If you couldn't tell from the other books I recently shared and my "Dr. Coppelius" post (the soundtrack sync-up with that movie is just freaky), I'm in "Gremlins" mode! So here's something I've been asked about a handful of times over the years....
When "Gremlins" was first released way back in 1984, the fast-food chain Hardee's offered tie-in storybook and record sets which told the tale of the film. For five weeks, patrons could get a different book with purchase of food. Manufactured and distributed by Buena Vista Records (i.e. Disney), the books are pretty faithful to the movie, they've got some phenomenal artwork, good audio production values, and Zach Galligan reprised his role of Billy Peltzer. A few years after they were first released, the sets found their way on to shelves in toy stores -- probably overstock, as there's no way to differentiate the Hardees sets from those found in stores. Here's a vintage commercial for the Hardee's offer:
So today I've got all the complete set of books and records! Each zip includes the records in mp3 format as well of scans of all of the books, in your choice of PDF or CBR format.
Gremlin Adventures Hardee's Storybook & Record Set
In case you missed the charmingly moronic vampire disco-comedy "Nocturna" when I shared it last year, now's your chance to catch up and learn even more about the film with the original press kit! Who else gives you such a wealth of information about tacky, obscure movies that you've never heard of?
Nocturna Press Kit
DOWNLOAD LINKS: MegaUpload: PDF, CBR OR Gallery! _________________________________
In 1966, the classic ballet "Coppélia" got a big-screen makeover. Familiar Austrian actor Walter Slezak ("Lifeboat") starred as title character Dr. Coppelius, a lovably diabolical inventor who delighted in terrifying the townspeople to keep them from learning his secret: the guests frequently seen in his home were actually life-sized wind-up toys that he'd built. But when a young man named Franz (Caj Selling) flirts with one of the good doctor's creations from afar, girlfriend Swanhilda (Claudia Corday) and her pals break into the doctor's foreboding mansion and discover the truth. Enamored by his clockwork friends, Swanhilda dresses up as one of the dolls and fools the doctor into thinking his creation has come to life.
Featuring lavish sets, costumes, camerawork and choreography, the movie is wonderfully off-kilter... but admittedly, as a whole it doesn't entirely gel. Slezak and Corday are thoroughly appealing (shame that the Corday didn't make more films -- the camera absolutely adored her). Unfortunately the Franz character has little to do but prance around seeming overtly gay (though that's almost always the problem with stock Prince Charming characters). A secondary love story for Dr. C. which was devised especially for the film feels a bit forced, but Eileen Elliott is delightful as his wannabe girlfriend. And perhaps it's because I'm not a ballet fan, but it seems like there's an inordinate amount of dancing -- there's several overlong sequences featuring the townspeople kicking up their heels which have virtually nothing to with the story and don't further the plot. Kinda like the "Portobello Road" sequence from the restored version of "Bedknobs and Broomsticks," though not quite as endless. Still, the movie is engaging -- clearly it was a labor of love for everyone involved -- and anyone who likes the production design in old time horror movies should get a kick out of Dr. C's mysterious house.
Interesting and heartbreaking backstory. What began as a experimental ballet/mime workshop in Florida eventually segued to the movie in 1966. Conceived, directed and choreographed by a husband/wife team, financed by a Floridan investor, featuring an international cast, filmed in Madrid and only released in Spain under the title "El fantástico mundo del doctor Coppelius" ("The Fantastic World of Dr. Coppelius"), the movie failed to do much business. In 1968, the film found a slightly wider worldwide release when distributor Childhood Productions latched onto the flick, edited it down and ushered it out under the title "Dr.?? Coppelius!!!" The movie got glowing reviews from the London and New York press, but following its New York premiere "Dr. Coppelius" was abruptly pulled from circulation when Cinecom, the parent company to Childhood Productions, went belly up. That secured its fate as a forgotten film. For the next 7 years, the movie was tied up in legal limbo.
Once the creators re-established their rights, the film got a drastic overhaul in an attempt to attract a broader kiddie matinee audience, and it was re-released in 1976 under the titles "Dr. Coppelius" (minus ridiculous question and exclamation marks) and "The Mysterious House of Dr. C." Problem was kiddie movies were not big box-office draws by this point (even Disney was struggling), and the movie already felt dated. In the earlier incarnations, all of the characters were silent, but in the '76 cut they were given overdubbed voices (and being dumbed-down for kids, the voices usually stated the obvious). Although the music itself remained unchanged, lyrics were added to several pieces of the score, which resulted in a few original songs. But the most off-the-wall change in the '76 cut were two animated sequences which replaced two live-action dream sequences (one of which was only seen in the original 1966 cut).
