Producers Releasing Corporation released The Phantom of 42nd Street throughout the United States on 2 May 1945.

It is a mystery. And it’s something of noir. And it is a romance. At just under an hour, it has something for everyone without staying past its welcome.

Dave O’Brien plays a theater critic. He gets drawn into an investigation when there is a murder at a play he is reviewing. Soon, the murderer kills two more people and has his sights set on the first victim’s brother. The critic works with his taxi driver friend and the police lieutenant to solve the case.

The Phantom of 42nd Street would have worked great for a pilot for a 1970s TV detective show: a theater critic who solves murders. Sounds a lot like Murder She Wrote! And unlike a lot of older mysteries, this one is reasonably clever. Kay Aldridge plays the romantic lead in her final film role. She was married the year the film came out. And she had been making the equivalent of a million dollars per year for the previous few years. So she didn’t need to work.

O’Brien worked a lot as an actor. But he also wrote a lot. And starting in the late 1950s, he wrote almost exclusively. Frank Jenks played his sidekick. He also worked a lot.

The Phantom of 42nd Street is a perfectly enjoyable film. But I wouldn’t normally highlight it. But today really sucked for anniversaries. And one good thing: the film is in the public domain. So enjoy!

Other 2 May Anniversaries

Filmmakers:

• John Neville (1925-2011): Actor known for The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.
• Don Marshall (1936-2016): Actor on the TV show Land of the Giants.
• David Suchet (1946-): Actor best known as Poirot but was also in Terry Pratchett’s Going Postal.
• Elizabeth Berridge (1962-): Actor known for Amadeus but here for The Funhouse.
• Ari Lehman (1965-): The first Jason Voorhees.
• Dwayne Johnson (1972-): Actor in Walking Tall, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and more.

Films:

• The Return of Dr Fu Manchu (1930): The villain gets revenge for what happened to his family.
• Night Key (1937): Karloff is kidnapped by criminals who want to use his invention to steal.
• The Black Cat (1941): Cat lady is murdered by one of her heirs.
• Devil Girl From Mars (1954): Mars needs men! Featuring Hazel Court.
• The Beast Of Yucca Flats (1961): Tor Johnson gets irradiated.
• Bloodsucking Pharaohs in Pittsburgh (1991): Two cops chase serial killer in this silly horror comedy.
• X2: X-Men United (2003): The second X-Men film.
• Grave Tales (2004): Poe-inspired horror anthology featuring Joe Estevez.
• Iron Man (2008): Minor Marvel character film that caused everyone to go crazy.

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DVD cover of The Phantom of 42nd Street via Wikipedia under Fair Use.

Rank Film Distributors released The Curse of the Werewolf to UK audiences on 1 May 1961.

Hammer produced it. And it turned out to be their only werewolf film. I am of two minds about this. On the one hand, great for them! I’m not fond of werewolf films. Even the best of them tend to annoy me. It just isn’t an interesting concept to hang a story on. And most hang exactly the same story! (Dracula has the same problem.)

But on the other hand, Hammer didn’t give the werewolf film enough of a try. As I’ve written before, “They should have tried again with a better writer.” And by “better writer,” I mean anyone who wasn’t the Hammer founder’s son. (I’m mostly kidding. Anthony Hinds wrote a number of excellent scripts including Kiss of the Vampire. But the script of The Curse is a mess.)

I will give Hammer credit. They did try to do something different. Of course, the third act returns to brand as these films almost always do.

It’s a shame that werewolf films are generally so weak. There is one aspect of them that really is interesting. Most monsters want to survive. But werewolves generally want to die. That goes all the way back to Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man. But as in that disappointing (but hardly bad) film, it is rarely done well. And this is the case here.

But the film is still worth a watch — if for no other reason than to watch Oliver Reed’s intense performance.

Other 1 May Anniversaries

Filmmakers:

• Glenn Ford (1916-2006): Actor known especially for noir like Gilda and The Big Heat.
• Dan O’Herlihy (1919-2005): Actor in the 1954 Robinson Crusoe, Fail Safe, and The Last Starfighter.
• Joanna Lumley (1946-): Actor known primarily for Absolutely Fabulous.
• Wes Anderson (1969-): Writer-director of many Wes Anderson-esque films.
• Julie Benz (1972-): Actor in many psychotronic films like Bad Girls from Valley High and George of the Jungle 2.

