Tag Archives: movies

Graveyard, Nosferatu, What’s Not to Like?

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.

 

Frankenstein and his Bride on Slacker Saturday

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.

 

Halloween Movies on Wrist to Forehead Sunday

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.

 

OK, It Was a Trashy Novel

It is National Read a Book Day, and I have just spent most of the afternoon and early evening reading a book.  Never mind which book; my reading choice will not impress you with my taste and intelligence (both questionable at the best of times).  But, obviously, I have been reading, not writing.  So I do not have a blog post.  Please do not judge me on Wuss-out Wednesday.  I will get back to having Mohawk Valley Adventures and writing about them soon.  But I’m not up to that today.  However, I will try to muster up some cheerfulness and maybe a little silliness.

Am I pandering by sharing a picture with so many scantily clad women?

This is one of the cheesy movies I watched on Monday, while waiting for my husband to come home from work.  I was looking for a cheesy image to share and discovered a Facebook page called Scream Factory.  I wonder what other fun stuff they have.

Here’s a more circumspect image.  Just a bit of a boob shot, partially obscured by her dramatically placed arm.

Full disclosure: I have never seen nor even heard of Hell Night.  I just liked the picture.

So I guess the Scream Factory sells Blu-Ray and DVDs of horror movies.  What a useful site.  Of course, I usually find my stuff in the bargain bins at various big box stores (none of which need a plug form Mohawk Valley Girl).

Nothing whatever lurid about this one!

If I ever update my entertainment system and need to purchase Blu-Rays, now I know where to find one of my favorites!  Right now, however, I have this gem on at least two DVD collections.  I do love a movie that involves a severed head.

I have not quite cheered myself up with these cheesy Blu-Ray covers of cheesy movies.  Now I feel like eating some actual cheese.  But I will try for a better blog post on Non-Sequitur Thursday.

 

Probably NOT the Last Time I’ll Talk About the Tempest

I can still do a Mental Meanderings Monday even if I did have the day off.  Judge me if you like, I’m doing it.  I have had the most delightful lazy three-day weekend imaginable.  I know, I know, not everybody had a three-day weekend.  I’ve had plenty of jobs where I did not get all the traditional Monday holidays off. I’m not gloating, I’m APPRECIATING!  Sheesh!

Now where was I?  Ah yes, about to share a picture I just saw on my Facebook newsfeed.

Robbie the Robot, what’s not to like?

I’ve seen Forbidden Planet, and I have to say: not the cheesy delight I was hoping for.  The movie took on new meaning for me when I was cast in LiFT Theatre Company’s production of The Tempest (I believe I have mentioned that play once or twice), because I have always heard that Forbidden Planet was based on or an update of that play.  I even heard on one of my monster movie Facebook groups (I forget which one) that William Shakespeare is even listed in the end credits of the movie.

Well, I don’t remember a whole lot about the movie (I may have written a blog post about it, and I may muster the energy to look for it), but I gotta say, I do not see a whole lot of similarities.  And I am not real anxious to re-watch the movie to look for them.  Oh, I don’t rule it out.  I’m just not going to seek it out.

I’ve shared this picture before, but I don’t mind seeing a shirtless young man more than once.

This is our Caliban, for whom Robbie the Robot is the ostensible parallel (don’t you just love the word “ostensible”?).  I can’t say the resemblance is striking, unless I am indulging in irony (although, admittedly, many of us do not get enough irony in our diet)

Look how happy we all are!

I close with a picture of our Tempest cast, immediately following our final performance, at the Herkimer Elks Lodge, this past Friday.   One may observe that this is kind of a thin post.  Then again, it is Monday, albeit a holiday Monday for me.  Well, what do you want from me?  I’ve had a lazy weekend and I’ve got post play let-down!  Please tune in tomorrow, when I will strive NOT to have a Tired Tuesday post.

 

Monster Movies on Wrist to Forehead Sunday

Guess which one I look more like.

