Scared Silly: Classic Hollywood Horror-Comedies

OUTER SPACE JITTERS (1957)

2012-01-26T00:00:00.052-05:00

RATING: 2 & 1/4 out of ****

PLOT: Earthman Professor Jones (Emil Sitka) and his three aids (Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Joe Besser) arrive on the planet Venus where they meet the Grand Zilch (Gene Roth) and his chief aid the High Mucky Muck (Phil Van Zandt). The professor seeks knowledge and friendship from the Venutians; the Stooges seek girls’ phone numbers. Luckily they also meet three Venutian lovelies (Arline Hunter, Diana Darrin, Harriette Tarler) with whom the sparks literally fly! Unfortunately, they also meet a horrible zombie-monster (Dan Blocker) with whom the sparks don’t fly! Can the Professor and the Stooges stop the evil Venutians from using zombie-monsters to destroy the Earth?!

REVIEW: When it comes to “third Stooges” everyone has an opinion. For those who came in late, the comedy trio known as The Three Stooges actually had six actors in the roles during the team’s movie career. The stalwarts were always Moe Howard as the leader and Larry Fine as the Stooge in the middle (there was an “almost” middle Stooge in the early 1970s when Larry fell ill and frequent Stooge co-star Emil Sitka was enlisted, but that didn’t go any further than a publicity still), with the prime spot of wackiness reserved for the “Third Stooge.” Like TV’s “Charlie’s Angels” years later, there was sort of a revolving door policy – except the change in third Stooges most often had to do with illness (of Curly and of Joe Besser’s wife) or death (Shemp’s) than higher aspirations or creative differences.

So given the framework of the team, “Third Stooge” was the coveted spot. In the early days of the act performing on the vaudeville stage (back then Moe, Larry and Shemp played second fiddle to Ted Healy and were variously credited as his “Racketeers” or “Stooges”), Shemp took the role of “third Stooge.” He also played the role in the Stooges’ first movie feature with Healy, “Soup to Nuts” – which also featured a one-time fourth Stooge, Fred Sanborn. But then Shemp departed for a solo career and younger brother Jerry “Curly” Howard was brought in (until his illness prompted the return of Shemp).

So here’s where I stand: without question some of the funniest Stooges moments of all time were provided by Curly Howard. But I personally think the most talented third Stooge of all was Shemp. The proof is in Shemp’s many solo appearances away from the team. Shemp’s characterization could fit in just about anywhere, and most of the time added the good-natured and sometimes quirky spice many a film lacked (Shemp was seen not only in comedy classics alongside W.C. Fields and Abbott & Costello but often also offering comic relief in otherwise “straight” horror and gangster pics).

While profoundly sublime in his Stooges outings, I just can’t see Curly fitting into any other context. How would he fare in other comedian’s starring features? With the possible exception of quick “spot” or “blackout gags” in an Olsen & Johnson all-star laugh-fest, I just can’t see Curly excelling outside of the Stooges’ framework. Which doesn’t diminish his work with the team in the slightest – Curly more than earned his reputation as one of the screen’s all-time great clowns.

One thing all Stooge fans can agree on however is that after Curly and Shemp, it’s a case of diminishing returns. Those returns just diminish more for some than others. I know a lot of folks that just can’t stand Joe Besser and/or Joe DeRita as third Stooge. While I find them leagues apart from Curly and Shemp, I feel both Joes have their merits and that there are many other circumstances contributing to their entries being weaker than past efforts starring Curly or Shemp. A couple of obvious demerits is that the story material just wasn’t as strong nor the two Joes as commanding as Curly or Shemp.

However, one thing the Besser shorts and DeRita features did have going for them was novelty value – they tried to keep in step with the times they were in by incorporating pop culture fads that appealed to youth. This was a fresh approach from Stooges’ shorts past. One of the most visited fads during the reign of the Joes was the outer space/flying saucer craze, which yielded three Besser shorts (“Space Ship Sappy,” “Outer Space Jitters,” “Flying Saucer Daffy”) and two DeRita features (“Have Rocket Wll Travel,” “The Three Stooges in Orbit”) not to mention an animated cartoon (or two) on the subject.

The space craze of the 1950s was interesting. The public, having endured the real-life horrors of the diabolical dictators of World War Two weren’t quite as receptive as they once were to the gothic fantasy monsters from previous decades such as Dracula and Frankenstein’s monster. A new real-world villain had captured America’s imagination: the threat of communism. Whether you feel the threat was justified or just heightened hysteria, the impact of the Cold War on the American psyche was palpable. At its worst, it led to the unfortunate McCarthy-led Senate hearings (commonly regarded now as “witch hunts”) designed to “rout out” noted public figures as being “Anti-American.” As always, art and entertainment reflected the growing paranoia in creative ways, and the “alien invasion” stories (and their flipside – earthmen visiting distant planets) that proliferated the movies, TV shows, theatrical cartoons and comic books of the time were clear metaphors for dealing with an “unknown entity/enemy.”

While many classic space movies were made in the ‘50s, they weren’t all played straight. The most notable comedy film to poke fun at the premise was 1953’s “Abbott & Costello Go to Mars.” Landing four years before this Stooges short, “Go to Mars” included what would become a familiar theme (and one shared with “Jitters”): that other planets are populated by beautiful, sexy women! This theme also turned up in so-called “straight” sci-fi films: “Outer Space Jitters” was also preceded by the unintentionally funny “Cat-Women of the Moon” in ’53 and succeeded by 1958’s even-more unintentionally funny “Queen of Outer Space” with Zsa Zsa Gabor as a Venutian scientist(!). The former featured Marie Windsor who would co-star in “Abbott & Costello Meet the Mummy” and the latter was directed by Edward Bernds, a frequent helmer of Three Stooges and Bowery Boys epics including several classic horror-comedies.

“Outer Space Jitters” gets off to a rocky start. A title card tells us we’re looking at “The planet of Sunev” which is “somewhere in outer space.” That should be all the audience needs to get the joke, but the filmmakers feel obligated to add this superimposition: “Sunev is Venus spelled backward.” This lack of confidence in the material and perhaps the audience dogs the short throughout and might explain why it is entertaining overall yet simultaneously a bit inert and uneven in tone in spots.

Perhaps that uncertainty is justified, as the script by Jack White is not the most honed of Stooges outings…. which is saying a lot, considering the scripts of some of the all-time classic Stooge shorts are rather compact and simple. However, those same scripts, simple though they may be are tightly structured and true to the spirit of the Stooges. Add “Outer Space Jitters”’ awkward staging of some scenes and slack pacing that just seems to be off despite the Stooges’ and other actors’ best efforts and you can place Jack’s brother Jules White, the director into the doghouse to keep him company. Oh, wait – make room for one more – looks like Jules’ son Harold White is responsible for the choppy, disjointed editing!

We are taken to the headquarters of Venus’ leader… which looks more like a late ‘50s bachelor pad than a futuristic planet (all that’s missing is background music from Esquivel). And the Venutians? Mere mortals whose attire consists of suits and ties with sashes or standard military wear with only slight modifications, like helmets with plumes akin to those worn in the old Flash Gordon movie serials.

The short follows parallel action: while the Grand Zilch gradually reveals Venus’ scientific superiority to Professor Jones – first innocuously as he describes the planet’s advances in weather manufacturing (aka air conditioning), modern conveniences and atomic energy (“atomic electricity flows through our veins instead of blood,” the ruler explains); then diabolically as he reveals the planet’s plans to use zombie monsters to conquer the earth – the Stooges engage in all sorts of horseplay including being enticed by both lovely baubles and lovelier ladies.

In its Stooges set-pieces the short echoes earlier comedies. As the boys make their way to meet the ladies, they spot a vase filled with emeralds and solid gold blocks. Naturally they grab some for themselves but when the High Mucky Muck returns he informs them that all the riches are covered with poison. They quickly dispose of the stolen goods – a similar scenario to many classic comedy films where characters are caught red-handed with their hands in the cookie jar and have to feign innocence while quickly ditching the evidence.

When the boys kiss the girls, electric shocks are sent through their bodies. This is reminiscent of Abbott and Costello’s antics while kissing the gorgeous Venutians they encountered in “Go to Mars” (yes, Bud and Lou end up on Venus and not Mars in that one – go figure). And while there have been many awkward dinner scenes in comedy films, the Stooges chomping down on futuristic grub (including empty clam-like shells and water chalices filled with battery acid – drunk to “recharge our batteries,” a Venutian babe helpfully explains) recalls Laurel and Hardy’s befuddled reactions to the “meals in a pill” they’re fed in “The Big Noise.”

The scene where the Stooges meet the beautiful girls underscores the biggest problem with the short: the pacing is just off a notch from the usual and the predictable gags are more than telegraphed. First Larry presents one of the lovelies with a gift of “our favorite theater nuisance – popcorn!” The kernals are of the un-popped variety, until the atomic electricity-filled gal kisses Larry, naturally. Likewise, Joe presents his fine lass with a “frozen spring chicken,” which soon becomes broiled to a charcoal-crisp! In both cases, the punchline props are handed to Larry and Joe off-camera, so the shtick they perform as they wait for the props lingers a bit longer for what would essentially have been quick throwaway gags – done swiftly then off the screen – in the Curly or Shemp days.

While the Stooges cavort with cuties, the professor is being introduced to one of the zombie-monsters. The Grand Zilch boasts that they create “eternal life” with their atomic electricity. He demonstrates by opening up a hidden panel to reveal a barren lab area with a creature on a slab. The Zilch turns some knobs on a classic huge control panel (computers and control panels in old movies are always gigantic). He explains that this is how he will bring a “prehistoric man to life… or vice versa.” The monster is truly hideous, reminiscent of the Bogey Men in Laurel & Hardy’s “Babes in Toyland” (aka “March of the Wooden Soldiers”) as well as Atlas in the Bowery Boys’ “Master Minds.” It has tousled hair, a flattened nose, large fangs and deep-set eyes. It’s also played by Dan Blocker – a few years before his breakout role as “Hoss Cartwright” on the popular TV western “Bonanza.” As so often happened with newer actors on the scene, Dan not only got to (literally and figuratively) do “grunt work” in his role but also had his name misspelled as “Don” in the credits! Oh well – at least he got a credit!

A rare moment of lucidity kickstarts the Stooges’ efforts to save the day. After taking a sip… and spitting out… the battery acid the High Mucky Muck explains that water would short their circuits and they would “blow up.” Moe grabs one of Joe’s water bottles and sprays a geyser’s worth of water onto the High Mucky Muck. Sparks begin flying out of his back in the short’s most prominent display of a budget. The Stooges then run into the control room and press all the buttons, bringing the zombie-monster back to life. The Stooges break out a time-tested trope of horror-comedies: the characters who are aware of the imminent danger posed by supernatural forces try to warn the character who is in the dark, usually with the monster standing right behind him! Joe and Larry’s warbling is of the mugging variety, and probably hysterical to the film’s youngest viewers, but leagues away from similar Curly or Shemp scenes.

The Stooges rescue the professor who soon incapacitates the zombie-monster merely by flipping the switches on the control panel. In a non sequitur, the professor mentions that this is their “golden opportunity,” which reminds Joe about the riches in the vestibule – he promptly leaves the scene to stuff his pockets again. The action is flat – there’s no real gag here – but the film shifts to Moe and Larry doing their best to dismantle the control panel and we are treated for a few moments to some bona fide Stooges-style slapstick including the boys both accidentally and purposely whapping each other in the head, and in an incredible display of violence for a later Stooges short, Moe using a planer on Larry’s head… skin flakes spray out as Moe sands away!

Joe’s gold obsession is used for a convenient “out,” however – unable to carry the gold and jewels by hand, Joe takes off his pants so he can lug the riches inside. He inadvertently knocks out the Grand Zilch with the heavy load enabling the quartet to escape the planet. Until it is revealed to all have been a bedtime story concocted by the Stooges to put little kid versions of themselves to sleep before the babysitter arrives. The closing gag? Predictably, the babysitter turns out to look just like the zombie monster!

The acting in this short ranges from competent to exceptional to just plain odd. The former perfectly describes Gene Roth, who gives a competent but nondescript performance as The Grand Zilch. The latter category is owned solely by Phil Van Zandt. His stock-in-trade was playing heavies in Stooges shorts (lots of gangsters, mad scientists and henchman in shorts like “Dopey Dicks” and “Spooks”) and while he serves the same function here, the performance he serves up is quite different. Van Zandt is overly broad and imbues his character with a halting speech pattern filled with awkward pauses (maybe he just didn’t learn his lines?) that just is too odd, even for a space character. I give him credit for trying something different, but it just doesn’t work. On the “exceptional” side of the spectrum, there’s not much to say about Emil Sitka and Moe Howard other than that they are their usual reliable selves – funny and inventive, making just the right acting choices for the material. They are certainly two of the short’s three major assets.

The other asset is Larry (of course). I’ve always found that Larry gets some of the best lines and gags in Three Stooges shorts. This may be due to the fact that Moe and the “third Stooge of the week” dominate the proceedings so much that any Larry moments are bound to stick out. When Larry gets his moments, they’re usually quite memorable (for example, in “A-Plumbing We Will Go,” a classic short filled with memorable moments, Larry is chided by a butler as he digs holes in the lawn of a posh estate. Larry’s sarcastic retorts, “Don’t tell me how to run my business – beat it!” is a standout for me). In “Outer Space Jitters,” Larry gets a couple of those kind of moments. Early into the short, he sneaks in a fourth-wall breaking plug for the Frank Sinatra-Rita Hayworth musical, “Pal Joey” (released the same year by Larry’s bosses, Columbia Pictures). But Larry’s most memorable moment comes toward the end of the short while trying to save the professor. The professor has been strapped to a table, and Moe notices a strip of paper coming out of the professor’s mouth. As he pulls it out, it keeps going in a seemingly never-ending stream. Larry grabs an end and starts yelling out stock market quotes! It is totally unexpected and like many Larry moments, is a candidate for funniest bit in the film!

So what of Joe Besser, seen here at the halfway mark as “third Stooge” in the eighth of sixteen shorts he made with the team? Well, Besser tries really hard so I have to give him credit for that. I think the main problem with Besser is that he has two basic personas in his toolkit that he melds into one for the Stooges shorts. One works just fine but the other is totally out of place. A few years before taking the Stooge gig, Besser was a regular on “The Abbott & Costello Show” playing a bratty neighbor “boy” named Stinky forever at odds with the childlike Lou. In his “Stinky” guise, Besser’s prissy exclamations like “not so hard” and “oww, that hurts” were in perfect keeping with the whining lad in the Little Lord Fauntleroy costume. But take away that costume and make Joe’s character an adult and his prissy fits become merely obnoxious and slightly disturbing. On the other hand, in his Stooge shorts Besser also often called upon a quick-reacting wise guy approach that fit right in with the others, offering snappy comebacks and satirical barbs from time to time.

My final rating of 2 & ¼ stars puts this short at almost “above average” level despite its shortcomings. Why? Well, Moe, Larry and Joe really do try their durndest to rise above the material, pros that they are. The equally talented Emil Sitka also elevates the proceedings with his very presence. Throw in some “out there” elements like gorgeous outer space girls for the boys to ogle and flirt with (always fun) and a really terrific zombie-monster in Dan Blocker’s “Goon” and “Outer Space Jitters” manages to sort-of redeem itself despite its best efforts to shoot itself in the foot.

SPOTTED IN THE CAST: As if the presence of Dan Blocker wasn’t enough, this short is also graced by Joe Palma as a Venutian army officer called "Capt. Tsimmis" (Tsimmis is a yiddish word, meaning "a big fuss over nothing" - which makes Larry's use of the word when reading stock quotes all the funnier). Palma is the man affectionately known to Stoogephiles as “the fake Shemp.” When Shemp died in 1955 the Stooges still had a few shorts left to complete their contract that year. Without a new third Stooge in place (Besser hadn’t come aboard yet), Moe and Larry were left to do the four shorts as a duo, with stock video and audio of Shemp used in spots and some transparent “trickery” that fooled no one: Stooge stunt double Joe Palma was often filmed from behind as a “stand-in” for Shemp, which led to some awkward transitions such as entering and leaving scenes with his back to the camera! Lifelong friends and Stooge fanatics Sam and Ted Raimi, Rob Tapert, and Bruce Campbell enjoyed the “fake Shemp” moments so much that they decided to pull similar tricks in their films and those of others, keeping the legacy of the “fake Shemp” credit alive. As for Joe Palma, his life after the Stooges was pretty good – he became an assistant to Jack Lemmon and appeared in many of Jack’s films.

BEST DIALOGUE EXCHANGES:

(The Stooges introduce themselves to the Venus leadership):

MOE: Bewitched… LARRY: Bothered… JOE: Bewildered…

LARRY: …and don’t forget to see “Pal Joey” folks!

VENUS GIRL TO MOE: “So you are an earthman – what a terrible specimen!”

MOE: Hey, waitaminute… c’mon over and give me a kiss – you’ll soon change your mind!

MOE (after kiss): Boy I’ve heard of hot lips but yours sizzle!

VENUS GIRL: We are charged with high voltage!

MOE: Boy, a two cylinder dynamo!

BEST VISUAL GAGS:

Joe drops and steps on a water bottle that sprays all over Moe’s head and back.

Moe uses a planer on Larry’s head.

BEST COMBINATION VERBAL/VISUAL GAGS:

GRAND MUCKY MUCK: Did you take any diamonds, rubies or emeralds?

Larry and Joe shake their heads “no.”

GRAND MUCKY MUCK (continues): Oh that’s good because we protect them by coating them with a deadly poison!

Larry and Joe spit jewels out of their mouths and remove them from their pockets.

LARRY (reading the tape coming out of the Professor’s mouth as if it is stock quotes on ticker tape): General Motorcyle 17 and a half, Anaconda Steel 25 and a quarter, Simmis Incorporated 17…

FURTHER READING:

My friend Dave Whitney has an amiable blog he calls “Pete Kelly’s Blog.” Dave is a professional jazz trumpeter and vocalist who specializes in jazz, swing… and Stooges! A big fan of the three (six!) funnymen Dave is often blogging about their films and co-stars when not posting entries on jazz. You can read Dave’s review of “Outer Space Jitters” when you click here.

The fine folks at Movie FanFare also offer a nice apologetic for Besser – click here to read it:

BUY THE FILM: “Outer Space Jtitters” and all the other Stooges shorts featuring Joe Besser as “third Stooge” (including the other space-themed Stooges shorts, “Space Ship Sappy” and “Flying Saucer Daffy”) as well as a variety of Shemp-as-third-Stooge shorts appear on “The Three Stooges Collection Volume Eight: 1955-1959.”

WATCH THE FILM: Since this is a short there isn’t a trailer for it, however, there is a trailer for the “Three Stooges Fun-O-Rama.” This was a feature compilation of a selection of Besser-era Stooges shorts. The studio offered ten of the shorts and it was up to each theater to create its own program by running four to six shorts of their choice. Included in the mix was “Outer Space Jitters,” which shows up in the trailer, particular the final shot. You can watch the trailer for the Three Stooges Fun-O-Rama here:

SPACED & CONSTOOGED

2012-01-19T00:00:00.000-05:00

Greetings, fans! Getting off to a bit of a slow 2012 what with a crazy schedule and being a bit under the weather, but checking in to let you know I'll soon post a review of the Three Stooges short, "Outer Space Jitters." And give a primer on the multiple Stooges that essayed the role of "third Stooge" throughout the years.

For example: The photo up top is actually a publicity shot from the Stooges feature, "Have Rocket Will Travel." No, that's not Jerry "Curly" Howard as the third Stooge. That's non-Curly Curly-Joe DeRita. And Curly-Joe DeRita doesn't appear in the short "Outer Space Jitters." But non-Curly-Joe Joe Besser does. And if you mistook Moe Howard for his brother Shemp, well shame on you - Shemp is much more glamorous. Constooged yet?!

While you ponder the above, I'll whet your appetite for Stooges meeting space men with this public domain cartoon - enjoy!

HAPPY NEW YEAR - 2012 EDITION!!!

2012-01-01T00:00:00.003-05:00

Welcome to 2012... in the real world! Here in our world of reminiscing of decades past, welcome to 1950!:

HERE'S WISHING YOU EVERY BLESSING FOR THE NEW YEAR!

NEW YEAR'S EVE IN A HAUNTED HOUSE - 2011 INTO 2012 EDITION

2011-12-31T00:00:00.003-05:00

Hmmmm…. Father Time is kinda’ scary, isn’t he?

Speaking of time, I want to take this opportunity to thank you all for making the past couple of years so much fun for me. Thank you to all those who have twittered about my blog, chosen to “follow” the blog, have left comments on posts and told others about the project. I am especially grateful to all the blogs and websites who have publicized this wacky endeavor over the past 12 months.

Special thanks goes to John Cozzoli of Zombo’s Closet of Horror, who invited me (and my blog) to join the League of Tanna Tea Drinkers in 2011. I also want to thank Chris Cummins from Movie Fanfare for requesting that my post about collecting super 8 films to be re-posted to his fine site, affiliated with Movies Unlimited. Last but not least, thanks to David Colton, organizer of the Rondo Awards for branding my humble little blog worthy of being nominated for "best blog" - I truly appreciate that!

Of course, there's no blog without you readers out there so thank you to ALL SCARED SILLY FANS! (And if I’ve left anyone out please know it wasn’t intentional)!

Of course I also have to thank my wife for letting the TV be commandeered by all these movies (some of which were just downright painful for her to sit through), my friend Brent for being a terrific fact-checker and of course everyone’s favorite current-day character actor, carrying the torch for all who’ve gone before, the ubiquitous Daniel Roebuck, who graciously agreed to write the foreword for the book that will (hopefully) ultimately result from this blog!

Thank you also for bearing with my erratic schedule – due to other commitments I can’t always post on a regular basis. Please hang in there and keep checking back… you’re bound to see a new review every now and then.

Until the next review, here is Vagabond Opera performing “New Year’s Eve in a Haunted House,” composed by avant garde jazz legend Raymond Scott, the man behind many of the melodies heard in Looney Tunes cartoons - enjoy your New Year's Eve!

ONE QUIET NIGHT (1931)

2011-12-28T00:00:00.008-05:00

PLOT: Mr. Bates (Walter Catlett) has a case of the hiccups that would make a jackhammer feel inadequate. His condition is so bad that doctors fear it could be fatal! To make matters worse, he isn’t quite fond of Jimmy (Richard Malaby), the man who wants to marry his daughter Helen (Dorothy Granger) – the very mention of the prospect gets him hiccupping all over again! The latest remedy: doctors prescribe that Walter be taken to a house in the country for “absolute quiet.” The house is of course a spooky old place described by the doctor as being as quiet as “a tomb.” But did someone remember to tell the noisy ghosts that?!

REVIEW: This one-reeler for Educational Pictures features Walter Catlett, who is best remembered as a comedic character actor who added spice and accent to several classic musical and comedy features of the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s.

The set-up is compact and to the point, with Walter’s daughter Helen and her boyfriend Jimmy in the waiting room at the doctor’s office, awaiting the prognosis for Walter’s case of “near fatal” hiccups. In the brief opening, we learn of Walter’s condition, the fact that it was brought on and is exacerbated by Jimmy’s frequent attempts to ask Walter for his daughter’s hand in marriage, and the doctor’s prescription of rest at a “quiet” country home.

When the doctor, Walter, Helen and the driver, Chester arrive the house is completely dark. When the light switch is flipped a spooky white owl squawks and flies off (perhaps a predecessor of Harry Potter’s Hedwig?). Chester lets slip that he’s afraid to go upstairs which leads the doctor to confess that the house is allegedly haunted. The doctor leaves but not before instructing Walter to remember to take his medicine and avoid getting angry. And not before cackling menacingly on his way out!

As Walter sleeps his snores alternate with hiccups. Chester sleeps in the same room; right next to a window and when the wind causes the window shade to snap up both men are startled. As Chester rises, he casts an ominous shadow in Catlett’s direction.

After a brief exchange between the two, the sheet on Walter’s bed flies straight up into the air! He runs into the hallway where he sees a candle headed his way! After a momentary scare he realizes it’s his daughter, awoken by the commotion. She asks if her dad if he heard a scream and just then maniacal laughter is heard! As Walter turns he notices the eyes of painted portrait on the wall are darting about. His daughter runs off in fear and when Walter turns again he notices someone holding a much larger candle – a scary man with a top hat who looks a bit like Mr. Hyde!

This leads to a series of blackout gags where we go back and forth between Walter, Chester and Helen being scared. Chester is still dealing with the disembodied sheet in the other bedroom and prays to his “mammy” for help! The Mr. Hyde creature continues to menace Walter and Helen to the point where Helen faints. A scary arm with long, sharp fingernails reaches through the wall and strokes Chester’s face. Walter steps on a bearskin rug and is verbally chided by the bear for doing so! This is followed by Chester accidentally stepping on a lion-skin rug who threatens to bite his leg off if he doesn’t step off! A stuffed toucan then queries, “can’t a guy get some sleep around here!”

These gags culminate in the first big twist: as a ghostly figure with a hideous face heads down the stairs toward Walter and Helen, it trips down the steps and the headpiece falls off, revealing Jimmy underneath! Of course he tells Walter that he only did it to cure his hiccups since “the only cure is a bad scare!” Realizing his hiccups are gone, Walter changes his tune and thanks Jimmy, then asks him how he ever got the animals to talk.

“Animals, what animals,” asks Jimmy. “He means us!” exclaims the bear as the trio try to run out the door. Unfortunately it’s locked, but the helpful lion offers, “The key is on the table!”

This is followed by a second twist, as the trio is accosted by the Mr. Hyde monster and a couple of ghosts on their way out. It’s the doctor and his helpers. “That last scare ought to make the cure permanent – I don’t think he’ll suffer from hiccoughs from now on!”

Maybe not. Now that Jimmy is in Walter’s good graces, he once again asks Walter if he can marry his daughter. This starts the hiccough fit all over again – but this time it spreads to Jimmy and Helen, too!

In a fast-paced ten minutes (this was a one-reeler), this short manages to pull out nearly all the trappings of a typical “old dark house” scare comedy: the old house itself with its ornate furnishings and foreboding dark shadows, the scared servant (in this case, the driver), sounds and voices out of nowhere, things (like window shades and sheets) that move on their own, the portrait with moving eyes, scary monster and ghost figures, etc. It’s all stock material – nothing really new or original here, including the “scares as a cure for hiccups” premise that appears in countless live-action and animated comedies – but it’s elevated a notch by the performers who all sell the laughs and scares with great gusto and enthusiasm.

Of course the center of the action is the short’s star Walter Catlett, who is perfect here as his typical excitable, put-upon character. An ex-vaudevillian, Catlett had a lengthy career in both shorts and features for a variety of studios. Among the studios for which Catlett made comedy shorts were Sennett, Educational and Columbia (for which he would make a two-reel horror-comedy called “You’re Next” featuring Dudley Dickerson). In features, Catlett had the good fortune to appear in such classics as “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” “Bringing Up Baby,” “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town” and “A Tale of Two Cities.” On the classic comedy front, he appeared alongside such luminaries as Hugh Herbert, Abbott & Costello and Danny Kaye, and even had a part in Olsen & Johnson’s classic horror-comedy, “Ghost Catchers.” However, with all his many credits Catlett is undoubtedly most famously known by children around the world as the voice of “Honest” John Worthington Foulfellow, the conman fox from Disney’s classic animated feature, “Pinocchio.” Not only was Catlett offered an opportunity to play a brash and flamboyant comic villain in the role, but he also got to sing an enduring tune, “Hi Diddle-Dee-Dee.”

As for the rest of the cast, the beautiful Dorothy Granger (my all-time favorite classic comedy actress) displays her usual comic prowess in going toe-to-toe with comedic males (in a career spanning several decades she played opposite giants like Laurel & Hardy, W.C. Fields and The Three Stooges and enjoyed a recurring role as Leon Errol’s wife in his great shorts). The actor playing the doctor imbues the character with a very cavalier and cocky attitude that is both funny and alarming (would anyone really want a doctor who would go to such lengths to scare the wits out of them?). Chester, the driver is essayed by an African-American performer I don’t recognize. His role offers the usual conundrum: he’s relegated to a “scared servant” part but like fellow African-American comedic actors Mantan Moreland and Dudley Dickerson he is quite funny going through those motions.