Films:

• One Frightened Night (1935): Rich man gives away his fortune, and complications ensue.
• Zombies on Broadway (1945): A gangster wants a real zombie for his nightclub.
• The Vengeance of She (1968): Modern woman is taken over by evil ancient ruler.
• Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981): More exciting adventures of Jason.
• Graduation Day (1981): Slasher involving a high school track team.
• Creepshow 2 (1987): Anthology horror.
• The Haunted World of Edward D Wood Jr (1996): Documentary.
• The Monster Man (2001): Two humans survive an alien virus.
• Vampire Survivor (2002): Low-budget vampire film.
• The Skeptic (2009): A skeptic inherits a haunted house.
• Untitled Horror Comedy (2009): Horror filmmakers find themselves in a horror film.
• All About Evil (2010): Clever film about a serial killing movie theater owner.
• The Dead Want Women (2012): A ghost story with a softcore sex scene.

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The Curse of the Werewolf (1961) poster via IMDb under Fair Use.

RKO Radio Pictures released I Walked With a Zombie on 30 April 1943. RKO premiered it on 8 April in Cleveland. And they showed it on the 21st in New York. But RKO released it nationally on the 30th.

It’s one of those great gothic horror films when Hollywood wasn’t quite sure if they weren’t romances.

It tells the story of Betsy, a nurse who moves to the Caribbean where she is to care for a woman who suffers from a vague spinal injury that makes her sleepwalk through life. But shockingly, it turns out she is really a zombie!

Why I Walked With a Zombie Is Great

Actually, the story doesn’t much matter. The film sets a dark mood and the character interactions are excellent. Jacques Tourneur made it shortly after Cat People, and the film has much in common with it.

It is amazing to see how much is done on a limited budget. Almost everything is shot on small, cheap sets. But with a combination of beautiful shots, clever blocking, and effective camera work along with excellent acting, it never seems limited.

I Walked With a Zombie also clocks in just under 70 minutes. I’ve come to believe that this is the perfect length for a feature film. It allows the stories to be told briskly without pointless complications of an over-long second act.

It also allows you to watch two films a night!

Is It Psychotronic?

I love this film. But whenever I see one like this I question whether we ought to consider it psychotronic. It is true that it is low budget, but it is a Hollywood B-picture. Everyone involved in it is a professional. There’s nothing lurid about it. And it most definitely isn’t going after the teen audience.

The one way that it is psychotronic is that it’s old. And almost any film after a certain point becomes relegated to viewing specialists. And I Walked With a Zombie definitely deserves to be discussed here because that’s ultimately what this site is about: trying to get people to watch films that we like.

Other 30 April Anniversaries

Filmmakers:

• David Manners (1900-1998): Actor known for notable roles in Universal horror films like Dracula and The Mummy.
• Al Lewis (1923-2006): Best known for The Munsters, he worked in a lot of interesting things; fun fact: Yvonne De Carlo, who played his daughter on the show, was actually 8 months older than he was.
• Cloris Leachman (1926-2021): Actor known for Young Frankenstein, Crazy Mama, and many more.
• Burt Young (1930-2023): Character actor best known for the Rocky Films.
• Johnny Galecki (1975-): Huge TV star who was in Suicide Kings and I Know What You Did Last Summer.
• Kirsten Dunst (1982-): Child actor in Interview With a Vampire and Jumanji.

Films:

• Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943): Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce; directed by Roy William Neill, as usual.
• Vampire Circus (1972): Circus vampires get revenge on a town.
• Zarkorr! The Invader (1996): A young postal worker is called to battle a Godzilla-like monster.
• Idle Hands (1999): Slacker’s hand turns homicidal; with Seth Green.
• Godsend (2004): A couple clones their dead kid with predictably bad results; starring Robert De Niro and Greg Kinnear.
• Man-Thing (2005): Action film based on the Marvel title.
• A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010): Remake of the Wes Craven classic.

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I Walked With a Zombie (1943) poster by William Rose via Wikimedia. It is in the public domain.

Richard Carlson was born on 29 April 1912.

