Special Attraction: Upcoming Blogathons!

The William Castle Blogathon is hosted by The Last Drive In and Goregirl’s Dungeon.

I’ll be covering: House on Haunted Hill, Johnny Stool Pigeon, and Backstory: “Whatever Happened to William Castle’s Baby? (Rosemary’s Baby)”

Dynamic Duos in Classic Film Blogathon hosted by Once Upon a Screen and Classic Movie Hub.

I’ll be covering Robert Aldrich’s Hag Cinema:Â Bette Davis vs. Joan Crawford, plus Whatever Happened to Baby Jane & Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte.

The Barbara Stanwyck Blogathon hosted by The Girl with the White Parasol

The Two Mrs Carrolls (1947) & Walk on the Wild Side (1962)

And a special mention for Movies Silently’s Funny Lady Blogathon!

It’s Blogathon mania!!!!

Jean Stapleton dies at 90: The sweetest dingbat that will ever live on!

Jean Stapleton dies at 90. All I can say right off the bat, is she brought to life one of THE most memorable characters in television history. It’s no easy task to create a personality that not only transcends the medium of entertainment but continues to touch your heart with a profound level of empathy and straightforward kindheartedness. Pure genius!

Edith Bunker is that person you wish was your Aunt or your neighbor. Jean Stapleton imbued her character with a life force that was at times hilarious and other times agonizingly honest. A great actress of stage and film and an all around sweet heart… We’ll be watching a marathon of All in the Family in this home in tribute to her passing and I’ll raise a glass of cling peaches in heavy syrup to you Jean… “Everybody’s someone when you love them”

‘You’re a pip’-MonsterGirl

Postcards From Shadowland No.12

baby doll 2 — **Baby Doll (1956) *Elia Kazan* directs Carroll Baker, Eli Wallach, Karl Malden and *Mildred Dunnock* as Aunt Rose Comfort**

Cummings and Robert (Saboteur) — *Robert Cummings* and *Priscilla Lane* in *Alfred Hitchcock’s* Saboteur (1942)

*Richard Attenborough* in director *John Boulting’s* British Noir Brighton Rock (1947)

David Wayne in Jospeh Losey's version of M (1951 — *David Wayne* in *Jospeh Losey’s* version of M (1951)

F W Murnau's Faust — *F.W. Murnau’s* Faust (1926)

Franju Nuits rouges (1974) — *George Franju* Judex (1963)

Gloria in The Big Heat — *Gloria Grahame* in *Fritz Lang’s* noir classic The Big Heat (1953)

Heddy Lamar — *Hedy Lamarr* in "Lady of the Tropics" 1939

Ida Lupino On Dangerous Ground — *Ida Lupino* in *Nicholas Ray’s* On Dangerous Ground (1952)

judex — ***George Franju’s* Judex (1963) with *Channing Pollock***

Losey's M clown balloon — *Joseph Losey’s* remake of the classic M (1951) starring *David Wayne* and a creepy clown balloon.

Mason Arlene Dahl Jounrey To The Center of The Earth — *James Mason* and *Arlene Dahl* in *Jules Verne’s* Journey To the Center of The Earth 1959

***Fritz Lang’s* Metropolis (1927) *Brigitte Helm***

Odds against Tomorrow — Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) Directed by *Robert Wise* staring *Robert Ryan, Harry Belafonte, Gloria Grahame* and Shelley Winters. Cinematography by *Joseph C. Brun*

On Dangerous Ground (1952) Directed by *Nicholas Ray* & an uncredited Ida Lupino-Starring *Ida Lupino* and *Robert Ryan*

Robert Ryan in odds against tomorrow — **Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) *Robert Ryan* as racist ex-con Earle Slater and *Mel Stewart* (Henry Jefferson) as Hotel Juno’s Elevator Operator.**

***Douglas Sirk’s* Sleep My Love (1948) Starring lovely *Claudette Colbert, Robert Cummings & Don Ameche***

Svengali-Barrymore — ***Archie Mayo’s* Svengali (1931) starring *Lionel Barrymore* & *Marian Marsh***

The Citadel Carol Lombard — ***Carole Lombard* stars in Vigil in the Night (1940) directed by *George Stevens***

the mask of diijon-von stroheim — ***Lew Lander*s’ The Mask of Diijon (1949) starring *Erich von Stroheim and Jeanne Bates***

