So this is how gay men dressed to get married in 1953! Love it!!
Nowadays, they party afterwards with the Bear Community. Back then it was Gorilla Robots!
There is nothing Big Gay Horror Fan adores more right now than Phil Tucker’s Robot Monster from 1953! Starring homosexual matinee idol George Nader, this glorious mess features cheap desert locales, the use of stock dinosaur footage and rabidly passionate non-acting from much of its cast. (Although the matriarch is played by an actress named Selena Royle. That’s a moniker 1000 drag queens could have a field day with!) The hunky Nader, who was best friends with Rock Hudson in real life, spends much of the film’s 62 minute running time shirtless, as well.
Of course, much of this exercise’s camp appeal comes from the hilarious inappropriateness of its main alien villains – two guys in gorilla suits crowned with silver space helmets. Still, there are a couple parallels to better pictures that may give this film’s viewers a moment of pause. In a moment of Frankenstein solemnity, the film’s youngest heroine meets her downfall at the hands’ of one of the Ro-Man’s. Meanwhile, the film’s focus on the young Jimmy (Gregory Moffett) ultimately has many correlations with the arc of The Wizard of Oz‘s Dorothy.
Still, one has to wonder what was harder for the masculine Nader – keeping a straight face while filming this Golden Turkey winner or having to play straight to meet Hollywood’s ultra-aggressive ‘Code of Honor’? Unfortunately, I am guessing it was probably the latter.
Still, you can’t complain too much about the silly glories of Robot Monster! Check the trailer below!:
(Imagined) money, scientific appeal, a fine liquor collection – Big Gay Horror Fan knows that these things guarantee you nothing in the romance department. Too bad he wasn’t around to help James Hong’s Dr. Elson Po discover this before the bloody mayhem ensued in 1989’s hilariously fun The Vineyard.
Yes, Hong’s Po is a successful businessman with his own island estate, a fine winery and a way with acupuncture needles. But all that doesn’t keep his young wife, played by Lissa Zapperdino, out of the sexual clutches of his studly mechanic Mike, hunky stuntman Mark De Alessandro.
As Mike, De Alessandro (whom has worked on such features as Starship Troopers, The Mist and the Pulse series) shares a wink with Ho’s betrothed in the film’s early moments. Soon, they are enjoying an outdoor romp which features a nice shot of De Alessandro’s incredible physique – including an incredibly sexy stroll down the peripheries of his incredibly toned butt cheeks. Of course, Hong’s Po soon has his savage revenge on Mike – which indicates he probably didn’t need my help, anyhow.
Further pleasure in this insane mad scientist/zombie/kung-fu/samurai legend/kids in peril hybrid can be found within a couple of its cast members’ fascinating genre credits. The beautiful Karen Witter (Popcorn, The Hero and the Terror, Buried Alive, Out of the Dark, Midnight) heads the ensemble of young folks as (the awesomely named) Jezabel Fairchild with support from The Dead Pit’s Cheryl Lawson as the bugged out Claudia.
Mark – with clothes!
Throw in a flamboyant middle-aged European type who leads the kids to their doom, a supporting cast largely inspired by their ability to do stunts (many of whom never worked as performers again) and a moment or two of over-the-top drag action provided by dimwitted, muscle bound Brian (Sean Donahue) and it’s very clear that De Alessandro’s disrobing is part of one crazy stylistic wonder!
You can check out the hypnotic madness of The Vineyard at:
Be sure to check back here often for more explorations into the backside of horror!
Every morning, Big Gay Horror Fan’s creature-in-arms Deadly Johnson looks into the mirror and challenges the many demons that haunt him. Of course, the sounds that emerge from that confrontation are ear shatteringly monstrous, but perhaps nowhere near the beautiful onslaught of such powerful fright based bands as Legions of Raum and Menophobia!
Indeed, the slavishly pleasing Legions of Raum have a propulsive track roaring over the closing credits of body choppingly funny short The Leaf Blower Massacre. You can, also, keep up with their activity at http://www.facebook.com/#!/legionsofraum.
Menophobia, meanwhile, layer their pounding blasts of terror rock with distinctive layers and mood altering guitar chords. Their live show comes complete with scare costumes and a great interplay between the band members. Be sure to give them a glance at http://www.facebook.com/#!/Menophobia, as well.
Oh, how many days did Big Gay Horror Fan lounge around, wearing nothing but a loose fitting dress shirt, in his boyfriend’s college dorm room? Well – NONE!
