The Abominable Dr. Phibes/Dr. Phibes Rises Again
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1971, 1972 / 1.85 : 1 / 94, 89 Min.
Starring Vincent Price, Joseph Cotten, Terry Thomas
Written by James Whiton, William Goldstein, Robert Blees
Directed by Robert Fuest
Though he thrived in light comedies and upmarket melodramas, Vincent Price didn’t really find himself till he found Henry Jarrod, the high strung sculptor-turned psychopath in 1953’s House of Wax. The role reinvented the Jekyll/Hyde story and gave Price the key to his long-lasting persona; the well-mannered fiend and the unhinged romantic merged into one tormented soul. Ticket buyers were both moved and terrified by Jarrod and the box office receipts reflected their fascination. Price was happy to dish up more of the same and though he would occasionally play no nonsense villains like the unambiguously evil Matthew Hopkins of 1968’s Witchfinder General, the actor rarely strayed too far from his comfort zone.
There was...
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1971, 1972 / 1.85 : 1 / 94, 89 Min.
Starring Vincent Price, Joseph Cotten, Terry Thomas
Written by James Whiton, William Goldstein, Robert Blees
Directed by Robert Fuest
Though he thrived in light comedies and upmarket melodramas, Vincent Price didn’t really find himself till he found Henry Jarrod, the high strung sculptor-turned psychopath in 1953’s House of Wax. The role reinvented the Jekyll/Hyde story and gave Price the key to his long-lasting persona; the well-mannered fiend and the unhinged romantic merged into one tormented soul. Ticket buyers were both moved and terrified by Jarrod and the box office receipts reflected their fascination. Price was happy to dish up more of the same and though he would occasionally play no nonsense villains like the unambiguously evil Matthew Hopkins of 1968’s Witchfinder General, the actor rarely strayed too far from his comfort zone.
There was...
- 5/3/2022
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
From within the bowels of his burned down estate…Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972), in this cheerful sequel to the box office success from the previous year. Dear Vincent Price was on a macabre roll with a succession of very funny and ghoulish horror classics, and Again is no exception.
Released by Aip in July, this MGM-emi co-production was successful enough to have producers seriously consider another sequel; but alas, it never materialized. What we are left with though, is yet another example of Price being teamed with the proper talent worthy of his own – not to mention a protagonist for the protagonist: Count Yorga himself, Robert Quarry.
Robert Fuest returns in the director’s chair, as well as co-writing with Robert Blees (Frogs). The result isn’t quite as good as its predecessor, but it’s still filled with enough creative deaths and lip smacking theatrics from the leads to warrant a closer look.
Released by Aip in July, this MGM-emi co-production was successful enough to have producers seriously consider another sequel; but alas, it never materialized. What we are left with though, is yet another example of Price being teamed with the proper talent worthy of his own – not to mention a protagonist for the protagonist: Count Yorga himself, Robert Quarry.
Robert Fuest returns in the director’s chair, as well as co-writing with Robert Blees (Frogs). The result isn’t quite as good as its predecessor, but it’s still filled with enough creative deaths and lip smacking theatrics from the leads to warrant a closer look.
- 1/4/2020
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
One of the strangest ‘uplifting moral tales’ of the 1950s was a huge hit, and launched Rock Hudson as a major star. Criterion’s deluxe presentation puts it on a par with world cinema, mawkish Kitsch-o-Rama and all. Comes with a restored copy of the slightly less head-spinning 1935 version, too. Co-stars Jane Wyman, Barbara Rush, Agnes Moorehead, and Otto Kruger, whose moral guidance has something to do with ‘contacting one’s power source.’ Oh, it’s about recharging my iPhone!
Magnificent Obsession
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 457
1954 / Color / 2.00:1 anamorphic widescreen / 108 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date August 20, 2019 / 39.95
Starring: Jane Wyman, Rock Hudson, Barbara Rush, Agnes Moorehead, Otto Kruger.
Cinematography: Russell Metty
Film Editor: Milton Carruth
Original Music: Frank Skinner
Written by Robert Blees from an original screenplay by Victor Heerman, Sarah Y. Mason, George O’Neil from the novel by Lloyd C. Douglas
Produced by Ross Hunter
Directed...
