MONSTERS IN THE
BY
BARRY VAN-ASTEN
‘To a new world of gods and monsters!’
[Dr. Septimus Pretorius – ‘The Bride of Frankenstein’]
A FASCINATION FOR HORROR
Being a rather strange
and curious boy and an avid enthusiast of all things horror, the supernatural and
the occult, whose world resounded to the familiar names of Tod Browning, James
Whale, Carl Laemmle Jr. and Terence Fisher, I thought I would take a look at
some of the films I remember seeing on the television particularly during the 1970’s
and 1980’s, especially the horror film seasons, often double bills, shown in
the midlands region (Birmingham) on ATV (I apologise in advance for any errors
which may occur). To those of us who enjoy the solitude and ‘otherworldly’
atmosphere of the churchyard to the annoyance of social gatherings, or the
reputedly haunted crumbling ruins of some fading manor house or dark woods with
a murderous past, then those old films with their creepy fog-bound sets and
blasted trees were a pure delight. There is something rather beautiful about
those old films (mostly black & white) that I remember as a child with their
macabre themes and elements of romance and just a subtle suggestion of sexual
lust, particularly in the Hammer horror films such as ‘Kiss of the Vampire’,
‘Twins of Evil’ and ‘Lust for a Vampire’, to name a few. Something of that
fundamental satisfaction for the horror fan has perhaps been lost in more
recent times because now one can turn on a device and ‘command’ it to show what
one wants when one wants it, yes, a wonderful thing and I could only dream of
such a wonder as a child (I remember wishing I had a small television attached to
my arm like a wrist watch so that I could watch TV at school in the early
eighties!). I’m not saying those days were better but they have definitely
shaped who I am and that feeling of being susceptible to the whims of some
television controller’s scheduling has perhaps made me a little less demanding,
it is an interesting theory. But I grew up with an overwhelming love for the
horror genre, films and literature, particularly the writings of M. R. James
(1862-1936) who defined the English ghost story in his three volumes: ‘Ghost
Stories of an Antiquary’ (1904), ‘More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary’ (1911)
and ‘A Thin Ghost and Others’ (1919); the curious Arthur Machen (1863-1947)
whose books ‘The Great God Pan’ (1894) and ‘The Hill of Dreams’ (1907) thrilled
me in my youth, and Algernon Blackwood (1869-1951) whose ‘Tales of the Uncanny
and Supernatural’ (1949) delighted me, especially his story ‘The Man Whom the
Trees Loved’. I can recall being mesmerised by ‘The Mysteries of Udolpho’
(1794) a Gothic novel by Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823) with its dark and gloomy
landscapes, ‘Ambrosis, or the Monk’ (1795) by Mathew Gregory Lewis (1775-1818)
and ‘The Castle of Otranto’ (1764) by Horace Walpole (1717-1797) in which a
gigantic helmet falls and crushes to death one of the characters, and of course
there are the brilliant tales by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (1841-1873) whose
collection ‘In a Glass Darkly’ (1872) still has a magical quality, and no true
horror fan should ignore the strange tales of Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) or
the weird and wonderful world of Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890-1937). Films
and books have been a life-long love; that love has not diminished or lost any
of its vitality as I grew older, in fact, the intensity has strengthened, but
in a different way for one cannot avoid reality completely with its ‘actual’
and more frightening horrors more than any celluloid fantasy can impress upon
one and so a good old melodramatic horror from the forties, a fifties creature
feature or a slice ‘em up seventies offering is a wonderful break from the
norm!
AN APPOINTMENT WITH FEAR
‘To die – to be really dead – that must be
glorious!’
[Dracula (Lugosi) in ‘Dracula’]
Unfortunately I was
too young (at the age of two) to appreciate ATV’s showing of the classic ‘Frankenstein’
(1931) on Friday 14th March 1971 at 11 p.m. or the 1971 season of
the ‘Appointment with Fear’ (Granada TV) films shown on ATV which began with
‘The Woman in White’ (1948) from 7.40-9.30 p.m. on Saturday 6th
November, but I would have seen many of them repeated at a later date; the rest
of the schedule for the ‘Appointment with Fear’ was: ‘Dead of Night’ (1945)
from 7.40-9.30 p.m. on Saturday 13th November, ‘The Unsuspected’
(1947) from 7.40-9.30 p.m. on Saturday 20th November, ‘Sleep My
Love’ (1948 starring Claudette Colbert) from 8.10-10 p.m. on Saturday 27th
November, ‘King Kong’ (1933) from 8.10 p.m. on Saturday 4th December
(ATV also showed ‘Kiss of Evil’ (1963) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 3rd
December) and ‘Green for Danger’ (1946 starring Trevor Howard) from 8.15-10
p.m. on Saturday 11th December. On Thursday 9th December
they also showed ‘Son of Kong’ (1933) as the Late-Night Thriller from
11.05-12.15 a.m. I loved that old ‘King Kong’ film and it still has the power
to scare a young mind just as a good pantomime can be frightening because it
works on an emotional level and the story is the old theme of ‘beauty and the
beast’, but of course, being a young Brummie ‘Kong’ always seemed familiar to
me for Birmingham had its own King Kong which has become the stuff of myth and
legend! King Kong did exist in Birmingham in the form of an 18 foot tall
sculpture created by the artist Nicholas Monro in 1972 and it was displayed in
Birmingham’s Manzoni Gardens in the Bull Ring from March-December of that year;
it moved around a little and I remember it being in Birmingham’s Ladypool Road
(near Clifton Road), Sparkbrook in 1976 and I was fascinated by it and used to
climb on its base and hug its leg while looking up to its terrifying face and
those huge outstretched arms! What a wonderful thing it was to be a small child
with monsters on the brain!
After the success of
the 1968 showing of ‘Whistle and I’ll come to you’ directed by Jonathan Miller
and starring Michael Horden as Professor Parkin, the Cambridge academic who
after blowing the whistle he finds sees the apparition on the beach and the
terrifying conclusion while alone in his hotel room (‘oh no! oh no!’) shown on
the BBC arts programme ‘Omnibus’ (BBC 1 on Tuesday 7th May 1968 at
10.25 p.m.), the BBC recognised there was a large audience who appreciated the
psychological ghost story. During Christmas 1971 BBC 1 showed the first of
their ‘Ghost Story for Christmas’ programmes, beginning with the adaptation of
M. R. James’s ‘The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral’ (in fact, the first fives
episodes shown consecutively 1971-1975 were based on M. R. James and directed
by Lawrence Gordon Clark) – ‘The Stalls of Barchester’ starring Robert Hardy
and Clive Swift was shown on BBC 1 Friday 24th December at 11.05
p.m. and has become, like the others, classics of the genre and a staple at
Christmas.
