Forgotten Reels: The Island Of The Lost (1921)

Welcome back to Rotten Ink! As you can see, we have a packed house here at the Rotten Ink Theater as the silent film that we will be discussing on this “Forgotten Reels” is a one time lost German Sci-Fi, Horror flick that was re-discovered in Germany and has not really made its way to America and sadly is really unknown by the masses here and for the most part has been forgotten by the world as well. The film is called “The Island Of The Lost” that was released in 1921 and is a unofficial film based on a classic novel written by H.G. Wells and when Phil of Creature Feature Video brought this film to my attention I knew I had to cover it here at the Rotten Ink Theater as this was a perfect film for “Forgotten Reels” as its one that will be a first time watch for me and this also could be the first time many of you readers even heard of this film! So let’s find our seats and grab a snack and a drink as it’s time for us to talk Silent Cinema.

The Island Of The Lost is a German film released by Terra Film in 1921 and is one part Sci-Fi and Horror and has a dash of Comedy and Romance. The films script was written by Hans Behrendt and Bobby E. Luthge and is very loosely based on the novel “The Island Of Dr. Moreau” by H.G. Wells who had no idea that this film was even made based on his work, and this was a common practice back in the early years of cinema that filmmakers would adapt famous novels into films and not get the permission of the writers who created them. They got Urban Gad to direct who had directed many films before this one with some of his well known ones being “The Abyss (1910)”, “Zapata’s Gang (1914)”, “Cinderella (1916)” and “What A Girl (1920)” to name a few. The film casted Erich Kaiser-Titz as Professor McClelland the films Dr. Moreau and other actors like Alf Blutecher, Ludmilla Hell, Hanni Weisse, Hermann Picha and Nien Tso Ling also made up the cast. The film mostly showed just in Germany and did not make the impact that the adaptation films of F.W. Murnau made the year before and after its release as it was sandwiched between the 1920 film “Der Januskopf” that was based loosely on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and 1922’s Nosferatu that of course was unauthorized based on Dracula. The film also had early effects of human and animal hybrids and was done with makeup and prosthetic effects and I can only imagine how moviegoers reacted to seeing these creatures in 1921. After its run The Island Of The Lost faded away and was misplaced and was forgotten by time. But a print of the film was found in Berlin and it was saved from decay. The film even made its way to America finally as it screened for the first time in 2014 at a Monster Bash Convention and was meet with mixed to positive reviews. The film while still not as known by fans of Silent Horror Cinema has made it mark on those who have watched it. The film can be found on grey market DVD.

The snack I choose to eat while watching this Silent Film for the first time is a classic for me and I picked an Andy Capp snack food and choose the BBQ flavor! Many of you remember my write up for Andy Capp when he went to Camp and I gave the history of the snack named after the comic strip Icon but for this update I will quickly give you a crash course on them. Andy Capp Snacks started in 1971 by Goodmark Foods Inc. and made corn and potato snack food that look like fries and featured the comic strip character Andy Capp as the products mascot and spokesman. In 1998 ConAgra Foods bought Goodmark and they still make this bard of snack food to this day! They had many flavors for their Andy Cap Firs line including over the years Salsa, Cheese, Ranch, Cheddar & Bacon, White Cheddar, Hot Chili Cheese and the most iconic being Hot. And while my favorite flavors are Cheese and Hot my third is BBQ and for some reason that sounded the most tasty to go with this film. So take a look below to see these BBQ Fries in their natural habit of a freshly opened bag.

I am very much looking forward to watching this one as it is a German Horror flick that I have never seen and I love the fact that its American premiere was at a Monster Bash Convention that is my favorite one to attend as I am a big fan of classic monsters as you long time readers know. The print of the movie we are looking at is from Creature Feature Video an amazing company that brings many of these Silent films to home media for fans to collect and own. I will be grading both the film and the BBQ Fries on a classic 1-4 star scale. I also want to say on my film ratings I am basing it on a scale that is for silent films of all budgets and eras. So sit back in your theater seat, grab some a snack and a soda and lets travel to The Island Of The Lost with Creature Feature Video. And yes the stills used in this review update are indeed taken from the CFV print and the DVD that I own.

The Island Of The Lost
Starring: Erich Kaiser-Titz and Alf Blutecher      Directed: Urban Gad
Not Rated     1921   61min    Creature Feature Video   DVD-R   Full Frame

Robert Marston reads about a bottle being found with a note inside that has coordination’s and a cry for help from a woman named Jane Crawford. He then heads to visit his fiancé Evelyn Wilkinson and the two walk for a few moments and catch up before Robert is off again, but drops his newspaper and Jane notices that a part has been ripped out. Meanwhile Dr. Ted Fowley a friend of Robert’s is putting up with two paid patients of his Jim and Jess that sit in the waiting room to look like the doctor is busy who are talking about how to get more money and Ted has an idea using ads in the paper about an artificial man.

Evelyn tracks down a newsboy and buys another paper so that she can find what part of Robert’s paper was missing while Robert has arrived at the practice of his friend Ted and even runs into Jim and Jess who are faking injuries. As Robert enters the office he alerts Ted of the note found in the bottle and they both agree that the handwriting looks like Jane who was Robert’s ex-fiancé who went missing while in London. Ted asks Robert if he is still in love with Jane and he says no that Evelyn is his love, but you can tell he is torn. Meanwhile people are lining up outside Ted’s office with the promise of the newspaper ad about an artificial man. Ted tells Robert he needs to go to Jane and tell her the truth of what is going on, but Robert does not want Evelyn to find out about Jane. While Ted along with Jim and Jess deal with the people who have gathered because of the ad while Evelyn shows up and Robert and they chat for a moment but Ted begs Robert to get him away as his ad has backfired and the people are getting rowdy and the two run out the back door and onto a submarine and sail away and set sail for the island that Jane is at. As the do so Evelyn has the article about the found message in the bottle that has the location and watches as her lover sails away. Robert and Ted on the submarine dive and the two friends and the crew chat and set sail for the long journey to the island to get to Jane.

Time passes and they are at the island and as Robert and Ted armed with rifles go ashore the submarine and its crew head to the mouth of a river to wait for the two to get back from this expedition. Robert and Ted explore the land and nothing is around at first besides trees, rivers and planets and then they spot an animal man that is a mix of ape and human and he does not seem friendly. The friends flee and reach another part of the river and find a massive hut and they take a makeshift boat to get to the hut and to get away from the strange things in the woods.

Once they reach the hut via a window they see the shadow of Jane and they rush inside with rifles at the ready and while looking for her the find lab equipment as well as medical books…as this hut is also some ones lab! And while looking around a man in a radioactive suit appears and introduces himself as George McClelland and wonders what they are doing in his hut as this island is were he does his experiments and they are clearly outsiders. Robert and Ted lie and say they came on a yacht and McClelland thinks they are just wondering lost friends and welcomes them and claims that an outbreak has wiped out all the natives of the island and that he is the only living person on it. Ted acts as if he is going to go back the ship to bring a bottle of wine back, but instead looks around and finds a steel door in the hut and behind it is Jane who is happy to see him and to be on the verge of being rescued. But Ted is caught by Fung-Lu who is the assistant to McClelland and when Ted demands the key to the cell Fung-Lu says that McClelland has it and Ted marches into the lab and demands the key!

McClelland agrees and leads Robert and Ted to the cell, but they make a big mistake as they leave the riffles behind and when they walk away Fung-Lu takes the guns away leaving them armless. Once inside the cell Jane is happy to see Robert and Ted but she is still very scared of McClelland who ends up stepping aside and Robert, Ted and Jane make a run for it and leave the hut and get back into the little boat and start heading toward the shore. And inside McClelland and Fung-Lu talk about opium, but they will not get any until these outsiders are dealt with.

As the boat gets to the bank and Jane tells them that she was attacked by three people and when she woke up she found herself on this island and that McClelland is a terrible person and she would always hear the screams of animals as she was locked in her cell. As Jane runs ahead of them Ted tells Robert that he must tell her that he is now engaged to Evelyn, but he cannot bring himself to do so. As the three friends run through the woods Fung-Lu is tossing bombs around the docked submarine spooking the crew and destroying the ship or so he claims when talking to McClelland in order to get some opium. McClelland denies his assistant the drug unless he signs a paper that gives McClelland all credit for the experiments that the pair have done on the island, and Fung-Lu does so just so he can get the drug he needs.

Robert, Jane and Ted arrive to were they left their canoe and find it missing so the follow the river to opening and see that the submarine is also missing and there is only on survivor and it was the ships butler. Jane says she knows a place that the four of them can take shelter in for the night and it’s an old tree house and before they climb up they take inventory of the supplies they have. Once they get Jane inside and safe they send the Butler out to get wood so that they can make a warm fire for the night and as the butler looks around for wood a Native is stalking him, while in the tree house Ted is getting mad at Robert for not coming clean to Jane that he has found another love, but Robert says he will not as he still cares for Jane. Meanwhile the Butler ends up running into the native who is female and they run off to her hut and they fall in love. While back at the lab Fung-Lu is smoking his opium and drifts away into his own mind.

Robert, Jane and Ted later that day make a fire and are sitting around it when Ted makes sure to ask Robert if he has thought about Evelyn and this makes Jane ask who Evelyn is, and this puts Robert on the spot and Ted then tells Jane that Evelyn is Robert’s fiancé in London and while both Jane and Robert look hurt good old Ted looks pleased with himself. The next morning they are now in grounded hunts getting ready for the day and Ted even goes outside and milks a goat for milk and brings it to Jane, and Robert is not pleased that his best friend is flirting with his lady. And when they ask Robert to join them for breakfast he gets pouty and refuses and walks off alone. Meanwhile Ted and Jane end up sharing the goat milk and continue to flirt with one another and finally they even kiss. As Robert is trying to build a raft to get them off this island and forget that his heart is breaking as he still has feelings for Jane who is now falling for Ted after she learns that Robert had moved on once she was kidnapped.

Meanwhile Fung-Lu is feeding one of the animal people that is one of the experiment of McClelland who informs Fung-Lu that they will allow Jane to have her freedom for now but when they need her they will go and get her. Once McClelland and Fung-Lu leave the office the animal man sneaks in and trashes the office in a rage and is caught and threatened to be whipped for his bad behavior and when McClelland asks the animal man who is his creator and God the poor soul points at Fung-Lu and this angers McClelland who corrects him and claims that he is his crater and then whips him one and the animal man crawls away. Then McClelland and Fung-Lu talk about how interesting it is that the animal people are starting to take on more traits of humans like even stealing.

Jane and Ted leave the hut and start looking around the land for food when the spot the a tribe King, but little do they know yet that the King is the butler who left them the night before and when they realize they have a good laugh as the Butler dances around as the female native plays a drum. Robert has finished his makeshift raft and is about to take off when he is caught by Ted who is upset that Robert was about to leave him and Jane on the island. Ted tries to remind him of Evelyn back in London, but Robert says that she is dead to him as Jane should be his lady again. Robert and Ted walk away from each other in anger and Jane then decides that she will talk to Robert and Ted talks a walk down the beach with his bow and a staff he has made. Meanwhile the talk between Robert and Jane does not help as he claims he still loves her and she questions why he found another woman so fast after she was kidnapped.

As Jane makes her way to Ted a boat is sighted in the ocean and they scream for Robert about the approaching ship, the butler hears the news as well and takes off his Tribe King outfit and puts back on his suit to join them as the native woman is not happy he ran off. As Robert is joined by Jane and Ted he alerts them that them being together is ok as he will return to London to be with Evelyn and the three run off to try and get the ships attention, and the butler catches up to them and tries as well. All four are happy as they think they are going to be rescued from this cursed island. They start a big fire and even wave a white shirt on a stick around in order to get attention and alert the ship that help is needed, but sadly the ship does not see them and keeps sailing away further and further. Robert returns to his raft, the butler returns to his native woman and Ted along with Jane return to the hut all now feeling heartbroken and defeated.

