Gamera The Showa Era Blu Ray box set

Just got this from Arrow Video, as an early Yule present.  I am looking forward to watching most of these movies yet again.  I have most of them on DVD, but I couldn't resist the lowered price of this set.  And knowing what quality work Arrow does (I have mentioned that, I bet) it was an easy choice.  It is all eight of the Showa movies, which means six are easy to watch and two are not.  You, my dear reader, can figure out which two movies I am talking about.  I am glad I got to see all of the fun ones growing up, though.  Thanks, Channel 2 KWGN.  A young monster fan appreciates you.  Japanese monsters were on a lot while I was growing up, and that didn't happen in all parts of the country.

Sven- The Mummy

From Wiki-  The Mummy is a 1932 American pre-Code supernatural horror film directed by Karl Freund. The screenplay by John L. Balderston was adapted from a treatment written by Nina Wilcox Putnam and Richard Schayer. Released by Universal Studios as a part of the Universal Monsters franchise, the film stars Boris Karloff, Zita Johann, David Manners, Edward Van Sloan and Arthur Byron.

In the film, Karloff stars as Imhotep, an ancient Egyptian mummy who was killed for attempting to resurrect his dead lover, Anck-es-en-Amon. After being discovered and accidentally brought to life by a team of archaeologists, he disguises himself as a modern Egyptian named Ardath Bey and searches for Anck-es-en-Amon, whom he believes has been reincarnated in the modern world. Me again:

Sven- Angry Red Planet (1959)

From the Wiki entry- Mission control personnel on Earth monitor the rocketship MR-1 ("Mars Rocket 1") as it approaches Earth orbit following the first crewed expedition to Mars. Personnel are surprised to see the ship on their monitors, for they believed that the vehicle had become lost or destroyed in space. Ground technicians are unable, though, to make contact with anyone on MR-1, so they guide the rocket by remote control to a safe Nevada landing. Only two survivors of the original four-person crew are found in the ship: Dr. Iris Ryan and Col. Tom O'Bannion, whose entire right arm is covered with a strange green alien growth. The MR-1's mission to Mars is then recounted by Dr. Ryan as she also helps to find a cure for Col. O'Bannion's badly infected arm. In her debriefing, she reports in detail the crew's experiences while traveling to the Red Planet and exploring its surface. She describes their expedition in retrospect, as if it were currently happening. Back to me:

The Angry Red Planet (1959) - Official Trailer (HD)

            

Sven- The Monolith Monsters (1957)

 

A meteorite crashes into the California desert.  It spreads shards all over the crash site.  People pick up shards, and inadvertently let the rocks get wet, which causes them to grow and also suck out "silica" from anything nearby, including people.  A convenient storm causes the rocks to grow, crash, and grow again, threatening the town of San Angelo.  It is up to the former shrinking man, Grant Williams as Dave Miller to figure out how reverse the petrification effects of the meteors and stop the crashing of the huge pylons of rocks from destroying the town.  It is a good thing there is a salt mine near the ravine and damn, now isn't it?

Destroy All Monsters story

Last night Sven aired Destroy All Monsters again.  Since I have talked about this movie a lot on this blog, I thought I would try something a little different.  I have a long history with this movie, and I today I am going to regale my wonderful readers with a story about watching the movie in a Kmart.  The movie aired many times in my area, and this would have been 1981 or 1982 or so.  I don't quite remember, though I am sure I wrote about it in one of my many journals at the time.  It was probably right at the start of summer vacation, at least that is my recollection now.

Sven- Creature from the Black Lagoon

 

I remember the first time I saw this movie.  It was on KWGN Channel 2's Sci-Fi Flicks.  I was probably 7 or 8 years old.  The Outer Limits episode Tourist Attraction was aired before it, and since that had aquatic monsters in it, it prepared us for the movie properly.  It is not a well regarded episode, but I like it.  Two underwater terrors at once was just great.  I think OL started at 9:30 as Channel 2 had early news at 9, and then Sci-Fi Flicks started at 10:30 PM and generally finished around 12:30 AM.  It was a great time for monster kid.

Sven- The Bride of Frankenstein

 

Sven aired Bride last night.  It really is a great movie, and I have discussed it here, almost ten years go.  That is kind of hard to believe now.  Sven did his usual fun and great job hosting the movie, and I am willing to bet he has screened it more than one time in the past.  It aired a lot in my area as well, which is what I am going to relate here shortly.  I looked to see if the shot of Frankenstein being in the lab when it exploded was still there.  I didn't see it, and I don't remember if Sven talked about it now.

