Over the past few days, I watched two fun old movies, both for the first time. As it happened, they were both black-and-white, kind of sci-fi spooky movies, that were made in the late 50s, with a mainly teenage cast. At least, the actors were supposed to be teenagers. The first was The Blob, which was the Svengoolie showing last Saturday. The second was Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow.
I'm guessing that many of you have seen The Blob. I hadn't before the other night. Strangely enough I thought I'd seen it, because I'd seen so many clips of the movie over the years. I was certainly aware of the thing that looked like a growing glob of jelly/jello and how it slinked around.
This movie was surprisingly good! I thought the actors were pretty believable. The Blob stars Steve McQueen, who looked like an older teenager because he was 28 at the time of filming! His little "teenage" girlfriend in the movie (Aneta Corsaut) was 25. An interesting piece of trivia about her is that she went on to be Andy's girlfriend/wife Helen Crump on The Andy Griffith show.
Speaking of the Andy Griffith connection... Svengoolie put together a funny little song comparing The Blob to The Andy Griffith Show:
I'll try and not give much away about The Blob, because maybe some of you haven't seen it and would like to. So without spelling out the plot, I'll say that this movie has something to say about people coming together to solve a problem. Those who kept calm and kept an open mind about different solutions to solving the blob problem, did well. The frantic, paranoid, and close-minded characters had more challenges. It's interesting how even the most crusty characters could manage to work with the more likable main characters, when there was a common enemy. I think that's pretty realistic!
Now, onto the Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow. I'm as certain that most of you haven't seen this as I am that you have seen The Blob! I actually looked this movie up on YouTube after seeing the poster art on Pinterest:
I thought the poster was so cute that I had to see the movie! I'm really glad I did, because it was a lot of fun. This is one of those Rockabilly teen movies with hot cars and (according to a few mens' comments on YouTube) some hot chicks. Well, one girl in particular:
Some of you might agree that she could almost be a young Vampira, with a different look of course. I say that because she's tall and thin with high cheekbones and a certain confidence. This actress is Sanita Pelkey. She was hilarious and had some of the best lines in the movie. But my favorite character was Aunt Anastasia Abernathy:
Basically, the movie revolves around a group of kids who like to work on cars. A girl named Lois stands out as being incredibly cool and independent. She's the rare female who's working on cars like the boys, and also likes to race them. I'm guessing Lois would have been pretty rare in 1959.
Lois has an understanding mother and an insanely uptight (to the point of being funny) father. She also has an Aunt Anastasia, who she's riding in a car with above. Basically, Lois' father would like her to stop racing cars, dating boys, and probably age in reverse! He decides she shouldn't drive at all while Aunt Anastasia visits.
This leads to all kinds of hilarity as Lois has a party and then sleepover at her family's home, since she can't go out. At that point, Lois' father would probably have loved it if she'd driven away!
If you're wondering where the supernatural element comes in here, there isn't much of one. Aunt Anastasia has a haunted house, which she allows the kids to use as a meeting place/party central. A few haunted high jinx occur. Mostly, this movie is just cool teenagers with more old slang than you can shake a stick at. I mostly understood what they were saying. You'll get the idea. It's fun and cheesy. And like a lot of movies from this time, there's some music involved. I think this could actually have been a musical if a few more songs had been added.
So, if you'd like to just relax your brain and have a fun time, give Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow a watch! And if you haven't gotten around to seeing The Blob yet, definitely watch that too.
I couldn't find the entire Blob movie online, but I have the next best thing! Or maybe an even better thing? I happen to love this song. Be warned, though... This song will not leave your head for some time.
Click Here to allow that Blob earworm into your mind!
(I'm inserting those "Click Here" links because I know those who get my blog in email form can't see the videos.)
Can you believe Burt Bacharach was involved in writing this song?
If you listen to it while watching this gif, you can almost imagine the blob dancing along to the music! I'm doing that right now, actually. 😁 He's managing to keep the beat.
