Category Archives: movie posters

Classic shlock: ‘Incredibly Strange Creatures’

4 Replies

incredibly strange creatures lobbycard

I’ve written about the 1964 low-budget classic, “The Incredibly Strange Creatures who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies” before, notably my memories of seeing it at a drive-in with an older relative.

I didn’t touch on the movie all that much, though.

Ray Dennis Steckler directed and stars – under his pseudonym Cash Flagg – and I guess you could argue he’s a forerunner to the director/stars we’re familiar with from today. His performance isn’t horrible but he’s undercut by the low, low-budget of his own movie.

incredibly-strange-hypnotism

The movie follows a group of friends who visit a carnival and stumble upon bad guys who hypnotize, disfigure and enslave people, turning them into, in effect, zombie slaves.

The movie has the telltale leisurely pace of a low-budget flick. For what seems like forever, characters wander around, gazing at stuff, talking about nothing. There seem to be endless scenes of arty dance numbers, totally out of place at a nightclub. Watching one of these movies makes you appreciate how a well-written, well-edited movie … well, moves.

Considering the movie was touted as “the first monster musical,” I know what Steckler was going for. But sheesh. I lost track of how many musical numbers were included.

incredibly strange creatures dance number

A dancing girls sequence seems to have been shot in a community theater, and the producers were intent on getting their money’s worth because the scene goes on and on .. and then is followed by another musical sequence. Cue up “Let’s All Go to the Lobby!”

Likewise, scenes of a nightclub comic are so bad they almost seem like a modern-day parody.

Not to mention the interpretive dance/dream sequence.

After a quick break to hypnotize a victim … it’s another musical performance!

Endless shots of carnival rides.

The cheapness of the movie’s production really stands out when you see how many sets look cheaper than your standard 1960s sitcom living room – and that’s the most lavish sets here. The fortune-teller set, which consists of a few drapes and blackout curtains, isn’t as bad as the plywood airplane cockpit in “Plan Nine,” but it’s pretty bad.

Something has to be said about the hairstyles of the three leads. They are, respectively, a receding combover, a towering pompadour and a huge and baffling head of helmet hair.

When the “Incredibly Strange Creatures” finally break loose with about 15 minutes left in the movie … it’s time for another musical sequence. Steckler really knew how to build suspense!

For a real treat, seek out the “Mystery Science Theater 3000” version of the movie from 1997. It’s available through Hulu online and Mike Nelson and the robots’ version of “Incredibly Strange Creatures” is just as funny as you’d think it would be.

Too sinful for the MPAA: Eva Green ‘Sin City’ poster

Leave a reply

sin-city-a-dame-to-kill-for-poster

Well, well.

There’s nothing like a little controversy to raise awareness of your movie.

So today the Motion Picture Association of America – the conglomeration of studios and production companies that oversee the ratings process for movies – apparently turned thumbs down on the character poster for Eva Green in “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.”

The MPAA’s objections, according to Deadline.com?

“For nudity — curve of under breast and dark nipple/areola circle visible through sheer gown.”

You can almost hear the nervous stammering and imagine the sweaty palms of some guy in the MPAA office as the whole matter was adjudicated and that verdict was being prepared for release.

Anyway, the movie version of Frank Miller’s comic comes out on Aug. 22.

Hopefully this whole ugly mess will be behind us by then.

Right.

70s movie posters: ‘Electra Glide in Blue’

Leave a reply

electraglide in blue poster

Here’s the latest in our ongoing series about 1970s movie posters.

If you remember, I started throwing a few classic 1970s movie posters out there after the inspiration of the 1970s-style poster for “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”

I maintain that some of the best movie posters of all time were produced to help market 1970s movies, including drive-in movies.

I still vividly remember seeing “Electra Glide in Blue” at a drive-in movie theater in 1973 with one of my older brothers.

Robert Blake was yet to achieve fame and notoriety as the star of TV’s “Baretta” – not to mention his late-in-life suspicion of murdering his significant other.

Here, Blake – small of stature but always a cocky bastard – plays a motorcycle cop drawn into a murder mystery.

All the early 70s movie touchstones are here, including rock music, “fuzz” vs “hippies,” and a twist ending.

It’s worth a look, and so is the poster.

Nice: New ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ poster

Leave a reply

guardians of the galaxy new poster

I’m still not quite sure how “Guardians of the Galaxy” will feel for general moviegoing audiences, but I think that between now and Aug. 1, at least the moviegoing public will know what it is.

There’s a new poster – seen above  – and a new trailer coming Monday, I believe.

Right now, “GOTG” is “that space raccoon movie” to some people.

And it’s not a blip on the radar for many people.

For the rest of us, it’s Marvel’s attempt to broaden the Marvel Cinematic Universe the company has been building since “Iron Man” debuted in 2008. Even more so than in “Thor” and the use of the Nine Realms in those movies, “GOTG” is a movie that will play out on a cosmic scale. It’s likely to be as much “Star Wars” as “The Avengers.”

I don’t know a lot about “GOTG” yet, but it’s a pretty sure bet to feature Thanos, the alien bad guy at the end of “The Avengers,” and likely to include a battle over at least one of the Infinity Stones, those powerful artifacts referenced in “Thor: The Dark World.”

And I think all of this is building to a showdown between the Avengers – possibly with the help of the Guardians and others – and Thanos in the third “Avengers” movie.

