Last Night On The Back Porch -1923

Star Pilot

My Christmas Playlist

I only like a few Christmas songs, so I play them over and over.

Intermission Riff

1946 original

composed by Ray Wetzel:

Ray Wetzel (September 22, 1924 – August 17, 1951) was an American jazz trumpeter. Critic Scott Yanow described him as "greatly admired by his fellow trumpeters". 

Wetzel played lead trumpet for Woody Herman from 1943 to 1945 and for Stan Kenton from 1945 to 1948. He recorded in 1947 with the Metronome All-Stars, Vido Musso, and Neal Hefti, and married bass player Bonnie Addleman in 1949. While with the Charlie Barnet Orchestra in 1949, he played trumpet alongside Maynard Ferguson, Doc Severinsen, and Rolf Ericson. He played with his wife in Tommy Dorsey's ensemble in 1950 and with Kenton again in 1951. While touring with Dorsey in 1951, he was killed in a car crash at the age of 27.  He never recorded as a leader.

Classroom Movie~ Signal 30 (1959)

Hey Kids, teacher has a hangover, so we get a movie today!! YAYYYY!! SIGNAL 30 is one of those films they used to show us into driving more responsibly.. didn't work.

click white triangle to watch movie

House On Haunted Hill

House on Haunted Hill is a 1959 American horror film. It was directed by William Castle, written by Robb White and stars Vincent Price as eccentric millionaire Fredrick Loren. He and his fourth wife, Annabelle, have invited five people to the house for a "haunted house" party. Whoever stays in the house for one night will earn $10,000 each. As the night progresses, all the guests are trapped inside the house with ghosts, murderers and other terrors..

The film is best known for a famous promotional gimmick used in the film's original theatrical release called "Emergo": William Castle placed an elaborate pulley system in some theaters showing the film which allowed a plastic skeleton to be flown over the audience at the appropriate time
Thanks to Castle's gimmickry, the film was a huge success.

Classroom Movie~Derailed!!!

In March of 1944 the United States National Defense Resources Committee & Office of Strategic Services performed a number of experiments on the Claiborne-Polk military railroad to help determine the best way to derail trains. The results were presented in the film "Derailment".

At The Movies~ He Walked By Night (1948)

The Proto-Dragnet.

He Walked by Night (1948) is a black-and-white police procedural film noir, crediting Alfred L. Werker as director. The film, shot in semidocumentary tone, was loosely based on newspaper accounts of the real-life actions of Erwin "Machine-Gun" Walker, a former Glendale California police department employee and World War II veteran who unleashed a crime spree of burglaries, robberies, and shootouts in the Los Angeles area during 1945 and 1946 

During production, one of the actors, Jack Webb, struck up a friendship with the police technical advisor, Detective Sergeant Marty Wynn, and was inspired by a conversation with Wynn to create the radio and later television program Dragnet. 

He Walked by Night was released by Eagle-Lion Films and is notable for the camera work by renowned noir cinematographer John Alton. 

At The Movies~Santa Claus Conquers The Martians (1964)

To read the comic, click here

At The Movies~Saturn 3 (1980)

At The Movies~Dr Phibes Double Feature

My favorite Vincent Price role is that of Dr Anton Phibes, who he portrayed in two films; The Abominable Dr. Phibes in 1971 and Dr. Phibes Rises Again in 1972.

 Robert Fuest directed both, imbuing in them a macabre wit and style that is absolutely charming, despite the body count. Terry-Thomas plays two different roles in the  films,  both with his distinctive flair. The beautiful Caroline Munroe plays Phibes' dead wife in both films, never moving a muscle. Some less kind critics might say it was her best role.
The complete film is presented here.

Scroll down for the sequel

Dr. Phibes awakens in 1928, three years after the events of the previous movie. His primary goal is the awakening of his dead wife, Victoria. He finds that his house has been demolished, and that the papyrus scrolls he needs to find the Pharaoh's tomb, where the River of Life flows, have been stolen. With the source of the papyrus theft identified, he and his assistant, Vulnavia, leave for Egypt. Vulnavia's face displays no effects from the acid shower she received at the end of the previous film, although she is played by a different actress, Australian model Valli Kemp.

At The Movies~ Mr Bug Goes To Town (1941)

 This film was renamed "Hoppity Goes To Town" after the Fleischer studios closed.

Production lasted from February 5 to mid-November 1941.

The shot of the opening credits, which starts in space and descends to New York City, was produced with a miniature set of the city, consisting of more than 16,000 miniature panes of glass set in wood and plastic models. The set took four months to build.

 This film was renamed "Hoppity Goes To Town" after the Fleischer studios closed.

Production lasted from February 5 to mid-November 1941.

The shot of the opening credits, which starts in space and descends to New York City, was produced with a miniature set of the city, consisting of more than 16,000 miniature panes of glass set in wood and plastic models. The set took four months to build.

   Max Fleischer (July 19, 1883 – September 11, 1972) was  a pioneer in the development of the animated cartoon and served as the head of Fleischer Studios. He brought such animated characters as Betty Boop, Koko the Clown, Popeye, and Superman to the movie screen and was responsible for a number of technological innovations.

   Fleischer devised a concept to simplify the process of animating movement by tracing frames of live action film. His patent for the Rotoscope was granted in 1915, although Max and his brother Dave Fleischer made their first cartoon using the system in 1914