In 1972 ATV showed
their season of films, ‘Appointment wit Fear’ beginning with ‘Phantom of the
Rue Morgue’ (1954) on Monday 3rd January, the rest of the showings
were as follows: ‘The Gorgon’ (1964) on Friday 7th January, ‘The
Night Walker’ (1964) on Monday 10th January, ‘Brides of Dracula’ (1960)
on Friday 14th January, ‘The Man Without a Body’ (1957) on Monday 17th
January, ‘Curse of the Werewolf’ (1961) on Friday 21st January, ‘Evil
of Frankenstein’ (1964) on Friday 28th January, ‘Homicidal’ (1961) on
Monday 31st January, ‘Night Creatures’ (1962) on Friday 11th
February, ‘The Shadow of the Cat’ (1961) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 18th
February, ‘Mr. Sardonicus’ (1961) on Monday 21st February, ‘Paranoic’
(1962) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 25th February, ‘Curse of the
Werewolf’ (1961) on Monday 28th February, ‘The Skull’ (1965) from
10.30-12.10 a.m. on Friday 3rd March, ‘Brides of Dracula’ (1960) on
Monday 6th March, ‘Witchcraft’ (1964) on Friday 10th
March, ‘Nightmare’ (1964) on Monday 20th March, ‘Hysteria’ (1965)
from 10.30-12.10 a.m. on Friday 24th March, ‘Beast with Five
Fingers’ (1947) at 10.30 p.m. on Monday 24th April, ‘Twenty-Four
Hours’ (1966) at 10.45 p.m. on Monday 1st May, ‘Black Angel’ (1946) at
10.30 p.m. on Monday 8th May, ‘The Devil’s Daffodil’ (1961) at 10.30
p.m. on Monday 15th May, ‘Mystery of the Wax Museum’ (1933) on
Monday 11th September, ‘The Curse of Frankenstein’ (1957) on Monday
18th September, ‘The Black Torment’ (1964) on Monday 9th
October, ‘The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb’ (1964) on Monday 16th
October, ‘You’ll Find Out’ (1940) on Monday 23rd October, ‘The
Frozen Dead’ (1966 Dana Andrews) on Monday 30th October, ‘The
Mummy’s Ghost’ (1943) on Monday 13th November, ‘The Mummy’s Curse’
(1944) on Monday 20th November, ‘It’ (1967) on Monday 27th
November and ‘The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb’ (1964) from 10.30-12.15 a.m. on Monday
4th December. The format of fear seemed simple and became popular
with audiences, showing late night films mostly on Friday nights when
schoolchildren did not have to be up early for school the next day and when
most people were coming back late from a night out and wanting to be frightened
by a good horror film or simply laugh at a bad one! Another great piece of
horror was shown in 1972 over the Christmas period as their ‘Ghost Story for
Christmas’ on BBC 1 – ‘A Warning to the Curious’, the M. R. James classic ghost
story starring Peter Vaughan and Clive Swift at
‘Appointment with
Fear’ continued throughout the following year in 1973 on ATV, showing: ‘Love
Hate Love’ (1971) on Monday 26th February, ‘The Haunting’ (1963) at
11 p.m. on Friday 6th April, ‘Bunny Lake is Missing’ (1965) at 11
p.m. on Friday 13th April, ‘The Shuttered Room’ (1967) at 11 p.m. on
Friday 20th April, ‘Berserk’ (1967) at 11 p.m. on Friday 27th
April, ‘The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb’ (1964) at 11 p.m. on Friday 4th
May, ‘The Stranglers of Bombay’ (1959) at 11.30 p.m. on Friday 11th
May, ‘Eye of the Devil’ (1966) at 11 p.m. on Friday 18th May, ‘Wait
until Dark’ (1967) on Monday 21st May, ‘Bluebeard’s Ten Honeymoons’ (1960)
at 11 p.m. on Friday 25th May, ‘Son of Frankenstein’ (1939) at 11
p.m. on Friday 1st June, ‘The Chamber of Horrors’ (1966) from
11-12.50 a.m. on Friday 8th June, ‘The Revenge of Frankenstein’ (1958)
from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 15th June, ‘The Fiend who walked the
West’ (1958) from 11-12.50 a.m. on Friday 22nd June, ‘The Night
Caller’ (1968) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 29th June, ‘Dr. Blood’s
Coffin’ (1960) on Monday 2nd July, ‘Die Monster Die’ (1965) from
10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 6th July, ‘Maniac’ (1963) on Monday 9th
July, ‘These are the Damned’ (1962) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 13th
July, ’80,000 Suspects’ (1963) from 10.30-12.30 a.m. on Friday 20th
July, ‘The Curse of the Fly’ (1965) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 27th
July, ‘Fanatic’ (1964) on Monday 30th July, ‘The Blood Beast Terror’
(1968) from 10.20-12 a.m. on Friday 3rd August, ‘House on Haunted
Hill’ (1958) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 10th August, ‘Evil of
Frankenstein’ (1964) on Monday 6th August, ‘Scared Stiff’ (1953) at
10.30 p.m. on Monday 13th August, ‘Curse of the Werewolf’ (1961) from
10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 17th August, ‘King Kong’ (1933) on Monday 20th
August, ‘The Sorcerers’ (1967) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 24th
August, ‘They Came from Beyond Space’ (1967) on Friday 31st August,
‘Diary of a Madman’ (1962) on Monday 3rd September, ‘The Two Faces
of Dr. Jekyll’ (1960) at 10.20 p.m. on Friday 7th September, ‘The
Man who could Cheat Death’ (1959) from 10.30-12.30 a.m. on Friday 26th
October, ‘Kiss of Evil’ (1963) from 10.30-12.10 a.m. on Friday 2nd
November, ‘Die Monster Die’ (1965) on Friday 9th November, ‘The
Horror of it All’ (1964) from 11.15-12.40 a.m. on Friday 16th
November, ‘Witchfinder General’ (1968) from 10.30-12.10 a.m. on Friday 23rd
November, ‘The Curse of the Crimson Altar’ (1968) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 30th
November and ‘The Psychopath’ (1965) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 7th
December. Most of these films would become staple films over the years shown
again and again but the genuine horror fan doesn’t mind sitting up to the small
hours to see again an old favourite and it is what made the devotee of the
genre such a faithful, if not too often recognised viewer. On BBC 1 the ‘Ghost
Story for Christmas’ was another M. R. James classic – ‘Lost Hearts’ shown on
The ‘Appointment with
Fear’ schedule on ATV for 1974 was: ‘Children of the Damned’ (1964) from
11-12.40 a.m. on Friday 15th February, ‘The Haunted Palace’ (1963) at
11 p.m. on Friday 22nd February, ‘The Phantom of the Rue Morgue’ (1954)
from 10.45-12.40 a.m. on Friday 1st March, ‘The Skull’ (1965) at
10.30 p.m. on Friday 8th March, ‘Nightmare’ (1964) at 10.30 p.m. on
Friday 15th March, ‘Paranoic’ (1962) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 22nd
March, ‘Eye of the Devil’ (1966) at 10.30 p.m. on Monday 1st April,
‘The Frozen Dead’ (1966) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 5th April, ‘Maniac’
(1963) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 12th April, ‘Fanatic’ (1964) at 10.30
p.m. on Friday 19th April, ‘Dr. Blood’s Coffin’(1960) from
10.30-12.10 a.m. on Friday 10th May, ‘The Gorgon’ (1964) at 10.30
p.m. on Friday 24th May, ‘Hysteria’ (1965) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday
28th May, ‘Taste of Fear’ (1961) on Monday 3rd June, ‘The
Black Torment’ (1964) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 7th June, ‘Dance of
the Vampires’ (1967) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Monday 24th June, ‘Dracula’
(1958) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 28th June, ‘Werewolf of London’ (1935)
at 11 p.m. on Friday 5th July, ‘Dracula has Risen from the Grave’ (1968)
at 10.35 p.m. on Friday 12th July, ‘Straightjacket’ (1964) at 10.35
p.m. on Friday 19th July, ‘Tales of Terror’ (1962) at 11.35 p.m. on
Friday 26th July, ‘Black Zoo’ 1963) at 10.15 p.m. on Friday 2nd
August, ‘Peeping Tom’ (1960) on Monday 5th August, ‘Son of Dracula’ (1943)
at 10.35 p.m. on Friday 9th August, ‘The Bride of Frankenstein’ (1935)
on Friday 16th August, ‘The Man without a Body’ (1957) at 10.35 p.m.