The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) Official Trailer - Peter Cushing, Chris...

                           

Son of Dracula (1943) Trailer

Once again, Sven is showing a movie I have probably only seen once, and that was way back when on KWGN Channel 2.  I think I liked it, but knew the whole trick right away.  I'm looking forward to it!

Sven- Dracula's Daughter (1936)

 

I don't remember the last time I watched this movie.  I do however, remember seeing it on Channel 2, KWGN, some Sunday afternoon.  It was not aired nearly as much as the other Universal Horror classics, but I had to have started my viewing of monster movies by then.  I remember enjoying it, but not finding it scary or even very exciting.  Seeing it again I enjoy how it is shot and the actors.  I like that it was a direct sequel to 1931's Dracula, which would never really happen again.  It is a very unusual movie, that's for sure.  They pack a lot of story into 72 minutes.

Sven- Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein (1948)

 

There really isn't a lot to say about this great movie, so this post will be short.  I've seen the movie so many times that all the characters seem like old friends.  Sven really couldn't tell me much about the movie I didn't already know, but that's on me, not him.  He has aired this before, but I don't mind.  It is better than seeing the Empire of the Ants again, I'll tell you what.  I don't remember how old I was when I first saw the movie, but it was a regular on KWGN Channel 2.  By then I was familiar with Bud and Lou, and had seen many Universal movies.

Sven- Dracula (1931)

 

Growing up in Colorado, KWGN Channel 2 aired a lot of Universal movies.  Sunday afternoons were filled with creatures, vampires, werewolves and mummies on a regular basis.  A certain genius friend of mine found out many years later that the station's programmer loved those movies, which is why they showed up all the time.  He also provided us with many Japanese monster movies as well.  So all of these Universal horror movies seem like old friends when I watch them now.  Of course, I see the films in a different light these days, and I don't always remember some of the fun details of the movies.  I think I was also doing other things while the movies were on, like talking to my brother or reading a comic book.  The world may never know now, though.

Curse of the Undead (1959)

 

This was just on Svengoolie last night.  I had seen it many years ago, back on KWGN Channel 2.  There was no description in the TV Guide, or perhaps it said "Horror" or "Drama".  TV Guides were not always sure about what genre of movies that were being aired back then.  So it was a surprise to see a vampire walking around in the Old West.  He was also a fast draw as well.  He's sort of an anti hero here, since he wants to help the woman against the evil human, but then he keeps biting her.  I didn't remember much about it for years, aside from the final shootout.  Spoilers-

Svengoolie

I did not grow up with horror hosts as a kid.  We had some kind of "control voice" that introduced both "The Outer Limits" and "Sci-Fi Flicks" on Channel 2, but there was no actual host to watch.  Hence, I have no emotional attachment to these types of shows like many of my friends do.  I've never really cared about seeing them, though I have enjoyed several documentaries about the phenomenon, both reading and watching them.

Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956)

This was not my first, second or even fifth Godzilla movie.  So it didn't really shape my thoughts of the character, which is good, since in this movie Godzilla really has no character at all.  He just plows through buildings and is the stand in for the atomic bomb.  I don't know how I would have reacted to him if this had been my first movie.  I would have liked it, I think, but the next movie would have certainly been a revelation. 

Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man trailer

This is airing on Svengoolie tonight, and I haven't seen it in years, so I'll be giving it a viewing. It's fun to watch these old movies, since Channel 2 loved them some Universal monsters back in the day. They aired most of them multiple times, which made me love them growing up.

Monster Zero - Trailer

I wish I had seen this trailer when it originally aired in my area- I had no idea it was a Godzilla movie and figured I could take a chance on not seeing it then. I learned the next day at school I had made a large error, since all my friends were talking about it. I think I had to wait at least a year before it aired on Channel 2 again.

Reptilicus - Trailer

One of my favorite monster movies, despite the overall silliness of the premise. Repticilus looks cool enough, even as a puppet, and does get to do a lot of damage to the country of Denmark. All the actors take it seriously (except the handyman, Dirch Passer as Mikkwlawn Peterson, and that was done on purpose) that it works for me. I don't expect other people to love it like me, you all can be wrong all you want.

The Magic Serpent ninja scene

One of the many movies that KWGN would air on a regular basis was 1966's The Magic Serpent. The first time I saw this was late night on Sci-Fi Flicks, and there was no clue in the TV Guide as to what the movie was about. It probably just said "Japan; Fantasy" if that. Who knew it would be one of the best martial arts/fantasy movies around?