The animation was done in the USA (cheaply, I must add), and the '70s style of these segments is a stark contrast to the 1950s feel of the live-action portion of the movie. Doesn't help matters that the cartoons feature such out of place atrocities as Dr. C. fighting a talking bull (voiced by Terry Thomas), an opera singer who flies around on a cloud supported by cherubs causing worldwide destruction with the power of her voice(!), and a gaggle of little green aliens. Infinite weirdness.
So for today's shares, I'm giving a WHOLE lot of love to a film that's been neglected for far too long, in hope that it'll gain a little more notoriety. First is "The Mysterious House of Dr. C.," a widescreen print of the 1976 version that debuted last week on Turner Classic Movies. I left Robert Osbourne's insightful intro/outro intact (bringing this video's running time up to 97 mins), but I opted not to make any of the video anamorphic, cuz that would deteriorate the quality... which isn't HD to begin with.
The Mysterious House of Dr. C. 1976. Rated G. 93 mins.
DOWNLOAD LINKS: MegaUpload: AVI or VOB _________________________________
The second share is a recreation of the 1968 version. I've re-edited the widescreen TCM print, dropped in some alternate sequences and the original soundtrack. Since the second dream sequence is missing, this version runs about three minutes shorter than the '76 cut. This was a nightmare project for a guy who's not particularly experienced with video editing. The soundtrack and alternate scenes were lifted from the 1986 PAL VHS release, which was cropped down, washed out, shaky and played faster than the NTSC version. The transition to the live-action dream sequence is unavoidably jerky, but otherwise I think I did a helluva job with this edit. And I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Cinemageddon's salemnian, without whom this cut wouldn't have been possible.
One more version of the movie... and this one's absolutely bizarre. After "Dr. C." aired but before I found the '68 version, I decided I wanted to see what the movie was like without dialogue. So I turned on the film, muted it and randomly put on Jerry Goldsmith's score from "Gremlins." It worked really well. Too well. Not quite "The Dark Side of the Rainbow," but it's pretty damned close. I figured there's music and dancing, so any music should work to accompany it, but I've since tried syncing it with a vast array of other scores and songs and discovered nothing else even comes CLOSE to working with the film like "Gremlins."
The truly crazy thing here is yes, I did rearrange and slightly edit some tracks (didn't seem right to like, have "The Gremlin Rag" blaring while the ballerinas are gently bouncing) but I didn't go to any real effort to sync it (spent around the movie's running time on this edit)... yet much of the music syncs absolutely flawlessly with the visuals. Can't imagine how well it would sync if I put a few days effort into re-editing the music. Never thought of the "Gremlins" score as being remotely ballet-like before, but this odd experience has completely changed my perspective. Since this edit is more of a rough demo than anything, the quality of the avi is a little lower and I'm not bothering with VOBs.
Moving right along, here's a makeshift soundtrack for the film. The score from the '68 version is ripped at 128 (sorry, that's the bitrate of the original video's stream) and I'm not certain I've named all the tracks right -- but not for lack of effort. Many of the tracks are slightly different than the various versions of the music that I've found and the final act of the film seems to radically deviate from the ballet, so I generically named some of those tracks "Scène."
Dr. Coppelius Soundtrack
Dr. Coppelius: 01 Prelude et Mazurka 02 Valse Lente 03 Scène 04 Mazurka 05 Scène 06 Ballade de L’Epi 07 Thème Slave Varie 08 Czardas 09 Finale 10 Entr’acte et Valse 11 Scène 12 Entreacto y Vals 13 Musique des Automates 14 Spanish Dance 15 Scene 16 Scène 17 Scène 18 Chanson a Boire et Scène 19 Scene et Valse de la Poupeé 20 Scène 21 Gigue 22 Scène 23 Scène 24 Scène 25 Scène 26 Danse de Fete 27 Galop Finale
The Mysterious House of Dr. C: 28. Swanhilda's Song 29. Franz's Song 30. Swanhilda's Wedding 31. Finale
Well, that's it. Perhaps someday the film will get the proper home video release that it deserves (probably too much to hope for a multi-disc Criterion Blu Ray set), but for now these meager shares will have to suffice.
