trick or treat?

I don't know about you, but I'd be a bit cautious before biting into a "treat" that has both "Doody" and "Fudge" in the name.

TV tie-in merchandise that makes you say "cool!!"

'Tis the night before Halloween, when all through my home

Not a creature was stirring, not even a gnome;

The pumpkins were placed by the fireplace nook,

As I settle down cozy with a real trippy book.

I'd love a blow-up painting of this  1970 Authorized Edition by William Johnston. Notice that "Durwood" is Dick Sargent and not Dick York! Apparently this is the only

BEWITCHED memorabilia that features the likeness of Darrin #2. What a perfect way to usher in the spookiest day of the year!

Vote for MOST Tragic Halloween Costume

And finally...I didn't know they made a John Wayne Gacy costume...
This concludes my parade of tragic Halloween costumes, I hope you all enjoyed 'em.

I'd love for readers to vote on which they think is the MOST tragic...

The Nominees are

A) Marie Osmond

B) Donny Osmond

C) Jimmy Osmond

D) Laura Ingalls

E) Samantha

F) Jeannie

G) Witchie-Poo

H) Six-Million Dollar Man

I) Bionic Woman

J) The Fonz

K) Laverne

L) Shirley

M) Mork

N) Farah

O) Sabrina

P) Captain Stubing

Q) Tattoo

R) One of The Brady Bunch

S) Mr. Kotter

T) Barbarino

U) Kung Fu

V) Julia

W) Sleestak

X) Electra Woman

Y) Big Foot

Z) The Evil Clown (see above)

THE PAUL LYNDE HALLOWEEN SPECIAL

What has been heralded as one of the worst hours of television ever - THE PAUL LYNDE HALLOWEEN SPECIAL has got to be seen to be believed. This ABC special originally aired once in 1976, but after years of showing up a bootleg copies, it's finally available on DVD.The show has a loose "storyline", as legendary flamboyant HOLLYWOOD SQUARES celebrity Paul first thinks it's a Christmas special, then an Easter special, and then a Valentines Day special - until his elderly housekeeper (guest star Margaret Hamilton) sets him straight, so to speak. After a barrage of cornball jokes (some written by Bruce Vilanch), Paul breaks out in song: a decidedly Halloween take on "Kids" from "Bye, Bye Birdie". (Which Mr. Lynde introduced in the original Broadway show). Basically the song is a complaint about the younger generation, calling out everything that is wrong with them. My favorite line is "Too much Alice Cooper and not enough Alice Faye!" Like anyone in 1976 knew who Alice Faye was! During this number he gets attacked by trick or treaters dressed as devils - but two of the gang members are revealed to be his ABC pals Donny & Marie in a cheap cameo.After the song, Margaret convinces her bitchy and bitter boss Paul to take a drive with her to visit her sister, who lives at the mysterious Gloomsbury Manor. Sis turns out to be none other than the fabulous Witchie-Poo (Billie Hayes) from H.R. PUFNSTUF! Then, amazingly Margaret transforms herself into her WIZARD OF OZ character - the Wicked Witch of the West! Talk about crossovers! It turns out the witches want to enlist Paul to help them erase their negetive media image. 1970s little person superstar Billy Barty shows up as the butler–just in time for some insulting midget jokes, followed by an appearance by a delightfully youthful Betty White as Miss Halloween 1976 - who has won a date with Paul, but she was expecting PAUL NEWMAN! The witches then offer Paul 3 wishes...Wish #1 - Paul wishes to be a "rhinestone trucker", apparently so he can communicate with Tim Conway via CB radio-which was all the rage in '76. Tim arrives at a dinner where Pinky Tuscadero (Roz Kelly from HAPPY DAYS) is the waitress. Tim is about to marry Pinky, but Paul crashes through the wall with his big rig in time to stop the wedding and ask Pinky to marry him instead! Pinky challenges the guys to a contest to see who's more macho. Billy Barty plays the "short order cook"-and he's the most macho!!!Whaa-whaa. What does all this have to do with Halloween? Then there's an awful musical number with Paul, Pinky and Tim and some square-dancing disco dancers. After which the witches invite some of their musician friends to perform "chamber music" for Paul - and the quartet turns out to be none other than KISS - who perform "Detroit Rock City," while the camera rotates 360 degrees and viewers get queasy. Then the witches play Monopoly with Paul. Huh?Wish #2 -Paul wishes he was in the Sarah dessert - he's now a dashingly romantic sheik and Florence Henderson is his potentially lusty lover. Mrs. Brady was already used to faking romance with gay leading men-so she plays along just fine. He tells her he first fell for her after he saw her "milking a cobra"! Then he talks about the "ruby portrals of her lips" and he gives his rival Tim Conway a cock-a-too "cause a man gets lonely in the foreign legion." Bruce Vilanch was probably giggling backstage and loving that he got away with all this filthy innuendo. How can they top this? Wish #3 - Paul goes to a haunted discothèque - "the only play where a person can hustle without getting arrested". Then just when you think it can't get any worse, Florence appears sporting a Dorothy Hamill hairdo and a glittering black gown and sings a disco version of "That Old Black Magic".Then KISS comes back to sing the monster hit "Beth" and another song called "King of the Nighttime World." (I think it's supposed be about Larry King, but I'm not sure) It all comes to an end when Pinky returns to sing "Disco Lady" with Paul and the rest if the cast in an epic production number, while the guys from KISS look on in disbelief. Roll credits.
This has to be the strangest, gayest, bitchiest, most surreal mess ever to air on primetime TV - but of course, I love it. Now if only someone would put out a DVD set of the one-season wonder THE PAUL LYNDE SHOW - then I'd really be happy. Imagine Paul as an upscale, wisecracking Archie Bunker-type dad who gets dumped in the swimming pool each and every week - doesn't that sound truly heavenly?

