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Re: What Happened?
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Comment
telegonus
The Black Sleep, Later Horrors
#1
[-]
Aug 29 08 2:05 PM
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My Recent Posts
I think that
The Black Sleep
had some "exploitation" success, as it was heavily promoted at the time. We're not talkin'
The Ten Commandments
or
Ben-Hur
here but respectable box-office, good bang for the buck for the producers. Also, its release more or less coincided with the
Shock Theater
package of old horrors being syndicated to local TV stations, and so it probably hung around in the theaters longer than usual for a black and white programmer. A most unusual film to come from Hollywood in 1956, with its Victorian look and cast suggestive of the 40's more than the atomic age.
Not having even glanced at Castle's autobiography in ages I can't recall what inspired him to turn to horrors in the 50's.
Macabre
, I believe, predates even the Hammer horrors, so Castle was off and running before those bigger films hit, and
Macabre
made money. Surely the success of
Shock Theater
was not lost on Castle, and may have been a determining factor in Castle making his films in black and white, so as to suggest classic horror in tone, in setting, which his movies did, and yet offer viewers a more contemporary kind of entertainment, set in modern times, with a Halloween party mood on the side. It always seems to me that Castle's films are winking and nodding (to the extent that a movie can) at their audiences, as if to say "let's not take things
too
seriously".
Hammer's films are a different kettle of flesh, and I wonder if their success in the States was
Shock Theater
-related or was just gonna happen. Their pictures are at their best good enough to play as stand alone movies without having to be sold as horrors. It's easy to guess the target audience for a Castle horror when watching it, while the Hammers are enigmatic in this respect. At times they feel like David Lean or Powell & Pressburger horrors, with their vivid color, artistic touches, classy actors, more intelligent that usual dialogue. Roger Corman followed on the heels of Hammer in using color and good actors, seemed often to be aiming for the same audience as Castle, to the extent of appearing to dumb down his movies so as to play to the lowest common denominator. A bit harsh on Corman perhaps, but true in my opinion.
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Welcome to the CHFB
Forum Guidelines
CHFB TURNS 20!
Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards
Universal Horrors
The Universal Monsters Blu-Ray Collection
Golden Age Horror
Kong - 8th Wonder of the World
Silent Horror
Poverty Row
The World of Sherlock Holmes
Murder and Mystery
Thrills and Chills
'50s Horror and Sci-Fi
'60s Horror and Sci-Fi
'70s Horror and Sci-Fi
Hammer Horror
The Psycho Ward
Foreign Horror
Japanese Giants
Horror and Sci-Fi of Recent Decades
Current Films
Second Takes on Films of the 2000s
Independent Films and Documentaries
Coming Soon
TV Terrors
Classic Horror on DVD, Blu-Ray and Streaming
Stream and Stream Again
Horror Film Books and Magazines
Horror by Candlelight
Horror Comics and Fantasy Art
Monster Toys and Collectibles
Classic Horror Movie Memorabilia
Horror Music
Old Time Radio and Audio Horror
Classic Horror Online
CHFB Member Reviews
Our Favorite Horror Hosts
Classic Disney Scares
Horror Film Stars
Men Behind the Monsters
Monster Kid Memories
General Horror and Sci-Fi
Horror Tech
Movie of the Day
Off Topic Discussions
Classic Horror News and Events
Birthdays and Holidays
DVR / TiVo Alert
Final Farewells
Classic Horror Polls
Classic Horror Classifieds
Monster Kids Helping Monster Kids
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