Movie Ad of the Week: NINJA, GRAND MASTERS OF DEATH (1988)

Three years after the Ocean Shores videocassette was issued, Tso Nam Lee's A LIFE OF NINJA (1983) a.k.a. DEADLY LIFE OF A NINJA, opened in four theaters in Albuquerque, NM on November 11, 1988 under the title NINJA, GRAND MASTERS OF DEATH, sporting a 1986 copyright date and an R rating it wouldn't officially earn until April 1990.

Movie Ad of the Week: Ed Wood's NECROMANIA (1972-1983)

Akron, OH - January 24, 1972

Kansas City, MO - August 2, 1972

San Antonio, TX - February 3, 1973

Detroit, MI - April 4, 1973

(as TALE OF WEIRD LOVE)

Manchester, NH - June 15, 1973

Akron, OH - February 4, 1974

Rochester, NY - May 22, 1974

Keyport, NJ - November 9, 1974

Los Angeles, CA - June 15, 1975

Corpus Christi, TX - November 2, 1976

St. Louis, MO - May 15, 1977

Philadelphia, PA - November 24, 1978

Albuquerque, NM - July 24, 1981

Albuquerque, NM - May 16, 1983

Herschell Gordon Lewis - R.I.P.

"B"-gore Scare Was HD, At FEAST We Had H. G.!

by Don K. Barbecue

I figure true grue Temple of Schlocksters already heard, but if you haunt, Herschell Gordon Lewis has died. Witch takes me hack: Ah yessss, I can see it as if it were(wolf) Unca Festerday: my younger brother and me my own elf as lads on the highest bleachers of the local racetrack a scare amount of summers aghoul. I can see us even howl, as in we howled cuz we couldn't hear much of the drive-in sounds of monster movies and trailers of terror at the adjacent to the track shout-gore theatre: a plight of course grue to our heads already taking in sizable soundage from the next door to the race track, where we sat waiting for our dad to leave from down at the Pits. Still, even unheard drive-in horror flicks not quite experienced in the drive-in were the beasts from time tomb slime. Specially when we "EEEeeek!"-caisonally could hear a good scream from some hapless heroine across the two lots, honest engines. By witch I demean, see the next pair a'grabs.

Gore, put another way: we got to the track all those times by way of our dad's bringing us there, in that we were too young to get our own cars, I said let alone drive-in.

It was in such a monsterously horrible for hearing Kongdition we first learned of H. G.'s messier than anyone else's in its slime monster piece of horror, BLOOD FEAST, and I hoodon't know if I've ever been the same. All fangs to a trailer of terror told across the way: for this soon-tomb-"B"-showing weeks slayed her pic as seen in that trailer screamed tomb have not monsters slow munch, jest people hackting Kongpletely crazy. And I swear, over all that racket from the races below us we could, honest, hear real not reel women in real cars at the drive-in, yelling stuff like "No, we're not watching the rest of this movie, take me home NOW!" from timed tomb slimes. Rot to mention Kongplaints like "Key ripes, people in these movies are crazier than yer aunt Edna." Yeah, times were different then, of curse, and just the scumming attraction to BLOOD FEAST, state of its own, I SAID bone art as it was, made folks run from their vehicles for the rest rooms at speeds only approachable by a smellestial body. Meaning, natch, that night saw many tossed out of vehicle snack boxes that approached the speed of a vomit comet. Yup, H. G. Lewis fright then and scare had gore-fected a grue type of terror film, where even just the trailer slash scumming attraction of itself, reely and gruely, was state of the barf!

Of curse, times rattlin' chainsed fright "B" gore the end of that long aghoul bloodgest of a decade, when a fellow Pennsylvanian of mine made a little movie witch likewise tested people's terror quotient called NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, witch your humble scare-rator caught at a loco drive-in. But that's another double creature feature story, and oh wotta pair of scare! Two bad no one ever made a fear flick entitled NIGHT OF THE LIVING EDNA, I said DEAD, witch no doubt could have likewise maid for many roamin' hands and rushin' fingers guys having to quick hustle their drive-in dates home by the droves before it even got to "They're coming to get you, Barbed Bra."

Whoa, sudden flash from Horror Heaven: H. G. Lewis and William Castle are getting tombgether to film something, like fright away! I mean, sheesh, there must "B" someTHING in the air upscare! Why, ... wait, news, I SAID grues flash: There is something in the air upscare with those very titans of high-flyin' horror, and that's straight from St. Michael Myers! Not to mention St. Peter Cushing, who says "Yeah, that Herschell really got the Gore Done!"