on Friday 23rd August, ‘I Married a Monster from Outer Space’ (1958)
on Friday 30th August, ‘The Curse of the Fly’ (1965) on Monday 2nd
September, ‘It’ (1967) from 10.30-12 a.m. on Friday 13th September, ‘Terror
of the Tongs’ (1961) at 11.20 p.m. on Friday 20th September, ‘Dance
of the Vampires’ from 10.50-12.35 a.m. on Friday 27th September, ‘Night
Must Fall’ (1964) at 11 p.m. on Friday 11th October, ‘Corridors of
Blood’ (1958) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 18th October, ‘Night
Creatures’ (1962) from 10.30-12.10 a.m. on Friday 1st November, ‘Creature
From the Black Lagoon’ (1953) on Friday 8th November, ‘Fiend Without
a Face’ (1958) on Friday 15th November, ‘The Strangler’ (1964) at
10.30 p.m. on Friday 22nd November, ‘The Norliss Tapes’ (1973) on
Wednesday 27th November, ‘The Fly’ (1958) on Friday 29th
November, ‘Frankenstein Must be Destroyed’ (1969) on Friday 6th
December, ‘The Tingler’ (1959) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 13th
December, ‘The Haunted House of Horror’ (1969) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 20th
December and ‘The Black Scorpion’ (1957) from 10.30-12.15 a.m. on Friday 27th
December. The ‘Christmas Ghost Story’ over on BBC 1 was the wonderful ‘The
Treasure of Abbot Thomas’ shown on Monday 23rd December 1974 at
11.35 p.m.
On Monday 26th
August ATV showed ‘The Holiday Horror Film’ – ‘Torture Garden’ (1967) and I was
now reaching an age where I could fully appreciate the horror film and a good
scare in the safety of one’s living room or bedroom and I don’t think I
developed too different from other nasty little boys who like to play with dead
things. In fact, I had a passion for graveyards and all things dead and dying,
I still do, and I can remember when I was about seven or eight years old, collecting
bones and things, such as a dead dog’s teeth and a hedgehog’s paw I found and when
my pet rabbit died I buried him and dug him back up a year later (which to me
seemed the most natural thing to do) and hung his skull on my bedroom wall (on
an upturned crucifix of course): oh dear, alarm bells should be ringing by now,
but I don’t think I turned out too badly, but there’s still time! (I didn’t
mention my later fascination for Victorian and early 20th century
serial-killers) oh dear again!
‘It’s in the trees! It’s coming!’
[Professor Harrington in ‘Night of the Demon’]
The ‘Appointment with
Fear’ continued on ATV and the schedule for 1975 was: ‘The Black Sheep’ (1956 Basil
Rathbone) at 11 p.m. on Friday 3rd January, ‘Diary of a Madman’ (1962)
from 11-12 a.m. on Friday 10th January, ‘The Mad Room’ (1969) at 11
p.m. on Friday 17th January, ‘Corruption’ (1967) at 11 p.m. on
Friday 24th January, ‘The Night Walker’ (1964) at 11 p.m. on Friday
31st January, ‘Scream and Scream Again’ (1969) at 11 p.m. on Friday
7th February, ‘The Bride of Frankenstein’ (1935) at 10.30 p.m. on
Monday 10th February, ‘Shock Treatment’ (1964) at 11 p.m. on Friday
14th February, ‘The Haunted House of Horror’ (1969) on Monday 17th
February, ‘The Evil of Frankenstein’ (1964) at 11 p.m. on Friday 21st
February, ‘Soul of a Monster’ (1944) at 11.25 p.m. on Monday 24th
February, ‘The Return of the Fly’ (1959) on Friday 28th February,
‘The Old Dark House’ (1932) from 10.40-12.10 p.m. on Monday 3rd
March, ‘Tarantula’ (1955) at 11 p.m. on Friday 7th March, ‘Son of
Frankenstein’ (1939) from 10.30-12.20 a.m. on Monday 10th March, ‘The
Climax’ (1967) at 11 p.m. on Friday 14th March, ‘The Black Room’ (1935)
at 11.15 p.m. on Monday 17th March, ‘The Mad Magician’ (1954) at 11
p.m. on Friday 21st March, ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ (1956) at
11 p.m. on Friday 4th April, ‘A Little Game’ (TV Film 1971) at 10.45
p.m. on Saturday 5th April, ‘Donovan’s Brain’ (1953) at 11 p.m. on
Friday 11th April, ‘Companions in Nightmare’ (1968) at 10.45 p.m. on
Saturday 12th April, ‘The Werewolf’ (1956) at 11 p.m. on Friday 18th
April, ‘Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man’ (1943) on Friday 18th
April, ‘Mystery of the Wax Museum’ (1933) at 11 p.m. on Friday 25th
April, ‘Brides of Dracula’ (1960) from 11.05-12,40 a.m. on Saturday 26th
April, ‘The Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb’ (1964) at 11 p.m. on Friday 2nd
May, ‘House of Frankenstein’ (1944) from 10.45-12 a.m. on Saturday 3rd
May, ‘Black Noon’ (1971) on Friday 9th May, ‘Bunny Lake is Missing’ (1965)
at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 16th May, ‘Curse of the Werewolf’ (1961) on
Saturday 17th May, ‘House of Dracula’ (1945) from 10.45-12 a.m. on
Friday 23rd May, ‘The Oblong Box’ (1969) from 10.45-12.35 a.m. on
Friday 23rd May, ‘Eye of the Devil’ (1966) from 10.40-12.30 a.m. on
Friday 30th May, ‘The Deadly Dream’ (1971) from 10.55-1.10 a.m. on
Saturday 31st May, ‘The Revenge of Frankenstein’ (1958) from
11-12.30 a.m. on Friday 6th June, ‘Paper Man’ (TV Film 1971) from
11-12.25 a.m. on Monday 9th June, ‘The Shuttered Room’ (1967) from
10.30-12.30 a.m. on Friday 20th June, ‘The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll’ (1960)
from 11-12.40 a.m. on Monday 23rd June, ‘Taste the Blood of Dracula’
(1970) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 27th June, ‘Night of the Demon’ (1957)
at 11 p.m. on Monday 30th June, ‘The Sorcerers’ (1967) at 10.30 p.m.
on Friday 4th July, ‘The Fantastic Disappearing Man’ (1958) at 11.10
p.m. on Monday 7th July, ‘Brides of Dracula’ (1960) from10.30-12.30
a.m. on Friday 11th July, ‘Home for the Holidays’ (1972) at 11 p.m.
on Monday 14th July, ‘These are the Damned’ (1962) from 10.30-12.15
a.m. on Friday 18th July, ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ (1959)
from 10.30-12.15 a.m. on Friday 25th July, ‘The Curse of the Fly’ (1965)
from 10.30-12.15 a.m. on Friday 1st August, ‘A Howling in the Woods’
(TV Film 1971) from 11.30-12.15 a.m. on Monday 4th August, ‘The
Blood Beast Terror’ (1968) from 10.30-12.15 a.m. on Friday 8th
August, ‘The House on Haunted Hill’ (1958) from 11.15-12.45 a.m. on Friday 22nd
August and ‘The Night Caller’ (1968) from 11-12.30 a.m. on Friday 29th
August.
