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Contents include The Laughter of Silents by Steven Thornton; Lionel Atwill's Serial Adventures by Todd M. Gault; Alfred Hitchcock's Saboteur by Mark Clark; Ronald Reagan and Casablanca: Debunking the Myth by Carl Schultz; Robert Lees (1912-2004) A Tribute by Jeff Miller; The DVDs are Afoot: The Sherlock Holmes Collection by Gary J. Svehla; Mad About Movies DVD Reviews

While the horror films of the silent era influenced the look of all the genre films to come, very little is written about this period in cinematic history and most fans can only name a handful of these Silent Screams. Author, screenwriter, director Steve Haberman offers a fascinating examination of these ground-breaking films including famous titles such as Metropolis, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Phantom of the Opera and not-so-famous such as The Cat and the Canary, The Magician and Haxan.

This issue, Midnight Marquee #77, offers two feature articles. One a “Forum/Against ’Em” analysis of the James Whale Universal classic The Invisible Man, with many arguing it remains the best film that Whale directed and features the best use of humor in classic horror cinema. Unfortunately, I argue that the film is the most overrated of the classic Universal canon and that its overuse of special effects and silly humor ruins what could have been the classic horror movie that many people consider it to be. And secondly, to add a contrasting 1950s touch, we feature a detailed analysis of The Deadly Mantis that makes the strong case that this generally disparaged or ignored giant bug epic is one of the finest examples of the genre. And yes, we have oodles of DVD and book reviews to fill out the remainder of the issue.

Drums of the Lost Gods is a thrilling cliffhanger, set in South America, in the turbulent 1930s. An ill-assorted band of adventurers follows a nameless river into the sacred mountains and steaming jungles of a Lost World, in search of ancient civilizations and vanished cities of gold. An uneasy alliance of mercenaries and hoodlums trades shots with river pirates and ferocious cannibals and then turns on each other, their ambitions perverted by lust and greed. Soldiers-of-fortune spar with Amazon warrior women, while hapless missionaries try to teach the natives how to play cricket. A debutante duels to the death with a gangster's moll. Warriors of antiquity wage war against a robot army from outer space!

A&C meet Frankenstein is in production and there's strange doings afoot at Universal: a phantom arsonist and an escaped Nazi scientist are on the loose and will kill to keep their secrets. Karloff and Rathbone are keeping a secret from Lugosi, and he doesn't like it one bit! Lugosi enlists the aid of Lou Costello as his Watson. They soon cross paths with wolf man Lon Chaney, Jr., monster man Glenn Strange, and mysterious beauty Lenore Auber. It isn't long before Lugosi and Costello uncover the shocking secret behind...the House of Doom.

If you are a typical movie fanboy, you will love this trivia book. To find out for sure, take the following quiz: You might be a fanboy or fangirl and like this book if you can match the following... Match the question with the answer: 1. My partner doesn t mind my Monster Obsession because... 2. Everyone should have four copies of their favorite horror film because... 3. Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff should have received 4. You should buy 2 copies of every book and magazine because... 5. Everyone knows Monster models and collectibles are... Match with the Above: A. An Academy Award B. Action figures NOT dolls C. One to be locked in my fireproof safe and one to read D. It keeps me off the streets E. Each version has a one second difference between the VHS, Laser Disc, DVD and DVD Director s Cut

It is 1938 and there is murder afoot on the set of Son of Frankenstein Boris Karloff has been framed for murder! He joins forces with Basil Rathbone, in full Sherlockian mode, and a gleeful Bela Lugosi. It s a case of the legends of horror meet the three stooges as our daring heroes search for a missing movie mogul and end up crossing swords with the Hollywood Mob.

Catherine Cat Warburton is the black sheep of a rich and powerful family, living on the West Coast. Blonde and beautiful, her interests are Soul music, guns and fast cars. When she is not hanging out at the beach, Cat goes undercover for a highly secret private agency, as a daring crime fighter.The scene shifts swiftly: from the riot-torn ghetto to glittering yachts and penthouses; from steamy discos to lonely motel rooms and small-town bars; the endless highway and the baking desert. After a close encounter with a gang of drug pushers, the Agency orders Cat to take a vacation. She takes off down Route 66, into the desert, intending to find rest and recreation with her rich Uncle and his hippy colony. Cat s holiday turns into a nightmare. A weird, way-out roller-coaster ride of strange excitements, peril and adventure. Her lurid escapades escalate at a blistering pace, as-aided and abetted by Soul Sister Selena and the exotic Aiko-she tackles rednecks and Black Militants; pimps and pushers; crooked cops; secret armies; and an invasion from Outer Space!

