BLOOD OF DRACULA'S CASTLE - Don Hulette - "TJB Mood" (1969)

The only musical credits on "Blood Of Dracula's Castle" besides the title tune we presented a few months back, go to Don Hulette, who only gets credited for additional music in the music department, but was probably responsible for this music. A couple more of his soundtrack accomplishments from the 60's are "They Saved Hitler's Brain" and "The Madmen Of Mandoras." 

 

I'd say they were very lucky to be able to shoot this opening sequence of scenes at "Marineland!" 

 

The photographer inherits a castle, and thinks it will make a good backdrop for his photos, so maybe he can sell them to Universal (The people who brought us "Frankenstein" etc!) Get it? 

 

Los Angeles circa 1969! It's quite understandable why this music sounds vaguely like "The Tijuana Brass!" You know, it was just that era, and that "TJB Mood" was quite popular! 

 

They go up in the 320 foot "Sky Tower", and you get a chance to see something you'll never see again in your lifetime, open fields and open land right along that old Southern California coastline in Palos Verdes!

 

This is just a taste of what the happy couple has waiting for them!! 

 Vampires always suck, but this Al Adamson vehicle, and this vampire couple really suck on more than one level, and let me tell you something, that ain't V-8 they're drinking!!!

QUATERMASS 2 - James Bernard - "In The Pub" (1957)

Arguably the first ever movie to use the number 2 in a title to signify that it was a sequel, "Quatermass 2" is part of an ongoing series of TV shows and movies that has continued up until 2005! We predict it must be about time for a new one!!!! 

 

Madelyn sez, "You'll drink Irish and like it!"

 This scene consists of the entering of the pub, with a jig playing, and after the blonde Madelyn shows them how it's really done, she walks over to the jukebox and plays a very swingin' tune.

 

Right about here the facade is dropped and the questions really start flying. Favorite lines are "I'm a police officer!" "We don't have any police here." "Well, you have now, turn that music off!!"

 

We've never written anything about James Bernard before, and that is quite astonishing considering his body of work as soundtrack composer. Actually, there are too many titles to list them all, but just for instance, besides a couple of "Quatermass" films, you've got the absolute best Hammer classics, "Dracula" and "The Curse Of Frankenstein," then, there's "X: The Unknown," "The Hound Of The Baskervilles," The Terror Of The Tongs," "The Gorgon," "Torture Garden" and lots lots more!!! This movie is over 50 years old and still very cool!!! Imagine that!! Think about it! Wink, wink, nod, nod! "2 beers and a double!!"

NIGHT TIDE - The Paul Horn Combo - "Hey, Wait A Minute" (1961)

Here's one last brief, but very cool little tune that The Paul Horn Combo did for the club scene in "Night Tide."

Maybe it's because I was trying to figure out how a person can be in a bar and just ask a complete stranger why somebody was talking to them, and what did they say? 

"Night Tide" could possibly be remade with Angelina Jolie as the mermaid, the only person who could even remotely be as good as the ravishing Linda Lawson was! 

I don't know why I didn't include this song in the last write up on "Night Tide," but it's too good to leave behind because they did a completely brilliant job on this..... Jazzy Little Tune!!  

You don't even want to know what's going on in this octosex nightmare scene! 

Curtis Harrington did a fantabulous job of writing and directing! Dennis Hopper did a fine job of waiting!! They would work together again in 1966 on "Queen Of Blood!"

NOT OF THIS EARTH - Ron Stein - "Theme & Later" (1957)

So, Tonight's special feature is the very cool 1957 film, "Not Of This Earth," because it's got all the vital elements that we hold so near and dear down here!!! Produced and directed by Roger Corman! Music by none other than Ron Stein! Of course there's a creepy theme and a great little scene with parked kids and music in the background. This movie also has both Dick Miller and Jonathan Haze in it, and special effects by Paul Blaisdell. It's hard to ask for much more than that! 

 

We spent a lot of time trying to figure out just the right movie for tonight, this #313 post; I wanted to use something from "Eegah!!" and of course Tabonga had something more vegetable in mind, more family oriented like "From Hell It Came," so after quite a tussle, we chose a common ground for #313, which Tabonga pointed out, for all you astute people, is the same backwards and forwards!! Amazing!! Here's "Not Of This Earth"!! Cheers!!!! 

 

Hey, wait a minute! That's Impossible!! What the............. 

 

Movie and TV stalwart Paul Birch is perfect, what a look!! 

 

Looking at Paul's career is like looking through a copy of a 1960's TV guide! 