Animated Halloween Specials (part 3)

"The Great Pumpkin" first appeared in the Peanuts comic strip in the early 1960s. Each Halloween season, Linus Van Pelt would get all worked up for nothing- anticipating the arrival of this mythical character in the most sincere pumpkin patch-and always facing disappointment when the GP doesn't come through for him. Linus' blind faith in the unknown was a recurring theme that fans of the strip looked forward to for dozens of years. The boy's humiliation is brief because there's always hope for next year. I've always found this sweet sentiment somewhat depressing - but it made for an entertaining comic strip.
In 1966, after the success of A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS - CBS premiered what would turn out to be the most-popular and best-loved Halloween cartoon ever, IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN CHARLIE BROWN. With a gloomy jazzy soundtrack and wonderful "graphic blandishment", this special evokes the season of autumn like no other.
Each autumn, children (and adults) everywhere would turn in with great anticipation in hopes that maybe this year The Great Pumpkin will indeed appear and all will be right in the world for once - and perhaps Lucy Van Pelt will let Charlie Brown kick a football without pulling it away.  Don't bet on that either.Linus even recruits young Sally Brown to sit out in the pumpkin patch with him, thereby missing her first chance of participating in "tricks or treats". Of course, the GP never does show up, but the melancholia doesn't end there. Our pathetic hero Charlie Brown is finally invited to a party with the rest of the kids. Or is he? Turns out crabby Lucy  soon informs him that there were two lists, people to invite and people not to invite and Charlie's name was on wrong list. (Spoiler: he manages to show up at the party anyhow - and the girls use his bald head as a model for their pumpkin).
When the kids are putting on their Halloween costumes, Lucy deliciously delivers the best line in the show when she informs the gang that "a person should always choose a costume which is in direct contrast to her own personality" and then dons a a wicked green witch mask. Classic! Things go from bad to worse for Charlie when every house that the kids visit gives out treats, but Charlie Brown reaches into his bag and declares "I got a rock." Following this is an unbearably over-long fantasy sequence involving Snoopy pretending to be a World War One flying ace. Luckily we have fast-forward buttons nowadays.Linus sums it all up best when he tells us that "there are three things I have learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin." Amen, brother.The special aired on CBS every season until 2001-when ABC purchased the rights to the classic Peanuts specials and padded them with some poor-quality extras, expanding the show to an hour's length. It airs this Tuesday night at 8PM on ABC. But for some reason, it's just not the same.
Meanwhile, every year Linus continues to get mocked for his beliefs, but somehow he perseveres. You gotta admit, the kid is admirable in his unwavering devotion to The Great Pumpkin and that things will be different next time, but maybe it's about time he gets some pharmaceutical or psychiatric help.

