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A piece of movie history, part of one of the most iconic cinematic endings of all time, went up for auction this week. Rosebud, the wooden sled that proves crucial to the plot of Orson Welles' Citizen Kane, was sold at auction for almost $15 million Usd. The prop is one of only three known copies known to exist.

As reported by The Guardian, this copy of Rosebud was formerly in the collection of famed horror director Joe Dante (Gremlins). Dante was given the prop by a Paramount employee while filming the 1985 science fiction movie Explorers. It was intended to be thrown out, eerily echoing the climax of the film, but it was instead gifted to Dante, a noted film buff. Dante used the prop in several of his subsequent films, including The 'Burbs and Gremlins 2 The New Batch. The buyer is remaining anonymous, but paid $14.75 million for it, the second-highest...

As the nights grow longer and the air turns crisp, it’s the perfect time to settle in with some of the best spooky films ever made. From eerie silent classics to modern horror hits, spooky cinema has evolved across decades, yet each era has its own spine-tingling gems. Whether you love atmospheric terror or heart-pounding scares, here’s a journey through the best films from the 1920s to today that will give you chills. Things to do: Subscribe to The Hollywood Insider’s YouTube Channel, by clicking here. Limited Time Offer – Free Subscription to The Hollywood Insider Click here to read more on The Hollywood Insider’s vision, values and mission statement here – Media has the responsibility to better our world – The Hollywood Insider fully focuses on substance and meaningful entertainment, against gossip and scandal, by combining entertainment, education, and philanthropy. 1920s - 1980s ‘The Haunting’ (1963) Cast: Julie Harris,...

More essays have been written about "Citizen Kane" than any other movie (with the possible exceptions of "The Wizard of Oz" and "Star Wars"), so it feels churlish to recount the plot here, but for the uninitiated, however, here's a brief rundown:

A vicious newspaper tycoon named Charles Foster Kane (Welles) has died in bed, locked deep in his massive, palatial mansion. He clutched a snow globe in his hand in his final moments, moved by the sight of the swirling faux weather inside. He enigmatically whispers the word "Rosebud" before perishing. The film then shifts focus to a reporter (William Alland) who spends the film interviewing Kane's associates, wives, and lovers, hoping to get a full portrait of the man. He finds that Kane was a cad ruined by wealth and power. He finds that Kane was possessed of a deep and abiding unhappiness, likely spurred by having to...

Plunging into the shadowy waters of cinematic history, Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) emerges not just as a film but as a phenomenon that has captivated the imaginations of horror enthusiasts and film buffs alike for seven decades. Celebrating its 70-year legacy, this masterpiece has swum far beyond its origins, securing a revered spot in the heart of monster movie lore.

As we dive deeper, we’re embarking on a journey through time, revisiting the ingenious craft and visionary storytelling that have made the Gill-man a beloved icon of horror. This retrospective aims to unearth the secrets behind the movie’s creation, its groundbreaking achievements, and the enduring fascination it holds. Let’s submerge ourselves in the murky depths where the Creature lurks, to rediscover the magic that makes Creature from the Black Lagoon a timeless treasure of the horror genre.

Universal Diving Into the Depths: The Origin Story

Creature from the Black Lagoon...

Clockwise from bottom left: Friday The 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (Screenshot: Paramount Pictures/YouTube); Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth (Screenshot: Dimension Films/YouTube); A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (Screenshot: New Line Cinema); Halloween 2018 (Photo: Universal Pictures)Graphic: Rebecca Fassola

When you think of what makes a great horror movie,...

Universal is headed back into an unknown empire of darkness with a new take on The Mole People, Deadline reports today. The new movie will remake the classic film from 1956.

Chris Winterbauer is writing the script, based on a pitch that Universal Pictures acquired from Winterbauer, with Robert Kirkman (“The Walking Dead”) producing the remake.

“In the new take, a woman travels to a town veiled in a conspiracy to rescue her grandchildren from their father. To do this, she must fight through hell in the underground tunnels where the Mole People reside.”

