Classic Movie Hub Blog

Monsters and Matinees: The Vampire through the Artistry of Mario Bava

Posted on November 14, 2020 by Toni Ruberto

The Vampire through the Artistry of Mario Bava

As much as we love Bela Lugosi and our other iconic film Dracula, Christopher Lee, there’s a range of vampire films that go beyond these actors and The Count. Some aren’t memorable or even very good; others bear little resemblance to the blood-sucking count.

Then there’s Mario Bava’s atmospheric Black Sunday (1960), a great vampire movie filled with iconic imagery without a fang in sight.

The Mask of Satan being impaled on the Barbara Steele in Mario Bava’s horror film *Black Sunday* is a scene that’s hard to forget.

As a kid, I fought my parents to watch this when it was on TV. I lost the battle, but they were right. Once I finally saw Black Sunday it gave me nightmares. The well-known scene where the Mask of Satan with its spiked nails is hammered on to Barbara Steele’s face never leaves you. I get chills just thinking about it. It’s that type of unforgettable imagery that makes Bava such a master of Gothic Italian horror.

The movie transports us to the 17^th century on Black Sunday – a day that comes once a century when Satan walks the Earth and his human followers become vampires.

One of those is Princess Asa Vajda (Barbara Steele), who has been condemned to death by her brother for sorcery. She’s branded by a hot iron with an S for Satan (gross) as she curses her brother’s family for eternity. Then the Mask of Satan is hammered on her face. It’s horrifying.

Two centuries later on Black Sunday, Dr. Choma Kruvajan (Andrea Checchi) and his handsome, young assistant Dr. Andrej Gorobec (John Richardson) are traveling through Moldovia when their carriage breaks down. In a precursor to the “don’t go in the basement” refrain of modern horror films, they head down into a crypt where they’re drawn to Asa’s tomb. She was deemed so evil that a glass pane is over her face so she’ll see a cross if she awakens. A bat startles Kruvajan who accidentally breaks the glass and the cross and cuts himself. We know where this is going.

Back outside, the men are startled by the striking Princess Katia (also played by Steele) and her two large dogs. Gorobec, of course, is smitten by her beauty and sadness.

Katia, her father and brother live in a castle where the specter of Asa’s family curse haunts them. They know the history of those who have fallen to the curse, including a princess who looked like Katia, and seem to be resigned to their fate. Give credit to Steele in the dual roles of Asa and Katia. The actress and her oversized eyes give each woman what she needs: an intense coldness for Asa; a sorrowful aura for Katia.

Back to those few drops of blood: They’ve helped awaken Asa, who telepathically summons her love Javutich to rise from the dead and do her bidding. The goal: to drain Katia’s blood so Asa can again walk the Earth.

Asa will need the blood of her ancestor Katia to live again and regain her beauty.

The two doctors are pulled into all of this – one willingly, the other not – as Asa works her evil from the crypt. Slowly she is being brought back to life, but not just yet as Bava lets the camera linger on her hideous face still marked by puncture wounds. He’ll return to this sight throughout the film.

It fits with Bava’s flair for the dramatic in his visuals, sound, music and effects. Fog is omnipresent and especially effective when it’s billowing along the ground inside the castle where it’s like a character walking through a room. Ghastly faces float in and out of the shadows, sometimes terrifying people to death. It’s an effect that worked equally as well when Bava used it again in The Drop of Water segment of his horror anthology Black Sabbath (1963).

* * * *

Black Sabbath also is worth noting for this story because of its interesting, but grim short film The Wurdulak, based on the vampire in Slavik folklore. It stars Boris Karloff, who also narrates the film.

A mother holds her son tight in fear of his grandfather in
*The Wurdulak*, one of three short films in Mario Bava’s horror anthology *Black Sabbath*.

The Wurdulak is set in 19^th century Russia, where a terrified family awaits the return of their patriarch, Gorca (Karloff). He has yet to return from a mission to kill the wurdulak and it’s nearly the time he warned his family about: If he hasn’t returned by 10 on the fifth day, he has failed and must be killed with a stake through his heart. They are wise to listen: the cadaverous wurdulak survives by drinking the blood of those he loves. If Gorca is now a wurdulak, guess who’s next?

But first, a handsome Russian nobleman (Mark Damon) arrives at the family cottage in time to learn about the wurdulak, witness Gorca’s return and fall in love with his lovely daughter Sdenka (Susy Andersen) all in a few hours.

Gorca is disheveled, wounded and acting irrationally leaving his family unsure if he is human or vampire. The way he eyes them all up – especially his young grandson – is disturbing, but they give him a chance because he’s family. It won’t take long to know if that’s a wise decision.

Boris Karloff isn’t looking too well when he returns from hunting
a vampire in *The Wurdulak*, fromBlack Sabbath.

Bava packs a lot into this 15-minute segment. It feels like we’re getting the best parts of a 90-minute horror film – all substance, no filler.

While we’re talking Bava and vampires, let’s finish with one more.

* * * *

In Bava’s Planet of the Vampires (1965) we see the definition of a B-movie: bare-bones sets, weak special effects, low production values. The fact this sci-fi horror film also is directed by Bava seems odd. Then he hits us with some great imagery to remind us a master is behind the camera.

Two interplanetary ships respond to a distress call from the planet Aura and things quickly go wrong. Entering the planet’s atmosphere, crew members attack each other. On one ship, Captain Markary (Barry Sullivan) is immune to this “temporary madness” and saves his crew. The other crew isn’t so lucky as the entire group is found dead.

