DARK SHADOWS FORUMS
Members' Mausoleum => Calendar Events / Announcements '26 I => Topic started by: Gothick on March 02, 2019, 11:32:44 AM
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Dan Curtis's daughter Cathy is interviewed briefly in this article. NIGHT STALKER and TRILOGY OF TERROR are mentioned.
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-st-tv-horror-movies-20190301-story.html
G.
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Not to mention Gargoyles. [snow_wink]
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Isn't it Shocking is set in Maine, if I remember correctly, though the atmosphere is much closer to Twin Peaks than DS. Plus, Louise Lasser seems to be doing a dry run for her characterization of Mary Hartman.
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There were so many scary made-for-TV movies in the 1970s. A few that come to mind - "When Michael Calls," I think with Elizabeth Ashley and I think this was available on DVD a few years ago but I neglected to buy it. Someone here once identified a movie I remembered vaguely which was "Crowhaven Farm" with Hope Lange, which I see is on DVD currently. From the article, I remember Sandy Dennis in "Something Evil," but I don't see that as available on DVD despite what the article says. I don't seem to remember ever seeing Jonathan Frid with Shelley Winters in "The Devil's Daughter," which is currently on DVD. I remember the one with Barbara Eden who was pregnant with the Devil's child.
There was something with Olivia deHavilland (not "Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte), and Joan Crawford in an ESP episode of a Sunday night TV show.
I'm not sure how much time I would invest in revisiting any of these now, but they made quite an impression at the time.
One of the best TV movies I remembered years later that wasn't horror but had Death as a character was a remake (something not known to me at the time) of "Death Takes a Holiday" with Yvette Mimieux, Monte Markham, and Melvyn Douglas and Myrna Loy. I was able to purchase a DVD of that memorable movie some years back and I watched with my mother, who thought it was quite good though not exactly her cup of tea; and Melvyn Douglas's performance was outstanding.
And here's one I never saw or remember hearing of that sounds quite DARK SHADOWS-ish and I just might purchase on DVD. Note the familiar DS aspects of the Old House, hauntings and possessions by spirits of the original inhabitants, a local professor, etc.:
"The House that Would Not Die":
Ruth Bennett (Barbara Stanwyck) has inherited an old house in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Amish country. She moves into the house with her niece, Sara Dunning (Kitty Winn). The house was built before the Revolutionary War and is said to be haunted by the spirits of its original inhabitants. With the help of Pat McDougal (Richard Egan), a local professor, and one of his students, Stan Whitman (Michael Anderson Jr.), they delve into the history of the house and find a scandal that involves a Revolutionary War general, who was suspected of being a traitor, and his daughter, who had disappeared after eloping with her boyfriend, a young British soldier. The spirits of the general and his daughter take possession of Pat's and Sara's bodies and a dark secret is revealed. Directed by legendary TV-movie director John Llewellyn Moxey (The Night Stalker, Home for the Holidays) and with a teleplay by the great Henry Farrell (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane, Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte).
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[pointing-up] I remember loving all of those TV-movies you've mentioned, particularly Crowhaven Farm and The House That Would Not Die. Both are available on YouTube:
Crowhaven Farm (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxkHFDKAgy4)
The House That Would Not Die (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SaTjFmLO5E)
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The Olivia deHavilland movie is probably The Screaming Woman. It's based on a Ray Bradbury story. It reunites Olivia with her Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte costar Joseph Cotten and features Ed Nelson, cast way against type. It is also on YouTube.
The Joan Crawford one is an episode of The Sixth Sense, with the amusing title Dear Joan, We're Going To Scare You To Death. Gary Collins does not appear in the story itself, just acts as host and discusses ESP with Joan afterwards. Anne Lockhart did work with Joan and told me that Joan could not have been nicer to her and went out of her way to see whatever Anne was appearing in. This was one of Crawford's last performances, maybe even her final one. Not her finest hour but definitely a step or two up from Trog.
