Remember the old B movies

[scullars]

I sorta miss them. You know the ones I'm talking about:

Them, the classic "never met a giant atomic ant who didn't wanna eat me."

The Curse of the Wasp Woman, also a classic. Makes you read the face cream ingredients to avoid anything vagualy apian.

The Blob, giant jello gone amiss.

The Night of the Lepus (giant rabbits), Beginning of the End (giant grasshoppers), Food of the Gods (giant farm bugs and animals), which begs the question of whether herbivores are only so because of their diminuitive size.

Frogs, Willard, Ben, Kingdom of the Spiders, Arachophobia all examples of the true dangers of lower species unionizing against management.

Mephisto Waltz, the classic Freaky Friday premise taken to a demonic level. Features a rather creepy Alan Alda.

I remember enjoying these movies because at first viewing as a child they did hit upon a nerve or two. Now I would nostagically enjoy them in a more tongue-in-cheek way for their Ed Wood type cheesiness. Still, they entertained, which some recent horror movies seem to forget to do, because they are so fixated on grossing out their audiences.

What 50's, 60s, or 70s (and maybe some 80s and 90s) B movies do you remember fondly?

[MacAllister]

Night of the Comet
Tremors

heheh

I love the old B&Ws, too--Karloff's Frankenstein monster...

[scullars]

Night of the Comet
Tremors

heheh

I love the old B&Ws, too--Karloff's Frankenstein monster...

Tremors was a good one. As for the B&W's, how could I forget the simmering eroticism of Christopher Lee in all the Count Dracula films. All those heaving bosoms with crucifixes that just never seemed to slow him down. ;)

[Fractured_Chaos]

"They Live"

Rowdy Roddy Piper defeats alien invaders with sunglasses, and a bad attitude.

It doesn't get any better than that! :ROFL:

[Anatole Ghio]

I love the old Val Lewton films: Cat People, Attack of the Leopard, Island of the Damned. Not only does the old black and white noir cinematography add and element of eeriness and artistry to the films, they also feature a real knowledge of the human subconscious that gives them an element of depth.

I remember watching the Martin Scorcese History of American Cinema a number of years ago and being suprised by his inclusion of these films; it only validated what I knew all along, these are a set of really special movies.

- Anatole

[jdkiggins]

The Creature from the Black Lagoon.

[Liam Jackson]

Cat people
The Tingler
Prophecy (with the mercury damaged inside-out bear)
Manhunter (Psych thriller/horror)
The Haunting (of Hill House) (the book was far better, but the movie wasn't bad)
Fallen (with Denzel Washington...hellaciously smooth plot. Pun intended)
The Exorcist (saw it at the drive-in as a new release. Scared the bejeezus out of me.)

[MacAllister]

Oh, oh!
The Island of Dr. Moreau
The Fly

[jdkiggins]

Darn, Mac.

You beat me to them. I'll think of a few more. :)

[jdkiggins]

Tilogy of Terror
The Gate

[jdkiggins]

Phantom of the Opera

[Gehanna]

The Blob was the first horror flick I watched. I can't believe I remember that. Anyway, the part where the man was holding up the stick and the blob ran down on his hand is the part that stands out most in my mind. I must have covered my eyes during the rest of the show. ;-) I haven't thought about that movie in a long time. That very well may be why I do not eat jello! LOL

Gehanna

[jdkiggins]

The Old Dark House
The Ghoul
The Birds and The Haunting 1963

[jdkiggins]

That very well may be why I do not eat jello! LOL

Gehanna

:roll:

[Gehanna]

well that and I once heard Jello was made from ground up horse hooves. Yuck!

[jdkiggins]

Eewwhhh. Now that's just yucky!

[Fractured_Chaos]

"The Birds" Saw it the first time when I was 5, and it scared the crap out of me.

Watched it a couple years later, and wondered -why- it had scared me.

[scullars]

Tilogy of Terror


Trilogy of Terror, I totally forgot about that one. Can't forget Karen Black crouching with the knife waiting for ole Moms to come through the door. That doll had me looking under my bed on both sides before I stepped my foot on the floor. :)

[Birol]

Ah. I love all these old B-movies. I especially liked the cheesy-type ones listed in the early part of this thread.

[triceretops]

Gorgo
Mighty Joe Young
Lord of the Flies
Valley of Guangie
Beast from 20,000 fathoms
The legend of Bogey Creek
Rodan
The Thing (orginal)
Gargoyles?
Son of Kong
The Beast with five fingers
Murders of the Rumorg (sp)
Jeepers Creepers
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes
Village of the Damned
The Bad Seed

Triceratops

[hapsburg]

Killer Clowns from outer space


Evil dead 1 & 2 and of course the third, subtitled army of darkness

[maestrowork]

Oh lord, I just watched part of the Night of the Lepus last night before I went to bed... with Janet Leigh! I was thinking, what possessed these people for them to make that film...

Giant killer bunnies?

The Fly was a good one.


I don't know if I would call Cat People (scared the crap out of me), The Birds, and The Exorcist (scared everything out of me) B-movies though...

