THE COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN: DAY 19

(Frightfully Freaky Films)

More goodies from Turner Classic Movies tonight and here's a quick rundown:

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19

Tod Browning plus circus side show performers equals one freaky film!

8PM -- FREAKS

But you can't wait for tonight to check it out, you say?  Want to watch it right now?  Sure, kid, enjoy the flick fer free:

Tod Browning plus Bela Lugosi and death by exsanguination equals vampiric fun!

9:15PM -- MARK OF THE VAMPIRE

Tod Browning plus little people and a revenge plot equals tiny terror!

10:30PM -- THE DEVIL DOLL

Tod Browning plus murderous magicians equals magic madness!

12AM -- MIRACLES FOR SALE

Tod Browning plus Lon Chaney minus vast majority of the actual film still equals greatness!

1:15AM -- LONDON AFTER MIDNIGHT

William Shatner versus seductive demons equals a very special Star Trek!

2:15AM -- INCUBUS

Beautiful women maiming themselves plus a stage hypnotist equals suspicion!

3:45AM -- THE HYPNOTIC EYE

Man in dog suit pretends to be family pet equals the weirdest sitcom pilot ever?

5:15AM -- ROSIE

MONSTER-MONTH: A COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN (Day 29)

Randy Quaid is the Monster our spotlight shines on tonight.  The man who brought to life such creatures as Cousin Eddie in NATIONAL LAMPOON’S VACATION pictures, Russell Casse from INDEPENDENCE DAY and FREAKS’ Elijah C. Skuggs also played the ultimate Monster in David Wickes’ adaptation of the Mary Shelley masterpiece.

Let us not forget that Randy Quaid is a brilliant actor--that he has been nominated for many awards for acting including Best Supporting Actor for THE LAST DETAIL--that he won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Made for TV Miniseries or motion picture for LBJ: THE EARLY YEARS.  He is no one trick pony and takes on as many character roles as he does leading ones.

Quaid’s Monster has what appears to be a lumpy, mostly bald skull and swirling burn scarring one side of his head and neck, with normal fleshtones.  He dresses himself in a canvas toga.  The main thing that  makes this Monster unique is that he shares a psychic link to his creator due to the nature of the creation process.  As one has experiences, the other suffers a similar, but lesser version of the same.

Patrick Bergin plays the Doctor Frankenstein, a celebrated, nearly worshipped scientist who has created a machine that he has passed himself through to create a kind of copy of himself in a brass and glass fluid-filled tank.  It’s a twisted copy and one that Frankenstein decides to give the spark of life to one evening after one of his students expresses doubts.  Victor was suffering cholera during the creation, so perhaps it explains the deformaties in the Monster.

Before the Doctor can follow, the Monster has walked out of his lab and onto the streets beyond, disappearing in a panicked sprint.  He quickly gets the experience that all of Frankenstein’s creations receive--rejection, violence and hatred.  And again, the creature gains understanding through that of a blind man.

When forced to leave the blind man he is drawn back to Frankenstein and his Elizabeth.  Tragedy ensues as it usually does.

Speaking of which, here’s the entire film divided into three parts as it aired on TNT...

FRANKENSTEIN (1992) PART 1

FRANKENSTEIN (1992) PART 2

FRANKENSTEIN (1992) PART 3

And here are the websites of note for this article:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106959/

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film--nuts-and-bolts-rick-richardson-visits-the-set-of-frankenstein-the-real-story-and-talks-monsters-with-randy-quaid-1554171.html

http://www.stopthepota.com/2009/08/frankenstein-1992-turner-tv-movie-david.html

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1993-06-13/entertainment/9301180346_1_dr-victor-frankenstein-creature-doctor

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1891&dat=19930610&id=TcIfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ONgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4516,1229555

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1993-06-12/features/1993163097_1_victor-frankenstein-1931-film-shelley

‘Frankenstein’ gained the highest ever audience ratings for TNT in the USA (72% cable audience share) and received 3 ACE nominations and 1 ACE Award.

“Nobody has ever done a Frankenstein like this one. And nobody’s ever done a better one.” CHICAGO TRIBUNE

“None of the previous Frankenstein films was as frightening as this.” WALL STREET JOURNAL

Michael Caine originally turned down the role of the Monster.

And now... this cool lamp!

MONSTER MASH MONDAYS on TCM: Countdown to Halloween (Day 3)

Monday, October 3rd begins TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES’ month long parade of horror films building up to that finale of finales, Halloween. As usual, TCM does not disappoint, starting off with a focus on the work of Stephen King, a quick jaunt into the realm of Frankensten, Freaks, Jekyll & Hyde. And then taking things past the witching hour with would-be vampires, Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu and even that romantic fellow, the Phantom.

Here’s the line-up:

OCTOBER 3
8:00 pm – A Night At The Movies: The Horrors Of Stephen King
9:00 pm – Frankenstein (1931)
10:15 pm – Freaks
11:30 pm – A Night At The Movies: The Horrors Of Stephen King
12:30 am – Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde (1932)
2:15 am – Mark Of The Vampire
3:30 am – The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari
4:45 am – Nosferatu
6:15 am – The Phantom Of The Opera (1925)

Of these films, it is FRANKENSTEIN that resonates best with your humble blogger. It is the story, a much deformed and mutated take on the source novel of Mary Shelly, but it is mostly the moving performance by Boris Karloff as the abandoned newborn monstrosity that makes the film stand out. He is innocent as the newborn babe he is and in his powerful body as dangerous as any wild animal. It is no wonder this version of the monster is the definitive one. It haunts us to this very day.


Fredric March shows great range as Jekyll/Hyde (and boy must Hyde have been a charming bastard to have even a lady of the night join him for cash).


Freaks is as compelling a revenge picture as you can find, with a more colorful cast than you'll usually see.


Mark of the Vampire is as close as we’ll come to a fully realized version of London After Midnight as that film was destroyed years ago


The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is probably the most innovative film of the silent era.


Say what you will about Lugosi’s Dracula, but Nosferatu is probably the vampire I’d least like to run into in a dark alley.


Lon Chaney was so far ahead of his time when it came to creating a look for his characters, that, in and of itself, is scary! The Phantom’s reveal is probably one of the most memorable creepy of all time.


So you really can’t go wrong tonight on TCM, unless you stay up all night and have to miss work tomorrow...