This installment of Famous Monsters Memories contains images and ads from issues 101, 102 and 103.
THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN (1957) is one of Mr. B.I.G.'s best L.O.W. budget movies of the 1950s. Glenn Langan is really quite good in the lead role of the tragic US Army officer who goes Giant after being exposed to a Plutonium blast. While he gets bigger than his breeches, his mind can't keep up and he goes both insane, and on a spree of mass destruction. A sequel, THE WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST, premiered the following year.
Bert I. Gordon went color for his 1962 fantasy adventure, THE MAGIC SWORD (1962). It was one of those movies that came on TV once in a blue moon, and was entertaining enough that it made you wonder why that was.
Special Effects Makeup Artist, Verne Langdon, paints up the late comedian Pat Paulsen as a werewolf for what I presume is his short-lived television series from the 1970s.
Famous Monsters paid tribute to Lon Chaney Jr. in their December '73 issue a few months after his passing in July of that year. These two images below are from that spread covering his entire career.
And you couldn't have Famous Monsters without those amazing ads that took up the last dozen or so pages of the magazines.
I remember those Super 8 ads were among my favorites even though I never had one of them. I figured if I bugged my mother or father enough, they'd relent and order me one of them.
The Fisher Price Movie Viewer Theater was the closest I ever got. There were no monster cartridges that I recall, but it was just like having your own bonafide projector, and easily the next best thing to owning the real thing.
Welcome to another edition of Famous Monsters Memories! This time it's select imagery and covers from issues 97, 98 and 99!
FM cover #97 features the Amicus film, ASYLUM from 1972. This and TORTURE GARDEN (1967) were the last two Amicus anthologies I had left to track down. Upon renting the videotape of ASYLUM I honestly couldn't see what all the fuss was about. TORTURE GARDEN ended up being even worse.
Anyway, it was nice to see Cushing again and some of the stories did have interesting moments. The wraparound was also eerie even if you sort of know how it's going to end up. At the time, British horror pretty much usurped most all other horror films I saw as a kid. After all the ballyhoo surrounding everything I'd read about ASYLUM, I expected it to be better. But then, they can't all be as good as THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD (1970)!
As Forry states in his 1973 article, there were a handful of stills from the original ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (1932) thought to have been lost forever. Having then discovered them, he displayed them over the course of several issues. This was one of them; a profile of the Pig Man.
Above is a movie theater marquee from the original release of HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, a 1944 monster mash featuring many of horror's heavyweights of the time period.
Famous Monsters cover for issue 98 has a great countenance of one of the Saucer Men from 1957s INVASION OF THE SAUCER MEN as painted by artist Randy Counts.
Here's a publicity photo of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing during the making of DRACULA AD 1972 (1972); a film that was being heavily touted at the time because they took the Transylvanian bloodsucker and placed him in a modern setting after the runaway success of AIPs COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE (1970).
When I was a kid, AD 1972 was one of my most sought after Drac flicks. I don't recall ever seeing it in the TV Guides back then as I used to scour them for any and all monster flicks. The only Hammer Dracula's that got frequent airplay were HORROR OF DRACULA and the 60s entries after it. Commander USA's Groovie Movies showed Hammer horror, too, but only their 70s output and none of the Chris Lee Drac's. Upon finally buying the long overdue US tape, it was a bit disappointing, but much better than its reputation attests.
To the left is one of dozens of ads that appeared in the back of every issue of FM. These ads were some of my favorite parts of the magazines.
Although I never got one, the 8mm projector was something I always wanted and I often slobbered at the mouth like the Wolf Man in the hopes of ever getting one and some of those cool 8mm films to go with it!
The closest I ever got was this film projector like thing where you'd insert these yellow cartridges, then turn a crank and a cartoon would play on the wall sans any sound. The faster you turned the crank, the faster the 'toon played. It was a fave toy of mine, but I still wish I could have gotten one of those movie projectors!
Famous Monsters #99 features a Basil Gogos painted cover and is quite a stellar issue. The image of lycanthropy was a favorite subject on FM's covers and this is yet another sterling example of the famed Chaney Wolf Man.
Mae Clarke, menaced by Frankenstein way back in 1931, reads up on herself over 40 years later in Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine.
This is a publicity still from THE RAVEN (1963); one of several classic horror pictures based on Edgar Allan Poe and starring Vincent Price. This one featured Boris Karloff and Peter Lorre alongside Price. This is my favorite of the Price-Poe's.
Our local ABC affiliate back in the early 80s used to show horror and monster pictures (well, pretty much every channel did back then) late at night. When NWA Wrestling would go off at midnight, the remaining four or so hours belonged to Things That Go Bump In the Night.
It was here I first saw THE RAVEN (1963) and enjoyed it so much, I watched it nearly everyday after school. I like it just as much now as I did back then.
