A new era of the B-movie was born in the 1950s. While the term originally referred to the second film in a double feature that defined much of the moviegoing experience during the Golden Age of Hollywood, a 1948 landmark Supreme Court antitrust ruling against major studios’ monopolistic practices upended the way films were distributed. While the traditional double feature waned, the demands of the burgeoning drive-in theater market gave way to the rise in independent genre films.
Two such low-budget B-movies made a mark in 1959: The Giant Gila Monster and The Killer Shrews. Produced by radio broadcasting magnate Gordon McLendon and future Gunsmoke actor Ken Curtis, the sci-fi horror movies were shot back-to-back in under three months with much of the same crew before being distributed together.
Both films are directed by Ray Kellogg, who had no prior directing experience, but his visual effects work on the likes of...
Two such low-budget B-movies made a mark in 1959: The Giant Gila Monster and The Killer Shrews. Produced by radio broadcasting magnate Gordon McLendon and future Gunsmoke actor Ken Curtis, the sci-fi horror movies were shot back-to-back in under three months with much of the same crew before being distributed together.
Both films are directed by Ray Kellogg, who had no prior directing experience, but his visual effects work on the likes of...
- 12/12/2023
- by Alex DiVincenzo
- bloody-disgusting.com
Last year, legendary filmmaker John Carpenter teamed up with Shout! Factory to host a kaiju movie marathon called Masters of Monsters, which consisted of the original Godzilla film, Rodan; Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster, and The War of the Gargantuas. That marathon was re-run earlier this month. Now the folks at Far Out magazine have dug up a 1996 article from Film Comment magazine in which Carpenter named The War of the Gargantuas as “the ultimate Japanese monster movie” – and included it on a list of his seventeen favorite “guilty pleasure” movies. It’s a fun list, so we have it included below, with thanks to this site.
Carpenter started out the Film Comment guilty pleasures article by saying, “I wasn’t raised a Catholic, so guilt never played much of a role in my life. We Methodists don’t worry about guilt all that much. In terms of cinema, however, guilt has always been very important.
Carpenter started out the Film Comment guilty pleasures article by saying, “I wasn’t raised a Catholic, so guilt never played much of a role in my life. We Methodists don’t worry about guilt all that much. In terms of cinema, however, guilt has always been very important.
- 11/7/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
The Movie Orgy.The title is a kind of ontological dare: can an assemblage of movies all lay on top of each other, swap positions, feel each other? Surely humans love, as they say, “to watch,” to raise voyeurism up as art. But when left to its own devices, does cinema also experience such base urges? Asked another way: when we say “the movie orgy,” don’t we mean “editing”? Disparate parts colliding with and enveloping one another, penetrating and being penetrated, and finally mutating after coming together? Cinema is transformed by—and transforms (us) through—the spaces between the images. A classier writer might cite Robert Bresson, speaking to Cahiers du cinéma at Cannes in 1957: “The cinema must express itself not with images, but with relationships between images, which is not at all the same thing.” A happy vulgarian—I betray that I am one, as I suspect Joe Dante,...
- 10/31/2023
- MUBI
The premiere release from Film Masters—the new vintage film restoration and distribution company, launched in June by industry veteran and film historian Phil Hopkins—is a two-disc collection featuring cult favorite The Giant Gila Monster with bonus film The Killer Shrews, which were originally released as a double-feature, drive-in bill in 1959.
Bloody Disgusting has learned that the Blu-ray & DVD will release on September 26.
The classic era of drive-in schlock was near its end at the time, but there remained a dedicated audience for this pair of no-budget howlers from director Ray Kellogg and producer Gordon McLendon.
The Giant Gila Monster (from a new 4k scan of 35mm, original film elements): When two teens disappear from a small Texas town, the locals think they’ve eloped. But soon it becomes clear that something much more sinister is afoot. And if a giant Gila monster isn’t enough for you,...
Bloody Disgusting has learned that the Blu-ray & DVD will release on September 26.
The classic era of drive-in schlock was near its end at the time, but there remained a dedicated audience for this pair of no-budget howlers from director Ray Kellogg and producer Gordon McLendon.
The Giant Gila Monster (from a new 4k scan of 35mm, original film elements): When two teens disappear from a small Texas town, the locals think they’ve eloped. But soon it becomes clear that something much more sinister is afoot. And if a giant Gila monster isn’t enough for you,...
- 7/19/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
As reported by the New York Times, on March 8, 2023, prolific B-movie filmmaker Bert I. Gordon passed away at his home in Los Angeles. He was 100 years old.