Deadline reminds, “In the 1956 original, archaeologists stumble into the underground lair of a race of darkness-dwellers who can see in low light and have no pigmentation after being out of the light for so long. The high priest who rules the small pocket of mole people is threatened by the newcomers and wants them dead.”

Robert Kirkman...

Citizen Kane follows the rise and fall of ambitious publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, and its ending brings the story back to the start in a well-structured mystery narrative. The lead character, played by Orson Welles, who also directed the 1941 feature, dies at the beginning of the plot, breathing his last breath as he says the ominous word "rosebud." His last word leads to an investigation deep into his scandalous life, but only the film's audience is treated to a definitive, albeit still puzzling answer.

Called the greatest movie ever made, Citizen Kane plays out as a pseudo-biopic as viewers are led through Kane's entire life story, from his childhood in Colorado to his rise as a yellow journalism tycoon and a politician in New York, eventually building up to his demise at his colossal mansion, Xanadu. The way “rosebud” links the beginning to the end was quite a unique plot point in its time,...

A thousand releases down the line, Criterion gives us a special edition of the most creatively brilliant & innovative movie in history, as the label debuts selected 4K releases. It’s a four-disc set, with three Blu-rays that hold a huge quantity of well-chosen and well-produced extras. What can be said about Kane that hasn’t been debated decades ago? Our Declaration of Principles is to just try and tell the truth: we try a ‘civilian’ approach, sketching the film’s wonderments without assuming the reader is already a true believer in the Cinema God Orson Welles. Which Welles definitely is.

Citizen Kane 4K

4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 1104

1941 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 119 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date November 23, 2021 / 47.96

Starring: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Agnes Moorehead, Ruth Warrick, Ray Collins, Erskine Sanford, Everett Sloane, William Alland, Paul Stewart, George Coulouris, Fortunio Bonanova.

Cinematography: Gregg Toland...

Criterion gives this classic its first exposure on Region A Blu-ray! A new 4K remaster puts the story of a guy too tiny to escape from his own cellar in its very best light — Scott Carey’s combat with the spider is still a scary delight, with a newly-fixed imperfection. Criterion’s extras lean toward fan-oriented fare: Tom Weaver tops the stack with a fine commentary and we get good input from Ben Burtt, Craig Barron, Richard Christian Matheson, Joe Dante and Dana Gould — plus thoughtful liner notes by Geoffrey O’Brien. And don’t forget those excellent movie trailers narrated by a breathless Orson Welles. Robert Scott Carey should have his own statue in Los Angeles, like Rocky Balboa in Philadelphia.

The Incredible Shrinking Man

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 1100

1957 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 81 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date October 19, 2021 / 39.95

Starring: Grant Williams, Randy Stuart, April Kent, Paul Langton,...

“That’s all he ever wanted out of life… was love. That’s the tragedy of Charles Foster Kane. You see, he just didn’t have any to give.”

Orson Welles’ classic Citizen Kane (1941) will be available on 4k and Blu-ray October 19th. A 4-disc 4K Uhd+Blu-ray Combo and a 3-blu-ray Edition will both be available.

In the most dazzling debut feature in cinema history, twenty-five-year-old writer-producer-director-star Orson Welles synthesized the possibilities of sound-era filmmaking into what could be called the first truly modern movie. In telling the story of the meteoric rise and precipitous fall of a William Randolph Hearst–like newspaper magnate named Charles Foster Kane, Welles not only created the definitive portrait of American megalomania, he also unleashed a torrent of stylistic innovations—from the jigsaw-puzzle narrative structure to the stunning deep-focus camera work of Gregg Toland—that have ensured that Citizen Kane remains fresh and...

Welcome to this week's Stay-At-Home Seven and if you're looking for more streaming suggestions, check out our May Day spotlight on the union movement.

