Halloween Watch List 2018 - Ghostbusters

Day 6 of my Halloween film fest. This has to be the best Horror Comedy of my generation hands down! I will never forget seeing this in theater's for the first time with my father. We had so much fun and laughed so hard! This was one of my favorite memories of spending time with my father!

This comedy classic premiered in theater's on the 8th of June in 1984. The worldwide gross for this film was $291, 632,124. This was a blockbuster hit, I can't believe it's been, 34 years ago and still is today. It has stood the test of time and is still considered to be a classic!

The teaming of Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis was pure genius! The script by Aykroyd and Ramis was brilliant! The supporting cast: Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis, Ernie Hudson and the wonderful Annie Potts all combined to give us one hellava knockout Horror Comedy for the ages!

The basic plot is that three scientists are thrown out of their university and they venture out on their own and soon are confronted with major paranormal activity in the heart of Manhattan. The result is madcap hilarity combined with a few scares and just a fun time to be had by all.

If you are one of the few that haven't seen this gem, get off your tush and do so! This is a must see for every hardcore Horror Comedy fan!

Halloween Watch List 2018 - Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein

Day 5 of my Halloween Film Fest. This happens to be one of my favorite genre's: The Horror Comedy. And you can't get any funnier than the classic "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein." 

I had forgotten how funny this gem was. It is absolutely adorable and so much fun to watch. It is so much fun to see two of the classic horror actor's of their time, Bela Lugosi (Dracula) and Lon Chaney, Jr. (The Wolfman) come together and basically poke fun at themselves and the horror genre in particular. This is just an old-fashioned, fun comedy that is a joy to watch each and every time I've seen it.

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were the leading hit comedy team of the golden age of Hollywood alongside Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. This comic duo did over 35 films together and they were all hits.

This particular film premiered on the 15 June 1948 and grossed over $3,200,000 in the United States alone, which back in 1948 was a lot! 

The basic plot is a fugitive surgeon working for Count Dracula, pretends to fall in love with Bud Abbott's character to lure him into becoming a unwilling brain donor for the Frankenstein Monster who has grown weak. The rest I'll leave for you!

Do yourself a favor and sit down and watch this Horror Comedy classic from Universal Pictures!

The True Joy Of Live Theatre

Halloween Watch List 2018 - Vertigo

Day 4 of my Halloween film fest. This Hitchcock masterpiece premiered in theater's on the 9th of May, 1958. Like "Rope," James Stewart gives another stellar and haunted performance, this time playing retired police detective, John "Scottie" Ferguson. After chasing a thief on the rooftops of San Francisco, John stumbles and his partner goes to save him and falls to his death. At this point, John realizes that he has a fear of heights, "Vertigo." After recovering from his injuries, John is shooting the breeze with his best friend, Midge Wood, played brilliantly by Barbara Bel Geddes. John is asked by a former college mate, Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore) to follow his wife around to find out what is happening to her. Gavin is afraid that his wife is being haunted by the past and is suicidal. The role of Gavin's wife is played brilliantly by the incredible Kim Novak. The story goes on from here and I won't spoil it for you.

What we have in this masterpiece, is a mystery/suspense thriller of the ages. Hitchcock so brilliantly plays the audience little by little in the background until you don't know what to think. Then when the true story reveals itself you're left shocked and appalled at what has taken place. Vintage Hitchcock. This film premiered just two years prior to "Psycho," and like "Rope," it showed how the film maker was perfecting his craft up to his shining "magnum opus."

This is a slow paced drama so-to-speak, so it isn't as terrifying and action packed as some of Hitchcock's other films, but is so worth it just for the brilliant character study and look into the psyche of humans; as well as for the magnificent performances by Novak, Geddes and Stewart.

If you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor and watch it!

Halloween Watch List 2018 - Rope

Day 3 of my Halloween film fest. This amazing and white knuckle thriller premiered on the 25th of September 1948, nearly twelve years before "Psycho" premiered in theater's. This crafty and well written thriller was based on a play by Patrick Hamilton and adapted for the screen by Hume Cronyn and the screenplay was written by Arthur Laurents (West Side Story) and Ben Hecht (The Front Page).

The basis of the story is two roommates in a New York loft apartment, strangle their friend David and then hide his body in an old chest and then host a party, one of the guests being David's father, and serve dinner on the chest that is hiding the body. I remember my mother telling me that this film was so disturbing to her that when we finally sat down to watch this together, she appreciated the genius of Hitchcock and the incredible performance by James Stewart, who plays Rupert Kadell, a former headmaster at the men's prep school, but she said the idea was so horrible, particularly back in 1948 when the film premiered.

The two men guilty of the crime are John Dall (Brandon) and Farley Granger (Phillip), who both give well-crafted performances. Along with them are an incredible ensemble: Edith Evanson as Mrs. Wilson, the housekeeper; Joan Chandler as Janet, the victim's girlfriend; Cedric Hardwicke as Mr. Kentley, the victim's father; Constance Collier as Mrs. Atwater, the victim's Aunt; and Douglas Dick as Kenneth, the former boyfriend of Janet's.

