The 1980's 3-D Boom Part 2

Other 3-D films flooded theaters to cash in on the fad including FRIDAY THE 13th 3-D (Which I was able to see on the big screen in 1999 during a special sold out screening at the now defunct GCC Northeast Theater in Philly. When the GCC closed down, the marquee read "Good bye Edna and thanks for all the memories." I have a photo of the marquee somewhere in my collection) and revivals of older 3-D films such as HOUSE OF WAX which I saw at the Budco Orleans 4 Theater (Now the AMC Orleans 4 theater and a VERY DANGEROUS theater to visit these days. They have armed guards there now)

3-D invaded television with REVENGE OF THE CREATURE (promoted by Burger King) and airings of the Canadian chiller THE MASK and the kung fu spectacle DYNASTY. Truth be told...the 3-D process failed miserably...

As quickly as the 3-D resurrection began in 1982 it died in 1983 as people were repeatedly burned by one bad film after the other. What a shame. It was fun while it lasted

Andy Warhol's Frankenstein

If there ever was a film that remains and all time dreadful pleasure favorite for me it would be Andy Warhol's Frankenstein. (aka Flesh for Frankenstein) This bizarro film from 1973 was an anamoly: a 3-D horror film that carried an X-rating. (It was not pornographic. The X-rating came from the ludicrous over the top gore)

My first exposure to the film came in 1980 when ads for it appeared in local newspapers that featured the cool 3-D image of the monster on a slab coming off the screen. (Yes, the film had come out in 1973 and played on and off in theaters for 7 years! In my collection somewhere I have a cut out from the Philadelphia Inquirer displaying the ad for the sole theater, the Arcadia, that screened the film durin its initial run)

AWF would later play on late night cable in unedited versions on the now defunct pay channel Select TV and in edited versions on USA Up All Nite. In 1987, I was able to procure a dupe of the VHS release via mail order. (Ridiculously, the film did not release itself as unrated and maintained the 'X' Rating that made distribution of a non-pornographic adult film impossible in video chains)

For whatever reason, Andy Warhol's Frankenstein completely blew me away as its bizarro satire of the upper class amidst the backdrop of a Frankenstein film maintained a trule novel and original approach to horror cinema. (Those looking for an academic treatise of the film should check out the DVD release and listen to the excellent commentary track)

A hiss and a boo to New Line Cinema (the rights owners) for charging ridculously cost prohibtive distribution fees that have kept this film away from revival screenings. If any film deserved a 35mm presentation it would be this one. It has not been screened in its full 3-D theatrical glory in 25+ years.


World Stage and Pop Culture

Remembering the 3-D Boom of the 1980's

You know you are old when you start reminiscing about things that occured 25+ years ago...

Back in the early 1980's, the world saw a renewed enthusiam for 3-D films. Most of these flicks were totally forgettable such as THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE, some were actually quite good such as STARCHASER and some were ones we would wish we could forget such as JAWS 3-D. (BTW...There are plans for a JAWS V)

For whatever reason, 3-D movies made a huge comeback from 1981 to 1983. I am not sure which film started the craze but I believe that it was the film COMIN' AT YA which was a spaghetti western from Tony Anthony (what a goofy stage name!). I remember the ads for this on TV that did not include any scenes from the film, but were actually comedy skits shot specifically for the commercial to herald the 3-D action. (HUH? I guess the only logical answer to why they did this was to hide the fact it was a foreign film)

I did not get the chance to see COMIN' AT YA in theaters, but I did see Mr. Anthony's next magnum opus TREASURE OF THE FOUR CROWNS which was a total rip-off of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. The film was mainly a string of 3-D effects and even to my 9 year old mind I realized this was a total turkey. (It is kind of funny to remebering seeing a useless footnote of movie history during its original theatrical run)

I also managed to catch a cool film called SPACEHUNTER - ADVENTURES IN THE FORBIDDEN ZONE at the long lost Devon Theater in Philadelphia. This was actually a decent film but at the 45 minute mark the 3-D process failed and the film went out of focus. The audience started to get REALLY rowdy and when one of the theater ushers screamed that he was going to beat people up if they didn't calm down, my dad suggested it was time to get out of the theater....