Citizen Kane

Citizen Kane, BBC4, Thursday

Orson Welles' film has been back in the news cycle recently because of the attention David Fincher's Mank - about its co-writer Herman J Mankiewicz - received at the Oscars and because Paddington 2 overtook it in the best reviewed stakes on Rotten Tomatoes. If you haven't seen it before, now's your chance to see what all the fuss is about as Welles' superior tale, which sees a reporter (William Alland) piecing together the story of the life of a newspaper magnate (Welles) after his death. A masterclass in technique from cinematographer Gregg Tolland, from the oppressive ceilings and deep focus that pulls you in to its Dutch angles and chiaroscuro, it is matched by Welles' muscular performance at its heart.

Ride ’em, rope ’em, bite ’em? Is this ‘Dracula Goes West,’ or ‘Fangs of the High Chapparal?’ The fading Universal-International house of horrors squeaks out a bizarre horror item that one sits through just out of curiosity… are these people serious? We respect the professionalism of Michael Pate, Kathleen Crowley and Bruce Gordon as they give their all to a dead horse of a concept. A threadbare production stages us vampiric action so tame that it’s toothless, figuratively and literally. Critical snipers suggest that the whole thing might have been some kind of in-house joke — if so, where are the laughs?

Curse of the Undead

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1959 /B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 79 min. / Street Date October 6, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95

Starring: Eric Fleming, Michael Pate, Kathleen Crowley, John Hoyt, Bruce Gordon, Edward Binns, Jimmy Murphy, Helen Kleeb, Jay Adler, Eddie Parker, Don Sullivan.

Cinematography: Ellis W. Carter

Film...

“The supreme excitement of our time! Challenging the unearthly furies of an outlaw planet!” Big-budget space opera finally came to movie screens, in Technicolor and widescreen, in this irresistible kid magnet of a sci-fi extravaganza. Viewers are split on its worth, as the screenplay caroms between mind-expanding visions and puerile dialogue. But it’s the first show to capture the thrills on those pulp sci-fi pocketbook covers, and its visual poetry plays out like an intergalactic fairy tale.

This Island Earth

Blu-ray

Scream Factory

1955 / Color / 1:85 widescreen + 1:37 Academy / 87 min. / Street Date July 9, 2019 / 29.99

Starring: Jeff Morrow, Faith Domergue, Rex Reason, Lance Fuller, Russell Johnson, Douglas Spencer, Robert Nichols.

Cinematography: Clifford Stine

Film Editor: Virgil Vogel

Special Effects: David S. Horsley, Clifford Stine, Cleo E. Baker

Original Music: Henry Mancini, Hans J. Salter, Herman Stein

Written by Franklin Coen, Edward G. O’Callaghan from a story by Raymond F. Jones

Produced...

“Behind A Barrier Of Antarctic Ice…A Paradise Of Hidden Terrors!” Universal-International laid out a pretty penny to film this elaborate spin on The Lost World, modernized to take in discoveries at the South Pole. It’s a showcase for fancy B&W opticals and traveling mattes … but the featured monster stars are a big letdown — a pathetic rubber costume for a T-Rex and a clunky mechanical water dragon. And the leading lady screams as she pretends to be entangled in a man woman-eating plant!

The Land Unknown

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1957 / B&W / 2:35 widescreen / 78 min. / Street Date , 2019 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Jock Mahoney, Shawn Smith, William Reynolds, Henry Brandon, Douglas Kennedy, Phil Harvey, Shirley Patterson.

Cinematography: Ellis W. Carter

Film Editor: Fred MacDowell

Visual Effects: Orien Ernest, Jack Kevan, Fred Knoth, Roswell A. Hoffman, Clifford Stine

Original Music: Henry Mancini, Heinz Roemheld, Hans J. Salter, Herman Stein

Written by László Görög,...

