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Nothing about Dick Powell's 1956 historical epic "The Conqueror" went right. Firstly, and most obviously, the casting was horrid. John Wayne, America's racist uncle, was cast as Temujin, a.k.a. Genghis Khan, ruler of the Mongol Empire in the 12th century. His wife, Börte, was played by Susan Hayward. Other white actors playing Asian characters included Agnes Moorehead, William Conrad, and Lee Van Cleef.

Additionally, the production was immensely troubled. "The Conqueror" was filmed partly in the desert outside of St. George, Utah, and production was slowed by an unexpected flash flood. According to the book "The Fifty Worst Films of All Time" by Michael Medved, Harry Medved, and Randy Dreyfuss, Wayne was frequently drunk on set, inspiring his co-stars to match his drunken energy with silly, untethered performances of their own. The film's writer, Oscar Millard, however, said...

In its first pilot episode, Star Trek: The Original Series revealed some dark truths about Captain Christopher Pike's (Jeffrey Hunter) most recent mission. Before Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) took over command of the USS Enterprise, Captain Pike sat in the captain's chair on the iconic ship. As established in Star Trek's original pilot, "The Cage," Pike had an entirely different crew aboard his Enterprise, aside from his science officer, Spock (Leonard Nimoy). In "The Cage," Pike answers a distress call from Talos IV only to learn it had been a trap set by the Talosians.

Upon beaming down to the planet, Pike meets a beautiful young woman named Vina (Susan Oliver) before the Talosians imprison the Enterprise captain. As Number One (Majel Barrett) leads a rescue mission, the Talosians present Pike with various illusions to convince him to stay. The powerful Talosians have tapped into Pike's mind...

Captain Christopher Pike had two instances in Star Trek where he wanted to quit being Captain of the USS Enterprise. Pike was originally portrayed by Jeffrey Hunter in Star Trek's original, rejected pilot, "The Cage." Sean Kenney portrayed a grievously injured Fleet Captain Pike in Star Trek: The Original Series' "The Menagerie." Over 50 years later, Captain Pike returned to Star Trek canon when he was played by Anson Mount in Star Trek: Discovery season 2. Mount's popularity led to his receiving his own spinoff about Captain Pike's voyages aboard the Starship Enterprise in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

Star Trek's "The Cage" was overhauled to become Star Trek: The Original Series, with Jeffrey Hunter's Captain Pike replaced by a brand-new leading man, William Shatner's Captain James T. Kirk. However, "The Cage" established much of the basic foundation of Star Trek, where the Captain of the Enterprise was in...

Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) has a curious limp in "The Cage," Star Trek's original, rejected pilot, but the reason why is hinted at in the episode. Produced in 1964, "The Cage" was creator Gene Roddeneberry's first vision for Star Trek. "The Cage" starred Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Christopher Pike, Susan Oliver as Vina, and Majel Barrett as Number One, along with Nimoy as the Vulcan Mr. Spock. NBC considered "The Cage" "too cerebral" for network television but ordered a second pilot that became Star Trek: The Original Series, with William Shatner's Captain James T. Kirk replacing Pike and only Spock returning from "The Cage's" cast.

In Star Trek's "The Cage," the USS Enterprise is diverted to the planet Talos IV, where its inhabitants laid a trap for Captain Pike. The Talosians possessed the power to cast realistic illusions, and they wanted Pike for their menagerie of aliens.

Whether due to casting troubles or story issues, several Star Trek characters have been replaced throughout the franchise's long history. From the beginning, Gene Roddenberrys original concept for Star Trek went through several changes. Most of the characters from Star Treks first pilot, The Cage, were replaced by the now iconic cast of Star Trek: The Original Series. In some cases, the replacement characters became even more popular than the originals, while at other times the opposite was true.

Characters are always coming and going within the Star Trek universe, but some have more obvious one-for-one replacements than others. Aside from the first cast shake-up, most of the later character changes had more to do with the actors playing them. Some actors decided they wanted to move on to other projects, which often meant their character had to be replaced. Still, most of these actors remain a part of the Star Trek family,...

Prior to his gig on "Star Trek" in 1966, actor DeForest Kelley spent 20 years traversing the wild and hoary world of episodic television and appearing in supporting roles in little-regarded feature films. His first professional screen acting job was a one-off performance in the one-season 1947 TV series "Public Prosecutor." The series holds the distinction of being the first-ever mainstream televised series to be released on film, instead of being broadcast live, which was standard at the time.

Between that show and "Star Trek," Kelley appeared on over 80 TV shows, often just in single episodes, but sometimes returning for two or three. He also had bit roles in films like "Variety Girl," "The Men," "Taxi," and "Gunfight at the O.K. Corral," playing Morgan Earp. He was just a hardworking character actor, taking the jobs that were offered him. There is an integrity to that approach.