Back at the lab of McClelland it is decided that its time for them to get Jane back as they need her for the next big experiment and he sends out his animal man with a blow dart and tells him to bring Jane back to the lab, the beast man heads out to do what he is told. And while Jane is looking for roots the animal man hits her with the dart and as she is about to pass out Ted was alerted that something is wrong from her scream and goes rushing to find her and does so just in time as she passes out into his arms as the beast man looks on in anger as he has failed his mission.

Ted gets Jane to the hut and places her on a bed, she has a bad fever and he knows that he must get medicine from McClelland to save her life and he rushes to tell Robert what is going on. Meanwhile the animal man is in trouble when McClelland is mad that he did not bring Jane back to the lab when he was given orders to do so, he then sends him back out to get her. Ted rushes to the lab and swims across the river to get there as Robert rushes to the hut to check on Jane and picks her up and takes her away. Once at the lab Ted and McClelland talk and he asks for medicine to help with the fever, but before he answers he wants to show Ted what he has been up to on this island.

McClelland brings Ted into a room that is filled with lots of animal people and the mad doctor explains to him that all of these creatures use to be animals and his experiments are turning them all into animal people, and while they hate him they all fear him. Ted is shocked and saddened by what he is seeing as these creatures seem like they are in pain as he looks and sees creatures that were once rams, walruses and birds now these twisted mutations.

McClelland then takes Ted to another room and shows him more of his terrible experiments, and with this Ted figures out that McClelland is really Professor Thompson a man who was kicked out of London for his extreme work with artificial men. Ted then realizes that Thompson needs a heart for his new experiment and has seen and heard enough and attacks the Professor! Thompson mocks Ted for his attack and alerts him that he and Robert have only slowed down his work and not stopped it, and with that Ted runs from the lab and dives into the water to swim ashore and heads to the hut to find Jane gone! While Robert is caring Jane the animal man pushes over the tree that had the tree house in it! Showing that he is super strong and is on the trail of Jane and the places she has been as he must not fail and needs to bring her to the lab.

Ted hears the tree falling and rushes down towards the river and sees Robert who is going to put June on his raft and the two friends start fighting each other as Jane wakes up and looks confused and its Robert who knocks out Ted and notices that the animal man as appeared and kidnapped Jane and is heading back toward the lab. Robert catches up to the beast man and the two start to fight, meanwhile Evelyn has shown up around the island and along with a sailor and a friend of hers get into a rowboat and head toward the island shore.

Once Evelyn reaches the shore of the island her friend and her find Ted injured but being cared for by the butler and the native woman, he tells Evelyn of Robert and Jane and she decides that she is done with Robert but would like to see this woman Jane. The Butler takes them to the hut and informs them of the animal people as well as the evils of McClelland and his experiments. As Evelyn and crew head towards the lab we find that Robert is now a prisoner and that Jane is wanting to know if Ted is dead at the hands of Robert and all the while McClelland and Fung-Lu are figuring out what parts of what animal they want to use for the next animal man. And he then alerts Jane that her heart is needed for this next beast man and he wants Fung-Lu to get it for him. And as Fung-Lu takes Jane to an operating room, the butler has made his way to the lab and finds Robert in a cage, but before the butler can get help he is attacked by the animal man, but the butler stabs the beast man in the heart and wounds him deeply.

As the butler runs off its Evelyn who now goes into the lab and sees the animal people who are all worked up as Thompson’s new animal man is alive and as raised from the slab. The new beast man is crazed and we learn that Fung-Lu has given Thompson the heart of a tiger and not Jane’s and this has made the creation more animal than man. Evelyn finds and frees Jane who in turn finds Robert and sets him free and Evelyn then uses fire to keep the animal men at bay as the three escape, the animal people set their rage on Thompson and as the hut is filled with smoke they attack their creator with murder in their eyes.

The lab is fully on fire as Evelyn, Jane and Robert watch it burn the bank, they are later joined by Ted and the female native all who watch as Thompson, Fung-Lu and the animal people burn to death in the massive fire. And it’s clear that Jane wants to be with Ted as the two embrace and kiss as the film ends with the lab fire.

Review: This unofficial movie adaptation of The Island Of Dr. Moreau is a fun early German Sci-Fi Horror film that seems to have been forgotten by time and that’s a shame as I found myself really enjoying this one lots as it was a cool mix of drama, horror and even a dash of comedy. The performance of Erich Kaiser-Titz who was Thompson aka McClelland is really good and he looks like a madman at times and when he needs to be mean his face twists and his eye widen and you feel his madness. The shooting locations are very simple and very effective as the use of huts, woods and water is very fitting for the plot of this film and the locations the filmmaker choose to use were well selected. The friendship of Robert and Ted is an odd one as while its clear they have been friends for a long time their friendship will be tested when it comes to the ladies as Ted is kind of a drama magnet as he pushes topics that ends up causing issues when in the end it was clear he was doing this in order to try and win the heart of his friends ex-girlfriend, and for his action he even gets punched and knocked out. And while it looks like Robert and Ted are our heroes in the end the real hero is Evelyn who is the one who saves Robert and Jane from being killed and is even the one that sets the fire that kills the films villains, plus is the one who brings a ship that will allow them all to get off the island. Actress Hanni Weisse is stunning as Jane Crawford and is a great early actress who was also in the film “The Hound Of The Baskervilles” from 1914 as well as 1915, and when she is on screen she steels the show. The film does have some flaws and at times the story is a little weak and some of the characters actions are very unmotivated. The butler character that is played by a black actor and some of the humor around him is very dated and is a little cringe in spots. And for me the biggest letdown is that they very much downplay the Horror elements of this tale as McClelland and the Animal People should have taken more of the spotlight and not the love triangle of Robert, Jane and Ted…but with that even said I still really enjoyed this film! The Animal People are great and for the time look creepy even though they are just actors with fur and animal costumes on, they still hold a weird and creepy look to them that I am sure made movie goers in 1921 very scared by their weird appearance. The print of this film by Creature Feature Video is good and while the film it’s self has flaws like dirty frames and missing frames this is a very good print and made the film even more enjoyable. I say if you love German Silent Horror Films get a copy of this film and sit back one evening and have a great and spooky time with it.

Now for the quick look at Andy Capp’s BBQ Fries and I have to say they are a very tasty corn snack that has a very heavy BBQ taste they are a solid snack to munch on if you are looking for something cheaply priced that packs a good flavor. And I will say while they are good they are not as tasty as the Hot or Cheese Fries as they both have more of a flavor that is not as basic as the BBQ. The mix of corn and potato make these BBQ Fries look like French fries and if you are looking for something very cheap to munch on while watching Silent Films these are not bad.

Movie: ***
Chips: **1/2

The Island Of The Lost is a really interesting film that due to being “Lost” for so many years I think it really has been forgotten and is really a undiscovered Gem for fans who like early German Silent Horror Films, and I need to really stress that it is by no means a German Expressionist film and lacks those films eerie use of shadows and crooked structures. And while it’s not a good loose adaptation of the classic The Island Of Dr. Moreau story and it is not even the best film inspired by Dr. Moreau, what it is though is a great fun film that I am glad has been found so that it might be able to gain a following among fans of Silent Horror. And make sure to get a copy of this film from Creature Feature Video and see what you think of this film. Well the clean up crew is here in the theater so I think that is our sign to head on out, and as we make our way to the exit doors I want to thank you once more for talking Silent Cinema with me and also that the next one will take us to our big Thanksgiving update and will be about that Warrior Princess Xena! So until next time read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Silent Horror Film or two and as always support your Local Horror Host. See you next time as we have a Turkey Day date with Xena and Gabrielle!

R.I.W Wrestling Legend: Papa Shango

The Rotten Ink Arena doors are open and as you can see, it’s really spooky in here as fog is all over and Halloween decorations are hanging all around as this “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” update is about a wrestler who had the power of voodoo on his side and who could put curses on his opponents and make fans look on in fear! And I am of course talking about Papa Shango who terrorized the WWF as well as a few indies in the early 90’s and who is going to be coming down this aisle with his smoking skull and will shock, scare and entertaining this packed house. And while he grab some candy corn and spooky punch from the snack bar and find our seats I am also here to say that from time to time in the month of October we will have some “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” updates about these spooky themed wrestlers. But as you can see, the house lights are going down and the smoke is pouring in so that mush mean Papa Shango is on his way to the ring and our update is about to start.

Charles Wright started his pro wrestling career in 1989 and was trained by Larry Sharpe and came from background of working for bars and would first start working for Jerry Lawler in the USWA and go under the name The Soultaker and would even capture the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship title his rookie year and held it for two weeks. While working for USWA he would also get chances to work a few matches in New Japan Pro Wrestling and this helped him learn more moves and skill sets. The Soultaker would also start working other smaller indie feds during this time and by 1991 he would get the call to come work for the WWF. And when first working for the WWF in Dark Matches and House Shows as Sir Charles and was not a character with a future. But in 1992 Sir Charles would become Papa Shango a voodoo master who would chant curses, wear face paint to make him look like a skull, would carry a skull that would smoke and he even could control the arena lights. Kids in the crowd was scared of this creepy guy as he would be pushed fast from the start and would get wins over name mid-carders and would also be pushed in big stories as he would feud with Ultimate Warrior that had him curse the Warrior and cause him to bleed and vomit black goo. He would also get a WWF World Heavyweight Title shot against Bret Hart at Saturday Night’s Main Event XXXI and even entered the 1993 Royal Rumble. But while he started out being a big heel for the company he quickly found himself falling down the card and loosing matches against names like Tito Santana and Hacksaw Jim Duggan. And by mid 1993 Papa Shango would be faded away from TV and the WWF. But he would be sent back to USWA by WWF as the two companies worked together and Papa Shango would win the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship title for a second time. And would even in 1994 wrestle for the German company Catch Wrestling Association as Papa Shongo would go for the company’s world title but would loose. Papa Shango would fade away due to Pat Patterson not being a fan of the spooky character. But during his short run he would have some big matches against some big names like The Undertaker, The Road Warriors, Bret Hart, Ultimate Warrior, Randy Savage, Big Boss Man, British Bulldog, Kamala and Bob Backlund to name a few. Papa Shango really did scare the kids in the crowd and even some adults was spooked by his voodoo ways but his time to scare was short.

In 1994 Papa Shango would be no more and in 1995 Kama “The Supreme Fighting Machine “ would appear and be a shoot fighter who loved to fight and would feud with The Undertaker and even steal the Dead Mans urn and turns it into a gold necklace and would join the Million Dollar Corporation a stable of heels lead by Ted DiBiase. And Kama was a short-lived character that would be gone by 1996 after entering that years Royal Rumble. Kama Mustafa would return to WWF in 1997 and would no longer have the nickname The Supreme Fighting Machine and would be apart of the Nation Of Domination stable that was lead by Ron Simmons and would have fellow members over the years like The Rock, Mark Henry, D’Lo Brown, Owen Hart and PG-13. And after a good run with the stable he in 1998 would become The Godfather a pimp who would have hos come to the ring with him and the fans would love him and his larger then life persona. The Godfather would be a very popular mid-carder who would be in the WWF Intercontinental title picture from all the way up to 2000 and would even capture the title once. In mid 2000 The Godfather would become The Goodfather and would stop his sleazy ways and join the stable known as Right To Censor and would capture WWE Tag Team Gold along with partner Bull Buchanan. In 2002 he would return to The Godfather character with his ladies and all. But by the end of 2002 he would be let go from the company. From 2005 on The Godfather would make special appearance off and on for the WWF via Royal Rumble matches and even backstage segments. And even in 2007 Charles Wright would start working the Indies as well as doing conventions and at many would be both Papa Shango and The Godfather. In 2016 The Godfather was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame and still remains a beloved semi retired wrestler.

