Babs Payton did it all.

As much as we can all stand reports about Anna Nicole, I still have to thank Kenneth Anger for his dilligent work in creating the Hollywood Babylon books and revelling in the revelations of all the dirty backroom secrets of Tinseltown and more. I actually started collecting certain posters based on his books and the tragedies that lie within them. A film like 'The Party Crashers' scores a double tragic hit with both Frances Farmer and Bobby Driscoll appearing. Who could resist something like that?

Frances in her final film after years of psychiatric care and a lobotomy and Driscoll drifting downward to a drugged-out death and penniless burial in New Yorks' Potter's Field after his very bright start as a child actor in 'Song of the South', 'Treasure Island' and the excellent 'The Window'. Were they ever so low? Hollywood, at its very stinking heart, is all about exploitation.



So, enter the delicious blonde that is Barbara Payton. Fresh faced and gorgeous from the rosy-cheeked lakelands of Minnesota via Texas and her first, quick marriage and honeymoon to dreams of Hollywood stardom and an idea of how to achieve it. Lots of flings and a love of parties takes her as high as a $10 000/week salary and into the arms of such biggies as Howard Hughes, Bob Hope and any other leading man or casting couch player who could help her career or give her sex, I suppose.
I even remember reading one bit where they talked about her reputation becoming so soiled, especially with on-set romances and co-stars/movie business folks, that Gregory Peck wanted her off the set while they filmed together. He probably had her too.


All went just as expected and the booze and hard living took a toll on her professional life and her personal life and her health and all else and she wound up being stabbed, publically drunk, busted for shoplifting and a possible heroin possession, unfit mothering and loss of custody of her son due to her profane lifestyle choices and finally prostitution. Bad! Bad and getting worse until her liver failed while living with her parents and she was dead at 39 in 1967. Every bit as deserving of tabloid covers as any film temptress or professional personality of today. An almost natural cycle.


I think the only film I've seen with Barbara is the excellent 'Bride of the Gorilla' with Raymond Burr, Lon Chaney and George Sanders' (a personal favourite) brother Tom Conway who is also rumoured to have had times with Barbara. I saw a really lousy VHS copy of it so I hope to be able to find a nicer version at one time and see her other films as well because I'm oddly fascinated by her as well as anything with girls and gorillas.


Another great side note (understand that I see the tragedy here but I am mildly intrigued by all of this and the root of celebrity and exploitation...I am not gloating) to this whole story is the final days of one of Barbara's men, Steve Cochran. While I was first reading about her, his story came up and just added a big spoonful of sugar to an already sweet tale. Apparently a lover of women including Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren, Steve died of a lung infection off the coast of Guatemala while yachting with an all-girl crew of three who had no idea how to sail and careened around the waters for ten days with his corpse aboard until they were finally brought to shore in an overly frantic state, I can imagine.

Barbara released a ghost-written bio titled 'I Am Not Ashamed' in 1963 and I'd like to get one. There is also a book about the woman coming soon from John O'Dowd called 'Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye' so that might be worth a spin.

Yiddish Hamlet, Swinging Boobies and Jackie Chan

Thanks to Patrick for passing me this story relating to Toronto City Hall’s heritage department to designate the Standard Theatre at Dundas Street and Spadina Avenue as a heritage site. Originally a Yiddish cinema, the stanard later became the Victory Burlesque and lastly, was reincarnated three times as a Chinese cinema, The Golden Harvest, The Pearl and The Mandarin. Located only 3 blocks from my office where I currently write this, I began attending when it was the Pearl, catching packed Midnight shows of ARMOUR OF GOD 2: OPERATION CONDOR, HARD-BOILED, ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA, FONG SAI YUK, STORY OF RICKY and others. I would always be guaranteed a cheap double bill in a massive cinema, plus a snack bar rocking with exotic treats. I always wish that I dove into the Chinatown cinema circuit earlier and missed out on the days when Shaw Brothers films played in this city, but then again living in rural Ontario, I didn't have the opportunity. The cinema was a grand space and now, reading this story about the rescue, that was only the balcony!

