Granny Creech’s Radio Spot Crypt

Myths, muscles and movies.

That’s what I call ‘em. Others call them Sword and Sandal movies and some just call them “Peplum” movies – Italian-made spectacles dubbed into English and given new names. Whatever you call them, I venture to say that you know what I am talking about and have probably seen your fair share of them.

Crazy Gary, here, and Granny wanted me to be sure to feature these spots because she knows how much these movies mean to me.
Every monsterkid worth his or her salt grew up watching these movies either at the movie theater, the drive-in, or later on TV. And why not?  It featured a muscular hero, gorgeous women and, usually, one or more monsters or beasts. The guys identified with the hero, and the women swooned over his body and wished they could be the damsel in distress that he rescues.

Although filmed in Italy and surrounding picturesque locations, the heroes were generally American bodybuilders or physique models, and just reading their names on the posters and seeing the spectacular artwork promised a grand adventure. Most popular were Gordon Scott, Brad Harris, Mark Forest, Ed Fury, Gordon Mitchell, Reg Lewis, Dan Vadis, and the all time favorite, Steve Reeves. Also included were Englishman Reg Park, and Italians Sergio Ciani (Alan Steel) and Adriano Bellini (Kirk Morris). The movies were colorful, epic, and full of feats of strength.

The radio spots were colorful too, promising the viewer sights never before seen. Surprisingly, despite Granny’s best  collecting efforts and those of The Radio Reaper, few are available. Even so, what we do have will be broken down into two parts.

The two movies I want to highlight this week represent the best, in my opinion, of capturing the spirit of the genre, and are two of my personal favorites, both released by American International.

First up is Steve Reeves’ fourth movie, Goliath and the Barbarians, released in late 1959. The most memorable scene in the movie is when Emiliano (called “Goliath” because of his strength) is tied between two horses going in opposite directions in an attempt to pull him apart. No such success, however, as Emiliano exerts his strength in an impressive double-biceps shot. He passes this “Test of Truth” and is released, only to later return and lead a revolt against the barbarians. Chelo Alonzo is the barbarian beauty he falls for and who complicates things with his people. Les Baxter added a new music score and his “Goliath March” added a sense of grandeur and spectacle.

The second, and my personal favorite of all the sword and sandal movies, is Goliath and the Vampires (1961) starring Gordon Scott. It has everything: feats of strength , an evil vampire creature, giant bugs, atmospheric scenery, creepy sound effects, blue men, faceless humanoids and the inspiring “Goliath March” music theme. It also features an awesome battle between Goliath and Kobrak the vampire who has assumed Goliath’s form. Muscular stuntman Giovanni Cianfriglia doubles Gordon Scott as he fights himself. Thanks to The Radio Reaper for furnishing these four classic spots.

These movies inspired many young moviegoers to take up the weights and embrace the fitness lifestyle, myself included. Today, they are still fun to watch.

So, sit back and enjoy these spots which reflect back to a time when men were men and women were glad of it. See you next time with Part Two…

Goliath and the Barbarians Radio Spots

Goliath and the Vampires Radio Spots

“How do you do, ladies and gentlemen. Once again this is the ghost of Alfred Hitchcock welcoming you back to Granny Creech’s Radio Spot Crypt and Part Two of The Birds. I was thinking that Granny’s nephew, Crazy Gary, would be here to help me introduce these radio spots, but he is over in the corner, cowering in fear after listening to last week’s spots and the ones you are about to hear. He keeps mumbling incoherently and is just a pile of mush at the moment.

“As promised last week, we are now going to feature the radio spots for The Birds that aired on local radio stations prior to and up to the arrival of the movie at the theater. The lobby spots from last week whetted the appetites of theater goers who heard them while they stood in line at the theater. Now, The Birds was here to be seen.

“I hope you enjoy them and that they don’t cause you too much mental anguish. From now on, when you see these little feathered friends of ours flitting past you in the parks or in the streets, just keep telling yourself, ‘It was only a movie, it was only a movie.’ It may help.

“And so, until we meet again, may all your nightmares be pleasant. With that, I bid you adieu.”

Do you have any radio spots you would like to share? Contact Gary (Granny’s nephew) at [email protected].

Greetings once again…

Crazy Gary here filling in for Granny Creech.

I was working in the Dead Letter Office when I had a brainstorm.  Now, Granny would say anything in my brain is a storm, but that’s not what I meant. She had given me a list of the spots she wanted to include during her absence, so I decided to invite an old friend of the Radio Spot Crypt to come and help out. He has had many letters pile up here in the post office so I thought it was time for him to come pick them up and help me out while he was here…sort of killing two birds with one stone, so to speak.

He agreed, and so, I will turn over this week’s introduction to him…

“Hello, ladies and gentlemen, this is the ghost of Alfred Hitchcock. I am delighted to be here once again at Granny Creech’s Radio Spot Crypt. It has been awhile since I was last here, and I am humbled to see the mail response to my last visit when I presented the radio spots to Psycho. This time I shall attempt to go one step further and present spots to what I believe could be the most terrifying motion picture I have ever made: The Birds.

“At the request of Granny Creech’s most capable and somewhat neurotic nephew, Crazy Gary, I have broken down these spots into two offerings: This week I will feature advance and current lobby spots, those delightful little tidbits designed to fill waiting theater patrons with uncontrolled excitement over the arrival of my movie at the theater; the second installment for next week will feature the spots designed to play on various radio stations in the area to alert the theater-going public that The Birds is here.