[Anatole Ghio]

I don't know if I would call Cat People (scared the crap out of me), The Birds, and The Exorcist (scared everything out of me) B-movies though...

In the old days, a B picture was the second film in a double bill. The A picture was what brought people to the theater, so more money was invested in them. Consequently, their quality tended to be a little better from the top to the bottom: better directors, better script, better scenic design, more time to film the movie, better soundtrack.

Using that definition, The Birds and the Exorcist were A films, while Cat People was a B film... yet all of them are classics in their own way.

[Torin]

well that and I once heard Jello was made from ground up horse hooves. Yuck!

Boiled, actually.

Check here (http://www.wholehealthmd.com/refshelf/substances_view/1,1525,10151,00.html). I quote below. :)

Gelatin is obtained by boiling the skin, tendons, and ligaments of animals. As a result, it contains protein, collagen (a primary component of joints, cartilage, and nails), and various amino acids. It has long been a key ingredient for providing support for "jelled" desserts, salads, frozen drinks, and soft candies such as Gummi Bears. (In fact, the word gelatin is derived from the Latin "gelatus," meaning stiff or frozen.)

There are vegetarian sources of gelatin nowadays, but for the longest time, this was where it all came from. Yummy!

Torin

[awatkins]

Creature from the Black Lagoon. I don't know what year it was made, but I remember watching it with my mom and little brother when I was six or seven (lo, these many years ago!). Scared me so bad that I jumped up and turned the TV off when the Creature came up out of the swamp the first time. Woohoo!

(Was that a B movie?)

[maestrowork]

The Swamp Thing?

[scullars]

I remember a host of bee movies (mostly television dramas) in the 70s, including Killer Bees, which had enough pseudo science to make it seem the movie's premise of the U.S. being overrun with vicious killer bees was possible. I vaguely recall even one version where Kate Jackson is selected the new "queen" of a deadly swarm, a position formerly held by an elderly aunt.

Oh, and then there was Patty Duke as a human who could turn into a black widow spider when she was pissed...

Does anyone remember a movie with Barbara Eden, impregnated by an extraterrestrial, whose baby then proceeded to control her? I believe it was named The Stranger Within?

The 60s, 70s were rife with occult or supernatural films that I enjoyed including Mephisto Waltz; Trilogy of Terror; (which I already mentioned); Audrey Rose; The Reincarnation of Peter Proud; Kolchak, The Night Stalker (pilot of one of my favorite pre-X-Files series); The Changeling; An American Werewolf in London (80s actually).

There was also a host of weird movies (some of them television dramas) that I vaguely remember but whose titles I can't recall: woman locked in library awaiting for a serial killer to arise from hell and claim her soul, who turns to the aid of a young librarian (Diane Baker) with an agenda of her own (now that I think about this, this was from a trilogy of supernatural plots in one movie); a young teacher is assigned to a rural community where the people dress like the Amish, and shuffle as though afraid to lift their feet, and have a suspicious habit of healing well. Teacher subsequently finds out through the children's drawing that these "people" are from another planet, a peaceful, beautiful planet that was destroyed and due to their bad reception by us Earthlings decades ago, they hide their gifts. Teacher helps them to overcome their fear.

Of course, I loved my television series: Twilight Zone, Night Gallery

Aahh, for some good plots with nice twists that aren't gore factories and pedantic or pedestrian.

BTW, someone mentioned The Amityville Horror; just saw they've remade it for the umpteenth time. It's in the theatres now.

[arrowqueen]

'Attack of the Killer Tomatoes'
'The Ants'
'It came from Outer Space'
'The Beast with Five Fingers.'
'The Incredible Shrinking Man.'
'Attack of the 50 foot Woman.'

Ah, they don't make 'em like that any more.

[MacAllister]

Heh--Attack of the Killer Tomatoes...how did I forget that one? heheh...

Does anyone remember the movie about the army ants, and the people retreat from them, and end up building like a moat, but the ants are building bridges over the moat, and then the people fill the moat with some flammable petroleum product and set fire to it?

I can't remember the name of the movie, for the life of me...

[Liam Jackson]

It rings a bell, Mac. Is it "Them"?

[Anatole Ghio]

Heh--Attack of the Killer Tomatoes...how did I forget that one? heheh...

Does anyone remember the movie about the army ants, and the people retreat from them, and end up building like a moat, but the ants are building bridges over the moat, and then the people fill the moat with some flammable petroleum product and set fire to it?

I can't remember the name of the movie, for the life of me...

That sound suspiciously like this short story:

http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/lvta.html

At first I thought it was the Joan Collins film, Empire of the Ants; but a search revealed that film was based upon a novel from H G Wells. It is one of the H G Wells books I haven't read, so I don't know the plot. Perhaps they are similar.

[arrowqueen]

I remember seeing that one, Mac - but I'm damned if I can remember what it's called either.

[Spookster]

Me, too. I'm pretty sure I watched the movie in an English class after we read a novel. I just can't recall the title. Silly mushy brain o' mine.