Magnificent Obsession
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 457
1954 / Color / 2.00:1 anamorphic widescreen / 108 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date August 20, 2019 / 39.95
Starring: Jane Wyman, Rock Hudson, Barbara Rush, Agnes Moorehead, Otto Kruger.
Cinematography: Russell Metty
Film Editor: Milton Carruth
Original Music: Frank Skinner
Written by Robert Blees from an original screenplay by Victor Heerman, Sarah Y. Mason, George O’Neil from the novel by Lloyd C. Douglas
Produced by Ross Hunter
Directed...
- 9/3/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Look, anyone who knows me is aware of my severe lack of fondness for spiders, as well as my love for movies about them. (I am riddled with inconsistency.) 1977 was a vintage year for arachnids; in addition to one of my all time favorite movies, Kingdom of the Spiders, the small screen offered up the telefilm Curse of the Black Widow, a Dan Curtis effort that never fails to entertain. Just keep the buggers away from me, okay?
Originally broadcast September 16th as part of The ABC Friday Night Movie, Curse went up against Logan’s Run/Switch! on CBS, and the much tougher competition, NBC’s The Rockford Files/Quincy, M.E. For those not inclined to have Jack Klugman yell in their face for an hour, Curtis’ Curse offered a fun, goofy alternative.
Let’s crack open our cobwebbed faux TV Guide and have a look see:
Curse...
Originally broadcast September 16th as part of The ABC Friday Night Movie, Curse went up against Logan’s Run/Switch! on CBS, and the much tougher competition, NBC’s The Rockford Files/Quincy, M.E. For those not inclined to have Jack Klugman yell in their face for an hour, Curtis’ Curse offered a fun, goofy alternative.
Let’s crack open our cobwebbed faux TV Guide and have a look see:
Curse...
- 5/6/2018
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
Wow! Prime stop-motion animation from the heyday of monstrous science fiction, in a new restoration that puts a brilliant shine on those creepy crawly critters. Richard Denning fights giant arachnids while Mara (swoon) Corday frets and wrings her hands, waiting for the next kissing scene. The new scan clears up a lot of flaws, and gives us a much better look at the Lost Art of stop-motion magic.
The Black Scorpion
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1957 / B&W / 1:78 widescreen / 88 min. / Street Date March 20, 2018 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring Richard Denning, Mara Corday, Carlos Rivas, Mario Navarro, Carlos Múzquiz, Pascual García Peña
Cinematography Lionel Lindon
Special Effects Willis H. O’Brien, Pete Peterson
Art Direction Edward Fitzgerald
Film Editor Richard L. Van Enger
Original Music Paul Sawtell
Written by Robert Blees, David Duncan and Paul Yawitz
Produced by Jack Dietz, Frank Melford
Directed by Edward Ludwig
The ’50s big-bug monster show...
The Black Scorpion
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1957 / B&W / 1:78 widescreen / 88 min. / Street Date March 20, 2018 / available through the WBshop / 21.99
Starring Richard Denning, Mara Corday, Carlos Rivas, Mario Navarro, Carlos Múzquiz, Pascual García Peña
Cinematography Lionel Lindon
Special Effects Willis H. O’Brien, Pete Peterson
Art Direction Edward Fitzgerald
Film Editor Richard L. Van Enger
Original Music Paul Sawtell
Written by Robert Blees, David Duncan and Paul Yawitz
Produced by Jack Dietz, Frank Melford
Directed by Edward Ludwig
The ’50s big-bug monster show...
- 3/27/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Animal horror was big in the 1970s, and it’s not just the fault of Jaws. Environmental concerns carrying over from the previous decade were seeping into the American consciousness and, by extension, the American genre film.
Pesticides, pollution and ever-increasing concerns about nuclear power funneled their way into a slew of eco-horror movies in which mankind’s incessant tampering with the environment led Mother Nature to retaliate in the form killer animals, insects and fish, often mutated to gigantic size and always ready to kill. Titles like Grizzly and Night of the Lepus and Kingdom of the Spiders and The Swarm were de rigueur for ‘70s horror, and while the genre has never really gone away — every year sees a few new killer animal films (and that’s not counting the SyFy Channel nonsense like Crocosaurus) — it reached its zenith during that decade. Now as part of their Summer of Fear,...
