The Film That Blew the Lid on Small Town Hate, With Brand-New Restoration and Never-Before-Seen Special Features
Cinedigm announced today that The Film Detective, the classic film restoration and streaming company, in partnership with Something Weird Video, will release the exploitation classic Girl on a Chain Gang (1966) on special-edition Blu-ray and DVD, April 19.
From famed shlock distributor-producer-director Jerry Gross, whomade his directorial debut with Girl on a Chain Gang, a stirring feature about small-town hate. William Watson, Julie Ange and Ron Charles star in this shocker about three young people who are framed, arrested and tossed into jail by corrupt Southern police.
Gross—who produced everything from Blaxploitation films to features about teen pregnancy—exercised his social conscience in this drama about racist Southern cops. Made the year after three civil rights workers were murdered in Mississippi, Girl on a Chain Gang addresses a subject Gross must have believed worth exploiting into drive-in theater fare.
Cinedigm announced today that The Film Detective, the classic film restoration and streaming company, in partnership with Something Weird Video, will release the exploitation classic Girl on a Chain Gang (1966) on special-edition Blu-ray and DVD, April 19.
From famed shlock distributor-producer-director Jerry Gross, whomade his directorial debut with Girl on a Chain Gang, a stirring feature about small-town hate. William Watson, Julie Ange and Ron Charles star in this shocker about three young people who are framed, arrested and tossed into jail by corrupt Southern police.
Gross—who produced everything from Blaxploitation films to features about teen pregnancy—exercised his social conscience in this drama about racist Southern cops. Made the year after three civil rights workers were murdered in Mississippi, Girl on a Chain Gang addresses a subject Gross must have believed worth exploiting into drive-in theater fare.
- 3/28/2022
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The journalist and podcaster talks about some of her favorite cinematic grifters and losers with Josh and Joe.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Nightmare Alley (1947) – Stuart Gordon’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
The Third Man (1949) – George Hickenlooper’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings
All About Eve (1950)
The Hot Rock (1972) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
Die Hard (1988)
Sunset Boulevard (1950) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
The Producers (1967) – Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review
Panic In The Streets (1950) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
The Music Man (1962)
My Fair Lady (1964)
Seven Brides For Seven Brothers (1954) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s review
The Band Wagon (1953) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
The Wizard Of Oz (1939) – John Badham’s trailer commentary
A Night At The Opera (1935) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review
The Cocoanuts (1929)
Animal Crackers (1930) – Robert Weide...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Nightmare Alley (1947) – Stuart Gordon’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
The Third Man (1949) – George Hickenlooper’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairings
All About Eve (1950)
The Hot Rock (1972) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
Die Hard (1988)
Sunset Boulevard (1950) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
The Producers (1967) – Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review
Panic In The Streets (1950) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
The Music Man (1962)
My Fair Lady (1964)
Seven Brides For Seven Brothers (1954) – John Landis’s trailer commentary, Glenn Erickson’s review
The Band Wagon (1953) – John Landis’s trailer commentary
The Wizard Of Oz (1939) – John Badham’s trailer commentary
A Night At The Opera (1935) – Allan Arkush’s trailer commentary, Charlie Largent’s Blu-ray review
The Cocoanuts (1929)
Animal Crackers (1930) – Robert Weide...
