Sunday, June 25, 2017

Movie Ad of the Week: THE CURSE OF A FAITHFUL WIFE w/ A PLACE FOR THE DEAD (1972)



Two extremely obscure movies that were made in the 1960s by writer-producer-director Gary Travis opened at the Fox Drive-In in Aiken, South Carolina on Sunday, June 25th, 1972. THE CURSE OF A FAITHFUL WIFE, starring Alan Hale, Jr. and Judith Arthy, is a black comedy that Travis filmed in Yugoslavia in early 1968. The second feature, A PLACE FOR THE DEAD, must have been shot even earlier, considering co-star Linné Ahlstrand (who was Playboy's Miss July 1958 and appeared in THE BEAST FROM THE HAUNTED CAVE and Herschell Gordon Lewis' LIVING VENUS) succumbed to cancer in January 1967. Neither of these are in the IMDb, but THE CURSE OF A FAITHFUL WIFE will be showing at the Skyline Drive-In in Shelbyville, Indiana on Saturday, July 8th. Big thanks to Mike MacCollum for bringing this show to our attention. For more info, check out the ad below or the Drive-Insanity webpage (Another rarity coming to the Skyline is William Rotsler's SHANNON'S WOMEN on August 5th).


Sunday, June 18, 2017

Movie Ad of the Week: JAWS meets CLAWS (1977)


One day in Ogden, Utah about 40 years ago, this happened.


Wednesday, June 14, 2017

The Endangered List (Case File #163)



In the early morning of September 9th, 1960 at the Bonneville Salt Flats in northwestern Utah, Mickey Thompson became the fastest man in the world. Behind the wheel of his Challenger 1 - a long, sleek streamliner powered by four GMC 6-71 supercharged Pontiac engines (one for each wheel) – he broke the land speed record by going 406.6 miles per hour. If you’re having a difficult time wrapping your head around that number, think of it this way: he traveled the length of two football fields in one second flat. By the time his autobiography was published by Prentice Hall in January 1964, he had amassed close to 200 international and American land speed records and established himself as not only one of the most innovative and competitive people in racing but an extremely successful businessman.


Anyone interested in learning how one documentary about Thompson (THE MAN IN THE IRON CAGE) became another documentary about Thompson (MICKEY THOMPSON: MAN IN THE STEEL CAGE), both of them so obscure that neither is listed in the Internet Movie Database, then we highly recommend the article "Rage in the Cage: The Making of a Mickey Thompson Documentary," which can be found in the new issue of The Journal of Interstitial Cinema (#6). Order it here!


THE MAN IN THE IRON CAGE
(1983)

Starring
Mickey Thompson
Larry Huffman
Pat Buttram

Appearing in
"The Celebrity Challenge"
James Brolin
Ruth Buzzi
Troy Donahue
Dan Haggerty
Kent McCord
Martin Milner
Ken Norton
Ted Nugent
Denver Pyle
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Dick Smothers
Elke Sommer
Clint Walker

Produced and Directed
by
Ed Forsyth

Associate Producer
Gary Crutcher

Photographed by
Gary Foster
Henning Schellerup

Music Composed
and Conducted
by
Bill Loose

Special Music
by
Ted Nugent

Assistant to the Producer
Gary Foster

Additional Cinematographers
Craig Stewart, Jr.
Fred Bailey
Jeff Nolke
Marty Zimmerman
Don Wyman
Garry Oversby
Pete Kallion
Glen Roland
Rick Hasselo
David Waelder

Camera Assistants
Marty Bivens
Don Hale

Still Photographers
Gene Esquivel
Bill Groves

Production Sound Mixers
John Vincent
David Bruno

Post Production Supervisor
Lee Frost

Sound Effects Editors
Eddie Gilbert
Cal Haas
Stan Markel
Derek Scott

Music Editing
High Note Productions

Negative Cutters
Brian King
Ted Sawicki

Unit Manager
Marland Proctor

Historian
Collene Campbell

Technical Advisor
Gary Campbell

Titles and Opticals
Title House

Sound Re-recording
Glen Glenn Sound

Laboratory
Consolidated Film Industries

An
M.T. - A.E.
presentation

Running time: 86 minutes


MICKEY THOMPSON: MAN IN THE STEEL CAGE
(1985)


Starring
Mickey Thompson

Hosted by
Larry Wilcox

Narrated by
Thomas Brown

Directed by
Lee Frost

Produced by
Gary Foster

Music Composed by
Bill Loose

Presented by
RLF Enterprises

MPAA rating: PG


Want to learn more about THE MAN IN THE IRON CAGE and MICKEY THOMPSON: MAN IN THE STEEL CAGE? Don't miss "Rage in the Cage: The Making of a Mickey Thompson Documentary," an exciting article that can be found only in the latest issue of The Journal of Interstitial Cinema (#6). Order it here!

Monday, June 12, 2017

KILLERS ON WHEELS in 35mm on 7/13 at the Nitehawk!



