"It's About Time" to Discover Marc Platt

Marc Platt is an extremely talented singer, songwriter and producer based in California. He’s been providing in the know fans with excellent music since the 1980s, when he fronted the outstanding power pop ensemble The Real Impossibles. Platt recently released Beat on the Street, an EP that offers a half dozen examples of his rock and roll bona fides. "Joe Strummer," the record's memorable opening salvo, is a strong track that manages to rock out and be socially conscious at the same time, while also name-checking the late great Clash guitarist-vocalist. The low-key 1960’s singer-songwriter vibe of the lovely “Did You See Her Smile” will make you feel like you're hearing a lost gem from Neil Diamond’s early period.

“On Lonely Avenue” and “As The City Sleeps” are noir-tinged songs that benefit from Platt's passionate vocals and atmospheric production. The very cool, echo-laden “Surf In The Rain” is a fusion of punk, surf music and garage rock, featuring his deft guitar work. Then there’s the glorious pop tune "The Beat," which Platt co-authored with the late John Ferriter of The Tearaways. The songs featured on Beat on the Street are superbly crafted tales of love, loss, heartache and joy. Here's hoping we’ll get a full-length release from Mr. Platt in the near future, as this marvelous EP will definitely whet your appetite for more music from this marvelous artist. Beat on the Street is an absolute must listen.

To tide you over until Platt's next release, Rum Bar Records has released a remastered edition of It’s About Time by The Real Impossibles. This fantastic power pop outfit was founded by Platt during the 1980s, and featured a lineup of stellar musicians during their existence, including bassist Probyn Gregory, guitarist Robby MacDonald, and drummer Brian Glasscock. Peter Case of The Plimsouls also recorded some tracks with the band. It’s About Time features 13 prime slices of power pop from throughout the band's history, including the guitar infused "Talkin' Bout You," a song that Bryan Adams wishes he'd written and recorded during his MTV heyday. The hard-driving "Turn My World" and the country-flavored "Here And Now" are also highlights of this terrific collection. Platt's Neil Diamond influence surfaces again on a fine power-punk cover of "Cherry Cherry."

If you're pining for the kind of songs bands like The Alarm, The Romantics, The Producers and The Knack gave us back in the day, look no further than the melodic pop-rock tunes “Something To Learn” and “Is It Love,” or the modern rock flavored "Firing Line." Then there's the crunchy “Won’t Let You Down” and “Guess You Feel It Too” both of which sound as if The Blasters decided to have a jam session with The Georgia Satellites and invited The Fabulous Thunderbirds along for the ride. You'll find so many jangly, guitar-infused tunes on the album, you'll be spinning it relentlessly, whether you're re-discovering the band, or hearing their incredible music for the first time. It's About Time from The Real Impossibles and Beat on the Street from Marc Platt are now available from Rum Bar Records. You can find Rum Bar Records at: https://rumbarrecords.bandcamp.com. To give you a taste of these fine releases, here are links to "Surf In The Rain" from Marc Platt's excellent Beat on the Street, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2MFS9083FE, and "All Over This World" from The Real Impossibles' wonderful It's About Time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiWJkiGMKEw. 

Miracle Mile: Fate, Love & the Apocalypse

Many apocalyptic thrillers and disaster films tell their story on an epic-sized canvas. Movies like Airport, The Poseidon Adventure, Independence Dayand Deep Impact feature a sprawling cast of characters fighting for their lives to survive ships or airplanes in peril, natural disasters, rampaging monsters or alien invaders. Miracle Mile (1988), writer-director Steve De Jarnatt's end of the world tale, travels a different road. The film relates its story on a much smaller scale, and it's a unique, offbeat entry in the pantheon of end of the world thrillers.

Anthony Edwards in Miracle Mile

As the movie opens, we meet a Los Angeles based musician named Harry. While visiting the La Brea Tar Pits museum, he meets Julie, who works at a local diner. The two hit it off and spend the afternoon together. They agree to meet later that evening for a date after Julie's shift as a waitress is over. A power failure in Harry's building causes him to oversleep, and miss their rendezvous. When he gets to the diner hours later, Julie has left the premises, believing that he's jilted her. Harry uses the payphone (hey, this is the 1980s, remember?) outside the coffee shop to call her, and leaves her a message. He apologizes for missing their date and asks her to meet him later.

