Happy Valentine's Day!

From Mr. Arthur Grimsdyke to you, "Happy Valentine''s Day!"

My favorite segment of a great film, "Tales From the Crypt," with Peter Cushing in the role and makeup. Which, by the way, was the best makeup ever conceived for a "living dead" person up to that point!

1971 "House That Dripped Blood" article

"The House That Dripped Blood" was one of those films that I grew up wanting to see, but never did until recently when it came out on DVD. I loved all of the Amicus anthology films, like "Tales From The Crypt," "Asylum," "From Beyond The Grave," "The Vault Of Horror," and others. The images from the film in Famous Monsters and other magazines interested me, but above all that POSTER! What an image! It stuck in my brain over the years as one of the best and most horrific movie posters I had ever seen. From issue #86 of FM, published in September of 1971, comes this article on the film. The cover of the mag featured the poster in the only color version of it I had ever seen, and I think to this day it's one of my favorite FM covers. I have to say, however, that the Amicus anthology films had some of the best posters to come out of any studio.

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Bonus: From the same issue, a write-up on a horror fan lucky enough to be able to build his own home theater, a rare thing in those days. I can only imagine the fun he and his friends had over the years. UPDATE: Out of curiosity, I googled Wes Shank to see what he has been up to, and you can see for yourself at these links: "The Man Who Owns The Blob" article, another interview at Monsters411.com and his own website "The Blob Book" by the writer himself! Very cool!

Bonus: the back cover of the same issue, featuring the alluring and full-hipped Vampi. My 12 year-old self was turned on by the ads for Vampi in these mags, and I drew her several times. Wish I still had those drawings! I used to save everything I ever drew, but much of my artwork mysteriously disappeared over the years I was home. I think my mother used to throw them away if she didn't like the subject matter, which was most of the time.

Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed 1969 article

From issue #14 of Castle of Frankenstein, (see the cover here, from a previous post on another blog) published in 1969, comes this short preview of the next Hammer sequel "Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed."

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In the publicity still above, we see a good example of the sneaky "Cushing Grope," a maneuver he often makes with his bosomy co-stars. Watch for it every time he "assists" a female costar... he subtly moves his thumb into direct contact with the starlet's breast! Peter, you sly old dog you. I wonder how many of them noticed it? If you look for it in his films, you will see it as a signature move.

Below, another page from the same issue, on a previous entry in the Frankenstein series of films.

1973 "Asylum" article

"Psycho" was very similar in layout and content as the "Castle of Frankenstein" monster magazine, the main difference being that it was mainly original stories in black and white comic book form, like Warren Publishing's "Creepy." But it did include some articles on monster movies and TV shows, with the layout in the unorthodox style as in "CoF." This time I present the write-up on my favorite of the Amicus anthologies, "Asylum," from Issue #12, which came out in May of 1973.

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By the way, reviewer, thanks for spoiling the ending with the bit about Robert Powell... way to go!

French "Brides of Dracula" poster

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This is one of my favorite Hammer films, even though there is no Dracula or Lee in it. I put it on just the other night and watched it, as I do every October, and other times as well.

As an aside, I have had a personal project that I had to finish recently, which kept me from blogging. But, it's done now, and I hope to get back to the monsters at hand!