CONTINUED
World Stage and Pop Culture

Field Sequential 3-D on the TV

I am a skeptic by heart so I was not expecting much when I saw the advertisement for Field Sequential 3-D glasses on EBAY and a number of (bootleg) DVD's that were also being sold to go along with the glasses.

Now, these were no ordinary DVDs of lame films. These were some ultra rare films that have not been seen in their original 3-D format in years including ANDY WARHOL'S FRANKENSTEIN, THE MASK, COMING AT YA! etc.

This was too good to be true. A way of duplicating 3-D on the TV? I was disappointed many years back when I brought home those fun and cool Red-Green 3-D glasses that Burger King sold for their promotional TV airing of REVENGE OF THE CREATURE back in 1981. (and the 3-D effects were pretty non-existent) But, I plinked down some cash for the 3-D system and a the DVD to THE MASK (which also had a REVENGE OF THE CREATURE style 3-D airing on UHF channels in the 1980's)

While the Field Sequential glasses are no where near the level you'd see in a theater, the actually system is pretty darn cool. I wasn't disappointed at all.

World Stage and Pop Culture

Where have all the horror hosts gone? II

Here is part two in my broef history of horror movie hosts.

In the late 1950's, Universal "dumped" all their old horror films into the syndicated television market. Believing that the films no longer had any practical value, the price for the "Shock Theater" syndicated package was miserably low. My, my...did Universal undervalue its horror movie library or what? The package was a massive hit with little kids. So massive, in fact, that it lead to the rerelease of a number of old horror films into theaters as well as a calvacade of horror movie tie in merchandise such as toys, games, etc. Probably the most significant aspect of this explosion was the release of the landmark publication FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND which debuted in 1958.

This was quite stunning as horror was considered a "dead" genre after the conclusion of World War Two. The atomic bomb and the space race forever changed public opinion of what was scary shifting people's imagination towards science fiction alarmist theater such as DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, THEM! and GODZILLA, KING OF THE MONSTERS.
Frankenstein, Dracula and the Wolfman simply were no longer frightening in the face of the splitting of the atom.


Riding high on the popularity of these classic horror films and their resurgence would be a fellow (originally) dubbed Roland. His story will be part of our next installment.

Where have all the horror hosts gone?

In the 1970's in Philadelphia, a fellow named Dr. Shock ruled the weekends hosting a double feature of horror films on the local UHF station. He performed silly comedy bits and fun magic tricks while introducing the classic films. He remained a popular local ficture until his untimely death in 1978. Phila had no horror hosts for several years until a character dubbed Stella made her debut at 1am on the NBC affiliate on a progam dubbed Staurday Night Dead (har har) This program ran for several years in the 1980's until Stella found herself fired from the program after a dispute with management. Phila was without a horror host and remained so for many years.

Oh wait....there was a very shortlived character named the Son of Svenghoulie who lasted about 6 weeks. Whatever happened to him.

And for that matter, what ever happened to all the great horror movie hosts who were so popular in the United States from the 1950's into the 1980's?
World Stage and Pop Culture

Forget about Ron Burgundy and the legend of the great local anchormen of the 1970's, where are all the horror hosts?

Continued

Hell Houses

My, my. I remember when a haunted house attraction used to deal with such complexities such as ghosts, witches, vampires and werewolves. Now it seems that the emphasis on these attractions are on drugs, homosexuality and abortion.

I'm not kidding. This really exists and it is really popular.

There are haunted house attractions out there sponsored by churches that offer a gruesome Grande Guignol style horror attraction designed to teach morality (and politcal) lessons in a haunted house attraction.

What presents itself as horror in these attractions is the vice. Or, more accurately, vices that supposedly lead to hell.

Now, these attractions are bizarre and over the top ad downright offensive. There is a primitive nature to these "Hell Houses" that are remarkedly reminiscent of the metal hygeine scare films of the 1950's.

In truth, whenever a non professional writer tries any screenwriting, there will be the tendency to write a ton of expository wooden dialogue. Much of this is on hand in Hell House productions giving the whole thing a bizarre B-movie flavor.

This is not to say these ugly shows are ejoyable. They are nihilistic, grim and demented. They aren't horror shows, they are a bizarre form of indoctrination that is far more complex than what appears on the surface. (Cont)