I recorded an oral history of the space for the murmur project. If you walk by 285 Spadina, you will see a big sign of an ear on a lamp post with a telephone number and code. Dial that on your cell and you can hear me blabbing about the cinema. You can hear it on this page - BUT it is full of QT audio files that all start at once. Just hit pause on all of them and then listen at your liesure. I am at the bottom of the list.

When cleaning out another Chinatown cinema, I found a little album of photos from the Standard back in the day when it was the Golden Harvest and have had them scanned and stored in my computer until the day when I would do that big project on Toronto's Chinatown cinemas. Looks like this is as good an opportunity as any. I just hope that if the save the cinema, they don't deny recognizing the history of the space as a Chinatown cinema.

Here is the link to the article about the attempt to save the cinema.

Death Stalks On High Heels

Trippy, sleazy Giallo trailer from 1975...

following up on The Trip...

Here is the promo that Dante has made for his project, THE MAN WITH THE KALEIDOSCOPE EYES!

more grindhouse frenzy...

Thanks to Adam Lopez at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival for this link that gets you over to Yahoo video for this promo of QT and RR talkin' grindhouse and exploitation history. And here are some pics from the Weinstein Company booth at the European Film Market.

what really happened in Boston

Might be old news, but I have been away. I simply can't get enough of the Aqua Teen Terror Alert. Ahhh, the joys of movie promotion. This is almost as good as THE TINGLER shock boxes. Any other examples of promotion gone wrong?

talk amongst yourselves...

Currently rolling through all my bookmarked blogs to see what got posted in the past week while I was in Berlin. I get a kick out of cool open discussions such as the Horror Roundtable over at The Horror Blog, that just happens to originate from Canada's nation capitol. Sorry, waving my flag here...
The other neat forum is the on going Eurotrash Film Pinnacle Project over at David Z's Tomb It May Concern. Think I might have to have a EuroTrash Sunday at my apartment in the upcoming week! One contrib, Bryan Senn hits a fave Western of mine, THE GREAT SILENCE with Kinski as a bounty hunter in a winter wasteland shooting Mormons!


And there is discussion of lots of other fine films...

best poster of the year and it is only Feb!

Oh so sweet... On my last day in Berlin I got to see the movie which has the best anti-piracy intro ever! Is it really Boris Vallejo who painted it? I wonder...

"we've just finished making a movie dealing with the most talked about subject of the day... LSD"

Just got back from Berlin where I attended the European Film Market and got the low down on a number if upcoming projects that are on my radar for the Midnight Madness series at the Toronto International Film Fest. Got flyers and updates on lots of cool things. Wanted to update the blog from the road, but wireless was hit and miss.

Easily one of the highlights of the trip was sitting down and chatting with Joe Dante (who we toasted for his birthday on this blog back in November). Joe was in Berlin to drum up attention and financing on his new project, THE MAN WITH THE KALEIDOSCOPE EYES, about the making of Roger Corman's LSD flick THE TRIP. The writers include Video Watchdog master Tim Lucas and director Michael Almereyda (TWISTER, NADJA). To read more about the project, read this news flash over at the Time Out film blog. And found this trailer for the original film and a clip of a Corman interview where he talks about the film. I heard him go into depth about it during the Q&A for a screening of X: THE MAN WITH THE X RAY EYES that he attended here in Toronto a few years back. The interview comes from Media Funhouse, a NYC cable show. Check the stuff they have put up on YouTube including interviews with Russ Meyers, Tura Satana, Ted V. Mikels, Errol Morris, Mink Stole, Karen Black, Fassbinder's editor, Jane Birkin, Wong Kar-Wai, Rudy Ray Moore, and my fave comedian, Shelly Berman!