Barry Sullivan, second from right, leads his crew on a sparsely decorated
set in *Planet of the Vampires.*

Strange things continue on the planet. Bodies disappear, weird light orbs zing about, mysterious shadows appear and the bones of giant creatures are discovered.

Wait: a distress call, a strange planet, bones of giant creatures? Yes, there are similarities to Ridley Scott’s Alien, and they’ve been pointed out by film fans and critics for years.

One of those fans is actor Nicolas Winding Refn who was happy to make the point when he introduced the restored 4K version of Planet of the Vampires in Cinema Classics at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016.

“Planet of the Vampires is the film that Ridley Scott and Dan O’Bannon stole from to make Alien. We found the elements, we have the evidence tonight. This is the original,” he said.

Now, no one is saying Planet of the Vampires is anywhere near the quality of Scott’s masterpiece, just that there are similarities.

Men wrapped in plastic rise from the dead in this creepy scene from *Planet of the Vampires.*

But don’t underestimate Bava’s directorial skills. Take the unsettling scene where men wrapped in clear plastic bags rise from the dead, like a vampire emerging from his coffin. You can feel them gasping for air – or something – as they rip the plastic that confines them.

Though these parasitic aliens don’t suck the blood out of your neck, they find other ways to drain the life from your body, turning you into their version of the undead.

It’s not Dracula or Black Sunday, but Planet of the Vampires is entertaining in that B-movie way. Plus it has the bonus of a Twilight Zone twist at the end.

– Toni Ruberto for Classic Movie Hub

You can read all of Toni’s Monsters and Matinees articles here.

Toni Ruberto, born and raised in Buffalo, N.Y., is an editor and writer at The Buffalo News. She shares her love for classic movies in her blog, Watching Forever. Toni was the president of the former Buffalo chapter of TCM Backlot and now leads the offshoot group, Buffalo Classic Movie Buffs. She is proud to have put Buffalo and its glorious old movie palaces in the spotlight as the inaugural winner of the TCM in Your Hometown contest. You can find Toni on Twitter at @toniruberto.

Posted in Classic Movie Hub, Horror, Monsters and Matinees, Posts by Toni Ruberto | Tagged Andrea Checchi, Barbara Steele, Black Sabbath, Black Sunday, John Richardson, mario bava, Mark Damon, Planet of the Vampires | Leave a comment

Noir Nook: Dame Name Noirs – Mildred Pierce (1945)

Posted on November 12, 2020 by Karen Burroughs Hannsberry

Noir Nook: Dame Name Noirs – Mildred Pierce (1945)

If you know anything about me, you know I love my noir dames. Everything about them fascinates me – from their fearless approach to life to their mercenary ways – and don’t get me started on their unadulterated sexiness. No wonder they leave so many hapless gents in their wake!

Jack Carson and Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierce (1945)

This month’s Noir Nook is the next installment in my series about films featuring femmes whose awesome-saucery earned them their own monikers in the titles – my favorite dame-name noirs. My spotlight dame name noir this time around is the fabulous Mildred Pierce, which just happens to be one of those films that have made it onto every top 10 noir list I’ve ever made.

Mildred Pierce tells the story of the title character (played in an Oscar-winning performance by Joan Crawford) who, when we meet her, is a California stay-at-home mom with two daughters and an unemployed husband (with a funky attitude). Mildred spends a lot of her time in the kitchen, whipping up delectable baked goods to help make ends meet, pay for dance lessons for her adorable moppet of a younger daughter, Kay (Jo Ann Marlowe) – and buy frilly party dresses for her snobbish, ungrateful older daughter Veda (Ann Blyth).

Eve Arden, Zachary Scott, and Ann Blyth in Mildred Pierce (1945) — Eve Arden, Zachary Scott, and Ann Blyth

As it turns out, a major upheaval in Mildred’s life (she gives her hubby the heave-ho when he can’t stop paying visits to their attractive neighbor) turns out to be a blessing in disguise. After working for a while as a waitress, she gets the bright idea to start a restaurant, and it turns into success beyond her wildest imaginings.

So where’s the noir? I guess I left out a couple of important details. First off, the film opens with the murder of a handsome, mustachioed man who, after having his body riddled with bullets, says just one word: “Mildred.” And after a mink-coated Mildred is detained by police for questioning, we’re introduced to a flashback (complete with a noiresque voiceover and scenes painted with contrasting lights and shadows) that lasts almost the entire film.

Joan Crawford in Mildred Pierce (1945) — Joan Crawford

As the single mom who displays the strength to send her wayward husband packing, and both the intelligence and the determination to create a restaurant empire, Mildred is undoubtedly a woman with which to be reckoned. But one of the (many) things I love about this film is that she isn’t the only standout femme. There’s Ida (played by the always fabulous Eve Arden), who was Mildred’s manager when she worked as a waitress and then left her job to work for Mildred when she opened her first restaurant. She’s the kind of friend everybody would want to have and to be – loyal, supportive, honest, and a blast to be around. And then there’s Mildred’s daughter, Veda who, while undeniably avaricious and self-centered, possessed an admirable ability to land on her feet and use her considerable wiles to get her way – even if those wiles were used to gain less than admirable ends.

Mildred Pierce is one of the movies I’ve seen most often – I have it on VHS, DVD, and BluRay, and I’ll still watch it every time it comes on TV. Whether you’ve never seen it, or you haven’t seen it in a while, treat yourself, track it down, and revel in this first-rate dame name noir.

…..

– Karen Burroughs Hannsberry for Classic Movie Hub

You can read all of Karen’s Noir Nook articles here.