The-Lady-from-Shanghai — *Rita Hayworth* in The Lady from Shanghai 1947

Vampires+Coffin+Window+Juke+Box — ***Fernando MÃ©ndez’s* The Vampire’s Coffin (1958) starring *Abel Salazar* and *Ariadna Welter***

woman's prison — ***Lewis Seiler’s* Women’s Prison 1955 starring *Ida Lupino*, *Cleo Moore,* *Jan Sterling, Audrey Totter*, and pictured here *Phyllis Thaxter***

Step Right Up! a bit about William Castle’s memoirs-In fond memory (April 24, 1914 "“ May 31, 1977)

Because I’m in such a celebratory mood due to our upcoming William Castle Blogathon, I thought I should take his memoirs off the shelf and start devouring it along with watching the fabulous documentary Spine Tingler: The William Castle Story. I just wanted to say a few words about the first few chapters of Bill Castle’s compelling life story Step Right Up! I’m Gonna Scare the Pants Off America: Memoirs of a B-Movie Mogul, and I’m hoping that his wonderful daughter decides to produce a serious biopic about her father’s incredibly captivating life. It would make one hell of a fascinating and titillating journey of what led up to his iconic legacy amidst some memorable figures that inhabited the glamorous and often tumultuous Hollywood of yesteryear. If our blogathon turns even one more person into a new William Castle fan, I’ll feel satisfied that I’ve done right by him.

It’s a hell of a read. From the first few chapters, you feel like Bill is an old friend on a marvelous adventure that you’re rooting for all the way. I have always been such an avid fan of his movies, and the charming way he made us all feel like we were helping participate in the process of making each thrill & chill, gimmick and diversion such a sensational part of the movie experience. That’s what mattered most to him, to entertain all of us. Even if most of his films were considered B-movies they had a lot of heart, and he always dreamed one day to do an A-List film like Hitchcock or Welles, that would garner critical acclaim.

William Castle Hitchcock — **William Castle has been referred to as The Poor Man’s Hitchcock..**

He certainly had a great eye for artistic property, considering he spotted the story for what would become The Lady From Shanghai (1947)

He found the novel and obtained the rights to, ‘If I Should Die Before I Wake’, bringing it to his new friend Orson Welles at Columbia. Yet ultimately Cohn insisted on having Welles direct the story which turned into the classic Film Noir paragon with Rita Hayworth. Castle was sad about this, but ultimately knew Welles would do an incredible job and thus settled into being co-director on that film. I wonder how many people realize that he was associated with that iconic piece of noir?

Then, seeing Hitchcock’s success with Robert Bloch’s Psycho (who borrowed a little from Castle’s ballyhoo to concocted his own gimmickry to get the audience to line up around the block) Castle took writer Robb White’s gender bending psycho thriller story and turned it into Homicidal (1961) in response to Hitchcock’s ‘deviant’ genre hit. He drew from the same master of the macabre, Robert Bloch (Psycho 1960) which fueled the graphic shocker Strait-Jacket (1964) with Joan Crawford once again in response to the success of Aldrich’s What Ever Happened To Baby Jane (1962) Eventually Castle spotting the greatness in Ira Levin’s Rosemary’s Baby!

Farrow and Castle's cameo — *Mia Farrow* standing in the phone booth and *Castle’s* cameo outside the phone booth, appearing a little like the nefarious Dr Saperstein.

Purchasing the rights to Ira Levin’s script ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ a film which came the closest to elevating him from The Carnival Barker/Maestro of Schlock to Cinema Auter. He wanted so badly to direct himself but Robert Evans head of Paramount at the time insisted on having the young and wildly imaginative director Roman Polanski take the reigns.

But Bill was gracious once he saw Polanski’s vision. And so he did what he was great at and facilitated the film’s process from behind the scenes, trying to keep things moving within the studio’s budget and time constraints. Let’s just say their collaboration created one of THE most gripping pieces of film-making in cinematic history, and my favorite film of all time. Rosemary’s Baby is an irrepressible and timeless masterpiece that transcends any genre.

And I’ll talk about that in depth during the upcoming William Castle Blogathon, with my entry Back Story: What Ever Happened to William Castle’s Baby?