Over on BBC 2 during
1975 could be seen their season of ‘Midnight Movie Fantastic’ double bill films
which ran as follows: ‘The Cabinet of Dr, Caligari’ (1919) from 10.55-12.05
a.m. and ‘Quatermass 2’ (1957) from 12.05-1.20 a.m. on Saturday 2nd
August, ‘The Tell Tale Heart’ (1960) from 10.45-12 a.m. and ‘The Premature
Burial’ (1961) from 12-1.20 a.m. on Saturday 9th August, ‘Noah’s
Ark’ (1928) from 11.15-12.20 a.m. and ‘Man and His Mate’ (1940) from 12.20-1.20
a.m. on Saturday 16th August, ‘This Island Earth’ (1955) from
10.40-12.05 a.m. and ‘Barbarella’ (1968) from 12.05-1.25 a.m. on Saturday 23rd
August, ‘The Cat and the Canary’ (1939) from 10.55-12.05 a.m. and ‘The Comedy
of Terrors’ (1963) from 12.05-1.25 a.m. on Saturday 30th August and
‘The Beast with Five Fingers’ (1947) from 10.35-12 a.m. and ‘The Maze’ (1954)
from 12-1.20 a.m. on Saturday 6th September. On BBC 1 the ‘Ghost
Story for Christmas’ was ‘The Ash Tree’ by M. R. James, shown on Tuesday 23rd
December 1975 at 11.25 p.m. It was the last M. R. James adaptation to be shown
during the 1970’s and like previous years is an essential part of the true
horror fan’s anatomy.
‘’Twould
be nice to have lips… lips to whisper lies…
Lips to kiss man and make him suffer.’
[Jennifer (
MASTERS OF TERROR
Throughout
August-September 1976 BBC 2 showed a series of horror double bills, ten films
in all under their ‘Masters of Terror’ title, beginning with Lon Chaney in ‘The
Phantom of the Opera’ (1925) from 10.55-12.10 a.m. and ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr.
Hyde’ (1932) from 12.10-1.40 a.m. on Saturday 14th August; the next
double bill was: ‘The Devil Doll’ (1932 starring Lionel Barrymore) from
10-11.20 p.m. and ‘Frankenstein Created Woman’ (1967) from 11.20-12.50 a.m. on
Saturday 21st August; the series continued with: ‘The Hounds of
Zaroff’ (1932 starring Fay Wray) from 10-12 a.m. and ‘The Hound of the
Baskervilles’ (1939 starring Basil Rathbone) from 12-1.25 a.m. on Saturday 28th
August; ‘Mad Genius’ (1931 starring Lionel Barrymore) from 10.55-12.10 a.m. and
‘The Pit and the Pendulum’ (1961 starring Vincent Price) from 12.10-1.30 a.m.
on Saturday 4th September and the series concluded with ‘The Walking
Dead’ (1936 starring Boris Karloff) from 10.50-11.55 p.m. and ‘Dracula Prince
of Darkness’ (1966 starring Christopher Lee) from 11.55-1.20 a.m. on Saturday
11th September. I particularly remember these films being shown and
recall finding Rathbone, Karloff, Price, Cushing and Lee strangely compelling.
BBC 1 also showed their
‘Christmas Ghost Story’ which was an adaptation of Charles Dickens’s ‘The
Signalman’ (also directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark) starring Denholm Elliot at
10.40 p.m. on Wednesday
In 1976 the
‘Appointment with Fear’ was becoming a little tired. The films were:
‘Corruption’ (1967) from 11-12.45 a.m. on Monday 5th January, ‘The
Strangler’ (1964) from 11-12.45 a.m. on Monday 12th January, ‘Castle
of Evil’ (1966) on Monday 19th January, ‘The Sorcerers’ (1967) from
11-12.45 a.m. on Monday 26th January, ‘Curse of the Crimson Altar’
(1968) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Monday 2nd February, ‘The Devil’s
Daughter’ (1973) from 10.30-11.55 p.m. on Monday 9th February, ‘Who
Killed Teddy Bear?’ (1965) at 10.30 p.m. on Monday 23rd February, ‘Die
Monster Die’ (1965) at 11.30 p.m. on Monday 1st March, ‘The Haunted
Palace’ (1963) from 10.30-12.10 a.m. on Monday 8th March, ‘The
Terror of the Tongs’ (1961 Christopher Lee) on Monday 15th March,
‘Tales of Terror’ (1962) from 10.30-12.15 a.m. on Monday 22nd March,
‘The Curse of the Fly’ (1965) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Monday 12th
April, ‘The Mummy’ (1932) from 11-12.30 a.m. on Monday 26th April,
‘House of Dracula’ (1945) from 11.15-12.35 a.m. on Monday 3rd May,
‘The Screaming Woman’ (1972 TV Film) from 11.15-12.45 a.m. on Monday 10th
May, ‘Dracula’ (1931) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Monday 17th May, ‘The
Earth Dies Screaming’ (1964) from 11.30-12.40 a.m. on Monday 24th
May, ‘The Night Caller’ (1968) from 11-12.35 a.m. on Monday 14th
June, ‘The Hand of Night’ (1968) at 11 p.m. on Monday 21st June, ‘Taste
the Blood of Dracula’ (1970) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 13th August,
‘The Mummy’s Shroud’ (1966) on Friday 20th August, ‘Trog’ (1970) on
Friday 27th August, ‘Strange Case of Dr. X’ (1942) at 11.30 p.m. on
Monday 6th September, ‘Phantom of the Rue Morgue’ (1954) from
10.30-12.05 a.m. on Monday 20th September, ‘Tales from the Crypt’ (1972) on Friday 24th
September, ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ (1956) at 10.30 p.m. on Monday 4th
October, ‘The Gorgon’ (1964) from 10.30-12.05 a.m. on Monday 11th
October, ‘Scream and Scream Again’ (1969) at 10.45 p.m. on Friday 15th
October, ‘The Dentist’s Surgery’ (a short film by Jonathan Crane) at 8.45 p.m.
on Saturday 4th December and ‘Tales from the Crypt’ (1972) at 11.30
p.m. on Monday 20th December.
THE MONSTER MOVIE
‘Even a man who is pure in heart and says his
prayers by night,
may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms and
the autumn moon is bright.’
[Gwen Conliffe to Larry Talbot in ‘The Wolf Man’]
Also at the beginning
of 1976 on Friday nights ATV showed a series of weekly late night films
starting around 11 p.m. under the title ‘The Monster Movie’ which began with
‘It Came from Beneath the Sea’ (1955) on Friday 2nd January and
continued with: ‘Gargoyles’ (1972 TV Film) on Friday 9th January,
‘The Mummy’s Shroud’ (1966) on Friday 16th January, ‘Twenty Million
Miles to Earth’ (1957) on Friday 23rd January, ‘The Invisible Ray’ (1936)
on Friday 30th January, ‘Moon of the Wolf’ (1972 TV Film) from
10.30-12.30 a.m. on Friday 6th February, ‘Frankenstein Meets the
Wolf Man’ (1943) from 11-12.30 a.m. on
Friday 13th February, ‘House of Frankenstein’ (1944) on Friday 20th
February, ‘Revenge of the Creature’ (1955) on Friday 27th February,
‘Gorilla at Large’ (1954) from 11-12.30 a.m. on Friday 5th March,
‘Dracula’ (1931) on Friday 12th March, ‘Die Monster Die’ (1965) on
Friday 19th March, ‘The Colossus of New York’ (1958) on Friday 26th
March, ‘Scream of the Wolf’ (1973) on Friday 2nd April, ‘Dracula’s
Daughter’ (1936) from 11-12.30 a.m. on Friday 9th April, ‘House of
Dracula’ (1945) on Friday 16th April, ‘The Gorgon’ (1964) from
11-12.30 a.m. on Friday 23rd April, ‘Phantom of the Rue Morgue’ (1954)
on Friday 30th April, ‘Count Yorga Vampire’ (1970) on Friday 7th
May and ‘King Kong’ (1933) at 10.30 p.m. on Friday 14th May. What a
wonderful selection of films that was with a few exceptions; some real
treasures like ‘Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man’, ‘House of Frankenstein’,
‘Dracula’, ‘House of Dracula’ and the beautiful ‘Dracula’s Daughter’ starring
Gloria Holden as Countess Marya Zaleska who wants to rid herself of her
vampiric tendencies and become human.