Karen Burroughs Hannsberry is the author of the Shadows and Satin blog, which focuses on movies and performers from the film noir and pre-Code eras, and the editor-in-chief of The Dark Pages, a bimonthly newsletter devoted to all things film noir. Karen is also the author of two books on film noir – Femme Noir: The Bad Girls of Film and Bad Boys: The Actors of Film Noir. You can follow Karen on Twitter at @TheDarkPages.

If you’re interested in learning more about Karen’s books, you can read more about them on amazon here:

Posted in Noir Nook, Posts by Karen Burroughs Hannsberry | Tagged Ann Blyth, film noir, jo ann marlowe, joan crawford, Mildred Pierce, Noir, Noir Nook, Noirvember | 1 Comment

Silver Screen Standards: The Petrified Forest (1936)

Posted on November 10, 2020 by Jennifer Garlen

Silver Screen Standards: The Petrified Forest (1936)

Warning: This post contains spoilers about the ending of the film.

If I were younger or in a more sanguine mood, I might find The Petrified Forest (1936) very romantic, but middle age and the perpetual crisis that we call 2020 overhung my recent revisitation of this classic Warner Bros. drama from director Archie Mayo. Instead of identifying with Bette Davis in bobby socks, I found myself feeling the full impact of Leslie Howard’s brilliant performance as the depressed, world-weary traveler, a man for whom the titular desert is a liminal space between life and death, a place where destiny wears Humphrey Bogart’s haunted face. I had to wonder if this was how adult viewers felt when watching the picture on its original release in the throes of the Great Depression, especially in places like the desolate wayside where the events of the story unfold. For all its talk of poetry and Paris, the romance in The Petrified Forest feels more like a dose of sugar-coating a bitter pill, and the aftertaste of that bitterness lingers long after the sweetness fades away. It’s a brilliant, moving meditation on the ways in which people recognize the point of no return and reflect on the journey that brought them, but cheerful it certainly isn’t.

The Petrified Forest (1936) Leslie Howard Bette Davis — On the roof of the gas station, Alan and Gabrielle discuss her art and her hopes of studying in Paris.

Howard headlines this adaptation of the 1935 Broadway play in which he and Bogart also starred. He plays a washed-up wanderer, Alan Squier, who once had aspirations of being a writer but is now drifting across the US with vague ideas of drowning himself in the Pacific Ocean when the journey ends. He meets young Gabrielle, played by Davis, at a remote gas station on the edge of the Petrified Forest, and becomes fascinated by her youthful dreams of being an artist and running away to France. Fate adds a twist to their meeting when Duke Mantee (Bogart) and his gang take the gas station occupants hostage while police scour the border country for the murderous criminals. Alan sees a spark in Gabrielle that reminds him of his younger self, but he also recognizes a darker kindred spirit in Duke, who shares his exhaustion with the emptiness of a grinding, bootless existence.

The Petrified Forest (1936)
Bette Davis, Leslie Howard, Humphrey Bogart — Duke Mantee is a menacing figure, but Alan is not afraid of him, even if Gabrielle doesn’t understand Alan’s sense of kinship with the dangerous outlaw.

The cast is packed with favorites, with Davis and Bogart both on the rise and supporting players like Porter Hall, Dick Foran, and Charley Grapewin all doing solid work, but the picture belongs to Howard, who had clearly developed a deep understanding of his character during the Broadway run. We are meant to like Alan very much, just as Gabby does, but we’re also meant to understand that he’s at the end of the line, that there are only different kinds of deaths available to him, not an eleventh-hour reprieve. It’s hard to imagine why Warner thought a happy ending would be a better way to close the film, but they actually shot one in case audiences found the original too depressing. Howard, however, is telegraphing Alan’s desire to die so strongly that denying him that ending would have been cruel as well as jarring. Doom is written on his brow, albeit in an elegant hand. On Mantee’s brow the writing is cruder but just as plain; he, too, knows that he’s at the end of the line, and for a killer, he seems strangely unwilling to shed more blood, even when Alan asks it as a favor.

Like Alan Duke, Squier harbors some surprisingly romantic, even old-fashioned, notions, not just about women but about the respect due to an old man, even one as annoying as Gabby’s grandfather. Perhaps the names of the two men, Duke and Squier, are meant to connect them as adherents to an outdated code, remnants of a more romantic age that had room for poets and outlaws alike. Alan says he is “destined to become… an interesting fossil for future study,” and the same holds true for Duke, whom the film’s dialogue repeatedly ties to the legendary Billy the Kid. Gabby’s grandfather boasts about being shot at by Billy, and to Alan Duke represents the opportunity to die with a measure of glory that has eluded him in life. As Alan tells Duke, “It’ll inspire people to say of me, ‘There was an artist who died before his time.’” Alan’s life insurance policy can buy Gabrielle a chance at happiness in faraway France, and he relishes the idea that she will mourn him, but he knows too well that there’s no happily ever after in store for himself, just as Duke knows that either a bullet or an executioner will bring his own end.

The Petrified Forest (1936) Dick Foran, Bette Davis, Leslie Howard — Boze (Dick Foran) sees Alan as competition for Gabby’s affection. Gabby would only settle for the football player if she had no other choice, and Alan’s arrival inspires her to hope for something better.

In case we’re tempted to imagine a romantic escape for Alan and Gabby, the story presents us with omnipresent examples of the disappointment of such relationships, which is plain to the older characters but not really understood by Gabrielle. Gabby’s mother couldn’t stand the desert and returned to her native France years ago, leaving her only child behind with a family of dull, unimaginative men. Alan’s wealthy ex-wife picked him up as a pet project and then threw him away for a new one, while Duke waits in the gas station for a lover who gets caught by the cops and reportedly rats him out.