And I wish we hadn’t lost him at age 63. Although he started having doubts about his contribution to the art of film-making, the relevance of all his showmanship, and the fan’s lives he imprinted his trademark on, he would have seen how much of a precious legacy he left behind and how we all still gravitate to his pictures with the same enthusiasm. There’s so many of us who appreciate him and understand that there would be a gaping hole in history if he hadn’t headed out to Hollywood to follow his dream with his incomparable brand of hutzpah!

Even if you’re not familiar with William Castle’s work, you’d be surprised at how much his bigger-than-life presence had influenced Hollywood, and the actors, film-makers and writers he crossed paths with. He was beloved and still is. His stories are fascinating, real or inflated with just a little spice and embellishment about his experiences in the business. He touched so many lives with his exuberant lust for ideas and blithe spirit, always looking for that applause, just an overgrown happy kid.

I could watch his films over and over. They just never gets stale for me and the high spirited imaginings that radiate from all his pictures taps into that nostalgic adrenaline that flows through my veins.

From his first encounter with Bela Lugosi as a young man who went to see Dracula on stage repeatedly, to meeting the wonderful Everette Sloane who was working with Orson Welles in the theatre, to being suddenly thrown into the midst of great stars like Barbara Stanwyck and Cary Grant when he first got to Hollywood, his life is as interesting as any good melodrama.

Everette Sloane The Fever Twilight Zone — **the great character actor *Everett Sloan* in The Fever episode of The Twilight Zone**

Castle, Stanwyck and Bochner — *William Castle*, *Barbara Stanwyck* and *Lloyd Bochner* on the set of The Night Walker

He ingratiated himself into working under director George Stevens on the classic Penny Serenade and actually got along with Columbia Studio head Harry Cohn who was considered to be up in the there in the ranks of ornery with Hitler and Mussolini! And he was even controlled and bullied by Joan Crawford on the set of Strait-Jacket as he struggled to appease her every whim. But he always remained gracious and kind to everybody.

Grant (Penny Serenade) — **A scene with *Irene Dunne* and *Cary Grant* in *George Steven’s* Penny Serenade with *William Castle* as director of dialogue?**

Van Johnson Mia Farrow Joan Crawford Roman Polanski William Castle+premiere of Strait-Jacket 1964) — ***Van Johnson, Mia Farrow, Joan Crawford, Roman Polanski* and *William Castle***

grant-crawford-castle-ireland_opt — *Cary Grant, Joan Crawford, John Ireland* and *Bill Castle* on the set of ‘I Saw What You Did’

infamous Columbia studio head *Harry Cohn*

So get hold of a copy of this great book, and here’s to the man who started out as an orphan in New York. A man who just didn’t fit in and was teased at camp until he showed that he had the unusual talent of being double jointed. Then he was touted as ‘The Spider’ saving him from constant beatings and turning him onto the lure of applause and circus side show ballyhoo. That endearing and infectious charm made the great Bela Lugosi, while acting in the stage production of Dracula, give him his first break in theater.

Eventually he met actor Everett Sloane and had the moxie to arrange a meeting with new sensation, Orson Welles. He impressed the artistically distilled cigar smoker so much that he convinced Welles to let him take over his Stoney Creek Theater in Connecticut while he left to film Citizen Kane.

Castle adopted the ritual of smoking a big fatty from watching Welles pace the floor with one. Castle had a ‘twinkle in his eye’ and that taste for risk-taking, pulling a play out of thin air over a long weekend. He made up aÂ pseudonym of a famous German Playwright, gave it a German title translated into ‘Not For Children’ and got one of Germany’s top actresses Ellen Schwanneke (Madchen in Uniform) to star in it.

Ultimately he carried off a publicity stunt that went as far as sending a telegram to Germany telling Adolf Hitler himself that ‘his’ actress would not be coming back to Nazi Germany. Thanks to Bill Castle, Schwanneke became known in the press as the ‘girl who said NO to Hitler…’

That solidified the beginnings of his career and gave him the momentum that would launch him into the world of that grand ‘show business’ and into our collective hearts.

And that’s just the first few chapters…!

With love to dear Bill Castle- From Joey (MonsterGirl)

MonsterGirl's 150 Days of Classic Horror! #6 At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul (1964)

MonsterGirl’s 150 Days of Classic Horror!