In 1960, Kelley appeared in an episode of "Alcoa Theater,...

Star Trek doctors possess a combination of medical skill, compassion, and the ability to improvise in unexplored space. Each doctor brings unique traits and characteristics, from Dr. Sarah April's pioneering spirit to Dr. T'Ana's blunt honesty. Dr. Beverly Crusher stands out as an excellent physician, leader, and advocate for ethics, ultimately becoming the best doctor in Star Trek.

One of the primary roles in Star Trek is that of the Chief Medical Officer, and Doctors hold a crucial place in the franchise. From Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (DeForest Kelley) comprising one third of the lead characters in Star Trek: The Original Series, to Star Trek: The Next Generation's Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) bringing a more compassionate presence to sickbay, and into more modern and holistic approaches to medicine in Star Trek: Discovery's medical staff and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' complex characterizations of legacy characters, the final...

Warning: This article contains Spoilers for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Season 2, Episode 4 - "Among The Lotus Eaters"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 4, "Among the Lotus Eaters," brought Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and the USS Enterprise back to Rigel VII, and included several references to the unaired pilot of Star Trek: The Original Series, "The Cage." This original pilot followed Captain Pike (Jeffrey Hunter) rather than Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and was about a fateful mission to Talos IV. Along the way, Pike talked about a previous mission to Rigel VII in which he had lost four crew members. As he continues to work through that failure of a mission, he is taken prisoner by the Talosians and placed into a literal cage.

Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 4 gave Captain Pike a chance to revisit Rigel VII, and he and his landing party soon discovered what made the planet so dangerous.

Bert I. Gordon, the sci-fi director who aimed to terrify drive-in denizens of the 1950s and ’60s with low-budget films featuring colossal creatures, shrinking humans and radioactive monsters, has died. He was 100.

Gordon died Wednesday in Los Angeles of complications from a fall in his Beverly Hills home, his daughter Patricia Gordon told The Hollywood Reporter.

Highlights (lowlights?) on his B-movie résumé include The Cyclops (1957), The Amazing Colossal Man (1957), Beginning of the End (1957), Earth vs. the Spider (1958), Attack of the Puppet People (1958), Tormented (1960), The Boy and the Pirates (1960) and Picture Mommy Dead (1966).

In the ’70s, Gordon directed Vince Edwards and Chuck Connors in The Police Connection (1973) and wrote and directed How to Succeed With Sex (1970), Necromancy (1972), The Food of the Gods (1976) and, starring Joan Collins in the muck, Empire of the Ants (1977).

Perhaps as a way to keep costs down, Gordon’s films often were family affairs: His late wife,...

Star Trek’s flagship vessel the USS Enterprise has featured plenty of physicians over the years, some of them more gifted doctors and appealing characters than others. From the very first pilot episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, the ship's doctor was positioned as a crucial presence on the Enterprise, often serving as a personal friend and counselor to the ship's captain. They also tended to be one of the few characters with the authority to overrule the captain's orders if they felt it was medically justified.

In Star Trek: The Original Series, the dynamic that Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) shared with Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Spock (Leonard Nimoy) was that series' defining relationship, a somewhat volatile but deeply loyal trio of close friends. Star Trek: The Next Generation got plenty of narrative mileage out of the romantic tension between Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Dr.

It’s one of the year’s most awaited discs: the recent restored and remastered The War of the Worlds ’53 in a glorious 4K Ultra HD edition. A second Blu-ray disc of When Worlds Collide ’51 is too good to be called a bonus extra: this edition looks better than anything seen since original Technicolor prints. In one show we endure scurvy invaders from The Red Planet; in the other a rogue Astral Body threatens Earth with obliteration, necessitating escape on a space ship. Don’t bother checking online for tickets, the flight is sold out. CineSavant has the lowdown for collectors: how good does the new release look?

The War of the Worlds on 4K Ultra-hd

When Worlds Collide on Blu-ray

Digital HD Access for both titles.

Paramount Presents

George Pal Sci-fi Double Feature

Color / 1:37 Academy / Street Date September 27, 2022 / 167 minutes / Available from Amazon / 39.99

Starring: Richard Derr, Barbara Rush, John Hoyt; Gene Barry,...

This Star Trek: Lower Decks article contains spoilers for Season 2, Episode 3.

In the very first filmed episode of Star Trek: The Original Series — “The Cage” — Captain Pike drinks itty-bitty martinis with the Enterprise’s chief physician, Dr. Boyce (John Hoyt.) And although it remains to be seen if we’ll be seeing Boyce in Stranger New Worlds, the tradition of the cranky — but wise — Starfleet doctor was started right there. After Boyce and Piper, Star Trek set the standard for cranky, wise-cracking doctors in space with the introduction of Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy; as played by the wonderful DeForest Kelley.