Herschell Gordon Lewis

June 15, 1926 - September 26, 2016

Mystery Movie solved! GIRLS IN BONDAGE (1979)

Over six years ago, we posted a Mystery Movie entry for the HOUSE OF SHAME/GIRLS IN BONDAGE double bill in which we surmised that one of these films, probably HOUSE OF SHAME, was a re-titling of THE CULT (a.k.a. THE LOVE CULT, THE MANSON MASSACRE and TOGETHER GIRLS), #26 on our Endangered List. It turns out we were partly correct. Thanks to the tireless efforts of T.O.S. correspondent Mike MacCollum, who attended the Pandemonium Picture Show event at the Skyline Drive-In in Shelbyville, IN this past weekend, we now have confirmation that GIRLS IN BONDAGE is another title for THE CULT. Thanks, Mike!

One down, one to go. Now what film do we think is hiding behind the HOUSE OF SHAME title? Our guess: THE HOUSE THAT VANISHED.

Movie Ad of the Week: HOMEBODIES (1974)

World Premiere - Friday, August 30, 1974 - Cincinnati, OH

HOMEBODIES, Larry Yust's unfairly neglected black comedy/horror movie, had its world premiere in two theaters in Cincinnati -- the city where it was filmed -- on August 30, 1974.

Movie Ad of the Week: UNDERGROUND HI-JACK (1975)

UNDERGROUND HI-JACK is a title United Artists used in the newspaper ads for THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE when the film opened in Kansas City, MO on January 25, 1975.

Under this title, the film returned to KC on February 3, 1976 as the third feature to WIPEOUT! and RIPPED OFF, two Italian imports from Cinema Shares.

WIPEOUT! is Fernando Di Leo's THE BOSS, starring Henry Silva, Richard Conte and Gianni Garko. Based on Peter McCurtin's novel Mafioso, it was filmed in 1972 but first released in the U.S. in 1975. RIPPED OFF (a.k.a. THE BOXER) was shot in Albuquerque in 1971 as TOUGH GUY but released in Italy as UN UOMO DALLA PELLE DURA (A MAN WITH THICK SKIN). Another stateside '75 release, it stars Robert Blake, Catherine Spaak, Ernest Borgnine, Gabriele Ferzetti, and Tomas Milian.

Movie Ad of the Week: BAD GIRLS DORMITORY (1986)

The micro-budgeted women's prison pic BAD GIRLS DORMITORY, filmed in New York City in 1984 by the husband and wife team of writer-director Tim Kincaid and producer Cynthia DePaula, opened in five theaters in the New York City area on March 28, 1986.

Movie Ad of the Week: RAW NERVE (1991)

Glenn Ford's final theatrical feature, the David A. Prior low-budgeter RAW NERVE, opened in seven Los Angeles area theaters (including the Egyptian!) on June 28, 1991.

Movie Ad of the Week: BRAINWAVES (1982) a.k.a. MIND GAMES (1983)

Motion Picture Marketing opened Ulli Lommel's horror pic BRAINWAVES in Cincinnati, OH on November 19, 1982. When their promo campaigns failed to impress Lommel, MPM returned both this film and THE DEVONSVILLE TERROR to him so he could seek distribution elsewhere. Theatrical bookings for THE DEVONSVILLE TERROR were handled by Cineworld Pictures, while BRAINWAVES was picked up by Comworld Pictures and rechristened MIND GAMES (It was later edited for a PG rating and re-titled SHADOW OF DEATH). Both films were released on videocassette by Embassy Home Entertainment.

MIND GAMES in Decatur, IL - April 22, 1983

Mystery Movie solved! KUNG FU COPS (1975)

Thanks to the ad above (Louisville, Kentucky - January 28, 1977) and additional help from Video Watchdog's John Charles, we've come to the conclusion that KUNG FU COPS is the U.S. release title of NAN ZI HAN (1973), a.k.a. SMUGGLERS and KUNG FU GANGBUSTERS.

