"The Killer Shrews & The Giant Gila Monster (1959) ... Ray Kellogg ... Legend Films (2007)"
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Legend Films present "THE KILLER SHREWS/THE GIANT GILA MONSTER" (1959) (143 mins) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) --- now in COLOR and Glorious Black and White --- with Legend Films to restore, colorize and release the earliest black and white films--- a patented coloring and remastering process makes the picture perfect more vivd than ever .

"THE KILLER SHREWS" (1959) (69 mins) --- Under Ray Kellogg  (Director), Ken Curtis  (Producer), Jay Simms  (Screenwriter), Wilfrid M. Cline  (Cinematographer), Harry Bluestone  (Composer (Music Score), Emil Cadkin  (Composer (Music Score), Aaron Stell  (Editor), Louise Caldwell  (Set Designer), Earl Snyder  (Sound/Sound Designer), Ben Chapman  (Production Manager)  - - - - - Our story is intriguing: a scientist experiments with rodents, who turn into giant mutants, running loose on a island of seven people, including his daughter --- Ingrid Goude is good as the lone female who temporarily becomes the object of affection of two men, a drunkard (Ken Curtis) and a seaman (James Best). But the romantic entanglements soon dissipate when the giant shrews, seeking food, start gnawing at the house of the islanders --- When their food supply runs out, the creatures turn cannibalistic --- This theme pre-dates "The Birds" (1963), "Night of the Living Dead" (1968), even "Signs" (2002) --- this is an enjoyable campy film, a must have for any collector.

the cast includes:
James Best ...  Thorne Sherman
 Ingrid Goude ...  Ann Craigis
 Ken Curtis ...  Jerry Farrell
 Gordon McLendon ...  Dr. Radford Baines
 Baruch Lumet ...  Dr. Marlowe Craigis
 Judge Henry Dupree ...  'Rook' Griswold
 Alfredo DeSoto ...  Mario

Our second feature on this double bill is - "THE GIANT GILA MONSTER" (1959) (74 mins) --- Under Ray Kellogg  (Director / Screenwriter), Ken Curtis  (Producer), Jay Simms  (Screenwriter),Wilfrid M. Cline  (Cinematographer), Jack Marshall  (Composer (Music Score), Aaron Stell  (Editor), Gordon McLendon  (Executive Producer), Louise Caldwell  (Set Designer), Earl Snyder  (Sound/Sound Designer), Ralph Hammeras  (Special Effects), Wee Risser  (Special Effects), Ben Chapman  (Production Manager) - - - - This is one of several monster films made at this time that mixes teenagers/hot rods and rock and roll --- A small town in Texas is invaded by a giant lizard, eating people, few victims are from car wrecks and a tanker crash, the lizard forcing the vehicles off the road --- The lizard interrupts a party and dance being held in a barn, featuring most of the town's teenagers --- This is one of the films that were made during the period when Monsters were animated and then magnified because of the low budget the film producers had to work with --- check out the old Hot Rod cars of the 1930's with rumble seats and the 1959 Dodge car which the Sheriff is driving --- this is a film to view and enjoy!

Don Sullivan ...  Chase Winstead
 Fred Graham ...  Sheriff Jeff
 Lisa Simone ...  Lisa
 Shug Fisher ...  Old Man Harris
 Bob Thompson ...  Mr. Wheeler
 Janice Stone ...  Missy Winstead
 Ken Knox ...  Horatio Alger 'Steamroller' Smith
 Gay McLendon ...  Mom Winstead
 Don Flournoy ...  Gordy
 Cecil Hunt ...  Mr. Compton
 Stormy Meadows ...  Agatha Humphries
 Howard Ware ...  Ed Humphries
 Pat Reeves ...  Rick
 Jan McLendon ...  Jennie
 Jerry Cortwright ...  Bob

SPECIAL FEATURES:
1.  Original Black and White Versions
2.  More About Gila Monsters
3.  More About Shrews
4.  The Gila Monster Trailer
5.  Squeak the Squirrel
6.  Theatrical Trailers