In 1977, at the
beginning of the year, ATV showed several horror films under the series title
‘ATV Horror Picture House’; the films were decidedly creepy with a little
Hammer titillation in all its bare-breasted glory thrown in too! The first film
on screen was ‘Tales from the Crypt’ (1972) on Friday 18th February
from
DRACULA, FRANKENSTEIN – AND FRIENDS
‘There are more things in heaven and earth than
are dreamed of in your philosophy Mr. Garth.’
[Countess Marya Zaleska to Dr. Garth in ‘Dracula’s Daughter’]
Over on BBC 2 during
the summer of 1977 they were also showing a very good selection of horror
double bill films under their title ‘Dracula, Frankenstein – and Friends!’ the
first of which were: ‘Dracula’ (1931) from 11.05-12.25 a.m. and ‘Frankenstein’
(1931) from 12.25-1.35 a.m. on Saturday 2nd July, the rest of the
season was as follows: ‘Bride of Frankenstein’ (1935) from 10.50-12 a.m. and
‘Brides of Dracula’ (1960) from 12-1.25 a.m. on Saturday 9th July,
‘The Mummy’ (1932) from 10.45-12.15 a.m. and ‘The Wolf Man’ (1941) from
12.15-1.05 a.m. on Saturday 16th July, ‘Son of Frankenstein’ (1938)
from 10.10-11.45 p.m. and ‘Kiss of the Vampire’ (1964) from 11.45-1.10 a.m. on
Saturday 23rd July, ‘Dracula’s Daughter’ (1936) from 10.35-12.05 a.m.
and ‘Plague of the Zombies’ (1966) from
12.05-1.30 a.m. on Saturday 30th July, ‘The Ghost of Frankenstein’ (1942)
from 10.50-11.55 p.m. and ‘The Premature Burial’ (1961)from 11.55-1.10 a.m. on
Saturday 6th August, ‘The Raven’ (1935) from 11.05-12.05 a.m. and
‘The Black Cat’ (1933) from 12.05-1.10 a.m. on Saturday 13th August,
‘Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man’ (1943) from 10-11.15 p.m. and ‘The Raven’
(1963) from 12.05-1.35 a.m. on Saturday 20th August, ‘House of
Frankenstein’ (1944) from 10.20-11.10 p.m. and ‘The Reptile’ (1966) from 12.05-1.35
a.m. on Saturday 27th August, ‘Son of Dracula’ (1943) from 9.55-11.10
p.m. and ‘Evil of Frankenstein’ (1964) from 11.45-1.10 a.m. on Saturday 3rd
September and finally ‘House of Dracula’ (1945) from 10.05-11.15 p.m. and ‘The
Fall of the House of Usher’ (1960) from 11.20-12.35 a.m. on Saturday 10th
September. Another fine season of horror films showing the great ‘Wolf Man’ and
the tragic figure of Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) and Dr. Septimus Pretorius
(Ernest Thesiger) the mad scientist from ‘The Bride of Frankenstein’, surely
one of the greatest camp and creepy characters from all visual horror history;
and what about that beautiful and disturbing dream sequence in the ‘Plague of
the Zombies’ – wonderful!
Towards the end of
1977 ATV showed another series of horror films under the season’s title –
‘Friday Film Fantastic’, most of the films, apart from a couple of exceptions
were second rate affairs and TV Films but at least a growing audience for such
things was being catered for. The films as they were shown are: ‘Crack in the
World’ (1965 stars Dana Andrews) on Friday 7th October from
10.30-12.20 a.m. ‘The Body Stealers’ (1969) on Friday 14th October
from 10.30-12.15 a.m. ‘The Power’ (1968) on Friday 21st October from
10.30-12.30 a.m. ‘Frogs’ (1972 stars Ray Milland) on Friday 28th
October from 10.30-12.25 a.m. ‘Killdozer’ (1974) on Friday 4th
November from 10.30 p.m. ‘Madame Sin’ (1972 stars Bette Davis) on Friday 11th
November from 10.30 p.m. ‘They came from Beyond Space’ (1967) on Friday 18th
November from 10.30 p.m. ‘Satan’s Triangle’ (1975 TV film stars Kim Novak) on
Friday 25th November from 10.30 p.m. ‘Project X’ (1968 stars
Christopher George) on Friday 2nd December from 10.30 p.m. ‘Invasion
of the Body Snatchers’ (1955) on Friday 9th December from 10.30 p.m.
and ‘THX 1138’ (1971) on Friday 16th December from 10.30 p.m.
One of the most
memorable and chilling horror moments for me occurred on
THE PRICE OF FEAR
In early 1978 another
short season of six horror films appeared on ATV under the title ‘The Price of
Fear’ and starred of course – Vincent Price. The films were: ‘Cry of the
Banshee’ (1970) on Friday 10th February, ‘The Haunted Palace’ (1963)
on Friday 17th February, ‘The Fly’ (1958) on Friday 24th
February, ‘Dr. Phibes Rises Again’ (1972) from 10.30-12.10 a.m. on Friday 3rd
March, ‘Witchfinder General’ (1968) on Friday 10th March and finally
‘Shock’ (1946) on Friday 17th March. Price was such a fine actor and
that distinctive voice made him very memorable and for me he will always be the
central figure in portraying Edgar Allan Poe through the films of Roger Corman.
During the summer (July-August)
of 1978 BBC 2 showed their ‘Midnight Movie Double Bill’ season of monster films
with the ‘accent on the bizarre and the supernatural’ beginning with ‘Murders
in the Rue Morgue’ (1933) from 10.55-11.55 p.m. and ‘The Man who could Cheat
Death’ (1959) from 11.55-1.25 a.m. on Saturday 8th July; the season
continued with: ‘The Fantastic Disappearing Man’ (1958) from 10.40-11.55 p.m.
and ‘X: The Man with X-Ray Eyes’ (1963) from 12-1.15 a.m. on Saturday 15th
July, ‘The Quatermas Experiment’ (1955) from 10-11.20 p.m. and ‘The Crazies’ (1973)
from 11.50-1.35 a.m. on Saturday 22nd July, ‘Man Made Monster’ (1940)
from 11.15-12.15 a.m. and ‘The Mummy’s Curse’ (1945) from 12.15-1.15 a.m. on
Saturday 29th July, ‘White Zombie’ (1932) from 10.40-11.55 p.m. and
‘House of Wax’ (1953) from 12-1.25 a.m. on Saturday 5th August,
‘Them!’ (1954) from
Towards the end of
1978 ATV produced their ‘Creature Feature’ series which began with: ‘The Cat
Creature’ (1973) from 11-12.30 a.m. on Friday 22nd September, ‘Willard’
(1971) from
CHRISTOPHER LEE – PRINCE OF MENACE
One of the most
defining moments for me was at the beginning of the year in 1979 when ATV
showed a series of eight horror films under the season’s title: ‘Christopher
Lee: Prince of Menace’; the films began around 11 p.m. and followed a curious
American programme called ‘Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman’ (
In 1979 BBC 2 showed
their season of films titled ‘Masters of Terror’ beginning with ‘Doctor X’
(1932) from 10.35-11.50 p.m. and ‘The Curse of Frankenstein’ (1956) from
11.55-1.20 a.m. on Saturday 14th July; the season continued with:
‘Sherlock Holmes and the Spider Woman’ (1944) from 10-30-11.30 p.m. and ‘The
Hound of the Baskervilles’ (1959) from 12-1.30 a.m. on Saturday 21st
July, ‘Night Monster’ (1942) from 10.15-11.25 p.m. and ‘The Devil Rides Out’
(1968) from 11.30-1.10 a.m. on Saturday 28th July, ‘Black Friday’
(1940) from 11-12.05 a.m. and ‘The Mummy’ (1959) from 12.05-1.35 a.m. on
Saturday 4th August, ‘The Strange Door’ (1951) from 10.05-11.25 p.m.