AT MIDNIGHT I’LL TAKE YOUR SOUL (1964)

Director José Mojica Marins inhabits the role of Zé do Caixão, better known as Coffin Joe, a diabolically creepy gravedigger with wicked nails like claws who sports a top hat and cloak as he terrorizes the villagers with his evil desires. Set in a small, superstitious village, the film follows the blasphemous undertaker Zé, who is obsessed with finding the “perfect woman” to bear his child and continue his bloodline, scorning religion and morality along the way.

Zé’s reign of terror includes murder, sexual violence, and relentless cruelty, all justified by his nihilistic, Nietzschean worldview.

His lover, Lenita, can not bear him a child. He begins to pursue Terezinha de Oliveira (Magda Mei), who is engaged to his friend, Antonio. Zé do Caixão murders Lenita & Antonio. He rapes Terezinha, hoping to get her pregnant, but she commits suicide instead. Comes the Day of the Dead, as he mocks the supernatural and torments the townsfolk, he is warned by the local gypsy that his deeds will come back to haunt him and the spirits of his victims will avail themselves at midnight and send him to hell! The film climaxes in a nightmarish sequence of ghostly revenge, with Zé pursued by the dead and ultimately destroyed by his own guilt and paranoia.

Zé do Caixão: “What is life? It is the beginning of death. What is death? It is the end of life! What is existence? It is the continuity of blood. What is blood? It is the reason to exist!”

At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul (1964) is a landmark in horror cinema, recognized as the first Brazilian-produced horror film and the debut of the infamous Coffin Joe (Zé do Caixão). Marins’s film is a brutal and surreal journey into a nightmarish landscape… shocking audiences with its violence, blasphemy, and transgressive themes, launching Coffin Joe as a cult icon and opening the door for a new era of Brazilian horror.

5 Down, 145 to go! – Your EverLovin’ Joey, formally & affectionately known as MonsterGirl, is on a mission to keep it short!

MonsterGirl’s 150 Days of Classic Horror #4 Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein 1948

MonsterGirl’s 150 Days of Classic Horror!

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) is a horror-comedy that brilliantly combines the comedic talents of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello with Universal’s iconic monsters. The film follows baggage clerks Chick Young (Abbott) and Wilbur Grey (Costello) as they become entangled with Dracula, the Wolf Man, and Frankenstein’s Monster. The comedy stems from the duo’s classic dynamic: Abbott is the duo’s straight man as usual, maintaining a cool demeanor, while Lou Costello, as the funny man, is growing increasingly agitated. Their humor relies on their signature clever wordplay and witty banter, not to mention the brilliant physical comedy of Costello’s exaggerated reactions to the scary yet campy situations.

The film showcases their trademark routine of Costello witnessing frightening events, only for Abbott to miss them and dismiss Costello’s claims. This creates a humorous contrast between Costello’s terror and Abbott’s skepticism.

The Universal monsters are portrayed by their iconic actors: Bela Lugosi as the most mesmerizing of Draculas, Lon Chaney Jr. as the sympathetic Wolf Man. This time, after Boris Karloff decided to retire his beloved character, Glenn Strange takes up the mantle of Frankenstein’s Monster.

The movie successfully merges Universal’s horror and comedy franchises, using familiar horror tropes as a backdrop for Abbott and Costello’s comedic antics. It serves as both a parody and a continuation of Universal’s monster films, creating a unique blend of humor and traditional horror elements. Lenore Aubert co-stars as Dr. Sandra Mornay, a mad scientist who partners with Dracula to reactivate Frankenstein’s monster, and Jane Randolph plays Joan Raymond, a romantic interest and one of the main characters who helps unravel the mystery. Special appearance, in velvet voice only, of Vincent Price introducing himself as The Invisible Man in a hilarious twist ending!

YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN 1974

Mel Brooks’s Young Frankenstein is one of the most preciously hilarious spoofs on the Universal classics of the 1940s. It’s a masterclass in affectionate parody, a film that manages to both lampoon and lovingly resurrect the spirit of the Universal monster movies it pays tribute to. Released in 1974, the film is a riotous blend of Brooks’ signature anarchic humor and a meticulous, almost reverent recreation of the Gothic style and atmosphere of James Whale’s Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935).

