THEY CAME FROM BEYOND SPACE - James Stevens - "Opening Credits" (1967)

According to the IMDB, James Stevens was the uncredited composer for stock music for "Plan Nine From Outer Space," so what else is there to say? The man is instantly enshrined forever in the horror hall of fame, even if he hadn't done the 1955 Swedish documentary, "Among The Headhunters." The music from the opening credits of "They Came From Beyond Space," is just so smart. You think you've heard it all, & then someone throws you a curve ball from outer space, and Bam, all of a sudden, some guy's got a colander on his head! Don't forget, they didn't just come from space, they came from BEYOND space, & that's a really, really long ways out there, dude! No wonder "The Gods Hate Kansas!" Oh yeah, the extra bonus in this movie is Michael Gough as "The Master Of The Moon." 

 

Beyond Space Is Really Far Out

TERRORE NELLO SPAZIO ( Planet Of The Vampires) - Gino Marinuzzi Jr. - "Credits" (1965)

Gino Jr. came up with some pretty cool atmospheric sounds to go along with the wild imagery of this Italian film that had various English titles such as: Demon Planet, Planet of Blood, Space Mutants, Terror In Space, The Haunted Planet, The Haunted World, The Outlawed Planet, The Planet Of Terror, & The Planet Of The Damned, before they settled on "Planet Of The Vampires"

 

PREMATURE BURIAL - Ron Stein - "Molly Malone" (1962)

"Premature Burial" is an interesting Edgar Allen Poe interpretation that has the traditional Irish anthem, "Molly Malone" whistled & in various incarnations throughout the movie, being as it is the song that haunts Ray Milland literally to death. This version is the wackiest, as it gets all crazy & twisted until Ray is face to face with gravdigger Mole, played by none other than our hero, Dick Miller. By the way, just in case you didn't know, it goes something like this: "In Dublin's fair city, where the girls are so pretty, I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone" Molly Malone

 

THE NIGHT CALLER FROM OUTER SPACE - Johnny Gregory - "The City At Night" (1965)

Sick cop scene leads into short jazzy intro, and if that makes no sense, then you obviously need to go out & buy or rent "The Night Caller From Outer Space" ASAP! This music is only a minute long, so put your mp3 player on repeat until you can't take perfection anymore! City @ Nite

 

4D MAN - Ralph Carmichael - "4D Man Jam" (1959)

So, is everybody having a good time?? It's kinda hard to tell sometimes & it gets a little weird around here, if you can imagine that! Like now, I'm seeing skeleton hands on the keyboard & thinking about "4-D Man" & the brilliant soundtrack you're about to listen to. Here you go, kids, you ordered a cheeseburger and fries & you get 7 minutes & 4 seconds of one of the greatest soundtracks ever created, and it is going to knock those livin' argyles offa yer feet, guaranteed!! Dig in! 4D Man!!!!

4D Man Jam

ZONTAR THE THING FROM VENUS - Ron Stein - "Please Come Back To Me" (1966)

"No one understands it, but it's the scientific achievement of the century!" No one, that is, except the one man band, Larry Buchanan, and I'm sorry, but Larry's not around anymore. Just like Jerry Warren, Larry wrote, directed & produced all his own films, and if Jerry & Larry had ever combined forces, they would have been THE guaranteed winners of the best worst films ever. Hands down, no doubt, It would be a lock!! And we would have loved it! But alas, that's just a dream, & the reality is "Zontar." Not a whole lot going on here, just a little domestic dispute, but what a cool pad!! The music is supposedly by an uncredited Ron Stein. Zontar

 

THE GHOST IN THE INVISIBLE BIKINI - Nancy Sinatra - "Geronimo" (1966)