 

His buddy just came out of the closet, literally!!

 

1950's birth control, "If my father dug this scene, he'd put small round holes in your head!" Yessiree!!

THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS - Johnny Douglas or Ron Goodwin - "Convict Party" (1962)

So you see, that's one of the problems with these films. You've got a composer, and or some uncredited guy adding additional music, and it can get pretty hard trying to pinpoint who did what if you don't have some super inside info. Like in this film, the soundtrack is largely orchestrated except for this part where the convicts are making the girls party with them, so of course the music has to be different too, it has to be dirty, it has to swing! It's gotta be the other guy composing at that point. To quote "The IMDB" "Although credited with "additional music", composer Johnny Douglas actually supplied more music than the main composer, Ron Goodwin. According to the official music cue sheets, Douglas wrote 26 mins, Goodwin 19 minutes." Who did what? Probably only Tabonga's 7th cousins know, and if you've ever partied with those space vegetables, you know it's not even worth discussing! 

 

The oldest trick in the book, take advantage of people's curiosity, of course all the rubberneckers are going to look! 

 

"Day Of The Triffids" is one of our favorite movies, and Howard Keel does a fantastic job in what was his only real horror role! 

 

Cinematographer Ted Moore was working overtime on some of these shots. This one through the dancing girl's legs to the drunk with his head on the table, and the zombified drunk girl on the left is too much! 

 

What a scene!!!! These girls are being held captive, but the one dancing on the table seems to be having a pretty good time! One thing's for sure, the music is hot!!! 

 

Then the stupid giant plants from outer space decide to literally crash the party, crash through the windows, crash through the walls! 

 

As the movie goes on, you'll see that you can burn or electrocute or melt the triffids, but shooting doesn't work very well, and who gave this guy the bright idea to try and hit it with a chair? 

 

Why didn't they use the same method we use to keep all the plants in line? Eat them!! Steamed or boiled, with a bunch of butter and some black pepper, maybe some soy sauce! I'll bet those triffids would be at least as good as brussel sprouts or scallop squash, probably better!! 

 

"The Day Of The Triffids" is a brilliant movie, and everybody should go out of their way to see it. The acting is great, the colour is beautiful, and it's just a very solid film on a lot of different levels, and I definitely believe Stephen King saw this movie as a kid!

THE TROLLENBERG TERROR (The Crawling Eye) - Stanley Black - " All The Jars And Bottles You Got" (1958)

Tabonga says this is music, but I'm not so sure he doesn't have termites in that hollow log of his! Sometimes there's a fine line between "space music" and merely just "sound effects", but either way, here's some neat stuff from a weird and very creepy movie, from 1958, "The Crawling Eye." (Actually, the more I listen to this, the more I like it too!) 

 

Forrest Tucker didn't make a lot of horror films, but oddly enough, he made two 'crawling' ones. Besides "The Crawling Eye," he was also in a film called "The Crawling Terror," but other than that he was mostly noted for being in TV westerns! Remember "F Troop"? Now, isn't that funny? You probably couldn't name a show that today considering the present day connotation of the letter 'F'!!! You might note how casual Forrest is throughout this film, like, okay, circle up the wagons again, it's a Big Eye with tentacles this time, okay, get me something to throw at it! 

 

This film is dead serious, No jokes, No gags! No goofing around or somebody's going to get hurt!!!

 All kidding aside, The Big Eye choking this guy will get under your skin! I hope he got paid good for this scene! 

 

Here's the real "Crawling Eye" itself!!! Yow!!!!

THE DUNWICH HORROR - Les Baxter - "Theme & Freak-Out" (1970)

Pushing the edges just a bit, not because we have to, but because we want to, Here's " The Dunwich Horror" which was released January 14, 1970, so that means it was essentially made in 1969. It's based on a short story by the master of the macabre, H.P. Lovecraft, and is driven by a super cool Les Baxter soundtrack! If you are not familiar with the work of Les Baxter, then just search this blog, and you will be! 

 

It stars 1960's Pop Icon Sandra Dee (Can you say Gidget?). 

 

And kind of like another 1960's Pop Icon, Frankie Avalon, it's always weird to see beach perfect people in horror movies, and it always adds that extra special element of Yeecchh!!!! 

 

Who's got the acid? Gimme, gimme, gimme! Now, kiss me! 

 

Sandra looks Great even with this Hellish psycho nightmare going on! 

 

Okay, ugly dream guy, can you get just a little closer?? 

 

It's a Paycheckdelic Freak-Out !!!