That's when fate intervenes. The phone rings, and Harry picks it up. A frenzied voice on the other end of the line starts talking about an impending nuclear attack, and says that we're going to retaliate. It turns out that Chip, the caller, works at a military base. He dialed the wrong number, and thought he had reached his Dad. Before Harry can confirm Chip's story, there are gunshots on the line, and a voice tells him "Forget what you just heard," before breaking the connection. Harry goes back into the diner, and tells everyone there what just happened. The reactions of the customers there vary from some of them thinking he's crazy to others taking him deadly seriously. If what Harry heard is true, they've got just over an hour to get out of the area before the attack happens.

The group in the diner plans an escape, thanks to a customer named Landa, who's a stock trader and has some connections, thanks to her having dated a guy from the Rand Corporation. As the time for the attack inches closer, Harry works his way across the city to find Julie before the coming apocalypse. Can he save her in time? Is there really a nuclear attack imminent, or was the phone call a hoax? Is Harry dreaming the whole thing? One thing's for sure: Harry knows that Julie is the love of his life, and he's got to find her before the doomsday clock runs out.

The cast is fantastic. Anthony Edwards is marvelous as Harry, and Mare Winningham is terrific as Julie. The two knew each other before working on the film, and they have excellent chemistry.  The rest of the stellar cast is filled with familiar faces, including Denise Crosby, Diane Delano, Mykelti Williamson, Kurt Fuller, and Danny De La Paz. They're all wonderful in the movie. The scenes in the diner feel a bit like a classic TV drama from the 1950s. They have the aura of a Playhouse 90 or Twilight Zone episode. According to Denise Crosby, who I met a few years ago at a convention, the cast was actually able to re-hearse these scenes before production, and it gives the early portion of the film a natural, low-key, one-act play kind of vibe. 

Miracle Mile is a unique combination of genres; it starts out as a 1980s “meet cute’ love story, then morphs into a doomsday thriller, an action movie, and finally, offers us a very 1970s style downbeat climax. The story's tonal shifts puzzled some of those who initially attempted to produce the film. Steven De Jarnatt's script had been circulating in Hollywood for years, and it was known as one of the best unproduced screenplays in the pipeline. According to De Jarnatt, at one point the film was being developed at Warner Brothers as the basis for Twilight Zone: The Movie, but it never came to pass, because the writer-director balked at changing the film’s ending. De Jarnatt eventually bought back the script and attempted to get the project off the ground himself, when producer John Daly and Hemdale Films stepped in, and worked with him to produce the movie.

De Jarnatt does a solid job with the film’s direction. The effects are a bit dated, because this is the pre-CGI age, but cinematographer Theo van de Sande does a great job evoking the night-time world of Los Angeles, aided by the effective, deeply moody score provided by Tangerine Dream. Miracle Mile offers a fascinating “what if” scenario. What if you knew you only had a very short time to live? What would you do with the moments you had left? If you enjoy doomsday thrillers, Miracle Mile is a little something different for the genre. It’s a very personal disaster film. You might find yourself thinking about just how much of what happens to Harry and Julie is fate, and if in fact, it really happened at all. The movie is available in a marvelous Blu-ray edition from Kino Lorber with a number of great extras, including a commentary with writer-director De Jarnatt, and a cast reunion featurette. Here’s a link to the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNXZX8JRb6o.

This post is part of the Disaster Blogathon, hosted by my fellow bloggers over at Dubsism and The Midnite Drive-In. I’d like to thank them for allowing me to join in on the fun! Follow this link for more info, and to check out the other entries in the blogathon: https://dubsism.com/2020/06/10/the-disaster-blog-a-thon-is-here/.

