Tag Archives: movies

Sorry, Mr. Lee

Posted on November 26, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

Alas, I did not participate in Shop Small Saturday, so I cannot do a post plugging local businesses. I went running this morning, so I could have done Saturday Running Commentary.  And I am going to cook something for dinner, so I could yet do a cooking post.  But here I sit, wanting to get my post done and over with, and I’m just watching, in the most desultory fashion imaginable, a Hammer Horror film I DVR’d in October.

He looks so horrified by the cross. Do you suppose he went to Catholic school?

Who doesn’t love a Hammer Horror film with Christopher Lee as Count Dracula?  Well, Lee himself, as I learned in Ben Mankiewicz’s pre-movie commentary.  As it happens, I am not paying a great deal of attention to it myself, even less so than usual, which regular readers know is very little indeed.  I’m just not in the mood.  So obviously I cannot do a real write-up as I enjoy doing, necessitating a spoiler alert. I did a quick search of Facebook for public pictures, though, to punch up what I do post.

He looks as if he is rather relishing the role in this shot.

 

Dracula must look after his health, after all.

 

What a double bill!

I would not have thought of putting Trog with Taste the Blood of Dracula.  Steven and I watched Trog some years ago, back in the days of video stores.   It was Joan Crawford’s final picture, so we watched it to show respect.  There isn’t really much other reason to watch it, if I recall correctly.  Still, if it shows up on TCM I will DVR it.  Maybe I’ll let it play while I type a blog post.

 

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Monday Movie Matinee

Posted on November 14, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

That title is purely for alliterative purposes and not an accurate reflection of this post’s contents.  At least, I will talk about a movie, and today is Monday.  It was a little after matinee hours when we watched the movie, and in fact we watched it on Sunday.  OK, I’m not even going to talk that much about the movie.  This is going to be a really stupid post, but at least I will try my hardest NOT to whine about how I can’t write a decent post today.

We all know I love cheesy movies.  It should come as no surprise, then, that I adore William Castle.  I adore him not only for the cheese factor in his flicks, though:  he is ENTERTAINING!  The man truly loved his audiences and intended to give them a thrill.  I am slowly acquiring a collection of DVDs of Castle movies.  Recently Steven gave me I Saw What You Did (1965), starring the inimitable Joan Crawford.  We watched it yesterday, when I had finished swooning over my blog post.

I don’t know why there are two Joans.

I’ve used this photo before, mostly for the gorgeous necklace.  That is a necklace to die for, or to kill for, or, you know, to find somewhere and pay money for.  Crawford’s part in this movie is really not all that major or even pivotal (my favorite description of a small role).  But it’s Joan Crawford.  I gotta love a movie with Joan Crawford.

Look, there’s that necklace again!

Now that I think of it, Crawford’s role is pivotal, because…  wait a minute.  I did not include a spoiler alert.  I won’t put one in now.  Watch I Saw What You Did, the 1965 version.  It’s a fun flick.  William Castle, I salute you.

Doesn’t he look like he’s having fun, too?

I close with a picture of the master himself.  I may watch another William Castle movie tonight.  Happy Monday, everyone.

 

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A Little Murder to Finish my Weekend

Posted on November 6, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

Ah, Wrist to Forehead Sunday, a day when I get even more lame than Lame Post Friday and wuss out even more than Wuss-out Wednesday.  All I want to do today is sit on my couch, crochet, and watch television.  That is pretty much what I have been doing in, with small breaks to wash dishes, make popcorn, fix dinner, and do a couple more marginally useful things.  I can never get anything done on a Sunday.

When Steven got home from work, I informed him that I did not want to take down Halloween decorations, as he had suggested we do.  I said we should leave them up for one more day and watch Halloween movies.  Steven is the nice sort of husband who agrees to such things.  We watched The Old Dark House, which I had DVR’d from TCM.

I mostly remember Tom Poston from “Newhart.”

We also have the original Old Dark House with Boris Karloff on the DVR.  Still, I thought a William Castle-Hammer production was worth a watch.  But what to watch next is the question?  I’ve seen two Hammer Dracula movies starring Christopher Lee this weekend. I have one more yet on my DVR.

Gotta love that Christopher Lee.

While I think about it, I am looking at my usual Sunday entertainment, Snapped on Oxygen.  It’s so relaxing.  I put it on while I made the popcorn, “For background music.”

I have not reached my breaking point.

I do love a true crime show.  Maybe I should look for a Dateline or 20/20.  Something cheerful to round out my weekend.  Happy Sunday, everyone.

 

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Neither Carnival Nor Much Soul

Posted on October 24, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

I feel like the reflection, blurry.

I would love to do a Monster Movie Monday, but the movie on my mind today does not exactly have a monster in it.  Carnival of Souls (1962) is low budget, atmospheric and CREEEEPY!  I admire it intensely, although I can’t say it is a pleasure to watch.  I find it unsettling.  What I really love is how scary it is using just make up, camera work, and acting.

