HOUSE OF DRACULA and Other Scary Real Estate (1945)

Tonight's Saturday Night Special is "House Of Dracula," a Universal classic from 1945! 

Welcome to The Dungeon! Make yourself at home!

Since "House Of Dracula" is such a classic, I'm just assuming you've probably already seen it three or four times or more, so I don't see any good reason to explain much!

"House Of Dracula" literally screams Universal Studios!

At this point in time, one monster wasn't good enough anymore, so you've got Lon Chaney Jr. as The Wolfman!

Glenn Strange as the Frankenstein monster!

And looking quite dapper, John Carradine as Dracula!

But my favourite without a doubt is Jane Adams as the best looking hunchback nurse on the planet!

Jane was also in "The Brute Man" with Rondo Hatton, and played Vicki Vale in the 1949 version of "Batman and Robin!"

And don't forget El Medico Loco himself, the REAL monster, the mad doctor as played by Onslow (The Monster and the Girl, Them!) Stevens!

So as it turns out there have been a whole slew of "House Of..." scary/horror/mystery movies from 1934 to 1976, and even more since then, and it really does turn into a cluster, so here's what I've come up with. I've not included any movies with "The" as the first word or any other descriptive adjectives, just "House Of...." and even that gets a little obscure because so many of these movies have been released and re-released under different titles.

The first "House Of...." movie I could find came out in 1934, and was called "House Of Mystery!" I know it says "The" on the poster, but supposedly the real title was just "House Of Mystery!"

Next was "House Of Frankenstein" in 1944, followed by "House Of Dracula" in 1945! 

 

Next was "House Of Horrors" with Rondo Hatton in 1946! What a krazy poster!

In 1953 we got the classic 3D movie "House Of Wax, and next was "The Two Faces Of Dr. Jekyll" that came out in 1960, and was later released as "House Of Fright!" Also in 1960 was the Roger Corman version of "House Of Usher." In 1963 there was a Mexican movie that translated as "House Of Frights!" Also in 1963, "House Of The Damned" featuring Dungeon hero Richard Kiel came out. This movie also had Lon Chaney Jr. and John Carradine in it together again some 28 years later! In 1965, Jerry Warren released his next P.O.S. titled "House of Black Death!" Then there was "House Of 1000 Dolls" in 1967. Pretty amazing how many of these films have Vincent Price in them! In 1968 there was "House Of Evil" with Boris Karloff!

Then in the 70's, it gets weird, and the bottom drops out of the whole real estate market! Here are some of the reasons I never want to be a landlord! In 1970, the Barnabas Collins feature "House Of Dark Shadows," in 1971 "House Of Insane Women" and I know it says "The" on that handbill,  but it really didn't have "The" in the title! It was also released as "House Of Doom!"

In 1972 "House Of Crazies" escaped the "Asylum!" In 1973, there was "House Of The Living Dead! In 1974 there was "House Of Exorcism," and "House Of Whipcord!"

And just in case "House Of Insane Women" wasn't bad enough for you, the Spaniards came out with "House Of Psychotic Women" in 1976!!

This is a killer poster for "House Of Dracula!

I made you some wallpaper of what you get if you search for Dwrayger Dungeon House! There are also buttloads of movies from the same period out there with names like "House On Bare Mountain," "The House That Would Not Die," "House On The Edge Of The Park," "House On Haunted Hill," "The Haunted House Of Horror," and "Terror In The Haunted House" etc. etc. The list is almost endless if you really need a place to stay!

TABONGA! LAFFS AGAIN!!

It's another rainy Friday, here at The Dungeon! And, what better time for some more Laffs around here, so, I'll turn the microphone over to our Monster Pals...

Well, there you have it, hope you enjoyed the Laffs from our plugged in Monster Pals, check in again tomorrow where Eegah!! will definitely have something special for us...

THE 3D SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY/HORROR MOVIES OF 1953 - 1955

There were eleven Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror films that were released from 1953 to 1955 in 3D. It was probably 3D's finest hour! After you see these titles, I think you'll agree!

In Alpha-Chronological order they are as follows:

CAT-WOMEN OF THE MOON (1953) 

 

  HOUSE OF WAX (1953)
"It Comes Off The Screen Right At You!"

 

IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE (1953)
 Richard Carlson is in three of the eleven 3D movies!
 Most of these cool International posters came from The Wrong Side of the Art, which is probably the best poster resource guide available!

ROBOT MONSTER (1953)  
Seriously, can it get much more electrically thrilling than "Robot Monster?"

THE MAZE (1953)
She really looks like she's about to leap from the screen all right! I believe it!

 

CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (1954)
This "Creature From The Black Lagoon" poster is totally bizarre!!

 

GOG (1954)
Going backwards or forwards, this "Mechanical Frankenstein"is going to get you!

GORILLA AT LARGE (1954)
"From the highest point of the carnival midway...he unleashes a terror never known by mortal man before!" 

 

MAD MAGICIAN (1954)
Besides Richard Carlson, Vincent Price was the only star in more than one of these 3D movies! He was in two!
This is the coolest poster I've seen in a long time!

