Mercury Theatre presents...

Dracula!

Mercury Theater on the Air: Dracula from The Radio Ghost on Vimeo.

Read more about Mercury Theatre productions here.

I'm finally acquainted with Kolchak: The Night Stalker!

Any Night Stalker fans out there? As in Kolchak: The Night Stalker. I'm new to the TV series and movies, and I'm feeling like the last one to the Kolchak party. :)

A handful of you have recommended Kolchak: The Night Stalker to me. I tried to find the old show at the library, to no avail. I wanted to binge watch through it. So imagine my happiness to hear that a local TV station, MeTV had decided to show Kolchak this season! What great timing. So far, I've watched a couple episodes and the movie The Night Stalker. The library did have that! Actually, it was a double feature DVD, including The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler.

So far, the big difference between the TV series and the first movie is the seriousness. I found the TV episodes more funny and the movie very intense. Watching the movie made me see the connection everyone's been telling me about between Kolchak and The X-Files. The shows have in common a supernatural element, but also the very strong message that there are powers-that-be that want our characters to keep their mouths shut about all they discover.

OK, so briefly for those who aren't familiar with the Carl Kolchak character, he's played by Darren McGavin. In my mind Darren McGavin is Kolchak. No one else gets to play him, nope. It's just one of those times when an actor becomes the character they're portraying.

So, Kolchak is a reporter who somehow keeps finding his way into the middle of murder, mayhem, and the supernatural. He's a real go-getter. It seems the minute there's a murder or a car wreck, there's Kolchak snapping away with his camera and running his tape recorder. He's always first to the scene. There's something strange nowadays about seeing anyone who isn't the police just show up to a crime scene and take up-close pictures of a body without being told to stop. That doesn't happen now, does it? For that matter, was this happening in the 70s?

Kolchak is always making waves. He's the one speaking out at press conferences and whipping zingers at his cranky boss. Kolchak's boss could have been hanging out with Clark Kent's boss, Perry White. But then, they might have clawed each other's eyes out. I'm just saying he's in that same school of the constantly yelling, ready to explode, newspaper bosses you see in old TV shows and movies. He tries to hold Kolchak back, but no one is going to hold Kolchak back.

Cranky boss man

It's inspirational really, watching Kolchak bounce back from every encounter with someone who tells him to go away, keep quiet, come up with a different news report, etc. I was struck watching the Night Stalker movie with how current it felt. A lot of people are giving the news media a hard time today, and boy does Kolchak get a hard time. I thought the scariest thing in The Night Stalker wasn't the vampire, but the district attorney and sheriff who are trying to keep Kolchak from sharing the truth by any means necessary. Man, were those guys hatable.

I could understand the frustration of Kolchak's boss, though. He needed to take a deep breath, but still. He was up against this catch 22 of either telling the community that there's a vampire on the loose and causing mass chaos or possibly endangering them more by hiding the truth.

Look into my eyes...

So about that vampire... I'm not spoiling too much here. I think most viewers could put 2 + 2 together when there are blood drained bodies showing up. This vampire wasn't too scary. He was in that kind of Hammer school of the tall, silent guy who stands there with his red eyes. Except, he isn't intimidating like Christopher Lee. I really wasn't scared by the parts of the movie he was in. The scariest parts of this for me are when the women are walking alone at night down an alley, etc. Because that's scary for real. I didn't see this as much of a horror movie so much as social commentary.

As for the TV show, as I said before, it's a lot more funny. I can tell Darren McGavin is just having fun being himself there. I can tell that a lot of what we're seeing there is actually him. Here, I thought he'd made up his character in A Christmas Story! But now I see that as Kolchak or "The Old Man" in A Christmas Story, we're seeing an awful lot of the real deal. Speaking of A Christmas Story, it goes to show how many times I've seen it, that I could feel like Darren McGavin was cheating on his wife from that movie with his girlfriend in The Night Stalker. I found myself being irritated with him for having that girlfriend and then I remembered how often I'd seen him with his movie wife in A Christmas Story.

"You were jealous! Jealous I won!"

Remember that? And here he is messing with my mind as Kolchak with his new girlfriend:

He's looking miserable with both women, and they with him, in these photos, but that's all I could find.

