WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.980
And it kind of emphasizes the camp more than

00:00:01.980 --> 00:00:05.139
like the suspense and the action. Like when Mama

00:00:05.139 --> 00:00:07.480
Walde is like throwing water barrels on people

00:00:07.480 --> 00:00:10.580
and it's like, oh, this is like the 1960s Batman.

00:00:11.179 --> 00:00:14.380
They're mild gripes for like a very, again, influential

00:00:14.380 --> 00:00:33.210
movie. Well, everybody, welcome to Camp Kaiju

00:00:33.210 --> 00:00:35.950
Monster Movie Podcast. We are your hosts, Vincent

00:00:35.950 --> 00:00:38.869
Hannum. And Matt Levine. And we are talking about

00:00:38.869 --> 00:00:41.210
all of our favorite monster movies, the good,

00:00:41.310 --> 00:00:43.890
the bad, and the downright campy, and asking

00:00:43.890 --> 00:00:46.929
if they stand the test of time. Traditional Kaiju,

00:00:47.030 --> 00:00:49.350
creature features, space invaders, the supernatural,

00:00:49.630 --> 00:00:52.350
and everything in between. All strange beasts

00:00:52.350 --> 00:00:55.390
welcome here. Camp Kaiju is brought to you by

00:00:55.390 --> 00:00:58.689
Zack Linder and the Zack Pack, powered by Coldwell

00:00:58.689 --> 00:01:00.869
Banker Realty. Whether you're looking for your

00:01:00.869 --> 00:01:03.890
dream home, a savvy investment property, or expert

00:01:03.890 --> 00:01:06.409
guidance in home rehab and flipping, the Zach

00:01:06.409 --> 00:01:08.549
Pack has you covered. Check the links in the

00:01:08.549 --> 00:01:29.620
show notes for more information. You shall be...

00:01:29.620 --> 00:01:39.340
Blackula. Blackula. The Black Avenger. Rising

00:01:39.340 --> 00:01:46.099
from his... To fill the night with horror. Blackula.

00:01:46.819 --> 00:01:52.420
Dracula's soul brother. Deadlier even than he.

00:01:56.680 --> 00:02:02.000
You know, he is a strange dude. You're a nut

00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:04.560
that ran in front of my cab. You're the only

00:02:04.560 --> 00:02:12.039
imbecile on this street. Boy. Black River. Look

00:02:12.039 --> 00:02:14.620
at me. You found me. He's got to be around here

00:02:14.620 --> 00:02:16.819
somewhere. I mean, now listen. Well, you take

00:02:16.819 --> 00:02:19.219
your hands off of me. I don't know you. He thirsts

00:02:19.219 --> 00:02:24.979
for your blood. He hungers for your soul. young

00:02:24.979 --> 00:02:29.460
bodies will feed his hunger. Hot, fresh blood

00:02:29.460 --> 00:02:34.099
will quench his awful thirst. Thank you. I'm

00:02:34.099 --> 00:02:38.620
bloody married. Are you, um, into the occult?

00:02:38.879 --> 00:02:43.120
No! How about the, uh, heavy stuff? What do you

00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:46.979
think of vampires? Vampires? I think they're

00:02:46.979 --> 00:02:54.969
possibly the most fascinating of all. And Dracula.

00:02:59.449 --> 00:03:04.770
The Black Avenger. Black Dracula. From American

00:03:04.770 --> 00:03:09.590
International Pictures. Guys, we are met. We're

00:03:09.590 --> 00:03:13.030
in our sixth year here of Camp Kaiju. We are

00:03:13.030 --> 00:03:19.349
over 150 episodes, 160 episodes. And I hate to

00:03:19.349 --> 00:03:22.610
admit it, we're finally getting to not just Blackula,

00:03:22.729 --> 00:03:25.629
but... I will admit, we're finally getting to

00:03:25.629 --> 00:03:30.330
a black powerhouse film with all black cast.

00:03:30.370 --> 00:03:32.069
I shouldn't say all black, but predominantly

00:03:32.069 --> 00:03:36.189
black cast, black filmmakers. It's long overdue,

00:03:36.189 --> 00:03:39.729
but I'm so excited to talk about it. And to help

00:03:39.729 --> 00:03:42.949
us break it down is the one and only Sean Pryor.

00:03:43.090 --> 00:03:44.909
Hey, Sean, thank you for joining us. Always a

00:03:44.909 --> 00:03:47.090
pleasure. Thank you. Thank you for having me.

00:03:47.110 --> 00:03:49.129
Like, listen, like anytime I can come to the

00:03:49.129 --> 00:03:52.129
camp, like it's, it always like, you know, it

00:03:52.129 --> 00:03:55.030
helps my soul, helps my spirit. And so like,

00:03:55.150 --> 00:03:57.069
you know, and because of y 'all, I got to watch

00:03:57.069 --> 00:03:59.210
Blackula again for like the first time in like

00:03:59.210 --> 00:04:02.710
three years. So that's all, that's always, that's

00:04:02.710 --> 00:04:05.610
always a good thing, you know? So yeah, I'm excited

00:04:05.610 --> 00:04:09.310
to talk about the movie tonight. Sorry, I'll

00:04:09.310 --> 00:04:12.189
tell you. And I mean this, you really are one

00:04:12.189 --> 00:04:13.550
of the best things to come out of this podcast.

00:04:14.169 --> 00:04:18.189
your collaboration and your solidarity. When

00:04:18.189 --> 00:04:21.610
we talk about real life horrors, not fun, but

00:04:21.610 --> 00:04:25.230
we appreciate your support. So thank you for,

00:04:25.329 --> 00:04:28.389
for the, for being a friend, friend of the pod,

00:04:28.470 --> 00:04:30.589
friend of us. You're more than welcome. Like,

00:04:30.610 --> 00:04:32.350
listen, man, like we're all in this together.

00:04:32.430 --> 00:04:35.709
You know what I mean? And you know, like none

00:04:35.709 --> 00:04:38.620
of us are free until all of us are free. And

00:04:38.620 --> 00:04:41.879
don't worry, I won't get too heavy talking about

00:04:41.879 --> 00:04:45.160
the language of oppressors at this time. We'll

00:04:45.160 --> 00:04:47.660
get into it. Yes, yes, we will. Yes, we will.

00:04:47.800 --> 00:04:50.740
But no, friendship is just something that's very

00:04:50.740 --> 00:04:53.079
important to me. People I strike a chord with,

00:04:53.259 --> 00:04:57.660
that I can build a rapport with. It's not about

00:04:57.660 --> 00:04:59.519
the whole giving and getting. It's just about

00:04:59.519 --> 00:05:03.600
love and respect. And so when y 'all invited

00:05:03.600 --> 00:05:06.759
me to the show for Kaiju Unleashed all those

00:05:06.759 --> 00:05:10.850
years ago, Like that was that was a moment that

00:05:10.850 --> 00:05:13.550
like it left such a good feeling in my heart.

00:05:13.610 --> 00:05:15.089
I was like, I got to keep in touch with these

00:05:15.089 --> 00:05:17.170
dudes. It's like if I don't, it's like if I don't,

00:05:17.170 --> 00:05:19.290
I won't feel right. You know, I was like, I just

00:05:19.290 --> 00:05:21.170
won't feel right. And like I said, y 'all are

00:05:21.170 --> 00:05:23.670
just, you know, really, really good, really good

00:05:23.670 --> 00:05:26.230
people. And y 'all got big hearts. And, you know,

00:05:26.230 --> 00:05:28.870
like to be able to vibe with y 'all and stuff

00:05:28.870 --> 00:05:30.949
like, you know, stuff like this and like whether

00:05:30.949 --> 00:05:35.120
it be Godzilla, Blackula, you know. Robot jocks,

00:05:35.139 --> 00:05:37.459
you know what I mean? Like all that stuff. Like

00:05:37.459 --> 00:05:41.399
anytime, you know, I can we can do that. It's

00:05:41.399 --> 00:05:44.439
a beautiful time. And one day we will all meet

00:05:44.439 --> 00:05:47.579
like we will meet in person one day. It has to

00:05:47.579 --> 00:05:50.800
happen. Yes. Yeah. Yes. Talk a little bit just

00:05:50.800 --> 00:05:53.220
because you're on the show and talk about your

00:05:53.220 --> 00:05:57.220
writing and anything you want to spread, spread

00:05:57.220 --> 00:05:59.819
the word about to the people. Yeah, sure. As

00:05:59.819 --> 00:06:03.139
some of your listeners know, I wrote a book about

00:06:03.139 --> 00:06:07.379
the history of Kaiju in film and television called

00:06:07.379 --> 00:06:10.319
Kaiju Unleashed, which covers everything from

00:06:10.319 --> 00:06:13.720
movies to TV shows, video games, comic books,

00:06:14.259 --> 00:06:18.660
multimedia, toys, all types of things. From Godzilla

00:06:18.660 --> 00:06:23.540
to Rodan, from Great Grape Ape to whatever have

00:06:23.540 --> 00:06:27.500
you, King Kong. It's all across the board. I

00:06:27.500 --> 00:06:30.420
had such a blast writing that book. I have a

00:06:30.420 --> 00:06:33.459
graphic novel coming out in October. It's a middle

00:06:33.459 --> 00:06:36.920
reader's graphic novel called Fast Break about

00:06:36.920 --> 00:06:40.639
a basketball prodigy. Her name is Michaela. And

00:06:40.639 --> 00:06:43.139
her mother, Michaela's mother, gets the job of

00:06:43.139 --> 00:06:46.600
a lifetime. So they move across town right before

00:06:46.600 --> 00:06:48.660
basketball season starts. So she goes to a new

00:06:48.660 --> 00:06:51.680
school. The basketball coach won't let her try

00:06:51.680 --> 00:06:54.139
out for the team because the coach already has

00:06:54.139 --> 00:06:58.790
her team ready. And and so she ends up joining

00:06:58.790 --> 00:07:02.689
this like new league was a coed league. But like,

00:07:02.730 --> 00:07:04.410
you know, she's like, is this going to be beneath

00:07:04.410 --> 00:07:06.189
me? Because she's such an amazing basketball

00:07:06.189 --> 00:07:10.350
player. But really, it ends up being that she

00:07:10.350 --> 00:07:12.610
needs that team more than the team needs her.

00:07:13.329 --> 00:07:16.310
And it's also a story. It's also a story that

00:07:16.310 --> 00:07:19.050
the tagline for the book is growing up as a team

00:07:19.050 --> 00:07:22.629
effort. And so like that book has been in the

00:07:22.629 --> 00:07:26.720
making for almost six years. And so working with

00:07:26.720 --> 00:07:30.620
artist Del Han, who is incredible, I'm so proud

00:07:30.620 --> 00:07:34.620
of what they have been able to do. And so when

00:07:34.620 --> 00:07:37.040
everybody gets it, I really hope they enjoy it.

00:07:37.040 --> 00:07:38.660
And it's available for pre -order right now.

00:07:38.939 --> 00:07:44.399
If you go to fastbreakcomic .com. You can see,

00:07:44.579 --> 00:07:46.720
like, the website that has, like, all the stores

00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:48.819
that have it available. Or you can go to your

00:07:48.819 --> 00:07:52.079
local bookstore and ask for it and preorder it

00:07:52.079 --> 00:07:54.800
there. So, yeah, so, like, those are really the

00:07:54.800 --> 00:07:56.899
two big things that are jumping off right now.

00:07:57.399 --> 00:08:00.560
Everything else is I'm writing books right now

00:08:00.560 --> 00:08:03.279
and, you know, trying to pitch some other stuff

00:08:03.279 --> 00:08:09.819
and also get my video game life back. Same. I

00:08:09.819 --> 00:08:13.720
had time for so many things. Yeah. Yeah, man.

00:08:14.339 --> 00:08:18.100
Well, let's get into it. We'll get some quick

00:08:18.100 --> 00:08:20.060
nuts and bolts out of the way. You know, this

00:08:20.060 --> 00:08:22.439
month in Monster Movie History, we'll talk about

00:08:22.439 --> 00:08:25.540
new and upcoming releases and our personal histories

00:08:25.540 --> 00:08:29.180
with Blackula. Before we get into the cast, the

00:08:29.180 --> 00:08:31.740
crew, some production history, the legacy of

00:08:31.740 --> 00:08:33.679
this film, and then ultimately on the latter

00:08:33.679 --> 00:08:36.220
half of this episode, we'll talk about the themes

00:08:36.220 --> 00:08:40.139
and our own personal takes on the film. All right.

00:08:40.139 --> 00:08:41.539
Thank you all for hanging out with us, friends.

00:08:41.620 --> 00:08:43.919
Please rate and review this show wherever you

00:08:43.919 --> 00:08:47.080
listen. Follow us on Patreon dot com slash Camp

00:08:47.080 --> 00:08:49.519
Kaiju for additional videos, reviews, merchandise

00:08:49.519 --> 00:08:54.080
and more. Special shout out to our free our Patreon

00:08:54.080 --> 00:08:55.960
supporters who have signed up at the free level.

00:08:56.120 --> 00:08:57.919
We still love you. I just wanted to give you

00:08:57.919 --> 00:09:00.960
some recognition there. But I got to give special,

00:09:01.080 --> 00:09:03.779
special thanks to our current Patreon paying

00:09:03.779 --> 00:09:08.860
supporters. Jason, Chris, Sean, Peggy, Don, Steffi.

00:09:09.619 --> 00:09:13.940
A new supporter, Jim Chaney. Thank you, Jim.

00:09:14.279 --> 00:09:17.240
And our anonymous patron. The ranks are growing

00:09:17.240 --> 00:09:20.840
here at camp, and we're very humbled and very

00:09:20.840 --> 00:09:23.360
proud of you all and the support you give us.

00:09:23.419 --> 00:09:25.500
So if you want to get in touch with us, leave

00:09:25.500 --> 00:09:28.100
a comment. You can do so at campkaiju at gmail

00:09:28.100 --> 00:09:31.720
.com, campkaijupodcast .com, Instagram, or our

00:09:31.720 --> 00:09:34.580
voicemail number. All that in the show notes.

00:09:35.879 --> 00:09:37.919
All right, guys. This month in monster movie

00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:41.440
history, February. And I see Reptilicus from

00:09:41.440 --> 00:09:45.200
1961. Mr. Kaiju Unleashed, ladies and gentlemen.

00:09:45.519 --> 00:09:50.179
Yes, indeed. That is such an awful movie. It

00:09:50.179 --> 00:09:53.799
is so bad. It is a riff. It's a riff -worthy

00:09:53.799 --> 00:09:57.860
movie, for sure. The only other one that really...

00:09:57.860 --> 00:09:59.539
I mean, because there are titles I'm familiar

00:09:59.539 --> 00:10:04.059
with, but... The My Favorite Martian remake from

00:10:04.059 --> 00:10:06.960
1999, where they turned the TV show into a film

00:10:06.960 --> 00:10:10.840
and had Christopher Lloyd play the Martian. That

00:10:10.840 --> 00:10:13.120
is one of the most that is a very bizarre film.

00:10:13.659 --> 00:10:16.700
And it does very bizarre things like there's

00:10:16.700 --> 00:10:18.940
a scene where because like, you know, you know,

00:10:18.940 --> 00:10:21.480
the government's trying to capture, you know,

00:10:21.480 --> 00:10:27.059
the Martian per se. And. The Martian gives his,

00:10:27.240 --> 00:10:31.419
because it's one of his relatives on Earth who's

00:10:31.419 --> 00:10:34.679
actually an Earth person he's staying with. In

00:10:34.679 --> 00:10:36.820
the original television show, it was Bill Bixby,

00:10:36.919 --> 00:10:39.559
but I can't remember who played that role in

00:10:39.559 --> 00:10:42.720
the film. But this dude has a girlfriend, and

00:10:42.720 --> 00:10:46.519
basically the Martian gives her something to

00:10:46.519 --> 00:10:48.360
eat, which then turns her into a monster for

00:10:48.360 --> 00:10:51.019
a moment, and then that monster eats two government

00:10:51.019 --> 00:10:53.919
agents. And then like turns back to Norman. I'm

00:10:53.919 --> 00:10:57.879
like, no, wait a minute. Wait a minute. Did she

00:10:57.879 --> 00:11:02.340
just eat two people? And, and we're not saying

00:11:02.340 --> 00:11:07.039
anything about this, you know? And I'm like,

00:11:07.059 --> 00:11:09.139
I didn't know that Disney loved cannibalism so

00:11:09.139 --> 00:11:11.659
much. I, you know, like this is wild. And so

00:11:11.659 --> 00:11:13.700
I never watched that movie again. Cause I was

00:11:13.700 --> 00:11:15.820
like, look, it was too far for me. And this is

00:11:15.820 --> 00:11:19.429
a chill. This is a kids film, you know? I got

00:11:19.429 --> 00:11:21.409
to be honest with you. I've never seen it. I've

00:11:21.409 --> 00:11:23.450
never heard of it. But now it's at the top of

00:11:23.450 --> 00:11:28.029
my watch list. Oh, yeah. Same. Is there like

00:11:28.029 --> 00:11:30.809
a little like political commentary there, you

00:11:30.809 --> 00:11:32.649
know, like the devouring of the government agents?

00:11:32.669 --> 00:11:34.049
There has to be something behind that, right?

00:11:34.450 --> 00:11:41.149
Oh, man. That's not subtext. No. Right. Color

00:11:41.149 --> 00:11:43.289
me intrigued. I look forward to watching that

00:11:43.289 --> 00:11:46.500
movie. There are a couple on this list that jump

00:11:46.500 --> 00:11:48.620
out at me as well. You know, we recently talked

00:11:48.620 --> 00:11:50.840
about The Abominable Snowman, a Hammer Horror

00:11:50.840 --> 00:11:53.779
picture on the podcast with Steffi Theodora.

00:11:54.080 --> 00:11:57.139
So I'll shout out The Gorgon from 1964, which

00:11:57.139 --> 00:11:59.259
is another Hammer Horror picture. Probably my

00:11:59.259 --> 00:12:01.659
favorite Hammer movie that I've seen. Those are

00:12:01.659 --> 00:12:03.879
a little bit hit or miss for me. But this one,

00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:06.620
The Gorgon, is like so bright and colorful. The

00:12:06.620 --> 00:12:08.960
sets are like eye -popping and amazing. The costumes

00:12:08.960 --> 00:12:12.509
are so... garish and over the top, but so fun

00:12:12.509 --> 00:12:15.210
to look at. Yeah, the Gorgon is great. I like

00:12:15.210 --> 00:12:18.210
that movie a lot. Nice. I'm going to shout out

00:12:18.210 --> 00:12:21.990
Attack of the Crab Monsters from 1957. This is

00:12:21.990 --> 00:12:24.350
a Roger Corman picture produced, directed by

00:12:24.350 --> 00:12:29.330
the man. It's black and white, cheesy, but surprisingly

00:12:29.330 --> 00:12:32.870
better than you think. He's rigged up these giant

00:12:32.870 --> 00:12:37.009
crab puppets on wheels. Sometimes you see the

00:12:37.009 --> 00:12:40.159
wheels. But the crab monsters are telepathic

00:12:40.159 --> 00:12:43.360
and they communicate to these people who have

00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:45.139
been stranded on an island. And now they're like,

00:12:45.200 --> 00:12:47.919
oh, there's giant crab monsters around. But it

00:12:47.919 --> 00:12:50.700
gets kind of dark in places. It goes places you

00:12:50.700 --> 00:12:52.919
might not expect it to for all the cheesiness.

00:12:53.519 --> 00:12:57.139
So it's not a bad way to spend an hour and a

00:12:57.139 --> 00:13:00.779
half. Attack of the Crab Monsters. Nice. Must

00:13:00.779 --> 00:13:02.120
have been one of the first Corman productions,

00:13:02.379 --> 00:13:04.600
right? From 57? Pretty early on. Yeah, pretty

00:13:04.600 --> 00:13:07.409
early on. We'll mention Corman again later on,

00:13:07.429 --> 00:13:11.549
just in passing. But yeah. New and upcoming releases.

00:13:12.549 --> 00:13:14.870
I'm so excited about this. Or just like monster

00:13:14.870 --> 00:13:17.809
movie news. Are you guys fans of Kenan and Kel?

00:13:18.129 --> 00:13:21.110
Yes. Do you know about this new movie they're

00:13:21.110 --> 00:13:23.850
making? Kenan and Kel meet Frankenstein? Yeah.

00:13:24.309 --> 00:13:28.289
Yes. It's legit. Yeah. I don't know. Like in

00:13:28.289 --> 00:13:30.110
the great tradition of Abbott and Costello meet

00:13:30.110 --> 00:13:32.230
Frankenstein. But you know they're going to do

00:13:32.230 --> 00:13:34.490
their own thing with it. Yeah. I love Kenan and

00:13:34.490 --> 00:13:37.000
Kel so much. Yeah, I mean, well, like, man, they

00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:41.440
are Generation X's Abbott and Costello, if you

00:13:41.440 --> 00:13:44.299
think about it. And the fact that, like, they

00:13:44.299 --> 00:13:47.139
are, you know, like, they're timeless, and they're

00:13:47.139 --> 00:13:50.580
also ageless. So I'm like, like, you know, both

00:13:50.580 --> 00:13:53.149
of those guys should be in their 40s. should

00:13:53.149 --> 00:13:57.549
be in their mid to late 40s, but they still look

00:13:57.549 --> 00:14:00.330
so young. I'm like, this is how they played off

00:14:00.330 --> 00:14:04.509
making a good Burger 2 a couple years ago. You

00:14:04.509 --> 00:14:06.970
know? And I'm just like, this is wild. And the

00:14:06.970 --> 00:14:10.529
thing is, everybody was happy when it came out.