So I'm thinking to myself, "What can I share that'll simultaneously please the girls, the geeks and the gay guys?" Supergirl paper dolls! Yes, these stylish (circa mid-'80s) figures were marketed as a tie-in with the ill-fated big screen adaptation in 1984, which starred Helen Slater (Supergirl/Linda Lee), Faye Dunaway (Selena), Marc McClure (Jimmy Olsen), Maureen Teefy (Lucy Lane), and Hart Bochner (Ethan). Brenda Vaccaro had a memorable role as Selena's sidekick too, but I guess they figured it'd take too much paper to outfit her.
Now, in my humble opinion, it's Faye Dunaway that makes the movie watchable. The problem with Supergirl has nothing to do with Helen Slater herself, it's the way her character was written -- Linda/Supergirl is a bland character who spends a whole lot of screen time doing very little. Dunaway's Selena, on the other hand, is so wildly over-the-top doing absolutely nothing that she's downright lovable. Of course, anything Dunaway did at this point was hard to differentiate from "Mommie Dearest."
Funny thing about Dunaway though, she wasn't the first choice for the role. Nope, the producers were banking on landing Dolly Parton. They were so confident that Dolly would take the role that they even cited her as the star in the early press materials. Parton ultimately passed, claiming she could never play a witch (which seems sorta weird considering she'd already played a prostitute). Dolly instead went on to star in "Rhinestone," which was even more of a disaster than "Supergirl." Go figure.
Supergirl Cut-Out Paper Doll Book Illustrations by Tom Tierney
I once thought the movie "Soapdish" would go on to be one of those movies that would never leave the public's consciousness. You know, "A Fish Called Wanda," "When Harry Met Sally," "Airplane," "Pretty in Pink," etc. I mean, look at that cast! Yet 20 years later it's been virtually forgotten. (Aside from talk of an obligatory remake.) Weird.
In any event, here's the pressbook, which includes background on the film, its fictional soap opera, character bios, cast/crew bios, photos and more!
Today's share is simultaneously kinda sweet and kinda creepy. In the early '60s, animal trainer Frank Inn found a pound puppy named Higgins, adopted it, and trained it to star in the sitcom "Petticoat Junction" as Uncle Joe's unnamed "Dog." Higgins retired after the series ended, but was lured out of retirement for one last outing when director Joe Camp decided he was perfect for the titular "Benji."
"The Phenomenon of Benji" is essentially Frank Inn's black and white scrapbook of the pooch that he and his homely wife so clearly loved.Okay that's what's sweet about it.
So what's creepy about it? Well, "Higgins" was only referred to as "Benji." Then again, I guess that's better than "Dog." But as the book goes along, it's clear that Inn was enjoying his 15 minutes of fame by hanging onto his four-legged-friend' tail. Okay, so it was Inn's dog, and perhaps that wouldn't be so bad... if not for the fact that this book was published in 1977. Higgins died in 1975. Yet there they are plugging his next movie, "For the Love of Benji," which starred a lookalike. I guess dead dogs don't sell tickets, but still, that was just wrong!
Seems as though you guys are digging these movie tie-in storybooks, and I'm getting good with the new scanner software, so here's another "Gremlins" book. "A New Friend" was the first part of a two-book set released by Golden books, which chronicled the first part of the movie (minus the Chinatown sequence) on the day of Gizmo's arrival. The second book, "To Catch a Gremlin" (which I currently don't have a copy of) followed the Gremlins from birth to death. Wow, that sounds like kiddie fare alright.
The illustrations are comic-ish and the characters barely resemble the actors who portrayed them in the film. The illustrations aren't bad but they certainly pale in comparison to those in the 5 part book-and-record sets that were available at Hardees restaurants.
