ROAMS THE AUDIENCE IN THE DARK!

Ladies accompanied by one of those squeeky voiced, pimply punks can expect things to go very badly once the house lights dim.

$500 REWARD FOR ESCAPED GORILLA!

Repost from PCL LINKDUMP with addition of Window Card



The Spook Shows that pervaded the local movie houses of the 50's and 60's must have been a real rush for the impressionable youth who cozied up with their steadies as ghouls, gorillas and ghosts terrorized them as second rate B pictures flickered on the screen. I have been hunting about for any Real Live Gorilla appearances and have been duly impressed by the promises made by the Mad Ray-Mond - forget the 500lb Gorilla that "becomes aroused at the sight of beautiful girls" - Buzz saws cut off heads!!? Oh brother!

Here's a quick history on the Spook Show phenomenon and some handsome window cards also available as T-Shirts.

(The ad above was chopped and stitched for easy blog viewing)

SPOOK SHOW AT THE OASIS

ORIGINALLY POSTED 3-28-2010

I love the notion of the spook show - the prospect of a live gorilla (man) rampaging through the crowds as KONG tosses sailor's into the crevasse on Kong Island makes me giddy. I imagine the reality of the experience is something less than the hype but if you were twelve, I'm betting it was pretty damn fun. Below is a great piece on a local Halloween Drive-In spook show in 60's Iowa - the print photo of the menacing ape is pretty muddy but the list of hijinks in the text is awe inspiring. 50,000 crickets dropped from a helicopter! A legion of gorillas and ghouls terrorizing the popcorn munching populace!
Forget AVATAR and 3-D chum, take me back baby!

Thrills, scares and fun will be part of the Halloween program when a giant Spook-tacular takes place at the Oasis Drive-In Theatre, Higgins and Elmhurst Roads, Saturday night.
Weighted ghosts and 50,000 imitation crickets will be thrown from a helicopter over the cars, as a ground barrage frightens off the invaders. Twenty actors dressed as full grown gorillas, apes, skeletons and ghosts will pop all over the place trying to scare the audience and then make up for it by giving each patron a free mask. Each child will also receive a free mask and a real pumpkin
BEFORE THE show starts at 5:30, there will be a costume parade for the kiddies between 5.30 and 6:30, followed by a costume contest at 6:45 with dozens of free prizes.
"Witchcraft," a  story of ghouls returning after 300 years to leap blood havoc, starring Lon Chaney, and "The Horror of It All," a man-monster horror film starring Pat Boone, are the screen fare. The driver of every 13th car will be admitted free, and so will the driver of every car with a 13 in the license. All occupants in every car with a black cat will be admitted free.

GORILLA THRILLA

ORIGINALLY POSTED 5-11-2009

I have a number of early items from THE GORILLA I am planning on posting in the coming days. This still purports to depict a screening of the silent thriller at the Monkey House of the Pittsburgh  Zoo - damned if I know whether or not the scenario is genuine but shouldn't there be a screen in front of the trio that constitutes the audience? I assume the shot is somewhat tongue in cheek but pretty weak for my modern sensibilities.
I love the bold graphics of the accompanying poster and the suggestion the titular hairy bugger is one gigantic, ugly bastard.
Now I'm pumped to buy a ticket!

DRIVE-IN GORILLA

ORIGINALLY POSTED 7-20-2008

I love the Drive-In. I was reminded of that this past week as a local mall here in Victoria hosted the first night of a three evening revival of the Drive-In experience. With a good chunk of parking lot to utilize, a BC outdoor film company set up a massive inflatable screen upon which they projected the American classic GREASE. The wife loves this film but I usually loathe 99% of all musicals - all it took was the Drive-In experience to turn me into a fan. Sitting there waiting for the sun to set in a convertible with the top down, munching on popcorn and admiring the Chevy Bel-Air parked a few feet away, childhood memories were reawakened. Around 25 years ago, my sister and I would climb into the family sedan in our pj's, squirm for twenty minutes as we headed out of town. When we finally arrived and found the best spot to view the show, usually a double feature, my sister and I would impatiently wait for it to get dark . Inevitably, mom and dad fell asleep halfway through the second film and we would have to rouse them as the headlights of exiting cars streamed by. Sadly, the Drive-In theatre has completely vanished from the lower half of Vancouver Island and is a rare sight throughout much of Canada today. I understand there is a revival of Drive-Ins across North America but damned if I don't see it happening around these parts.
Which brings me to today's selection - a great handout from a Drive-In out of Kissimmee, Florida. I particularly love the notation that CHILDREN UNDER 12 IN CARS FREE! - you goddamn freeloaders on your bikes, scram!! I find it somewhat odd that GORILLA AT LARGE is playing in the middle of the week and the flyer seems to imply that it is a "Family Nights" feature. Nothing like a murderous ape and a slutty Anne Bancroft to keep the kids entertained!