Papa Shango almost made two big returns to the WWF over the years but the plans just never seemed to work out. Like in 1994 a plan was in place that would have Papa Shango be the one who put a voodoo spell on Bob Backlund to explain his crazed heel turn, but they decided to bring Charles back as Kama The Supreme Fighting Machine. And in 1997 they had plans to bring back Papa Shango and even update his look and character and once more he was instead Kama on his return. I am not going to lie as I would have loved to have seen either of these returns happen as I feel that the WWF did not fully do Papa Shango justice as the character was really cool and was a favorite of mine in the early 90’s and his feud with The Ultimate Warrior was one I enjoyed. And on a side note I still think WWF could bring back Papa Shango even now and have him involved in a story with The Fiend, and he could even have a none wrestling role and it still would work. But check out the first two pictures below to see what Papa Shango would have looked like in 1997 if he had returned.

Growing up a wrestling fan I have always liked the creepy and horror themed wrestlers and Papa Shango was one of my favorites as how can you go wrong with a wrestler who looked creepy and would put voodoo curses on his opponents and scare the hell out of the kids in the crowd. I mean he would make black goo pour from peoples heads, make them get sick and puke up that same black goo, he would mess with the arena lights and even set peoples feet on fire! He even once put the black goo curse on Mean Gene Okerlund and caused his arm to have pain and drop the microphone as the goo ran down his arm. And I always marked out for his matches against the likes of The Undertaker, Ultimate Warrior and Kamala. And I even had his Hasbro figure and would play him in the video games on the Sega Genesis. And in these modern times it seems that Papa Shango is finally getting some respect and love as the character was loved by many and hated by many when he first appeared, and now it seems like more people have discovered just how awesome the character was and how much potential he had as they really could have used him as a monster heel and could have had him in the World Title picture. If you can see Charles Wright at a convention at times you can get photo ops and he will dress as Papa Shango complete with smoking skill prop! I should also note that when Papa Shango disappeared off WWF TV I was pretty bummed and when he showed back up as Kama I was disappointed as while I like Kama and The Godfather the best gimmick in my eyes for Charles hands down was Shango. While he is none active for the most part from in ring action I for one hope that he does return at some point to the WWF as I think they could do some cool stuff with him in the over all story arch of The Fiend.

We are now at the point of this review were we will be taking a look at the DVD set and review some of the matches on the discs like always between 4 to 8. I want to thank Coliseum Of Wrestling & Boxing for having this set in stock and also want to thank Papa Shango for his hard work in the world of wrestling. I also want to remind you that I will only be breaking down randomly select matches from this set and will be breaking down the match and will be rating the matches on a 5 Star rating system. I also only choose from Single matches, as I want to break down his matches that showcase his style. Here is what the stars mean ½ Means a really terrible match, * Means a bad match,** Means a below average match, **1/2 Means a good average entertaining match, *** Means a good match, **** Means a great match, ***** Means an epic match. So if you are ready, let’s step into the ring with Papa Shango.

Best Of Papa Shango

Match 1: Papa Shango vs. Tatanka

Shango jumps Tatanka from behind just as the bell rings and unloads some punches and throws Tatanka into the ropes but misses a dropkick, given Tatanka a chance to fight back with some massive chops. Papa Shango takes the chops for a short time but once more takes control of the match and even delivers a big jumping head butt that knocks Tatanka down, and allows Shango to keep up his assault and even choke the Native American superstar on the ropes. Shango then gets Tatanka in a nerve hold trying to make him submit and he really digs it in with all his size and power, but as the fans start cheering Tatanka starts to war dance and use his elbows to Shango’s gut in order to break the hold and take the momentum of the match. Tatanka climbs to the top rope and drops a chop to the head of Shango, and is able to get a two count. Shango goes outside the ring and grabs his voodoo stick and tries to hit Tatanka with it as sparks shoot out of the top of it and the referee has seen enough and disqualifies Papa Shango and gives the match to Tatanka. This was a good solid match that was sadly a very lame ending as both guys were being pushed at the time so they just did a DQ ending so neither had to take a pin. The match for the most part is all brawling styles mixed with some moves and a dash of rest holds. While the styles of Tatanka and Papa Shango did not blend all that well they both did a great job to make the best of the match that the fans at the arena seemed to enjoy as they popped for Tatanka throughout. It was also nice to see Papa Shango try and pull off a dropkick and Tatanka’s top rope head chop looked good. And also the commentators did a good job of putting both men over in skill as well as Shango’s gimmick. Over all a good upper mid-card match that had Shango trying to use his voodoo to win and it backfiring and causing him to loose by DQ.

Grade: **1/2

Match 2: Papa Shango vs. Kamala

Before the bell rings Papa Shango shows Kamala the smoking skull, and as Kamala stares at it and the bell rings Shango makes the skull shoot fire from the top and this scares Kamala who tries to leave the ring and is only being stopped by his manager Slick. Shango then attacks Kamala from behind and even starts biting him, and splashes him into the corner. When Shango whips Kamala into another corner and tries for a splash again Kamala is able to move and makes a comeback complete with a chop to the top of Shango’s head. Kamala misses a big splash and Shango is able to once more take control of the match and attacks the eyes of Kamala and then starts choking him on the ropes. Shango keeps up the attack on Kamala and tosses him out of the ring, and then starts to attack his manager Slick. Kamala sees the attack on his manager and gets back into the ring and is able to save him and then the two go outside the ring and get counted out. First thing I have to say is that Kamala’s selling of looking at and being freaked out by the smoking skull is fantastic! Kamala is such an under rated wrestler and his comedy aspects are great when he wants to be funny. This match is pretty much a brawl as Shango and Kamala throw punches and hit basic movies like body slams and yet for some reason it really works as both guys have gimmicks that mesh well and they play off each other so well. In fact when selecting the matches for this update, this was the one I was most looking forward to. Neither men throw out any moves that standout or are that impressive, but the comedy between the two is what makes this match work so well. I was a little disappointed in the count out ending though. To sum it up, I would have liked for this match to go a little longer and would have had one of them winning the match. And Shango is the prefect heel in the match as he uses dirty moves and trues his best to scare his opponent silly.

Grade: **1/2

Match 3: Papa Shango vs. Mr. Perfect Curt Henning

Papa Shango jumps Curt Henning as the bell rings and lays in some big punches, and then tosses Henning out of the ring. Shango even rolls out of the ring and attacks Henning before he can even get back into the ring and even once he is able to get back into the ring. Henning makes a comeback and dropkicks Shango out of the ring and then goes out after him even ramming him into the post. Once back in the ring Henning and Shango exchange hits and moves each trying to cut the other off from getting to much momentum. Shango ends up getting Henning in a headlock and cheats to get leverage by putting his feet on the ropes and almost puts Henning asleep with the hold. But Henning is able to get out of the hold and land some big clotheslines, and after a missed move Shango is put into the Perfect Plex and Henning gets the win. This is a good match as Curt Henning was one of the all time best and he was able to work well with the style of Papa Shango who throughout the match looked like a major threat. Henning also really sells for Shango well and makes him look like the monster heel they were building him up to be. The ending was great and having Henning quickly hit the Perfect Plex was a great way to give Henning the win and also not damage Shango in the process. Over all this was a really good match and again have to stress just how good Henning was at this time in making everyone in the ring with him look like a true superstar.

Grade: ***

Match 4: Papa Shango vs. Repo Man

Before the match its clear that Repo Man is a little scared of Papa Shango as is many of the young kids in the crowd. As soon as the bell rings Papa Shango is all over Repo Man and throws and batters him around the ring before getting an arm bar and working over the wrist joint of his opponent. But Repo Man is able to make a comeback and after a few bit punches he uses a clothesline to take Shango off his feet. Repo Man then gets an arm bar of his own and starts working over the arm of Shango who gets out of the hold by picking him up and body slamming him hard to the mat, and locks in a chin lock on Repo Man who is clearly in lots of pain. Shango breaks the hold and pushes Repo Man into the corner and starts biting him as the referee yells at him. Repo Man tries to make a small comeback but is cut off and after a double clothesline Shango gets mad and grabs his voodoo stick and shoots sparks into the face of Repo Man who in turn grabs his rope and hook and the referee disqualifies both me and neither get the victory. What a strange match for the WWF to have as both men are heels and the fans have no idea who they should cheer as they both work a brawling style with each throwing big punches and hitting your most basic wrestling moves. And because they wrestle a semi same style the action in the ring was solid and it was clear that Shango is who was being pushed and he is in control for most of the match. And Repo Man does a great job of selling as well as acting scared of Shango, and on the other side Shango does a good job of selling for Repo man when he makes his comebacks. But like before the finish is a little of a letdown as once more is a DQ as both men grab weapons and the referee has seen enough and throws it out, it should have had a clear winner of the match. This is a weird booked match but at least a very entertaining one.

Grade: **1/2

Match 5: Papa Shango vs. Marty Jannetty

From the start of the match Papa Shango out powers Marty and gets him into the corner and starts throwing punches and even works over Marty’s eyes. Shango makes a mistake and tries to axe handle hit Marty who is able to jump kick Shango in the face. Shango then challenges Marty to a test of strength, but Marty is to smart for him and just as they are about to lock up he gets Shango in an arm bar, Shango gets out of the hold and they pull off a chain of moves against each other and Marty ends up back to having the arm bar locked in on Shango. Marty ends up knocking Shango out of the ring and goes out after him, but Marty misses a move and hits the guard railing and this gives Shango the chance to stomp on Marty outside the ring, and then tosses him back into the ring and drops an elbow and stomps on his face and then tosses Marty back out of the ring. Marty gets back in and rolls up Shango for a pin, Shango kicks out and hits Marty with a massive clothesline and is only able to get a two count on the Rocker. Shango starts arguing with the referee and Marty roles him up for a one count. Shango then starts punching Marty who bounces off the ropes and rolls up Shango again and this time gets the three count. What a good match that had to solid mid-card draws entertaining the fans as Marty of course worked a fast pace as Shango brought the brawling style. The two really worked well together and the quick surprise pin was a great finish for the match as if gave Marty a win and also didn’t make Shango look weak in defeat. The crowd was behind Marty and he does a great job of playing the crowd and getting them involved in the match. And the fans do not like Shango as they boo for his moves. Over all really a good quick match and both guys look great and both guys work well together and made for an entertaining match.

Grade: ***

Match 6: Papa Shango vs. The Undertaker

The bell rings and The Undertaker and Papa Shango stand in the middle of the ring face to face and stare each other down and the electricity is filling the arena and Shango makes the first move and grabs Taker by the throat and backs him into the corner. But Taker then grabs Shango by the throat and backs him into the corner. Once the choke is broke Taker starts landing good hits on Shango and even walks the top rope and clubs the arm of Shango who tries to make a comeback but is body slammed for his attempt, but taker misses a dropping elbow and Shango is able to knock Taker out of the ring who lands on his own feet, but Shango will not let him into the ring. Once Taker gets back in the ring and behind the referee’s back Shango uses his voodoo stick to shoot sparks into the eyes of Taker who falls out of the ring blinded and Shango goes out after him and starts pounding on him and hits him with a chair and even throws him into the steel steps. And once back in the ring Shango continues to beat up on Taker who keeps sitting up and after a serious if big elbow drops Shango waits to see if he rises, and as the manager of The Undertaker Paul Bearer lifts the urn he carries into the air The Undertaker sits back up and hits Shango with a leaping clothesline and then choke slams him and gets the three count and the win. This is a match that features two of the best wrestling gimmicks that were in the WWF at the time as both had horror themes and these two should have had a much bigger feud than they did. I mean imagine a story that had Papa Shango using voodoo to control The Undertaker and turning him into a heel, and Paul Bearer having to figure out a way to get Taker back, but that for another topic. The match is slow passed as both work a brawling style but their styles cause very similar mix very well and The Undertaker does a great job of selling for Shango even when sitting up like Michael Myers from the Halloween movie series. While Shango does great selling and watching The Undertaker as you could tell he wanted to bring him down. The Undertaker walking the top rope in a movie that is now called Old School is great and got a pop from the crowd. In fact the crowd was really into this match and it was clear they wanted The Undertaker to win. The stare down between the two at the start of the match was great and really set the mood for the match and when Shango landed all those elbows and watched to see if Undertaker would sit back up was great creepy heel stuff. A great entertaining match as I enjoyed the story telling in the ring as well as the slow moving brawling action, really do wish these two got a longer and more flushed out feud.