We get a different view of the same kind of misery from Mrs. Chisholm (Genevieve Tobin), the respectable society wife who endures an empty, hopeless existence with another dull, unimaginative man. She’s desperate enough to ask Duke to take her with him when he leaves, a request that betrays a suicidal yearning as strong as Alan’s if less examined by the film. These relationships offer little hope for Gabby and Alan as a couple, and they don’t inspire us to root for football jock Boze (Dick Foran), either. Alan might disappoint Gabrielle, but Boze would be the death of her soul. Escape to France is her only hope. She’s got to get out while she’s young and live for herself, not for anyone else, including Alan. She gets that chance thanks to Alan, Duke, and a bullet in the chest. It’s a dark kind of romance, but that’s the only comfort the film has to offer.

The Petrified Forest (1936) Bette Davis Leslie Howard — While the outlaws shoot it out with the cops, the hostages take shelter under tables and on the floor. Gabrielle and Alan enjoy a few brief moments of closeness in the midst of the danger.

Many classic movie fans will already know that Howard, who fought to bring Bogart over for the film adaptation of the play, thus launched Bogart’s second and more successful effort to break into Hollywood. Bogart would go on playing gangsters and heavies for several years before real stardom came, but he named his daughter Leslie Howard Bogart in memory of his loyal friend, who died in 1943 when his plane was shot down by the Nazis.

For more drama with Howard and Bette Davis, see Of Human Bondage (1934), but if you want them in a lighter mood try the delightful comedy, It’s Love I’m After (1937). Davis and Bogart also star together in Marked Woman (1937) and Kid Galahad (1937), and Bogart has a memorable if secondary, role in Dark Victory (1939). If depressing tales like this one suit your current mood, go for an adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities, which Alan mentions (the 1935 version with Ronald Colman is a good choice), or jump into a more modern version of the same atmosphere with Leaving Las Vegas (1995).

…

— Jennifer Garlen for Classic Movie Hub

Jennifer Garlen pens our monthly Silver Screen Standards column. You can read all of Jennifer’s Silver Screen Standards articles here.

Jennifer is a former college professor with a PhD in English Literature and a lifelong obsession with film. She writes about classic movies at her blog, Virtual Virago, and presents classic film programs for lifetime learning groups and retirement communities. She’s the author of Beyond Casablanca: 100 Classic Movies Worth Watching and its sequel, Beyond Casablanca II: 101 Classic Movies Worth Watching, and she is also the co-editor of two books about the works of Jim Henson.

Posted in Posts by Jennifer Garlen, Silver Screen Standards | Tagged Archie Mayo, bette davis, dick foran, drama, humphrey bogart, leslie howard, porter hall, silver screen, silver screen standards, the petrified forest | 6 Comments

It’s a Wonderful Life: The Illustrated Holiday Classic – Book Giveaway (now thru Dec 12)

Posted on November 8, 2020 by Annmarie Gatti

It’s a Wonderful Life: The Illustrated Holiday Classic
We have 10 Books to Giveaway Now through Dec 12!

Re-live the beloved holiday classic with this
lavishly illustrated storybook the entire family can share

We are delighted to announce our next giveaway — just in time for the Holidays!

Over the next few weeks, CMH will be giving away 10 COPIES of the book “It’s a Wonderful Life: The Illustrated Holiday Classic” by New York Times best-selling author Paul Ruditis, courtesy of Insight Editions!

…..

In order to qualify to win one of these prizes via this contest giveaway, you must complete the below entry task by Saturday, Dec 12 at 6PM EST. However, the sooner you enter, the better chance you have of winning, because we will pick two winners on five different days within the contest period, via random drawings, as listed below… So if you don’t win the first week that you enter, you will still be eligible to win during the following weeks until the contest is over.

Nov 14: Two Winners
Nov 21: Two Winners
Nov 28: Two Winners
Dec 5: Two Winners
Dec 12: Two Winners

We will announce each week’s winner on Twitter @ClassicMovieHub, the day after each winner is picked around 9PM EST — for example, we will announce our first week’s winner on Sunday Nov 15 around 9PM EST on Twitter. And, please note that you don’t have to have a Twitter account to enter; just see below for the details…

…..

And now on to the contest!

ENTRY TASK (2-parts) to be completed by Saturday, Dec 12 at 6PM EST — BUT remember, the sooner you enter, the more chances you have to win…

1) Answer the below question via the comment section at the bottom of this blog post

2) Then TWEET (not DM) the following message*:

Just entered to win the “It’s a Wonderful Life: The Illustrated Holiday Classic” #BookGiveaway courtesy of @InsightEditions & Classic Movie Hub #ItsAWonderfulLife #ItsAWonderfulLifeBook #CMHContest link: http://ow.ly/fYGr50CeQZN

THE QUESTION:
What do you love most about It’s a Wonderful Life? And, if you’re not familiar with the story, why do you want to win this book?

*If you do not have a Twitter account, you can still enter the contest by simply answering the above question via the comment section at the bottom of this blog — BUT PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU ADD THIS VERBIAGE TO YOUR ANSWER: I do not have a Twitter account, so I am posting here to enter but cannot tweet the message.

NOTE: if for any reason you encounter a problem commenting here on this blog, please feel free to tweet or DM us, or send an email to clas…@gmail.com and we will be happy to create the entry for you.

ALSO: Please allow us 48 hours to approve your comments. Sorry about that, but we are being overwhelmed with spam, and must sort through 100s of comments…

…..

