Both The Deadly Mantis and The Land Unknown were produced by William Alland, who made a great deal of money for Universal between 1954 and 1957 by turning out fairly inexpensive Sci-Fi films that generally did well at the box office. His biggest hit was Creature from the Black Lagoon , but he also d...

This was a well-done movie that provided plenty of scares, thanks to an excellent cast and a fine director. Terrence Fisher, who directed most of the best early Hammer horror films, was at the helm. Hammer star Peter Cushing gives a convincing performance and many of the other actors are veterans of...

You've done such a fantastic job keeping all of us posted. Between the regular events, the behind-the-scenes material on the guests and the great pictures, I feel like I was there. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Brian

Dear Christy,

Having you on the scene is almost like being there. Your reporting skills make you our very own modern-day Bonita Granville. Keep up the great work!

Brian

I can’t tell you how much I have enjoyed being with all of you this weekend. It’s been so great to talk with so many knowledgeable fans and have a chance to get the word out about the book. As you know, Republic Horrors and the upcoming Republic Mysteries book are labors of love that I hope will get...

Well here I am owing you another apology, TopBilled .... I'm afraid I took a break for dinner. But, as usual, you've observed something that Republic used to build relationships with top names that otherwise might not have worked at the studio. Lew Ayers is an excellent example. Although All Quiet o...

My apologies, TopBilled! In one of my all time great moves, I had just finished replying to your wonderful comments when I somehow managed to entirely wipe out my comments rather than send them to you! Alison Skipworth and Polly Moran appeared together in a couple of Republic's. 1938's Ladies in Dis...

My husband works at the CBS lot on Radford which is the old Republic lot. Thanks to his job, I've seen various sound stages on the lot. I was wondering if there were any stages in particular that the horror films were shot on and if those stages are still standing? I'm so excited about hearing from...

The lovely Evelyn Ankers often appears as a cultured young woman struggling against villains and monsters... Brian, can you tell us about Evelyn Ankers and her relationship with Republic and her costars? What were some of her virtues as an actress? Her marriage to Richard Denning and her life in Ha...

Thank you very much for this information Brian and I do remember her quite well in one of the movies "The Lady and the Monster" that you mention in the previous post. Again, I do appreciate this wonderful information ... and glad you took the time to answer this question of mine. My humbl...

Can you tell us a little about actor Gerald Mohr and his Republic experiences since he made three films for the studio, Passkey to Danger, Catman of Paris, and The Invisible Informer ? Isn't Gerald Mohr cool, Christy. He could play bad guys, good guys and anything in the middle. To go from playing ...

Would you mind giving a little history on Republic? Did they want to be one of the big boys or were they planning on being a niche studio? Hi Chris, My apologies ... somehow I missed your question when you first posted it. I'm so glad you asked it because it gives me a chance to talk about someone ...

What was Raymond Burr like? Did you talk to him about his work in film noirs in a series of unforgettable villain parts? I saw an interview with him once in which he said that he once hoped to buy the rights to Godzilla and remake the film emphasizing the ecological and nuclear themes. Was this rea...

Thanks so much, Christy, for the poster ... nice find. Yes, that is definitely the first of Vera's films, released in 1941. The male lead is James Ellison, billed as "Jimmy" Ellison when he was in the Hopalong Cassidy westerns in the thirties. Vera, meanwhile, isn't listed. She had a very ...

I must wonder if you see a significant difference between the Amicus Productions approach to making horror movies and the Republic Pictures approach. I must wonder also if you may be planning on a book concerning Toho, Toei or Shintoho horror movies or perhaps a book contrasting those studios with ...