Bava's Cool, Stylish "Danger: Diabolik"

Mario Bava is probably best known as the director of horror films like Black Sunday and giallo thrillers like Blood and Black Lace, but he also made sword and sandal movies, science-fiction tales and even a Western. Bava was a master at creating stylish and atmospheric films, which ended up looking much more impressive and expensive than their often modest budgets. He directed one of the best comic book adaptations ever made. Danger: Diabolik (1968) is a colorful, action-filled adventure based on the Italian comic book, or fumetti, created by siblings Angela and Lucianna Giussani. The series follows the adventures of a master thief, Diabolik, and his accomplice, Eva Kant. Diabolik began publication in 1962, and became one of the most successful comics ever published in Europe, selling more than 150 million copies.

The initial cinematic adaptation of Diabolik was begun by producer Tonino Cervi and director Seth Holt. The cast featured Jean Sorel as Diabolik, Elsa Martinelli as Eva Kant and George Raft as Diabolik's enemy, Richness. After Raft dropped out due to health problems, and was replaced by Gilbert Roland, production on the film started up again. Dino De Laurentiis, who was distributing the movie, scrapped the project after being disappointed with the footage completed by Holt. De Laurentiis began again with a new script, cast and crew, and hired Bava to direct the film. John Phillip Law, who was set to co-star in De Laurentiis' upcoming production of Barbarella, was cast as Diabolik, while Marisa Mell took over the role of Eva Kant. Celebrated composer Ennio Morricone (The Good, The Bad & The Ugly) was brought on board to write the score, and editor Romana Fortini, cinematographer Antonio Rinaldi, and set designer Carlo Rambaldi also joined the project.

The film begins with Diabolik's heist of ten million dollars from a convoy overseen by police Inspector Ginko. Despite Ginko's careful preparations, including the use of a decoy convoy containing paper instead of money, the master thief and his lover/accomplice, the beautiful Eva Kant, steal the loot and escape capture. Thus begins a cat and mouse game between Diabolik and Ginko that runs throughout the film. The inspector even makes a deal with the notorious gangster Valmont to aid him in his pursuit and capture of Diabolik. Over the course of the story the clever Diabolik evades capture (using a variety of gadgets and very fast cars) and pulls off some increasingly spectacular thefts. When Eva is kidnapped by the evil Valmont, will Diabolik's luck run out? Can our resourceful (and death-defying) anti-hero rescue his one true love Eva, and pull off the biggest gold heist of all time?

John Phillip Law & Marisa Mell

Danger: Diabolik is filled with kinetic action sequences, eye-popping set pieces and marvelous work from the cast. The athletic Law (best known to genre fans in the US for playing Sinbad in the Ray Harryhausen production The Golden Voyage of Sinbad) is excellent as Diabolik, and Marisa Mell is lithe, sensual and seductive as Eva Kant. The two actors (who reportedly dated offscreen) have great onscreen chemistry; you can definitely feel their passion for one another. Michel Piccoli is solid as Diabolik's nemesis Inspector Ginko, the indispensable Terry-Thomas is wonderful as a government official, and Adolfo Celi (who portrayed James Bond's nemesis Emilio Largo in Thunderball) is appropriately slimy as the villainous Valmont. Even though Diabolik is a thief and a terrorist (he blows up all of Italy's tax offices in the film!), we end up rooting for him, because's he's a charming rogue with his own code of conduct. He's the kind of guy who seems to specifically target corrupt governments and remorseless bad guys with no sense of honor.

Bava does a fantastic job with the film. The movie looks far more expensive than its limited budget, thanks to some spectacular matte paintings, skillful use of miniatures, an inspired color palette, and some inventive camera tricks by Bava and his crew. Ennio Morricone's terrific music effortlessly matches the tone of the film, effectively using instruments like electric guitar and sitar, as well as some talented vocalists, to underscore the action and not overwhelm it. The movie has an off the wall sense of humor, but never becomes quite as deliriously campy as the Batman television series, the James Coburn "Flint" films or Dean Martin's "Matt Helm" movies. Danger: Diabolik has a style all its own. I think it's one of Mario Bava's best films, and it's most certainly one of the most well-done (and affectionate) comic book adaptations ever made.

