10/29/2006

Are you “Abbott and Costello”-ed out after the past four weeks? I know, I know- “why didn’t you run ‘Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein?’ As I explained before, we are going by a schedule set up for us by Universal- and it would appear that that movie was not available yet due to another commitment- BUT- next year around this time? I think you’ll be very happy! And, for those who caught up with us late- yes, we WILL be running the A & C flicks again - as I said, as scheduled by Universal. The reaction we’ve gotten from you guys has been great- I always told them, “show some cool movies, and they will come.” Wait- we’ve shown some lousy movies, and you’ve still shown up! All the better to reward you with some better stuff. There are also viewers who are questioning why no sound effects, etc, in these pictures? Well, very honestly, we think there are a lot of purists out there who would like to see these movies in as close to their original form as possible –and, we usually use “Svensurround” as a way to prop up the entertainment value of movies that need it.(Not that I couldn’t see a few places to add stuff in these…) I should say “thank you” to the folks who had Sven come out to their Halloween events this season. As always, I get to meet a lot of nice people, both new fans and long-time Sven fans. My knees seem to get a real work-out these days, because it seems everybody brings a camera to take a picture of me, so I’m getting up, sitting down, getting up- but I’m always happy to take a pic with you.

For a picture of another kind- how about our “Countdown to Halloween” scary movie for just two days before Halloween? It’s got to be one of my top favorites- the incredible Bela Lugosi “Dracula!” This 1931 classic, which seems dated to some, still maintains some awesome power- again, that atmosphere that only a black and white film can create! Bela seems over the top, granted, but you must remember he was a stage actor, and wasn’t easily adapting his acting to the new closer motion picture camera. He does seem to be a unique character- after so many imitations, we laughingly accept him- but his acting as the vampire count is full of dramatic tension. And- no fangs!!! Yes, there is comic relief in this film, much as there is in so many of these Universal flicks- but there is such a great unearthly quality to so much of this movie, you can see why it’s one of the foundations of horror films. And who doesn’t love Dwight Frye as Renfield?! Trivia time- director Tod Browning’s original choice for the Count was the great silent star Lon Chaney (Wolf man Lon Jr.’s dad) but he passed away before filming. “Dracula” will always be a favorite for this goolie- and you’ll only see it ONCE on our show- next year! Okay- two days ‘til Halloween- what should I be? We’ll touch on that tomorrow here at the Sven blog… # # #