I VAMPIRI aka THE DEVIL'S COMMANDMENT / Titanus Studios - 1956

It's Freaky Vampire Friday with Tabonga, here at The Dungeon!.. We gots a tale from Italy all about a mad scientist in France who captures young women and drains them of their blood, in order to keep an ancient, evil duchess alive. Also, this was the first Italian made horror film of the sound era! Original title is LUST OF THE VAMPIRE.

Eegah!! sent over a great lil' soundclip of the club scene from the movie for our earjoyment, sooooo, you can push the big red 'GO' button there by the atomic juke box, NOW, Rufus The Gnat! Here's a taste of... THE DEVIL'S COMMANDMENT!

I remember back in the fifties when you could leave all your doors unlocked at night... Fortunately, we didn't have any mad scientists in our little town! I also remember when Richard Ramirez, The Night Stalker, was loose in California and all doors and windows were triple locked, bolted and barricaded!

Oops, this dizzy French dame makes the same mistake, so, Pierre La Salle, whoever he is, gets involved in the mystery!

There are tons of beautiful noir shots, because, the photography director was none other than the awesome Mario (CALTIKI, THE UNDYING MONSTER) Bava!!!

Here's a nice shot of the doctor's mad lab!

And, here's the club scene where the hip music's playing in the soundclip.

The doctor's a sick, warped bastard who enjoys his work, and, role model for Dick Cheney.

A local drug addict is finally linked to the 'vampire' case and cracks under interrogation by the police detectives.

The police rush to the the mansion of the duchess just in time to watch her die and revert back to her actual, ancient age!

Then, the police find where the female victim is being kept, in a freakin' tomb!!

A.D.3 OPERAZIONE SQUALO BIANCO - Robby Poitevin - "Operation White Shark" (1966)

 

Welcome to Wacky White Shark Wednesday out somewhere beyond the barrier reef to the west of The Dungeon, where the women are cruel and the guy's no fool!

Honestly, I love the beach, but I'm not a big fan of movies with a lot of underwater scenes in them! I think watching probably all 155 episodes of  "Sea Hunt" back in the 50's might have something to do with it! Irregardless, "Operation White Shark" is not overloaded with undersea footage, so it's bearable!

There was a day when if you needed a shot and you had enough curtains, almost anything was possible! Presto Change-O: Instant swank office!

They need a guy for the job who has all the right charms and attributes, so they turn to "Jerry the Computer" to make the right choice!

The perfect match is Rod Dana as Pat Rosario, Agente A.D.3! Pat can do anything, he was even a champion middleweight boxer!  Right out of a sit-com, the call to go to work interrupts Pat right in the middle of him having a good time in a barroom brawl! Eight years earlier, Rod Dana started his acting career with small parts in two of the dungeonest classics, "War Of The Colossal Beast" and "How To Make A Monster!"

What do you know about that? Up to the microphone steps another Dungeon fave, Janine (Kiss Me Monster) Reynaud as Frida Braun! If you guessed she's a bad girl, you'd be right! This little ditty was written by Robby (Crazy Westerners) Poitevin!

Agente A.D.3 can almost taste it, and probably ain't gonna waste it!

Franca Polesello has the role of Terry, A.D.3's assistant and watchdog! Franca has looked good in everything from "Mole Men Against The Sons Of Hercules," to "LSD Flesh Of Devil" and "The Mad Butcher!"

Who needs a good plot when you've got a couple of good looking fit people hanging around in their bathing suits?

A.D.3 is cool enough that he can get laid even wearing a shirt like that! Not 100% sure, but I think the easy mark is Lucia Modugno!

The first thing I ever learned in a film class was don't wave at the camera, but it works if you're sending signals to some nefarious evil person!

Great portrait of our hero, Agente A.D.3! If I ever decide to take up painting again, this will be a good place to start!

A.D.3 muscles the controls of some mechanical claws to dispose of one bad guy in a radioactive chamber!

Terry gets a rude awakening!

Good time to take advantage of some of the local caves! "Smoke 'em if you got 'em!" That's what I always say!!

It is with mirth and wild abandon that I stalk the mighty beast! Do you think Agente A.D.3 will have a problem with this magnificent creature?

Not!! And Terry didn't do so bad herself either!

Hard to imagine, but then Terry gets captured and A.D.3 has to save the day!

When it's all said and done, A.D.3 has to take care of some unfinished business!

~ 13 OF TABONGA'S FAVORITE FIFTIES MONSTER FLICKS ~

It's my birthday today, so, I wanted to do this post for a change of pace, here at The Dungeon!.. Here are 13 of my favorite monster flicks from the fabulous fifties, it was even greater if you were lucky enough to grow up at that time and got to see some of them at the theater when they originally came out, like Eegah!! and I did! They are listed in alphabetical order.

THE ATOMIC SUBMARINE - 1959 / I love this one and watch it quite a bit, lots of twisted science and horror! Pictured is a close up of the tentacled cyclops alien in it's living flying saucer.

THE BLACK SCORPION - 1957 / Saw this one at the theater, if you haven't noticed, when they show this close up, they turn the sound up real loud! It made the experience pretty damn wild for us kids! This close up model was made from actual crab parts.

THE BLOB - 1958 / My dad took me to see this when I was 10 years old, theme kills, the rest of it freaked me out but good, had nightmares years later!! Photo shows the old man's hand after Steve and Jane get him to the doctor!

CALTIKI, THE UNDYING MONSTER - 1959 / Another blob flick, love blob flicks, Eegah!! and I saw this one in the theater. Photo shows Max getting what he deserves, a tasty morsel for Caltiki!!

CURSE OF THE DEMON - 1957 / Saw this one too, wow, what a wild ride! The Demon puppet is teriffic, the part where Dana Andrews is walking through the woods in the dark is still creepy!

ENEMY FROM SPACE - 1957 / Gawd, I love this freakin' movie, also got to see it at the theater. Photo shows super rare shot of one of the blob monsters after it breaks out of its dome!

FIEND WITHOUT A FACE - 1958 / Now, here's a movie that would creep you out seeing it for the first time, decent animation of those freaky brain sucking fiends!!

THE FLY - 1958 / Another freaky flick my dad took me to see when I was 10! The Fly makeup in the still remains one of Hollywood's greatest creations!!!

FORBIDDEN PLANET - 1956 / Here's another one I saw with my dad, I was 8. There is no way to describe seeing this fantastic movie back then, and, remains my very favorite fifties movie... The music, Robby The Robot and the ID Monster, wow!!!

I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTER SPACE - 1958 / 1958 was a great year for monsters, this movie is an offbeat example with a sexual theme and fantastic, creepy space aliens!

THIS ISLAND EARTH - 1955 / The Metaluna Mutants in this one are the best, one of the first paintings I did in high school was a portrait of one, I still have it. I had a huge crush on Faith Domergue.

THE WAR OF THE WORLDS - 1953 / Another amazing fifties monster movie, great war machines and Martians!

I came across this while I was looking for TWOTW pictures, this is a still from WAR OF THE WORLDS THE TRUE STORY from 2012, a documentary style movie using WW I and WWII footage to make it seem real, KILLER!! I could only find a download on Amazon!

X: THE UNKNOWN - 1956 / Another great British blob flick, it's extremely radio-active and can melt people! Some tense scenes penned by my hero, Jimmy Sangster!