On top of all the great acting, there is the surprising element of talking rugs and taxidermist dummies. The bearskin and lion skin rugs and stuffed toucan provide some of the biggest laugh-out-loud moments in the short. As classic horror-comedies go, “One Quiet Night” is worth watching for all of its fun elements, and being a one-reeler that plays at a swift clip it doesn’t give a viewer time to reflect upon how shopworn some of the gags and overall premise may be.

SPOTTED IN THE CAST: This short only has three credited players – Catlett, Granger and someone named Richard Malaby. Catlett and Granger of course are known performers but I have no idea who Richard Malaby played – he only has one other acting credit to his name and I couldn’t find a photo of him. Since there are three other major parts in the film (the boyfriend, the doctor and the driver) it’s anyone’s guess who Malaby played. I’m guessing he’s the boyfriend but he could be the doctor. Or perhaps he’s the driver. Who knows?

Therefore, for this particular entry we’ll do “Spotted in the Credits” instead. Almost (more on that in a moment). This film was directed by Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle. For the general public who has heard of Arbuckle, most know him from the infamous scandal that brought his star down. What they may not know is that after three trials he was acquitted of the charge of accidentally causing Virginia Rappe’s death. The star, who mentored Chaplin and worked with Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton was once just as famous and beloved as those three giants of the silent screen. Fatty was given some opportunities after his acquittal to appear in sound shorts (including a couple co-starring Shemp Howard) as well as to direct shorts starring the likes of Al St. John, Lloyd Hamilton and Lupino Lane, among others. Just two years after directing “One Quiet Night” and also starring in a half dozen shorts for Vitaphone, Warner Brothers offered him a shot at a feature. It was never to be, as Fatty suffered a fatal heart attack the very same day the offer was made.

So, I mentioned above that this is an ALMOST “Spotted in the Credits.” Why? Because in original release prints of “One Quiet Night” the short’s direction is credited to William Goodrich. Despite Arbuckle’s acquittal, the scandal was just too fresh in the public’s mind for him to draw attention to himself, hence the alias (which often was shortened to just "Will B. Good" - as suggested by Buster Keaton). In later years when Arbuckle's post-scandal directorial efforts were re-released theatrically and to TV stations by other distributors, Arbuckle’s real name was restored to the credits in place of the pseudonym.

BEST DIALOGUE EXCHANGES:

For my money, the best dialogue comes from the bearskin rug, lion skin rug and stuffed toucan, but here are some of the memorable human exchanges as well:

JIMMY: Mr. Bates, can I marry your daughter?

CATLETT: No! HICCUP! A thousand HICCUP times no! Confound you HICCUP you’re the HICCUP fellow who HICCUP started this HICCUP hiccup mess!

CATLETT: It’s like a HICCUP tomb!

DOCTOR: Exactly what you need – absolute quiet!

DOCTOR: Driver, take Mr. Bates’ bags to his room.

CHESTER (THE DRIVER): Me go upstairs in this house? No sir, pos-i-tive-ly!

CATLETT: What did he mean?

DOCTOR: That’s a lot of nonsense, Mr. Bates. Some people think this house is haunted.

CATLETT: Haunted?!

DOCTOR: They think there’s ghosts.

CATLETT: Ghosts?!

DOCTOR: Of course to us, that’s silly!

CHESTER: Do you mind if I leave all the doors open?

CATLETT: Why?

CHESTER: In case I wants to leave quick!

CATLETT: What are you puttering around about? Why don’t you go to sleep?

CHESTER: I just can’t sleep tonight. I reckon I got the in-so-amonia!

CATLETT: “In-so-amonia!” Chester, you certainly do murder the English language!

CHESTER: I hope that’s all that’s murdered down here tonight!!!

BEST VISUAL GAGS:

All the aforementioned scare gags and the actors’ reactions to same are very well done. Like the dialogue, the best visual also belongs to sight of the bearskin rug, stuffed toucan and lion skin rug as their mouths all move in a visually funny manner.

FURTHER READING:

Rob King, an Assistant Professor of Cinema Studies at the University of Toronto wrote an essay about the comedy shorts of Educational Pictures for the magazine “Film History: an International Journal.” You can read about it and order a copy when you click here and here.

THE HORROR OF... SANTA CLAUS!

2011-12-22T00:00:00.013-05:00

What has to be one of the most surreal and (unintentionally) scariest children’s films ever made is director René Cardona’s 1959 “Santa Claus.” Enterprising exploitation producer/distributor/showman K. Gordon Murray snapped this one up, dubbed it (poorly) into English and unleashed it upon an unsuspecting American public year after year after year.

I say “unsuspecting” because no one in America could have suspected the Santa legend was so different in Mexico. Or maybe it was just different for the writers and directors behind this cinematic oddity. I’ve read many articles about the film and I’m still not sure what the answer is. All I can say is that the differences are not subtle.

Some examples: In this version, Santa doesn’t live in the North Pole – he lives in a castle in the clouds! He doesn’t have real reindeer – they are mechanical! He doesn’t come down chimneys – he enters homes with a magic key. All this, plus he fights an emissary of the devil (no, the photo at the top of this post isn't photoshopped)!

It gets weirder… and scarier… from there. Santa watches over (or more accurately, spies) on the children of the world via a telescope whose unnervingly snaking appendage has a blinking eyeball for a lens! Santa’s right-hand man is Merlin (yes, the sorcerer from Camelot legends) and somehow Santa has gotten children from all over the world to perform for him in a lengthy and very politically incorrect sequence where he watches choirs from many lands sing to him. Oh, and speaking of children, Santa doesn’t have elves. He has children make the toys for him!

As if Merlin’s involvement wasn’t non sequitur enough, the film also shoehorns a distorted Christian sensibility into its core, as Santa basically works on Jesus’ behalf. Which of course makes Satan mad to no end and inspires the dark one to send his hench-demon Pitch into battle against Santa in both direct and indirect ways (in the form of recruiting bad little kids to bedevil the good ones who have Santa’s favor).

So it’s not technically a horror film… but it is quite scary. And it’s not a comedy… but it’s so bizarre and absurd that it can’t help but make you laugh in spots (even if that laughter is uneasy at times). For me as a Christian believer, there is an extra layer of weirdness in its cockamamie misrepresentation of the faith that is both scary and funny simultaneously (not funny “ha-ha” but funny as in, “I can’t believe what I’m watching!")…

…but enough of me talking about this film. It really has to be seen to be believed. That plus others have already done in-depth and entertaining examinations of the film which you can read when you click on the links below:

B-Movie Review of Santa Claus

Monster Shack review of Santa Claus

…and best of all, an official blog has been launched containing various articles and reviews of the film – not to mention your chance to vote on such pressing questions as “Which country featured in Santa’s Heavenly Workshop suffered the most ethnic stereotypes?” and “What is the creepiest gadget in Santa’s ‘secret’ lab?” Just click below to visit this new blog appropriately named…

Santa Claus Conquers the Devil: 50 Years of K. Gordon Murray’s Santa Claus

As we wind down the year here’s wishing everyone the safest, happiest and most blessed of holidays. I hope to have at least one new classic horror-comedy review up before the New Year, and hopefully many more throughout 2012.

Now, here’s the trailer for “Santa Claus” – watch if you dare!

A HOLIDAY TRADITION: THE "CREEPS" OF CHRISTMAS - 2011 EDITION!

2011-12-15T00:00:00.004-05:00

THIS IS AN "ENCORE" POST - I ORIGINALLY POSTED THIS ENTRY IN 2009 AND THOUGHT I'D RE-POST IT FOR ANYONE WHO MAY HAVE MISSED IT - MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas is almost here, and I wanted to share some of the foremost holiday monsters with you. Only I didn’t want to do so on Christmas itself, as I take the holiday seriously from a spiritual standpoint.

Anyway, in the fictional legends that have sprung up over the years around the holiday, ghosts and monsters have played a major role. Just think of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” for starters. A pure ghost story… with one seriously scary Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come!

So in the world of holiday fantasies, a few monsters stand out, and we’ll take a look at them now (with one caveat that should be noted: I know the following are not technically "horror-comedies" but since all contain some humor and give folks warm, fuzzy feelings of nostalgia, I'm being a bit generous in this post).

We have to begin of course with the Bogeymen from Laurel & Hardy’s 1934 classic “Babes in Toyland” (aka “March of the Wooden Soldiers”). These creatures from Bogeyland live in the bowels of the earth, in a horrible, frightening place that is the polar opposite of bright, happy Toyland, where Santa and his workers make the toys for the world’s children. And while their leader, the evil Silas Barnaby would like nothing more than to use his monster army to take over Toyland, he’s no match for toymakers Stannie Dumm and Ollie Dee… and 100 wooden soldiers each 6 feet high! As Ollie describes the Bogeymen, “they’re terrible looking things – they’re half man and half animal… with great big ears, and great big mouths, and long claws that they catch you with!” You can catch a glimpse of the Bogeymen toward the end of this trailer:

Next up is The Bumble (pictured at top) from the classic 1964 TV special “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” This was produced by Rankin-Bass, the studio behind the classic horror-comedy “Mad Monster Party.” Utilizing their signature stop-motion animated puppet style (which they dubbed “Ani-Magic”), the special built upon the elements from the original 1939 story by Robert L. May, the famous song written by May’s brother-in-law Johnny Marks (which became a huge hit for Gene Autry) and the 1944 animated theatrical short from Max Fleischer. Rudolph was given much more backstory in the Rankin-Bass special, and a larger supporting cast, including the Abominable Snow Creature known as “The Bumble.” The fearsome creature menaces Rudolph and his friends but as anyone who has seen this classic knows (and who hasn’t seen it?) there’s a very good reason for the Bumble’s agitation… and a happy ending for all!

The most recent spooky holiday star is "The Nightmare Before Christmas"'s Jack Skellington and all his friends from Halloweentown. Jack is simply enchanted by the magic in neighboring Christmastown and wants to bring some home for himself. And that’s where the trouble starts! This clash of the holidays originated as a poem from the limitlessly creative imagination of animator-director-producer Tim Burton. Director Henry Selick brought Burton’s concepts and designs to life in dynamic fashion in a mixed-media production that is equal parts stop-motion puppetry (a la one of Burton’s favorite films, “Mad Monster Party”) combined with cut-out designs and other special animated effects. Check out the trailer here.

While Jack Skellington wanted to abscond Christmas to share with his friends (a tinsel-clad Robin Hood) there is one nasty holiday horror who hated Christmas and didn’t want anyone to enjoy it: Dr. Seuss’s immortal Grinch! The famous book “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” by writer-cartoonist Seuss (real name Ted Geisel, who once contributed to some classic Warner Brothers theatrical cartoons including adaptations of his children's books as well as the classic Snafu shorts made for the war department) detailed how this foul fiend with a heart two sizes too small tried to hijack the holiday. Of course, the operative word is “try,” as we all know the Christmas spirit will triumph in the end! Interestingly enough, the Grinch shares more in common with Jack Skellington than merely pilfering Christmas - the Grinch got himself all tangled up in Halloween, too in the 1977 special "Halloween is Grinch Night." As for "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," most are familiar with the classic 1966 animated TV special directed by animation legend Chuck Jones... and I’ll leave it at that, as I prefer to think the live-action fiasco of a few years back never happened!

So here’s wishing all Scared Silly fans the happiest and safest of holidays, and every blessing for the New Year!

LAUREL & HARDY RETURN… AGAIN & AGAIN & AGAIN!

2011-12-08T00:00:00.038-05:00

For those who came in late: Laurel & Hardy are my all-time favorite movie comedians. And right now is a great time to be a Laurel & Hardy fan in America. Especially if you live on the East Coast. But more on that in a moment...

It’s been a great year to be a Laurel & Hardy fan due primarily to an event that has been long-in-coming: a DVD set of the team’s classic sound shorts and features that is worthy of their legacy. As die-hard Laurel & Hardy fans know, the team spent most of their careers at the Hal Roach Studios, and this is where their masterworks were created. While other DVDs have been released in the past featuring Roach material, they have either been of an inferior quality (like the ill-conceived Hallmark and Artisan releases utilizing TV prints with added music and fade-outs for commercial breaks that never appeared in the original theatrical prints) or very good but limited in content (the “TCM Archives: Laurel & Hardy” from Warner Brothers). One exception was the official MGM/Sony DVD release of “Babes in Toyland/March of the Wooden Soldiers” in a crisp black and white print with the original titles.

Late October however brought “The Essential Laurel & Hardy” DVD collection from Vivendi Entertainment. This phenomenal set contains all the talkie Hal Roach Laurel & Hardy material not controlled by Warner Brothers or MGM, which is to say it’s the majority of Stan & Ollie’s Roach output, and by default, the crown jewel in terms of US-released Laurel & Hardy DVD collections. It also contains some of the team’s greatest horror-comedies, specifically the three-reeler (30 minute) short “The Laurel & Hardy Murder Case” (both the original US theatrical version and its longer “featurette” version from Spain called “Noche De Duendes” which inserts Laurel & Hardy’s bumpy train ride from “Berth Marks” into the story as Stan & Ollie’s mode of transportation to the reading of Uncle Ebeneezer Laurel’s will), “Oliver the 8th” and “The Live Ghost.” It also contains some of their “horror-onable mentions” like “Dirty Work” with its mad (but benign) scientist and “A Chump at Oxford” which contains a brief sequence where unlikely college students Stan & Ollie (watch for yourself to see how that happens) are scared silly by other students in skeleton outfits including the future Hammer horror star Peter Cushing. The set is getting enthusiastic reviews including this one from long-time fan Leonard Maltin. Here’s a trailer for the set – it’s available at a discount from several online retailers and highly recommended:

Now upfront I mentioned that it was also a good time to be a Laurel & Hardy fan on the East Coast. Why? Seven little words: Laurel and Hardy on the big screen! Yes, if you live in the Tri-State area you’ll have not one but two opportunities to experience the world’s most beloved comedy team as they were originally seen: in a crowd of laughing movie-goers enjoying the duo in a movie theater! Your first chance will be this Friday, December 9th at 8PM at the landmark Loews theater in Jersey City, New Jersey (easily accessible from the PATH station). This classic movie palace will be showing a 35mm print of “March of the Wooden Soldiers” on their huge 50 foot screen. The film, originally titled "Babes in Toyland" is a whimsical fantasy classic that contains quite a bit of spooky content and you can read my review when you click here. Admission is $7 or adults and $5 for children and seniors. Get more details by clicking here.

The following day, on Saturday, December 10th it’s another “Silent Clowns Film Series" screening, with the focus on “The Merry Gentlemen: Mr. Laurel & Mr. Hardy.” The Silent Clowns Film Series is renown for its screening of vintage silent comedies with live piano accompaniment from musician Ben Model. Each presentation is programmed by film historian Bruce Lawton, who along with Model and fellow film historian Steve Massa of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts engage the audience post-screening with an informative and entertaining Q&A.

On the program this Saturday are four classic shorts that loom large in the duo’s history: “Leave ‘em Laughing,” “Two Tars,” “Wrong Again” and “Big Business.” Each of these films features wild and crazy scenarios that are sure to leave the audience... well, sure to leave ‘em laughing! “Two Tars” and “Big Business” feature what would become a familiar Laurel & Hardy mofit: the war of “reciprocal destruction/tit for tat.” The latter features Stan & Ollie selling Christmas trees so there’s a holiday tie-in, too. And while there are no horror-comedies on tap for this screening, “Wrong Again” does feature an ornate mansion inhabited by an eccentric millionaire, a staple of horror-comedies. This special presentation is held at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, Bruno Walter Auditorium. Showtime is 2:30 PM. Admission is free. Find out more details by clicking here. And enjoy a sample of “Leave ‘em Laughing” below:

Last but not least, we head back to New Jersey for what one man thinks is the quite literal “return” of Stan & Ollie – in the form of my pals, Josh and Danny Bacher. These performing brothers from New Jersey (who bill themselves as "The Bacher Boys") are huge fans of Laurel & Hardy and Danny is one of the foremost collectors of Laurel & Hardy memorabilia in the world (some items in his collection: Stan Laurel’s bowtie, Oliver Hardy’s pants from “Way Out West,” a pair of complete suits from the team’s 1940s films, a fez fro “Sons of the Desert,” the painting of the dean from “A Chump at Oxford” which ended up being used later in two different horror-comedy projects: the feature “Who Killed Doc Robin” and a 1955 episode of “My Little Margie” titled “Corpus Delecti”).

Well, real-life MD Dr. Walter Semkiw is quite convinced that my friends are the reincarnation of Laurel & Hardy (read more here and here). My friends, their love of Stan & Ollie notwithstanding, are quite convinced that they aren’t the reincarnation of the team. So what did they do? They teamed up with the doctor to produce the documentary below about the doctor’s claims. Well, maybe it’s a documentary from the doctor’s point of view. From the Bacher Brothers’ point of view, it’s a mockumentary. Depending upon your own belief systems and sense of humor, you may find the following hysterical (I'm sure you can guess which side of the cosmic joy buzzer I'm on). Or perhaps you’ll just get a sense that it’s déjà vu all over again!

BUY COMICS FOR THE HOLIDAYS & HELP A GREAT CHARITY!

2011-11-30T00:00:00.005-05:00

Greetings Scared Silly fans! Well, here it is - my final personal appearance of 2011 and it's a great opportunity to buy comics at deep discounts for the holidays while helping out a wonderful cause. Yes, I'm talking about the next “Superheroes for Hospice” charity comic convention which takes place this Saturday, December 3rd at the Saint Barnabas Health Hospice and Palliative Care Center at 95 Old Short Hills Road in West Orange, New JErsey. I will be there from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m autographing copies of my ARCHIE’S WEIRD MYSTERIES and VINCENT PRICE books along with various comic book projects.

Also on hand will be my pal Thomas Hall who will be signing copies of his award-winning R-13 (aka ROBOT 13) as well as his horror-comedy project KING! (which I recently highlighted – click here to read all about it)...

There will also be plenty of comics for sale from all decades to purchase as well as other great comics creators on hand to autograph comics, do sketches and sell original art. Among some of the great comics pros on hand will be famed Marvel and Papercutz artist Rick Parker, who is bringing "Tales from the Crypt" to a new generation; writer Erica Schultz, whose fine "M3" is quickly gaining a following and features the art of legendary horror comics artist Vincente Alcazar; and up-and-comer Nick Mockaviak, whose love for Universal Monsters is only surpassed by his love of drawing Universal Monsters! And that's just a small sampling of the talent appearing this Saturday.

Proceeds will support the patients and families of the Saint Barnabas Hospice and Palliative Care Center. Established in 1981, the Saint Barnabas Hospice and Palliative Care Center provides comprehensive care for patients with advanced illness, and their families, throughout ten counties in the State of New Jersey.

The Saint Barnabas Hospice and Palliative Care Center supports inpatient units at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, and Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, NJ, as well as Van Dyke Hospice at Community Medical Center in Toms River. It also provides home care and services for individuals in long-term care and assisted living facilities.

Now here’s a clip from the audio/video podcast, “Fever Keeps It Real” – the fine folks who run the show, Paul and Linda Wein dropped by the most recent “Superheroes for Hospice<” convention this past September and interviewed me about Archie’s Weird Mysteries and the charity starting at 3:46 – enjoy!

A THANKSGIVING TRADITION CONTINUES!

2011-11-24T00:00:00.003-05:00

NOTE: This is a re-post of an entry I originally posted on Thanksgiving, 2010.

BABES IN TOYLAND (aka MARCH OF THE WOODEN SOLDIERS) (1934)

RATING: *** & ¾ out of ****

AUTHOR’S NOTE #1: I’m running a review of this film today because the film is a Thanksgiving tradition in the New York Tri-State area where I grew up and still live. WPIX Channel 11 has run this film almost every year on Thanksgiving for the past 40 or so years (a notable exception was two years ago, which led to the station receiving many protests – and lo and behold the film was back the very next year, and is on the air again this year, from 9AM to 11AM Thanksgiving morning).

AUTHOR’S NOTE #2: As of this writing I’m still debating whether to include this film among the main Laurel & Hardy horror-comedy entries or whether to place it in the “horror-onable mention” section. The film is not a horror-comedy per se – in fact, it is a children’s fantasy that makes ample use of classic fairy tale characters. Furthermore, a major motif in the film is Santa and his toymakers readying Christmas gifts for the children in the off-season. But its horrific moments and characters are quite palpable and place it in a unique category all its own. More on that in the review...

PLOT: The peace and tranquility of the citizens of Toyland (where all the famous nursery rhyme and fairy tale characters live along with Santa Claus and all his helpers) is threatened by its one bad apple: sinister Silas Barnaby (Henry Brandon), a creepy landlord who holds the mortgages on most of the homes in the land, including the shoe-shaped home belonging to the old woman (who lived in a shoe). He also rules the frightening “Bogeyland” and the monstrous “Bogeymen” that inhabit it, a place where criminals are banished as punishment for major crimes. Barnaby is sweet on the old woman’s daughter Little Bo Peep. When Mother Widow Peep (Florence Roberts) can’t meet the mortgage payment on the shoe, Barnaby offers to forget the whole matter if she’ll consent to offering Bo Peep’s hand in marriage to Barnaby. Neither Mother nor Bo Peep, who is in love with Tom Tom the Piper’s Son (Felix Knight) are willing to submit to Barnaby’s demand and so he threatens to evict everyone out of the shoe. Enter two of the shoe’s tenants, Stannie Dumm (Stan Laurel) and Ollie Dee (Oliver Hardy), who vow to get a loan from their boss the toymaker (William Burress) to prevent such a travesty. That doesn’t go over too well as the “boys” get in a heap of trouble with the toymaker after Santa does a spot check at the toy factory. St. Nick wants to see how things are coming along and learns that Stannie got his wooden soldiers order all mixed up – instead of 600 soldiers at one foot high, 100 soldiers each six feet high have been created! A series of triumphs and reversals follow for Stannie, Ollie, Bo Peep and Tom Tom and when it becomes apparent that Barnaby can no longer “trick” his way to achieving his evil desires, he enlists the aid of the ferocious half-men, half-monster Bogeymen to rout Toyland. Can our heroes find a way to defeat these abominable creatures, and what will become of Bo Peep, Tom Tom and the wooden soldiers?

REVIEW: Testament to the role this film has played in my life: I’ve seen it so many times I didn't even need to re-watch it to review it! Without question, this film, based on the Victor Herbert operetta is one of the most unique films ever made – as both a comedy film by major stars and as a holiday classic it stands pretty much alone. Only the all-star “Alice in Wonderland” which also stars Charlotte Henry in the title role (along with Cary Grant, W.C. Fields, Leon Errol, Jack Oakie, Sterling Holloway, Edward Everett Horton, Charles Ruggles and others) comes close but ultimately it's no cigar – while that earlier film shares “Babe’s” weird and spooky oddness it lacks the charm and humor of the Laurel & Hardy opus which despite several terror-filled sequences is filled with hope and optimism. And “Alice” certainly doesn’t evoke any warm-fuzzy holiday feelings... it is most decidedly not a holiday classic.

Where can I even begin? This is one of those films that has to be seen – mere words cannot convey the wonders this film undolds. I suppose I’ll get the intentional and unintentional scares out of the way first:

Silas Barnaby, as performed with relish and flourish by Henry Brandon (real name: Kleinbach) is a dastardly villain of the highest order. He has a huge “creepy” and “spooky” factor, not unlike many of the fiends Bela Lugosi and Vincent Price essayed over their illustrious careers. It is a performance for the ages. Brandon treads that line between funny and purely evil that not many actors since have accomplished (Heath Ledger’s interpretation of Batman’s nemesis “The Joker” is the most recent example I can think of but there have been few and far between). Most amazing of all, Brandon did it at the tender age of 22. That is an amazing accomplishment not just because he’s playing a character much older but also because of all he was able to bring to the character – if you didn’t know Brandon’s real age you’d swear that he had already witnessed decades of villainy to inspire his portrayal. Brandon played many other notable roles through the years (including a part in the Martin & Lewis horror-comedy “Scared Stiff”) and even acted up until the year before his death in 1990 but when all is said and done it is not a stretch to claim that history will put Barnaby at the top of his most memorable roles. Brandon returned to the character three years later and that turn was just as memorable as the original. In the short “Our Gang Follies of 1938” (filmed and released in 1937) Brandon is the Opera House impresario who signs famed Little Rascal Alfalfa to a crooked contract whose deception is worthy of those the devil dealt in “The Devil & Tom Walker,” “The Devil & Daniel Webster,” “Damn Yankees,” “Bedazzled” and so many other tales. The unbreakable contract requires Alfalfa to sing “The Barber of Seville” at his opera house… forever! The character is never called “Barnaby” by name in the short, but in the script he is identified as such.

Barnaby has a manservant, naturally, and as the illogic in old movies usually goes, the villains always pick ineffective manservants like hunchbacks and mutes (sometimes they’re both at the same time). Here, the manservant is a diminutive dwarf played by John George. He is oddly creepy in his own right (which may be the context more than anything – the costumes in this film are creepy as is the lighting and Barnaby’s villainy and lair, and since George appears in those scenes, his character takes on those attributes as well… except when Barnaby laces into him, resulting in some audience sympathy toward the character). He is also somewhat reminiscent of Angelo Rossitto, another dwarf actor with a lengthy career who often appeared in the same manservant capacity, most notably alongside Bela Lugosi in various films including the East Side Kids horror-comedy, “Spooks Run Wild.” Rossitto also appears in "Babes," as one of the little pigs as well as one of the sandmen fairies during the lullaby scene (more on both below).

Barnaby’s minions, “The Bogeymen” are horrific monster-men designed to give children (and maybe a few adults) nightmares. Less frightening once you get past a certain age and spot the rubber faces and the pillow pads within their shaggy suits, they are also fairly unique considering the year the movie came out. The most natural comparisons would be movie werewolves and ape men but most of those types of films (such as “Werewolf of London” and “The Wolf Man” and “The Ape Man”) came out after “Babes.” Prior to “Babes,” the most notable example was “The Island of Lost Souls” a year earlier and perhaps some of Lon Chaney Sr.’s silent monster films. Like Barnaby, the Bogeymen (or at least A BogeyMAN) would return in an “Our Gang” short. Well, at least the costume and mask (without an actor inside) would, as Alfalfa, Buckwheat and Porky are scared witless by a Bogeyman that flings out of a hidden panel during an unplanned (and unrealized by the kids) journey through a spooky carnival funhouse in the last Hal Roach-produced “Our Gang” short , “Hide & Shriek” (1938). Not to be outdone, Barnaby is also evoked in an early scene that has "detektive" Alfalfa showing off his expertise at disguises - answering the door dressed as Barnaby complete with hat, cape and cane!

Barnaby and the Bogey Men are the obviously scary elements, but the whole production has an (appropriately) surreal and otherworldly sensibility that sometimes borders on the eerie, with even some of the favorite children’s characters rendered in slightly “off” costumes and masks that are downright spooky at times. These include the Three Little Pigs, played by dwarves (including the aforementioned cult film favorite Angelo Rossitto) and children (including Payne B. Johnson who is still with us as of this writing – I had the pleasure of meeting him at the 2006 Sons of the Desert convention in Atlanta, GA) in garish costumes. The masks make the faces of the pigs seem a little scary – they look old and wrinkled and not capable of showing much emotion (especially since you can’t really see their eyes), which heightens the bizarre feeling (a pig jumping up and down and clapping its hands in victory with an emotionless face is an odd thing indeed. There is also man in a cat suit (Pete Gordon, who played the Chinese cook in Laurel & Hardy’s horror-comedy classic “The Live Ghost”) with a fiddle, naturally, who comes off slightly scary – mostly unintentionally although there is one cheat scare when Ollie is explaining to Stan about the Bogeyman’s horrible claws… just as the “cat” puts its paw on Stan’s shoulder!

