--> Azathoth's Christmas PseudopodCast
Both parts now online! Merry Christmas one and all!
Honourable Mention: The Final Curtain
23 hours ago
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)
This is one of the all time awesome best totally bad B-movie sci-fi Christmas movies ever! And it has arguably the best secular Christmas children's song of all time - Milton Delugg's "Hooray For Santa Claus"!
Directed by
Nicholas Webster
Writing credits
Paul L. Jacobson story
Glenville Mareth writer
Cast
John Call ... Santa Claus
Leonard Hicks ... Kimar
Vincent Beck ... Voldar
Bill McCutcheon ... Dropo
Victor Stiles ... Billy
Donna Conforti ... Betty
Chris Month ... Bomar
Pia Zadora ... Girmar
Leila Martin ... Momar
Charles Renn ... Hargo
James Cahill ... Rigna
Ned Wertimer ... Andy Henderson
Doris Rich ... Mrs. Claus
Carl Don ... Chochem / Von Green
Ivor Bodin ... Winky
Al Nesor ... Stobo
Josip Elic ... Shim (as Joe Elic)
Jim Bishop ... Lomas
Lin Thurmond ... Children TV Announcer
Don Blair ... TV News Announcer
Tony Ross ... Santa's Helper
Scott Aronesty ... Santa's Helper
Ronnie Rotholz ... Santa's Helper
Glenn Schaffer ... Santa's Helper
Gene Lindsey ... Polar Bear (uncredited)
Original Music by ... Milton Delugg
MST3K Version:
Original Version:
This movie was so groovy it also spawned a story album + comic.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Azathoth's Thanksgiving SomethingCast
Ok, I made a Thanksgiving compilation and casted it. - You can find it HERE
It has Presidents Washington & Lincoln's Thanksgiving proclamations, segments from the Thanksgiving episodes of the Jack Benny and Quiz Kids radio programs (from 1952 & 1948 respectively) and mixed strategically around and amongst them are some radio spots for fake tv shows and songs that mostly fall into one of 2 categories: rather rude and potentially offensive but funny or Thanksgiving carols (xmas carols w/ thanksgiving lyrics).
You may find my combining all of that a little nutso or you might be amused by it, I don't know but in any case I invite you all to give it a listen. Running time is approx. 75 min of insanity.
Let me know what you make of it, its my 1st time doing a 'cast.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Zero Punctuation: Fable 2
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/346-Fable-2
(link in case embed doesn't play - its not playing for me right now. And make sure to stop the video from playing after the review ends or you will be subjected to crappy trailer for the equally crappy banjo kazooie)
After suffering through the endless tedium of this game's emote relationship system and town economy BS that did naught but become a needless distraction from the going adventuring part of the game (which was woefully short) for endless hours far beyond what any sane person would put up with in order to "do everything" and get all the achievements (aside from the doll collector - I mean who's going to bother to seek out friends with the other collectable hero dolls when the co-op play is so craptacular its not worth getting together with friends in the 1st place in this game? What? I can't even use my own character in a friend's game just some generic henchmen and we have to stay on the same screen even when playing over xbox live and the camera angles are going to suck so you can't see where you're going as well?? What BS)... but I digress, after enjoying the finer points of the "freedom" this game provides I found this review to be extremely amusing.
I agree with about 90% of it although how he could have had problems fighting to the point he got his butt kicked and even wanted the dog's help is beyond me... I found the dog being a treasure finder to be very helpful in that regard and one of the only useful and helpful things in a world full of boring, useless, herd-minded clone people. And the dog did fight some, but really how much help do you expect from a pet? I didn't need any help fighting. My ranged weapon skill was so devastating rarely did anything get close enough to melee and when it did, it was mince meat or blown to hell with flaming magical fury. Conclusion: reviewer has no skillz but still correctly points out many (but nowhere near all) of the glaring flaws in the game design and in a very humorous manner as well :)
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Thomas Edison's Frankenstein (1910)
The real original Frankenstein movie! Made in 1910 thanks to Thomas Edison, inventor of the kinetoscope!
Produced by Edison Studios, the 1910 adaptation of Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein is considered cinema’s first horror film. Written and directed by J. Searle Dawley. The unbilled cast included Augustus Phillips as Dr. Frankenstein, Charles Ogle as the Monster, and Mary Fuller as the doctor's fiancée. Shot in three days, it was filmed at the Edison Studios in the Bronx, New York City.
At the time of its production, films were thought to be a disposable medium and, after they had made their initial theatrical run, were often stripped to recycle their valuable silver nitrate.
For many years, this film was believed to be a lost film. In 1963, a plot description and stills were discovered published in the March 15, 1910 issue of an old Edison film catalog, The Edison Kinetogram.
In the 1950s, a print of this film was purchased by a Wisconsin film collector, Alois F. Dettlaff, who did not realize its rarity until many years later. Although somewhat deteriorated, the film was in viewable condition, complete with titles and tints as seen in 1910.