and ‘Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb’ (1971) from 11.25-1 a.m. on Saturday 11th
August, ‘The Mummy’s Hand’ (1944) from 10.35-11.40 p.m. and ‘The Satanic Rites
of Dracula’ (1973) from 12.10-1.35 a.m. on Saturday 18th August and
ending with ‘It Came From Outer Space’ (1951) from 10-11.20 p.m. and
‘Quatermass and the Pit’ (1967) from 11.25-1.05 a.m.
A DATE WITH THE DEVIL
1979 was a good year
for the horror enthusiast – ATV showed the fabulous Roman Polanski film ‘The
Dance of the Vampires’ on Saturday 5th May 1979 and ‘Blood from the
Mummy’s Tomb’ on Saturday 11th August and continued the gruesome
theme at the end of 1979 with their ‘A Date with the Devil’ season of eight films
which began with ‘The Legend of Hell House’ (1973) shown on Friday 2nd
November from 11-1.15 a.m.; the rest of the series ran as follows: ‘The
Mephisto Waltz’ (1971) from 11-1.15 a.m. on Friday 9th November,
‘The Dunwich Horror’ (1970) from 11-12.40 a.m. on Friday 16th
November, ‘Ritual Evil’ (1970 TV Film) on Friday 23rd November, ‘The
Initiation of Sarah’ (1978) from 11-12.45 a.m. on Friday 30th
November, ‘Look what Happened to Rosemary’s Baby’ (1977 TV Movie) from 11 p.m.
on Friday 7th December, ‘Blood on Satan’s Claw’ (1970) from 11-12.45
a.m. on Friday 14th December and the series ended with ‘Good Against
Evil’ (1977 TV Movie) from 11 p.m. on Friday 21st December which
wasn’t a bad way to end the decade!
In May of 1980 ATV
showed three Saturday morning films which they called ‘The Monster Movie’. The
films were: ‘Son of Godzilla’ (1967) on Saturday 10th May, ‘War of
the Monsters’ (1966) on Saturday 17th May from
During 1980 dear old
BBC 2 also provided fans with their season of ‘Horror Double Bills’ throughout
June-August which ran thus: ‘Night of the Demon’ (1957) from 10.30-12 a.m. and
‘The Ghoul’(1975) from 12.02-1.35 a.m. on Saturday 28th June, ‘The
Beast with Five Fingers’ (1947) from 10.10-11.35 p.m. and ‘Chamber of Horrors’
(1966) from 11.50-1.30 a.m. on Saturday 5th July, ‘The Mad Ghoul’ (1943)
from 10.40-11.45 p.m. and ‘Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors’ (1964) from
11.50-1.20 a.m. on Saturday 12th July, ‘The Devil Doll’ (1936) from
10.35-11.50 p.m. and ‘Daughters of Satan’ (1972) from 11.55-1.25 a.m. on
Saturday 19th July, ‘The Curse of the Werewolf’ (1960) from
10.10-11.40 p.m. and ‘From Beyond the Grave’ (1974) from 11.55-1.35 a.m. on
Saturday 26th July, ‘Paranoic’ (1963) from 10.35-11.50 p.m. and
‘Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter’ (1973) from 12.00-1.35 a.m. on Saturday 2nd
August, ‘The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms’ (1953) from 10.35-11.55 p.m. and ‘Night
of the Lepus’ (1972) from 12.00-1.20 a.m. on Saturday 9th August,
‘The Bat’ (1959) from 10.20-11.40 p.m. and ‘Legend of the Werewolf’ (1974) from
11.45-1.20 a.m. on Saturday 16th August and ‘Tower of London’ (1939 Basil Rathbone) from 10.40-12 a.m. and
‘The Skull’ (1965) from 12-1.20 a.m. on Saturday 23rd August and concluding
with ‘The Beast Must Die’ (1974) from 12-1.35 a.m. on Saturday 30th
August. A good collection of films there, my particular favourite being ‘Night
of the Demon’ which I can never get tired of watching; I don’t think being
exposed to such films in my formative years did me any harm and there is no
evidence that such films are a bad influence on the young, except for wanting
to poison my maths teacher and see him drop dead in front of the class (the bit
about me ripping his heart out – did he have one? and eating it in front of him
was a later addition!)
‘I don’t think it would be too amusing for the
youngsters
if I conjured up a demon from hell for them.’
[Karswell in ‘Night of the Demon’]
PETER CUSHING – MASTERS OF TERROR
Another ATV gem was
the 1981 February-April season of films titled ‘Peter Cushing Masters of Terror’
which showed eight films by the great man, starting with ‘Corruption’ (1967) on
Friday 13th February; other films were: ‘Frankenstein must be
Destroyed’ (1969) from 11-1 a.m. on Friday 20th February, ‘Fear in
the Night’ (1972) on Friday 27th February, ‘Frankenstein and the
Monster from Hell’ (1973) on Friday 13th March, ‘Island of Terror’ (1966)
on Friday 20th March, ‘Night of the Big Heat’ (1967) on Friday 27th
March, ‘Land of the Minotaur’ (1976) on Friday 3rd April and ‘The
House that Dripped Blood’ (1971) on Friday 10th April.
Not long after this
season BBC 2 began their 1981 season of ‘Horror Double Bills’: ‘I Walked with a
Zombie’ (1943) from 10.35-12.10 a.m. and ‘Zoltan Hound of Dracula’ (1978) from
12.10-1.10 a.m. on Saturday 4th July, ‘Cat People’ (1945) from 11.05-12.15
a.m. and ‘Mystery of the Wax Museum’ (1933 Fay Wray) from 12.15-1.35 a.m. on
Saturday 11th July, ‘The Seventh Victim’ (1943) from 10.55-12.05 a.m.
and ‘Race with the Devil’ (1970) from 12.05-1.35 a.m. on Saturday 18th
July, ‘Isle of the Dead’ (1940) from 9.20-10-30 p.m. and ‘The Telephone Box’ (1972
Spanish, ‘La Cabina’) from 10.30-11.05 p.m. on Saturday 25th July, ‘Bedlam’
(1946) from 10.30-11.45 p.m. and ‘Bug’ (1975) from 11.45-1.30 a.m. on Saturday
1st August, ‘The Leopard Man’ (1943) from 10.50-11.55 p.m. and ‘The
Shuttered Room’ (1966) from 11.55-1.35 a.m. on Saturday 8th August, ‘The
Curse of the Cat People’ (1943) from 10.35-11.40 p.m. and ‘Eye of the Cat’ (1969)
from 11.40-1.10 a.m. on Saturday 15th August and ‘The Body Snatcher’
(1945) from 10.30-11.40 p.m. and ‘Theatre of Blood’ (1973) from 11.40-1.25 a.m.
on Saturday 22nd August. I certainly remember watching ‘The
Telephone Box’ directed by Antonio Mercero and starring Jose Luis Lopez Vazquez
in its first showing on British television and being quite disturbed by it as a
twelve year old boy. The story is that a man having seen his son safely off to
school on the bus enters a telephone box to make a call but ends up
nightmarishly trapped inside; when the box is taken away with him inside it he
is travelling somewhere on the back of a truck and sees others also trapped in
telephone boxes loaded on the backs of trucks – psychologically terrifying! BBC
1 also showed Stephen King’s ‘
INVITATION TO TERROR
In January 1982 ATV
became Central television station and at the beginning of the year they showed
eight films under the season’s title – ‘Invitation to Terror’: ‘Crucible of
Terror’ (1971) on Friday 15th January from 11.05 p.m. ‘The Uncanny’
(1977) on Friday 22nd January from
‘That night, fleeing from
never guessed he was carrying away with him the very evil
he had wished to destroy.Thanks to him, this evil would
at last be able to spread across the world.’
