DtH Episode 76: Al Adamson and Sam Sherman

August 8, 2024 by Jon Kitley in Discover the Horror Podcast and tagged Al Adamson, Al Adamson: The Masterpiece Collection, Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life and Ghastly Death of Al Adamson, Brain of Blood, Dracula vs Frankenstein, Gary Kent, Greydon Clark, Independent International, J. Carrol Naish, John Bud Cardos, Lon Chaney Jr., Regina Carrol, Russ Tamblyn, Satan's Sadists | Leave a comment

Films discussed: Satan’s Sadists (1969), Brain of Blood (1970), Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971)

From the mid-60’s until the late 70’s director Al Adamson and producer Sam Sherman made some of the most memorable low-budget horror and exploitation pictures to slide across American drive-in and grindhouse screens. Together they made films that not only exemplified genre, they also often transcend and blended genres, creating something that has stuck in the filmgoing collective consciousness for over half a century. And when Severin Films released The Al Adamson Masterpiece Collection boxed set in 2020, whole new generations were introduced to Al and Sam’s work, and those of us who were already familiar learned a thing or two (or twenty) and got to see them look better than they have since they sat on a double bill in a 70s sleaze palace.

All hail Al and Sam!

Movies mention in this episode:

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Gary Kent – Rest in Peace

May 29, 2023 by Jon Kitley in Rest in Peace and tagged Al Adamson, Cinema Wasteland, Gary Kent, Greydon Clark, John Bud Cardos, Shadows & Light: Journeys with Outlaws in Revolutionary Hollywood | Leave a comment

We were out of town at a convention when we saw the news that Mr. Kent had passed away and it just put a huge cloud over the rest of the day. I met him at a Cinema Wasteland show way back in 2005, where he was there with Bud Cardos, William Smith, and Greydon Clark, where they talked about the old days doing stunts, and all sorts of crazy stuff in the low budget and independent filmmaking world, as well as with working with Al Adamson. Kent had such great stories, as they all did. A few years later, I learned that Kent had written an autobiography called Shadows & Light: Journeys with Outlaws in Revolutionary Hollywood, that came out in 2009. I immediately ordered it and started reading it when it arrived. I have read a lot of autobiographies before, but never one as entertaining, and definitely not as funny as this one. Kent’s style and use of metaphors made it such an enjoyable experience, plus, hearing all the crazy stories of what they used to do in the stunt world.

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2021 Year End Review: Part 2 – Those We Have Lost, But Not Forgotten

January 1, 2022 by Jon Kitley in Rest in Peace, Year End Reviews and tagged Anne Rice, Barbara Shelley, Christopher Plummer, Claudia Barrett, Dean Stockwell, Desiree Gould, Enzo Sciotti, Felix Silla, Ginannetto De Rossi, Hal Holbrook, Joan Weldon, John Bud Cardos, John Richardson, Lou Cutell, Marilyn Eastman, Mary Collinson, Monte Hellman, Norman J. Warren, Richard Donner, Robert Hall, Shane Briant, Sharon Moffet, Sonny Chiba, Tanya Roberts, Tawny Kitaen, Tommy Kirk, William Smith, Yaphet Kotto | Leave a comment

As a movie fan, the older we get, the more names and faces we lose that have helped entertain us throughout our lives. Whether they are directors, actors, makeup artists, cinematographers, or set designers, they all helped create something magical to entertain us, whether it was scaring us, making us nervous or filled with anxiety, laugh, cry, or even enlightening us, making us want to be better people. For those brief moments of their work, we are forever grateful. Thankfully, most of those memories are permanently recorded and can be experienced time and time again, whenever we want, as well as them being there to do the same thing for newer audiences every single year. While we are bound lose such great talent through the passage of time, as movie fans, we can rest assured that we will help keep their memory, and their work, alive for decades to come.

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John “Bud” Cardos – Rest in Peace

March 4, 2021 by Jon Kitley in Rest in Peace and tagged Al Adamson, John Bud Cardos, Kingdom of the Spiders, Mutant, The Dark | 2 Comments

We lost a great hero of independent cinema today, which unfortunately most fans don’t know. John “Bud” Cardos started his career in the film business back in the ’40s with Hal Roach’s Our Gang, and continued on from there, working in just about every part of the industry. He worked in the stunt department, acting, directing, and so much more. As an actor, he worked a lot with Al Adamson, appearing in films like Blood on Dracula’s Castle and Satan’s Sadist (both in 1969), Five Bloody Graves and Horror of the Blood Monsters (both in 1970), and as a director, he gave us Kingdom of the Spiders (1977), The Dark (1979), and Mutant (1984).

In April of 2005, Cardos was a guest at Cinema Wasteland, and along with Gary Kent, Greydon Clark, and William Smith, had some of the best stories of the industry. Cardos told the captive audience about the day he worked on a western film one day, falling off a horse about a dozen different times for different parts of the film, as different characters. Never got hurt. Then when he gets home, all he wants to do is just soak in the tub and relax, and end up slipping in the tub and breaking his arm!

Being a fan of some of the lower budgeted films and the people behind it, like Al Adamson, it really shows you how talented and creative some of these people were, that really don’t get the credit. If you’re not familiar with Cardos or his work, do yourself a favor check out some of his work.

Our thoughts go out to his friends and family. Gone, but never to be forgotten.