Is it a classic? Well, not exactly, but it’s also not a typical disappointing ’40s Z-picture. Screenwriter Leigh Brackett pens a nice twist on the Dracula motif, and actor John Abbott is genuinely impressive as what is surely the most low-key vampire on the books. Plus a sexy dance from Adele Mara!
The Vampire’s Ghost
Blu-ray
Olive Films
1945 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 59 min. / Street Date October 31, 2017 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98
Starring: John Abbott, Charles Gordon, Peggy Stewart, Grant Withers, Emmett Vogan, Adele Mara, Roy Barcroft, Martin Wilkins, Zack Williams.
Cinematography: Robert Pittack, Ellis Thackery
Special Effects: Howard and Theodore Lydecker
Written by John K. Butler, Leigh Brackett, story by Brackett
Associate Producer: Rudolph E. Abel
Directed by Lesley Selander
When Republic dabbled in genre work away from their serials and westerns, the result was often embarrassing. One horror title due for an upward bump in...
The Vampire’s Ghost
Blu-ray
Olive Films
1945 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 59 min. / Street Date October 31, 2017 / available through the Olive Films website / 29.98
Starring: John Abbott, Charles Gordon, Peggy Stewart, Grant Withers, Emmett Vogan, Adele Mara, Roy Barcroft, Martin Wilkins, Zack Williams.
Cinematography: Robert Pittack, Ellis Thackery
Special Effects: Howard and Theodore Lydecker
Written by John K. Butler, Leigh Brackett, story by Brackett
Associate Producer: Rudolph E. Abel
Directed by Lesley Selander
When Republic dabbled in genre work away from their serials and westerns, the result was often embarrassing. One horror title due for an upward bump in...
- 10/31/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Everybody sing!: An Italian boy from Napoli, got petrified by the scenery. Now his face is white and his arms are long. And he'd rather choke you than sing a song! Hey Ed Cahn! Do another cheapie for us Hey Ed Cahn! No more Volcano nonsense! --- A really stiff guy searches for the reincarnation of his Etruscan babe from 79 B.C.. This fave monster romp from '58 is no classic, but it's the spirit that counts. Curse of the Faceless Man Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1958 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 67 min. / Street Date February 16, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Richard Anderson, Elaine Edwards, Adele Mara, Luis Van Rooten, Gar Moore, Felix Locher, Jan Arvan, Bob Bryant. Cinematography Kenneth Peach Original Music Gerald Fried Written by Jerome Bixby Produced by Robert E. Kent Directed by Edward L. Cahn
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Actually, 1958's Curse of the Faceless Man is...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Actually, 1958's Curse of the Faceless Man is...
- 1/24/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Fred Astaire ca. 1935. Fred Astaire movies: Dancing in the dark, on the ceiling on TCM Aug. 5, '15, is Fred Astaire Day on Turner Classic Movies, as TCM continues with its “Summer Under the Stars” series. Just don't expect any rare Astaire movies, as the actor-singer-dancer's star vehicles – mostly Rko or MGM productions – have been TCM staples since the early days of the cable channel in the mid-'90s. True, Fred Astaire was also featured in smaller, lesser-known fare like Byron Chudnow's The Amazing Dobermans (1976) and Yves Boisset's The Purple Taxi / Un taxi mauve (1977), but neither one can be found on the TCM schedule. (See TCM's Fred Astaire movie schedule further below.) Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals Some fans never tire of watching Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing together. With these particular fans in mind, TCM is showing – for the nth time – nine Astaire-Rogers musicals of the '30s,...
- 8/5/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Teresa Wright ca. 1945. Teresa Wright movies on TCM: 'The Little Foxes,' 'The Pride of the Yankees' Pretty, talented Teresa Wright made a relatively small number of movies: 28 in all, over the course of more than half a century. Most of her films have already been shown on Turner Classic Movies, so it's more than a little disappointing that TCM will not be presenting Teresa Wright rarities such as The Imperfect Lady and The Trouble with Women – two 1947 releases co-starring Ray Milland – on Aug. 4, '15, a "Summer Under the Stars" day dedicated to the only performer to date to have been shortlisted for Academy Awards for their first three film roles. TCM's Teresa Wright day would also have benefited from a presentation of The Search for Bridey Murphy (1956), an unusual entry – parapsychology, reincarnation – in the Wright movie canon and/or Roseland (1977), a little-remembered entry in James Ivory's canon.