One scene that was edited out of many television prints through the years had Tom Tom, having been banished to Bogeyland after being falsely accused of pignapping (Barnaby framed him of of course) comforting Bo Peep, who had traveled into Bogeyland after her true love. Tom Tom sings Bo Peep to sleep with a lullaby while fairies (played by dwarves again… perhaps the producers of the still-a-few-years-away “Wizard of Oz” took notice of these diminutive thesps with big talents) dance overhead in spectral, see-through form. The ghostly figures make the scene more eerie than magical for me.

Oddest of all however has to be... Mickey Mouse. You heard that right, Mickey Mouse. PLAYED BY A MONKEY! I always personally loved the monkey-in-a-mouse suit character, but I know others who were totally frightened by it. It is weird to say the least (I still wonder how the heck the monkey was able to breathe in that costume). The character is a mix of the plucky and resourceful Mickey from the 1930s black & white cartoons combined with the offbeat, bouncy movements of a typical monkey (the character gets a major moment of its own during the climactic battle with the Bogeymen, piloting a toy zeppelin and dropping explosives onto the monsters from overhead). The Hal Roach Studios (producers of the film) had a long-standing relationship with the Disney studio and their “stars” occasionally crossed over (Laurel & Hardy are prominent in the classic “Mickey’s Polo Team” and in the same year as “Babes” Mickey and Stan & Ollie co-starred again in the all-star MGM feature, “Hollywood Party”). This friendly co-existence between Disney and Roach also extended to Disney granting Roach the rights to use the smash hit song “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf” in “Babes” (the award-winning animated “Three Little Pigs” Disney short having debuted the year before).

I have always found this film absolutely delightful. As a child I don’t remember being scared by the spookier elements; it’s only as I grew older that I realized how frightening some elements in this film are. But I am still delighted by it, for two reasons. First, Laurel & Hardy are simply sublime as usual in this film. Their comedy is warm, funny and at times magically surreal and the screen characters audiences had become used to remain intact in the middle of this high fantasy. Perhaps since I had seen so many other features and shorts by the duo as a child I knew that they “always came back” for another adventure, so I was certain that they would help defeat the marauding monsters (despite fearful moments of real terror and concern – such as when the Bogeymen snatch Toyland’s children from their beds). I also grew up in a time where Hollywood saw the value in the darker side of the fairy tale. Overcoming fears and learning important lessons through scary allegories were hallmarks of children’s stories. Disney knew this well – during Hollywood’s golden age his “Snow White & the Seven Dwarves” and “Pinocchio” didn’t pull any punches in the “scares” department. This approach lasted at least through the early 1970s with Gene Wilder’s masterful portrayal of the alternately whimsical/frightening title character of “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.” Somewhere along the line, the “gatekeepers” decided that scares had to be skirted in children’s fantasies, leaving whole generations with much more homogenized stories lacking true heart and humanity.

“Babes in Toyland” has a slippery history. Hal Roach originally bought the rights to do a film version of the Herbert operetta "Babes" then realized it had very little plot, at least not one that would easily accommodate a feature film (it was fine for the stage where it worked perfectly as a lovely revue of childhood memories of the toy chest set to song). So Roach conceived a story with Stan and Ollie as “Simple Simon and the Pie Man.” The villain was a spider who turned into a man and put “hate” into the wooden soldiers so they could ravage the town and eliminate “love and happiness.” It sounds a lot like the Beatles’ classic animated feature “Yellow Submarine” which would be released 32 years later… but as envisioned by Roach, the studio would have been hard-pressed to convey the abstract elements of his idea and there hardly seems room for typical Stan and Ollie antics within. Thankfully Laurel, the creative architect of most of the team’s films (he wrote gags and stories and often directed many scenes – mostly uncredited) won out over Roach and collaborated with his own writers and gagmen to deliver the film we know and love today. As odd as it may sound, to me Laurel’s version anticipates Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy (condensed from a combined ten plus hours to “Babe’s” compact 78 minutes) with the unlikely heroes (Stan & Ollie/Frodo & Samwise) routing the mephistophelean villain (Barnaby/Saruman) and his minions (The Bogeymen/The Orcs). But maybe that’s just me...

The other side of this film’s checkered past has to do with its release history. (it’s so confusing in fact that I’m not even fully certain if the following is entirely accurate). The film was sold off by Roach to an independent distributor named Robert Lippert. It was reissued to theaters several times over the years under various names such as “March of the Toys,” “March of the Wooden Soldiers” (its most commonly known moniker) and the non-sequitur non de plum, “Revenge is Sweet.” It made the rounds of schools where it was shown to students on 16mm projectors. Ultimately it wound up on TV, where it became a staple broadcast around the holidays (run on or near Thanksgiving or Christmas and sometimes both). When the growing popularity of VCR’s made videotapes as attractive to buy as they were to rent, several companies released the film under the mistaken notion that the film was in the public domain. The truth was that the Tribune Broadcasting Company (owners of WGN in Chicago and WPIX in New York City) had an ownership stake. At some point they lost the rights and the Samuel Goldwyn Company snatched them up, colorizing the film for home video release and then a national syndication deal (which Tribune signed on for). This colorized version is broadcast on TV to this day. Meanwhile, the DVD age ushered in more home video releases by companies assuming the film was in the public domain (these included a newly colorized version from Legend Films that was an improvement over the original color job but still looks like kids using their Crayolas over old film frames to this reviewer). When MGM bought out Goldwyn’s assets, they ended up owning a film they had released and distributed in the first place. A couple years back they gave the world a wonderful Christmas present in the form of a DVD of the film in its pristine, original black & white form… complete with all scenes intact and the original “Babes in Toyland” title cards!

The film as it stands is an amazing, unique achievement. The comedy of Stan & Ollie is in high gear and one can’t help but laugh and smile from ear to ear when they are onscreen. The horrific aspects are appropriate for a classic approach to fairy tales, the benevolent Toyland characters are warmly drawn and the rescue of Toyland by Stan, Ollie and the Wooden Soldiers is rousing indeed. While some of the songs sung by the romantic leads have a tendency to slow the film down in spots (the one thing that keeps me from giving it a full four star review), they don’t overpower it. The overall plot, while taking a few meandering detours still has a beginning, middle and end and adheres to the old adage from Chekhov wherein he states that if a gun is shown in the first act, it better go off in the third. The gun here is the wooden soldiers, and the resonance is the fact that the hero’s seeming mistake (Stan’s botching of the wooden soldiers order) is the very thing that ends up saving the day. Kind of like Frodo taking that ring...

BEST DIALOGUE AND GAGS (normally I separate these categories but in this film, as in most Laurel & Hardy sound films the verbal and visual gags are often intertwined)

Stan explains to Ollie that he borrowed money from their piggy bank to replace a “pee wee” – a little wooden peg that when hit with a stick returns like a boomerang. Unless you are Ollie, who pompously insists that anything Stan can do he can do… but he can’t! To add insult to injury, Ollie also learns he can’t do Stan’s finger tricks either.

Ollie and Stan have chased Barnaby down a well. “You better come up, dead or alive,” says Stan, alluding to the King’s edict that Barnaby is a wanted fugitive (when the King announces the award for bringing back Barnaby "Dead or Alive," Stan asks "Can't you make up your mind how you want him?"). “Now how can he come up dead when he’s alive,” protests Ollie. “Let’s drop a rock on him,” counters Stan. “Then he’ll come up dead when he’s alive!”

Stan and Ollie have a plan: Stan will show up at Barnaby’s door with a big box – a Christmas present! Inside is Ollie, who plans to sneak out once inside to find and destroy the shoe’s mortgage. Barnaby asks, “Christmas present… in the middle of July?” “We always like to do our Christmas shopping early,” retorts Stan. Their plan backfires when Stan says goodnight to Ollie and Ollie pops his head out of the crate, leading to them being put on trial.

When Ollie gets "dunked" in the lake as punishment for the attempted robbery of the mortgage, he hands Stan his watch for safe keeping. Distressed by the dunking Bo Peep consents to become Barnaby's wife... which means that the charges are withdrawn and Stan doesn't have to get dunked! Ollie doesn't like this and pushes Stan into the lake... and a soaked Stan emerges pulling Ollie's waterlogged watch out of his pocket!

When Bo Peep gives in to Barnaby’s marriage proposal, Ollie explains that Stan is so upset he’s not even going to the wedding. “Upset,” exclaims Stan. “I’m housebroken!” When Mother Peep determines to speak to Barnaby to try to change his mind, Stan says "Her talking to him is just a matter of pouring one ear into another and coming out the other side... can't be done!"

The boys realize that they can pass Stan off as Bo Peep as long as he keeps his face covered by the veil. Their ruse is a success, but Stan is surprised when he can’t leave with Ollie. Ollie explains that now that Stan’s married, he has to stay with Barnaby. “But I don’t love him,” Stan wails!

During Tom Tom’s trial for pignapping, Stan and Ollie sit on the sidelines. The evidence (a plate of sausage links) is placed near where they sit. Stan asks Ollie what it is and Ollie explains that the sausage used to be Elmer the pig (allegedly at least). Stan takes a bite and says it doesn’t take like pig – it tastes like pork to him! This inspires Ollie to take a bite and brings Tom Tom’s innocence to the forefront as Ollie exclaims, “why that’s neither pig nor pork… it’s beef!”

SPOTTED IN THE CAST: My favorite Our Gang/Little Rascals kid, Scotty Beckett has a small part. He made several movies apart from the Gang shorts, but his only other recurring part was as Winky in the “Rocky Jones, Space Ranger” TV series. He worked until 1957 then tragically died eleven years later due to a drug overdose.

Ellen Corby will forever be known as the grandmother on “The Waltons” but her roles are numerous. They include bit parts in two Laurel & Hardy classics (“Sons of the Desert” and “Babes in Toyland,” aka “March of the Wooden Soldiers”), playing a maid in Abbott & Costello’s “The Noose Hangs High” appearing in Jerry Lewis’ “Visit to a Small Planet” and three major horror-comedy roles: playing one of the Gravesend clan in “The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters,” Mother Lurch in the classic “Addams Family” TV series, and Luther Hegg’s childhood schoolteacher in “The Ghost & Mr. Chicken.” In addition to her acting roles, apparently Corby was also a script supervisor at the Roach Studios on numerous Laurel & Hardy, Our Gang, Charley Chase, Thelma Todd & Zasu Pitts/Patsy Kelly, etc., shorts and was also married at the time to Hal Roach cinematographer Francis Corby.

Ironically, Billy Bletcher started out in silent movies, but his career would be made via his deep baritone voice. He appeared in many vintage comedy shorts alongside Laurel & Hardy, the Little Rascals (including “Hide & Shriek”), W.C. Fields and others; classic animated shorts from Disney and Warner Brothers, did a couple voices in “The Wizard of Oz,” and appeared in Red Skelton’s horror-comedy “Whistling in the Dark.” His voice was often utilized to portray villains (he was the voice of The Big Bad Wolf) as well as ghosts and other spooky characters (he lent his talents to the classic Mickey/Donald/Goofy horror-cartoon, “Lonesome Ghosts”).

FURTHER READING: There are many great books on Laurel & Hardy out there but I will single out three that particularly highlight “Babes.” The coffee table book "Laurel & Hardy" by John McCabe and Richard W. Bann has some great production and promotional stills from “Babes.” Randy Skretvedt’s essential, impeccably researched “Laurel & Hardy: the Magic Behind the Movies” goes into deep detail about the behind-the-scenes trials and triumphs of this film, from Roach’s ill-conceived plot to young Henry Brandon getting into bar brawls when off-camera. Scott MacGillivray’s equally essential “Laurel & Hardy: from the Forties Forward” presents the story of the film’s second (and third and fourth and fifth, etc.) life as theatrical reissue, television staple and home video release. Last but not least, there are a lot of reviews of the film out on the internet but instead of those I’ll share these links - one is from Mark Evanier's site with his thoughts as well as those of Randy Skretvedt and Jim Hanley (primarily having to do with Roach's original story, the colorized versions and scenes that may have been deleted) which you can read when you click here; the other is a link to a Village Voice article that is more of a remembrance of the impact this film had on so many kids growing up with it on TV in the New York area – click here to read it.

Laurel & Hardy Compiled by Al Kilgore, Filmography by Richard W Bann

BUY THE FILM: There are lots of versions out there – some unauthorized, some colorized, some butcherized (as in edited). But I really can only endorse the official MGM DVD release in glorious black & white:

WATCH THE FILM: As of this writing, Hulu has posted the entire film on their site by special arrangement with MGM. You can enjoy the Hulu presentation right here on the Scared Silly site when you click here.

In the meantime, enjoy the original trailer for “Babes in Toyland” (note that it uses Henry Brandon’s real name and also exaggerates the running time, claiming the film contains 12 minutes more than it actually does)... and have a Happy Thanksgiving!

TALL, DARK AND GRUESOME (1948)

2011-11-18T00:00:00.015-05:00

RATING: * & ¾ out of ****

PLOT: Playwright Hugh Herbert just can’t make headway on his latest script with all the noise going on outside his city office. He and his assistant Dudley Dickerson commence to a quiet country cabin but the quiet is soon undone by real live gorilla and some masqueraders in scary costumes. Will Hugh finish writing his play or will his attempts to write the play finish Hugh?!

REVIEW: A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending a special presentation of silent films at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (click here to see my write-up about the event). These weren’t just any silent films – they were silent horror-comedies programmed by Bruce Lawton with wonderful piano accompaniment from Ben Model as part of their "Silent Clowns" film series.

But they were more than just silent horror-comedies, too. Mr. Lawton did a terrific job putting together a selection of shorts with a very specific theme: “Scary Shenanigans on the Second Reel.” Bruce’s concept: screen comedy shorts where the spooky stuff doesn’t happen until the second reel.

This idea of the second half of the film being the scary part worked beautifully in the shorts Bruce and Ben showed, including Harold Lloyd’s classic (and soon-to-be-reviewed-by-me) “Haunted Spooks” and two films I’ve previously reviewed, Buster Keaton’s “The Haunted House” and Our Gang’s “Shootin’ Injuns.” By no means is it a silent-film only concept, however. Some notable talkies that also went this route include such shorts as the Three Stooge’s “Idle Roomers” (reviewed here) and Laurel & Hardy’s “The Live Ghost” (reviewed here) as well as the final Hal Roach-produced Our Gang/Little Rascals short, “Hide & Shriek” (reviewed here). Even some features have followed this format – Bob Hope’s famed “The Ghost Breakers” has a rather lengthy prelude before the creepy stuff begins while the majority of spooky kookiness in Wheeler & Woolsey’s “The Nitwits” takes place in the third reel.

So here we have the great team of Hugh Herbert and Dudley Dickerson again. You may recall I waxed rhapsodic over their hysterical horror-comedy, “One Shivery Night.” I mostly love these two guys whether paired with each other, paired with others (like Hugh with Allen Jenkins in “Sh! The Octopus” and with Broderick Crawford in “The Black Cat”) or playing in solo or supporting roles (Herbert brilliant in Wheeler & Woolsey’s “Diplomaniacs” and Olsen & Johnson’s “Hellzapoppin;” Dickerson just as brilliant in Our Gang/Tthe Little Rascals’ “Spooky Hooky” and the Three Stooges’ “A Plumbing We Will Go” as well as several other Stooges shorts and Marx Brothers features).

Given the above, as well as the fact that, as reported by Ted Okuda and Ed Watz in their essential book, “The Columbia Comedy Shorts” this short was well-received by both movie exhibitors and audiences alike, I truly wanted to love “Tall, Dark and Gruesome.” But when compared to “One Shivery Night” and everything else I’ve mentioned, it just pales in comparison. It’s not terrible – it’s a typical two-reel comedy of its day – but it lacks the spark and wit we’ve come to expect from this twosome. Still, there are some late inning antics that help save the film from being a complete “miss.”

Alas, many of the best laughs in “Tall, Dark & Gruesome” come in the first reel, the setup before the scary stuff kicks in. The short starts with Hugh as a mystery writer quoting his own dialogue “You gangsters don’t scare me with those machine guns! You wouldn’t dare use them!,” he intones... and promptly leaps scared out of his chair as a jackhammer on the street below punctuates his prose! Ever observant, Hugh’s assistant Dudley offers that “Some of these days, boss you’re gonna’ scare yourself to death, writing all them mystery plays.” It is an effectively compact introduction to the two main characters, establishing both their roles and their relationship to each other.

Hugh gets hit with something (rotten fruit, perhaps – the resolution is none too clear) when he yells out the window to the construction workers, leading into a scene where he gets stuck halfway in and halfway out the window. This is where the hit-and-miss nature of this short comes into full view, as the “comedy” here is labored, strained and unfunny. It’s hard to pinpoint why – both masters like Laurel & Hardy and Abbott & Costello as well as lower-tier film clowns from yesteryear have mined laughs out of such scenarios, but here it just plays flat. It’s possible that the sight of Herbert, clearly a middle-aged man dangling from a window just doesn’t inspire the same funny/fear response in audiences as when they watch whimsical man-boys like Stan Laurel, Lou Costello and Curly Howard find themselves in similar situations.

We go from an unfunny bit to a funny bit, as Dudley actually vacuums up the pages of Hugh’s play script. The laughter is brief, however: as Hugh tries to retrieve the pages from the machine, the vacuum backfires spraying him with black soot and dust. This leads to a string of tasteless racial jokes as Hugh now appears to be in “blackface.” First Hugh talks into the mirror thinking he’s talking to Dudley, then Dudley tries to shoo Hugh away thinking Hugh is some sort of solicitor.

Dudley suggests that Hugh put on earmuffs to muffle the noise of the riveters. Then Hugh’s producer calls to prod him about the delayed play script and another labored gag occurs as Hugh takes the call with the earmuffs on continuously exclaiming he can’t hear a thing. In the hands of Stan Laurel, such a gag would come off as whimsical and cute but with Herbert’s advanced age and forced delivery, the sequence falls flat.

It does, however, lead to the plot device that enables the second reel to become a horror-comedy. When Hugh laments to his producer that it’s too noisy for him to finish the play, the producer suggests Hugh commence to a quiet country cabin of a friend named “Captain Dalton” who is away. Of course it’s shades of “Seven Keys to Baldpate” and all that’s really needed to get Hugh and Dudley out of their cityscape and into a climate of fear.

Shortly after Hugh and Dudley’s arrival, a big case is delivered to the cabin for the vacationing Captain Dalton. When Dudley informs Hugh about the case, Herbert muses that “Twelve Bodies Make a Case” would be a great title for a mystery play, easily the most cleverly written line of dialogue in this short.

Dudley raps on the case (including the obligatory “shave and a haircut – two bits”) and whatever is inside of course raps back. In a fourth wall busting moment, Dudley looks straight at the audience and asks, “did you hear what I heard!”

The audience soon gets a glimpse of the case’s occupant: a gorilla! Dudley has opened the latch but is distracted by Hugh calling out to him and doesn’t notice that the beast keeps reaching to grab him as he sweeps! Hugh requests a shave from Dudley while in the other room the gorilla breaks through the bars and out of the case. The surly simian walks in on Dudley shaving Hugh, unbeknownst to both… until Dudley spots the gorilla and passes out!

The gorilla becomes fascinated with the snoring Hugh, lulled into a deep snooze from his shave. He starts to use the blade on Hugh’s whiskers. Hugh starts making mildly funny comments about the rough shave but as he opens his eyes to see the gorilla there, what should be hysterical ends up hysterically unfunny as Herbert mugs in a rather inert fashion spouting out such unfunny lines as “where’s my mother” (as opposed to the clichéd but much funnier “I want my mommy.”

Hugh beats feet and then Dudley comes back into the room to continue giving Hugh a shave – not realizing the gorilla has taken Dudley’s place in the chair and has shaving cream smeared on his face. He laments that he had the craziest dream about a gorilla… and then realizes the gorilla is there in the chair. Unfortunately, Dudley catches Hugh’s broad bug from a moment before as his scare reaction is just as unconvincing and forced as Hugh’s, until saved a bit by some funny arm-waving and sped-up action.

The short has one more plot complication up its sleeve (and desperately needs it because it would be completely D.O.A. if it just had to rely on Hugh and Dudley’s encounters with the gorilla): a trio of lost partygoers arrive to ask directions. The party they were heading to? A masquerade party of course, with one man a devil, another a skeleton and a woman dressed as a ghost. The woman is the ubiquitous-to-Columbia shorts heroine, Christine McIntyre, statuesque blonde beauty who tussled a time or ten with many funnymen, most notably The Three Stooges (you can read Dave Whitney's affectionate tribute to this underrated comedienne when you click here). When the already skittish Dudley answers the door, he races screaming from the costumed trio.

The partiers find their way in and start chumming up to the gorilla, who they think is someone else going to the masquerade party. In fact, the devil is quite impressed: “You’re part of the masquerade, too! Say, that’s some costume – you oughtta’ win first prize!,” the faux Faust exclaims. It doesn’t take long for the partiers to realize they’re dealing with a real gorilla (or at least a very menacing brute in a gorilla suit) and scatter in various directions to elude him.

Hugh takes refuge in a bedroom where the skeleton-wearing man has plopped down into a chair and draped a cloth over himself. Hugh decides to have a cigarette to calm his nerves, but when the skeleton hand not only offers it to him but lights it Hugh goes running – first to a closet door where the ghost woman is hiding, then back to the bedroom door where the devil man is.

The bedroom bits are funny and the costumes remind one of the Faust players Buster Keaton tangled with in “The Haunted House” but when compared to the great “One Shivery Night” the screams and reactions from Hugh and Dudley are so forced this time that they become overreactions. Yet, old pros that they are the duo still have their moments. Dudley in particular gets to shine in the next sequence. He’s hiding under the bed, and when Hugh dives under it to join him Dudley retreats in sped-up motion… right into the room containing the case the gorilla was shipped in, now inhabited by the devil man! After much rocking of the case and screaming from Dudley, he makes another hasty retreat, right into a closet where the skeleton man is. The skeleton man grabs Dudley’s shoulder, which sends him careening toward the nearest exit. A very funny bit ensues with Dudley trying to open the door but having the door knob stretch out on and on forever like one of comic book hero Plastic Man’s dangling limbs.

Many horror-comedies, including some of the truly great ones defy all (or at least most) logic, but there is the nagging question here of why the masqueraders, obviously scared by the gorilla would not only stick around inside the house but persist to take delight in scaring the heebie-jeebies out of Hugh and Dudley. It is something of a disconnect. And come to think of it, just why has a gorilla been delivered to the cabin of the vacationing Captain Dalton?!

Just as Dudley’s bits improve the film in spots, so too do Hugh’s, as he has a great bit where he decides to fight back and take on the gorilla. He’s in a room with various ancient swords on the wall. As he swings a blade around in preparation, Dudley enters and just as quickly exits, thinking his boss has gone mad and is about to slice him up. Dudley decides the swords will just not do; lucky for him there’s a cannon in the room! Hugh gleefully taunts the gorilla to come in (“C’mon in gorilla – I dare ya’!” and “Whatssamatter – you afraid?!”) and positions the cannon directly opposite the a door, not realizing the gorilla will enter through an alternate entrance! A very funny turning of the tables finds Hugh cowering behind a couch as the gorilla aims the cannon right at him! This is a big dumb hairy beast though (the gorilla, not Hugh!) and soon the animal’s curiosity gets the best of him as he stares down the barrel of the cannon. Cut to Hugh’s reaction as the cannon goes off; the next hysterical shot showing the gorilla blown sky high atop the chandelier!

These bits lead to a rather socko ending. Hugh has run out of the room but Dudley’s luck isn’t as good: he comes into the room and the gorilla (complete with chandelier) lands right on top of him! Cut to Hugh driving away at top speed, delivering the funniest line in the film, “C’mon car you can do better than a hundred!” This laugh is topped by the sight of Dudley outracing the car on foot! “This guy must be going 200 miles,” muses Hugh. That would be a fine place to end, but the script throws in one last scare take, as the skeleton man emerges from the back seat to tap Hugh on the shoulder. Hugh passes out, leaving the skeleton to grab the steering wheel as the end credits roll.

The final bits help bring the short to just about an average rating. They’re so good in fact that they serve to point up the weak bits. It’s a shame the short isn’t better than it is, but if you’re a big fan of horror-comedies, Hugh and/or Dudley and of course, gorillas then “Tall, Dark & Gruesome” may be just the short for you!

SPOTTED IN THE CAST: A couple roles in this short are filled by some extremely busy character actors of yesteryear. Charles C. Wilson plays the producer of Hugh’s play, one of a long string of authoritative characters that include many stern bosses and gruff lawmen. Along the way, he had the good fortune to appear in many classic and notable films, including “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town,” “Meet John Doe,” “This Gun for Hire,” “Scarlet Street” and more. On the comedy front, he was in Joe E. Brown’s “Elmer the Great,” Danny Kaye’s “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” the series entry “Blondie in College,” Laurel & Hardy’s “The Big Noise,” the Hope-Crosby “Road to Utopia,” and the classic Wheeler & Woolsey horror-comedy, “The Nitwits.” He was also in the 1943 “Batman” serial and even appeared in a film called “Tall, Dark and Handsome.” He previously appeared with Hugh Herbert in the Bette Davis starrer, “Fog Over Frisco.”

Deliveryman Charles Heine Conklin was a real veteran by the time this short was made. He had appeared in dozens of silent comedy shorts for famed Keystone Films producer Mack Sennett, was in Chaplin’s legendary “The Gold Rush” and “Modern Times” and continued to perform into the talkie era in a variety of notable genre films including many comedies… and a few co-starring Herbert. Among them, “Million Dollar Legs” with W.C. Fields, Leon Errol and Hugh Herbert; Wheeler & Woolsey’s “Diplomaniacs,” also with Herbert; Harold Lloyd’s “Professor Beware,” and a variety of Columbia shorts starring The Three Stooges, Andy Clyde He also appeared in such mystery entries as the Charlie Chan, Lone Wolf and Boston Blackie series. His career came full circle when he played a Keystone Kop in Olsen & Johnson’s “Crazy House” and a studio guard in “Abbott & Costello Meet the Keystone Kops.”

BEST DIALOGUE EXCHANGES:

HUGH: “Tell them to stop that noise – they’re driving me crazy!”

DUDLEY: “I did boss, but the places they told me you could go, my pastor wouldn’t let me repeat!”

DUDLEY: It’s so quiet here you can hear the flies walking on the ceiling!
(then after some knocks on the door): What was that?

HUGH: A couple of flies I guess…

HUGH: A couple weeks up here will help cure your nerves.

DUDLEY: Ain’t nothin’ wrong with my nerves, boss – why I could walk through a cemetery at midnight without… what am I saying?!

HUGH: If this is gonna’ be “gorilla” warfare, I’m gonna’ be prepared for it!

BEST VISUAL GAGS: As the entire short is very hit-and-miss, the visual highlights are few and far-between. There is a lot of running and screaming that should be funny but mostly isn’t. We’re left with a couple bits from the first reel, namely Dudley vacuuming up Hugh’s script pages and a stiff drink of furniture polish that sends Hugh’s hat flying straight up. The second reel delivers the bang-up gag of Dudley tussling with the door handle and he gorilla on the chandelier; as previously mentioned, pretty much all the business leading up to and including the finale are a hoot.

FURTHER READING: Ted Okuda and Edward Watz wrote an indispensible book called “The Columbia Comedy Shorts” and Leonard Maltin wrote one called “The Great Movie Shorts” (also known as “Selected Short Subjects”). You can order them here:

Selected Short Subjects: From Spanky to the Three Stooges (Da Capo Paperback)

I also encourage you to visit The Columbia Shorts Department – Greg Hilbrich’s excellent site dedicated to the fun and frolics of this studio that gave the world The Three Stooges and so much more.

WATCH THE FILM: Enjoy this clip featuring of most of the spooky bits in this short:

THE SON OF THE RETURN OF THE PENULTIMATE PERSONAL APPEARANCE STRIKES AGAIN!

2011-11-10T00:00:00.006-05:00

Well, here we go again, folks! It’s another personal appearance by yours truly… and the second-to-last for 2011. Pop on over to the New Jersey Comic Con (admission is FREE!) on Sunday, November 13th from 10 to 4 at the Clifton Recreation Center, 1232 Main Street in Clifton, NJ. It’s the 20th anniversary of the con so it promises to be a great one.