P.S. ~ I've been meaning to pass along a hilarious man's YouTube channel to you guys. The hilarious man is named Heywood Banks. He sings catchy songs and he's a real mood-lifter. I looked Heywood up online because I saw his photo in the paper. I thought the expression he was making in that photo was so funny that he was bound to be entertaining. I didn't even realize that he wrote songs until I looked him up! A link to his YouTube channel:
Yet another awesome mid-century merchandise package for what must have been the popular "haunted house carry-case" genre..., this time from Brach's Fine Candies circa 1955. You can see the handi-pak described in the 1955 Halloween Candies brochure:
No. 5101 - Trick or Treat Handi-Pak Haunted house design on satchel-shaped pak contains minimum of 70 assorted cello packets of Candy Corn, Halloween Jelly Beans, Orange and Black Imperials, and Assorted Creme Cones. Empty satchel serves as a container for Trick or Treat loot. Net weight per pack 22 1/2 ounces. 16 Handi-Paks to case.
Mid-century (date unknown) vintage Halloween merchandise box with dual purpose as trick-or-treat carry case. According to ingredient information could contain either bubble gum or suckers in the original package. Produced by Thomas-Wiener Co. of Memphis, Tennessee. Below are two views - one side offering plastic-covered peek-a-boo glimpses of contents.
While prices on vintage German-made diecuts were optimistic this year, one might wonder if, like tin toys, this will be the next vintage Halloween category to fall on hard times. While much of the purchasing Halloween audience is likely viewing the market for only a few weeks, and thus continuing to see embossed diecuts as occasional novelty --- those watching the entire year saw many designs repeatedly available and sometimes more common than some tin toys. Will the diecut bubble burst as they become more and more visible, and new knowledge is gained about their production numbers and availability?
ONE: It was surprising that one lot (from a well-known auction house) sold extremely weak in early September (just weeks before the big holiday). Ten German diecuts together with two product packages sold as a lot for $550 --- roughly $50 each. However if you assume the Dancing Skeleton envelope is firmly worth a suggested guidebook price of $325, then from the remaining sale price the embossed pieces would have cost about $25 each.
Lot of 13 items (above) sold for $550 plus auction fees.
To complicate matters the savvy buyer/seller began turning these around to a different venue the very day the auction hammer fell. During the weeks leading up to Halloween, the diecuts sold separately for roughly around $100+ each. This introduces 2 questions --- How rare is an item that is churning between venues? And what is the actual value when an item is selling to different audiences who may have different perceptions of the market?
TWO: Like any category, some items will likely remain more elusive than others.... but it seems imperative that long-time collectors begin to provide better evidence of their research regarding production and availability dates of products available to both U.S./Canadian markets as well as across the ocean. It appears now that much of the existing stock was cross-marketed to various holiday celebrations inside and outside the borders of the country of manufacturer, and for more years than previously believed?
For example, the vintage witch design (shown above) sold during 2015 as a pair for $1400. One guidebook references the characters from this set of seven as rare with availability only during the 1920s.
However, a German-language catalog page (above) shows these (as well as one well-known devil) seemingly available within the country of origin as recent as 1968-1970!?! See this entry: Seven Spooks in Narrenfibel 1968 / 1970. What is the larger story here, and how does this effect true rarity and price?
THREE: In what was perhaps the most shocking bargain of the year, a lot of 50+ vintage Halloween items sold for a mere $520 --- that is likely less than $10 a piece for each item. Here are just some of the contents of that purchase (below). Undeniably a smart buy (and not an auction) from a quick hand.
The German diecut (at top of the collage) has lately been re-photographed by the buyer and viewable on a site touting the esteem of high-value vintage Halloween collectibles. For this diecut it was a quick and interesting turn of events, something that actually happens more frequently (within all categories) than an average onlooker might guess. Having seen this diecut before in other collections --- what is the actual story of this item? Considering what was shown in examplesone and two, what was its production and availability history?
While I know this entry is likely raising more questions than it is offering answers, I believe these are important to consider --- if for no other reason than to have as mental references when reading the price (often sensational) or language (often hyperbole) attached to any vintage piece, until such time as better records are offered and/or evident.
