Monday 24 August 2015

The shock of this vintage poster will make you… Scream and Scream Again!

Scream and Scream Again 

This poster was one of many included in the original American International Pictures campaign pressbook that was given out to film distributors to help sell the hip 1970 sci-fi horror film, Scream and Scream Again, starring Vincent Price.

On Friday 6 November 2015, the Vincent Price London Legacy Tour will screen the cult chiller as part of the Master of Menace, Lover of Life evening at Barts Pathology Museum, where Victoria Price will present a London exclusive multi-media presentation on her father's life and legacy. Won't you join us?

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Sunday 9 August 2015

Taboos of the World (1965) | It’s the picture that OUT-MONDO'S them all!!




Narrated by Vincent Price (English version) and Stefano Sibaldi (Italian version), this 86-minute travelogue, edited in the same shockumentary style of 1962’s Mondo Cane, was directed by Romolo Marcellini and produced by Royal Film and Guido Giambartolomei. It was released in Italy on 5 December 1963 as I tabù, in West Germany on 22 May 1964 as Die Tabus der Welt, and in the US in April 1965 as Taboos of the World. The taglines were pure exploitation gold:

‘It’s the film that starts where the other MONDO pictures chickened out!’ 

‘It’s the picture that OUT-MONDO'S them all!!’

The original Italian version ended up on VHS in the 1980s with an uncredited British actor dubbing Vincent's narration. To date no copies of the English version have resurfaced since, however clips from that 1980s redub have turned up online to buy privately.

The director, Romolo Marcellini (born 1910-1999), was by all accounts a fascinating filmmaker.  After writing 1934's Stadium, the journalist and former air force officer made his directoral debut with 1937's Sentinels of Bronze, which triumphed at the Venice Film Festival. He then went on to make a series of war documentaries on the intervention of the fascist regime in the Spanish Civil War, based on the same format as American newsreels, to show the heroics of Italian volunteers fighting for Franco. His other documentaries included War on War (1946), The Treasure of Rommel (1955), and The Great Olympiad (1960), which was nominated for an Oscar for best documentary in 1962, The East (1960), and Russia Under Investigation (1963).

Below are a selection of lobby cards and the US press campaign booklet for Taboos of the World.








Saturday 1 August 2015

You're invited to join me on a free Theatre of Blood London Walking Tour on Saturday 8 August


Next Saturday (8 August), I will be taking all London-based Theatre of Blood fans on a walking tour through the city visiting many of the locations used in the black comedy horror.

It's FREE, but you will need some stamina. As this will be an all-day tour, lots of Tube and bus journeys will be required, so you will need a valid travelcard or Oyster card and lots of patience getting around.

I have arranged the itinerary that will cover many of the locations used in the film – from Michael Horden's flat at Digby Mansions Hammersmith right through to the film's climax which were shot at the Putney Hippodrome (now demolished). 

While some of the sights are out of the way and only of significance to uber-fans (like our first, The Causeway in Wandsworth) others will take in some popular London sights, including Harrods on the Brompton Road, the Serpentine Pavillon, Cheyne Walk and the King's Road in Chelsea (where other horror film locations will be visited), Tate Britain and Bond Street.

If you want to familiarise yourself with the London locations, check out my post (here) that I did for The Spooky Isles website.

To keep up to date with what's happening, check out the official Facebook event page.

DATE: Saturday 8 November

TIME: 10:15am

MEETING POINT: Outside East Putney underground station