(Poster taken from The Poster Pit)

Happy Valentine's Day to lovers all over!

The Mighty Dolemite

"From the first to the last, I give em the blast so fast that their life is passed before they ass has even hit the grass."

Rome Armed To The Teeth

Reminds me of a film by Michael Uomo, or Gianni Frankenheimer...

I roll.

Today is the first day with my new, used car. A 1993 Volvo 245 wagon in black. I love a wagon! So, I'm celebrating alone here and now with a filmic salute to the wonderful, sensible people who created the brand. A loving people, by all accounts.






I will call her Christina. Sorry, Lars Erik.





She is only 14, after all.


Now I wait to see if the battery can survive its first incredibly cold night outside the repair shop. The ignition lottery of the morning. Wish me luck!

more trailer mash-ups...

these are old and I had the links sitting in the draft box of my email forever...

Let me dedicate the first trailer to the guy in the news recently who survived being bitten in the head by a great white:

With his free left arm, Mr Nerhus reached down and poked the shark in its eye socket. "The shark opened its mouth a bit and I tried to wriggle out."

And then from the same people who brought you the above trailer (just so you don't think I have a thing for JAWS...

trailer decontructs...

With all the frenzy and fallout from the Aqua Teen Terror alert, I happened to watch the trailer for the upcoming movie. If you haven't seen it, the cartoon series is infantile, silly absurd, surreal and hilarious. If you need examples go here, here and here (featuring David Cross as guest vocal talent). And even the Spanish like it - here. Hence the movie...



And then this morning in my mailbox comes this mock trailer made by cool kid TO artist Christopher Hutsul:

Lee Fucking Marvin

The only man who would have been able to kill Chuck Norris.

In fact - he is the original Walker! On his shit list: backstabbing friends, people who owe him money, overpass pillars, venetian blinds, and unmade beds!

Trailer for the 1967 mindblower Point Blank.

Tough love, Corman style. 1955.

Mmm, Tasty...

Pop Art trailer for the sixties Italo-Western For The Taste Of Killing...

biology prevails...

It all comes full circle. Trudging through the snow on my way home from SOLANGE, this song popped into my headphones and I only then matched it with the band TV On The Radio. Then I stumble on the video via The Mystery of the Haunted Vampire. Eraserhead - werewolf - JD images for your Monday evening:

little minds warped by little giant monsters

I loved Ray Harryhausen stop motion monster flicks as a kid. Heck, in our house, "Harryhausen" was also used as a verb to describe a jerky, slow walk. As in, " Colin harryhausened across the room to get his Micronaut figures." Something like that...

Over at boingboing I found this posting of a Harryhausen index where you can scroll over a list of his monsters, click on the word, and up pops a little film clip of the beastie in action!
A friend saw him do a presentation recently and recounted Harryhausen talking about the demise of special effects today, because in every tooth paste or soft drink commerical you see computer animated characters. Doesn't quite make it "special" anymore, does it?

And the stop motion magic that he performed on Caroline Munroe's bosom in GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD was something else, wasn't it? (pic found over at Toykostomp)

so long Solange!

The screening of WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO SOLANGE was a hit last night. Small crowd, but not a bad print. I had never seen the film before and was surprised at how tight the plot actually was since I find most giallo disappoints in the end. Afterwards, myself and some fellow cinema deviants (including blog contrib Michael) joined up for some pitchers at talk of movie going experiences from days gone by. Again, if you are from Toronto, add some comments and then maybe join us for the next similar screening. I have heard rumblings of a PHANTASM screening at the Bloor in February, plus there are those Lon Chaney shows at the AGO...

downtown Toronto has the grindhouse experience this Saturday night

Mea Culpa. Been meaning to post this before, but better late than never. Just as a show of hands, how many Toronto people read this blog? If you do read, leave us a comment and give a shout out for the old "four-one-six"! Heck, we will even count hands for the "six-four-seven" and "nine-oh-five!"