Brooks, never one for half-measures, insisted on shooting in black and white, using high-contrast lighting and even borrowing original Strickfaden lab equipment from the 1931 classic, all to ensure that every bolt of lightning and every shadowy corridor felt like it had been plucked straight from the golden age of horror.

At the heart of the film is Gene Wilder’s Dr. Frederick Frankenstein—sorry, that’s “Fronkensteen”—a man desperate to distance himself from his infamous grandfather’s legacy, only to be drawn inexorably into the same madcap quest to reanimate the dead. Wilder, who co-wrote the script with Brooks, delivers a performance that is both manic and deeply sincere, veering from wild-eyed hysteria to moments of genuine pathos. His comedic timing is impeccable, whether he’s wrestling with his own tongue-twisting name or leading the Monster in a show-stopping rendition of “Puttin’ on the Ritz.”

The supporting cast is a gallery of comic brilliance. Marty Feldman’s Igor (what hump?) is a bug-eyed, fourth-wall-breaking delight, his every line and physical tic a wink to the audience. Teri Garr’s Inga is all exuberant, wide-eyed innocence and sly innuendo, while Cloris Leachman’s Frau Blücher (cue the neighing horses) is a deadpan marvel, her every utterance dripping with Gothic menace and secret longing. Peter Boyle, as the Monster, brings a surprising tenderness to the role, his lumbering physicality offset by moments of childlike vulnerability and, in one of the film’s most famous scenes, unexpected showbiz flair. Madeline Kahn, as Frederick’s high-strung fiancée Elizabeth, is a comic force of nature, her every entrance and exit a study in escalating absurdity and sublime genius.

Brooks’s brand of humor is on full display throughout: irreverent, physical, and unafraid to mix highbrow references with lowbrow gags. He delights in wordplay, slapstick, and the kind of running jokes (the horses’ reaction to Frau Blücher’s name, the ever-shifting hump on Igor’s back), the brain in the jar that says Abnormal – (you know, Igor tells Frederick the brain he sent him to get came from Abby someone – Abby Normal) from that reward repeat viewings.

However, what sets Young Frankenstein apart from lesser parodies is its genuine affection for its source material. Brooks and Wilder don’t just poke fun at the old horror films—they inhabit their world, recreating their look, sound, and even their pacing so that the comedy feels organic rather than imposed. After all, we’re in the presence of comedic genius firing on all cylinders—improvisation so sharp it could slice through a graveyard fog!

The film’s style is a loving pastiche: Gerald Hirschfeld’s cinematography bathes the sets in the same expressionistic shadows and fog that defined the Universal classics, while the sets themselves are filled with Gothic arches, cobwebs, and flickering candlelight. The special effects, from the crackling lab equipment to the elaborate reanimation sequences, are both a send-up and a celebration of the practical magic of early horror cinema.

Young Frankenstein is more than just a collection of gags; it’s a film with real heart, exploring themes of legacy, acceptance, and the search for connection—albeit through a lens of gleeful absurdity. As Mel Brooks himself put it, he wanted to capture not just the silliness but also “the haunting, beautiful quality that James Whale got with Boris Karloff.” The result is a comedy that, fifty years on, still feels fresh, smart, and—like the Monster himself—very much alive.

#4 with 146 days left to go! Your EverLovin Joey, formally and affectionately known as MonsterGirl!

MonsterGirl’s 150 Days of Classic Horror! #5 Asylum (1972) / Tales From the Crypt (1972)

MonsterGirl’s 150 Days of Classic Horror!

ASYLUM (1972)

In one of Amicus’s best offerings, directed by Roy Ward Baker, Asylum is a campy portmanteau horror anthology based on several tales by master storyteller Robert Bloch (Psycho 1960). When Dr. Martin (Robert Powell), a psychiatrist looking for employment, arrives at the asylum for the criminally insane, he doesn’t know quite what he’s stepping into. Patrick Magee plays Dr. Rutherford, who gives him the odd assignment of figuring out which one of the patients is actually a former psychiatrist gone mad. Martin is sent to talk to four separate inmates, who then relate their own bizarre personal experiences of the macabre and how they ultimately landed in the asylum. This is one of the best Amicus productions, with a slew of fantastic actors filling out the cast. It’s cheeky and eerie and most definitely a contender for some of the Hammer horror anthologies with its horrific shock value and campy dark humor. The cast includes icon Peter Cushing in ‘The Weird Taylor,‘ Britt Ekland and Charlotte Rampling in ‘Lucy Comes to Stay,’ and one of my favs, Barbara Parkins (Valley of the Dolls 1967), Richard Todd, and Sylvia Syms in ‘Frozen Fear.’ The last segment is entitled ‘Manikins of Horror’ with Herbert Lom.