If you like the spy films and television series of the 1960s and 1970s, (or are a Mario Bava fan) I think you'll really enjoy Danger: Diabolik. The move has influenced a variety of comic book artists and filmmakers including Stephen Bissette, Edgar Wright and Roman Coppola, and the Beastie Boys famously integrated clips from the movie into their video for their 1998 song "Body Movin." The film has recently been released in an outstanding special edition from Shout! Factory, which includes a featurette on the history of the original comic strip and the film's production, and a pair of audio commentaries, including one by Bava scholar and Video Watchdog editor Tim Lucas with star John Phillip Law. Here's a look at the trailer, even though it really doesn't do justice the this unique film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNyrLfODNyg.

Terror in the Sky: Horror at 37,000 Feet

The 1970s was a prolific period for made for television movies, and a large number of the films produced during the era placed their feet squarely in the horror genre. Movies like The Night Stalker, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, Gargoyles, and Trilogy of Terror were all made during that faraway decade. One of the most entertaining of these vintage television fright films is The Horror at 37,000 Feet, originally broadcast by CBS in 1973. The story concerns a group of passengers on a Boeing 747 traveling from London to New York who are threatened by otherworldly forces. Architect Alan O'Neill and his wife Sheila have brought an ancient Druid altar on board, and apparently the ancient spirits within that artifact aren't too thrilled to be flying economy class in the cargo hold. This flight just might be a one-way ticket to supernatural terror and death!

The passengers discuss The Horror at 37,000 Feet

Weird things happen after the flight takes off. The plane doesn't seem to be making any progress. The jet appears to be just flying in circles, despite the best efforts of the pilot. There's wind, cold air (and an eerie sort of green mud) inside the aircraft, as well as strange voices and other odd occurrences, like Sheila passing out and speaking Latin. It becomes apparent that there is some sort of demonic presence onboard, and it's centered on the ancient artifact in the cargo hold. Can an alcoholic former priest who's lost his faith help the passengers and crew defeat the terrifying and evil forces plaguing them?

The cast of The Horror at 37,000 Feet features a virtual who's who of 1960s and 1970s TV stars, including Roy Thinnes, Chuck Connors, Buddy Ebsen, Russell Johnson, Tammy Grimes, Lynn Loring and Paul Winfield, who sports a British accent playing a doctor. There are also appearances by other familiar faces, including Jane Merrow, H.M. Wynant, France Nuyen, Darleen Carr and TV Western star Will Hutchins, playing (what else?) a Western star! But the one who really gets to act up a storm in the film is none other than William Shatner, who portrays Paul Kovalik, the former priest having a crisis of faith. It's up to him to lead the battle against the dark forces that threaten them all, if he can just pull himself together. Shatner dials things up to 11 on the over the top scale. His acerbic, cynical character interacts well with the rest of the cast, all of whom are effective in their roles, though it's tough to beat Shatner at his most...Shatner-ian! Tammy Grimes does give Shatner a run for his money as a woman who feels that the Thinnes character has doomed them all by bringing the altar on board.

The movie is sort of a cross between all-star disaster films like Airport and supernatural thrillers like The Exorcist. No one's going to place The Horror at 37,000 Feet on the list of the best made for TV chillers of all time, but it's certainly one of the most enjoyable. It's a fun ride, and at 73 minutes in length, it doesn't drag on too long. The movie was directed by David Lowell Rich, who helmed a lot of feature films and television episodes from the 1950s right on through to the 1980s. In 1973, the same year he directed The Horror at 37,000 Feet, he was also behind the camera for the classic TV terror tale Satan's School For Girls, which co-starred Roy Thinnes and Kate Jackson. He also returned to "panic in the sky" mode for the made for TV movie SST: Death Flight (1977) and on the big-screen for The Concorde: Airport '79. The Horror at 37,000 Feet is available on DVD, and if you do some looking around on YouTube, you might find it there as well. Watch out for evil Druid spirits and those 1970s fashions!

