The horror genre has lost another legend, even though most fans probably don’t know who Germán Robles ever was. But in fact, he was one the very first movie vampire to ever bare his fangs on screen! That’s right, folks, right before Hammer’s Horror of Dracula was released, a black and white film from Mexico called El Vampiro came out, which featured Robles as the dreaded Count Duval.
Monthly Archives: November 2015
Inside Hammer: Book Review
Inside Hammer
By Jimmy Sangster
Published by Reynolds & Hearn, 2001. 160 pages.
Sangster had already written autobiography, Do You Want It Good Or Tuesday?, which was very interesting, but he felt that he didn’t cover enough about Hammer that his fans probably wanted. With this new title, Sangster sticks to really what he’s famous for, and that is working with the Studio that Dripped Blood! Sangster covers every film that he worked on with the famous studio; from his first film Dick Barton Strikes Back as a lowly assistant to his last film Fear in the Night as writer, producer and director. Here are some my favorite parts of the book:
Interview: Cast of Bad Taste
Before we get to this interview, let me give a little bit of a background to it. Several years ago, I’d say around 2003 or 2004, I received an email regarding something I had mention on my site about Romero’s Dawn of the Dead. I don’t remember the exact details of it, but he said he was a huge fan of that movie, and it was signed Pete O’Herne. Now right away the name sounded a bit familiar but I couldn’t place it. But then I looked at the email address and saw that it was from New Zealand. Then it hit me. Could this be the very same Pete O’Herne that was in Peter Jackson’s crazy debut Bad Taste? After a quick follow up email, I found out it was.
Horror History – Nestor Paiva
Nestor Paiva
Born June 30th, 1905 – Died Sept. 9th, 1966
Paiva is one of those actors that might look familiar but one that you just can’t place. That might have something to do with the fact that Paiva was a great character actor who had over 300 appearances in films and TV throughout his career. He had a natural talent for dialects, so he was always playing a variety of different ethic characters, from Arabs, Spaniards, Italians, Mexicans, Russians, Greeks, and many more. In 1955 alone, he appeared in 5 feature films and 19 TV appearances. Needless to say, he was a busy man.
JAWS 2 Book Signing in Crystal Lake, IL
For those Jaws fans that live in the northwestern suburbs of Chicago, author Michael A. Smith will be doing a book signing at the My Happy Place Comic Book Store in Crystal Lake, IL, on November 28th, between 11am and 1pm. If you’re a fan of Jaws 2, then I think you’ll enjoy this book. You’ll learn a lot about the making of this film, as well as learning about the version of the film that never came to be.
For all the information, you can check out the comic book’s website HERE.
Interview: John Amplas
This interview was conducted back in October of 2008, at the Cinema Wasteland show.
Kitley’s Krypt: How did you get into acting?
John Amplas: Oh, that was a long time ago. I was ten years old and my uncle used to do community theater and they needed a kid in a play. So I did a lot of community theater when I was kid and I just kind of got the bug early on from there. In 1963, when I was a teenager, I attended the Playhouse School in Pittsburgh and did that for about 3 years. I spent 3 years in the Army after I graduated from high school, then I studied theater at the same university, then college, to become an actor. In fact, the interesting thing about that, the last production in my senior year is when George Romero came to see it, which is how I got the job to play Martin two or three months later – we started shooting in the fall of 1976. Continue reading
Mystery Photo 11-16
I have to say, I’m pretty surprised and proud to see even this many people that had sent in the correct answer, since this was another tough one. Especially with the shot that I gave you. It was from the film Curse of the Fly. Not as well known or popular as the first two in the series, and is even quite different from them. But one that I feel is still worth watching. But kudos to the following for knowing it: Hoby Abernathy, Ken Johnson, Doug Lamoreux, Gavin Schmitt, and Alan Tromp. Well done, gentlemen!
Now on to this week’s. Yes, I’m sticking with the black and white theme. No reason, other than these just happen to be the ones I’m coming up with. But take a good look and see if you can place this memorable little film. Good luck. As always, just send me an email at jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Please don’t post your answer here, so everyone has a chance.
Running Scared Book Review
Running Scared
By Phil Campbell with Brian Reynolds
Published by Peveril Publishing, 2005. 226 pages.
Every follower of this site, or anybody that has talked to me for more than 15 minutes, probably knows of my love of Paul Naschy and of Hammer Films. Okay..maybe 10 minutes. So when news of a new book coming out by Peveril Publishing that was written by someone who used to work for Hammer back in the late 60s and early 70s, I figured we’d get some good stories. Not only was I correct, but they were great stories and a wonderful insight to a different time and place in the movie industry.
The Unknown Peter Cushing Book Review
The Unknown Peter Cushing
By Michael G. McGlasson
Published by BearManor Media, 2011. 107 pages.
Could we ever have too many books on this amazingly talented actor, one that wore the title of the Gentleman of Horror with pride? I don’t think so. But the problem can be that they can often tread of the same material over and over again. I mean how different can a biography be if they are all coming from the same facts and information. But McGlasson has done something quite different here, but not necessarily a good thing. While the book looks to be about Peter Cushing, a good deal of it is actually about his ancestor’s, particularly the ones that worked in the theater, such as his grandfather Henry William Cushing. McGlasson seems to have done some extensive research in tracing back Cushing’s linage, going way back to the 1500’s, so for that we give him a lot of credit. But while this is pretty interesting stuff, only about 30 or so pages in this small book is actually about Peter Cushing himself.
Peter Cushing: A Life in Film Book Review
Peter Cushing: A Life in Film
By David Miller
Published by Titan Books, 2013. 192 pages.
Previously published in 2000 under the title The Peter Cushing Companion, this is a newly revised hardcover edition. While the text has been edited and tweaked a bit here and there, it is pretty much the same book in respect to that. But this edition is a beautiful hardcover edition that has 16 full color pages that the previous edition did not have. Sure, it would have been nice for the publishers to advertise it that way instead of making it seem like a totally new book, but none the less, it is a worthwhile book in any movie fan’s collection.
kitleyskrypt.com 