The HORROR And SCI-FI MOVIES Of HERMAN COHEN 1952-77

 Okay kids, it's time to check out The Horror and Sci-Fi Movies of Herman Cohen, there are some very cool monster moments he's responsible for, so, sit back and enjoy the show!

First off, Herman was co-producer for BELA LUGOSI MEETS A BROOKLYN GORILLA in 1952, one wild and wooly (ha ha) comedy flick! Also stars Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo in their best Martin and Lewis imitation!

Next up is TARGET EARTH from 1954, I remember seeing this thing on TV in the fifties, it was okay because of the robot and menacing shadows. Still wish the robot looked like the awesome ones in the poster!!

In the zenith year for movie monsters, 1957, Herman produced BLOOD OF DRACULA. It's a decent flick and has some great music to swing to while we're waiting for Nancy to change into that weird looking vampire (?) who goes on a killing spree!

While I was putting this post together, it hit me... Check out the posters from the fifties, especially the next three, and notice how freaking awesome they are, what punch!! Then, check out the posters after that, they taper off to just a big pile of crap in comparison, the thrill was gone! That's why I like to emulate the fifties monsters in my art, in fact, I'd be an idiot not to!!

Herman kicks some butt with I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF, also in 1957. Of course, this poster was a re-release probably from 1959 because of the BONANZA reference.

Herman scores again with I WAS A TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN in 1957, it's always weird to see Whit Bissell in both of the TEENAGE movies! Notice, the last three movies feature a Vampire, a Werewolf and a Frankenstein Monster, smart!

HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER from 1958 is a great little flick, it gots both the Werewolf and Frankenstein Monster. The only beef I have with Herman was burning Paul Blaisdell's irreplaceable monster heads at the color ending without his knowledge or permission!!!

We used to have the 1-sheet poster from THE HEADLESS GHOST from 1959 in our collection. Not a great movie, slow and way too British for my taste...

Herman's back on track with HORRORS OF THE BLACK MUSEUM in 1959!! Michael Gough is freakin' awesome as the very evil, Edmond Bancroft, in this classic tale of terror!!

Michael's back as the bad guy in KONGA in 1961, a movie Eegah!! and I saw when it came out. Wow, by that time, FAMOUS MONSTERS clued us in to all the new movies coming out!!

Three times is a charm, Michael returns again with BLACK ZOO in 1963, He's just as sadistic as ever, him and his wife run a small zoo that has some deadly animals living there!

In 1965, Herman releases A STUDY IN TERROR, a tale where Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson join in the hunt for the notorious serial killer, Jack The Ripper!

Joan Crawford goes BERSERK! in 1967, in a story about a scheming circus owner, Joan, that finds her authority being challenged when the show is targeted by a vicious killer!

Then, Joan agrees to play Dr. Brockton in TROG in 1970, man, this is one strange movie that has a caveman from the past... I prefer DINOSAURUS! a lot more when it comes to cavemen!

In 1974, Herman comes out with CRAZE, starring Jack Palance... It's a voodoo tale about a nutty antiques dealer who starts sacrificing women to an African idol. Crap poster!!

Last on the list is WATCH ME WHEN I KILL from 1977. A pharmacist is killed, and, a woman happens to see the murderer leave the scene. She begins being stalked by the killer, and, her boyfriend tries to discover who the villain is.

Great stuff, we'll have more Halloween Countdown Pogey Bait for you on Wednesday...

BERSERK - Herman Cohen -"Your Front Row Seat To Murder!" (1967)

This Saturday Night Special has some extra hot sauce on it, and lives up to it's title because it's..

"BERSERK!"

"BERSERK" is an extra special movie on multiple levels, but I'll just try and hit some of the high points! "BERSERK" was a Herman Cohen production, and without Herman Cohen, we wouldn't have had many of the best 50's and 60's horror and monster movies! Seriously, Herman was responsible for I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF, I WAS A TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN, BLOOD OF DRACULA, HORRORS OF THE BLACK MUSEUM, KONGA, BLACK ZOO, and HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER, but despite all that, Tabonga will never forgive him for destroying all the original Paul Blaisdell monster masks in the fire in HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER!

"BERSERK" has a super amazing all-star cast that includes Joan Crawford and Michael Gough!

Dwrayger Dungeon 101!

Nice shot of Joan!

Although I must admit, Michael's role is short-lived!!

"BERSERK" is very similar to "Horrors Of The Black Museum," and "Black Zoo," in fact, it probably should have been titled "BLACKSERK!"

Joan spends a lot of time skulking around the circus in that red cape like some kind of bloodsucker!

It's not often you get to see a good old fashioned cat fight anymore! 

This must have completely mortified Joan!

Again, what an amazing array of 60's Pop culture!

Left to right, Judy Geeson, Ty Hardin, Joanie, and The Siren of Swindon, Diana Dors!

 

As expected, this 'saw the woman in half' trick didn't work out that great for Diana!

