Distributed through American International Pictures, 1974s Deranged was a Canadian/U.S. co-production which told the tale of the profoundly disturbed Ezra Cobb. After the death of his mother, Cobb became completely unhinged, first digging up body parts and corpses from the local cemetery for decorations in his home before then killing local women to further his cause. Deranged was based on the real life exploits/horror story of Ed Gein's morbid and murderous ways in Wisconsin.
Co-directed by Jeff Gillen and Alan (Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things, Deathdream) Ormsby,Deranged also had Bob (Porky's, A Christmas Story, Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things, Deathdream) Clark working as an uncredited producer on the film.
Veteran actor Roberts Blossom plays Ezra Cobb and among his many film credits he is often most remembered as the foul tempered old man who sells Arnie the title car in Christine or as Old Man Marley, the scary neighbor who with a shovel smack down, saves Kevin from the evil doers in Home Alone.
This 1974 giallo, The Perfume Of The Lady In Black, was directed and co-scripted by Francesco Barilli (director of Hotel Fear and co-screen writer of The Man from the Deep River) and offers up a particularly arty and dream like Euro-thriller. Mimsy Farmer stars as an industrial research scientist who becomes increasingly unhinged and subject to frightening hallucinations after becoming friendly with possible witches following the recent suicide of her mother. Worth a viewing.
Avant-jazz maestro Sun Ra brings his otherworldly sounds to the realm of cinema in this feature length version of Space Is the Place. A shorter version known as "Sun Ra's edit" also exists. Filmed in 1972 but not released until 1974, the film's highlight is an extended performance from Sun Ra and his Arkestra.
The terms weird and strange get applied to an enormous number of films, but perhaps 1974s Shanks is truly worthy of such cliched categorization. Notable as both the last movie directed by maverick gimmick filmmaker William Castle and also as the first major movie role for world famous mime
Marcel Marceau.
Marceau plays Malcolm Shanks, a master puppeteer who goes to work in a castle, toiling for a crazed but good-hearted doctor/scientist named Old Walker (also played by Marceau) who has made great advances in the reanimation of the dead. After the doctor dies, Shanks then uses the reanimated to get retribution.
The film never completely gels for me, but still manages to provide a rather unique experience for the curious viewer.
Written by Richard Matheson (The Night Stalker, Duel, I Am Legend) and directed by Dan Curtis (Dark Shadows, Trilogy of Terror, Burnt Offerings, The Winds of War), is 1974 made for television movie Scream of the Wolf.
A series of brutal murders are committed with evidence at the scene indicating the possible involvement of a large wolf. A retired big game hunter (played by Peter Graves) is called in to assist in hunting down the killer but gets little help from a suspicious local pro-hunter (Clint Walker). Great use is made of nighttime visits through fog shrouded forests.
A bizarre and brutal seventies horror/exploitation film, Peopletoys follows what happens when a van carrying a group of extremely disturbed youngsters crashes off an icy mountain road. The children make their way to a lodge populated by a relatively annoying assortment of wealthy and/or unpleasant folks. The family and their group welcome the little wanderers into the warm and inviting home but come to regret this decision after both the telephone and power cut out while the adults begin meeting violent ends.
Sorrell Booke is (for me) the most notable face among the cast; seen here five years prior to his blockbuster role as Boss Hogg on the Dukes of Hazzard. A very young Leif Garrett plays one of the murderous children, his sister Dawn Lyn also plays one of the youngsters, and their mother Carolyn Stellar is also among the film's cast.
Peopletoys was a work horse exploitation film and was re-released multiple times under different titles such as Devil Times Five, The Horrible House on the Hill, and Tantrums.
I was reminded of John Carpenter's 1974 film Dark Star after recently seeing Jodorowsky's Dune, which highlighted how Alejandro Jodorowsky became aware of (and made him an integral part of his Dune production team) Dan O'Bannon after a chance viewing of Dark Star while on a visit to Los Angeles.
For having a low budget, Dark Star makes excellent use of an inventive, well written script; and Dan O'Bannon's very creative, shoestring production design.
This cinematic oddity from 1974 was Oliver Stone's directorial debut, plus he was also the co-screenwriter. Packed with notable faces, the film features: Jonathan Frid, Martine Beswick, Hervé Villechaize, and a favorite of mine, Mary Woronov.