A 1955 sales vendor catalog by Brach's with awesome mid-century graphic design, illustration, and layout techniques. Don't forget (spokenin your best informational 50s voiceover) that "HALLOWEEN is one of the year's THREE BIGGEST CANDY OCCASIONS"... "It has a long selling season from Labor Day to October 31"... and... "Because Halloween candies are exciting, colorful candies, they offer exceptional opportunities for colorful EXCITING CANDY DISPLAYS." And after looking at this awesome catalog, I certainly believe every word of it! Oh for a Halloween time machine! (Click image below to view a larger version - or view on Pinterest).
Originally used mostly in novelty items and commonly called "flicker pictures" or "wiggle pictures" lenticular printing is a technology in which lenticular lenses (a technology that is also used for 3D displays) are used to produce printed images with an illusion of depth, or the ability to change or move as the image is viewed from different angles. (source: wikipedia)
The image below is a quickly animated gif that I created from a recent listing appearing on ebay for a 1950's child's novelty ring.
A quick google search for lenticular imagery (or the wikipedia link above) will direct you to tons of interesting new and vintage uses of this technique. Here is one link to a gallery of vintage imagery on pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ohbyjingo/action-vintage-lenticular-pictures/
A quick visual survey of known sets of Rosen's Hallowe'en Trix or Treats lollipop-holder cards (with variations of style shown here dating from the 1930's to the 1950's).
The first seven-card set (at right, below) were produced in beautiful full color during the 1930's. A similar set (shown left, below) followed with faithfully redrawn art with somewhat cleaner lines and a more mono-chromatic color scheme heavily reliant on traditional orange and black. The left set dates during the 1940's --- (there is handwriting on the back of one with a name and the year of 1946).
1940s (left) - 1930s (right)
The art and size of Rosen's cards were overhauled some time during the 1940's. And while curiously the owl is a continued presence, there are instead four different accompanying cards featuring more fantastic Hallowe'en creatures such as ghosts, dancing skeletons, and witches (one witch as a slight variation of previous imagery). While minimal in comparison to previous art, the colors and imagery retain a magically creepy quality. (I'm "a sucker" for blue in Halloween color schemes).
1940s
One final set is said to date in the 1950's. The owl again returns, as do images from the original sets. Fairly rough imitations of the originals with colors schemes of wan oranges and browns, I might venture to say this latter set may be for completion-collectors only.
Another of those vintage decorations that gets happily ignored by valuation mania --- this is a wonderful set for those who enjoy the old glow-in-the-dark effects on printed ephemera! These heavy card-stock decorations (approx. 3"x4") identified by the ghostly "logo" as being produced by American Novelty Corporation of Omaha were likely created sometime between 1943-1950. One of my favorite for the nostalgia --- (I really LOVED these type of dimly glowing paper novelties when I was a kid hiding under the covers imagining that the glowing form was eerily moving before my eyes). The following photos (at right) were taken in the dark with a time-lapse of 800 ISO for 30 seconds with 5.6 aperture.
In response to my review of The Devil and Daniel Webster, I received a great movie recommendation from Mantan Calaveras. His suggestion was The Night of the Hunter, another Depression era story about good and evil. After watching the movie, I can see why he recommended it to me! I had a similar feeling after watching this as I did after watching The Devil and Daniel Webster. I thought of it as a classic and wondered why I hadn't heard of it before now.
The Night of the Hunter is a beautifully shot, eerie movie. If you are into that black and white, shadowy Hitchcock style of filming, you are sure to appreciate this. Even scenes that should feel morbid feel like a work of art. I learned on the DVD commentary that they were going for a German Expressionist look at some points and I can see that. There were moments that were heavy on the shadows and surreal, like a dream sequence. There are slight exaggerations in the visuals and heavy symbolism.
Although I'm anxious to go through the entire plot and give all my opinions, I'm going to attempt to not spoil too much of the movie. You're sure to be on pins and needles while watching parts of this and I'd hate to ruin that by giving away any spoilers. So I'll give you a brief outline and tell you a little about the characters.
The movie opens with a beautiful country scene. Children are playing hide and seek in a field. The scene is shot from above, so you get an idea of how spacious and remote the area is. A little boy goes to hide in an open cellar. He looks in the door and sees a woman's legs laying on the ground. With this brief subtle moment, we see a killer has come through the area. We soon get an idea of who this killer is with the help of his monologues to "God". This killer poses as a preacher named Harry Powell. Harry reveals to the viewer that God always provides for him by bringing him in contact with women who have money - women that he kills.