Therefore, it’s wonderful that I can live vicariously through Kelli Maroney’s Joanne as seen in the 1984 blockbuster mini-series Celebrity.
Maroney, of course, is beloved by countless terror titans from her roles in such genre flicks as Night of the Comet, Chopping Mall, Not of this Earth and Zero Boys. But her eclectic talent has landed her in a variety projects over the years and Celebrity was a 3 part NBC must see event in the mid-80’s.
Her role as the first girlfriend of leading character Klebar Cantrall, enacted by soap favorite Ben Masters, is brief – encompassing one scene in the first episode, but she fills it with her characteristic spunk and sense of humor.
Celebrity, meanwhile, is noteworthy for its focus on one of national television’s most fully realized gay characters. As portrayed by breathtaking Joseph Bottoms (The Black Hole, Blind Date, Open House, The Intruder Within), Mack Crawford is an athlete-film star in the Rock Hudson mold. Tortured by his natural tendencies due to the story’s era (1950’s – 1970’s), Bottoms also brings a sense of proud defiance and self respect to the role.
Of course, all confident horror fiends can keep up with Maroney’s interesting activities at www.kellimaroney.com.
“Do you see that?”
“Yeah, but I don’t know what the ‘ho-ho’ that is.” – Doomed couple, The Leaf Blower Massacre
The melding of that ancient Doberman pincher and the top shelf of that rickety bookcase in Big Gay Horror Fan’s 8th grade shop class had absolutely nothing to do with a leaf blower. Swear! (It was actually probably because of the escaped mad scientist who was hired to teach that lab).
But thankfully, director/writer Anthony Cooney and co-producer/co-writer Josh Stephenson’s 12 minute The Leaf Blower Massacre is all about the mass destruction and murder caused by that titular instrument. Cooney finds hilarious ways to make a fairly innocuous garden tool into a weapon of mass slaughter while also playing homage to the 80’s video age and taking some mild jabs at misogyny in film, as well.
The film’s opening sequence is its proudest achievement with a truly funny kill scenario taking place in broad daylight in a nicely manicured city neighborhood. But, all the aspects of this adventurous short are well executed –from the soundtrack to the editing to the sharp witted surprise ending.
Impressively, the seemingly nonprofessional cast is also pretty on target – with everyone coming off fairly naturally. There is little of the awkward interplay here that usually comes from casting family and friends.
Be sure to keep up with all of the mind shattering garden mayhem of The Leaf Blower Massacre (which is currently riding the waves of various movie festivals) at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Theleafblowermassacre!
Big Gay Horror Fan, meanwhile, is always welcoming lovers of vicious lawn implements at http://www.facebook.com/#!/BigGayHorrorFan, as well!
Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!
If you are like Big Gay Horror Fan you are ALWAYS thinking about shopping. “What am I going to get myself for my birthday?” “What am I gonna buy myself for Christmas?” “What am I gonna to purchase because it’s Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday?!”
Thankfully, for all us grand consumers, there is Pretty Spooky Handmade! Stunningly cool owner Rachel Dysangco Thieme has designed awesome pins ‘n pendants, mirrors ‘n handbags and t-shirts galore – all crazily and imaginatively horror themed! Pretty Spooky has been an exciting presence at scare conventions across the country, but in the best news ever catogory, now the eclectic Thieme is stepping it up, online, too!
Hanging out on the sidelines while everybody else is seemingly having the major fun – this is a situation that Big Gay Horror Fan knows well.
Of course, awesome individuals like veteran character actress Fern Emmett (1896-1946) are able to rise, grandly, above such situations. With over 200 films to her credit, Emmett often made a strong impression in small (and frequently uncredited roles) in the golden age of horror.
Dying far too young from cancer, Emmett provided hysterical back-up to Monty Wooley during the final year of her life in 1946’s big budget exploration of Cole Porter in Night and Day. In an office setting, Wooley references her secretary character every time he sings the word Madame in the song “Ms. Otis Regrets”. Emmett’s arched eye acknowledgements of his gesture secure this sequence’s place as the fictionalized film’s highlight.
But, while she often decorated big budget projects with calculated humor, one of Emmett’s largest roles was in the PRC’s poverty row production of Dead Men Walk in 1943. Featuring horror regulars George Zucco and Dwight Frye, Emmett played Kate, a woman well aware of the undead experimentation occurring in her village. Of course, locals doubt her observations, chalking them up to grief stricken cries for help – until it is too late!
