Author Archives: Jon Kitley

Turkey Day in May 2017 – The “Best Of”

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bloodfreak1

For our third year of doing our newer T-Day event in May, I decided to do something a little different. Since there have been quite a few movies screened over the last fourteen years, I know there were more than a few that some of the other participates had missed. So we decided to do a Best Of this time out. I sent out the list of all the movies that had been screen previously, and had everyone pick three titles they’d like to see in the lineup.  There were six films that got more than one vote, so we went with those. I know we usually try to get through seven titles, but this year was a little different and a little more relaxed.

Turkey Day in May 2017

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Book Review: Bela Lugosi & Boris Karloff

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Lugosi Karloff

Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff: The Expanded Story of a Haunting Collaboration By Gregory William Mank Published by McFarland, 2009. 701 pages

If you don’t want to read our whole review, then to put it as simply as we can get: Buy this book.

Originally published in 1990, under the title Karloff and Lugosi: The Story of a Haunting Collaboration, it was almost ten years later when Mank released a massively updated and revised version in 2009. So much time had passed since its first publication, where he had interviewed so many more people, giving him even more information and stories about Lugosi and Karloff, that he felt the need to update this book. And I’m so glad he did, since it was one of the most enjoyable, enlightening, and entertaining books that I’ve read in a long time. Really an essential volume for any monster kid.

I have to give Mank credit for not just updating this book because of new interviews and information, but to correct a few things, namely stories about Hope Lugosi, the last true “Bride of Dracula”, who in the past was not treated well by the media and journalists, including himself. But after interviewing her and getting to know her, he wanted to make sure that her side of the story was out there. So for that, I give him a lot of credit for wanting to make sure it was heard.

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Monster Bash Approaches

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In three weeks, we will be heading out to Mars, PA for the annual Monster Bash Conference, and needless to say, we’re pretty excited. This show is the farthest distance that we travel which is why it took us so long before we decided to finally take the plunge. Now I only regret not starting going sooner.

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Cinevent Part 3: Writers, Writers, Everywhere!

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At one point during the first day of the show, a gentleman walked up to my table and we started chatting…the usual stuff, movies, posters, and such. We were talking about the classic Universal monster films and some of the posters for them. I mentioned that I would be scared to death to own something like one of those, just because of the value, I’d be terrified that something would happen to it. He mentioned that some time ago, he had purchased an original one-sheet for The Invisible Man, but had to get rid of it for that same reason. Then he mentions that he put out a book some time ago called Children of the Night, which was a book on movie posters. Of course, I have that book in my library, which I quickly told him, which made him smile even more! His name is James Gresham and is a super nice guy and such a pleasure to chat with. Children came out in 2007 and is a comprehensive guide to classic horror posters, lobby cards, and other items. For someone like me that will never be able to afford these kind of items, it is a great way to at least be able to see some of them and the beautiful artwork. He followed up this book in 2010 with They’re Here Already, which is the same kind of book, but covers the science fiction films of the 1950s. Again, so much fun to look through. These are both beautiful hardcover edition books that are a bit pricey but well worth the money if you are a fan of this kind of poster art.James Gresham Continue reading →

Taschen’s Horror Cinema

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Back in 2008, Horror Cinema was published by Taschen, in a large hardcover edition, filled with some amazing color and black & white photos, with the famous shot of Jack Nicholson’s face looking through the broken door from The Shining. There were ten different chapters, covering subjects such as Slashers & Serial Killers, Science-Fiction Horror, Voodoo, Vampires & Werewolves, and many more. Each section had a little bit of history on that particular subject surrounded by some wonderful imagery. Slightly larger than 9×11 in size, at a 192 pages, this is a great little coffee table style book. Then in 2012, they re-issued it, in a slightly larger size, but with the cover having Klaus Kinski and Isabelle Adjani from Nosferatu the Vampyre(1979). The content was still the same.

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Cinevent: Part 2 – The Dealer’s Room & Fantastic Finds

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Now, before you get all excited and run out to this show, let’s cover a few things first. The prices on some of the items you’ll find run the spectrum. Some dealers will have a table full of one-sheets or stills with a big sign stating “$1 EACH”. Of course, you have to go through each and every stack because you never know if you’re going to come across a real gem in there! You just never know. I have to say from experience, after that first stack, your back is killing you and you start to wonder if it is even worth it! But $1 posters is hard to pass up.