For many horror film fans, the name Lucio Fulci conjures images of gore and depravity. Derided by critics as a hack and an imitator and lionized by others as the “Godfather of Gore,” Fulci remains a polarizing and controversial figure. However, many fans are unaware of the scope and breadth of his filmography. From his early days writing material for popular comics like Totò and Franco and Ciccio to directing films in such genres as the musical and the Spaghetti Western, Lucio Fulci was a filmmaker of great diversity. When he attained international notoriety with the release of his gory epic ZOMBIE, Fulci already had years of experience in the film industry; that film’s success established him as one of Italy’s premier masters of the macabre and he would continue to shock and delight fans until shrinking budgets and failing health began to compromise some of his later work. When he died in 1996, he was on the cusp of a major comeback, but in the years following his death the cult surrounding his legacy has continued to grow. Unfortunately, most studies of Fulci and his work have elected to focus only on a small part of his career. SPLINTERED VISIONS changes all of that by providing an in-depth exploration of Fulci’s filmography, beginning with his work as a screenwriter and extending through all of his films as a director. The popular horror films and thrillers are given ample coverage, but the lesser-known works are finally put into their proper context. Author Howarth provides a detailed portrait of a complex man using newly conducted interviews with actors such as Richard Johnson and Franco Nero, which allows the reader a sense of who the director was and how he worked. The end result is the most comprehensive overview of Fulci, the man and Fulci, the filmmaker that has been published in English—making SPLINTERED VISIONS a cause for celebration among serious Fulci fans. The book is also lavishly illustrated with a number of rare stills, posters and advertising materials.

Midnight Marquee is pleased to present the second entry in the MidMar Actors Series. This revised volume features in-depth analyses of 30 of the films that helped create the legend of Boris Karloff. Arsenic and Old Lace Before I Hang Behind the Mask The Black Cat Black Friday The Black Room The Body Snatcher Bride of Frankenstein British Intelligence Charlie Chan at the Opera The Climax Comedy of Terrors Corridors of Blood Devil's Island Die, Monster, Die! Frankenstein Frankenstein 1970 The Haunted Strangler House of Frankenstein Invisible Menace The Lost Patrol The Man Who Changed His Mind The Man They Could Not Hang The Man With Nine Lives The Mask of Fu Manchu The Mummy The Old Dark House Scarface Targets The Walking Dead West of Shanghai

Carla Laemmle has led numerous lives during her 90 plus years. She appeared with Lon Chaney in The Phantom of the Opera, as was a passenger in the coach traveling the Borgo Pass in 1931's Dracula. This bio presents an intriguing portrait of a life lived in the strange place that is Hollywood.

Jack Lane, the Brown Derby's resident caricaturist, has written this book which brings to life the charisma, the glamour, the happiness and the tears that made the Brown Derby a true Hollywood legend. Jack traces the "growing up" of both Hollywood and the Derby down through the years. He shares many anecdotes of the stars' antics as well as events that occurred in Hollywood and especially the Brown Derby. His caricatures of stars such as Bob Hope, George Burns, Cary Grant, Carol Burnett, Gene Autry, Lucille Ball and many other stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood are beautifully reproduced.

Alfred Hitchcock's comments in his frequent interviews have encouraged many critics to assume that the director's true career began in 1934 with The Man Who Knew Too Much, the first in a long, almost unbroken string of thrillers. Then, having defined Hitchcock as a specialist, these critics select from his earlier work only those films that anticipate his later career: The Lodger (1927), Blackmail (1929), Murder! (1930), and Number Seventeen (1932). Such a perspective, mired in the confidence of hindsight, results in a highly misleading view of the director, one that dismisses his 12 other early features-eight silent and four sound-and implies that he was merely marking time until his "true" creative personality emerged. Hitchcock was, in fact, a major director from the very start of his career in 1925 and for 10 years he made substantial, mature features that reveal an impressive consistency in content and form. This book examines those all important films.

Fear of the dark, fear of death, fear of the unknown and the unseen. Commentators have analyzed at length these terrors of the psyche and how they figure prominently in the horror film. But one particular fear, one particular fate worse than death, which manifests itself time and again, has rarely been discussed in detail or depth. Loss of identity, submergence of self, death of the soul under various names and in various guises befalls individuals trapped in a horror/sf/fantasy universe. You re Next provides an examination of the ways in which this fundamental terror is visited upon people in the movies and what it does to them and provides a new perspective on and greater understanding of the films that employ it, and perhaps this book will lead to a deeper appreciation of what it means to be human and why losing that defining aspect of our lives is so profoundly frightening.