Grade: ***

Match 7: Papa Shango vs. Bret Hart

This is match is for the WWF World Heavyweight Title. As the bell rings Papa Shango starts landing clubbing blows to the back of Bret and takes control for a moment, but then Bret is able to pull off a monkey flip and hits some big punches and goes for the pin after a flying body press, but only gets a one count and with the kickout Bret is thrown to the outside, Bret slides back in and hits Shango with an atomic drop and then clotheslines Shango over the top rope as the fans go crazy, as Bret dives out and lands a big punch to the downed Shango. Once back in the ring Shango is able to take control of the match when he whips Bret chest first into the turnbuckle, and then start beating up Bret with punches and moves and even gets Bret into a massive bear hug, Bret escapes the move by biting Shango on top of his head, but Shango keeps the momentum in his favor and shows just how powerful he is, and then goes for a never hold on Bret. And anytime Bret tries to make a comeback Shango uses his power to cut it off and stop it. Shango misses a top rope elbow drop and Bret takes over the momentum of the match and keeps hitting Shango with moves and going for the pin only for the Voodoo Man to kick out. But Bret is able to get Shango in the Sharpshooter and Shango gives up and this gives Bret the win. This was a great WWF title match and like always Bret Hart gets a great match out of his opponent with this one being Papa Shango. Bret does a great job of not only flawlessly pulling off his moves, but also makes Shango look like a top heel contender for his title and like the true superstar he is gets the fans really into the match. Shango as well does a great job of hitting massive moves and stays on Bret making it look like the title is in jeopardy of switching hands. And even in loosing Shango still looked strong throughout the match. A really good match and shows that Papa Shango could work with every style of wrestler on the WWF roster at the time as he could work jobbers as well as top of the federation like Hart and have good matches with them all.

Grade: ***1/2

Match 8: Papa Shango vs. Bob Backlund

From the start of the bell Backlund is able to use his speed and technical style to trip up, out maneuver and take down the much bigger Papa Shango who ends up talking the momentum when he beats Backlund in a test of strength. Bob is able to gain control again and this time shows Shango that he as well has power. But Shango is able to land a massive backbreaker and take Backlund down, and then the two battle outside the ring with Shango being the one in control and rams Backlund’s back into the apron, and even back in the ring Shango keeps up the attack keeping Backlund down with a headlock. Even when Backlund is able to use an arm drag to get out of the headlock Shango keeps up his attack not giving him a moment to catch his breath, and after pounding on him locks in another headlock and cheats to get leverage by putting his feet on the ropes. Shango lets go of the hold and starts to torture Backlund a little more, but the veteran out smarts Shango and is able to roll him up with a small package and get the win via pinfall. This was a good match that was for the most part very one sided as Papa Shango was in control for most of the match and just beat the heck out of Bob Backlund and event used submission moves to try and wear the old veteran down, and Shango looked like a beast doing so and really got the fans worked up as they were on the side of Backlund. And speaking of Backlund he does a good job of selling for Shango, getting the crowd to cheer and his for his age at the time showed that he had speed. Bob Backlund was super skilled in the match and while he and Shango have very different in ring style the match comes off very good and both come out looking like the superstars they are. Also should note this was a match of the past meeting the then generation of WWF wrestling.

Grade: **1/2

Papa Shango was one of my favorite heels in the WWF in the early 90’s and is truly one that I wished would have stuck around as he could have had good matches and feuds with many of the wrestlers at the time and the years after he was gone. I mean I would have loved a full feud with The Undertaker, Ultimate Warrior, Jake “The Snake” Roberts and later Mankind and Vader. While Papa Shango might not be the most skilled wrestler of all time his gimmick, look and skills made him a stand out for me and he was one of the best horror themed wrestlers at the time only behind the likes of The Undertaker. But as you can see the ghosts, goblins and vampires have started to fill the Rotten Ink Arena for the after midnight monster bash so I think that’s our cue to leave, but before we do I would like to tell you that our next update will have us hanging out with Horror Host Icon Sammy Terry as we celebrate Halloween! So until next time read a comic or three, watch a wrestling match or two and as always support your local indie wrestlers. I wonder if the Great Pumpkin will show up for the next update?

Horror Host Icon: Alistair Cookie

Welcome back to Rotten Ink! This update is going to be a fun one as it’s a “Horror Host Icon” update all about Alistair Cookie, the host of Monsterpiece Theater…now I need you all to relax and just have fun with this one as I am sure some of you are saying out loud “Alistair Cookie is not a Horror Host he is an educational kids show character.” You are not wrong in your thoughts, but hear me out: some of the segments he hosted had kid friendly horror themes, he himself is a monster and again just sit back and have fun with this one.  While he might not be a full fledged Horror Host, he is a Host of a parody themed movie show and much like Count Floyd was a gateway for young kids to discover the wonderful world of Horror Hosts. So grab some cookies and milk, and let’s talk tales with Alistair Cookie of Monsterpiece Theater who is coming to you from Sesame Street.

Alistair Cookie is a blue monster that wears a smoking jacket, with early episodes even having a pipe that he would eat at the end of the show (this was done away with not to make smoking look cool to kids) and sits in a massive wingback chair in a study with a fireplace surrounded by books and photos of his friends from the past. He is a cool and calm host and loves cookies and milk as he showcases a short segment that is based on a book, fable or film and is done to teach the viewers a lesson of education as well are done in a silly nature to deliver a chuckle. And Alistair loves himself some cookies and will devour them and at time even gleefully talk about the cookies. Alistair not only during an episode would interact with the viewers at home but also those Muppets that appear in his sketches, and even at times Alistair himself will be in one of the spoof segments! Alistair Cookie started being the host for Monsterpiece Theater in 1978 that was a part of the classic educational series “Sesame Street” and was a take off of the PBS show Masterpiece Theatre and its host Alistair Cooke. Monsterpiece Theater lasted for around 36 episodes (within the main show) and came to an end in 1999 as part of the Sesame Street segment lineup. During its run, Monsterpiece Theater would spoof books, shows and movies like NYPD Blue, Chariots Of Fire, Dances With Wolves, Dr. No, Gone With The Wind, Hamlet, West Side Story and The 39 Steps to name a few. While Alistair Cookie and Monsterpiece Theater might not be on the air anymore with new episodes, kids of the time like myself loved the show and enjoyed every time it was apart of Sesame Street. And I should say that Monsterpiece Theater aired on PBS during its run, and for those of you who grew up in the late 70’s through the 90’s you know just how cool Alistair Cookie was and just how zany and crazy he was to eat cookies and share a tale with us all. I want to also say that the shows opening theme is great and has a regal sound with later seasons even having Alistair eating and talking about a cookie he is eating.

Cookie Monster is the Muppet behind Alistair Cookie and he is one of the biggest stars in the history of Sesame Street on TV. Cookie Monster is a Muppet who was created by Jim Henson and played by Frank Oz from 1969 to 2004 and David Rudman helped from 2001-2004 before taking over the role that he is still doing to this day. But Cookie Monster first appeared in TV Commercials for General Foods as he would steal and eat snack food along with fellow monsters and he was called Wheel-Stealer, but oddly enough his commercials never would be aired and the future Cookie Monster would not get his big break until 1967 when he would be used in a IBM training film and a few years later he would be called Arnold The Munching Monster and would be used in commercials for Munchos a potato chip from Frito-Lay. But then Cookie Monster took a role on Sesame Street starting in 1969 and his career was set and would lead to him being a featured cast member and one of the most loved Muppets of all time. He would go on to star in movies as well as shows like Saturday Night Live, Martha Stewart, All Things Considered and The Colbert Report and so many more. Cookie Monster who is called that cause he loves to eat cookies also later would tell kids that cookies are good but they should also eat veggies, but keep in mind he has not lost his love for cookies and is still appearing on the show to this day! And growing up indeed Cookie Monster was one of my favorite characters from Sesame Street and I had books, a patch and toys that featured him and one year my Birthday Cake had Cookie Monster on it. When you think of Icons of the Muppet world Cookie Monster has to be at the top of your list. And come on you know reading this Horror Host Icon update the song “C Is For Cookie” that he sang is going through your head. And on a side note Alistair Cookie was suggested to the Horror Host Hall Of Fame Board to be on a ballot and sadly did not get the vote to make it on in around 2021.

Like all good “Horror Hosts” Alistair Cookie has had a really cool doll made of him that was sold by PBS and come complete with his chair as well as smoking jacket. And this is one doll that I wish I would have known about as I would have 100% bought it. Now you can only find it via third party sellers on sites like Ebay and they are going for high prices. But fans of Alistair Cookie I wanted to make you aware that this doll was made and is out there for you to collect.

Monsterpiece Theater was a staple on Sesame Street for a few decades and Alistair Cookie was a Host that kids always enjoyed seeing on their TV Sets. And we are now at the part of this review were we will take a look at show and what I have here is a Best Of DVD set that I was able to get thanks to my brother and because there is so many of them I will be picking my favorite 8 episodes. And keep in mind the “movies” he showed was all part of the host segment and at times Alistair himself would be the star of the short he was hosting! So with that grab a cookie or two and pour yourself a very tall glass of milk as we are going to talk Monsterpieces with the one and only Alistair Cookie.

Best Of Monsterpiece Theater Vol. 1
Starring – Mel Gibson & Grover     Not Rated     1978-1999

Host: “Upstairs, Downstairs” Alistair is sitting in his wing backed chair with a pipe and welcomes viewers and the short has Grover going up and down stairs and getting winded doing so. Once back to Alistair he thanks us for watching and then eats the smoking pipe! “Gone With The Wind” Alistair starts the episode by welcoming us to the show and saying he is very happy to bring us his favorite film today…but then says that he has never seen it but heard it was good. The short has a mansion being hit by a windstorm and inside Kermit and a female Muppet watch as things are being blown around and are both confused to what to do to stop it, and while doing match they both end up being blown away by the wind. And when we join Alistair his library is also now being hit with wind and he ushers us out by thanking us for watching. “1 Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” Alistair with book in hand is sitting in his library and welcomes us to the show and builds up the show as being a showcase of the number 1’s historic flight over the cuckoo’s nest. The segment goes wrong at first as number 3 flies over a chicken coop, and four falls from the sky into a pig pin than finally number 1 fly over the nest. In the end Alistair is relieved that they finally showed the right segment and bids us farewell and relaxes back into his chair. “Twin Beaks” has Alistair himself going toe the strange town of Twin Beaks that is populated by birds and he is trying to figure out why the town is called that and even talks to the bird with a log to try and get the answer, and does notice that all the birds do have two beaks. Once back in the library Alistair takes a pie and eats it down and ushers us once more out of the show. “Lethal Weapon 3” once more Alistair welcomes us to the show and says tonight’s feature is packed with danger and the mega movie hit Lethal Weapon 3. We then join Mel Gibson and Danny Glover standing by a Danger sign and they are looking around when all of a sudden a giant # 3 falls from the sky. And in the end as Alistair ends the show a giant # 4 falls from the sky and lands on his chair. “Hamlet” the show starts with Alistair in his chair and the moon is out and he says tonight’s episode is very classy and is very proud to bring the viewers Hamlet! The segment then has a castle and Mel Gibson as Hamlet who is reading a book when Elmo enters the scene and watches as Hamlet goes through emotions reading the book and when asked how he can get a book Hamlet tells Elmo to go to the library. In the end Alistair eats a Danish pastry as well as the plate it was on. “Dances With Wolves” Alistair once more is happy to bring the viewers a blockbuster film that is filled with action and buffalos and ushers us into the short that is set at a ball that has farm animals dancing and a young female big has no one to dance with, so enter the wolf. And just because they are different they still have a great time dancing together. Alistair ends the episode shoving cookies into his mouth. “Dr. No” Alistair is once more in his chair and tells the viewers that the night’s episode stars the master spy James Bond! The segment takes place in a eye doctors office and James Bond needs Dr. No’s help in order to read. In the end Alistair eating cookies tells the viewers that next episode will be another James Bond adventure.

