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While not exactly known for making sequels, John Wayne played the same character a whopping eight times in a classic 1930s Western franchise. John Wayne fronted around 80 Westerns in his career, and despite starting in every other kind of genre, he was forever (and happily) typecast as a cowboy; even Wayne's final film, The Shootist, was a Western. Hollywood was very different when Wayne became a star, with sequels and franchises generally frowned upon. In fact, outside of reprising the role of Rooster Cooburn, Wayne himself tended to avoid sequels.

There was once talk of a follow-up to his hit war movie Sands of Iwo Jima called Devil Birds, though that film ultimately went unmade; how it would have explained the survival of Wayne's very deceased Stryker is another question. Sequels to even major hits were fairly uncommon during Hollywood's so-called "Golden Age," so it's not surprising Wayne went almost...

For many people, Alien (1979) is the yardstick by which all “creature on a spaceship” films are measured. However, the first few inches on that stick are occupied by It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958), an effective low budget shocker that helped write the template still used in sci-fi and horror today. Climb aboard for a 69 minute rocket ride to Mars and back with an unwanted passenger. And no, I don’t mean (insert name or political affiliate you hate here).

Released in August stateside by United Artists, with a November drop in the U.K., It! was mostly dismissed by critics, with the exception of Variety who said, “It’s old stuff, with only a slight twist.” In the B world, that’s as close to a rave as one might get from the mainstream media, and that’s fine; audiences enjoyed the straightforward thrills and somewhat unique concept offered up,...

It’s the last week of TCM’s string of monstrous Thursday night double-features. Joe Dante has the rundown.

We’re wrapping up Joe’s month-long look (yes, he writes the below copy) at TCM’s month-long series. The previous entries in this series — if you so happen want to program your own set of double features — can be found here:

Week 1!

Week 2!

Week 3!

Week 4!

But, for now, onward and upward with the monster-y goodness, direct from the desk of Joe Dante!

The Blob – Ok, Steve McQueen was embarrassed by his first picture, but he could never have imagined how popular it would eventually become. Yes, it skirts the edge of amateurism, but hey, it’s The Blob! The much-missed George Hickenlooper elucidates.

The H-Man – This Japanese production didn’t play very widely in 1959 but it’s an offbeat combo of gangsters and sci fi from the creator of Godzilla,...