Waddell spent years interviewing the cutting-edge horror filmmakers featured in Minds of Fear. Exclusive commentary from horrormeisters such as John Landis, David Cronenberg, Wes Craven, Bill Condon, Scott Spiegel, Herschell Gordon Lewis, Tobe Hooper, Guillermo Del Toro, Bob Clark, Sean Cunningham, David Naughton, Chuck Russell, Jack Sholder, Lewis Teague and many others offers readers an in-depth look at 30 modern horror film classics.

This book is the first to cover Frank Sinatra's film career thoroughly and prove that, indeed, he was one of America's finest screen performers. But it also goes beyond that, situating Sinatra's film work within the context of his entire career: His recordings are examined in detail to show how his musical and cinematic talents were inextricably linked. And not only did Sinatra sing in many of his films, he also waxed scores of songs that originally had been written for Hollywood productions. To appreciate Sinatra the actor, one first must grasp Sinatra the singer, for his talents in both areas evolved hand in hand. Moreover, this "dual career" must be situated within the context of his 82-year life: One cannot fathom Sinatra's talent either as a vocalist or actor without having a good handle on what made him tick-and most of the published biographies simply "don't grab it." His social and political values are covered at some length. To understand many of his films-particularly those he influenced, produced and directed-one must be aware of his beliefs and actions, particularly those during the mid-1940s and his later friendship and support of John F. Kennedy (which had effect on the production of Robin and the 7 Hoods [1964], here told accurately for the first time). The Cinema of Sinatra offers readers a detailed look into the cinematic career of one of our most enduring entertainers.

Funerals; for most of us the trappings of the funeral parlor andthe finality of the cemetery commemorates the end, but for anactor like Armand Tesla, who was best remembered for his vampireroles, a funeral is only the beginning. Armand Tesla was tobe buried in his vampire costume, but obviously the aged star ofstage and screen horror was not yet ready to ring down the finalcurtain. No, it would not be nearly so easy to bury such a restlesscorpse. So be prepared for a case of a body that won't stay putand the tale of a struggling young movie director with more ambitionthan talent who turns up missing at the vampire's last bow.Indeed, my friends, this will prove to be just the kind of case thatonly a psychic Hollywood detective like Charles Criswell King,aided by Famous Monster Forrest J Ackerman, can solve. So,gentle reader, be prepared for a tale of creaking doors and emptycoffins, of gunshots in the night and damsels in distress, all part of"The Vampire's Tomb Mystery."

Italian horror film actor Giovanni Lombardo Radice shares insider details of his long career in this autobiography filled with compassion, irony, wit and humor, as well as over 150 photos from his film roles and personal life. Giovanni chose a life in show business over intellectual pursuits, becoming the black sheep in his aristocratic Italian family. As with most actors, Giovanni faced periods of film success and periods of unemployment and economic uncertainty. He went from the stage to television and films. The films saved him from financial disasters and tossed him into the world of graphic horror-B movies. Giovanni, known as Johnny to friends and fans, talks about the start of his career on stage, where he progressed from acting to directing and becoming an artistic director for regional theater. He also worked on television where he acted and was also a screenwriter. This fascinating autobiography recounts work with famed genre directors such as Deodato, Margheiti, Fulci, Lenzi, Bava and Argento. He candidly relates stories of the cast and crews he worked with, as well as delving into his uncommon private life including his bisexuality, marriage, son, drug use and a secret love affair that spanned almost 50 years.

The modern Western is so intent on portraying the West as it really was that the end product comes across as a tedious, dimly photographed exercise in grime, gloom and doom. Westerns of the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s may not have been entirely accurate in their depiction of the Old West, but they moved like wildfire and entertained prewar and postwar audiences by the millions. Sadly, the classic American Western no longer exists-where good guys were good and bad guys were bad. The great Western hero actors of the past have holstered their six-shooters and ridden off into the fading sunset. Author Atkinson looks at the Western career of four of Hollywood's often overlooked cowpokes: Randolph Scott, Audie Murphy, Joel McCrea and George Montgomery, What these hombres have left behind is a vast body of work that continues to bring pleasure and enjoyment to many, many fans of a certain age, and may even garner a few younger devotees.

A philosophical treatise involving the meaning of life and whether life is worth all the pain and heartbreak it entails. By the compelling conclusion, the author introduces his Cure All for finding the true meaning of our existence.