- 12/14/2021
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
The writer/director returns to talk about his favorite Blaxploitation movies with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Man Bites Dog (1992)
Trick Baby (1972)
The Exorcist (1973) – Oren Pelli’s trailer commentary
The Untouchables (1987)
Predator (1987)
Purple Rain (1984) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
The Loved One (1965) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary
Live And Let Die (1973)
Enter The Dragon (1973) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary, Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary
The Green Hornet (1974)
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) – Darren Bousman’s trailer commentary
The Last Dragon (1985) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary
Dead Presidents (1995)
Hell Up In Harlem (1973) – Larry Cohen’s trailer commentary
Black Caesar (1973) – Larry Cohen’s trailer commentary
Shaft (1971) – Bill Duke’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971)
Coffy (1973) – Jack Hill’s trailer commentary
Midnight Cowboy (1969) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Taxi Driver (1976) – Rod Lurie’s trailer commentary
Boxcar Bertha (1972) – Julie Corman...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Man Bites Dog (1992)
Trick Baby (1972)
The Exorcist (1973) – Oren Pelli’s trailer commentary
The Untouchables (1987)
Predator (1987)
Purple Rain (1984) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
The Loved One (1965) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary
Live And Let Die (1973)
Enter The Dragon (1973) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary, Brian Trenchard-Smith’s trailer commentary
The Green Hornet (1974)
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) – Darren Bousman’s trailer commentary
The Last Dragon (1985) – Larry Karaszewski’s trailer commentary
Dead Presidents (1995)
Hell Up In Harlem (1973) – Larry Cohen’s trailer commentary
Black Caesar (1973) – Larry Cohen’s trailer commentary
Shaft (1971) – Bill Duke’s trailer commentary, Randy Fuller’s wine pairing
Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song (1971)
Coffy (1973) – Jack Hill’s trailer commentary
Midnight Cowboy (1969) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Taxi Driver (1976) – Rod Lurie’s trailer commentary
Boxcar Bertha (1972) – Julie Corman...
- 8/3/2021
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Len Barry, the original lead singer for the doo-wop group The Dovells, died November 5. He was 78. No cause of death was given by the group’s Facebook page.
Barry was the voice of the group’s 1961 hit “The Bristol Stomp,” and later earned a solo hit with “1-2-3”
in 1965.
Jerry Gross, an original member of The Dovells, wrote a tribute on Facebook.
“We lost one of our original members. Our lead singer from 1960 – 1963… has gone on to Rock ‘n’ Roll heaven. In these trying times that we’re living in, with the politics and the virus, and now one more sad. Very few people know that we did two reunion shows in 1994 in Syracuse (NY) and Hartford (Conn). We had a fabulous time both on stage and in the car between the dates. Between Lenny and Mark, the comedy never stopped. It was the best of times. Great being with him again after 31 years.
Barry was the voice of the group’s 1961 hit “The Bristol Stomp,” and later earned a solo hit with “1-2-3”
in 1965.
Jerry Gross, an original member of The Dovells, wrote a tribute on Facebook.
“We lost one of our original members. Our lead singer from 1960 – 1963… has gone on to Rock ‘n’ Roll heaven. In these trying times that we’re living in, with the politics and the virus, and now one more sad. Very few people know that we did two reunion shows in 1994 in Syracuse (NY) and Hartford (Conn). We had a fabulous time both on stage and in the car between the dates. Between Lenny and Mark, the comedy never stopped. It was the best of times. Great being with him again after 31 years.
- 11/6/2020
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Spanish horror superstar Paul Naschy has always been on my radar, yet for whatever reason, I’ve never taken the shot. (And sunk the ship? Metaphors are the worst.) So it is with great shame that I’ve spent far too long ignoring this international treasure as my inaugural Naschy, Javier Aguirre’s Hunchback of the Morgue (1973), is a cheeky Frankenstein riff that offers up its own twisted charms.
Released in its native Spain in July, it hit stateside in September of ’75 when Cinemation Industries (owned and run by Jerry Gross, legendary promoter. See: I Drink Your Blood. No, really, see it) added it to double and triple bills across the land. It…didn’t do very well, and that’s not a big surprise; it’s certainly not your traditional monster movie, with a plot that veers between soapy operatics, laboratory hijinks, and all tied together by Naschy’s...
Released in its native Spain in July, it hit stateside in September of ’75 when Cinemation Industries (owned and run by Jerry Gross, legendary promoter. See: I Drink Your Blood. No, really, see it) added it to double and triple bills across the land. It…didn’t do very well, and that’s not a big surprise; it’s certainly not your traditional monster movie, with a plot that veers between soapy operatics, laboratory hijinks, and all tied together by Naschy’s...
- 11/25/2017
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
I Drink Your Blood (1970) is as old as I am. Unlike me, however, it shows very little wear and tear; a loud and proud exploitation horror diorama from an age when all boundaries of good taste and reason were pushed to the breaking point. If you only have room in your life for one rabies-infested satanic hippies movie, make it I Drink Your Blood.