 

PHANTOM OF THE RUE MORGUE (1954)
This is the only movie on the list that we have never given a treatment I think. I've even lost track and our search engine doesn't always work correctly unfortunately, but it's free, so I'm not gonna complain!

REVENGE OF THE CREATURE (1955)
The tagline was "ALL-NEW 3-D THRILLS"

The HORROR And SCI-FI MOVIES Of PAUL DUBOV

Today we take a look at the Horror and Sci-fi Movies of one of my favorite character actors, Mr. Paul Dubov. He was also a writer for TV with 16 credits that includes HONEY WEST, THE GREEN HORNET, LOVE, AMERICAN STYLE, MY THREE SONS, MOD SQUAD, THE BRADY BUNCH, WONDER WOMAN, EIGHT IS ENOUGH and BACKSTAIRS AT THE WHITE HOUSE. He also appeared in SCIENCE FICTION THEATRE, ONE STEP BEYOND and THE TWILIGHT ZONE...

We start with THE ATOMIC KID from 1954, Paul only had a small part in this one. Mickey Rooney stars as a uranium prospector in the desert where atom bombs are being tested. He becomes radioactive, and helps the FBI break up an enemy spy ring.

Then, in 1955, Paul scores the role as the radiation infected human, Radek, in Roger Corman's DAY THE WORLD ENDED. The Mutant deep sixes Radek for stealing his meat!

Paul is back in 1956 in the role of Johnny, the arcade guy, in THE SHE-CREATURE. Unfortunately, Paul gets killed by the monster in this one too!

Then, he gets the role of Marcel the greasy owner of the bar in VOODOO WOMAN from 1957. This time, he avoids being killed, but, his partners in crime, Marla English and Lance Fuller, become the victims instead!

Okay, check it out... Paul appears in three movies in a row that have Paul Blaisdell's rubber monsters in them, how many people can make that claim?!!

Then, wow, Paul plays Lt. Milburn in one of my all time favorites, THE ATOMIC SUBMARINE from 1959. And, wouldn't you know it, Paul gets melted by a heat ray inside the saucer and becomes a fortune of war along with the two guys behind Arthur Franz!

Last on the list is SHOCK CORRIDOR from 1963, Paul plays Dr. Menkin in this super weird flick that also stars Peter Breck, Constance Towers, Gene Evans and James Best. Paul appeared in some of the best monster movies from the fifties, he'll always be one of my favorites! Join us again on Wednesday as we continue down the old bloody Dungeon trail...

RING OF FEAR - Mickey Spillane - "Man-Killer" (1954)

Welcome to the jungle or what is known as the Dungeon Garden Maze because tonight's Saturday Night Special is just that! Freakin' Special with extra sauce!

"Ring Of Fear" is a real dichotomy unto itself! It is seemingly an extremely fascinating movie, and yet, boring as Hell, and somehow it manages to do it all at the same time!

Awesome amazing colour and wide screen CinemaScope for 1954!"

Here's the names of just some of the acts in the circus! The only thing missing is "The Flying Zucchinis" and "The Harvey Wallbangers!"

Sean (Them!) McClory is Dublin O'Malley, fittingly enough since that's where the man was born! Sean was also in the "Outer Limits" episode called "The Duplicate Man!"

Dublin is the real beast who needs to be behind bars, not the lions and tigers!

Dublin O'Malley is a psychopath who has just escaped from a mental hospital! He robs this dude, switches clothes with him, and throws him in front of a train so that it looks like he himself has died!

Too bad they never delved more into the Side Show, but then again, Dublin O'Malley is a big enough freak! "Step right up, and see the nice man, who is really a vicious killer!" That's what the barker should be saying!

Out of some 40,000 pictures we've put up on this blog, this circus crowd shot is one of the strangest!

1950's power trio left to right Pat (Harrigan and Son) O'Brien, the world famous Clyde Beatty, and wise-crackin' Mike Hammer author, and the only reason I wanted to see this movie, Mickey Spillane!

Hopped up on hot dogs, candy apples, ice cream, and soda pop, the crowd goes wild!

Just about as creepy as a clown can be!

Ta - Da!!

What a way to earn a living!

The circus is in town, and with each appearance comes the big parade! These people had some payroll!

How can you go wrong with Mickey Spillane playing himself in a movie? You can't! He's not an actor, he's a writer, and quite an eccentric character at that! He's here at the circus because there have been a series of mysterious deaths, and they thought his crime writing skills might come in handy trying to figure it all out, especially, since he wrote the freakin' story!

Here's what Mickey was focused in on!

Here Mickey can be seen interrogating Dublin! You wanna talk about laid back??

Mickey in a Hawaiian shirt!

Another great thing about "Ring Of Fear" is when there aren't elephants, there is an abundance of gorgeous gals in the background, and you just can't go wrong there!

Here's the big problem! A circus in 1954 made for a real interesting backdrop for a film. It doesn't have an every day appearance, and you don't really have to pay much for any sets or extras, but they always cram circus movies full of what else but circus footage, and as much as I liked the circus as a kid, I don't really enjoy watching animals like lions and tigers in small cages having whips cracked at them, and it's totally lost it's appeal, and consequently, there lies the rub! Without all that, this would have been a really good 40 minute movie! (but even as it is, it's worth it just to see Mickey Spillane's performance!)