He was an iconic psychotronic actor. But I could easily be writing about him here just as a director. Most of these were westerns. But that is hardly surprising. Westerns were the most popular films in the 1950s. But he first directed a science fiction film, Riders to the Stars. He also made a noir, Appointment with a Shadow.

After that, he went into TV where he directed and wrote a number of TV episodes including the season 8 episode of Mannix, “The Green Man.” But I haven’t seen any of these. So I know him for his acting. Let’s look at that.

Although known primarily for his genre film roles, Carlson was a serious theater actor. After his theater company in Minnesota failed, he worked in theater in Los Angeles and then New York. He starred on Broadway in Three Men on a Horse. As a result, MGM signed him. But he walked away soon to go back to the theater. He did eventually return to movies. And in the early 1940s, he even returned to MGM.

Richard Carlson had a solid career as a supporting actor in studio productions and eventually TV. But things changed in 1953 when he was cast in the independent science fiction film The Magnetic Monster. The success of that film resulted in Carlson starring in two William Alland and Jack Arnold films: It Came from Outer Space and Creature from the Black Lagoon.

By the late 1950s, Carlson had moved almost completely to TV. But he made two important psychotronic films in the 1960s. The first was the Bert I Gordon film Tormented. Then there was the Ray Harryhausen effects film The Valley of Gwangi.

Although Richard Carlson isn’t the star, let’s watch The Valley of Gwangi to celebrate his birthday. It is wonderfully bizarre!

Other 29 April Anniversaries

Filmmakers:

• Michelle Pfeiffer (1958-): Actor in many films including Scarface, The Witches of Eastwick, and Batman Returns.
• Uma Thurman (1970-): Actor most notable for the Kill Bill films.
• Tyler Labine (1978-): Actor known for many things but especially Tucker & Dale vs Evil.
• Alex Vincent (1981-): Actor known for the Child’s Play films.

Films:

• Ghost Chasers (1951): Bowery Boys with a ghost.
• Mothra vs Godzilla (1964): The title gives it away, right?
• Night of the Devils (1972): Everyone thinks dad might be a vampire.
• The Hand That Feeds the Dead (1974): Klaus Kinski stars as a man kidnapping women to fix his burned wife.
• The Beyond (1981): Lucio Fulci classic supernatural horror.
• Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983): Demonic circus comes to town; Ray Bradbury wrote it based on his novel.
• The Hunger (1983): Sexy vampire film.
• Critters 2: The Main Course (1988): Space aliens are hungry.
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy (2005): Watchable film version of the novel.
• Dylan Dog: Dead of Night (2010): Supernatural PI fights monsters.

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Richard Carlson via Wikimedia. It is in the public domain.

Carl Laemmle Jr was born on 28 April 1908.

He was the son of the founder of Universal Studios. And his father made him head of production for the studio at the age of 20. I think that was a great decision. He brought new ideas into the industry. People blame him for almost bankrupting the studio. But that is unfair.

Universal got into financial difficulties for a few reasons. The biggest was the Great Depression. Combined with this, Universal did not own theater chains like MGM and Paramount. They were at a distinct disadvantage because of this. Of course, the Supreme Court would later find this constituted an illegal monopoly. Had that ruling come earlier, the Laemmles probably would have survived.

Regardless, I think of Carl Laemmle Jr as the Father of Universal Horror. This is not to take anything away from all the great people who made the films. But without him, Universal would not have made the films. And no other studios were interested in making horror films. They saw them as risky, at best. And even after the successes of Dracula and Frankenstein, the other studios didn’t try very hard to compete.

Everything fell apart in 1936. To get Laemmle Jr’s Show Boat funded, Laemmle Sr took out a loan from Standard Capital Corporation with the studio as collateral. The film was successful with critics and the public. But it wasn’t enough to offset the film’s bloated budget (roughly $30 million today). So the bank threw out the father and son. I can’t say this was a mistake. Universal went on to make a number of excellent horror films after that. Of particular note is Son of Frankenstein in 1939.

But again, without Carl Laemmle Jr, we wouldn’t have any of these films. And he produced the Holy Trinity of Universal Horror: Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Mummy. We really should build a statue for the man!

Let’s watch Dracula.

