What classics did you see last week ? (9Feb - 15 Feb 2020)

What classics did you see last week ? (9Feb - 15 Feb 2020) Feb 20, 2020 19:48:32 GMT hitchcockthelegend likes this

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Post by morrisondylanfan on Feb 20, 2020 19:48:32 GMT

Feb 20, 2020 19:15:36 GMT hitchcockthelegend said:

Feb 17, 2020 21:06:48 GMT morrisondylanfan said:

My dad kindly gave me 3 discs as presents,one of which was this set:

Birthday viewing:

The Old Dark House (1963) 8

Oddly suffering a similar fate to the original, (which the studio tried to destroy all copies of, so only the remake would survive)in Hammer and Columbia dumping the movie, (it came out in a black and white version in the US,then thrown out 3 years later in the UK with a heavily cut edition) and Castle not mentioning the title once in his autobiography,Indicator stage a huge re-evaluation, presenting 3 cuts of the film with crystal clear image and sound, backed by fascinating extras including a new Kim Newman and Stephen Jones commentary,all tied up with a detailed booklet.

Walking down the stairs towards the camera gazing at her figure,Fenella Fielding gives a magnetic performance as Morgana, whose bright chic costumes stand out on the screen, as Fielding layers Gothic glamour with a tempting ambiguity over Morgana's true warmth towards Penderel.

Whilst Tom Poston is a bit too meek as Penderel, the other guests turn this place into a fun house, with Peter Bull bringing out the Gothic chills in Jasper's startled face, Robert Morley whipping up stern shocks as Rod,and Janette Scott keeping Penderel on a knife edge to the bumps in the night within the house. Lashing the windows with the same opening rainfall as the original, director William Castle & regular Hammer Horror cinematographer Arthur Grant ignite a explosive coalition between Castle's flamboyance, and the sparkling Gothic of Hammer Horror. Opening the house more to laughs than chills, Castle unlocks each door with terrific rolling whip-pans finding every hidden corner in the house, which becomes lit in ruby reds, as the Femm's slither round the house.

Having worked with Castle,and Hammer before, the screenplay by Robert Dillon neatly blends the two styles, where in the era of Hammer "remakes" of classic Universal Horror's,Dillon tastefully pays tribute to the original with bookends, whilst refreshingly making the contents of the house its own thing. Entering with Penderel as a outsider, Dillon turns the screws on the mystery of the femm family with a delightfully dark comedic slap-stick needling a growing body count with unsettling quirks each family member holds within the old dark house.

33? Whipper Snapper

I purchased The William Castle DVD Box Set some years ago, and love some of the films in the set, there's a couple that are just serviceable. I will not link any review until you watch the others - though I haven't seen Zotz!. www.amazon.co.uk/Collection-Frightened-Homicidal-Strait-Jacket-Sardonicus/dp/B01GWDXDZM/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3CYIU0CBG42QQ&keywords=william+castle+collection&qid=1582225074&s=dvd&sprefix=William+Castle%2Caps%2C162&sr=1-3

I also purchased his biography and read it whilst on vacation in New York and New Jersey - www.amazon.co.uk/RIGHT-Gonna-Scare-Pants-America/dp/0578066823/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=william+castle&qid=1582225253&s=books&sr=1-1 - A good fun read and insightful about that lovely niche of film producing.

I can't share your enthusiasm for The Old Dark House - www.imdb.com/review/rw2787499/?ref_=tt_urv - But I have only seen it that one time back in 2013.

For the record, Mr. Sardonicus, Strait-Jacket & The Tingler are personal faves.

Thanks for birthday wishes Spike. Going into Old Dark House remake knowing it was one which did not directly follow the original script I suspect helped with my enjoyment,I actually really appreciated how it kept to the spirit of the classic,but did it's own thing. If you spot it in CEX,it really is worth going for the upgrade Spike. From Amazon:

Alternative presentations of The Old Dark House the black and white 1963 US theatrical presentation (87 mins); the cut-down A-certificate 1966 UK presentation (77 mins); and the complete uncut colour presentation (87 mins)

Zotz! audio commentary by Diabolique Magazine's editor-in-chief Kat Ellinger

· 13 Frightened Girls audio commentary by Daughters of Darkness Samm Deighan

· The Old Dark House audio commentary by celebrated horror and fantasy authors Kim Newman and Stephen Jones

· Strait-Jacket audio commentary film historians Lee Gambin and Emma Westwood

· Stephen Laws Introduces Zotz! (2018): an appreciation by the acclaimed horror author

· Kim Newman on Ray Russell (2018): an appreciation of novelist and writer of Zotz! by the critic and author of Nightmare Movies

· 13 Frightened Girls: William Castle s original 'The Candy Web' opening / closing 'Danger Card' messages

· 13 Frightened Girls: four alternativee opening sequences created for international release versions

· Jonathan Rigby on The Old Dark House and Strait-Jacket (2018): new appreciations by the author of American Gothic: Six Decades of Classic Horror Cinema

· The Old Dark House in Eastmancolor (2018): Paul Frith, Senior Research Associate, School of Art, Media and American Studies at UEA discusses the film's cinematography

· Joan Had Me Fired! (2018): an interview with actor Anne Helm

· On the Road with Joan Crawford (2018): an interview with publicist Richard Kahn

· Battle-Axe: The Making of 'Strait-Jacket' (2007, 15 mins)

· Joan Crawford Wardrobe Tests (1964, 4 mins)

· Joan Crawford - Axe Test (1964, 1 min)

· How to Plan a Movie Murder (1964, 5 mins): star Joan Crawford, director William Castle and author Robert Bloch discuss making Strait-Jacket in this vintage piece

· Super 8 version of Strait-Jacket

· Isolated music & effects track on all four films

· Original theatrical trailers

· Strait-Jacket trailer commentary with David DeCoteau

· 13 Frightened Girls original UK trailer introduction

· Alternative 13 Frightened Girls 'The Candy Web' trailer

· Promotional and on-set photography, poster art and archive materials