rondo became a star when he stepped into the role of The Creeper in Universal's horror film, House of Horrors. Universal had the idea that The Creeper would be their next famous monster, advertising him as the first monster to not need makeup.
The 'no makeup' slogan was true. However, Universal makeup artist, Jack Pierce, did build up Rondo's slim shoulders with stocky, padding for The Creeper role.
The Creeper's second outing was The Brute Man. Rondo really had problems with his dialog at this point. Some people believe the acromegaly was affecting his brain. His co-star in The Brute Man, Jane Adams said, "His mentality was just-average. He had an awful time remembering his lines."
Unfortunately, shortly after Universal filmed The Brute Man, Rondo died. It was heart problems brought on by the acromegaly.
Universal had a change in management and direction in 1945. They cut out their B-Picture productions and sold off their films which ran under 70 minutes. A company called PRC released The Brute Man eight months after Rondo died, in 1946.
Here is the entire film. The quality is pretty darn good, but watch it on YouTube in a larger size.

Post Apocalyptic Bart Simpson.

 

by Nathan Bulmer.