00:14:10.570 --> 00:14:12.370
When it came out, well, this is before the Ellisons

00:14:12.370 --> 00:14:14.070
bought Paramount, but that's a whole other story

00:14:14.070 --> 00:14:18.570
for another time. Anywho. But yeah, they still

00:14:18.570 --> 00:14:21.649
just look so vibrant, and they're funny together.

00:14:22.759 --> 00:14:26.320
No matter how this plays out, it's a must for

00:14:26.320 --> 00:14:29.960
me. I have to see it. Absolutely. It might be,

00:14:29.980 --> 00:14:33.299
I don't know, pure nostalgia bait, but I don't

00:14:33.299 --> 00:14:35.840
care. I love those dudes. I love Frankenstein.

00:14:36.500 --> 00:14:39.960
Let's go for it. Let's go for broke. I feel like

00:14:39.960 --> 00:14:42.220
they should stop trying to remake all the Universal

00:14:42.220 --> 00:14:44.519
movies just straight up, like The Mummy and all

00:14:44.519 --> 00:14:48.379
that. Do this. Kenan and Kel meet all the different

00:14:48.379 --> 00:14:50.820
monsters. I want to see those remakes, not a

00:14:50.820 --> 00:14:52.590
straight up remake. You know what I mean? Years

00:14:52.590 --> 00:14:57.049
ago, I think there was a hack of Sony, and it

00:14:57.049 --> 00:15:00.490
was released, like internal memos, that they

00:15:00.490 --> 00:15:05.049
were going to cross over the 21 Jump Street and

00:15:05.049 --> 00:15:10.529
Men in Black worlds. Yeah. And I would have loved

00:15:10.529 --> 00:15:14.129
that, but I feel like the leak kind of tanked

00:15:14.129 --> 00:15:16.129
it all. I don't know, but that would have been

00:15:16.129 --> 00:15:18.690
mind -blowing. My whole thing was when that got

00:15:18.690 --> 00:15:20.830
leaked and everybody was talking about it, if

00:15:20.830 --> 00:15:22.929
I'm a studio head, I'm like, Oh, no, this is

00:15:22.929 --> 00:15:25.929
actually positive talk. Yes. Let's go ahead and

00:15:25.929 --> 00:15:29.309
see if we can get this done. You know, you know,

00:15:29.309 --> 00:15:32.250
as opposed to the Internet fooling Sony into

00:15:32.250 --> 00:15:38.289
like re -releasing Morbius. Don't studios watch

00:15:38.289 --> 00:15:43.929
movies? Don't they understand what we want? Or

00:15:43.929 --> 00:15:45.929
listen to their fans, you know? Apparently not.

00:15:46.710 --> 00:15:52.059
Never. Boy, OK. In other. Monster movie news

00:15:52.059 --> 00:15:56.580
and other black horror movie news. Sinners made

00:15:56.580 --> 00:16:00.620
a splash with a record amount of nominations

00:16:00.620 --> 00:16:04.940
for this year's Oscars. Yeah. Was it 16 Oscars,

00:16:04.940 --> 00:16:06.460
I think, in total? Something to that extent,

00:16:06.559 --> 00:16:08.759
yes. I didn't even know that was the record.

00:16:08.940 --> 00:16:14.080
I'm like, damn. Good for Sinners. Yeah. Amazing

00:16:14.080 --> 00:16:16.720
movie. My fifth favorite of 2025 for whatever

00:16:16.720 --> 00:16:18.820
that's worth. Your fifth favorite. Yeah. Yep.

00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:20.960
I have my top 10. Like any good film nerd has

00:16:20.960 --> 00:16:25.600
to have their list. Amazing movie. I love centers.

00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:28.779
Oh yeah. It's, it's fantastic. Like it's like,

00:16:28.840 --> 00:16:30.700
it didn't really have a lot of time last year

00:16:30.700 --> 00:16:33.720
to go to the movie theater too much, but I made

00:16:33.720 --> 00:16:37.019
time to go see centers and I'm glad that I did.

00:16:37.320 --> 00:16:40.759
And like, Like that movie, that movie still sits

00:16:40.759 --> 00:16:43.100
with me. Like I got, I got the Blu -ray copy

00:16:43.100 --> 00:16:47.360
for Christmas and, and I just, man, it's like,

00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:49.679
it tugs at your heartstrings. It scares the living

00:16:49.679 --> 00:16:52.240
daylights out of you. It's, you know, it's cultural,

00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:54.799
like, you know, talks about cultures and like,

00:16:54.879 --> 00:16:58.759
you know, and just like, oh man, subculture and

00:16:58.759 --> 00:17:03.259
music. Oh God. Like the, the whole musical journey

00:17:03.259 --> 00:17:07.440
in that movie is amazing. It is absolutely amazing.

00:17:07.579 --> 00:17:11.680
And Delroy Lindo, I swear, that man needs all

00:17:11.680 --> 00:17:15.319
the awards for his performance in that film.

00:17:15.500 --> 00:17:19.039
That whole cast is great. That whole cast was

00:17:19.039 --> 00:17:24.049
fantastic. I love that movie so much. And such

00:17:24.049 --> 00:17:25.650
a good movie theater movie, too, you know, like

00:17:25.650 --> 00:17:27.190
if you haven't seen it in the theater and it's

00:17:27.190 --> 00:17:28.910
like being re -released in the theaters soon

00:17:28.910 --> 00:17:31.190
because of the Oscar nominations, make sure you

00:17:31.190 --> 00:17:33.190
see in the theater because it's so stylish. It

00:17:33.190 --> 00:17:35.730
sounds amazing. Like, you know, it's it would

00:17:35.730 --> 00:17:38.349
be great at home as well. But like, it's just

00:17:38.349 --> 00:17:39.910
a different experience on the big screen, you

00:17:39.910 --> 00:17:42.470
know. Oh, yeah. Like there was a YouTube video

00:17:42.470 --> 00:17:45.690
and I forget who Ryan Coogler was referring to

00:17:45.690 --> 00:17:48.410
in the video, but somebody interviewed him. And

00:17:48.410 --> 00:17:49.990
like it was like kind of like it's not a documentary

00:17:49.990 --> 00:17:54.950
as much as him explaining to people like I film

00:17:54.950 --> 00:17:57.710
this with kind of cameras for these kind of shots.

00:17:57.789 --> 00:18:01.609
And it's really meant for the theater. You know,

00:18:01.630 --> 00:18:03.430
it's meant for the theater. Yes, you can enjoy

00:18:03.430 --> 00:18:05.849
it at home. But like these like three or four

00:18:05.849 --> 00:18:07.769
shots here, they're filmed this way and they

00:18:07.769 --> 00:18:11.950
fill the space. in a way that if you can watch

00:18:11.950 --> 00:18:14.390
it at a theater, please do. And I was like, okay,

00:18:14.490 --> 00:18:18.049
bet. I was like, I'll be there. So yeah, never

00:18:18.049 --> 00:18:22.190
been let down from Ryan Coogler. Well, coming

00:18:22.190 --> 00:18:25.190
up on Camp Kaiju, Matt, it's your pick, another

00:18:25.190 --> 00:18:28.500
vampire movie. We'll keep the theme going. Yeah,

00:18:28.539 --> 00:18:31.460
with a unique cultural perspective. So Alucarda

00:18:31.460 --> 00:18:34.640
from 1977, which is a Mexican horror movie. I

00:18:34.640 --> 00:18:37.220
don't know a lot about it. Juan Lopez Moctezuma

00:18:37.220 --> 00:18:40.660
directed this film from 1977, Alucarda. From

00:18:40.660 --> 00:18:42.440
what I've read, one of the greatest Mexican horror

00:18:42.440 --> 00:18:44.380
movies of all time. So definitely excited for

00:18:44.380 --> 00:18:49.460
that one. Nice, nice. And then after that, we're

00:18:49.460 --> 00:18:52.940
going to the region of Reptilicus to Scandinavia

00:18:52.940 --> 00:18:56.650
with a Norwegian film. called Troll Hunter from

00:18:56.650 --> 00:19:00.089
2013. I saw this movie basically when it came

00:19:00.089 --> 00:19:02.650
out. I've been dying to watch it again. And this

00:19:02.650 --> 00:19:05.789
podcast is the perfect excuse to do that. So

00:19:05.789 --> 00:19:08.630
Troll Hunter. I need to check these out because

00:19:08.630 --> 00:19:11.369
I have not watched either of these. Oh, it's

00:19:11.369 --> 00:19:14.829
about a giant troll. So it's a kaiju movie. It's

00:19:14.829 --> 00:19:18.269
about a team of researchers. And I remember the

00:19:18.269 --> 00:19:21.910
CGI being really good, actually. And they use

00:19:21.910 --> 00:19:24.759
a lot of. I don't I'm not an expert, but like

00:19:24.759 --> 00:19:28.740
real myth and lore surrounding trolls in Norway.

00:19:29.180 --> 00:19:31.339
And like you have to feed it a goat to get it

00:19:31.339 --> 00:19:33.279
out of its, you know, out from under the bridge

00:19:33.279 --> 00:19:36.759
and all the typical fairy tale stuff. I haven't

00:19:36.759 --> 00:19:41.619
seen it yet either. I'm excited. All right. Back

00:19:41.619 --> 00:19:44.400
to vampires. Blackula, one of the most famous.

00:19:45.240 --> 00:19:47.940
What are our personal histories with this here

00:19:47.940 --> 00:19:50.920
film? I think I well, I'd only seen it for the

00:19:50.920 --> 00:19:53.579
first time just this past week. I'd always heard

00:19:53.579 --> 00:19:58.099
of it, Blackula, maybe just because of the zeitgeist

00:19:58.099 --> 00:20:01.359
and pop culture. But I had never seen it. I'd

00:20:01.359 --> 00:20:03.960
seen clips of it from a documentary that I'm

00:20:03.960 --> 00:20:05.619
going to mention a lot, that I do mention a lot,

00:20:05.660 --> 00:20:09.000
called Horror Noir, which is an adaptation of

00:20:09.000 --> 00:20:14.339
a book by Dr. Robin Means Coleman, which is a

00:20:14.339 --> 00:20:17.079
history of Blacks in American horror films from

00:20:17.079 --> 00:20:19.359
the 1890s to the present. So it's really like

00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:24.609
in -depth history. And in the Shudder original

00:20:24.609 --> 00:20:28.410
adaptation of this book, they talk about Blackula

00:20:28.410 --> 00:20:31.309
a lot with the director, William Crane. So that

00:20:31.309 --> 00:20:34.650
was my first exposure to the movie, really. So

00:20:34.650 --> 00:20:36.609
I was very excited to bring it to the show, Camp

00:20:36.609 --> 00:20:39.359
Kaiju. I mean, I can go real quick just because

00:20:39.359 --> 00:20:41.400
my like my response will also be short and then

00:20:41.400 --> 00:20:43.480
Sean, you can take it away. But yeah, like you,

00:20:43.500 --> 00:20:45.279
Vincent, like I had always heard about Blackula

00:20:45.279 --> 00:20:47.220
and I'd wanted to see it for many, many years

00:20:47.220 --> 00:20:50.240
and finally did this past week. I was a little

00:20:50.240 --> 00:20:52.930
bit more familiar with another. vampire movie

00:20:52.930 --> 00:20:55.269
with a unique black cultural perspective ganja

00:20:55.269 --> 00:20:57.289
and hess which came out the following year in

00:20:57.289 --> 00:21:00.450
1973 i've seen that movie several times i really

00:21:00.450 --> 00:21:02.650
love that movie and but yeah for whatever reason

00:21:02.650 --> 00:21:05.289
hadn't seen blackula until this past week so

00:21:05.289 --> 00:21:08.470
pretty pretty much new to it aside from cultural

00:21:08.470 --> 00:21:11.349
osmosis and you know what's kind of known throughout

00:21:11.349 --> 00:21:13.630
the culture about this movie in the title for

00:21:13.630 --> 00:21:20.279
me i saw this movie at home I was a child. I

00:21:20.279 --> 00:21:22.740
was like seven years old. It was like it was

00:21:22.740 --> 00:21:25.359
a cold Saturday. And so like, you know, I couldn't

00:21:25.359 --> 00:21:28.000
go outside and play. And my mom was watching

00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:29.799
TV. So I was like, oh, you know, because me and

00:21:29.799 --> 00:21:32.440
my mom watch TV together all the time. And so

00:21:32.440 --> 00:21:34.079
I was like, OK, well, wherever is wherever mom

00:21:34.079 --> 00:21:37.420
is watching, I got this. It's fine. And Blackula

00:21:37.420 --> 00:21:39.980
was starting. And I was like, well, that sounds

00:21:39.980 --> 00:21:42.359
scary because like I'm not as I'm not a scary

00:21:42.359 --> 00:21:44.660
movie person. That's just that's that's not me.

00:21:45.119 --> 00:21:49.569
But like the whole time, like. I like, I didn't

00:21:49.569 --> 00:21:51.589
leave the room. Like my eyes were constantly

00:21:51.589 --> 00:21:54.730
fixated on the television because like, you know,

00:21:54.730 --> 00:21:57.450
I'd never seen anything like that before, you

00:21:57.450 --> 00:21:59.670
know, at the age of seven, I never seen that

00:21:59.670 --> 00:22:03.170
before. Like, like, yeah. Like to see like a

00:22:03.170 --> 00:22:06.630
predominantly black cast in a, you know, a science,

00:22:06.690 --> 00:22:09.009
like basically a sci -fi ish, you know, horror

00:22:09.009 --> 00:22:12.849
film. I'm like, I had never seen that. And, you

00:22:12.849 --> 00:22:14.789
know, and like, like, cause outside of roots.

00:22:15.500 --> 00:22:18.160
and like the jeffersons like that's the only

00:22:18.160 --> 00:22:20.599
time i really saw like you know really you know

00:22:20.599 --> 00:22:23.940
really like a predominantly black cast but like

00:22:23.940 --> 00:22:26.619
i just remember being like infatuated by it and

00:22:26.619 --> 00:22:29.319
like not feeling scared like the only time like

00:22:29.319 --> 00:22:30.940
i would turn my head and i still do this right

00:22:30.940 --> 00:22:33.160
now is that like when they're about to bite somebody

00:22:33.160 --> 00:22:35.539
they just start screaming like i'm like i can't

00:22:35.539 --> 00:22:37.500
i can't do this i can't nope it's aggressive

00:22:38.089 --> 00:22:40.890
It's very aggressive. It's very aggressive, yes.

00:22:41.710 --> 00:22:45.069
But besides that, even when we get to the ending,

00:22:45.369 --> 00:22:49.930
I remember it didn't freak me out as a child.

00:22:49.990 --> 00:22:55.150
If anything, it made me feel bad for our titular

00:22:55.150 --> 00:22:58.789
character. But now I still feel bad. I'm like,

00:22:58.910 --> 00:23:02.930
but that ending is just gross. But I understand

00:23:02.930 --> 00:23:07.349
the point. But still, it's nasty. Yeah, it's

00:23:07.349 --> 00:23:10.890
a it's a wicked bit of body horror there. Yeah,

00:23:10.990 --> 00:23:13.210
it's an example of maybe like kind of crude special

00:23:13.210 --> 00:23:15.250
effects, just like adding to the sort of like

00:23:15.250 --> 00:23:17.410
horror of it, you know, because you can obviously

00:23:17.410 --> 00:23:19.869
tell how they did it, like the lap dissolved

00:23:19.869 --> 00:23:21.690
to like these different maybe I shouldn't give

00:23:21.690 --> 00:23:24.569
away the ending. It is it's gruesome. And like

00:23:24.569 --> 00:23:26.430
it's like the low budget just kind of just kind

00:23:26.430 --> 00:23:27.970
of makes it more gruesome, I think, you know.

00:23:28.740 --> 00:23:34.240
Who dares touch these rotting bones? Who dares

00:23:34.240 --> 00:23:37.299
call forth the most horrible specter of the dead?

00:23:39.859 --> 00:23:45.819
Now he's back. The Black Prince of Darkness,

00:23:46.059 --> 00:23:50.400
Blackula. Recalled by the awesome powers of voodoo.

00:23:50.619 --> 00:23:53.599
To stalk the earth in a new quest for blood.

00:23:59.529 --> 00:24:07.329
Dracula's soul brother. Obsessed with vengeance.

00:24:10.490 --> 00:24:15.009
Craving young bodies. Lusting for hot blood.

00:24:15.269 --> 00:24:18.549
To create new victims for the legions of the

00:24:18.549 --> 00:24:33.539
undead. you something of an edge over the rest

00:24:33.539 --> 00:24:37.740
william marshall again as the lord of the vampires

00:24:37.740 --> 00:24:41.940
in a relentless search for pam grid of the exciting

00:24:41.940 --> 00:24:48.380
star of coffee i need you now he is back ever

00:24:48.380 --> 00:25:20.099
more evil ever more fearful Blackula Scream.

00:25:20.720 --> 00:25:24.579
The bloodiest legend of our time. Honey Casey

00:25:24.579 --> 00:25:29.500
is Dr. Black. Hiya, Doc. No, you can't try that.

00:25:29.559 --> 00:25:36.140
A monster he could not control had taken over

00:25:36.140 --> 00:25:40.220
his very soul. A screaming demon rages inside,

00:25:40.480 --> 00:25:54.960
turning him into Mr. Hyde. supernatural and super

00:25:54.960 --> 00:25:58.140
bad that's a cross between the abominable snowman

00:25:58.140 --> 00:26:01.799
and willie the werewolf indestructible nothing

00:26:01.799 --> 00:26:05.660
can stop him not bombs bullets or bulldozers

00:26:05.660 --> 00:26:09.940
no man alive could take that guy but he's on

00:26:09.940 --> 00:26:12.759
his feet when he hits the street dr block and

00:26:12.759 --> 00:26:17.799
mr hide his victim thinks she's tricked him but

00:26:17.799 --> 00:26:19.819
she hasn't a prayer when he leaps through the

00:26:19.819 --> 00:26:27.049
air Shot full of lead and he still ain't dead.

00:26:30.430 --> 00:26:35.930
In a moment, you'll look like me. Dr. Block and

00:26:35.930 --> 00:26:40.569
Mr. Hyde. Don't give him no sass or he'll kick

00:26:40.569 --> 00:26:44.589
your ass. Jump out, Jack, or your skull is cracked.

00:26:45.210 --> 00:26:48.069
The barflies are trying, but their bodies keep

00:26:48.069 --> 00:26:51.190
flying. The dude stood tall till his butt hit

00:26:51.190 --> 00:26:55.519
the wall. When the boys go rushing, Mr. Hyde

00:26:55.519 --> 00:26:58.240
starts crushing. The crowd is rushing as the

00:26:58.240 --> 00:27:04.779
blood comes gushing. There's a heel behind the

00:27:04.779 --> 00:27:07.880
wheel when Hyde takes his ride. No man can survive

00:27:07.880 --> 00:27:10.599
when he shifts into drive. It ain't no jive trying

00:27:10.599 --> 00:27:13.539
to stay alive. Silky won't revive from his final

00:27:13.539 --> 00:27:17.559
nose dive. Brother man, this situation is rapidly

00:27:17.559 --> 00:27:21.349
becoming insalubrious. Meaning we about to stomp

00:27:21.349 --> 00:27:24.089
a mud hole in your ass. From the first verse

00:27:24.089 --> 00:27:28.130
to the last flyer. It's Dr. Block and Mr. Hyde.

00:27:28.250 --> 00:27:31.430
Starring Bernie Casey, Rosalind Cash, Stu Gillum.

00:27:31.450 --> 00:27:35.029
Directed by William Dracula Crane. Dr. Block

00:27:35.029 --> 00:27:42.750
and Mr. Hyde. This was Abby. This was Abby. A

00:27:42.750 --> 00:27:49.160
woman loved and in love. Until that night. when

00:27:49.160 --> 00:27:53.180
something evil came looking for a soul to possess.

00:28:00.740 --> 00:28:05.380
I can't stop thinking about your husband. That

00:28:05.380 --> 00:28:10.640
creep. Forget him. Was this Abby? Now the fun

00:28:10.640 --> 00:28:18.869
starts. Grab her. Hold her. Hear me, demon. Leave

00:28:18.869 --> 00:28:27.789
this woman buried. Abby, rate it R. So this film

00:28:27.789 --> 00:28:30.029
was directed by William Crane. He was 23 years

00:28:30.029 --> 00:28:32.809
old when he directed Blackula. He was a recent

00:28:32.809 --> 00:28:36.650
graduate of the UCLA Film School in Los Angeles.

00:28:37.289 --> 00:28:39.869
And part of, and this is all new to me, that's

00:28:39.869 --> 00:28:41.730
why I love doing my research, part of a movement

00:28:41.730 --> 00:28:44.750
called the LA Rebellion. in the late 60s, early

00:28:44.750 --> 00:28:48.049
70s, also known as the Los Angeles, the quote,

00:28:48.130 --> 00:28:51.509
Los Angeles School of Black Filmmakers. Before

00:28:51.509 --> 00:28:55.769
the late 60s, which culturally, looking at the

00:28:55.769 --> 00:29:01.250
United States, it's a time of major social movement.