A plug for commercial exterminators everywhere, William Alland’s titanic hairy spider provided plenty of chills for 1950s drive-ins, delivering exactly the naïve monster thrills teenagers craved. John Agar and Mara Corday do what they can with the clunker script and Jack Arnold’s direction, while Leo G. Carroll saves face by retreating below a rubber mask that makes him look like Droopy Dog. But for fans that like their monsters as big as the Great Outdoors, Clifford Stine and David Horsley’s startling special effects provide a spider-verse of sensational, surreal insect fear.

Tarantula

Blu-ray

Scream Factory

1955 / B&W / 1:75 widescreen / 80 min. / Street Date April, 2019 / 29,99

Starring: John Agar, Mara Corday, Leo G. Carroll, Nestor Paiva, Ross Elliott, Edwin Rand, Raymond Bailey, Hank Patterson.

Cinematography: George Robinson

Special Optical Effects and Cinematography: Clifford Stine, David S. Horsley

Original Music: Herman Stein, Henry Mancini

Written by Jack Arnold, Robert M. Fresco,...

It’s big, it buzzes, and it screams like a banshee. So why is the Mantis monster so ho-hum? Universal-International tries to squeak out another boffo big bug epic, but 1957 screens were already crowded with grasshoppers and scorpions — and the screenplay is derivative — and somebody allowed producer William Alland to throw in every stock shot that wasn’t nailed down.

The Deadly Mantis

Blu-ray

1957 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 79 min. / Street Date March 19, 2019 / 27.99

Starring: Craig Stevens, William Hopper, Alix Talton, Donald Randolph, Pat Conway, Florenz Ames, Paul Smith, Harry Tyler.

Cinematography: Ellis W. Carter, Clifford Stine

Film Editor: Chester Schaeffer

Original Music: Irving Gertz, William Lava, Henry Mancini

Written by Martin Berkeley, William Alland

Produced by William Alland

Directed by Nathan Juran

I grew up partly in the Mojave Desert. Our red ants were aggressive (and they stung!), our grasshoppers big and strong, and our scorpions were as scary as the...

Not enough love is set aside for this ambitious, under-budgeted Lost Civilization epic. John Agar and Cynthia Patrick find love in an ancient albino race that worships a Death Ray and enslaves a race of Subterranean Humanoid Underground Dwellers — Mole Men, what else? It’s unconvincing and the production lacks polish, but it’s also got clever story gimmicks and sympathetic monsters, so it gets a warm reception at CineSavant Central.

The Mole People

Blu-ray

Scream Factory

1956 / B&W / 1.85:1 + 2:1 widescreen / 77 min. / Street Date February 26, 2019 / 27.99

Starring: John Agar, Cynthia Patrick, Hugh Beaumont, Alan Napier, Nestor Paiva, Phil Chambers, Rodd Redwing, Robin Hughes, Frank Baxter, Eddie Parker.

Cinematography: Ellis W. Carter

Film Editor: Irving Birnbaum

Mask Maker: Jack Kevan

Special Photography: Clifford Stine

Written by László Görög

Produced by William Alland

Directed by Virgil Vogel

“Mole Hole, Mole Hole — A land of renown!

Iraq is Up and Sumeria’s down!

It’s controversy in the Black Lagoon! Universal releases a much-desired box of all three Gill Man epics — but goes cheap on the encoding and hands us a 3-D rendering of Revenge of the Creature at half-resolution. When is a Blu-ray not a Blu-ray? When it’s not even full HD. And all that after commissioning a state-of-the-art 4k 3-D video remaster!

Creature From the Black Lagoon: Complete Legacy Collection

Creature from the Black Lagoon (3-D + 2-D), Revenge of the Creature (3-D) + 2-D, The Creature Walks Among Us (2-D)

Blu-ray

Universal Studios Home Entertainment

1954-1956 / B&W / 1:85 widescreen / 79, 82, 78 min. / Street Date August 28, 2018 / 39.98

Starring: Julie Adams, Lori Nelson, Leigh Snowden, Nestor Paiva, Richard Carlson, Jeff Morrow, John Agar, Rex Reason, Richard Denning, John Bromfield, Jeff Morrow, Greg Palmer…

and as the Gill Man: Ricou Browning, Ben Chapman, Don Megowan, others.