- 8/4/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Teresa Wright: Later years (See preceding post: "Teresa Wright: From Marlon Brando to Matt Damon.") Teresa Wright and Robert Anderson were divorced in 1978. They would remain friends in the ensuing years.[1] Wright spent most of the last decade of her life in Connecticut, making only sporadic public appearances. In 1998, she could be seen with her grandson, film producer Jonah Smith, at New York's Yankee Stadium, where she threw the ceremonial first pitch.[2] Wright also became involved in the Greater New York chapter of the Als Association. (The Pride of the Yankees subject, Lou Gehrig, died of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in 1941.) The week she turned 82 in October 2000, Wright attended the 20th anniversary celebration of Somewhere in Time, where she posed for pictures with Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour. In March 2003, she was a guest at the 75th Academy Awards, in the segment showcasing Oscar-winning actors of the past. Two years later,...
- 3/15/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment’s manufacturing-on-demand program continues during the month of June with 29 films being released as part of MGM’s Limited Edition Collection. Unfortunately only one qualifies as real horror, but there's another that should appeal to genre fans so we're including some info on both for your perusal.
First up is 1958's Curse of the Faceless Man - A stone figure is unearthed in Pompeii followed by a series of skull crushing murders. Stars Richard Anderson, Elaine Edwards, Adele Mara; irected by Edward L. Cahn.
Next is the mash-up entitled Haunted Summer from 1988 - Romantic poets Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, along with Shelly's future wife, Mary, and her beautiful stepsister, Claire, travel blissfully through Switzerland one summer. Both women share Shelley's bed, while the tortured Lord Byron flounders in a secret relationship with his physician. They experiment with opium, "free love", and the nature of good and evil.
First up is 1958's Curse of the Faceless Man - A stone figure is unearthed in Pompeii followed by a series of skull crushing murders. Stars Richard Anderson, Elaine Edwards, Adele Mara; irected by Edward L. Cahn.
Next is the mash-up entitled Haunted Summer from 1988 - Romantic poets Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley, along with Shelly's future wife, Mary, and her beautiful stepsister, Claire, travel blissfully through Switzerland one summer. Both women share Shelley's bed, while the tortured Lord Byron flounders in a secret relationship with his physician. They experiment with opium, "free love", and the nature of good and evil.
- 5/26/2011
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
By Harris Lentz, III
Adele Mara was an actress in films in the 1940s and 1950s, and was John Wayne’s leading lady in the films Wake of the Red Witch and Sands of Iwo Jima. She also starred in the 1945 Republic horror film The Vampire’s Ghost with John Abbott and Peggy Stewart, and The Catman of Paris (1946) with Carl Esmond.
She was born Adelaide Delgado in Highland Park, Michigan, on April 28, 1923. She began her career in her teens as a singer and dancer with Xavier Cugat and His Orchestra in Detroit. She traveled to New York with Cugat, where she signed a contract with Columbia Pictures in 1942. She appeared in a handful of films over the next several years including Alias Boston Blackie (1942) with Chester Morris, Vengeance of the West (1942) with Tex Ritter, and Crime Doctor (1943) with Warner Baxter. She subsequently signed with Republic Studios, and continued her...
Adele Mara was an actress in films in the 1940s and 1950s, and was John Wayne’s leading lady in the films Wake of the Red Witch and Sands of Iwo Jima. She also starred in the 1945 Republic horror film The Vampire’s Ghost with John Abbott and Peggy Stewart, and The Catman of Paris (1946) with Carl Esmond.
She was born Adelaide Delgado in Highland Park, Michigan, on April 28, 1923. She began her career in her teens as a singer and dancer with Xavier Cugat and His Orchestra in Detroit. She traveled to New York with Cugat, where she signed a contract with Columbia Pictures in 1942. She appeared in a handful of films over the next several years including Alias Boston Blackie (1942) with Chester Morris, Vengeance of the West (1942) with Tex Ritter, and Crime Doctor (1943) with Warner Baxter. She subsequently signed with Republic Studios, and continued her...
- 5/20/2010
- by Harris Lentz
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
Adele Mara, a film and TV actress who played opposite John Wayne in 1949's "Sands of Iwo Jima," died May 7 of natural causes at her home in Pacific Palisades. She was 87.