About the Book: It’s a Wonderful Life: The Illustrated Holiday Classic retells the story of the 1946 classic film through original artwork, and allows readers to return to the town of Bedford Falls to watch George dream big, fall in love, and learn the important lesson, that “no man is a failure who has friends.” Favorite scenes like George and Mary’s high school dance (that ends up in the pool,) Clarence rescuing George from the bridge, and neighbors coming together to help save the Building & Loan, are depicted in delightful illustrations in this handsome volume that is sure to become a new family holiday tradition.

…..

Please note that only United States (excluding the territory of Puerto Rico) AND Canada entrants are eligible. No P.O. Boxes please.

And — BlogHub members ARE eligible to win if they live within the Continental United States (as noted above).

Good Luck!

And if you can’t wait to win the book, you can purchase the on amazon by clicking here:

…..

–Annmarie Gatti for Classic Movie Hub

Posted in Books, Contests & Giveaways, Posts by Annmarie Gatti | Tagged it's a wonderful life, It's a Wonderful Life The Illustrated Holiday Classic, Paul Ruditis | 66 Comments

Classic Movie Travels: Mary Carlisle

Posted on November 6, 2020 by Annette Bochenek

Classic Movie Travels: Mary Carlisle –
Hollywood and Beverly Hills

During her time in the film industry, Mary Carlisle took on many roles as an ingénue. A talented singer, dancer, and actress, she appeared in over 60 Hollywood films.

Carlisle was born Gwendolyn Witter on February 3, 1914, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Arthur and Leona Witter. Her family lived in the Back Bay area of Boston shortly after her birth, where she was educated in a nearby convent. Sadly, her father died when she was four years old. She and her mother relocated to Los Angeles to be near family—particularly near her uncle Robert Carlisle, who was working as an editor and producer.

At 14 years old, Carlisle and her mother were dining at the Universal commissary for lunch when producer Carl Laemmle Jr. noticed Carlisle and offered her a screen test. However, the test did not initiate her career, due to a welfare officer noting that she was underage. Carlisle went on to finish her high school education before studying acting and took on the stage name of Mary Carlisle in honor of her maternal grandmother, Mary Ella Carlisle.

Upon completing her education, Carlisle pursued work at MGM through her uncle. She took a one-day tap-dancing lesson in hopes of passing as a dancer and was signed to an MGM contract as a chorus girl. She carried out bit parts in Madam Satan (1930), Passion Flower (1930), and Grand Hotel (1932). She would also go on to be recognized as one of the 1932 WAMPAS Baby Stars.

Carlisle’s breakthrough performance was in College Humor (1933) with Bing Crosby. She would work with him again in Double or Nothing (1937) and Doctor Rhythm (1938). Though she would appear in the A-List film Dance, Girl, Dance (1940), the bulk of her future films were B-movies.

In 1942, she married actor James Edward Blakely and would retire from films. They had one son, James, and remained married until his passing in 2007.

After leaving the film industry, Carlisle devoted her time to her family and grandchildren. She also managed the Elizabeth Arden Salon in Beverly Hills, California.

Carlisle passed on August 1, 2018, at the Motion Picture & Television Fund retirement community, reportedly passing at the age of 104. Both she and her husband are at rest in the Rose Garden at Westwood Memorial Park.

Today, Carlisle is honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6679 Hollywood Boulevard.

Mary Carlisle's star on the Walk of Fame — Carlisle’s star on the Walk of Fame

In 1936, she resided at 832 Fountain Avenue in Hollywood. This is the property today:

By 1940, she was living at 805 Camden Drive in Beverly Hills. The original home has since been razed.

Her 1944 home at 504 Huntley Drive in West Hollywood still stands today.

Carlisle’s filmography continues to delight viewers to this day.

….

–Annette Bochenek for Classic Movie Hub

Annette Bochenek pens our monthly Classic Movie Travels column. You can read all of Annette’s Classic Movie Travel articles here.

Annette Bochenek of Chicago, Illinois, is a PhD student at Dominican University and an independent scholar of Hollywood’s Golden Age. She manages the Hometowns to Hollywood blog, in which she writes about her trips exploring the legacies and hometowns of Golden Age stars. Annette also hosts the “Hometowns to Hollywood” film series throughout the Chicago area. She has been featured on Turner Classic Movies and is the president of TCM Backlot’s Chicago chapter. In addition to writing for Classic Movie Hub, she also writes for Silent Film Quarterly, Nostalgia Digest, and Chicago Art Deco SocietyMagazine.

Posted in Classic Movie Travels, Posts by Annette Bochenek | Tagged bing crosby, carl laemmle jr., classic movie travels, college humor, dance girl dance, double or nothing, grand hotel, madam satan, mary carlisle, passion flower | Leave a comment

Watch Party ‘Rewind’: House on Haunted Hill

Posted on November 3, 2020 by Annmarie Gatti

House on Haunted Hill
Watch Party and Video Chat ‘Rewind’

Thanks to everyone who joined our First-Ever Watch Party and Video Chat last Friday! We had so much fun and really appreciate your support!

I know that Halloween is over, but if you’re in the mood for some frightfully good fun, please feel free to watch it anytime on YouTube Live. We hosted the chat with our film friends Aurora @CitizenScreen, Kellee @IrishJayHawk66 and Toni @ToniRuberto.

…..

We’ll be doing more of these Watch Parties with our friends, so please stay tuned!

