Old Crazy Gary here again…Granny is still taking care of her ailing mother but she hopes to be back here soon.
I was just sitting around the other night reading my newest book when I decided to take a break and snoop through Granny’s computer to see what she has in store for the coming weeks. Wow! What a line-up! Anyways, I saw a folder titled The Radio Reaper and I decided to take a peek inside. I know he has been supplying Granny with a bunch of neat stuff, but I wanted to see what all else was in there. Oh boy! I spent the rest of the night going through over 2000 spots of all kinds from all genres. I had a ball.
I heard spots from horror and science fiction movies I was familiar with and some I was not. I wrote down the names of the ones I thought were especially good and thought you should hear them. These are crazy good and have received the “Five Thumbs-up Crazy Gary Approval Rating”.
Granny would more than likely never feature these because they are not from the 1950-63 time frame she specializes in but they are too good to pass up. They will make you shudder; they will make you scream; they will make you want to see them; they are that good.
So listen, if you dare, to these tidbits from The Radio Reaper’s Reliquary. They will haunt you forever!
13 Terror Radio Spots for Alligator, Crocodile, Midnight, The Bat People, The Black Belly of the Tarantula, The Legend of Spider Forest, The Projected Man, and The Twilight People.
Crazy Gary here with part two of our Sword and Sandal extravaganza…(see part one).
Summer, 1959, was a turning point for a lot of monsterkids. A movie opened which fired our imaginations and introduced us to a new type of movie. I’m talking about the movie Hercules which got a lot of us interested in weight training and classical literature, especially Greek mythology.
Starring an unknown –at least to us–actor named Steve Reeves, the movie was complete with heroes, beautiful scantily-clad women, fighting, adventures at sea, ape men, a dinosaur that roared like Godzilla, and many feats of strength. The music was awe-inspiring. And Steve Reeves…wow, was he built. Every guy wanted to look like him. Turns out he was a former Mr. America, Mr. World, and Mr. Universe.
I was only nine when I first saw it, and by the time it had finished its run in the second-run theaters, I had seen it twelve times. I even received the Hercules soundtrack record for Christmas that year.
In the summer of 1960, Hercules Unchained was released and I saw it many times, too. By then, Steve Reeves was a worldwide star and both movies were box office hits. Articles on Steve Reeves and his training methods regularly appeared in the muscle magazines of the time.
Reeves went on to star in several more “Sword and Sandal” type films and his last one, A Long Ride From Hell, was a western. By the end of his career, the term “sword and sandal” referred to any movie set in antiquity, primarily Rome or Greece. Within that genre there were two types of movies: one where the hero possessed great strength and went about righting wrongs. He could be Hercules, Samson, Ursus, Maciste, Goliath (see last week’s article about the two “Goliath” movies), or one of the Sons of Hercules. The other type was where the hero was a regular guy, often a great warrior or Roman soldier, but possessing no exceptional strength. Two of Reeves’ movies stand out in the latter category: Duel of the Titans, with Gordon Scott, and The Slave. …
Steve Reeves flexes his mighty arms and wins the “Test of Truth” against two horses.
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
Gordon Scott as Goliath unmasks Kobrak who has disguised himself to look like Goliath in the climactic battle. Giovanni Cianfriglia portrays Kobrak here, and he went on to become Steve Reeves’ stunt double in many later features including Morgan the Pirate, The Trojan Horse, and The Slave.
“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.”
Alfred Hitchcock prepares the cast for shooting the finale of the movie.
Do you have any radio spots you would like to share? Contact Gary (Granny’s nephew) at [email protected].
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].
Crazy Gary here, filling in for the ever vivacious and witty Granny Creech. I am her much-loved nephew and I work in the Dead Letter Office at the post office in Squirrel Hollow.
Granny’s mother, Hattie Jones, suffered a stroke recently and is in the intensive care unit in the hospital in Geyser Springs. Granny went to be with her. Before she left, she told me to carry on her weekly radio spot column, and I agreed, hesitatingly of course, because I don’t have the way with words Granny does nor her knowledge. I told her I would do the best I could. She patted me on the head and said I would do okay. I just wish she hadn’t had that hammer in her hand when she did it. Ha Ha. Just kidding.
Granny gave me a tentative list of the spots she wanted me to cover, and there are some good ones, believe you me. I just hope she gets back in time to do them justice. Until then, though, I will do the best I can.