Other 28 April Anniversaries

Filmmakers:

• Lionel Barrymore (1878-1954): Actor in Mark of the Vampire and The Devil-Doll.
• Pierre Boileau (1906-1989): Novelist (with Thomas Narcejac) of novels made into films like Les Diaboliques and Vertigo.
• Carolyn Jones (1930-1983): The original Morticia in The Addams Family.
• Ann-Margret (1941-): Actor in Magic and The Cheap Detective.
• Terry Pratchett (1948-2015): Writer of the Discworld novels and more.
• Marcia Strassman (1948-2014): Actor known for Welcome Back, Kotter, Honey, I Blew Up the Kids, and other titles with commas.
• Bruno Kirby (1949-2006): Actor in The Freshman and Donnie Brasco.
• Christopher Young (1958-): Composer for Hellraiser and The Grudge.

Films:

• Seven Footprints To Satan (1929): Crime comedy released as silent and sound.
• House of Horror (1929): Comedy mystery.
• Five Fingers of Death (1972): Assassins try to rig a martial arts competition.
• Bloody Birthday (1981): Three children turn homicidal.
• Village of the Damned (1995): John Carpenter’s remake of this classic.
• Frequency (2000): Son talks to his father from the past on a radio but ends up changing time.
• The Terminators (2009): Humans fight cyborgs for control of their planet.

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Carl Laemmle Jr via Wikimedia. It is in the public domain.

Embassy Pictures released Godzilla, King of the Monsters! in the United States on 27 April 1956.

But before any of the Godzilla geniuses out there complain, let me provide the background. (They can just sit quietly while I explain what they, in their genre magnificence, already know!)

Godzilla was first released to the public on 3 November 1954. Edmund Goldman bought the US rights to the film from Toho Studios for $25,000 (about a quarter million today). He was planning to just dub it into English and then release it.

But things got a bit out of hand. With the help and encouragement of a whole bunch of people, the film was transformed. It still told the same story. But it told it from the perspective of an American reporter played by Raymond Burr.

The result isn’t a better film. In fact, in many ways, it is a weaker film. But it does have advantages over the original. The main thing is that by using the equivalent of a million dollars, they took a distinctly Japanese film and made an American film. It is notable that the film is so different that it had its own Japanese release on 29 May 1957.

It’s a remarkable accomplishment. And it is great that we now have both these films to enjoy.

I highly recommend getting the Warner Brothers Godzilla: King of the Monsters Special Edition. It comes with two discs: one for the original Japanese version and one for the American release. Both include commentary tracks by David Kalat, author of A Critical History and Filmography of Toho’s Godzilla Series.

If you would rather watch the original with English subtitles, there is a good print. And here is the American print:

Other 27 April Anniversaries

Filmmakers:

• Walter Lantz (1899-1994): Animator and creator of Woody Woodpecker.
• Jack Klugman (1922-2012): TV’s Dr Quincy he appeared in lots of other things like 4 episodes of the original The Twilight Zone.
• Sandy Dennis (1937-1992): Actor who was truly amazing in The Out-of-Towners; she also starred in Robert Altman’s That Cold Day in the Park.
• James Le Gros (1962-): Actor in Phantasm II, Drugstore Cowboy, and many others.
• Lisa Wilcox (1964-): Star of later “Nightmare on Elm Street” films.
• Matt Reeves (1966-): Director of Cloverfield, The Batman, and some of the recent “Planet of the Apes” films.
• Andre Gower (1973-): Actor in The Monster Squad.

Films:

• The Man From Planet X (1951): Space alien lands and is mistreated.
• Scared Stiff (1953): Martin and Lewis haunted castle film.
• The Dark (1979): Space werewolf.
• Love at First Bite (1979): Count Dracula (George Hamilton) comes to America and finds love.
• Unmasked Part 25 (1988): Slasher comedy.
• The Guardian (1990): Evil druid nanny.
• Spaced Invaders (1990): Comedy about space aliens during a rebroadcast of “War of the Worlds.”
• The Forsaken (2001): Aspiring filmmaker gets involved in a vampire war.
• Adam & Evil (2004): Slasher in the woods.
• Mulberry St (2006): A virus turns Manhattanites into rats.
• High Stitches (2007): Archaeologists unleash a space alien monster.
• The Invisible (2007): After a beating, a young man turns invisible to others.
• Wind Chill (2007): Two friends caught in a storm are harassed by ghosts.
• The Raven (2012): A fan tests Edgar Allan Poe (John Cusack).

