TCM Genre movies schedule...

[Greg Cox]

RJDiogenes wrote:

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^^ I saw part of that. That was a bad gorilla suit.

In their defense, it wasn't supposed to be a real gorilla. It was supposed to be a madman in a stolen gorilla suit.

This was (possibly unintentional) bright idea: Rather than trying to pass off that crappy gorilla suit as as a real ape, they established early on that the killer was just what he appeared to be: a man in a crappy gorilla suit!

Still a pretty lousy movie, though.

[RJDiogenes]

I'm a fan of B-Movies and it did not look interesting to me at all.

[Greg Cox]

RJDiogenes wrote:

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I'm a fan of B-Movies and it did not look interesting to me at all.

Honestly, you didn't miss anything. Old B-movies are my comfort food, but even I almost gave up on it. It's slow, convoluted, and padded out with repetitive dream sequences and flashbacks. The earlier versions (with Lugosi and Karl Malden, respectively) are much better.

As for the upcoming stuff, I can't recommend THE BODY SNATCHER highly enough. Probably Karloff's best performance, aside from maybe FRANKENSTEIN and THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN. Lugosi's part is much smaller by comparison, but he and Karloff have one great scene together.

More trivia: the movie is directed by Robert Wise, whom, of course, went on to direct such films as THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN, THE HAUNTING, and STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE. (Not to mention THE SOUND OF MUSIC and WEST SIDE STORY!)

[RJDiogenes]

Yes, The Body Snatcher is very good. I have that one on DVD. I forget if it's part of the Karloff collection DVD set, or a standalone that I got from Alpha or one of those companies.

[Christopher]

Oops, we let this thread slide for a bit, but here's what's coming up over the rest of February:

Today (2/10) at 5:45 EST is Ron Howard's Cocoon, which is inexplicably listed as "Horror."

Tue 2/12, 6:15 AM: Does The Hunchback of Notre Dame count as genre? They've got it billed as Horror too. It's the '39 Charles Laughton version.

Wed 2/13, 4:30 PM: Mighty Joe Young (1949), Ray Harryhausen's first major film (working with King Kong animator Willis O'Brien).

Sun 2/17, 7:15 AM: King Solomon's Mines (1950) with Deborah Kerr and Stewart Granger.

Mon 2/18:
6 PM: George Pal's The Time Machine (1960)
8 PM: Tobe Hooper's Poltergeist (1982)

Wed 2/20, 5:30 PM: The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962), featuring stop-motion animation by George Pal (within a live-action biopic about the Grimms).

Fri 2/22, 8 PM: Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941), which was remade in 1978 as Heaven Can Wait.

Sat 2/23:
8 AM: The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T (1953), an overlooked classic written by Dr. Seuss and starring Hans Conreid.
11:30 AM: Bell, Book and Candle (1959), James Stewart movie about a witch who doesn't use the Oxford comma (I guess).

Mon 2/25:
5:30 PM: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) -- evidently the original theatrical cut, since it says "135 minutes."
8 PM: Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)

Tue 2/26:
9:15 AM: One Million B.C. (1941) with Victor Mature -- sadly, not the Raquel Welch remake.
3:15 PM: Topper (1937)
5:00 PM: Topper Takes a Trip (1939)
6:30 PM: Topper Returns (1941)

Wed 2/27, 1:45 PM: The Jungle Book (1942) -- I guess it's marginally fantasy.

Thu 2/28, 2 AM: The Thief of Baghdad (1940)

[Anwar]

Roger Rabbit? Awesome, I've been wanting to see that again.

[RJDiogenes]

I haven't seen either The Wonderful World Of The Brothers Grimm or The 5000 Fingers Of Dr. T, I don't think, so I'm looking forward to taping those.

Christopher wrote:

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9:15 AM: One Million B.C. (1941) with Victor Mature -- sadly, not the Raquel Welch remake.

Ah, but this is a wonderful movie. Carole Landis is a match for Raquel Welch and Victor Mature is far better than whatsisname. This is a rare case of the original and the remake being equally good.