While Kelley passed away in 1999, the spirit of Bones lives on. Not just in the Karl Urban version of Bones in the reboot films, but also in the foul-mouthed, utterly hilarious Caitian medical officer, Dr. T’ana (Gillian Vigman) on Star Trek: Lower Decks. In the most recent episode of Lower Decks,...

Hollywood acknowledges the existence of America’s proto- C.I.A. intelligence agency with this espionage tale of Yanks working with the resistance in occupied France. It’s basic cloak ‘n’ dagger action, with intrepid Alan Ladd and the daring Geraldine Fitzgerald risking life and limb to plant plastic explosive bombs. The details are fairly interesting: Ladd outwits the Gestapo by working with a turncoat inside their ranks. The outcome is grimly realistic, even if that old Paramount glamour is part of the package. The writer-producer is Richard Maibaum, who would later write almost thirty years’ worth of franchise James Bond 007 adventures.

O.S.S.

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1946 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 108 min. / Street Date August 10, 2021 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95

Starring: Alan Ladd, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Patric Knowles, John Hoyt, Gloria Saunders, Richard Webb, Richard Benedict, Harold Vermilyea, Don Beddoe, Onslow Stevens, Gavin Muir, Egon Brecher, Joseph Crehan, Bobby Driscoll, Julia Dean,...

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is poised to serve the quintessence of the spacefaring franchise: The voyages of the U.S.S. Enterprise—albeit during the captaincy of James T. Kirk’s immediate predecessor, Christopher Pike (Anson Mount). The Paramount+ series—spun off from Star Trek: Discovery—has announced the start of its production and revealed its primary cast. Interestingly, one newcomer in particular bears a noteworthy resemblance to a forgotten character from original Star Trek pilot “The Cage,” whose general era this series will showcase.

An announcement by Paramount has officially welcomed Star Trek: Strange New Worlds cast members Babs Olusanmokun, Christina Chong, Celia Rose Gooding (Broadway’s Jagged Little Pill), Jess Bush and Melissa Navia. However, the characters this new quintet will portray have yet to be revealed. While the majority of the diverse bunch do not seem to line up with established characters from “The Cage,” blonde-haired,...

Ib Melchior’s best-directed movie is a futuristic space opera with a time travel theme, all done at a production level suitable for a Halloween fun house. Yet its talented crew comes up with exciting visuals to match Melchior’s flaky-but-fun eclecticism: Androids, Mutants, ‘deviants,’ hydroponic gardens, force fields, time warps… and a sexist attitude or two to remind us that we’re seeing 2071 through the eyes of 1964. And it’s one of the earliest Hollywood credits for cameramen Vilmos Zsigmond and Laszlo Kovacs.

The Time Travelers

Blu-ray

Scorpion Releasing / Kino Lorber

1964 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 84 min. / Street Date April 27, 2021 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Preston Foster, Philip Carey, Merry Anders, John Hoyt, Dennis Patrick, Joan Woodbury, Delores Wells, Steve Franken, Forrest J. Ackerman, Peter Strudwick, Wayne Anderson .

Cinematography: William Zsigmond (Vilmos Zsigmond)

Camera Operator: Leslie Kovacs (Laszlo Kovacs)

Lumichord Effects: Oskar Fischinger

Visual Effects: David L. Hewitt

Assistant directors: Lew Borzage,...

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By John M. Whalen

Kino Lorber, in its relentless effort to make forgotten, hard-to-find films available in superior, like-new condition, has released a Blu-Ray edition of the 1959 Weird Western, “Curse of the Undead,” the first movie ever to mix cowboys and vampires. The Weird Western, in case you’re not aware, is a sub-genre that combines the traditional western with elements of the supernatural, horror, or science fiction. They’ve been around for about 90 years, first appearing in print in the 1930s when Robert E. Howard, a pulp fiction writer from Texas, best known as the creator of Conan the Barbarian, wrote several short stories for Weird Tales and Argosy magazine that combined the traditional western with supernatural horror. Today a number of authors including Joe Lansdale, Heath Lowrance, Jonathan Mayberry, David West and even yours truly, have turned out Weird Western novels and short stories,...

If you have to name One movie that’s not likely to ever be screened in a prison, this one’s a good bet. In his sophomore starring outing Burt Lancaster leads a group of rebel convicts on a do-or-die bust-out against Hume Cronyn’s utter Nazi of a warden Captain. Richard Brooks’ script and Jules Dassin’s direction don’t sugarcoat the sadistic goings-on and producer Mark Hellinger pushed the result through the Production Code office. Sure, sure, plenty of noirs are violent … but this one must have been quite a head-spinner in ’47.

Brute Force

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 383

1947 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 98 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date September 8, 2020 / 39.95

Starring: Burt Lancaster, Hume Cronyn, Charles Bickford, Yvonne De Carlo, Ann Blyth, Ella Raines, Anita Colby, Sam Levene, Jeff Corey, John Hoyt, Jack Overman, Roman Bohnen, Sir Lancelot, Howard Duff, Art Smith, Whit Bissell.

