THE MAN WITHOUT A BODY - Albert Elms - "Nostradamus" (1957)

Albert Elms was the esteemed composer and conductor for this 1957 film, "The Man Without A Body." Albert went onto bigger and better things, as music director on TV's "The Benny Hill Show" and cult favorite, "The Prisoner," on top of a wide assortment of crime and adventure movies and other television shows.

The man working continuity on this film was named "Splinters Deason," and anytime there's anybody named "Splinters" working on a project, you can count us in! Splinters was born in 1913 and left us in 2001. I'm sure he was a very cool guy!

Nostradamus sez "I have always lived in the future!", but do you think his vision was clear enough to know it was only going to be his head?

OMG, Nostradamus, Dude, No, you can't go out like that!!!

I do believe it's a fact that like every disembodied head movie from the 50's or 60's had cool music, and Albert Elms made sure this one was no exception!

THE CITY OF THE DEAD (Horror Hotel) - Douglas Gamley - "The Hour Of 13" (1960)

All Right, it might be 2008, but, oh, well, we're going to dive straight back into the past where we belong!! Australian born Douglas Gamley was a very talented and gifted composer, who stayed quite busy right into the 1980's. Besides composing the music for "Tom Thumb", "Tarazan's Greatest Adventure", and "The Ugly Duckling" in the 50's, and a bunch more interesting films in the 60's, he also was the composer for the soundtrack of Monty Python's "And Now For Something Completely Different" in 1971! From swing to extreme, his versatility stands out in this epic piece taken from different scenes in this 1960 wicked Christopher Lee flick! 

 

"You know I want to be with you!" 

 

You answer the door, I'll go put a record on! 

 No GPS, so getting directions can still be a major plot element.

  Aaahhh! This jazz is driving me crazy!!! 

 

This movie was the first release by Amicus when they were still known as Vulcan Productions! 

 

You can see this lady throw that sword for free over at the Internet Archive. What a talent!! 

 

"Wait For The Hour Of 13"

BLUE DEMON CONTRA LAS DIABOLICAS - El Klan - "Feliz Ano Nuevo" (1968)

On this eve of the new year we were looking for something fast, fun & festive, & this clip from "Blue Demon Conta Las Diabólicas" meets all the criteria. Just check out this band "El Klan" in their cool yellow suits, and what about that giant horn that cat's blowing! Wow! Kind of a cross between James Brown & The Famous Flames and Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, and it just screams Happy New Year!!! This movie is very difficult to find out much about, but what more do you need to know? Just enjoy it!! Sorry about the sound quality, but you have to take into consideration that this film was taped off of Mexican TV about 25 years ago in the LP mode, so it's not great, but better than nothing til something else comes along!! 

 

Happy New Year!

DER WURGER VON SCHLOSS BLACKMOOR (The Strangler Of Blackmoor Castle) - Oskar Sala - "Mixtur-Trautonium Music" (1963)

Here's yet another odd juxtaposition of styles. A grisly German killer thriller of a film with an electronic soundtrack that would have been very comfortable on "Forbidden Planet", but some how it all works! Why is that? It's because the man behind the music in "The Strangler Of Blackmoor Castle" was the very intelligent composer/physicist Oskar Sala, a man who was the master of the Trautonium, the first electronic instrument. The Trautonium was invented by Friendrich Trautwein in 1930 but taken to another level by Sala, and re-dubbed the Mixtur-Trautonium. Oskar Sala worked his magic on a number of movies besides this one, including Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds." 

 

This movie is disturbing, but also quite funny, & the cool electronic sounds continue through the whole thing. Feel like something different? Put it on your list! Here's the fantastic music from the opening credits of The Strangler of Blackmoor Castle. 

 

Here's some amazing swingin' music from the two scenes at the "Old Scavenger Inn", and you will swear you hear a trumpet in there, and if you don't hear that, you will at least hear some very cool biting dialogue! 

 

Old Scavenger Inn

 Original Trautonium 

 

Mixtur-Trautonium

PSYCHO A GO-GO - Tacey Robbins - "My L.A." (1965)

This Al Adamson film is like the seven dwarfs of filth: Sleazy, Slimy, Gritty, Dirty, Grisly, Grimy, & Cheap, but, you know, somehow, you just gotta love it. Now, "Psycho A Go-Go" ain't exactly a 'Horror' film, but it's got some 'Psycho' characters that's for sure, and you would have been sadly disappointed if we had left it out. 

 

It's got another one of those quality 'brassy' soundtracks throughout the whole ordeal, and the kicker is, one of the main characters, Tacey Robbins as Linda Clarke is a singer, so the film fires right up with this first song, and trust me, after this, you have no idea what to expect!! 

 Once again Oscar winning Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond makes another el cheapo production into a work to behold, just like he did with some of our other favorites by Arch Hall & Ray Dennis Steckler. What a crazy rocket ride of a career! Thanx Vilmos!!!!! 

 

Too weirdsville for only one post, we'll touch on some of the other insanity in this film later. If this one song doesn't make you want to go out & buy or rent this movie, then you need to check your pulse! Psycho A-Go-Go

THE DEADLY MANTIS - Gertz/Lava - "Miss Blaine Dance" (1957)

In this swinging little number by Irving Gertz & William Lava, from the classic 1957 feature, "The Deadly Mantis," it had got so bad for the poor guys, that they had been forced to jitterbug with each other, since there were no females in the vincinity! 

 

SOUNDCLIP NO LONGER AVAILABLE

 Paul Smith Was in almost every TV show from the 60's you could think of! 

 The very fascinating former Miss Georgia, Alix Talton, as Marge Blaine shows up, & relieves some of the built-up pressure these guys were suffering from! Great song, wish it was longer!!

FIRE MAIDENS OF OUTER SPACE (1956) -- THE MAZE (1953)

Initially this was going to be a comparison of two of the most ridiculous dance numbers ever filmed in monster movies, then after looking at the stills, I started thinking that as bad as the music was, the dance sequences looked great together, so like any up and coming Jerry Warren or K. Gordon Murray, I decided they should be just one piece. If you look real hard, you will notice every other picture is from either "The Maze" or "Fire Maidens From Outer Space," including the monsters & the screams! 

 

If they had just used some rock or swing music in these dance bits, these films would have been a lot more interesting & popular today!!! 

 

The music from the Cannes club scene in "The Maze" is bad enough, but it's 10 times better than the drivel they used in "Fire Maidens Of Outer Space," so instead of the dance music, here's the sound/music from the guys in the spaceship! Space Sounds

 And let's don't forget that in "Fire Maidens Of Outer Space," this dude was using an adding machine to calculate their trajectory, this might be part of the problem....13