[Klaus]

I remember a high-school history teacher, when we watched an edited-down version of Mature's version of Hannibal [the Carthaginian general, not the famed nosher] in class, describing Victor as having two expressions-- "pain, and more pain."

I love him wrestling the stuffed lion in Samson and Delilah, personally. An all-time classic awful sfx moment.

[Greg Cox]

RJDiogenes wrote:

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I haven't seen either The Wonderful World Of The Brothers Grimm or The 5000 Fingers Of Dr. T, I don't think, so I'm looking forward to taping those.

Ah, but this is a wonderful movie. Carole Landis is a match for Raquel Welch and Victor Mature is far better than whatsisname. This is a rare case of the original and the remake being equally good.

I enjoyed the original version, too, but I'd say the Ray Harryhausen effects give the remake an edge. And Carole Landis is a cutie of a cave girl, true, but no match for Raquel and her legendary fur bikini!

[RJDiogenes]

^^ Well, an early 40s movie and a late 60s movie are an entirely different mind set. It's like a Buster Crabbe Flash Gordon and 2001. Certainly, Harryhausen is superior to pigs with prosthetics, but the artistry is still enjoyable. And while the fur bikini is certainly better, Carole Landis was pretty incredible-- I guess a perfect world would have Carole Landis in the fur bikini.

Klaus wrote:

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I love him wrestling the stuffed lion in Samson and Delilah, personally. An all-time classic awful sfx moment.

Yes, that was awesome indeed.

[Agent Richard07]

I wanted to see Cocoon, but I missed it.

[Christopher]

Here's the first half of March:

Fri 3/1, 10:45 AM: I Married a Witch (1942) with Fredric March and Veronica Lake

Sat 3/2, 8 PM: Around the World in 80 Days (1956) -- borderline genre at best, but it is Jules Verne. (The original book portrayed nothing that wasn't actually possible at the time; in fact, it was inspired by a newspaper article saying that it could be done.)

Mon 3/4, 10:30 AM: Between Two Worlds (1944) -- something to do with a luxury liner to the afterlife. Sydney Greenstreet and Paul Henreid are in it.

Wed 3/6, 9 PM: Bell, Book and Candle ('59) again

Sat 3/9:
9:15 AM: Cyclops ('57) -- Bert I. Gordon B-grade monster movie with Lon Chaney, Jr.
5:30 PM: Close Encounters of the Third Kind again

Mon 3/11:
9:15 AM: The Canterville Ghost ('44)
12:45 PM: Dick Tracy ('45)
2:00 PM: The Horn Blows at Midnight ('45) -- Ooh, I should watch this! Jack Benny constantly mocked his performance as an angel in this movie, but reportedly it's not that bad. It also features Margaret Dumont, the Marx Brothers' favorite foil.

Sat 3/16:
3:15 AM: The Awful Dr. Orloff ('62), B-horror.
9:00 AM: Attack of the 50 Foot Woman ('58)
3:00 PM: Creature from the Black Lagoon ('54)


Pretty slim pickings overall, but with some interesting stuff toward mid-month. There were a couple of false alarms, titles that sounded like they should be sci-fi but weren't, like Valley of the Giants (something about the redwood forests) and Night of the Iguana. And The Horn Blows at Midnight may not count as fantasy since it's presented as a dream, but I couldn't resist.

[Silvercrest]

I've been trying to figure out something about movie titles. If a title is written differently between, say, the posters and the opening credits, which one is the "real" title? The opening credits say Bell Book and Candle, no comma anywhere in sight. Everywhere else it's written with at least one comma. Since the comma-less version is what actually appears onscreen, does that make it the official title?

Similarly, the first Leone/Eastwood Western is referred to almost invariably as A Fistful of Dollars, but what actually appears in the opening credits is just Fistful of Dollars. No article.

How do you judge?

[Mr. Adventure]

^ Interesting question, to add to the mix A Fistful of Dollars probably had an Italian title originally just to complicate things more. Do film titles get registered somewhere?

[Silvercrest]

I think the Italian title translates as For a Fistful of Dollars.