Hats off and thanks to Barry B. Sandrew Ph. D. (Founder, COO & CTO) and his Legend Films Staff --- looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage era of the '20s, '30s & '40s --- order your copy now from Amazon where there are plenty of copies available on DVD --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out Legend Films where they are experts in releasing long forgotten films and treasures to the collector --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Time: 143 mins on DVD ~ Legend Films Video. ~ (7/17/2007)
3080102
Wonderful movie. Vincent Price at his best. Taken from Richard Matheson's novel "I am legend"- Richard Matheson was the screenwriter for many Roger Corman movies starring Vincent Price too, like The Crow, The Haunted Castle and other ones inspired to Edgar Allan Poe's stories. In this movie, Vincent Price is the last survivor in a world of vampires; his relatives, now vampires too, call him at night and stand outside his house to drink his blood. He is lonely, gloomy, jaded, in his macabre daily routine- waking up, killing vampires in their sleep, burning their corpses.  But still he doesnt lose hope and fights, and maybe he will find other survivors.
It's a shame they did such a crappy remake of this masterpiece, and it's a shame that everybody saw "I am legend" and nobody knows the original.
3867592
Probably one of the most recognized & remembered Lovecraft tale to hit the big screen!!!!  The first Lovecraft tale to receive a decent Hollywood budget came out the year I was born 1965 "Die monster Die!" H.P. Lovecraft's story "Color out of space".  Five years later Hollywood flipped the bill for another Lovecraft story & left the title the same " The Dunwich Horror" rumors of Americas virginal sweet heart Sandra Dee in a nude scene was probably enough to guarantee box office success, but they gave the story the treatment it deserved & introduced thousands to H.P. Lovecraft's literary nightmares!!!  Lovecraft's stories are often used by budding film students & other than Stuart Gordon few do them justice.  The Dunwich horror is an exception!!!  They spared no expense to scare Sandra outta her pants along with the rest of the fans of horror movies!  I was pleased to find this gem on D.V.D. at a reasonable price & happy to add it to my H.P. Lovecraft horror movie collection.  Some may say its dated but I consider it a classic in horror cinema.
4059970
The man, the legend, Jim VanBebber. Love him or hate him (I love him) he's a interesting fella with a fantastic body of work. This is a great documentary about the mans life and work. It's packed full of entertaining interviews, behind the scenes shots, entertaining moments from conventions etc. If you are a fan of his work at all or independent/underground cinema I highly recommend buying this and checking it out.
4009840
This is an excellent double feature! NIGHT OF THE BLOODY APES is about a mad doctor attempting to save his son's life by transplanting the heart of an ape (!!) into his chest cavity. Of course, all goes awry, causing the son to turn into a rampaging ape-man! This one includes copious amounts of nudity, fake blood, and ultra-cheezey gore effects. There's also lots of masked, female wrestling footage as well as not one but TWO open-heart surgeries to gawk at! Yes, NOTBA is a true masterpiece of schlock-o-matic cinema! CURSE OF THE DOLL PEOPLE is the old b+w classic about a group of explorers who steal a sacred idol from a voodoo priest, only to have the evil guy send forth living dolls to assassinate them! COTDP has loads of creepy atmosphere, a 7' tall, flute-playing zombie-slave, and a secret lair for the voodoo dood complete w/ cobwebs and skeletons! This movie scared me into near hysterics as a kid. It remains one of my favorite oldschool spookers.  This CRYPT OF TERROR presentation contains both films in their original spanish versions, and their updated americanized editions. In the case of BLOODY APES, this is like two totally different movies! With DOLL PEOPLE, we get extra scenes in the original...
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King Corn was an interesting enough documentary. I viewed it about a year ago
so don't remember alot about it now, however.
3684676
Elizabeth of the violet eyes & Richard w/a voice born to the stage will forever be the king & queen of Hollywood.  Alive loving/fighting or dead in their graves...the passion will never fade for them or us.  No idea how I stumbled onto this gem of a film...TG I did.  These two did a very-good-job-of-being Richard & Liz.  The physical similarities are amazing, but they connected beyond that.