Bosch: The Best Show You Haven't Seen

When people ask me for suggestions regarding a TV series to watch in these days of multiple viewing choices and numerous streaming options, there are certain shows I consider my "go to" recommendations. Series like Ozark, Better Call Saul, Penny Dreadful and Sense8 are personal favorites, but some of those selections may not be everyone's cup of tea. One show I can recommend to everyone without hesitation is Bosch, the Amazon-produced series based on the novels of bestselling author Michael Connelly. If you're not watching this show, you're missing out on one of the best series currently running on any platform. Bosch is a crime drama which tells the story of veteran Los Angeles detective Harry Bosch, whose deep sense of justice and relentless pursuit of murderers is fueled by his personal demons and his tragic past.

Titus Welliver as Bosch

Bosch's mother was killed when he was a child, and her killer was never found. He's obsessed with finding out the true circumstances behind her murder, and that search plays out as background to the first few seasons of the show. The writers incorporate multiple storylines from Connelly's novels into each season of the series. If you haven't read the books, you can watch and enjoy the series on its own terms. However, if you have read the novels, you'll have an even deeper appreciation for the rich tapestry the writers have cleverly laid out across each ten episode arc of the show. The major storylines are usually resolved by the end of a season, but there are ongoing plot points that run throughout the series. The stories are superbly crafted tales of murder, police corruption, and fractured relationships, which often travel in surprising, but dramatically satisfying, directions.

The cast is terrific, and it's criminal (no pun intended) that they haven't been recognized by the Emmys or SAG Awards for their sterling work on the series. Bosch is portrayed by the indispensable Titus Welliver, who you may remember from his roles on the TV series Sons of Anarchy and Lost, and in films such as The Town and Argo. Welliver's multi-layered, richly textured portrayal of Bosch is the glue that holds the show together. He's aided and abetted by a talented ensemble that includes Jamie Hector as his partner Jerry Edgar, Amy Aquino as their boss, Lieutenant Grace Billets, and Madison Lintz as Bosch's daughter Maddie. Other top-notch actors featured throughout the series are Sarah Clarke, Steven Culp and Mimi Rogers. Lance Reddick (of Lost and Fringe) is perfect as Police Chief Irving. No one heaves a sigh quite as effectively as Reddick. Top notch supporting players Gregory Scott Cummins and Troy Evans, are wonderful as Detectives Crate and Barrel, and they absolutely deserve a spinoff series!

The behind the scenes talent is strong as well. Directors like Ernest Dickerson and Tim Hunter have helmed episodes of the show, and the talented writers for the series include Tom Bernardo and Katie Pyne. There's never been a better time to get into this excellent show. The stories are more intimate and emotionally driven than most police dramas, and while they travel down some dark roads, there is always a sense of light and redemption as well. The sharply drawn performances and well-crafted stories give you a real sense of empathy for, and understanding of, these full fleshed out characters. There are currently six seasons of Bosch available for streaming on Amazon Prime. It was recently announced that the series will return for a seventh and final go-round next year. This is the best show you (probably) haven't seen, and it should definitely be on your must watch list. Give Bosch a chance; you wont be disappointed. Here's a link to the trailer for the first season of this awesome series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-HUa10kVpQ.

Retro Post-Apocalypse: The Omega Man

Charlton Heston is The Omega Man

The Omega Man (1971) is the second film adaptation of Richard Matheson’s classic post-apocalyptic novel, I Am Legend. The book tells the story of Robert Morgan, who survives a plague that has killed much of the world’s population, and turned the rest into vampire-like creatures. The story follows Morgan’s efforts to survive while battling the vampires, as he seeks to discover what caused the plague in the first place. The book was first filmed in 1964 as The Last Man on Earth, starring Vincent Price. The Omega Man is a different take on the novel’s premise. Charlton Heston stars as Robert Neville, here reimagined as an army scientist who has survived a plague caused by the use of biological weapons in a war between China and Russia. The disease resulting from this deadly conflict has decimated most of the world’s population. Neville survives by injecting himself with an experimental serum. Living in a fortified apartment in Los Angeles, Neville regularly battles a group called The Family, humans who survived the plague, and have been transformed into albino mutants. The Family is led by a former TV newsman named Matthias, who feels science and technology was the downfall of mankind and wants to return the world to a simpler, pre-industrial time.