I interrupt my Wrist to Forehead Sunday activities to make my blog post.  I open with a picture from House on Haunted Hill, our first movie selection for the afternoon.  We selected it because our guest, Kim, wanted to see something with Vincent Price.  We love Vincent Price.  Now we are watching The Bat, also with Vincent Price.  Additionally, Agnes Moorehead stars.  We love her, too.

And here’s the happy couple.

Full disclosure:  I am not paying a great deal of attention to the movies we are watching.  We are enjoying some jokes and conversation, as well as snacks and drinks.  What else could you ask for on a Sunday afternoon?  I know: a better blog post.  Well, for that, there’s always tomorrow.  Remember: Mohawk Valley Girl posts every day.

In the meantime, what movie will we watch next?  I am set on watching another Halloween movie.  A traditional favorite like Frankenstein, Dracula or the Wolfman?  Or something more obscure from our collection of 50 Horror Classics?  A low budget, stylistic creepfest like Carnival of Souls?  The list goes on.

I would like to end with another picture (you know how I like to include three).  Not knowing what movie we will watch next, I shall select one from our downloads.

They always go for the blonds, don’t they?

Here is dear Vincent and his obsession, Marie Antoinette, in House of Wax.  We probably will not watch that one today, though, as we have recently viewed it.  Still, another picture of Vincent Price is not a bad thing to end a blog post with. Happy Sunday, everyone.

 

Slacker Saturday, But Here’s a Scarecrow

I won his hedgehog buddy at a Christmas party for Ilion Little Theatre a few years ago.

Yesterday when I was purchasing some last minute things for our cast party after the final performance of LiFT Theatre Company’s production of The Tempest, I impulse bought a scarecrow.  There he was, in a group of friends or brothers, sitting on a display in the produce department.  It is my first decoration for this year’s harvest season.

So this is a late post on a Saturday, and it is going to be kind of lame.  Perhaps I should have sub-titled it, “And a Little Bit of Tim Curry,” because my husband Steven and I have begun the movie watching portion of the evening, and it has a Tim Curry theme.

I can’t get that smoky eyes look, but I have achieved the red lips.

 

Here is Tim Curry and a couple of friends from Rocky Horror Picture Show, a DVD Steven recently acquired.  I have never seen this movie in the theatre and only recall watching it once on video back in the early 1990’s.  I suppose it is quite the event movie.  I remember it being shown at midnight at the Roxy Theatre in Potsdam, NY, back in the day (you know, the “good old days” when we weren’t good, we weren’t old, and they weren’t days, they were nights).

We watched that one and Steven just put in Clue, another one I never saw in the theatre, but have enjoyed on video and now own on DVD.

It is quite the star-studded cast.

As you may have guessed, I did not do a whole hell of a lot to blog about today.  I don’t care.  I’ve shared a couple of picture and I am going to get back to enjoying my evening.  Happy Saturday, everyone.

 

Zombie Posts for Tired Tuesday

I took a decongestant yesterday evening before rehearsal, because I was tired of breathing through my mouth.  It seemed to help.  It was a 12-hour tablet, so I took another one this morning, after twelve hours had passed.  I have not seen my brain since.

Although I felt dizzy and vague, I did not feel I was a danger to myself and others, so I stayed at work, managing to get a modicum of stuff done.  I felt worse as the day wore on.  Toward the end of the day, I was walking to the bathroom wondering why everyone could not see the intense fog which surrounded me.  Can’t they tell I’m a zombie, I wondered.  Then I realized:  I was not a flesh-eating zombie.  I was a plain old ordinary zombie.  That kind is probably not as noticeable, and if people did notice, why should they care?  I probably would not bother them, and, indeed, I did not.

As you may have guessed, this is a Tired Tuesday post.  I wonder if I could find a few pictures of zombies to pep things up a little.

A little too much salt?

These are actually not zombies, but they are my two favorite characters in King of the Zombies (1941).  I believe I wrote a blog post about it.

Full disclosure: I barely remember this movie.

Another zombie flick I wrote a blog post about was Revolt of the Zombies (1936).  When looking for an image for this movie, I learned a fun fact:  the eyes that are occasionally superimposed on the screen are Bela Lugosi’s from White Zombie (1932).   As it happens, I also wrote a blog post about that movie.