Cinematography: William E. Snyder; Charles S. Welbourne; Maury Gertsman

Film...

One of the most iconic creature features from the ’50s — Jack Arnold’s “Creature From The Black Lagoon” — is getting a big screen remake, courtesy of writer Will Beall. Having scripted the upcoming “Aquaman,” Beall will be putting his spin on the legendary tale, with production from the team behind the upcoming Universal’s Monsters Universe, Deadline reports.

Read More: ‘Aquaman’ Using the ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ Team to Pull Off Stunts

The original movie was widely praised upon release as an innovative and scary adventure.

IndieWire’s sister site Variety reviewed the film on December 31, 1953, writing that, “the 3-D lensing adds to the eerie effects of the underwater footage, as well as to the monster’s several appearances on land. The below-water scraps between skin divers and the prehistoric thing are thrilling and will pop goose pimples on the susceptible fan, as will the closeup scenes of the scaly,...

Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

Burbank, Calif., November 3, 2016 – To mark the 75th anniversary of Orson Welles’ cinematic masterpiece “Citizen Kane,”Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (Wbhe) will release a new Blu-ray™ and DVD on November 15, and the American Film Institute (AFI) will mount a special screening of the restored master at AFI Fest presented by Audi, the Institute's annual film festival in Hollywood, on November 13. The screening will take place at the Egyptian Theatre at 1:30 p.m., followed by an AFI Master Class, featuring close personal Welles friend Peter Bogdanovich and a celebrity and academic panel to be announced.

The film’s central character is powerful publisher Charles Foster Kane, who aspires to be president of the United States. Newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst claimed “Citizen Kane” was a thinly veiled and slanderous account of his own life and sought to use his formidable muscle to halt...

Are you 3-D capable? This classic-era Sci-fi is one of the better '50s films ever designed for 3-D, and the restoration on this much-coveted new release is excellent. Meteors explode in your face! A rockslide in your lap! Bizarre superimpositions! Ray gun blasts! And don't forget Ray Bradbury's feel-good sense of wonder speeches, from wide-eyed Richard Carlson. It Came from Outer Space 3-D 3-D Blu-ray Universal Home Video 1953 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 82 min. / Street Date October 4, 2016 / at present a Best Buy exclusive Starring Richard Carlson, Barbara Rush, Charles Drake, Joe Sawyer, Russell Johnson, Kathleen Hughes Cinematography Clifford Stine Art Direction Robert Boyle Makeup and Special effects Jack Kevan, Bud Westmore, David S. Horsley, Milicent Patrick. Film Editor Paul Weatherwax Original Music Irving Gertz, Henry Mancini, Herman Stein Written by Harry Essex from a story by Ray Bradbury Produced by William Alland Directed by Jack Arnold

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson...

This last in the Jack Arnold/William Alland series of '50s sci-fi classics is a low key (and lower budget) plea for galactic peace and hasn't been generally available for decades. But we'd like to think our revival of the trailer on Tfh a few years ago factored in Olive Films' decision to release it on DVD and Blu-Ray. Well, we'd like to think that....

Jim Knipfel Mar 8, 2019

The Creature From the Black Lagoon kicked off one of the most successful trilogies in early horror movie history.

The poor Gill Man never had a chance. Arriving six years after the golden age of Universal Horror was capped with Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, 1954’s The Creature from the Black Lagoon was never able to clumsily shuffle his way into the expanded universe shared by Dracula, The Wolf Man, Frankenstein’s Monster, and, if briefly, The Invisible Man.

Of course, given the three-film franchise’s contemporary time frame and American setting, it would’ve been a stretch anyway to find some reason to have him mix it up with the Wolf Man. In that way, the Gill Man was like the Mummy, forced to carry his series alone. Even if this aquatic fish face would go on to become the most iconic and influential cinematic monster of the 1950s,...