That was such a fun Horror Host Icon update that I know has many of you readers split on if he is a “Horror Host” or not, and believe me I have heard that same debate over even the likes of Count Floyd, The Crypt Keeper, Miko Macabre and the cast of Dinner & A Movie as many do not look at them as full fledge Horror Hosts. And I myself say that all mentioned are indeed Horror Hosts and while they are not your traditional style hosts they all have their own styles, fans and creative ways to be a Host. And in the case of Alistair Cookie I think he is a gateway Host for kids that will help them to discover other movie hosts, as lets be honest many of the parody segments are based on cult films and TV shows from Twin Peaks all the way to Hitchcock’s 39 Steps and even a Lethal Weapon 3 in between. Also to be honest I loved all the episodes on this disc and just picked some of the more fun and silly ones. So to wrap it up I want to thank Alistair Cookie for all his years on Monsterpiece Theater that has lead to so many great memories for me as well as thousands of others who grew up with his antics on select episodes of Sesame Street. For the next update we will be leaving Sesame Street as well as the world of Horror Hosting and will be heading to Jellystone Park to visit one of my all time favorite cartoon characters Yogi Bear! So until next time eat a cookie or three, enjoy a glass of milk or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next time as we go on the hunt for some picnic baskets.

Horror Host Icon: Baron Daemon

Welcome back to Rotten Ink for a “Horror Host Icon” update that has been high on my list to do for many years now as I find this Frightful Host to not only be an Icon but also a true legend of New York! The host I am talking about is Baron Daemon who entertained the Syracuse area not only hosting films but also cartoons and even two popular songs…but I am getting way ahead of myself! And before we get into this update have you guys ever thought about how many amazing Horror Hosts have been based out of the state of New York? I mean Gilbert Gottfried hosted Up All Night and later Rhonda Shear, Zacherley hosted Shock Theater, Adam Keefe hosted Fright Night Theatre, Dr. E. Nick Witty hosted Monster Movie Matinee and even The Six-Fingered Hand lead viewers through Chiller Theatre and this is just a small list of all the amazing hosts from the state. So with that thought and memories in your head it’s with great honor that I bring to you Horror Host Icon: Baron Daemon!

Baron Daemon is a bushy eyebrowed vampire who wore a cape, a bowtie, white shirt and black pants and would host spooky movies at night and cartoons during the day! He was very silly and yet at times had a touch of sinister to him when hosting the films late in the evening and he was well loved by both adults and kids as he drew them into his antics as well as allowed them into his weird world that also consisted of his two best friends Boris and Very Harry (more on them later). He was the most popular local celebrity opening grocery stores and even making appearances at a local asylum and fans flocked to meet him as he looked at all his fans as his “Bloody Buddies” and they looked at him as their favorite TV Horror Host. When Baron talked he sounded like Bela Lugosi’s version of Dracula mixed with a cartoonish overtone and his laugh was iconic. Baron would also appear at sock hops and would “drink” the blood of young ladies and kids would speak about him at school and wear shirts with his image on it and would mimic his speech and phrases. And still to this day the people of Rochester, New York and beyond have great memories of Baron Daemon and his legacy lives on even after all these years of him being off TV.

Baron Daemon was so big that at one point during the peak of his popularity Channel 9 came up with having him team up with a rock band The Vampire (really Sam And The Twisters) and recorded two songs “Ghost Guitars” and the big hit “Transylvania Twist” in order to send to radio stations and to promote his shows as they felt it would bring in more viewers! And they sent the record out to radio stations within 50 miles of the viewing area and it worked as Transylvania Twist became a mega hit and the vinyl single was the top selling local record for many years and became a requested song by listeners and even to this day around Halloween the song in New York is played by radio stations who get requests to hear it. Baron Daemon wished that the Channel had sent the record out further as he felt that the song could have been a bigger hit than it was and became a regular song on rotation at stations all over America. The vinyl record at this time is a major collectors item and sells for hundreds of dollars on second hand sale sites. But for those who want to hear both songs you can find them on YouTube so give them a listen and enjoy!

Mike Price is the man behind the Baron Daemon character and is a well loved TV Personality form the New York area as he would be a staple on the News for Channel 9 before and even after his Horror Host persona was off the air. He would become a reporter and had his own segment on the evening news called “Good News” that would feature people from around the area that are doing great things, and he would also talk to kids who were doing really good in school. Mike Price would work for the station for over 46 years and would retire in 2008. And after retiring the station would name the studio after him as well as hang a plaque for all future News Anchors to see. And for those who do not know Mike Price worked for Channel 9 before it first went on air and was hands down the stations first mega star and made them must see TV because of his work as both a News Reporter and as a Horror Host. And that is pretty true for most big Horror Hosts they go beyond being just a celebrity of local TV and the men or women behind the character becomes loved by their community. And even as of 2020 Mike Price is being interviewed in the New York area about his time on TV and his career as Baron Daemon showing that even after many years of retirement Mike means something very big to the people who grew up watching him and beyond.

Baron Daemon originally started as the host of a late night horror movie show called “The Hollywood Special” starting in 1962 on WNYS-TV Channel 9 out of Syracuse, New York and he would host all types of classic Horror and Sci-Fi films. The show was an instant hit and old and young viewers could not get enough of Baron Daemon as he just captured their attentions and became must see TV for all of Syracuse. But parents ended up a little angry as kids wanted to stay up past their bedtimes to watch his antics as well as the spooky movie that did not start until 11:35pm, so to please parents Baron Daemon also became a daily kid show host “Baron And His Buddies” and on this he would host cartoons and Flash Gordon film serials. His shows were the most watched in that area of New York and his viewers were both young and old. Baron Daemon would also guest on other shows on Channel 9 mostly the dancing shows and would bring his brand of vampire humor with him and added enjoyable silly laughs for those watching. For years Baron Daemon’s shows were highly rated and was some of the most popular local made shows at the time, and after his song “Transylvania Twist” was released it seemed like he and his shows were untouchable. That was until 1967 when the Channel 9 station suffered a big fire and sadly the set, props and all costumes for Baron Daemon burned up and the stations new powers to be who already were not a fan of his shows decided that with all things of the show gone this would mark the end of Baron Daemon! So with a puff of smoke do to a fire The Hollywood Special and Baron And His Buddies was over and fans would not get to see Baron Daemon on a weekly basis and this was terrible news for his fans. But over the years Baron Daemon would return doing live appearances and even host some events allowing fans to still see him and enjoy his brand of humor. It’s sad that his shows had to end due to bad management who did not think replacing the lost items to bring the shows back was worth their time, very silly decision as I think Baron Daemon could have lasted on air all the way through the 90’s and I think he would have been just as popular through every decade and still to this day Channel 9 should have Baron Daemon return to TV with Halloween specials! But that is just my wishes that sadly never happened and will never happen do to the age of Baron Daemon as of this update.

I have said this before and I have to say it again all good Horror Hosts had their fair share of amazing sidekicks that helped make his shows something very special for viewers and Baron Daemon was no different! First up is Boris The World’s Shortest Monster who looked like Frankenstein’s famous creation that would grunt his way around the set and was a very close friend of Baron Daemon. Boris was well liked by fans and he would even make public appearances alongside Baron. But while Boris was well loved the most popular of the sidekicks was Very Harry a mute caveman type guy who wore a hat and a trench coat and seemed to always just be hanging around with Baron and Boris. He was always just kind of in different to everything and was a favorite of kids as well as adults. Boris was played by Bill Eadie and Very Harry was played by Dennis Calkins and really these two are some amazing sidekicks and I would almost be so bold to say are the best Horror Host sidekicks in all of New York’s history! I should also note that while Very Harry would make appearances on the kid show “Baron And His Buddies”, Boris was not as lucky and would not be on the kid show as often.

Baron Daemon was on the ballot for the 2021 Class to make it into the Horror Host Hall Of Fame and sadly he ended up not making it that year, even though I 100% think he should have and in fact been in way sooner than that. And my goal is to try and get Baron Daemon into a future class of the Hall Of Fame as his contributions to the Art Of Horror Hosting is amazing as he had a six year run hosting both a movie and kids show as well as made many public appearances and had a hit music single! He was an early pioneer in New York Hosting and has many of fans still to this day. So when Baron Daemon gets in I will update this Horror Host Icon update and share with you who inducted him and what class he ended up being in!

Baron Daemon is a horror host that I can remember seeing pictures of and reading about in the early days of the internet as one thing that I loved to do in my teenage years was learn about new hosts from all over the world. I think the thing about Baron Daemon is that while the world of Horror Hosting has tons of Vampires his big eyebrows set him apart from all the others and made him stand out from the pact just like I feel Sivad (read his Icon update here) did as well with his unique look of the classic folklore monster. And Baron Daemon’s overly silly nature and the way he delivered his lines made him come off as a fun loving goofball ghoul and made him feel like a friend who drew you into his world and shared his love for Horror Movies and Cartoons with you, not to even mention his phrases and mannerisms would bring a smile to your face as well as make you say out loud “Blood Buddies” while acting like him…come on many of you original watchers of his show and Horror Host Mega Fans know that you just did your best impersonation of him while reading this sentence. Another reason why Baron Daemon has always been on my Hosting radar and was always on the list of must cover for Horror Host Icon updates is not only because he was a fantastic host with amazing sidekicks, but because he is also apart of the big legacy of Horror Hosts that have came out of the state of New York the land that Chiller Theater built and he could be one of the best as well from that State! And I really do hope at some point that more footage of his show is found in the vaults of Channel 9 and that the fans get to see Baron in his prime doing what he did best and that was to entertain the viewing masses.

So as you can see Baron Daemon is a true iconic legend in the world of Horror Hosting and is one of New York’s best Hosts of all time! And we are now at the point of this update that we will talk about the episodes I have of Baron Daemon and sadly like I said earlier in this update as of this update no known episodes and footage minus bloopers of the show are around, so I had to do a TV Special that Channel 9 did in 2006 for Halloween based on him. So with that lets travel down memory lane and take a look at Baron Daemon and his Blood Buddies as they treat us to their Halloween Fright Fest.

Hollywood Special: Halloween Fright Fest
Starring – Dr. E. Nick Witty & Very Harry      Not Rated      2006

Host/Movie: This is a news broadcast special that aired on TV in 2006 that celebrated the life and career of Baron Daemon who made viewers both scared and tickled with laughter for five years on TV as well as tons of public & media appearances. They tell the shows history as well as the characters and even talk about and to Mike Price about his career. They also chat with other show cast members, fans and even new and vintage skits show of Baron Daemon.

It’s such a shame that so many iconic Horror Hosts like Baron Daemon’s show are lost to time due to many factors like recorded live, thrown away or reused tapes and of course no Beta or VCR’s for fans to tape their favorite hosts. And even more shameful is that Channel 9 over the years after his show ended never brought back Baron and his pals Very Harry plus Boris back to TV airwaves for horror movie hosted specials every Halloween and New Years…but what do you expect from clueless on air stations who think late night viewers want to watch infomercials on none stick pans and sharp kitchen knives…no wait they put those on cause they could careless about local programing and being creative and took the quick buck of just selling out that air time to soulless products. But enough of that let me put my soap box away and just say that Baron Daemon is an amazing Host that you should read up on and watch the blooper clips and listen to his two hit songs. But for my next update we will be leaving the world of Horror Hosting behind and will be taking a look at werewolf comic Lycanthropy Leo! So until next time read a comic or three, watch a Horror Movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next update as Rotten Ink’s ten year celebration continues!