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Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956) poster via Wikipedia. It is in the public domain.

I tell ya, they don’t make films the way they used to! Now days, you think the bad guy’s dead at the end of the picture, and then there’s a sequel, and he’s alive again!

Remember the ending of Creature from the Black Lagoon in 1954? The creature died and that was the end of it! At least it was until 1955’s Revenge of the Creature.

But at least he died at the end of that! Until 1956’s The Creature Walks Among Us. But at least the creature doesn’t die at the end of that one!

And that set up the sequel! You know! The one that was never made.

End of a Trilogy

Universal Pictures released The Creature Walks Among Us on 26 April 1956.

It is arguably the best of the three although I really like all of them. They are all competently made, well-acted, and beautifully shot.

The Creature Walks Among Us is certainly better than the second film, which was really just a retelling of the first film in a different location. This one turns things around and shows that the real monsters are humans — at least some humans.

The first two films were directed by Jack Arnold. He directed a lot of great psychotronic films like It Came from Outer Space, Tarantula! and the Richard Matheson classic, The Incredible Shrinking Man. He went on to direct A-features like No Name on the Bullet and The Mouse That Roared before ending his career in television.

By the time of The Creature Walks Among Us, Arnold was too big for the B-features, so veteran assistant director John Sherwood was put in charge. Sherwood had been AD on No Name on the Bullet. After it, he directed The Monolith Monsters. And that was it. He worked on a couple more films as AD and then died at the age of 56 of pneumonia.

If you are any kind of fan at all, I highly recommend getting the Universal Studios’ Creature From the Black Lagoon: Complete Legacy Collection. It comes on 2 Blu-ray discs. There are commentary tracks for all the films, a 40-minute documentary, and some minor stuff. The first two films come in 3-D versions.

Other 26 April Anniversaries

Filmmakers:

• Tomoyuki Tanaka (1910-1997): Co-creator of Godzilla and the producer of the early films including the excellent Godzilla vs Hedorah.
• Jet Li (1963-): Actor in Romeo Must Die and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.
• Kane (1967-): Wrestler and star of See No Evil.
• Brandon Slagle (1977-): Writer-director of films like Dead Sea and The Dawn.
• Jose Prendes (1979-): Writer-director of films like Blood Brothers and Evil Nun.
• Jordana Brewster (1980-): Actor in The Faculty and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning.

Films:

• Mark of the Vampire (1935): Tod Browning’s fake vampire film with Lionel Barrymore and Bela Lugosi.
• The Snake Woman (1961): A woman born of a mother who is given snake venom behaves as a snake.
• Jason X (2002): Friday the 13th in space.
• Wicked Lake (2008): Four women are attacked by men but the women turn the tables at the stroke of midnight.
• Avenging Force: The Scarab (2010): Shockingly good micro-budget superhero film from Brett Kelly.
• The Late Night Double Feature (2014): 1950s parodies from Christopher R Mihm.
• I Trapped the Devil (2019): A man claims he has the devil imprisoned in his basement.

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The Creature Walks Among Us (1956) poster via Wikipedia under Fair use.

Warner Bros released House of Wax in the United States on 25 April 1953. It premiered in New York on 10 April and Los Angels on 16 April.

Despite its reputation, House of Wax was a prestige production. Warner spent about a million dollars on it. Compare that to another Warner Bros release, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. Producers got only a quarter of the budget for this special effects-heave film. It was also one of the first 3D features from a major studio. Warner expected a lot from the film. And it paid off. It made twenty times its budget.

The film is a remake of Warner Bros’ earlier Mystery of the Wax Museum. I actually prefer this earlier version. I love the fast-talking reporter and the romance. But House of Wax has one major advantage: Vincent Price. I love Lionel Atwill but he’s just not the same. It could just be that I grew up with Price.

The story is well known. Price plays Professor Henry Jarrod, a wax sculptor. His business partner burns down their museum leaving Jarrod for dead. But he isn’t dead. He returns to kill people who he covers in wax, which really is more efficient when you think about it.