 
I couldn't help poking around YouTube for a few other clips on Drive-Ins to remind myself of this abandoned cornerstone of family entertainment culture.

DRIVE-IN MEMORIES



DRIVE-IN INTERMISSION FILMS



THE HISTORY OF THE STARLITE DRIVE-IN



THE CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS

APE FIENDS FROM THE SILENT ERA! MFTV REVIEWED!

ORIGINALLY POSTED 02-25-2007

In my eternal search for information on gorilla suit actors and their films, I have been confronted by the utter lack of serious print coverage from classic horror journalists. When there is a story or two about these films it is usually a top ape film list poking fun at some of the many gorilla suit B-movies; not that I have an issue with that - most of the films are dreadful (and enjoyable for that very reason). Naturally there are exceptions - Bob Burns has spoken to Tom Weaver at length about Charles Gemora and Ray 'Crash' Corrigan, providing a first hand account of two premium gorilla men. The surge in special effects fascination and the use of 'Behind the Scenes' coverage to promote film has also guaranteed that post-Dino De Laurentiis’ KING KONG ape films are thoroughly reported on.
Gorilla suit cinema from the Golden Age of Hollywood, however, has been particularly difficult to find information on. Through my Ebay hunting, I have managed to find a 30's article on Gemora's involvement in the infamous inter-species romance exploitation tale INGAGI, but little else on the significant number of films from this period featuring simians.
Before Christmas, I was thrilled to hear of an article in the winter issue of MONSTERS FROM THE VAULT that promised to throw a spotlight on this era. Author Gary L. Prange is a cornerstone of the CLASSIC HORROR MESSAGE BOARD and a major genre writer. A two part excerpt from his upcoming book, SYMPHONY OF HORROR: HOW THE HORROR FILM CAME TO BE is featured in MFTV and the article title, APE FIENDS OF THE SILENT ERA had me eagerly awaiting it's arrival in the mail. With my expectations relatively low (rare film research is often limited to plot summaries!) I was floored by what Gary has assembled.

Part One of his article focuses primarily on the 1920 film GO AND GET IT starring Bull Montana as a murderous apeman. The depth of the material on the adventure/horror picture is more thorough than I thought possible and illuminates how significant the film was to 20's viewers. In addition to the requisite plot summary (which is the most detailed I have read), Mr. Prange explores the production and the subsequent impact on the public. Evolution was a major hot button issue when GO AND GET IT premiered, and the audiences flocked to see the gruesome creature that blurred the line between man and beast.

   Critics were also enthusiastic about the film, supported by several period reviews and telegrams quoted for this article. The positive press on GO AND GET IT was certainly aided by the central character of the drama, a heroic reporter who battles not only the horrific beast-man but bureaucratic corruption as well. Special screenings and other clever enticements, near guaranteed a thumbs up from the press.

"All reporters should make a point of going to see it. It is a good [sic] entertainment and excellent melodrama. It has plenty of thrills and the story has ingenuity and originality"
- New York Telegraph

The promotion of the forgotten blockbuster also receives fantastic coverage in Mr. Prange's article, and it is amazing to read of the various intricate stunts and creative efforts to create word of mouth excitement. Mr. Prange recounts the scheme cooked up by theatre manager in Creston, Iowa

"...On dusky evenings, a few citizens began to catch glimpses of a creature described as "half-man-and-half-ape". It appeared only at twilight and invariably was spotted by only a few people, occasionally resulting in genuine fright but no one could get a good description of the beast. Word began to spread, but some citizens would not accept the notion their town was the home of a lurking monster resembling an ape. That changed one evening when the beast "appeared on top of the most prominent building in the city, hung over the edge for just a moment, uttering strange cries and then utterly disappeared." The streets were filled with people that night, and a search for the monster failed to produce any trace."