If you are near the TDot area, on Saturday get down to the Royal cinema Saturday night to check out the screening of the 1972 giallo classic WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO SOLANGE? aka "Cosa avete fatto a Solange?" aka "The School That Couldn't Scream". SOLANGE was directed by Massimo Dallamano who started out as a cinematographer whose work included Sergio Leone's A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS and FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE. He went on to direct several other thrillers before his untimely death in a car accident in 1976.
His cinematographer is Aristide Massaccesi (Joe D’Amato) who would go on to direct over 200 films including Euro-sleaze flicks such as MANUELLE IN AMERICA, TRAP THEM AND KILL THEM and ANTHROPOPHAGOUS before settling into Euro-porn until his passing in 1999. And to top it all, SOLANGE boasts a score by Ennio Morricone! This event is possible due to the hard efforts of a dedicated group of grindhouse fans who under the banner Vagrancy Films, have been holding screenings of gritty classics in London, Ontario including ZOMBIE, DEMONS, THE EVIL DEAD, CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST, DOLEMITE, THE BEYOND, CHAINED HEAT, DUEL OF THE IRON FISTS, FLESH FOR FRANKENSTEIN, THE CANDYSNATCHERS, MANIAC, THE BIG DOLL HOUSE and CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD, amongst others. Read their press release below and drop a comment if you want to meet up for a beer afterwards!

And as a bonus from the cinema staff here at Popcorn and Sticky Floors, check out this great SOLANGE photo wallpaper over from the fabulous guys at Cinema Strikes Back!


TORONTO.....You guys found away to dump your garbage in London so now Vagrancy is going to return the favor, only we won't be packing crushed beer cans or sour milk cartons...no no...We are bringing 5 Rusty Reels of Cinematic Trash so pure, so foul it will be the most excitement Toronto has seen since Paul Stanley crooned as the Phantom. We are talking about the Italia Giallo Classic WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO SOLANGE ? aka THE SCHOOL THAT COULDN'T SCREAM. Considered the world over as one of the finest examples of Italian 70s Thrillers on the planet Solange is a perfect follow up to our previous adventure in your fair city. Please this time save the police until at least the third reel. As always stashed in our trunk beside the pound of cronic, and tall boys will be a bushel of vinegar delights from back in the day AKA Trailers. Nothing get's your blood pumping better than 2 minute intervals of shootings, stabbings, and boobies. If you are sensitive so such material you can always nestle on your sofa and watch the Golden Globes on your PVR.

A forbidden affair between a teacher and student at a girls' college sets the stage for cold-blooded murder. As the school is rocked by the twisted secrets unearthed by the police investigation, the killer strikes again and again. From veteran director/cinematographer/writer Massimo Dallamano (Black Veil For Lisa; Night Child), comes a stylish, violent murder mystery in the grand European genre known as the "giallo". Based on the work of acclaimed suspense novelist Edgar Wallace (King of Kong) and featuring a lush, haunting score by Ennio Morricone (The Untouchables; Cinema Paradiso).

What Have They Done to Solange features 70s Euro Legend Fabio Testi famous for his work in European Crime Classics such as The Smuggler and Heroin Busters. It also features Camille Keaton from I Spit on Your Grave making her feature film debut.

Vagrancy Films Presents
WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO SOLANGE - 35mm Scope Print
Saturday January 27 2007 9:30 PM
The Royal 608 College Street , Toronto Ontario
$10.00 at the Door -
Diabolical Trailer Reel Before the Main Feature

If It Ain't Broke, Break It

The mind boggles...


The Paramount, the former flagship theatre of the Famous Players chain in Toronto, underwent a name change overnight this week, caught in the crossfire of synergy between the place's new owner, the Cineplex chain, and the Bank of Nova Scotia. Now when I make plans to go to a movie I'll have to say something like this: "Hey, let's go see Ghost Rider tonight - I'll meet you outside the Scotiabank at 9 o'clock."