Thirteen years before this film, Emmett appeared in Majestic Pictures’ similar outing The Vampire Bat (1933), starring the elegant Lionel Atwill and the ever humbled Frye. Best known as one of the films that secured lead actress Fay Wray’s title as the original scream queen, Emmett has a couple scenes as Gertrude, the concerned companion of the film’s first female victim, an elderly woman of status.
Smaller roles in the Universal classics came towards the end of her life. In 1942’s fun and atmospheric The Mummy’s Tomb, Emmett plays dressmaker to the beautiful Elyse Knox’s Isobel, the film’s endangered heroine.
In 1943, Emmett achieved grand victimhood by taking one for genre goddess, Evelyn Ankers, whom was portraying Beth in Captive Wild Woman. As Aquanetta, in savage ape form, storms Beth’s room with murder on her mind, Emmett’s neighbor emerges from her room. Soon Emmett’s concerned citizen is meeting her squealing fate at the hairy hands of Aquanetta’s re-focused fury.
But, whether appearing just to enact a frenzied death throes or to offer up some quick comic goodness, Emmett always made a memorable presence – proving, that while her name may not rank up with there with the Garbo’s and Dietrich’s of her era, it certainly should.
Be sure to check back often as Big Gay Horror Fan frequently examines the glorious wonders of women in horror.
Big Gay Horror Fan spent his youth imagining he was a male version of The Young and the Restless’ Nikki, pursued by slobbering, wild eyed psychopaths with swarthy, rescue minded studs in hot pursuit. Then he was attacked by that Shakespeare quoting, green armed arsonist his freshmen year of college and being the dude in distress no longer seemed like such fun!
Meanwhile, multi-talented performer Gregg Marx spent his young adulthood enacting terror stricken plotlines as David Banning on Days of Our Lives (1981-1983). With its Salem Strangler, Salem Slasher and devil possession plotlines, Days proved, without a doubt, the correlation between daytime dramas and horror films.
Now, though, Marx has found success with his true love – singing. On the eve of bringing his tribute to Cole Porter to the Midwest, this genial entertainer agreed to chat about Porter (and his horrific struggles with pain) and his muse, 40’s genre icon Patricia Morison (Calling Dr. Death, Dressed to Kill). Of course, we also engaged in some chatter about his days in Salem when David Banning was the #1 most wanted, for more reasons than one!
BGHF: Hey, Gregg! I know we’re gonna talk about sophisticated stuff, so I’m hoping its okay that I’m not dressed in a tux or what-have-you.
Gregg: You’re not?!?
BGHF: No. I guess I’m a bit too punk rock for that.
Gregg: (laughs) You’re punk rock and we’re talking about Cole Porter!?
BGHF: C’mon! Cole Porter was totally punk! Just like Kurt Weill, Noel Coward and Lorenz Hart – all those guys! Besides, everybody loves Cole Porter!
Gregg: I know! I’ll say I’m doing a Cole Porter show and everybody says, “Oh, I love Cole Porter!” I think it’s obviously an individual thing for everybody. But for me I think, musically, he was brilliant. But, also no one wrote songs the way he wrote songs. The lyric and music together – he was just unique. And I think you’re right – he was a little bit punk for his time. He was breaking boundaries. He was definitely saying things in ways that I’m sure polite society was a little bit taken aback by. So maybe I like that –
BGHF: -The naughtiness?
Gregg: Well, the well dressed renegade, you know. – And the naughtiness, too, yeah. He did it with such class -and panache. This is a digression, but it was really fun for me. I live in LA and a friend of mine is also a singer who has a friend who is very good friends with a woman named Patricia Morison.
BGHF: I love her!
Gregg: You know her?
BGHF: She did tons of genre films in Hollywood in the 30’s and 40’s. Inner Sanctum, Sherlock Holmes, jungle flicks – she’s amazing! From what I gather, Hollywood didn’t quite know what to do with her and Porter kind of gave her a foundation.
Gregg: I knew that she had been Cole Porter’s pick to play on Broadway when they had done Kiss Me Kate. My friend said she’s 97 years old and she is still very vital and asked me if I wanted to meet her. So, we went over for an afternoon. We brought her cookies, which she loved, and we had tea with Patricia Morison! She lives in this high rise in a beautiful building. But I don’t think I looked out the window once because on this table is a picture from Cole Porter autographed to her – and here’s another letter from Cole Porter over there! She brought out these two photo albums when she was with Alfred Drake in Kiss Me Kate and with so and so and this person or that one. She was still stunningly beautiful and it was just literally like opening up a history book. I’ve always thought it would be such fun to hang with Cole Porter and this way I got the next best thing. It was quite extraordinary. I felt like I was literally with a living piece of history! Because she was there, man! It was great.
