Little Shoppe of Horrors Salutes The Gorgon

October 12, 2021 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings and tagged Barbara Shelley, Bruce G. Hallenbeck, Christopher Lee, Hammer Films, Joshua Kennedy, Little Shoppe of Horrors, Peter Cushing, Richard Klemensen, The Gorgon, The Witches | 2 Comments

The latest issue of the long running (and best magazine devoted to all things Hammer) is now out and available to order. This issue tackles Hammer’s 1964 film The Gorgon, starring Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, and Barbara Shelley, with the article Reflections of Fear: The Making of The Gorgon by Joshua Kennedy.

Within the pages, you’ll also find the article Cut Me a Robe from Toe to Lobe … Give Me a Skin for Dancing In: The Making of The Witches by Bruce G. Hallenbeck, as well as an article on the star of that film, Joan Fontaine. There is also an article on Don Houghton, the screenwriter of the modern day Dracula films Hammer made in the early to mid ’70s, by David Gee.

Like with any issue of Little Shoppe of Horrors, every page is a delight and filled with great stuff. Head over to their website HERE to order your copy now. And if you want to know more about Hammer, just pick up some of their back issues that are readily available.

Sideshow Hammer Figures

August 10, 2021 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings and tagged Christopher Lee, Dracula, Hammer Films, Peter Cushing, Van Helsing | 1 Comment

I have quite a few famous horror figures in my collection that I’ve picked up over the years. Some are model kits, many of which I actually painted myself. Others are statues I’ve purchased that came painted already. Granted some of these were a bit pricy, but never more than a 2-3 hundred at the most. Granted, the full size bust of the poster zombie from Zombie or Dr. Hill’s decapitated head in a pan were a bit higher than that, but for a figure, I try to shy away from the real expensive stuff, mainly because I personally just can’t invest that much money into something like that.

But now Sideshow Toys has announced a couple figures that are $530 EACH and I’m trying to convince my brain that I DO need to invest in these!

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Friday Favorites: Trilogy of Terror

May 28, 2021 by Jon Kitley in Friday Favorites and tagged Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Vincent Price | 12 Comments

As most of us know, the 26^th & 27^th of this month was the birth date of three of the biggest icons in the horror genre (though one is probably still not happy about that!). Of course, it would be Peter Cushing (born May 26, 1913), Vincent Price (born May 27^th, 1911), and Christopher Lee (born May 27^th, 1922). Whether it is because of the multiple titles from Hammer Studio, the work with AIP, or William Castle, these three actors have given us horror fans countless hours of chills, shivers, and entertainment. I couldn’t let these two days go by without posting something in honor of these iconic actors.

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Little Shoppe of Horrors Takes on Dracula

May 5, 2021 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings and tagged Barbara Shelley, Christopher Lee, Dick Klemensen, Hammer, Hammer Films, Hammer Studios, Horror of Dracula, Little Shoppe of Horrors, Peter Cushing | 2 Comments

Orders are now being taken for the latest issue of the magazine that has been running to close to half a century! Issue # 46 will be covering Hammer’s Dracula (1958), or as known in the states here, The Horror of Dracula, with the making of article by Bruce G. Hallenbeck. There will also be a tribute to Barbara Shelley, the Making of the Men Who Made Hammer series for Shout Factory, and so much more.

If you’re not familiar with this amazing magazine, I couldn’t urge you enough to look into it. If you love Hammer and British horror in general, there is no better magazine than this one. Always filled with amazing articles, incredible artwork, and so much information. Once you start, you’ll be like me and be hooked!

For all the ordering information, just head over to their website HERE.

Book Review: Horror Express

December 20, 2020 by Jon Kitley in Reviews: Horror Reference Book and tagged Christopher Lee, Electric Dreamhouse, Eugene Martin, Horror Express, John Connolly, Midnight Movie Monographs, Peter Cushing, Telly Savalas | 5 Comments

Midnight Movie Monographs: Horror Express
Published by Electric Dreamhouse, 2018. 137 pages
By John Connolly

This is another one that I just don’t know where to start. I came across this publisher about a month ago when they were having a Black Friday sale. I thought about ordering a few of their titles but being from the UK, it would have been a bit pricy. Out of all the titles, this is the one that had my interests the most, so I just ordered it from Amazon. Now, at a book that is only 6″ x 8″, and priced at $29, AND is only 137 pages, makes you wonder if it would be worth it. In this particular case, I would have to say no.

This is a strange one, since being so short, you’d think the author would dive right into the thick of it, but we go 30 pages before the author even starts to write about the movie! That’s almost a quarter of the book?!?! We read about traveling on trains, about the Spanish film market, the British film market, with some details that really have no bearing on the subject at hand. Now maybe if this volume was several hundred pages long, this information would fit in, but it’s not. So why waste precious pages on subjects that have only a distant connection with the movie? There is even a paragraph where the author states that at this point in his writing, he hasn’t seen the movie since he first saw it as a kid! Again, why waste space for that? Continue reading →

Movie Review: The Brides of Dracula

November 14, 2020 by Jon Kitley in Reviews: Movies and tagged Andrée Melly, Anthony Hinds, Brides of Dracula, Constantine Nasr, David Peel, Don Mingaye, Freda Jackson, Hammer Films, Hammer Studios, Hugh Harlow, Jack Asher, Jimmy Sangster, Malcom Williamson, Margaret Robinson, Marie Devereux, Martita Hunt, Michael Ripper, Miles Malleson, Peter Cushing, Richard Klemensen, Scream Factory, Shout Factory, Steve Haberman, Terence Fisher, Yvonne Monlaur | Leave a comment

(1960)
Director Terence Fisher
Starring Peter Cushing, Yvonne Monlaur, David Peel, Martita Hunt, Freda Jackson, Miles Malleson, Andree Melly, Marie Devereux, Michael Ripper

While most “normal” critics would look down on a horror film, yes… even ones from Hammer Studios, this is a perfect example of how well made these pictures really were, from the acting, the production design, to the look and lighting of the entire running time. If you ever doubted that, just watch this 2K scan of The Brides of Dracula recently released by Shout Factory on Blu-Ray. Continue reading →

Curse of Frankenstein 2-Disc Blu-Ray!