Right about here was the most WTF!?  moment watching movies I've had lately! You know what, I'll just let you judge for yourself!  Watch it right here, "The Freak Song"  and let me know what you think! Had Herman Cohen been influenced by the musical version of "Jack The Giant Killer?" What a great group, and the chrome dome gentleman on the far right is Dungeon Hero Milton Reid!

I really didn't know that Batman and Robin were in the circus in 1967!

Herman Cohen must have really liked the circus, or it just made for a cheap but interesting stage for his movie, and personally I liked "BERSERK" a lot, but I would have liked it a lot better minus about 25 minutes of real time circus acts!

"BERSERK" is a movie that's just dying to be seen! Watch it as a triple feature with "Black Zoo," and "Horrors Of The Black Museum!!!
Now that's an original 60's power trio!!

I SAW WHAT YOU DID - "I Know Who You Are" (1965)

Probably should have saved this flick for a Saturday Night Special, but planning things ain't really my forte! It works for a Wacky Wednesday just the same, because it looks like a 60's TV sitcom, it's mean and brutal, and has music that sounds like it came from a cartoon! What more could you want from a movie?

Tonight's feature film is called "I Saw What You Did," a William Castle film from 1964!  Here's a link to all of Bill's films we've covered so far, and a fine array of titles it is, and this one is right up there with the the best of the rest! Follow that link, and you can catch our take on "13 Ghosts," "The Tingler," "13 Frightened Girls," "Mr. Sardonicus," "House On Haunted Hill," "Straight-Jacket," "Macabre," "The Night Walker," and more.

Here are the main two little missies who start all the trouble! It was all innocent enough, just some silly phone pranks gone horribly bad! Besides this film, Andi was in four episodes of "Wild, Wild, West," and one episode of "Black Sheep Squadron" before hanging it up forever! Sarah went on to act in 105 episodes of "The Virginian," something called "Schoolgirls In Chains," and two Billy Jack movies! "I Saw What You Did" was both girls first appearance in film or TV!

Just in case you missed it, William Castle was responsible for an assortment of movies that affected movie makers everywhere! Gizmos, gadgets, and ghosts, Bill liked to use them all, and........He was really good at it! As far as I can tell, this is the only movie produced by William Castle that we haven't written about, except for his last movie in 1969, "Riot!" I obviously need to try and track a copy of that sucker down!

The parents are going out of town for the evening, and the babysitter has ironically called and said she couldn't make it, so they reluctantly agree to leave! Sharyl Locke is the little sister Tess! Sharyl only has a couple more acting credits, one being a character named Jenny McGillicuddy in a "Bonanza" episode! The parents are Leif (Invaders From Mars) Erickson and Patricia (Homicidal) Breslin!

Libby and Tess show their blonde friend Kit who has come to spending the evening how they like to make prank phone calls, but instead of calling a bar and asking them if they have mouse knuckles, their regular act when somebody answers the phone is to say "I know who you are, and I know what you did!" and then they usually just hang up, but not this night...........

The name the kids find in the phone book is Steve Marak played by John Ireland, but it's Steve's wife who answers the phone as she's packing her bags to leave! The girls don't do the title line, but just ask for Steve, who is in the shower! His wife decides to take things into her own hands, but fails miserably!

Steve ends up stabbing his wife viciously and throwing her through the glass shower door, and then his neighbor/lover shows up and it starts getting complicated William Castle style very quickly! That necklace is just too much!!

The kids have been on hold the whole time, but haven't really heard anything of importance! The dog is very well trained!

Probably not a good ideal to listen in on other people's phone calls unless you can run real fast! Joan Crawford got top billing just for her name, but this wasn't the end of the line for Joan, she went on to be in "Berserk," and "Trog!"

Libby's got her learner's permit, and it's only about 20 miles to the madman's house, so she gets all gussied up, and they head out on a road trip in the middle of the night to see what this guy looks like! (Stoopid Kids!)

You'd probably have to be at least in your 50's to remember when it was commonplace to have your car registration wrapped around the column of the steering wheel for easy access in case you got stopped!

Here's a good shot of Joan Crawford, not exactly smiling, but at least smirking!

I had so many good shots I wanted to show you, but I just couldn't resist going with these three peeper scenes instead, because they just kind of say it all!

John Ireland puts in a very credible performance as a murderous madman! I laughed out loud when he finally tracks down the kids via the car registration with full intent to kill them and after hearing Libby's innocent explanation, he tells her, "I should really tell your parents about this," and she responds that he doesn't know what a mess she would be in, if they found out! (Without realizing how huge of a mess she is already in!)

I do love this simple shot!

Leave it to Bill to have an end with a double meaning!

This has got to be one of the strangest posters I've ever seen!

All through the 40's and most of the 50's William Castle directed mostly western movies, but it was in 1958 that he hit his stride as Producer/Director with "Macabre," and a string of cool movies that will never be duplicated! If there's not a shrine to this man somewhere, there sure should be!