The Endangered List (Case File #150)

THE GREAT BALLOON RACE (1977)

Starring
Chris Robinson
Frank Gifford
Terry Moore
Ted Cassidy

Special Appearances
by
Cab Calloway
Phyllis Diller
Bert Parks
Frankie Laine
Norm Crosby

Produced by
Paul Holm

Written and Directd
by
Chris Robinson

MPAA rating: PG

Release dates
January 3, 1977 (Palm Beach, FL)
April 29, 1977 (Boca Raton, FL)

Movie Ad of the Week: THE DEATH OF BRUCE LEE w/ MR. DEATH (1977)

A double feature of death from Howard Mahler Films -- THE DEATH OF BRUCE LEE and MR. DEATH -- opened in Louisville, KY on November 18, 1977. THE DEATH OF BRUCE LEE is a re-release of THE BLACK DRAGON'S REVENGE (1975), starring Ron Van Clief and Charles Bonet. The second feature, MR. DEATH, is a re-release of Jim Sotos' THE LAST VICTIM, starring Tanya Roberts, Ron Max, and Nancy Allen. Although it carries an R rating here, the film actually received a PG from the MPAA in January 1976. When it was re-released as FORCED ENTRY in 1983 by Sotos' own company, Century International, it was edited for re-rating and got an R.

Movie Ad of the Week: PLEASE! DON'T GO IN THE BEDROOM (1973)

The IMDb lists DON'T GO IN THE BEDROOM as a "pre-release" title for José Ramón Larraz's SCREAM AND DIE, with a U.S. release date of October 1974 as THE HOUSE THAT VANISHED -- but here it is at the Trail Drive-in theater in Lake Worth, FL on December 7th, 1973 under the title PLEASE! DON'T GO IN THE BEDROOM. Big thanks to long-time friend Jon Putnam for sending this one our way.

Movie Ad of the Week: THOR THE CONQUEROR (1984)

We're as shocked as anyone that Cannon actually gave a theatrical release to THOR THE CONQUEROR, but here it is Oxford, AL on February 10, 1984. The umpteenth cheesy '80s Italian flick guilty of clonin' the barbarian, this one was directed by Anthony Richmond [Tonino Ricci] and stars Conrad Nichols [Bruno Minniti], the same duo that ripped off THE ROAD WARRIOR with the dopey one-two punch of RUSH (1983) and RAGE (1984). THOR is currently available on DVD for around $5.00 as part of Full Moon's Grindhouse Collection.

Movie Ad of the Week: DOCTOR BUTCHER, M.D. (1981)

U.S. Premiere - September 18, 1981 - Philadelphia, PA

Although the IMDb and other sources claim DOCTOR BUTCHER, M.D. made its U.S. debut in New York on May 7th, 1982, the Italian gorefest from Aquarius Releasing actually had its premiere almost eight months earlier, opening in 13 theaters in the Philadelphia/South Jersey area (and the Naamans Drive-In in Claymont, DE) on September 18th, 1981.

Cincinnati, OH (below) and Syracuse, NY (not pictured) on October 2, 1981. The second feature in both cities was NURSE SHERRI.

(Below) Hartford, CT - October 16, 1981

(Below) West Palm Beach, FL - October 23, 1981

(Below) Chicago, IL - November 27, 1981

(Below) Chicago Loop double bill - November 27, 1981

(Below) Green Bay, WI - December 11, 1981

(Below) Los Angeles, CA - March 5, 1982

Also: Miami, FL (October 30, 1981); Baltimore & Washington, D.C. (April 16, 1982)

Movie Ad of the Week: SWEET TEMPTATIONS (1983)

LES CHIENS CHAUDS/THE HOT DOGS (1980), a Canadian comedy written and directed by Claude Fournier and starring Harry Reems, was acquired for U.S. distribution by Bedford Entertainment and released as COPS AND OTHER LOVERS in April 1983. By the time it arrived in Indianapolis on September 16, 1983, the title had been changed to SWEET TEMPTATIONS.

Movie Ad of the Week: THREE-WAY LOVE (1977)

Something from Cannon titled THREE-WAY LOVE -- directed by Lewis Scott and starring Paul Paige, Janet Loncar, and Jennifer Stuart -- opened in Murphysboro, IL on June 24, 1977. It's actually LA RAGAZZA DALLA PELLE DI LUNA/THE GIRL WITH THE MOON SKIN (1974), a.k.a. SEX OF THEIR BODIES and THE SINNER, directed by Luigi Scattini and starring Ugo Pagliai, Beba Loncar and Giacomo Rossi-Stewart.

Movie Ad of the Week: SORORITY HOUSE MASSACRE and HOUR OF THE ASSASSIN (1987)

Moviegoers in the New York area may have felt a slight case of déjà vu when they flipped to the weekend section of the Daily News on May 15, 1987 and saw this ad for HOUR OF THE ASSASSIN...

...because it's a recycling of the ad design for SORORITY HOUSE MASSACRE, which had breezed through New York one month earlier (April 10, 1987).