Bert I. Gordon is a name many may not be familiar with unless they were prone to visiting drive-in theaters in the 1950s, staying up late and watching monster movies on Uhf TV in the 1980s, or were paying attention to "Mystery Science Theater 3000" in the 1990s. Gordon was the director behind such low-budget classics as 1955's "King Dinosaur," 1957's "The Amazing Colossal Man," its sequel from the next year, "War of the Colossal Beast," the 1965 outsized J.D. flick, "Village of the Giants," the 1976 H.G. Wells adaptation, "Food of the Gods," and the 1976 giant ant film "Empire of the Ants." One might note that all the films listed above involve giants of some stripe. One might also want to take note of Bert I.
Bert I. Gordon is a name many may not be familiar with unless they were prone to visiting drive-in theaters in the 1950s, staying up late and watching monster movies on Uhf TV in the 1980s, or were paying attention to "Mystery Science Theater 3000" in the 1990s. Gordon was the director behind such low-budget classics as 1955's "King Dinosaur," 1957's "The Amazing Colossal Man," its sequel from the next year, "War of the Colossal Beast," the 1965 outsized J.D. flick, "Village of the Giants," the 1976 H.G. Wells adaptation, "Food of the Gods," and the 1976 giant ant film "Empire of the Ants." One might note that all the films listed above involve giants of some stripe. One might also want to take note of Bert I.
- 3/9/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
You’ll find many mysteries in Mark Mylod’s gourmet horror comedy “The Menu,” not the least of which is the impenetrable enigma of whether or not Mylod even likes gourmet food. The film is full of mouth-watering images of tasty morsels, but the cast is almost exclusively populated by foodies who, according to the screenplay, don’t deserve to live, let alone eat fancy things.
So what’s the point of showing all these yummy comestibles if the movie is going to judge us harshly for wanting them? The biggest joke seems to be on us, the audience for any art. We are consumers, we are fans, and we are arguably unworthy of the enormous talents and unfathomable sacrifices made by the people who serve us. “The Menu” may serve up dark humor and memorable violence, but the daily special is you and me; we’re already in a boiling pot,...
So what’s the point of showing all these yummy comestibles if the movie is going to judge us harshly for wanting them? The biggest joke seems to be on us, the audience for any art. We are consumers, we are fans, and we are arguably unworthy of the enormous talents and unfathomable sacrifices made by the people who serve us. “The Menu” may serve up dark humor and memorable violence, but the daily special is you and me; we’re already in a boiling pot,...
- 11/17/2022
- by William Bibbiani
- The Wrap
The series has delivered a horror masterwork, a seminal shoot-em-up and some auteurist gems ... but how do they rank?
What better way to celebrate the recent Alien Day than to place the eight movies in the long-running space saga into some kind of order of excellence? And also perhaps to ask how so many film-makers have managed to muck up the original film’s formula.
Let’s start at the bottom. The two Alien vs Predator movies from 2004 and 2007 are now remembered largely for their staggering blandness, as if everybody involved had forgotten what made the early films so chilling. Ostensibly B-movies, but lacking the joyful, half-cocked knockabout bombast of a Roger Corman or Ray Kellogg film, they even disappointed fans of the crossover comic books that spawned them. If 20th Century Fox thought it was getting the new Ridley Scott when the studio hired Paul Ws Anderson to direct...
What better way to celebrate the recent Alien Day than to place the eight movies in the long-running space saga into some kind of order of excellence? And also perhaps to ask how so many film-makers have managed to muck up the original film’s formula.
Let’s start at the bottom. The two Alien vs Predator movies from 2004 and 2007 are now remembered largely for their staggering blandness, as if everybody involved had forgotten what made the early films so chilling. Ostensibly B-movies, but lacking the joyful, half-cocked knockabout bombast of a Roger Corman or Ray Kellogg film, they even disappointed fans of the crossover comic books that spawned them. If 20th Century Fox thought it was getting the new Ridley Scott when the studio hired Paul Ws Anderson to direct...
- 4/30/2020
- by Ben Child
- The Guardian - Film News
Mike Hammer is in action again! Well, not exactly. Producer Victor Saville’s third go-round with Mickey Spillane’s famed character doesn’t do the franchise justice. Hammer-philes will be astounded by this thriller’s decidedly un-thrilling thrills: there’s little to connect the inexpressive nice guy Robert Bray with the super-popular, super-violent avenger of the books. Spillane’s original is abandoned in favor of a tame ‘who’s got the diamonds?’ storyline, with some compensation in a string of exciting ‘Hammer dames.’ I checked twice — Mike doesn’t shoot Any of them in the stomach.
My Gun Is Quick
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1957 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 91 min. / available through Kino Lorber / Street Date March 24, 2020 / 24.95
Starring: Robert Bray, Whitney Blake, Patricia Donahue, Donald Randolph, Pamela Duncan, Booth Coleman, Jan Chaney, Genie Coree, Richard Garland, Charles Boaz, Peter Mamakos, Claire Carleton, Phil Arnold, John Dennis, Terence de Marney, Ray Kellogg.