Famous Players was part-owned by Viacom at the time the place opened (it was called 'Festival Hall' while it was being built, in a brazen attempt to court TIFF as it's future home, which didn't quite work out the way it was planned...) so it made semi-sense to name the place the Paramount, which at least is a historical movie theatre name in the United States. Renaming it the Scotiabank to me seems shameless and boring, though I'm sure the Cineplex/Scotiabank marketing departments could talk my ears off with why it's the perfect name for a movie theatre. Here's an attempt, from the story in the Toronto Star:

"We're rewarding customers for doing what they already do: go to movies and do their banking," said Scotiabank spokesperson John Doig.

The whole enterprise revolves around the idea that audiences would go to the movies to participate in a rewards program. I guess if you go to first-run movies a lot, it may now also be easier to secure a loan to support your habit.

To make matters worse, unlike the artists' rendition of the new facade seen above, here's what it looks like in real life - it might be temporary, but I have a feeling (a prayer, really) the whole idea is temporary...

But they shouldn't stop the rethinking there - maybe they can address the damn Klingon ship they have dangling over the dizzying escalators. Or maybe they can do something about what I call the epileptic's entrance (a nondescript, non-warp-speed elevator hiding to the left of the box office area). Speed that puppy up!

And get rid of the giant Rubik's Cube! And make it easier to find the concession stand! I got points to cash in!

R.I.P. Liz Renay April 14 1926 - Jan 22 2007

I just read this elsewhere so I thought I'd post a poster or two of her quality work. She was a stripper and an actress and a felon. Desperate Living was her most famous film, I suppose, but I have a soft spot for The Thrill Killers, of course.

30 Seconds of Slaughter

"They all wanted Slaughter...and they all GOT HIM!"

the other Grindhouse...

Now whenever most people hear the word "Grindhouse", there thoughts will leap to the upcoming Tarantino project. Hopefully this new attention on this "genre" or rather "exhibition category" will spill over to this little fest that makes me want to make the pilgrimage to Portland. And if you like their posters, you can head over to ebay and make a bid on a set of them.

monster vs monster - she conquered the world...

So long, succor.

are you in touch with your inner grindhouse?

Geez! Don't know where I am getting this mad blogging energy from. Plus I am blog rolling like crazy for over at Matt Dentler's blog I read this! Are you man enought to answer the call for entries for an amateur Grindhouse trailer?!

The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival is putting out a call to filmmakers who would like to submit their best "grindhouse trailer," in honor of the April release from Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, Grindhouse. A sample of the best submissions will be judged by Rodriguez himself, and presented during SXSW, on March 11, 2007.

Filmmakers have a deadline of February 12 to submit their "grindhouse trailer" (no longer than two minutes in length) to SXSW. The trailer should be made for a fictional feature-film, just like those being made by celebrity directors Eli Roth and Rob Zombie for Grindhouse. From those submissions, Rodriguez will determine the best of the bunch, and it will screen during a special presentation entitled "Robert Rodriguez's Grindhouse 101" on Sunday, March 11. During the presentation, Rodriguez will share stories and footage from the making of the upcoming Dimension Films release.

"We really want filmmakers to come up with something fun, scary, freaky, and out-of-this-world for the competition," says SXSW Festival Producer Matt Dentler. "This competition, like Grindhouse itself, is in the true spirit of innovative and fast-paced filmmaking."

Submissions must arrive no later than February 12, to: "SXSW Grindhouse Trailers," P.O. Box 4999, Austin, TX 78765. There is no application fee, but the trailers must be under two minutes in length, and made within the last 12 months. Films that have already been submitted to SXSW for 2007 consideration, are not eligible. The 2007 SXSW Film Festival occurs March 9-17 throughout downtown Austin, TX. Grindhouse will open nationwide on April 6, 2007.

your capenter is in my coscarelli!

Found over at The Horror Blog: