As reported by the New York Times, on March 8, 2023, prolific B-movie filmmaker Bert I. Gordon passed away at his home in Los Angeles. He was 100 years old.
Bert I. Gordon is a name many may not be familiar with unless they were prone to visiting drive-in theaters in the 1950s, staying up late and watching monster movies on Uhf TV in the 1980s, or were paying attention to "Mystery Science Theater 3000" in the 1990s. Gordon was the director behind such low-budget classics as 1955's "King Dinosaur," 1957's "The Amazing Colossal Man," its sequel from the next year, "War of the Colossal Beast," the 1965 outsized J.D. flick, "Village of the Giants," the 1976 H.G. Wells adaptation, "Food of the Gods," and the 1976 giant ant film "Empire of the Ants." One might note that all the films listed above involve giants of some stripe. One might also want to take note of Bert I.
Bert I. Gordon is a name many may not be familiar with unless they were prone to visiting drive-in theaters in the 1950s, staying up late and watching monster movies on Uhf TV in the 1980s, or were paying attention to "Mystery Science Theater 3000" in the 1990s. Gordon was the director behind such low-budget classics as 1955's "King Dinosaur," 1957's "The Amazing Colossal Man," its sequel from the next year, "War of the Colossal Beast," the 1965 outsized J.D. flick, "Village of the Giants," the 1976 H.G. Wells adaptation, "Food of the Gods," and the 1976 giant ant film "Empire of the Ants." One might note that all the films listed above involve giants of some stripe. One might also want to take note of Bert I.
- 3/9/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Mean-spirited ‘Bad Movie’ satirists forget that production values aren’t everything, even if the collected works of Barry Mahon and Coleman Francis say otherwise. This threadbare backyard production has ‘endearing’ written all over it. I judge many independent movies to be like picture puzzles with pieces missing, and this one is missing a Lot of them. But back when the drive-in was king, there was hope for just about any picture with a determined producer. The Last Time We Saw Arch Hall (we never saw him a first time), he may have been cooking up a sequel to this maladroit teenage caveman epic … if only he hadn’t killed off his main character. But this Turkey actually performed in release: Eegah would rate its niche in film history even if Richard Kiel hadn’t become a star in James Bond movies. Don’t miss the Trade Paper clipping feature at the bottom of the review.
- 11/9/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Article by Mark Longden
David A. Prior is one of those people who filled up video shelves for us back in the days of Blockbuster. If you’re a normal movie fan, chances are you passed over one of his incredibly generic sounding titles while looking for something else; if you’re a cult movie nerd, then you’ll have probably seen “Deadly Prey” and you might be interested in what happened to him and his actor brother Ted. Either way, hope you enjoy this retrospective.
When you watch the movies of David A Prior, you’re struck by the sense that, like so many famous / notorious low-budget directors, his personal obsessions are aired out over and over again. They feel more personal than the sort of thing you’re going to see at a multiplex, and while that doesn’t make them good, it at least makes them interesting.
David A. Prior is one of those people who filled up video shelves for us back in the days of Blockbuster. If you’re a normal movie fan, chances are you passed over one of his incredibly generic sounding titles while looking for something else; if you’re a cult movie nerd, then you’ll have probably seen “Deadly Prey” and you might be interested in what happened to him and his actor brother Ted. Either way, hope you enjoy this retrospective.
When you watch the movies of David A Prior, you’re struck by the sense that, like so many famous / notorious low-budget directors, his personal obsessions are aired out over and over again. They feel more personal than the sort of thing you’re going to see at a multiplex, and while that doesn’t make them good, it at least makes them interesting.
- 9/13/2018
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The last time Heidi Hanson talked to her daughter Grace Sulak, the 14-year-old varsity runner was heading back from a track meet with her best friend. Grace told her mom in a text that they were excited to stop at Which Wich, their favorite sandwich place, on the drive home.
She never made it: Before nightfall, Grace was killed in a hit-and-run that remains unsolved.
The driver who killed her — and severely injured her best friend, Emma, and Emma’s mom after sending their car careening head-on into a tree — has never been identified.
“I don’t know what kind...
She never made it: Before nightfall, Grace was killed in a hit-and-run that remains unsolved.
The driver who killed her — and severely injured her best friend, Emma, and Emma’s mom after sending their car careening head-on into a tree — has never been identified.
“I don’t know what kind...