R.I.W Wrestling Legend: The Missing Link

Welcome back to Rotten Ink, my micro part of the web, where I share my love for media, from comic books all the way to horror hosts and even sports mascots! One thing that I feel I have been lacking in for my blog is my love for wrestling even though over the 10 plus years that I have been doing this blog I have covered wrestlers that have had comics like The Road Warriors, Kevin Nash, King Kong Bundy, Chyna and Sunny The California Girl as well as my love for Lucha Libre with my Top 60 countdown and even delivered my first “Indie Luchador” update that was about El Incredible Hulk earlier this year! And now I want to present a new update series that I will be calling “R.I.W Wrestling Legends” and will be like my “Horror Host Icon” updates showcasing a wrestler that I have gotten a Best of DVD set of. I will mostly be talking about the wrestler themself and not their personal lives as these update will be all about the squared circle grapplers, will be semi-short and sweet and will highlight why they are a wrestling legend. I will also be covering some modern superstars as well as indie guys and even jobbers! And all of the updates of course will be brought to you from the Rotten Ink Arena that is right next door to the Rotten Ink Theater, both of which are across the street from the Rotten Ink Stadium and a few miles away from Rotten Ink Ranch. The first wrestler I have chosen is one that has always captured my imagination and one that I have always been a fan of, the one and only Missing Link! So let’s find our seats and sit back and relax and talk about this should-be WWE Hall Of Famer ,the green face painted, own hair pulling, head butting madman himself Missing Link.

Dewey Robertson started training for wrestling in the 1960’s and was trained by Jack Wentworth and Al Spittles.  Like all wrestlers of his time, he started working in the territories, mostly in Canada, and was well liked by fans as he was very much a classic baby face and wrestled that style. Dewey would make his mark on Canadian wrestling and would start a run in America and Australia for a year before returning to Canada as The Masked Crusader whose mission was to make the world of wrestlers have to wrestle a scientific style and was anti brawling and would start a feud with The Sheik who would unmask him and this would also cause Dewey to team with Billy Red Lyons to form the team The Crusaders. In the early 70’s he started to work for federations that had ties to the NWA and would even win NWA Tag Team Gold with partner Dennis Stamp who is known for being the “Not Booked” guy from the documentary Beyond The Mat, and would also later get more gold with partner Billy Red Lyons. Dewey would really have a great run being in tag teams as he was a draw and the crowds seemed to enjoy his style and this would also allow him to wrestle in Japan. Dewey’s career started to gain steam and he would go on to wrestle in Jim Crockett Promotions and would be involved with matches for not only the NWA but also the AWA, Mid-Atlantic and Central States Wrestling and had many great matches with names like Nick Bockwinkel, Harley Race, Ken Patera, Mr. Fuji, Jerry Valiant and Manny Fernandez. But in 1983, Dewey would have a major change to his career and this change would also bring the world of wrestling a true Wildman!

In 1983 Dewey changed his gimmick to a crazed man that acted weird and was calling himself “Max The Missing Link”! But when he would go to WCCW (World Class Championship Wrestling) in Texas, the territory that was ran by Fritz Von Erich, he would drop the Max from his name and just call himself The Missing Link and would be managed by the dastardly Skandor Akbar and would feud with the Von Erich’s and would be totally booed as the Wildman would try to bring down the likes of Kevin, Kerry and Mike. During this time with WCCW is when his career really started to grow as the area was a hot bed for wrestling, and by becoming The Missing Link, he stood out from the other heels in the territories he would wrestle in. After his stay in WCCW, he would go for a while to wrestle in Championship Wrestling In Florida and once more was a draw due to his odd behavior and crazy look.

In 1985 he would be signed to WWF and was a heel again that was managed by Bobby “The Brain” Heenan. The amazing part is that his debut was at Madison Square Garden where he beat S.D. Jones in a squash match building in the fans eyes that this Wildman was a threat to all their fan favorite wrestlers. But WWF lead by Vince McMahon had other ideas for The Missing Link as he would spend most of his time beating up jobbers and when he was placed in a bigger match he was on the losing end of it, showing that the WWF used him as an attraction but had no real plans to push him as a mega star as they just didn’t see it in him. He did have matches against an older Bruno Sammartino as well as George “The Animal” Steele with his Bruno match almost getting the WWF banned from Buffalo, New York after Missing Link broke the chairs that the commissioners were sitting in! In late 1985 Heenan would trade The Missing Link and Adrian Adonis to Jimmy Hart in order to get King Kong Bundy under his Heenan Family Stable and he would only stay around for a short amount of time with his last story being that a bounty was on the head of Paul “Mr. Wonderful” Orndorff and Jimmy Hart and The Missing Link went for it and lost, and just like that The Missing Link was gone from the WWF. It’s said that he was Future Endeavored due to a real life drug issue.

After being let go from WWF The Missing Link would return for a short time to WCCW and would be managed by Percy Pringle who WWF fans would know as Paul Bearer and would later turn Face and feud with the likes of The Great Kabuki and Rick Rude. In 1986 The Missing Link would then wrestle for Universal Wrestling Federation for a short time and then would also go back to WCCW as well as World Wrestling Council and would “retire” for a short time. Missing Link would not give up his in ring career and from time to time would still wrestle a match for indie federations and would also be at wrestling conventions meeting and greeting with fans. He would also write a book, do a few Shoot Interviews, get clean from drugs and alcohol and would travel around speaking about the power of God as well as being drug free. Outside of the ring they say that Dewey was a strange man who enjoyed smoking pot, was a nudist, had a violent temper, tried to stab a booker and later in life had very bad things to say about the WWF. Dewey “The Missing Link” Robertson had been battling lung cancer for a while and sadly lost his battle on August 16, 2007 at the age of 68.

The Missing Link is one of those wrestlers that to this day wrestling fans talk about as he made such an impact on fans who grew up watching this Wildman in the ring. Growing up I knew of Missing Link thanks to the old wrestling magazines my brother Bryan had as well as all the young reader books based on wrestling that were released at the time, and he had always caught my attention as his wild look and green face made him standout. Wait, I almost forgot that he was also featured on the WWF Wrestling Album that we had as kids as well! And sadly back when I was a kid, YouTube was not a thing and in order to watch matches of Wrestlers you had to find old VHS releases or track them down on the grey and trade tape market, and that’s how I first seen a very small amount of his matches when I was a teenager as I was a tape collector and use to buy so many wrestling tapes, and guys like Missing Link and Tiger Mask were on my buy and trade lists. The thing that always made me a Missing Link fan is that for the most part he was a horror themed wrestler who acted like a crazed wild man in the ring, but also could wrestle with the best of them as he was super skilled and a topnotch performer. I feel that Missing Link does not get the credit he deserves when it comes to his in-ring work as I think he could get a good match out of just about anyone and yet could also have brawls with the best of the brawlers. It’s a shame that in real life Missing Link lead a life of drugs and alcohol and made him very bitter toward the WWF. After you read this update, do yourself a favor and head to YouTube and look up Missing Link matches and you will see what I am talking about.

We are now at the point of this review where we will be taking a look at the DVD set and review some of the matches on the discs like always between 4 to 8. I want to thank Coliseum Of Wrestling & Boxing for having this set in stock and also want to thank Missing Link for his hard work in the world of wrestling. I also want to remind you that I will only be breaking down randomly selected matches from this set and will be breaking down the match and will be rating the matches on a 5 Star rating system. I also only choose from singles matches as I want to break down his matches that showcase his style. Here is what the stars mean: ½ means a really terrible match, * means a bad match,** means a below average match, **1/2 means a good average entertaining match, *** means a good match, **** means a great match, *****means an epic match. So if you are ready, let’s step into the ring with Missing Link.

Best Of Missing Link

Match 1: Missing Link vs. Mike Jackson

The Missing Link looks crazed and is jumping around the ring and poor Mike Jackson looks like a lamb lead to the slaughter as when the bell rings Link goes after him causing him to have to dodge the attack. And Mike Jackson then goes on the attack landing some amazing drop kicks and causes Missing Link to roll out of the ring in frustration, but once back in Missing Link goes on a rampage and manhandles Mike who tries to mount a small comeback before Mike eats two diving head-butts and is pinned in what clearly was a squash match. This match was clearly a way for Mid South Wrestling to put over Missing Link and showcase his crazy brawling style as well as to allow his character to grow in the eyes of the fans, as they kept bringing up that Missing Link has never been locked up in a asylum! Over all, a fun quick match that had Link make quick work of a jobber.

Grade: **1/2

Match 2: Missing Link vs. Rip Rogers

When the bell rings both Missing Link and Rip Rogers look ready for a fight, but sadly for Rip Rogers he is no match for Missing Link who dominates the start of the match and is wrestling both as a brawler as well as landing some very classic holds and moves. Rip tries to make a comeback with punches and elbows, but its short lived as Missing Link quickly takes back the match and ends it by putting Rip Rogers in the camel clutch and causes him to tap out! Another squash match to showcase the skill and character of Missing Link, this match besides talking about him never being in an asylum they also talk about him never being in a cult…weird.

Grade: **1/2

Match 3: Missing Link vs. Junkyard Dog

This big feel main event TV match has Missing Link having to test his power against the fan favorite Junkyard Dog who is jumped from the start before the bell even rings by the Wildman. Missing Link unloads on JYD hitting him with his flying head butts and even puts him in the camel clutch trying to end the match and put as much damage on the Dog as he can. But Junkyard Dog still has plenty of fight in him and the pair exchange hits and movies before JYD gets the tide to change in his favor and uses his head butts and power moves to hurt and keep Missing Link at bay. When Link gets the match back in his favor he makes a big mistake when he misses the second rope diving head butt and JYD uses that mistake to hit his finishing move The Thump and gets the three count and the win. A very slower paced match with lots of rest holds and mat work, but one I really enjoyed as it held a classic wrestling feel. I would also say that Missing Link does most of the work in this match and their styles clash really badly, but I feel that is what makes this match so interesting. I will say I do wish for less stalling.

Grade: ***

Match 4: Missing Link vs. Magnum T.A.

Another big feel match as Missing Link takes on Magnum T.A. and the match starts very technical with both showing each other their classic skills and neither are getting the upper hand. Finally the Missing Link nails a dropkick that also allows him to use his falling head butt to hurt Magnum, but as Missing Link climbs to the second rope to deliver his flying head butt he is caught in midair and slammed by Magnum T.A. who gets the three count! This is a short match but is really good as both Link and Magnum showcase their skills and both are very technical in the match. Little shocking on how fast Missing Link looses, but its clear Magnum T.A was being built up as a top star. I would have given a higher star count if the match had been a little longer.

Grade: ***

Match 5: Missing Link vs. Mr. Wrestling II

The two start off at a very slow pace and exchange holds with Mr. Wrestling II doing many stall movies like headlocks and sizing up his opponent as Missing Link tries to push the pace the veteran keeps the speed that he wants and that’s slow and gets the Link in more rest holds. Much of the match is also Mr. Wrestling II threatening to hit Missing Link with his Knee Lift finisher and Link acting scared of it and being frustrated by Mr. Wrestling II’s antics. And even when Link gets the upper hand Mr. Wrestling II is able to turn the tide back to his favor. Finally Missing Link hits an atomic drop and after missing the head butt from the second rope, Mr. Wrestling II nails Link with the Knee Lift and gets the three count. This was a strange match that was filled with lots of rest holds, a wrestling legend moving in slow motion, a wrestling legend doing almost comedy spots and Missing Link doing the job when he should have won, what a weird slow match.

Grade: **

Match 6: Missing Link vs. Kerry Von Erich

The match starts with Kerry and Missing Link exchanging moves with Kerry dropkicking Link out of the ring and once back in they exchange moves again with Kerry always slightly getting the upper hand. Kerry is showing that he is the more skilled wrestler as even when Link deals out some damage, he is able to fight back as the crowd lose it and cheer for everything Kerry does. Finally Missing Link is able to hurt one of Kerry’s knees as he head butts it over and over and this gives the heel a chance to work it over and cause Kerry pain and puts him in danger of loosing the match. As Kerry fights back, Missing Link’s manager Percy Pringle III smacks Kerry with his cane and causes a DQ and after the bell Kerry hits the Link with a tornado punch and knocks him out of the ring and Link and Percy head to the back. A great WCCW match that was a way to showcase the power of Kerry Von Erich as well as the strangeness and raw power of Link and a finish that didn’t make either look bad. I think Link and Kerry’s styles worked well together and seeing Link take the Tornado Punch as the end was really cool. Solid TV match for sure and I would like to see more matches between these two.