BGHF: Totally! One thing I found interesting was that due to a tragic accident, Porter lived much of his adult life in immense pain, but he created so much.
Gregg: He wrote over 1000 songs!
BGHF: Of course, they finally amputated the problem leg, later on in his life. I read that Noel Coward saw Porter’s physical relief and thought he would enter into his greatest period of writing. But he never really wrote again. One theory is that his sense of vanity was so crushed that he was unable to create.
Gregg: Who knows what was in his heart? I remember reading when he had that horseback riding accident, the doctors wanted to amputate then – this was a lot earlier in his life – and Linda (his wife) and his friends said absolutely not! It will kill him. It’ll kill his writing. So, they forestalled that and he went through all those years and years of pain and suffering. But, when they actually did, he apparently became literally so depressed – and I think Linda was gone at that point, as well, or no – close, she died after. But, still, I wouldn’t call it vanity. Maybe it was. It certainly seems that the life was taken out of him. Although, I think he kind of rallied, but I don’t think he wrote much at all afterwards – certainly nothing of note after that. The book that I read, a wonderful biography of him, described how people would come over for dinner and he just kind-of retreated into himself, I think. So, who knows? But try to put yourself in that position. Especially for someone who was very vital and — (laughs) who liked having young men to party with! It seems like it was a huge shift in his life that took a lot out of him – including his desire to write.
BGHF: Interesting. So, I know this is probably an impossible question – do you have a song or songs that you like to sing the most by Porter?
Gregg: Wow. There are a number of them. The very first song by Cole Porter that I learned was “Night and Day”. I have a very soft spot for that. Actually, it was a song that I made some breakthroughs as a singer just by tackling the material. So that one is very close to my heart. I, also, love “Just One of Those Things”. I love what he does with it, and so many songs. It’s this combination of wit and beauty and pathos. Also, I’d have to say “In the Still of the Night”. It’s far less jaunty than the others, but is stunningly beautiful – and simple. And deep, in a way, too. Those are three. There’s not one. I always dread it when someone says what’s your favorite —-. Who’s your favorite singer, you know. Well – God! If I were on a desert island who would I want serenading me? Well, okay. I’ll try figuring that one.
BGHF: Maybe you could have Susan Seaforth and Bill Hayes serenading you!
Gregg: (Laughs) Oh, I miss them. I haven’t talked to them in so long.
BGHF: Well, that was my none too subtle way of bringing us into your Days of Our Lives era! In an interview last year Barbara Crampton (Chopping Mall, ReAnimator, From Beyond), who has done tons of soaps and horror films including Days, noted that there was a huge crossover audience between the two genres. I think the time you spent on Days is a perfect example why. David Banning was accused of murder every other month it seems like!
Gregg: (laughs) Yeah, really.
BGHF: So many of the plotlines had horror angles, as well. The Salem Strangler, whom your character was accused of being at one point, especially.
Gregg: Oh, my god, that’s right.
BGHF: So what are your memories of that time? Is there anything that stands out?
Gregg: For me, other than a couple little commercial things I had done, that was my very first job. So, I was learning as I went. That was training on the job! I had not planned to be an actor at all. I had planned to be a lawyer. I sort of shifted gears right out of college. And it all happened relatively quickly. So, I was really soaking up things – hitting my mark, where is the light, where is my camera, what are my lines…It was a great experience, but it was really consuming. And the storylines on soap operas – especially at that time – were pretty preposterous. So, you just kind of had to go with it and learn how to justify it in your character’s and in your own heart and soul and brain. It was also a lot of fun because it certainly wasn’t boring, you know, like you mentioned the Salem Strangler. Also, I remember that not that long before I joined the show Bill and Susan were on the cover of Time Magazine. So, they were really soap opera royalty in a time when soap operas were huge! So, to be swept into that family and that world was really kind of heady. It was very exciting for me – and a little overwhelming at times, too.
BGHF: You worked with some amazing woman on that show, as well: Patty Weaver (Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It!”), Philece Sampler (The Incredible Hulk, live and animated) and poor Brenda Benet (The Terror at 37,000 Feet, countless classic television shows like The Girl From U.N.C.L.E. and I Dream Of Jeannie).