My Gun Is Quick
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1957 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 91 min. / available through Kino Lorber / Street Date March 24, 2020 / 24.95
Starring: Robert Bray, Whitney Blake, Patricia Donahue, Donald Randolph, Pamela Duncan, Booth Coleman, Jan Chaney, Genie Coree, Richard Garland, Charles Boaz, Peter Mamakos, Claire Carleton, Phil Arnold, John Dennis, Terence de Marney, Ray Kellogg.
- 3/3/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Fiery dame Susan Hayward carries this far-flung ‘women’s epic’ to delirious romantic extremes, as her Irish heroine defies nature and exploits admirers to claim the hunky Dutchman of her dreams. Using apartheid-ridden South Africa as a background for a cheerful white conquest wasn’t as touchy an idea in 1955 as it is now, but it should have been. Just the same, Henry King’s film is an impressive production from the early years of CinemaScope.
Untamed
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1955 / Color / 2:55 widescreen / 111 min. / Street Date January 22, 2019 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring: Tyrone Power, Susan Hayward, Richard Egan, John Justin, Agnes Moorehead, Rita Moreno, Hope Emerson, Brad Dexter, Henry O’Neill, Eleanor Audley, Kevin Corcoran, Philip Van Zandt.
Cinematography: Leo Tover
Film Editor: Barbara McLean
Original Music: Franz Waxman
Visual Effects: Ray Kellogg, Matthew Yuricich
Written by Talbot Jennings, Frank Fenton, Michael Blankfort, William A. Bacher from a novel by Helga Moray.
Untamed
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1955 / Color / 2:55 widescreen / 111 min. / Street Date January 22, 2019 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring: Tyrone Power, Susan Hayward, Richard Egan, John Justin, Agnes Moorehead, Rita Moreno, Hope Emerson, Brad Dexter, Henry O’Neill, Eleanor Audley, Kevin Corcoran, Philip Van Zandt.
Cinematography: Leo Tover
Film Editor: Barbara McLean
Original Music: Franz Waxman
Visual Effects: Ray Kellogg, Matthew Yuricich
Written by Talbot Jennings, Frank Fenton, Michael Blankfort, William A. Bacher from a novel by Helga Moray.
- 2/16/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Sixty years. I want you to let that sink in. It’s been almost 60 years since Ray Kellogg’s 1959 sci-fi/horror film Killer Shrews was released. This October, its sequel, Return of the Killer Shrews is finally getting a VOD release, celebrating one of the longest periods between a film and its follow-up. It will be […]
The post Exclusive Return Of The Killer Shrews Trailer Brings a Sequel After Nearly 60 Years appeared first on Dread Central.
The post Exclusive Return Of The Killer Shrews Trailer Brings a Sequel After Nearly 60 Years appeared first on Dread Central.
- 9/13/2018
- by Jonathan Barkan
- DreadCentral.com
Now it can be told! Or maybe, now it can’t be told? William Bradford Huie’s novel of creeping American ambition in Honolulu ends up as a tame vehicle for Jane Russell, who in one of her last big starring movies gives the Hawaiian scenery a run for its money. Raoul Walsh does well in the direction department, but the story has been cleaned up for Sunday School.
The Revolt of Mamie Stover
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1956 / Color / 2:55 widescreen / 92 min. / Street Date July 17, 2018 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring: Jane Russell, Richard Egan, Joan Leslie, Agnes Moorehead, Jorja Curtright, Michael Pate, Richard Coogan, Alan Reed, Eddie Firestone, Jean Willes, Margia Dean, Sally Todd, Hugh Beaumont.
Cinematography: Leo Tover
Costumes: Travilla
Visual Effects: Ray Kellogg
Original Music: Hugo Friedhofer
Written by Sydney Boehm, from the novel by William Bradford Huie
Produced by Buddy Adler
Directed by Raoul Walsh...
The Revolt of Mamie Stover
Blu-ray
Twilight Time
1956 / Color / 2:55 widescreen / 92 min. / Street Date July 17, 2018 / Available from the Twilight Time Movies Store / 29.95
Starring: Jane Russell, Richard Egan, Joan Leslie, Agnes Moorehead, Jorja Curtright, Michael Pate, Richard Coogan, Alan Reed, Eddie Firestone, Jean Willes, Margia Dean, Sally Todd, Hugh Beaumont.
Cinematography: Leo Tover
Costumes: Travilla
Visual Effects: Ray Kellogg
Original Music: Hugo Friedhofer
Written by Sydney Boehm, from the novel by William Bradford Huie
Produced by Buddy Adler
Directed by Raoul Walsh...
- 7/28/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
imdb.1eye.us, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.