Today we will feature radio spots for a movie I have never seen. It’s a 1949 comedy murder-mystery feature from Universal International called Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff.
Now I’ve seen several Abbott and Costello movies in the past, but this one has always escaped me. My favorite, of course, is Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (Isn’t it everybody’s?!), a classic in every way. I had to look up the synopsis for this one on Wikipedia to see what it was all about and it sounds very confusing…a typical ‘who-dunnit’ with lots of suspects and the patsy, of course, being poor old Lou Costello. The odd part about all of this is the title of the movie. From the synopsis I see that the killer isn’t Boris Karloff at all, and why he is billed as such is a mystery to me. Even the radio spots can’t decide the proper name for the film, announcing it in some cuts as Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer. It must have been a ploy by the marketing department to capitalize on Karloff’s reputation and drawing power.
The spots are some of the oldest Granny has, and she said to thank The Radio Reaper. He dug deep into his reliquary to provide these. An audio rarity to be sure…
So, as Granny would say, sit back and enjoy these spots from 1949, and give a toast to The Radio Reaper the next time you meet with friends to enjoy cups of Granny’s witch’s brew.
I’ll see you next time…
15, 30, and 60 second radio spots
Do you have any radio spots you would like to share? Contact Gary (Granny’s nephew) at [email protected].
I was working in The Crypt the other day, cleaning and dusting and making room for new material. Suddenly, my phone rang and I answered it.
“Granny! This is Portia! The Killer Shrews is on TV tonight!” She exclaimed.
‘What? I said. Where? When?”
“On Channel 13 tonight on The Early Late Show! At nine o’clock!” she said.
“Well, come on over,” I said. We’ll watch it.”
Portia is my rather excitable niece, my brother Ambrose’s youngest daughter. Having her over was going to be an experience to say the least. I knew that The Killer Shrews is one of her favorite movies, as is mine, so it ought to be a hoot, two fans absorbing every minute of this “B movie” classic.
She arrived about 8:30 PM and together we cooked up some popcorn and got our drinks together. At nine I fired up the old Sylvania 19” black-and-white TV and we settled in. We had a ball! …
Granny Creech digs up the radio spots for The Day of the Triffids…
It is hotter than blazes here in Squirrel Hollow!
I was working in my garden the other day, sweating, cussing and cursing at the top of my voice, when my neighbor and best friend, Esmeree Grimshaw, came around the corner of the house into my backyard. She was carrying a small box.
“Granny!” she exclaimed, setting the box down on my back porch. “What in the world is going on? Why are you yelling so much?”
“These…danged…triffids are driving me crazy! Every summer when I come out here I am faced with pulling up all of these blasted weeds. I don’t know where they all come from. Danged triffids!”
Esmeree smiled gently at me. “Oh, Granny, you’re so silly. Here…let me help.”
So, for the next hour we sat in the dirt, pulling out all the invaders that seem to choose my garden to grow in, year after year. I don’t know how they keep coming back, but they are ugly little critters. I “fondly” call all these ugly weeds and stalks in my garden “triffids”. As we pulled them out, my grumbling continued.
“Well, why don’t you just use salt water to kill them?” Esmeree asked.
We both looked at each other and started to laugh.
“Okay,” I said. “You got me. Enough about triffids.”
“At least they don’t pull themselves out of the ground and chase you,” she said, with a sly little grin.
We went into the house and washed our hands. We cooled off with glasses of sassafras iced tea. Esmeree told me the reason she came by was to drop off a box full of radio spots from The Radio Reaper. She opened the back door and brought in the box she had left on the porch. We spent the next few minutes going through it. Suddenly, Esmeree began to laugh. She handed me a record. “Here’s your next story,” she said.
I looked at the record she was holding and started to laugh, too. “That’s it,” I said. The Day of the Triffids. How fitting!”
The Day of the Triffids is a 1963 British film based on the 1951 novel by John Wyndham. When most of the entire world is blinded from watching a spectacular meteor shower, it is soon discovered that the meteorites contained spores which grow into giant mobile, man-eating plants. The story follows several characters who survive the blindness for various reasons and the trials they face.
