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One of the monster memories for many of us who were kiddies back in the Sixties and Seventies is the TV horror host--that master of "scare-emonies" who provided horselaughs along with the horror flicks. Many Monster Boomers retain their fond memories of those fright night TV shows and even share those memories. Why not? It was sure a scary good time when, on local TV...
On September 15th, 1970, WGN Channel 9 in Chicago introduced a new horror television show, called Creature Features. The show basically broadcast old, classic horror films, with a brief video clip introduction. This introduction consisted of various 1 to 5 second clips of monsters from the Universal Horror films, set to the music of Henry Mancini's Experiment In Terror. The creepy harpsichords in the song were accompanied by the raspy voice of WGN news announcer, Marty McNeely, reading the following creepy poem: Gruesome ghouls and grisly
ghosts
Mr. McNeely followed this standard poem with a second, custom-made poem that included the current movie as its subject. This was followed by a sinister, electronically modified laugh and the superimposition of an image of The Creature, which was nothing more than a modified picture of Lon Chaney Sr.'s vampire from London After Midnight (1926). It was through this show that I was introduced to the world of classic horror. Son Of Frankenstein (1939) was the first horror film that I ever saw! It was late on a Saturday night in 1970, one of the first ones that my dad allowed me to stay up with him on, and the second sequel to Frankenstein (1931) was on Creature Features! I marveled at the creepy castle, how Igor and the Monster were able to "move through the walls" to sneak up on their victims! Since I was only four years old, I was completely horrified when the Monster tore the arm off of the inspector! I had no idea at the time that it was a fake arm! I just figured that he was a really tough man!
Additionally, I cheered when Baron Von Frankenstein swung on a chain to kick the Monster over the edge of the laboratory into the sulfur pit! A fitting end to such an evil monster! Because it was the first horror film that I ever saw, it will always hold a special place in my heart. Another movie that really impressed me at an early age was Werewolf Of London (1935). Again, I had the ever present Creature Features TV show to thank for the movie! In this film, a man changed into a fearsome monster that feasted on the lives of his victims! I really enjoyed the transformation sequences of Henry Hull turning into the moon beast! I chucked at the antics of the two drunken old women. I was concerned that the little poodle in the green house would jump into the plant case and get eaten by that giant carnivorous plant with the moving arms!
I even felt sorry for the werewolf when he was shot on the stairs and fell backwards to his death. I felt that his dying words, "Thanks for the bullet. It was the only way...." were quite profound! They were quickly burned into my memory, and made me forever a fan of werewolf movies. However, since I was so young, I really had no idea that there were two werewolves in the movie! I was quite surprised to make this discovery in 1999 when I finally bought myself a copy of the tape at Wal-Mart! Creature Features didn't just show the Shock Theatre package of Universal Horror films. They also showed Fifties and Sixties horror films, including Godzilla films! My favorite Godzilla film, Godzilla Versus Monster Zero (1966), debuted on Creature Features in 1971. I had never seen giant monsters before, nor seen whole cities destroyed in the blink (well, extended close) of an eye. King Ghidorah was my favorite of the Godzilla movie monsters, as he had three heads, could fly, and shot lethal laser beams at everything that moved.
Additionally, this was my first introduction to science fiction, as the aliens came to earth and took on Godzilla and Rodan to Planet X to fight King Ghidorah. I felt that the fight sequence on planet X was always one of my favorites, and what was there not to love? Godzilla ducking behind rocks like a cowboy in a shoot-out after letting loose his atomic breath? Godzilla shuffling his feet while 'boxing' King Ghidorah (a la Muhammad Ali)? And Godzilla doing his celebratory "salute-jump" after Ghidorah was chased off? This movie was definitely geared toward children! The final fight at the end was great as well, but little did I know just how cool it was until I rented the DVD and saw the film in widescreen! In my humble opinion, you have not lived until you have seen this film in this manner!
Another Creature Features classic that solidified my love of all things horror was Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man (1942). This film, which was written by Curt Siodmak as the sequel to The Wolf Man (1941), was a much more lively film than it's predecessor. Whereas the first Wolf Man film only showed the transformation of the Wolf Man back into Larry Talbot, this one showed the Chaney's actual transformation into the Wolf Man. Additionally, this movie had more action scenes of the monsters than any that I had seen before. And as the coup de grace, two monsters actually met, interacted, and fought in this movie. This movie was, indeed, the first "Monster Mash" film, although Return Of The Vampire (1942), which featured a Vampire and a Werewolf, may have come out first. The final fight at the end of the movie between Frankenstein's Monster and the Wolf Man, which only lasted two minutes, was well worth the build up presented by the movie.
From this point, people could now imagine
monsters trying to fight each other, as well as common people, which laid the path for
other Universal Classics, such as House Of Frankenstein (1944) and House Of
Dracula (1945).
Plus the two bumbling comedians helped create
tenuous situations that kept the viewer on the edge of his seat. The sequence in the
bowels of the castle where Lou and Abbott are looking for anything suspicious is too
funny! And the climax of the movie, which began in the laboratory where Lou's brain
was to be inserted into the head of the Monster, was the best (and funniest) horror film
climax that I have ever seen. Interestingly enough, Lou Costello was against making this
picture. Little did he know was that this film would become the most successful of all of
the Abbott and Costello films.
Recently, as an experiment, I played my DVD version of Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein for my children, ages six and three years. My six-year-old son was transfixed by the spectacle of Lou sitting on the Monster's lap, and then desperately trying to open the secret passage in the cellar of the castle as both the Monster and Dracula stalked closer and closer! He didn't let out a peep during the entire movie. On the other hand, my three-year-old daughter was immediately taken with the Wolf Man, and learned a few new mannerisms from the movie sequence where the Wolf Man stalked Lou in the hotel room. After that, my daughter spent the rest of the movie prowling around and under the furniture in the living room, growling and jumping out at us in random intervals. Talk about setting the mood!
My children were instantly taken with the
Monsters, and now are looking forward to seeing another horror-comedy classic, Abbott
And Costello Meet The Mummy (1955). Who says kids can't enjoy the classics
anymore?
At the group fans of both the Creature Features show and old horror films can revel in the shared memories of the members of the group. There are live, ongoing discussions about the old films, audio files of show opens to listen to, video of the show's open to view, pictures from the classic movies, screensavers and wallpapers for the horror fan's computer, and much, much more. The group also hosts horror trivia contests with prizes for the members. And, best of all, membership in the group and access to all resources is absolutely free! The link is here. See you there! Thanks, Michael! Your memories of your favorite TV horror host mirror those of many other Monster Boomers who were weaned on the monstrous milk of cathode ray creature cut-ups. It's a real shame that the kids today don't have the innocent fun of enjoying a classic scare film and getting a few yuks from a clever creepy emcee in the same package. Those were the truly "Happy Days," even if a few nightmares went along with the fun. Article copyright © Michael Newell |
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