Price returned the following year in The Mad Magician. It is pretty much the same plot. And depending on how much you want to stretch it, he was in other films with this plot. I think Theatre of Blood easily qualifies. The Abominable Dr Phibes is a bit more of a stretch. But in all of these films feature more sympathetic characters since they don’t kill many innocent people.

One interesting factoid about this film. It was directed by Andre de Toth, who was blind in one eye. No big deal, but suboptimal for anyone directing a 3D film!

Other 25 April Anniversaries

Filmmakers:

• Edgar Allan Woolf (1881-1943): Screenwriter known for his contributions to Freaks, Mad Love, and The Wizard of Oz.
• Paul Mazursky (1930-2014): Writer-director known for Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice and Harry and Tonto.
• Al Pacino (1940-): Vigorous actor who a lot of people enjoy.
• Talia Shire (1946-): Actor known for The Godfather and Rocky franchises.
• Jeffrey DeMunn (1947-): Actor known for The Hitcher and The Blob.
• Ron Clements (1953-): Animator in many positions on various Disney features.
• Renee Zellweger (1969-): Actor known for Nurse Betty and The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
• Jason Lee (1970-): Actor known especially for Kevin Smith films.

Films:

• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1908): Silent short based on the famous story; now lost
• Invisible Ghost (1941): Bela Lugosi kills people after his wife leaves him.
• Five (1951): Five people survive nuclear war.
• Burn, Witch, Burn! (1962): A skeptic’s wife is doing voodoo to help his career.
• Crimewave (1985): Sam Raimi comedy about very weird hit men with Louise Lasser and Bruce Campbell.
• Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion (1997): Two clueless fashion nerds learn valuable lessons.
• Identity (2003): Stranded travelers are being killed starring John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, and John Hawkes.
• Dracula’s Curse (2006): Vampire hunters hunt vampires.
• Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008): The boys are mistaken for terrorists and go on a road trip.

See also: The Perfect Date!

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House of Wax (1953) poster via Wikimedia. It is in the public domain.

Rochelle Films released Ms 45 in the United States on 24 April 1981.

It is my favorite rape-revenge film. This is not a genre that is easy to enjoy. I Spit on Your Grave taxes the audience — often to the breaking point with its 25-minute assault on the main character. Ms 45 is quite different.

Thana (Zoë Lund) is a young mute woman who works at a low-level in the fashion industry. While walking home, a man rapes her on the street. (In a wonderful bit of meta-content, the rapist is played by the director, Abel Ferrara.) Although short, it is violent. On returning home, she encounters a burglar who rapes her. She use a glass apple to hit him twice. As he gets up, she grabs an iron and kills him with it as you would a knife.

This functions as an origin story. Its original title is accurate: “Angel of Vengeance.” The film climaxes with a company costume party. Thana comes dressed as a nun. Her lecherous boss tries to seduce her, so she shoots him. Then she shoots various men at the party. Ultimately, a female co-worker stabs her but Thana does not shoot her.

The film works very well. It would have been weaker if Thana had survived. But I would have loved to see a sequel like “The Trial of Ms 45.” Regardless, the whole thing is a bit like Falling Down. In it, the world has pushed Foster too far. But he ends as exactly what he was fighting. “I’m the bad guy?” Thana is not. Of course, she’s been so much more wronged.

I have figured out a way to rework the story to save Thana. There is one man in the film who doesn’t really deserve to be killed. He is depressed and angry. His wife left him for a woman. Thana shoots him, but her gun misfires. He grabs the gun and kills himself. If she had left the gun in his hand, he would have been blamed for the murders. She would be free. Assuming she stopped being the angel of vengeance!

Ms 45 is an excellent film. It has 7 minutes that are tough to get through. But it’s pretty fun after that!

Other 24 April Anniversaries

Filmmakers:

• William Castle (1914-1977): Iconic producer and director of films like House on Haunted Hill and Homical.
• Richard Donner (1930-2021): Director of psychotronic classics like The Omen, Superman, and Lethal Weapon.
• Michael Parks (1940-2017): Actor in many unusual films including From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman’s Daughter.
• Peter Jason (1944-2025): Actor known for his work with John Carpenter like Prince of Darkness and In the Mouth of Madness.
• Eric Kripke (1974-): Creator of Supernatural.