As for the sequel movie, The Night Strangler, it's much like The Night Stalker. It give some closure to those who were left with an uneasy feeling after watching the first movie. A few pieces of the first plot are dealt with and some aren't. There's a new supernatural problem, that seems a lot like the vampire in the first movie, but not quite. You'll just have to see. Kolchak has a new girlfriend in this one and I've noticed there's a romantic interest in some of the TV episodes I've seen. So I'll just have to get over him not being married to Melinda Dillon from A Christmas Story.

Back to the TV show, so far my favorite episode of the four I've watched has been "The Spanish Moss Murders" which I'll share here:

And a link to the video: The Spanish Moss Murders

This episode had the most creative plot of those I've watched. It felt very X-Files in that way where it seemed almost realistic. Like, even though the thought of this creature is somewhat outlandish, it's presented in a way where you think "There may be something to this..." You know, the way The X-Files could make you feel like there was some scientific basis to something that you don't even believe in!

I like shows that make me feel like a wild scenario has some basis in reality. I like to feel that at least in a TV or movie environment, these things are possible. We've all seen those shows that leave you saying "They wouldn't say or do that!" What I'm trying to say is that there are unbelievable things happening in a very believable environment here, and I appreciate that.

So, for those of you who aren't familiar with Kolchak, I recommend getting a hold of one of his movies or checking out the old episodes of the TV show on MeTV. Although, I've started to feel like the last person on earth to find out about him. So, for all of you who are familiar with him already, go enjoy some reruns! If you get MeTV, the show is on Sunday evenings at 9:00 PM (Central Time).

And for all you Kolchak fans, MeTV put together some trivia about the show:

11 REASONS 'KOLCHAK: THE NIGHT STALKER' IS THE COOLEST, CREEPIEST SHOW ON 1970S TELEVISION 

Spooky Movie Night!

Tonight the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew......meet Dracula!

 Enjoy the cheese :)

The Mysterious and Vampy Fern Andra

While on Pinterest the other day, I was struck by an image on someone's "antique" board. In between the many beautiful Victorian ladies and flappers on that page was a face that jumped out at me.

I saw a woman whose eyes were so bold and striking and haunting that I had to click on the pic to see who she was. The mystery lady turned out to be a silent movie actress named Fern Andra.

Isn't she something? I feel like if I keep looking in those eyes I'm going to get sucked into some dark void. Seriously. "Look into my eyes..."

So then I had to google Fern Andra to see what her story was. The first search result that popped up was about a movie titled Genuine, also known as Genuine: A Tale of a Vampire. This silent movie was released in 1920 and was directed by Robert Wiene. Some of you might be familiar with him as the director of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. I read that the Genuine sets were designed by a German Expressionist artist named César Klein. Genuine the vampire's outfits are all really stylish too.

Look at all those neat shapes. I think some of this is oddly sexy even for 2015. It looks as if someone went wild with a roll of duct tape. Supposedly, some people were enraged that Fern wore an outfit that was painted directly on her body for this movie. I don't know how, but I must have missed that. I think this one was probably made from strips of fabric. I like how this costume reminds me of an insect with long feathery antenna and spotted wings.

I've been thinking about the 1920s lately and how wild people were then. I feel like without The Depression years dumping a cold bucket of water on the 1920s, we could be living in a really wild society now. The more I look at the glammed up ladies of this time, the more I think we modern ladies could take a few tips. The makeup, the jewelry, the attitude.

Maybe not quite this much attitude ;)

Isn't she perfect as a vampire?

A few video clips of her as Genuine:

Isn't that neat how she emerges? Those movements... She's like a dancer. I think she holds up as a spooky, mesmerizing vampire by today's standards. I've actually never seen a vampire portrayed in this way, but I like it! She's like a slow moving spider with that sleeping guy in her web, or like a stalking cat. She doesn't need to hurry or leap out and pounce on him. She can just sneak out and take her time. Dude never saw it coming.

Looking at the Genuine character reminds me of some women I was reading about recently. Her fluffy hair, her exotic appearance, and her being a sort of kidnapped harem girl fits with The Circassian Beauties of the 1800s. The Circassian Beauties, or P.T. Barnum's invented version of them, could be a whole blog post within itself!

