Horror History – Nestor Paiva

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nestorpaivaNestor 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.

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JAWS 2 Book Signing in Crystal Lake, IL

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Jaws 2For 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

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amplasbanner

This interview was conducted back in October of 2008, at the Cinema Wasteland show.

Kitley’s Krypt:  How did you get into acting?

martinposterJohn 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

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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.

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Running Scared Book Review

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runningscaredRunning 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.

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The Unknown Peter Cushing Book Review

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cushingunknownThe 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.

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Peter Cushing: A Life in Film Book Review

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cushinglifePeter 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.

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The Amazing Colossal World of Mr. B.I.G. – An Autobiographical Journy – Book Review

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BIGbookThe Amazing Colossal World of Mr. B.I.G. – An Autobiographical Journey
By Bert I. Gordon
Published by CreateSpace Publishing, 2009.  258 pages.

Flat out, this has to be one of the worst autobiography that I’ve ever read, and one of the most disappointing ones. Let me start off by saying that I am HUGE fan of Bert I. Gordon and his films. I loved his movies when I was younger and still can find entertainment in them today. No matter how cheesy they might seem today, they are always fun to watch. So I was very excited when he told me a few  years ago that he was working on writing his autobiography and that McFarland was gong to be putting it out. But it was a few years later when I see that it had finally come out, but that it was self-published. That should have been a clue, but I eagerly ordered it right away and dove right into it when it got here.

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Peter Cushing Autobiography Reviews

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cushingbiobookPeter Cushing: An Autobiography and Past Forgetting
By Peter Cushing
Published by Midnight Marquee, 1999.  256 pages.

Peter Cushing is probably one of the most famous British actors known for his horror roles, primarily due to his work with Hammer Films.  Though he played in countless other types of genres, he loved to give his fans what they wanted.  Turning the spotlight of Hammer’s Frankenstein films from the creature, Cushing made the doctor himself the real monster, always giving 110% to his role, making his character and the films unforgettable.

These books cover his life, his start in pictures, and his work with Hammer Films.  This book combines the two autobiographies that Cushing wrote and published, the first one An Autobiography in 1986 and the second one Past Forgetting in 1988.  The second book was done due to many people asking him why he didn’t talk a lot about his film work, especially his work with Hammer Films.

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Turkey Day Approaches

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Turkeyday2015Now that Halloween is over, there is something even scarier lurking on the horizon. Something so horrible, that it is rumored to rip the will to live right from your soul. No, I’m not talking about the Christmas shopping season, but Turkey Day! For the last 12 years, on the day after Thanksgiving, while many are out there fighting one another for to save a few $$ for the upcoming commercial holiday, a few of us brave souls take on something even more terrifying…the Cinematic Turkey! But this is one feast where gluttony is not only approved, but mandatory!

Each year now, we have traversed through an array of cinematic shipwrecks, usually getting through seven features, that most would shake their hand at and not waste their time. But for us, we revel in these miss-fires of film making, at least for the day. Continue reading →