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For me, the most frightening were Don't Be Afraid of the Dark and Bad Ronald. Regarding the former, my dad watched it while I did. He always thought that "spooky movies" were "junk." But with this one, he was totally freaked out.
One fairly notable made-for-TV spook-film that came out in the next decade ('82, to be exact) was Don't Go to Sleep, with Valerie Harper, Dennis Weaver, and the great Ruth Gordon. It could've been better, but had its terrifying moments. It's about a family haunted by a deceased daughter's ghost that became a murderous, vengeful demon.
Gerard
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The Joan Crawford one is an episode of The Sixth Sense, with the amusing title Dear Joan, We're Going To Scare You To Death. Gary Collins does not appear in the story itself, just acts as host and discusses ESP with Joan afterwards. Anne Lockhart did work with Joan and told me that Joan could not have been nicer to her and went out of her way to see whatever Anne was appearing in. This was one of Crawford's last performances, maybe even her final one. Not her finest hour but definitely a step or two up from Trog.
Joan's daughter, Christina, had landed a part in a Marcus Welby, MD, episode. In her excitement about her hopefully advancing career, she called her mother to tell her the news. Her mother responded in a direct opposite way. After several phone calls to mutual friends, she discovered why Joan was so upset. A friend told her that she had been "gloating" about being on that show when she supposedly knew "that's the one show Joan wanted to be on but could never get a part." Afterwards, Christina got a part on a The Sixth Sense episode. And then, guess what? Joan gets her own episode, the last thing she did after doing that terrible Trog. Guess she had to show her daughter up one last time without wire coathangers and exploding bottles of cleanser.
Meanwhile, the urban-legend rumor that Dan Curtis initially wanted Joan to play Elizabeth Collins Stoddard but decided not to because of Joan's - ahem - "problems" lives on
Gerard
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My memories of many details of these movies has dimmed through the years. A search of this board shows that "Crowhaven Farm" was the title of a movie I was trying to identify based on some pretty clear memories of the movie. The thread where this was discussed was back in 2002, and when I read the description I wrote then, I'm amazed because I don't remember much of the movie now, as I did in 2002, though at that time I no longer knew the movie's title. (Is this normal, or do I need to be concerned about a failing memory?, i.e. loss of memory since 2002 about a movie not seen since about 1970?)
The other movie someone kindly identified for me in the 2002 thread was "Haunts of the Very Rich."
Thanks to Uncle Roger for identifying "The Screaming Woman." That sounded right, and when I looked up a description in imdb, that definitely was the Olivia deHavilland TV movie I remembered.
And the Joan Crawford TV appearance was definitely "The Sixth Sense," possibly identified previously on this forum, too. That must have been a short-lived TV show. I remember Joan Crawford being interviewed at the end of the segment and describing her own personal experience with ESP.
MB, thanks for the links to "Crowhaven Farm" and "The House That Would Not Die." Hope to re-watch the first one, and see the second for the first time!
I was also curious a while back and don't remember if I posted any inquiries here or not, about the TV show "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir." I think I only watched a few of the episodes. I believe that was on Friday nights after one or two other shows that my sister and I watched, and there was a limit to how much TV we watched, and I don't think my sister was interested in "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir." I have had the pleasure of catching the last half hour or so of the movie of that title on Turner Classic Movies a couple of years ago, and got the DVD, though haven't set aside the time to watch it yet.
Anyway, when I watched a couple of episodes of "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" on Youtube, I was a little disappointed in how kiddish it was and I didn't pursue further. But the movie is another matter. Regarding the TV show, the name of actor Edward Mulhare wouldn't have meant anything to me back in the 1970s, but he had an interesting role as confidante of Deborah Kerr in "Eye of the Devil." A comparable character, that of a gentleman Platonic friend and confidante of the beleaguered heroine was played by Herbert Lom as Ingrid Thulin's friend in what may have then been called a "melodrama," "Return from the Ashes."