Gregg: So, you really know that time. When Brenda committed suicide that really rocked the world of our show. I don’t know if we ever really totally recovered from it. It was pretty intense. And Philece and I remain friends to this day. I see her every once in awhile. We have a really great friendship. I haven’t seen Patty Weaver in a long time. But we were really, really tight. When you think about it, it was a great time. I ended up enjoying my time on As The World Turns more as an actor because I had the experience of Days and I was more mature as an actor. I was able to work on a level that I hadn’t been able to when I was on Days – just by virtue of experience and time. But, both of them were very extraordinary experiences that I don’t take for granted.
BGHF: Just like we don’t take all the joy you’ve given us for granted, either!
Gregg: Why – thanks!
BGHF: Although, I don’t know if Alex Marshall would agree!
Check out a clip from Day’s Salem Strangler escapades (featuring Marx, Benet and Sampler) here:
Marx, meanwhile, will be in Chicago on February 14th and 15th, 2013 doing his amazing cabaret show at Davenports (www.davenportspianobar.com), 1383 N. Milwaukee. Tickets are $20 with a two drink minimum – with a 2 for 1 being offered on the 14th for Valentine’s Day revelers.
Thankfully, the only dangerous experiments that Big Gay Horror Fan suffered through as a child were his mother’s efforts in the kitchen! Director/writer Tony Wash’s explosive short A Chance in Hell, though, explores some insidious experimentation gone wrong with body chewing results.
A haunting opening sequence details how a mad WWII Nazi doctor and his brainy tinkering with a young Jewish girl bring about a zombie apocalypse. This is not so bad for the Nazi’s – who deserve everything that they get. But, it does have some unfortunate consequences for a group of young American soldiers who find themselves up against some vicious undead German enemies.
Taking place in a (mostly) abandoned warehouse, this second feature from Wash and the inventive Scotchworthy productions is rich with atmosphere and perfect 1940’s period mayhem. This has won the piece much notice and a handful of greatly deserved awards (Best Short at the 2012 Action on Film Festival and at the 2011 Chicago Horror Film Festival).
Director Wash works with simplicity and focus here. The growth from his first, fun feature It’s My Party and I’ll Die If I Want To is substantial, leaving one truly looking forward to his further efforts. He is greatly aided here by director of photography, Mitch Martinez, and art director, Andrew Nathan Anzen.
Meanwhile, Kyle Anthony Silveira, Kevin Zaideman, Bradley Fowler and Doug Heiar all excel as the combative yet frightened Yank military troupe while Chad Meyer’s spooky Dr. Bucher rivals them with evil intensity. It is Kendyl Lynch as the doomed and deadly girl who makes the grandest impression, though. Her zombie child is haunting and scary, at once. She leaves a lasting impression and the hope that we haven’t seen the last of this fascinating character.
Both A Chance in Hell and It’s My Party and I’ll Die If I Want To are available for purchase from www.scotchworthy.com.
You can, also, view the official trailer for A Chance In Hell here:
Big Gay Horror Fan can count the jaw-dropping moments of his youth on one finger: the moment he witnessed dreamy man-on-the-job Tim Matheson hop out of bed with a young Meg Tilly (One Dark Night, Psycho II, Body Snatchers) in 1984’s environmental horror opus Impulse – and walk across the room butt naked!
Matheson and Tilly portray a boyfriend and girlfriend who return to a small town gone crazy due to a crisis in her family. A toxin spill has turned old mom suicidal and soon Matheson’s Stuart is affected as well. This edge turns decidedly creepy when he takes up a small town Lolita’s offer for oral pleasure.
The other true notable in this ABC Motion Pictures’ production is the legendary Hume Cronyn’s (1943’s Phantom of the Opera, Hitchcock’s Lifeboat) decidedly creepy turn as the town doctor. Meanwhile, Bill Paxton rivals similar early turns in Mortuary, Night Warning and television slasher Deadly Lessons by showing up as another twisted townsperson.
But while those performances deserve mention from a creative standpoint, for those remembering their man starved youths, this film still resonates for another reason. It will always be Matheson’s cheeky jaunt across the floor that makes this portrayal of psyches gone astray one of most memorable viewing moments of our still explorative lives!
You can check out an electronic scored trailer for Impulse here:
Then be sure to check back often for further explorations into revealing acts of male flesh in fright flicks.
Still, one has to wonder what was harder for the masculine Nader – keeping a straight face while filming this Golden Turkey winner or having to play straight to meet Hollywood’s ultra-aggressive ‘Code of Honor’? Unfortunately, I am guessing it was probably the latter. 
Big Gay Horror Fan 