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Universal's classic monster movie Creature From The Black Lagoon was almost remade by John Carpenter in the 1990s. So what happened?

It's one of the great suspense scenes in 50s genre cinema: a woman swims in the clear cool water of an Amazonian lagoon, blissfully unaware of the grotesque creature emerging from the depths beneath her. The score builds to a crescendo as the monster closes in, reaching out with a clawed, webbed hand...

Director Jack Arnold directed some of the best American sci-fi movies of the post-wwii era, and Creature From The Black Lagoon is perhaps his most famous. About a team of scientists investigating the fossilised remains of a strange man-fish hybrid - and discovering the thing still very much alive in the depths of the Amazon - the movie was a sizeable hit for Universal when it came out in early 1954.

The cultural impact...

Last of the great Universal monsters, sporting a brilliant man-in-suit design that can’t be beat and has resisted years of attempted remakes and redesigns. The most iconic of the now-classic Jack Arnold/William Alland sci-fi pix and probably the most famous of sci-fi fan Richard Carlson’s numerous genre starring turns. Ditto for co-stars Richard Denning and the still-stunning Julia Adams. One of the greatest‚ 3-D movies of the ’50s. Even Marilyn Monroe was moved by the Gill Man’s doomed beauty-and-the-beast plight.

Shout! Factory has announced that Mystery Science Theater 3000: Xxvii will be available on DVD this summer and includes The Slime People, Rocket Attack USA, Village of the Giants and The Deadly Mantis. Continue reading for a list of bonus features, additional release details, and the cover art:

This summer, throw a mad monster party with motley crew of the Satellite of Love as they celebrate the release of Mystery Science Theater 3000: Xxvii! Available July 23rd from Shout! Factory, this 4-dvd box set is a schlock-tastic Monster Movie Mash featuring four episodes never before available on DVD: The Slime People, Rocket Attack USA, Village of the Giants and The Deadly Mantis.

Also included are all new bonus features, including an introduction by Mary Jo Pehl, an all-new featurette Chasing Rosebud: The Cinematic Life Of William Alland, Life After MST3K: Trace Beaulieu, an interview with Village of the Giants star Joy Harmon,...

Get Hammered! week begins at Trailers from Hell with director Brian Trenchard-Smith introducing the Brit horror studio's 1962 "The Phantom of the Opera." Cary Grant starring in a Hammer Film? It almost happened! After a stillborn incarnation as an in-house Universal domestic production from producer William Alland, this third film version of Gaston Leroux's warhorse finally emerged via Hammer with Herbert Lom in a very underrated performance as the benighted Phantom. When televised on NBC, the more intense sequences were replaced with added footage of Scotland Yard inspectors shot at Universal with no input from Hammer, a common network practice at the time which kicked in on both Kiss of the Vampire and Evil of Frankenstein.

In response to the presently on-going Bernard Herrmann series at Film Forum in New York honoring the composer's centennial, presented here is a selection of short soundtrack music cues by the composer, with brief observations, and information regarding their availability on CD, LP or other formats.

1. “Snow Picture” from Citizen Kane (1941)

It’s amazing to think that Bernard Herrmann scored his first film for Orson Welles, and his last for Martin Scorsese, thirty five years later (he died in his sleep, the evening after finishing the recording sessions for Taxi Driver). This very short cue begins during the Thatcher Library scene, with the Inquirer reporter, Thompson (William Alland), pouring over an immense volume, as the film transitions from over-the-shoulder shot to close-up pan across Thatcher’s handwritten recollections, into a flashback punctuated by a sudden burst of light and music. This musical movement through memory is achieved in less than thirty seconds.

Approaching Citizen Kane is like approaching the Mona Lisa or Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Such are great works of art - they’re often encased in amber. And with whatever the innovations they’ve created or expanded upon, coming at them at a later time is often like solving a mystery – you know there’s a reason why they’re so important, but you have to understand the context. And then there’s the legacy of its writer/director/star Orson Welles. The man who directed the greatest film in cinema history only to be denied the chance to repeat himself. That’s a lot of baggage to sort through, so let’s unpack, shall we? Our review of Citizen Kane on Blu-ray follows after the jump. Welles stars as Charles Foster Kane. The film begins with the character’s death, uttering “Rosebud.” What that means the film hopes to understand.