This book is for all those Monster Kids who remember those long weekdays anxiously awaiting the weekend and the thrills and chills of another monster movie-brought to them courtesy of their local horror host. Inside you will find a celebration of local TV personalities and their intimate, inspirational connection to the community. With corporate ownership of media poised to snuff the last struggling ember of local broadcast identity, it's more important than ever to remember a time when the person on that television screen was a neighbor, someone who said your name on the air, read your letter, showed your artwork, announced your birthday, made you laugh and showed you really cool monster movies. Hopefully these interviews will bring back a few happy memories of those golden days of our lost youth. Interviews include: Vampira,Zacherley,Dr. E. Nick Witty, Baron Daemon. Big Chuck, Tim Conway, Lil' John, Christopher Coffin, Chilly Billy,Bob Wilkins and Bob Shaw,Count Gore De Vol, Svengoolie, The Ghoul, Dr. Creep,Fritz the Nite Owl,Son of Svengoolie, Crematia Mortem, Stella,Commander USA, Son of Ghoul, Joe Bob Briggs, Zomboo, Balrok

In Celluloid Adventures: Good Movies Bad Timing, films were discussed that had received scathing reviews and were considered box-office bombs. All fell within various categories. Entries included titles from the Tarzan and James Bond series, along with Westerns, Wyatt Earp movies and Hammer horror-all resurrected from diverse levels of oblivion in an attempt to correct critical injustice. In this volume, individual movies are presented and represent a wide range of genres including Westerns, science fiction, film noir, spy films, historical epics, suspense, social message movies and spiritual dramas. All of these titles share the stigma of being failures or disappointments at the box office. But these films deserved a better fate at the time of their release, and hopefully this volume will garner them a little of the respect they so richly deserve. Titles include: Pitfall, In a Lonely Place, Try and Get Me! (aka The Sound of Fury), The Egyptian, The Last Hunt, The Singer Not the Song, The Last Sunset, Cape Fear, First Men in the Moon, The Chase, The Quiller Memorandum

This graphic novel, based on Spawn of Skull Island: The Making of King Kong, details the real-life exploits of daredevil filmmakers Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack. The graphic novel begins with their heroic WWI adventures, their quest to film sights never been seen by civilization and continues with the filming of the remarkable documentary Grass and their first feature film The Four Feathers.

For a brief period in the mid-1960s, the whole world went spy crazy. From Sri Lanka to Poland, from the US to India, cinemas were filled with the exploits of suave secret agents, glamorous femmes fatales and increasingly demented villains. The symbols and images of the genre permeated advertisements, pulp novels and television series as well. No suburban dinner party was complete without a discussion of the latest escapades of a Bond, a Bulldog Drummond or a Harry Palmer. The intention of this book is to examine the more obscure cinematic manifestations of sixties spy mania. Though these films may be almost entirely forgotten today, they were literally everywhere at the time. With the sorry state of the world, what better time than today to delve into the life of a super-slick secret agent? Someone who understands the games that nations are playing, someone who can process incoming information and control-rather than be controlled by-situations. Someone who is backed up by the might of military hardware and brainpower. Someone who can charm the chicks and beat up the bad guys. This is the import of the secret agent: In a world of profound flux, we need the anchor of a hero who is able to do something about the things that we, frankly, have no power over. That, of course, and the fact that the films are bloody good fun.

Fantastic Journeys is comprised of FANEX film convention guest talks and question and answer sessions, which were held over the past 16 years. We have also included lists of Top 5 Sci-Fi Faves contributed by our loyal readers and writers, along with our own series of sci-fi lists. Ray Harryhausen, John Agar, Samuel Z. Arkoff, Richard Gordon, Acquanetta, Russell Johnson, Robet Wise and Kevin McCarthy are some of the sci-fi masters whose genre movie memories are included in this tribute to sci-fi films, past and present. We also include our Favorite Science Films by Decade, plus much more. Reading this loving sci-fi movie tribute will inspire you to reach for those dusty DVDs and rewatch your favorite out-of-this-world movie favorites.

Writers defend horror films that have been trashed by film critics and horror film fans. Titles covered include Maniac (1934), Sh! The Octopus, Voodoo Man, Unknown Island, Scared Stiff, Indestructible Man, Rodan, The Tingler, Flesh Eaters, When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, King Kong (1976) and Dune.

Issue 76 of Midnight Marquee features Forum/Against Em - Psycho Halloween: Slicing and Dicing the Urban Legend by Daniel J. Graffeo Jamie Lee Curtis and the Virginity Myth by Mark Allan Gunnells Plan 9 From Outer Space: Why the Plan Worked by Carl Schultz and over 50 pages of DVd reviews