A Big Thank you to Best Classics Ever for putting together this Viewing Party and Chat! Best Classics Ever is a classic movie streaming service where classic fans can stream LOTs of classic films and classic TV episodes every month. You can read more about BCE and our partnership with them here.

If you want to learn a little more about House on Haunted Hill, you can read Toni’s ‘Monsters and Matinee’ post about it here.

…..

–Annmarie Gatti for Classic Movie Hub

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

What’s Streaming in Nov on the CMH Channel at Best Classics Ever? The Most Dangerous Game, Whistle Stop, My Man Godfrey and more.

Posted on November 1, 2020 by Annmarie Gatti

Our November Picks on the Classic Movie Hub Channel
November Birthdays and Film Noir!

It’s that time again… We have our monthly free streaming picks for our Classic Movie Hub Channel at Best Classics Ever (BCE) – the mega streaming channel for classic movies and TV shows!

That said, here are some of our November picks available for FREE STREAMING all month long on the CMH Channel. All you need to do is click on the movie/show of your choice, then click ‘play’ — you do not have to opt for a 7-day trial.

In celebration of November Birthdays, we’re featuring Joel McCrea (born Nov 5, 1905)) with two picks from 1932: thriller/adventure The Most Dangerous Game also starring Fay Wray, and adventure/romance Bird of Paradise opposite Dolores del Rio. We’re also celebrating Alice Brady‘s birthday (born Nov 2, 1892) with the 1936 screwball comedy My Man Godfrey also starring William Powell and Carole Lombard. Plus movies from birthday boys Richard Burton (Nov 10, 1925), Roy Rogers (Nov 5, 1911), Pat O’Brien (Nov 11, 1899) and more!

We’re also celebrating Film Noir this month with some iconic noirs including Ida Lupino’s The Hitch-Hiker (1953) starring Edmond O’Brien, Fritz Lang’s Scarlet Street (1945) starring Edward G. Robinson and Joan Bennett, and Whistle Stop (1946) starring George Raft and Ava Gardner! And more…

…..

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the service, Best Classics Ever is a new mega streaming channel built especially for classic movie and TV lovers. The idea of the channel is to make lots of classic titles accessible and affordable for all. That said, Classic Movie Hub is curating titles each month that our fans can stream for free on the Classic Movie Hub Channel at Best Classics Ever. If you’d like access to the entire selection of Best Classics Ever titles, you can subscribe to everything for $4.99/month (Best Stars Ever, Best Westerns Ever, Best Mysteries Ever, Best TV Ever) or for an individual channel for $1.99/month.

You can read more about Best Classics Ever and our partnership here.

Hope you enjoy!

…..

–Annmarie Gatti for Classic Movie Hub

Posted in Best Classics Ever BCE, Classic Movie Hub Channel, Posts by Annmarie Gatti, Streaming Movies & TV Shows | Tagged bird of paradise, film noir, My Man Godfrey, scarlet street, streaming classic movies, streaming classic tv shows, the most dangerous game, whistle stop | 2 Comments

Harry Dean Stanton: Hollywood’s Zen Rebel – Book Giveaway (November)

Posted on November 1, 2020 by Annmarie Gatti

“Harry Dean Stanton: Hollywood’s Zen Rebel ”
We have FOUR Books to Give Away this month!

“A glorious meditation on and exploration of one of Hollywood’s most fascinating characters…”―Ace Atkins, New York Times bestselling author

It’s time for our next book giveaway contest! CMH will be giving away FOUR COPIES of Harry Dean Stanton: Hollywood’s Zen Rebel, courtesy of University Press of Kentucky, from now through Nov 28.

Harry Dean Stantion: Hollywood's Zen Rebel

In order to qualify to win one of these prizes via this contest giveaway, you must complete the below entry task by Saturday, Nov 28 at 6PM EST. However, the sooner you enter, the better chance you have of winning, because we will pick a winner on four different days within the contest period, via random drawings, as listed below. So if you don’t win the first week that you enter, you will still be eligible to win during the following weeks until the contest is over.

Nov 7: One Winner
Nov 14: One Winner
Nov 21: One Winner
Nov 28: One Winner

We will announce each week’s winner on Twitter @ClassicMovieHub, the day after each winner is picked around 9PM EST — for example, we will announce our first week’s winner on Sunday Nov 8 around 9PM EST on Twitter. And, please note that you don’t have to have a Twitter account to enter; just see below for the details.

Harry Dean Stanton in the US Navy, photo courtesy of Jim Huggins Jr and University Press of Kentucky

…..

And now on to the contest!

ENTRY TASK (2-parts) to be completed by Saturday, Nov 28, 2020 at 6PM EST — BUT remember, the sooner you enter, the more chances you have to win…

1) Answer the below question via the comment section at the bottom of this blog post

2) Then TWEET (not DM) the following message*:
Just entered to win the “Harry Dean Stanton: Hollywood’s Zen Rebel” #BookGiveaway courtesy of @KentuckyPress & @ClassicMovieHub You can #EnterToWin here: http://www.classicmoviehub.com/blog/harry-dean-stanton-hollywoods-zen-rebel-book-giveaway-november/

THE QUESTION:
What is one of your favorite Harry Dean Stanton movies and why? And if you’re not too familiar with his work, why do you want to win this book?

ALSO: Please allow us 48 hours to approve your comments. Sorry about that, but we are being overwhelmed with spam, and must sort through 100s of comments…

Harry Dean Stanton in The Last Mile Oct 1953 courtesy of Pasadena Playhouse Archive Collection and University Press of Kentucky — Harry Dean Stanton (seated, center) in a production of The Last Mile at the Pasadena Playhouse, October 1953 courtesy of Pasadena Playhouse Archive Collection and University Press of Kentucky

…..