00:29:01.730 --> 00:29:04.369
I have a social studies license, sure. What am

00:29:04.369 --> 00:29:06.490
I trying to say? Women's movement, black power

00:29:06.490 --> 00:29:09.670
movement, civil rights movement. You had Vietnam,

00:29:09.809 --> 00:29:13.390
so you had a youth movement. And you're seeing

00:29:13.390 --> 00:29:15.230
a lot of change. And I think that is reflected

00:29:15.230 --> 00:29:18.829
in this L .A. rebellion, as it's called, when

00:29:18.829 --> 00:29:21.829
black enrollment increased in the late 60s and

00:29:21.829 --> 00:29:25.069
70s at UCLA. And these filmmakers made opportunities

00:29:25.069 --> 00:29:28.809
for themselves then in TV and film. William Crane

00:29:28.809 --> 00:29:33.730
was among them. He doesn't have a ton of movie

00:29:33.730 --> 00:29:37.450
credits, but a couple that stand out to me. He

00:29:37.450 --> 00:29:41.450
was an intern on a 1971 film called Brother John,

00:29:41.710 --> 00:29:45.609
starring Sidney Poitier. And William Crane then

00:29:45.609 --> 00:29:50.430
later directed 1976's Dr. Black and Mr. Hyde,

00:29:50.430 --> 00:29:53.410
which I have also heard good things about, but

00:29:53.410 --> 00:29:56.509
I have not seen. I have forever been on the fence

00:29:56.509 --> 00:30:00.410
with Dr. Black and Mr. Hyde. It's a film that

00:30:00.410 --> 00:30:05.190
I truly, truly want to enjoy. I struggle with

00:30:05.190 --> 00:30:08.289
it because for me, this person, this person,

00:30:08.329 --> 00:30:15.849
for me, if I compare it to Blackula, and as we

00:30:15.849 --> 00:30:18.089
continue to talk about Blackula, the film itself,

00:30:18.470 --> 00:30:20.829
there are things that Blackula sincerely tries

00:30:20.829 --> 00:30:26.009
to do for the betterment of Black cinema, whereas

00:30:26.009 --> 00:30:30.930
Dr. Black and Mr. Hyde, it doesn't push that

00:30:30.930 --> 00:30:35.539
as far. it just feels tame. Okay. That's what

00:30:35.539 --> 00:30:38.140
I'm looking for. Like I, I get it. It just feels

00:30:38.140 --> 00:30:41.099
tame. And like, it just like hit certain stereotypes,

00:30:41.220 --> 00:30:45.880
just hit them. And like, I, so like I, I, but

00:30:45.880 --> 00:30:49.740
I, I want to, I want to like it, but I, I can't,

00:30:49.779 --> 00:30:52.079
I, I just, I've, I just always, I've been forever

00:30:52.079 --> 00:30:54.599
on the fence with it. You know, I just, it just,

00:30:54.680 --> 00:30:56.559
for some reason it does not resonate with me.

00:30:57.059 --> 00:31:00.859
Hmm. We can go off on a, on a blaxploitation

00:31:00.859 --> 00:31:04.180
tangent here. Cause that's, So much a part of

00:31:04.180 --> 00:31:06.640
this film's legacy, Blackula's legacy. And we

00:31:06.640 --> 00:31:09.299
can unpack that term later on. But just for the

00:31:09.299 --> 00:31:13.240
sake of conversation, what I have consumed is

00:31:13.240 --> 00:31:18.019
kind of what you're saying, Sean. Blackula starts

00:31:18.019 --> 00:31:22.140
this movement off very strong, this black cinema

00:31:22.140 --> 00:31:25.819
movement of the 70s. But by the end of this movement,

00:31:26.099 --> 00:31:29.279
maybe some of the films in what they're portraying

00:31:29.279 --> 00:31:31.720
grow a little more tame, maybe grow a little

00:31:31.720 --> 00:31:36.279
more... tired yeah yeah and and and some and

00:31:36.279 --> 00:31:38.039
some of the early films in the blaxploitation

00:31:38.039 --> 00:31:40.779
era like are like that too where it's just like

00:31:40.779 --> 00:31:43.859
you know depending on who's producing it and

00:31:43.859 --> 00:31:46.160
who's in front and who's behind the camera a

00:31:46.160 --> 00:31:48.660
lot some of them can be very stereotypical but

00:31:48.660 --> 00:31:51.380
there are some where like the actors make sure

00:31:51.380 --> 00:31:54.200
that they have agency to make the proper changes

00:31:54.200 --> 00:31:57.680
to make to like even even if it doesn't always

00:31:57.680 --> 00:32:01.970
come across the way they want it it's still worth

00:32:01.970 --> 00:32:04.769
watching. And it's also like historical, like

00:32:04.769 --> 00:32:07.789
Pam Greer is a perfect example. You know, like

00:32:07.789 --> 00:32:11.650
that, like the blaxploitation queen back in the

00:32:11.650 --> 00:32:13.950
day, someone who honestly should have, should

00:32:13.950 --> 00:32:17.250
have honestly had a better career in Hollywood

00:32:17.250 --> 00:32:20.470
than she received, you know, like, you know,

00:32:20.470 --> 00:32:24.789
had a, had an amazing run of blaxploitation films.

00:32:24.970 --> 00:32:28.099
And so. But like I said, there's good in there.

00:32:28.180 --> 00:32:31.579
Like Shaft, like Warner Brothers was like, yeah,

00:32:31.599 --> 00:32:33.240
go ahead and spend half a million on Shaft. It's

00:32:33.240 --> 00:32:37.579
fine. And it was a hit. It was so successful.

00:32:37.740 --> 00:32:39.339
It got another film in. It got like, you know,

00:32:39.359 --> 00:32:41.910
a couple, I think it got like a... a TV series

00:32:41.910 --> 00:32:45.130
for, like, a year. You know, like, earlier in

00:32:45.130 --> 00:32:47.289
the decade, too, like, Cotton Comes to Harlem

00:32:47.289 --> 00:32:50.230
from 1970. Really love that movie. And it's directed

00:32:50.230 --> 00:32:52.130
by Ossie Davis, who, of course, is a longtime

00:32:52.130 --> 00:32:54.349
actor. And, you know, it's such a daring movie.

00:32:54.490 --> 00:32:56.690
And that also had a low budget, but it's so entertaining

00:32:56.690 --> 00:32:59.309
and so exciting. And, like, Sweet Sweetback's

00:32:59.309 --> 00:33:01.029
Badass Song I really love. I think that's from

00:33:01.029 --> 00:33:05.730
1971? Maybe it's 73? So, like, yeah, there were

00:33:05.730 --> 00:33:08.349
movies before Blackula that were also, like,

00:33:08.349 --> 00:33:11.259
very... Daring, but not so much in the horror

00:33:11.259 --> 00:33:12.960
genre, though. And I think that's what Blackula

00:33:12.960 --> 00:33:15.859
does. That's very unique. Right. And it kicks

00:33:15.859 --> 00:33:19.960
off a good number of Black horror films. You

00:33:19.960 --> 00:33:24.000
know. So you have your Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde. Later

00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:27.640
on, there's Abby, which William Marshall is also

00:33:27.640 --> 00:33:29.920
in. It's kind of like the Black version of The

00:33:29.920 --> 00:33:33.920
Exorcist in a lot of ways. And I think that if

00:33:33.920 --> 00:33:36.380
memory serves me correct, and I may be wrong

00:33:36.380 --> 00:33:38.690
on this, because I... I haven't watched every

00:33:38.690 --> 00:33:41.930
single Blaxploitation film to date, but I believe

00:33:41.930 --> 00:33:44.529
there was a Black Frankenstein movie called Blackenstein.

00:33:44.769 --> 00:33:49.609
Yep. And that is one I have yet to watch. But

00:33:49.609 --> 00:33:54.089
seriously, there are fantastic films in the Blaxploitation

00:33:54.089 --> 00:33:58.750
era. I understand some of the negativity towards

00:33:58.750 --> 00:34:04.569
the genre, but also at the same time, so many

00:34:04.569 --> 00:34:09.380
Black people. got opportunities from it. You

00:34:09.380 --> 00:34:13.420
know, like to be 23 years old to direct in Blackula,

00:34:13.559 --> 00:34:17.539
like that's like for like that time, for that

00:34:17.539 --> 00:34:22.679
time period, that is incredible. And just a bit

00:34:22.679 --> 00:34:25.119
bald hair, but like William Marshall, man, what

00:34:25.119 --> 00:34:29.659
a talent. And he was a veteran of not just TV

00:34:29.659 --> 00:34:32.519
and movies, but stage. I mean, this guy was classically

00:34:32.519 --> 00:34:37.570
trained. Blackula. I mean, arguably is what he's

00:34:37.570 --> 00:34:41.630
best known for. And is that because the system,

00:34:41.690 --> 00:34:44.809
the systemic racism didn't give him a chance?

00:34:45.110 --> 00:34:49.170
They said Poitier is our man. He should be alongside

00:34:49.170 --> 00:34:51.929
Sidney Poitier, I think. Well, what also hurt

00:34:51.929 --> 00:34:56.090
William Marshall was, was that during the McCarthy

00:34:56.090 --> 00:34:59.909
era, when McCarthy was trying to stomp out communism,

00:34:59.949 --> 00:35:04.599
also in a way. Also, in a way that America is

00:35:04.599 --> 00:35:06.320
doing right now with the whole situation with

00:35:06.320 --> 00:35:07.840
ICE and our current government and all this,

00:35:07.840 --> 00:35:10.460
all these other things. Basically, what McCarthy

00:35:10.460 --> 00:35:12.960
McCarthy McCarthy did is similar to what we're

00:35:12.960 --> 00:35:14.739
dealing with right now. But McCarthy is like,

00:35:14.820 --> 00:35:17.179
OK, all these people I don't like, I'm going

00:35:17.179 --> 00:35:20.360
to put them on a list and I'll make up anything

00:35:20.360 --> 00:35:23.099
I want about them and call them communists. And

00:35:23.099 --> 00:35:25.679
William Marshall, who was pro black, you know,

00:35:25.679 --> 00:35:27.840
and everything else got thrown on that list.

00:35:28.280 --> 00:35:31.599
So. Like he's starting to peak in like 1957,

00:35:32.159 --> 00:35:36.760
1958. And then the whole McCarthy thing happens.

00:35:36.820 --> 00:35:39.579
The movie opportunities start to like dwindle

00:35:39.579 --> 00:35:41.699
for like three or four years. Then he moves on

00:35:41.699 --> 00:35:44.219
the TV and he does like, you know, spot roles

00:35:44.219 --> 00:35:46.940
on TV, like episode of Star Trek, episode of

00:35:46.940 --> 00:35:50.239
Gunsmoke or Bonanza, one of those two Westerns

00:35:50.239 --> 00:35:53.570
and things like that. But, like, and then, like,

00:35:53.630 --> 00:35:55.550
you know, with Blaxploitation there, where Blackula

00:35:55.550 --> 00:35:58.250
brings him back. Blackula Scream, Blackula Scream,

00:35:58.429 --> 00:36:01.650
Abby, and then I think he does, like, one or

00:36:01.650 --> 00:36:03.530
two other movies, and then he's back in television.

00:36:04.190 --> 00:36:06.610
And where I, like, and the thing is, is that,

00:36:06.650 --> 00:36:08.849
like, as a kid, like, I saw him as Blackula before

00:36:08.849 --> 00:36:11.429
I saw him as the King of Cartoons in Pee -wee's

00:36:11.429 --> 00:36:14.780
Playhouse. But in my head, I'm like... That's

00:36:14.780 --> 00:36:17.719
the king of cartoons. When he first shows up

00:36:17.719 --> 00:36:19.059
in the beginning of the movie, I'm like, the

00:36:19.059 --> 00:36:21.519
king of cartoons is in Transylvania. This is

00:36:21.519 --> 00:36:28.219
incredible. But he deserved so much more than

00:36:28.219 --> 00:36:31.800
what he actually received. And that goes for

00:36:31.800 --> 00:36:34.559
a lot of actors in the Blaxploitation era. But

00:36:34.559 --> 00:36:38.539
for each actor, it's a different reason why.

00:36:40.090 --> 00:36:42.230
Like he was just he was blacklisted. So there

00:36:42.230 --> 00:36:43.969
are people that would still hire him. But like

00:36:43.969 --> 00:36:47.829
like he's a leading man. Like he's got the swagger,

00:36:47.889 --> 00:36:52.230
the skill on stage and screen. Yeah. But you

00:36:52.230 --> 00:36:54.730
mean to tell me this is this is this is this

00:36:54.730 --> 00:36:59.150
is the peak right here. Right. So I'm I'm thankful.

00:36:59.250 --> 00:37:01.809
We're all thankful he he had the opportunity

00:37:01.809 --> 00:37:05.250
in something like Blackula. The other side of

00:37:05.250 --> 00:37:07.239
the coin is. it's great. These black exploitation

00:37:07.239 --> 00:37:09.500
films exist and the movement is so beautiful

00:37:09.500 --> 00:37:13.579
and so rich, but the culture that led to its

00:37:13.579 --> 00:37:16.900
formation in the first place was rotten and segregated.

00:37:17.420 --> 00:37:20.800
Yeah. Yeah. And also like the studios knew it's

00:37:20.800 --> 00:37:22.179
like, well, we don't have to pay them as much

00:37:22.179 --> 00:37:24.880
as we pay our white counterparts, you know, and

00:37:24.880 --> 00:37:28.360
we can film these cheap and, and on the fly and,

00:37:28.500 --> 00:37:30.880
you know, we'll met and we'll massive probably

00:37:30.880 --> 00:37:34.610
we'll massively profit, but. Do any of those

00:37:34.610 --> 00:37:37.389
actors get raises if they're sequels? You know

00:37:37.389 --> 00:37:39.349
what I mean? You know, because they probably

00:37:39.349 --> 00:37:41.809
got stuck with like a two or three movie contract

00:37:41.809 --> 00:37:45.909
deal. And so that money's locked in, you know.

00:37:45.949 --> 00:37:48.869
So it doesn't matter what it makes, you know,

00:37:48.889 --> 00:37:51.630
how much it makes. They're only paying, you know,

00:37:51.630 --> 00:37:54.449
X, Y, Z, you know. One more thing I was thinking

00:37:54.449 --> 00:37:57.190
of with William Crane. Sorry. Yeah, please. But

00:37:57.190 --> 00:38:00.269
I was really fascinated to read that he was part

00:38:00.269 --> 00:38:02.969
of the L .A. rebellion because, you know, I feel

00:38:02.969 --> 00:38:04.929
like other directors that were part of that movement,

00:38:05.010 --> 00:38:06.869
like Billy Woodbury, who made Blessed Little

00:38:06.869 --> 00:38:09.090
Hearts and Charles Burnett, who made Killer of

00:38:09.090 --> 00:38:11.750
Sheep, you know, are kind of revered figures

00:38:11.750 --> 00:38:14.210
in American independent film history. You know,

00:38:14.210 --> 00:38:16.969
like Killer of Sheep is seen as. one of the best

00:38:16.969 --> 00:38:19.710
American movies of the latter half of the 20th

00:38:19.710 --> 00:38:22.309
century, you know, and specifically of black

00:38:22.309 --> 00:38:24.489
independent cinema. So, you know, I just think

00:38:24.489 --> 00:38:26.610
it's fascinating and kind of unfortunate that,

00:38:26.630 --> 00:38:28.789
I mean, those directors are fantastic and they

00:38:28.789 --> 00:38:31.050
deserve to be remembered and, and cherished,

00:38:31.050 --> 00:38:33.809
but like William Crane, probably a lesser known

00:38:33.809 --> 00:38:36.789
name. And it just makes you wonder, like the

00:38:36.789 --> 00:38:40.369
horror genre has often been undervalued and underappreciated

00:38:40.369 --> 00:38:43.809
and kind of just seen as. and unsophisticated

00:38:43.809 --> 00:38:46.550
and all those things. So, you know, is that the

00:38:46.550 --> 00:38:48.989
reason why probably a lot of people don't really

00:38:48.989 --> 00:38:51.409
remember William Crane, but many people do remember

00:38:51.409 --> 00:38:54.010
Woodbury and Charles Burnett? You know, again,

00:38:54.190 --> 00:38:57.210
like there should be room to like remember all

00:38:57.210 --> 00:39:01.090
these figures, you know? Yeah. Yeah. I have a

00:39:01.090 --> 00:39:02.809
thought, but I think I'll come back to that later

00:39:02.809 --> 00:39:07.840
on in the episode. So the screenplay for Blackula

00:39:07.840 --> 00:39:11.219
is by Joan Torres and Raymond Koenig. The only

00:39:11.219 --> 00:39:13.300
other credit they have, at least according to

00:39:13.300 --> 00:39:16.599
Letterboxd, is the sequel, Scream Blackula Scream.

00:39:17.559 --> 00:39:21.699
Our movie Blackula is inspired by Bram Stoker's

00:39:21.699 --> 00:39:24.719
Dracula from 1897. Although it's interesting,

00:39:24.820 --> 00:39:26.679
I read a couple things. There's some similarities

00:39:26.679 --> 00:39:31.519
to an 1819 novel called The Black Vampire, A

00:39:31.519 --> 00:39:35.489
Legend of St. Domingo. by an author named Uriah

00:39:35.489 --> 00:39:38.429
Derek Darcy. And that's about an enslaved African

00:39:38.429 --> 00:39:40.590
in the Caribbean who has turned into a vampire

00:39:40.590 --> 00:39:43.150
and exacts vengeance on his captors. Whether

00:39:43.150 --> 00:39:44.650
or not that has anything to do with Blackula,

00:39:44.750 --> 00:39:48.690
I love that I learned about an early 19th century

00:39:48.690 --> 00:39:52.630
black vampire story. Right. Awesome. I want to

00:39:52.630 --> 00:39:55.420
read that. I read part of it online today because

00:39:55.420 --> 00:39:57.300
I was also really interested to hear that. I

00:39:57.300 --> 00:40:00.260
didn't read all of it, but it jumps right into

00:40:00.260 --> 00:40:02.639
the violence and the action. By the second page,

00:40:02.960 --> 00:40:05.800
white slave owners are being brutally killed

00:40:05.800 --> 00:40:08.780
by this young vampire character. I was shocked.

00:40:08.940 --> 00:40:11.099
I would like to read the rest of it. They're

00:40:11.099 --> 00:40:12.760
like, we're getting straight to the point. These

00:40:12.760 --> 00:40:17.309
folks is dying now. Yeah. Like I, you know, I

00:40:17.309 --> 00:40:18.710
was like, Oh, you know, I want to try to read

00:40:18.710 --> 00:40:20.230
this, but maybe it's going to like gradually

00:40:20.230 --> 00:40:23.469
work its way into the sensationalistic stuff.

00:40:23.530 --> 00:40:25.530
But no, I was shocked like right away. It's,

00:40:25.530 --> 00:40:27.409
it's kind of diving right into that, which makes

00:40:27.409 --> 00:40:28.949
it pretty entertaining to read. Although again,

00:40:29.010 --> 00:40:30.969
I didn't finish it. So that's awesome. Yeah.

00:40:32.949 --> 00:40:36.769
All right. Cape Cod, you book club. Okay. All

00:40:36.769 --> 00:40:39.860
right. So yeah, Sean, go for it. Okay, so executive

00:40:39.860 --> 00:40:44.280
producers, Samuel Z. Arcoff and James B. Nicholson.

00:40:44.320 --> 00:40:47.340
B -movie maestros from the 50s to the 1980s.

00:40:47.360 --> 00:40:50.019
Lots of credit to American International Pictures,

00:40:50.360 --> 00:40:53.599
who released Blackula. Some key works, Roger

00:40:53.599 --> 00:40:56.519
Corman's Post Cycle, Frankenstein Conquers the

00:40:56.519 --> 00:41:00.619
World, The Amazing Colossal Man, C or Q, The

00:41:00.619 --> 00:41:04.400
Winged Serpent, The Amityville Horror, and tons

00:41:04.400 --> 00:41:08.019
of other films. The thing about... American international

00:41:08.019 --> 00:41:12.239
pictures, like their whole thing was like Zarkov's

00:41:12.239 --> 00:41:14.300
whole thing is you make them cheap, get them

00:41:14.300 --> 00:41:17.659
out fast. Let's make this money and do it again.

00:41:18.179 --> 00:41:22.260
It's like, imagine bloom house, but with less

00:41:22.260 --> 00:41:27.039
ethics and even cheaper. Okay. That sums it up.

00:41:27.059 --> 00:41:29.300
Yeah. That really sums it up. And there's no

00:41:29.300 --> 00:41:31.099
shade to bloom house. Like I really like what

00:41:31.099 --> 00:41:33.199
they do because like they actually take legitimate

00:41:33.199 --> 00:41:36.119
risks. You know, as opposed to like a lot of

00:41:36.119 --> 00:41:38.599
movie studios nowadays. But like the thing, the

00:41:38.599 --> 00:41:41.960
funny thing is, is that one thing Samuel Arcoff

00:41:41.960 --> 00:41:45.400
had while at American International Pictures,

00:41:45.440 --> 00:41:48.219
he had this thing called the Arcoff formula where

00:41:48.219 --> 00:41:50.960
he took his last name and said and use like the

00:41:50.960 --> 00:41:52.820
first like the letters in his last name and said,

00:41:52.900 --> 00:41:56.699
OK, A is for action, exciting, entertaining drama.

00:41:56.920 --> 00:42:00.380
R is for revolution, novel or controversial themes

00:42:00.380 --> 00:42:04.230
and ideas. K. Killing, a modicum of violence.

00:42:04.650 --> 00:42:09.210
O, oratory, notable dialogue and speeches. F,

00:42:09.349 --> 00:42:13.610
fantasy, acted out fantasies common to the audience.