One of the main attractions is the special guest-of-honor, a good friend of mine and an artist supreme, Fernando Ruiz. Fernando was the artist on the “Archie’s Weird Mysteries” comic series I wrote and we’ll be signing copies of the paperback collection of that kooky, spooky horror-comedy while supplies last.

I’ll also have copies of the Midnight Marquee Actor Series Vincent Price book to which I contributed. I have an even more limited supply of those, so if you’re in the area and want to get a copy be sure to drop by. It contains my essay on Price’s trio of horror-comedies with Peter Lorre including such classics as “The Raven” and “The Comedy of Terrors.”

There will also be plenty of comics for sale from all decades to purchase as well as other great comics creators on hand to autograph comics, do sketches and sell original art. I might even bring a random sampling of some of the other comics I’ve written through the years, including those starring the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Superman’s Pal Bibbo. I’d love to meet you so please stop on by.

Now here’s a recent appearance I made this summer on the TV show, “Comic Book Conversations” hosted by Scott Golodner and co-starring David Levin. Enjoy!

FOUR STAR FRIGHTS AND ODDBALL SIGHTS - JUST IN TIME FOR YOUR HALLOWEEN NIGHT!

2011-10-31T00:00:00.004-04:00

Greetings Scared Silly fans! Welcome to Halloween 2011 – and the second anniversary of this blog. Thank you for sticking with me for two years. I know I haven’t always been as prolific as we both would like (especially this year). As you know, I had a bit more activity in comic book land this year what with promoting my “Archie’s Weird Mysteries” book and other projects. Things should level out soon and I’m truly hoping that I can make more headway on “Scared Silly” in 2012.

I had hoped to post a review of a feature or short today but my schedule just didn’t permit it. Instead, I want to take this opportunity to remind you of some of the highest rated films in my “Scared Silly” project. Click on the titles below to read my four-star reviews of these classics:

ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN

THE LIVE GHOST

THE RAVEN

THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN

Of course, as time goes on there are bound to be more four-star entries (“Arsenic & Old Lace,” anyone?). Keep checking back as I post new reviews as I am able.

Anyway, any of the above are worthy of your viewing this Halloween. In addition, I wanted to share some scenes from some of the more oddball horror-comedies of all time – namely “Sh! The Octopus!” with Allen Jenkins and Hugh Herbert, “Ghost Catchers” with Ole Olsen and Chic Johnson and “Zombies on Broadway” with the ersatz Abbott & Costello, Wally Brown and Alan Carney – they also make great Halloween viewing. Enjoy!

SH! The OCTOPUS by NilbogLAND

FOR TRICK 'R TREAT: A CHANCE TO MEET!

2011-10-27T00:00:00.004-04:00

Just in time for Halloween weekend, I’m out and about again promoting the “Archie’s Weird Mysteries” paperback collection. This time, I’m appearing at two locations in Bloomfield, NJ. The signings are designed as a “cross-promotion” wherein each business benefits by being plugged by the other.

Here’s where I’ll be:

* THE COMIC BOOK MARKET
Friday, October 28th, 2011
4:00 PM to 7:00 PM
28 Washington Street
Bloomfield, NJ 07003

* ANTHONY'S CHEESECAKE CAFE
Saturday, October 29th, 2011
2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
71 Washington Street
Bloomfield, NJ 07003

So here’s how it works: If you come to my comic shop appearance at The Comic Book Market, you’ll get a free piece of cake from Anthony’s Cheesecake and info on Anthony’s place. If you visit me at Anthony’s Cheesecake Café, you’ll get a free Archie digest and info on the comic shop.

EXTRA BONUS: Appearing with me at The Comic Book Market is artist Glenn Whitmore of Superman, Shazam! And Life with Archie fame. I’ve known Glenn since we were kids and he’s a terrific guy in addition to being a great artist.

ANOTHER EXTRA BONUS: At the Anthony’s Cheesecake appearance I’ll also have the Midnight Marquee Vincent Price book with me. This fabulous book of essays on the films of the crown prince of horror includes one written by yours truly, as I cover Price’s horror-comedy films with Peter Lorre (naturally).

Now here’s a clip from the audio/video podcast, “Fever Keeps It Real” – the fine folks who run the show, Paul and Linda Wein dropped by the recent “Superheroes for Hospice” convention and interviewed me about Archie’s Weird Mysteries starting at 3:46 – enjoy!

UNINTENTIONALLY FUNNY...

2011-10-25T00:00:00.016-04:00

...and not scary as intended.

Last year around this time I recommended a variety of films to check out for Halloween. It’s a new year, but those films are still fine, so feel free to click here and here to read all about them.

This year, I’m recommending two films that were allegedly horror movies, and may have even contained some intentional humor, but mostly just come off as unintentionally hysterical… for all the wrong reasons!

I’m speaking of the one-two socko punch that is “The Killer Shrews” and “The Giant Gila Monster.”

Sharing production crews and some cast members, the films are rife with absurd situations, broad/clichéd characters, cumbersome dialogue, schizophrenic performances and most of all, laughable special effects.

Specific highlights from “Shrews”: oddball scientist, strapping hero, beautiful heroine, jealous ex-boyfriends, at least one weasly guy, alcohol, livestock in danger, a close-quarters compound, mask-and-costume-wearing dogs and truly hilarious puppets.

Specific highlights from “Gila Monster”: small town sheriff, hormone-filled teens, hot rod driver/mechanic, a terrorized train, livestock in danger, rock ‘n roll sock hop, a real Mexican beaded lizard filmed in close-up against miniature models and a self-sacrificing hero with a facility for nitroglycerin.

These are in no way what one would call “good” films but to me they are better than their reputations and more importantly highly entertaining, especially if you’re in the right frame of mind. Even more especially if you have a group of friends with whom to share the viewing experience!

Here are some good links that do a good job covering these zero-budget favorites:

DVD Drive-In

Radiation Cinema (Shrews)

Radiation Cinema (Gila)

1,000 Misspent Hours (Shrews)

1,000 Misspent Hours (Gila)

Most fascinating of all perhaps is a fellow named Moore from “Radioactive Reviews” who actually set out to locate the original filming locations. Watch the results of his search when you click here.

James Best from “Killer Shrews” went on to television immorltality as Sherriff Roscoe B. Coltrane in “The Dukes of Hazzard.” He’s also appearing in a modern day sequel/reboot called “Return of the Killer Shrews,” co-starring his “Dukes” co-star John Schneider. Click here to read all about it courtesy of the Undead Backbrain website.

An additional recommendation if you want to make a whole four or five hour party out of it – pair “Shrews” and “Gila” with Larry Blamire’s retro spoofs, “The Lost Skeleton of Cadavera” and “The Lost Skeleton Returns.”

So how to watch these crazy flicks? Well lucky for you they’re both in the public domain. That means you can find them on DVD from anywhere between fifty cents and six bucks. Better still, you can find it all over the internet – from Public Domain Hub to The Internet Archive to YouTube… trust me, just go to your favorite search engine and do a video search and you’re bound to find these.

Now here’s a two-for-one special: first, the legendary Joe Dante with his own views on “The Giant Gila Monster” film and its trailer, courtesy of Trailers From Hell, followed by the trailer from “The Killer Shrews” – enjoy!

MEET ME AT NEW YORK COMIC CON 2011

2011-10-12T00:00:00.015-04:00

This weekend, the annual New York Comic Con hits the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan and yours truly will be there to meet and greet fans. Stop on by and say hello. I’ll be at the Archie Comics booth (# 1630) Friday through Sunday as follows:

Friday from 11AM to 12PM

Saturday from 6PM to 7PM

Sunday from 11AM to 12AM

NOTE: Archie Comics will only have a limited number of copies of my “Archie’s Weird Mysteries” book on hand so if you want that autographed I encourage you to bring your own copy. If you don’t have one yet, be sure to visit your local comic shop (to find the comic shop nearest you just click here to use the Comic Shop Locator Service) to obtain a copy.

Archie will have copies of some of the other recent projects to which I contributed, including “The Best of Archie Comics” and “A Night at the Comic Shop.” You can read about those and other recent releases containing my work here and here and here.

So please, be sure to pop over to the booth and greet me – would love to meet you!

Now here’s a clip from the audio/video podcast, “Fever Keeps It Real” – the fine folks who run the show, Paul and Linda Wein dropped by the recent “Superheroes for Hospice” convention and interviewed me about Archie’s Weird Mysteries starting at 3:46 – enjoy!

SILENT SCREAMS!

2011-10-07T00:00:00.010-04:00

A quick head's up for all "Scared Silly" fans in the Manhattan area: this Saturday, October 8th, 2011 the Silent Clown Film Series presents "Scary Shenanigans on the 2nd Reel."

The Silent Clown Film Series is renown for its screening of vintage silent comedies with live piano accompaniment from musician Ben Model.

This special presentation is held at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, Bruno Walter Auditorium. Showtime is 2:30 PM. Admission is free.

On the program: a 1928 Ko-Ko the Clown cartoon from the famed Max and Dave Fleischer animation studio titled "Ko-Ko's Earth Control," Harold Lloyd in "Haunted Spooks" (1920), Lupino Lane in Who's Afraid? (1927). Buster Keaton in "The Haunted House" (1921) and Our Gang in "Shootin' Injuns" (1925). You can read my reviews of the latter two films by clicking on their titles. Ultimately I will be reviewing the other live-action films on the program as well.

To whet your appetite here's a silent cartoon that isn't on the schedule this weekend, but is sure to scare you silly - Ko-Ko the Clown in 1928's "Ko-Ko's Haunted House" (note that this was duped from a print distributed to TV stations in the 1950s, hence the original movie studio logo being replaced):

GET SCARED SILLY FOR CHARITY THIS WEEKEND!

2011-09-14T00:00:00.004-04:00

Greetings Scared Silly fans! Just a quick note to let you know about my upcoming appearance at the next Superheroes for Hospice charity comic convention taking place this Saturday, September 17th at the Monmouth Mall in Eatontown, New Jersey on Route 35. I will be there from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m autographing copies of my ARCHIE’S WEIRD MYSTERIES and VINCENT PRICE books along with various comic book projects.

Also on hand will be my pal Thomas Hall who will be signing copies of his award-winning R-13 (aka ROBOT 13) as well as his horror-comedy project KING! (which I recently highlighted – click here to read all about it)...

...Tom and I will also be signing a comic we did together, MECHA MANGA BIBLE HEROES which puts a new spin on the Old Testament – by re-setting the legendary stories in a futuristic world of robots, aliens and advance technology!

There will also be plenty of comics for sale from all decades to purchase as well as other great comics creators on hand to autograph comics, do sketches and sell original art. Proceeds will support the patients and families of the Saint Barnabas Hospice and Palliative Care Center. Established in 1981, the Saint Barnabas Hospice and Palliative Care Center, located at 95 Old Short Hills Road in West Orange, provides comprehensive care for patients with advanced illness, and their families, throughout ten counties in the State of New Jersey.

The Saint Barnabas Hospice and Palliative Care Center supports inpatient units at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, and Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, NJ, as well as Van Dyke Hospice at Community Medical Center in Toms River. It also provides home care and services for individuals in long-term care and assisted living facilities.

Now enjoy a spooky yet kooky clip from the “Archie’s Weird Mysteries” TV cartoon that takes place… where else?... in a mall!

HIDE AND SHRIEK (1938)

2011-08-31T00:00:00.016-04:00

** & ½ out of ****

PLOT: Alfalfa has launched a detective agency and appointed Porky and Buckwheat as deputies. Darla brings the intrepid trio their first case: they must find her missing candy. While stowing away in the trunk of a vehicle to tail their prime suspect, the kids are transported to a “horror house” amusement attraction that they think is real, complete with scary voices, images and monster figures that leap out at the gang! Can these little rascals solve the case even though they’re scared silly?!

REVIEW: I am a huge fan of Leonard Maltin. I admire him greatly for his determination to give proper scholarly due to genre films and the folks that made them at a time when cinema cognoscenti at large deemed them unworthy of such analysis. Perhaps it was the fact that he was only 15 when he began writing for the Classic Images tabloid and starting his own fanzine, Film Fan Monthly that he was able to so casually deflect the stuffy critics’ objections like a spitball feebly bouncing off a corkboard. After all, when you’re young your world is young, and it really doesn’t matter what old, snobbish codgers say, right?

Leonard went on to pen many books that I’ve devoured over the years, beginning with my own youth borrowing his works from a northern New Jersey library. His books helped shaped me – not just my love of classic genre films but also as a fellow writer and historian. I can’t count the times in my own career when I turned a phrase and upon review, realized how “Maltinesque” it was!

Among my favorite Maltin books are “Movie Comedy Teams,” “The Great Movie Comedians,” “The Great Movie Shorts” (aka “Selected Short Subjects”) and “Of Mice & Magic: a History of American Animated Cartoons.” Books on all these subjects have been written since, some quite good but for me the Maltin books always top their competitors, due to the sheer love and verve for his subject matters that Maltin pores into every page as well as the diligent research. To this day, Maltin has written what I consider to be the definitive book on the Our Gang (aka Little Rascals) shorts, “Our Gang: the Life and Times of The Little Rascals.”

In Leonard Maltin’s wonderful “Our Gang” book, he notes that the final entry in a film series is frequently “assembled hastily, with little care” to fulfill a contract and move on and that “Hide and Shriek,” the final “Our Gang” short to be produced at Hal Roach Studios before MGM took over the series is the “exception to that rule.” Further, he states that “it offers some fresh story slants” and that by being a spoof it “really doesn’t matter that its haunted house scenes give off a definite air of contrivance.”

I love Leonard Maltin and agree with him most of the time, but my reaction to this particular short leaves me in disagreement with him this time. “Hide and Shriek” is enjoyable inasmuch as it’s the last go-round for the kids at Roach, but there are a few things missing.

It’s almost as if the Roach crew just said, “this is the last one, let’s make this as easy as possible – kids getting scared – that’s the easiest ‘plot’ there is – and we can shoot on location at the local carnival funhouse.”

On top of that, they didn’t even have a complete cast of kids to work with. Either they were off on summer vacations or the studio just felt it wasn’t worth all the paychecks. The film is left to rest squarely on the shoulders of Alfalfa, Porky and Buckwheat and while they are all great individually when put together as a trio there’s no balance – they really do need a solid “fourth” like Spanky (who was probably off shooting “Peck’s Bad Boy at the Circus” at the time). Darla offers some brief support but otherwise we’re left with non-performances from kids Gary “Junior” Jasgur and Leonard “Percy” Landy.

Further hampering the potential success of this short is the fact that it is a “one-reeler.” As mentioned in my review of the Our Gang short “Spooky Hooky” (which you can read by clicking here) there was no time for character development once the series went from 20 minute stories to 10 minute entries… and certainly no time for nuances. This is painfully evident in “Hide & Shriek” which relies entirely on contrivance and incident as forward (barely) momentum.

The short opens as Buckwheat and Porky come to the door of Alfalfa’s “secret hideout” which now bears the sign “Detektive Agensy X-10 Sooper Slooth.” Just the sign on the door alone confirms how this short strains for laughs. A couple of choicely placed misspellings would have been amusing but with every word misspelled it’s a bit labored.

This leads to probably the best bit in the film, which can’t bode well since we’re barely a minute in. Alfalfa swears in Porky and Buckwheat with an oath that is truly comical and the trio performs the sequence with the whimsical charm that longtime viewers are accustomed to from the “Gang.” The oath has the kids promise that “In spite of terror in the day and danger in the night, I’ll get my man or fall fainting from my wound!” The oath concludes with an “Amen” – appropriate since they’ll ultimately be so scared in the dark that they’ll need some prayers! Porky is then christened “X-6” while Buckwheat is dubbed “X-6 ½.” A mild chuckle there, but a heartier laugh as the duo is given special hats – a British bobby helmet for Porky and a French foreign legion cap for Buckwheat!

The second best bit follows as Alfalfa researches disguises. When Darla comes calling, Alfalfa greets her at the door in full Silas Barnaby garb, including beard, hat, cape and cane! This was the third and final appearance (so to speak) of the Barnaby character whose irrepressible villainy was so potent in Laurel & Hardy’s classic feature “Babes in Toyland” (aka “The March of the Wooden Soldiers”) and another “Our Gang” short called “Our Gang Follies of 1938. Only this time, actor Henry Brandon isn’t playing the part… and there’s not part to play. It’s merely a disguise for Alfalfa and a cute in-joke homage by the filmmakers.

Now we get to the “plot,” such as it is. The next section of the short details Darla bringing the case of her “missing candy” to Alfalfa. Alfalfa goes through some shtick revolving around interrogating and implicating Junior and Percy (a rather bland kid with a blank stare that repeatedly exclaims, “Phooey!”) in the crime. It’s mildly amusing at best; smile-inducing but not much more. It merely provides for a contrivance that will get our heroes into the nearby spook house attraction, unbeknownst to them. As they follow Junior and Percy from their headquarters, the “detectives” see the pair climb into a truck. Alfalfa and co. then climb into a big crate on the back of the truck, not realizing that Percy and Junior have come out the other side and have walked off. Workers finish loading the truck and take off, with the audience clued in to where they’re headed as one crate is labeled, “The Haunted House Amusement Pier – Long Beach.” This provides an interesting reference for history buffs as the Long Beach Pike was a boardwalk built and populated with amusement attractions going back to 1902, and known as “"The Place Where Fun Was Invented".

Now the short launches into its second and final act. The kids emerge from the crate scared by the spooky darkness. Alfalfa flips a switch hoping to turn the lights on, but it activates a record with a spooky voice instead. “Many enter this evil house, but few depart alive,” says the voice, menacingly. The great Billy Bletcher is credited with doing voices for this short (I spoke a bit about Bletcher in my review of “Babes in Toyland/March of the Wooden Soldiers” which you can read when you click here).

The voice implores the kids to “choose” a door that will lead to safety or doom. Another reference to “Babes in Toyland/March of the Wooden Soldiers” is made as out of the first door pops a Bogeyman costume, its arms wildly flailing about!

The appearance of the Bogeyman kicks off the obligatory “string of fright gags” the fill many of the short subjects in the “horror-comedy” genre. Here’s an itemized list of the gags that follow:

• Porky and Alfalfa walk through a door marked “EXIT,” where a strange half-giant/half Asian dragon creature billowing smoke from its nostrils yells out “Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum!” The duo try to run away but end up running in place as the floor is really a treadmill.
• Buckwheat sees a fishbowl where the fish’s skeletons are visible through their bodies!
• Sitting down at the bench in front of a pipe organ, Buckwheat is further scared by a skeleton that descends and begins playing a spooky tune on the organ!
• Buckwheat is frozen in fear as a second skeleton descends and places its arm around his shoulder.
• The trio falls through a trap door and down a slide into more dingy darkness.
• The scary voice tells them to sit in a special chair but the kids refuse – until they come face-to-face with a pitchfork-wielding skeleton with Satan’s face as they try to escape!
• Once locked in the seat, it begins to move and the kids face a circular buzz saw spinning right toward their necks!

Of course, all of the above are merely the funhouse attractions of the “Haunted House.” The kids are safely deposited outside where they promptly run back to their headquarters. They find Darla waiting there, who explains that she simply had misplaced the candy.

“Please, don’t ever mention candy or detectives to me again,” exclaims Alfalfa in response as the short sputters to a close.

The gags in this final half of the film are not just literally mechanical, however – in my opinion they are figuratively mechanical, too. The filmmakers seem to just be going through the motions – the gags are lethargic, flat and stilted. What enjoyment is to be had is due to the good will and affection audiences have toward Alfalfa, Buckwheat and Porky from previous films. Likewise, the short gets a tremendous boost from the voice-over involvement of Billy Bletcher.

But this alas is not the kids’ best work, really through no fault of their own. The problem lies with the fact that the “scare comedy” sequence is a result of the very contrivance Leonard Maltin freely acknowledged. In “Spooky Hooky,” the plot hinges on the kids trying to recover their “sick notes” from the dark and scary schoolhouse after hours (they had planned to play hooky but changed their minds once they heard the teacher planned a trip to the circus). You’re more invested in the kids’ quest in “Spooky Hooky” and the predicament that results than you are with “Hide and Shriek”’s detective squad who have merely been deposited into the “haunted house” unwittingly.

In my opinion, “Hide and Shriek” as a whole comes off as a “cut and run” entry done on the fly, with an easy solution being handed to the producers on a plate via the Long Beach pier’s Haunted House attraction. For me, the kids and Bletcher’s frantic vocal delivery elevate it to a half star above average, but it’s a close call. Still, if you enjoy this “gang” of “rascals,” you could do worse than spending ten minutes watching their magnum Roach opus.

BEST DIALOGUE EXCHANGES:

WORKER: Hey, this joint gives me the willies! C’mon, this is no place for us!”
HAUNTED HOUSE PROPRIETOR or JANITOR (see "SPOTTED IN THE CAST" for explanation): “Ha ha ha ha – if you boys want to get the wits scared out of you come out any time!”

ALFALFA: Buckwheat, try that door and see if we can get out.
BUCKWHEAT (shaking his head “no”): Uhn-uh.
ALFALFA: Whatsamatter? You scared?
BUCKWHEAT: A-ha!

DISEMBODIED VOICE: If you want to get out alive sit on that bench!
ALFALFA: Nothing doing, you double-crosser!

BEST GAGS: The aforementioned bits where Alfalfa swears in Porky and Buckwheat as deputies, the nods to “Babes in Toyland/March of the Wooden Soldiers” with the Barnaby disguise and Bogeyman in the haunted house, and Buckwheat’s encounter with skeletons (after all, the pairing of Buckwheat and bones also worked wonders in “Spooky Hooky”).

SPOTTED IN THE CAST: A much bigger mystery than what happened to Darla's candy is the supporting cast of this film. Both Leonard Maltin's book and the Internet Movie Database (imdb.com) list Fred Holmes playing "the janitor." The IMDB website also lists Dick Elliott as playing the "Haunted House Proprietor." The confusion comes from the fact that the fellow who appears to own the haunted house and utter the line, "If you boys want to be scared out of your wits..." doesn't look like Dick Elliott at all and is most likely Fred Holmes. Given this disparity, let's highlight both fine thesps here.

Character actor Dick Elliott is one of those actors who had bit roles in everything from shorts and series entries to feature films, whether prestigious A-films, cheaper B-movies or lower Z-for-zero budget quickies. Some of the classics he appeared in include “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” and “High Noon.” He made appearances in the Edgar Kennedy, Leon Errol and Joe McDoakes shorts. Series entries graced with Elliott’s presence include Mr. Moto, Nancy Drew (in fact, the entry with horror-comedy overtones called “The Hidden Staircase”), Henry Aldrich, Blondie, Boston Blackie, Lone Wolf and Joe Palooka series. When TV came in, he had a recurring role as Officer Murphy on “Dick Tracy” and a few years later as “Mayor Pike” on “The Andy Griffith Show.” He appeared in several different roles in various episodes of “The Lone Ranger,” “I Love Lucy” and “Superman.” On the comedy feature film front, he appeared in a couple of Bob Hope classics (“My Favorite Blonde,” “The Paleface), Wheeler & Woolsey’s “Silly Billies,” the borderline horror-comedy “The Body Disappears” with Edward Everett Horton, the Frankie Darrow-Mantan Moreland starrer “Up in the Air” and several Bowery Boys entries including the “horror-onable mentions,” “Hold That Hypnotist” and “Up in Smoke.” Besides “Hide and Shriek,” the most overt horror-comedy to feature Elliott is the Harry Langdon talkie short, “Shivers.”

Fred Holmes' career was much more brief and seemed to be relegated to play bit parts primarily in Hal Roach-produced shorts and features. Not such a bad gig though as the majority of the time he was either appearing alongside Laurel & Hardy or the Our Gang kids. Holmes appeared with Laurel & Hardy in such classics as "Two Tars," "Wrong Again," "Going Bye Bye," "Babes in Toyland" and "Our Relations." In the Our Gang series Holmes also turned up in "Noisy Noises," "For Pete's Sake," "Beginner's Luck," "Teacher's Beau," "The Lucky Corner" and "Rushin' Balet." He had bits alongside the legend Harold Lloyd in "Hot Water" and was also among the all-star cast of "If I Had a Million," most notable for its sequence with W.C. Fields. Other comedy greats whose films Holmes appeared in include Billy Bevan, Andy Clyde, Vernon Dent, Franklin Pangborn, Arthur Houseman, Patsy Kelly and Thelma Todd.

BUY THE FILM:

“Hide and Shriek” has been released on home video several times. Two of the most recent releases include collections that range from a handful of shorts to a collection containing all the sound shorts originally produced at Hal Roach Studios. Buy them here:

FURTHER READING:

There are two great blogs highlighting the horror comedies of Our Gang/the Little Rascals. Click here to read The Haunted Closet and click here to read Ghosts of Halloween Past.

As for books, the ultimate one on the kids is “Our Gang: the Life & Times of The Little Rascals” by Leonard Maltin. Buy the book here:

WATCH THE FILM:

Nothing beats seeing the short in its entirety with its original soundtrack intact, but if you want to get a taste of the flavor of this short here is an excerpt that was released to the 8mm home movie market in a silent edition with subtitles (8mm and Super 8 were the original “home video” before there was home video – you can read my post about the hobby when you click here). For 8mm home video release, “Hide and Shriek” was renamed “The Haunted House”:

TWEET-A-LA-DEET-A-LA-TWEET!

2011-08-29T00:00:00.005-04:00

Hey fans - just a quick note to let you know I now have a Twitter account. If you're interested in my various pop culture-related projects, from Scared Silly to my comic book work and everywhere in-between, I encourage you to follow me there as I "tweet" about endeavors past, present and future. Just click here to get to my Twitter page.

As for the photo up-top, yes, that's the skeleton of famous Looney Tunes cartoon character Tweety Bird. Korean artist Hyungkoo Lee made a series of skeletons he calls "Animatus" which analyzes the skeletal structure of our favorite cartoon stars. Of course, we love that here at Scared Silly - the more skeletons the better! You can see Lee's other creations when you click here.

Since we're on a bird theme (after all, birds "tweeted" long before humans did), let's pull out a classic public domain Flip the Frog cartoon. We've shown "Spooks" before here at Scared Silly - that one has a brief gag with a cuckoo clock inhabited by a skeleton bird. This time, let's take a look at a Flip flick where the cuckoo is the title star, the "old dark house" spoof "The Cuckoo Murder Case." Hmmmm... perhaps that explains his skeletal appearance in "Spooks?!" Anyway... ENJOY!

ON THE (DARK & SPOOKY) ROAD AGAIN!

2011-08-18T00:00:00.007-04:00

...but no, I won't be wearing the disguise that Scarlett the Vampire/Vampire Hunter wears in the above illustration.

I will, however be autographing copies of the "Archie's Weird Mysteries" paperback collection - featuring horror-comedy comic book tales based on the animated series of the same name - this Saturday, August 20th at The Little Shop of Comics (great name, eh?) in Scotch Plains, NJ.

I wrote the stories and I'll be joined by artist-supreme Fernando Ruiz (you can read more about the series by clicking here). Fernando will be giving away sketches and we'll both be signing anything and everything we've worked on - not just "Archie's Weird Mysteries." So if you're in the area, stop on by and say hello - we'll be there from 2PM to 5PM that day.

For further details, click right here.

If you need further persuasion, Poe the kitten (and reigning Scared Silly mas-cat) has prepared this special video encouraging you to come out and support your favorite horror-comedy-meister! MUCH THANKS in advance!

THE ALIENS THAT GOT AWAY...

2011-08-08T00:00:00.008-04:00

In previous posts (which you can read here and here) I mentioned recently-released comic book projects in which I played a part. I highlighted the “Archie’s Weird Mysteries” paperback collection in particular for its relevance to my “Scared Silly” project – after all, just like a typical Hollywood horror-comedy the comic misadventures I wrote based on the animated series of the same name often had Archie and his friends mixed up with monsters, mad scientists and yes, aliens!

The “Archie’s Weird Mysteries” paperback reprinted one of my favorite stories, about Archie and his friends getting mixed up in an intergalactic baseball game between two rival alien teams. The Brawnux were the champion jocks of the universe, while the Smelltoids were more adept at using their brains than their brawn.