1966! What a year!! Right about here is where the genres start splitting off like some viral micro-organisms observed under a microscope. "Village Of The Giants" probably started it in 1965, "The Ghost In The Invisible Bikini," in 1966 & "Hillbillys In A Haunted House" in 1967 all basically used a bastardization of the monster movie concept to their advantage to hype the new teen or country musical acts they were trying to promote. Generally it makes for a fun watch, you didn't have to think real hard & the colors were bright! Throw in Basil Rathbone & Boris Karloff, and play a lot of music, try for some cheap laughs & don't worry about much else. Fluff is a good reference point, but, really good fluff. Down here we love these flicks, you can even fall asleep watching them, wake up later & you still know exactly what's going on. That's How Great these kind of films are!! Try THAT with "Citizen Kane" or "Larry Of Arabia," why don't you? Nancy Sinatra was always Hot, & her appearance here is no exception, even if the song ain't that great. Bobby Fuller's in there too, but that's another story, this one's about Nancy!

 

Nancy

HORRORS OF THE BLACK MUSEUM - Gerard Schurmann - "Jukebox Scene" (1959)

June Cunningham as Joan Berkley in "Horrors Of The Black Museum" is a Very striking gal, and she's had some great parts in the movies over the years, besides Joan(who actually had a last name) she portrayed Rita, Joy, Alice, Rosie, Evie & Jean, and let's not forget Marlene & Annette, & I'm sure she was grand in each and every role. The basic Hollywood 3-B rule from 1959 was this, Buxom, Beautiful or Blonde, and if you could do 2 out of 3, you were in. June succeeded immensely! Here's a snappy little tune by Gerard Schurmann, who, also composed the music for "Konga" & "The Headless Ghost." This very cool tune is most likely a cha-cha or mambo, a random song off the jukebox. A large bonus of some jukebox scenes in the movies, is women dancing, and June/Joan is really showing off in this scene for the guys in the bar! 1959, Blonde, Red Dress, Yeah! This is another classic film well worth renting for that upcoming Halloween party, but watch out for those ice tongs! Ouch!!! Not to forget, kudos to Michael Gough, one of the evilest nice guys to ever grace the planet! Cheers Michael and June!
Joan/June Jukebox

DIE NACKTE UND DER SATAN (The Head) - Jacques Lasry/Willy Mattes - "Opening Credits" (1959)

The music from the opening credits of this 1959 German film is some very odd distorted organ & percussion. It gets jazzier as the film progresses, but this piece stands alone as just weird. Composer Willy Mattes also did the music for "The Horrors Of Spider Island" & a hoard of other films. Jacques Lasry only worked on a couple of other movies for some reason. This movie always gave me the creeps, I think it was something about machine manipulated disembodied fatheads that was a bit disturbing, & this music sure didn't give much comfort! 

 Freak Out in the darkness, it's the night of the devil!! The Head

KYUKETSUKI GOKEMIDORO (Body Snatcher From Hell) - Shunsuke Kikuchi - "Goke" (1968)

Shunsuke Kikuchi, the composer of the music for "Goke" went on from 1968 to compose music for Kamen Riders, Ultra-Man, and a whole slew of Dragon Ball Z flicks, and that's only a fraction of his output! Check him out on IMDB.com to see the man's amazing accomplishments. In the meantime, who know's what's happening with "Goke"? This cat gets all mind-fried, and really, it's pretty dang weird, and after all, it is THE "Body Snatcher From Hell" & it don't get much more ominous than that, now, does it? Here's two versions of the music from the old forehead slicing scene. One version is the original, one has all the irritating screechbeeps taken out! It's all very peculiar either way! Be careful! GokeDiet Goke

 

ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT WOMAN - Ron Stein - "Jukebox Jive" (1958)