MAD MONSTER PARTY?

One of my alltime favorite Halloween treats when I was a kid was when local channel 9 WOR in New York would broadcast MAD MONSTER PARTY? (the question mark is part of the title-who knew?) on their  4:00 MOVIE.This wonderful Rankin/Bass "Animagic" feature was released theatrically in 1969-but really found its legs when it was syndicated to local stations in the 1970s. It's cast boasts a who's who of movie monsters - Count Dracula! The Wolf Man! The Mummy! The Invisible Man! Frankenstein's Monster! Dr. Jekyll! Mr. Hyde! The Creature (from the Black Lagoon)! The Hunchback of Notre Dame! It! (aka King Kong) and Phyllis Diller! The only one missing was John McCain.Boris Karloff voices Baron Von Frankenstein - who assembles these characters (The Worldwide Organization of Monsters) to announce his retirement - and introduce his nerdy nephew Felix and shapely new creation Francesca to the group. Even as a gay kid, I knew Francesca was HOT! I wonder if Francesca was the visual inspiration for MAD MEN's Joan Holloway? Hmmm...With character designs by the great Mad Magazine cartoonist Jack Davis, and some of the best stop-motion imagery ever, MAD MONSTER PARTY? is an absolute must-see for animation lovers. While the story may now be a bit slow-moving, and not as clever as I remember it from my childhood - I'd rather sit through this than the more recent "monster mash" called VAN HELSING any day of the year.MAD MONSTER PARTY also features some great musical numbers...and come on, you gotta love Phyllis Diller - here a pic of me and my parter John with Ms. Diller at her lovely Brentwood home last year. She's 91 and still a hoot!

For more info about Rankin/Bass visit Rick Goldschmidt's enchanting blog.

Tragic Halloween Costumes (Krofft edition)

Sid & Marty Krofft created some of the freakiest and best-loved kids shows of the 1970s. Because most of their shows featured people in strange costumes - Halloween was the perfect time to celebrate the weird and wonderful world of Krofft. Let's start with the classic sci-fi adventure LAND OF THE LOST. This NBC outing was the saga of a family (Marshall, Will and Holly) who, on a routine expedition, met the greatest Earthquake ever known! Somehow they wound up in a strange world populated by friendly and not-so-friendly dinosaurs, ape-like creatures called Pakuni and lizard-men called Sleestaks. I could go on for days about the show: how Marshall was replaced by "Uncle Jack," and how the big-budget, big-screen adaptation will probably suck. But instead, here is a Sleestak costume:

The mask is pretty good - but too bad the smock isn't as fabulous as the shimmering one worn by the TV Sleestaks. I guess I should stop complaining about these damn costumes by now, but WHY is there a horrible drawing of a Pakuni family rather than a portrait of Marshall, Will and Holly??? Another fun Krofft adventure show was ELECTRA WOMAN AND DYNA GIRL - which aired as part of ABC's KROFFT SUPERSHOW. Electra Woman was brilliantly portrayed by delightful daytime diva Deidre Hall  (best known as the sometimes Satan-possessed Dr Marlena Evans on DAYS OF OUR LIVES).
Okay, I have to admit - this costume is pretty good, but I wonder how many little girls (or gay men) recycled the mask and put on a lab coat and green contacts to go as Marlena for Halloween???A lesser known Krofft show was ABC's BIGFOOT AND WILDBOY . Here's the costume...
Bruce Vilanch never looked better.

And finally - just for fun here's the over-the-top Witchie-Poo from H.R. PUFNSTUF again cause I just love Billie Hayes. Check out her cool website!  She's adorable and does great things for animals.

Tragic Halloween Costumes (Diversity edition)

Okay, here's a duo of Halloween costumes that I guess were progressive for their time. First up - we have David Carradine as half-Chinese 19th-Century monk and martial artist Caine from the cult TV series KUNG FU. Of course as a kid, I thought the character was actually named "Kung Fu"  and the costume graphic doesn't dispute that concept. Also, I never questioned why the actor was clearly caucasian - I just took it for granted - I guess bald=Asian, like Yul Brynner in THE KING & I. It's believable that Carradine might be at least half Chinese, right? (In fact, Carradine has Irish, English, Scottish, Welsh, German, Spanish, Italian, Ukrainian and Cherokee ancestry - seemingly everything BUT Chinese). 

