This week on SVENGOOLIE...

[Bronxgirl48]

I personnaly do not believe they were very friendly towards each other.Bob Taylor asked her several times to let go the 15% share of his income he had to shell out as long as she was single,it happened several times in the 60's as his earning power was diminishing and she always refused despite being very rich herself.Apparently they did not know they were playing in The Night Walker before signing the deal,another stunt by William Castle.Barbara was mad at Taylor for having strayed with others while married to her,it started early in the marriage,Taylor was dominated by his mother hence Stanwyck took over.Taylor was a confused man and found his path with Ursula Thiess in the early 50's while filming Quo Vadis in Rome.I'am waiting for many years for the part two of Stanwyck's bio ,pretty sure nothing really scandalous will emerge, she is my favorite Hollywood actress.Helen Ferguson was more important than Taylor for Barbara there is even one film with that name in the early 50's...she shared her life for something like 30 years.As far as i see it it was an arranged contract and Taylor broke it and she was resentful for the situation.

Wow, thank you for this crucial information, nakano! I did remember reading that Taylor was attracted to strong women because of the relationship with his mother but didn't know the rest of the story with Stanwyck.

[LiamCasey]

This month on Svengoolie...

1/6: The Invisible Ray (1936) w/ Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Frances Drake and Frank Lawton. Plus Beulah Bondi and Frank Reicher. And directed by Lambert Hillyer.

1/13: The Old Dark House (1932) w/ Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Charles Laughton, Gloria Stuart, Lilian Bond, Ernest Thesiger, Eva Moore, Raymond Massey, Elspeth Dudgeon and Brember Wills. And directed by James Whale.

1/20: The Evil of Frankenstein (1964) w/ Peter Cushing, Peter Woodthorpe, Duncan Lamont and Sandor Elès. Plus Kiwi Kingston. Screenplay by Anthony Hinds. And directed by Freddie Francis.

1/27: Willard (1971) w/ Bruce Davison, Sondra Locke, Elsa Lanchester and Ernest Borgnine. And directed by Daniel Mann.

[Swithin]

This month on Svengoolie...

1/6: The Invisible Ray (1936) w/ Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Frances Drake and Frank Lawton. Plus Beulah Bondi and Frank Reicher. And directed by Lambert Hillyer.

1/13: The Old Dark House (1932) w/ Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Charles Laughton, Gloria Stuart, Lilian Bond, Ernest Thesiger, Eva Moore, Raymond Massey, Elspeth Dudgeon and Brember Wills. And directed by James Whale.

1/20: The Evil of Frankenstein (1964) w/ Peter Cushing, Peter Woodthorpe, Duncan Lamont and Sandor Elès. Plus Kiwi Kingston. Screenplay by Anthony Hinds. And directed by Freddie Francis.

1/27: Willard (1971) w/ Bruce Davison, Sondra Locke, Elsa Lanchester and Ernest Borgnine. And directed by Daniel Mann.

Thanks, I love The Invisible Ray. Great cast, including Violet Kemble Cooper as Boris Karloff's mother. She has one of the last lines in the film, as she performs one of the most noble acts in a horror film. The Invisible Ray may be the first movie about the misuse of radiation.


Boris Karloff, Violet Kemble Cooper

[Bronxgirl48]

Hadn't watched THE INVISIBLE RAY in literally decades so was thrilled to see it on Sven's schedule. Everything came back to me -- I was mouthing all the dialogue, lol.

"They come like thieves in the night and steal EVERYTHING from me!"

"Lady Arabella...matchmaker..."

In a delightful reversal, Boris is enjoyably hammy here while Bela's performance registers delicate restraint.

[Detective Jim McLeod]

Willard (1971) was on last night and I still like it. Bruce Davison's performance is excellent and there is fine support from Sondra Locke, Elsa Lanchester and Ernest Borgnine as the boss from hell. The scenes with hordes of rats are still disturbing and will have you pulling your feet up while sitting on the couch.
Some trivia that Sven did not cover-

Two of Bruce Davison's memorable roles later on were as the suspected child molester in the film version of the Miguel Pinero play Short Eyes (1977) and Davison got an Oscar nomination for Longtime Companion (1990).

The director Daniel Mann previously directed three actresses to Oscar wins-
Shirley Booth for Come Back Little Sheba (1952)

Anna Magnani in The Rose Tattoo (1955)

Elizabeth Taylor in Butterfield 8 (1960)

[LiamCasey]

This month on Svengoolie...

2/3: Revenge of the Creature (1955) w/ John Agar, Lori Nelson, John Bromfield and Nestor Paiva. Plus Ricou Browning, Tom Hennesy and, of course, Clint Eastwood. And directed by Jack Arnold.

