Classic Horrors Club

A month late, we celebrate the birthday of the lovely Karla Chamberlain with her choice of topic: Sherlock Holmes. We span a mere portion of the character's film history with three thrillers: House of Fear (1945), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959), and A Study in Terror (1965), and we welcome Karla to the podcast to provide her thoughts. Who's your favorite Holmes? Basil Rathbone? Yea! Peter Cu...

Originally posted on July 17, 2017, episode eight of the podcast featured our first live guest, Sam Irvin, author of "The Epic Untold Saga Behind Frankenstein: The True Story" in issue #38 of Little Shoppe of Horrors. With a career spanning nearly 40 years, Sam is a veteran film and television director, producer, screenwriter, author, journalist and educator who’s worked with a long list of legend...

From the safety of their bunkers in two different locations, Jeff and Richard connect to discuss the new Blu-ray release of Frankenstein: the True Story, as well as dust off their original segment on the movie from Episode 9. It's a mix of old and new, but mostly business as usual, providing some certainty in an uncertain time. What are you doing during your quarantine? Call us at: (616) 649-2582...

The 1930s had been a golden decade for Lionel Atwill. He was one of Hollywood's most highly respected and sought-after character actors. He was earning substantial amounts of money that offered him a luxurious standard of living. He was married to an extremely wealthy woman. He traveled often from East Coast to West Coast and back again, making the most of his homes in both - a large house and bea...

It started in 1972 with an ABC-TV movie called The Night Stalker, continued in 1973 with a sequel called The Night Strangler, and culminated in 1974 with a 20-episode television series called Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Ignoring the 2005 reboot (Stuart Townsend is no Darren McGavin), the saga now continues with... The Classic Horrors Club Podcast! Put on your seersucker suit and straw porkpie hat...

One thing we can promise about this month's episode: it is not "a miasma of putrid decay." But what about the movies? As we call this month's meeting to order, Jeff and Richard ring in the new year, celebrate our podcasting anniversary, and discuss Count Yorga, Vampire (1970) and The Return of Count Yorga (1971.) Take your seats and let's begin... Send us your feedback! You can call: (616) 649-258...

If you love the holidays because you get to spend time with your grandmother, you're going to love this month's episode! Of course, if your grandmother is anything like Bette Davis, Geraldine Page, or Shelley Winters, you may not want to spend the holidays with her... Learn all about "Hagsploitation," a beloved (by some people, especially Jeff) sub-genre, as Jeff and Richard discuss the movies Wha...

Richard selflessly (and patiently) gives Jeff a formal introduction to Doctor Who by way of the two movies that really aren't part of television series canon: Dr. Who & the Daleks (1965) and Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (1966.) You may ask where this subject belongs on The Classic Horrors Club Podcast, but we would reply with two words: Peter Cushing! . Join us for this month's meeting as we o...

When is one movie really three movies (or four, or five)? When it's an anthology! It's Halloween season and there's no better way to maximize your movie-watching time than by consuming as many bite-sized stories as you can. . As we call this month's meeting to order, Jeff & Richard lead a discussion about three anthology films from three different decades: Dead of Night (1945), Twice-Told Tales (1...

You'd probably rather be sitting in school than watching the three movies we picked this month! Memory serves these better than they deserve: Unman, Wittering & Zigo (1971), Nothing but the Night (1973), and Satan's School for Girls (1973). What can we say... it was the 70s? Our choices don't prevent us from having another great meeting, though, so take your seats and we'll call it to order... Sen...

You speak; we listen. Well... Nicholas Hatcher spoke and we listened; hence, this special episode where we take a look at the genre career of the lovely Fay Wray (1907-2004.) Between 1932 and 1935, she made seven genre films: Doctor X, The Vampire Bat, The Most Dangerous Game, Mystery of the Wax Museum, King Kong, Black Moon, and The Clairvoyant. Between the two of them, Jeff and Richard watched t...

This episode is for two groups of people: those who went to Mars, PA, last month for Monster Bash... and those who didn't. Relive the adventure, or live it vicariously through Jeff and Richard. On the way back, we listened to two British radio plays: The Slide (1966) and Aliens in the Mind (1977). The latter is an ingenious pairing of Peter Cushing and Vincent Price that we never got to see in a m...