00:42:13.889 --> 00:42:17.590
And then the last F, fornication, sex appeal

00:42:17.590 --> 00:42:24.110
for young adults. You know, that's a formula

00:42:24.110 --> 00:42:27.349
for success. And they rode that until the wheels

00:42:27.349 --> 00:42:29.710
fell off. There was a period of time where they

00:42:29.710 --> 00:42:33.309
really tried to become legitimate. And I'm not

00:42:33.309 --> 00:42:34.949
saying that the Blaxploitation films aren't legitimate.

00:42:35.090 --> 00:42:36.989
They're legitimate films. But as far as becoming

00:42:36.989 --> 00:42:42.610
more mainstream, it's akin to when the Fox network,

00:42:42.869 --> 00:42:45.309
I'm not talking about the news or the cable channels,

00:42:45.349 --> 00:42:47.949
but the actual network, when they first started,

00:42:48.190 --> 00:42:52.170
you know, it was low comedy fare. But then, like,

00:42:52.190 --> 00:42:54.769
it picked up when, like, in Living Color, Martin,

00:42:55.070 --> 00:42:58.230
Living Single, and, like, it became, like, Fox

00:42:58.230 --> 00:43:01.539
became extremely Black. And but in New York undercover,

00:43:01.679 --> 00:43:04.059
like, but it was but the ratings were good and

00:43:04.059 --> 00:43:06.219
they were finally starting to knock on the door.

00:43:06.559 --> 00:43:10.780
So Fox then, you know, getting all this accreditation

00:43:10.780 --> 00:43:13.039
and love and ratings and things like that. They're

00:43:13.039 --> 00:43:15.440
like, well, we want the NFL now. So all the black

00:43:15.440 --> 00:43:19.219
stuff has to go. So they gentrify the channel.

00:43:19.920 --> 00:43:23.260
Here comes the NFL. And, you know, the rest is

00:43:23.260 --> 00:43:27.059
history. So in a lot of ways, like AIP, like

00:43:27.059 --> 00:43:30.420
AIP. try to do the same thing, but not to not

00:43:30.420 --> 00:43:33.179
that heavy of an extent, you know, they saw the

00:43:33.179 --> 00:43:35.300
tail end of the black exploitation era start

00:43:35.300 --> 00:43:37.300
to hit. And they're like, well, you know what?

00:43:37.360 --> 00:43:39.739
How about if we do stuff like there's a film

00:43:39.739 --> 00:43:42.860
called Westworld and I forget what studio made

00:43:42.860 --> 00:43:46.159
Westworld. And so they were going, was it MGM

00:43:46.159 --> 00:43:50.679
that made Westworld? Maybe. Okay. So the studio

00:43:50.679 --> 00:43:53.710
was working on a sequel. And then the studio

00:43:53.710 --> 00:43:55.369
was like, we don't know if we really want to

00:43:55.369 --> 00:43:58.210
do it. And then AIP said, well, we'll do it.

00:43:58.670 --> 00:44:00.989
We won't do it for as much as you guys want to,

00:44:01.030 --> 00:44:02.949
but we'll pay for the rights. And I think it

00:44:02.949 --> 00:44:05.250
was either called Astroworld or Futureworld or

00:44:05.250 --> 00:44:07.590
something like that. And they even tried to incorporate

00:44:07.590 --> 00:44:11.050
Yul Brynner into the movie, which makes no sense

00:44:11.050 --> 00:44:15.570
at all. And it's like, you're trying to do a

00:44:15.570 --> 00:44:18.409
motion picture on the level of Westworld with

00:44:18.409 --> 00:44:21.369
less money, and you're basing it in the future.

00:44:22.090 --> 00:44:25.150
This is not going to work. And it didn't, you

00:44:25.150 --> 00:44:27.710
know, but like, but like, yeah, but they eventually

00:44:27.710 --> 00:44:30.250
faded in the eighties and like, and so like,

00:44:30.250 --> 00:44:32.329
so that's why like all these different distributors

00:44:32.329 --> 00:44:35.530
have, like have their movies, you know, because

00:44:35.530 --> 00:44:37.889
they went out of business, you know? So, cause

00:44:37.889 --> 00:44:41.630
like Blackula, like I have a DVD copy. It's under

00:44:41.630 --> 00:44:46.159
MGM slash Orion. you know, my DVD copy. So, so

00:44:46.159 --> 00:44:48.059
yeah, man, it's wild, man. But yeah, that's,

00:44:48.059 --> 00:44:50.199
that's what I know about, about, uh, our coffin,

00:44:50.320 --> 00:44:53.219
uh, American international pictures. No, that's

00:44:53.219 --> 00:44:56.380
great. I didn't know that acronym before. And

00:44:56.380 --> 00:45:00.099
yeah, ethics aside, I think that that for like

00:45:00.099 --> 00:45:03.099
genre filmmaking, and if you could do that, well,

00:45:03.119 --> 00:45:07.519
I mean, Blackula has most of that stuff, but

00:45:07.519 --> 00:45:11.599
it's done so, so sincerely so well. Yes. Yes,

00:45:11.639 --> 00:45:14.050
it is. Yeah. Makes me wonder if Blumhouse has

00:45:14.050 --> 00:45:16.449
a similar kind of like first letter or like,

00:45:16.449 --> 00:45:18.949
you know, like similar kind of formula. I would

00:45:18.949 --> 00:45:20.710
be fascinated to know what that is, if they do.

00:45:21.630 --> 00:45:24.309
Yes. Maybe a little bit less exciting. William

00:45:24.309 --> 00:45:25.869
Marshall, we already talked about a little bit.

00:45:25.889 --> 00:45:28.710
He plays the African prince Mamu Walde. In the

00:45:28.710 --> 00:45:31.969
film, in 1787, he visits Count Dracula in Transylvania

00:45:31.969 --> 00:45:35.530
to gain support in ending the slave trade. Dracula

00:45:35.530 --> 00:45:38.869
refuses, makes a move on Mamu Walde's wife, Luva,

00:45:38.949 --> 00:45:42.119
and bites Mamu Walde. turning him into a vampire.

00:45:42.519 --> 00:45:44.019
I'm sure there's something we'll talk about,

00:45:44.099 --> 00:45:47.059
but the fact that Dracula gives Mamu Alde the

00:45:47.059 --> 00:45:51.139
slave name, Blackula, is a very significant theme

00:45:51.139 --> 00:45:55.139
in the movie, of course. So Dracula seals Mamu

00:45:55.139 --> 00:45:58.699
Alde in a crypt for all eternity, and Luva is

00:45:58.699 --> 00:46:00.719
killed. We already talked about Marshall a little

00:46:00.719 --> 00:46:02.460
bit. He was an Emmy Award -winning actor with

00:46:02.460 --> 00:46:04.780
a long history on TV. We already talked about

00:46:04.780 --> 00:46:07.079
Pee -wee's Playhouse, Star Trek, Bonanza, and

00:46:07.079 --> 00:46:09.880
many very prominent roles on the stage. He made

00:46:09.880 --> 00:46:13.619
his Broadway debut in 1944 and understudied Boris

00:46:13.619 --> 00:46:16.840
Karloff as Captain Hook in Peter Pan in 1950.

00:46:17.380 --> 00:46:20.199
Can you see it? Yeah. Yes. I don't know. The

00:46:20.199 --> 00:46:23.559
fact that they two probably met backstage, that's

00:46:23.559 --> 00:46:25.519
like a dream come true. I'd love to be a fly

00:46:25.519 --> 00:46:28.699
on that wall in that green room. I love the monster

00:46:28.699 --> 00:46:31.119
movie connections that just kind of pop up out

00:46:31.119 --> 00:46:32.980
of nowhere, you know? Yeah. Between Marshall

00:46:32.980 --> 00:46:35.559
and Karloff. That's amazing. Yeah. Do you mind

00:46:35.559 --> 00:46:37.599
if I talk about Venetta McGee real quick? Because

00:46:37.599 --> 00:46:39.840
I saw her in another movie recently, coincidentally,

00:46:39.980 --> 00:46:42.119
and I'm a big fan of hers. Oh, awesome. Please,

00:46:42.119 --> 00:46:44.579
dude. So the movie that I saw that she was in

00:46:44.579 --> 00:46:46.880
is called The Great Silence, the spaghetti western

00:46:46.880 --> 00:46:50.199
from 1969, I think. It was one of her earliest

00:46:50.199 --> 00:46:53.400
roles. And that's a really revolutionary movie.

00:46:53.559 --> 00:46:55.619
Like explicitly, the politics are very revolutionary

00:46:55.619 --> 00:46:58.639
and it's making allusions to Che Guevara and

00:46:58.639 --> 00:47:00.840
Malcolm X and other figures that were recently

00:47:00.840 --> 00:47:05.059
assassinated in the civil rights movement. So

00:47:05.059 --> 00:47:06.980
The Great Silence is a really fascinating movie

00:47:06.980 --> 00:47:10.260
and Venetta McGee plays the black wife of a Mexican

00:47:10.260 --> 00:47:12.659
bandit. And there are a lot of kind of racial

00:47:12.659 --> 00:47:15.000
subtext in that film as well. So The Great Silence,

00:47:15.119 --> 00:47:17.429
I did want to shout that out real quick. Venetta

00:47:17.429 --> 00:47:20.909
McGee plays Luva and Tina Williams in Blackula.

00:47:21.250 --> 00:47:23.929
Tina is the contemporary love interest of Mama

00:47:23.929 --> 00:47:26.409
Walde. She starred in many black films in the

00:47:26.409 --> 00:47:29.710
1970s, including Melinda, Hammer, and Shaft in

00:47:29.710 --> 00:47:31.929
Africa. This also is probably something we'll

00:47:31.929 --> 00:47:34.889
talk about a little bit, but she had an ambivalent

00:47:34.889 --> 00:47:36.789
view, maybe a negative and critical view, of

00:47:36.789 --> 00:47:41.690
the term blaxploitation. She said that the term

00:47:41.690 --> 00:47:43.949
blaxploitation was like racism, so you don't

00:47:43.949 --> 00:47:46.110
have to think of the individual elements, just

00:47:46.110 --> 00:47:49.449
the whole. Instead, McGee preferred the term

00:47:49.449 --> 00:47:52.429
black film genre. Black film, she once said,

00:47:52.449 --> 00:47:54.329
is the most valuable art form and picture since

00:47:54.329 --> 00:47:57.070
Andy Warhol and Campbell's soup cans because

00:47:57.070 --> 00:47:59.150
of the impact it made on the black community.

00:47:59.730 --> 00:48:02.230
And I think all that is really fascinating, especially,

00:48:02.429 --> 00:48:05.469
you know, the term blaxploitation. There are

00:48:05.469 --> 00:48:08.369
so many kind of negative connotations to that,

00:48:08.429 --> 00:48:09.909
I think, you know, and that can be repurposed

00:48:09.909 --> 00:48:12.050
in a positive way. But I just like what she said

00:48:12.050 --> 00:48:14.760
about that. Very, very insightful stuff. Yeah,

00:48:14.760 --> 00:48:17.719
like she has such an interesting career. And

00:48:17.719 --> 00:48:19.960
the thing is, is that once again, as a child,

00:48:20.099 --> 00:48:23.039
like, you know, I was like, OK, this is this

00:48:23.039 --> 00:48:26.340
is awesome. She's really cool. But there was

00:48:26.340 --> 00:48:29.460
there was a movie with Richard Pryor called Bustin'

00:48:29.460 --> 00:48:31.219
Loose. Yeah, I think it was Richard Pryor and

00:48:31.219 --> 00:48:35.119
Cicely Tyson as a comedy. And so it was like

00:48:35.119 --> 00:48:38.280
the early, early 80s. All right. So you fast

00:48:38.280 --> 00:48:41.340
forward to 1987, Universal Pictures is like,

00:48:41.460 --> 00:48:43.800
yo, we got a television division. Let's make

00:48:43.800 --> 00:48:46.719
a TV show out of Bustin' Loops. We'll make it

00:48:46.719 --> 00:48:49.840
a sitcom and we'll syndicate it. Venetta McGee

00:48:49.840 --> 00:48:53.659
was the lead actress in that film. She was basically

00:48:53.659 --> 00:48:57.460
playing the Cicely Tyson role, but for the sitcom.

00:48:57.539 --> 00:49:00.610
And the sitcom is... completely different than

00:49:00.610 --> 00:49:04.030
the actual movie itself. But like, that's where

00:49:04.030 --> 00:49:07.269
I remember her from, you know? And so now going

00:49:07.269 --> 00:49:09.489
back and like looking at, you know, Blackula,

00:49:09.510 --> 00:49:11.150
I'm like, oh yeah, that's right. I'm like, there

00:49:11.150 --> 00:49:13.710
goes Mimi Shaw. I was like, there she goes. There

00:49:13.710 --> 00:49:16.750
she is. So like, you know, this is awesome, you

00:49:16.750 --> 00:49:18.690
know? And like the fact that like she got to

00:49:18.690 --> 00:49:20.969
work with like Clint Eastwood in the Iger sanction,

00:49:21.269 --> 00:49:23.530
you know, which was like, you know, back then

00:49:23.530 --> 00:49:27.059
in like 75, that was a big deal. you know and

00:49:27.059 --> 00:49:30.000
so um yeah she's she had she had a heck of a

00:49:30.000 --> 00:49:32.940
career i think she has a very nice presence in

00:49:32.940 --> 00:49:36.059
this movie i mean maybe her character is written

00:49:36.059 --> 00:49:39.840
doesn't have like i don't know hugely as dynamic

00:49:39.840 --> 00:49:43.840
a role as the others but she plays her part so

00:49:43.840 --> 00:49:48.079
well so sweetly um and you believe the love story

00:49:48.079 --> 00:49:52.159
between her and mama walde and you know all the

00:49:52.159 --> 00:49:56.230
kudos to her yeah very talented Yeah, I feel

00:49:56.230 --> 00:49:58.090
like the character... Sorry, Sean, I didn't mean

00:49:58.090 --> 00:49:59.369
to... No, no, no, no, please, please go ahead.

00:49:59.429 --> 00:50:01.570
I'm sorry, go ahead. No, no worries. I feel like

00:50:01.570 --> 00:50:03.389
the character, her character, Tina, could have

00:50:03.389 --> 00:50:05.010
been maybe written with a little bit more depth.

00:50:05.190 --> 00:50:07.429
Like, I don't know if you necessarily believe

00:50:07.429 --> 00:50:10.710
that, like, she is so immediately, you know,

00:50:10.730 --> 00:50:13.489
enamored with Mamu Walde, but I think her performance

00:50:13.489 --> 00:50:16.250
does sell that idea a little bit, you know? Like,

00:50:16.250 --> 00:50:19.590
one thing about Blackula is that even though...

00:50:20.320 --> 00:50:25.400
You do have male and female characters that have

00:50:25.400 --> 00:50:29.960
legitimate agency. The men still have more agency

00:50:29.960 --> 00:50:36.480
than the women. But at the same time, there are

00:50:36.480 --> 00:50:40.099
key scenes where, say for instance, when Mama

00:50:40.099 --> 00:50:43.360
Walliday is talking with Tina at Tina's apartment

00:50:43.360 --> 00:50:47.320
about them being together. and like all this

00:50:47.320 --> 00:50:49.500
stuff and like she's real hesitant about it and

00:50:49.500 --> 00:50:52.219
it's just like no i'm not doing that and and

00:50:52.219 --> 00:50:55.119
then mama walliday says like basically he's like

00:50:55.119 --> 00:50:56.980
i'm not gonna force you he's like he's like i

00:50:56.980 --> 00:51:00.099
will he said i will not take you by force and

00:51:00.099 --> 00:51:02.960
i will not return and he said i've lived again

00:51:02.960 --> 00:51:06.619
to to lose you twice and i was like well damn

00:51:06.619 --> 00:51:12.139
and then she's like okay you can stay yeah you

00:51:12.139 --> 00:51:16.139
know but the thing is is that like William, like

00:51:16.139 --> 00:51:20.840
William Marshall sold that he sold that, you

00:51:20.840 --> 00:51:22.780
know, because like, and that's the thing that

00:51:22.780 --> 00:51:25.019
like, that's the thing that gets me. Like, even

00:51:25.019 --> 00:51:27.099
though the women don't have as much agency as

00:51:27.099 --> 00:51:31.760
the men, there are moments where women are legitimately

00:51:31.760 --> 00:51:35.360
respected and given their space and do. Now there

00:51:35.360 --> 00:51:37.880
are times where they are not in the film as well,

00:51:37.920 --> 00:51:40.840
but, but yeah, yeah. Like that, like that scene

00:51:40.840 --> 00:51:44.960
completely fascinates me. It was so. You know,

00:51:45.019 --> 00:51:47.039
no means no. And he's like, you're right, babe.

00:51:47.320 --> 00:51:49.340
I'm not going to force you. And I thought that

00:51:49.340 --> 00:51:53.079
was rather ahead of its time in a lot of ways.

00:51:54.059 --> 00:51:56.519
And it's kind of the ideal from the Stoker novel,

00:51:56.639 --> 00:51:59.329
too, that there is this. love between them that

00:51:59.329 --> 00:52:01.309
transcends time, you know, that maybe she is

00:52:01.309 --> 00:52:03.949
the reincarnation of Luva who died. So like two

00:52:03.949 --> 00:52:06.489
centuries ago, you know, and I, part of me wants

00:52:06.489 --> 00:52:08.489
the screenplay to like maybe develop that idea

00:52:08.489 --> 00:52:11.010
a little bit more, but, but yeah, like the, the

00:52:11.010 --> 00:52:13.750
performances again, really do convince you of

00:52:13.750 --> 00:52:15.969
that, you know? Yeah. And the thing is like,

00:52:15.969 --> 00:52:19.610
it's weird because they squeeze a lot in, in

00:52:19.610 --> 00:52:22.670
an hour and 33, but at the same time, it feels

00:52:22.670 --> 00:52:24.690
like you didn't get enough in an hour and 33.

00:52:26.710 --> 00:52:31.190
It's such a weird imbalance. The club scenes

00:52:31.190 --> 00:52:36.250
feel like filler, but even the club scenes are

00:52:36.250 --> 00:52:39.610
really telling a story. I felt the same way.

00:52:39.809 --> 00:52:42.489
I was like, alright, we got a dance number, we

00:52:42.489 --> 00:52:45.489
got a song number. Maybe I would like to see

00:52:45.489 --> 00:52:47.929
some more time with our characters. But at the

00:52:47.929 --> 00:52:52.880
same time, I'm enjoying it. Well, the thing is,

00:52:52.920 --> 00:52:55.500
okay, so here's the thing. So when the Hughes

00:52:55.500 --> 00:52:58.360
Corporation sings for the first time in the club,

00:52:58.599 --> 00:53:02.719
when the lead singer gets to the final verse

00:53:02.719 --> 00:53:05.559
and she's like, here he comes or something like

00:53:05.559 --> 00:53:10.119
that, it ties into Mama Walde coming into the

00:53:10.119 --> 00:53:13.980
club. And it's like sending this warning. And

00:53:13.980 --> 00:53:17.320
I'm like, okay, that's cute. I like that. But

00:53:17.320 --> 00:53:20.719
still, there's a whole musical number up in this

00:53:20.719 --> 00:53:24.159
film. Okay? There's a whole musical number up

00:53:24.159 --> 00:53:26.420
in this film. And it really feels very Shoot

00:53:26.420 --> 00:53:30.400
the Rodeo -ish. Okay? For those that don't know,

00:53:30.480 --> 00:53:33.960
there's a term that filmmakers use when they

00:53:33.960 --> 00:53:37.440
need filler for a movie. And it's called Shoot

00:53:37.440 --> 00:53:43.050
the Rodeo. OK, so I say, for instance, like like

00:53:43.050 --> 00:53:45.070
you feel like, OK, how can I say this? So I say,

00:53:45.110 --> 00:53:46.329
for instance, like if you're doing a documentary

00:53:46.329 --> 00:53:49.510
about cowboys and stuff like that and you needed

00:53:49.510 --> 00:53:52.469
extra footage and you're at a rodeo. OK, go shoot

00:53:52.469 --> 00:53:55.230
the rodeo. Go shoot. Go shoot the bull riding.

00:53:55.369 --> 00:53:58.269
Go shoot the crowd. Go talk to people like just

00:53:58.269 --> 00:54:00.530
just film as much as you can. Give me as much

00:54:00.530 --> 00:54:03.650
filler, you know, as as you can feel as much

00:54:03.650 --> 00:54:05.829
as you can film. And if we need to incorporate

00:54:05.829 --> 00:54:08.659
that into the movie, we'll make it happen. Another

00:54:08.659 --> 00:54:11.380
form of shooting the rodeo. One quick one. It's

00:54:11.380 --> 00:54:13.659
a very, very terrible film and you should never,

00:54:13.659 --> 00:54:15.659
ever watch it. It's called The Thing with Two

00:54:15.659 --> 00:54:23.119
Heads. Also an AIP film. We have mentioned it

00:54:23.119 --> 00:54:24.780
on this show before. I don't think either of

00:54:24.780 --> 00:54:28.280
us have seen it. Okay. I'm like morbidly fascinated.

00:54:29.259 --> 00:54:32.880
For all the wrong reasons. It is so bad. It is

00:54:32.880 --> 00:54:35.480
so legitimately bad. I have a set of friends

00:54:35.480 --> 00:54:38.579
who have a podcast and I went on because they

00:54:38.579 --> 00:54:41.739
wanted to talk about that movie. It's awful.

