QUATERMASS AND THE PIT: A CLASSIC MONSTERS OF THE MOVIES TRIBUTE

Classic Monsters of the Movies' authors Nige Burton, Jamie Jones and John (Penny Dreadful/Gladiator) Logan turn to Hammer's Quatermass series, with its third, adapted entry, 1967's Quatermass and the Pit (aka Five Million Years to Earth). 

The Martian-oriented thriller is tense, sophisticated and creepy, first revealing the fossils of anthropoids dug from out a subterranean sector, later to unveil a strange vessel, inside which are preserved, insectoids with a telekinetic draw. What was (is) the creatures' intent? The answers are part of what makes Quatermass and the Pit so fascinating and unsettling. 

The in-depth text covers the movie's making, beginning with the 1958-1959, BBC miniseries to its development as a big-screen, color sequel to Hammer's prior, Brian Dunlevy-led set, The Quatermass Xperiment (The Creeping Unknown) and Quatermass II (Enemy From Space). 

The third chapter's mastermind and Professor Bernard Quatermass' creator, writer Nigel Kneale, and its skillful director, Roy Ward (Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde/Scars of Dracula) Baker, are supported by their standout cast, with Andrew Keir in the titular role, reuniting with his Dracula: Prince of Darkness costar, Barbara Shelley, along with James Donald, Julian Glover, Edwin Richfield, Grant Taylor, Duncan Lamont, Peter Copley and Bryan Marshall. 

Plentiful trivia and quotes bracket this superb "ultimate edition," establishing it as a reference guide to treasure. It's so fulfilling that I'm hoping Classic Monsters will now jump back and detail the prior, Hammer, Quatermass chapters.

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THE BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW: A CLASSIC MONSTERS OF THE MOVIES TRIBUTE

A standout in folk horror is Piers (The Outcasts/Venom 1981/The Fiendish Plot of Fu Manchu) Haggard's 1971 contribution, (The) Blood on Satan's Claw. 

The Hammer-styled, Cannon Film's release is commemorated by Classic Monsters of the Movies' writers/researchers Nige Burton and Jamie Jones in a 36-page, high-stock, deluxe edition, which leaves no sinful stone unturned when covering the 18th-century-based, rustic fable. (For example, how many know that the movie commenced as an anthology?) 

The plot, coscripted by Haggard with Robert (The Outcasts/The Judgment of Albion) Wynne-Simmons, underscores Burton & Jones' text, where a farmer disinters an "inhuman" corpse that the neighboring, young people believe harbors a advantageous, dark spirit. In the wake of its manifestation, a foreshadowing, demonic possession occurs, as well as a horrific, self-mutilation, underscored by a lass named Angel Blake, who harbors the corpse's "claw" and applies ritualistic telepathy to spur hideous, hairy splotches on the villagers' skin. They're compelled to cut these marks from their flesh and offer them to the reconstructing apparition. This leaves those yet unmarked to cower, but a haughty yet disciplined judge defies the supernatural coercion, marching forth to purge the community of Satan's hold. 

Much of Satan's Claw's springs from its cast: Linda (Taste the Blood of Dracula/Madhouse/Night Watch/Vampira/Queen Kong) Hayden (who submits a potent, nude scene), Barry (Dracula Has Risen from the Grave/The Spy Who Loved Me/Doctor Who) Andrews; Patrick (Witchfinder General/Dr. Syn/Children of the Damned/The Skull/Repulsion) Wymark; Tamara (The Last Horror Movie/Blood From the Mummy's Tomb) Ustinov, Michele (And Soon the Darkness/Late Night Horror/The Witches) Dotrice; Howard (Berserk!/The Evil of Frankenstein/To the Devil a Daughter/Crucible of Horror) Goorney; Simon (Agony/The Uncanny) Williams; Robin (If.../Catweazle/Warship) Davies, Wendy (Doctor Who/Freewheelers) Padbury; Anthony (Doctor Who/You Only Live Twice/The Land That Time Forgot) Ainley; Charlotte (Village of the Damned/The Adventures of Black Beauty) Mitchell; as well as other, stately performers, met by pleasing biographies, including such contributors as cinematographer Dick (Twins of Evil/Dracula A.D. 1972/Phase IV/The Sorcerers) Bush and producer Tony (The Creeping Flesh/The Blood Beast Terror/Repulsion/The Sorcerers) Tenser, whose know-how accentuates the production's idyllic menace.  