Bela Lugosi: there could be no possible objection.

So I’ve shared a few pictures and plugged myself three times.  I say not bad for a Tired Tuesday.

 

 

Wrist to Forehead, Then to Bed

Did that sound like a little mini-poem or just like I was whining?  Maybe a whiny little poem?  Well, I will try not to make this a whiny blog post, and I probably will not go STRAIGHT to bed after I hit Publish.  Just saying.

“But I LOOOOVE you!”

This picture is from Mad Love starring Peter Lorre, Frances Drake, and Colin Clive.  That’s Lorre and Drake in the picture.  Colin Clive played Dr. Frankenstein in the James Whale directed Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein.   I have seen Mad Love a few times now, and I notice new things each time.  One reason for that is I am continually distracted by something or other each time I watch it.  Last night it was conversation with my husband.  Don’t tell Peter Lorre, because in Mad Love, he got really angry with Frances Drake for favoring her husband over him.  I’m no Frances Drake, so I could probably get away with it, but there is no point in taking a chance.

Yes, it seems I am resorting to my new thing of putting up pictures and rambling on.  Then again, I often do talk about movies on Wrist to Forehead Sunday, so let’s just go with it.  I did not watch any movies today, because I was invited to my sister Cheryl’s house for swimming and a cook-out.  Fun!  I love getting together with family!  I made a macaroni salad to contribute to the feast, so I guess I could have done a cooking post.  I missed a bet there!

Oh, and I went to Beer Belly Bob’s in Ilion and got some Yuengling to bring, so I can also give a shout-out to a local business.  That’s Route 51 Beer Belly Bob’s Discount Beverage  Center, 70 Otsego St., Ilion, NY, phone number 315-895-0936.  It’s a great place to purchase beer and other beverages.  The also have tastings sometimes.  As I was paying for today’s purchase, I noticed they are having one Thursday, Aug. 31.  I may have to go and write a blog post about it (preview of coming attractions).

Now it seems that I am having more of a Scattered Sunday post.  Non-Sequitur Sunday?  I say no matter.  I am over 350 words.  I call that more than respectable.   If I could find another picture to end the post with, I would feel content.

No, that is not my thigh. I got cans of Yuengling today.

I stole this picture from the D.G. Yuengling & Son, Inc. Facebook page.  I figured they wouldn’t mind, because it is advertising.  It is very good beer, if you like beer, which I do. Happy Sunday, everyone.

 

Next Up: Portrait of Dorian Gray

He was really a beautiful man, in addition to be a marvelous actor.

I had thought I might do a Running Commentary post.  I ran in place on the mini-tramp while watching the silent Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with the inimitable John Barrymore (I adore the Barrymores).  Then I was on Facebook and came across a movie poster I just had to download.  Well, I can’t just download it, can I?  I have to use it.  So this is Non-Sequitur Thursday after all (I thought after yesterday’s schizophrenic post, such a thing would be inappropriate, but I am ever one to go with the flow).  There is a bit of a theme, at least, because I am sharing all old movie posters stolen from Facebook.

What’s a guy like Joseph Cotten doing in a movie like this?

I have never heard of this movie, but what a title!  What a poster!  I should probably get on one of those streaming services (or whatever they are; you know technologically ignorant I am) where I can find all these obscure, old titles.  Oh, the blog posts I could write!

Ooh, a double feature!

I may have seen The Incredible Petrified World.  The title seems familiar, and I’m sure I have seen any number of cheesy movies involving women trapped in underground caverns or some such (you know how little attention I actually pay).  When I get a chance, I’ll look through my DVD collection and see if it’s there.  If so, I’ll have to watch it again and see what I remember.  I’ll let you know.

Oh Bela, how I love you!

I have definitely heard of this one but never seen it.  However, the person that shared it (on one the monster movie pages I follow), said there was a freaky, ambiguous ending.  I must add this of my list of movies to check out.

What I’m wondering now is, do you suppose there are readers who wish I had never learned how to download and share pictures?  A point to ponder on Lame Post Friday.  I hope everybody will continue to tune in.