This film is the blueprint for creating your very own grimy, crude, offensive B classic. First, you need a backer. Enter producer Jerry Gross, known at the time as a king of grindhouse hype, modeled after William Castle. For example, when he rereleased two of the ‘60s Mondo films (real rituals and customs from exotic locales, documentary style), Mondo Cane and Mondo Pazzo on a double bill, he paraded around actors in tribesmen costumes to sell the authenticity of the films. He offered director David Durston...
This film is the blueprint for creating your very own grimy, crude, offensive B classic. First, you need a backer. Enter producer Jerry Gross, known at the time as a king of grindhouse hype, modeled after William Castle. For example, when he rereleased two of the ‘60s Mondo films (real rituals and customs from exotic locales, documentary style), Mondo Cane and Mondo Pazzo on a double bill, he paraded around actors in tribesmen costumes to sell the authenticity of the films. He offered director David Durston...
- 12/10/2016
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
For some reason, the idea of watching something that makes you literally mess yourself is a compelling one. Unfortunately for you, there aren’t many horror films out there that can devolve you to your six year old self, crying into your pillow at night over the monsters under your bed. Horror movies just really aren’t all that scary any more.
For all of the “advances” in the genre with found footage and gimmickry, the most universally scary things are the ones that have always been terrifying. A bump in the night; someone standing in the shadows and the irresistible fear of being attacked by anything when you’re at your most vulnerable.
This is why film-makers love getting scares in the bathroom, particularly when the characters are taking a bath or a shower. When you’re naked and wet, you really are in your most vulnerable state; something that Hitchcock knew very well.
For all of the “advances” in the genre with found footage and gimmickry, the most universally scary things are the ones that have always been terrifying. A bump in the night; someone standing in the shadows and the irresistible fear of being attacked by anything when you’re at your most vulnerable.
This is why film-makers love getting scares in the bathroom, particularly when the characters are taking a bath or a shower. When you’re naked and wet, you really are in your most vulnerable state; something that Hitchcock knew very well.
- 4/11/2015
- by Sara Weir
- Obsessed with Film
Here’s another installment featuring Joe Dante’s reviews from his stint as a critic for Film Bulletin circa 1969-1974. Our thanks to Video Watchdog and Tim Lucas for his editorial embellishments!
Plenty of perverse sensationalism for the sex fans in this outlandishly lurid Italian import. Strong sell should produce hot boxoffice in appropriate markets. Rating: X.
This triumphantly decadent enterprise is so incredibly prurient in design that it looks like a sure winner for metropolitan sex-ballyhoo situations. With a flashy exploitation push from Jerry Gross’ Cinemation Industries, The Seducers should attract and amuse a sizeable chunk of the undiscriminating voyeur market, to whom exotic sex is more important than coherent filmmaking. Originally titled Sensation, the dubbed 1968 Italian smutfest features an unintentionally farcical plot, which reaches new heights (or depths, depending on your point of view) of calculated depravity, structured solely to cram-in as much sensationalism as possible.
Thanks to this pragmatic approach,...
Plenty of perverse sensationalism for the sex fans in this outlandishly lurid Italian import. Strong sell should produce hot boxoffice in appropriate markets. Rating: X.
This triumphantly decadent enterprise is so incredibly prurient in design that it looks like a sure winner for metropolitan sex-ballyhoo situations. With a flashy exploitation push from Jerry Gross’ Cinemation Industries, The Seducers should attract and amuse a sizeable chunk of the undiscriminating voyeur market, to whom exotic sex is more important than coherent filmmaking. Originally titled Sensation, the dubbed 1968 Italian smutfest features an unintentionally farcical plot, which reaches new heights (or depths, depending on your point of view) of calculated depravity, structured solely to cram-in as much sensationalism as possible.
Thanks to this pragmatic approach,...
- 4/8/2014
- by Joe Dante
- Trailers from Hell
The Film:
Under its original and to me, preferred title of Day of the Woman, Meir Zarchi’s cult classic is a product of just one man, and no it’s not Roger Ebert. I’m fully certain that if Jerry Gross, a prominent grindhouse version of William Castle, did not re-title the film to the more eye-catching, ear-perking, vile I Spit On Your Grave, this film would have not been discussed as thoroughly as it is.