This was my favorite among the posters I found.

This is why I don’t often write about movies I truly admire, especially horror movies.  I don’t want to tell you anything about it.  I feel a movie like this is best enjoyed if you allow it to unfold before you.  Well, maybe I could share a couple of pictures, which I found on a Carnival of Souls Facebook page.

I suppose we could call this a monster.

 

Here is another depiction of how I feel, only I am dry. And I have short hair.

Full disclosure:  I did not intend to write about this at all.  I was going to call this Migraine Monday, because I have been suffering this nagging headache most of the afternoon.  It is not a full-blown migraine, but you know how I love alliteration.  To add to my sense of ill-usage, it got worse AFTER work.  What’s that all about?  But I was afraid it would sound like whining and begging for sympathy.  I’m not, really. Actually, I’m afraid this is not a very good blog post, and I am offering a pathetic excuse.  Hmmm… that doesn’t sound much better, does it?  So judge me.  Happy Monday, everyone.

 

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Creature of the Lame Blog Post

Posted on October 21, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

It was love at first sight, for him at least.

When in doubt, lead with a picture of a monster and a beautiful girl.  This, of course, is the titular Creature of the Black Lagoon and Julie Adams. Official Julie Adams is a Facebook page I follow, and not just because of my love of classic movie monsters.  Ms. Adams seems so gracious and loving towards her fans.  A real class act.  I need all the good examples of class I can get.

So it’s Lame Post Friday.  Steven and I have reached the sweats on, bra off (for me anyways), movie watching portion of the evening.  We are drinking champagne, because it is our 27th wedding anniversary.  Yay us, we still like each other!  I do love to watch a monster movie, on my anniversary and the rest of the year.  But one must make one’s blog post (when one is me, that is).

I totally missed this episode, and I used to watch this show every week!

I add this photo purely because I had it in my Media Library and it amuses me.

That is not the Avon lady calling.

Here is another from my Media Library, under the heading Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

“What’s your sign?”

Since my readers deserve something new as well, I found this nice one of Julie and the Creature.  And I shall close with a more recent picture of the gracious Ms. Adams.

Isn’t she lovely?

I hope it is all right that I downloaded these photos from the Facebook page.  If it is not, I hope some of my readers will come visit me in jail.  Happy Friday, everyone.

 

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Lame Post Friday with Joan

Posted on October 14, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

According to the Facebook page I stole this from, the left is the original and the right is photo-shopped.

I am neglecting to make my Friday Lame Post, because I am watching I Saw What You Did, produced and directed by William Castle and starring Joan Crawford.  This photo is the only one I could find from the movie.  Don’t you just love that necklace?  I do.  Speaking of Joan…

Personally, I like the picture better without the caption, but Facebook thieves cannot be choosers.

Under the heading Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, I used this photo in this blog as well as for a Facebook profile picture.  The shot is from the William Castle movie Straitjacket, another favorite of ours.  I personally am trying NOT to eat candy.  You can probably imagine how well that is going.

I found “NINA”!

Another picture of Joan: here she is with Bette Davis in a Hirschfeld drawing of them as their characters in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?  For all I love horror movies and Bette and Joan, I don’t love that movie.  Maybe if I watched it again.  Sometimes you have to watch a movie more than once and let it grow on you.  But not like a fungus.

Anyways, this is my Friday Lame Post for the week.  I’m busy watching Halloween movies.

 

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Karloff Works his Magic on Me

Posted on October 8, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

There were several posters, but this was the one I downloaded first.

I am in the midst of watching The Sorcerers (1967) with Boris Karloff, but I really, really want to make my blog post before it gets any later.  I will attempt to watch and type.  Ooh, stopped typing for a few minutes. The movie just got quite horrifying.

OK, that scary moment is over and I will type a few more words, insert another picture, till I just have to watch again.

He does not appear to be a harmless old man, even before things get creepy.

This is one of the many movies where Karloff gets to use his real voice.  As I always say, I will never get over my delight at those deep, mellifluous tones.  And yes, with every sentence, I can hear, “Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot…”   In this movie… well, I don’t want to give away any plot points, as I do with the cheesy horror movies I love to write about.

Here is a creepier shot of him.

Karloff and his wife are mad scientists.  At least, he says he’s a kind of a hypnotist, but I never saw a hypnotist with all this creepy equipment.

I kind of wish they had done more in the laboratory (pronounced la-BORE-a-tory).

This is actually a gripping tale of horror, control and power with a surprising strong moral center.  But more I shall not say.  Watch the movie when you get a chance.

And we’ll call this a Slacker Saturday post.

 

 

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Graveyard, Nosferatu, What’s Not to Like?