As far as the costume goes, the mask is pretty good - but once again the costume part is pretty bad. Though, much like yesterday's Barbarino - this would make a hot tee-shirt. If Caine ever travelled through time and needed someone to nurse his battle wounds, JULIA would be the perfect woman for the job!

I really like this costume, mostly because it doesn't say "JULIA" across the front of it. The mask is pleasant enough, though a bit dark compared to Diahann Carroll's skin tone, but I'll let that slide. I do like that it has a white nurse's cap on top and that the "cape" is emboldened with medical symbols, making it very authentic (for a kid's costume). What I also like is that this is actually a costume that could be used year-round whenever kids decided to play doctor - unlike most of the Halloween get-ups which seem so specific. This is totally one of my faves.

The Whiz Kid and the Carnival Caper

Adapted from a two-part 1975 WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY episode, this paperback tells the tale of the Fernald siblings, Alvin and Daffy, who with their friends help Professor Dimitrik build a monster for the Riverton Carnival. Only things get complicated, as they often do in Disney TV plots - and the kids get involved in a bank robbery, a car chase and a shoot out! Who will save the day? How about the professor's creature - the WANGDOODLE MONSTER? (I'm not making this up).I bought this book when I was in the 5th grade and I remember thinking how cool the cover was. From the great Tinker Bell Disney TV logo on the top to the realistic painting of Alvin about to get mauled by the Frankenstein-like creature. I still think the cover is pretty cool - and I'd love to see the TV-movie again just to re-live those innocent times when a teen boy detective could help a creepy professor build a man named Wangdoodle and no one would bat an eye.

Tragic Halloween Costumes (Kotter edition)

"Welcome back, your dreams were your ticket out.
Welcome back to that same old place that you laughed about.
Well the names have all changed since you hung around,
But those dreams have remained and they’re turned around.
Who’d have thought they’d lead ya (Who’d have thought they’d lead ya)
Back here where we need ya (Here where we need ya)
Yeah we tease him a lot cause we’ve got him on the spot,
Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back, welcome back."

And to show you how much we love ya- here's a costume with some badly drawn caricatures of you and your favorite students...

As a bonus we have everybody's favorite sweathog, Vinnie Barbarino as played by everybody's favorite Scientologist–John Travolta!
The mask is not that bad, but once again the costume leaves much to be desired. "BARBARINO" it screams with electrifying Dianetically-inspired red and yellow mortices behind a black & white illustration of Travolta's head. Actually, it's growing on me–it kinda has a pop art appeal, in fact it would make a pretty awesome tee-shirt.

Tragic Halloween Costumes (Brady edition)

Hey kids - my computer's back and $500 later, it's like brand spanking new-except it's the same old laptop and I'm $500 poorer! Yay! So, to cheer myself up, it's back to crazy costumes like this one...Who is that masked man? The Lone Ranger? The Red Arrow? The Red Lantern? Nope - it's "One of The Brady Bunch"!!! This has got to be the lamest costume yet. "One of The Brady Bunch"??? WTF? They couldn't make a Greg or Marcia mask - or even a generic set of brunette guys and blonde gals??? I feel sorry for the kids who had to wear this dumb get-up. Even cousin Oliver wouldn't be caught dead in this one.

"Sonseed" and Dougsploitation Go Canadian!

I had the pleasure of talking to a reporter from the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail about "Sonseed" and my 25-year obsession with the "Jesus is a Friend of Mine" video.

Here's a highlight: "But, far from being another Lonelygirl15, the band, Sonseed, are the real deal. Doug Prinzivalli should know. The graphic designer posted the video on his blog, Dougsploitation, in August. It was a rip of a VHS tape that a former co-worker had given him, knowing he was a fan of ska. What she couldn't know is that Sonseed would become a private obsession: For 25 years Mr. Prinzivalli admired the band from afar. Soon that would change. Former members of the band, stumbling upon what seemed lost history, began contacting Mr. Prinzivalli."

Go here for the full story.