Grade: ***

Match 7: Missing Link vs. Jack Victory

Jack Victory tries to start the match off hot by throwing massive hits at Missing Link who does not feel the effects and makes Jack pay for his attack and man handles him throwing him around and landing big hits. Jack is able to make a small comeback and lands some big moves on Link that stuns him for a short bit but a head butt turns the tide in favor of Link once more. The Missing Link lands a great jumping dive onto Jack and then lands a great head butt that knocks Jack out of the ring. Link wins the match after a second rope diving head butt. But after the match, Link’s former manager Percy Pringle III and Rick Rude attack him as he is out of their stable and they want him to pay for leaving, Link is saved by valet Sunshine. This was a squash match that was a way to show the turn of Missing Link from Heel to Face and the crowd are really behind him. Jack Victory does a great job of selling for Link as well lands a few great moves showing that he was not a total jobber. Plus I think Link and Jack worked well together even if it was a throwaway match. Good stuff and WCCW clearly knew how to book Missing Link right.

Grade: **1/2

Match 8: Missing Link vs. Rick Rude

This match is a total grudge match as Missing Link has Sunshine in his corner and his ex-stable mate and world champ Rick Rude has Percy Pringle III and all sides want to win! When the bell rings Missing Link takes it to Rick Rude and does a great job of keeping Rude on the defense as he lands massive hits and moves to the champ. But Rude only takes the beating for a short time before taking control and unleashing a flurry of punches and moves on Link. Once Link is able to find his energy the two exchange blows and the tide goes back and fourth with each getting the upper hand on each other for small bits of time. Rick Rude is able to get some chin locks on Link and this is draining the big man of strength, but thanks to the fans cheering and Sunshine’s support he is able to break free and start to fight back. But Percy interferes with the match and causes Rude to be disqualified and Missing Link is given the victory. After the bell Link and Rude fight as Percy tries to attack Sunshine, but in the end Link and Sunshine stand tall as the crowd goes crazy for them. What a great match as Rude and Link had great chemistry against each other and they had the fans rabid by the end of the match. Link showed that while he is a Wildman he still can wrestle a very solid match with the right opponent, Rude is great as a heel as his in-ring skill was top notch and his heat with the fans is how all heels should be booed and hated. Great storytelling as well with Sunshine being the beauty that is help taming the beast, only downside is the DQ finish as they should have allowed one to score the pin. To sum this one up a great match and another example of why World Class Championship Wrestling was a great company and is truly missed today by fans of wrestling.

Grade: ***

The Missing Link, as you can see, was a great wrestler with a great gimmick who would have been a great opponent for the likes of The Undertaker, The Fiend, Kane and Abyss in more modern times. I mean imagine a match at a Wrestlemania that would have The Undertaker taking on Missing Link with the streak on the line that would have been a great one as both men could show that they could wrestle behind the personas. Missing Link also was a great one to start off my “R.I.W Wrestling Legends” updates as he is a wrestler that I have wanted to talk about for a while but never had the chance to. And this will be the first of many of these updates to come as I have been hard at work selecting who is to come in future updates and there are some really fun ones coming up. For me The Missing Link will always be a great wrestler that I am a fan of and as I have said before in this update, WWE needs to wake up and put him into the Hall Of Fame. Well the Rotten Ink Arena is closing and it’s time for us to leave, but before we do I would like to let you know that our next update for Rotten Ink’s Ten Year Celebration will be a look at a Horror Host Icon that is known as Baron Daemon! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a wrestling match or two and as always support your local wrestlers.

The World’s Greatest Detective: Inch High Private Eye

Welcome back to Rotten Ink, readers and friends. I think we need some help solving a case, you see this blog is 10 Years Old this year and we need a good update about a topic that I loved in my youth, something that always captured my imagination and had me glued to the TV when an episode was on. So in order to find this topic I decided to hire a detective or even a P.I. to help me find just the right topic to cover I called Dick Tracy, Batman, Sherlock Holmes and even Jonni Thunder, all of whom have gotten the Rotten Ink treatment over the years and none were available to help! But then I found a Private Eye, an Inch High one who not only helped me solve the case, but he became the case. That’s right, on this update we will be talking about the Hanna-Barbara cartoon character Inch High Private Eye! So let’s all become gumshoes, and let’s talk about a classic Private Eye that’s only an inch high that brought a young me so much entertainment via his cartoon.

Inch High is a private investigator who took a very top-secret formula that shrunk him down to being only an inch high! Because of his tiny size, he can get the information about his subject for his client and it makes it so much easier for him to crack and solve cases. He is helped on his cases by his niece Lori, Gator and Braveheart the dog and works for The Finkerton Detective Agency for his boss Mr. Finkerton who dislikes him and keeps waiting for the day he can fire him! Inch High travels the world to solve cases and comes across all types of creeps, thieves and weirdos. Inch High would go onto be in episodes of “Harvey Birdman Attorney At Law” with his first appearance being in 2004 in an episode that has Inch High being fired over his size by Mr. Finkerton. He then hires Harvey, and they file a lawsuit about size discrimination. After that episode Inch High is shown around the office and is mostly getting tormented or squashed. Inch High also is a character on the HBOmax series Jellystone! that has many of the Hanna-Barbara characters living in the same town. So while he might not have had the fame of Yogi Bear or Scooby-Doo, Inch High Private Eye has made his mark on the world of cartoon and the world is a better place for it.

Back in the 60’s and 70’s, one of the biggest cartoon companies was Hanna-Barbera Productions as they delivered so many now iconic characters to viewers like Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Wally Gator, Top Cat, The Flintstones, The Jetsons and Johnny Quest to name a very small amount. TV stations needed more and more cartoons as the youth of the time flocked to their televisions to watch the newest toon to grace their screens, and on NBC starting on September 8, 1973 they got treated to Hanna-Barbera Productions newest creation called Inch High Private Eye! The show cast Lennie Weinrib to voice Inch Eye, a skilled voice actor who is known for lending his pipes to such characters as H.R. Pufnstuf, Scrappy-Doo, Gomez Addams, Stanley Chan and Grimace for McDonalds commercials. Rounding out the main voice cast is Kathy Gori, Don Messick, Bob Luttrell and John Stephenson. The show was met with mixed reviews at the time of release with many kids enjoying it, but it did not capture that must-watch TV status and only lasted 13 episodes and was cancelled by NBC on December 1, 1973. When the show ended, it would be dormant for many years until the 1980’s when the show started to air again as part of the USA Cartoon Express on the USA Network. This is how I first saw the show and became a fan. Inch High Private Eye then would go on to be shown on Cartoon Network and Boomerang, gaining the show even more of a cult following. The series would be released as apart of Warner Brothers disc on demand releases that were based on the old Hanna-Barbera cartoons. While Inch High Private Eye is not as well known or loved as many other cartoons from the 70’s, it is one that you should check out if you have never seen it.

Because the show was very short lived, not much merchandise was created around Inch High for fans to collect, and that’s a shame as even to this day with his cult following he still does not get much. Besides the comic book appearance for Fun-In Comics he also got some drinking glasses, a metal lunchbox, pellet gun toy as well as over the years has graced art prints, buttons, shirts and stickers. The show also has had episodes released on VHS and the complete series on DVD. It’s odd to me that he has not gotten the Funko Pop treatment yet as well as did not get at least one official figure over the years. I own the comic and the DVD and would like to at some point get a cool t-shirt of him.

When I was growing up, cartoons were always a big topic on the playground, as kids would always talk about the newest episodes of their favorite ones and would even make up stories that featured their favorite cartoon characters. In Waynesville I can remember that lots of kids loved the old Looney Tunes and Hanna-Barbra cartoons with names like Bugs Bunny, Scooby-Doo, Yogi Bear, Daffy Duck and Tasmanian Devil being super popular ones. It’s a shame that kids don’t get Saturday Morning Cartoons or after school toons any more like we had in the 80’s and 90’s…but I guess they have so many more all day cartoon networks to watch now as well as streaming services so what do I know. I want to thank an Ebay seller for having this comic in stock and want to remind you all that I grade these comics on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comics stay to the source material, their entertainment value and their art and story. I also want to say that Inch High Private Eye was part of a comic series called “Fun-In” that showcased a different Hanna-Barbera character in each issue, and sadly he was only showcased on one issue! But if you are ready, let’s go on some cases with Inch High and Whitman Comics!

Fun-In # 14  **1/2
Released in 1974     Cover Price .25     Whitman     # 14 of 15

“The Fashion Rustlers”- Inch High is mad at his boss Mr. Finkerton who is asleep in his office demanding that Inch High hit the streets and get the company some cases.  He then decides to go to the beach with Lori and Gator as Lori is excited to show the world her one of a kind bikini she bought from fashion designer Pierre LeFlair, but it’s not one of kind as the whole beach is filled with young ladies wearing it, and Inch Eye has a case of fashion robbery to solve as is Pierre a conman or is someone stealing is designs and selling them at discount stores. The Toy Department Manger and a man named Martin are working for the ones stealing the designs and selling them at mass market. Inch Eye is able to take down Martin and the Toy Manager and finds the Boss who is stealing the designs and brings him down by using cloth and a sewing machine. “Gives Crime –Co A Black-Eye” – Inch High notices that Lori is missing from the office, and he and Gator go to her apartment to find her not inside and signs of a struggle are all around, along with the help of trusty dog Braveheart they follow her scent and find her tied up and being held captive by Crime-Co who all rush out and think they have stomped Inch High to death! But in reality Inch High follows them to their hideout and uses Judo to take some of the bad guys out and just as Lori and Gator show up out front, Inch jumps from the window riding a paper airplane and has Gator use a sewer grate to block the door and hold the criminals inside until the police show up.

This is a fun kids comic based on the cartoon that has Inch Eye Private Eye in two adventures that have him stop crime as well as theft and all the while use his judo on those who cross his tiny path. The first case has him solving fashion theft and the second has him bringing down a crime syndicate that put a hit on him. Inch Eye in this comic is confidante and has great ideas to bring down crime, he also is skilled at fighting as he uses judo to throw around the bigger foes and can use his charm on the ladies to get answers. Inch Eye also uses his size to solve cases and is able to get into areas that others cant. Gator and Braveheart are around and add some needed muscle and tracking to the Private Eye team. Lori who is Inch Eye’s niece and secretary is also very helpful on trying to solve the cases, but I am pretty sure who ever wrote this comic had never seen an episode as at one point they do a cheesy proposal gag between Lori and Inch Eye…and as a reader I was like they are related and this is gross. The bad guys are very cookie cutter and are super easily beat and that’s fitting for a comic based on a Saturday Morning Cartoon. The stories have a good flow and build the case and then have a fun wrap up ending that has Inch Eye solving the case. But I will also say that I think modern readers who are not a fan of Inch Eye or even grew up watching the cartoon might find the comic a little boring cause its not your normal high action kids comics that we have today. The cover is great and very 70’s Whitman style and captures the mood and style of Inch Eye. The interior art is done by an unknown artist and is great stuff and looks just like the cartoon, so who ever did the art should be proud of themselves for doing it right. Over all this comic does a great job of capturing the over all look and vibe of the cartoon with only one hic-up being the weird Lori having a crush on Inch Eye thing. I would say if you watch or watched Inch Eye Private Eye you should check this comic out as I feel you would really enjoy it. Check out the art below to see the style used in this comic.