TALES FROM THE CRYPT (1972)

Tales from the Crypt (1972) is a British horror anthology film directed by Freddie Francis and produced by Amicus Productions. A chilling portmanteau consisting of five separate segments based on short stories from EC Comics’ series “of the same name. The film opens with five strangers stumbling into a crypt during a tour, where they encounter the mysterious Crypt Keeper (Ralph Richardson). He proceeds to reveal how each of them will die.

“…And All Through the House” Stars Joan Collins as Joanne Clayton, playing a woman who murders her husband on Christmas Eve and must fend off a deranged psychotic killer dressed as Santa Claus.

“Reflection of Death” Features Ian Hendry as Carl Maitland, A man who experiences a nightmarish time loop after surviving a car crash.

“Poetic Justice” Stars Peter Cushing as Arthur Edward Grimsdyke, A kind but eccentric old man who is tormented by his cruel neighbors

“Wish You Were Here” Features Richard Greene as Ralph Jason, A variation on “The Monkey’s Paw” story, dealing with the consequences of three wishes,

and “Blind Alleys” Stars Nigel Patrick as Major William Rogers and Patrick Magee as George Carter. Residents of a home for the blind revolt against their abusive administrator.

5 Down, just 145 to go!-Your EverLovin’ Joey formally & affectionately known as MonsterGirl

Step Right Up! We’re Gonna Scare the Pants Off America: The William Castle Blogathon is on it’s way to a theater near you! July 29th- August 2nd, 2013

THE WILLIAM CASTLE BLOGATHON

“I think he was a wonderful director. He followed his dreams, and after all he was right.”–Marcel Marceau

On July 29th 1959 American Producer/Director & Screenwriter William Castle premiered (click on link to read my past post) The Tingler in the US to theater goers. The audience had the underside of their seats rigged with electric buzzers which were activated at the moment Vincent Price cautions them “Ladies and gentlemen, please do not panic. But scream! Scream for your lives! The stunt was named ‘Percepto’ and once the projectionist got his cue to let the current rip, people in the audience got a mild jolt to their tuchus and their money’s worth of chills and thrills!

The urbane Vincent Price plays Dr. Warren Chapin a man driven by a curiosity to find out the source of the mysteriously evil force that creates the SENSATION of fear. He discovers an organism called"¦ The Tingler which manifests itself at the base of the spine when one is experiencing abject fear. The Tingler can only be subdued by the act of screaming.

In his memoirs Step Right Up! I’m Gonna Scare the Pants Off America he talks about the people who got their gluteus maximus’ buzzed with a small electric shock. Castle went as far as to hire fake “screamers and fainters” that he planted in the audience who would then be carted away on a gurney by “nurses” who were situated out in the lobby ready to put them in an ambulance parked outside the theater. This gimmick definitely outshines the last publicity scheme for his first chiller film touted with fanfare in which he offered a certificate for a $1,000 life insurance policy from Lloyd’s of London in case they should die of fright during his picture Macabre (1958) a film he felt inspired to make after seeing the success ofÂ Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Diabolique (1955)Â

Growing up in the 60s and 70s my childhood was filled with the sort of wonderful attractiveness William Castle’s shenanigans fostered in my yearning imagination. His films wouldn’t really be considered frightening by anyone’s standards today, but if you were a kid watching television on a rainy Saturday afternoon way back when, and suddenly you were thrust into a world where wearing whacky goggles would allow you to see wild ghosts wreaking havoc in an old eerie mansion in 13 Ghosts, or a disembodied hand rising up from a bath of brilliant red blood in an otherwise black and white landscape in The Tingler, or that moment when Nora Manning sees Mrs.Slydes the blind housekeeper who glides past her, a crone like harbinger of death, or those jaunty little party favors in the shape of coffins containing guns for the guests in House on Haunted Hill, with the added sensational musical scores and atmospherics you’d know the thrill and nostalgic glow that washes over you because William Castle made himself a presence quite like Hitchcock who was invested in bringing us into their world of fear and getting us excited about it!