Dettlaff arrived at possession of his print of Frankenstein in a rather circuitous fashion. The print had originally belonged to his wife’s grandmother who used to screen the film and other silent shorts as part of a stage show. His wife’s grandmother eventually left show business. Passing her projector and film collection down to her son, who passed it along to his son, Dettlaff’s brother-in-law. Not knowing what he had in the collection, Dettlaff’s brother-in-law sold the entire collection to a film collector, who then sold it to another collector of Dettlaff’s acquaintance, from whom Dettlaff purchased them in the mid 1950s. Since Dettlaff was running silent films for his children as a way of teaching them to read, he screened the film for them. However, noting that there was some wear and tear, he placed the print aside, so as not to damage it further.
It was in 1963 that a film historian discovered the March 15, 1910 edition of The Edison Kinetogram with its picture of Charles Ogle in full make up on its cover in the Edison archives in New Jersey. The picture was published in numerous magazines and books, sparking interest among film buffs worldwide. But no print could be found. The American Film Institute declared the 1910 production of Frankenstein to be one of the top ten most “Culturally and historically significant lost films.”
When Dettlaff heard of the film’s placement on the AFI’s list, he announced that he indeed had a copy. However, knowing the worth of such a treasure, Dettlaff has been reticent about releasing the film to be seen. In the late 1970s he had allowed a few minutes to be shown as part of a BBC documentary, later released to home video. These snippets would later wind up in various silent cinema video compilations without attribution or payment made to Dettlaff. Feeling slighted, Dettlaff became guarded in allowing the film to be screened. In 1986, he donated a “copyright protected” version of the film, with a copyright notice that scrolled across the center of the film making viewing difficult, to the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
In 1975, at the urging of TV news photographer Charles Sciurba, Dettlaff undertook making a copy of the film with the aid of Clarence Stelloh, who had worked as an engineer at Western Electric during the early days of sound film. Working over several weekends, the pair used a 16mm camera and a modified step printer to copy some 14,000 to 15,000 images at a rate of one to two frames a second to create a 16mm backup copy of the film. Complicating the project was the fact that the film had shrunk by up to 8% at some spots, necessitating Stelloh to make changes ot the printer to accommodate for the varying space between the sprocket holes.
Here's how the March 15, 1910 edition of The Edison Kinetogram, the catalog that the Edison Company would send to distributors to hype their films, describes the film:
“To those familiar with Mrs. Shelly’s story it will be evident that we have carefully omitted anything which might be any possibility shock any portion of the audience. In making the film the Edison Co. has carefully tried to eliminate all actual repulsive situations and to concentrate its endeavors upon the mystic and psychological problems that are to be found in this weird tale. Wherever, therefore, the film differs from the original story it is purely with the idea of eliminating what would be repulsive to a moving picture audience.”
Produced by Edison Studios, the 1910 adaptation of Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein is considered cinema’s first horror film. Written and directed by J. Searle Dawley. The unbilled cast included Augustus Phillips as Dr. Frankenstein, Charles Ogle as the Monster, and Mary Fuller as the doctor's fiancée. Shot in three days, it was filmed at the Edison Studios in the Bronx, New York City.
At the time of its production, films were thought to be a disposable medium and, after they had made their initial theatrical run, were often stripped to recycle their valuable silver nitrate.
For many years, this film was believed to be a lost film. In 1963, a plot description and stills were discovered published in the March 15, 1910 issue of an old Edison film catalog, The Edison Kinetogram.
In the 1950s, a print of this film was purchased by a Wisconsin film collector, Alois F. Dettlaff, who did not realize its rarity until many years later. Although somewhat deteriorated, the film was in viewable condition, complete with titles and tints as seen in 1910.
Dettlaff arrived at possession of his print of Frankenstein in a rather circuitous fashion. The print had originally belonged to his wife’s grandmother who used to screen the film and other silent shorts as part of a stage show. His wife’s grandmother eventually left show business. Passing her projector and film collection down to her son, who passed it along to his son, Dettlaff’s brother-in-law. Not knowing what he had in the collection, Dettlaff’s brother-in-law sold the entire collection to a film collector, who then sold it to another collector of Dettlaff’s acquaintance, from whom Dettlaff purchased them in the mid 1950s. Since Dettlaff was running silent films for his children as a way of teaching them to read, he screened the film for them. However, noting that there was some wear and tear, he placed the print aside, so as not to damage it further.
It was in 1963 that a film historian discovered the March 15, 1910 edition of The Edison Kinetogram with its picture of Charles Ogle in full make up on its cover in the Edison archives in New Jersey. The picture was published in numerous magazines and books, sparking interest among film buffs worldwide. But no print could be found. The American Film Institute declared the 1910 production of Frankenstein to be one of the top ten most “Culturally and historically significant lost films.”
