Blu-Ray News #378: Tormented (1960).

Produced & Directed by Bert I. Gordon
Starring Richard Carlson, Juli Reding, Susan Gordon, Lugene Sanders, Joe Turkel

Here comes another top-notch release from Film Masters — Bert I. Gordon’s Tormented (1960) on both DVD and Blu-Ray.

Richard Carlson’s dead ex-girlfriend (Juli Reding) reappears as a ghostly, disembodied head to screw things up between Carlson and his fiancée (Lugene Sanders). That’s not a huge undertaking since Carlson is pretty much to blame for the girlfriend’s death and a blackmail scheme is quickly underway.

One of the few Bert Gordon pictures that doesn’t feature giant (or tiny) stuff, Tormented has a strong cast — Carlson’s always great and Reding is both an eyeful and a hoot. There’s some nice location work shot in Malibu and Anacapa Island (is that lighthouse still there?) by Ernest Laszlo. And the special effects are up to Gordon’s typical hit-or-miss standards. Oh, and Paul Frees overdubbed one actor’s voice.

Tormented is one of those movies us monster kids saw a thousand times on TV — and some of its shock scenes are still nailed into our heads. After years of ragged TV prints and crappy PD VHS tapes and DVDs, it was brought out in a pretty decent DVD from Warner Archive.

Film Masters will surely blow that thing away, thanks to a 4K scan of original 35mm material in its original 1.85 aspect ratio and, of course, a terrific list of extras. I can’t wait. Highly recommended.

The Carbon Arc Podcast Episode 4: King Kong Escapes (1968) With Guest Bob Madison.

In the latest episode of The Carbon Arc Podcast, Bob Madison and I start with King Kong Escapes (1968) and somehow make our way through Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer and Batman to Jim Backus, Paul Frees and George C. Scott.

From the late 70s into the 80s, WOR-TV in New York used to run this as part of a Thanksgiving monster marathon.

Be sure to look into Bob’s young adult novel, Spiked, available on Amazon.

4K News #400: When Worlds Collide (1951) And War Of The Worlds (1953).

Paramount is bringing George Pal’s masterpieces When Worlds Collide (1951) and War Of The Worlds (1953) to 4K as a double bill — which is how I saw these back in 1977. They were re-released, with the poster above, when everybody went sci-fi nuts over Star Wars (1977). Those of us who were lucky, got to see original IB Tech prints. They were glorious!

These pictures have already made it to Blu-Ray and they both look great. This 4K bump sounds exciting.

“What if that aircraft came here not just to visit the earth, but to conquer it? To start growing some kind of horrible army?”

The family took a walk around Broughton High School here in Raleigh tonight and came across a little garden. These cucumbers remind me of the James Arness “seedlings” in The Thing From Another World (1951), growing a platoon of little Things.

That scene, with the little pods hooked up to the plasma, and breathing, never ceases to creep me out — even after seeing it dozens of times. What a movie!

I want to take this opportunity to thank Warner Archive once again for releasing their exquisite Blu-Ray of The Thing. It’s perfect.

70 Years Ago.

The Thing From Another World opened in San Francisco on this day in 1951. It was paired with the Tim Holt picture Masked Raiders (1949).

I would’ve loved to have been there. Speaking of “Astounding!,” if you don’t have the Warner Archive Blu-Ray, get it!

Blu-Ray News #310: Space Ghost And Dino Boy – The Complete Series (1966-68).

Loved these back in the day, and I thought the comic books were even better. So I’m super-stoked about Warner Archive’s upcoming Blu-Ray Space Ghost And Dino Boy – The Complete Series (1966-68).

This was before Space Ghost was shanghai’d by Cartoon Network for Space Ghost Coast To Coast. Space Ghost was created by comic artist Alex Toth. The voice talent was top-notch: Gary Owens (as Space Ghost), Tim Matheson, Keye Luke, Ted Cassidy, Paul Frees and Vic Perrin. Coming October 13.

Blu-Ray News #231: The Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid (1972).