Here's Genuine in its entirety, or at least as entire as the film can be now:

This video is about 45 minutes long, but it moves fast. Interestingly, if I hadn't read that this was a vampire movie I would have thought it was about an evil enchantress. There's no blood or fangs to speak of, but Genuine is believably wicked. Like in all silent movies, you'll see that the characters' movements and expressions had to do all the talking. The modern guitar music that has been set to this video fits really well with the images and is pretty cool in itself.

Quite the bedroom, hey? Note the parrots.

Another neat decorative background. Check out that clock!

I wouldn't go into watching Genuine expecting so much a clear plot as a long, dramatic, Gothic art piece. I read that when this was released, the audiences were a little confused about how the plot elements fit together. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari did far better with audiences.  I found Genuine a fascinating watch and I was OK with the plot being open to interpretation. Perhaps this movie was more interesting for me than for a standard 1920s audience, because I'm not so used to seeing people dressed in these costumes or these kind of sets.

Hans Heinrich von Twardowski is in this as Florian, one of Genuine's love interests. He's worth a mention for his style. His hairdo and that of his hairdresser uncle are something to behold. There's something modern about him. I'd think he was a hip, good looking guy if I saw him walk by today (aside from the knickers). I read this actor is also in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, which is another reason for me to see that movie. That and Conrad Veidt. Gorgeous looking people are evidently reason enough for me to watch a movie.

Conrad Veidt = gorgeous.

Such beautiful eyes. I'm thinking that expressive eyes were more of a requirement back when we couldn't hear the actors.

Has anyone else seen Genuine? I'm guessing more of you have watched The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.

Back to my interest in Fern Andra, which is how this all started. She had a long and action-packed life. Fern was born to a circus performer and an opera singer and performed in the circus starting at age four. She was on the tightrope! I hope that rope wasn't too far off the ground for a four-year-old. She toured the United States, Canada, and Europe on the high wire. Fern took acting lessons in Berlin or Vienna depending on who is telling the story, and went on to perform in German silent movies.

Her life is like something out of a movie, from being accused of acting as a spy during WWI (actually true) to surviving a small plane crash that killed the other passengers. An interesting note is that the man flying that plane was the brother of "The Red Baron" Manfred von Richthofen. Fern had four husbands and lived until the age of 80.

This is the picture of her that first caught my eye.

Fern made over 100 films in Germany, but she didn't stop at acting. She also directed movies, wrote scripts, and had her own production company! Sometimes you can just tell from someone's photo that they were an interesting character.

Goodbye and Thank You Christopher Lee

I'm sure that by now many of you know that Christopher Lee has passed away. I'll probably be far from the only person to write a blog post in tribute to him, but I'm still going to share a few thoughts. This morning I was surprised to read on Twitter that he had died. Not that I could be all that surprised that a 93-year-old died, but Christopher Lee has been a fixture for my entire life and for people a lot older than me! He's one of those people it seems has always been around, confidently striding out onto the screen with an air of sophistication in one scary role or another.

He was a real inspiration who showed that a person could still be cool in their 90s. A lot of people just hang up the towel and declare themselves "old" decades and decades before they're in their 90s. But there he was, recently acting and singing in a metal band! He was cooler in his 90s than a lot of people are at any age.

What made Christopher Lee the natural vampire was the regal way in which he carried himself and that voice! Not that you heard much of it in those Hammer Dracula films, but the little bit you did hear was so deep and powerful. He seems like he should have been doing Shakespeare, almost like he was slumming it in those Dracula movies. Sometimes I think he knew that, because when I look at his eyes before he's about to bite someone he looks sort of bored and disgusted by his prey. It's like he's thinking "Centuries of these dumb girls. Oh well, a neck's a neck."

Are we having fun yet?

But he sure looked lively during those fight scenes with Peter Cushing! Like in this scene from Horror of Dracula:

It occurred to me that I'd watched Christopher Lee die as Dracula so many times in these movies and then somehow be resurrected in the sequels, that it's weird for me to think of him actually being gone. But like Dracula, he does have a sort of immortality. Christopher Lee will live on forever through the many movies he made. That's the almost magical thing about actors, that so long as they exist on film somewhere, they still live on for their audience. Most of us had never met Christopher Lee, so all we'd ever seen of him was in his movies. So when you watch him, as I plan to do tonight, his greatness will still be there for you as a movie viewer as much as it ever was.