When Dettlaff heard of the film’s placement on the AFI’s list, he announced that he indeed had a copy. However, knowing the worth of such a treasure, Dettlaff has been reticent about releasing the film to be seen. In the late 1970s he had allowed a few minutes to be shown as part of a BBC documentary, later released to home video. These snippets would later wind up in various silent cinema video compilations without attribution or payment made to Dettlaff. Feeling slighted, Dettlaff became guarded in allowing the film to be screened. In 1986, he donated a “copyright protected” version of the film, with a copyright notice that scrolled across the center of the film making viewing difficult, to the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
In 1975, at the urging of TV news photographer Charles Sciurba, Dettlaff undertook making a copy of the film with the aid of Clarence Stelloh, who had worked as an engineer at Western Electric during the early days of sound film. Working over several weekends, the pair used a 16mm camera and a modified step printer to copy some 14,000 to 15,000 images at a rate of one to two frames a second to create a 16mm backup copy of the film. Complicating the project was the fact that the film had shrunk by up to 8% at some spots, necessitating Stelloh to make changes ot the printer to accommodate for the varying space between the sprocket holes.
Here's how the March 15, 1910 edition of The Edison Kinetogram, the catalog that the Edison Company would send to distributors to hype their films, describes the film:
“To those familiar with Mrs. Shelly’s story it will be evident that we have carefully omitted anything which might be any possibility shock any portion of the audience. In making the film the Edison Co. has carefully tried to eliminate all actual repulsive situations and to concentrate its endeavors upon the mystic and psychological problems that are to be found in this weird tale. Wherever, therefore, the film differs from the original story it is purely with the idea of eliminating what would be repulsive to a moving picture audience.”
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Happy El Dia De Los Muertos - Eerie Specials and Annuals
Oops, can't forget these...
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Friday, October 31, 2008
H - Night (9) - Eerie Fill Packs 07 and 08
These are the last of the Eerie fills - if my calculations were correct you should be able to find the entire series besides what is in these 8 packs over at the excellent Manchester Morgue blog. And I figured out what was missing a few months ago so some of it might be there now I dunno, there could be some overlap. You can also find Creepy magazine over there.
Eerie Fill Pack 07:
Issues 120, 121, 123, 125, 127, 129
Eerie Fill Pack 08:
Issues 130, 131, 133
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Eerie Fill Pack 07:
Issues 120, 121, 123, 125, 127, 129
Eerie Fill Pack 08:
Issues 130, 131, 133
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H - Night (7) - Eerie Fill Pack 05
Even more fills for your Eerie collection...
Issues 78, 99, 103, 104, 107
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Issues 78, 99, 103, 104, 107
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H - Night (5) - "Paperworky"
"Paperworky"
- a Halloween poem by Tenzhi (made when he was slacking instead of doing paperwork. ;)
'Twas midnight and the zombie horde
Did shuffle and amble in the park
Bloodthirsty was the vampire lord
And the werewolf bit his bark
Beware the candy corn, my son
Unholy orange, the sugary cone
Beware the dried up PB Bun
And the candy-filled cell phone
He took his pillowcase in hand
And donned his fearsome rubber mask
He joined a roving monstrous band
And set about his task
And as the neighbourhood he toured
He came upon a worthy place
Evil dripped from every board
With gravestones set apace
He knocked upon the heavy door
And presented his impromptu sack
Filled it they with sweets galore
And home he brought it back
Thus he filled the pillowcase
But the part that's really scary
Is how he stuffed his fat 'lil face
With candy until february
'Twas midnight and the zombie horde
Did shuffle and amble in the park
Bloodthirsty was the vampire lord
And the werewolf bit his bark
- a Halloween poem by Tenzhi (made when he was slacking instead of doing paperwork. ;)
'Twas midnight and the zombie horde
Did shuffle and amble in the park
Bloodthirsty was the vampire lord
And the werewolf bit his bark
Beware the candy corn, my son
Unholy orange, the sugary cone
Beware the dried up PB Bun
And the candy-filled cell phone
He took his pillowcase in hand
And donned his fearsome rubber mask
He joined a roving monstrous band
And set about his task
And as the neighbourhood he toured
He came upon a worthy place
Evil dripped from every board
With gravestones set apace
He knocked upon the heavy door
And presented his impromptu sack
Filled it they with sweets galore
And home he brought it back
Thus he filled the pillowcase
But the part that's really scary
Is how he stuffed his fat 'lil face
With candy until february
'Twas midnight and the zombie horde
Did shuffle and amble in the park
Bloodthirsty was the vampire lord
And the werewolf bit his bark
H - Night (2) - Eerie Fill Pack 01
You can find almost every issue of the classic Warren horror magazine Eerie over at phelpster's totally awesome Manchester Morgue blog but here are some that aren't there (at least the last time I checked.)
Here's issues 8, 9, 17 and 23. Look for more fills coming up.
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Here's issues 8, 9, 17 and 23. Look for more fills coming up.
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