THE WALKING DEAD / Warner Bros. - 1936

Welcome everbloody to Mondo Monday with Tabonga, here at The Dungeon! Tonite we gots another flick featuring our favorite monster man, Mr. Boris Karloff.

What happens is... A gang of racketeers frames down-on-his-luck pianist, John Ellman, for a murder they commit. When he's found guilty after the trial, evidence is discovered that proves his innocence. The phone call to save his life is late and Ellman is already dead. Then, a famous doctor wants to use an experimental procedure to restore him to life, after all, he was innocent! With shades of FRANKENSTEIN!

The pedestrian music is the result of music department work by Leo F. Forbstein and Bernhard Kaun. Get this, Forbstein has 597 Music Department credits, the last one was in 1949! He must have worked on just about everything up til then. Kaun had 126 composing credits and did the musical cues for this movie.

Awrat then, les' bring in our littlest Dungeon Helper, and all around good guy, Rufus The Gnat! He's here for one reason, and one reason only... To push that big red 'GO' button waaaaay over there, and start our Eariffic Earclip for... THE WALKING DEAD!

When crooks have too much time on their hands... Here's Ricardo Cortez as Nolan, he's working on a plan for them to get away with a murder!

Barton MacLane, as Loder, plays hardball with Ellman to make things seem more desperate than they really are, because, they need him a lot more than he needs them.

Of course, Ellman is the main suspect because a judge that convicted him was the murder victim!

Ellman's face and the newspaper headline sez it all...

It's finally time for him to go the execution chamber where he'll be electrocuted to death. An inmate plays a live cello dirge for him as he's taken there, you can hear a bit of it in the soundclip.

The phone call from the governor to stop the execution comes a minute too late...

Ellman's body is turned over to the famous Dr. Evan Beaumont, played by Edmund (Kris Kringle) Gwenn, in an effort to bring him back to life. A modern day Frankenstein, you might say!

With just a little imagination you can definitely see that WB was trying to take advantage of the Universal Frankenstein monster!

You call this living?.. I thought I was supposed to be able to walk!

Very cool x-ray!

Ellman is still able to play the piano, and, he gets a recital!

At the recital, the dirty rats are in the audience, and Ellman gives them the evil eye. Remember, he's been there and back, who knows what he's capable of! The boys feel like they're burnin' in the hotseat! Nolan thinks about grabbing the Preparation H!

First, Loder get a little visit from Ellman and learns that bullets can't stop him...

Okay, honestly, what does this remind you of?

Then, another crook get his just desserts, a nice fall from a 10 story apartment window.

In the end, Ellman is pronounced dead for a second time...

Tune in next Mondo Monday wif' Tabonga for another Karloff Klassic, THE DEVIL COMMANDS!

Ghoulnight Everbloody!!

NEVER TAKE CANDY FROM A STRANGER - Elisabeth Lutyens - "No Jean, It Wasn't Right" (1960)

I've been on a Hammer Thriller jag here lately, and why not? Hammer Horror has always been out front, while the Hammer Thrillers quietly go about their dirty little business in the background!

Tonight's Saturday Shocker is no exception, because what kind of monster is more hideous than a sexually perverted child killer? That's pretty shockingly off for 1960 or damn near any year for that matter!

It's called "Never Take Candy From A Stranger," except on Halloween, but even then, anymore, you have to watch out for all The Freakin' Creeps!

Alas, I must say that this is not a movie with any cool music, even though it's written by one of our fave composers, Elisabeth Lutyens. It's just dramatically creepy! Elisabeth wrote the music for a bevy of great flicks like "Paranoiac," "The Earth Dies Screaming," "The Skull," "The Psychopath, "Blood Fiend," and more!

It's really a straightforward tale, this bust and the perv in the window are the same guy, the town's founding father, and because who he is, they've been covering up his behaviour for years!!

Patrick Allen and Gwen Watford are Peter and Sally Carter, and Janina Faye is their daughter Jean Carter. Patrick went on to do a bunch of TV, and even was in 18 episodes of a 1971 TV show called "Brett" where he was the character in the title! Gwen was Martha Hargood in "Taste the Blood of Dracula," and her very first role was Lady Usher in the 1949 release of Poe's "The Fall Of The House Of Usher!" Janina played a child in a host of cool films like "Horror Of Dracula," "The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll," "The Hands Of Orlac," and "Day Of The Triffids" before going on to do a ton of TV herself!

Now, they're just going through the motions! The film conveys the feeling that this is all happening in some little backwards burg, but you can tell by the size of the city hall, that this is a fairly sizable community!

Bill Nagy does an excellent job as the A-hole son Clarence Olderberry Jr, which in essence makes him the "Younger Berry!" Bill managed to be in over 100 features like "First Man Into Space," "Goldfinger," and "Battle Beneath The Earth" before departing this planet for good at the age of 51! "Stick that in my face one more time, and I'll break it off!!" Clarence Jr's choice of transportation was a pretty nice Caddy!!

"Never Take Candy From A Stranger" has a fantastic look to it for one obvious reason, the cinematography was done by the master, Freddie Francis! Nice sunny day in Canada, somebody fetch me a Molsen's!(The film was really shot in the UK!)

Despite everybody in town trying to make it not happen, they bring the weird and creepy old man Clarence Olderberry Sr. up on charges of child molestation! Clarence was played by Felix Aylmer who had been acting since 1930, usually in more respectable roles like Governor, President, Colonel, Judge, Lord, Earl, or Priest!

Judged by a jury of guys who probably are all employed by the Olderberry family, is it any wonder Clarence is going to get off again?

It's only a short amount of time after the trial is over, that Clarence has another run in with the girls, and this time he's got more than candy for them!!

Tell me this isn't a horror story, it's just that the monster is in a genuine human form!!

Beautiful shot in an ugly movie, thanx Freddie!!

Is it any wonder that Frances Green as Jean's playmate Lucille, never acted again!

Clarence pursues the girls, and they look for a number of places to hide! This joint looks like a horror unto itself!

The chase goes on!!!

Wow, I would have never known that the Canadian Police had Rambler station wagons as patrol cars!! Awesome!!

So now, how do you feel Clarence, the old fart actually killed one of the girls! Good going buddy! What a jerk!