Here's a photo from a 1970s monster marathon awards show. There are a few familiar faces here including Count Yorga himself and Clu Gulager among others. Click the pic for the text.
This advertisement for a Warren Publishing Dracula book was being heavily promoted at the time. I never got hold of one, nor do I know how many issues were ever made, or if this was simply a one off. Maybe somebody out there reading this has one, or can add some information? Vampirella was a huge success for Warren at the time and Dracula occasionally featured as a nemesis in her magazine.
UNTIL NEXT TIME...
This jumbo Famous Monsters post covers five issues and a slew of rare photos of fear favorites like Lugosi, Chaney Jr., Karloff, King Kong and more!
A shot from RETURN OF COUNT YORGA (1971) that's not in the finished movie, at least I don't recall it being in there.
A rare shot of the construction of the King of Skull Island from the original KING KONG from 1933.
Issue #92 covers everything Lugosi...
Bela sucks the life from a carton of milk at the HOUSE OF WAX (1953) premiere.
Bela Lugosi in what is presumably his last role in Ed Wood's PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE (1956).
Basil, Bela and Chaney Jr. enjoy a FIENDly get-together.
This cover features a portion of the TALES FROM THE CRYPT (1972) artwork.
Does anybody out there know what movie this image is from? Even FM's didn't know the films title.
Long before videotapes, laserdiscs and DVDs, there were super 8 film reels. I never had one, but knew some folks that did. Even though you only got a small portion of the films on reels, it was still the next best thing to seeing them in the theater.
A break during the shooting of SCHLOCK (1973) from director John Landis.
The adult geared, fantasy horror B/W comic magazine VAMPIRELLA was huge in the 1970s. This poster was just as big a deal to male monster movie lovers as the later and iconic Farrah Fawcett image that ended up on many a wall.
Jack Pierce applies make up to Lon Chaney Jr. on two different films from 1941 and 1945.
This is half of a spread on Lon Chaney Jr., Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff appearing together on the TV show, ROUTE 66 (1960-1964).
Frank wishes you all a very scary new year filled with good fear. Happy Horror-days!
This edition of Famous Monsters Memories contains five creep-tastic covers from the famed and fanged monster magazine. Above is the cover for issue #86 which bears the iconic image of Peter Cushing's head on a platter of splatter from my favorite of all the Amicus anthologies, THE HOUSE THAT DRIPPED BLOOD (1970). Click the blood red title for the review!
Famed make up artist Don Post 'preserves Peter Lorre'. Click the pic to read the text in larger format.
Famous Monsters back cover advertisement.
Rare shots of innovative stop motion king Willis O'Brien at work building dinosaurs
Promo for Toho's SON OF GODZILLA (1967), a series entry that averted theaters here and went straight to television instead. It was a nice change of pace switching the action to an island in the Pacific as well as depicting Godzilla as a parent surrounded by giant praying mantis's and one enormous spider god.
The cover for issue #87 shows off THE SHE CREATURE (1956)
Check out the real Tor Johnson in the middle surrounded by his fabulous faces of fear.
Barnabas Collins lurks somewhere within the HOUSE, but stayed out of the NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS (1971), the sequel to HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS (1970). Since this sequel lacked the famous vampire from the DARK SHADOWS TV series and first film, it was summarily burned at the box office stake.
For all you Tulip Tippers out there, get a gander at Tiny Tim from his Drac Attack appearance on the old TV show, LOVE, AMERICAN STYLE (1971).
The Famous painted covers of Famous Monsters soon yielded actual shots from the films themselves. This is one of them from issue #89 featuring a shot of Zandor Vorkov, the unintentional comedy relief Dracula from Al Adamson's crap classic DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN (1971).
Time for some cheesecake straight from the FORBIDDEN PLANET with this photo of Anne Francis with electric pal Robbie the Robot.
A British horror picture that brings together the titanic terror triumvirate of Price, Cushing and Lee. Sadly, all three never get the chance to share the screen together. That would have to wait for THE HOUSE OF THE LONG SHADOWS (1983).
Lou Wagner, Lucius in PLANET OF THE APES gets a trim by that damn dirty human, John Chambers while catching up on some reading.
Famous Monsters back cover advertisement
And finally, Boris Karloff and fiend enjoy a smoke behind the scenes of one of the monstrous maestro's fright films.
UNTIL NEXT TIME....
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THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN (1957) is one of Mr. B.I.G.'s best L.O.W. budget movies of the 1950s. Glenn Langan is really quite good in the lead role of the tragic US Army officer who goes Giant after being exposed to a Plutonium blast. While he gets bigger than his breeches, his mind can't keep up and he goes both insane, and on a spree of mass destruction. A sequel, THE WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST, premiered the following year.
And you couldn't have Famous Monsters without those amazing ads that took up the last dozen or so pages of the magazines. 
