Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Updating the IMDb: The Alternate Title Roundup

A handful of new alternate titles have recently come to our attention, but before we get to those, there's apparently still some confusion over whether or not Norman J. Warren's ALIEN-inspired birth-of-a-baby bloodbath INSEMINOID actually received stateside release under that handle. The answer is a very loud YES, and here's the proof: a May 1982 newspaper ad from Madison, Wisconsin. By the time the movie reached the New York City area six months later (on November 26th, 1982), the title had been changed to HORROR PLANET.

It's been almost a year and a half since we did a "Mystery Movies" entry on the Crown International obscurity KISS THE TEACHER GOODBYE, which was revealed by dedicated TOS reader and researcher John Black to be a re-release of HORROR HIGH. Lead actor Pat Cardi's name on the newspaper ad below should finally convince the IMDb to include this in their HORROR HIGH entry as a legitimate alternate title.

The sexy Tigon production ZETA ONE, produced in 1969 and co-starring Anna Gaël (THERESE AND ISABELLE) and Yutte Stensgaard (LUST FOR A VAMPIRE), was released stateside by Film Ventures International in 1974 under the title THE LOVE FACTOR. However, the newspaper ad below - from 1973 - indicates that Donn Davison, FVI's head of promotion, originally had another title and ad campaign in mind for the film.

Next we have another Donn Davison/Film Ventures campaign from 1973, for a British film titled A TOUCH OF THE OTHER (1970) but given its widest exposure in the U.S. as HOUSE OF HOOKERS. I love how Davison implies that it's based on a book, hoping viewers will confuse it with Xavier Hollander's memoir The Happy Hooker (which was still on the New York Times bestseller list at this point and had sold 4 million copies).

Back in March we did a "Movie Ads of the Week" post containing 5 ads for S.F. Brownrigg's DON'T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT under 5 different titles (See them all here). Below is a recently found sixth alternate title, DON'T GO IN THE ASYLUM.

And just when you thought it was safe to close the file on Al Adamson's HORROR OF THE BLOOD MONSTERS, yet another alternate title has been discovered. Big thanks to our pal John Charles of Video Watchdog and the ByJohnCharles blog for sending along this ad for its October '71 run in San Antonio as PLANET OF THE BLOOD MONSTERS.

2 comments:

Nick Cato said...

Just WOW over the INSEMINOID ad. I caught it in NY as HORROR PLANET---INSEMINOID is such a nastier, better title.

Victor Del Rio said...

I would have guessed INSEMINOID to have been The Beast Within.