WITCHCRAFT / The Doll In Brambles - 1961

Here's the first episode of the failed TV series that was supposed to compete with THE TWILIGHT ZONE, but, it could not compare to the classic show and was cancelled posthaste. Our story is about Madame Tirelou, a witch who will not allow her granddaughter, Marie, to marry her true love, Louis. Louis enlists the help of his old friend Fred to break the witch's spell. After she puts a curse on Louis after meeting Marie in the woods, Fred must figure out a way to save them for the mean old witch!

Here's your host, Franchot Tone, as he introduces the episode... Franchot had a healthy 112 acting credits from 1932-68 and was even in an episode of THE TWILIGHT ZONE!

An American, Fred, played by Dungeon great Darren McGavin, visits his friend Louis in France, he is supposed to be best man at his wedding. But, Louis explains that his beloved Marie is forbidden by her grandmother to even see him!

Fred goes to visit Madame Tirelou and meets Marie, he hands her a note from Louis.

Love this shot of the grandmother, Madame Tirelou, she looks like a witch! After talking to Fred, she realizes that he is a friend of Louis and screams at him to leave her house!

The note tells Marie to meet him in the woods, which she does. Unknown to both of them, Madame Tirelou is watching the scene from a distance. Not good!

She goes back to her place and goes to her special room in the basement. She pulls out her wooden doll of Louis and wraps it in bramble branches while cackling!

Immediately though, Louis loses the use of his legs as he walks through the brambles on his way back home...

Fred goes to the witch's house to confront her, but, she is not there. Marie agrees to show him her hex room and he takes the wooden figure!

Later, after Fred is gone, the witch comes home and confronts Marie with a fireplace poker about what had happened while she was away...

Louis is found helpless where he had fallen and taken back to his home to recover, but, he has no use of his legs. The doctor thinks it is all in his mind...

The basement is also used to torture Marie when she misbehaves, Madame Tirelou has a bat ready to scare the Hell out of Marie when Fred and Louis arrive! Fred has told Louis that Marie is in extreme danger, jogging his mind to overcome his mental illness!

The witch goes crazy, putting hex after hex on Fred, but, he's not affected in an way. She keeps backing up and finally falls through the old balcony, falling to her death on the rocks below!.. YAY!!

They wait until the end to show the title card, kinda cool... Eegah!! is back tomorrow with more Cool Dungeon Cargo fur uns!

JAPANESE HORROR SPLASHES AND SPLATS FROM THE 1950'S AND 60'S!

It's time for yet another Weirdsville Wednesday in The Dungeon! I ended up with a bunch of Japanese horror movie trailers; I think you can find most of them on YouTube if you're interested. Not came, but comes! And that's the general rule with trailers, just like posters, the movie makers can say anything they damn well please, because nobody has ever held them accountable!

That 'Masterpiece' would be "RODAN," and if I recall correctly, he didn't come from Hell, it was Tabonga who came from Hell!

Scream if you want! Nobody can hear you in space!

Tumultuous!

Now that's a cool word you don't hear every day!

Late again!

 We've discussed before the fact that there are different title cards in movies and the trailers for them! I'm pretty sure this is a good example, because I've never seen this "Mothra" title card before! Wow!

 Speaking of "Mothra," how about this metamorphosis?

'Creature Killer,' can't get much more ominous than that!

And not Monty Python!

So in theory, everything should stop right here, cause it's over, right?!

 We sure as Hell better hope so!

 This one really gets to me, like ill-boding is so NOT ominous!

Aw, Sheeit!!

 I seriously hope this isn't one of the worst typos ever, and they actually didn't mean Laser ray gun! (Read the comments for updated information!)

Go ahead! Take the plunge!

 

Not screwing around here, we're talking 'Absolute Realism," and if you don't think so, then go and look it up!

Okay, well that's pretty much the end of the story, because there's not much to look forward to after that! We're screwed!! Why would you even want to see this film because when they say "The End," they mean it!!

10 GREAT MONSTER MOVIES TABONGA! SAW IN 1957

1957 was one of the greatest years for monster movies, some of us got to see them when they came out, making for happy little monster kids. Here are 10 movies (I saw a total of 19 movies in 1957) I got to see and will be forever grateful. The movies are in no particular order.

THE BLACK SCORPION is still a ton of fun to watch, I think the best part is when the big old puss of the monster is shown with all its slimy drool and slobber!