Cinematography: William Daniels...

Now that October is officially underway, we have a brand new batch of Blu-rays and DVDs coming out tomorrow that would be perfect to add to your Halloween season viewing plans in the coming weeks. Rlje Films is keeping busy this Tuesday with The Pale Door and Yummy, and Arrow Video is showing some love to The Deeper You Dig this week as well. Tales from the Hood 3 is also headed to both Blu and DVD tomorrow, and for those of you who missed the fancier version this summer, there’s a new 4K release of Jaws coming our way, too.

Other home media releases for October 6th include Curse of the Undead, They Live Inside Us, The Face at the Window, The World is Full of Secrets, and Snow White: A Tale of Terror.

Curse of the Undead

Vampiric gunfighter Drake Robey goes West and terrorizes a small town.

Ride ’em, rope ’em, bite ’em? Is this ‘Dracula Goes West,’ or ‘Fangs of the High Chapparal?’ The fading Universal-International house of horrors squeaks out a bizarre horror item that one sits through just out of curiosity… are these people serious? We respect the professionalism of Michael Pate, Kathleen Crowley and Bruce Gordon as they give their all to a dead horse of a concept. A threadbare production stages us vampiric action so tame that it’s toothless, figuratively and literally. Critical snipers suggest that the whole thing might have been some kind of in-house joke — if so, where are the laughs?

Curse of the Undead

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1959 /B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 79 min. / Street Date October 6, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95

Starring: Eric Fleming, Michael Pate, Kathleen Crowley, John Hoyt, Bruce Gordon, Edward Binns, Jimmy Murphy, Helen Kleeb, Jay Adler, Eddie Parker, Don Sullivan.

Cinematography: Ellis W. Carter

Film...

George Pal’s second science fiction classic has conceptual imagination and visual wonder to spare, along with a million awkward and dated details. When rogue planets threaten to obliterate the Earth, a super-Ark spaceship is built to spirit forty ‘chosen ones’ to safety. The Ark passengers have the right stuff, but you may be enraged by the rigged process to select who gets to go. Gee-whiz spectacle is the order of the day — how many End Of The World movies actually show terra firma expunged from the Solar System? Barbara Rush and John Hoyt are the acting standouts, but top honors go to Pal’s visual effect artists and designers.

When Worlds Collide

Blu-ray

Viavision / [Imprint] 6 (Australia)

1951 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 83 min. / Street Date August 26, 2020 / available through [Imprint] : $34.95

Starring: Barbara Rush, Richard Derr, Larry Keating, John Hoyt, Judith Ames, James Congden, Stephen Chase, Frank Cady, Hayden Rorke, Kirk Alyn, Casey Rogers, John Ridgely,...

George Pal’s second science fiction classic has conceptual imagination and visual wonder to spare, along with a million awkward and dated details. When rogue planets threaten to obliterate the Earth, a super-Ark spaceship is built to spirit forty ‘chosen ones’ to safety. The Ark passengers have the right stuff, but you may be enraged by the rigged process to select who gets to go. Gee-whiz spectacle is the order of the day — how many End Of The World movies actually show terra firma expunged from the Solar System? Barbara Rush and John Hoyt are the acting standouts, but top honors go to Pal’s visual effect artists and designers.

When Worlds Collide

Blu-ray

Viavision / Imprint (Australia)

1951 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 83 min. / Street Date August 26, 2020 / available through [Imprint] : $34.95

Starring: Barbara Rush, Richard Derr, Larry Keating, John Hoyt, Judith Ames, James Congden, Stephen Chase, Frank Cady, Hayden Rorke, Kirk Alyn, Casey Rogers,...

One of Marlon Brando’s greatest performances. Joe Mankiewicz’s 1953 prestige MGM version of the classic is still one of the best film treatments of Shakespeare and saw a lot of 16mm classroom use during the 60s and 70s. It’s still a lot of fun seeing familiar character pros like John Hoyt and Douglas Dumbrille spouting dialogue by The Bard.

The post Julius Caesar appeared first on Trailers From Hell.

Today’s noir forecast is vice, kidnapping, murder, suicide, narcotics and a sleazy stolen baby racket! Kino’s third volume of Universal-International pix contains two seldom-screened quality urban noirs. Expect genuine dark themes in these sizable-budget location noirs filmed before Universal pulled most production back onto its one-size-fits-all backlot sets. Barbara Stanwyck dominates one show, while noir stalwarts Richard Conte and Dennis O’Keefe anchor the other two dramas, with dynamic showings by Coleen Gray, Edith Barrett, Peggy Dow, Jeanette Nolan, Meg Randall and especially Gale Storm.