2/10: The Monster That Challenged the World (1957) w/ Tim Holt, Audrey Dalton and Hans Conried. And directed by Arnold Laven. Audrey Dalton! Hopefully Dargo doesn't have other plans for that evening!

2/17: Bride of Frankenstein (1935) w/ Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson, Ernest Thesiger and Elsa Lanchester. Plus Una O'Connor, E.E. Clive, O.P. Heggie, Dwight Frye, Mary Gordon, Walter Brennan and John Carradine. And directed by James Whale.

2/24: How to Make a Monster (1958) w/ Robert H. Harris, Paul Brinegar, Gary Conway and Gary Clarke.

[Swithin]

This month on Svengoolie...

2/3: Revenge of the Creature (1955) w/ John Agar, Lori Nelson, John Bromfield and Nestor Paiva. Plus Ricou Browning, Tom Hennesy and, of course, Clint Eastwood. And directed by Jack Arnold.

2/10: The Monster That Challenged the World (1957) w/ Tim Holt, Audrey Dalton and Hans Conried. And directed by Arnold Laven. Audrey Dalton! Hopefully Dargo doesn't have other plans for that evening!

2/17: Bride of Frankenstein (1935) w/ Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson, Ernest Thesiger and Elsa Lanchester. Plus Una O'Connor, E.E. Clive, O.P. Heggie, Dwight Frye, Mary Gordon, Walter Brennan and John Carradine. And directed by James Whale.

2/24: How to Make a Monster (1958) w/ Robert H. Harris, Paul Brinegar, Gary Conway and Gary Clarke.

Another great 1957 monster.

[Bronxgirl48]

The Gill Man just wants some lovin'. I agree with Marilyn in THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH. Too bad the creature couldn't have gone out with her. But then he would have run into Joe DiMaggio.

[LiamCasey]

This month on Svengoolie...

3/2: The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944) w/ Jon Hall, Evelyn Ankers, Alan Curtis, Leon Errol, John Carradine and Gale Sondergaard. And directed by Ford Beebe.

3/9: 13 Ghosts (1960) w/ Charles Herbert, Jo Morrow, Martin Milner, Rosemary DeCamp, Donald Woods and Margaret Hamilton. And directed by William Castle.

3/16: The Comedy of Terrors (1963) w/ Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Joyce Jameson, Joe E. Brown, Beverly Powers and Basil Rathbone. With screenplay by Richard Matheson. And directed by Jacques Tourneur.

3/23: Dracula (1974) w/ Jack Palance, Simon Ward, Nigel Davenport, Pamela Brown, Fiona Lewis and Penelope Horner. Plus Sarah Douglas. With screenplay by Richard Matheson. And directed by Dan Curtis.

3/30: Gargoyles (1972) w/ Cornel Wilde, Jennifer Salt, Grayson Hall, Bernie Casey and Scott Glenn.

[txfilmfan]

This month on Svengoolie...

3/2: The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944) w/ Jon Hall, Evelyn Ankers, Alan Curtis, Leon Errol, John Carradine and Gale Sondergaard. And directed by Ford Beebe.

3/9: 13 Ghosts (1960) w/ Charles Herbert, Jo Morrow, Martin Milner, Rosemary DeCamp, Donald Woods and Margaret Hamilton. And directed by William Castle.

3/16: The Comedy of Terrors (1963) w/ Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Joyce Jameson, Joe E. Brown, Beverly Powers and Basil Rathbone. With screenplay by Richard Matheson. And directed by Jacques Tourneur.

3/23: Dracula (1974) w/ Jack Palance, Simon Ward, Nigel Davenport, Pamela Brown, Fiona Lewis and Penelope Horner. Plus Sarah Douglas. With screenplay by Richard Matheson. And directed by Dan Curtis.

3/30: Gargoyles (1972) w/ Cornel Wilde, Jennifer Salt, Grayson Hall, Bernie Casey and Scott Glenn.

Between the gargoyles from the eponymous TV film and the Slezak on Land of the Lost my 6 year old brother had nightmares for weeks...

[Swithin]

This month on Svengoolie...

3/2: The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944) w/ Jon Hall, Evelyn Ankers, Alan Curtis, Leon Errol, John Carradine and Gale Sondergaard. And directed by Ford Beebe.

3/9: 13 Ghosts (1960) w/ Charles Herbert, Jo Morrow, Martin Milner, Rosemary DeCamp, Donald Woods and Margaret Hamilton. And directed by William Castle.