I loved CURSE OF THE DEMON when I saw it, the Demon was a terrifying as Hell, but, the scenes in the woods of that fireball stalking Dana was even scarier to me!

When I saw VOODOO ISLAND it was a very strange adventure, of course the monster plants were very disturbing, especially the ones that attack the female helper Sarah and the one that captures the small girl, yow!..

Man, NOT OF THIS EARTH was super freaky, so many crazy things going on! Still, my favorite part was when Mr. Johnson releases Paul Blaisdell's creepy hovering Umbrella Monster!

I was totally plugged into 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH when I saw it, besides the fabulous Ymir creature, I thought that the infected crewman was freaky, would more people catch it?

Another real treat was THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS! The Brain was shocking, a big Brain with eyeballs that can fry yer ass was pretty damn scary at the time. A great role for John Agar with his weird contact lenses and all!

When I saw THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN, it was so sad and depressing. I still remember when Grant Williams, in his boat, encounters the strange radio active fog that surrounds and causes him to shrink down! - p.s. the cat and tarantula were the monsters.

KRONOS blew my mind, it was so freakin' unique! The saucer from space, the little ball of light with an alien presence, the doctor taken over by the aliens, the giant, ever-growing Robot from Hell, the A-Bomb, people getting crushed, etc. Wow, a real sci-fi treat and a half!

Besides FORBIDDEN PLANET, ENEMY FROM SPACE is my favorite sci-fi movie from the fifties. I cannot tell you how amazing and creepy it was to see this Great Monster Movie in 1957 at age 9. I've always been scared by the idea of Blobs and when Quatermass looks into the dome and sees the sea of black slime twitching and writhing, well... YOOOW!! It was a movie that got inside you like INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS!

Lastly is THE DEADLY MANTIS, another movie that was amazing at the time, Universal always took extra care with their fifties monster movies and it shows with this one! I liked the scenes when it was just buzzing around. Okay then, tune in Wednesday when Eegah!! gives it his all...

IM SCHLOSS DER BLUTIGEN BEGIERDE - Adrian Hoven - "Castle Of The Creeping Flesh" (1968)

 I'm anything but normal, but I normally don't try and speak bad of most films, just because I respect the effort it takes to make one, but my patience has been growing a little thin as of late! The English language is a funny thing, for instance, here are two words with two completely different meanings, two different spellings, but are both pronounced the same way, and both describe this movie to a tee. Those two words are "Awful"- defined as "Very Bad or Unpleasant," and "Offal" - defined as "Refuse or Waste Material" or in other words, "Shit!"

Welcome to a Saturday Night less than special from the bowels of the Dungeon!

 "Castle Of The Creeping Flesh," great title, strange title card, and a total waste of everybody's time who had anything to do with making it, and or watching it!  The money spent to make this movie should have been spent on feeding hungry people or animal shelters!

Smoke and drink as much as you want, it's not going to make it any easier or better! These people have no morals, everybody is banging everybody else!

 "Castle Of The Creeping Flesh" is nothing more than Euro Trash soft-core porn........

 ...............Wrapped up in a very flimsy horror story!!!!

As much as you would like to, whatever you do, don't forget about these two guys! 

Howard Vernon is actually in The Dungeon Hall Of Fame, but not for this movie, and to make it even worse, in this dubbed in English version, they've given him a big deep baritone radio announcer voice that is just so ridiculous, it's ridiculous!!

This is the guy in charge of the lighting!

Michel Lemoine and Janine Reynaud have an incredibly erotic time eating chicken! The funny thing is that we grew up with a girl named Michelle Lamoine, and she reminds me of Janine Reynaud!

Cut back to the two creepy doctors again and again and again!

And too many times to count they cut back to what the doctor's are doing with what appears to be real surgery footage, again, and again, and again! It's disgusting! It's not even original!! So give me a freakin' break already!!!

After showing off her breasts for 10 minutes, Janine says "Oh, My!"

The original story was written by Jess Franco which explains a lot, and "Castle Of The Creeping Flesh" was written, directed, and produced by Adrian Hoven, an actor branching out into new territory in one of his seven Directorial roles! Adrian passed away at the age of 58 in 1981.

Sorry Adrian, I salute you for trying, but don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out!
Some things just don't need to be!! I get it, but really, who cares?
On a lighter note, do you know that this is the first year since 1956 that Easter and April Fool's day fall on the same day! The irony of that event is simply amazing!