Film Noir the Dark Side of Cinema III

Abandoned, The Lady Gambles, The Sleeping City

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1949-50 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 79,99,86 min. / Street Date June 9, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 34.99

Starring: Dennis O’Keefe, Gale Storm, Jeff Chandler, Meg Randall, Raymond Burr, Marjorie Rambeau, Jeanette Nolan, Mike Mazurki, Will Kuluva, David Clarke; Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Preston, Stephen McNally, Edith Barrett, John Hoyt,...

Two on a Guillotine

Blu ray

Warner Archives

1965/ 2:35:1 / 107 min.

Starring Connie Stevens, Dean Jones

Cinematography by Sam Leavitt

Directed by William Conrad

Imagine shock-meister William Castle directing a Disney movie and the result might be something like Two on a Guillotine. William Conrad, narrator of Rocky and Bullwinkle and star of television’s Cannon, is at the wheel of this thrill ride and he’s happy to rehash a few of Castle’s favorite scare tactics for his own purposes – the moans and groans of a carnival spook house and even a wire-drawn skeleton. There’s no denying Conrad’s effort has some of the Saturday matinee charm of creep shows like House on Haunted Hill but the sunny locales and aggressively perky demeanor of co-stars Connie Stevens and Dean Jones make you wish Frederick Loren would drop by with a well-aimed champagne cork.

Stevens is Cassie Duquesne,...

Noir Nirvana isn’t found amid literary swells and hoity-toity art connoisseurs — but in the trenches of humble Eagle-Lion Films, where Richard Fleischer, Lloyd Bridges and a hotter-than-hot Barbara Payton steamed up the streets of Los Angeles circa 1949. The Film Noir Foundation experts give us an expertly curated slice of hardboiled crime — Eddie Muller dubs it ‘To Live and Die in L.A.,’ but in the year that the Reds took over mainland China, and the Ussr exploded its first Atom bomb.

Trapped

Blu-ray + DVD

Flicker Alley

1949 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 78 min. / Street Date December 17, 2019 / 39.98

Starring: Lloyd Bridges, Barbara Payton, John Hoyt, James Todd, Russ Conway, Robert Karnes, Stephen Chase, Tommy Noonan, Douglas Spencer.

Cinematography: Guy Roe

Film Editor: Alfred DeGaetano

Original Music: Sol Kaplan

Written by Earl Felton, George Zuckerman

Produced by Bryan Foy

Directed by Richard Fleischer

The Film Noir Foundation has done it again — the non-profit has...

It’s Fritz Lang versus CinemaScope, for the first and last time. The format suited to snakes and funerals effectively hamstrings the great filmmaker’s expressive camera direction, yet the movie is one of the best of MGM’s last-gasp ’50s costume dramas. Corrupt smuggler Stewart Granger is redeemed by the faith of a young boy who believes in him; in this story the words “He’s my friend” take on a big significance. Come see director Lang struggle to adapt the wide-wide screen to accommodate his brand of real cinema.

Moonfleet

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1955 / Color / 2:55 widescreen / 87 min. / Street Date August 13, 2019 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring: Stewart Granger, Jon Whiteley, George Sanders, Joan Greenwood, Viveca Lindfors, Liliane Montevecchi, Melville Cooper, Sean McClory, Alan Napier, John Hoyt, Donna Corcoran, Jack Elam, Dan Seymour, Ian Wolfe.

Cinematography: Robert H. Planck

Film Editor: Albert Akst

Original Music: Miklos Rozsa

Written by Jan Lustig,...

Is this Samuel Fuller’s biggest production? He tries to convey the harrowing reality of a military campaign that tested the limits of endurance and punishment that troops could absorb. In his last movie, Jeff Chandler is the famed commander who must ask his special forces to march hundreds of miles in the unforgiving jungle, and then fight a pitched battle. Although Warners interfered with the final cut, it’s still a fine picture.

Merrill’s Marauders

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1962 / Color / 2:35 anamorphic widescreen / 98 min. / Street Date July 23, 2019 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring: Jeff Chandler, Ty Hardin, Peter Brown, Andrew Duggan, Will Hutchins, Claude Akins, Luz Valdez, John Hoyt, Pancho Magalona.

Cinematography: William Clothier

Film Editor: Folmar Blangsted

Original Music: Howard Jackson

Written by Milton Sperling, Sam Fuller from a book by Charlton Ogburn Jr.

Produced by Milton Sperling

Directed by Samuel Fuller

Writer/producer/director Samuel Fuller must...

All hail Bert I. Gordon, who singlehandedly carved out his own niche in ‘fifties monster folklore, and even won a battle or two against those sharpies at A.I.P.. His puppet people were originally just ‘Fantastic,’ but they had to be made into a menace with the “A” word usually reserved for icky poo Giant Leeches, Crab Monsters and 50-Foot Women.