Right now, though, we’ve got “GOTG” to look forward to. This poster looks familiar enough for those who studied posters for “The Avengers” but also sparks memories of “Star Wars” and other space-faring soap operas.

Which, I think, is what director James Gunn and the Marvel folks want.

Classic sci-fi: “It! The Terror from Beyond Space”

Leave a reply

It_the_terror_from_beyond_space 50k

If there was a heyday of black-and-white, low-budget science fiction movies, “It! The Terror From Beyond Space” might have been smack in the heart of it.

It’s startling to think now that the 1958 release date of “It!” came just 10 years before “2001: A Space Odyssey” and less than 20 years before “Star Wars.” Those movies – although decades old now – seem much more contemporary than “It!”

When you make those comparisons, though, it’s funny to note that a movie that still feels contemporary despite the passage of years, Ridley Scott’s 1979 sci-fi thriller “Alien,” was in many ways inspired by “It!” A lot of people have called “It” the inspiration for “Alien.”

Plot-wise, they have more than a few similarities. An expedition to another planet – Mars in the earlier movie – results in a dead crew and suspicion on the survivor. When a second ship is sent to investigate, the only survivor of the earlier crew – played by Marshall Thompson – is to be brought back to Earth to be tried for killing his crew.

it the terror girl on shoulder

But there’s another addition along for the ride: A stowaway, a monster, a scaly hulk played by stuntman and actor Ray “Crash” Corrigan. The creature killed the earlier crew and, on the trip back, begins picking off the second crew, stalking them in the hidden recesses of the ship.

“It!” is most effective when it doesn’t show the monster. Shots of the creature’s big, rubbery feet and pigeon-toed walk sap some of its menace, that’s for sure. While the hulking monster is appropriately kiddie-matinee scary for its time, every shot of it reduces the mystery and menace.

it the terror lobby card

Random thoughts:

Although the movie is called by some the inspiration for “Alien,” it’s almost like a sequel instead.

The movie’s action is set in 1973, which as we all know was a big period for Martian exploration.

“It” came out during the great period of 1950s black and white science fiction with craggy alien landscapes and beautiful star-filled backdrops and graceful rockets with Buick-style fins.

There’s a lot of science-defying action here, with the crew firing guns pretty indiscriminately at the monster. Lots of gas bombs are thrown and there’s a token wearing of gas masks, but only when hatch doors are open. What about the the air-handling system? The monster and his victims spend a lot of time in the vents, so I’m pretty sure that gas would get all around the ship.

dabbs greer

Look for Dabbs Greer, familiar to “Little House on the Prairie” watchers, as one of the crew.

 

1970s poster flashback: ‘Coffy’

Leave a reply

Coffy pam grier poster

A while back I was inspired to begin this recurring look at the poster art of 1970s movies after seeing the throwback-style poster for “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”

Movies don’t get any groovier than “Coffy,” the 1973 blaxploitation flick starring Pam Grier in the title role. And the poster does justice to the movie’s storyline.

After her younger sister is hooked on drugs, Coffy, a nurse, sets out to kill as many drug dealers as possible.

It’s a pretty straightforward plot.

If you’ve never looked at it, check out the oddly-written Wikipedia page for the movie, complete with plot recap.

“Coffy uses her sexuality to seduce her would-be killers,” indeed.

And good lord, what an impression Grier made on a lot of us.

pam-grier

See what I mean?

1970s poster flashback: ‘Dillinger’

Leave a reply

dillinger warren oates poster

Excuse the lack of posts lately. It’s been a week, I’ll tell you that.

Last week when I posted the “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” 1970s-style poster here, I noted that it was a throwback to an entire era of cool movie posters.

winter soldier 70s poster paolo rivera

Here’s the “Winter Soldier” poster, of course.

dillinger warren oates poster

Here (and above) is the poster for “Dillinger,” a 1973 classic.

“Dillinger” was directed by John Milius, writer of such classic screenplays as the original “Conan” and “Red Dawn.”

“Dillinger” starred Warren Oates, a great character actor, as John Dillinger, the Depression-era bank robber.

“Dillinger” is remembered as a classic of its kind. And what a supporting cast: Ben Johnson, Harry Dean Stanton, Richard Dreyfuss (as Baby Face Nelson!) Geoffrey Lewis, Steve Kanaly (of “Dallas”), Frank McRae and so many others.

And it’s got a cool poster too.

Cool ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ posters

Leave a reply

detail winter soldier 1970s poster

I’ve had a love affair with movie posters my whole life. It probably began when I was just a kid and going to movies and continued into the 1970s and 1980s when I bought a lot of posters (one-sheets mostly) and lucked into even m0re when a local movie theater was closing.

I got rid of a lot of my posters but still have some. Maybe when the weather finally warms up I’ll crack open the plastic containers in my garage and pull some posters out to share with you.

In the meantime, I love a good modern-day poster.

I was really taken with the recent poster for “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and thought you might be too:

winter soldier imax poster

Cool stuff.

But today I saw artist Paolo Rivera’s take on the movie’s poster and loooooved it.

winter soldier 70s poster paolo rivera

As you can see, Rivera perfectly captures the 1970s action/thriller feel for the movie that the sequel’s makers have said they intended.

What a great piece of art. If you want to see more, check out his blog here.