[narrator at the end of ‘Dance of the Vampires’]
During Christmas 1982
BBC2 showed ‘Dance of the Vampires’ (also known as ‘The Fearless Vampire
Killers’) on Monday 27th December at
‘There are some things that are beyond the
understanding of us that live on this Earth!’
[Walton, the butler in ‘The Undying Monstar’]
SCREAM
At the beginning of
1983 Central television showed several films under the title ‘Scream Queens’,
the first of which was: ‘Blood on Satan’s Claw’ (1971) from 11.05-1 a.m. on
Friday 7th January; the following films appeared in order: ‘Panic’
(1978) from 12 a.m. on Friday 14th January, ‘The Babysitter’ (1980
TV Film starring William Shatner) from 11.35-1.30 a.m. on Friday 21st
January, ‘Countess Dracula’ (1970) on Friday 28th January, ‘Who Slew
Aunty Roo?’ (1971 starring Shelley Winters) from
During 1983 BBC 2
provided more ‘Horror Double Bills’ under their ‘Midnight Movie Horror’ season showing
some excellent classic old films such as: ‘Dracula’ (1931) from 10-11.35 p.m.
and ‘Frankenstein’ (1931) from
Over on BBC 1 was a
series of ‘Late Night Horrors’ beginning with ‘The Beast Must Die’ (1974) from11.15-12.45
a.m. on Saturday 22nd October and continuing with: ‘Peeping Tom’ (1960)
from 11.20-1 a.m. on Saturday 29th October, ‘From Beyond the Grave’ (1974)
from 11.15-12.50 a.m. on Saturday 5th November, ‘The Shuttered Room’
(1967) at 11.55 p.m. on Saturday 12th November and ‘The Satanic
Rites of Dracula’ (1973) at 11.40 p.m. on Saturday 19th November.
Also in 1983 there
were a series of memorable ‘thriller’ episodes in the ‘Boris Karloff Presents’
series shown on Channel 4 (many of which had also been shown in 1973); some
episodes were: ‘Worse than Murder’ from 11-12 a.m. on Friday 8th
July, ‘Rose’s Last Summer’ from 11.20-12.20 a.m. on Friday 15th
July, ‘The Prediction’ from 11.15-12.15 a.m. on Friday 22nd July, ‘Waxworks’
from 11.15-12.15 a.m. on Friday 5th August, ‘The Last of the
Sommervilles’ from 11.15-12.15 a.m. on Friday 12th August, ‘The
Incredible Doctor Markesan’ from 11.15-12.15 a.m. on Friday 19th
August, ‘The Cheaters’ from 11.20-12.20 a.m. on Friday 26th August
and ‘Grim Reaper’ from 11.15-12.15 a.m. on Friday 2nd August; the
following year also saw episodes: ‘Dialogues with Death’ from 11.20-12.20 a.m.
on Wednesday 12th September, ‘Pigeons from Hell’ from 12.10-1.10
a.m. on Saturday 22nd September and ‘Masquerade’ from 12.55-1.55
a.m. on Saturday 29th September. Following the 1983 showing of Boris
Karloff Presents Channel 4 showed a season of banned censored films and
‘Freaks’ got an airing from 11.15-12.30 a.m. on Friday 9th
September, followed by Bunuel’s ‘L’Age D’or’ (1930).
At the beginning of
1984 BBC 1 showed their ‘Late Night Horror’ films beginning with ‘Frankenstein
Must be Destroyed’ (1969) from 11.30-1.05 a.m. on Saturday 28th
January and continuing with: ‘Ruby’ (1977) from 11.25-12.45 a.m. on Saturday 4th
February, ‘Legend of the Werewolf’ (1974) from 12-1.30 a.m. on Saturday 11th
February, ‘The Reincarnation of Peter Proud’ (1975) from 11.30-1.10 a.m. on
Saturday 18th February, ‘The Ghoul’ (1975) from 11.30-12.55 a.m. on
Saturday 25th February, ‘Superbeast’ (1972) from 11.35-1.05 a.m. on
Saturday 3rd March, ‘Daughters of Satan’ (1972) from 11.40-1.05 a.m.
on Saturday 10th March, ‘The Mephisto Waltz’ (1971) from 11.25-1.10
a.m. on Saturday 17th March, ‘The Possessed’ (1965) from 12.15-1.30
a.m. on Saturday 24th March, ‘The Masque of the Red Death’ (1964) from
11.35-1.05 a.m. on Saturday 31st March, ‘Zoltan, Hound of Dracula’ (1978)
from 11.30-12.55 a.m. on Saturday 7th April and ‘Quatermas and the
Pit’ (1967) from 10.45-12.20 a.m. on Saturday 14th April.
On Saturday 2nd
June 1984 Channel Four showed that rarely seen werewolf film, ‘The Undying
Monster’ (1942) from 12.05 a.m. to closedown at 1.14 a.m. and although it isn’t
rated very highly in the genre I quite liked it especially the atmosphere it
conjured and perhaps because it is not often shown it had an air of mystique
about it.
Over on Central
Television they showed several horror films under the title ‘Friday Night
Fright’: ‘And Now the Screaming Starts’ (1973) at 11.35 p.m. on Friday 6th
July, ‘Devils of Darkness’ (1965) on Friday 13th July, ‘Dr Phibes
Rises Again’ (1972) on Friday 20th July, ‘Terror in the Wax Museum’
(1973) on Friday 27th July, ‘Asylum’ (1972) on Friday 13th
August, ‘Fright’ (1971) from 11.35-1.20 a.m. on Friday 24th August,
‘Dr Blood’s Coffin’ (1961) from 11.35-1.20 a.m. on Friday 31st
August, ‘Blind Terror’ (1971) from 11.35-1.15 a.m. on Friday 7th
September, ‘Vampire Circus’ (1971) at 11.35 p.m. on Friday 14th
September, ‘Repulsion’ (1965) from 11.35-1.25 a.m. on Friday 21st September
and ‘Circus of Horrors’ (1960) from 11.35-1.20 a.m. on Friday 28th
September.
At the end of 1984 BBC
2 showed a season Hammer horror films beginning with ‘Blood from the Mummy’s
Tomb’ (1971) at 12 a.m. on Sunday 23rd December and continuing with
a double bill of ‘The Curse of Frankenstein’ (1957) at 10.05 p.m. and ‘Dracula’
(1958) at 11.25 p.m. on Friday 28th December, ‘The Mummy’ (1959) at
11.45 p.m. on Saturday 29th December and on Friday 4th
January 1985 at 11.15 p.m. was ‘The Curse of the Werewolf’ (1961).