Attack of the Puppet People

Blu-ray

Scream Factory

1958 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 79 min. / The Fantastic Puppet People, Six Inches Tall, I Was a Teenage Doll, War of the Puppet People / Street Date November 14, 2017 / 27.99

Starring: John Agar, John Hoyt, June Kenney, Susan Gordon, Michael Mark, Kack Kosslyn, Marlene Willis, Ken Miller, Laurie Mitchell, Scott Peters, June Jocelyn, Hank Patterson.

Cinematography: Ernest Laszlo

Special Effects: Bert I. Gordon, Flora M. Gordon

Original Music: Albert Glasser

Written by George Worthing Yates

Story, Produced & Directed by Bert I. Gordon

It’s easy...

Mr. Franz seemed nice at first, but brimming just beneath the surface was a desire to turn his guests into miniature puppets for his own amusement. This unconventional form of entertainment takes center stage in Attack of the Puppet People, and with Scream Factory releasing the 1958 horror film on Blu-ray, we've been provided with three high-def copies to give away to lucky Daily Dead readers.

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Prize Details: (3) Winners will receive (1) Blu-ray copy of Attack of the Puppet People.

How to Enter: We're giving Daily Dead readers multiple chances to enter and win:

1. Instagram: Following us on Instagram during the contest period will give you an automatic contest entry. Make sure to follow us at:

https://www.instagram.com/dailydead/

2. Email: For a chance to win via email, send an email to contest@dailydead.com with the subject "Attack of the Puppet People Contest". Be sure to include your name and mailing address.

Kenny Miller, who appeared in the 1950s drive-in classics I Was a Teenage Werewolf and Attack of the Puppet People, has died. He was 85.

Miller died Monday of pneumonia at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, his friend and former publicist, Nancy Streebeck, told The Hollywood Reporter.

Miller was attacked by Michael Landon, played the bongos and sang "Eeny, Meeny, Miny Mo" in I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) and was one of the shrunken victims of a deranged doll-maker (John Hoyt) in Attack of the Puppet People (1958). Both low-budget films...

Merle Oberon films: From empress to duchess in 'Hotel.' Merle Oberon films: From starring to supporting roles Turner Classic Movies' Merle Oberon month comes to an end tonight, March 25, '16, with six movies: Désirée, Hotel, Deep in My Heart, Affectionately Yours, Berlin Express, and Night Song. Oberon's presence alone would have sufficed to make them all worth a look, but they have other qualities to recommend them as well. 'Désirée': First supporting role in two decades Directed by Henry Koster, best remembered for his Deanna Durbin musicals and the 1947 fantasy comedy The Bishop's Wife, Désirée (1954) is a sumptuous production that, thanks to its big-name cast, became a major box office hit upon its release. Marlon Brando is laughably miscast as Napoleon Bonaparte, while Jean Simmons plays the title role, the Corsican Conqueror's one-time fiancée Désirée Clary (later Queen of Sweden and Norway). In a supporting role – her...

Most of us love the Trumbo-Douglas-Kubrick thinking man's leftist gladiator epic, and after several iffy disc presentations this exacting digital restoration follows through on the photochemical reconstruction done 25 years ago. It looks incredibly good, almost too good to be a Blu-ray. Kirk contributes a new featurette interview, telling us that this is the show he'll be remembered for. Spartacus Blu-ray + Digital HD Universal Studios Home Entertainment 1960 / Color / 2:20 widescreen / 197 min. / Street Date October 6, 2015 / 19.98 Starring Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Charles Laughton, Jean Simmons, Peter Ustinov, Tony Curtis, Woody Strode, John Gavin, Nina Foch, Herbert Lom, Charles McGraw, John Ireland, Nick Dennis, John Dall, Herbert Lom, Joanna Barnes, Harold J. Stone, Peter Brocco, John Hoyt, Richard Farnsworth, George Kennedy. Cinematography by Russell Metty Music by Alex North Edited by Robert Lawrence Produced by Kirk Douglas and Edward Lewis Screenplay by Dalton Trumbo Based on the novel by Howard Fast Produced by...

Across film and TV, there have been many Star Trek projects that never got the greenlight. Such as these...

Since 1964 (yep) there have been Star Trek projects that simply didn't make it to the big or small screen. And before Star Trek's second (proper) coming in 1979's Star Trek: The Motion Picture, the franchise had more than its fair share of attempts to come to life, and then be reborn.

This lot in fact...

Star Trek – The (original) Original Series

Here's a thought – the original Star Trek series wasn't supposed to be the original Star Trek series.

The pilot that sold the show to NBC was in fact the second pilot, after the original, entitled The Cage, filmed at the end of 1964, was deemed too cerebral. That's on top of having other multiple issues that TV executives (and test audiences) of the time couldn't cope with – you know, like gender equality in the workplace.