Hitchcock really shows his mastery of suspense in this incredible piece of film making. From beginning to end you are sitting there watching a train wreck and you just can't look away. This was one of many performances by James Stewart for Hitchcock and it really shows off his genius as an actor and artist. This really is an amazing study of the human psyche and the war between the classes. Someday I would love to see the play.

Do yourself a favor, sit down and watch this amazing piece of film making. You will not regret it!

Halloween Watch List 2018 - Psycho

Day 2 of my Halloween Film Fest. This is my favorite Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece! This, above all other films this master made, really is a testament to this gentleman's genius. I remember the first time I saw this film was in college at the age of 18. Of course, by that time I had heard and seen scenes of the famous shower scene so I really couldn't relate to this film the way the audiences of 1960 did when it premiered in theater's on the 8th of September. No one was giving away it's secrets, and even Hitchcock himself ordered all theater's showing the film to admit no one after the film had started. It worked. If you really want a fun look into the making of this classic, I highly recommend the film "Hitchcock" starring Anthony Hopkins as the man himself. The best way I was finally able to really begin to understand was when I watched this for the first time with my mother, who, almost to the day she died, always locked the bathroom door when she took a shower.

She explained to me how in 1960, the morays of the day and the sensors that controlled the film industry, almost made this film not come to life on the screen. Even the flushing of a toilet in one scene caused the sensors to almost shut down filming permanently. She explained to me how Janet Leigh and her then husband, Tony Curtis, were Hollywood's dream couple, and to kill her character off within the first 20+ minutes of the film was so utterly shocking to audiences. She remembers when that shower curtain was pulled, the blood-curdling screams that came from the theater was so bone chilling, that she still could remember that feeling as she sat in the theater with my father. Upon viewing the film from that perspective, yes, I can see going into the film never knowing about that scene, how "out of nowhere" shocking a scene like that could be, particularly to a 1960 audience.

Now onto the film itself. Anthony Perkins, who was so shocking in the role of the famed Norman Bates, because up to that point in his career, he had only played the "boy next door" type. Anthony Perkins shines in this role. This role actually became his most famous role. He is so innocent but at the same time so creepy. This is truly one of the most significant and honest performances in the history of the horror genre. Janet Leigh is equally convincing in her role of the "good girl" gone bad, Marion Crane.

The rest of the incredible cast are equally stunning; John Gavin (Sam Loomis), Marion's lover; Vera Miles (Lila Crane), Marion's sister; Martin Balsam (Detective Milton Arbogast) the private detective, and John McIntire as Sheriff Al Chambers.

Hitchcock, like in "The Birds" which followed this film three years after in 1963, defies expectations and leads you down paths only to create twists and turns that are so jarring, even by today's standards. During last night's viewing, the film still creeps me out and is such a horror masterpiece. The script is impeccable and brilliantly adapted from the novel by Robert Bloch.

If you haven't seen this film, sit down and watch it this Halloween season. It's one of the best horror films ever made! If you already have, sit down and revisit this masterpiece of suspense and horror!

Halloween Watch List 2018 - The Birds

Every year, this tradition started when my mom was still alive, and we would dedicate the entire month of October each year to watching a scary movie each night. Mom loved a good scary movie.Last night I started that ritual again with Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece, "The Birds." This is probably one of his most underrated films. I have heard so many complaints from the "younger" generation stating that this is a stupid film, makes no sense, blah blah blah. My favorite criticism of this film is "You never find out why the birds start attacking." Really?! That is what makes this film a horror classic! That is what makes it so terrifying is the very fact that you DON'T find out why! In the age of M. Night Shyamalan and his "Why" endings, the art of "No Motive" and "No Concrete Answers" has died out almost completely. Don't get me wrong, I adore "The Sixth Sense," "Devil" and "Split," but why does every question need to be answered? Give me a break! Shymalan's "The Happening" is a perfect example of this. Great film up to the ending, which ruined the entire film for me. He explained why. PMEO!

This film is an incredible example of why Hitchcock was dubbed "The Master of Suspense." There isn't a relaxed moment in this film once Tippi Hedren's character of Melanie Daniels is attacked by the seagull. This film, like so many other Hitchcock masterpieces, completely turn you for a loop as an audience. You go into it expecting one thing and you get something completely different and unexpected.

What really makes this film for me is how excellent the writing is and the cinematography. But the real stars of this show are Tippi Hedren and Jessica Tandy. The developing relationship between these two characters are amazing and these incredible actresses’ performances will go down in motion picture history as two of the greatest performances ever! I sat last night in front of my laptop just riveted just like every other time I have watched this incredible film. I'm happy I chose to start my film fest this year with this gem! Do yourself a favor and watch this film with an open mind! You will be pleasantly surprised!