The plot deals with a horror writer (played by Mr. Frid) who becomes noticeably alarmed when the denizens of his frightening novels materialize to torment + attack him and his family.
Since I was recently opining that it had been far too long since I'd watched a Benny Hill episode, presented below is The Best of Benny Hill (1974). It's a compilation of sketches from the 1969-1973 seasons of the Thames Television show.
Filmed in 1974 for U.S. television, Killdozer was based on a 1944 Theodore Sturgeon short story and was also adapted in comic book form by Marvel Comics that same year. Familiar faces such as Clint Walker, Neville Brand, and Robert Urich populate the small work crew; who are beginning the construction of an airstrip on an African island. A strange meteor causes much mayhem for the crew.
Presented below is the movie that also provided a name for a noisy favorite Wisconsin band.
Immediately after her star making role in The Exorcist, Linda Blair's next project was the controversial television movie Born Innocent.
This movie always brings back a curious childhood memory. At the time of it's initial airing I was too young to be aware or curious of it's upcoming airing since Marvel comic books, Godzilla, and the like were more my areas of interest. But while being babysat by a teenage neighbor, we made our way a couple doors down the street to her house so she could grab her troll doll collection for our amusement. During our time in her house she ran into her Dad, who was a police officer, and got into a huge screaming match with him because he was absolutely forbidding her to watch the salacious television movie. So ever since, I've always linked this incident to Born Innocent.
1974s Truck Stop Women is a curious entry in the realm of 1970s U.S. exploitation cinema. Explosions, action plus t and a are both more than liberally sprinkled throughout, but it's ultimately down beat nature sets this film apart from contemporaries.
Starring one of my favorite actresses, Claudia Jennings, another notable face in the film is Len Lesser, better known as Uncle Leo on the Seinfeld show. Truck Stop Women was always been a favorite of mine, but can prove to be difficult to locate in the vhs waste lands, so it's presented below for viewing.
William Smith stars in 1974s Grave of the Vampire, a quirky horror tale that I first became aware after reading a video review in a mid 80s issue of Fangoria magazine. The result of a vampiric sexual assault; Smith portrays a hybrid human/vampire who searches for his neck biting father, the creepy Michael Pataki, in order to provoke a showdown with the creature.
Chick Corea & Return to Forever 1. Beyond the Seventh Galaxy [Take 1] 2. Vulcan Worlds 3. Rumble in the Beginning (a.k.a. Space Circus, Part 2) 4. Beyond the Seventh Galaxy [Take 2]
Chick Corea & Herbie Hancock 1. Someday My Prince Will Come
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Chick Corea & Return to Forever
Stanley Clarke ... Electric Bass Chick Corea ........ Fender Rhodes Stage 73 Mark I Electric Piano, Hohner D6 Clavinet, Mini-Moog, Yamaha Organ, Moog 15 Sample & Hold, Introductions Al DiMeola .......... Electric Guitar Lenny White ....... Drums
Herbie Hancock & The Headhunters
Mike Clarke .......... Drums Herbie Hancock .... Fender Rhodes Suitcase 88 Mark I Electric Piano, Hohner D6 Clavinet, ARP Odyssey, Mellotron, ARP String Ensemble, Vocals, Handclaps, Introductions Paul Jackson ........ Electric Bass Bennie Maupin ..... Tenor Saxophone, Vocals, Handclaps Bill Summers ........ Percussion, Vocals
Initially The Mike Douglas show was produced and filmed in Cleveland, then moved to Philadelphia and later to Los Angeles. It hosted a slew of celebrities and guests included such notable figures as: Malcolm X, Jerry Rubin, Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, Ted Knight, Totie Fields, Angela Davis, Muhammad Ali and The Beach Boys - to name only a few of the many, since the show ran from 1961 to 1982. This footage highlights a 1974 interview with legendary funkster Sly Stone. He also sits in with the house band for a live version of "If You Want Me To Stay"
The clip below comes from a 1969 ABC program - Music Scene. Taped before a live audience, this is pretty happening Sly & the Family Stone footage. Enjoy...
a big fan of reading books, all kinds of art, J.G. Ballard, autumn, Dr Pepper, listening to records, women wearing skirts and high heels, exceptionally weird movies, bike riding, diners and other stuff...
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