In May of 2015, we started our official Turkey Day in May proceedings and now 5 years later, on Saturday, May 11th, the fun continued! While we did have a few people that weren’t able to make it out for the T-Day celebrations, we did have more than enough to partake in the food and fun. The usual suspects were Aaron Christensen, Adam Rockoff, Neil Calderone, Brian Fukala, and Matt Harding, with Gregg Olheiser and Alan Tromp making this their second time out for the festivities. This time though, Gregg brought his lovely wife Jill along too for her first time! Our buddy Gavin Schmitt, traveling all the way from the land of cheese (aka Wisconsin), made it out for his first T-Day experience. As the famous TCM tag line says, “Who Will Survive and What Will Be Left of Them?”

Of course, no report about our bi-annual movie screenings could go on without a mention about the amazing food produced in the kitchen by two of the best cooks around (mainly because I live with both of them): my wife Dawn and son Nick. Once again, they cranked out an amazing array of pizzas throughout the day. I know I’ve mentioned over the years some of the incredible pies that they make, but I figured this year it would be better just to show you, so you can see for yourself the gluttony that goes on here. Because at the end of the night, most all of these were gone. FYI…I will rent them out for parties. Just contact me!

So let’s get to the other feasting of the day…the TURKEYS!

12 to the Moon (1960) – Our first movie of the day had the lowest rating on IMDB of the lot, with only a 2.9, which I have to say I think it way too low. Sure, not a great film, but fun and more entertaining than such a low rating. The story is about a spaceship travelling to the moon with 12 astronauts, each one from a different country, so the moon can be claim as a whole by the International Space Order, not by just one country. Once they reach the moon, they run into different hazards, such as sand pits, while they also realize that they might not be alone.

It was a lot of fun here watching the different actors struggling with their different accents! Plus, seeing B-Movie regular Tom Conway as a Russian scientist was great, especially when he reaches out to some molten fluid pouring from a moon rock, only to burn the shit out of his hands! Then later one when he gets into a fight, he strikes out with his hand only to howl in pain! And then does it again! Director David Bradley only directed a few movies, ending his career on low note by directing They Saved Hitler’s Brain (1968). Seeing some of the production design, such as the lounge chairs used for their seats to ride in during takeoff, was a real hoot. Or whoever designed their suits definitely added some flair to them!

Konga (1961) – Any movie that features Michael Gough, no matter the role or capacity, it is worth watching. When he’s the star though, as well as playing a maniacal doctor or scientist, or even zoo keeper, then the film is just a must see. Gough chews the scenery like no others and seems to just relish in it, making his performances so entertaining. In this film, he plays a botanist who was thought to have died in a plane crash in Africa, returns a year later, surprising everyone. He brings back with him a little chimpanzee named Konga, along with some new plants and discoveries about enlarging plants. He plans to use these discoveries on Konga. The result is larger than life, as you can see on the poster!

Aside from Gough having a great old time, with these large Venus fly trap looking plants, once Konga moves from real chimpanzee to a man in a gorilla suit, that is where the fun starts. The look in the large Konga’s eyes is just a riot, as he does whatever Gough tells him to do. Some of the process shots, especially at the end, are quite dated and cheesy, but still fun. Produced by Herman Cohen, it definitely is a fun little flick and worth seeking out.

Hands of a Stranger (1962) – I stumbled upon this title when I was having a little Mad Love (1935) film fest earlier this year. I had just viewed the Lorre flick and The Hands of Orlac (1960), when I realized I had another variation of this tale, not to mention one that I don’t even remember adding to the movie library! For me, the best part of the film is the acting. Not that it is Oscar worthy, but that just about everyone one screen is trying for that gold statue, even Laurence Haddon who plays the cop investigating the what happened to a murder victim’s hands shortly after he arrived dead at the hospital. Kudos also to director/co-writer Newt Arnold and writer Maurice Renard for giving these actors such wonderful lines of dialogue that seem to go on forever!

The famous young pianist Vernon Paris is involved in a car accident where his hangs were mangled beyond repair. Dr. Gil Harding, played so intensely by Paul Lukather, decides to take the strong hands of a murder victim that had just came in and replacing the bloody mess that used to be the hands of Paris. Because this is a horror film, Paris, played by James Noah, can’t seemed to handle the fact that these aren’t his hands and goes off the deep end. Breaking from the usual theme of having “evil hands”, no information is really given as to who it was the hands came from. But again, we’re not watching this for originality or even the story, but the stellar performances and very wordy dialogue that flows through the pictures running time!

Frankenstein ’80 (1972) – Now I’m am a fan of Italian sleaze and have a soft spot for this title, mainly because this was one of those hard-to-find titles back in the VHS days (when we were more wanting the movie, not just to have the VHS tape). But I would still have a hard time arguing against any criticism towards this movie! It’s not a good film. Yes, it does have some nudity and gore, but the film print is so dark that neither can be really seen enough to enjoy. Although, even though the makeup effects were done by Carlo Rambaldi, they are not the best of his work. When pulling out an organ out of a stomach, it is painfully obviously they are pulling it from off to the side. The creature is a mixture of scars, stitches, and a lot of grunting, all the while looking for hookers to have sex with. Granted, if/when this ever gets a 4K scan Blu-ray release, I’ll be first in line ordering a copy! And you have to give kudos to whoever designed the VHS cover, because at least he used something for the movie!