3/16: The Comedy of Terrors (1963) w/ Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Joyce Jameson, Joe E. Brown, Beverly Powers and Basil Rathbone. With screenplay by Richard Matheson. And directed by Jacques Tourneur.

3/23: Dracula (1974) w/ Jack Palance, Simon Ward, Nigel Davenport, Pamela Brown, Fiona Lewis and Penelope Horner. Plus Sarah Douglas. With screenplay by Richard Matheson. And directed by Dan Curtis.

3/30: Gargoyles (1972) w/ Cornel Wilde, Jennifer Salt, Grayson Hall, Bernie Casey and Scott Glenn.

I'm not sure I've seen The Invisible Man's Revenge, sounds promising, great cast. I saw 13 Ghosts as a kid, found it surprisingly boring, even in 3D. The Comedy of Terrors is fun, as I recall. Not sure I've seen that Dracula, though I do know Nigel Davenport's wife. I don't like Gargoyles, it has that cheap early '70s feel. I prefer that scariest of all the X-Files episodes: Home, to which Gargoyles bears some similarity. Though Gargoyles is not clever enough to have a limbless mother under the floorboards.

[j.lunatic]

I'm not sure I've seen The Invisible Man's Revenge, sounds promising, great cast.

The cast was good, but the structure and pacing were bizarre. I like Leon Errol in two-reel comedies but here he was all out of proportion. Ankers is strangely underused, and Sondergaard simply disappears halfway through. Director Beebe is best remembered for action-adventure serials; is there a story of how he came to direct a Universal feature? Even allowing for wartime and certain A-list directors going overseas as part of Hollywood's war effort?

I might be bitter because I liked Jon Hall in Invisible Agent 2 years earlier.

[Swithin]

I'm not sure I've seen The Invisible Man's Revenge, sounds promising, great cast.

The cast was good, but the structure and pacing were bizarre. I like Leon Errol in two-reel comedies but here he was all out of proportion. Ankers is strangely underused, and Sondergaard simply disappears halfway through. Director Beebe is best remembered for action-adventure serials; is there a story of how he came to direct a Universal feature? Even allowing for wartime and certain A-list directors going overseas as part of Hollywood's war effort?

I might be bitter because I liked Jon Hall in Invisible Agent 2 years earlier.

I agree. I watched most of it and was surprised I hadn't seen it before. Good cast, production values, odd pacing. I was distracted for a while, and when I returned, I wondered what happened to Gale Sondergaard. I thought maybe he killed her but could find no evidence of that. Not since Minerva Urecal disappeared halfway through The Living Ghost have I been so mystified by the disappearance of a major character.

I agree about Leon Errol as well. I think my favorite Leon Errol bit is his dance with Ethel Merman in We're Not Dressing (1934). As for Jon Hall, I prefer him as Ramar of the Jungle.

Director Beebe had recently directed Night Monster, perhaps why he got this gig. Late in his career, he directed many of the Bomba movies.

[TikiSoo]

Sorry I missed it. I have been working Sat/Sun until 9-10P and no longer able to watch Svengoolie's show.
13 Ghosts & Gargoyles are two of my childhood favorites, so have them on disk anyway. All I miss is hearing comments on the cast & production, although rarely revelatory.

[Hibi]

I'm not sure I've seen The Invisible Man's Revenge, sounds promising, great cast.

The cast was good, but the structure and pacing were bizarre. I like Leon Errol in two-reel comedies but here he was all out of proportion. Ankers is strangely underused, and Sondergaard simply disappears halfway through. Director Beebe is best remembered for action-adventure serials; is there a story of how he came to direct a Universal feature? Even allowing for wartime and certain A-list directors going overseas as part of Hollywood's war effort?

I might be bitter because I liked Jon Hall in Invisible Agent 2 years earlier.

I agree. I watched most of it and was surprised I hadn't seen it before. Good cast, production values, odd pacing. I was distracted for a while, and when I returned, I wondered what happened to Gale Sondergaard. I thought maybe he killed her but could find no evidence of that. Not since Minerva Urecal disappeared halfway through The Living Ghost have I been so mystified by the disappearance of a major character.

I agree about Leon Errol as well. I think my favorite Leon Errol bit is his dance with Ethel Merman in We're Not Dressing (1934). As for Jon Hall, I prefer him as Ramar of the Jungle.

Director Beebe had recently directed Night Monster, perhaps why he got this gig. Late in his career, he directed many of the Bomba movies.

I wondered that too. I missed maybe 10 mins in the middle of the film and wondered if she'd been killed off. She wasn't around in the final scene. I can't stand Leon Errol and his subplot was distracting to the overall film. Just weird.