Greetings! It is time for another Classic Collection edition of the Shock-A-Rama Poster Show featuring posters I had BEFORE I started posting online. Today, pulled from another closet, is MORE of my framed stuff. Let's take a look:
BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS:
Planned as an indirect sequel to VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, but mercifully turned in to a sort of parody of Hollywood (Jacqueline Susann sued 20th Century Fox over this pseudo sequel and won posthumously), this is a really weird but fun cult flick---written by (future) movie reviewer Roger Ebert (!) and directed by Russ Meyer (!!). Jaw-dropping in an awesome way. LOVE it!
FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (80s re-release):
Yes, this is one of the re-release posters from the 1980s. (The oldest original I have is DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER.) I am okay with the 80's re-release posters as they use the same artwork as the original releases. Sure, i'd love an original---but these will do until I win the lottery. I dig my James Bond and these re-release posters are the only way I could complete my collection.
THUNDERBALL (80's re-release):
This is one of my favorite BOND posters. I saw one in a comic book store in my teens and wanted it desperately---but they wanted too much for it, like $60 or so. Ha! Had I known then what the prices would be today I'd have somehow gotten that poster. Oh well. This 80s re-release fills the void nicely. I know this is a fan favorite in the series, but I didn't like the movie THUNDERBALL all that much.
A VIEW TO A KILL:
Unless my brain is shorting out, I believe this was the last of the Roger Moore Bond films. It was okay--not great, but not god awful either. I loved Grace Jones as May Day. Christopher Walken was good as the bad guy. Tanya Roberts though... Bad choice. She's had an incredible career and I've never really understood how or why. CHARLIE'S ANGELS, BEASTMASTER, SHEENA, this 007 flick, THAT 70's SHOW and even one of my fave genre flicks TOURIST TRAP. Whatever. Just like Bond on the poster, the aim was off on this one. Oh well. It was Bond and it was enjoyable.
NEW YEAR'S EVIL:
One of the earliest "holiday horrors" in the wake of HALLOWEEN, this flick left a LOT to be desired. Roz (Pinky Tuscadero from HAPPY DAYS) Kelly (this may have been her last gig before she fell off of the planet) and former Universal contract player (and former Mr. Linda Lavin) Kip Niven is the killer (Not a spoiler---you know it is him from the git-go. So much for the whodunnit aspect of suspense). Forgettable---but I dig the poster. I used to hang it in my entryway between Christmas and New Year's. Now it sits in the closet...
DOCTOR BUTCHER (aka ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST):
This poster just screams CHEAP---crappy art, sleazy and sensational verbiage. It's clearly a grindhouse classic. This 80s zombie flick (which kind of seems to ripoff ZOMBIE, which itself was a knock off of DAWN OF THE DEAD---HA!) is cheesy fun. I had this poster hanging in my bedroom for several years. It lives in the morgue...er, closet now.
THE DEVIL'S NIGHTMARE and IN THE DEVIL'S GARDEN (combo):
I love this double feature poster and it used to be in my bedroom on the wall. THE DEVIL'S NIGHTMARE is a fun Euro-flick with a succubus. There is NO exorcism in the flick (???), so clearly the ad copy on this was trying to cash in on THE EXORCIST in a big way. The devil figure on the left is not in the movie (although I've seen that same image used on a poster for THE WHO). The devil in the movie is really some skinny, creepy/geeky looking tall bald guy with bad teeth in a black robe (right above the word "Devil's"), but he is hardly in it. I like the movie--it's nothing great, just a fun little old school horror flick with marvelous atmosphere. I've never seen IN THE DEVIL'S GARDEN (aka ASSAULT). From what I read, it sounds like it is a kind of slow and plodding British police procedural with possible horrific elements at the end.But the poster is very cool.
RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD:
A zombie classic---the film that introduced "brains" as the zombie food of choice. I was a bit put off by the movie initially because the zombies could talk---but have grown to dig it more and more over time. Followed by 4 sequels. I liked the first sequel, but after that....snore. Great 80s punk zombie art on this jewel.
ABBY:
The blaxploitation take on THE EXORCIST! This flick is kind of hard to find. Warnor Bros threatened to sue for copyright violation. It never did (They DID sue the makers of BEYOND THE DOOR...and LOST), but the studio withdrew the film out of fear they would be sued. Since then it has been tough to track down. But also, it's just not all that good. I was super disappointed when I finally did see it. The poster is kind of fun and look! BLACULA (William Marshall, also the 2nd King of Cartoons on PEE WEE'S PLAYHOUSE) has become THE EXORCIST for this flick. Zowie!
THE EVIL DEAD:
I finally track down my poster for the original EVIL DEAD. I got this (and EVIL DEAD 2) from the same dealer who said he used to work in a theater and was saving the posters to help with his kid's college fund. He should have hung on to them a little longer as I got this (and the other one) for maybe $50 or $60 bucks or so years and years ago---and they are worth far more now. I feel bad for the guy---but glad for me.
And that is it for now. I still have more framed posters in the closests to share---and boxes and boxes to go through. Thanks for joining me. CHEERS!
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