Films:

• Night of Terror (1933): Family heirs attend a seance and start dying; with Bela Lugosi.
• Godzilla Raids Again (1955): Another Godzilla fights Anguirus.
• Cannibal Ferox (1981): Jungle adventure from Umberto Lenzi.
• The Hand (1981): An artist loses his hand, which (he thinks) begins killing people; starring Michael Caine.
• My Demon Lover (1987): Comedy about a guy who becomes a demon when he’s horny.
• Killer Movie (2009): Slasher movie parody about a reality TV show.
• The Pit and the Pendulum (2009): David DeCoteau film where students in an experiment disappear.
• Moose: The Movie (2015): Silly comedy about a violent moose-man who a new park ranger must stop.

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Ms 45 poster via Wikipedia under Fair Use.

On this day, 23 April, in 1999, one of my favorite films was released: eXistenZ.

This was right after The Matrix was released and a lot of people think that if that hadn’t been the case, eXistenZ would have been a hit. The two films have a number of similarities. But people who think this are wrong. eXistenZ was never going to appeal to a wide audience.

eXistenZ is way too Cronenberg. Who thinks, “I’ve got this idea for a film about game realities so obviously we’re going hard into amphibian organs”? Well, David Cronenberg, of course. Even by his standards, this film is pretty weird.

It’s also way too clever for a multiplex audience. I don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s just that it’s hard to really appreciate eXistenZ the first time through. There are so many signs that things are wrong at the beginning of the film. Yet I just went with them, assuming that was the reality of the film. On second viewing, funny things stand out like Gas working at COUNTRY GAS STATION.

There are only a few other Cronenberg films that see him in top form: Videodrome, The Fly, Naked Lunch, and Crash. Who knows how I would rank these films. Any filmmaker should count their blessing that they made one film as good as any one of these in a whole career.

The thing about eXistenZ is that it’s the Cronenberg film I’ve watched the most. So in that way, it could be considered his best (as far as I’m concerned). But that’s not fair given the profound effect the other films have on me — especially Crash.

So is eXistenZ David Cronenberg’s feel-good people pleasing film? Maybe for Cronenberg fans. Most people I’ve introduced to the film hated it. But if you haven’t seen it, and you are reading this, I suspect you’ll love it.

Other 23 April Anniversaries

Filmmakers:

• Ernest Laszlo (1898-1984): Cinematographer of many genre films like DOA, Fantastic Voyage, and Logan’s Run.
• Myron Waldman (1908-2006): Animator for Fleischer Studios.
• Simone Simon (1911-2005): Star of Cat People and The Curse of the Cat People.
• Shirley Temple (1928-2014): Star of musicals throughout the 1930s and 1940s.
• Lee Majors (1939-): The One, The Only, The Six Million Dollar Man. He also played Ash’s dad in Ash vs Evil Dead.
• Hervé Villechaize (1943-1993): Actor known for Fantasy Island and The Man with the Golden Gun.
• Michael Moore (1954-): Comedy documentary filmmaker.
• Craig Sheffer (1960-): Actor in Nightbreed and The Grave.
• George Lopez (1961-): Actor known for comedies like Balls of Fury.
• John Hannah (1962-): The comedy relief in The Mummy franchise.

Films:

• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1912): The first filmed version of the story — now lost.
• She (1917): 50-minute silent fantasy film.
• The Vanishing Shadow (1934): Revenge serial.
• The Mystery of Marie Roget (1942): Noir mystery.
• Rattlers (1976): Toxic chemicals make rattlesnakes super aggressive.
• Carnage (1984): Andy Milligan film featuring newlyweds haunted by newlyweds.
• The Dark Half (1993): Romero film based on a Stephen King novel about a writer whose retired pen name comes to life kills people.
• Beyond Re-Animator (2003): The third Re-Animator film is a ton of fun.
• Requiem For A Vampire (2006): Vampires run a blood bank.
• Through the Woods (2010): Paranoid horror.

eXistenZ (1999) poster via Wikipedia under Fair Use.