Now comes “The Best of Archie Comics.” This is another project I had a hand in. It was released when I wasn't paying attention (I had no idea when this one was supposed to come out). It’s a whopping 400 pages (and an additional 20 if you get the hardcover) that collects stories of Archie and Archie-owned properties from every decade since the 1940s, by all the top writers and artists of each decade. PLUS it includes insights from many Archie creators and fans, and some historical text on each decade. It includes some quotes from me and I wrote much of the historical text within, but for Scared Silly fans the biggest draw may be the inclusion of a short tale I wrote as a follow-up to that intergalactic baseball game story.

Ultimately, my contributions to “The Best of Archie Comics” are just a small part of what is a massive team effort – credit is due to the great team of staff editors and designers at Archie for putting it together. Plus so many great folks and dear friends quoted within as well as stories they were involved in either as artists, writers, editors, etc. - such a huge list but including Dan Parent, Fernando Ruiz, Michael Uslan, Stephen Oswald, Suzannah Rowntree. Joe Morciglio, Mike Pellerito... heck, so, so many I don't think Blogger offers enough "character" space to mention them all but you get the idea... well done, everyone.

You can pre-order a copy of the deluxe hardcover version (releasing in October) at the bottom of this post, or find the softcover copy at your local comic shop (click here to use the Comic Shop Locator Service to find the store nearest you).

…and for more outer space silliness, here’s John Landis’ commentary of the trailer for the Three Stooges’ feature, “Have Rocket, Will Travel,” courtesy of our friends at Trailers From Hell. ENJOY!

THE HAUNTED HOUSE (1921)

2011-08-01T00:00:00.065-04:00

**&3/4 out of ****

PLOT: Buster Keaton is a bank teller at a bank where one of the managers is running a crooked side “business” to fleece customers of their cash. Orchestrating an “inside job” the wayward co-worker’s henchman attempt to rob Buster. Through a series of mishaps that leave Buster’s hands filled with glue, he is able to turn the tables on the would-be-robbers. In the process, however Buster is caught with a gun stuck in one hand and cash stuck to the other, leading the owner of the bank to suspect Buster of the crime. Buster takes refuge in a tricked-out house which is also doubling as the hideout for his crooked co-worker and gang. Meanwhile, an acting troupe run off the stage for their horrible performance of “Faust” also hide in the house. Between the various contraptions like collapsing staircases and trap doors as well as thugs dressed like ghosts and skeletons… and let’s not forget the devil Faust wandering about – Buster must clear his name, catch the crooks, get the girl and keep from being scared!

REVIEW: Never have preconceived notions. I must admit before I started watching this short I had guessed that the highest I could possibly score it would be 2 to 2 and ¼ stars out of 4. The reason? I am one of the few who holds a unique position on Buster Keaton. While I admire Keaton greatly and think he’s a genius filmmaker in terms of his direction, most of the time I don’t laugh much at his films or feel any connection to the protagonists he plays. It really just comes down to his deadpan style. Of the silent solo clowns, I most often throw my lot in with Harold Lloyd. Lloyd was very inventive, too; not genius-level inventive like Keaton (although close) but still he managed to conceive some amazing set-pieces in his comedy. More importantly, he played a character to who I could root and relate. Lloyd’s character, like Keaton’s was a man trying to get ahead but he was not detached. You knew Lloyd’s emotions. He didn’t just wear them on his sleeves but on his trouser legs as well! Which is not to say that one style is “better” than another but just that I personally prefer a character to who I can relate.

Having said that, there are limitations to Keaton’s character that make the horror-comedy in particular a mostly unsuitable sub-genre for him. It pretty much begins and ends with the fact that Keaton can never get too scared, and if he does get scared, it’s not for long – otherwise he threatens to diminish his character’s main feature: the stoic and deadpan “stone face.”

...and yet, as you can see from my rating, the film ends up succeeding more than I thought it would. It’s a close call, but there are enough touches that work to make it almost worthy of a full three stars.

Common to silent comedies, this short starts off with a humorous opening title card: “Wall Street – The palatial parking place of the Bull and the Bear – mostly the Bull.” No time is wasted as the first visual gag follows immediately after the title card: Buster pratfalls out of a taxi on his way to work. As he runs through his routine so he can man his station at the local bank, Buster treats his fans to his time-honed acrobatics – leaping, climbing and tumbling his way through his surroundings.

There is brevity of set-up in this short – one minute in the scene jumps from Buster’s arrival at the bank to an interior of a house with this title card, “The bank cashier and his band of counterfeiters have a strong reason for making people believe this house is haunted.” The burly bank teller demonstrates just how he can make people believe the house is haunted by pulling a lever. His first trick: flattening the stairs so that those climbing fall to the bottom! This will be the first of several “tricked-out house” gags in the short, and they anticipate similar gags in the silent Our Gang shorts “Shootin’ Injuns” and “Shivering Spooks” that would follow a few years later.

Back to the bank, a pretty young girl convinces Buster to open the time-lock on the vault for an early withdrawal. The woman returns a short time later to reveal she received a counterfeit bill, and the bank president says he’ll have the police look into the matter, much to the concern of the crooked bank teller.

Buster then gets into some bits of business with a glue pot, money and bank statements – he has accidentally gotten glue on his hands and everything sticks! Just as he removes one element from his hands, he ends up stuck to another! It is classic Keaton physical dexterity at work. Of course, as he hands off money to a customer, the stickiness just compounds matters! Soon everyone in the bank has money stuck to their hands and feet!

The silent comedies with their knockabout slapstick often get a bad rap from some quarters for (in “their” opinion) being “dated” and having a “sameness” to them but too often what’s forgotten is not only the visually inventive gags but the truly audacious and outrageous lengths comedians would go to get laughs in their films. These bits are usually jarringly unexpected, and “The Haunted House” contains this gem: to get a man who is stuck to the floor by the seat of his pants unstuck, Buster first conks him on the head and then pours boiling hot water onto the floor to loosen the glue’s grip!

Before too long Buster’s hands are stuck in his pockets. Eventually he breaks his hands free, and when robbers come to hold up the bank and carelessly leave their guns at the counter, Buster successfully chases them off… and then is summarily confronted by the bank officials because he’s still holding the guns and looks like he robbed the place himself with all the glue-filled money stuck in his pockets. In his inimitable way, however Buster manages to escape (sort of – he ends up back in the vault).

Continuing with this film’s brisk pacing of transitions (almost as if it’s a comic book and the scene’s abrupt change is easily explained away with a “MEANWHILE” caption) we are taken to a local theater where, a title tells us, “That night the Daredevil Opera Company was executing Faust – and he deserved it!” The title card writer isn’t kidding, either as a man throws a whole head of lettuce (or maybe it was cabbage – hard to tell in a black & white movie) at the performer on-stage, leading to the entire audience chasing the actors out the back of the theater.

…and then we’re back at the bank with Buster, where a wonderfully written title tells us, “After searching everywhere else the police found him where he was.” Buster runs into the blue-tinted night. The sheriff and his men take chase but when Buster runs into the title house, they stop short, exclaiming “That house is haunted.”

Once inside, Buster sees a man in a sheet walk by but is nonplused. He begins to nonchalantly explore the home, touching various objects. When he opens a book it sets off a smoke bomb. Then the ghost (man in sheet) runs in, frightened by a lawman’s rifle being shot and Buster runs up the stairs to avoid the ghost… but the ghost merely runs into another room, leaving Buster on the stairs perplexed… and soon at the bottom of the stairs on his butt as the “trick stairs” are activated.

The actors on the run from the angry audience soon duck into the house just as Buster did. This adds some extra elements to the spooky fun because now “the devil” Faust is in the trick house. Perhaps the funniest moments come in the scene where the actor in the Faust costume confronts Buster. Buster plops down in a chair at the sight of ‘ol scratch and is quizzical about the whole matter. He touches the actor to see if he’s “real”… and perhaps to assure himself he’s not just having a delusion. This one little bit is a brilliant piece of acting on Buster’s part as he acts with his eyes – he keeps his stone face but his eyes belie the fact that he is simultaneously curious and scared out of his wits. By default, that makes this the funniest scene in this “scare comedy” that otherwise finds its hero not-very-scared. The scene gets even funnier as Buster rightly decides the Faust actor is not the real Satan after kicking him in the shin and getting the expected reaction!

Buster’s hysterical attempts to explain the collapsing staircase are met with disbelief by Faust, who walks away only to be replaced by a man in a sheet while Buster isn’t looking! A brief tussle leads to a genuine scare-take from Keaton in inimitable fashion: a back flip that ends up with Buster lying on the ground! This is followed by the classic horror-comedy stand-by of a person pretending to be a chair with a blanket draped over their body. When the “arms” of the chair cup around Buster’s waist, we see one of the few times on film where Buster’s stone face actually registers an emotion!

Genuinely scared now, Buster runs out of the room. He regains his composure a bit then ends up following a couple of men in creepy skeleton outfits (another horror-comedy standby) into a room where they are assembling disembodied mannequin parts into a whole “man.” And a “real man” at that! The effect is suitably eerie and is the first instance in the film where something truly supernatural has occurred, and suddenly at that. This is one of those “just go with it” moments that turns up from time to time in horror comedies – it’s been established that the crooked banker and his gang are aware that “the little man from the bank is upstairs” and are determined to scare him away with tricks, yet they also slip in something totally unexplainable. This would happen again in such films as The East Side Kids’ “Spooks Run Wild,” where Bela Lugosi and his assistant Angelo Rossitto – mere stage magicians – somehow vanish into thin air as bullets are shot directly at them; and the Shemp Howard-Billy Gilbert-Maxie Rosenbloom starrer “Crazy Knights,” where John Hamilton, despite otherwise being presented as a man up to no-good tricks (literally and figuratively) actually turns transparent and floats away without any explanation. These bizarre occurrences are usually tossed off without a second thought, and such is the case here.

As often happens in two reel spook spoofs, the climactic action picks up a frenetic pace as various characters dart from one room to another and various scare gags are pulled off. By the end of “The Haunted House” this means that various combinations of the gangsters, the lawmen, the actors from the Faust play and Buster intersect. The gags are fairly unconnected. At one point, Buster sits on a sofa to catch his breath, putting his arm around a sheet-clad figure with the expected reaction. He sails down the collapsing staircase headfirst as if it is a playground slide when another figure in a sheet approaches. A tried and true gag occurs when one of the sheet-wearing crooks grabs Buster by his coattails and Buster frantically tries to run away but ends up running in place while the carpet under his feet turns in circles!

I mentioned earlier that critics of the day had become all too aware of the typical silent comedy conventions, overused as they were. One such gimmick was “the chase” scene, and “The Haunted House” breaks this trope out for its finale, too. When the Faust actor’s cape catches on fire just as he’s being confronted by one of the sheet wearing gangsters, this film’s obligatory chase ensues as he jumps out the window and scares off the waiting law enforcement officials. But back in the house, to Keaton’s credit the “chase scene” takes on a different, absurdist tone. Buster directs traffic as various sheet wearing gangsters pass each other in the hall as they rather languidly cross from room to room. This scenario of having various characters dart (or merely cross) from room to room became a staple of not only horror-comedies but also animation in everything from the Beatles’ full-length animated feature “Yellow Submarine” to the “Scooby Doo” Saturday morning cartoon series.

One of the best gags soon follows as Buster decides to outwit the collapsing staircase by first gently stepping on one or two steps the way one would dip their foot into a swimming pool to test the temperature of the water, only to promptly sliding down the banister… where he ends up on the 2nd step which promptly collapses, sending him to the ground!

With a minute to go we come to learn there is a trap door that deposits people in the basement hideout of the crooks. Why this device comes into the short so late is a mystery, as surely there could have been great “bits of business” built around this prop.

When all is said and done, Buster saves the day (with a well-tossed vase to a crook’s head foreshadowing the hysterical climax of Wheeler & Woolsey’s 1930s classic, “The Nitwits”) and gets the girl… but in one of the more bizarre horror-comedy endings on par with the “shock endings” in Laurel & Hardy films, the villain knocks Buster dead and he ascends the stairway to heaven… which promptly collapses sending him into hell! Until he wakes up, of course – the villain merely knocked Buster out!

The gags in the haunted house are fun and inventive, but as previously mentioned, Buster in a “scare” comedy can be a disconnect – again, he is the “great Stone Face” and a lot of “scare comedy” relies on “reaction takes.” In the initial sequences inside the “haunted” house, Buster is only ever momentarily “scared.” He shrugs things off so quickly that his emotionless persona doesn’t register the same laughs as say cartoon superstar Bugs Bunny, who didn't scare easily but would generally come at his would-be tormentors with a steady stream of head-spinning double-talk and physical distraction techniques. That may sound like an unfair comparison – after all this is a silent movie – but the physical “recovery” for Buster just happens too fast to elicit many laughs. That’s not necessarily a knock on Keaton as much as it is an acknowledgement that his stock style and the horror-comedy genre are not the best match. Indeed, it seems Metro, distributors of the short felt the same – they don’t even feature one of the haunted house scenes on the movie poster, opting instead for Buster’s gummed-up glue gaggery.

As in many of the silent comedies, the co-stars are game and really bring a lot to the proceedings with their lively playing. Almost by default given Keaton’s deadpan style, the supporting cast comes off alive and kicking indeed with big and broad body language and facial expressions, as well as frantic physicality. Among the cast members are Virginia Fox, who spent the ‘20s as a supporting player in Mack Sennett shorts including several Buster Keaton entries. She also co-starred with other famous silent clowns including Charlie’s brother Sydney Chaplin, Charley Chase, Ford Sterling, Ben Turpin, James Finlayson, Billy Bevan, Vernon Dent, Marie Prevost and others, and was an ex-wife of movie mogul Darryl F. Zanuck. Also on-hand is Joe Roberts. A family friend of Keaton’s, Roberts was primarily a supporting player in Keaton shorts although he also appeared in Bobby Dunn shorts and a smattering of features including the Mary Pickford version of “Little Lord Fauntleroy.” Natalie Talmadge played mostly uncredited bit roles (usually quite small bits) in Keaton films as well as small parts in her sister Constance’s comedies and her sister Norma’s dramas. Outside of Keaton’s “Our Hospitality” the most famous movie Talmadge appeared in was the silent classic, “Intolerance” (which also featured a small part for Walter Long who would become a perennial foil for Laurel & Hardy).

All things considered, the film is much better than one would expect given that disparity of styles… and to Keaton’s credit it soon picks up as he figures out ways to make the horror-comedy trappings work despite his deadpan style. It was the first of only a small handful of “horror-comedies” Buster would make, the others being talkie efforts (none I’m sure coming close to the entertainment value of seeing Buster play in a 1940 charity baseball game alongside Boris Karloff – in full Frankenstein monster makeup! – as previously mentioned here). I recommend “The Haunted House” as your best chance to see Keaton tackle the standard trappings of the genre in the medium where Keaton excelled, the silent film. In that regard, feel free to add an extra star to my rating if you are a big Keaton fan.

BEST DIALOGUE: The aforementioned title card, “After searching everywhere else the police found him where he was.”

BEST GAGS: All the best gags are already mentioned in the body of this review, but I will elaborate on Buster’s successful beaning of the criminal in the film’s finale: Instead of hitting a man directly over the head with a vase, Buster throws it up over the man’s head and it hits its target on the way down. This is an extremely Keaton-esque trifle – expertly planned and timed for maximum effect, sort of a small scale version of the elaborate and famous scene in the classic “Steamboat Bill, Jr.” which followed seven years after “The Haunted House,” where the façade of a house falls directly over Buster but does not harm him as he’s standing dead-center where the open doorway lands.

SPOTTED IN THE CAST: The big talent in the cast besides Keaton is of course Edward F. Kline, aka Eddie Cline, who also co-directed and co-wrote this short with Keaton. Cline gets but a bit part as a bank customer in “The Haunted House,” but of course he is more well-known for his behind-the-camera work. He directed and/or wrote/co-wrote such comedy classics as W.C. Field’s “Million Dollar Legs” “The Bank Dick” and others; several Wheeler & Woolsey movies including the notorious “So This is Africa” and one with horror-comedy overtones, “Hook, Line & Sinker;” a few Olsen & Johnson features including the wild “Crazy House” and their classic horror-comedy, “Ghost Catchers;” the Ritz Brothers’ “Behind the Eight Ball,” programmers including entries in the comic strip-based Snuffy Smith and Maggie & Jiggs series; and the silent horror-comedy “The Ghost of Folly” with Andy Clyde. Cline also directed a pair of “Cracked Nuts” – both the Wheeler & Woolsey vehicle co-starring Boris Karloff and the pseudo-horror-comedy of the same title but with a different plot that featured Shemp Howard and Mantan Moreland. And that’s just scratching the surface!

BUY THE FILM: This one shows up in various DVD collections, but the best print is probably the one offered by Kino in their extensive “Art of Buster Keaton” collection which you can order here:

FURTHER READING: The seminal work on silent comedies in my opinion is Walter Kerr’s “The Silent Clowns.” You’ll find much about Keaton as well as his contemporaries Chaplin, Langdon, Lloyd, Laurel & Hardy and others in this essential volume. Order it when you click on the title here: The Silent Clowns

Books solely about Keaton abound. Two that come highly recommended to me by a film historian friend are "Keaton" by Rudi Blesh and "The Complete Films of Buster Keaton" by Jim Kline, part of that ever-reliable collection of "Films of" books originally published by Citadel Press. There is an additional book I’ve never read it, so I can't vouch for it beyond the fact that it includes coverage of "The Haunted House," and that is Gabriella Oldham’s Book “Keaton’s Silent Shorts: Beyond the Laughter” which takes a look at Keaton’s shorts from 1920 to 1923. You can order these books here (for the Blesh book click on the title):

Buster Keaton

UPDATE: After this post went up I decided to surf the net to see if any other blogs had reviewed this film. Wouldn't you know that the Pretty Clever Film Gal reviewed it at the Pretty Clever Film blog just a few weeks prior to my review being posted? You can read that review when you click here.

WATCH THE FILM: This film is thought to be in the public domain so you can find it on various websites including the Internet Archive. Here is a brief excerpt from this short, the finale of the film which is chock full of horror-comedy gags – ENJOY!

BEFORE COWBOYS & ALIENS...

2011-07-29T00:00:00.004-04:00

Before COWBOYS & ALIENS there were:

COWBOYS & DINOSAURS...

COWBOYS & MONSTERS...

...and COWBOYS & LOST SCIENCE-FICTIONEY CIVILIZATIONS WITH LASERS & ROBOTS!

MORE COMIC-AL DETOURS

2011-07-27T00:00:00.056-04:00

In my previous post, I took the opportunity to plug some recent comic projects I've been involved with (and help explain the lack of classic horror-comedy movie reviews as of late).

Chief among my current projects is of course the paperback collection of ARCHIE’S WEIRD MYSTERIES stories I wrote. I had thought that it would be available at comic shops a week ago but it appears I was mistaken - apparently it merely shipped to comic shops last week and should actually show up on those store shelves today... we'll see I guess.

Anyway, I've talked about this one ad infinitum - the short story is that my "Archie's Weird Mysteries" stories should appeal to most "Scared Silly" fans... to repeat what I wrote in my last post, it's "a wild and crazy head-on collision of typical Archie Comics character-driven humor with the bizarre and absurd world of the supernatural, paranormal and extraterrestrial! I got to put the Archie characters through their paces in a world that was one quarter “Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein,” one quarter “Kolchak: the Night Stalker,” one quarter “Night of the Creeps” and one quarter “X-Files.”

Read more about "Archie's Weird Mysteries" when you click here.

There was also another project that came out earlier this year that I forgot to mention last time for which I provided some fun (though uncredited) copy. The book "Archie & Friends All-Stars: The Archies & Josie & the Pussycats" reprinted a multi-part story written and drawn by the great talents Dan Parent and Bill Galvan. The storyline detailed the Archies and Pussycats bands co-headlining a concert tour and the budding romance that ends up brewing between Archie and Valerie. My contribution: I was asked to do write-ups on each "band" that appeared at the end of the book... in VH-1 "Behind the Music" style! That was great fun because I got to combine fact with fiction and rib a famous pop culture phenomenon (namely the often-cheesy and sensationalist half hour documentary a la "Behind the Music" as well as "E's True Hollywood Story") in the process. For example, did you know Jughead's bandmates in the Archies had to hold an intervention to curtail his hamburger-eating habit? Or how about Pussycats' drummer Melody, who opened the country's first... and last combination sushi bar and ice cream parlor!

The Josie & the Pussycats characters have an amazing following, due in no small part to the popular animated series from Hanna-Barbera in the 1970s. I'll leave you with one of the songs from the show... but first I will kindly encourage you all to support my various projects if you can, particularly the "Archie's Weird Mysteries" paperback as good sales could potentially lead to more. You can purchase these books at most comic shops (to find the comic shop nearest you just click here to use the Comic Shop.

Okay, I've plugged enough! Hoping to have a review of Buster Keaton's "The Haunted House" up soon. In the meantime, let's go out with a song!

COMIC ASIDES

2011-07-20T00:00:00.040-04:00

Greetings Scared Silly fans! Since today is the official opening of the annual San Diego Comic Con, the gigantic pop culture festival celebrating comic books, comic characters and every single ancillary entertainment and product derived thereof, I thought I’d take this opportunity to plug some recently released projects to which I contributed. And to once again remind everyone that I’m not slacking when it comes to “Scared Silly” movie reviews – it’s just that the paying gigs have to come first. So here’s the rundown of what’s been keeping me so busy lately:

Let’s start with ARCHIE ALL-STARS: A NIGHT AT THE COMIC SHOP. This multi-part story originally appeared in the pages of the “Archie & Friends” comic book. It was written by the great Fernando Ruiz with art by Fernando and the equally great Bill Galvan. What’s fantastic about this story is that it brings back many of the obscure comic book characters from Archie’s past, going all the way back to its 1940s beginnings when the company was known as MLJ Comics up through the swinging 1960s. This included such disparate characters as Super Duck, Sam Hill, Pat the Brat, Suzie, Young Dr. Masters, Squoimy the Woim and many others. My contribution? I had the super-fun task of researching the history of most of the characters contained within and doing write-ups on each that appear at the back of the book.

Next up is ARCHIE: A CELEBRATION OF AMERICA’S FAVORITE TEENAGERS. This amazing coffee table book was put together by Craig Yoe and his amazing crew at Yoe Books, with several contributions by various Archie alumni. My contributions? Steven Thompson interviewed me about various factoids, Craig Yoe asked me to identify cover artists from a variety of classic Archie covers, and legendary Archie editor Victor Gorelick commissioned me to write the character descriptions that appeared in the book for Mr. Weatherbee, Archie as Pureheart the Powerful, Betty as Super Teen and Jughead as Captain Hero. I cannot recommend this book highly enough – it is without question the most thorough, essential history of the Archie Comics company ever published.

Also recently released is ARCHIE AMERICANA SERIES: BEST OF NINETIES, BOOK 2. This book is near and dear to my heart and a true milestone. It is the final entry in the ARCHIE AMERICANA SERIES of trade paperbacks collecting classic Archie stories from decades past. Besides Victor Gorelick, I am the only other person who had a hand in each and every edition of this series, starting with the first, ARCHIE AMERICANA: BEST OF THE FORTIES twenty years ago. There were twelve volumes in all, two each covering the 1940s, ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s. My credits on the series ranged from Assistant Editor to Compilation Editor to Americana Series Editor, etc. In every case I did extensive research on each decade, suggesting stories I felt should be reprinted using criteria including relevance to each decade, notable first appearances of characters and quality of stories. I also wrote some introductions for some of the volumes as well as the table of contents and back cover blurbs for each volume. You can read an in-depth interview I did with Mark Haney about working on the series when you click here.

Last but not least, the paperback collection of ARCHIE’S WEIRD MYSTERIES stories I wrote lands in comic shops today. This is the series that is likely to be of most interest to “Scared Silly” fans, a wild and crazy head-on collision of typical Archie Comics character-driven humor with the bizarre and absurd world of the supernatural, paranormal and extraterrestrial! I got to put the Archie characters through their paces in a world that was one quarter “Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein,” one quarter “Kolchak: the Night Stalker,” one quarter “Night of the Creeps” and one quarter “X-Files.” I’ve spoken about this series a few times here on the “Scared Silly” site, and you can read my most recent entry on it when you click here.

I encourage everyone out there to support these projects, most especially the ARCHIE’S WEIRD MYSTERIES book because good sales on that title could lead to more of my stories being reprinted… and perhaps the commission of new Archie’s Weird Mysteries tales! You can purchase these books at most comic shops (to find the comic shop nearest you just click here to use the Comic Shop Locator Service) or use the Amazon.com links at the bottom of the post.

Oh, and if you're wondering about the caricature of me atop this post, it is by mega-talented cartoonist and long-time pal Chris Allan. Chris has illustrated several of my stories including those starring Little Archie and Sonic the Hedgehog. He is perhaps best-known as a contributing artist to Darkwing Duck and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book tales.

Speaking of caricatures, I leave you now with a video that is a bit of a “horror-comedy” in itself: an “Animutation” featuring a caricature of yours truly! If you’re curious as to what an “Animuation” is just click here. As for my appearance in this video (which I learned about after the fact), an explanation is in order. Back in the 1990s when I worked on staff at Archie Comics, I was the original editor involved in translating the video game character Sonic the Hedgehog into comic book form. Other editors came on-board but it was something of a fraternity – once you were involved in Sonic you were always involved in Sonic in some way or form (for my part, I wrote a couple Sonic stories, corresponded with fans via email and also wrote all the press releases about Sonic comic issues). The letters page for the Sonic comic became something of a party for the editorial staff.

Scott Fulop (my mentor at Archie - I started at the company as Scott's assistant editor) had a blast concocting “The Adventures of Scott and Paul” where I often appeared in caricatured form as the fall guy for various schemes conceived by Scott, Sonic and pals (and sometimes turning the tables on them). Freddy Mendez, aka Justin Gabrie also got into the act when he edited the series. Many of the short strips were drawn by Dave Manak and a few may have been done by Bill Golliher (my memory fails me)… but the bottom line is that one of those caricatures of me from the Sonic letters page has made it into this “Animutation” and now you can view the result in (shocked-I’m-sure) awe. I come in at the 30 second mark wearing a red shirt with a white stripe. My big moment comes around 2:50 with a huge pileup of me’s stacking up to the sky!

Oh, I have no idea who put this video together and why they'd want to include a caricature of me in it, but needless to say… enjoy!

THE SPIRITS OF '76 - 2011 EDITION

2011-07-04T00:00:00.002-04:00

NOTE: This is an encore edition of a post I originally wrote in 2010:

Here’s a film that will be going into the “horror-onable mention” section of my book. It’s not a “horror-comedy” per se – it’s more of a fantasy-romance, but it does involve ghosts (albeit friendly ghosts) who take the opportunity to put a good scare in some folks as needed. For me, Abbott & Costello’s “The Time of Their Lives” is every bit as classic a movie as “Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein;” even if it has more in common with “Topper.”

It’s also tied into the American Revolution, hence this post falling on America’s Independence Day. The film’s script is very well written. It tells the tale of Horatio Prim (Costello), a bumbling but masterful New England tinker in 1780 who longs to marry Nora, the housemaid of wealthy estate owner Tom Danbury. To that end, Horatio procures a letter of commendation from General George Washington in hopes of obtaining permission to marry Nora from Tom. Unfortunately, Horatio has a rival for Nora in butler Cuthbert (Abbott), who causes him trouble no end. But the real trouble comes from Danbury himself, who is secretly a traitor out to aid Benedict Arnold. Both Nora and Danbury’s fiancé, Melody (the luminous Marjorie Reynolds) learn of Danbury’s plot. Nora is captured and Danbury confiscates the commendation letter from her (she had been holding it for Horatio) and hides it in the mantelpiece clock, but Melody manages to escape on horseback in an effort to warn George Washington. She soon encounters Horatio, and the two are framed as traitors, executed and dumped into a well.