Neville drives around the deserted city and hunts down the mutants, attempting to eliminate them all. While scrounging for supplies one day, he runs into a woman in a department store. She runs away when he spots her. He later learns that her name is Lisa, and she's part of a small group of human survivors that include her brother Richie, a former medical student named Dutch, and several young children. Richie is suffering from the early stages of the disease, and Neville uses his own blood to cure him via a transfusion, which in effect makes Richie immune to the virus as well. Neville and the group prepare to leave the city and live in peace in the country. But Matthias and The Family have other plans for our heroes. Can this small group of humans survive against the cult-like zeal of Matthias and The Family?  Will Neville and Lisa’s burgeoning romance have a happy ending? How many of the mutants will the gun-toting Neville mow down with his automatic weapons before the movie is over? You’ll have to watch to find out!

The Omega Man has very little to do with Richard Matheson’s book. I’m a big fan of the novel, and Matheson’s work in general, but I've always enjoyed the movie. The Omega Man used to turn up regularly on TV when I was a kid, and I watched it many times. You’ve got Charlton Heston in another sci-fi film, portraying the same kind of world-weary, cynical character he played in Planet of the Apes, Beneath the Planet of the Apes and Soylent Green. What's not to like? Heston is quite good in the early part of the film, having (one-sided) conversations with a bust of Caesar in his apartment, and driving around the deserted city in some effectively eerie sequences. And you haven't lived until you've seen Heston sit in a movie theater and run the film Woodstock, while talking along with the film’s dialogue! He also gets to utter some prototypical action hero one-liners throughout the movie. The Omega Man moves along at a brisk pace, thanks to director Boris Sagal, and it's well lensed by noted cinematographer Russell Metty. The screenplay for the movie was written by the husband and wife team of John William and Joyce H. Carrington, who also wrote Battle for the Planet of the Apes. The moody score is by Ron Grainer, who also composed the theme music for the Patrick McGoohan television series The Prisoner, as well as Dr. Who.

The supporting cast is excellent. Rosalind Cash plays Lisa, and she's very cool as a pre-cursor to the tough African American heroines of the mid 1970s that were played by the likes of Pam Grier and Tamara Dobson. She even gets an inter-racial love scene with Heston. The film also features Paul Koslo and Eric Lanueville, who will no doubt be familiar to fans of 1970s movies and television series. But the actor who walks away with the movie is veteran character actor Anthony Zerbe, who plays Matthias. His menacing vocal delivery and commanding presence dominate every scene he's in, and he's a perfect foil for Heston's laconic hero. Heston and Zerbe previously appeared together in the western Will Penny. Matheson’s novel was later adapted as the big-budget Will Smith film I Am Legend and a low budget copycat movie called I Am Omega, but neither of those films are as much fun as The Omega Man, which is a big favorite of director Tim Burton and comedian Dana Gould, among others. If you're in the right frame of mind, The Omega Man is a perfect choice to feature as part of your "end of the world" movie marathon. Follow this link to take a look at the trailer for the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUkU18MrBzU.

Price, Poe and The Pit and the Pendulum

Vincent Price was a talented, versatile actor who worked in movies, television and on stage throughout his long career. He appeared in numerous movies, including film noirs, comedies, romantic dramas, and westerns. Beloved by his legion of fans, he’s probably best remembered for his contributions to the horror genre. Price starred in seven of the films in Roger Corman’s “Poe” cycle, the celebrated producer-director’s cinematic adaptations of the work of Edgar Allan Poe. The Pit and the Pendulum (1961) is the second film in the series, following House of Usher (1960). The story is set in Spain, where Francis Bernard (played by John Kerr) visits the castle of Nicholas Medina (portrayed by Price), who was married to his sister Elizabeth. It turns out Elizabeth died under mysterious circumstances, and Francis wants to learn the truth regarding her death. Nicholas and his sister Catherine initially tell him that his sister died of a rare blood disease. Later, the family physician, Dr. Leon, offers a different explanation for Elizabeth’s passing. Francis vows to stay at the castle until he discovers the truth. Dr. Leon warns him that Nicholas is in a frail mental state, and prodding him about the nature of Elizabeth’s death might send him over the edge. The doctor tells Francis about some traumatic events from Nicholas’ childhood, which have haunted him ever since.