00:54:41.980 --> 00:54:45.099
But the thing is, the thing is, is that in the

00:54:45.099 --> 00:54:48.400
movie, like. Cause like, I forget the two, like

00:54:48.400 --> 00:54:50.579
Rosie Greer and I forget the white actor's name,

00:54:50.619 --> 00:54:52.159
you know, cause like the white dude's head is

00:54:52.159 --> 00:54:54.219
on like the black dude's body and Rosie Greer's

00:54:54.219 --> 00:54:56.280
head is still there too. And, and then, you know,

00:54:56.280 --> 00:54:59.400
it just doesn't make any sense at all. But anyway,

00:54:59.559 --> 00:55:03.360
they're running away from like the police and

00:55:03.360 --> 00:55:05.800
like, they're on like a dirt bike, like, you

00:55:05.800 --> 00:55:08.199
know, a motorized dirt bike. And somehow they

00:55:08.199 --> 00:55:13.739
end up in a BMX race. And literally, literally.

00:55:14.639 --> 00:55:17.619
10 to 15 minutes of the movie is this BMX race

00:55:17.619 --> 00:55:20.139
that no one cares about. And then they finally

00:55:20.139 --> 00:55:25.059
leave the BMX race. Shoot the rodeo. Shoot the

00:55:25.059 --> 00:55:31.300
rodeo. Oh, my goodness. All right. We will not

00:55:31.300 --> 00:55:34.619
have you back for the thing with two heads. Oh,

00:55:34.619 --> 00:55:37.320
no, no. Please bring me back because I will talk

00:55:37.320 --> 00:55:42.539
so much trash. If we need filler on this show,

00:55:42.679 --> 00:55:44.889
if we need to shoot the rodeo. We'll just go

00:55:44.889 --> 00:55:49.010
to the thing with two heads. Yes. I have to say

00:55:49.010 --> 00:55:50.849
that's like skyrocketing to the top of my list

00:55:50.849 --> 00:55:52.869
for like when we do our like preview of the next

00:55:52.869 --> 00:55:55.230
season, whenever that is, like it's, it's going

00:55:55.230 --> 00:55:58.269
to be on there for sure. Oh no. Don't, don't

00:55:58.269 --> 00:56:01.750
do this to me, Matt. We have to, it's a sacrifice

00:56:01.750 --> 00:56:05.079
for the sake of art, you know? Yes. Just real

00:56:05.079 --> 00:56:08.360
quickly, the cast also features Tholmus Rasulala

00:56:08.360 --> 00:56:11.320
as Dr. Gordon Thomas. He's a medical examiner

00:56:11.320 --> 00:56:14.360
who notices similarities in the deaths of Mamawaldi's

00:56:14.360 --> 00:56:16.980
victims. He works as a detective with the police

00:56:16.980 --> 00:56:19.579
to find the vampire. I was confused what his

00:56:19.579 --> 00:56:21.760
actual role was. He says he's with the scientific

00:56:21.760 --> 00:56:24.079
investigation division, I think, which I don't

00:56:24.079 --> 00:56:26.860
think that exists, but it's one of the campier

00:56:26.860 --> 00:56:29.179
elements of the movie. Another good performance,

00:56:29.199 --> 00:56:31.320
though. He kind of plays the Van Helsing type

00:56:31.320 --> 00:56:35.030
counterpart. Yeah. Yes. There's even like the

00:56:35.030 --> 00:56:38.429
inevitable scene where like he and his wife or

00:56:38.429 --> 00:56:40.210
perhaps girlfriend, Michelle, I think is her

00:56:40.210 --> 00:56:43.489
name, right? Yes. They check out a bunch of books

00:56:43.489 --> 00:56:45.750
on vampire lore and like the undead and everything.

00:56:45.869 --> 00:56:48.489
I loved that. That's like a standby scene in

00:56:48.489 --> 00:56:52.019
like vampire movies, you know? Yeah. Speaking

00:56:52.019 --> 00:56:53.980
of Michelle, she's played by Denise Nicholas.

00:56:54.380 --> 00:56:56.860
She's also Tina's sister, in addition to being

00:56:56.860 --> 00:57:00.440
Dr. Thomas's girlfriend. Michelle often works

00:57:00.440 --> 00:57:03.340
alongside Dr. Thomas to solve the mystery. Denise

00:57:03.340 --> 00:57:06.079
Nicholas had a long career in TV, and Blackula

00:57:06.079 --> 00:57:22.510
was her first feature film. of the of because

00:57:22.510 --> 00:57:26.110
of the era that this movie is made is very frank

00:57:26.110 --> 00:57:30.869
about the gay community you know and like there's

00:57:30.869 --> 00:57:32.469
there's a couple there's a couple of there's

00:57:32.469 --> 00:57:34.170
a couple characters that get real frank and get

00:57:34.170 --> 00:57:36.769
real frank with that gay slur i mean this movie

00:57:36.769 --> 00:57:41.349
so like i understand if gen z or gen alpha is

00:57:41.349 --> 00:57:43.630
like no i ain't watching that i get it i get

00:57:43.630 --> 00:57:47.440
it you know but like but at the same time He's

00:57:47.440 --> 00:57:50.519
trying to defend the gay couple that got, you

00:57:50.519 --> 00:57:54.420
know, bitten by Mamu all day because he's like,

00:57:54.440 --> 00:57:56.219
well, why don't you have why don't you have information

00:57:56.219 --> 00:57:58.099
on these two? I thought y 'all had information.

00:57:58.280 --> 00:58:00.179
Y 'all lost that information to like you lost

00:58:00.179 --> 00:58:02.099
that information about this other black kid and

00:58:02.099 --> 00:58:03.780
all this other stuff. He starts to really get

00:58:03.780 --> 00:58:06.900
into that and he gets on people like like, yeah,

00:58:06.980 --> 00:58:09.420
he can kind of be a jerk. But the thing is, he's

00:58:09.420 --> 00:58:12.610
like, nobody's getting anything done. I need

00:58:12.610 --> 00:58:15.309
y 'all to work so I can do my job. And I need

00:58:15.309 --> 00:58:17.210
y 'all to take care of us like we take care of

00:58:17.210 --> 00:58:22.269
you. And so he really does some cool stuff. Honestly,

00:58:22.409 --> 00:58:25.469
he should have had a series of movies like Hunting

00:58:25.469 --> 00:58:29.550
Monsters, in all sincerity. The character would

00:58:29.550 --> 00:58:31.829
have worked. Because when that man says he's

00:58:31.829 --> 00:58:33.769
part of the science investigative division, I

00:58:33.769 --> 00:58:35.889
was like, Negro, you lying. There ain't no division

00:58:35.889 --> 00:58:40.219
like that. You want there to be. And I thought,

00:58:40.239 --> 00:58:43.219
but he was smooth though. A note I wrote down

00:58:43.219 --> 00:58:46.219
was I could watch this man light vampires on

00:58:46.219 --> 00:58:49.280
fire all day long. Yes. That scene was amazing.

00:58:49.860 --> 00:58:53.300
Yes. We started so much ass. When that, when

00:58:53.300 --> 00:58:55.179
that last police officer that got bitten was

00:58:55.179 --> 00:58:57.260
a vampire. And like, he kept telling Peter's

00:58:57.260 --> 00:58:59.960
like, Hey, throw it, throw it. He grabbed me

00:58:59.960 --> 00:59:09.260
just like. Oh, I actually, that was the last

00:59:09.260 --> 00:59:11.260
thing I watched before hopping online to talk

00:59:11.260 --> 00:59:13.739
to y 'all. Oh, that's a good one. Good for you.

00:59:13.880 --> 00:59:18.099
Yes. Yes. And, but no, he's like, I know he,

00:59:18.099 --> 00:59:20.539
like he, he died early. I believe it was like

00:59:20.539 --> 00:59:23.219
either due to cancer or kidney disease, I believe.

00:59:23.280 --> 00:59:27.239
I can't remember, but like Denise Nicholas, first

00:59:27.239 --> 00:59:30.780
off, Denise Nicholas, I, I, I've had a crush

00:59:30.780 --> 00:59:34.320
on her since childhood. Like she was just beyond

00:59:34.320 --> 00:59:38.550
beautiful. You know, for me. And so, yeah, she

00:59:38.550 --> 00:59:40.309
did like a lot of TV work. But I'll be honest

00:59:40.309 --> 00:59:43.690
with you, if she wanted it and if Hollywood would

00:59:43.690 --> 00:59:46.030
have accepted it, she would have been an amazing

00:59:46.030 --> 00:59:50.369
scream queen. Oh, yeah, I could see that. She

00:59:50.369 --> 00:59:52.989
would have been an amazing scream queen and,

00:59:53.010 --> 00:59:55.510
you know, and just an amazing actress, period.

00:59:55.610 --> 00:59:58.630
Like, it breaks my heart that she didn't have

00:59:58.630 --> 01:00:01.889
a bigger movie career than she did, because like

01:00:01.889 --> 01:00:05.409
I tell you, man, like as a teenager. Like I heard

01:00:05.409 --> 01:00:07.010
Denise Nicholas is going to be in a movie. I

01:00:07.010 --> 01:00:08.570
was like, Oh, she's going to be in a movie. Which

01:00:08.570 --> 01:00:11.969
one is it? Ghost dad. You know, and then this

01:00:11.969 --> 01:00:13.889
is an older Denise Nicholas, which is fine. You

01:00:13.889 --> 01:00:15.570
know, like I don't, I don't worry about that

01:00:15.570 --> 01:00:17.650
kind of stuff, but like, I just, I loved, I love

01:00:17.650 --> 01:00:19.869
her. And I was like, well, I guess we're going

01:00:19.869 --> 01:00:23.329
to go see ghost dad. Huh? Got to sit through

01:00:23.329 --> 01:00:25.769
that. Some of my favorite moments in Blackula.

01:00:25.789 --> 01:00:27.929
And my, one of my favorite scenes is, is when

01:00:27.929 --> 01:00:32.920
she's getting involved with. with gordon thomas

01:00:32.920 --> 01:00:35.760
like they're at the graveyard and she's got on

01:00:35.760 --> 01:00:38.159
her old clothes and she's getting her hands as

01:00:38.159 --> 01:00:42.000
dirty as he is so and she sells it she just has

01:00:42.000 --> 01:00:45.000
like a really great rounded energy like i could

01:00:45.000 --> 01:00:48.099
be friends with her even though she is a bombshell

01:00:48.099 --> 01:00:50.920
and way out of my league i feel like she's a

01:00:50.920 --> 01:00:55.159
cool a cool chick yeah it just the whole the

01:00:55.159 --> 01:00:58.000
her whole charm and whatnot like i will not say

01:00:58.000 --> 01:01:00.039
every single word in the sentence that she said

01:01:00.039 --> 01:01:02.019
when like when gordon when gordon thomas was

01:01:02.019 --> 01:01:03.800
like yeah come on baby we gotta go to the graveyard

01:01:03.800 --> 01:01:06.260
together and go dig up this body and she was

01:01:06.260 --> 01:01:09.039
just like you ain't getting this beep going to

01:01:09.039 --> 01:01:15.820
a graveyard tonight like like just like the chemistry

01:01:15.820 --> 01:01:17.760
with the chemistry was there like because like

01:01:17.760 --> 01:01:20.760
now you know rasulallah is gordon like he's really

01:01:20.760 --> 01:01:24.059
one note he's very one note he's smooth with

01:01:24.059 --> 01:01:26.719
it but he's very one note but denise nicholas

01:01:26.719 --> 01:01:29.760
could bounce off of anybody yeah but when she

01:01:29.760 --> 01:01:32.679
said that line man like i completely forgot i

01:01:32.679 --> 01:01:34.539
just started laughing because i was like i just

01:01:34.539 --> 01:01:38.420
said the same thing it's that chemistry 100 Yeah.

01:01:38.480 --> 01:01:39.699
And Sean, that's basically what I was going to

01:01:39.699 --> 01:01:41.699
say to the chemistry between those two characters.

01:01:41.699 --> 01:01:43.920
And like, you know, even though the Gordon Thomas

01:01:43.920 --> 01:01:46.059
character is, you know, like we said, kind of

01:01:46.059 --> 01:01:47.820
a kind of a hard ass kind of one note. Like,

01:01:47.880 --> 01:01:49.599
I think it's a very loving relationship between

01:01:49.599 --> 01:01:52.280
them, like so loving that he invites her along,

01:01:52.400 --> 01:01:54.320
like to the cemetery in the middle of the night

01:01:54.320 --> 01:01:56.739
to dig up a corpse, you know, and like, it's

01:01:56.739 --> 01:01:59.579
just kind of actually. refreshing in a way to

01:01:59.579 --> 01:02:02.480
see like a very loving relationship between two

01:02:02.480 --> 01:02:04.840
characters who are just like in it together no

01:02:04.840 --> 01:02:06.960
matter how ridiculous it gets they're gonna like

01:02:06.960 --> 01:02:09.960
support each other you know and i and he's like

01:02:09.960 --> 01:02:12.960
see vampires and she's like yeah i wouldn't have

01:02:12.960 --> 01:02:15.519
believed you and there's that kind of rapport

01:02:15.519 --> 01:02:19.320
oh yeah it's a nice comedic and almost like sort

01:02:19.320 --> 01:02:21.739
of heartfelt moment as like heartfelt as this

01:02:21.739 --> 01:02:24.780
movie gets you know yeah yeah they're made for

01:02:24.780 --> 01:02:28.869
each other yeah I feel like we've talked so much

01:02:28.869 --> 01:02:30.969
about the backstory and the release and legacy,

01:02:31.150 --> 01:02:33.949
but let's go through this and just see what we

01:02:33.949 --> 01:02:36.309
haven't talked about. So the origins of this

01:02:36.309 --> 01:02:39.210
film, William Crane has said in many an interview

01:02:39.210 --> 01:02:42.369
that American international pictures, AIP came

01:02:42.369 --> 01:02:46.650
to him. They said they were in the red financially

01:02:46.650 --> 01:02:51.070
and wanted to do a quote black vampire. Now this

01:02:51.070 --> 01:02:55.269
original script that William Crane and William

01:02:55.269 --> 01:02:58.949
Marshall were presented. was called Count Brown's

01:02:58.949 --> 01:03:04.269
in Town. And William Crane's quote says, it was

01:03:04.269 --> 01:03:07.690
full of shucking and jiving. I don't feel like

01:03:07.690 --> 01:03:09.969
I need to elaborate more on that other than to

01:03:09.969 --> 01:03:14.230
say the tone of that script was beneath Crane

01:03:14.230 --> 01:03:16.849
and Marshall's talents and self -respect and

01:03:16.849 --> 01:03:19.789
sensibilities. So Crane and Marshall worked with

01:03:19.789 --> 01:03:23.349
the producers and introduced these ideas, introduced

01:03:23.349 --> 01:03:26.480
the backstory that... Our lead vampire was an

01:03:26.480 --> 01:03:30.340
African prince named Mama Walde, not Andrew Brown,

01:03:30.639 --> 01:03:33.139
which was the original name for this character,

01:03:33.320 --> 01:03:37.699
and just really heightened, elevated the material

01:03:37.699 --> 01:03:39.880
they were working with. The film was shot in

01:03:39.880 --> 01:03:43.039
Los Angeles, and William Crane was the only black

01:03:43.039 --> 01:03:45.699
crew member. He talks about this in an interview

01:03:45.699 --> 01:03:49.079
in that aforementioned horror noir documentary.

01:03:49.719 --> 01:03:52.360
He said, quote, he did face tangible resistance

01:03:52.360 --> 01:03:56.000
and resentment on set. from certain members of

01:03:56.000 --> 01:04:00.300
his crew. For example, as he retells, his assistant

01:04:00.300 --> 01:04:02.719
director on the nightclub scene wouldn't integrate

01:04:02.719 --> 01:04:07.559
the dancers and wouldn't listen to Crane's insistence

01:04:07.559 --> 01:04:10.159
that he do so. Remember, Crane is the director

01:04:10.159 --> 01:04:13.639
and the AD is refusing to integrate the dancers.

01:04:14.320 --> 01:04:17.460
This went all the way up to the executive producer,

01:04:17.820 --> 01:04:20.579
Sam Arkov. It should never have gotten that far.

01:04:20.719 --> 01:04:24.570
No. But clearly, Crane got his way. Here's the

01:04:24.570 --> 01:04:28.829
problem. This is one of the problems I have with

01:04:28.829 --> 01:04:32.050
the black exploitation era is that going back

01:04:32.050 --> 01:04:35.650
to agency again. Okay. Crane's the director,

01:04:35.829 --> 01:04:39.289
but there are no other black crew members at

01:04:39.289 --> 01:04:43.670
all, at all. Okay. Yeah. You got black actors.

01:04:43.769 --> 01:04:46.030
You got a black director, but does that black

01:04:46.030 --> 01:04:50.309
director actually get the power needed? to say,

01:04:50.409 --> 01:04:52.369
I need this done without having to constantly

01:04:52.369 --> 01:04:54.530
go back to Arkoff and be like, listen, man, y

01:04:54.530 --> 01:04:56.909
'all want me to make this movie, but your people

01:04:56.909 --> 01:05:00.829
aren't listening to me. So it hinders the production.

01:05:01.090 --> 01:05:04.150
You're slowing down the production. I am honestly

01:05:04.150 --> 01:05:08.630
surprised that both Crane and Marshall were able

01:05:08.630 --> 01:05:14.570
to get the story changed. Because the thing is,

01:05:14.650 --> 01:05:17.730
Count Brown's in town is right up AIP's alley.

01:05:18.139 --> 01:05:20.880
Nothing with two heads. Yeah. Thank you. Exactly.

01:05:20.880 --> 01:05:24.099
Yes. It's right up their alley. And so the fact

01:05:24.099 --> 01:05:26.500
that Crane and Marshall came in with like enough

01:05:26.500 --> 01:05:30.280
power to be like, no, no, if you want, if you

01:05:30.280 --> 01:05:32.119
want to make money, this is what you got to do

01:05:32.119 --> 01:05:34.400
instead. And even though, like I said, the story's

01:05:34.400 --> 01:05:38.519
got its flaws for sure. Still, what they were

01:05:38.519 --> 01:05:42.199
able to pull off is incredible. This is a tiny

01:05:42.199 --> 01:05:43.659
bit of a tangent, but one of my favorite parts

01:05:43.659 --> 01:05:45.739
of Black Klansman, the Spike Lee movie, is the

01:05:45.739 --> 01:05:47.880
conversation about blaxploitation because that

01:05:47.880 --> 01:05:50.500
movie's set in the early 70s. And the main character

01:05:50.500 --> 01:05:52.639
kind of saying that he thinks it's a negative

01:05:52.639 --> 01:05:55.320
force for African -Americans and media and kind

01:05:55.320 --> 01:05:57.820
of reiterating a lot of these harmful stereotypes.

01:05:58.599 --> 01:06:00.420
Or maybe I have that the other way around. I

01:06:00.420 --> 01:06:02.880
think maybe he likes some blaxploitation films

01:06:02.880 --> 01:06:04.719
and the one that he's seeing is a little bit

01:06:04.719 --> 01:06:06.960
more critical of them. I haven't seen that movie

01:06:06.960 --> 01:06:08.599
in a while. But I think that's a fascinating

01:06:08.599 --> 01:06:11.849
conversation and maybe... I mean, Spike Lee,

01:06:11.869 --> 01:06:14.989
he does often talk about the representation of

01:06:14.989 --> 01:06:18.309
African Americans in film, obviously, and I just

01:06:18.309 --> 01:06:21.110
think that part of Black Klansman maybe shed

01:06:21.110 --> 01:06:22.989
some light on some of Black Yale a little bit.

01:06:23.829 --> 01:06:26.550
Maybe some of the representations do seem a little

01:06:26.550 --> 01:06:28.949
stereotypical on the surface, but to think of

01:06:28.949 --> 01:06:31.710
what Crane and Marshall were able to do and subvert

01:06:31.710 --> 01:06:34.769
some of those representations, which could have

01:06:34.769 --> 01:06:36.510
been even worse, is obviously important to keep

01:06:36.510 --> 01:06:39.579
in mind. The film was released in August 1972

01:06:39.579 --> 01:06:43.579
to a tremendous success. It made Variety's top

01:06:43.579 --> 01:06:46.559
films list of the year and is one of the biggest

01:06:46.559 --> 01:06:49.900
money earners of the year. Black Hello is the

01:06:49.900 --> 01:06:53.000
first black vampire on film. Think about all

01:06:53.000 --> 01:06:55.659
that we know. Well, it starts with this movie.

01:06:56.059 --> 01:06:59.679
Yeah, that's huge. Yeah, like it's it sincerely

01:06:59.679 --> 01:07:04.420
kicks off the black the black horror genre, you

01:07:04.420 --> 01:07:07.179
know. And it made, and like, the thing is, is

01:07:07.179 --> 01:07:08.840
that like, you know, it made some studios say,

01:07:08.860 --> 01:07:12.239
well, Hey, maybe this, this can work now. Granted,

01:07:12.239 --> 01:07:13.980
how much would they be, how much would they be

01:07:13.980 --> 01:07:16.400
willing to sacrifice to, to make that happen

01:07:16.400 --> 01:07:19.059
is another thing. But yeah, like, but think about

01:07:19.059 --> 01:07:26.239
it's 1972, 1972. It was 54 years ago. Yeah. Yeah.