- 11/8/2016
- by Adam Carlson
- PEOPLE.com
With a title like this you know it has to be good. Irvin Kershner got his start directing on this small-scale tale of kids and crime. Jonathan Haze and Abby Dalton are standouts in the cast, while the uncredited executive producer who put up the cash is said to have been Roger Corman. It's a beautiful widescreen transfer -- the film was one of the first features shot by Haskell Wexler, who is also uncredited. Stakeout on Dope Street DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection 1958 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 83 min. / Street Date June 22, 2016 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring Yale Wexler, Jonathon Haze, Morris Miller (Stever Marlo), Abby Dalton, Allen Kramer, Herman Rudin, Philip Mansour, Andrew J. Fenady, Herschel Bernardi, Coleman Francis. Cinematography Mark Jeffrey (Haskell Wexler) Film Editor Melvin Sloan Original Music Richard Markowitz Story and Screenplay by Andrew J. Fenady, Irvin Kershner, Irvin Schwartz Produced by Andrew J. Fenady Directed...
- 9/25/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Auteur Harold 'P.' Warren puts the Pee back in showmanship! After seeing this frightless Texan fright show you'll want to nominate Ed Wood for a posthumous Oscar. It's popular beyond all comprehension. The intrepid disc producers provide great extras, but can't quite make us understand Why it is the Landmark Lemon of all time. "Manos" the Hands of Fate Blu-ray Synapse Special Edition 1966 / Color / 1:33 flat / 74 min. / Street Date October 13, 2015 / 24.95 Starring Tom Neyman, John Reynolds, Diane Adelson, Harold P. Warren, Jackey Neyman, William Bryan Jennings. Cinematography attempted by Robert Guidry Film randomly assembled by Ernie Smith, James Sullivan This original Music is, ah, really original! Russ Huddleston, Robert Smith Jr. Evidence confirms that "Manos" was Produced Written and Directed by Harold P. Warren
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Ah joy! Finally -- a movie that invites all the cheap-shot insults that Savant must normally stifle. What follows is all in good fun.
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
Ah joy! Finally -- a movie that invites all the cheap-shot insults that Savant must normally stifle. What follows is all in good fun.
- 4/2/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
This is my film review and it Freaks Me Out! Girlie-art legend Russ Meyer and then- tyro critic Roger Ebert fashion the most garish, vulgar and absurd satire of wild Hollywood that they can think of, a camp vision of joy straight from the dizzy imagination of a breast-obsessed glamour photographer. All your favorites are here -- Erica Gavin, Dolly Read, Marcia McBroom, Cynthia Meyers, Edy Williams. Beyond the Valley of the Dolls + The Seven Minutes Region B Blu-ray + Pal DVD Arrow Video (UK) 1970 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 109 min. / Street Date January 18, 2016 / Available from Amazon UK £17.99 Starring Dolly Read, Cynthia Meyers, Marcia McBroom, Erica Gavin, John Lazar, Michael Blodgett, David Gurian, Edy Williams, Phyllis Davis, Harrison Page, Duncan McLeod, Charles Napier, Haji, Pam Grier, Coleman Francis, The Strawberry Alarm Clock. Cinematography Fred J. Koenecamp Editors Dann Cahn, Dick Wormell Original Music Stu Phillips Written by Roger Ebert, Russ Meyer Produced and...
- 1/26/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Everyone’s a critic. Yeah, that’s a cliched statement, but it’s true. It’s human nature. We can’t help it. And it’s especially true among us pop culture nerds. We spend years devouring movies, TV, novels and comic books to develop our palettes. So, we think we have a pretty good idea of what quality material is. And we also think we have a good idea of what sucks.
Look anywhere on the internet, and you’ll find lists of directors who are considered bad. Directors that lack any real vision, are catering to what’s wrong with the movie going public today or who just seem to be making movies for a paycheck. The directors that I’m going to talk about today are typically on those lists. Michael Bay, Eli Roth, Roland Emmerich…they’re all here.
These directors receive so much hate that...
Look anywhere on the internet, and you’ll find lists of directors who are considered bad. Directors that lack any real vision, are catering to what’s wrong with the movie going public today or who just seem to be making movies for a paycheck. The directors that I’m going to talk about today are typically on those lists. Michael Bay, Eli Roth, Roland Emmerich…they’re all here.
These directors receive so much hate that...
- 3/21/2013
- by KC Mobley
- Obsessed with Film
New Orleans -- Grammy-winning jazz singer Al Jarreau will perform in New Orleans at a concert benefiting Xavier University, one of the nation's only historically black and Roman Catholic colleges.
This will be the fourth year a concert has been held for the Dr. Norman C. Francis Endowed Scholarship Fund, a program named after the university's president. The fund allows deserving students to earn a college degree regardless of their finances.
The concert is scheduled for Friday night. The first such concert was held three years ago to commemorate Francis' 40th anniversary as Xavier's president.
Besides Jarreau – who has won Grammy awards in jazz, pop and R&B – New Orleans native and 1980 Xavier graduate John Boutte is also scheduled to perform.
This will be the fourth year a concert has been held for the Dr. Norman C. Francis Endowed Scholarship Fund, a program named after the university's president. The fund allows deserving students to earn a college degree regardless of their finances.
The concert is scheduled for Friday night. The first such concert was held three years ago to commemorate Francis' 40th anniversary as Xavier's president.
Besides Jarreau – who has won Grammy awards in jazz, pop and R&B – New Orleans native and 1980 Xavier graduate John Boutte is also scheduled to perform.
- 11/18/2011
- by AP
- Huffington Post
So, folks…I’ve been pretty lazy in my necessary duties as a staffer at the Liberal Dead. I don’t really pull my weight and even though I’m not doing this for pay or anything like that, I do feel consequences whenever I don’t pitch in. And it’s not because of my editors or anything—no, every single person at Liberal Dead is a great person who understands that I’m a busy man. I still feel like I have an obligation, however, to present my corner of weirdo horror cinema to you, the reader. As a result, it’s time for me to make it up to you. Simple sex won’t suffice. We’re going straight-out clusterfuck on this one. I present unto you as many reviews as I can do in one weekend, in one big, snappy package. I hope it’s enough.
- 10/16/2011
- by Adam Bezecny
- The Liberal Dead
One of the best television seires around was the quirky MST3K. Shout! Factory has announced the August 16 release of Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Unearthly and Mystery Science Theater 3000: Red Zone Cuba, available exclusively at here and here. Customers who purchase both titles from Shout! Factory will receive a MST3K Stress Ball. Both DVDs are currently on sale for $14.99 each, as are all the previously released MST3K single-disc DVDs from Shout! Factory. In Mystery Science Theater 3000: Red Zone Cuba, Director Coleman Francis cements his status as unofficial MST3K muse with this 1966 film about escaped convicts who volunteer to fight in the Bay of Pigs. Needless to say, the movie was about...
- 8/1/2011
- by April MacIntyre
- Monsters and Critics
I feel as if this Mystery Science Theater 3000 review is the toughest one I’ve ever had to do. Not because the films themselves are hard to review. I’m one in the belief that MST3K works on so many levels and am always in the mood to watch the gang rip into some of the shittiest films in the history of filmdom. To review the films would be benign, mainly because do you review the films themselves or do you review the content of the comedy? And how can one review comedy in general?
Mystery Science Theater 3000 Volume Xviii has some of the best episodes, one of which I had forgotten existed up until watching it again. Shame on me, I know. The films are Lost Continent, Crash of the Moons, The Beast of Yucca Flats and Jack Frost (no, it’s not the Michael Keaton film...
Mystery Science Theater 3000 Volume Xviii has some of the best episodes, one of which I had forgotten existed up until watching it again. Shame on me, I know. The films are Lost Continent, Crash of the Moons, The Beast of Yucca Flats and Jack Frost (no, it’s not the Michael Keaton film...
- 9/6/2010
- by James McCormick
- CriterionCast
The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the Fred Weekend Shopping Guide - your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…
(Please support Fred by using the links below to make any impulse purchases - it helps to keep us going…)
Shout Factory has settled into a pleasantly clockwork schedule of releasing new sets, but I still greet Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume Xviii (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$59.97 Srp) with delight, because it means more episodes have made it out. This go round, we get Lost Continent, Crash Of The Moons, The Beast Of Yucca Flats, and Jack Frost. Bonus materials include new intros from Kevin Murphy & Frank Conniff,...
(Please support Fred by using the links below to make any impulse purchases - it helps to keep us going…)
Shout Factory has settled into a pleasantly clockwork schedule of releasing new sets, but I still greet Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume Xviii (Shout Factory, Not Rated, DVD-$59.97 Srp) with delight, because it means more episodes have made it out. This go round, we get Lost Continent, Crash Of The Moons, The Beast Of Yucca Flats, and Jack Frost. Bonus materials include new intros from Kevin Murphy & Frank Conniff,...
- 7/16/2010
- by UncaScroogeMcD
The Rifftrax crew is about to embark on a massive effort to perform a live show in more than 400 theaters across the country. And, they'll do it all in one night.
Mystery Science Theater 3000 alumni Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett have joined forces with Fathom Events to present Rifftrax Live: Plan 9 from Outer Space. On Aug. 20, Rifftrax will present an evening of live riffing, originating from Nashville, Tenn. and beaming into movie theaters nationwide at 8 Pm Et, 7 Pm Ct, 6 Pm Mt, and a tape delayed 8 Pm Pt.