Anthony Carbone & Vincent Price

Strange things and eerie events occur; Elizabeth's room is trashed. Eerie voices and loud noises are heard by Nicholas. He becomes convinced that Elizabeth has returned from the grave to haunt him. As the climax of the story nears, it becomes apparent that nothing is as it seems. There will be madness, murder, betrayal and death as the story builds to a crescendo of terror. The cast is excellent, with Price taking top honors, expertly walking a tightrope between calm, manic and completely off the rails throughout the film. Price was often accused of hamminess and over-acting, but I believe that he knew exactly what he was doing, perfectly pitching his performances to match the material. Price is at the peak of his powers here, and I think it's some of his best work in the Poe cycle, along with his performances in the later Masque of the Red Death and Tomb of Ligeia.

The rest of the cast, including Corman regulars Luana Anders (as Catherine) and Anthony Carbone (as Dr. Leon) are quite good, but it's Barbara Steele (in her first role since her iconic turn in Mario Bava's Black Sunday) who makes a truly lasting impression. She is excellent as Elizabeth, who turns out to have some very deadly secrets. Despite the fact that her dialogue was dubbed, Steele's physical performance is terrific. Shes’s ethereal, frightening, and alluring all at once. Her calm, cool and controlled Elizabeth is a perfect counterpoint to Price's emotional, rattled Nicholas. At least, that is, until the film's eerie finale, where the truth is finally revealed, and things take a twist toward the macabre. Richard Matheson's excellent screenplay combines a dash of Poe (the original story is only used in the last section of the film), with tales of ghosts and hauntings, and also tosses in a noir-esque murder plot for good measure. Price made suggestions about changes to Nicholas' dialogue, which he felt improved it's tone. Corman and Matheson incorporated some of his ideas.

The film is florid, haunting and dazzling. The combination of Corman’s assured direction with the excellent camera work by Floyd Crosby, art direction by Daniel Haller and the music of Lex Baxter create an atmosphere of dread that permeates every frame. Corman and his crew were like kids in a candy store while working on these films, making all kinds of interesting stylistic choices, such as the use of odd colors and off-kilter images in the flashback sequences. It's no surprise that the film is often cited as an influence on the Italian giallo genre of horror films, or that it's a favorite of Stephen King, Tim Burton and Video Watchdog's Tim Lucas. What Horror of Dracula is to the Hammer films oeuvre, The Pit and the Pendulum is to the horror output of American International Pictures. The movie set the tone for a large percentage of their genre offerings for years to come.

The movie draws you in, and bears up well on repeat viewings. This is in no small part to the stellar contributions of Vincent Price, who anchors the film with his assured performance. As a long-time fan, it's hard for me to pick a favorite Price role; his stellar work as Mark Cardigan in His Kind of Woman is a favorite of mine, but there are so many others to choose from. This is definitely one of his most memorable roles in the horror genre. If you're going to pick one movie to watch that defines what the Poe series is all about, this is the one to check out. The Pit and the Pendulum is available on DVD and Blu-ray, and is often screened on various cable movie networks. Here's a link to the film's trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xzdrffJ91E. This post is part of The Vincent Price Blogathon, hosted by my fellow bloggers over at Reelweegiemidget Reviews & Cinematic Catharsis. I'd like to thank them for letting me participate! Please follow this link to check out the rest of the entries: https://weegiemidget.wordpress.com/blogathons/blogathons-2020/vincent-price-blogathon/.