MONSTER HORRORS
‘When it comes to the heavens, there’s only one
professional.’
[Sir John Talbot to son Larry in ‘The Wolf Man’]
At the beginning of
1986 Channel 4 started their season of double bill ‘Monster Horrors’ which
would seduce a new generation of horror fans and was a wonderful introduction
to the old classics from Universal and RKO; it certainly kept many a macabre
youth, like myself, busy recording those films! The order of films as shown
were: ‘Dracula’ (1931) at
Also during the summer
of 1986 Central Television showed their series of films under the ‘Friday Night
Fright’ banner: ‘The Asphyx’ (1973) from
In late autumn 1986
BBC 2 showed the classic ‘Whistle and I’ll come to you’ (1968) on Saturday 8th
November at 12.25 a.m. and during Christmas 1986 BBC2 showed a series of five M.
R. James ghost tales under the title ‘Classic Ghost Stories’ narrated by the
wonderful Robert Powell. M. R. James has always been a love of mine and always
will be and Christmas just isn’t Christmas without some scholarly scares from
the master of the ghost story. The first spooky tale was the classic story,
‘The Mezzotint’ on Thursday 25th December from 10.55-11.10 p.m.
followed by ‘The Ash Tree’ on Friday 26th December from
In 1987 BBC2 showed a series of films from July-September they called ‘The Best of the Bs’ which included ‘Cat People’ (1942) at 12.10 a.m. on Saturday 18th July, ‘I Walked with a Zombie’ (1943) at 11.25 p.m. on Friday 31st July and ‘The Curse of the Cat People’ (1944) at 11.20 p.m. on Friday 4th September. Also on BBC 2 from June to August was a season of Hammer Horror films which ran thus: ‘Dracula Prince of Darkness’ (1965) at 9.40 p.m. and ‘The Evil of Frankenstein’ (1964) [double bill] at 11.10 p.m. on Saturday 27th June, ‘The Curse of the Werewolf’ (1961) at 11.30 p.m. on Saturday 4th July, ‘The Kiss of the Vampire’ (1962) at 11.20 p.m. on Saturday 11th July, ‘Quatermas and the Pit’ (1967) at 11.25 p.m. on Saturday 18th July, ‘Frankenstein Created Woman’ (1966) at 11.40 p.m. on Saturday 25th July, ‘Rasputin – The Mad Monk’ (1966) at 10.30 p.m. and ‘The Nanny’ (1965) at 12 a.m. [double bill] on Saturday 1st August, ‘Blood from the Mummy’s Tomb’ (1971) at 10.55 p.m. on Saturday 8th August, ‘Dracula has Risen from the Grave’ (1968) at 11.35 p.m. on Saturday 15th August, ‘Frankenstein Must be Destroyed’ (1969) at 11.20 p.m. on Saturday 22nd August and ‘The Devil Rides Out’ (1967) at 10.55 p.m. on Saturday 29th August.
VAL LEWTON
‘The glitter of putrescence. There is no beauty
here, only death and decay.’
[Paul Holland to Betsy Connell in ‘I Walked with a Zombie’]
Val Lewton (1904-1951)
the producer and screenwriter became an important figure in the horror genre
for several memorable films he produced, the first being ‘Cat People’ starring
Simone Simon in 1942 directed by the great Jacques Tourneur (1904-1977) who
also directed the classic ‘Night of the Demon’ in 1957 starring Dana Andrews,
Peggy Cummins and Niall MacGinnis as Dr. Julian Karswell, an adaptation of M.
R. James’s classic tale – ‘Casting the Runes’ – Tourneur also went on to direct
the astonishing and eerily beautiful ‘I Walked with a Zombie’ (1943) starring
Frances Dee and Tom Conway and ‘The Leopard Man’ (1943). Throughout November
and December 1988 BBC2 showed a series of six films for their ‘Val Lewton
Season’, the films were as follows: ‘Cat People’ (1942) on Tuesday 15th
November, ‘Curse of the Cat People’ (1944) on Tuesday 22nd November,
‘I Walked with a Zombie’ (1943) on Tuesday 29th November, ‘Bedlam’ (1946)
on Tuesday 6th December, ‘Isle of the Dead’ (1945) on Tuesday 13th
December and ‘The Body Snatcher’ (1945) on Tuesday 20th December.
ROGER CORMAN
To touch briefly into
the 90’s there was a very good season in May-July 1990 on BBC2 called the
‘Curse of Corman’ which showed several of his Edgar Allan Poe inspired films:
‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ (1960) from 9-10.30 p.m. on Monday 14th
May, ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’ (1961) from 9-10.30 p.m. on Monday 21st
May, ‘The Premature Burial’ (1961) from 9-10.20 p.m. on Monday 4th
June, ‘Tales of Terror’ (1962) from 9-10.30 p.m. on Monday 11th
June, ‘The Raven’ (1963) from 9-10.30 p.m. on Monday 25th June and
‘The Masque of the Red Death’ (1964) from 9-10.30 p.m. on Monday 2nd
July; and throughout 1993, 1994 and 1996 there were seasons of ‘Dr. Terror’s
Vault of Horror’ to look forward to but things were not the same and perhaps
never would be again – over at Cromwell Road in Gloucestershire in the early
nineties a real life ‘house of horrors’ was discovered and the monsters who
lived there and their crimes stunned the country into silence and bewilderment,
as indeed had the horrific Moors murders and the Yorkshire Ripper previously.
‘We belong dead!’
[the monster in ‘The Bride of Frankenstein’]
The age of the thrill
from the horror film shown on television was dying yet there were still a few
last gasps as at the end of 2000 when BBC 2 ran a ‘Universal Horror Season’
beginning on Monday 25th December with ‘Frankenstein’ (1931) at 2.40
a.m. The horror film has always been considered a late night film when all
sorts of things may lurk in the darkness but these great films were being
tucked into the small hours during the Christmas period when most people had
over-done the festive cheer and had enough of screaming children to appreciate
those classic horror films and had retired to their beds. It was a pity that an
opportunity was missed to interest a new generation of young acolytes to the horror
genre and the discovery of those old creepy (and sometimes creaky) Universal
horror films and the delightful interpretations from Hammer studios, but in an
age of the internet and the emergence of films on demand something had been
lost, the anticipation of waiting for it to be shown and knowing that if you
missed it that was it, until it was shown again which may have meant waiting
another year or perhaps several! The season continued with: ‘The Mummy’ (1932) from
1.55-3.05 a.m. on Wednesday 27th December, ‘The Old Dark House’ (1932)
at 2 a.m. on Friday 20th December, ‘The Black Cat’ (1934) at 1.40
a.m. on Saturday 30th December, ‘The Invisible Man’ (1933) at 12.55
a.m. on Sunday 31st December, ‘The Bride of Frankenstein’ (1935) from
2-3.10 a.m. on Monday 1st January 2001 and ‘The Wolf Man’ (1941) from
1.10-2.15 a.m. on Wednesday 3rd January.
‘As if dead men didn’t have all eternity.’
[Sir John Talbot in ‘The Wolf Man’]
But a resurgence in
the horror film and ghost tales has come about, thanks largely to the wonderful
saviour of the genre, Mark Gatiss, that fine actor, screenwriter, director and
author whose enthusiasm for horror and passion for M. R. James particularly has
ensured that the true horror of the Christmas Ghost Story is alive and well and
creating the next generations of horror lovers! I hope my love of horror has entertained
you and if I have made errors in the listings please forgive me and correct me
if you wish for I am only a mortal who listens to the children of the night and
the music they make!
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