Wild, Wild Podcast - THE INVINCIBLE MASKED RIDER (1963)

Who is that mysterious masked hero? Sarge? No. Rosemary, the telephone operator? No. Penry, the mild-mannered janitor? Could be! Then again, it could also be Robin Hood, so don't be too sure. (It’s really Zorro – but don’t tell anyone I told you!) 

Join us once again as we huddle together inside the nearest large castle for protection against the plague (Is that Poe on the phone?) whilst doing our best to unmask the eponymous hero. We also discuss Weird Worcester, the UK's newest and best Italian-themed festival where Adrian had the time of his life as a disappointing Italian translator.

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The Bloody Pit #187 - THE DEVIL'S WEDDING NIGHT (1973)

2024 begins with a 1970’s European horror gem! Bob Sargent joins Troy and I to discuss THE DEVIL’S WEDDING NIGHT (1973). It’s a fun gothic story with Mark Damon and Rosalba Neri (still using the Sara Bay stage name) about vampires, the ring of the Nibelungen and nudity. Lots of nudity! Warning – we completely spoil this one. Sorry but we had to dissect the final scene with its multiple endings.

As usual with this trio we let Bob pick the film and this time he hit a home run. It turned out to be a first viewing for Troy and it was fascinating to have his fresh take on this old favorite. We talk about the film’s genesis with star/producer Damon shopping the script around for a long while before getting it financed. The film is very much an R rated version of the Roger Corman Poe films done with a little less style and a lot less clothing. We pick at the story as we go along but each of us enjoyed the twin roles from the lead and sly, sexy performance from Neri. She is a sight to behold with her electric screen charisma registering here in gigawatts. Her abilities are impressive when just the slightest shift in the tilt of her head can communicate paragraphs of information.  We talk a bit about some of the anachronistic elements in the film and puzzle for a long time over where those satanic henchmen spend their time between virgin sacrifices. And we end up lamenting that this sleazy classic spawned no sequel! How did that happen?

If you have any comments on the film thebloodypit@gmail.com is the place to send them. Thank you for listening and we’ll be back soon.

THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH (1964) - Poster Art, Lobby Cards and Comic

It might be time for a rewatch.

Poster Art for Roger Corman's Poe Film Cycle

Sometimes these films are exactly what I need. 

TALES OF TERROR (1962) - Trailers From Hell

It's always fun to have Roger Corman talk about his classic Poe adaptations and this is no exception. Check it out! 

The Bloody Pit #115 - THE MYSTERY OF MARIE ROGET (1942)

Usually when you see that a 1940’s Universal film is an adaptation of an Edgar Allan Poe story the expectation is for a horror film, but Poe was much more than just a master of the macabre. His work spanned many types of fiction and he is credited with actually creating the genre of ‘detective fiction’ with his brilliant Murders in the Rue Morgue in 1841. In that iconic tale a clever man interested in puzzles bends his sharp mind to the task of solving an inexplicable murder. This character, Auguste Dupin, would appear in two subsequent Poe stories and is one of the inspirations for Conan Doyle’s later Sherlock Holmes. Universal had very loosely adapted the first of these mysteries in 1932 with Bela Lugosi and a man in an ape suit adding hideous pre-code horrors to the proceedings. The Mystery of Marie Roget was the second of the Dupin tales and it seems clear that Universal thought they could once again capitalize on the famous Poe name to bring home the dollars, only without quite so much of the grisly tone of the earlier film. 

Troy and I pull the film apart looking for its darker elements. We discuss the fact that this is a fairly straightforward mystery that at times feels like a well mounted period drama that just happens to involve a few murders. The nastier details of the victim’s mutilated faces are kept offscreen entirely even as that plot element is needed to both set up a few red herrings and point the way toward the actual killer. We talk about the lavish look of the film, the interesting cast and speculate on who might have made a better onscreen Dupin. The excellent dialog between actors Patrick Knowles and Lloyd Corrigan is the highlight of the picture pointing the way toward an excellent future Universal film series. As usual, we also get a lot of fun out of reading reviews of this movie from contemporary critics. We are developing some favorites among the newspaper writers of the 1940’s! 

If you have any questions or comments the show can be reached at thebloodypit@gmail.com or over on the FaceBook page. We’ll be continuing our 1940’s Universal horror series after the holidays so let know what you think. Thank you for listening to the podcast! 

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The Bloody Pit #98 - MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE (1932)

Mark Maddox returns to the show to talk about one of the more overlooked of the Universal horror films of the 1930’s - MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE (1932). This movie’s lack of attention may be because it doesn’t have one of the classic monster characters as a draw or, possibly, because it is one of the darkest, nastiest sixty-one minutes the studio ever released! Luckily, I don’t think it will remain as underseen in the future as it has just gotten a tricked out new Blu-Ray release which gives the film the best visual presentation it’s ever received on home video. The picture is so sharp that you can almost see the evil thoughts as they flicker in Bela Lugosi’s eyes!

We start the episode with a brief discussion of some of some of the projects Mark has coming out soon including some fun information about the genesis of his cover art for the upcoming Blu-Ray of Hammer’s EVIL OF FRANKENSTEIN. We then move into a rather scattered discussion of MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE, jumping from one topic to another as we explore the qualities that make it a unique part of the decade’s horror output. Lugosi’s masterful acting is examined along with his bizarre uni-brow. That is one strange look! The not-so hidden strain of bestiality embedded in the story is touched on as well as the fears of a Darwinian view of the world that the script uses to terrify its audience. We disagree about the inserted chimp scenes but both of us find some generally held ideas about this movie to be a bit silly. We bring up the legendary first edit of the film along with Tim Lucas’ Video Watchdog article (in issue #111) in which he proposed a way to re-edit the existing film to approximate the director’s original version. It’s a shame there wasn’t an attempt to include such a variation for the new Blu.

If you have any thoughts about this film or any other that we’ve discussed on the show, write to us at thebloodypit@gmail.com or over on the Facebook page. Mark will return in a few weeks to talk about another movie so you could even ask him some questions directly, if you wish. Thanks for listening!

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Roger Corman Speaks About THE PREMATURE BURIAL (1962)

The only one of Corman's Poe films not to star Vincent Price but Ray Milland is fantastic in the lead. 

The Fantastic Films of Vincent Price #51 - THE RAVEN (1963)

Here is the latest episode of Dr. Gangrene's amazing video series covering ALL of the films of Vincent Price. Well worth your six minutes!

The Tell Tale Heart (1953) narrated by James Mason

This wonderful animated telling of the Poe classic of madness and murder is a real treat for the Halloween season. I suspect that not many of my readers have seen this little piece of horror cinema history so turn down the lights for the next seven minutes and get creeped out!