The road to Monster Bash begins here as Jeff & Richard discuss three films with a connection to the annual conference in Mars, PA. First up is The Gorgon (1964), the inspiration for Joshua Kennedy's new film, House of the Gorgon, which has its U.S. premiere at the Bash. Next, it's Dr. Jekyll & Sister Hyde (1971), starring Martine Beswick, who will be a special guest at the Bash. Finally, it's Drac...

With Godzilla: King of the Monsters opening on May 31, Jeff and Richard examine three of the "legendary" beast's friends and foes by discussing Rodan (1956), Mothra (1961) and Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964.) It's an epic battle of titans as Rodan flaps his wings, Mothra spins her cocoon, and Ghidrah bobbles his heads. The titans of terror cause varying levels of destruction, but consiste...

In this surprise bonus episode, a previously-unannounced meeting of The Classic Horrors Club, Jeff and Richard welcome Justin Humphreys, film historian and author of The Dr. Phibes Companion, which has been nominated for Book of the Year in this year's Rondo Awards. We barely scratch the surface of The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) and its sequel, Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972), but the behind-the-s...

Three times the terror; three times the... time? Wow, this is a record breaker! But not only do Jeff and Richard discuss three movies: The Omen (1976), Damien Omen II (1978) and The Final Conflict (1981), they also review this year's Rondo nominees. You have until midnight on Sunday, April 20 to cast your votes. Choose from nominees like the ones for which our friends have been recognized (see bel...

Jeff & Richard discuss how the UK, best known for its gothic horrors, fares when London is invaded by giant monsters. Are the British suited for the sub-genre? Look no further than The Giant Behemoth (1959), Konga (1961), and Gorgo (1961) for evidence to support your opinion.  Just remember, we aren't British (hence the continued mispronunciation of the word "Quatermass"), but we do play them on t...

Born on February 10, 1906, Lon Chaney Jr. is the latest icon to receive a Classic Horrors Club Podcast tribute. As they've done in the past, Jeff and Richard discuss three films from his horror career: one near the beginning (Man Made Monster, 1941), one near the middle (The Alligator People, 1959) and one near the end (Spider Baby, 1967). It's the maddest podcast ever recorded and we invite you t...

Come gather 'round for the song of the enchilada man... or the discussion of three "horror comedies": The Cat & the Canary (1939), The Ghost Breakers (1940), and Scared Stiff (1953).  For a change of pace, instead of Vincent Price, we talk about Bob Hope; and, instead of Karloff and Lugosi, we talk about Martin and Lewis. We've got a lot of participation this week, so thank you to the "club member...

Happy Holidays from The Classic Horrors Club podcast!  Not only is this special episode our gift to you, but the movie we discuss is a really fun package to unwrap: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964).  (Well, at least it's better than a lump of coal.) Speaking of lumps of coal, is that what Jeff and Richard will get in their stockings this year?  Not if you listen to the end when they share...

Nothing says Christmas like monster babies!  And no one gives 'em to us like Larry Cohen, the king prince of low budget movies.  Two out of three ain't bad, as we discuss It's Alive (1974), It Lives Again (1978) and It's Alive III: Island of the Alive (1987). Grab a bottle of milk, some birthday cake, and take your seats as we call this month's meeting to order.  There's only one thing wrong with...

Island oasis or jungle hell?  While Jeff looks for a vacation getaway, Richard is wary... particularly considering the movies we're discussing: Island of Lost Souls (1932), The Twilight People (1972) and The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977). As if those three aren't enough, club member Steven Turek provides comments for Terror is a Man (1959), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996) and Lost Soul: The Doomed J...

'Tis the season.  What better way to celebrate Halloween than with three Hammer Horror classics from the creative peak of the great British studio's output: The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Horror of Dracula (1958), and The Mummy (1959)!  (Thank you to Steve Turek for assisting and providing a fun way to rate them.) Plus: Listener feedback "Vincent Price Tag" Birthdays & Anniversaries New on Home...

On August 16, 1956, we lost horror legend Bela Lugosi at the age of 73.  As we did with Boris Karloff in Episode 15, we pay tribute to Lugosi by discussing three films representing different stages of his career: Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932), The Return of the Vampire (1943) and the infamous Ed Wood movie, Bride of the Monster (1955). You're invited to attend this month's meeting for all this,...

Join Jeff and Rich in welcoming a special guest at this month's meeting.  When he heard our Dark Shadows episode, Steve Turek was inspired to watch the entire series during 2018.  He finished in only four months... and lived to talk about it, which he does in this episode.  He also shares his Monster Bash experience and joins us in discussing the two Dark Shadows movies:  House of Dark Shadows and...