On Hallo•meme, be bewitching, like ‘Gilda’ 6
I was thinking about my costume for this Halloween. Who better to embody than Rita Hayworth in her hallowed role as a film-noir temptress in the movie of the same name, Gilda (1945), from Columbia Pictures?Here she is in her nightclub number in the movie, “Put the Blame on Mame.” Rita was dressed in a ...
Wild! ‘Silent Disco’ at Segerstrom Center
Oct
22
2021
Yeah, it’s spooky. A bunch of people zoned-out and twitching like Night of the Living Dead zombies, only, more or less, to a beat. Kick off next “Halloweekend” with a round of bootie-shaking at a silent disco. And help our planet have less noise pollution! It’s happening on the friendly public square at Segerstrom Center ...
Hollywood Heritage’s Halloween hangout with ‘glamour ghoul’ Vampira 2
She was born Maila Nurmi, which seems ghoulish enough. But she went by the mononym, Vampira. For those of us who did not grow up in Los Angeles watching this strange, mysterious lady host horror movies on late-night television (I grew up in Pittsburgh, where our Vampira was not nearly as sexy: “Chilly Billie” Cardille, ...
House of Laemmle presents ‘House of Wax’ in 65th anniv screening 2
Oct
8
2018
In the photo, Mitch McConnell (Vincent Price) crates up Dr. Blaisey-Ford’s brain and sends it, and her, packing, back to Palo Alto. Her frozen, stunned expression captures her shock that truth-seeking holds little water for half of the population. For many, we’re living a national horror show — in a new America. To better adjust, ...
Puppets to bow out after Bob Baker ‘Spooktacular’
Sep
5
2018
The final show (and we hope and pray the spookiest) at the longtime home of Bob Baker Marionette Theater will enjoy a loooong run — scaring the heck out of a lot of Los Angeles kids throughout the season-‘o-ghoulishness. Soon thereafter, the puppet theater that has occupied its charming digs beneath the First Street Bridge ...
‘Variety’ got it dead wrong: NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968) 1
On the occasion of the hugely talented, innovative and original filmmaker George Romero receiving his star on Hollywood Boulevard (the auteur director died in July) and the wonderful tribute event we attended (screening Romero’s marvelous and underrated CREEPSHOW) this past week, we sense that Romero’s pioneering in the horror genre can’t have been easy. A tough ...
Remembering George Romero as Halloween draws nigh
Oct
17
2017
Join the close friends and family of director George A. Romero in a celebration of the life and career of the legendary horror filmmaker, who passed away on July 16, 2017, at the age of 77. Too young! Romero, who pioneered the zombie film genre with the 1968 feature, Night of the Living Dead, made ...
Ed Wood’s ‘Plan 9’ joins forces with marionette ‘Spooktacular’
Director/auteur Ed Wood’s low-budget classic, Plan 9 From Outer Space, was loathed by critics upon release. It became a cult classic. The cast of the film included Maila Nurmi, credited as Vampira, and Bela Lugosi, who famously died during production and was replaced by Ed Wood’s chiropractor, Dr. Tom Mason. The making of Plan 9 From ...
Lurch on, Universal monsters!
Oct
17
2012
There have been frightening happenings at the film world’s Halloween Headquarters, also known as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — and they’re still going on. “A Monstrous Centennial,” the Academy’s month-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Universal Pictures, screening 13 classic horror classics, has reach mid-point. The series is augmented by ...