About the Book: Harry Dean Stanton (1926–2017) got his start in Hollywood in TV productions such as Zane Grey Theater and Gunsmoke. After a series of minor parts in forgettable westerns, he gradually began to get film roles that showcased his laid-back acting style, appearing in Cool Hand Luke(1967), Kelly’s Heroes (1970), The Godfather: Part II (1974), and Alien (1979). He became a headliner in the eighties―starring in Wim Wenders’s moving Paris, Texas (1984) and Alex Cox’s Repo Man (1984)―but it was his extraordinary skill as a character actor that established him as a revered cult figure and kept him in demand throughout his career. Joseph B. Atkins unwinds Stanton’s enigmatic persona in the first biography of the man Vanity Fair memorialized as “the philosopher poet of character acting.” Harry Dean Stanton is often remembered for his crowd-pleasing roles in movies like Pretty in Pink (1986) or Escape from New York (1981), but this impassioned biography illuminates the entirety of his incredible sixty-year career. Drawing on interviews with the actor’s friends, family, and colleagues, this much-needed book offers an unprecedented look at a beloved figure.

Click here for the full contest rules.

Please note that only Continental United States (excluding Alaska, Hawaii, and the territory of Puerto Rico) entrants are eligible.

And — BlogHub members ARE eligible to win if they live within the Continental United States (as noted above).

Good Luck!

And if you can’t wait to win the book, you can purchase the on amazon by clicking here:

…..

–Annmarie Gatti for Classic Movie Hub

Posted in Books, Contests & Giveaways, Posts by Annmarie Gatti | 21 Comments

Tonight: Halloween Eve Watch Party – with Film Friends and “House on Haunted Hill”

Posted on October 30, 2020 by Annmarie Gatti

Our First-Ever Watch Party and Chat!
Celebrating Halloween with our Classic Movie Friends and
House on Haunted Hill

So happy to announce that we’ll be hosting our First-Ever Watch Party and Live Chat on YouTube tonight at 9pm ET with our very special Film Friends Aurora @CitizenScreen, Kellee @IrishJayHawk66 and Toni @ToniRuberto. We’ll be getting into the Halloween ‘spirit’ by watching and chatting about William Castle’s horror classic House on Haunted Hill! Hope you can join us!

We’ll also be giving away an annual subscription to the Best Classics Ever streaming service to one lucky winner when the movie is over!

All you have to do to join the party is to click on this link at 9pm ET tonight.

If you want to learn a little more about House on Haunted Hill, you can read Toni’s ‘Monsters and Matinee’ post about it here.

A Big Thank you to Best Classics Ever for putting together this Viewing Party and Chat, and for providing the annual subscription prize. BCE is a classic movie streaming service where ‘classic’ fans can stream LOTs of classic films and classic TV episodes every month. You can read more about BCE and our partnership with them here.

Looking forward to seeing you there 🙂

…..

–Annmarie Gatti for Classic Movie Hub

Posted in Best Classics Ever BCE, Posts by Annmarie Gatti | Leave a comment

The Funny Papers: Haunted House Re-Do

Posted on October 30, 2020 by Kellee Pratt

Haunted House Re-Do: The Ghost Breakers (1940), Scared Stiff (1953) and more!

There’s something exhilarating about haunted houses. I’m not talking about the type that thrill-seeking teens spend their parents’ hard-earned cash on every October or even the creepy, old historic homes that could tell a few ghostly tales. Spooky turns into fun when a haunted house is at the center of a classic comedy.

A raven-haired beauty with shining eyes throws open a window in the middle of an intense thunderstorm, as the wind gusts at her face, the lightning crackles across the sky. She smiles excitedly at us exclaiming, “exciting, isn’t it?” In an instant, beautiful Paulette Goddard has me hooked. From the beginning of George Marshall’s The Ghost Breakers (1940), I immediately connected to Goddard’s Mary Carter as a street-smart woman with a fearless sense of adventure.

The Ghost Breakers Paul Lukas Paulette Goddard Bob Hope — Paul Lukas, Paulette Goddard and Bob Hope, The Ghostbreakers

Mary is destined for more adventure than she could have ever dared to dream – in Cuba, where her recently inherited family manor awaits her. As she prepares to ship out, even before she leaves her hotel, drama follows close behind her, along with obstacles and eerie warnings. Down the hall from her room, a man has been killed. Bob Hope as “Larry” aka Laurence Lawrence steps into a mistaken identity as the shooter and finds himself fleeing the police dragnet, even though he is innocent of the crime. It is fated on this stormy night that Mary and Larry will not only cross paths, but they will become intimately intertwined in a spine-tingling adventure that reveals Mary’s family secrets from beyond the grave. All along the way, we are treated with quick, witty quips from Bob Hope and his sidekick, Willie Best as Alex. The duo serve perfectly as comic tonic to balance out any frightening moments that race the heart and frazzle the nerves.

the ghost breakers bob hope willie best — Bob Hope and Willie Best

While this film is often cited as the original blueprint for a haunted house theme for classic horror comedies, it is not the first, nor the last, version. Based on the 1909 play “The Ghost Breaker” by Paul Dickey and Charles W. Goddard, it was first adapted into film in 1914. This silent film by Paramount, under the Famous Players-Lasky banner, was directed by Cecil B. DeMille and Oscar C. Apfel, and starred H.B. Warner and Rita Stanwood.

