MR. LOBO'S CINEMA INSOMNIA: MONSTERPALOOZA & THE MAD MONSTER

Mr. Lobo's Cinema Insomnia's Monsterpalooza Con Crud Special: The Mad Monster (constructed in Pasadena, Ca & OSI 74, Pa) is set to premiere on Twitch this Saturday night (March 1), commencing at 10 pm, Eastern Time.  

Released by the legendary PRC, The Mad Monster is a neato, 1942, werewolf flick, which stars two, horror titans, George Zucco (at the time in full swing with his Kharis efforts) and Glenn Strange (just two years before playing Frankenstein's Monster), wherein the former (a mad scientist) transforms the latter (a child-like handyman) into a lycanthrope (with a little, ferocious help from makeup artist Harry Ross). The erudite, werewolf emergence is comparable to Whit Bissell's transformation of Michael Landon in I Was a Teenage Werewolf, though that one struck a good fifteen years after the fuzzy fact. 

In addition to Zucco and Strange, Mad Monster stars Johnny (Our Gang) Downs and Anne (Black Friday) Nagel, and was directed and produced by Sam Newfield (the uncredited director of the Gojira revamp, Gigantis: the Fire Monster) and penned by Fred (Nabonga) Myton. The results create a wolf-soldier-serum experience that triggers top-tier tension throughout its tight, running time. 

For extra enjoyment, Mr. Lobo intersects the melodrama by bringing his bushy-tailed cheer to the big convention, meeting fascinating venders, avant-garde artists and even G. Larry (Frankenstein Versus the Monster from Blood Cove/Skate to Hell) Butler. Such is accompanied by a jubilant, studio visit by the hyper Yellow Fever, who dares to nurse a sickly Mr. Lobo back to health with his bananas.

BTW: Mr. Lobo's Cinema Insomnia, Monsterpalooza Con Crud: The Mad Monster is an ideal submission for any "misunderstood," physical-media library, and therefore, one can preorder the Blu-ray edition (and in the process, obtain some screen and IMBd credit) at 

https://osi74.square.site/product/blu-ray-backer-pre-order-cinema-insomnia-monsterpalooza-con-crud-special-mad-monster-with-credit/186?cp=true&sa=false&sbp=false&q=true

R.I.P. GENE HACKMAN

You were a favorite of so many, with roles that stretched from the heroic to the villainous. 

Comprising the astounding lineup, one will find The French Connection; The French Connection II (as the resilient Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in both standout instances); The Poseidon Adventure 1972; Marooned; Young Frankenstein; The Conversation; Bonnie and Clyde; Absolute Power; Unforgiven; Wyatt Earp; Geronimo; The Quick and the Dead 1995; Hunting Party; Bite the Bullet; Zandy's Bride; Mississippi Burning; Scarecrow; Hoosiers; Enemy of the State; Behind Enemy Lines; The Bird Cage; Heartbreakers; Under Suspicion; Welcome to Mooseport; The Royal Tenenbaums; Heist; The Package; The Firm; Class Action; Narrow Margin; Postcards from the Edge; Company Business; Bat*21; Uncommon Valor; Under Fire; Twice in a Lifetime; Two of a Kind; Eureka 1983; Banning; Lilith; Cisco Pike; Power; The Split; Downhill Racer; The Gypsy Moths; Doctors' Wives; First to Fight; A Covenant with Death; Hawaii; Mad Dog Coll; Prime Cut; I Never Sang for My Father; and even far more. 

And let's not overlook that for a generation of Kal-El fans, you were the Lex Luthor, placing the character on a fun and unforgettable perch in Superman: The Movie, Superman II and The Quest for Peace. 

Your passing was jarring and heartbreaking, but you leave behind a legacy that's in every regard golden, as it's part of an old, Hollywood style that will unlikely be recaptured. But then, there was only one Gene Hackman, and with you passes so much in the way of the commanding, the expressive and the unrivaled. 

SWEET ADIEU, MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG

You were as pretty as a picture--no, far prettier than any picture could hope to be, with an astonishing aura that made one stop dead in one's tracks. 

Your career was quaint yet prolific, with a start in The Adventures of Pete and Pete, followed by a hardy queue that included All My Children, Mercy, Six Feet Under, Gossip Girl, Space Cases, Meego, Black Christmas 2006, The Scribbler, 17 Again, Can't Be Heaven, Killing Kennedy, Dragonlance: Dragons of the Autumn Twilight, DC Showcase: Jonah Hex, Ice Princess, Euro Trip, Love Bites, Guidance, Take Me Home Tonight, Weeds, Cop Out, Sexy Evil Genius, Against the Current, A Father's Choice, Criminal Minds, The Dive from Clausen's Pier, Mysterious Skin, Inspector Gadget, Truth and Scare (as host) and as the titular Harriet the Spy. 

However, your highest claim to fame came from 62 episodes of the ultra-popular Buffy the Vampire Slayer, playing our heroine's younger sister, Dawn.  

You possessed a hypnotic charm, an atypical radiance, an innate quality that always drew viewers in, no matter the medium. You departed way too soon, dear Michelle, but what you left will endure, embedded in our hearts, never ending in our memories. 

SCARY MONSTERS #138: FRANKENSTEIN, BORLAND, BRADBURY, KONG & MORE

Scary Monsters #138 ("Monster Memories") hits it outta the graveyard with a Mary Shelley-sprung, "Forgotten Frankenstein Films" issue, commemorated by Scott Jackson's fantastic, front-and-back cover collage, with Karloff the Uncanny ideally arranged. 

Of the Frankenstein flicks featured, there's Bride of Frankenstein; Frankenstein: the True Story;  (Dan Curtis') Frankenstein 1973; Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; Horror of Frankenstein; Lady Frankenstein; Blackenstein (The Black Frankenstein); Dracula vs. Frankenstein; and Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster. A special emphasis on 1950's, Frankenstein entries is featured, as well, which includes Frankenstein 1970 (the focus, in fact, of Jackson's forefront layout); I Was a Teenage Frankenstein; Frankenstein's Daughter; Tales From Tomorrow's Frankenstein; and that pilot that should have spawned more, Tales of Frankenstein. Fun, family fare like Milton the Monster, The Munsters, The Sprimpenstein Show and Mad Monster Party make the scene, too. 

Issue #138 also covers the enduring wonderment of King Kong and his various incarnations; Fantastic Voyage and Killer Crocodile retrospectives; a chat with Carroll (Mark of the Vampire) Borland's daughter, Anne; a Ray Bradbury appreciation; an analysis of beauty in horror pictures; a Salem's Lot 1979 salute; a review of Phillip George Chadwick's rare, SF novel, The Death Guard; a visit to the New Beverley Cinema (and its swell, double feature of Forbidden Planet and The Time Machine 1960); a gallery of Famous Monsters of Filmland covers; monster-movie, novelty tie-ins and knockoffs; thrilling, aquanaut adventures (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea 1954, Mysterious Island 1961, The Creature From the Black Lagoon, The Monster That Challenged the World, ... Sealab 2020); and Scary Monsters' colossal staple, "Kaiju Corner."  

Indeed, Scary Monsters #138 may accentuate an older brand of entertainment, but for those who know and love such, nothing can compare. Scary Monsters ensures that the adoration prevails a hundredfold. 

Order at

https://www.mymoviemonsters.com/store.php/mymoviemonsters/pd10851452/_scary_monsters_138__fantastic_forgotten_frankenstein_films__preorder