The Horror Hall of Fame

THE HORROR HALL OF FAME is the on screen title of this late night 90 minute broadcast on ABC's Wide World of Entertainment (subtitled A MONSTER SALUTE), a humorous but affectionate look back on classic monster movies from the silent era to the recent blockbuster "The Exorcist." Vincent Price couldn't have been a better choice to host, his pedigree with the AIP Poe series in the 1960s following on successes from previous decades like "The Invisible Man Returns," "House of Wax," and "House on Haunted Hill." Musical comedy veteran Bobby Van plays the growling hunchback, with Ivor Barry doing a bit as Murray Frankenstein, his long awaited Monster escaping before we get a chance to see it. The recent publication of "In Search of Dracula" finds author Raymond McNally discussing vampires and the reason why they cast no reflection in mirrors (being undead they have no soul). Most fascinating are the relaxed conversations with fellow thespians like John Astin, star of THE ADDAMS FAMILY, Frank Gorshin, discussing his impression of Boris Karloff (and Karloff's hilarious reaction to same), and Candy Clark, gorgeous starlet from "American Graffiti," graciously allowing herself to be transformed into an equally beautiful monster by esteemed makeup artist William Tuttle, whose first subject was Bela Lugosi himself for 1935's "Mark of the Vampire." Best of all is the appearance of frequent Price co-star John Carradine (though their first collaboration, 1940's "Brigham Young," not surprisingly goes unmentioned), long praised as one of cinema's finest Draculas, two old friends enjoying each other's company over tales of their favorite moments of monster cinema. Price's most recent production, "Madhouse," had not yet been released, and there are clips of silent classics like "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari," "The Golem," "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," and "The Phantom of the Opera," and more current titles "Dracula Has Risen from the Grave" (Christopher Lee pulling the stake out of his heart) and "Blacula." Some of the jokes are dated but it remains an often well informed look back at screen horror, and thankfully survives for all to enjoy in the 21st century.

Shot as a Halloween TV special, shortly after the release of The Exorcist, The Horror Hall Of Fame is a horror themed talk show, hosted by Vincent Price (alongside his hunchback helper Zuckman); and filmed before a live studio audience, with appearances from Frank Gorshin, John Carradine, John Astin, makeup artist Bill Tuttle, and vampire historian Raymond T McNally.

It's meant to celebrate the world of horror cinema; and all that is involved with, has influenced, and taken influence from it.

Together Price and his guests reflect on their own experiences working in this dark realm of fantasy; while looking at a selection of some of the most classic performances and scenes from some the most infamous titles in the genre. Films like Der Golem & Cabinet Of Dr Caligari to Aadam's Family and The Exorcist...even Blacula; as well as those featuring Karloff, Lugosi, Lorre, Carradine, Chaney Jr, Cushing, Lee, and, of course, Price, himself.

There's a pretty cool moment when Carradine tells of how he was first offered and turned down Frankenstein- which led to Karloff being offered and taking the role.

They also include a running gag through the great grandson of the original Dr Frankenstein, who promises his newest creation will be revealed before the night is done.

Though, it unfortunately escapes before we get to see it...

A fun little gem, that is a big part of the treasure hunt I used it for.

So that alone gives it value.

6 out of 10.

The Horror Hall of Fame (1974)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Vincent Price hosts this television special that pays tribute to some of the greats that the genre offered. The film plays out like a talk show with Price hosting, doing a couple skits with his hunchback assistant as well as interviewing people and showing film clips.

I must say that this thing contains one of the most annoying laugh tracks that you'll ever hear but outside of that this here certainly deserves to have a better following because it's quite fun. As a talk show host Price is actually very good and manages to hold your attention even through some of the dumb skits with the hunchback.

The real highlight are the scenes where he's sitting down with his guests and conducting interviews. John Carradine, Frank Gorshin, John Astin, Candy Clark, William Tuttle and Raymond McNally are the guests on hand. The topics basically have Price and the guests talking about various horror movies that they've seen or worked on. Tuttle talks about working with Bela Lugosi on MARK OF THE VAMPIRE and he does a test on Clark.

The highlight of the film is without question when Price and Carradine sit down. This sequence here is something I could have watched for hours because it didn't appear to be scripted and instead it just seemed like two friends sitting down to discuss the various films they saw as a kid as well as some that they did. They discuss THE GOLEM and Lon Chaney in good detail and Carradine even says he's never wanted to see another person act the Hunchback after Chaney.

If you're a fan of Price, Carradine or just horror in general then this here is certainly a must see. There are clips from classic movies shown and (at the time) current films like BLACULA. Again, the laugh track is horrible but this is still very much worth watching.

Corny but undeniably fun TV special hosted by the inimitable Vincent Price. Yeah there's a cheesy laugh track and a lot of puns but that kind of adds to its appeal. In this special, Price revisits classic horror movies of the past with several guests. Unfortunately, by this time most of the horror legends were deceased, so Price had to talk to others about these stars. The guests include the Riddler Frank Gorshin, Gomez Addams himself John Astin, actress Candy Clark, writer Raymond McNally, makeup artist William Tuttle, and the great John Carradine. Only Tuttle and Carradine had any direct involvement in classic Hollywood (besides Price, of course). Gorshin is there as a fan and to do impressions. Astin shows up when it's time to pay tribute to Price (would've seemed arrogant for Price to praise himself I guess). I'm not really sure why Clark was there but she's attractive and does a funny bit with Tuttle. Ivor Barry and Billy Zan also have small roles as a mad scientist and a hunchback.

In addition to reminiscing about films, there's also some talk about the Aurora monster kits and Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine (Forrest J. Ackerman was one of the writers of this). There are some clips shown but their selections are oddly unimpressive. Just random scenes not particularly special ones. Most of the clips are of silent and movies from the 60s and 70s. I assume Universal wouldn't allow them to use footage from their films. Bummer. Anyway, this is pretty cute and worth a look if you're a fan of Price or classic horror films.