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On the other end of that, you have some dealers with items on the slightly high side. You have to remember that these are original pieces of film memorabilia, which can go for big bucks. Such as an insert for the 1951 film Them!, which had a price tag of $1000. Or even a lobby card for the 1957 film Curse of the Demon that was going for $650…just for the single card! There are posters and even the bigger 3-sheet kind of stuff, but those are so high that I don’t even ask. I’m not saying that these are overpriced, but those are the going rates. You need to be a dealer/collector with some serious cash to be playing in that field, one that I know I never will.

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Mystery Photo 6-5

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Happy Monday, Everyone! Let’s not waste any time and get right to what you’re here for! Our photo from last week was from a film that is sadly missing from any DVD or Blu-ray release, though I’ve been told for the last decade it seems that “its coming”, but we’ll just have to wait and see. But the film of which I speak of is the 1987 slimy monster flick The Kindred. If you can find a copy, I’d definitely check it out. Lots of great old fashion rubber monster effects that are pretty damn cool. Kudos out to Gary Miller and William Wilson for sending in the correct answer.

So for this week’s photo, we’re going old school once again. You know I just love an old black and white classic flick…just does something for me. But take a peek at it and see what you can come up with.

Please remember not to post your answers here, but send them in an email to jon@kitleyskrypt.com. Good luck!

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Cinevent Classic Film Convention – Part 1

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Cinevent logoOut of all the cons that we set up each year, there is none that we do  that is quite like Cinevent. By that statement, I don’t mean that it is better or worse than the rest of them, just completely different. This show is like stepping back in time, to an era when conventions where just about memorabilia. A place where movie fans would go hoping to find some new pieces for their collections. Or spend time in the movie room where there is a constant stream of movies being screened on 16mm. The only thing that you paid for was to get into the show and then whatever you were buying from the dealers. There were posters, pressbooks, stills, lobby cards, soundtracks, books, and of course, movies, but in many different formats from 8mm, 16mm, to VHS. Today at this show, it is still the same. Cinevent has been around longer than any con that I know of, with next year being their 50th anniversary. So the fact that they have been going for 5 decades is pretty damn impressive. You won’t see the huge crowds here like at the bigger shows. But with the several hundred people that do come through the door, it is definitely worth it for us to come back each year.

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More Naschy Blu-ray!

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Frankenstein's blood terror bluraySuch a great time to be a Naschy fan, or if you’re not, a great time to start! Having just received my copies of Mondo Macabro’s Inquisition and Scream Factory’s Paul Naschy Collection, we know the Year of Naschy will continue. Code Red had already announced titles like Mummy’s Revenge and Assignment Terror. But now, they have recently announced that they will also be releasing the first movie starring everyone favorite werewolf, Waldemar Daninsky, the 1968 film Frankenstein’s Bloody Terror! Okay, the original title is La Marca del Hombre Lobo, but most American fans first discovered this movie under the title Frankenstein’s Bloody Terror, after Sam Sherman came up with that moniker to sell it as a Frankenstein film, even though there isn’t nothing close to that character in the film! But I digress….

Code Red has announced that this new print will be from a brand new 2k scan and will be the uncut international version, not the edited American version. So once again, I will be more than happy to upgrade to Blu-ray to show my support of Naschy’s work, what companies like Code Red are doing to keep these films (and the people that made them) alive! And you should do the same! By buying this release, the fans are showing that we will support this kind of entertainment, than some of the dreck that is coming out of Hollywood these days that they are trying to pas off as quality horror entertainment.

Vive vivo Paul Naschy!

American Gothic – Revised & Updated!

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american gothic - updated

This October, Jonathon Rigby gives us an updated version of his 2007 book American Gothic, which has been long out of print. But now, in a version that has been “extensively revised and expanded”, as well as being released for the first time in hardcover, you will be able to add this essential volume to your library.

This 400 page book from Signum covers the Hollywood Horror history from the beginnings in the 19th century to covering six decades of gothic horror films, from Universal, to Warner Bros., M-G-M, and beyond. If you never got around to picking up the original version, now is your chance to get an even better version.

Of course, if you haven’t gotten around to picking up Rigby’s other two volumes, English Gothic and Euro Gothic, well…what are you waiting for? You can pre-order it now through Amazon.