Posted on October 5, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

I was feeling better than I felt yesterday, so I went running.  I was going to do a Running Commentary post, but in the first place, the run was not that memorable.  In the second place, my headache is back and I have to start thinking about dinner.  As I was looking through Facebook, hoping for a little inspiration (oh, don’t give me that hoary cliche that inspiration follows writing, sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t, and sometimes you do so get it before you write).  Where was I?  Ah yes, I found a monster movie picture, and you know how I love to make a post of monster movie pictures.

SO atmospheric! I love it!

It is from the James Whale Frankenstein.  It reminded me of another picture of a cemetery in another horror movie.  I knew I had seen it on Facebook at some point but could not remember what page.  I went to The Golden Age of Monster Movies, a group I am in, and began scrolling through their photos.  Of course I could not find the one I was looking for, and I do not have all night to search for an obscure picture.  However, I soon found a shot of my favorite guy, Nosferatu.  I must share Nosferatu.

I remember this shot from the first time I saw this movie, when I was in the sixth grade. I was scarred for life, but, you know, in a good way.

So I gave up on doing a graveyard theme and just looked for a couple more pictures I liked.  I soon found the following:

We recently watched this one. I should write a blog post about it. I haven’t written about a cheesy horror movie in a long time.

 

I have no idea what this is from, but Peter Lorre, Vincent Price, a severed head, what’s not to like?

So this is my Wuss-out Wednesday post for the week.  I don’t say I won’t have another day of monster movie pictures and silly commentary, but at least I won’t call it Wuss-out Wednesday.  As always, thank you for tuning in.

 

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Frankenstein and his Bride on Slacker Saturday

Posted on October 1, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

So it was after seven on Lame Post Friday when I posted.  Now it is after eight on Slacker Saturday, and here I am.  Of course, it was not Slacker Saturday earlier today.  I was not exactly slacking then.  That happened later.  Now I am at the sitting on my couch enjoying the Watching Halloween Movies portion of the day.  We just finished watching Frankenstein and Steven is putting in Bride of Frankenstein as I type.  The James Wale version of these tales, of course.

A publicity still from the Frankenstein movie I referred to above.

One thing I loved about Bride of Frankenstein is the prologue, with Elsa Lanchester as Mary Shelley.  I adore Elsa Lanchester, and this is an excellent introduction to the tale.  I have always been a little sorry the movie did not return to the scene of the introduction, making it a real book-end of a framing device.  However, I personally cannot figure out a way to do that without it being an anticlimax.  Perhaps James Whale, the director, could have come up with something suitable, but I cannot blame him for not having bothered.  Then again, perhaps he did bother, and the studio rejected his ideas.  Studios tend to do that, you know.

“My Mary is an angel,” says Percy Shelley.

Here is the delightful Elsa Lanchester.  What a fun scene this must have been to film.  She sits there, embroidering sweetly, with the tale of a monster in her head.

This was my Facebook profile picture for a while.

I’ve shared this picture here before, but I thought it appropriate to include a picture of Lanchester as the Bride.

Anyways, this is my Saturday post.  Full disclosure:  I thought I was going to just go to bed and make this post at five or so tomorrow morning.  I’m going to count that as a “Yay, me,” deserved or not.  I hope to see you all on Wrist to Forehead Sunday.

 

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Halloween Movies on Wrist to Forehead Sunday

Posted on September 11, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

I interrupt the movie-watching portion of the evening to make my Wrist to Forehead Sunday post. When I point out that it is also the bra off, sweats on, wine drinking portion of the day, I’m sure many will appreciate my dedication to making my blog post.  Or perhaps you will merely snort and say, “Huh. Should have done that sooner.”  I can’t worry about such negative people.  I have a blog post to make.

These are not the scariest stairs in the house, but they are the ones that include the most cast members.

The first movie we watched today was The Haunting (1963), starring Julie Harris. It was directed by Robert Wise, whose birthday it is today, according to what I read on Facebook.  I was happy to watch it in honor of the birthday, but in fact I have had it in mind to watch the classic for some time now.  For one reason, it has popped up in a couple of my monster movie groups.  For another reason, it is the Halloween season, and this is a classic ghost movie.  Of course I am more apt to write about movies of the cheesy variety, but my tastes are not so vitiated that I scorn a true classic.

I did not have the best time at my own prom, but at least I had it better than this chick.

Steven suggested we watch Carrie (1976) next.  That is another classic scary movie, but I am not sure I am in the proper mood for it. However, I remembered I had used this picture in a previous post, so thought I could recycle same.  The movie I had in mind was The Birds (1963), because it is also Angela Cartwright’s birthday today. She is the rather pathetic younger sister of the love interest, Rod Taylor.  I get her mixed up with her sister, Veronica, but Steven is usually able to set me straight.

If they filmed in sequence, the cast must have been thinking, “Thank God it’s almost over!”

While I just spent an inordinate amount of time searching for a picture of Angela Cartwright in the The Birds that I could download, Steven popped in Carrie.  Like I said, I don’t mind watching Carrie.  I don’t mind watching almost any movie on Wrist to Forehead Sunday.  But I sure would like another glass of wine.

 

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