Monday, May 4, 2009

LADRÓN DE CÀDAVERES - Federico Ruiz - "Body Snatchers" (1957)

If you're a mad scientist in Mexico, and if you need good bodies, common sense would tell you that, you might as well dig up dead wrasslers, and if there are no dead wrasslers, then you just kill some!!!

The raven sitting on the car was a stroke of genius, kudos to director Fernando Méndez and cinematographer Víctor Herrera for their vision in this opening scene, and throughout the whole movie!!

Sorry about the 'L' getting cut off the title card!!!

Mexico, 1957, a better time you might think, but not necessarily so, if tonight's movie, "Ladrón de Cadáveres," has anything to say about it! The composer of the music for this film is Federico Ruiz, a name we have not heard around here before, because this seems to be the one and only lucha libre mostro pelicula he ever worked on, but he obviously knew his stuff, since he'd worked in the movies since 1932! The man was a master of any style, as you will hear when you listen to the story of "Ladrón de Cadáveres", or as they might say in English, "Invasion of the Body Snatchers!"

"Ladrón de Cadáveres"

Eleven years later Yerye Beirute, here playing the body snatchin' Cosme Ramírez, was in "La Camara Del Terror" with Boris Karloff, a film we covered a couple of months ago!

Federico's music in this movie is great, but they saved the best and swingingest part for this scene right here!!

This gal, who I'm assuming is a lady of the night, walks out of the motel, but she can't get her cigarette lit!

So she goes up this this guy to get a light, and gets quite a surprise, the reason he's ignoring her is because he's dead!

Like el difunto rey!! But you know what they say, "Los muertos no hablan!"

Hubba, Hubba!!!

Okay, Now I get it! It's all starting to make sense now!!

I will always remember the first time I saw a picture of this monster, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it was issue #13 of "Famous Monsters" magazine. I remember because it was quite horrible at the time and unlike anything we were used to, that's for sure. I really think it had something to do with the drool!!! I still have a couple of "F M's" left, but I couldn't find the picture. It was pretty interesting looking through them though and flashing on the pictures from all the movies we've written about since we started this project, and I found it quite interesting to re-read references to movies I always wondered about, but never saw with titles like "Killer Smog" and "Mutano the Horrible." What was even more interesting was trying to look them up on IMDB, and not finding anything, which made me start to wonder how much of that info they tossed at us was actually fact & how much was just good writing!!

Well, you know what they say about payback, and this film is no exception!!!! Ow!!!!

2 comments:

Prof. Grewbeard said...

i know i have a few issues of FM with that picture, because it was reprinted a number of times. i think a lot of advance titles FM reported were probably movies that either got retitled or never surfaced at all.

Coop said...

Hi, I really like your blog and hope that this interests you.

I am attempting to amass a large collection of portraits of Frankenstein's Monster in as many different styles and in as many different media as possible as an ongoing art project. The only stipulation is that the size is 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches (standard artist trading card size) and that each card has name, date, title and anything else you care to add on the back.

I welcome cards from both amateur and professional artists.

I will be leaving blank cards with instructions and mailing address in galleries, colleges, art shops, on buses, handing them out in the street and wherever else I can think of.

If you think you can spare the time to produce a little something, please send a portrait to:

A Patchwork Of Flesh
45 Silversea Drive
Westcliff on Sea
Essex
SS0 9XD
United Kingdom

Each card I receive will be uploaded at http://apatchworkofflesh.blogspot.com/ to produce an on-line gallery, I then hope to put on an exhibition of these cards in a gallery.

Monster Music

Monster Music
AAARRGGHHH!!!! Ya'll Come On Back Now, Y'Hear??