Pesticides, pollution and ever-increasing concerns about nuclear power funneled their way into a slew of eco-horror movies in which mankind’s incessant tampering with the environment led Mother Nature to retaliate in the form killer animals, insects and fish, often mutated to gigantic size and always ready to kill. Titles like Grizzly and Night of the Lepus and Kingdom of the Spiders and The Swarm were de rigueur for ‘70s horror, and while the genre has never really gone away — every year sees a few new killer animal films (and that’s not counting the SyFy Channel nonsense like Crocosaurus) — it reached its zenith during that decade. Now as part of their Summer of Fear,...
- 5/22/2015
- by Patrick Bromley
- DailyDead
"Louis Jourdan, a handsome, sad-eyed French actor who worked steadily in films and on television in Europe and the United States for better than five decades, as a romantic hero in movies like Gigi and later as a suave villain in movies like Octopussy, died on Friday at his home in Beverly Hills," reports Terrence Rafferty in the New York Times. We also remember Lizabeth Scott, star of films noir in the 1940s and 1950s; screenwriter Stewart Stern (Rebel Without a Cause, Rachel, Rachel and Sybil); media journalist David Carr; actor Bryant Crenshaw (Gummo); and writer and producer Robert Blees (Magnificent Obsession). » - David Hudson...
- 2/16/2015
- Fandor: Keyframe
"Louis Jourdan, a handsome, sad-eyed French actor who worked steadily in films and on television in Europe and the United States for better than five decades, as a romantic hero in movies like Gigi and later as a suave villain in movies like Octopussy, died on Friday at his home in Beverly Hills," reports Terrence Rafferty in the New York Times. We also remember Lizabeth Scott, star of films noir in the 1940s and 1950s; screenwriter Stewart Stern (Rebel Without a Cause, Rachel, Rachel and Sybil); media journalist David Carr; actor Bryant Crenshaw (Gummo); and writer and producer Robert Blees (Magnificent Obsession). » - David Hudson...
- 2/16/2015
- Keyframe
Reviewed by Kevin Scott
MoreHorror.com
Frogs (1972)
Written by: Robert Huchison, Robert Blees
Directed by: George McCowan
Cast: Sam Elliot (Pickett Smith), Ray Milland (Jason Crockett), Joan Van Arc (Karen Crockett), Adam Roarke (Clint Crockett), Judy Pace (Bella Garrington), Mae Mercer (Maybelle), Lynn Borden (Jenny Crockett)
One great truth that I have learned is that there are truly no new things. There are only old things happening to new people. Agree or disagree, I’m using it in this particular instance to describe a little subgenre of the horror film, the eco horror film. My picks for horror movie watching in general are usually split between about 70 percent random and about 30 percent deliberate. It’s usually the random ones that are the most fun. I’m a sucker for American International Pictures flicks from the 1970’s. They fall under a few different types of classifications, but they are all Grindhouse...
MoreHorror.com
Frogs (1972)
Written by: Robert Huchison, Robert Blees
Directed by: George McCowan
Cast: Sam Elliot (Pickett Smith), Ray Milland (Jason Crockett), Joan Van Arc (Karen Crockett), Adam Roarke (Clint Crockett), Judy Pace (Bella Garrington), Mae Mercer (Maybelle), Lynn Borden (Jenny Crockett)
One great truth that I have learned is that there are truly no new things. There are only old things happening to new people. Agree or disagree, I’m using it in this particular instance to describe a little subgenre of the horror film, the eco horror film. My picks for horror movie watching in general are usually split between about 70 percent random and about 30 percent deliberate. It’s usually the random ones that are the most fun. I’m a sucker for American International Pictures flicks from the 1970’s. They fall under a few different types of classifications, but they are all Grindhouse...
