David McCallum – Rest in Peace

September 26, 2023 by Jon Kitley in Rest in Peace and tagged David McCallum, Frankenstein: The True Story, Night Gallery, She Waits, The Invisible Man, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Outer Limits, The Watcher in the Woods | Leave a comment

We read the news last night that we had lost another icon, not only film, but especially television, the great David McCallum. Probably best known for two roles on a TV series, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. from 1964 to 1968, and over 3 decades later, appearing in the hit TV show NCIS (2003-2023) for 2 decades! But to us horror fans, while he may not have appeared in a ton of shows, he was there. He appeared in a couple of episodes of The Outer Limits, on episode of Night Gallery, the made-for-TV movie She Waits (1972), the title character in the TV series The Invisible Man (1975-76), and Disney’s creepy film The Watcher in the Woods (1980).

But for me, he will always be remembered as Dr. Henry Clerval in the 1973 made-for-TV movie Frankenstein: The True Story. While it is far from the “true story”, it is childhood favorite that remains a favorite to this day.

McCallum passed away on Monday at the age of 90 from natural causes. Because of his work in TV and films, and the huge fan base his work has created, his memory will continue on to entertain and delight audiences to come. Thank you, Mr. McCallum for your hard work and dedication to your craft. Gone, but not forgotten. Our thoughts go out to you and your family during this difficult time.

Frankenstein: The True Story – THE BOOK!

June 11, 2023 by Jon Kitley in Book News and tagged Anne Rice, David McCallum, Don Machardy, Frankenstein: The True Story, Guillermo del Toro, Hunt Stromberg Jr., James Mason, Jane Seymour, Leonard Whiting, Little Shoppe of Horrors, Margaret Leighton, Michael Sarrazin, Nicola Pagett, Sam Irvin, The Epic Saga Behind Frankenstein: The True Story | 2 Comments

One of my earliest childhood horror memories is seeing the 2-part mini-series Frankenstein: The True Story when it first aired in 1973. While I had no idea how far from the “true story” it was, as a young, eager horror fan, I just loved it and remains a personal favorite of mine to this day.

Back in 2017, Little Shoppe of Horrors magazine did a huge special issue on the making of this film, with Sam Irving taking on this dream job, since he’d been a fan as well since the original premiere, writing about it and doing several interviews on it in his horror fanzine Bizarre that he put out in the ’70s. The new piece for LSoH was 120 pages, packed with 400 photos, new interviews with the cast and crew, with an amazing cover art by artist Mark Maddox. This would lead to a Blu-ray release of the film by Shout Factory with an incredible commentary as well as interviews with some of the cast.

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LSoH Takes on Frankenstein: The True Story

March 29, 2017 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings and tagged Frankenstein: The True Story, Little Shoppe of Horrors | Leave a comment

LSoH38 Growing up in the early ’70s, the small town I lived didn’t have it’s own movie theater, so I had to get my beginning monster education from the TV. From shows like Night Gallery, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, to plenty of made-for-TV movies around that time that were horror themed, it was everything a young horror fan could ask for. And I loved them all. But there was one show which was shown over two nights in 1973 that stuck in my mind for decades. It was Jack Smight’s 1973 film Frankenstein: The True Story, starring a wide array of actors such as James Mason, Leonard Whiting, David McCallum, Jane Seymour, Agnes Moorehead, Ralph Richardson, John Gielgud, and Tom Baker.

At the time, I had no idea just how far away the “true” part really was, but when I was a 8-year old boy, all I knew was that it was mind-blowing. I can vividly remember watching this with my slightly older brother, amazed at some of the gore on screen, and anxiously waiting for part 2 to take place the two nights later. Years later, after finally being able to track down the full unedited edition, I could re-visit this great tale, which I did multiple times. Even after being more educated about the “true story”, I still consider this a favorite. And now, thanks to Little Shoppe of Horrors, I will once again be able to dive into this wonderful production.

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Films That Made a “Lasting Impression”

August 10, 2016 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings and tagged A Chinese Ghost Story, Circle of Fear, Creepshow, Frankenstein, Frankenstein: The True Story, Ghost Story, Night of the Living Dead, Star Wars, The Beyond, The Exorcist, The Haunting | Leave a comment

Let’s just say that I hate making lists in general. It forces you to chose or narrow down a “favorites” list. I have way too many movies that I honestly love the hell out of, so getting it down to a list of ten is just impossible. And honestly, I really don’t care for these kind of lists that are always going around Facebook, mainly because I just don’t want to spend the time on them and my above mentioned hatred for lists. But since this quest was to name films that had a “lasting impression” on you, I figured I could come up with ten titles that did have a major impact on my life. But instead of just listing the movies, I figured I’d try and expand on why these certain titles affected me the way they did. Of course, this list could change at any time…day or night.

Plus, since a friend tagged me on this, I figured it was the least I could do to reply. Thanks Jessica…this was a nice little trip down memory lane.

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