Castle’s films have left an indelible mark on so many of us, not to mention the incredible movie stars and character actors who inhabited his memorable films, like Vincent Price, Joan Crawford, Barbara Stanwyck, Shelley Winters, Sid Caesar, Ann Baxter, Robert Ryan, Richard Conte, Julie Adams, Rock Hudson, Rhonda Fleming Robert Taylor, Guy Rolfe, Janette Scott, William Prince, Judith Evelyn, Audrey Dalton, Margaret Hamilton, Tom Poston and Elisha Cook Jr. and so many more…

Keep in mind, he produced my favorite film of all time, which I’ve been planning to do a major feature on down the road. The transcendent mind blowing tribute to paranoia and motherhood, Rosemary’s Baby 1968, thank god he decided to let Polanski direct, but still he was the man behind the masterpiece.

And Castle didn’t just do scary campy joyrides, if you look at his filmography you’ll see an array of film noir & mysteries like Hollywood Story (1951),The Fat Man (1951) Undertow (1949) series’ like The Crime Doctor & The Whistler, adventures like Serpent of the Nile (1953), with Rhonda Fleming. Westerns, television series and screwball comedies too like The Busy Body (1967) starring Sid Caesar, Robert Ryan and Ann Baxter , so if you’re a scaredy cat no worries there’s plenty to cover for everybody!

William Castle is one of THE most recognizable showman of film camp, purveyor of cheap chills, the maestro of gimmickry! In a time when the censors were becoming more lax and psycho-sexual themes were infiltrating the cinematic frontier, the trumpets were hailing Castle to step right up and create his own uniquely tacky ballyhoo! Sometimes kitschy, at times quite jolting and paralyzing, so many of us were marvelously effected by the collective tawdry Schadenfreude.

And so I got to thinking– geez it’ll be the 54th anniversary of that Spine-Tingling fun house ride of B-Movie schlockery and what better way to tribute the P.T. Barnum of Classic B-Movie fanfare than to co-host a blogathon with the witty and well versed Terri McSorley of Goregirl’s Dungeon.Â

Castle opens up The Tingler with this fabulous warning to the audience:

I was going to wait and announce the blogathon officially on May 31st which will be the anniversary of Castle’s death in 1977, but we all seem so excited about this, I thought I better get on it and post the details and start the Tingler climbing up our proverbial collective spines! And what a great bunch contributing too!

In honor of The Tingler’s 54th anniversary

The William Castle Blogathon runs from July 29th through August 2nd, 2013 and is Co-hosted by Joey (MonsterGirl) of The Last Drive In and Terri of Goregirl’s Dungeon.

The list of films and contributors are below: We’ll narrow down the dates each person will publish their post a little further down the road. I don’t want to be too restrictive about films being covered twice as everyone has their own unique perspective. There’s still a bunch of films not chosen yet so please consider widening the scope of our celebration by tackling a lesser known film of Bills! All are welcome, if you’re interesting in joining the ride, please contact me!

Please grab any banners for the blogathon and use them on your site if you’d like!

There’s also no constraints on how long your piece should be. As you know I tend to be really long winded myself. If you have any questions at all, like if you’d prefer your name displayed differently please always feel free to drop me a line at ephemera.jo@gmail.com or leave a comment here:

The Spine-Tinglers Are!

(Lindsey)-The Motion Pictures –Tribute &

(Gwen) Movies Silently– The Crime Doctor & The Whistler

(Dorian) Tales of the Easily Distracted– The Spirit is Willing (1967)

(Vinnie) Tales of the Easily Distracted –Zotz! (1962)

(Stacia) She Blogged By Night –Let’s Kill Uncle (1966)

(David Arrate)- My Kind of Story-Images – Shanks (1974) & Masterson of Kansas (1954) and It’s a Small World (1950)

(Brian Schuck) Films From Beyond The Time Barrier– Strait-Jacket (1964)

(Joey-MonsterGirl!) The Last Drive In –House on Haunted Hill (1959) & Johnny Stool Pigeon (1949) & Back Story: What Ever Happened to William Castle’s Baby? (Rosemary’s Baby)