Wow, check this out: Temple of Schlock founder Chris Poggiali will be at the Nitehawk Cinema in Brooklyn on Thursday, July 13th, to introduce a rare 35mm showing of the amazing KILLERS ON WHEELS! This event, part of the “The Deuce” screening series, is expected to sell out, so get your tickets now! HELLS ANGELS ON WHEELS collides with STRAW DOGS and LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT in this brutal biker flick from Hong Kong's legendary Shaw Brothers Studios. A series of increasingly hostile run-ins between a gang of rowdy Yamaha riders and two young couples staying at an island vacation home leads to deaths by electrocution, fire, boiling oil, broken glass, harpoon gun, and even outboard motor! In other words, this is more top-notch schlock from the director of THE BOXER'S OMEN! Plus, you get a snappy soundtrack of stolen music ranging from Piero Piccioni's "Identikit 2" and Herbie Hancock's "Heartbeat" to Lalo Schifrin cues swiped from KELLY'S HEROES. This is the very same, extremely rare English-dubbed 35mm print that played the grindhouses of 42nd Street! The show starts at 9:30 p.m. and, as always, there will be prizes afterwards. For more details, head over to the event page.

Sunday, June 11, 2017

Movie Ad of the Week: ATOKA (1979)



The country music festival "48 Hours in Atoka" occurred on Labor Day weekend 1975 (August 30-31) on a 1,500-acre tract of cleared land in Atoka county in southern Oklahoma, halfway between Tulsa and Dallas. Tickets were $10.00 and attendees were advised to bring their own food, which they could then cook over a 100-foot-long flaming pit. The musical performances ran 48 hours straight and included such acts as Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Jerry Lee Lewis, Freddy Fender, and Hoyt Axton. Postmortem news coverage, some of it extremely negative, reported the attendance as anywhere from 30,000 to 100,000. Filmmaker Robert Hinkle and his camera crew were in the crowd that weekend, and four years later, a film titled ATOKA opened in select theaters (The ads above & below are from Phoenix, AZ during the weekend of June 8th, 1979).




Salem, OR - September 19, 1979




Shreveport, LA - November 4, 1979

Friday, June 09, 2017

Mystery Movie solved! KUNG FU KIDS (ca. 1973)



Three and a half years ago we posted this Mystery Movie entry about KUNG FU KIDS, an Asian fantasy film released in the U.S. as a kiddie matinee during the height of the '70s kung fu craze. Three months ago we found out that it was distributed by Aquarius Releasing, and had also played kiddie matinees as SUPERBOY AND SUPERGIRL AGAINST THE 7 MONSTERS (The ad below right is from a booking in Westfield, NJ during the weekend of October 19-21, 1973).




Not long after I posted this update on Facebook, Jeff Goodhartz of Weng's Chop magazine wrote in and suggested that perhaps KUNG FU KIDS was a "Watari" movie from Japan. Five seconds of online scanning brought us the answer: KUNG FU KIDS (or SUPERBOY AND SUPERGIRL AGAINST THE 7 MONSTERS) is actually the Toei production FEI LONG WANG ZI PO QUN YAO (1970), a.k.a. THE MAGIC SWORD OF WATARI, GOLDEN BOY SUBDUES MONSTERS, and WATARI AND THE SEVEN MONSTERS. Thanks, Jeff!

Wednesday, June 07, 2017

3-DEMENTIA! coming to Philadelphia on July 16th!



3-DEMENTIA! is a series of cinematic events spotlighting rare 3-D movies from the last 40 years – First screening to take place at International House Philadelphia on July 16, 2017

For nearly twenty years, Exhumed Films has been the premier cult movie cooperative in the Philadelphia area, screening literarily hundreds of horror, sci-fi, and exploitation classics on the big screen. Now, Exhumed Films brings their audience a new dimension in genre cinema: 3-DEMENTIA! Is a major retrospective of 3-D films from the past four decades. The 1970’s and 1980’s saw a resurgence of three-dimensional movies, particularly in the realms of horror, science fiction, and action/adventure films. Some of the most infamous and beloved 3-D titles in history were released during thisera; the majority have not seen the light of the projector bulb in over 30 years, but they are ready to be re-discovered! 3-DEMENTIA! will spotlight some of the most famous films from the era, as well as some extreme rarities.

The first 3-DEMENTIA! screening will take place at International House Philadelphia’s Lightbox Film Center (3701 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia PA 19104) on Sunday, July 16. This five film marathon begins at 12 noon and runs until approximately 10:00 PM. Tickets are $40 for general admission to all five movies. The features will be projected from original 35mm film prints using state-of-the-art 3-D technology and high quality 3-D viewing goggles.

Exhumed is also pleased to announce that filmmaker Worth Keeter, who shot more 3-D films than any other director in history--will be on hand to introduce two of his movies and discuss the heyday of 3-D mania!

