Music to Make Horror Movies By: Barbara Stanwyck

Published September 8, 2019 by biggayhorrorfan

One of the most distinctive and skilled of the golden age performers, Barbara Stanwyck excelled in dramas (Stella Dallas, My Reputation), gritty noir classics (Double Indemnity, The File on Thelma Jordan) and comedy (Ball of Fire, Christmas in Connecticut). Several of the films that she embraced with her throaty presence in the ‘40s and ‘50s, including the tautly melodramatic Two Mrs. Carrolls and the chilling Sorry, Wrong Number, also featured significant elements of the horror canon.

Nicely, she fully embraced the genre in such latter day projects as William Castle’s The Night Walker and ‘70s television films like A Touch of Evil and The House That Would Not Die (above).

As with many silver screen damsels with numerous credits, a percentage of her saucy, hardened characters sang. Occasionally, she was dubbed by more skilled vocalists. But with projects such as the fun and frisky Lady of Burlesque, her own whisky tones were allowed to sell the tune.

Nicely, https://www.barbara-stanwyck.com/, a fan created site, plays eternal homage to this one of a kind icon and golden throat nominee.

Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

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Music to Make Horror Movies By: Lena Horne

Published June 9, 2019 by biggayhorrorfan

She is the essence of smooth cool… a proud performer whose reign at MGM in the ‘40s was compromised by racism. She held her head high, though, and after tiring of being used predominantly in specialty numbers (that were often cut out of the pictures in the southern states), she triumphantly returned to concert halls and cabarets to make her living.

Simply stated, Lena Horne is a goddess and while her connection to horror films is limited to the use of her music in an episode of American Horror Story, her uncompromising stance in the face of adversity is something that every genre lover can admire.

Her take on The Beatles’ Rocky Raccoon also points out the fact that no style was immune to her charms. She most definitely would have made a sophisticated yet sassy rock n roller!

She would have punked out with a humanitarian edge, though. In one of her final interviews before her death in 2010 at the age of 92, Horne kept on insisting that the way to true success was to “Just be nice to people”…”Just be nice to people!” Let’s take her advice and keep her magnetic spirit alive for decades to come!

Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

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Hopelessly Devoted To: Julie Strain

Published August 11, 2018 by biggayhorrorfan

It is hard to think of a cult figure that has been more impactful than the glorious Julie Strain. After a tragic equestrian accident, this 6’1” beauty transformed herself from a thin beauty into an Amazonian goddess. She then went on to conquer the worlds of late night cable and print media proving, behind a doubt, that we are all capable of doing anything when we put our minds to it. This hard won success, nicely, has made her a true inspiration to anyone who has felt slighted or ignored or misjudged…a true champion for the underdog and the unappreciated.

Coming on like Jane Russell for the midnight set, Strain has well over 100 movie credits including such mainstream fare as Out for Justice, Double Impact, Beverly Hills Cop 3 and Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult. While she eventually made her cultural mark as one of the boldest bad-asses in Andy and Arlene Sidaris’ series of beloved female charged action adventure projects, she has made many other notable appearances, as well.

For instance, only someone of Strain’s magnitude could effectively play a Lovecraftian creature…something she did to menacingly aerobatic effect in The Unnameable II.

This goddess with the raven tresses also proved to be quite lethal in the noir-esque Starstruck. Throwing off an aura of hypnotic destruction, she provided a slinky ambience to the hardboiled action here…and her watery fade-out provides the proceedings with a memorable aquatic twist.

Her most amusing work, on the other hand, may have occurred in How to Make a Monster, a remake of a classic ‘50s monster fest, which allowed her to play an over-the-top, extremely demanding version of herself. Her committed and enthusiastic work in Delta Delta Die! also rates high on the humor scales, with Strain’s maniacal Marilyn Fitch stealing the show as she madly grinds up frat boys into meat soufflés.

Subtler and deeper work is nicely provided by this icon in Magus, one of her last acting roles. Playing the spiritually sensitive Madame Zelda, Strain connects with softness and concern, proving that her range, despite her comic book athleticism, is a wide one. This along with her enthusiastic love for her fans and often self-deprecating humor truly makes this celluloid exploitation goddess one for the ages.

Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

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