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Showbiz dynamo Ann-Margret tries on ‘teenage hellion’ for size. She terrorizes the straight, impossibly patient John Forsythe, sending him on a weekend ordeal with razor-wielding hooligans. He can kiss both his marriage and his political ambitions goodbye: who will believe David when Jody claims he took advantage of her? Douglas Heyes’ sordid suspense thriller has a loser reputation but is big fun in the star-watching game: Ann-Margret has no choice but to go way over the top and chew scenery, and the direction doesn’t offer enough support. The technical remaster is excellent, and the disc extras generous.

Kitten with a Whip

Blu-ray

Viavision [Imprint]

1964 / B&w / 1:85 widescreen / 84 min. / Street Date December 29, 2022 / Available from [Imprint] / 34.95au

Starring: Ann-Margret, John Forsythe, Peter Brown, Richard Anderson, Skip Ward, Patricia Barry, Diane Sayer, Ann Doran, Patrick Whyte, Audrey Dalton, Leo Gordon, Patricia Tiara, Nora Marlowe, Frances Robinson, Maxine Stuart, Jerry Dunphy, Doodles Weaver.

When the mood strikes, there’s nothing better than an Atomic Age Monster Movie (B Division). Glorious black & white, damsels in distress, iron willed heroes and rubberized villains never fail to hit all the pleasure centers. The Monster that Challenged the World (1957) is one such film, and better made than most of the era. As the tagline says, “A New Kind of Terror to Numb the Nerves!” Well, you may just feel a tingle, but it’s a blast nevertheless.

Released by United Artists in the States in June and rolled out to the rest of the world in ’58, Monster was produced for $250,000; a fair chunk of change for Gramercy Pictures, run by producers Arthur Gardner, Jules V. Levy and director Arnold Laven - they also produced the same year’s The Vampire (read my Dust Off here). And the price tag shows too; Monster is as polished looking as...

William Castle’s 13 Ghosts (1960), 13 Frightened Girls, Homicidal, and Mr. Sardonicus are coming to Blu-ray in two double features from Mill Creek Entertainment! Both double bills will be released on July 5th.

From Mill Creek Entertainment: “13 Ghosts (1960) – B&W – 85 minutes – Not Rated

Charles Herbert, Jo Morrow, Martin Milner, Rosemary DeCamp. Donald Woods, Margaret Hamilton

When an eccentric uncle wills a huge, ramshackle house to his impoverished family, they get the shock of a lifetime. Their new residence comes complete with a spooky housekeeper, plus a fortune in buried treasure and 12 horrifying ghosts.”

13 Frightened Girls (1963) – Color – 88 minutes – Not Rated

Murray Hamilton, Joyce Taylor, Hugh Marlowe, Khigh Dhiegh, Charlie Briggs, Norma Varden

The girls of a Swiss boarding school have one thing in common — they are all daughters of diplomats. One in particular finds out that she has a knack for espionage, and uncovers the murder of a Russian diplomat. Now she...

Billy Wilder directed Sunset Blvd. with Gloria Swanson and William Holden. Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett movies Below is a list of movies on which Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder worked together as screenwriters, including efforts for which they did not receive screen credit. The Wilder-Brackett screenwriting partnership lasted from 1938 to 1949. During that time, they shared two Academy Awards for their work on The Lost Weekend (1945) and, with D.M. Marshman Jr., Sunset Blvd. (1950). More detailed information further below. Post-split years Billy Wilder would later join forces with screenwriter I.A.L. Diamond in movies such as the classic comedy Some Like It Hot (1959), the Best Picture Oscar winner The Apartment (1960), and One Two Three (1961), notable as James Cagney's last film (until a brief comeback in Milos Forman's Ragtime two decades later). Although some of these movies were quite well received, Wilder's later efforts – which also included The Seven Year Itch...

Hammer horror fans are in for a treat, as respective collections of five William Castle films and five Hammer horror movies are coming out on Blu-ray in August, and The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant has been set to come out on Blu-ray.

The William Castle and Hammer horror collections will respectively come out on DVD August 18th from Mill Creek. The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant, meanwhile, is slated for release later this year by Kino Lorber. Stay tuned to Daily Dead for further updates.

From Mill Creek: "Iconic horror director William Castle created a simple, but winning formula for his films: a little comedy, a lot of scares, a preposterous gimmick, and a clear sense that fright films should be fun. This even meant Castle would, like Alfred Hitchcock, appear in his trailers and even the movies themselves. Though his career spanned 35 years and included everything from westerns to crime thrillers, he'll...

Welcome to a special Blu-ray edition of the horror round-up! This time we're taking a look at three upcoming home media releases of horror films featuring killers of the monstrous, human, and vampiric variety. This spring will see special two-disc Collector's Edition Blu-ray releases of Jesús Franco's Vampyros Lesbos and She Killed in Ecstasy, and fans of Arnold Laven's creature feature, The Monster That Challenged the World, should be pleased to know that the film will hit home media in high-definition in August from Kino Lorber (special features have yet to be revealed for all three releases).