01:07:26.340 --> 01:07:32.420
Oh my God. Sorry, Sean. It's okay. I'm 50. So

01:07:32.420 --> 01:07:34.119
it still hits me. I'm like, Oh God, I'm close

01:07:34.119 --> 01:07:38.480
to it. Oh geez. Anyway, but, but still like,

01:07:38.519 --> 01:07:40.139
if you think about it, William Marshall started

01:07:40.139 --> 01:07:44.880
acting in the 1940s. Yeah. Okay. And so like,

01:07:44.980 --> 01:07:46.719
and the thing is there are people acting before

01:07:46.719 --> 01:07:49.280
him, black people acting before him, you know,

01:07:49.280 --> 01:07:51.360
like even if we went to the, to the age and era

01:07:51.360 --> 01:07:55.199
of Oscar Micheaux. Yeah. Legendary black. director

01:07:55.199 --> 01:07:58.639
who like helped black people and making made

01:07:58.639 --> 01:08:02.199
wonderful films for black audiences in a time

01:08:02.199 --> 01:08:05.159
of segregation. You know what I mean? Yeah. Still

01:08:05.159 --> 01:08:09.199
through all that hundreds of years, or actually

01:08:09.199 --> 01:08:10.880
I was, I'll say a hundred something years. There's

01:08:10.880 --> 01:08:12.460
still like, you know, from like the birth of

01:08:12.460 --> 01:08:17.539
actual film until 1972, like black horror is

01:08:17.539 --> 01:08:20.920
something that's just like next. It doesn't,

01:08:20.920 --> 01:08:24.220
it doesn't exist. Yeah. I was just thinking about

01:08:24.220 --> 01:08:26.539
this. There's mainstream Hollywood, which is

01:08:26.539 --> 01:08:29.060
all white. And I've been watching so many poverty

01:08:29.060 --> 01:08:31.739
row movies, you know, so bad. They're good. B

01:08:31.739 --> 01:08:35.939
movie, Z movies, right? There actually are a

01:08:35.939 --> 01:08:38.159
lot of black actors that pop up at these movies,

01:08:38.279 --> 01:08:42.859
but they're not playing deep roles. They're playing,

01:08:42.899 --> 01:08:45.640
you know, servants, comedic characters, zombies.

01:08:46.239 --> 01:08:49.000
I just say that I don't, you know, take it for

01:08:49.000 --> 01:08:52.079
what you will, but good and bad. And there's.

01:08:52.649 --> 01:08:55.149
you know, and the, and the channels in which

01:08:55.149 --> 01:08:58.869
these actors can really thrive are not that great.

01:08:59.609 --> 01:09:01.510
It's, it's fascinating. Like, I just want to

01:09:01.510 --> 01:09:04.350
say like the history of cinema, but when you

01:09:04.350 --> 01:09:08.949
get into things like black cinema, there's just

01:09:08.949 --> 01:09:12.789
so much to be mined and, and dug out of this,

01:09:12.789 --> 01:09:16.369
out of this story. Oh yeah. Like one of the thing

01:09:16.369 --> 01:09:18.949
is, is that like, you know, Blackula is like,

01:09:18.970 --> 01:09:21.680
seriously, like it. like I said, for its flaws

01:09:21.680 --> 01:09:24.659
and for its problems, because like, it does also

01:09:24.659 --> 01:09:26.699
like have problems with like the angry black

01:09:26.699 --> 01:09:28.600
woman syndrome when you're dealing with the cab

01:09:28.600 --> 01:09:30.899
driver. So like, you know, and like, and when

01:09:30.899 --> 01:09:33.279
she finally, you know, comes out of her frozen

01:09:33.279 --> 01:09:36.199
coma to start killing folk, you know, like it's

01:09:36.199 --> 01:09:39.619
still this angry, angry scream to the, towards

01:09:39.619 --> 01:09:42.300
the camera. And it's like, it, it's, it's like

01:09:42.300 --> 01:09:44.539
the full epitome of angry black woman coming

01:09:44.539 --> 01:09:47.680
in. Okay. You know, cause like, you know, when

01:09:47.680 --> 01:09:51.289
she hits Blackula with the taxi, which I did

01:09:51.289 --> 01:09:52.970
laugh when that happened because once again,

01:09:53.010 --> 01:09:54.989
I forgot. And I was just like, this is ridiculous.

01:09:55.210 --> 01:09:58.329
And she gets out of the car. Doesn't say if you're

01:09:58.329 --> 01:09:59.989
okay. She's like, why are you jumping in front

01:09:59.989 --> 01:10:03.189
of my car for, you know, and like just harasses

01:10:03.189 --> 01:10:06.170
him the whole time. And then she would have been

01:10:06.170 --> 01:10:10.550
fine, but she had to call him boy. And, and he

01:10:10.550 --> 01:10:12.170
was just like, well, I guess you got to die now

01:10:12.170 --> 01:10:17.670
too. And so it's so, but like, So you have the

01:10:17.670 --> 01:10:21.710
angry black woman issue. You also have the issue

01:10:21.710 --> 01:10:26.029
with the way that the gay couple is treated in

01:10:26.029 --> 01:10:30.109
the film. Because at the funeral home, the person

01:10:30.109 --> 01:10:34.270
that runs the funeral home says that the dude's

01:10:34.270 --> 01:10:37.350
husband is his associate. That they're not a

01:10:37.350 --> 01:10:41.739
couple, that was his associate. And then... And

01:10:41.739 --> 01:10:44.520
then Gordon Thomas, when he's talking with one

01:10:44.520 --> 01:10:48.479
of the cats at the PD, LAPD, is saying, calls

01:10:48.479 --> 01:10:52.399
that couple a gay slur. Even though he's like,

01:10:52.579 --> 01:10:55.859
no, we need these records. Y 'all won't give

01:10:55.859 --> 01:10:59.239
me records. Y 'all don't protect them or us.

01:10:59.539 --> 01:11:01.960
So what do you need? I need these records to

01:11:01.960 --> 01:11:06.579
do my job. But he's trying to help, but still

01:11:06.579 --> 01:11:10.750
he's using negative connotations. on those characters

01:11:10.750 --> 01:11:15.250
and the thing is is that also like with the exception

01:11:15.250 --> 01:11:19.630
of like a couple police officers all of the vampires

01:11:19.630 --> 01:11:25.310
are also also black so it's like so then like

01:11:25.310 --> 01:11:28.210
it's this weird dichotomy of black people using

01:11:28.210 --> 01:11:32.130
black people to hurt other people and so like

01:11:32.130 --> 01:11:35.050
that plays into it too once again i still love

01:11:35.050 --> 01:11:37.229
this i love this film through and through I love

01:11:37.229 --> 01:11:38.729
it through and through. So when I'm criticizing

01:11:38.729 --> 01:11:43.369
it, it comes from love. It comes from love more

01:11:43.369 --> 01:11:50.949
than anything else. I know people really overuse

01:11:50.949 --> 01:11:54.569
this phrase, it's complicated. But with Blackula,

01:11:54.569 --> 01:11:57.470
it is complicated. I mean, reading about its

01:11:57.470 --> 01:12:03.289
legacy, it is almost universally loved for what

01:12:03.289 --> 01:12:08.180
it did for... the filmmakers and cinema following

01:12:08.180 --> 01:12:14.500
it. But I think we wouldn't be critical thinkers

01:12:14.500 --> 01:12:19.560
if we didn't rightly critique its flaws and its

01:12:19.560 --> 01:12:24.079
dated elements. So yeah, that's what we're going

01:12:24.079 --> 01:12:31.979
to do. Buckle up, everybody. Well, let's get

01:12:31.979 --> 01:12:35.100
to our sponsor break. Open some Menia's mailbox

01:12:35.100 --> 01:12:37.779
here. So Camp Kaiju is brought to you by Zach

01:12:37.779 --> 01:12:39.560
Linder and the Zach Pack, powered by Coldwell

01:12:39.560 --> 01:12:41.220
Banker Realty. Whether you're looking for your

01:12:41.220 --> 01:12:43.720
dream home, a savvy investment property, or expert

01:12:43.720 --> 01:12:46.119
guidance in home rehab and flipping, the Zach

01:12:46.119 --> 01:12:48.180
Pack has you covered. Check the link in the show

01:12:48.180 --> 01:12:53.260
notes for more information. Matt, our Menia's

01:12:53.260 --> 01:12:56.520
mailbox is overflowing with mail. I got mail

01:12:56.520 --> 01:12:59.680
coming in from Don, from Sean Childers, from

01:12:59.680 --> 01:13:03.579
Jim Chaney. From our anonymous patron. And it's

01:13:03.579 --> 01:13:07.199
a wonderful problem to have. Amazing. Yes. And

01:13:07.199 --> 01:13:10.600
we're going to read anonymous patron's very thoughtful

01:13:10.600 --> 01:13:14.460
email next time. So hang tight, anonymous patron.

01:13:14.899 --> 01:13:18.479
But just for the sake of time, let's pick out

01:13:18.479 --> 01:13:21.539
a letter from Jim Chaney. Yeah, I'll just go

01:13:21.539 --> 01:13:23.539
ahead and read that. I don't know exactly what

01:13:23.539 --> 01:13:25.399
Jim Chaney wrote, but he does have a recommended

01:13:25.399 --> 01:13:29.100
double feature. If you like Blackula. um or if

01:13:29.100 --> 01:13:30.420
you haven't seen it before and you want to check

01:13:30.420 --> 01:13:32.859
out black ill you absolutely should jim cheney's

01:13:32.859 --> 01:13:35.000
recommended double feature is to pair it with

01:13:35.000 --> 01:13:37.539
vampire in brooklyn starring eddie murphy directed

01:13:37.539 --> 01:13:39.439
by wes craven i think if i remember correctly

01:13:39.439 --> 01:13:43.100
yes yes um yeah thank you jim that is an awesome

01:13:43.100 --> 01:13:46.680
double feature uh vampire in brooklyn is it's

01:13:46.680 --> 01:13:48.239
a rough movie but there's a lot to love about

01:13:48.239 --> 01:13:50.899
it for sure oh it has oh it definitely has its

01:13:50.899 --> 01:13:54.479
problems for sure and it's also But the thing

01:13:54.479 --> 01:13:57.460
is, I think the thing that people remember most

01:13:57.460 --> 01:13:59.380
is the fact they don't think about the film.

01:14:00.039 --> 01:14:03.680
It's more of, what the hell is Eddie Murphy doing?

01:14:05.079 --> 01:14:07.659
Yeah. You know what I mean? And the thing is,

01:14:07.720 --> 01:14:10.640
he plays multiple characters in this film. And

01:14:10.640 --> 01:14:14.939
so this is the precursor. A couple years after

01:14:14.939 --> 01:14:17.600
this, Nutty Professor comes along, and he's on

01:14:17.600 --> 01:14:20.579
top of the world again. But he wanted to do something

01:14:20.579 --> 01:14:23.409
different. And I get it. Because, like, you know,

01:14:23.409 --> 01:14:25.529
you kind of get tired of being put in a certain

01:14:25.529 --> 01:14:28.489
box. And so, especially with actors, you know,

01:14:28.489 --> 01:14:30.770
it's like, hey, can I please do something different?

01:14:31.029 --> 01:14:33.770
But he had the pull to get it, to make it happen,

01:14:33.850 --> 01:14:36.789
but people just weren't feeling it at all. And

01:14:36.789 --> 01:14:39.329
the thing is, that movie's got a good cast. Mm

01:14:39.329 --> 01:14:41.550
-hmm. That's what it's like, right? Mm -hmm.

01:14:42.069 --> 01:14:44.550
Yeah. Oh, yeah. So it's got a heck of a cast.

01:14:44.810 --> 01:14:47.350
So, like, Kadeem Hardison, Alan Payne, yeah,

01:14:47.369 --> 01:14:49.369
Angela Bassett, Eddie, a bunch of other people,

01:14:49.409 --> 01:14:58.319
too. Is it good? No, no, but I, I appreciate

01:14:58.319 --> 01:15:01.880
what it was trying to do because like around

01:15:01.880 --> 01:15:05.319
that time, we also got like a couple other black

01:15:05.319 --> 01:15:08.279
scare, black horror films, you know, like, you

01:15:08.279 --> 01:15:10.699
know, like tails, like tails from the hood and

01:15:10.699 --> 01:15:15.039
stuff like that. So like it has its benefits

01:15:15.039 --> 01:15:19.359
and also it's, you know, it's not. Yeah. Yeah.

01:15:19.380 --> 01:15:22.100
Yeah. Yeah. And as much as I sorry, Vincent,

01:15:22.119 --> 01:15:23.699
I was going to mention as much as I love Wes

01:15:23.699 --> 01:15:25.560
Craven, probably not the right choice for that

01:15:25.560 --> 01:15:28.300
movie. And like if it were made 10 or 20 years

01:15:28.300 --> 01:15:29.760
later, I don't think he would have directed that

01:15:29.760 --> 01:15:31.680
movie, but probably not the right choice for

01:15:31.680 --> 01:15:34.279
that one. What I'm going to do is I'm going to

01:15:34.279 --> 01:15:38.920
we you two really mentioned so many great movies

01:15:38.920 --> 01:15:42.119
for people to check out. I'm going to share a

01:15:42.119 --> 01:15:45.180
list definitely with our patrons. But stay tuned,

01:15:45.220 --> 01:15:48.859
listeners, for a comprehensive list on on what

01:15:48.859 --> 01:15:51.550
you should be checking out. All right. Peter

01:15:51.550 --> 01:15:54.810
Lorre, he's somewhere in space and time. He's

01:15:54.810 --> 01:15:57.090
going to talk about Poverty Row Picture called

01:15:57.090 --> 01:16:00.670
The Phantom Speaks from 1945. According to our

01:16:00.670 --> 01:16:03.649
Letterboxd synopsis, it reads, The spirit of

01:16:03.649 --> 01:16:06.689
an executed murderer enters the body of a physician

01:16:06.689 --> 01:16:10.609
and forces him to do its bidding, namely murder.

01:16:12.170 --> 01:16:17.850
Sounds great. Great title. The Phantom Speaks.

01:16:17.909 --> 01:16:21.300
I love it. Yes. You know, if anything, these

01:16:21.300 --> 01:16:24.079
movies always have great titles, great synopses.

01:16:24.140 --> 01:16:28.619
Is Peter enjoying himself overseas? Oh, yeah.

01:16:28.699 --> 01:16:32.720
He's got a tan for the first time. Hmm. Yeah.

01:16:32.819 --> 01:16:36.439
Hard to imagine. Pasty Peter. What? Hard to imagine.

01:16:36.600 --> 01:16:40.840
Right? Yeah. He's like wearing one of those old

01:16:40.840 --> 01:16:44.119
-timey one -piece bathing suits on the beach.

01:16:44.279 --> 01:16:49.579
Oh, no. Drinking pina coladas. Roasted like a

01:16:49.579 --> 01:16:53.739
lobster. Well, I'm glad he's finally getting

01:16:53.739 --> 01:16:55.720
a rest. He deserved it. I think he needed it,

01:16:55.779 --> 01:17:16.520
in fact. Most definitely. Welcome to Poverty

01:17:16.520 --> 01:17:20.380
Row Studios on the other side of Hollywood, where

01:17:20.380 --> 01:17:23.720
the stars were dimmer and the red carpets dripped

01:17:23.720 --> 01:17:27.380
with blood. Together we will watch the best of

01:17:27.380 --> 01:17:30.220
the worst. Movies known for their limited budgets,

01:17:30.760 --> 01:17:33.979
outlandish concepts, and questionable performances.

01:17:34.420 --> 01:17:37.859
But with enough haunted houses, zombies, ape

01:17:37.859 --> 01:17:40.840
men, and devil bats to keep you up at night.

01:17:41.119 --> 01:17:45.439
This is the Poverty Row Picture Show, and I dare

01:17:45.439 --> 01:17:52.779
you to sleep through these nightmares. I am your

01:17:52.779 --> 01:17:57.369
host, Peter Lorre. You may know me from Hitchcock's

01:17:57.369 --> 01:18:00.510
The Man Who Knew Too Much. No, not the Jimmy

01:18:00.510 --> 01:18:03.329
Stewart one. No, thank you very much. I was in

01:18:03.329 --> 01:18:08.350
the first, 1934. And yes, thank you. Thank you

01:18:08.350 --> 01:18:11.550
for watching this film, The Bachelor. I always

01:18:11.550 --> 01:18:14.649
love hearing how much people loved my movies.

01:18:14.989 --> 01:18:18.189
So eat your heart out, Jimmy. This one holds

01:18:18.189 --> 01:18:20.789
a special place in my rotted heart. It was the

01:18:20.789 --> 01:18:24.520
first English -language flick I made. My... I

01:18:24.520 --> 01:18:29.199
mean, good grief. Well, in this bathing suit,

01:18:29.359 --> 01:18:34.539
you wouldn't know it. Anyways, while yes, ironically,

01:18:34.659 --> 01:18:37.420
I was never in the trenches of poverty row myself,

01:18:37.800 --> 01:18:40.640
it sure feels like it reviewing these bad boys.

01:18:41.319 --> 01:18:44.279
This week's picture is a Republic film called

01:18:44.279 --> 01:18:47.899
The Phantom Speaks. It is about a convicted murderer

01:18:47.899 --> 01:18:51.500
who is executed for his crimes, but not before.

01:18:52.060 --> 01:18:54.779
A psychic scientist visits him and tells him

01:18:54.779 --> 01:18:58.180
that life beyond the grave is possible. You just

01:18:58.180 --> 01:19:00.479
need the willpower to bring your consciousness

01:19:00.479 --> 01:19:04.699
back. And indeed, this murderer's will to enact

01:19:04.699 --> 01:19:07.699
vengeance on his double -crossers provides enough

01:19:07.699 --> 01:19:11.779
juju to bring him back. Don't I know the feeling?

01:19:12.300 --> 01:19:16.039
Well, well anyways, the madman proceeds to possess

01:19:16.039 --> 01:19:19.159
the body of the hapless scientist and compels

01:19:19.159 --> 01:19:22.380
him to murder those dirty double -crossers. Oh

01:19:22.380 --> 01:19:26.260
yes, listeners, terror ensues, and it's up to

01:19:26.260 --> 01:19:28.680
a wisecracking journalist to solve the mystery

01:19:28.680 --> 01:19:33.119
of how a dead man can commit such crimes. The

01:19:33.119 --> 01:19:36.140
Phantom Speaks was released in 1945 to mixed

01:19:36.140 --> 01:19:39.899
reviews. Critics praised the performances, hauled

01:19:39.899 --> 01:19:43.689
out the derivative story. Yes, as interesting

01:19:43.689 --> 01:19:46.369
as this blend of crime and the supernatural is,

01:19:46.489 --> 01:19:50.250
it was a common theme back in the day. In fact,

01:19:50.449 --> 01:19:54.270
Phantom Speaks seems to go beyond merely innocent

01:19:54.270 --> 01:19:57.710
riffing and appears to totally rip off the universal

01:19:57.710 --> 01:20:01.130
picture Black Friday, in which Boris Karloff

01:20:01.130 --> 01:20:04.470
plays the murderer's spirit and bumps Bela Lugosi

01:20:04.470 --> 01:20:07.609
off along the way. Yes, both movies even share

01:20:07.609 --> 01:20:11.130
actors and specific plot points. It is wild.

01:20:12.049 --> 01:20:14.890
Additionally, anytime a consciousness possesses

01:20:14.890 --> 01:20:16.909
the living from malevolent deeds, you are going

01:20:16.909 --> 01:20:21.109
to remember that Kurt Siadmak novel. Yes, Donovan's

01:20:21.109 --> 01:20:24.430
brain strikes again. As well as the Poverty Row

01:20:24.430 --> 01:20:27.810
adaptation, The Lady and the Monster, also from

01:20:27.810 --> 01:20:30.930
Republic. It appears as if the folks at Republic

01:20:30.930 --> 01:20:33.710
could not let the good thing, or in this case,

01:20:33.770 --> 01:20:37.770
brain, die. Nevertheless, The Phantom Speaks

01:20:37.770 --> 01:20:40.149
presents a surprisingly polished film for the

01:20:40.149 --> 01:20:43.770
Poverty Row. Strong acting and stylish direction

01:20:43.770 --> 01:20:46.829
go a long way in overcoming any of the worn -out

01:20:46.829 --> 01:20:49.970
tropes. You certainly can't go wrong with this

01:20:49.970 --> 01:20:52.890
one. I mean, I know the bar is low, but trust

01:20:52.890 --> 01:20:55.069
me, because you know what we're going to do next

01:20:55.069 --> 01:20:57.430
week, Yance? We're meeting that bar where it

01:20:57.430 --> 01:21:00.750
lies on the cold ground. Next week, the film

01:21:00.750 --> 01:21:04.369
called The Vampire's Ghost. A little vampire

01:21:04.369 --> 01:21:09.970
story set in the jungles of Africa. Oh. Oh, boy.

01:21:10.149 --> 01:21:13.630
Yes. Hold on to your garlic for this one. Something

01:21:13.630 --> 01:21:16.970
tells me Prince Mama Waldy ain't going to be

01:21:16.970 --> 01:21:28.210
having a good time. I think the first and foremost,

01:21:28.289 --> 01:21:32.289
the biggest theme for me that resonates as a

01:21:32.289 --> 01:21:35.590
viewer is just this legacy of slavery and oppression

01:21:35.590 --> 01:21:40.539
and how even from the very beginning. When Mama

01:21:40.539 --> 01:21:45.060
Walde is interacting with Count Dracula and Dracula

01:21:45.060 --> 01:21:49.479
condemns him to a life of quote unquote slavery

01:21:49.479 --> 01:21:53.680
by vampirism and and curses him with the name

01:21:53.680 --> 01:21:59.340
Blackula, which is a joke. It's a cruel joke.