Here's a great little cafe/bar/club whatever you want to call it scene where Honey is dancing with the doofus deputy and Harry arrives & kills the mood. The best part is this, these people only live 40 miles from Baker, Calif. in the middle of the stinking desert where "The World's Tallest Thermometer" is their only claim to fame & yet they own the "Star Of India, the most famous diamond in the world". Being over the top rich wasn't that special in 1958 I guess. The music on the jukebox by Ronald Stein is awe-inspiring, the dialogue is way beyond priceless. Frank Chase, as Deputy Charlie, did a lot of westerns on TV & in the movies and here gives a dancing performance beyond compare! Like the music? I'm sure you can find a Ron Stein CD somewhere, & this movie is available all over the place, & you need it!
Jukebox Jive
Jukebox Jive with dialogue

THE MANSTER - Hirooki Ogawa - "Manster Mash" (1962)

This is a series of music from the soundtrack of "The Manster" pieced together for all your two-headed enjoyment. It starts in some Japanese baths & culminates with Larry running into his wife unexpectedly & needing a drink real bad. Sorry Larry, but it just gets worse from here & all the alcohol in the world isn't going to help!! Do the "Manster Mash," I doubt it will catch on in a flash!

ATTACK OF THE PUPPET PEOPLE - Albert Glasser - "The Attempted Escape" (1958)

"Attack Of The Puppet People" had this fairly long scene with the record player playing this swingin' tune. The little people were given a chance at escaping when Franz's buddy Emil suddenly drops by to chat, causing quite a frustrating dilemma for Mr. Franz. Emil just will not go away & is played to perfection by Michael Mark, who had been playing an array of diverse unnamed characters such as thug, innkeeper, valet, sniper, informant, janitor, window washer, clerk, juror, prom chaperone, assistant cook, watchman, vagrant, head waiter, flower store man, peasant, bartender, miner, coachman, drunken fortune teller, Russian interpreter, cab driver, astonished Swiss villager, rug merchant, mechanic, small thief, gas station attendant, pottery vendor, timid man, Czech laborer in pain, poor farmer, Cuban fisherman, chestnut vendor, etc. etc. etc. since 1928!! What a guy! This one's for you Michael! Emil Arrives

 

THE SADIST - Arch Hall Sr. - "SOUNDCLIP NO LONGER AVAILABLE" (1963)

Interesting turn in Arch Hall's career where his band The Archers and their music weren't even used in the movie. Riveting film with incredibly small cast & amazing cinematography by the very talented William Zsigmond. Continuing in the family tradition, Arch Hall Sr. does the narration during the opening credits. The music is by Paul Sawtell & Bert Shefter. Another excellent example of vision over extravagance. The Hall's could make a better film with 50 bucks than today's major studio's make with 50 million. Figure that into the whole picture of today's economy, & you'll know exactly what the heck is wrong with the world today. Happy New Year! 

 

VILLAGE OF THE GIANTS - Freddy Cannon -"Little Bitty Corrine" (1965)

So where is Mr. Frederick Anthony Picariello these days? Don't know, but here's a great little song that gives you the whole Freddy Cannon experience in a flash. This Freddy cat had more exuberance than many other performers of the time, but Freddy always seemed to have been caught in between genres, he wasn't mod pop, surf, rock or lounge, but just seemed like a real good natured guy having a good time, and enjoying every rockin' minute of it, and who else could get away with wearing a sweater like that? We have no idea why he's in this movie, we're just glad he is. Rent it! No regrets guaranteed! Whooooooo!!! Freddy Cannon 

 

THE WILD WORLD OF BATWOMAN - Erich Bromberg (Jerry Warren) - "Opening Credits" (1966)

Wow! There is absolutely no one in the world to blame for this movie except Jerry Warren! Sure, it's an incredibly crappy film, but just think, one man was almost responsible for everything and anything that had to do with this movie! Jerry Warren wrote, produced, directed, AND edited "The Wild World Of Batwoman", AND was also responsible for the music under the guise of Erich Bromberg, AND If you don't think that's just truly amazing, then just go out & try and make your own movie with real film and see how far you get! Phew!! So let's all hoist our glasses high and toast the incredible out of this world genius of Jerry Warren!! This theme song alone is so cool you should go and get yourself a copy! Batwoman