[Fractured_Chaos]

Kingdom of the Spiders!
Tremors!
They Live

...

Oh, wait...I already mentioned that one, didn't I?

Good, bad movies are some of my favorite guilty pleasures. :D

[brokenfingers]

Wow, these movies bring back memories of when I was a kid and my brother and I would lay in bed on Fri and Sat nights and watch Creature Feature and Chiller Theatre on our little black and white TV.

(I can still remember the 6-fingered hand and the eerie music and that voice saying:

"Ch-i-i-i-l-l-l-e-e-e-r Th-e-e-e-e-a-t-r-e...."

Used to really freak me out LOL!)

Followed by Abbot and Costello, The Three Stooges and The Bowery Boys on Sunday mornings.....

Ahhhhhh.... The good ol' days......

Howzabout The Thing?

[Fractured_Chaos]

Howzabout The Thing?

Which version? The old B&W? Or John Carpenter's?

[brokenfingers]

Actually I liked 'em both.

I was surprised at how good the new version was.

[Fractured_Chaos]

Actually I liked 'em both.

I was surprised at how good the new version was.

So was I. It actually follows the novel alot more closely than (IIRC)... a flying carrot. :ROFL:

[brokenfingers]

Hmmmm.. I never read the book. Do you know who wrote it?

[Fractured_Chaos]

Hmmmm.. I never read the book. Do you know who wrote it?

The novel is called, "Who Goes There?" (http://www.rosettabooks.com/pages/title_10.html), and it's by John W Campbell.

[Anatole Ghio]

Not to be a stickler, but would you consider John Carpenter's version of The Thing to be a B picture?

I would think it was more than just a genre film, and more than a low budget film shoved into the movie theaters.

Maybe this thread is more about horror films that people are really fond of...

Just curious what standards everyone uses in considering what a B picture is and isn't.

[Fractured_Chaos]

Not to be a stickler, but would you consider John Carpenter's version of The Thing to be a B picture?

I tend to think of all John Carpenter's films in the B-type category, even if he does have a big budget. But honestly, The Thing was, IMO his best dramatic film. You take several type-A personalities, isolate them, and make it so they can't trust anyone, and you have some really good conflict, which is what he did with The Thing.

I would think it was more than just a genre film, and more than a low budget film shoved into the movie theaters. In this, I have to agree with you.


Just curious what standards everyone uses in considering what a B picture is and isn't.


Well, budget aside, no, The Thing wasn't really a B film, because the acting was pretty top-notch, but didn't he also get a pretty good-sized budget for Swamp Thing? And really...THAT is a B movie. ;)

[triceretops]

Something about a turantula and a Gila monster too. Don't know em' off hand. Almost certain somebody had it with Joan Collins and Empire of the Ants.
Tri

[sthrnwriter]

Even though I love horror movies, I'm not too up to speed on the b-movies as in I haven't seen many of them. I just was wondering if anyone is watching the new season of Project Greenlight? They are doin a horror movie this time and they totally picked the wrong person to be the director. All he wants is his family to play the lead roles in this movie. I don't think he even knows what he is doing. I predict he will be fired before the season is over with or better yet before they even start shooting the movie. And if he isn't, he is a very lucky lucky lucky man.

[scullars]

That sound suspiciously like this short story:

http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/lvta.html

At first I thought it was the Joan Collins film, Empire of the Ants; but a search revealed that film was based upon a novel from H G Wells. It is one of the H G Wells books I haven't read, so I don't know the plot. Perhaps they are similar.


Just got through watching this. It happened to be on cable and I saw the last 45 minutes; the ants were destroyed by setting fire to a sugar factory.

[clara bow]

Oh lord, I just watched part of the Night of the Lepus last night before I went to bed... with Janet Leigh! I was thinking, what possessed these people for them to make that film

Say, where'd you see that? I've been wanting to watch it for years now. Wish it were on dvd. Wasn't there a scene from that in the Matrix?

[clara bow]

The Manster ('62). Actually, it's much better than it sounds. Got it for a buck at Wal-Mart (one of the Digiview releases). It stars the guy who did the voice for Jeff Tracy in Gerry Anderson's Thunderbirds!

[Gehanna]

Did someone post Army of Darkness already? It's totally cheesy but I love it.

[Joe Calabrese]

How about these classics?

The Stuff: or as I like to call it, attack of the killer desert topping.
Q: Ancient flying lizard kills New Yorkers.
Deadly Friend: A young girl is really a killler robot.
Grizzly: if Jaws wasn't enough, how about a bear.
Day of the Animals: If The birds wasn't enough, how about a whole forest of woodland creatures. Same filmmakers as Grizzly.
The Manitou: Dead medicine man comes back.

and my favorite...

Drum Roll....

DADADADADADADADADADADA.

CHUDD. They live in the sewers.

You can see I grew up mostly in the late 70's and early 80's

[Gehanna]

I was gettin' worried there for a sec till you mentioned CHUDD. I've never watched any of the others.