The trio will take on what some say is the worst film of all time, Plan 9. Of course, only people who haven't seen Manos: The Hands of Fate or anything directed by Coleman Francis would give Ed Wood's anti-classic that honor. But, Plan 9 offers the Rifftrax guys more than enough ammunition.Continue reading Rifftrax: The TV...
Mystery Science Theater 3000 alumni Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett have joined forces with Fathom Events to present Rifftrax Live: Plan 9 from Outer Space. On Aug. 20, Rifftrax will present an evening of live riffing, originating from Nashville, Tenn. and beaming into movie theaters nationwide at 8 Pm Et, 7 Pm Ct, 6 Pm Mt, and a tape delayed 8 Pm Pt.
The trio will take on what some say is the worst film of all time, Plan 9. Of course, only people who haven't seen Manos: The Hands of Fate or anything directed by Coleman Francis would give Ed Wood's anti-classic that honor. But, Plan 9 offers the Rifftrax guys more than enough ammunition.Continue reading Rifftrax: The TV...
- 8/15/2009
- by John Scott Lewinski
- Aol TV.
“We were groping towards each other like two adding machines.”
Perhaps that line from James Goldstone’s 1968 involuntary acid trip Jigsaw hit so hilarious because—by that point—I had already had two vodka “vortinis” in the admittedly addictive Vortex Room. Offering double-billed programs alchemically fueled from the 16mm library of Cosmic Hex, the Vortex Room’s plush leather seats, atmospheric lighting, ubiquitous Charles Bronson homage (yes, that’s him on black velvet), classic vinyl on turntables, and slightly sinful speakeasy vibe has become one of my favorite alternate screening spaces in San Francisco. Offering a Thursday evening film cult series of hardboiled cinema, I can’t recommend The Vortex Room highly enough. Every bad San Franciscan deserves this comeuppance. Are you bad enough? Upcoming entries include Pam Grier in Friday Foster (1975), the 1948 and 1989 versions of Road House, Coleman Francis’s The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961) and the “thrill pills...
Perhaps that line from James Goldstone’s 1968 involuntary acid trip Jigsaw hit so hilarious because—by that point—I had already had two vodka “vortinis” in the admittedly addictive Vortex Room. Offering double-billed programs alchemically fueled from the 16mm library of Cosmic Hex, the Vortex Room’s plush leather seats, atmospheric lighting, ubiquitous Charles Bronson homage (yes, that’s him on black velvet), classic vinyl on turntables, and slightly sinful speakeasy vibe has become one of my favorite alternate screening spaces in San Francisco. Offering a Thursday evening film cult series of hardboiled cinema, I can’t recommend The Vortex Room highly enough. Every bad San Franciscan deserves this comeuppance. Are you bad enough? Upcoming entries include Pam Grier in Friday Foster (1975), the 1948 and 1989 versions of Road House, Coleman Francis’s The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961) and the “thrill pills...
- 4/22/2009
- by Michael Guillen
- Screen Anarchy
Say what? A sequel to the 1961 z-grade cult favorite The Beast of Yucca Flats? Really? No joke?
If you've never seen Coleman Francis' crap classic The Beast of Yucca Flats, frankly, I'm not sure if you're better or worse off for it. The black & white schlocker was about a defecting Russian scientist being pursued by the Kgb getting caught in an atomic blast test that transforms him into a man monster that roams the deserts of Yucca Flats terrorizing an ordinary family. One of the reasons for its notorious badness is the original soundtrack got lost somehow during production leaving Coleman Francis to record a rambling nonsensical narration track to try and make some sense out of what was already pretty senseless to begin with. Not to mention the monster just being Ed Wood mainstay Tor Johnson with a few cheap-looking make-up disfigurements on his face.
Not exactly a...
If you've never seen Coleman Francis' crap classic The Beast of Yucca Flats, frankly, I'm not sure if you're better or worse off for it. The black & white schlocker was about a defecting Russian scientist being pursued by the Kgb getting caught in an atomic blast test that transforms him into a man monster that roams the deserts of Yucca Flats terrorizing an ordinary family. One of the reasons for its notorious badness is the original soundtrack got lost somehow during production leaving Coleman Francis to record a rambling nonsensical narration track to try and make some sense out of what was already pretty senseless to begin with. Not to mention the monster just being Ed Wood mainstay Tor Johnson with a few cheap-looking make-up disfigurements on his face.
Not exactly a...
- 2/6/2009
- by Foywonder
- DreadCentral.com
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