- 1/4/2015
- by admin
- MoreHorror
The first Vincent Price collection from Scream Factory was a pure treasure. When October rolls around, almost nothing puts me in the Halloween mood like a constant stream of Vincent Price films on my TV. Never did I think that Scream could improve upon their original price collection, but when the films that would be included in this new set were announced, I was shocked. The first Vincent Price Collection has some really solid Price films, mostly of a Poe nature, and it was one of the most exciting releases of the year for fans of classic horror. The second set, drops the Poe theme(mostly), and includes some of Price’s most famous, well-regarded films, including a couple of my favorites. The list of films is impressive, and there are extras on most of the films. The packaging is consistent, and equally pleasing to the eyes. Scream Factory’s...
- 10/21/2014
- by Shawn Savage
- The Liberal Dead
The first Vincent Price collection that was released by Scream Factory is a thing of beauty. It was announced recently that they would bringing us a second collection of Vincent Price films on Blu-ray, and I couldn’t be any more excited about it than I already am. Well, maybe I can be, because Scream Factory just released the full details of the set, and it’s going to be a good one. Check out the press release below, and please click here to pre-order your own copy of this collection, which streets on October 21. Man, October is really upon us, isn’t it?
The Vincent Price Collection II
Featuring The First-ever Blu-ray™ Presentation Of
The House On Haunted Hill (1959), The Return Of The Fly (1959),
The Comedy Of Terrors (1963), The Raven (1963),
The Last Man On Earth (1964), The Tomb Of Ligeia (1964),
And Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972)
In Stores Everywhere On October...
The Vincent Price Collection II
Featuring The First-ever Blu-ray™ Presentation Of
The House On Haunted Hill (1959), The Return Of The Fly (1959),
The Comedy Of Terrors (1963), The Raven (1963),
The Last Man On Earth (1964), The Tomb Of Ligeia (1964),
And Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972)
In Stores Everywhere On October...
- 8/15/2014
- by Shawn Savage
- The Liberal Dead
By the 1970s, mankind had finally realized that, as species go, we were pretty much the worst thing to ever happen to the planet – what with treating the natural world as our own personal dumping ground, pumping pollution into the air, and poisoning the waters with chemicals – and so the modern environmental movement was born. Not only was this a hopeful development for the survival of the Earth but it was also terrific news for connoisseurs of B-movies as “eco-horror” became a popular trend and the ‘70s became a decade when – on screen, at least – nature had finally had enough of man’s bullshit.
In Frogs, directed by George McCowan and written by Robert Hutchison and Robert Blees, a young Sam Elliott stars as Pickett Smith, a freelance photographer busy taking pictures of the trash-strewn Southern swamplands surrounding the island estate of the wealthy Crockett family. While paddling around the Crockett’s property,...
In Frogs, directed by George McCowan and written by Robert Hutchison and Robert Blees, a young Sam Elliott stars as Pickett Smith, a freelance photographer busy taking pictures of the trash-strewn Southern swamplands surrounding the island estate of the wealthy Crockett family. While paddling around the Crockett’s property,...
- 7/3/2012
- shocktillyoudrop.com
On 21 March 2012, the British horror cinema lost of one of its most interesting and distinctive talents, director Robert Fuest. Although his association with the genre was very brief, he achieved cult status for directing two very popular slices of classic English Gothic, The Abominable Dr Phibes (1971) and Dr Phibes Rises Again (1972).
A former set designer with a unique visual flare, Fuest represented a group of innovative and original film-makers that formed an important part of the horror genre of the late sixties and early seventies. These luminaries included Roman Polanski, Michael Reeves, Peter Sasdy, Daniel Haller and Curtis Harrington. Fuest came on the scene much later on, and like his colleagues before him, never quite fulfilled his early promise. Its fair to say Fuest never had much of a chance. The horror genre of the late sixties was beginning to lose direction, both artistically and commercially, and by the mid seventies,...
A former set designer with a unique visual flare, Fuest represented a group of innovative and original film-makers that formed an important part of the horror genre of the late sixties and early seventies. These luminaries included Roman Polanski, Michael Reeves, Peter Sasdy, Daniel Haller and Curtis Harrington. Fuest came on the scene much later on, and like his colleagues before him, never quite fulfilled his early promise. Its fair to say Fuest never had much of a chance. The horror genre of the late sixties was beginning to lose direction, both artistically and commercially, and by the mid seventies,...
- 4/11/2012
- Shadowlocked
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