On May 12, horror and sci-fi fans have many reasons to be excited as there are a ton of great titles making their way onto Blu-ray and DVD. Anchor Bay is unleashing The Drownsman this week and Scream Factory is releasing Extraterrestrial, the latest from The Vicious Brothers, as well. Kino Lorber also has several fun cult titles getting a high-def overhaul this week, including X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes and The Premature Burial. For all you Troma lovers out there, The Toxic Avenger III is getting repackaged in a fun Blu/DVD combo pack featuring some new content that should thrill all the Toxie fans out there.

The Drownsman (Anchor Bay Entertainment, Blu-ray & DVD)

After almost drowning in a lake accident, Madison (Michelle Mylett, Antisocial) develops hydrophobia: an abnormal fear of water. After shutting the world and her friends out for over a year, her friends attempt an intervention.

We're back with another video round-up, this time featuring clips from HBO's Game of Thrones Season 5 and the Julia Stiles-starring horror film, Out of the Dark (now in theaters), as well as two videos featuring renowned filmmaker Joe Dante discussing a pair of Roger Corman titles that Kino Lorber is releasing to Blu-ray this May: X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes and The Premature Burial (we also have a look at the final cover art and details on the bonus features for both Ray Milland-starring movies).

Game of Thrones Season 5: “Game of Thrones follows kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars and noblemen who are engaged in a deadly cat-and-mouse game for control of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. As betrayal, lust, intrigue and supernatural forces shake the four corners of the Kingdoms, their bloody struggle for the Iron Throne will have unforeseen and far-reaching consequences.

Not unlike the similarly named genius who formed the X-Men, Dr. Xavier wants to use his special power—in his case, X-ray vision—to help people, but eventually the ability to look through almost anything begins to wear on the doctor, showing him more than he ever hoped to see. Reuniting Ray Milland with director Roger Corman, X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes is coming to Blu-ray and DVD this spring.

Like their recently announced The Premature Burial home media offering, Kino Lorber will release X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes on Blu-ray and DVD sometime in May. No special features are known at this time, but the distributor has stated this release will feature a new HD master. Stay tuned to Daily Dead for more details.

Directed by Roger Corman off a screenplay by Robert Dillon and Ray Russell, X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes stars Ray Milland,...

Ann Blyth movies: TCM schedule on August 16, 2013 (photo: ‘Our Very Own’ stars Ann Blyth and Farley Granger) See previous post: "Ann Blyth Today: Light Singing and Heavy Drama on TCM." 3:00 Am One Minute To Zero (1952). Director: Tay Garnett. Cast: Robert Mitchum, Ann Blyth, William Talman. Bw-106 mins. 5:00 Am All The Brothers Were Valiant (1953). Director: Richard Thorpe. Cast: Robert Taylor, Stewart Granger, Ann Blyth. C-95 mins. 6:45 Am The King’S Thief (1955). Director: Robert Z. Leonard. Cast: Ann Blyth, Edmund Purdom, David Niven. C-79 mins. Letterbox Format. 8:15 Am Rose Marie (1954). Director: Mervyn LeRoy. Cast: Ann Blyth, Howard Keel, Fernando Lamas. C-104 mins. Letterbox Format. 10:00 Am The Great Caruso (1951). Director: Richard Thorpe. Cast: Mario Lanza, Ann Blyth, Dorothy Kirsten, Jarmila Novotna, Richard Hageman, Carl Benton Reid, Eduard Franz, Ludwig Donath, Alan Napier, Pál Jávor, Carl Milletaire, Shepard Menken, Vincent Renno, Nestor Paiva, Peter Price, Mario Siletti, Angela Clarke,...

Paul Henreid: Hollow Triumph aka The Scar tonight Turner Classic Movies’ Paul Henreid film series continues this Tuesday evening, July 16, 2013. Of tonight’s movies, the most interesting offering is Hollow Triumph / The Scar, a 1948 B thriller adapted by Daniel Fuchs (Panic in the Streets, Love Me or Leave Me) from Murray Forbes’ novel, and in which the gentlemanly Henreid was cast against type: a crook who, in an attempt to escape from other (and more dangerous) crooks, impersonates a psychiatrist with a scar on his chin. Joan Bennett, mostly wasted in a non-role, is Henreid’s leading lady. (See also: “One Paul Henreid, Two Cigarettes, Four Bette Davis-es.”) The thriller’s director is Hungarian import Steve Sekely, whose Hollywood career consisted chiefly of minor B fare. In fact, though hardly a great effort, Hollow Triumph was probably the apex of Sekely’s cinematic output in terms of prestige...

All hail the Queen of Egypt a.k.a. the classic epic "Cleopatra," which was released 50 years ago today (on June 12, 1963). The controversial film is known not only for setting fire to the scandalous affair between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, but also for its monstrous budget, initial box office flop, and unending conflicts.