It’s here that the fantasy element kicks in. Horatio and Melody are now ghosts who haunt the grounds of the estate and will continue to do so until they can prove their innocence. They just need to somehow get the letter into the hands of the authorities who can rewrite the history books so the truth can be known. This becomes a more hopeful quest 166 years later when the estate is restored to its original condition, and that includes the original furniture. When the restoration is complete, the new owner invites some guests for the weekend to celebrate. Among the guests are psychiatrist Dr. Ralph Greenway, a descendent of Cuthbert (also played by Abbott). Horatio and Melody decide to have some fun “scaring” the guests. Horatio takes particular delight in spooking Greenway. A séance is held wherein the identity of the ghosts and their plight is revealed, resulting in the living doing what they can to help set Horatio and Melody free.

The film has grown in status over the years and has quite a following (and may have even inspired a line in the classic Gordon Lightfoot song, "If You Could Read My Mind"). In fact, while embraced by many Bud & Lou fans, it’s also been touted as “the Abbott & Costello movie for people who hate Abbott & Costello movies.” This is due to the exceptional dramatic acting of both Lou and Bud that full-bloodedly brings their well-written roles to life. They are both so good in this that it’s hard to say whether one outshines the other (although I might give the slight edge to Abbott whose rarely used talent for character acting is on full display here). It stands out from the majority of the team’s other films which primarily feature a variation on their con man/patsy burlesque characters. It’s one of the few films where the team stretched beyond their usual archetypes and managed to pull it off (for examples where this departure from the norm didn’t work in my opinion, catch “Little Giant” and “Dance With Me Henry.” Or don’t). It also includes a wonderful supporting cast, including horror-comedy stalwart Gale Sondergaard as the maid of the restored estate who definitely believes in ghosts. And it features beautiful sets, wonderful costume designs and marvelous special effects - a top-notch production all around.

If you haven't guessed by now, I consider "The Time of Their Lives" a wonderful film to watch on Independence Day... or any day, for that matter! Here’s the trailer for your enjoyment:

A YEAR WITHOUT MAX E. COCO CAT

2011-06-30T00:00:00.003-04:00

NOTE: This entry was originally posted last year on this date. It was my wife's birthday, and also the day we lost our precious cat Max. Recently, we got a new cat named Poe who you can read about when you click here. I re-post this now in tribute to Max... we miss you, sweet boy!

RIP MAX E. "COCO" CAT - 1992-2010

This may seem like an odd post. What does a cat have to do with "horror-comedies?" Believe it or not, there is a connection.

Max was my wife Barbara's cat - she raised him from a kitten. I met Max in February, 2001 shortly after meeting Barb. I was not raised with cats, wasn't around cats much and didn't have much knowledge about them. Initially I thought it odd how much Barb interacted with and doted on this cat.

Then Barb and I got married in 2004 and Max moved in. Barb was worried that Max wouldn't take too well to having his "Mommy" share her affections with me (let alone the two other cats who came in the deal - Diva and the late Griffin).

But a wonderful thing happend... Max adopted me! We became the best of pals. He loved having a daddy he could take naps with and hang out with.

Max was a myth-buster. The #1 myth he dispelled for me was the idea I had that all cats were completely selfish and nasty. Max was not this way. He was very, very sweet and demonstrative about the love he gave - you didn't have to meet his needs to get his love. He would often just show his love out of nowhere (something I can't say for the other two cats).

Max had two cuter-than-cute pieces of schtick he performed. One was what Barb calls "cute boy" - where he would be laying down and just tilt his head while making the cutest face and covering his face with his paws. The other was a roll over... yes, this cat when in a state of sheer bliss (usually over being let outside to walk around the backyard or sometimes just because he was happy to be with us) would actually drop and roll to show his pleasure.

The other myth Max busted was the silly superstition that black cats are somehow "evil" or "scary." Max was anything but! He was sweet for starters, but he was also more prone to be the "scared" than the "scarer!" He was primarily afraid of small children and babies. Once we babysat the baby of a friend, and Max actually hid himself in the farthest room he could, using a shoebox for a litter box rather than the nearby litter box in the hall, for fear of seeing that baby!

I mentioned at the top of this post that Max did have a connection to horror-comedies, beyond the obvious lark that he was a black cat. We used to joke that the Hugh Herbert movie, "The Black Cat" (you can read my review when you click here) was named after Max. We built up this scenario that it was initially one of Max's favorite films, but ultimately wore thin with him as I would often put it on (it was a Netflix "instant view" selection after all) only to fall asleep within moments of the film's credits! I was just so familiar with the film that I found it something fun to nap to. In the way we so often did, my wife and I had a "voice" for Max E. that we would use (like ersatz ventriloquists) to have "him" express his feelings. We'd often have him saying, "you fell asleep to that movie again, daddy? I'm sick of it!" :)

Max was nearly 18. The past few days of humidity were tough on him. We did all we could - we kept the a/c going, always had a dish of ice cubes and cold water nearby, used cold compresses, etc. But the humidity wasn't the actual problem - it just served to bring to light a grave internal condition that Max's feline instincts did a great job of masking. He had a tough evening, and was suffering. We just had to let him go. This came just a few minutes after midnight on Barb's birthday of all days. But we have our cherished memories and will never forget this special little life that brightened our world for so many years. While I was only truly involved with Max for the past 6 of his nearly 18 years, I can honestly say that I was mightily blessed to have him in my life, and to call him my "son." Goodbye Max - we love you & miss you forever!

A TALE OF TWO TITANS!

2011-06-27T00:00:00.047-04:00

The world lost two major talents and multiple award winners late last week: legendary actor Peter Falk and acclaimed comic book artist Gene Colan. Both figured prominently in my childhood and continued to influence me into my adult years as a pop culture/entertainment professional.

I’ll start with Gene Colan. Colan was one of the major artists of American comic books, creating a body of work few have matched, starting in the 1940s and lasting six decades. Colan worked on a variety of characters over the years including monsters, superheroes and humorous characters. The impressive list of icons that Colan rendered includes Batman, Iron Man, Captain America, Daredevil, Wonder Woman, Archie and Jughead, among others.

In addition to drawing the famous comic characters above, Colan is responsible for co-creating two of the greatest African-American heroes in comics: Captain America’s 1970s crime-fighting partner The Falcon (considered the first African-American superhero in mainstream comics) and Blade, the Vampire Hunter (a character that found additional fame in a trilogy of feature films). He is also known as the primary artist on one of the most fondly-remembered, unique comic book series ever, Howard the Duck. Howard, under the authorship of his co-creator Steve Gerber and later Bill Mantlo often deftly mixed humor and horror as the daring duck encountered such creatures as Man-Thing, Man-Frog and even Dracula.

While remembered for all of the above, there is a large contingent of fans that cherish Colan’s horror-related art most of all, with his run on “The Tomb of Dracula” considered one of the greatest comic book titles of the 1970s. Colan also excelled at such superhero-horror hybrids as The Spectre and Doctor Strange. Most of the time Colan’s work graced horror comics that “played it straight,” but as mentioned above there was the odd “Howard the Duck” issue that fell into the “horror-comedy” category, and Colan also penciled the movie adaptation for the 1986 musical-comedy remake of “Little Shop of Horrors” as well as an issue of “Elvira’s House of Mystery.”

A personal anecdote: when I first started on staff at Archie as an assistant editor in the 1990s, one of my responsibilities was making "safety photocopies" of all penciled pages. That way if any of the original pencils got lost or damaged on the way to the inker, the inker could use the safety copy and a lightbox to do the inking job. At the time, Gene Colan was penciling "Jughead's Time Police," so instead of making one set of safety copies, I always made two - a "just in case" set reserved for the inker and my own personal set to just stare at in awe and wonder. Colan's pencils were so good and so interesting that he was just "one of those artists" - an artist whose work could be printed in pencil form without any inks and still look completely finished. Truly Gene was one of the all-time greats!

What can be said about actor Peter Falk that hasn't already been said? He was just one of those singular talents that was always very “real” in any role he played, as if he wasn't an actor but merely someone that had stepped in front of a documentarian's camera. This in spite of… and really because of… his innate “quirkiness.” He didn’t vary too much from project-to-project but it didn’t matter – his characterization was so beloved that you went into one of his movies or TV shows expecting to see your “old friend” in action. Like that other great character actor, Darren McGavin of “Night Stalker” and “A Christmas Story” fame, you knew what you were going to get with Falk in the cast… and you couldn’t wait for him to show up on the screen! Thankfully for his fans, you didn’t have to wait too long because his iconic TV detective character “Columbo” was pretty much a classic-on-arrival and ran for 35 years as both a weekly TV series and a series of TV movies.

Falk didn’t spend too much time in non-realistic settings even though he often came off as a whimsical other-worldly figure, sort of a bemused leprechaun or fairy godfather type dropped into the proceedings from beyond (even in “Columbo!”). He does however have several notable credits in fantasy-based films and TV shows, from appearances on the classic TV anthologies “The Twilight Zone” and “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” children’s films like “The Great Muppet Caper” and “Shark Tale,” the new age comedies “Vibes” and “In the Spirit,” a TV movie adaptation of the classic Arthur Conan Doyle dinosaur tale “The Lost World,” Wim Wenders’ lyrical tales of angels “Wings of Desire” and its sequel, “Faraway So Close” and a trio of Christmas-themed TV movies where Falk himself played an angel named Max (“A Town Without Christmas,” “Finding John Christmas” and “When Angels Come to Town”). His most warmly-remembered contribution to the fantasy genre has to be playing the grandfather and narrator of the classic, “The Princess Bride.”

Falk’s was a face and voice perfectly suited for comedy, and that is where I found him most often as a child. Be it the annual reruns of the all-star comedy epic “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” or the various network and cable broadcasts of films like “The Cheap Detective,” “The Brink’s Job,” “Murder By Death” and “The In-Laws.” “The In-Laws” remains one of the greatest influences ever on my sense of humor and my own writing – turning the ordinary askew in wonderfully hysterical ways. I’ve used that approach when writing comic book stories in everything from “Little Archie” to “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” to of course, “Archie’s Weird Mysteries." It is also among the most-quoted films when I get together with my father and brother – it’s a real favorite in our family and remains one of the greatest screenplays ever (you’ll never forget the first time you see it – it’s full of twists, turns and surprises you can’t predict)!

For Scared Silly fans Falk did make one film that is right on-target: the afore-mentioned murder-mystery spoof, “Murder By Death” written by acclaimed playwright Neil Simon. A wonderful homage to both the classic “old dark house” comedies we cherish here at Scared Silly as well as a great satire of the classic movie detectives from The Thin Man to Charlie Chan to Sam Spade (the two-fisted Dashiell Hammett private eye from “The Maltese Falcon” – here rechristened Sam Diamond and wonderfully portrayed by Falk), the film features many of the elements so common to the spooky mysteries of yore. I’ll leave you now with the trailer for the film… enjoy!

HOLD ON TIGHT!...

2011-06-25T00:00:00.002-04:00

Hello Scared Silly fans... thought I should check in with an update and an apology for the inactivity here as of late. As so often happens, my day job, freelance assignments and other responsibilities have made it difficult for me to update this blog as much as I'd like. I am hoping to reverse that trend a bit in the near future. On tap in the coming days: my tributes to legendary actor Peter Falk and acclaimed comic book artist Gene Colan, a note about various projects of mine currently or soon-to-be available for purchase, and a review... yes, a review... most likely of Buster Keaton's "The Haunted House." My hope is to be able to get on a fairly regular review schedule in the next few months, with an emphasis on short subjects. Thank you as always for your patience - there's more to come!

Now enjoy this clip from the movie from which I posted the photo above: "The Three Stooges in Orbit." ENJOY!

HAPPY 100th BIRTHDAY, VINCENT PRICE!

2011-05-27T00:00:00.005-04:00

So last week I posted all about the weeklong "Vincentennial" event taking place in St. Louis to commemorate what would have been Vincent Price's 100th birthday. Now the actual day of Vincent's birthday (May 27th) has arrived!

Therefore, I'll point you once again to my previous post on the subject - click here to read all my thoughts on Vincent.

Also, since I last posted I discovered another fine blog by a fellow named Jeff York. He did his own wonderful piece on Price a few weeks back, and best of all, provided a lovely hand-drawn caricature of Vincent to boot! Enjoy it all by clicking here.

Now here's director Mick Garris ruminating on the wonders of "The Raven," courtesy of our favorite website here at Scared Silly - Trailers From Hell:

THE NEW SCARED SILLY MAS-CAT IS HERE!

2011-05-22T00:00:00.008-04:00

Greetings Scared Silly fans! I have some exciting news for you. Yesterday we adopted a cute little kitty named Poe! Like our beloved Max who we lost last year (read about him when you click here), Poe is a black male and so far he has the same sweet disposition as Max.

A couple of really cool things: first, when we visited the couple giving the kittens away (Poe had some brothers available, too), I noticed a cartoony Frankenstein Monster nutcracker in the home. And the husband was wearing a Universal Monsters t-shirt! I told them all about Scared Silly and "Archie's Weird Mysteries" and they mentioned being fans of the latter.

Then there's the new kitty's name, Poe. My wife was the one who thought Poe (as in Edgar Allan, naturally) would be a good name (even before we learned the folks adopting him out were classic monster fans), and I quickly concurred. After all, I grew up with Edgar Allen Poe stories.

Furthermore, two of my favorite horror-comedies feature black cats and are loosely (very loosely) based on the Poe tale, "The Black Cat." You can read those reviews when you click on the titles below:

THE BLACK CAT (1941)

TALES OF TERROR (THE BLACK CAT SEQUENCE) (1962)

So here’s to Scared Silly’s new mas-cat – long may you mew!

THE PRICE IS FRIGHT!

2011-05-18T00:00:00.017-04:00

Something rather marvelously wonderful is taking place this week in St Louis, Missouri. That’s because the city famed for its arch is also famous for producing one of Hollywood’s great arch-villains!

I’m speaking of course of the inimitable Vincent Price, who would have turned 100 on May 27th. To celebrate, St. Louis is throwing a grand birthday party starting on May 19th and going all the way through May 28th! They’re calling it the “Vincentennial” (the “Pricentennial” sounds good as well, but maybe they passed on that one because it rhymes with “Bicentennial” – perhaps for Vinnie’s 200th birthday?). Many special events are planned including screenings of some of Vincent’s most famous horror films, guest speakers like Roger Corman (the man who directed Price in several of the classic Edgar Allan Poe movie “adaptations”) and Price’s daughter Victoria (author of a biography on her father), and special exhibits of Vincent Price memorabilia.

One of the city’s premier newspapers, The St. Louis Beacon has several excellent articles about both the event and the man who inspired it. I’m sure many of my readers know how much of a renaissance man Price was – in addition to being a legendary actor he was also a gourmet chef, an extremely vocal advocate for art (he brought fine art into the mainstream with a special collection sold through Sears department stores), and even an author (“The Book of Joe” was his tribute to his dearly departed dog).

Whether you knew any of the above or not, you can read the wonderful features from the Beacon when you click here.

If you want an extra bang for your virtual buck, click here to check out Pete Timmermann’s piece from Playback:stl. Timmermann concentrates primarily on Corman and the Poe cycle, providing additional background on these fine Vincent Price films.

And how do I feel about Price? Well, if you’re a regular reader of this blog you know “Uncle Vinnie” has long been a favorite of mine. If you’d like to read some of my previous posts about Hollywood’s Crown Prince of Horror, just click on any of the titles below:

ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN

THE COMEDY OF TERRORS

THE RAVEN

TALES OF TERROR (“THE BLACK CAT” SEQUENCE)

LOVE MEANS…

WELCOME TO HALLOWEEN SHRIEKEND!

FRIDAYS WITH FRIGHTENSTEIN

You can learn all about my favorite Vincent Price horror flicks (and horror-comedies) at the above links, but while I’m here I’ll also recommend two of his out-and-out comedies, the brilliant “Champagne for Caesar” co-starring Ronald Coleman (Coleman, the smartest man in town becomes a contestant on a game show sponsored by Price’s company… and Price is none too happy shelling out the winnings to Coleman in a tour de force performance) and “Dr. Goldfoot & the Bikini Machine,” a James Bond spoof whose infectious silliness makes up for the areas in which it is lacking (note that Mike Myers must have seen this one – the Austin Powers “Fembots” are surely inspired by this film).

I’d also like to recommend a film that is beyond categorization – it’s one third film noir, one third romance and one third screwball comedy – and that’s where Vinnie comes in, as the hammiest actor who ever took the stage in “His Kind of Woman,” with Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell… yet another tour de force for Price!

Last but not least, I encourage you to check out the various Vincent goodies for sale from Amazon at the bottom of this post, including the Midnight Marquee Actor Series book on Price to which I contributed an essay.

Let’s go out on a high note… courtesy of Vincent’s co-star in this clip, Kermit the Frog from “The Muppet Show!” Here’s to you, Vincent!

HAVE MONSTROUS FUN WITH FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2011!

2011-05-06T00:00:00.002-04:00

This Saturday (May 7th, 2011), the tenth annual Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) event will be held in comic shops across the country. In the past nine years, scores of free comic books were given away by participating retailers to not only thank comic book aficionados, but to introduce the wonderful world of comics to new readers and fans as well! You can learn more about the event at the official FCBD site by clicking here.

Among the comics being given out this year are few that should appeal to “Scared Silly” fans. “John Stanley Summer Fun” from Drawn & Quarterly is a compilation of all-ages comic stories from one of the all-time masters of the genre, John Stanley (not to be confused with the horror movie historian-author and TV host of the same name). Included in this free edition is a story featuring Melvin Monster.

This year Melvin is joined by a couple of newer characters that seem mighty intriguing. With apologies to Godzilla, Super Dinosaur may just be the most stupendous dino that ever lived… and he just so happens to have lived through the ice age and made it to modern times! With awesome powers and even more awesome tripped-out armor, Super Dinosaur more than lives up to his name!

Kiddie cryptozoologists are going to have a field day with "The Intrepid Escape Goat!" Just check out this description from the Free Comic Book Day site: "It is the dawn of the 20th Century, and one brave soul dares to walk the line between the worlds of science and the arcane; he is Thomas Fleet... The Intrepid EscapeGoat! Touring with his ward and assistant Isis (a 2,000-year-old mummy girl), EscapeGoat performs to sold-out crowds around the globe... but it's what happens offstage, when locals call upon him to solve the paranormal mysteries plaguing their cities, that provides the most peril!"

Thomas Fleet sounds like he’d be right at home hanging out with Archie, Jughead, Betty, Veronica and their pals as they encounter “Archie’s Weird Mysteries.” That’s the comic series I wrote, and while it’s not a part of Free Comic Book Day, if you’re going to the comic shop anyway, I politely request that you consider asking them to pre-order a copy of the upcoming book collecting my stories, “ARCHIE ALL-STARS”: ARCHIE’S WEIRD MYSTERIES.” I’ve written about it a few times recently – just click here to get all the details.

In addition to Melvin Monster, Super Dinosaur and The Intrepid Scapegoat there will be several other great FCBD offerings featuring the likes of Thor, Green Lantern, Captain America, Spider-Man, The Tick, The Simpsons, Inspector Gadget, Kung Fu Panda, Betty & Veronica, Batman, Mickey Mouse, Sonic the Hedgehog and many more. And this post wouldn’t be complete without a shout-out to my pal Joe Field of Flying Colors Comics of Concorde, CA – Joe was the guy who came up with FCBD in the first place! He’s one of the sharpest comics retailers out there, a champion for great comics and literacy and a heck of a nice guy.

I’ll leave you with this promotional clip that Merlyn’s Comic Shop of Washington put together – it’s their spoof of a famous modern-era horror-comedy, called “The Spokane Ghostbusters” – enjoy!

RIP JACKIE COOPER

2011-05-05T00:00:00.012-04:00

Legendary actor-director-producer Jackie Cooper has passed away at the age of 88. I won't go into deep details on his career as I couldn't possibly cover it as eloquently as others who knew the man may end up doing. I for one am looking forward to seeing any articles that may be forthcoming from Leonard Maltin and/or Richard W. Bann, authors of the essential "Our Gang: the Life & Times of the Little Rascals."

Some Cooper highlights include at least three iconic roles: Jack/Jackie in the "Our Gang" theatrical short subjects from Hal Roach Studios (better known to generations who saw the films on TV as "The Little Rascals"), beleaguered boxer Wallace Beery's son in "The Champ," and Daily Planet newspaper editor (and boss to Clark Kent, Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen) in the "Superman" movies from the 1970s and '80s.

Shortly after he left the Our Gang series Cooper was nominated for Best Actor for the title role in 1931's "Skippy" (at the age of 9!). On top of that he had the title role (and was nominated for two Emmy awards) portraying TV's "Hennesey" (a navy lieutenant doctor - Cooper also produced the show) and directed two Emmy-winning TV episodes - one each of "M*A*S*H*" and "The White Shadow."

Of course, here at "Scared Silly" we're most interested in his work as an Our Gang/Little Rascals kid. He is perhaps most famous for being smitten with teacher Miss Crabtree (the lovely June Marlowe) in a pair of shorts, "Teacher's Pet" and "School's Out." To really get on-topic here, I have to mention "Bouncing Babies," which takes place on Halloween Day and features the Gang in spooky costumes ("The Haunted Closet" blog features several great screen grabs from it) and "Moan & Groan, Inc." a bona-fide old dark house entry for the kids. "When the Wind Blows" gets an "horror-onable mention" for its brief scare moments as well.

Here's a clip of Jackie and the gang coming face-to-face with a gorilla from the public domain short, "Bear Shooters" (mislabeled as "Bear Hunters" by whoever posted this YouTube clip, but that happens sometimes). Jackie's the kid sliding the bear trap across the ground starting at approximately 2:20. Thanks for all the memories, Jackie!

ARCHIE'S WEIRD MYSTERIES!!!

2011-04-21T00:00:00.013-04:00

So what's your favorite scary-silly comic book series?

Back in December I did a post about a book collection of some of the "Archie's Weird Mysteries" comic book stories I wrote. If you want to re-read that post, you can do so by clicking here.

But... you don’t really need to because I’m going to repeat most of the same information here.

Here’s the deal: last time I wrote about how you can pre-order the book from Amazon and that it’s due to hit in mid August. Well...

It seems that the book will actually be released earlier to comic shops, which is great news. It’s due to hit those comic shops in mid-July. So NOW is the time to go visit your LCS (that’s comic industry jargon for “local comic shop”) and tell them you want a copy of ARCHIE & FRIENDS ALL-STARS: ARCHIE’S WEIRD MYSTERIES.

Now... there still may be some of you out there wondering what I’m talking about so I’ll repeat the following from the earlier post to fill you in: "Archie's Weird Mysteries" was an animated series based on the long-running comic book series about small-town high school teens... except with the added overlay of weird phenomena like ghosts, monsters and aliens being thrown into the mix!

Of course, flip-about is fair play, so it wasn't long before the TV cartoon show based on the comic book series spun off a comic book series based on the TV cartoon show based on the comic book series! While I wasn't the only writer (artist Fernando Ruiz contributed a few scripts of his own), I'm proud to say I wrote stories that appeared in all 24 issues (plus the additional 10 that followed when the series dropped the "Weird" to become simply "Archie's Mysteries"). You can learn more about the comic series by reading a 2009 interview intrepid reporter Billie Rae Bates did with me by clicking here.

Writing the "Archie's Weird Mysteries" comics was one of the highlights of my career, not just because I got to combine horror and comedy in ways that paid tribute to everything from "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein" to "Kolchak the Night Stalker" to "Night of the Creeps;" (which I still say is the closest anyone's ever come to capturing Archie in live-action) but also because the amazing array of artistic talent contributing to the series included such top-notch folks as the aforementioned Fernando Ruiz plus Bill Golliher, Rich Koslowski, Stephanie Vozzo, Rick Taylor and Vicki Williams (hopefully I haven't forgotten anyone).

So again, I wanted to give all "Scared Silly" fans a head's up on this book's pending release. To reiterate, it will be in comic shops in July and available from online retailers in August. Please consider ordering it in advance from your local comic shop (to find the comic shop nearest you use the Comic Shop Locator Service). Or you can preorder it from Amazon. Here’s what the cover looks like so you can easily spot it:

Now here’s the coolest part: good sales for this book could possibly make this just the first in a series of paperback reprints of my “Archie’s Weird Mysteries” stories. Of course, I would love that. The editor has told me he would love it, too. And I know Fernando the artist would also love it. And it could very well possibly lead to some new stories from us, too! The best way you can do your part to help us is to support the project – so if you have any interest in "Archie's Weird Mysteries" at all I'd truly appreciate you placing an order with your local comic shop or Amazon or wherever you can find someone selling the book. Much thanks!

A SHORT BREAK FOR A QUICK TAKE

2011-04-13T00:00:00.002-04:00

Greetings Scared Silly fans! I'm resurfacing briefly because I stumbled upon something really cool. A person that goes by the moniker "tapthatt2012" has started a YouTube channel where they recreate promo's and bumpers similar to those originally broadcast by independent New York City TV stations in the 1970s and '80s.

This brief clip is a "pre-fab" promo for the movie "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein." As far as I can tell (having communicated with the person that put it together) it was made using a promo for the Abbott & Costello Show with a clip from "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein" and the words "Meet Frankenstein" added to the text. Pretty nifty, huh? Take a look... and I promise to have some new reviews up soon.

GONE FISHIN'

2011-03-22T00:00:00.004-04:00

Archie as a fish? Well, this is a blog about horror-comedy!

Greetings Scared Silly fans! I thought I'd emerge to just say "hello" and thank you for your patience. I'm in one of those super-busy periods right now where my paying gigs have me jumping through hoops. It's been tough to complete reviews and I don't want to post any that may be sub-par so I hope you'll bear with me just a bit longer. I do have some time coming off this spring that should enable me to make some headway, so there's something to look forward to.

Until then, I'm putting up the "Gone Fishin'" sign... even though I'm busy working and not fishing!

Now enjoy Bing Crosby usually seen cavorting with Bob Hope but here marking time with the legendary Louis Armstrong.

A CLASSIC CLOWN MEETS CLASSIC CREEPS!

2011-03-06T00:00:00.007-05:00

Last week I noted the anniversary of Stan Laurel’s passing 46 years ago on February 23, 1965.

I must say I am remiss to not have done the same for Lou Costello this past week. We lost Lou 52 years ago on March 3rd, 1959.

Thankfully history... and the calendar... allow me to make quick amends and pay tribute to Lou as well as it was 105 years ago today that Costello was born, on March 6, 1906.

While Stan Laurel is my favorite movie comedian of all time (and Laurel & Hardy my all-time favorite comedy team), within the realm of the "horror-comedy" genre, Abbott & Costello are the undisputed champs. A big reason for that is few comics could wring as much laughter out of being scared as Lou Costello.

Of course, Costello had the very good fortune to perfect his "scared routine" at the best possible studio: under contract to the "House of Horror" Universal Pictures, Lou got to cavort with such monster legends as Dracula, the Wolf Man, the Frankenstein Monster and the Mummy, plus a spin-off of the Invisible Man that was more mystery than horror, but still a nice nod to James Whales’ classic. As was "Hold That Ghost" with its "old dark house" (a la Whales’ "The Old Dark House"), phony ghosts and secret passageways.

Additional horror paces the studio put Costello through included nods to movie history in the form of the studio’s chief boogeyman Boris Karloff playing Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde as well as a mysterious "swami" character in "Abbott & Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff" that resembled some of Karloff’s sinister mad doctor roles; and Margaret Hamilton matching wits with Costello as she played... what else?... a witch in "Comin’ ‘Round the Mountain!"

Here’s Lou at work in some hysterical outtakes from "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein." Pay particular attention to the sequence wherein Costello’s antics crack up cowboy-star-turned-monster Glenn Strange, made up as the Frankenstein Monster but unable to contain himself... and revealing his deep southern drawl of a laugh in the process! Here’s to you, Lou!

A TIP OF THE BOWLER TO A COMEDY GENIUS

2011-02-23T00:00:00.020-05:00

Today marks 46 years since the passing of Stan Laurel. If you’ve been reading this blog with any regularity, you know I consider Laurel the single greatest comedy mind ever. That’s high praise indeed considering the massive talents of Chaplin, Keaton, Fields and several others, but when you know Laurel’s background it makes sense. This man ate, drank and slept comedy. He was always working out “bits of business” – he wasn’t just a performer but also a writer, gagman, scenarist and director.