Directed by Philip Kaufman
Starring Cliff Robertson, Robert Duvall, Luke Askew, R.G. Armstrong, Dana Elcar, Matt Clark, Elisha Cook, Royal Dan0, Paul Frees (narrator)

I don’t mean for this to sound negative, but The Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid (1972) is one of the few so-called Revisionist Westerns I really like.  From the great cast to the narration from Paul Frees to Bruce Surtees’ terrific camerawork, it’s a picture that really clicks for me.

Shout Factory’s upcoming Blu-Ray should be a real treat. The film deserves it.

Blu-Ray News #199: The Thing From Another World (1951).

Directed by Christian Nyby
Produced by Howard Hawks
Starring Kenneth Tobey, Margaret Sheridan, Robert Cornthwaite, Douglas Spencer, Dewey Martin, Eduard Franz, Robert Nichols, James Arness, John Dierkes, Paul Frees

The Thing (1951) scared me to death as a kid. It’s one of my Top 10 favorite films. It’s been sitting at the top of my Blu-Ray Want List since the format was introduced. And it’s finally coming to Blu-Ray from Warner Archive.

It’s basically about some cool military guys and a really cool woman saying and doing cool things as they take on a monster from outer space — and a scientist who’s determined to protect it. Howard Hawks’ stamp is all over it (cool people lumped together to deal with a crisis), whether he directed it or not.

This is essential. And I cannot wait for this Thing!

Keep watching the skies!

Blu-Ray Review: The Cyclops (1957).

Written, Produced & Directed by Bert I. Gordon
Cinematography: Ira Morgan
Music by Albert Glasser
Film Editor: Carlo Lodato
Special Voice Effects: Paul Frees

Cast: James Craig (Russ Bradford), Gloria Talbott (Susan Winter), Lon Chaney (Martin ‘Marty’ Melville), Tom Drake (Lee Brand), Duncan Parkin (The Cyclops, Bruce Barton), Vincent Padula (The Governor)

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The Cyclops (1957) is 66 minutes of one-eyed wonderful-ness. It was the first in a string of pictures from writer/producer/director Bert I. Gordon where regular-sized people became very big, (oftentimes) very ugly, and ultimately very destructive. His other big pictures include The Amazing Colossal Man (1957), War Of The Colossal Beast (1958), Village Of The Giants (1965) and Food Of The Gods (1976). How does all that and Gordon’s initials, B.I.G., figure into the whole auteur theory thing? Of course, let’s not forget his change of pace, Attack Of The Puppet People (1958), where some folks (including John Agar) get smaller rather than larger.

The Cyclops goes something like this. Susan Winter (Gloria Talbott) and a group of three “adventurers” head to Mexico to locate her fiancée, Bruce Barton (Duncan Parkin), who went missing three years ago. They crash their plane in a jungle valley with very high levels of radiation where, you guessed it, all the animals are really, really big. Birds, bugs, snakes, lizards — all huge. Then, along comes a giant bald guy with a really messed-up face and a voice that sounds exactly like Paul Frees grunting and groaning.

The special effects (also by Gordon), well, they ain’t so special. The cyclops and other monsters are often oddly transparent, and it looks like very little thought went into keeping the scale of the creatures consistent from one shot to the next. A papier-mâché rock seems to dress up the oft-used entrance to Bronson Caves, but it actually provides something to superimpose the cyclops behind. (It’s weird to think that the climax of a masterpiece like The Searchers and a slew of movies like The Cyclops were shot in the exact same spot.)

All that, and it’s got Lon Chaney, Jr. in it!

The Cyclops is terrible in all the best ways. There’s a charm to it the movies will never be able to recapture. As Hollywood goes for the bigger, I’m drawn to the smaller (and older). That said, Warner Archive has The Cyclops livin’ large on Blu-Ray. It looks better than I ever thought this cheap picture would ever look. It’s sharp, the contrast and grain are absolutely perfect, and the audio is as clear as it can be. I’m so glad movies like this are getting this level of attention.

In short, The Cyclops on Blu-Ray is easy on the eye (sorry, couldn’t resist) — and highly recommended.