Horror Mash-Up: Fay Wray and Farley Granger

Published March 23, 2019 by biggayhorrorfan

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As with many superstars, Mary Astor and Constance Bennett among them, King Kong’s expressive Fay Wray found herself playing mothers of grown daughters onscreen far too soon. Nicely, Wray finds plenty of moments to bring a sense of charm and joy to her Mrs. Gordon Kimbell – no first name given!!! – in the 1953 MGM musical Small Town Girl.

Mothering musical sensation Jane Powell as she romances Farley Granger’s society playboy (while simultaneously wrangling her way through the rest of her loved one’s strong personalities), Wray is able to show moments of exasperated tenderness over her brood’s foibles and eccentricities while providing evidence that she is the force that keeps her family on the right track. Small Farley

Terror celebrants, meanwhile, will be pleased to see Wray, whose other horror credits include Doctor X and Mystery in the Wax Museum, share a scene or two with Granger. Granger, who proves here that he was one of the most striking presences in the Golden Age of Hollywood, is well known for his work in Hitchcock’s homoerotic masterpieces, Rope and Strangers on a Train. Besides that amazing contribution to the legacy of dark cinema, this eclectic specimen appeared in a variety of Giallo enterprises (So Sweet, So Dead, Something Creeping in the Dark, What Have They Done to Your Daughters?) and enlivened the beloved 1981 slasher The Prowler, which is highlighted by Tom Savini’s gruesome effects work.

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

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Music to Make Horror Movies By: Nina Mae McKinney

Published March 3, 2019 by biggayhorrorfan

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Best known to old school horror and jungle movie fans for playing the revenge fueled Isabelle in 1939’s The Devil’s Daughter, the glorious Nina Mae McKinney was originally supposed to be MGM’s first black female superstar. Despite a glorious debut in King Vidor’s Hallelujah, the prejudice of the time cancelled out McKinney’s obvious appeal. The five year contract with Hollywood’s glossiest studio only led to a few loan out roles and an opportunity to provide the singing voice for Jean Harlow in the musical melodrama Reckless. Nina Devils Daughter 1

Thankfully, McKinney’s contribution to that picture is not lost to time.

McKinney, who died of a heart attack at the age of 54 in 1967, has been, thankfully, regaled by cinematic historians like Donald Bogle. But one still wishes that her potential could have truly been met. A role playing Harlow’s rival, instead of one behind the scenes, would have truly been a breathtaking addition to her legacy.

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

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Unsung Heroines of Horror: Myrna Dell

Published February 23, 2019 by biggayhorrorfan

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She was one of the beautiful background players in MGM’s Ziegfeld Girl. She also, famously, wound up on the shaky side of George Brent’s murderous rage in the classy Gothic horror The Spiral Staircase.

But the stunning Myrna Dell was perhaps best known for playing a series of sassy ladies in television westerns and adventure shows. A prime example of her sharp talent occurred on an episode of Jungle Jim opposite Johnny Weissmuller. As Mickey Worth, a hardened carnival owner, she proved her mettle by taking the character from ruthless business woman to sentimental society dame. Myrna Dell Jungle Jim

Nicely, Skip Lowe conducted an amazing and informative interview with Dell in 1990. Those who appreciate the favors of old Hollywood and the dynamic women that populated it, will find much to adore here.

This charming conversation also proves that Dell, who passed away in 2011, is truly deserving of rediscovery…a unsung heroine of not just horror films but cinema, in general.

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

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Music to Make Horror Movies By: June Allyson

Published January 13, 2019 by biggayhorrorfan

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June Allyson was the girl that every G.I. wanted to marry. Her sweet presence provided a happy glow to many 1940’s musical-romances. But ever a true performer, her roles in the ‘70s showed a darker depth. She found the emotional heart of a vengeful bisexual in the Giallo style murder mystery They Only Kill Their Masters, giving the film’s final moments an understated punch. The television film The Curse of the Black Widow provided a bit more of the fun side of horror with Allyson’s Olga getting the sticky end of an old family curse.

But even in supernatural circumstances, this Golden Age icon was always accessible. Anyone with an ounce of humanity and self doubt could definitely relate to Allyson’s sorrowful take on Just Imagine from Good News, one of her most popular projects.

Allyson, who passed away in 2006 at the age of 88, is forever (and rightly) being celebrated at http://www.juneallyson.com/.

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

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