   When GO AND GET IT opened a few days later, the manager placed an ad claiming to have caught the creature and a promise to display it in conjunction with the regular show. Apparently the stunt was a success with the house filling to capacity.
   Accompanying the article is an assortment of extremely rare photos and promotional material I have not seen elsewhere. All pics that appear with this review are from my files.

   Part One of Gary L. Prange's article contains a wealth of information about GO AND GET IT, a film that is generally relegated to a footnote in other texts I have read. In short, it is a stellar addition to the tapestry of simian film history. To have this information so accessible is tremendously exciting. Knowing the efforts I have gone to personally to hunt for any scrap about the subject matter, I am in awe of the scope of Mr. Prange's research. It is thorough, engaging and free of the superfluous details that usually pad out an article of this nature. Two other productions, VANISHING MILLIONS and A BLIND BARGAIN are explored but do not receive the impressive attention lavished upon GO AND GET IT.
   I eagerly anticipate part two which will cover National's THE GORILLA and THE WIZARD, both of which have had little written about them to date.

   APE FIENDS OF THE SILENT ERA was the hook that persuaded me to sample MONSTERS FROM THE VAULT, but after reading the other features it is clear it is superior to other genre mags I have purchased at the local shops. The layout is a nice balance of style and substance, eschewing a trend I have noticed of 'Chip Kidd'ing material to the point of near visual insensibility. The stock is beautifully slick and presents the stills and other pics in an optimum fashion. I heartily recommend this magazine and encourage all to visit the VAULT site for ordering information. The next issue of MFTV promises to be doubly thrilling for me; in addition to Part Two of APE FIENDS, Tom Weaver will be speaking to Bob Burns about another Gorilla Man shrouded in mystery, George Barrows. My deepest thanks to James Clatterbaugh, Editor/Publisher of MONSTERS FROM THE VAULT for providing a venue for this material.

You can also learn more about the history of MONSTERS FROM THE VAULT at MySpace.

REAL LIVE GORILLA!

ORIGINALLY POSTED 2007-01-12

When it rains it pours – and the past day on Vancouver Island here we have seen a months rain some places. Considering that Steve Calvert is one of the lesser covered gorilla men (no reflection upon his talent!) I was thrilled to discover the 2 pager on him this week. When I posted the wonderful pictorial, I had to email Ted Newsom who penned CONFESSIONS OF A HOLLYWOOD GORILLA and let him know. Ted informed that me that Steve had mentioned there was only one article published about him other that the one readers here enjoyed recently. He also passed along a YouTube link that he had seen on the Classic Horror Message Board. In the ten minute segment, around the halfway point, the HOUSE OF WAX appearance that he had wrote of is represented by a newsreel. (UPDATE July 30th 2008 - new clip only features Bela and Steve arriving in the first minute of the clip.)



Gorilla suited performers were a staple of B movie promotions for local theatres – an inexpensive and sensational way to titillate the audience. ‘Spook shows’ became commonplace during the horror revival of the sixties and a jungle menace often terrorized moviegoers.

In the gorilla suit fandom must-have, HOLLYWOOD GOES APE, Bob Burns spoke of a MUNSTERS promotional tour that he tagged along on. In full ape regalia, Bob was lead by Eddie Munster, snarling on a chain through an airport crowd while police apprehended a suspicious boy in attendance. Apparently the young lad had a cup of acid he had intended on tossing in Bob’s, er, Kogar’s mug. He was curious how the ape would react. And they say kids today are not quite right.

Diana Gemora, Charlie’s right hand girl, had this anecdote about a promo appearance that went south due to the authenticity of Gemora’s suit.

Speaking of promos. In the 20’s and 30’s, the Studios and individual producers put on great promotions. A funny one was when Charlie had to promote a "Road" flick. Dorothy Lamour and he were stationed on Hollywood and Vine to sign autographs. Well that was Dorothy’s job and Charlie’s was to be in a cage. Dorothy wore a fur coat over her sarong seeing as how it was winter, in those days we actually had them. Charlie, on the other hand, was sweltering in his suit.

Everyday a little ole’ lady would come and look with pity at Charlie. He was trying to be fierce. She’d just shake her head and walk away. After 4 days of this, she could stand it no longer and complained to the Humane Society that the Studio was being mean and cruel by freezing this poor gorilla and it was indecent for him to be NAKED on top of that.! On their last day he was forced to keep a blanket around him. She almost killed him with kindness and decency.