CONQUEST OF SPACE - Rosemary Clooney - "In The Desert Sand" (1955)

1955, Extra Cool Big Screen TV in space, and finally a correct vision of the future, with a super Pre-MTV video featuring none other than the utterly fascinating Rosemary Clooney in some absolutely mind-blowing stock footage from the classic film "Conquest Of Space." 

 

Rosie was an amazing person, and sure, we all know about nephew George, but also her son Miguel Ferrer besides being an extremely talented actor collaborated with Billy Mumy (We're talking "Lost In Space" & "Fish Heads" here!!!!) on Marvel Comics title "Comet Man." In the late 80's we shared a card table with Miguel & Billy at the San Diego ComCon, super cool & down to earth people! For a real treat, by all means, please check out Billy Mumy's Site. Dude's a genius!! Meanwhile, back lost in the conquest of space again... 

 

Rosemary In Space

 

THE BLOODY BROOD - Harry Freedman - "Studs & The Weasel" (1959)

Nico! You know you're a spineless jerk when you have to rat out your own good boys, Studs & The Weasel to the Boss. Yeah, your time's gonna come little man. 

 

Studs played by Bill Bryden went on to be in crazy fave "The Mask." Weasel played by Michael Zenon has been working as assistant director in the movies since the 70's & just completed a film in 2008 entitled "Hank And Mike." 

 

Studs and The Weasel after Nico ratted them out!!! 

 

Here's a Bloody Collage starting with the questioning of Carol Starkman, the ultra cool blonde neighbor with the great lines, and degenerating into the hip apartment club scene! What happened to Carol? She was too good!! 

 

It's all those pseudo-hip criminal element squares like Nico, taking advantage of the swinger's love of art and their good natured temper, who murdered the whole scene! It happened again 10 years later to the Hippies, and then again about 10 years later to the Punks! For centuries people have just wanted to get high, listen to music, and enjoy the arts, and then, Bam! It's all about money, politics, & commercial greed! Where'd the love go, man?? 

 

Murder as an art form is a pretty damn ugly concept, but the music composed by Harry Freedman is incredible! Later films by this Polish composer included "The Hooker Cult Murders" from 1973 and "Kavik The Wolf Dog" in 1980.

THE TELL-TALE HEART - Crombie & LeSage - "19th Century Bar Scene" (1960)

To my uneducated ears this sounds like some kind of off kilter "My Favorite Things" deviation, but it is most likely some variation on some other Olde English traditional tune. Nonetheless, the composers both come from jazz and big band backgrounds, so it's not hard to imagine that their take on 19th century music might be a little warped or different! Tony Crombie was a drummer, pianist & bandleader, & Bill LeSage was a pianist for The Johnny Dankworth Seven & a bandleader himself. Not much horror in their credits but they did compose music for a few cool titles like "Pussycat Paradise", "Striptease Murder" & "The Spider's Web." 

 

In this scene from Poe's famous story, "The Tell-Tale Heart", Edgar Marsh seems to have a bit of an inferiority complex, among other apparent problems, including not being able to deal with the opposite sex! 

 

But let's give Edgar a little credit here, it's just not really that hard to imagine why he wouldn't want to Buy Her Another Drink! 

 

Edgar's a vicious killer and a jealous librarian, I think we have a problem! 

 

This is the guy with the haunting heart! 

 

Wow, what a hangover, good thing I didn't drink anything!!!

THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD - Dimitri Tiomkin - "Playing Cards Jive" (1951)

Four time Oscar winning child prodigy Dimitri Tiomkin is one of the best known and beloved composers in Hollywood history. If composing the music for "It's A Wonderful Life" wasn't enough by itself, Dimitri did everything from three films with Alfred Hitchcock, to "Mad Love" in 1935, "The Dude Goes West" and "Tarzan And The Mermaids" in 1948, this film "The Thing" in 1951, classic westerns "The Alamo" and "Rio Bravo" and the list just goes on and on! Although most of his scores are orchestrated, Dimitri was well versed in jazz and swing, and used it occasionally like in this scene to great effect. Coupled with some great dialogue, here's a killer scene from "The Thing", a classically brilliant film on multiple levels that should be mandatory viewing in classrooms around the world! Period! 

 

This shot is so amazing, it looks like an Edward Hopper painting!! 

 

The club is swingin' when journalist Scotty arrives! 

 

It's rumored that James Arness even scared himself in this film!! 

 

I believe it!

EVA, LA VENERE SELVAGGIA (Kong Island) - Roberto Pregadio - "Opening & Lab" (1968)

No, not two, but three stars presents: 

 

I really think Roberto Pregadio wins some sort of prize for composing music for movies with very bizarre titles. Maybe it has something to do with "getting lost in translation," but let me know, if you think I'm wrong. Besides this film which is also known as "King Of Kong Island,"(even though there are no big monkeys in it), you've got titles from the 60's like "Hole In The Forehead", "A Devil Under The Pillow", "Twisted Girls", the ominous look into the future of "Our Men In Bagdad," and the ever so cheerful, "A Place In Hell!" So here, while you're thinking about that, for your listening pleasure, the opening credits from..."Kong Island"!! 

 

And right after those oh so tropical sounds, we go directly into the lab, which was pretty much commonplace back in 1968, you know, two bedroom apartment, with kitchen, dining room, one bath and laboratory! I think it was about right about 1963 when everybody starting getting rid of their fallout shelters & getting laboratories to prepare for the future! 

 

Then, we are transported off into the jungle, with some great Lounge-Jeep-Mai-Tai-Safari music. No monkeys yet, but lots of bad dialogue! 

 

Cruisin' In The Jeep with Diana and the guys!!

MY WORLD DIES SCREAMING (Terror In The Haunted House) - Darrell Calker - "Psycho-Rama" (1957)

I used to own the poster from "Terror In The Haunted House," and I always thought it was a shame that the poster was much better than the movie. This was the first ever movie filmed in "Psycho-Rama" using ultra-scary subliminal pictures flashed on the screen randomly in an effort to drill into the viewer's mind and permanently destroy their spineless souls forever. It didn't work, but it was a decent effort!! A better movie would have helped a lot!! Boogie Woogie Calker, who you will remember from his work on "Voodoo Woman" once again comes up with a fairly odd, but almost completely orchestrated score. So, for all of you with nerves of steel, here's the opening credits from.....My World Dies Screaming in Psycho-Rama!!! Yeah!!! 

  I don't quite get what's scary about having a little furry animal in your mouth! Some kind of rodent, but it also looks like a little bear! 

 

It's okay, it's only a dream, nobody's trying to trick you!! 

 

And then comes our favorite part, Shiela Wayne is laying in bed freaking out in a cold sweat, and then she opens up her bedroom door & this guy goes flying across the room & over the banister. It's a crack-up, thank goodness for rewind because you'll want to watch this scene over and over! 

 

How would you like to have ole 'Demon Tongue' etched on your psyche for all eternity?? Ponder that one, why don't you!

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!