HOLY MISMATRIMONY! EMERGENCY 'NO ON 8' FUNDRAISER

Come Out and Join Us This Thursday September 23 at 8PM for a Special "No On Prop 8" Edition of THE MISMATCH GAME!!!

Laugh along as we send-up the classic TV game show and raise $$$ to combat the evil forces that want to make gay marriage illegal in California. Basically - they want to take away a right that we ALREADY HAVE! WTF? Can't these people deal with their own fucked-up lives and leave us alone? There's sure to be some timely politically charged humor as well questions about the latest celebrity bullshit. Madonna's divorce, anyone?

Hosted by DENNIS HENSLEY with an All-Star Cast including...
TED BIASELLI as Miss Piggy
DREW DROEGE as Karen Black
JOHN CARROZZA as Greg Evigan
MADELINE LONG as Shelley Winters
TOM LENK as Heidi Klum
NADYA GINSBURG as Cher
SAM PANCAKE as Lisa Whelchel
JACK PLOTNICK as Evie Harris
FELIX PIRE as Ricardo Montalban

DOUGSPLOITATION (that's me!) will also be there working the line and recruiting contestants! YOU can play on stage with the stars - and win fabulous prizes! There may be other special guests and surprises as well!

ONE NIGHT ONLY!
Thursday, October 23 at 8pm
at the Renberg Theatre
1125 N. McCadden Place, Hollywood, USA
(one block east of Highland, just north of Santa Monica Blvd.)

All proceeds go to benefit the ‘NO on 8’ Campaign to help secure Marriage Equality in California.

Tickets $25
Call 323-860-7300 or Buy tickets ONLINE at: www.lagaycenter.org/boxoffice

For clips and more, visit myspace

Mr. Blackwell 1922-2008

THE DUNWICH HORROR

Here's another Halloween season classic review while my laptop is being repaired...

THE DUNWICH HORROR is based on a story by horror legend H. P. Lovecraft . This 1970 curiosity stars Sandra Dee (A SUMMER PLACE), Dean Stockwell (BLUE VELVET), Ed Begley (SR., not JR.), great character actor Sam Jaffe, and Talia Shire (Coppola).

Following the trippy-iest animated opening titles I've seen in a long time (with a fantastic musical score by Les Baxter), we meet Professor Henry Armitage (Begley) and two librarians Nancy (Dee) and another one. We also learn about The Necronomicon (?!) - an ancient book filled with mystical secrets. As they return the valuable book to its display case in the library, a young man named Wilbur Whateley (Stockwell) asks to see the book and Nancy readily agrees to let him —even though she was told how rare and priceless the book is! Armitage reappears and is annoyed at everyone, declaring the book needs to be put back in it's case. Wilbur states that there had once been another copy of the book belonging to his his great-grandfather, who had been hung and burned for practicing witchcraft. After this revelation, Armitage takes a sudden interest in the young Wilbur. Then they all go out for dinner. Bennigan's?

Nancy offers to drive Wilbur home after dinner. Once at the beautiful, yet spooky house, Nancy decides to snoop around (while Wilbur makes sure her car doesn't start). She knocks over some modern glass sculpture...then he slips her a mickey and Nancy falls into a deep sleep, dreaming that she's being attacked by some sort of tribe. This is the first of many ROSEMARY'S BABY - inspired nightmare sequences.

Things continue to get creepier as we meet Wilbur's cranky Grandpa (Jaffe). But there's still some fun ahead when a snobby Christian couple gets devoured by THE DUNWICH HORROR and when a security guard battles Wilbur in a BATMAN-like POW-fest that ends with someone impaling themselves. Oh yeah, and Nancy is offered up as a sacrifice in a Satanic ritual. The monster itself, doesn't appear til the very end, reminding me very much of SIGMUND (from...& THE SEA MONSTERS fame).

Sandra Dee once again plays the innocent girl who falls for the bad boy. Though Sandy gets to show a little flesh in the climax of the film this time. Dean Stockwell sports a very bad mustache and at times is mistaken by me for Mike Brady. Begley Sr. looks too much like a cross between Garry Marshall and Commissioner Gordon to be taken seriously, especially when he uses his red bat-phone! (Honestly - he has a red phone!) Sam Jaffe bears an odd resemblance to Whitman Mayo, who played Grady on SANFORD & SON and its various spinoffs. And yes Lloyd Bochner from DYNASTY and IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME (see review from last year) has a small role.