Howard Rodman brings us the greatest of all the Universal monsters and exposes The Creature From The Black Lagoon.

Last of the great Universal monsters, sporting a brilliant man-in-suit design that can’t be beat and has resisted years of attempted remakes and redesigns. The most iconic of the now-classic Jack Arnold/William Alland sci-fi pix and probably the most famous of sci-fi fan Richard Carlson’s numerous genre starring turns. Ditto for co-stars Richard Denning and the still-stunning Julia Adams. One of the greatest 3-D movies of the ’50s. Even Marilyn Monroe was moved by the Gill Man’s doomed beauty-and-the-beast plight.

Click here to watch the trailer and then keep reading for some extra annotations.

There’s not much to be said about The Creature that probably hasn’t already been said. Jack Arnold’s movie is just all-around wonderful. It’s kind of a testament to the...

Come find your own watery grave as we dig into the deep and bring you a week of water-based monster movies! Follow along for this week’s preview!

On Monday, June 6, Howard Rodman brings us the trailer to (arguably) the very best of the Universal monster movies, The Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Last of the great Universal monsters, sporting a brilliant man-in-suit design that can’t be beat and has resisted years of attempted remakes and redesigns. The most iconic of the now-classic Jack Arnold/William Alland sci-fi pix and probably the most famous of sci-fi fan Richard Carlson’s numerous genre starring turns. Ditto for co-stars Richard Denning and the still-stunning Julia Adams. One of the greatest 3-D movies of the ’50s. Even Marilyn Monroe was moved by the Gill Man’s doomed beauty-and-the-beast plight.

On Wednesday, June 8, join Joe Dante for the trailer to The Monster of Piedras Blancas.

Last of the great Universal monsters, sporting a brilliant man-in-suit design that can't be beat and has resisted years of attempted remakes and redesigns. The most iconic of the now-classic Jack Arnold/William Alland sci-fi pix and probably the most famous of sci-fi fan Richard Carlson's numerous genre starring turns. Ditto for co-stars Richard Denning and the still-stunning Julia Adams. One of the greatest 3-D movies of the '50s. Even Marilyn Monroe was moved by the Gill Man's doomed beauty-and-the-beast plight.

By Fred Burdsall

What makes you a fan?

Whatever your interests, there’s always something specific that gets your attention and won’t let go.

For me, it was movies—horror movies—and the scarier the better. I liked that nervous feeling we all get when something makes us uncomfortable. I liked sitting there and wondering if this is the one that finally makes me turn my head away. To me, it’s the greatest feeling in the world and I owe it all to four specific films.

My mother loves watching horror movies, so it was early on in life I got introduced to Frankenstein’s Monster, Dracula, the Wolf Man and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Soon after I discovered the joys of Corman, Price and Poe, but in the midst of all that there were two that grabbed me like no other.

Tarantula had its spider and Them gave us ants,...

Variety is reporting that Carl Rinsch, director of February’s forthcoming remake of George Romero’s The Crazies, is in talks with Universal to direct the studios’ long gestating remake of the 1954 classic Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Recently Breck Eisner (Sahara) had been attached to helm the project, but left earlier this year.

Gary Ross (of Seabiscuit and Pleasantville) wrote previous drafts of the project. Fans will no doubt know that Gary Ross is in fact the son of Arthur Ross, one of the co-writers of the original Creature from the Black Lagoon (along with Maurice Zimm and Harry Essex).

Rinsch is currently next directing 47 Ronin, also for Universal, a samurai-adventure pic to star Keanu Reeves.

Universal is eager to continue resurrecting their classic monsters, the Black Lagoon remake would fall into place behind U’s The Wolfman, starring Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving,...