Welcome back. Now that the James Bond stuff is out of the way (see my last post), I can trudge to some B-movie stuff. A lot of this stuff came from lot purchases. I have a lot of these posters already, and have shared them in previous posts. Not all of the posters from the various lot purchases will be shared. Don’t panic. I’ve just decided to share these as a way to look back at these B-flicks and reflect on them a bit.
THE MEPHISTO WALTZ:
This was an early movie in the 70s satanic panic cycle, that was started with ROSEMARY’S BABY in the mid 60s. If you haven’t seen it, you’re not really missing much. What I do remember most from the commercials was a dog with a human head. Imagine my annoyance when it just turned out to be a dog with a mask on its head that someone placed on it as a joke. There was no “human headed” dog in the plot. Alan Alda I identify so much with being Hawkeye on M*A*S*H, that it’s hard to see him in this movie. At least for me, this is an instance where it’s hard to distance the actor enough to let him portray somebody else. So watching this for me was odd because it’s Hawkeye in all of these diabolical surroundings. Jacqueline Bissett and Barbara Perkins also star.
HIGH VELOCITY:
This poster was a new one on me. I’d never heard of HIGH VELOCITY before. The cast is decent, but the reason I include this is because of the art. Pretty snazzy. If it wasn’t for the fact that it looks like a war movie, I might consider framing it and hanging it. I don’t know who the artist is but good job.
WILLARD (teaser):
I already have the final one sheet for WILLARD. It is essentially the same poster. I just throw it in here for conversation’s sake. WILLARD, as I recall, there’s a pretty good little movie. I didn’t see the remake. The sequel was kind of lame.
NIGHTWING:
I saw this movie when it came out and hated it so much. It was so boring. It was so deceptive. Nothing happens. Snore! There is another version of this poster with bats attacking people. It’s drawn and it’s more interesting, but it’s also more deceiving. Nothing happens in this movie. I’m not kidding. I never thought I would own one of these because I dislike the movie so much. Although this poster isn’t bad— the composition is actually nicely done— but the movie just sucks. I don’t remember what happens in it, but then nothing happened in it. Pass.
THE FURY:
Once upon a time, as I am often wanting to do, I get hooked on derivatives of popular movies. I have posters for JAWS rip offs, the disaster movies, EXORCIST clones, etc. So is it any wonder I started getting posters for CARRIE knock offs? THE FURY not only riffed CARRIE’s telekinesis theme, it also starred cast member Amy Irving in one of the lead roles. I’ve seen the film several times and… It’s just not good. I don’t even think this silhouetted portrait of Aimee Irving and Andrew Stevens is really them.
DAMIEN: OMEN II:
Oh, how I loved THE OMEN. The sequel, well, not being anywhere near as good as the original, was still fun. The poster though… They really could’ve done a better job. This is as minimal as it gets. And for a horror film and a sequel to a big box office hit? Really? Especially when it was going toe-to-toe in the summer of 1978 with the sequel to JAWS (which had a much better poster). As fun as the sequel was, the third one and the made for cable fourth one were just dull. The remake was a waste of celluloid. I did like the short lived TV series though, DAMIEN.
THE SWARM:
Speaking of B, er bee movies… Ha! I LOVE Irwin Allen’s disaster movies. All of them. Even this one. His best, is of course, THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE. THE TOWERING INFERNO was a huge hit, but not my favorite. THE SWARM, however, is almost so bad it’s almost good. It’s laugh out loud, oh my God what were the producers thinking? (Spoiler alert) The killer bees attack a town that is having a flower festival of all things. The movie is loaded with stars. Olivia de Havilland in her final role, plays the principal of a school. When the bees attack, she’s looking out the window and over acts like crazy. It’s so damn funny. When they evacuate the town, after the bees have come and gone, all the stars that got on the train are killed when the bees attack the train, and it loses control in a gorge. Patty Duke is spared that plight. She’s an expectant mother who goes into labor, right when people are boarding the trains. She’s whisked away to the hospital to have her baby… And we never see her again. Slim Pickens shows up to reclaim this the body of his son after the bees have killed him. How he knows his son is dead is a mystery. You don’t see him before or after that. Henry Fonda, please a wheelchair bound scientist who mercifully dies while trying to come up with a cure for the bee venom and gets out of having to be in the rest of the movie. It’s also deliriously bad. I loved it.
ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES:
Zowie! Since when did the original PLANET OF THE APES series posters get to be so cheap? I saw this going at what I thought was a bargain price, and I couldn’t let it slip by without snagging it. To me, it seemed to be at or maybe a little cheaper than the one I got years and years ago. Perhaps the old APES flicks aren’t as collectible anymore? That would be too bad. I LOVE those films.
ANDROID:
I never saw this movie. I have no idea if it’s any good or not, but I seem to remember it was available on lots of different low budget DVD sets. I still never saw it. I have no idea if it was any good or not, but I always got the impression that it probably wasn’t. I don’t know. I do like the artwork on this poster though. That’s a nice plus.
THE BRIDES OF DRACULA (large French):
I have one of these French posters for the Hammer Films, werewolf movie, the proper name of which escapes me at the moment. That one, despite a stain on it, cost me a pretty penny. I don’t even know why I bought it with the stain on it. Anyway, I thought this one might make a nice companion piece, should I ever frame the werewolf one. I believe the werewolf one is a smaller French size. This one is massive. And it didn’t cost me as much as the werewolf one. Maybe someday I’ll get this framed and up on the wall. It’s rather nice.
Thanks for visiting. Don’t worry. I’ll be back with lots more posts. Recent bizarre buying binge, which I believe I’m over, has left me with many posts worth of material. (The scary thing is that, as I write this, I still have several auctions. I have bids on that have not closed yet. I doubt I’ll win any, but if I do… Eek! I can’t afford it!)
I’ll see you soon.
Cheers!
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