Again, produced by Famous Players-Lasky and distributed via Paramount, the film was remade in 1922. Another silent film version, this one was directed by Alfred E. Green and starred Wallace Reid and Lila Lee. It is now considered a lost film.

The third swing at bat in 1940 had the most staying power, as a talkie with Hope, Goddard and Best. In addition to the rapid wit, the haunted manor offers every opportunity for what a haunted house should bring – a spooky atmosphere, zombies, ghosts, secret escape doors, coffins, a creepy dungeon, and more. Even hidden treasure! There’s a solid cast:

Bob Hope as Larry Lawrence
Paulette Goddard as Mary Carter
Richard Carlson as Geoff Montgomery
Paul Lukas as Parada
Willie Best as Alex
Pedro De Cordoba as Havez
Virginia Brissac as Mother Zombie
Noble Johnson as The Zombie
Anthony Quinn as Ramon Mederos / Francisco Mederos
Tom Dugan as Raspy Kelly
Paul Fix as Frenchy Duval
Lloyd Corrigan as Martin

Uncredited (in order of appearance)

Jack Norton as Drunk
Emmett Vogan as Announcer
Robert Elliott as Lieutenant Murray
James Flavin as Hotel porter
Max Wagner as Ship porter
Paul Newlan as Beggar
Blanca Vischer as Dolores from Cuba
Douglas Kennedy as Intern
Robert Ryan as Intern

This popular ghost tale was broadcast on radio twice – each time with Bob Hope reprising his lead role – in 1949 and 1951. Hollywood is notorious for remakes. Just when you’d think the story had reached its limit on remakes, it was made yet again in 1953.

With the popularity of the comedy teaming of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in the 1950s, the two made a cameo appearance in Hope and Crosby’s road vehicle, Road to Bali (1952). Martin and Lewis were approached to star in an updated Ghost Breaker. Initial concerns were obvious – why remake a film that’s been done countless times, especially when the last film was done so perfectly by Bob Hope? Ultimately, they agreed to do it – with a favor in return – of a cameo by Bob Hope and Bing Crosby.

Another reason Martin and Lewis agreed to star in the remake was due to George Marshall. Since he successfully directed the 1940 film, their confidence was bolstered when they learned he would be directing the 1953 version, Scared Stiff . Filling the romantic lead of Bob Hope, Dean Martin fit nicely as “Larry.” Replacing the physical comedy antics of Willie Best, Jerry Lewis provided plenty of cowardly slapstick for “Alex.” In place of Paulette Goddard, equally beautiful and talented Lizabeth Scott stepped into the “Mary Carter” role for the 1953 film.

Another key difference that Scared Still (1953) provides is the signature musical numbers. Based on the format that launched their film careers, Martin and Lewis include a nightclub number with Dino delivering a crooning tune with a hilarious interruption from Lewis worked into the musical number.

Scared Stiff Jeffy Lewis Carmen Miranda — Jerry Lewis and Carmen Miranda, Scared Stiff

In comparison of both the 1940 and 1953 films, they each deliver the same frightful yet funny escape. To the modern lens, you must be prepared for some racially insensitive dialogue in the 1940 script, as was more openly common in that timeline. It is also typical to expect a Willie Best role to reinforce many racist stereotypes of the overly frightened and jittery African American male coward. The unique difference I see with Best’s role in The Ghost Breakers, from his other roles is that, instead of a servant or subservient portrayal, Best is nearly treated like an equal partner to Hope. It may not appear that way to a modern audience, but the fact that Lewis slid right into the same role also reinforces this.

While The Ghost Breakers and Scared Stiff, and its other versions, are considered by many to be classics of the haunted house theme of the silver screen, they were hardly the first nor the last to take on this trope of horror. The concept of being entertained by haunted houses and ghost stories has been an appeal from very early in film history.

Some examples include:

–“The Haunted House” (1908) is a silent short film, directed by Segundo de Chomón, with charming use of special effects like stop-motion.(https://youtu.be/Zo2EKNRIQlE )

–“The Haunted House” (1921), is a two-reel silent comedy starring the brilliant Buster Keaton, who also co-wrote and directed (https://youtu.be/PfBz2rhIR4g )

the haunted house buster keaton — Buster Keaton in The Haunted House

-James Whale’s “The Old Dark House” (1932) is a spooky Pre-Code starring Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, and Charles Laughton. (https://youtu.be/QON5i4GQ7ho )

the old dark house boris karloff — The Old Dark House

-Hal Roach’s “Haunted Spooks” (1920) is a silent comedy short starring Harold Lloyd and Mildred Davis. ( https://youtu.be/D-CXQspZtMs )

-Yet another Hal Roach production is “The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case,” a Pre-Code comedy directed by James Parrot and starring Stanley Laurel and Oliver Hardy, who spend the night in a spooky old house.

Horror films began in the silent era, before the genre was officially defined, and grew increasingly in popularity into the talkies to modern-day. From the creepy and atmospheric to the silly and slapstick, haunted houses remain frequently center stage.

Happy Halloween!

…..

– Kellee Pratt for Classic Movie Hub

You can read all of Kellee’s Funny Paper articles here.

When not performing marketing as her day gig, Kellee Pratt teaches classic film courses in her college town in Kansas (Film Noir, Screwball Comedy, Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, and more). She’s worked for Turner Classic Movies as a Social Producer and TCM Ambassador (2019). An unapologetic social butterfly, she’s an active tweetaholic/original alum for #TCMParty, member of the CMBA, and busy mom of four kids and 3 fur babies. You can follow Kellee on twitter at @IrishJayhawk66 or her own blog, Outspoken & Freckled (kelleepratt.com).