As with other Classic Monsters releases, Burton and Jones share insightful trivia and quotes from the entry, while uplifting their thorough text with vibrant stills and publicity tie-ins. 

Satan's Claw has been too often overlooked by certain, foolhardy sectors, but despite its occasional flaws (and what movie is devoid of such?), it does deserve full, "classic" designation; many thanks to Burton and Jones for giving it the high, devilish designation it deserves. 

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AN AMICUS HISTORY: A CLASSIC MONSTERS OF THE MOVIES TRIBUTE

Amicus Studios: The name thrives in the chilled annals of all serious, horror aficionados, having commenced under the Vulcan label for The City of the Dead (aka Horror Hotel), only to become a consistent, Hammer competitor, which employed Hammer stars (Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Ingrid Pitt, Michael Gough, Herbert Lom, Dave Prowse, Thorley Walters ... Milton Reed) for its profitable anthologies. 

The Milton Subotsky/Max J. Rosenburg brainchild even produced a stylish, Jekyll/Hyde variant (with Lee), a fictionalized, horror-actor, grudge match (with Cushing, Vincent Price and Robert Quarry), a horror/science-fiction mashup based on a Peter Saxon novel (with Cushing, Lee and Price) and even a couple, colorful, Cushing-led, Doctor Who reduxes. In the 1970s, the company would become the prime purveyor of Edgar Rice Burroughs adaptations, headlined by Doug McClure and Patrick Wayne.

To honor Amicus and its many wondrous works, Classic Monsters of the Movies' skillful writers/researchers Nige Burton and Jamie Jones have constructed a loving, 84-page, illustrated tribute, bridged by striking stills and illustrations. 

For the company's fruitful anthologies, the edition covers Dr. Terror's House of Horrors, (Dr. Diablo's) Torture Garden, The House That Dripped Blood, Asylum, From Beyond the Grave, Tales from the Crypt and Vault of Horror. 

On the full-story, theatrical front, the authors reference The Beast Must Die (Black Werewolf), I, Monster; Madhouse, The Skull, Scream and Scream Again, And Now the Screaming Starts!, The Terrornauts, They Came from Beyond Space, The Psychopath, The Mind of Mr. Soames (with Terence Stamp and Robert Vaughn) and of course, Doctor Who and the Daleks and Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.

Then there's a nutritious inspection of the Burroughs-spun At the Earth's Core, The Land That Time Forgot and The People That Time Forgot. 

Beyond a doubt, Amicus' big-name lineups and pulp-ish scripting are celebrated with utmost respect through each chapter, with special insight granted toward the company's shrewd, financial and distribution methodologies. In other words, Classic Monsters' comprehensive curation is one that Amicus devotees have been waiting for: a voluminous, encyclopedic volume that they'll return to for years to come. 

Don't miss out. Order Classic Monsters of the Movies: Amicus, an Illustrated History at

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YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN: A CLASSIC MONSTERS OF THE MOVIES TRIBUTE

As authors/historians Nige Burton and Jamie Jones did with their commemorative, Abbott & Costello, monster team-up issues, they now toss the spotlight on Mel Brooks' love letter to Universal's Frankenstein movies.

Classic Monsters of the Movies' Young Frankenstein is an impressive, 36-page look at one of the best, comedic homages ever rendered, as it reaches its 50th year of release. 

In truth, Young Frankenstein is a spoof of the first, three chapters in the Universal, Frankenstein franchise, lifting much of its storyline from the third installment, Son of ..., where a well-intending, Frankenstein descendent returns home to resume the family way, though in this instance, prompting a terrifying avalanche of guffaws. 

Accompanying Brooks' snappy direction and uproarious script, cowritten with the ingenious Gene Wilder, who plays the energetic Frederick Frankenstein, the movie used black-and-white as its palette, brought to electrifying life by cinematographer Gerald Hirshfeld. And speaking of electrifying, Young Frankenstein also made use of Kenneth Strickfaden's amazing equipment, which was used in the Universal franchise.   

Young Frankenstein's cast was a big part of its success, and in addition to the aforementioned Wilder, Burton and Jones offer biographies on Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, Teri Garr, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, Gene Hackman and Kenneth Mars. 

The Young Frankenstein, special edition also includes fascinating trivia and "Quotable Quotes," plus a powerhouse queue of photos, including some in color, all presented on high-stock paper.  

Other comedy movies have dared to emulate Young Frankenstein's tongue-in-cheek formula, but Brooks and Wilder's brainchild remains the undisputed champ in both style and endearing cheer. 

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