The movie features many disturbing scenes of the general populace faced with sudden blindness: streets deserted of vehicular traffic while crowds of people stagger about; a train full of blind passengers crashing into a train station and the ensuing panic as injured passengers desperately grope their way around; and the moment when passengers on an airliner realize they and the pilots are all blind and the realization of their impending doom. Composite shots of burning cities and excellent matte paintings of landmarks and streets with dozens of crashed vehicles, and a shot of hundreds of triffids growing in a giant crater, add to the terror.
When I first saw The Day of the Triffids, I felt I was watching two movies rolled into one. I later found out I was. It seems that, according to the Internet Movie DataBase, the initial film starred Howard Keel and Nicole Maurey and centered on their adventures with the triffids. When production was over, the producers found they didn’t have enough footage to release as a full length movie. So, they brought on Janette Scott and Kieron Moore, created a new storyline set in a deserted lighthouse, and filmed their encounters with the triffids. The two stories were blended together into the movie we have now. It ends with a rather “War of the Worlds” tone as Moore and Scott find out that sea water dissolves and kills the triffids. Sea water, from whence mankind got its origin, now serves as its preserver.
The radio spots are awesome! They reflect the mystery and terror of the movie. Complete with amazing announcers, effective sound effects and music, the spots are some of the best I’ve heard. So, thanks to The Radio Reaper, have a listen and beware the unknown weeds in your garden: They may be…triffids!
Here are 10, 30, and 60 second radio spots to fill you with terror.
I was sitting in my kitchen the other morning when Big Abner comes running into my house, his laptop in hand.
“Granny, did you see your latest posting on Zombos’ Closet? he yelled.” He changed it!”
I took his computer from him and I couldn’t believe my eyes.
“Why that old….he took off all of my horror and science-fiction spots and replaced them with beach party spots and spots for some sleazy girlie movies,” I exclaimed.
“Yep, and he called yours “boring”!” added Abner.
I fumed. I thought the spots I had chosen from the It Came From Hollywood collection were pretty good and in keeping with the theme of my postings. But here he called them boring?? Hmmm. I would get to the bottom of this and have a nice long talk with Zombos’ valet, Zoc.
Big Abner sat down with me and we listened to the spots Zoc had chosen to replace mine. The Beach Blanket Bingo spots were pretty interesting and the lobby spots for Beach Party were cool; ah, that Frankie Avalon. Then we listened to the spots for The Student Nurses, The Young Nurses and then The Swinging Barmaids.
“Humpf,” I said. “Who would pay money to go see those movies?” I grumbled.
I looked at Abner. His eyes were glazed over and sweat was beginning to form on his brow.
“Abner!” I said. “Put your tongue back in your mouth and wipe that silly grin off your face.”
“Bye, Granny,” he said abruptly. “I’ve got to go!”
“Where are you off to?” I asked.
“The thrift store! I’ve got to find those movies and watch them….especially The Swinging Barmaids!” And with that he was out the door. …
From the super secret radio lair of Granny Creech and The Radio Reaper…
The other day I called up my brother Ambrose and asked him if he wanted to go into town to the grocery store with me. He did. I picked him up and we rode into Pumpkin Hollow to the General Store. We shopped for the month’s groceries and departed. We used the time together to catch up on all the latest gossip and to see how each other’s families were doing. I dropped him off and headed home. When I arrived, I noticed a large manilla envelope on my porch, leaning up against my front door. I took it in and then unloaded my many sacks of groceries. When I finished that task, I opened the envelope. It was from The Radio Reaper with a note that said, “Here are some interesting spots to go with the spots you ran a few weeks ago. I hope you enjoy them.”
I took out the record. “Ah, yes,” I thought, “the second feature to an interesting double bill. We finally get to hear the radio spots for Creature With the Atom Brain. Released in 1955 as the companion feature to It Came From Beneath the Sea, Creature is a delightfully atmospheric detective murder-mystery with science fiction elements thrown in. The opening scene showing someone or…something…walking toward the camera with a heavy back light while a beating heart is heard instantly grabs your attention. Later, when the mysterious figure bends iron window bars and breaks into a mansion, it attacks the man inside. Bullets can’t stop it and we see, quite graphically via shadows on the wall, the man picked up overhead by the powerful intruder and getting his spine snapped. And I don’t mean slightly snapped, I mean the poor guy gets folded in two…backwards…with a loud crack! Yeowch! My teeth hurt every time I watch that scene. …
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. …
William Castle offers to lend Vincent Price a hand in cutting The Tingler cake.
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. …