"Return from the Ashes," "Death Takes a Holiday," and "Two on a Guillotine" were the three movies I most wanted to track down from this period as an adult, and "Return from the Ashes" and "Two on a Guillotine" have been available as print-on-demand DVDs from amazon. "Death Takes a Holiday" hasn't been available except through someone who somehow taped it (in the '70s?) and transferred to disc.
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If you liked THE HOUSE THAT WOULDN'T DIE with Barbara Stanwyck (based on the novel AMMIE COME HOME by Barbara Michaels), you will probably love A TASTE OF EVIL (1971), also with Miss Stanwyck:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMHo7DjUj64
A much better role for her, in my opinion. Roddy McDowall is also on hand--this seems to be a remake of a 1961 Hammer film, SCREAM OF FEAR, though certain details of the plot were changed (might have been a case of a professional writer deftly recycling a script).
G.
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Another one of my favorites from this era was Sweet, Sweet Rachel. Stefanie Powers is Rachel, whose husband died under mysterious circumstances and now she's having visions of him that are scaring her big time. She consults a psychic investigator to learn who's after her and hopefully find a way to stop the visions and save her life.
This was actually the pilot for The Sixth Sense but it was considerably reworked before it became a series. Most notable was the replacement of newcaster turned actor Alex Dreier, kind of a Thayer David type, with the handsome but rather bland Gary Collins
Sweet, Sweet Rachel is on YouTube.
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I remember liking Sweet, Sweet Rachel too. But then I'm a fan of Stefanie Powers.
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I met Stefanie at Chiller Theatre last fall. She is still a remarkably attractive woman. I didn't bring up Sweet, Sweet Rachel but I did mention a particularly goofy episode of The Girl From UNCLE, where the villain puts her and Stan Freberg in a giant pop up toaster.
Top that, Caped Crusader!!
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Watching The Girl from UNCLE after school when it was in syndication was how I became a SP fan.
And imagine my surprise when Grayson Hall popped up in an ep because back then I had no idea she'd guested on the show.
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I just checked out the opening of Sweet, Sweet Rachel - waves crashing on the rocks, Greek Revival mansion a la the Old House - very DS. Can't wait until I get the chance to watch the whole thing.
I did mention a particularly goofy episode of The Girl From UNCLE, where the villain puts her and Stan Freberg in a giant pop up toaster.
Top that, Caped Crusader!!
What was her response?
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Philippe, did you ever give me a blast from the past! I remember watching Two on a Guillotine on the old CBS Thursday Night at the Movies. It creeped me out! That's where I also saw The Innocents for the first time. I couldn't sleep after that.
Back in the sixties, so many incredible, classic films, many in the horror/science-fiction genres were aired on the three major television networks. I remember when The War of the Worlds appeared on NBC. It was a family matter to watch it since my parents didn't want me to get too scared, and it ended up with them loving the film especially because of its highly religious content. Speaking of that, when it was, I believe, ABC that was going to air the Oscar-winning The Song of Bernadette, it became a neighborhood sensation of expectation. Our next-door neighbors went out and bought the first-ever color TV set for it, something that in today's money would've cost thousands of dollars. It was like a major block party that night in their home, probably two-dozen adults and children with potluck dishes, waiting to watch the film in all it's technocolor glory. The problem is, it had been filmed in black-and-white and everyone who saw it in theaters 20 years previous forgot that. Over ten years later, my parents caved and decided to go with the "fancy people" (as my dad called those who had luxuries like color TV, air-conditioners and automatic transmission cars with radios) and buy our first ever color set. Why? Because Gone With the Wind was airing on television for the first time. Thank goodness it had been filmed in color.
Gerard
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I just checked out the opening of Sweet, Sweet Rachel - waves crashing on the rocks, Greek Revival mansion a la the Old House - very DS. Can't wait until I get the chance to watch the whole thing.