Overall, I found DUNWICH to be a colorful treat for the eyes and ears. It may move a bit slow for today's horror crowds, but for it's style alone I give this baby a 9 out of 10 "Huhs?"

LET'S SCARE JESSICA TO DEATH

While I wait for my laptop to get repaired, here's another classic spooky movie review for y'all. Enjoy! I remember this movie being on TV a lot when I was a kid. I also remember being afraid to watch it cause it sounded so damn spooky. Well, I'm all grown up now and it was time to face my fears. So, I got up the nerve and rented it.

Yawn...Wow - what a boring horror film. It might as well be called LET'S BORE THE GOYA BEAN LADY TO DEATH because that's a more accurate description of what JESSICA is. Not a terrible film - just a quiet one.

John D. Hancock (not the guy who signed the Declaration of Indepence or started the insurance company) directed this 1971 snoozefest. The plot revolves around Jessica (played by Zohra Lampert, bean-pusher extraordinaire), a looney woman who was recently released from a nuthouse. Desiring a fresh start, she moves from the big city to an abandoned creepy old New England farmhouse with her nerdy husband Duncan and his hunky friend Woody. Once they arrive they discover an attractive guitar-playing young hippie chick squatting in their new home. Jessica invites Emily to stay for the night, hoping that her and Woody will pair off. Unfortunately it seems Emily would rather pair off with Duncan.

Nevertheless, Jessica decides to invite Emily to LIVE with them all on the farm!!! What the fuck? Then Jessica finds an old photo from the 1880s in the attic - and Emily is in the photo!!! Is she a ghost? A vampire? Or is Jessica just crazy? We then learn that the woman in photo lived in the house and drowned on her wedding day. When Jessica and Duncan go into town to try to sell some of the crap they find attic, they discover that all the menfolk are weird and have patches on their necks and arms. Hmmm...

Well, you'd think this would be enough for Jessica and company to high tail it back to the city, but no - they stay and things continue to get strange. Especially after a mysterious little girl leads Jessica to a dead body. I'm not gonna spoil the plot any further, becuase I really think this film is worth seeing. Just NOT when you are already sleepy!JESSICA is not really a *bad* movie, but I just wish it were better - and scarier. I know we've been desensitized by modern horror films, but JESSICA sometimes made me feel like I weas watching a really long Maxwell House International Coffee commercial. Maybe the misleading title is why I expected to actually be SCARED TO DEATH, not driven to distraction.

The simple musical score is effective and Lampert is quite charming in her natural awkwardness. The style of the movie evokes the far superior ROSEMARY'S BABY, so if you're a fan of quiet, creepy films with very little action - check this one out. I'll give it 7 out of 10 "Huhs?".

There's actually a very well-done fan site here.

THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE

Due to the fact that my laptop is currently in critical condition at the Mac hospital, I'll be rerunning some classic Halloween -themed posts about some great horror movies. Enjoy - and I hope to be up & running again very soon!
Wow! I don't know if it's because it was a dark, stormy night or because I was a little buzzed or just the fact that the storytelling was so serious and clinical - but this film actually scared me!!!

This 1973 horror classic is from John Hough, the same director of Disney's two WITCH MOUNTAIN flicks and Disney's Bette Davis thriller WATCHER IN THE WOODS (which is notorious for not having an ending) - so I expected a campy good time. What I didn't expect was great cinematography, pretty good acting...and some genuine chills. Totally a notch above BURNT OFFERINGS (also Bette Davis) and THE AMITYVILLE HORROR.

Set in England, the plot involves 4 people (a physicist, his wife, a mental medium and physical medium - wonder which kind Patricia Arquette is?) who spend a weekend in a haunted house - The Belasco House! Oddly this film takes place in late December, but no mention is made of Christmas or Boxing Day or whatever wintery holiday they celebrate in the UK.