In 1973, director Curtis Harrington assembled a small cast that included Hollywood legend Ann Sothern, his two "Night Tide" costars Luana Anders and Marjorie Eaton, 1966 Playboy Playmate Sue Bernard, Ruth Roman and then-virtual unknowns named Cindy Williams and John Savage to star in his movie "The Killing Kind." A plodding, gritty character study of a killer's oedipal relationship with his mother, many consider "The Killing Kind" to be Harrington's finest film and, taking into consideration the type of films that were popular in the early '70s, it certainly had the potential to be an enormous hit and garner award nominations for its two leads (Sothern and Savage). Here's a trailer for the movie (that I made myself, since none of the original trailers have surfaced):
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Unfortunately, the investors handed off the film to a dubious wannabe distributor who made grandiose promises of making their money back and securing wide theatrical distribution. He was full of hot air. Furthermore, this distributor demanded the cut of a pivotal sequence in which Terry visits the zoo and spies Tina making out with her boyfriend. A producer agreed to this cut, which enraged Harrington. The film ultimately did get distributed in a few American cities (there are reports that it was screened in California and Florida), but no records were kept of where it played, so Harrington was never able to secure any further theatrical distribution.
Well, this artwork couldn't be any more '80s...
The film got a small release on VHS (under the title "The Psychopath" in the UK) and was barely seen again until 2007, when it first turned up on DVD. And it's now either lapsed into public domain or is being bootlegged, because it's since turned up in a few $5 DVD multi-movie packs.
So, moving on to the share, today I've got the original pressbook for "The Killing Kind." On the surface it looks like your typical book filled with poster/ad slicks. However, both the "Facts" and "Publicity" sections feature a treasure trove of information on the film and its stars. Really a shame that the film barely screened anywhere...
Well this is weird. I've covered most Spielbergesque '80s blockbusters but have never offered any sort of share for "Back to the Future." To rectify that, here's the storybook by Robert Loren Fleming. Enjoy!
Back to the Future: The Story By Robert Loren Fleming
Back in that wonderfully creative but financially unsuccessful pre-Eisner period, Disney took some risks. The same year Paramount brought life to Jason Voorhees, the House of Mouse paired with the studio for a second venture (following their partnership on Robert Altman's big-screen, live-action "Popeye"), a dark fantasy called "Dragonslayer." Virgin sacrifices and nudity -- not your usual Disney fare.
What the film has going for it most is the titular dragon. Thirty years later, there's never been another dragon on-screen that's been nearly as impressive as Vermithrax Pejorative. And given thirty years of technological advancements in filmmaking... that's just sad.
So here we have "Dragonslayer: The Storybook Based on the Movie" by Larry Weinberg. Dumbed down a bit for children and not as fleshed out as the novelization (a great read in its own rite), the book does include a lot of nice photos. And since this new computer isn't continuously working against me, I got the scans to look perdy good. So without further ado...
We're overdue for a Gremlins post, so here's The Gremlins Storybook by Mary Carey! (Mary's parents must've hated her.) I really put some care into scanning this book but there's not much else to say, other than enjoy!
And remember! No matter how much they cry, no matter how much they beg, never, never dress your Mogwai in white after labor day. Cuz Kathleen Turner might come along and stab your pet to death. And then eat it, probably... I mean the woman literally played a house.
Have had some computer troubles (story of my life), so I finally got a new PC. Still working on setting it up, loading my standard programs and getting things running, but scanning seems to be going much more quickly, and I can give some much needed attention to each individual page (which was virtually impossible when scanning books/magazines on the old machine). So...
Here's the second issue of American Film Magazine. Included are stories about oft-overlooked silent film star Harry Langdon, Francis Ford Coppola, Sherlock Holmes films, part one of a two-part article on "The Rise and Fall of the Rock Film" (a genre which still had a little bit of life, since "Grease" came three years later and garnered its own American Film cover), and an interview with director Robert Wise, who discussed everything from "West Side Story" and "The Sound of Music" to "The Hindenberg" and "The Body Snatcher."
American Film Magazine Volume 1, Number 2 November 1975
All shares here are believed to be out of print and/or completely unavailable for retail sale in their respective format (though very occasionally something flies under my radar that was either re-released or never out of print). So if there's a problem, please contact me before going all litigious on my ass, and the share in question will be removed. All articles which are excluded shall be deemed included. Thank you.
If you couldn't tell from the other books I recently shared and my "Dr. Coppelius" post (the soundtrack sync-up with that movie is just freaky), I'm in "Gremlins" mode! So here's something I've been asked about a handful of times over the years....
Gremlin Adventures 
Okay, I remember tons of Gremlins merchandise, but I absolutely do not remember the Gremlins candy bars cited in this Venture ad from June 1984.