I did mention a particularly goofy episode of The Girl From UNCLE, where the villain puts her and Stan Freberg in a giant pop up toaster.
Top that, Caped Crusader!!
What was her response?
Not surprisingly, she said that it was one of her favorite episodes. And probably the most fun that she had on a set back then.In addition to Stan Freberg, the other guests in the episode were Jack Cassidy and Ann Sothern as THRUSH agents. Stefanie went to school with Ann's daughter Tisha Sterling and made her television debut on Sothern's TV show. She's billed under the stage name Taffy Paul. Not Taffy Pull!
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That's such an absurd episode of THE GIRL FROM UNCLE. It actually had a feature article in TV Guide because of the amazing giant toaster prop. The most absurd sequence in that particular story does not involve the giant toaster, however--at least, not directly. It has to do with a bouncing ball that just won't stop bouncing. Hilarious.
I also love the episode guest starring incredible British theater legend Margaret Leighton as another vicious THRUSH agent. The THRUSH ladies really left the men in the dust when it came to unbridled evil at its most ruthless and inventive.
SWEET SWEET RACHEL is a really good movie. Most of the episodes of THE SIXTH SENSE were bland and listlessly plotted, but I still enjoy watching the show. As is well known, several of the shows were edited down to 25 minute length to be shown as episodes of NIGHT GALLERY when the latter went into syndication. The irrepressible Harlan Ellison, who was involved either as a script writer or story editor on SIXTH SENSE, claimed that cutting the shows down 50 percent improved them considerably. Dear Harlan--what a laugh riot he was. And he wrote my personal episode of MAN FROM UNCLE, guest-starring Grayson Hall and Theo Marcuse.
cheers, G.
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Stefanie did a bunch of these in the early 1970's such as the combination murder mystery/character study Five Desperate Women.
One of the most interesting is Paper Man. Stefanie, Dean Stockwell and James Stacy are college students. One of their group is somehow sent a credit card in the name of a non existent person. They activate the card, make duplicates and have a great time living high on the hog. Then a purchase of a gun, which none of them claims to have made, shows up on the credit card statement. One of the group dies unexpectedly when a computer glitch somehow sends him the wrong medication. Another is killed when the electronic elevator system malfunctions and crushes her.
There's plenty of suspects and there's a genuine possibility that the fake identity that they created may be responsible.
Hackers, identity theft and artificial intelligence seemed like science fiction in 1971. They are a little too real today. Paper Man could easily be remade/updated for the twenty first century.
Paper Man is on YouTube.
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I just watched The House That Wouldn't Die (which I really enjoyed) and I have a few thoughts mostly unrelated to the movie:
The credits say "Introducing Katherine Winn" - though she was/is much better known as Kitty Winn in subsequent TV shows and theatrical movies.
Was the exterior for the house the same that was later used on The Waltons?
A dialogues exchange went basically: "I'm feeling dizzy." "Have a drink."
What great advice people gave in the '70s. Not!! [lghy]
I wonder if it bothered Aaron Spelling that he did so many really good and successful supernaturally themed TV-movies - and for a longer period of time - yet he never got the credit or publicity for it like DC did?
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The Joan Crawford episode of The Sixth Sense can be seen in its entirety on YouTube. Besides Joan and Anne Lockhart, the cast also features David Ladd. David is the son of Alan Ladd and was married to Cheryl Ladd at the time that this episode was done.
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I remember when The War of the Worlds appeared on NBC. It was a family matter to watch it since my parents didn't want me to get too scared, and it ended up with them loving the film especially because of its highly religious content. Speaking of that, when it was, I believe, ABC that was going to air the Oscar-winning The Song of Bernadette, it became a neighborhood sensation of expectation. Our next-door neighbors went out and bought the first-ever color TV set for it, something that in today's money would've cost thousands of dollars. It was like a major block party that night in their home, probably two-dozen adults and children with potluck dishes, waiting to watch the film in all it's technocolor glory. The problem is, it had been filmed in black-and-white and everyone who saw it in theaters 20 years previous forgot that.