3-Dementia! will feature the following flicks:


FRIDAY THE 13TH PART III 3-D
1982 / 35mm / Dir. Steve Miner / 95 minutes
While not necessarily the most original installment in the series, FRIDAY THE 13TH PART III is arguably the most influential slasher sequel of all time due to its introduction of the iconic hockey mask that would soon become a horror movie hallmark. Moreover, FRIDAY THE 13TH PART III features some of the most entertaining 3-D gags in cinema history. The story, though, is nothing new: unstoppable killer Jason Voorhees, apparently recovered from his injuries at the end of the last film, finds a new slew of torpid teens to terrorize.


TREASURE OF THE FOUR CROWNS
1983 / 35mm / Dir. Ferdinando Baldi / 97 minutes
The 1981 3-D Spaghetti Western COMIN’ AT YA! was a financial success that effectively started the 3-D resurgence of the 1980’s. The filmmakers behind that hit followed it up with TREASURE OF THE FOUR CROWNS, an action/adventure film clearly inspired by RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. Tony Anthony stars as a soldier of fortune that assembles a team of thieves with the goal of stealing a set of mystical gems. The quest leads them to creepy caves and booby-trapped fortresses, setting the stage for a series of inventive 3-D gimmicks. Indiana Jones it ain’t, but TREASURE OF THE FOUR CROWNS is nevertheless an enjoyable artifact from a bygone era.


ROTTWEILLER
1983 / 35mm / Dir. Worth Keeter / 89 minutes
Producer/actor Earl Owensby created a series of low budget regional genre films throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s, and even built his own soundstage in North Carolina to accommodate his productions. When the 3-D craze of the early 1980’s began to take hold, Owensby quickly jumped on the bandwagon, bringing along his longtime collaborator, director Worth Keeter. Their first foray into the realm of 3-D was ROTTWEILLER (aka DOGS OF HELL), a horror thriller about a murderous pack of killer canines. Owensby stars as a small town sheriff who must defend the community against a group of deadly dogs that have escaped from a secret military project. If you love “Animals Attack” movies, then ROTTWEILER in 3-D is not to be missed!


HIT THE ROAD RUNNING
1983 / 35mm / Dir. Worth Keeter / 92 minutes
Worth Keeter and Earl Owensby followed ROTTWEILLER with HIT THE ROAD RUNNING, an action-packed 3-D car chase comedy that takes obvious inspiration from SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT and THE DUKES OF HAZZARD. Owensby once again stars, this time as Beau Jim Donner: a fast talking, fast driving “good ol’ boy” who returns to his hometown to free his uncle and neighbors from the clutches of a corrupt land baron. Hijinks—and lots of car crashes—ensue. Exhumed Films is proud to welcome Worth Keeter to what is surely the first theatrical screening of HIT THE ROAD RUNNING in nearly 35 years!


REVENGE OF THE SHOGUN WOMEN
1977 / 35mm / Dir. Mei Chun Chan / 98 minutes
The Hong Kong martial arts film REVENGE OF THE SHOGUN WOMEN (aka 13 NUNS) tells the tale of a group of women who are assaulted and degraded by a gang of bandits. In order to protect themselves from future attacks, our heroines become masters (mistresses?) of martial arts, and it is not long before they seek out vengeance against their attackers. Featuring a plethora of projectiles popping off the screen, REVENGE OF THE SHOGUN WOMEN is definitely one of the impressive 3-D features ever made.


ABOUT EXHUMED FILMS
Since 1997, Exhumed Films has been providing the Philadelphia and South Jersey area with a dedicated horror and cult repertory cinema experience like no other. Through their ongoing double features and highly anticipated special events like eX-Fest and the annual 24 Hour Horror-thon, Exhumed Films' commitment to bringing audiences the best of genre cinema, exclusively on film, is unprecedented in the region.

Aside from screening hundreds of different films and literally thousands of vintage trailers and shorts, Exhumed Films has also hosted such prestigious guests such as director John Waters and the late, great "Godfather of Gore” Herschell Gordon Lewis, and co-presented musical performances by filmmaker/composer John Carpenter and the legendary Italian progressive rock band Goblin.

*For more information about 3-DEMENTIA! or Exhumed Films, please visit our website at www.exhumedfilms.com, or our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ExhumedFilms.

Sunday, June 04, 2017

Movie Ad of the Week: TREASURE OF THE GOLDEN COBRA (1984)


Taking a break from their long run of Shaw Brothers acquisitions, World Northal launched the stateside release of Antonio Margheriti's I CACCIATORI DEL COBRA D'ORO in New York City as THE HUNTERS OF THE GOLDEN COBRA in March 1984. Four months later the movie turned up in Jackson, MS on July 13th, 1984 as TREASURE OF THE GOLDEN COBRA, with the new title pasted onto the existing one-sheet (see below). The second feature was SHOGUN WARLORD, the 1981 re-release of the really weird Shaw Brothers-Wolf C. Hartwig merger VIRGINS OF THE 7 SEAS, which Film Ventures had first released in the U.S. as THE BOD SQUAD and we reviewed here. In theater one, an Italian muscleman pic from Cannon, THE SWORD OF THE BARBARIANS, which has never been released on home video in the U.S.

Before

After