Wednesday, August 19, 2020

50 Years Ago Today: Opening In Cincinnati Theaters

 

Andy Milligan had already been cranking out the next worst thing to home movies since the early 1960s but this was probably the biggest national launch his work ever had: the double feature BLOODTHIRSTY BUTCHERS and TORTURE DUNGEON, whose clip art images in this tiny advert were indelibly incoherent and wonderful. I wasn't able to see them at the time, but I remember this ad as being the decisive one that made me clip it out and start collecting newspaper ads, which I kept in a small valise. When the valise began to overflow after a few years, I reconsidered my hobby and threw them all out. But when I first saw this ad, something told me it might be a fleeting thing that might never come around again. I was wrong all three counts. The top tier titles are easily found on DVD but your best bet for BB and TD is finding the Code Red Blu-rays on eBay; they can be hard to find. Supposedly Severin Films has an Andy Milligan box set in the works, if you can wait it out.  DRACULA PRINCE OF DARKNESS, from 1965, is the Hammer classic directed by Terence Fisher and starring Christopher Lee, of course; it's available on Blu-ray from Shout! Factory.


MGM apparently had little faith in the title of this Robert Aldrich film - which, if you look very, very closely, you'll see was not "THE VIOLENT BUNCH" but TOO LATE THE HERO. Aldrich was further  bushwhacked by the tagline "From the man who brought you THE DIRTY DOZEN" (which took the place of "Directed by Robert Aldrich"). I've heard it's well worth seeing. A 2004 DVD release from MGM Home Entertainment is still available, if a bit pricey.  


What's particularly odd about this one is the co-star billing assigned to those last few names. Raquel Welch makes sense because she's pictured in the ad with Ringo, but Leonard Frey? When they could have just as easily mentioned Christopher Lee? Available on Blu-ray from Olive Films.


Picture proof that, in 1970, Bruce Cabot and Patric Knowles could still open a picture. Available on Blu-ray from Warner Home Video.

Three years after Roger Corman's THE WILD ANGELS, American International Pictures was still cranking out biker pictures. This one was from HELLS ANGELS '69 director Lee Madden, who went on to direct THE NIGHT GOD SCREAMED. This one starred Don Stroud, Larry Bishop, Luke Askew, Aldo Ray, and - of all people - Tyne Daly as the ingenue. Released on DVD by MGM Home Entertainment back in 2003 as part of a double-feature with CYCLE SAVAGES; it's still available here.


Starring and directed by Tony Vorno (the locations manager on EASY RIDER!) under the alias "Sebastian Gregory." An IMDB reviewer calls it "an embarrassing display" - but judge for yourself; it's available as a download or on DVD-R from Something Weird Video. Vorno used his real name on his 1982 feature, VICTIMS: THE DAY OF THE RAPIST. 


The apparently unpresentable full title of this Entertainment Ventures (David F. Friedman) release was THE JOYS OF JEZEBEL. Directed by Peter Perry, Jr. (KISS ME QUICK) under his "A.P. Stootsberry" alias. (He sometimes directed as "Seymour Tuchas.") The co-feature MY BROTHER'S WIFE was a black-and-white Doris Wishman title dating back to 1966. Shot without live sound in the same apartment used for Wishman's INDECENT DESIRES from the same period, it unreels at a co-feature length of only 61 minutes, but the IMDb reviewers seem to feel it's still overlong. Both titles are available as downloads or on DVD-R from Something Weird Video, if you're curious. 

(c) 2020 by Tim Lucas. All rights reserved.

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