01:21:59.479 --> 01:22:04.039
It's a it's a mean spirited name that that Mama

01:22:04.039 --> 01:22:07.239
Walde now has to live with. Okay, so, like, other

01:22:07.239 --> 01:22:08.619
thing is, when you're talking about the whole

01:22:08.619 --> 01:22:12.260
legacy of slavery and oppression, like, the thing

01:22:12.260 --> 01:22:14.479
is, when you first watch the movie, like, it

01:22:14.479 --> 01:22:16.840
takes place, like, you know, hundreds of years

01:22:16.840 --> 01:22:21.439
ago in Transylvania. Mama Walde, Luva, and Count

01:22:21.439 --> 01:22:23.880
Dracula are all talking. And he's like, you know,

01:22:23.880 --> 01:22:28.079
and basically Mama Walde is like, listen, you

01:22:28.079 --> 01:22:31.380
know, like, our people would thrive here with

01:22:31.380 --> 01:22:34.319
your people. We could do all these amazing things.

01:22:35.119 --> 01:22:37.300
Here's the deal. If you want this to work, here's

01:22:37.300 --> 01:22:40.420
a list of demands. And like, you know, and so

01:22:40.420 --> 01:22:42.159
like, you know, Mama Wad is about, you know,

01:22:42.180 --> 01:22:46.020
hey, freeing our people, ending slavery and all

01:22:46.020 --> 01:22:49.720
these other things. And like and even in 1972,

01:22:50.199 --> 01:22:54.859
that's really bold. That is extremely bold on

01:22:54.859 --> 01:22:57.500
film. That is bold to have a have a black man

01:22:57.500 --> 01:23:00.239
say, no, if you want this to work, you will free

01:23:00.239 --> 01:23:04.239
all of us. And then and then we can build this

01:23:04.239 --> 01:23:08.319
great society. And, you know, and so like it's

01:23:08.319 --> 01:23:10.239
like still to this day, every time I watch that

01:23:10.239 --> 01:23:13.039
scene, like it gets me because it's just like.

01:23:14.090 --> 01:23:18.050
It just really gets me. And to have Dracula just

01:23:18.050 --> 01:23:20.409
like, hey, I ain't doing none of that. I'm just

01:23:20.409 --> 01:23:23.649
going to let your wife rot, and I'm going to

01:23:23.649 --> 01:23:29.710
turn you into a vampire. And so, yeah, this whole

01:23:29.710 --> 01:23:33.470
film makes you feel something for Mama Walliday.

01:23:34.510 --> 01:23:39.189
Because his heart is in the right place, but

01:23:39.189 --> 01:23:44.600
now he has an insatiable thirst. And and like

01:23:44.600 --> 01:23:47.699
he's also obsessed with the love that he lost.

01:23:48.340 --> 01:23:51.060
And so even with even in all the evil things

01:23:51.060 --> 01:23:53.739
he's doing, because like, you know, so much of

01:23:53.739 --> 01:23:55.319
this, like, no, dude, this is bad. You shouldn't

01:23:55.319 --> 01:23:58.380
do that. But you still feel for him because like

01:23:58.380 --> 01:24:01.659
in his heart, he's a good dude. Like when when

01:24:01.659 --> 01:24:06.520
Tina dies at the end of the film, like he just

01:24:06.520 --> 01:24:09.859
stops fighting. He's just like. You know, I fought

01:24:09.859 --> 01:24:13.720
for all of this for her. This is all I wanted

01:24:13.720 --> 01:24:16.000
was her. And I just want to be left alone with

01:24:16.000 --> 01:24:18.760
her and be happy. Now you've taken that away

01:24:18.760 --> 01:24:21.760
from me. And instead of going on a killing spree,

01:24:21.779 --> 01:24:24.960
he's just like, you know what? I quit. And just

01:24:24.960 --> 01:24:29.520
walks right out into the sun. Yeah. And like,

01:24:29.520 --> 01:24:32.039
even as a kid, that like really messed with me.

01:24:32.060 --> 01:24:33.420
I was like, wait a minute. What do you mean he's

01:24:33.420 --> 01:24:36.170
quitting? You know, I'm like. Ain't you going

01:24:36.170 --> 01:24:40.329
to fire me? If you die fighting, great. You fought

01:24:40.329 --> 01:24:44.529
for your love. No. I'm not doing this no more.

01:24:47.449 --> 01:24:49.909
That's why I kind of wish there was not a sequel.

01:24:50.390 --> 01:24:54.449
Because the sequel in concept, in concept, the

01:24:54.449 --> 01:24:57.970
concept is good. The movie is not. I still got

01:24:57.970 --> 01:25:00.750
to watch it, though. Just for William Marshall.

01:25:01.029 --> 01:25:06.010
Oh, yeah. It's the only reason. It is the only

01:25:06.010 --> 01:25:10.130
reason like the concept is interesting, but it

01:25:10.130 --> 01:25:13.949
nothing like, but nothing really connects, you

01:25:13.949 --> 01:25:18.090
know? And so, and so, yeah. So, but yeah, but

01:25:18.090 --> 01:25:19.529
you know, and also like I said, dealing with

01:25:19.529 --> 01:25:23.250
black power and pride and, and, you know, and

01:25:23.250 --> 01:25:25.350
things of that nature, you know, like Gordon

01:25:25.350 --> 01:25:28.409
Thomas is extremely pro -black, you know, you

01:25:28.409 --> 01:25:30.970
know, as is Michelle, his girlfriend is extremely

01:25:30.970 --> 01:25:34.689
pro -black. And Mama Walida is extremely pro

01:25:34.689 --> 01:25:37.529
-Black. And so once again, like you said, agency

01:25:37.529 --> 01:25:40.850
in that sense, that they are there for their

01:25:40.850 --> 01:25:42.569
people. They want to help their people, protect

01:25:42.569 --> 01:25:44.949
their people, protect their neighborhood. Even

01:25:44.949 --> 01:25:47.029
when they joke about it, like Gordon Thomas is

01:25:47.029 --> 01:25:49.329
like, man, we're going to move to the suburbs.

01:25:49.890 --> 01:25:56.109
Yes. She says, yeah, just like last year. Yeah.

01:25:58.550 --> 01:26:02.550
It's awesome when it says stuff like that. But

01:26:02.550 --> 01:26:06.529
yeah, but oh, and last thing, I'm outside of

01:26:06.529 --> 01:26:09.050
the whole, and we can all talk about together,

01:26:09.109 --> 01:26:12.229
we talk about the masculinity, patriarchy, homosexuality

01:26:12.229 --> 01:26:14.130
thing. We've talked about some of it, but one

01:26:14.130 --> 01:26:20.550
thing that gets me, and I love this line, is

01:26:20.550 --> 01:26:23.149
when Mama Walde's talking to Dracula, and after

01:26:23.149 --> 01:26:24.970
Dracula's like, no, man, we ain't doing none

01:26:24.970 --> 01:26:27.270
of this. You know, your people are savages, blah,

01:26:27.350 --> 01:26:29.430
blah, blah, blah, blah. And William Marshall

01:26:29.430 --> 01:26:35.109
says, Suddenly, I find your cognac as distasteful

01:26:35.109 --> 01:26:40.550
as your manner. Man, I got up and started clapping.

01:26:40.850 --> 01:26:47.930
It was so dynamite. Just Marshall's ability to

01:26:47.930 --> 01:26:53.670
deliver those lines. And, you know, I've never

01:26:53.670 --> 01:26:56.529
disliked Dracula as much as I do in this movie.

01:26:57.170 --> 01:27:03.239
Yeah. Because of his. juxtaposition to this very

01:27:03.239 --> 01:27:08.319
classy man at the table, Mama Walde. I thought

01:27:08.319 --> 01:27:10.140
that was a really interesting point in the Fangoria

01:27:10.140 --> 01:27:12.199
article that you shared with us, Vincent. The

01:27:12.199 --> 01:27:15.670
critic, Leah Anderson, I think is her name. She's

01:27:15.670 --> 01:27:17.449
talking about how, you know, it's playing on

01:27:17.449 --> 01:27:19.810
our conceptions of Dracula because there is this,

01:27:19.850 --> 01:27:21.649
like, romantic mystique around him, you know?

01:27:21.689 --> 01:27:25.310
Like, he's a count. He's, like, European nobility,

01:27:25.310 --> 01:27:27.130
and he has this, like, love that he's looking

01:27:27.130 --> 01:27:30.430
for beyond the sands of time. So, like, of course,

01:27:30.470 --> 01:27:33.039
Dracula is, like... persistent figure in like

01:27:33.039 --> 01:27:36.000
our cultural consciousness and Blackula right

01:27:36.000 --> 01:27:38.560
off the way, like, you know, less than five minutes

01:27:38.560 --> 01:27:40.819
into the movie is like, no, he would be a slave

01:27:40.819 --> 01:27:43.880
owner. He would be like a vile racist, probably

01:27:43.880 --> 01:27:46.260
horrible person, you know? And like, you know,

01:27:46.300 --> 01:27:48.060
Blackula makes that point right away and you're

01:27:48.060 --> 01:27:49.760
like, oh yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Why

01:27:49.760 --> 01:27:51.920
did I never think about that? You know? And that's

01:27:51.920 --> 01:27:54.140
like, I love the first five minutes of this movie.

01:27:55.340 --> 01:27:57.619
So maybe foreshadowing a little bit of my criticism

01:27:57.619 --> 01:27:59.319
of the film, I think maybe there could have been

01:27:59.319 --> 01:28:02.420
more of that commentary throughout. But at the

01:28:02.420 --> 01:28:05.699
same time, I think a lot of that commentary is

01:28:05.699 --> 01:28:08.319
implicit, you know? And I think if the movie

01:28:08.319 --> 01:28:11.220
was about sort of inequities in Los Angeles in

01:28:11.220 --> 01:28:12.899
the early 70s, it would just be a very different

01:28:12.899 --> 01:28:15.659
film, you know? So I'm kind of of two minds about

01:28:15.659 --> 01:28:18.600
that. But like the opening scene is really incredible.

01:28:18.600 --> 01:28:22.250
And again, just makes you rethink this. really

01:28:22.250 --> 01:28:25.430
huge figure in like horror history you know maybe

01:28:25.430 --> 01:28:27.270
in ways that a lot of people haven't thought

01:28:27.270 --> 01:28:30.329
of before yeah on that note why don't we just

01:28:30.329 --> 01:28:32.989
get to our our individual breakdowns the good

01:28:32.989 --> 01:28:36.510
the bad and the campy with this film you cannot

01:28:36.510 --> 01:28:39.289
deny the historical importance particularly in

01:28:39.289 --> 01:28:42.210
the realm of black horror cinema just like really

01:28:42.210 --> 01:28:44.609
a groundbreaking influential movie and in some

01:28:44.609 --> 01:28:47.300
ways You know, I mean, we already talked about

01:28:47.300 --> 01:28:50.439
this, but Black Horse Cinema leads back to this

01:28:50.439 --> 01:28:53.039
movie, at least in the American perspective of

01:28:53.039 --> 01:28:56.579
it. And yeah, I want to hear more what you guys

01:28:56.579 --> 01:28:58.439
think. So there's more that I like about it,

01:28:58.479 --> 01:28:59.579
but I'm just going to leave it at that for now.

01:29:00.500 --> 01:29:03.760
Let's see here. Like a lot of, some of the good

01:29:03.760 --> 01:29:07.420
things, William Marshall, just amazing in the

01:29:07.420 --> 01:29:11.720
entire film from start to finish. Like even to

01:29:11.720 --> 01:29:13.979
the point where it's a low budget film, but like

01:29:13.979 --> 01:29:17.319
towards that final act, After Gordon burns all

01:29:17.319 --> 01:29:23.060
those vampires, throwing those firebombs, Mama

01:29:23.060 --> 01:29:26.600
Walde shows up. But the way he enters the scene,

01:29:26.840 --> 01:29:29.520
it makes you think that he's just transformed

01:29:29.520 --> 01:29:31.939
from a bat to a human and he lands, like he just

01:29:31.939 --> 01:29:36.819
finished flying. To do that with no special effect,

01:29:37.020 --> 01:29:40.100
it's a real cheap and easy thing to do, but he

01:29:40.100 --> 01:29:43.119
made it look smooth, though. Even when they turn

01:29:43.119 --> 01:29:45.500
him into a bat, let's low budget. It's still

01:29:45.500 --> 01:29:49.180
freaking cool. Okay. Cause I didn't expect them

01:29:49.180 --> 01:29:52.039
to do that. I didn't. I love all the bat stuff

01:29:52.039 --> 01:29:54.359
in this movie. It looks great. Yeah. The, the,

01:29:54.399 --> 01:29:57.859
the credit sequence, the, the, the opening credit,

01:29:57.880 --> 01:29:59.899
like the credit sequence where like, you have

01:29:59.899 --> 01:30:02.840
like basically like a drop of blood turning into

01:30:02.840 --> 01:30:05.359
a person or like, and it becomes like, and like,

01:30:05.380 --> 01:30:07.380
you see like, like a little vampire bat and it

01:30:07.380 --> 01:30:09.939
becomes like this game of like Pac -Man and whatnot.

01:30:10.140 --> 01:30:13.920
This constant. thirst for blood. The opening

01:30:13.920 --> 01:30:20.180
credits are great. But the other thing, and this

01:30:20.180 --> 01:30:23.380
is just me being silly, but in the beginning,

01:30:23.420 --> 01:30:25.720
after he gets into that argument with Dracula

01:30:25.720 --> 01:30:29.000
and Dracula's goons come in, William Marshall

01:30:29.000 --> 01:30:33.079
starts fighting, and he does the Captain Kirk,

01:30:33.300 --> 01:30:35.500
I'm going to hold this one hand, I'm going to

01:30:35.500 --> 01:30:38.399
hold my fist with one hand and bow and hit you

01:30:38.399 --> 01:30:42.800
on the back and make you fall. Whoa. When he,

01:30:42.840 --> 01:30:45.359
when he did the Kirk punch. Oh man. It made me

01:30:45.359 --> 01:30:48.020
so, it just like, I got hype. I got so hype.

01:30:48.100 --> 01:30:49.619
I was like, man, whoop all these dudes asses,

01:30:49.619 --> 01:30:54.279
please. But no, but in Denise, Nicholas, Veneta

01:30:54.279 --> 01:30:56.899
McGee, they're amazing. Thomas Russell, Russell

01:30:56.899 --> 01:31:00.659
Lala. Uh, fantastic. Yeah. You know? So yeah,

01:31:00.739 --> 01:31:03.100
like, yeah, that's, those are a lot of the good

01:31:03.100 --> 01:31:04.560
thing. Like I got more, but that's where I'll

01:31:04.560 --> 01:31:08.890
stop. Yeah. I think this movie for me. It's an

01:31:08.890 --> 01:31:12.310
actor's showpiece. I think the cast is so, the

01:31:12.310 --> 01:31:15.130
chemistry is so tight, the ensemble. I mean,

01:31:15.149 --> 01:31:19.310
the script, I don't think, like the script might

01:31:19.310 --> 01:31:21.590
be some of the weakest stuff, but the actors

01:31:21.590 --> 01:31:23.970
are supported by their director too. I think

01:31:23.970 --> 01:31:28.010
William Crane. I was immediately taken by how

01:31:28.010 --> 01:31:31.229
much time his camera just lingers on William

01:31:31.229 --> 01:31:34.289
Marshall. The first time Marshall comes out of

01:31:34.289 --> 01:31:38.130
the coffin. In 20th century LA, he's in this

01:31:38.130 --> 01:31:42.329
warehouse. Crane just lets Marshall do his thing.

01:31:42.510 --> 01:31:47.909
You see the actor realize, I'm in a new place.

01:31:48.310 --> 01:31:50.989
You see the actor breathe air for the first time

01:31:50.989 --> 01:31:57.409
in 150 years. And it's just really tender. All

01:31:57.409 --> 01:31:59.289
the moments, William Crane just lets breathe,

01:31:59.590 --> 01:32:02.670
just lets the actors do their thing. And then

01:32:02.670 --> 01:32:04.569
there's the technical stuff with the camera.

01:32:05.210 --> 01:32:11.890
There's so many visual shots and components to

01:32:11.890 --> 01:32:13.630
this movie, but the one that always stands out,

01:32:13.670 --> 01:32:16.409
I think, is when the cab driver, Juanita, she's

01:32:16.409 --> 01:32:18.550
the vampire and she's thawed out and she comes

01:32:18.550 --> 01:32:21.850
running down the hall. That's a clip you always

01:32:21.850 --> 01:32:25.569
see in clip shows, but William Crane had special

01:32:25.569 --> 01:32:29.449
delivered a high -speed camera to shoot that

01:32:29.449 --> 01:32:33.510
one moment in slow motion as she's running towards

01:32:33.510 --> 01:32:36.560
the camera screaming. And yeah, I mean, it's

01:32:36.560 --> 01:32:39.520
a frightening moment of the undead coming at

01:32:39.520 --> 01:32:42.920
you. So I think William Crane is directing the

01:32:42.920 --> 01:32:45.819
hell out of this movie, and the actors are so

01:32:45.819 --> 01:32:50.840
natural in this movie. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like

01:32:50.840 --> 01:32:52.600
I didn't say a lot of my good category, so can

01:32:52.600 --> 01:32:54.159
I just add on real quick to what I said before?

01:32:54.520 --> 01:32:57.399
Please. It's basically what you said. I think

01:32:57.399 --> 01:32:58.920
the actors really do add a lot of personality

01:32:58.920 --> 01:33:02.079
and depth to even supporting characters. And

01:33:02.079 --> 01:33:04.279
I think one example of that is the woman who

01:33:04.279 --> 01:33:07.180
works at the nightclub who, you know, she's kind

01:33:07.180 --> 01:33:09.279
of like, she's taking pictures. She's like going

01:33:09.279 --> 01:33:11.000
from one table to another and like taking pictures

01:33:11.000 --> 01:33:14.260
that she then sells to the patrons of the nightclub.

01:33:14.500 --> 01:33:16.699
But I was just surprised that there's this subplot

01:33:16.699 --> 01:33:18.420
featuring her where then she goes back to her

01:33:18.420 --> 01:33:21.260
darkroom and she develops a picture of Tina and

01:33:21.260 --> 01:33:23.220
Mama Walde, but he doesn't show up in the picture.

01:33:23.380 --> 01:33:26.039
And then she becomes one of his victims. And

01:33:26.039 --> 01:33:29.029
I just loved that. you know, she seemed at first

01:33:29.029 --> 01:33:31.050
like a throwaway supporting character, but like

01:33:31.050 --> 01:33:33.470
she has a lot of personality. Like she lives

01:33:33.470 --> 01:33:35.270
apparently right next door to this nightclub.

01:33:35.329 --> 01:33:37.170
And I was like, Oh, that's, I want to know more

01:33:37.170 --> 01:33:38.729
about this person, you know? And then of course

01:33:38.729 --> 01:33:41.210
it's like, she's dispatched pretty quickly. So

01:33:41.210 --> 01:33:44.010
that's sad. But like, you know, I, yeah, I like

01:33:44.010 --> 01:33:46.189
the actors and I just like how this picks up

01:33:46.189 --> 01:33:47.689
on what you were saying, Vincent, but just like

01:33:47.689 --> 01:33:52.479
this movie seems to have. compassion for its

01:33:52.479 --> 01:33:55.359
characters and like it treats them not as just

01:33:55.359 --> 01:33:58.020
like victims but like you know what it actually

01:33:58.020 --> 01:33:59.359
kind of cares about what they're going through

01:33:59.359 --> 01:34:04.159
in some cases not in all of them yeah yeah critiques

01:34:04.159 --> 01:34:08.600
of the film i will say once again the use of

01:34:08.600 --> 01:34:13.479
gay slurs is not a good thing you know and i

01:34:13.479 --> 01:34:15.779
know that's a that is a legitimate product of

01:34:15.779 --> 01:34:19.979
its time But the movie does have issues with

01:34:19.979 --> 01:34:24.479
homosexuality. It also has issues with, even

01:34:24.479 --> 01:34:27.819
though the ladies in the film do have a form

01:34:27.819 --> 01:34:32.500
of agency, it's still less than the men have

01:34:32.500 --> 01:34:36.239
in the film. Even though the women are assertive,

01:34:36.279 --> 01:34:39.600
they are, and they are assertive. They make their

01:34:39.600 --> 01:34:42.119
own decisions and their own choices and whatnot.

01:34:42.260 --> 01:34:45.020
But still, the men still have more agency than

01:34:45.020 --> 01:34:49.090
they do. So that's an issue too. But once again,

01:34:49.189 --> 01:34:52.869
that is also a product of its time. That's a

01:34:52.869 --> 01:34:58.750
product of its time. So I get it. But those would

01:34:58.750 --> 01:35:04.029
be the bad things. And besides that, the fact

01:35:04.029 --> 01:35:07.449
that they were going to make Count Brown in town.

01:35:08.220 --> 01:35:10.939
You know, which just sounds like such a horrible

01:35:10.939 --> 01:35:15.500
idea. Like, that gets stuffed in the bad bag,

01:35:15.779 --> 01:35:18.800
and then that bag gets crumbled and lit on fire.

01:35:20.000 --> 01:35:24.779
Gladly, yeah. But I didn't, like, intellectually,

01:35:25.020 --> 01:35:27.359
I'm watching the movie, and I'm like, okay, maybe

01:35:27.359 --> 01:35:30.220
this is a filler scene. I would like to see a

01:35:30.220 --> 01:35:33.039
little bit more of this character, and oh, that

01:35:33.039 --> 01:35:36.479
was an interesting dynamic. Let's dig into that

01:35:36.479 --> 01:35:39.810
a little bit more. But by the end of the movie,

01:35:39.869 --> 01:35:43.050
I was like, I mean, they didn't ultimately distract

01:35:43.050 --> 01:35:46.770
me from what I was watching because I was feeling

01:35:46.770 --> 01:35:50.789
it was a choice to meander with certain characters.