“And so, without further ado, I, and Crazy Gary, encourage you to check your doors and windows and ensure that your chimney flue is closed as we present the lobby spots for the 1963 release of The Birds. We hope you get a kick out of them.”

Do you have any radio spots you would like to share? Contact Gary (Granny’s nephew) at [email protected].

Granny Creech digs deep to uncover memorable radio spots for Roger Corman movies…

I was invited over to my daughter Drusilla’s house this past Sunday to celebrate Mother’s Day. Her husband, Winslow, was there, as was my son, Arthur, and his wife Letitia (Letty), along with a whole bunch of little monsterkids-in-training. My grandson, Big Abner –Arthur’s and Letty’s son – couldn’t make it because he had some out-of-town business to finish up. He hoped to be there later.

After a fine meal we all retired to the rocking chairs and swing on the front porch and lazily sipped our glasses of sassafras tea. The topic of conversation turned to scary movies and we each took turns naming our favorites. The titles were as varied as the personalities on the porch: the men liked the old Universal movies, the women liked the Universal classics of the ‘50s, and I liked them all, especially the lower budget movies of the 1950s.

It was at this point that Big Abner came running up the sidewalk, panting, and between gasps said, “Roger Corman has died!”

A silence fell over the group. We had lost a great one. …

Roger Corman Movies:
Radio Spots to RememberRead More »

My great-granddaughter Grizelda came over the other night for a sleepover. We had fun making sugar cookies and then icing them to look like pumpkins, skeletons, witches and scarecrows. Afterwards, we entertained each other by telling ghost stories while roasting marshmallows in front of the fireplace.

“Granny,” she said, “That last story you told gave me the willies. It scared me so badly that I could feel my whole body tensing up. It felt like my spine was about to break!”

“Ah, child,” I said. “What you felt was the Tingler grabbing hold of you. All you had to do was scream!”

She looked at me oddly, so I began to tell her all about The Tingler. She giggled gleefully and asked, “Can we watch it?” I whipped out the old DVD and hit ‘play’. We screamed and screamed and had a great time. …

The Tingler (1959) Radio Spots!Read More »

Granny strikes again…

An interesting thing happened the other night. I decided to invite some of my girlfiends over for a get-together, to enjoy some of my turnip, brussel sprouts and onion soup, and to just let my hair down and have some riotous frivolity. Several showed up. There were sister Elviney, cousin Agatha, and neighbors Hester Grimple, Elspeth Darkmoor, Vespera Howler, Winifred Hawthorne and Esmeree Grimshaw.

After supper we retired to the parlor, glasses of witch’s brew in hand, and had a great time, sitting around the crackling fireplace and reminiscing, telling stories of when we were kids, talking about our favorite scary movies, and telling jokes. We laughed and laughed until our sides hurt.

It was a little after midnight when the party wound down and my guests headed to the door. As they were leaving, Esmeree turned to me and said, “Granny, that was more fun than being in a graveyard on a cold wet night!” Everyone laughed, said their goodbyes, and disappeared into the night.

As I was cleaning up the kitchen I kept thinking about what Esmeree had said and how it sounded so familiar. Where had I heard that before? It wasn’t until I was all snug in my bed that it dawned on me. Of course! Famed Hollywood gossip columnist Louella Parsons had said one of the movies she reviewed was, “More frightening than a graveyard on a cold wet night.” The movie? House On Haunted Hill. …

House on Haunted Hill Radio Spots!Read More »

Granny goes seaside this week! (or seasick, either one)

I was sitting on my bed the other night reading my old copy of Film Fantasy Scrapbook when I heard a tapping at my bedroom window. Looking over I saw a ghastly face peering in at me. At first I was startled, but then I realized what, or who, it was. Getting out of bed, I went over and opened the window.

“Reaper,” I said. “What are you doing out here at this late hour?”

“I have another set of spots for you,” he said.

I took the vinyl record from his cold, clammy hands and looked it over.

“Oh, ho, ho,” I said. “This is a good one!”

He smiled and shuffled away into the darkness. I took the record back to bed with me and examined it closely. To think, the spots on this record hadn’t been heard for almost seventy years and here I was holding them in my hand. I could only imagine what the listeners back then thought when they heard the spots, and how they reacted when they saw the film on the big screen with its magnificent special effects. And the title…..who could resist seeing a movie called It Came From Beneath The Sea?

Released in 1955, the Columbia Pictures movie starred Kenneth Tobey, Faith Domergue, and Donald Curtis. But, the real star was the giant radioactive octopus so skillfully brought to life by Ray Harryhausen. Using his unique split-screen “sandwich” technique he was able to create many exciting visuals, incorporating his animated model with live action plates in a most convincing way.

The spots capture the mystery and excitement of the movie and prepare the listener for the wonders they would see on the screen. I hope they grab you as well as they do me.

A wave of the tentacle goes to The Radio Reaper (ZC Note: OMG, there’s two of them now!) for providing this exciting look back at one of the greats of the 1950s. So, beware… and enjoy! Here are seven cool radio spots including 15, 30, and 60 second variations.

Do you have any radio spots you would like to share? Contact Granny (Gary Fox) at [email protected].