Chaplin and Keaton of course were also amazing comedy architects, but with them I was often aware of "the performance" - I could see the technique at work. For me, watching Laurel is like watching someone that is the subject of a documentary. It really feels like someone took their camera outside and started filming this real, flesh and blood person named Stanley. You get a lot of that same cineme verite feel with Fields, who I also love but ultimately Stan's endearing, childlike humanity wins out for me.

Laurel & Hardy made their fair share of horror-comedies, all of which will ultimately be explored on the Scared Silly blog and the eventual accompanying book. But it went a little deeper than that. It was well-known that Stan had a fondness for black humor. Brilliant tactical artist that he was, he used black humor sparingly. He knew it lacked its punch if overused.

Laurel was famous for his “shock endings.” These were gags that had an edge, a bite to them that was often macabre or just plain bizarre and unsettling. The type of gags that would populate an entire half hour episode of “The Addams Family” but which just appeared suddenly in Laurel & Hardy films to finish off the proceedings with a(n often horrific) bang. Such endings included a blood transfusion that makes Ollie thin and Stan fat in “Thicker than Water,” Stan and Ollie tortured resulting in Ollie stretched on the rack and Stan shrunk in a compressor at the finish of “The Bohemian Girl,” and the duo skinned alive (their intact heads atop dangling marionette-like skeletons) in their final Hollywood film, “The Bullfighters.”

Among Laurel & Hardy fans the most legendary “shock ending” is one that never saw the light of day (indeed, there is some debate over whether it truly is “legend” and was never actually conceived/considered in the first place). In the film “Blockheads,” Laurel & Hardy find themselves facing the ire of jealous husband and master big game hunter Billy Gilbert (I’ll allow you the wonderful privilege of seeking out the film to find out just how they incurred his wrath).

According to the legend, the original ending Laurel conceived faded on the boys’ mounted heads, Ollie bemoaning his familiar, “here’s another nice mess you’ve gotten me into” lament as punctuation.

All of this is to underscore that Laurel understood that line where laughing and being scared meets, overlaps and ultimately blends together. And that’s really what “Scared Silly” is all about, isn’t it? Facing the fear of death and the unknown head-on, with laughter. Thanks for all the laughs, Stan!

ROUND AND RONDO...

2011-02-17T00:00:00.020-05:00

Well here’s a nice surprise. While reviewing stats on my aggregator I noticed that a few folks had been referred to the “Scared Silly” blog via a link on the current Rondo Awards site. Yes, it appears that for the second year in a row “Scared Silly” has been nominated for a Rondo award! I want to thank whoever recommended “Scared Silly” for the nomination – I truly appreciate it!

The Rondo Awards are named after Rondo Hatton (you can learn more about Rondo when you click here) and are awards given to those who in some way are keeping the love for and appreciation of classic horror alive. You can learn more details about the awards and view this year's ballot by clicking here.

"Scared Silly" has been nominated in the "best blog" category, and it is my hope that if you like this blog, you will vote for it.

Of course, "Scared Silly" isn't the only reason to vote. There are so many great nominees in so many categories, including several friends of "Scared Silly." Among them are the gang from Trailers From Hell in the “Best Website” category as well as "Zombo's Closet of Horror," and "Frankensteinia" and the irrepressible “Drunken Severed Head” rubbing shoulders with “Scared Silly” in the “Best Blog” category. Not to mention Gary J. Svehla of Midnight Marquee Press to whom I am quite grateful – a few years back he and wife Sue invited me to contribute an essay on the Vincent Price/Peter Lorre horror-comedies to the Vincent Price edition of their “Actors” series of books. Gary has a blog called “Mad About Movies.”

There are a few other nominations that will be of interest to “Scared Silly” fans as well – here’s a handy checklist:

• In the “Best Classic DVD Collection” category, the WARNER BROS. HORROR/MYSTERY DVD set is nominated. This is the set that includes the classic Hugh Herbert-Allen Jenkins horror-comedy, “Sh! The Octopus!”

• Nominated in the “Best Restoration” category is Bob Hope’s classic horror-comedy, “The Cat & the Canary,” released on DVD as part of a recent Bob Hope Collection.

• In the “Best Independent Film or Documentary” category not one but two of Larry Blamire's films featuring his own brand of horror-comedy (namely spoofery) in the form of “The Lost Skeleton Returns Again” and “A Dark & Stormy Night” get a nod while our friends at Trailers From Hell get additional recognition for their collection of commentaries on “The Best of Trailers From Hell Volume 1.”

• “Mystery Movie Series of 1940s Hollywood” is a book I haven’t read yet but as many of the mystery series mixed in laughs and scares (Charlie Chan entries like “Dark Alibi” and “Meeting at Midnight” come to mind) it is apropos to mention here. (Plus since originally posting this entry I've learned it includes the Red Skelton "Whistling" series of which "Whistling in the Dark" is a horror-comedy). Naturally, it’s nominated in the “Book of the Year” category.

• Speaking of Larry Blamire, Martin Arlt interviewed the filmmaker in “Mad Scientist Magazine #22” and his efforts netted him a “Best Interview” nomination.

• Other “Best Blog” nominees that I feel “Scared Silly” fans will enjoy greatly include award-winning sci-fi author August Ragone’s “The Good, the Bad & the Godzilla,” “Monster Island News” and the “Secret Fun Blog.”

…and “Best Toy, Model or Collectible?” Well, really, who could resist Funko’s Universal Monster Plushies?

I can’t… can you?!

So that’s the skinny. You can vote for as few or as many categories as you like. I encourage you to take a good look at the ballot, and once you make your choices, email your votes to taraco@aol.com and be sure to include your name (the awards has a one vote per person rule) by Midnight, March 27, 2011.

Meanwhile, here's a nice montage of Rondo Hatton movie posters:

RIP KENNETH MARS

2011-02-15T00:00:00.004-05:00

One of the most hilarious character actors ever has left us. Kenneth Mars is one of those performers that appeared in many projects and was always excellent, but had he done nothing else but his two most famous roles, his place in comedy history would be ensured.

Those roles? Misguided playwright Franz Liebkind from one of the funniest (if not the funniest) films of all time, Mel Brooks' "The Producers." Brooks also provided Mars with his other most famous role, that of Inspector Kemp in the 1970s horror-comedy homage to Universal monster movies, "Young Frankenstein."

Mars did a myriad of other work (many fans cite "What's Up Doc" as another Mars highlight), including several genre and fantasy shows like "Get Smart" and "The Ghost of Mrs. Muir" but his only other forays into horror comedy were doing voices for Scooby Doo and Teen Wolf cartoons. His performances were always top-notch and professional even when the scripts and productions he appeared in weren't.

Here then is a clip from "Young Frankenstein" with Mars spoofing the clueless inspector roles that often populated the Universal monster films. Rest in peace, funny man!

LOVE MEANS... 2011 EDITION!

2011-02-14T00:00:00.007-05:00

THIS IS A SPECIAL ENCORE PRESENTATION OF MY POST FROM LAST VALENTINE'S DAY, 2010:

One of my all time favorite films is the Vincent Price classic “The Abominable Dr. Phibes.” I won’t be reviewing it for the “Scared Silly” project because it really isn’t a horror-comedy – it’s more of a horror film with some comedic aspects - dark, black comedy (juxtaposed against some wonderfully colorful art direction). And even if it was a full-fledged horror-comedy it was made in 1971, a full five years after my cut-off date of 1966 (which I’ve designated as the year of the last traditional horror-comedy, Don Knotts’ “The Ghost & Mr. Chicken”). “Phibes” really is a one-of-a-kind not to be missed film, however – check out its trailer:

The reason I’m talking about “Dr. Phibes” on Valentine’s Day is because the “Phibes” movie poster based its wonderful “Love means never having to say you’re ugly” tagline on the tagline of one of the biggest hits of the prior year, “Love Story” starring Ryan O’Neal and Ali McGraw.

That melodramatic weeper’s tagline “Love means never having to say you’re sorry” became a mantra for many men who were sorry they had to sit through the whole treacly affair, but too afraid to admit as much to their wives and girlfriends! Years later, a shopping mall offered free La-Z Boy recliners to any man who could actually sit through the whole “Love Story” - multiple times in a row - without falling asleep or bailing out completely, as detailed in this news report:

I’ve always found it hard to warm up to love stories about dullard and/or self-centered humans – and there seem to be so many. When love stories show up in comedies, action or horror films, they just seem more real to me (even if the trappings are pure fantasy) because the mettle required to truly sacrifice yourself for your loved one just seems more sincere when you have to face a horrible monster, dangerous villain or even a guy in a bad gorilla suit to do so.

Here’s one of the all-time great examples of unrequited love. It comes from a sublime classic among horror films, “The Bride of Frankenstein.” Again, this isn’t a horror-comedy, but it is a horror film with ample doses of comedy thrown in (along with fantasy, sci-fi, romance, tragedy and all sorts of underlying meanings and themes). And it is required viewing.

There’s an offshoot of the “horror-comedy” film genre that I like to call the “supernatural romantic comedy.” These are films involving one or more partners in a love story who are either ghosts, witches or some sort of supernatural creature. They aren’t always “horror-comedies” because they tend to be on the light breezy side without any of the requisite creepy trappings although sometimes they do have scenes where those supernatural powers are being used to frighten an antagonist deserving of come-uppance. Some examples of films in the “supernatural romantic comedy” genre include “I Married a Witch” and the “Topper” movie series.

One of the all-time best “supernatural romantic comedies” also happens to be one of the best Abbott & Costello movies ever made as well. It’s a movie a lot of people remember - just check out the message boards at www.abbottandcostello.net – at least once a month a visitor stops by to ask “what was that film where Costello was a ghost trapped in a wishing well?” Gordon Lightfoot even referenced it in a song – at least I think he did, as he sings “just like an old time movie ‘bout a ghost from a wishing well,” and I still haven’t found another film that fits that description (believe me, I’ve tried).

So to all my “Scared Silly” readers, here’s wishing you a very happy Valentine’s Day. And if you want to watch a good supernatural love story, skip “Ghost” this year and watch Abbott & Costello’s “The Time of Their Lives” instead. Lou Costello actually makes a believable and quite likeable romantic hero, and both he and partner Bud Abbott deliver some top-notch dramatic performances (and of course comedic bits as well). My experience has been that it’s the one Abbott & Costello film that people who don’t usually like Abbott & Costello actually enjoy. So what are you waiting for? Go enjoy it already!

(P.S.: It's a good one for President's Day, too)!

A QUICK BITE

2011-02-02T00:00:00.014-05:00

I’ve been thinking about Dracula, specifically Bela Lugosi's portrayal of the character in the greatest horror-comedy of all-time, "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein." It dawns on me that the screenplay of that film and Lugosi's performance within it have done more to solidify Dracula's standing among monster-dom than perhaps anything else. By that I mean that it presents the bloodthirsty count as a major player who not only can wreak havoc in his own world (as in the original Lugosi "Dracula" from 1931) but is also an imposing figure on the world stage. He's not just Dracula terrorizing Transylvania; he's an ubelieveably formidible proponent of evil who can bring the entire world to its knees if not stopped.

The Dracula of "A&C Meet Frankenstein" is akin to a James Bond villain, or a major comic book megalomaniacal fiend like Superman's Lex Luthor or the Fantastic Four's Doctor Doom. Someone who is cunning, intelligent and can have legions at his beck and call at any time… and manipulate them to enact his diabolical schemes. You see this played out specifically in "Mad Monster Party" and "The Monster Squad” and countless films from around the globe, be it the classy Hammer horrors from England to the bombastic Paul Naschy monster epics from Spain, from the slapdash cult curios like Al Adamson’s “Dracula vs. Frankenstein” to the big-budget actioner “Van Helsing.” Which is quite ironic when you take into account how many “die-hard” classic monster fans despise the Abbott & Costello film as what they label the “death-knell” of the Universal Monsters.

The truth is, as I explored in my review of the film, the monsters were actually treated with respect and given a new lease on life via their encounters with Bud and Lou. And Dracula? He became the biggest baddie of them all in the process. He runs the show and strikes ultimate fear as the most evil of monsters. Which makes the heroes’ inevitable victories over him all the sweeter. Bravo, Frederic I. Rinaldo and Robert Lees (scribes behind “A&C Meet Frankenstein”) and bravo times ten to the irrepressible Bela – who at age 65 essayed the role of his most famous character with all the gusto (and maybe more so) that he did back in the original 1931 “Dracula” movie (when he was merely 48)!

oh chick part 2

Chadwina's space. | Myspace Video

TURNER CLASSIC HORROR-COMEDIES

2011-01-14T00:00:00.023-05:00

Turner Classic Movies has been offering a smorgasbord of classic horror-comedy this January! Their festival of Hal Roach Studios films has thus far resulted in marathons of Our Gang (aka The Little Rascals) and Laurel & Hardy, including several great scare comedies from both teams. But TCM isn’t done – the rest of the month they have at least three more Hal Roach horror-comedy classics, plus a couple of bonus films for fans of spooky/kooky fare.

The fun starts this Saturday, January 15th at 6AM with one of those bonus films. Namely, legendary comic Red Skelton’s first starring role as radio announcer, Wally “The Fox” Benton in "Whistling in the Dark," holed up in a haunted house with beauteous Ava Gardner and Ann Rutherford as the intrepid trio try to solve a macabre mystery. Conrad Veidt and Rags Ragland are also along for the fun.

On Wednesday, January 19th we’re back in Hal Roach territory with two classic horror-comedy shorts. First, the great (and vastly underrated) Charley Chase gets the living daylights scared out of him (and then some) in “Public Ghost No. 1.” The horrific hysterics start at 10AM. Then at noon, one of Hal Roach’s attempts to duplicate the success of Laurel & Hardy with other resident comedy teams unveils. “Wreckety Wrecks” is a “Taxi Boys” short – the boys being Ben Blue and oft-Laurel & Hardy nemesis Billy Gilbert (who was also part of a comedy trio with Shemp Howard and Maxie Rosenbloom that made the horror-comedy, “Crazy Knights,” aka “Ghost Crazy.”)

One of TCM’s perennials gets another airing 10AM on Sunday, January 23rd. “I Married a Witch” falls into the “horror-onable mention” category. There are no overt attempts at “haunting” or horror trappings but you have to give it its due for being the antecedent to TV’s “Bewitched” and comic books’ “Sabrina the Teenage Witch.” And it stars a solid cast of pros including Frederick March, Veronica Lake and Susan Hayward.

Wednesday the 26th brings an encore of the Hal Roach produced “Topper Returns” at 2:45 PM. This is an entry from the “Topper” friendly-ghost movie series – and as I’ve mentioned before it’s the one film in the trilogy with liberal doses of haunted house trappings. Well worth a look…

…as is this great trailer for the Red Skelton film we mentioned at the top of this article. And remember to hunker down or set the DVR to enjoy this veritable funny fright fest!

STAN & OLLIE & GHOSTS, OH MY!

2011-01-10T00:00:00.008-05:00

It's no secret that Laurel & Hardy are not only my favorite comedy team, but also my favorite comedians of all time. They are responsible for some of the funniest scenes ever committed to celluloid - including some prime entries in the horror-comedy genre.

This month, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is paying tribute to Hal Roach Studios by airing many of the wonderful shorts and features the company produced. Starting Tuesday night, January 11th at 8PM and running through the evening of Wednesday, January 12 the focus will be on Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy.

Included in the mirthful marathon will be some Stan & Ollie's short subject forays into horror-comedy from their "talkie" years, and if you've read this far, you'll no doubt want to tune in. Here's what's on tap (Mark Evanier has done us all a great service by posting a schedule - and his comments - on all the Laurel & Hardy films TCM is showing in this marathon- I encourage you to check it out by clicking here. Of course, to stay on-point for this blog I'm just listing the horror-comedies here):

TUESDAY, JANUARY 11th:

9:30 PM: "The Live Ghost" (read my review of this classic short by clicking here).

11:00 OM: "Oliver the 8th" (aka "The Private Life of Oliver the 8th").

11:30 PM: "Dirty Work" (not really a horror-comedy per se but it does feature a benevolent mad scientist with a wacky scheme that comes to play in the film's finale).

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12th:

9:30 AM: "The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case" - this is the short (soon to be reviewed here) that my dear departed friend and fellow "Son of the Desert," Allen Schottenfeld cited as his favorite Laurel & Hardy film, calling it "a wonderful spoof." The book edition of "Scared Silly" will be dedicated to Allen.

Special bonus: Wednesday at 11:00 AM also brings the Roach-produced "Topper Returns," the second entry in the "friendly ghost" series and the only one that truly has a "horror-comedy" element to it, with spooky going-ons in an "old dark house."

The Roach marathon runs throughout the month and there are more entries ahead including Charley Chase and Taxi Boys shorts - I'll blog on those as the air dates get closer. Until then... here's something to whet your appetite for Stan & Ollie - enjoy!

RASCAL FLATSCREEN

2011-01-05T00:00:00.005-05:00

Hello fright fans - just a head's up that today (Wednesday, January 5th, 2011) Turner Classic Movies is running two of the classic Our Gang horror-comedy shorts I've previously reviewed here on "Scared Silly."

First up at 12:45 PM is "Shootin' Injuns." You can read my review by clicking here.

Later, at 5:15 PM TCM runs "Shivering Spooks." Click here to read that review.

Both of the above are from the silent era. Not long after the talkies came in, the shorts introduced arguably the two most well-known Rascals, George "Spanky" McFarland and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer. Spanky was so popular in fact that the Speed-O bike company used him as a pitchman (pitchkid?) in this rare newsreel footage - enjoy!

REVISIT TOYLAND RIGHT ON YOUR COMPUTER SCREEN!

2011-01-03T00:00:00.027-05:00

Recently I reviewed the Laurel & Hardy classic "Babes in Toyland" (aka "March of the Wooden Soldiers" - click here to read the review) - the holiday perennial that's become a Thanksgiving and/or Christmas tradition for many.

Well, the holidays are over now, but I've just learned that Hulu is offering folks a chance to watch the entire feature for free through their service, by special arrangement with MGM. Pretty good deal, huh? It's their pristine black & white print with the original titles, which makes it an even better deal.

I'll keep this post up as long as Hulu keeps the film up (Hulu usually takes films down after a certain period) - if at any point it's down and I still have the post up, just shoot me an email and I'll remove it.

ENJOY!

HAPPY NEW YEAR - 2011!

2011-01-01T00:00:00.049-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Welcome to 2011, Scared Silly fans! Here's wishing you all the very best and every blessing for the bright new year ahead.

I was scratching my head trying to think of an appropriate clip to share this New Year's Day... and then to see if I could find said clip. I came up with some maybe's, but they were either unavailable or unusable for one reason or another.

I did stumble upon the following clip, and I think it's appropriate.

The clip below is a montage of scenes from classic comedy films set to the song "Those Were the Days" by Sandie Shaw. It includes Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Fatty Arbuckle, Laurel & Hardy, Charley Chase, Edgar Kennedy, The Marx Brothers and others.

New Year's Day is a day to look ahead but also reflect on the year gone by. Here at Scared Silly, we reflect upon the YEARS gone by, so it's only natural to revisit these clips from seven plus decades ago.

This is not a stretch when you know what the traditional New Year's song "Auld Lang Syne" really means. The song began life as a Scots poem by Robert Burns. The title literally translates into "old long since," which in turn becomes "long, long ago," "days gone by" and "old times" in today's English. Furthermore, the lyric "For auld lang syne" can be translated as "for (the sake of) old times." Perhaps the songwriter behind "Those Were the Days" intended their tune to be a sequel to "Auld Lang Syne?"

So... between the nature of the clips in this video montage and the lyrics of "Those Were the Days" that seals the deal for me.

Now none of these clips are from horror-comedies, but some of the folks within this montage did appear in horror-comedies, and besides, we like to celebrate classic comedy in general from time to time here, so without further ado... let's ring in the New Year with some classic, kooky memories!

NEW YEAR'S EVE IN A HAUNTED HOUSE - 2010 GIVING WAY TO 2011 EDITION!

2010-12-31T00:00:00.025-05:00

Well, here we are again, at the end of another year and the dawn of a new one.

And Father Time still looks scary as all heck! Or is that Father Christmas?

Either way, I have a ton of people to thank once again. Over the past 15 months, some have plugged this project on their blogs, websites, on Twitter and Facebook and the like; some have helped me out behind the scenes, and all have offered encouragement in general. And I appreciate all of you, I really do.

Here are a few of the folks whose support I am grateful for: Greg Hilbrich of The Columbia Shorts Department, Matthew Coniam of Carfax Abbey, Thomas Hall of Enlightened Words, Chris Well of Giant Monsters on the Loose, Aaron Neathery of The Third Banana, John Cozzoli of Zombo’s Closet of Horror, Shane Rivers of Only Good Movies, Pierre Fournier of Frankensteinia, Andre Dumas of The Horror Digest, Dave Whitney of Pete Kelly's Blog, John McElwee of Greenbriar Picture Shows, Gret Boyd on Twitter, Rogue Evolent of The Roads of Autumn Dusk, Jay Stephens of Monsterama, Kerr Lockhart of 24 Times Per Second, Chris Cummins of MovieFanFare, Billie Rae Bates of BRBTV, movie reviewer and columnist Stephen Whitty who seems to be everywhere, most especially in one of New Jersey's foremost and longest-running newspapers, The Star-Ledger and so many more... I'm probably (unintentionally) forgetting someone, and if I have, sorry about that!

I'd like to give an extra special "shout-out" (or should that be a "scream out?") to Joe Dante, John Landis and the other fine folks (legendary movie directors and/or screenwriters all) at my very favorite website, Trailers From Hell for linking to my humble site.

And how could I ever forget Hollywood's favorite character actor Daniel Roebuck who has graciously agreed to write the foreword to the "Scared Silly" book?

Of course, more than anyone, I want to thank YOU - all the Scared Silly fans out there who are following this blog through one means or another. If you weren't interested, there'd be no need for this project - it would be "cut to fade" for sure! You have been very patient with me as I dance around many other commitments in-between reviews ad I truly appreciate your loyalty.

Among those fans are many folks from the world of Laurel & Hardy, Three Stooges, Abbott & Costello and Bowery Boys fandom who I am proud to call friends! You know who you are - there are several Scared Silly fans among you - for now I'll cite but eight - Lon and Cole, two top-notch silent film aficianados who have provided great help to this project; Brent, super knowledgeable about old comedy films and the best fact-checker I know; Paul F. - the grand shiek at my Sons of the Desert tent; Sean Paul Murphy, a good pal and terrific screenwriter; Cliff "Laughing Grave" Weimer from the fabulous In the Balcony website; noted author and film historian James Neibaur; and Rob K. - one of the most enthusiastic classic comedy fans I've ever met and someone who is very introspective when it comes to these films. And truly, everyone I mentioned in the previous paragraphs fits into this category as well - they all love classic films and are good friends to me and this site.

Last but not least, as always, I also need to thank my wife for humoring me as I comandeer the TV to watch some (often creaky) old films that may tickle my funny bone but that she (understandably) might not always be in the mood to watch!

And now, here's something I shared last year which I've decided to make a New Year's Eve holiday tradition: here is Vagabond Opera performing “New Year’s Eve in a Haunted House,” composed by avant garde jazz legend Raymond Scott, the man behind many of the melodies heard in Looney Tunes cartoons:

DO DETECTIVES THINK (1927)

2010-12-29T00:00:00.020-05:00

RATING: *** out of ****

PLOT: When Judge Foozle (James Finlayson) sentences “The Tipton Slasher” (Noah Young) for his heinous crimes, the murderer vows revenge. When The Slasher escapes prison, the Judge hires two private detectives (Laurel & Hardy) to guard him. The pair must survive an encounter in a graveyard on the way to the judge’s house, and then must face the judge’s butler – who has been knocked out and replaced by The Slasher! Can Stan & Ollie bring this killer to justice without being scared to death?

REVIEW: “Do Detectives Think” is probably one of the more contentious entries in this project. It is rarely mentioned in discussions of Laurel & Hardy’s horror-comedies, and there is some debate on whether it is truly an out-and-out horror-comedy. I am on the side of those that declare it a horror-comedy. While it is true that only about 6 & ½ minutes of its 19 minute running time are devoted to specifically “spooky scenes” (multiple scares in a graveyard plus some quick bits at the end evoking beheadings and ghosts), there is an overall tone of terror due to the villain of the piece being a “throat slasher” out for revenge against the judge who put him in jail on a dark and scary night. Like the Our Gang short “Shootin’ Injuns” and the classic Wheeler & Woolsey feature “The Nitwits,” the spooky material is so memorable and well done that it overpowers the non-spooky material in each and catapults each over the “horror-onable mention” wall. Additionally this film features a villain who inspires such dread over the entire proceedings – much like Harry Lime (Orson Welles) from “The Third Man” (total screen time: less than 15 minutes) and Hanibal Lechter (Anthony Hopkins) from “Silence of the Lambs” (total screen time: less than 17 minutes) – that the fear factor is palpable throughout. Finally, with its mystery, suspense and dread as The Slasher stalks our victims through the house in the dead of night, it does take on a legitimate “old dark house” atmosphere.

This film is a watershed entry in Laurel & Hardy’s canon. In this film, the boys, who had been tentatively teamed in previous shorts (since many of those entries merely co-starred the duo without actually pairing them) are actually partnered as detectives. Additionally, they are wearing traditional detective uniforms – suits and derbies! It is a look Laurel & Hardy would ultimately adopt (with some modifications to the suits) and utilize throughout their careers. Additionally, a few scenes in “Do Detectives Think” (as well as in their short “Duck Soup” released a few months prior, and not to be confused with the Marx Brothers’ classic) highlighted some of the personality traits that would become standard for the pair. There would be a few missteps to follow but ultimately the team would build upon the promise of this entry and develop both their “look” and relationship further to become the inseparable team of “men-children” that audiences would come to know and love over the years.

As with most of the silent comedies produced by Hal Roach Studios, the humor didn’t rest entirely on the shoulders of the actors. Title card writer H.M. Walker was a witty fellow indeed and would often open these rib-ticklers with a great line, setting the tone for what was to follow. His opening card in “Do Detectives Think”:

“This story opens with a lot of people in court – most of them should be in jail.”

Additionally, Walker makes sure to pepper the title cards with appropriate gallows humor – as when he mentions that the accused had killed two men “both seriously.”

The first character we see is Judge Foozle (and another pointed joke as the title card reads that he charged the jury – “he always charged everything”), played by the inimitable James Finlayson. The use of “Fin” as a “third banana” in Laurel & Hardy shorts would also become a standard motif. Finlayson plays his patented authoritative but high-strung character here.

When the jury finds the defendant (“The Tipton Slasher,” played by the formidable and quite intimidating Noah Young) guilty, they recommend to “bump him!” The Slasher’s reaction is one that also became a classic device in comedy shorts and features, particularly those starring Laurel & Hardy. The device: he vows to escape and get even through some gruesome act. Here the object of the revenge is the judge but in other films it is usually Stan & Ollie themselves, as in “Pack Up Your Troubles,” “Going Bye Bye,” “The Bullfighters” and others.

We learn that The Slasher has escaped while the judge is having breakfast with his wife. As she reads the newspaper, the headline on the front page about The Slasher’s escape is in full view to the audience… and to the judge. Finlayson does a brilliant spit-take, his coffee practically spilling out into the theater audience! Finn quickly calls the local detective agency where the boss summons “Ferndinand Finkleberry – the second worst detective in the whole world” (Laurel) and “Sherlock Pinkham – the worst” (Hardy).

(It’s interesting to note that in this first scene that Laurel is presented as being smarter and more on-the-ball than Hardy, but when the scene changes it doesn’t take long for Hardy’s typical “take charge” attitude to set in).

As soon as their boss tells Stan and Ollie they have to guard the judge and that he lives “just beyond the Whitechapel Graveyard,” our heroes do a nervous double take. It doesn’t help that the boss adds, “This ‘Tipton Slasher’ will probably kill you – but you’ll be buried like heroes.” However, the boss is almost buried first as Stanley’s pistol goes off while he loads it, barely missing the head detective!

