"This world is the nurse of all we know,This world is the mother of all we feel,And the coming of death is a fearful blowTo a brain unencompass'd by nerves of steel:When all that we know, or feel, or see,Shall pass like an unreal mystery."- Percy Shelley, 'On Death' (1816) I was deeply saddened to … Continue reading Remembering Barbara Shelley 1932-2020
FRANKENSTEIN CREATED SUSAN DENBERG
Susan Denberg (aka Dietlinde Ortrun Zechner) was blond, beautiful, and unapologetically curvaceous. A German-Austrian Kim Novak look-alike with strong sex appeal and an endearing screen presence. Like Novak, Denberg dated Sammy Davis Jr. while some of her other romantic conquests included Stuart Whitman, Sidney Poitier, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, and director Roman Polanski. Following a … Continue reading FRANKENSTEIN CREATED SUSAN DENBERG
MUMMY DEAREST: BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY’S TOMB (1971)
Hammer Films produced four Mummy movies between 1959 and 1971 and one of my favorites is Seth Holt’s BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY’S TOMB (1971). This unabashedly sexy horror extravaganza was the last Mummy movie made by the Studio that Dripped Blood and thanks to a great cast and some creative directing choices it turned out to be one of … Continue reading MUMMY DEAREST: BLOOD FROM THE MUMMY’S TOMB (1971)
“Nothing can eat your soul!” – THE WITCHES (1966)
Few things invoke autumn and the Halloween spirit in me as strongly as the stylized gothic horror films made by Hammer. The diversity and sheer volume of the studio’s output was impressive and this has occasionally led to some of their lesser-seen films being overlooked because they didn’t live up to critic’s expectations or they … Continue reading “Nothing can eat your soul!” – THE WITCHES (1966)
December at the Movie Morlocks
Links to my December 2014 posts at the TCM's Movie Morlocks: Holiday Greetings from The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come! Excerpt: "Dickens’ novella was first conceived as a political pamphlet designed to arouse the public’s compassion for the plight of the poor but to his credit, the writer realized his strength was in storytelling … Continue reading December at the Movie Morlocks
October & November at the Movie Morlocks
Links to my posts at the TCM's Movie Morlocks October - November. Ghost Stories: THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES (1946) Excerpt: "THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES is often referred to as an “Abbott and Costello movie for people who don’t like Abbott and Costello” but as a fan of the comic duo I find that … Continue reading October & November at the Movie Morlocks
Spies, Frankenstein & . . . Sports?!
I'm afraid that I've been too busy and preoccupied with home renovations, family matters and work to updated Cinebeats regularly. Most of my film writing is done at The Movie Morlocks now so it often seems redundant to re-post links to everything here. If you want to keep track of my weekly activities on a … Continue reading Spies, Frankenstein & . . . Sports?!
Interview with Marcus Hearn
This week I interviewed Official Hammer Films Historian, Marcus Hearn about his new book The Hammer Vault: Treasures From the Archive of Hammer Films for TCM's Movie Morlocks blog. We discussed many topics including Hammer's enduring legacy and their upcoming adaptation of THE WOMAN IN BLACK, which is scheduled for release in February of 2012.
Jacqueline Susann’s Love Machine (1971)
I recently got the chance to review the Warner Archive DVD release of THE LOVE MACHINE (1971) based on Jacqueline "Valley of the Dolls" Susann's book and naturally I jumped at the opportunity. I've mentioned the film at Cinebeats before during my farewell post to John Phillip Law, which was written after he passed away … Continue reading Jacqueline Susann’s Love Machine (1971)
Mini Monday #6
Caroline Munro and a customized British Leyland Mini
Remembering Ingrid Pitt 1937-2010
Hammer Glamour girl, Ingrid Pitt has suddenly passed away at age 73 due to heart failure. Her unexpected death took me by surprise and my condolences go out to her friends and family. One of my fondest blogging memories occurred in 2007. After writing up a brief birthday tribute for Ingrid Pitt and receiving a … Continue reading Remembering Ingrid Pitt 1937-2010
A Little Night Music with Caroline Munro
Hammer Glamour girl Caroline Munro turned heads in the 1970s appearing in a number of noteworthy horror films including The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971), Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) and Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter (1974) as well as popular genre films such as The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974), At the Earth's Core (1976) and … Continue reading A Little Night Music with Caroline Munro
Gimme Gimme Glamour!
I didn't get the opportunity to write about all the films and actress I wanted to cover during my previously announced Hammer Glamour Week so I've decided to extend it through the month of December. I'll be posting about other topics as well since there's a a few more things I want to share here … Continue reading Gimme Gimme Glamour!
She Who Must Be Obeyed
Ursula Andress in She (1965) My favorite moment in She (1965) occurs about 90 minutes into the movie when Ursula Andress glides by Peter Cushing playing Professor Holy and Bernard Cribbins as his aspiring man servant Job. Cushing declares "By Jove!" at the sight of Ursula and Cribbins turns to his costar and utters the … Continue reading She Who Must Be Obeyed
The First Leading Lady of British Horror
Like many of my fellow Americans, I'm enjoying the Thanksgiving holiday so I've been distracted by family, good food, and drink. But I wanted to take a moment to shine a spotlight on the First Leading Lady of British Horror. Barbara Shelley (who happens to share her name with one of my favorite poets) starred … Continue reading The First Leading Lady of British Horror