My Mini Coffin Jewelry Box

I've been looking forward to sharing this project! I painted this little coffin in November but I was too much in the Christmas spirit during December to blog about it. Now that we're in January, I'm ready to leap back into the Halloween topics!

You might remember this mini coffin from my After Halloween Target Haul in 2013.

If you're lucky, you can find these little wooden coffin boxes at craft stores around Halloween. It took me a while to decide what to do with this one. Then, while organizing some jewelry, it occurred to me that it would be nice to have a separate box for some of my smaller Halloween jewelry. Then I remembered the coffin box!

I started by painting the coffin in a metallic purple. This was the same paint I used on some of the little skeletons for our last Witch Party.

I painted a little night scene on the coffin lid with some silver paint.

About this time, it occurred to me that if I painted the inside edges of the coffin doors, they'd probably stick when closed. That, and the bottom of the coffin could stick to the surface under it. Especially on those humid days, painted wood stuff sticks to whatever it's next to.

So after a little searching online, I found out that a polyurethane vanish can seal off painted wood and prevent it from sticking. I was happy to find this polyurethane varnish at a local craft store. I think with a coupon the varnish ended up costing under a dollar. I love this product! It doesn't smell like much of anything. You'd have to try smelling it to notice an odor. It dries clearly and quickly. And it does the job! My little coffin now has a smooth finish and is in no danger of sticking to anything. So I recommend this product to all of you crafters! Americana DuraClear Matte Varnish:

After finding that awesome sealer, I moved on to painting the coffin interior. I decided to go with one of those plush, silky coffin interiors. Perfect for a little vampire. :) I painted that button-tufted look on the inside and sealed it off.

Then my little coffin was ready for some jewelry.

I closed the jewelry box and sat it on a shelf with my Draculaura doll and her little vampire bat.

What better place to set my new coffin box than with a little vampire?

Happy Halloween! In a dark, nocturnal sort of way...

Happy Halloween everyone! This might be a post worth reading or revisiting at night because I'm going to share some nighttime photos. I took all these pictures of the moon over the course of the last few months. Some of them captured spooky moments for me since I was out alone in the dark and others were taken during fun social nights like The Fourth of July. They all seemed Halloween appropriate to me!

This is one of the more classic Halloween skies I captured. I love those clouds! You can see how they were moving with the wind. There are some interesting things happening with the cloud color too. There's this burnt orange thing going on in places. The moon was so bright that night, it's almost hard for me to look at it in the picture.

Another view:

This was taken behind some tall trees.

I love the silhouette of the leaves.

A closeup of the craters. I love my camera!

I had to learn to stay really still to take these. I was using a 30x zoom and everything wants to shake and blur with that much of a magnification.

Some spooky leafless trees masking the moon! I love that Harvest Moon looking color.

A classic full moon:

I took this one several nights ago.

Between the long zoom and some massive wind, I got this:

Not that I'm saying that the wind was so massive that it blew the moon back and forth... but I don't know what happened. I think it was gusting in front of my camera and moving it. Anyway, I like this.

Here is my Fourth of July shot! Can you see the stars? This was one magical sky. That glow around the edge of the cloud! Wow.

A softer, summer sky:

A few more details on the moon. Isn't it pretty when the sky is still light enough to look blue while the moon is out? That's not something that can be said right now!

Here's another favorite of mine! I have a photo of the moon from this night as my Twitter background. I love that orange. It's so spooky and subtle. I actually used my flash on this one and suddenly the moon looked orange in my photo. It wasn't in real life. This picture screams Halloween to me!

Lastly, a spooky porch shot of the moon peeking around the roof.

I hope we get to see a spooky Halloween moon out tonight!

In keeping with the nighttime theme, I have to share a track from the Philip Glass/Kronos Quartet soundtrack to Dracula. Philip Glass composed this music to accompany the 1931 Dracula film. I ran into the soundtrack accidentally a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it. Here's one of my favorite tracks ~ "Dr. Van Helsing and Count Dracula":

It's worth listening to the entire album if you can find it. I actually found it at our local library.

I recorded another Halloween reading for this year. This time I'll be reading you a poem titled The Vampire. It was written by Conrad Aiken. This poem is a little dark, so I thought it would be a perfect fit with my nocturnal photos! As usual, the video is going to stay black while I read.