We are then treated to the wonderful scene of Stan and Ollie in the graveyard. What makes this particular scene remarkable is that it almost appears to have been dropped in from a later film, after their personas had already been perfected. The character deviances evident in their initial scene at the detective agency (such as the boys’ cigar-chomping and bravura) are gone – here in the graveyard we have the full-fledged duo that would become familiar to and beloved by audiences worldwide.

The scene in the graveyard is one for the books. As the boys walk past the cemetery’s open gate a forceful wind knocks their hats off and into the cemetery. Unlike the earlier scene where Stan is clearly smarter and in charge, in this scene Laurel exhibits some of the scared little boy traits – frightened facial expressions and tentative steps – that would become hallmarks of the “Stanley” character. As Stanley timidly reaches for the hats he sees the shadow he’s thrown on a mausoleum wall and runs back out to the sidewalk. Ollie’s familiar “take charge” pomposity, also missing from the earlier scene is evident when a title card has him yelling at Stan, “ Get them hats – I hate a man that’s scared!”

Laurel’s clever solution is to dive down onto the ground to get the hats – that way his shadow won’t be cast onto the wall! This leads to the introduction of a routine that would become a hallmark for the boys: the “mixed-up hats” routine. In this routine, Stan and Ollie keep handing each other what they think are each other’s hats… only to find when they put the hats on that they’ve gotten the wrong hat once again! This bit never fails to generate laughs and was “fall-back” shtick for the duo when in situations where they had no other material prepared, such as when newsreel photographers ran into the team on tours or on vacation and even in the Laurel & Hardy episode of “This is Your Life,” which caught the boys totally off-guard. The hats routine is capped by a goat wandering into the graveyard and casting a shadow that looks like Satan on the wall!

…and just like that, the “true” Laurel & Hardy exit… literally… as the pair uncharacteristically run out of the graveyard at top speed, a silent film comedy trope more appropriate for the likes of The Keystone Kops than for our more nuanced friends Stan & Ollie.

Overall key Laurel & Hardy character traits on display in the graveyard scene: both have a naïve childlike innocence, Ollie has an inflated opinion of himself and is deluded that he is “the smarter of the two” (when in reality he is just as dumb if not dumber than Stan), Stan treats Ollie like an older brother who will protect him (jumping into Ollie’s arms), Ollie is insistent on having Stan do his dirty work (forcing him retrieve their bowlers from the graveyard), Stan does his famous “cry” that would become a trademark throughout his career, as well as various childlike facial expressions and body language that would become standard for the “Stanley” character.

What Stan and Ollie don’t know is that The Slasher and his henchman have jumped the judge’s new butler (as he walks to the judge’s home for his first day on the job) and The Slasher is now masquerading as the family servant. The scenes where The Slasher tries to exact his revenge on the judge are simultaneously horrifying and hysterical. The Slasher gives the judge a drink from behind (so that the judge can’t see him) and as the judge indulges, The Slasher pulls out an absurdly long knife and threatens to do away with the judge, but quickly re-pockets the weapon and ducks out of the room when he hears the judge’s wife coming. The Slasher is truly scary in this scene, but both the ridiculousness of his knife and the fancy flourishes that the judge employs in the enjoyment of his drink acts as humorous counterbalance to the terror.

In typical fashion for a Hal Roach comedy, this bit is punctuated by an unexpected gag: it is the wife that the judge is frightened by, exuberantly and exaggeratedly throwing his drink into the air when she walks up behind him and places her hand on his shoulder.

Stan and Ollie arrive at the judge’s home and are let in by the faux butler. They have reverted back to being the wise-guy detective characters from the scene in the detective agency, chomping their cigars and acting with authority, as if they actually know what they’re doing.

This is short-lived, and soon enough the more recognizable Stan and Ollie are back. This is exemplified by a very Laurel & Hardy-esque gag where Stan has helped himself to mouthfuls of crackers and ends up spitting the crumbs in Ollie’s face as he answers his partner’s questions! Another Laurel & Hardy evergreen gag is a tit-for-tat exchange where the pair kick one another and step on each other’s feet like feuding children. The extra layer here is that they act as if nothing is wrong whenever the judge and his wife turn toward them. Yet another typical gag has the boys not noticing the obvious, as they stare at The Slasher’s photo in the newspaper but don’t immediately make the connection that he looks exactly like the butler.

The climax is a dizzying frenzy that finds The Slasher creeping in on the Judge’s wife in the bedroom while the judge limbers up in the rest room before his bath. Her screams rouse Stan and Ollie from their beds and the judge from his soapy tub. The Slasher moves into the restroom in search of the judge, but the judge ducks into the tub water to hide. A clever gag has his foot accidentally tugging the drain cap string, releasing all the water, but he still manages to go unnoticed by The Slasher.

As you’d expect, a wild chase ensues with The Slasher chasing everyone through the house, particularly Stan and Ollie. As was so often the case in Hal Roach films, the smaller laughs are only there to lead up to the bigger laughs. Earlier the absurdity of The Slasher’s long knife elicited chuckles; now the laugh is topped by The Slasher removing a gargantuan Arabian Nights-style sword from the wall to threaten our heroes.

From this point on the short brings in a couple more horror elements. First The Slasher finds Stan hiding behind a curtain and runs off into the distance after him. When they come back to the foreground, both Ollie and the viewing audience sees a headless Stan – he has ducked his head into the neck of his suit for protection! This of course evoked memories of the classic Washington Irving story “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” which may have still been fresh in audiences' minds due to its first film adaptation (with popular humorist Will Rogers as Ichabod Crane) being released just five years earlier.

The next and final horror element occurs when the judge’s wife’s gun accidentally goes off and startles her husband, sending him hurtling down the stairs. The husband had just emerged from the bath wrapped in a white towel. Just as he’s about to reach the bottom, his flailing legs knock a tribal mask from the wall and it lands on the back of his head! The Slasher’s chase ends when he trips into the room to see the white-shrouded judge with the scary mask on and mistakes him for a ghost! The Slasher surrenders to Stan, who locks him in the closet where Ollie is hiding. Stan is then momentarily scared by the judge who approaches him with mask and sheet still on.

This is followed by a rather abrupt ending wherein a police squad arrives to take the Slasher away and Ollie gives Stan some black eyes to match those The Slasher gave to him. The boys then leave the judge’s home, but not before putting their derbies back on… which they’ve mixed up once again!

The supporting work here from James Finlayson, Noah Young, Viola Richard and Frank Brownlee is so strong that it’s debatable whether to label it “support” or to consider this short an “ensemble piece.”

Finlayson is familiar to long-time Laurel & Hardy fans (who affectionately refer to him as “Finn”). Over the years his numerous run-ins with the boys made him their number one foil, a role he perfected. His specialties were double takes, slow burns and his cry of “D’oh!” that cartoon voice-over actor Dan Castellaneta later appropriated for his role as Homer Simpson. Finn had a lengthy career running from the silent movie days (including a 1925 horror-comedy short, “The Haunted Honeymoon”) up through the early 1950s. Other comedy teams he ran up against included Wheeler & Woolsey, Olsen & Johnson and Clark & McCullough. He also appeared in the Jack Benny classic, “To Be or Not to Be” and acted in at least one “straight” horror film, “She-Wolf of London.”

Noah Young was an ex-champion weightlifter (In 1905 at the age of 17 he was declared a “weight-lifting prodigy” and in 1915 was named “The Strongest Man in the World”). He was rejected by the Navy for not having enough teeth, but welcomed by Hal Roach Studios as a hulking “heavy” (villain) for their shorts and features. While Young appeared in a handful of Laurel & Hardy and Snub Pollard films, he was used most frequently as a foil for the legendary comedian Harold Lloyd, including Lloyd’s classic silent horror-comedy “Haunted Spooks” and his talkie curio “The Cat’s Paw,” which isn’t a horror-comedy per se but does contain a scene that elicits great chills. While his size would appear to make him typecast, he developed his own style of facial expressions that enhanced his screen villainy.

Viola Richard as the judge’s wife is her usual vivacious self, yet also exhibits a flair for comedy and dramatics. The actress had a very short career in movies and one brief detour to Broadway. Her film work as we know it consists entirely of appearances (mostly uncredited bit parts including some mere walk-ons) in Hal Roach comedies, and mostly silent ones at that. Stars Richard appeared with included Laurel & Hardy, Our Gang (the Little Rascals), Charley Chase and Max Davidson. “Do Detectives Think” gave Viola more to do than many of her other films, and she took advantage of her screen time to make the most of her character.

Frank Brownlee also has a short but memorable turn as the head of the detective agency. He appeared in several Laurel & Hardy films both before and after “Detectives,” most often playing law enforcement and military officials. When he wasn’t seen cavorting with Stan & Ollie he could be found cantering his way through countless westerns. What makes Brownlee especially memorable here is that his whole look and how he carries himself reflects the archetype of the detective in “old dark house” comedies, particularly hotel detectives. Fred Kelsey would be the one to perfect this act (most notably in the short “The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case) and homages to it can be seen in everything from the classic Tex Avery animated short “Who Killed Who?” to Bud Abbott’s role as hotel dick Casey in “Abbott & Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff.”

Ultimately, there’s not much plot in “Do Detectives Think” and the Stan and Ollie characters are still finding their way but everything is performed by the boys and their supporting cast with such gusto that’s its easy to overlook this film’s shortcomings. Further, there is no denying that this film represents a historical entry in the careers of Laurel & Hardy, not just for featuring so many of their hallmark characteristics and really showing them as a team for the first time, but also as the first official Laurel & Hardy horror-comedy.

BEST DIALOGUE EXCHANGES: In addition to the courtroom and detective agency dialogue mentioned within the review, there are several other funny lines:

JUDGE (after sentencing The Slasher to hanging): ...an' I hope you choke!

JUDGE: Are you men good shots?

OLLIE: We come from a family of shooters – William Tell is my uncle!

OLLIE: You can go to bed – you’re as safe from danger as we are!

THE SLASHER (pretending to be the butler and tucking Stan and Ollie into their beds): I’ll leave you to a long, long sleep.

BEST GAGS: Without question the best horror-comedy gags come in the graveyard and are mentioned within the review, but there are other great visual gems to be had here as well:

Following up on the William Tell dialogue, Ollie decides to demonstrate his shooting skills by placing an apple on Stanley’s head and firing his pistol. He not only misses the apple but ends up toppling a statue from its pedestal… several feet away from Stanley!

In fact, Stan and Ollie prove to be terrible with guns throughout this short and often shoot off their guns in the wrong direction, at the wrong time or merely while pointing or loading their guns!

When the detectives realize The Slasher is in the house, Stan repeatedly jumps on Ollie’s back in fear, preventing him from leaving the bedroom. When Ollie finally manages to get the door open Stan ends up missing Ollie’s back and jumping right through the door and on top of the judge’s wife!

As Stan and Ollie tangle with The Slasher at in the hallway, Stan is seen scurrilously trying to slap handcuffs around The Slasher’s wrists. He pops a cigar in his mouth, confident that he has succeeded, only to see Ollie has risen with his hands shackled! This bit of “mistakenly subduing the wrong person” was a staple in film comedy and would later be used to great effect by teams including The Three Stooges and Abbott & Costello.

SPOTTED IN THE CAST: Wilson Benge plays Finn’s butler in “Do Detectives Think”… and played a butler and other servile roles (waiters, doormen, valets, etc.) in over 95% of his other movie, shorts and serial appearances. Of interest to genre fans are his appearances in Bela Lugosi’s “The Death Kiss” and one of the versions of Mary Rhinehart’s comedy horror template “The Bat” (a straight horror version called “The Bat Whispers”), roles in a few “Bulldog Drummond” and “Sherlock Holmes” mysteries, and the serials “The Adventures of Captain Marvel,” “The Green Hornet” and “Captain America.” He also appeared in some bona fide classics including “The Palm Beach Story,” “The Adventures of Robin Hood” and “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” In addition to appearing in several Laurel & Hardy films, he appeared in a variety of Three Stooges shorts and also made a brief appearance in “Abbott & Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde.”

Will Stanton plays the Slasher’s henchman, an uncredited role in a career filled with uncredited roles. He is actually quite effective and comical in his own right (but I guess in the old days of brief credits on single title cards it just wasn’t cost efficient to credit everyone). A glance at his filmography shows that Stanton had the fortune of appearing in both several Laurel & Hardy films and in a couple of Abbott & Costello films (“It Ain’t Hay” and “Lost in a Harem”), too. He also acted in Charles Laughton’s friendly ghost tale, “The Canterville Ghost” and his final role was as a cab driver in the classic Tracy-Hepburn romcom, “Adam's Rib.”

BUY THE FILM: “Do Detectives Think” appears on DVD along with other classic Laurel & Hardy silent shorts on “The Lost Films of Laurel & Hardy Volume One,” which you can order here:

FURTHER READING: The best review you’ll find online is Cliff “Laughing Gravy” Weimer’s on his wonderful “In the Balcony” site. Cliff doesn’t share my fondness for this film’s spooky elements but he does have excellent insights, which you can read when you click here.

There are a lot of books about Laurel & Hardy that have been published over the years, but most offer an overview of their careers or specific facets (for example, you can buy books on the boys’ solo films, their 1940s films, their final film and their live tours) without any one being solely dedicated to their silent film work. In that regard, I’d have to give my highest recommendation to Walter Kerr’s seminal work, “The Silent Clowns” which you can order by clicking on the title below:

The Silent Clowns

WATCH THE FILM: As this is a short there is no trailer, but you can enjoy the graveyard scene right here:

SNOW FRIGHT!

2010-12-27T00:00:00.005-05:00

Greetings Scared Silly fans!

Well, my review of Laurel & Hardy' "Do Detectives Think" is written and ready to go pending some technical logistics that need to be worked out first... so look for that probably by mid-week.

In the interim, I thought I'd share this classic public domain cartoon. I'm sure all those on the East Coast currently buried under the post-Christmas blizzard can appreciate the snow, ice and chilly winds in the magnum opus, "Snow White" starring Betty Boop!

Produced by Max Fleischer, directed by Dave Fleischer and almost single-handedly animated by Roland Crandall, this bizarre short is a million miles away from the Disney feature-length classic... and makes it onto "Scared Silly" due to its spooky visualization of the legendary bandleader Cab Calloway's "St. James' Infirmary Blues." ENJOY!

NOW A HOLIDAY TRADITION: THE "CREEPS" OF CHRISTMAS!

2010-12-24T00:00:00.010-05:00

THIS IS AN "ENCORE" POST - I ORIGINALLY POSTED THIS ENTRY LAST YEAR AND THOUGHT I'D RE-POST IT FOR ANYONE WHO MAY HAVE MISSED IT - MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas is almost here, and I wanted to share some of the foremost holiday monsters with you. Only I didn’t want to do so on Christmas itself, as I take the holiday seriously from a spiritual standpoint (which is one of the reasons I’m taking a break from posting until December 30th).

Anyway, in the fictional legends that have sprung up over the years around the holiday, ghosts and monsters have played a major role. Just think of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” for starters. A pure ghost story… with one seriously scary Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come!

So in the world of holiday fantasies, a few monsters stand out, and we’ll take a look at them now (with one caveat that should be noted: I know the following are not technically "horror-comedies" but since all contain some humor and give folks warm, fuzzy feelings of nostalgia, I'm being a bit generous in this post).

We have to begin of course with the Bogeymen from Laurel & Hardy’s 1934 classic “Babes in Toyland” (aka “March of the Wooden Soldiers”). These creatures from Bogeyland live in the bowels of the earth, in a horrible, frightening place that is the polar opposite of bright, happy Toyland, where Santa and his workers make the toys for the world’s children. And while their leader, the evil Silas Barnaby would like nothing more than to use his monster army to take over Toyland, he’s no match for toymakers Stannie Dumm and Ollie Dee… and 100 wooden soldiers each 6 feet high! As Ollie describes the Bogeymen, “they’re terrible looking things – they’re half man and half animal… with great big ears, and great big mouths, and long claws that they catch you with!” You can catch a glimpse of the Bogeymen toward the end of this trailer:

Next up is The Bumble (pictured at top) from the classic 1964 TV special “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” This was produced by Rankin-Bass, the studio behind the classic horror-comedy “Mad Monster Party.” Utilizing their signature stop-motion animated puppet style (which they dubbed “Ani-Magic”), the special built upon the elements from the original 1939 story by Robert L. May, the famous song written by May’s brother-in-law Johnny Marks (which became a huge hit for Gene Autry) and the 1944 animated theatrical short from Max Fleischer. Rudolph was given much more backstory in the Rankin-Bass special, and a larger supporting cast, including the Abominable Snow Creature known as “The Bumble.” The fearsome creature menaces Rudolph and his friends but as anyone who has seen this classic knows (and who hasn’t seen it?) there’s a very good reason for the Bumble’s agitation… and a happy ending for all!

The most recent spooky holiday star is "The Nightmare Before Christmas"'s Jack Skellington and all his friends from Halloweentown. Jack is simply enchanted by the magic in neighboring Christmastown and wants to bring some home for himself. And that’s where the trouble starts! This clash of the holidays originated as a poem from the limitlessly creative imagination of animator-director-producer Tim Burton. Director Henry Selick brought Burton’s concepts and designs to life in dynamic fashion in a mixed-media production that is equal parts stop-motion puppetry (a la one of Burton’s favorite films, “Mad Monster Party”) combined with cut-out designs and other special animated effects. Check out the trailer here.

While Jack Skellington wanted to abscond Christmas to share with his friends (a tinsel-clad Robin Hood) there is one nasty holiday horror who hated Christmas and didn’t want anyone to enjoy it: Dr. Seuss’s immortal Grinch! The famous book “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” by writer-cartoonist Seuss (real name Ted Geisel, who once contributed to some classic Warner Brothers theatrical cartoons including adaptations of his children's books as well as the classic Snafu shorts made for the war department) detailed how this foul fiend with a heart two sizes too small tried to hijack the holiday. Of course, the operative word is “try,” as we all know the Christmas spirit will triumph in the end! Interestingly enough, the Grinch shares more in common with Jack Skellington than merely pilfering Christmas - the Grinch got himself all tangled up in Halloween, too in the 1977 special "Halloween is Grinch Night." As for "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," most are familiar with the classic 1966 animated TV special directed by animation legend Chuck Jones... and I’ll leave it at that, as I prefer to think the live-action fiasco of a few years back never happened!

So here’s wishing all Scared Silly fans the happiest and safest of holidays, and every blessing for the New Year!

NOT RESTING ON MY LAURELS...

2010-12-20T00:00:00.014-05:00

OKAY: Here is the post I had drafted earlier this week:

So I had this wacky idea in my head that I may spend a whole week posting reviews of Laurel & Hardy comedies leading into Christmas. And I still might do it, in whole or in part... but it dawned on me that it would be much better to post the reviews post-Christmas - in the days between Christmas and New Year's Day.

It would be better because it would give me more time to complete the reviews. So I'm not promising anything, but I'll give it my best. If nothing else I may get some (or at least one) up before the new year... be sure to check back after Christmas Day to find out!

Until then, you can read my previous Laurel & Hardy reviews - check out "The Live Ghost" by clicking here and click here to read about "Babes in Toyland," aka "March of the Wooden Soldiers."

NOW: Here is an update which I've just drafted hours before this entry posted - for both personal and professional reasons that have sprung up involving unforeseen (and both unfortunate and legitimate) circumstances, not to mention some technical difficulties it is unlikely I will be able to do a full week of Laurel & Hardy reviews as I originally intended. I will do my best to finish those reviews I've already started, with no guarantees. At the very least I hope to have at least one new Laurel & Hardy review up before the new year. So maybe I AM resting on my Laurels after all, but it's not by choice, it's by circumstance. My thanks to all for understanding.

More importantly, here's wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas in advance... enjoy these snowy Laurel & Hardy scenes to get you in the holiday spirit!

CHRISTMAS PRESENT... IN THE MIDDLE OF AUGUST?

2010-12-17T00:00:00.071-05:00

Sorry to paraphrase your line Silas (that would be Barnaby from March of the Wooden Soldiers, naturallY), but there's a method to my madness.

Turns out the good folks at Archie Comics are planning to release a paperback collection of some of the stories I wrote for the "Archie's Weird Mysteries" comic book series a few years back.

For the uninitiated, "Archie's Weird Mysteries" was an animated series based on the long-running comic book series about small-town high school teens... except with the added overlay of weird phenomena like ghosts, monsters and aliens being thrown into the mix!

Of course, flip-about is fair play, so it wasn't long before the TV cartoon show based on the comic book series spun off a comic book series based on the TV cartoon show based on the comic book series! While I wasn't the only writer (artist Fernando Ruiz contributed a few scripts of his own), I'm proud to say I wrote stories that appeared in all 24 issues (plus the additional 10 that followed when the series dropped the "Weird" to become simply "Archie's Mysteries"). You can learn more about the comic series by reading a 2009 interview intrepid reporter Billie Rae Bates did with me by clicking here.

Writing the "Archie's Weird Mysteries" comics was one of the highlights of my career, not just because I got to combine horror and comedy in ways that paid tribute to everything from "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein" to "Kolchak the Night Stalker" to "Night of the Creeps;" (which I still say is the closest anyone's ever come to capturing Archie in live-action) but also because the amazing array of artistic talent contributing to the series included such top-notch folks as the aforementioned Fernando Ruiz plus Bill Golliher, Rich Koslowski, Stephanie Vozzo, Rick Taylor and Vicki Williams (hopefully I haven't forgotten anyone).

The series was unfairly compared to "Scooby Doo" but as I've always pointed out to anyone who'd listen, in "Archie's Weird Mysteries" the ghosts and ghoulies are all real... not crooked landlords looking to scare folks out of their inheritances with cheap Halloween masks! Although I did take the opportunity to spoof the 'ol pooch in one issue (see the image above -- I just couldn't resist)...

Anyhoo... I wanted to give all "Scared Silly" fans a head's up on this book's release. It's not scheduled to come out until August, 2011 but Amazon is taking pre-orders now and you can also order it in advance from your local comic shop (to find the comic shop nearest you use the Comic Shop Locator Service). So to tie this all back in to the Barnaby quote, the "Archie's Weird Mysteries" paperback makes a great gift for the holidays or any occasion!

Like anything else, it all comes down to the bottom line - if enough folks order this first collection of "Archie's Weird Mysteries" tales, then a second volume becomes more of a possibility... so if you have any interest in "Archie's Weird Mysteries" at all I'd truly appreciate you placing an order. Feel free to use the handy link below... and thanks!

IT'S NEVER A "BLUE CHRISTMAS" WITH KING ON THE CASE!

2010-12-15T00:00:00.024-05:00

My pals Tom Hall and Daniel Bradford are about to release the second issue of their horror-comedy comic book series, KING! You may recall when KING! appeared in an earlier Scared Silly blog post - if not, then just click here to read it. Needless to say, this rock ‘n roll monster hunter makes the perfect stocking stuffer - check out the press release for further details!

BUTLER, NJ (December, 2010) – ‘Twas the week during Christmas and in comic shops, hardly any new comics had even come out. The shelves were all lined with the prior week’s fare while customers wished some fresh ink would appear. When what to their wondering eyes should appear but a side-burned cool rocker displaying no fear. The King had come back to kick more monster butt and fans were relieved of the same old dull rut!

This holiday season, give that special someone in your life the gift that keeps on giving... a whupping! Yes, “KING!” is back with issue #2 and he’s ready to make burrito meat out of zombies and vampires everywhere.

“When I think of holiday heroes, I can’t help but think of ex-pro wrestlers who look like Elvis keeping the world safe from bloodsucking freaks,” says “KING!” artist/co-creator Daniel Bradford.

“’KING!’ is the perfect character to spread holiday cheer,” adds writer/co-creator Thomas Hall.

To that end, Blacklist Studios is wishing all their fans the happiest of holidays as they release the second action-packed issue of “KING!” during the usually slow week between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

“Traditionally the larger distributors don’t ship during the holidays,” explains Hall, “so we decided to make something new and exciting available to comics fans so they don’t have to leave their LCS empty-handed!”

“KING!” #2 picks up where the last issue left off. Having dispatched a horde of demonic zombies from his favorite Blubber Tubber Burger ‘n Burrito joint, KING! now basks in the glory as he spins the tale in all is gory detail. But he hasn’t seen the last of the zombies… and worse, he’s been summoned to a nearby village that just happens to have one hell of a flying pest problem… the kind of pests that like to suck blood!

Like their breakout hit “R-13,” the hero of the duo’s new series is adept at dispatching monsters. But unlike Robot-13, “KING!” knows all too well who he is… and he’s not afraid to have some fun as he bashes the baddies in this decidedly “comic” book.

“The ways that KING! kills monsters are only limited by our imaginations,” says Bradford, “and if you haven’t been paying attention, Tom and I have some pretty messed-up imaginations… but in a good way, of course!”

“Look, this guy looks like Elvis, battles monsters for bucks and is ready to read the riot act to anyone who gets in the way of his mouth and a burrito,” confirms Hall. “Can it get any more ‘comic’-al than this?”

Adding to the fun are pulse-pounding pin-ups from fan-favorites Jeff Slemons (“Hollow Earth,” “Beyond: Rude Awakening”) and AP. Furtado (“Heavy Metal,” “Elf ‘n Troll”).

Fans don’t have to stop with “KING!” comics, however – there’s also a KING! t-shirt available on the Blacklist Studios website. No one will mess with you when staring at the pistol-packin’, pompadour sportin’ monster killer on your chest!

The print edition of KING! #2 can be pre-ordered directly from Blacklist Studios (www.blackliststudios.com). The 32-page, full color comic retails for $3.99 US. Back issues of KING! and R-13 are also available on the Blacklist site. For wholesale purchases, distributors and retailers are encouraged to email Blacklist Studios’ Thomas Hall at tom@blackliststudios.com or contact Tony Shenton at shenton4sales@aol.com for terms and information.

...and as odd as this sounds, I've actually found a video clip of Elvis... fighting a monster... during the Christmas holidays!!! (with a keen eco-lesson embedded within to boot) ENJOY!

DON'T GIVE UP THE GHOST!

2010-12-09T00:00:00.015-05:00

Greetings fans... just resurfacing to let you know I'm trying my best to make the week leading into Christmas an "all Laurel & Hardy week" - but in order to do so I've had to put other reviews on the backburner.

Rather than leave you with nothing to look at in the interim I thought I'd share this great commentary from Adam Rifkin about the film the "Ghost & Mr. Chicken" (a film I reviewed this year on Halloween - you can read my review here)- directed by the similarly named Alan Rafkin! This comes courtesy of the essential "Trailers From Hell" website, of course. Take a look... and enjoy!

RIP LESLIE NIELSEN

2010-11-29T00:00:00.006-05:00

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the passing of one of my all-time favorite funnymen, Leslie Nielsen, who died yesterday at the age of 84.

My current schedule doesn't permit me to go into great detail about his career but for those not in the know (and I doubt few reading this blog fall into that category), Nielsen spent approximately the first two decades of his career primarily doing "straight" roles in films like the sci-fi classic "Forbidden Planet." That all changed with a fateful role in 1980's comedy smash "Airplane." Which in turn led to the short-lived (6 episodes) but brilliantly funny TV series, "Police Squad." Which in turn was spun off into the very successful (and funny) "Naked Gun" comedy film franchise.

He also played a memorable role in the 1982 George Romero/Stephen King horror anthology film "Creepshow," which is more horror than comedy but does have its tongue planted firmly in cheek in spots.

Along the way Nielsen had some chances to appear in modern-day horror-comedies, particularly "Reposessed" (as a priest out to exorcise Linda Blair - yes, it's a spoof of "The Exorcist"), Mel Brooks' "Dracula: Dead & Loving It" (as the title vampire) and a pair of entries in the "Scary Movie" spoof series (3 & 4 to be exact). The films themselves may be a mixed bag, but one thing is sure: Nielsen always brought his A-game, no matter how weak the script or direction of a film may have been.

So here's to you, funnyman! You will be missed.

Now let's let Dracula... er, I mean Leslie have the last word: