LOVE MEANS... 2011 EDITION!

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

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

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TURNER CLASSIC HORROR-COMEDIES

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!

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

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!

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!

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!