May 8- More Universal Films We Missed Out On
As I mentioned, Universal gave us a finite group of films as part of our agreement- but, with their vast library, there were many more films that they COULD have given us…and I have a whole list of films I wish they HAD let us use! I started to tell you about them yesterday, so, let’s continue…
Back when we showed the bunch of “Mummy” series entries, I did mention that they had withheld “the Mummy’s Ghost.” This 1944 film again featured Lon Chaney Jr. as the living mummy, Kharis-but this time, John Carradine was the high priest sent to America to recover the bodies of the Princess Ananka and Kharis-one in a museum, the other, supposedly burned in the conclusion of “the Mummy’s Tomb.” Tanna leaves play an important part again in the story- as the brewing of them attracts the Mummy, who begins his moldy murdering again. High priest Carradine, in finding yet another woman who is the reincarnated soul of Ananka, also falls into the same trap as earlier high priests by lusting after the babe- only to get his comeuppance from Kharis. Kharis and his new princess meet their end by sinking into a bog- which is where they emerge from in the next movie- even though this bog is in New England, and the next film’s bog is down south!
Another Universal flick I wish we had is “Psycho!” The original 1960 shocker by Alfred Hitchcock was not offered to us, but would have made for a great Sven show. So would “The Birds”-another Hitch classic that’s in the Universal vaults, but it wasn’t dangled before our greedy eyes.
Another classic that they had from their made for TV library
That I would have loved to run on the Sven show is “Duel!” Most horror fans know that it was Steven Speilberg’s big break- a 1971 made for television movie in which Dennis Weaver is pursued by a menacing truck! Written by Richard Matheson, this is a legendary film- with tension that builds as the threat of the truck –whose driver is never seen- always seems very real, with Weaver isolated on a California highway,
trying to escape the truck, in the most terrifying tale of road rage ever! Sure, we had Weaver in “McCloud Meets Dracula”-but I’d much rather have “Duel!”
There are others- some of the Hammer films that Universal has, like “Curse of the Wolf Man”-or, some of the
Invisible Man” sequels like “Invisible Man’s Revenge” or “Invisible Woman” (with Shemp Howard along for the ride!)-but-alas- Universal wouldn’t give ‘em up. So- we’re working out new deals with …another studio! Keep watching later this year!
Back when we showed the bunch of “Mummy” series entries, I did mention that they had withheld “the Mummy’s Ghost.” This 1944 film again featured Lon Chaney Jr. as the living mummy, Kharis-but this time, John Carradine was the high priest sent to America to recover the bodies of the Princess Ananka and Kharis-one in a museum, the other, supposedly burned in the conclusion of “the Mummy’s Tomb.” Tanna leaves play an important part again in the story- as the brewing of them attracts the Mummy, who begins his moldy murdering again. High priest Carradine, in finding yet another woman who is the reincarnated soul of Ananka, also falls into the same trap as earlier high priests by lusting after the babe- only to get his comeuppance from Kharis. Kharis and his new princess meet their end by sinking into a bog- which is where they emerge from in the next movie- even though this bog is in New England, and the next film’s bog is down south!
Another Universal flick I wish we had is “Psycho!” The original 1960 shocker by Alfred Hitchcock was not offered to us, but would have made for a great Sven show. So would “The Birds”-another Hitch classic that’s in the Universal vaults, but it wasn’t dangled before our greedy eyes.
Another classic that they had from their made for TV library
That I would have loved to run on the Sven show is “Duel!” Most horror fans know that it was Steven Speilberg’s big break- a 1971 made for television movie in which Dennis Weaver is pursued by a menacing truck! Written by Richard Matheson, this is a legendary film- with tension that builds as the threat of the truck –whose driver is never seen- always seems very real, with Weaver isolated on a California highway,
trying to escape the truck, in the most terrifying tale of road rage ever! Sure, we had Weaver in “McCloud Meets Dracula”-but I’d much rather have “Duel!”
There are others- some of the Hammer films that Universal has, like “Curse of the Wolf Man”-or, some of the
Invisible Man” sequels like “Invisible Man’s Revenge” or “Invisible Woman” (with Shemp Howard along for the ride!)-but-alas- Universal wouldn’t give ‘em up. So- we’re working out new deals with …another studio! Keep watching later this year!
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