Last month the film's 50th anniversary was celebrated at the Cannes Film Festival with a special screening of the recently released Blu-ray restoration. To honor the classic, we're opening up the tomb of facts to reveal the juicy bits you may not have known about the film. From budget nightmares to comas and contracts, read on to find out why the Academy Award-winning "Cleopatra" was an epic of truly epic proportions.

1. "Cleopatra" is infamous for marking the beginning of the heated love affair between Burton and Taylor, which lasted until his death in 1984. However, Liz and Dick...

Joseph L. Manciewicz's adaptation of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar put Marlon Brando in a toga.

Beware the Ides of March. You can expect all manner of bad omens, murders most foul, and pretentious features like this one. The Roman year began in March and it took fifteen days to recover from their new year’s celebration. On this day in 44 BC, give or take a calendar change, Julius Caesar, who ended the Roman Republic after years of internal battles dating back to Romulus and Remus, was assassinated in a conspiracy of about 60 Senators who inflicted 23 stab wounds on the new dictator.

Mark Antony, who was Caesar’s underboss, united the people of Rome and went after the conspirators, finally forming a triumvirate with Lepidus and Octavian to rule the fledgling empire before “going native” in Egypt with Cleopatra. That period in Roman history is one of the most documented...

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By Harvey F. Chartrand

Peter Gunn: The Complete Series is now available for the first time ever as a 12-dvd box set from Timeless Media Group… all 114 episodes, with a running time of over 58 hours.

Peter Gunn – created and produced by Blake Edwards – ran for three seasons – from 1958 to 1961. This classic detective show was a delightful blend of film noir and fifties cool, featuring a modern jazz score by Henry Mancini (a bonus CD of the soundtrack is included in the set), outbreaks of the old ultra-violence, a gallery of eccentric and sleazy characters (usually informants, gangsters and Beat Generation bohemians), and great acting by series leads Craig Stevens (as Gunn), Lola Albright (as his squeeze, sultry nightclub singer Edie Hart) and Herschel Bernardi (as Gunn’s friend and competitor Lieutenant Jacoby, who seems to work all by himself 24 hours a day...

DVD Release Date: May 22, 2012

Price: DVD $24.95

Studio: Olive Films

The classic 1950 film drama The Lawless starring Macdonald Carey (The Great Missouri Raid) and Gail Russell (Angel and the Badman) takes on the issues of immigrant workers and racial discrimination, subjects that were rarely covered in mainstream movies at that time.

Carey plays a crusading newspaperman who seemingly is the only person willing to champion the rights of a group of oppressed Mexican-American fruit-pickers, just he tries to stop a lynch mob’s manhunt of a Latino fugitive accused of fomenting a riot.

Tackling a controversial issue in an honest, no-nonsense fashion, director Joseph Losey (The Romantic Englishwoman), helming his second feature, was later blacklisted in the United States and moved to Europe where he made the remainder of his films, mostly in the United Kingdom.

The Lawless also stars John Sands, Lee Patrick, John Hoyt and Lalo Rios.

The film...

First of the runaway-planet-soon-to-hit-Earth movies, remade and ripped off so frequently in recent years that no less than Lars Von Trier has one coming up soon! Cecil B. DeMille considered making this for Paramount in 1935, but it wasn't until 1951 that George Pal was able to get it up and running, albeit with a DeMille-like introductory narration to start it off. Budget-challenged but spectacular in its day. Pal always dreamt of doing a sequel, but it never panned out. Vet heavy John Hoyt scores as the wheelchair-bound billionaire.

The great supporting cast alone (Sam Levene, Jeff Corey,Jay C. Flippen, Sir Lancelot and the first of many pairings of John Hoyt and Whit Bissell) would make Jules Dassin's prison pic a keeper, but as written by Richard Brooks it's a tough, incisive and influential genre piece. Hume Cronyn's career highlight as the sadistic Warden Munsey, who plays Wagner records loudly to hide the sound of beatings. (Picture quality on this trailer is not up to our usual standard.)...

Did you know that Dougray Scott was cast to play Wolverine, in the summer blockbuster X-Men? He had to leave the project because of his work on Mission: Impossible II. Did you know that in Batman: Forever, strings can be seen on the helicopter after it explodes against the "Lady Liberty" statue? Did you know that Simon Weisse, prop-maker of Hellboy, was an uncredited model maker for Inglorious Basterds!?

Of course you did! And it's all thanks to the Internet Movie Database, IMDb.com... which turned 20 today, October 17th, 2010.

Nerds, cinemaphiles, and popular comicbook/pop culture bloggers have been turning to this amazing source of sometimes useless, sometimes shocking, always acutely specific database of movies and television information now for two whole decades. Just ask yourself, where would you be without it? How many bar fights did you prevent by using your iPhone to assure your comrades that Wil Wheaton...