Last I'd seen of Helen was as Sonny Crockett's doctor/junkie girlfriend w/spastic eyebrows.  She redeemed herself as Elizabeth Taylor though.  Never heard of Dominic before, but he's pretty to look at & listen to.

Started watching the BBC offerings in the '80s & thinking how much better their entertainment was.  All except "Monte Python" - I hate those people & their particular "form" of English humor.

Can't understand the whole Liz/Dick/Hollywood Royalty thing?  Check out the films they did separately & together.  Maybe start w/"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" &/or "Butterfield 8" (the original "Pretty Woman" minus any kind of happy ending) w/Liz...to..."Night of the Iguana" (Burton & Gardner) & top  your "film festival" off w/"Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?".  These two will knock you outta your socks & off the chair...trust me
2606330
If you grew up watching Roland, Chiller Theater, Dr. Shock's Scream-In, Elvira, or Svengoolie, you probably remember many of the great Monster Classic Films and Sci-Fi Thrillers, not to mention the outrageous "B" Campy Creepers. In this handsome premium edition, author John Stanley reviews the vast realm of Horrordom. From blockbusters to schlock, every Creature Feature that ever was shown in theaters and on television in the U.S. is deftly described in this masterpiece. This engrossing book is like having a Horror and Sci-Fi Movie Encyclopedia. The Gold Medalist of Film Reviewers, Leonard Maltin, considers the Guide a "Must Have". Most importantly, "Creature Features" has been so widely respected and so highly prized, that it earned the author the nickname "The Leonard Maltin of Horror".
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Fascinating documentary on a movie that was never made. As a fan of the book, I have to say that I'm rather glad - Jodorowsky gleefully shares that he intended to "rape the book" and create something very different from the original story - but it's also obvious that David Lynch adapted many of Jodorowsky's ideas for his own version without having the same courage of his convictions. One can only imagine what the result would have been had Jodorowsky got his funding. Dali as the Padishah Emperor would have been worth seeing . . . once.
2362558
Good Spanish-language, Mexican-made early '60s horror film.  Sequel to El Vampiro Sangriento (The Bloody Vampire).  A clutch of vampires, dormant for years, wake up to rattle the countryside.  It even has a king vampire that changes into a bat the size of a bald eagle.  The quality of the DVD is excellent.  The black-and-white photography is fine.  Unfortunately no dubbing or sub-titles.  Highly recommended for fans of the genre.
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After Orson Welles nearly bankrupt RKO studios with his acclaimed but financially disastrous CITIZEN KANE and THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS, studio heads were eager to find a profitable but low budget answer to UNIVERSAL STUDIOS highly profitable MONSTER/HORROR movies.
They turned to Val Lewton to head what they thought would be a competing horror film series. What they got was highly profitable and popular despite their status as low budget "B" horror films. In the end, Lewton's low budget films exceeded Universal's films in both creativity, quality and story. Lewton worked well with a budget that was often 1/3 or less of an "A" film. He reused some of Welles's sets for his own movies. Contract players were recycled through the 9 movies Lewton made. He created "horror" stories not by using monsters and creatures but rather by playing on our fear of the unknown--a fear that is often greater than the fear of something known. Fear is in our minds and Lewton and his writers played up that fear. Most of the films take place at night and in the shadows--much like film noir classics. The fear of what lurks in the shadows terrifies us yet calls to us.

Here is a remarkable collection of those 9 RKO horror films all together in one set. I will review the individual films separately but just want to talk about the collection as a whole. This set has two films per disc on 4 discs. The final disc has one film and the documentary SHADOWS IN THE DARK THE VAL LEWTON LEGACY. As a bonus, a 6th disc was included containing the documentary MARTIN SCORSESE PRESENTS VAL LEWTON THE MAN IN THE SHADOWS.

Fans will have favorites in this set and some that aren't as appealing. It can be a matter of taste. I tended to like the films better that were set in the current times rather than the period piece films. Again, we can all agree to disagree but I can say I enjoyed every film for various reasons. Each movie has a bonus feature of a commentary by film historians which provide immense insight into each film.

This set is a must for horror fans and anyone who enjoys classic films in the day when story motivated a film rather than high tech special effects.
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The Magnificent Seven , is filmaking in the grand tradition.  Yul Brynner stars as Chris 'the man in black' a tough as nails gunfighter who is recruited by the farmers of a mexican village who a continously being  terrorized by Calvara ( a wonderfully delisously bad Eli Wallach) Chris  must recruit ginfighters to hel[p him on this mission the first is Vin  played by Steve Mcqueen ,who out right steals the film from Brynner . Vin a  very sarcastic , wise craking sharp shooter helps Chris as they recruit the  remaining members of the 7 who are Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Robert  Vaughn , Brad Dexter and then unknown Horst Bucholz as 'chico' Director  John Sturges americanization of Kursowas 'The seven samuri' hits the mark  in all accounts of character developement and action sequences, and  presents a traditional good guys vs the bad guys storytelling. you care  what happens to these characters and want to see them victorious over the  ruthless, cruel Calvara. 'The Magnificent Seven ' is a must see for action  & Western fans an outright classic film.
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From the late nineteenth century black and white slide shows of French film maker and sometimes actor Georges M&eacute;li&egrave;s to the Technicolor drive in pictures of the early 1970's, "A Pictorial History Of Horror Movies" is jammed packed with amazing photos of some of the world's most famous and best beloved horror flicks along with rare "lost" silent films and more obscure ones. Denis Gifford presents a pictorial cornucopia of famous horror movie posters, stills of classic actors like Karloff, Lugosi and Chaneys Sr. and Jr in their trademark roles and several of the well known creatures of the atomic age.
But this is more than just another coffee table book of black and white and colored horror movie photos. Gifford's tongue in cheek text tells a fascinating story of the development of the horror film from its primitive beginnings through 7 decades of silents, screams, silver bullets, radioactive horrors and bloody living color.