Things start off slow, but once the Belasco ghosts start welcoming the visitors, it turns into quite a thrill ride. There's a great scene at dinner table, two amazingly dark and dirty scenes (for a PG-rated film) involving a phantom rape(!) of the female medium (played convincingly by Pamela Franklin) and demonic seduction of the other medium (the always fun-to-watch Roddy McDowall) by the doctor's sexy wife (the beautiful Gayle Hunnicutt). Don't get me wrong, there are some very funny over-the-top scenes too. One standout is when Franklin is attacked by a very persistant feral cat and the other when McDowall has a total shit fit. Keep your eyes peeled for a fun cameo by Michael Gough (Alfred the Butler from the 80s/90s BATMAN films).

There's some wacky stuff dealing with the doctor (Clive Revil) and this machine he invents that is supposed send poltergeists running for the hills and also some "cool for the 70s" special effects involving ectoplasm. All in all, a fun rental for the upcoming Halloween season.

So as far as Haunted House movies go (and there are plenty of them) - I'd put this one near the top of the list. There were enough "Huh?" moments for me to include it here. I'd give it an 8 out of 10.

Edie Adams 1927-2008

Devil Gum

Trick...or Treat?

Tragic Halloween Costumes (Aaron Spelling edition)

Aaron Spelling was responsible for some of the most memorable TV shows of the 1970s. His ABC shows of this period ran the gamut from crime dramas to romantic comedies. Most were Top 10 hits and were mostly aimed towards "adult" audiences, but a few inspired Halloween costumes.Nothing like dressing up your little girl as Farah Fawcett-Majors, the queen of "jiggle tv". Not sure why Farah's costume isn't branded as a CHARLIE'S ANGELS costume like Kate Jackson's Sabrina. Oddly enough, the horse-faced Kate mask looks more like Tori Spelling!

Wow - a Gavin  MacLeod costume! Well, he didn't get one as Murray from MARY TYLER MOORE, but I wonder what little kid actually wanted to be Captain Stubing from THE LOVE BOAT for Halloween.
And finally, Tattoo from FANTASY ISLAND. What a wonderful way to empower your short child! Wonder if they had a Mr. Rouke get-up for the taller kids?

Neal Hefti 1923-2008

Spooky Food

Boo!

There WILL Be Blood!

ANN MAGNUSON AND ADAM DUGAS: DUELING HARPS - October 17-18, 2008

at the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (in the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles)A darkly elegant evening of gorgeous melodies with a theatrical flourish. Ann Magnuson and Adam Dugas face off on vocals as Alexander Rannie and Mia Theodoratus strum their harps in this twisted match of musical one-upmanship. The quartet thrusts and parries with an arsenal of tunes ranging from the ridiculous to the sublime: psychedelic calls to prayer, Henry Purcell's Baroque art songs, Kraftwerk, Buffy St. Marie, Lee Hazlewood and Pink Floyd, as well as original songs by Magnuson and Dugas. 

New York art star-turned-L.A. Woman, Magnuson is a prolific writer and actress of stage and screen and the former lead singer of the band Bongwater. Dashing underground cabaret impresario Adam Dugas was a founding member of the performance troupe The Citizens Band and frequently produces and performs at Deitch Projects gallery. Watch as Magnuson and Los Angeles composer and artist Rannie defend the home turf against East Coast crooner Dugas and comely musician Theodoratus. There will be blood. For tickets go here.

Ann Magnuson -photo Rocky Schenck, Adam Dugas and Theodoratus -photo Lyndsy Welgos, Alexander Rannie -photo JayPG Photography.

Tragic Halloween Costumes (Garry Marshall edition)

Let's take a quick look at some Garry Marshall inspired fright masks. No, not a Julia Roberts/PRETTY WOMAN hooker costume, but some 1970s classics from the days when Marshall was behind almost every ABC sitcom. He-ey! Check out this great  Abe Vigoda mask...no wait ...it's Henry Winkler as Arthur Fonzerelli...
Why did they feel the need to make Fonzie's ears, nose and chin gigantic??? Moving right along, we have those lovable roommates,  LAVERNE & SHIRLEY...Yikes!!! 

Actually and sadly, these masks are pretty accurate. But what Laverne without her giant "L"??? Boo! Hey does anybody have a Pam Dawber mask? Nope, just the annoying alien known as Mork from Ork...

Na-No, Na-No...Shaz-Bot! I have nothing else to say.