November 7, 2020 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings and tagged Christopher Drake, Christopher Frayling, Christopher Lee, Constantine Nasr, David J. Miller, Hammer, Hammer Films, Hammer Studios, Hazel Court, Jack Asher, Little Shoppe of Horrors, Peter Cushing, Richard Klemensen, Steve Haberman, Terence Fisher, Warner Archives | Leave a comment

Coming to Blu-ray for the first time in the U.S., Warner Archives has announced a new 2-disc special edition of Hammer’s The Curse of Frankenstein, the movie that really put the Studio that Dripped Blood on the map. This new release will contain 75 minutes of new documentary work, audio commentary by Screenwriter/Film Historian Steve Haberman and Filmmaker/Film Historian Constantine Nasr. You’ll get to hear from some of Hammer’s best scholars, such as Richard Klemensen discussing the history of the film, cinematographer and producer David J. Miller discussing Hammer’s underrated cameraman Jack Asher, as well as hearing from Christopher Frayling, Christopher Drake, and so much more.

The disc will contain a 1080p HD Restoration Masters from 4K scans of Preservation Separation Elements, but also a newly re-mastered 1.37:1 open-matte version as well. Continue reading →

Peveril To Unleash the Seven Golden Vampires!

September 27, 2020 by Jon Kitley in Book News and tagged Hammer Films, Hammer Studios, Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires, Peter Cushing, Peveril Publishing, Roy Ward Baker, Shaw Brothers, Shaw Brothers Studios | Leave a comment

Coming in November of this year, Peveril Publishing will release their next book in their always amazing volumes on Hammer Films. This one tackles the 1973 film The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires (amongst many other titles!), that was a co-production between Hammer and Hong Kong’s famous Shaw Brothers Studios. While this might not be a favorite of most Hammer fans (myself included), the history of this film is just as important because it is the last appearance of Peter Cushing as Van Helsing for the studio! But even besides that, no matter what the title, keeping the history alive and available to fans is always important, because the more you know about the actual production, both positive and negative, it will help you appreciate the film much more.

Peveril has always published beautiful looking books, and this one looks to be no different. It includes both Cushing’s and director Roy Ward Baker’s annotated scripts, showing all the notes they wrote down during the production. Just seeing all the notes that Cushing made, even for this lesser production, still shows how much of a perfectionist he was when creating a character, or even returning to one. The book even shows the water color paintings of suggestions for his character’s costume. Continue reading →

Horror History: Hazel Court

July 18, 2020 by Jon Kitley in Horror History and tagged Christopher Lee, Curse of Frankenstein, Devil Girl from Mars, Edgar Allan Poe, Hammer Films, Hazel Court, Peter Cushing, Peter Lorre, Roger Corman, Vincent Price | 1 Comment

hazelcourt Hazel Court
Born Feb. 10th, 1926 – Died April 15th, 2008

While the gorgeous Hazel Court really got horror fan’s attention when she starred opposite of Peter Cushing in Hammer’s Curse of Frankenstein (1957), she had already appeared in couple of horror titles, such as Ghost Ship (1952) and Devil Girl from Mars (1954). But it was Curse that made her known as an early Scream Queen.

She would appear in Hammer’s The Man Who Could Cheat Death in 1959, in the underrated film Doctor Blood’s Coffin in 1961, before hitting it big with Roger Corman fans in three of his Poe films, Premature Burial (1962), The Raven (1963), and The Masque of the Red Death (1964), where she got to work with other horror icons like Boris Karloff, Vincent Price, and Peter Lorre.

Not only very appealing to the eyes, Court was a fine actress that could play the villainess just as easily as the heroine. In 2008, she released her autobiography entitled Hazel Court: Horror Queen.

Little Shoppe of Horrors #44

May 8, 2020 by Jon Kitley in Misc. Ramblings and tagged Andre Morell, Bruce G. Hallenbeck, Christopher Lee, Denis Meikle, Hammer, Hammer Films, Hound of the Baskervilles, Jack Asher, Little Shoppe of Horrors, Peter Cushing | Leave a comment

LSoH44 The latest issue of THE best Hammer magazine out there, Little Shoppe of Horrors, is taking orders for issue # 44, which is covering The Hound of the Baskervilles, as well as The Stranglers of Bombay and The Terror of the Tongs.

As with all issues of LSoH, there is plenty of great material here, written by some of the best Hammer scholars, such as Denis Meikle and Bruce G. Hallenbeck.

David J. Miller has an article on Hammer’s DP Jack Asher, called He Painted with Light, as well as coverage on the new Dracula BBC series.

With another stunning cover by Mark Maddox, as well as other amazing art and illustrations inside, it doesn’t take long to realize why this magazine has been going for close to 50 years. Every issues is always a real treat.

You can order your copy now by going to their site HERE. Especially during these strange times, the creators of magazines like this need your support!