Vampyros Lesbos (April 14th Blu-ray release): Directed by Jesús Franco, Vampyros Lesbos stars Soledad Miranda, Dennis Price, and Ewa Strömberg.

Synopsis: "Countess Nadine Carody, a vampire with an insatiable thirst for female blood, lures women to her isolated island to love...then kill...her victims! Linda Westinghouse comes to the...

The Film

We all know the story. Big boat leaves England with lots of important people aboard. Somehow none of the 2,224 passengers see the mountainous block of ice floating in the ocean- boat collides with said ice- chaos ensues- band plays on- a tragic footnote in world history and the inspiration for countless Hollywood film adaptations is born.

Long before Leonardo DiCaprio painted Kate Winslet in the nude, director Jean Negulesco brought to life the story of the doomed luxury liner in 1953. While modern technology allowed for James Cameron to produce what is considered the gold standard in Titanic films (Titanic, 1997), Negulesco was still able to craft an engaging watch around the well known narrative.

What truly struck me is how similar this film feels in comparison to Cameron’s. Yes, I realize the basis of the story is the same once Titanic meets its icy destiny, but Negulesco manages...

Drum Beat from 1953 starred Alan Ladd and Charles Bronson and was based on a true story about a violent Indian uprising in the 187os. It’s an impressive and exciting outdoor adventure but Hollywood studios were churning out hundreds of westerns in the early 50′s so it’s not too surprising that Drum Beat, though so superior to many, hasn’t received its due. The most notable thing about Drum Beat is that it provided Charles Bronson with his real break-through role as an actor. Bronson’s scene-stealing performance as an Indian chief received a lot of attention and paved the way for his long and successful career, but Drum Beat is Not available on DVD.

Drum Beat was based on a little-known occurrence in 1873 where (for the only time) an American Army General was killed during the wars against the Indians. The Modoc tribe, lead by their chief, Captain...

Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: April 3, 2012

Price: Blu-ray $24.99

Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

The high-definition debut of the 1953 disaster movie Titanic is timed for the 100-year anniversary of the day the fated ship sank.

Long before Kate and Leo rode the classic cruise liner, Clifton Webb (Stars and Stripes Forever), Barbara Stanwyck (Double Indemnity) and Robert Wagner (TV’s It Takes a Thief) played Titanic passengers.

In the earlier film, Webb and Stanwyck played unhappily married Mr. and Mrs. Sturges. When the ship hits an iceberg, their custody battle for their two children, who are also on board, is the least of their worries.

Directed by Jean Negulesco (How to Marry a Millionaire), the drama movie won an Oscar for its screenplay and was nominated for art direction.

For the Blu-ray, the classic film was remastered and comes with these special features:

commentary by film critic Richard Schickelcommentary by cinematographer Michael D. Lonzo,...

If you have Netflix and are a horror fan in need of something to watch this Labor Day weekend, one look at this gargantuan list I compiled of the new terror titles Netflix has added for instant streaming in just the first three days of this month should keep you busy until Labor Day next year. You'll find something for everyone, from older titles to recent releases, famous to obscure, classic to not-so-classic, monsters to maniacs - you name it.

For the record, I considered compiling this list in alphabetical order or by year of the film's release, but then I realized I had already spent well over an hour just sorting through the massive catalogue of titles Netflix has now made available for instant streaming and realized Labor Day would be over by the time I finished arranging this list in any kind of order. Ready? Here you go.

In Charles Bronson news, two of his westerns, Once Upon A Time In The West and The Magnificent Seven, made this weeks list of Top Ten Westerns here at Wamg, but there’s an outstanding western that Bronson costarred in very early in his career worthy of discussion that most readers are probably unfamiliar with. Drum Beat from 1953 starred Alan Ladd and was based on a true story about a violent Indian uprising in the 187os. It’s an impressive and exciting outdoor adventure but Hollywood studios were churning out hundreds of westerns in the early 50’s so it’s not too surprising that Drum Beat, though so superior to many, hasn’t received its due. The most notable thing about Drum Beat is that it provided Charles Bronson with his real break-through role as an actor. Bronson’s scene-stealing performance as an Indian chief received a lot of attention...

The William Castle Film Collection (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, $80.95) assembles the master showman’s eight Columbia Pictures features in one set. Three (Zotz!, 13 Frightened Girls, The Old Dark House) are new to DVD. Only two are in color (Girls, House), but black and white works far better here to evoke film fear anyhow. Castle produced and directed them all (though he shares a producing credit with Hammer Films’ Anthony Hinds on the House remake). Three were scripted by Robb White (who also wrote Castle’s earlier gimmicky genre hits MacAbre and House On Haunted Hill) while Ray Russell and Robert Dillon racked up two scripts each and Starlog contributor Robert Bloch penned one.

The films (fantasies, thrillers, comedies) are grouped sort of by theme, two per disc. So, 13 Frightened Girls (a.k.a. The Candy Web) is teamed with 13 Ghosts for the triskaidekaphobia entry. Homicidal and Strait-jacket represent the murder,...