Because the film really isn’t well-made, despite what the pure intentions of Zarchi were, he pulls the rug from under its potentials feet with his meandering pacing and lack-a-dazed editing. There’s plenty of scenes that go on for far too long, either ending on an off-note after a dialogue exchange or showing ever character walk from one point on the set to the next. Plus, outside of Camille Keaton, the acting is very stiff.
Under its original and to me, preferred title of Day of the Woman, Meir Zarchi’s cult classic is a product of just one man, and no it’s not Roger Ebert. I’m fully certain that if Jerry Gross, a prominent grindhouse version of William Castle, did not re-title the film to the more eye-catching, ear-perking, vile I Spit On Your Grave, this film would have not been discussed as thoroughly as it is.
Because the film really isn’t well-made, despite what the pure intentions of Zarchi were, he pulls the rug from under its potentials feet with his meandering pacing and lack-a-dazed editing. There’s plenty of scenes that go on for far too long, either ending on an off-note after a dialogue exchange or showing ever character walk from one point on the set to the next. Plus, outside of Camille Keaton, the acting is very stiff.
- 2/15/2011
- by Jon Peters
- Killer Films
David E. Durston, a writer and director best known for the 1970 cult horror classic "I Drink Your Blood," died May 6 in his West Hollywood home of complications from pneumonia. He was 88.
Durston wrote for such ground-breaking TV shows as "Playhouse 90," "Studio One," "Rheingold Playhouse," "Tales of Tomorrow" -- one of the earliest science-fiction anthology shows -- "Kraft Theater" and "Danger."
He also produced the NBC musical variety show "Your Hit Parade" as well as the annual broadcast of the Tournament of Roses Parade for all three major TV networks during the late 1950s. Durston continued to write and develop original screenplays into his late 80s.
In the mid-'60s, he made the jump into directing his own low-budget, independent features. The first of these was "The Love Statue," a 1966 black-and-white fantasy that explored the effects of LSD on a group of Greenwich Village bohemians.
Later, Jerry Gross of distributor...
Durston wrote for such ground-breaking TV shows as "Playhouse 90," "Studio One," "Rheingold Playhouse," "Tales of Tomorrow" -- one of the earliest science-fiction anthology shows -- "Kraft Theater" and "Danger."
He also produced the NBC musical variety show "Your Hit Parade" as well as the annual broadcast of the Tournament of Roses Parade for all three major TV networks during the late 1950s. Durston continued to write and develop original screenplays into his late 80s.
In the mid-'60s, he made the jump into directing his own low-budget, independent features. The first of these was "The Love Statue," a 1966 black-and-white fantasy that explored the effects of LSD on a group of Greenwich Village bohemians.
Later, Jerry Gross of distributor...
- 5/18/2010
- by By Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Greetings Fango Fiends, Psycho Bunny here! Dr. Cyclops thought he was being cute with all of those Mbv DVD's he dropped in Mistress Bekah's prize casket this week, but now it's time for the 'Bunny to show him how it's done! Inside the prize casket are Fifteen copies of David Durston's 1970 horror classic I Drink Your Blood. And oh yes, they're Special Editions!
Not familiar with I Drink Your Blood? Here's the bloody scoop!
Sons and daughters of Satan: Let it be known that this is the first and only uncut, authorized release of David Durston's I Drink Your Blood. Restored in all its acid-crazed glory, this `70s horror classic is now more gruesome and depraved than ever before--accept no substitutes! Originally released in February 1971, I Drink Your Blood was one of the first motion pictures to be rated X for violence. Aiming to outdo Night Of The Living Dead,...
Not familiar with I Drink Your Blood? Here's the bloody scoop!
Sons and daughters of Satan: Let it be known that this is the first and only uncut, authorized release of David Durston's I Drink Your Blood. Restored in all its acid-crazed glory, this `70s horror classic is now more gruesome and depraved than ever before--accept no substitutes! Originally released in February 1971, I Drink Your Blood was one of the first motion pictures to be rated X for violence. Aiming to outdo Night Of The Living Dead,...
- 1/12/2009
- Fangoria
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