"War of the Worlds" had religious content???
Speaking of "The Song of Bernadette," that really is a good movie, I say after having seen it on TCM a couple of times in recent years. And Vincent Price is very good in his role. LOL regarding the black-and-white revelation!
I hadn't realized there had been several more comments to this thread after I last posted ... guess I got busy and forgot to check back.
The only reason I found this topic again now was that I am looking for a more recent thread in which Art Wallace's "The House" was discussed, but the "search" function isn't bringing me any recent results ...
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Oh, my, yes, Philippe, the '53 The War of the Worlds was very religious. The heroine, Sylvia, was raised by her uncle (she was orphaned as a small child), who was the pastor of a local church. When the military surrounds the original nest of Martians, he objects and states they should try to communicate, his niece states they are an "advanced civilization." He retorts that if they are, they must be closer to god. When he attempts to by praying and holding up a prayer book as he walks towards them, the Martians incinerate him.
As the war advances and nothing seems to work against the invaders, a nuclear bomb will be dropped and the scientists state that if it doesn't work they world will be conquered in six days. Sylvia states: "The same number of days it took for god to create it."
At the end of the film, after most of Los Angeles is evacuated and the Martians enter, destroying it, Sylvia and the hero are separated but he knows where to find her: at a church. As the city goes up in flames, he travels from church to church until he finds her. Just as a Martian machine advances and attacks it, the machine goes down as all others do, the creatures destroyed by Earth bacteria to which they weren't immune. The hero states: "We were all praying for a miracle." Church bells throughout Los Angeles that weren't destroyed start to ring. As Now Thank We All Our God is sung, the narrator states: "After all that man could do, the Martians were stopped and mankind was saved by the littlest things that god, in his infinite wisdom, were placed upon this Earth."
As for The Song of Bernadette, as an unbeliever, I have to say it's one of the most remarkable films ever made and deserved its slue of Oscars. Made during WWII, 20th Century Fox managed to get photos of Lourdes "smuggled" to them from people in Nazi-occupied France to create massive sets. Linda Darnell, a "vixen" actress at that time that was considered, well, "vixen" was cast as the virgin Mary because of her beauty but insisted that she be left uncreditted because she stated: "I'm not worthy enough to portray Mary." Every time I watch TSoB on youtube, I cry. Hollywood was so different back then.
And better.
Gerard
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"The House that Would Not Die":
I just watched this on YouTube about 3 weeks ago!
The Trilogy of Terror was spooky.
What was the picture; it starred Wiliam Demorest and Karen Black or K. Valentine; there were creepy little troll-like things?
There were also some of the Hammer films: Dracula 1972 AD, Mr. Sardonicus, and 2 V. Price Phibes movies.
Patti
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Patti, I believe that the one that you're referring to is Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, which featured Kim Darby as the put upon heroine.
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Another made-for-TV horror film from that era that could've been great and a classic was Don't Go to Sleep. I say "could've" was because of showing the ghost and it haunted one of the kids. The movie starred Valerie Harper, Dennis Weaver and Ruth Gordon (who won the best-supporting-actress Oscar for Rosemary's Baby). It was about a family relocating in order to move on after the oldest daughter was killed in a car accident. She was a really nasty thing and tormented her younger brother and sister. They played a trick on her and because of it she died. Her ghost came back to possess her sister to exact revenge. Although well-written and well-directed but, again, showing her ghost somehow ruined it being a "great" film. They should not have shown it until the climax (which was an incredible climax, but it could've been ultra-incredible when the ghost showed up only then).
Gerard
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And what an effective use of a pizza cutter!!
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Uncle Roger, I have to say using such a simple appliance in such a horrific way was absolutely terrifying!
Gerard