Furious Cinema–

(Kristina)-Speakeasy– The Houston Story (1956)

(Paul)-Lasso the Movies– The Tingler (1959)

Goregirl’s Dungeon – ‘The Women of Castle”, tribute to musical scores &

(Steve Habrat) Anti Film School –Mr Sardonicus (1961)

(Ruth) –Silver Screenings– The Old Dark House (1963)

(Rob Silvera) The Midnight Monster Show– Homicidal (1961) & House on Haunted Hill (1959)

(Aurora) Once Upon a Screen… – The Night Walker (1964)

Classic Movie Hub– The Busy Body (1967)

(Karen) Shadows and Satin– Mysterious Intruder (1946)

The Nitrate Diva– When Strangers Marry (1944)

(Jenna Berry) Classic Movie Night Ghost Story/Circle of Fear

Forgotten Films-Macabre (1958)

(Kristen) Journeys in Classic FilmÂ Spine-Tingler: The William Castle Story

(Heather Drain) Mondo Heather– 13 Frightened Girls!(1963) & Bio

(Barry) Cinematic Catharsis –13 Ghosts (1960)

(Misty Layne) Cinema Schminema – Project X (1968)

(Ivan) Thrilling Days of Yesteryear-Â The Chance of a Lifetime (1943){Boston Blackie} & I Saw What You Did (1965)Â

(Rich) Wide Screen World – “Top 5 William Castle gimmicks”

(John LarRue) The Droid You’re Looking For- “Visual Feature-(various films)”

(Sam) Wonders in the Dark- Rosemary’s Baby (’68)

(Jeff Kuykendall) Midnight Only– Bug (1975)

(Le) Critica Retro– Texas, Brooklyn and Heaven (1948)

(Toby Roan)- 50 Westerns The Law vs Billy the Kid (1954)

(The Metzinger Sisters) Silver ScenesÂ “Busy Bodies: Promoting Castle’s Camp” & The Films of William Castle!

(Ray) Weird Flix -Slaves of Babylon (1953) & The Saracen Blade (1954)

And a special thanks to David Arrate at My Kind of Story for these banners!

MonsterGirl's 150 Days of Classic Horror: #3 And Soon the Darkness (1970)

MonsterGirl’s 150 Days of Classic Horror!

AND SOON THE DARKNESS (1970)

A Trailer a Day Keeps the Boogeyman Away! Darkness Unleashed!

Directed by Robert Fuest (The Abominable Dr. Phibes 1971, The Devil’s Rain 1975) and written by Brian Clemens. Pamela Franklin plays Jane, and Michele Dotrice is the ill-fated Cathy, two English twenty-somethings touring around the rural French countryside. The two argue about the route and become split up; Cathy vanishes without a trace. Jane begins to search for her friend and stumbles into a world of alienation and the very real threat of a sex murderer on the loose. Who can she rely on as she desperately tries to find her disappeared girlfriend while she is being stalked by a crazed killer.

3 down, 147 to go!- Your EverLovin’ Joey, formally and affectionately known as MonsterGirl

MonsterGirl’s 150 Days of Classic Horror: #2 Alice Sweet Alice (1976)

MonsterGirl’s 150 Days of Classic Horror!

ALICE SWEET ALICE (1976)

Director/Screenwriter Alfred Sole’s brutal tale of murder and madness draws heavily on Catholic symbolism, the dark underbelly of American religious zeal, and childhood trauma. Incredibly atmospheric and disturbing, as the backlash of the supposed sacred and holy premise of family and church becomes a nightmarish landscape of psychological paroxysm. Paula E. Sheppard plays the very troubled Alice Spages, a 12-year-old girl who doesn’t quite seem to fit in. She lives with her mother, Catherine (Linda Miller), and beautiful younger sister Karen (Brooke Shields), whom Catherine dotes on. One day, Karen is murdered in a horrific manner and left inside the church on the day of her holy communion. Of course, all eyes are on the disturbed, emotionless Alice. Soon, more murders are committed by a savage, knife-wielding killer in a grotesque, clear plastic mask and bright yellow raincoat. One of the best psychological horrors of the 70s! Cat lovers, be warned, a kitten is killed in this film…

2 down, 148 left to go!-Your EverLovin Joey, formally and affectionately referred to as MonsterGirl