Mara, a dancer with Xavier Cugat and his orchestra in Detroit by the age of 15, was spotted by a Columbia talent scout in New York and signed in 1942.
The brown-eyed Spanish-American brunette went on to play brisk leading ladies in such 1942 B-movies as "Vengeance of the West" with Tex Ritter and "Alias Boston Blackie" starring Chester Morris.
A few years later, Mara was transformed into a sexy platinum blonde pin-up after signing up with Republic Studios and appeared as senoritas opposite Roy Rogers in "Bells of Rosarita" (1945) and Gene Autry in "Twilight on the Rio Grande" (1947).
She also appeared in crime dramas including 1947 pics "Blackmail" and "Web of Danger" and in adventures "Wake of the Red Witch" (1948) with Wayne...
Mara, a dancer with Xavier Cugat and his orchestra in Detroit by the age of 15, was spotted by a Columbia talent scout in New York and signed in 1942.
The brown-eyed Spanish-American brunette went on to play brisk leading ladies in such 1942 B-movies as "Vengeance of the West" with Tex Ritter and "Alias Boston Blackie" starring Chester Morris.
A few years later, Mara was transformed into a sexy platinum blonde pin-up after signing up with Republic Studios and appeared as senoritas opposite Roy Rogers in "Bells of Rosarita" (1945) and Gene Autry in "Twilight on the Rio Grande" (1947).
She also appeared in crime dramas including 1947 pics "Blackmail" and "Web of Danger" and in adventures "Wake of the Red Witch" (1948) with Wayne...
- 5/17/2010
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Adele Mara, John Wayne's leading lady in war movie classic Sands Of Iwo Jima has died, aged 87.
The actress died of natural causes at her home in Pacific Palisades, California on Friday.
Born in Michigan, she started out as a dancer and was discovered by bandleader Xavier Cugat and toured with him.
Upon arriving in Los Angeles at the beginning of the 1940s, Mara quickly became a regular face on the big and small screen.
As well as John Wayne's 1949 movie, her credits include Angel in Exile and her late husband Roy Huggins' TV shows 77 Sunset Strip and Maverick.
The actress died of natural causes at her home in Pacific Palisades, California on Friday.
Born in Michigan, she started out as a dancer and was discovered by bandleader Xavier Cugat and toured with him.
Upon arriving in Los Angeles at the beginning of the 1940s, Mara quickly became a regular face on the big and small screen.
As well as John Wayne's 1949 movie, her credits include Angel in Exile and her late husband Roy Huggins' TV shows 77 Sunset Strip and Maverick.
- 5/12/2010
- WENN
Adele Mara, a 1940s Hollywood actress best known for the John Wayne war melodrama Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) and for playing one of Rita Hayworth’s sisters in You Were Never Lovelier (1942), died Friday, May 7, of natural causes at her home in the Los Angeles suburb of Pacific Palisades. She was 87. Mara (born Adelaide Delgado on April 28, 1923, in Highland Park, Mich.) was discovered by bandleader Xavier Cugat (who played himself in You Were Never Lovelier). She began her Hollywood career at Columbia in the early 1940s, but shortly thereafter moved over to the third-rank Republic Pictures. Despite her sixty or so film appearances throughout the ’40s, Mara never became a star. Instead, she [...]...
- 5/11/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
The B Noir festival is a hit! It's always a delight to hear about retrospective programming doing well. There are still people out there interested in and trying out old movies in theaters. Or maybe the San Francisco noir crowd is just that strong. I'd written about "I Wake Up Dreaming" a couple of weeks back (read it here); I have since went and saw some of the movies they're playing.
If you're in the Bay Area and you haven't spared the time, there's good news. The festival was supposed to end this Thursday, but I have just been informed that since it is selling out so well, they've decided to add another week of showings!
The list of extra screenings is at the bottom, but before that, I want to recommend trying to get to this Friday's showing of The Devil Thumbs a Ride, which I managed to catch on the fest's opening night.
If you're in the Bay Area and you haven't spared the time, there's good news. The festival was supposed to end this Thursday, but I have just been informed that since it is selling out so well, they've decided to add another week of showings!
The list of extra screenings is at the bottom, but before that, I want to recommend trying to get to this Friday's showing of The Devil Thumbs a Ride, which I managed to catch on the fest's opening night.
- 5/27/2009
- by Arya Ponto
- JustPressPlay.net
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