Book Review: The Lost One – A Life of Peter Lorre

November 17, 2020 by Jon Kitley in Reviews: Horror Reference Book and tagged Peter Lorre, Stephen D. Youngkin, University Press of Kentucky | Leave a comment

The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre
Published by The University Press of Kentucky, 2005. 613 pages
By Stephen D. Youngkin.

I remember stumbling across this title at a Half Price Books and was so thrilled to have finally found a copy at a decent price. I had seen them on online at other places but the price was always a bit too high. I meant to dive into right away, but at over 600 pages, it is a pretty big dive. So I put it aside and figured I would get to it one of these days. That day finally came and I’m so glad too. It is always rewarding, if a bit sad at times, when you read the background of your favorite stars. You quickly realize that the life of a Hollywood star is not all the fame, fortune, and the glamour we tend to think it is. With this volume, author Youngkin shows us that, and so much more. Continue reading →

Friday Favorites: Peter Lorre

September 25, 2020 by Jon Kitley in Friday Favorites and tagged Beast with Five Fingers, M, Mad Love, Peter Lorre, The Raven | 11 Comments

Yes, after a month sabbatical, Friday Favorites is back! I’ll do my best to keep this up on a regular basis, but one of the things that helps keep this alive is the participating from you, the reader. The last few Friday Favorites post only had a few responses. The whole reason for this idea to get start the conversation. Until the whole plague happened, during the after-hours at conventions, we would have these long conversations about a variety of subjects, but mainly movies and those that worked in the business. That is what I’m trying to replicate here, a place for fans to give their two cents worth and maybe start a little bit of dialogue. So if you have time, please take a few minutes to post a thought or two, or make a comment on someone else’s comment. With social gatherings being few and far between, let’s make one thing in social media a good thing and talk about the horror genre! 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.