Gordon Mitchell, ex-muscle man who made his name making sword and sandal flicks in the ’60s, dropped the muscles and became a heavy in more than a few Italian westerns and exploitation films. Here he plays Dr. Otto Frankenstein, who just trying to help his creature get better since its body keeps rejecting the different parts and organs it has. Not sure who was in charge of the good doctor’s hair, but it looks worse than the creature’s face! Mario Mancini directed this mess, which figures since this was the only film he directed. He worked as a cinematographer on such classics like Frankenstein’s Castle of Freaks (1974) and King of Kong Island (1968). I think I just added two more titles for some future T-Days…

Terror in the Midnight Sun (1959) – This little beauty was a real treat. Made in Sweden, featuring most of a regional cast, the film starts out with what is thought to be a meteor crashing but is in fact a spaceship. After it lands, we sprnd what seems to be the next 45 minutes watching people decide they need to go investigate and traveling to the spot where it landed. During that time, we get plenty of skiing, a shower scene with some shots damn near close to nudity which was pretty surprising for that time. Maybe in Sweden that was a little more tolerable? But while the scientists are trying to figure out what is going on, we have a huge wooly beast of a creature attacking a cabin and some of the locals. Not sure who designed the monster costume but major kudos to him because it was original looking and very impressive. Sure, it’s a distant cousin to the Yeti, but it was shot quite well with the undersized sets. Before long, the aliens seemed to have enough of the planet and take off. End of story.

Directed by Virgil W. Vogel, who had directed The Mole People (1956) and The Land Unknown (1957), he gave us something different, being well shot, and a lot of fun. The main female lead, Barbara Wilson, appeared in a few other genre features, such as Blood of Dracula (1957), The Man Who Turned to Stone (1957), The Flesh Eaters (1964). Same goes with Robert Burton, who plays her uncle in the film. You’ll recognize him as Whit Bissell’s assistant in I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957) and in The Slime People (1963).

Now, this film is also known as Invasion of the Animal People, which is the title given by notorious produce Jerry Warren, who liked to pick up features, add new footage, change the dialogue, and pretty much reassemble it to a mess of a production. This one is no different, that has a long opening with John Carradine giving viewers a lot of science mumbo-jumbo before getting to the movie. Watch the original version. That’s all you need.

The Carrier (1988) – This low budget film made in Michigan shows that no matter how much money you have, if you have something original, you’ve got more than most of Hollywood. A young man in a small town discovers that is the carrier of a deadly disease. It doesn’t do anything to him but any object he touches now becomes infected. Then when someone else then touches that object, they are start to become absorbed or melt into the object. But nobody knows who is doing this so the town becomes separated into to two groups fighting each other. Everyone covers themselves with plastic garbage bags to keep them from touching anything deadly.

The reason this is a Turkey Day title is that while the film is original, the dialogue is a blast. There are more than a few lines that are not only memorable, but am amazed I have never seen them on a shirt or something. Plus, there is the toughest little kid in this movie that seems to have blood of ice. After he gets caught by the opposing group and is about to be stabbed, he looks up at them coldly tells them they better not miss! Roy Asheton, who appears as one of the townspeople, was in the previous T-Day film Frostbiter. According to the IMDB credits, Bruce Campbell worked in the Sound Department on this production.

Dinner with a Vampire (1989) – Our last film of the day came all the way from Italy from the one and only Lamberto Bava. A few years ago, we screened Bava’s Graveyard Disturbances (1988), another TV movie he made the year before Dinner. While the story and acting wasn’t the greatest, the set and production design was amazing. Same story here with Dinner. The look of the crypts, the makeup effects on the vampire is just stunning. But once again, the acting and story is just damn silly.

George Hilton, known for the few giallos he made, appears here as Jurek, the centuries old vampire that has now become a famous horror film director, brings in people to his castle under the guises of being in his new movie. When in reality, he just wants one of them to kill him and end his years of loneliness and suffering. His hunchback butler, who is trying really hard to be like Marty Feldman, had his voiced dubbed by Nick Alexander. If you’ve watched your share of Italian films, you’ll recognize this voice, such as dubbing Al Cliver in Fulci’s Zombie (1979).

Co-written by Dardano Sacchetti and with special visual effects by Sergio Stivaletti, and with Bava behind the camera, one would think we could get something with a little more… bite. But I’m afraid not. I would recommend watching this just for the look of it, which is awesome. But be prepared for some really bad characters and acting.

Well, that concludes our report for this year’s Turkey Day in May. I hope you enjoyed it and even more hopes that it inspires you to hold your own Turkey Day marathon. Black Friday is only six months away. No better time to start planning than now! See you in six month.