This serial killer presumably travels through the countryside, kills vulnerable women, and moves on to con the next town. Robert Mitchum plays the psychopathic fake preacher with total snake oil salesman charm. He's perfect. At some moments he reminded me of those over the top TV evangelists in the 80s. Harry has tattoos across his knuckles. One hand spells "LOVE" and the other "HATE". He will sometimes try to explain/preach to people in a cheeseball way about the meaning of these words. Unfortunately, we see a lot more action from the hate hand than the love hand.
Meanwhile, while Harry is trolling for his next victim, a man (Peter Graves) hurries home and finds his young son in the yard. The man has just stolen $10,000 from a bank and killed two people in the process. He frantically hides the money, telling his son the location. He makes his son promise not to tell anyone where the money is, not even the boy's mother. This ends up making a lot of sense, as the boy's mom is a bit simpleminded.
Peter Graves and Billy Chapin. This little boy did an amazing job in his role.
Soon after the boy promises to keep the money hidden and take of his little sister, his father is arrested on the lawn. He is taken to prison, where he waits to be hanged. While in prison, who should he end up bunking with, but Harry the psycho "preacher" who has been jailed for car theft. Harry tries to get the location of the money from his new bunk mate, but it's not going to happen. After Harry is released he decides he will get his hands on the $10,000 in the way he knows best - by charming the thief's widow.
The widow is Willa, played by Shelley Winters. Willa is sweet but easily coerced. She's also in the traumatized and vulnerable position of having just lost her husband to an execution and in care of two small children. She is a perfect target for a man like Harry. Sadly, a lot of women would be. He is attractive and charming. I remember reading a true crime book with a story about a modern man who married multiple women and kept killing them for the giant life insurance policies he'd take out on them. (The story was in A Rose For Her Grave by Ann Rule, for anyone who is interested.) He'd always target newly divorced or widowed women with kids. This could work for a number of reasons. Add in that The Night of the Hunter takes place during The Depression, and you have an even higher level of desperation for these women. This desperation might give them reason to overlook a few things about a handsome man who comes to town.
Poor Willa. She's in a constant state of worn out worry through this entire movie.
Willa marries Harry on what feels like the day after she met him! Immediately, she sees his dark side. This guy doesn't even pretend to be nice for a few days. As soon as he gets what he wants from people, Harry is done with them. It's hard to watch Willa's married scenes with him. It's like watching the process of abuse and brainwashing. The more cruel Harry is to her, the more Willa tries to please him. She is in firm denial of his many faults and only blames herself for his problems. She's even in denial when her son tells her that Harry is pressing him for information on where the $10,000 is hidden.
Eventually, even poor oppressed Willa can't deny that Harry is only in this marriage for the $10,000. She overhears him threatening her little girl in hopes of getting the money. This is where I'm going to stop giving too many details. You can probably guess where things are going for Willa.
Willa's children end up on the run from Harry, hence the title "Night of the Hunter". During their journey, you will see many beautiful images of nature. Rabbits and frogs take on a magic quality. It's like a child's dream, or at least a break from reality. The children run across many other children who are starving and roaming the countryside alone. I'm going to assume this was someone's accurate view of The Depression. I knew times were bleak, and many kids ended up in orphanages or other people's care, but I didn't know this many were wandering alone in the wilderness.
The two children have the infinite luck of being found by a farm woman, played by Lillian Gish. This woman acts the way any of us could hope to act in a tough situation. She has a quiet strength about her. I can't imagine anyone else in the role. She is described in the DVD commentary as a guardian angel, and I think that's about right. A caring but tough angel.
One of the things I loved most about her character is the way she sees through the fakery of the "preacher". When he feeds her the same phoney lines and con man routine that we've seen work on other people, she just casts him a look like "Don't give me that B.S." I loved it.
The movie ends up being a pretty clear-cut good vs. evil story. Some people have described it as a dark fairytale. I was left haunted by some of the scenes. They were just that convincing! I think many of you would enjoy watching this movie. It is dark, but it's also beautiful to watch, and surprisingly funny at times.