01:35:50.829 --> 01:35:53.869
It was a choice to just give us a flavor of this

01:35:53.869 --> 01:35:58.329
or that. So I could come up with bad things,

01:35:58.390 --> 01:36:01.010
but I didn't really have any bad things with

01:36:01.010 --> 01:36:05.680
this movie. I totally agree with everything you

01:36:05.680 --> 01:36:08.439
said. The script could have been improved on

01:36:08.439 --> 01:36:11.539
in certain ways, I think. And again, I loved

01:36:11.539 --> 01:36:14.460
the opening scene. And then I think that introduces

01:36:14.460 --> 01:36:17.020
so many fascinating subtexts to the movie. But

01:36:17.020 --> 01:36:19.000
then I think for much of the film's running time,

01:36:19.159 --> 01:36:22.619
there isn't a lot of that. I know I kind of already

01:36:22.619 --> 01:36:24.340
alluded to this, but I might have preferred a

01:36:24.340 --> 01:36:27.500
little bit more emphasis on the social and political

01:36:27.500 --> 01:36:30.319
commentary. But again, you can read that into

01:36:30.319 --> 01:36:32.000
it, like some of the stuff about sort of police

01:36:32.000 --> 01:36:34.560
ineptitude when it comes to gay and black characters

01:36:34.560 --> 01:36:36.640
like that's there. And I think, you know, you

01:36:36.640 --> 01:36:39.859
can like that's an overt theme of the movie.

01:36:39.899 --> 01:36:41.140
And there are some other themes that you can

01:36:41.140 --> 01:36:43.880
read into it as well. You know, with like very

01:36:43.880 --> 01:36:45.960
low budget films, I'm always kind of a little

01:36:45.960 --> 01:36:49.399
bit ambivalent. I love what resourceful filmmakers

01:36:49.399 --> 01:36:51.560
can do on a low budget. And maybe at the same

01:36:51.560 --> 01:36:54.039
time, I would like a little bit more polish and

01:36:54.039 --> 01:36:56.300
craft to some of the scenes, especially in like

01:36:56.300 --> 01:36:59.199
the water treatment plant, I think is where it's

01:36:59.199 --> 01:37:01.319
filmed at the end. Like there could have been

01:37:01.319 --> 01:37:03.500
some really exciting moments. And it kind of

01:37:03.500 --> 01:37:06.239
emphasizes the camp more than like the suspense

01:37:06.239 --> 01:37:08.859
and the action. Like when Mama Walde is like

01:37:08.859 --> 01:37:11.119
throwing water barrels on people and it's like,

01:37:11.220 --> 01:37:16.380
oh, this is like the 1966 Batman. So, but that's,

01:37:16.380 --> 01:37:18.340
you know, that's the camp and the pleasure of

01:37:18.340 --> 01:37:20.460
it too at the same time. So I can't criticize

01:37:20.460 --> 01:37:23.399
the movie too much for that. Yeah, those, you

01:37:23.399 --> 01:37:26.579
know, they're mild gripes for like a very, again,

01:37:26.680 --> 01:37:30.409
influential movie. Yeah, you're on the money

01:37:30.409 --> 01:37:32.670
with that. Mama Walde throwing barrels. I thought,

01:37:32.750 --> 01:37:37.010
is this what he would do? He's a little more

01:37:37.010 --> 01:37:40.109
dignified than that. Right. He has no problem

01:37:40.109 --> 01:37:42.829
just grabbing somebody and literally backhanding

01:37:42.829 --> 01:37:47.750
them. Because when he backhand slapped Gordon

01:37:47.750 --> 01:37:51.989
Thomas, man, I laughed so hard because Gordon

01:37:51.989 --> 01:37:54.590
Thomas did a spin and hit that couch like, oh.

01:37:58.980 --> 01:38:01.079
I recently watched the movie three, the hard

01:38:01.079 --> 01:38:02.819
way. I don't know if you guys have seen that.

01:38:03.279 --> 01:38:06.520
It's a blaxploitation movie that has like, it's

01:38:06.520 --> 01:38:08.239
fun. It's a very fun movie, but like the action

01:38:08.239 --> 01:38:09.920
scenes, you can tell it's like, I just fight

01:38:09.920 --> 01:38:11.680
in front of the camera. We're not going to choreograph

01:38:11.680 --> 01:38:14.199
it at all. Like even Jim Kelly, who plays a karate

01:38:14.199 --> 01:38:16.979
expert in that movie. I don't know if they choreographed

01:38:16.979 --> 01:38:19.260
any of the fight scenes. So it's like, it's very

01:38:19.260 --> 01:38:21.039
entertaining. It's very amusing, but it's like,

01:38:21.079 --> 01:38:23.079
Oh, I might've liked to see an actual action

01:38:23.079 --> 01:38:26.600
scene here as well. You know? Yeah. Yes. It's

01:38:26.600 --> 01:38:29.140
so entertaining at the same time. Yeah, I never

01:38:29.140 --> 01:38:31.220
I never get tired of him throwing the barrels,

01:38:31.319 --> 01:38:33.340
though, even though it doesn't even though it

01:38:33.340 --> 01:38:35.760
doesn't fit with everything else this man has

01:38:35.760 --> 01:38:38.720
done in this film. You know, he normally just

01:38:38.720 --> 01:38:40.880
lays hands on you. That's it. And bites you.

01:38:41.960 --> 01:38:43.600
Oh, man, I got through these barrels, though.

01:38:44.140 --> 01:38:46.859
Also, he's also at the end of his rope. Like

01:38:46.859 --> 01:38:49.819
he knows his time is short. I mean, yeah, even

01:38:49.819 --> 01:38:53.199
even Mama Walde can be like a rat in a corner.

01:38:53.300 --> 01:38:57.489
He's just like, I'm desperate. Yeah. So you could

01:38:57.489 --> 01:38:59.470
read it. You could read that narrative into it

01:38:59.470 --> 01:39:01.550
too. Like what else are you going to do? Yeah.

01:39:02.029 --> 01:39:06.250
Yeah. Final act of rage. Well, we're talking

01:39:06.250 --> 01:39:10.090
about a lot of campy things. I'll add the, the

01:39:10.090 --> 01:39:14.149
medical assistant with the hook for a hand. Yes.

01:39:14.789 --> 01:39:17.989
Like why not? The actor went to props or costumes

01:39:17.989 --> 01:39:20.649
and said, can I get a hook? And crane probably

01:39:20.649 --> 01:39:24.510
said, yeah, let's put a hook on you. I love that.

01:39:24.609 --> 01:39:27.699
I love when. Mama Walde orders a Bloody Mary

01:39:27.699 --> 01:39:31.279
at the nightclub. It's almost, it's too on the

01:39:31.279 --> 01:39:37.199
nose, but it's also perfect. Yeah, I love that.

01:39:37.239 --> 01:39:39.960
I love the white police officer. I think his

01:39:39.960 --> 01:39:43.220
name is Peters. He really does seem inept. No

01:39:43.220 --> 01:39:47.279
shade to that actor, but his lack of emotion,

01:39:47.439 --> 01:39:49.600
especially in that scene. Sean, you were talking

01:39:49.600 --> 01:39:51.840
about this before, but he just cannot throw that

01:39:51.840 --> 01:39:54.899
Molotov cocktail bomb or whatever it is, and

01:39:54.899 --> 01:39:58.539
he's just standing there. I'm sure he's flummoxed

01:39:58.539 --> 01:40:00.199
by the vampires that have come out of nowhere,

01:40:00.300 --> 01:40:02.899
but still, that actor's performance, I love just

01:40:02.899 --> 01:40:05.960
how... Blank faced it is. That's a very campy

01:40:05.960 --> 01:40:08.800
moment to me. Gordon Thomas is like, listen,

01:40:08.880 --> 01:40:12.600
I'm not dying tonight because of you. Get out

01:40:12.600 --> 01:40:18.979
of the way, man. Oh, man. As far as the camp

01:40:18.979 --> 01:40:22.159
goes, there's tons of it. There's tons of it.

01:40:22.199 --> 01:40:27.840
Y 'all have had perfect examples. But the thing

01:40:27.840 --> 01:40:30.340
for me, as far as camping, it's not that it's

01:40:30.340 --> 01:40:33.300
really campy. I just really love... william marshall's

01:40:33.300 --> 01:40:36.420
like a lot of william marshall's lines are just

01:40:36.420 --> 01:40:41.420
so spot on they fit the mood every time before

01:40:41.420 --> 01:40:43.640
he said you know suddenly i find your cognac

01:40:43.640 --> 01:40:46.539
as distasteful as your manner like he was like

01:40:46.539 --> 01:40:52.220
sir are you ill see like stuff like that is just

01:40:52.220 --> 01:40:56.119
dope like and like he just the word he like when

01:40:56.119 --> 01:40:59.680
um with gordon thomas and mama wall they start

01:40:59.680 --> 01:41:04.430
talking about vampires Yeah. Like you could cut

01:41:04.430 --> 01:41:07.270
the tension with a knife. That's that. Yeah.

01:41:07.909 --> 01:41:11.850
Like it's perfect. It's the classic. It's the

01:41:11.850 --> 01:41:15.010
Dracula Van Helsing dynamic you want in a Dracula

01:41:15.010 --> 01:41:17.930
movie, right? They're sitting at a table pretending

01:41:17.930 --> 01:41:20.270
everything is normal, but underneath they're

01:41:20.270 --> 01:41:24.729
just jabbing at each other. Oh, so juicy. That's

01:41:24.729 --> 01:41:26.789
a great scene. Love it. Yes. Yeah, absolutely.

01:41:27.630 --> 01:41:29.430
Matt, I might have to watch this again the night

01:41:29.430 --> 01:41:32.300
after I get off this call. I'm telling you, I

01:41:32.300 --> 01:41:35.159
might buy this movie after we get off this call.

01:41:35.539 --> 01:41:38.699
I don't know if it's going to be easy to find.

01:41:38.840 --> 01:41:41.859
Now, you might be able to find, like, a DVD pretty

01:41:41.859 --> 01:41:44.159
cheap at, like, you know, like a used DVD place.

01:41:44.819 --> 01:41:46.779
Like, a couple years ago, actually, it was longer

01:41:46.779 --> 01:41:48.819
than a couple years ago, there was a re -release

01:41:48.819 --> 01:41:52.420
on Blu -ray that came with both Blackula and

01:41:52.420 --> 01:41:56.060
Scream Blackula Screen. But it was a short print

01:41:56.060 --> 01:41:59.819
run. So, actually, let me go look right now.

01:42:00.490 --> 01:42:06.770
Let's see. Okay. And Blackula Blu -ray. Be my

01:42:06.770 --> 01:42:09.170
buddy. Just be my buddy and say that like it's

01:42:09.170 --> 01:42:11.810
been re -released again. I mean, I've seen it

01:42:11.810 --> 01:42:16.029
on eBay and stuff, but yeah, it's weirdly hard

01:42:16.029 --> 01:42:19.350
to come by. Yeah. Okay. So Shot Factory under

01:42:19.350 --> 01:42:22.689
their Scream division had put it out. And so

01:42:22.689 --> 01:42:25.630
like, it's kind of difficult to get now. So like

01:42:25.630 --> 01:42:28.890
price averages between 50 to 70, a hundred dollars,

01:42:28.930 --> 01:42:34.010
but, but like overseas, if you've, if you've

01:42:34.010 --> 01:42:37.470
got a region free Blu -ray player, there's a

01:42:37.470 --> 01:42:40.689
Blackula complete collection for like $20. I

01:42:40.689 --> 01:42:43.069
think that's where I got hung up on the, on the

01:42:43.069 --> 01:42:47.310
regions. Yeah. Why that is needlessly complicated.

01:42:47.710 --> 01:42:50.100
Oh, very complicated. Very, very complicated.

01:42:50.720 --> 01:42:53.460
So yes. But, so yeah, sorry. I didn't mean to

01:42:53.460 --> 01:42:54.939
put us on a tangent. Like when we start talking

01:42:54.939 --> 01:42:56.659
about Blu -rays and stuff, I get excited. So,

01:42:56.659 --> 01:42:59.939
you know. Totally. No worries. Well, let's give

01:42:59.939 --> 01:43:02.439
our final thoughts, our final ratings. Matt,

01:43:02.539 --> 01:43:06.420
take us away. Set us up. Yeah, absolutely. As

01:43:06.420 --> 01:43:09.420
always, at the end of Camp Kaiju, we give the

01:43:09.420 --> 01:43:12.159
film a rating. Our rating system is, number one,

01:43:12.220 --> 01:43:14.239
it's a timeless classic. It definitely stands

01:43:14.239 --> 01:43:16.949
the test of time. Our second rating, there may

01:43:16.949 --> 01:43:18.890
be some antiquated moments, but overall it's

01:43:18.890 --> 01:43:21.609
great. It stands the test of time. Number three,

01:43:21.710 --> 01:43:24.149
it may be historically significant or just fun,

01:43:24.270 --> 01:43:26.970
but it does not stand the test of time. And our

01:43:26.970 --> 01:43:29.649
lowest rating, it's not worth revisiting. It

01:43:29.649 --> 01:43:33.109
definitely does not stand the test of time. Well,

01:43:33.189 --> 01:43:35.550
I can real quick kick us off. I'll keep it brief

01:43:35.550 --> 01:43:38.560
and then turn it over to you guys. For me, there

01:43:38.560 --> 01:43:40.460
may be some antiquated moments. There definitely

01:43:40.460 --> 01:43:42.359
are antiquated moments, and we've already talked

01:43:42.359 --> 01:43:44.899
about some of the offensive dated moments that

01:43:44.899 --> 01:43:47.079
some modern audiences may have issues with, and

01:43:47.079 --> 01:43:49.279
there are some other flaws as well. But it stands

01:43:49.279 --> 01:43:51.840
the test of time. It is such an influential movie,

01:43:51.960 --> 01:43:54.260
and there are so many little things beyond that

01:43:54.260 --> 01:43:57.539
historical importance to recommend, little surprises

01:43:57.539 --> 01:44:01.579
here and there that are surprising and sometimes

01:44:01.579 --> 01:44:06.439
delightful, sometimes darkly delightful. You

01:44:06.439 --> 01:44:09.159
know, I have to agree with Matt. There may be

01:44:09.159 --> 01:44:15.560
some antiquated moments, but overall, it's great.

01:44:16.039 --> 01:44:20.859
It stands the test of time. I mean, I can never

01:44:20.859 --> 01:44:22.939
be disrespectful to this movie for everything

01:44:22.939 --> 01:44:28.220
that it's done in the history of cinema. You

01:44:28.220 --> 01:44:30.899
know, like, come on, man. Like, if there isn't

01:44:30.899 --> 01:44:33.979
a Blackula, does Jordan Peele... start making

01:44:33.979 --> 01:44:36.439
horror movies after he decides like acting ain't,

01:44:36.439 --> 01:44:37.619
you know, he's like, I'm not doing this acting

01:44:37.619 --> 01:44:40.140
stuff no more. You know what I mean? Right. Yeah.

01:44:40.479 --> 01:44:43.100
You know, and like, and the thing is, is that

01:44:43.100 --> 01:44:45.140
we've had like, you know, so many like black

01:44:45.140 --> 01:44:48.840
directors since William Crane, you know, and

01:44:48.840 --> 01:44:51.560
like, you know, so, you know, so like, you know,

01:44:51.579 --> 01:44:54.880
there's so much influence in this film and, you

01:44:54.880 --> 01:44:57.539
know, outside of the story, outside of the campiness

01:44:57.539 --> 01:45:00.859
and everything else. Like it's a classic. It

01:45:00.859 --> 01:45:02.899
is absolute classic. Like I can't give a time.

01:45:02.920 --> 01:45:04.680
It's classic because of some of the things that

01:45:04.680 --> 01:45:08.699
it says in the film, but, but yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

01:45:08.699 --> 01:45:11.840
It stands the test of time. I love this movie.

01:45:12.439 --> 01:45:14.539
I couldn't agree more. I fell in love with this

01:45:14.539 --> 01:45:16.720
movie right off the bat. I'd like this kicks

01:45:16.720 --> 01:45:19.140
so much, but, and it's so well done and it's

01:45:19.140 --> 01:45:22.739
got so much heart, but the very definition of

01:45:22.739 --> 01:45:25.380
antiquated moments is in this movie with the

01:45:25.380 --> 01:45:28.300
language. And so, like, really unforgivable.

01:45:28.359 --> 01:45:30.359
It's dated. But don't let that stop you from

01:45:30.359 --> 01:45:33.119
watching it. Right. It is the legacy and the

01:45:33.119 --> 01:45:36.260
influence is monumental. And I don't think enough

01:45:36.260 --> 01:45:39.140
people real. And I'm going to include myself

01:45:39.140 --> 01:45:42.300
in this group of people in the world who have

01:45:42.300 --> 01:45:45.619
heard Blackula and they think it's a joke. Even

01:45:45.619 --> 01:45:49.340
I watch this movie on the Roku channel. Forgive

01:45:49.340 --> 01:45:54.020
me. But on the. The title on the screen and then

01:45:54.020 --> 01:45:55.779
underneath, it's got the running time, it's got

01:45:55.779 --> 01:45:58.600
the director and then it's got like the genres

01:45:58.600 --> 01:46:03.460
and it says horror and hilarious. Right. And

01:46:03.460 --> 01:46:06.119
I'm like, this isn't actually a funny movie.

01:46:06.220 --> 01:46:10.739
It can't be right, but it's not a comedy. But

01:46:10.739 --> 01:46:14.819
I think that's the reputation it has to Joe Schmo

01:46:14.819 --> 01:46:17.500
on the street. And I think that's a mistake.

01:46:17.659 --> 01:46:20.380
And I think people should watch this and understand

01:46:20.380 --> 01:46:24.039
the historical impact and the artistry involved

01:46:24.039 --> 01:46:27.819
with this film and the talent involved. So it's

01:46:27.819 --> 01:46:31.180
a classic through and through, despite some antiquated

01:46:31.180 --> 01:46:35.840
moments. Sean, thank you so much, man, for joining

01:46:35.840 --> 01:46:38.720
us on this. This conversation wouldn't have been

01:46:38.720 --> 01:46:43.000
what it was without you and Matt. I just want

01:46:43.000 --> 01:46:46.600
to thank you for your research and your know

01:46:46.600 --> 01:46:49.779
-how. Thank you guys for making the show what

01:46:49.779 --> 01:46:54.439
it is. Thank you for hanging out with us, friends.

01:46:54.560 --> 01:46:57.699
What a fang -tastic episode with Sean Pryor.

01:46:57.819 --> 01:47:00.760
Please check out his books and his work and his

01:47:00.760 --> 01:47:04.140
writings in our show notes, along with some in

01:47:04.140 --> 01:47:07.819
-depth reviews of Blackula. We'd love to continue

01:47:07.819 --> 01:47:10.920
this conversation over on patreon .com slash

01:47:10.920 --> 01:47:15.140
campkaiju, over on Instagram at campkaiju at

01:47:15.140 --> 01:47:19.020
gmail .com, campkaijupodcast .com. Leave a voicemail

01:47:19.020 --> 01:47:23.590
with our number, 612 -470 -261. and let us know

01:47:23.590 --> 01:47:25.770
what you think about Blackula or any of the other

01:47:25.770 --> 01:47:28.390
films mentioned in this episode. Or what you

01:47:28.390 --> 01:47:31.449
think about the upcoming episode, Alucarda, a

01:47:31.449 --> 01:47:35.390
1977 supernatural horror film from Mexico. It

01:47:35.390 --> 01:47:39.430
looks downright diabolical. Can't wait. Let's

01:47:39.430 --> 01:47:42.569
see what you think about it. Camp Kaiju is recorded

01:47:42.569 --> 01:47:44.869
in Minneapolis, St. Paul with Menia's Mailbox

01:47:44.869 --> 01:47:47.869
Music by Ben Cook -Felps. Thanks, friends. And

01:47:47.869 --> 01:47:51.970
until next time, stay campy. Camp Kaiju is brought

01:47:51.970 --> 01:47:54.270
to you by Zach Linder and the Zach Pack powered

01:47:54.270 --> 01:47:56.569
by Coldwell Banker Realty. Whether you're looking

01:47:56.569 --> 01:47:58.670
for your dream home, a savvy investment property,

01:47:58.770 --> 01:48:00.710
or expert guidance in home rehab and flipping,

01:48:01.029 --> 01:48:03.350
the Zach Pack has you covered. Check the link

01:48:03.350 --> 01:48:07.869
in the show notes for more information. You find

01:48:07.869 --> 01:48:12.369
merit in barbarity and barbarous from the standpoint

01:48:12.369 --> 01:48:16.359
of a slave, perhaps. Intriguing. I'm delightful

01:48:16.359 --> 01:48:18.560
for mine. I would willingly pay for so beautiful

01:48:18.560 --> 01:48:20.460
an addition to my household as your delicious

01:48:20.460 --> 01:48:26.600
wife. Sir, are you ill? Oh, I meant no insult,

01:48:26.680 --> 01:48:31.159
Prince. It is a compliment for a man of my station

01:48:31.159 --> 01:48:35.060
to look with desire on one of your color. Sir,

01:48:35.159 --> 01:48:40.699
I certainly find your cognac as distasteful as

01:48:40.699 --> 01:48:43.960
your manner. You're behaving like some animal.

01:48:44.720 --> 01:48:46.159
Really? Really.