Sunday, April 20, 2008

HANDS OF A STRANGER - Richard LaSalle - Red Norvo Quintette - "How's Your Mother" (1962)

What a great classic, and one of the few, that actually gave title credits to the individual members of the jazz band playing on one of the songs. The main soundtrack was composed by Richard LaSallee who among a minion of other projects, composed the music for the ever so obscure "The Day Mars Invaded Earth" and "Diary Of A Madman!" Yow!! 
 
"Hands Of A Stranger" has got a lot of good things going on for it, as if having the hands of a killer with a mind of their own grafted onto your body wasn't enough. My, how the recorded media that all you kids take for granted today has changed!! 
 
But then again, some things don't change, like sharin' a smoke, or sneakin' down the alley with Sally! Sweet! 
 
You've got this hot little scene with a 25 year old Sally Kellerman and a very lucky Michael Du Pont and a way killer tune by The Red Norvo Quintette called "How's Your Mother?" blowing in the background! As I said before, the Quintette was actually credited in the film, and included members Red Norvo, Jerry Dodgion, John Markham, Red Wooten and Jimmy Wyble. 
 
Okay, all you people that are scared of clowns might want to leave the room right about now, cause it's a "Psycho-Carny Freakout"
 More stinkin' clowns, this time in the guise of evil carnival games!! 
 
Very sweet diabolical carnival sounds, smells, and sights, the funhouse is merely the entrance into the madness and the house of wild delights!!

2 comments:

  1. It was a nice little Friday night TV horror flick to watch on Chiller. I wondered if the transplantee was based off Van Kliburn (sp?).

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  2. Of the several film adaptations of Maurice Renard's 1924 novel The Hands of Orlac, this one (which doesn't even acknowledge the source material) is easily the weakest. By far the best is Mad Love (1935) starring Peter Lorre.

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