I've been searching thirty years to replace my original copy and am very pleased to have finally found "A Pictorial History Of Horror Movies" at such a reasonable price.
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this title is available from warner brothers archive for 14.95. don't spend double the price from these sellers....as for the movie, it is fantastic. i saw it as a child and the creatures gave me nightmares for years as a child. it is a very creepy TV movie, right up there with the zuni fetish warrior doll segment of "Trilogy of Terror".
551979
MONSTER MADNESS: THE GOTHIC REVIVAL OF HORROR opens w/ the coming of HAMMER studios, and their resurrection of classic monsters such as DRACULA, FRANKENSTEIN'S MONSTER, THE WOLFMAN, and THE MUMMY. In color! HAMMER also offered more bright red blood, and more female flesh. The Quatermass films and X THE UNKNOWN are also discussed. Beginning w/ CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, the revival was on, introducing future icons, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing! Includes great interviews w/ Lee, Cushing, Jimmy Sangster, Freddie Francis, Veronica Carlson, Ingrid Pitt, etc. Excellent trailers and clips from THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN, X THE UNKNOWN, and the gothic horror films. Lee and Cushing are given their proper due as legends on par w/ Karloff and Lugosi. Other stars, like Oliver Reed (CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF) are shown as well. HAMMER's psychological thrillers are examined. TIGON and AMICUS studios, and their horror anthology films, especially DR. TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS and TALES FROM THE CRYPT are mentioned. The 1960's and 70's brought more violence, and even more flesh, including nudity. Ingrid Pitt makes her mark in THE VAMPIRE LOVERS! Censorship boards make their cuts. Movies like DR. JEKYL AND SISTER HYDE, HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN, and THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA show the last days of HAMMER's incredible run. This third installment in the MONSTER MADNESS documentary series is as well-made, informative, and entertaining as the others. Highly recommended...
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Having read Forgotten Horrors several times I was so looking forward to
this book and it didn't disappoint. Fans of George E. Turner and Michael
H. Price will know what to expect - loads of amazing film knowledge about
60 movies dealing with "human" monsters. I wasn't sure what to expect but
a quick glance at some of the titles I was familiar with and I knew.
Erich Von Stroheim's masterful performance as an egotistical ventriloquist
who eventually succumbs to madness in "The Great Gabbo" , an early
talkie psychological thriller - with about 7 musical numbers to appease
the public's insatiable (in 1929) desire for musicals. Lionel Atwill is
Eric Gorman, an insanely jealous zoologist, who is always thinking of new
ways to dispose of his wife's lovers, in "Murders in the Zoo" (1933) - the
first scene is unbelievable.
Women are also represented - Anne Baxter in the little known "Guest in the
House" (1944) - it was also known as "Satan in Skirts" - almost a dress
rehearsal for "All About Eve". She plays a "sweet" girl with a heart
condition taken in by her doctor's family - almost too late they realise
she is a psychopath (the audience cottons on much quicker). Laraine Day's
tour de force performance in "The Locket" (1946) - a film that critics and
the public found hard to understand at the time, told as a flashback within
a flashback within a flashback.
Every film has a detailed cast list, a synopsis and an essay about the
background of each film. The book also features films from all studios
major and minor, classics like "The Old Dark House" (1932), "Dragonwyck"
(1946) to unknowns like "Mystery Ranch" (1932), "Who is Hope Schuyler?"
(1942). There are some oddities - "Uncivilised" (1936), an Australian
film, which apparently had a huge influence on Paul Hogan's "Crocodile
Dundee". "Sweeney Todd - Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (1936) - which
brings long over due attention to the career of Todd Slaughter. There
are also 2 appraisals of films I wouldn't have looked twice at - "Broken
Blossoms" (1936) - a British remake of D.W. Griffith's legendary 1919
film, apparently he went to England to direct it but disagreements made
the deal fall through. Also the remake of "M" (1951) - I have never been
interested in seeing this but the article makes me want to.
For people familiar with the authors' work, this book makes compelling reading.
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This review is an excerpt from my book "Killer B's: The 237 Best Movies On Video You've (Probably) Never Seen," which is available as an ebook on Amazon. If you enjoy this review, there are 236 more like it in the book (plus a whole lot more). Check it out!

THE THIN BLUE LINE: The title refers to the police force, a "thin blue line" between polite society and savage anarchy, but in this documentary, the phrase is used more ironically than literal. At 12:30 AM on the night of November 29, 1976, Dallas police officer Robert Wood was shot to death--apparently without provocation--by the driver of a car he had pulled over. The driver, however, swore that his hitchhiker, one Randall Dale Adams, did the deed. Adams was subsequently arrested, tried, found guilty, and sentenced to the death penalty for the crime. But was he actually guilty?

Director Errol Morris didn't believe so when he set out to make this dispassionate and objective review of the case and the facts. In doing so, he created a new movie form--investigative cinema--as well as a new role for himself: the director as detective. Using little more than interviews he filmed with everyone involved and dramatic recreations of different people's versions of the crime, Morris presents a spellbinding story of justice gone horribly--and obviously--awry.

Although the tone of the film is slow, sober and somber, as befits the subject matter, this mesmerizing movie plays more like a murder mystery than a dry documentary. Furthermore, this little film prompted a reopening of the case, which established the innocence of Randall Adams and resulted in his release from prison: a factual finale rivaling the best of Hollywood's fictional happy endings. Long before reality TV programs like "America's Most Wanted," "Unsolved Mysteries," "Forensic Files," "Cold Case Files" and "Cops" became popular, Morris was single-handedly creating the genre--as well as its best entry yet.

A final ironic note: Although Adams was eventually exonerated, thanks in part to this film, apparently freedom wasn't enough for him: he later sued Morris to regain the rights to his own life story.