Inch High Private Eye was one of my favorite classic characters in the world that William Hanna and Joe Barbara created, and while he is not my top favorite, he definitely is in my Top 20 from them! For those wondering, Yogi Bear is my top Hanna-Barbara cartoon character with Scooby-Doo, Blue Falcon and Huckleberry Hound all being super high as well on my list. Well now that this Update Case is over we will be leaving the office of Inch High and will be heading to back to Skull Island as we have to cover Godzilla vs. Kong and the two graphic novels based on the Titans! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a cartoon or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next time for some Kaiju destruction.

Horror Host Icon: USA Up All Night

Growing up my favorite TV Station hands down was the USA Network as they had all the must-watch shows.  They aired Commander USA’s Groovie Movies, my all time favorite Horror Host, and they also had USA Saturday Nightmares, USA Kung-Fu Theater, Duckman, Werewolf, The Hitchhiker, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Silk Stalkings, WWF Monday Night Raw and USA Up All Night, with that latter being a must watch for not only the cheesy or sleazy movie but for Rhonda Shear who was and still is one of the most beautiful Horror Hostess to grace a TV screen! Rhonda was one of my major celebrity crushes, and I can even remember kids at school talking about her. Plus no one can say Up All Night like she can! Up All Night also introduced me to the comedy antics of Gilbert Gottfried, who became one of my favorite comedians and later would become the host of one of my favorite podcasts called “Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal Podcast” that’s about classic Hollywood. Plus I cannot forget Caroline Schlitt, who was the original co-host with Gilbert on the show.  She had her own style of hosting and is underrated and too often overlooked by fans when they speak of this classic show. USA Up All Night was a true staple of my childhood, and my brother and I would watch Friday and Saturday nights for the longest time. This show also introduced me to many horror movies as well as martial arts and sex comedies that I am still a fan of to this day. So it’s with great honor and glee that I bring to you readers Horror Host Icon: Gilbert Gottfried, Caroline Schlitt & Rhonda Shear! So if you’re ready, let’s hit the streets of New York and talk about one of the most iconic late night Horror Host shows in the whole USA.

USA Up All Night started airing on USA Network on January 7, 1989 and was a way for the station to air really bad B-movies, horror and sexploitation films to late night TV watchers in double features. The show aired on Friday nights at 11pm with host comedian Gilbert Gottfried and was set in New York. Midway through the first season, a Friday night version of the show was added and comedian Caroline Schlitt would host from Los Angeles, showing three films. In late 1990, hostess Schlitt left Up All Night, and she was quickly replaced with comedian and B-Movie actress Rhonda Shear who would take over the Friday night show as well as be the host for LA. The pair of Shear and Gottfried would even cross over from time to time for special episodes like New Year’s Eve, and the show would remain very popular for the USA Network and was must see late night TV for that generation’s monster kids. In 1994, the animated original show Duckman was also added into the show’s lineup of features, changing the pacing of the start of the show slightly. At one point the California show and host Rhonda Shear was moved to New York and both Friday and Saturday night shows moved timeslots from 11pm to 12am and back and fourth again. Sadly USA Up All Night was cancelled in 1998 after 10 seasons and over 900 episodes when new management to USA Network Barry Diller took over and canceled many programs as he wanted to make the station more upscale and felt like shows like this did not fit his boring and stale vision for the network. The cancelation of Up All Night marked the true end of the USA Network for me as Commander USA’s Groovie Movies ended in 1989 and USA Saturday Nightmares was no more in 1994….and now the station is a shell of what it was with most of the day devoted to terrible reruns of Law And Order. It’s crazy to me that USA Network did not do a 30^th Anniversary Up All Night Reunion show in 2019 and bring back all three classic hosts to host three films…a missed opportunity for sure…but I guess they could not spare the time as they really needed to play those crappy rerun episodes of Modern Family.

Growing up, Saturday nights were a great time to be a horror movie fan as USA Network was your hookup for a good night of frights.  You could start your night with USA Saturday Nightmares and watch a spooky movie as well as some thriller themed TV Shows and to end the night, you would join Gilbert Gottfried as he would keep you Up All Night with a dose of sleazy cinema. My brother and I would watch the show on both Friday and Saturday nights and I can remember us both being torn sometimes when TNT started MonsterVision with host Joe Bob Briggs on Friday nights at 11pm starting in 1996 as it was the same time Rhonda Shear was on! Now that really was a battle as both hosts are some of my all time favorites and both showed the films I enjoyed! I can also remember, as I stated before, kids at school talking about Up All Night and all the boys talking about Rhonda and how beautiful she was and many of us doing really bad impersonations of Gilbert Gottfried saying Up All Night to each other. It’s crazy that major broadcast TV has dropped the ball on bringing the kids of today a good classic Horror Host, and we all must really thank MeTV for having Svengoolie on to be that gateway for many young kids into the world of horror, sci-fi and thriller films. That’s also why I think Public Access and online stations like Eerie Late Night and The Vortexx are very important in keeping local and national Horror Hosts alive for viewers. It’s crazy as Rhonda Shear, Gilbert Gottfried and Caroline Schlitt will never know just how much they helped shape my creative life and my love for the art of Horror Hosting alongside names like Commander USA, Grampa Munster, Joe Bob Briggs, Dr. Creep, A. Ghastlee Ghoul, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Elvira Mistress Of The Dark and The Creeper.  They meant something to me and seemed like crazy friends who went along for the ride as we watched a movie or two. While I doubt they will ever read this update, I still need to say thank you to them for keeping me Up All Night and introducing me to so many sleazy, cheesy and just plan weird movies!

Gilbert Gottfried is a comedian and was the first host hired for USA Up All Night when it was a Saturday night show. Gilbert Gottfried was born on February 28, 1955 in Brooklyn, New York and comedy was in his blood as he started his stand up career at the age of 15.  This helped the people dub him “The Comedian’s Comedian,” and in 1980 this helped him become a cast member on the 6^th season of Saturday Night Live and sadly the writers used him very rarely during his 12-episode stint. In 1983 he would become a character actor for the show “Thicke Of The Night” that only lasted one season and was over in 1984…but this helped him land a role in the film “The House Of God” as a paramedic and more roles in TV and movies would follow over the years with some of his most popular TV Shows being the cartoon “Aladdin”, “Duckman”, “Wings”, “Night Court” and “USA Up All Night” to name a few. His film roles include “Problem Child 1-3”, “Highway To Hell”, “Double Dragon” and his most popular “Aladdin” where he voiced Iago The Parrot! He also would be the voice of the Aflac duck mascot for commercials for the insurance company, but was let go when he made some bad taste jokes about the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan in 2011. He would also go on to do more stand up comedy, lend his voice to video games and cartoons, host his own podcast and even in 2019 starred as Fred Fuchs in an episode of The Angry Video Game Nerd. Gilbert is married to his wife Dara Kravitz who he met in the late 90’s and wed in 2007; the couple have two children. His comedy style is that of his own and he is well respected by his peers as they see that he is a trendsetter with his comedy. His hosting style for USA Up All Night is more of a crude humor mixed with some sarcasm making him very entertaining to watch. While I could go on and on about how great Gilbert is as a comedian and a Horror Host, I think that you should check out the 2017 documentary “Gilbert” that is about his life and career. One thing is for sure, Gilbert is a true Icon of Horror Hosting for this blogger.

Update: Sadly Gilbert Gottfried would pass away on April 12, 2022 at the age of 67 after battling a long illness. This is sad and heartbreaking news.

Comedian Caroline Schlitt was the California host and was a stand up comedian and actress who was the second host of USA Up All Night as she handled Friday night hosting duties. Caroline would remain on the show from 1989-1990 and was very entertaining and funny. Caroline Schlitt was hired for Up All Night after she had a run on another USA Network show called Camp Midnite that was a talk show/variety show that only lasted 26 episodes. Caroline Schlitt’s hosting style was more of basic comedy with a dash of mature themes that were not in your face. After her run on Up All Night, Caroline went on to be on such TV shows as “The Last Laugh”, “The Father Dowling Mysteries” and in 1991 “Matlock”, “On The Television” and later in the 90’s “Diagnosis Murder” that was Caroline’s last major acting role. She was born on September 4, 1963 and while she only lasted about a year as the host for Friday nights Up All Nights, she very much was entertaining and helped lock the series as must-see TV.

Model and B-Movie goddess Rhonda Shear would become the third host to join the show, and she quickly became the most popular host. Not only did viewers find her sexy, they also found her to be very funny and was fantastic at hosting as she had a very steamy and silly way of hosting. Rhonda was born on November 12, 1954 in New Orleans, Louisiana and had a normal childhood and graduated from Loyola University with a bachelor in arts and communications in 1977 and even won many beauty pageants as Miss Louisiana and later would moved to Hollywood to make it as a star. In 1979 she became a contestant on the TV show The Gong Show and even took work in some B-Movies like “J.D.’s Revenge” in 1976, “Galaxina” from 1980, the 1987 film “Spaceballs” and “Return To Frogtown” from 1993 to name a few. She also had lots of work on TV with roles on shows like “Happy Days”, “Dallas”, “CHiPs”, “Married With Children”, “Full House”, “Silk Stalkings”, “Duckman” and of course “USA Up All Night”! She also recorded a comedy CD called “Your Bedtime Buddy” that was released in 1996, and she even posed for Playboy Magazine twice. Rhonda in 2001 started Shear Enterprises and started her own intimates line of clothing for women of all sizes that is still going strong to this day with her most popular item being the Ahh Bra. Over the years she has also done many charity events as well as appearances at conventions as she is always happy to meet her fans. But there is so much more to Rhonda Shear than I have written here, and if you want to learn more about her make sure to read her autobiography called “Up All Night: From Hollywood Bombshell To Lingerie Mogul, Life Lessons From An Accidental Feminist” that was released in 2017.

The fourth unofficial and yet still very important “Host” for this series was the show’s logo that later in the series would bring us in and out of the movie for commercials. The logo would be joined by the show’s theme and jingles and was a great way for viewers to still remain Up All Night with the third movie of the evening. The Logo as we shall call this fourth host of the show was mostly used in the twilight years of the show and was used to replace both Gilbert and Rhonda when the official show came to an end. The Logo’s official end came in 2002 when USA Network dumped all things Up All Night form their late night lineup when they removed the logo and brand from all shown late night movies shown on the weekend.

On March 21, 2015 at Horrorhound Weekend the class of 2015 was inducted into the Horror Host Hall Of Fame and many great names got the honor like Sir Cecil Creape, Superhost, Joel Robinson (MST3K), Baron Von Wolfstein and also both Rhonda Shear and Gilbert Gottfried! The great guys at Atomic Age Cinema got to induct Gilbert, and Sigmund Zoid got the honor of putting Rhonda in. Sadly that year Gilbert did not come to Horrorhound, and while Rhonda was slated, she was unable to attend at the last minute due to a prior engagement, and this was sad news as I very much was looking forward to meeting her. It’s amazing when you look at all the names that have been inducted into the Horror Host Hall Of Fame as many of them were hosts that made my childhood awesome! On a side note I have heard that its possible that Caroline Schlitt might be on a future ballot for the Horror Host Hall Of Fame.

Did you readers know that in 1996 Rhonda Shear released her first and only stand up comedy CD called “Your Bedtime Buddy,” a nickname she gave herself on Up All Night! The CD is one track and has her whole routine on it that even includes a little chat about USA Up All Night. Her comedy has lots to do with shopping, and sex and she has the crowd laughing and leaves them entertained. I got the CD a few years back and listened to it many times in my car driving to and from work and found myself amused by her style of stand up comedy. Also inside the CD booklet fans of Rhonda are treated to some topless photos of her. Check out this CD if you are a fan of Rhonda Shear and like risqué silly stand up humor from the 90’s.

So let’s get to the part of this Horror Host Icon update where I share what episodes I have of the hosts as this is going to be a fun one! As always, I will not be giving these episodes a star rating and the film’s write up will be taken from our friends at IMDB, with me writing about the Host segments. I would like to thank Bryan Brassfield, Stumpy Discs, Dr. Pureblood, Trade Lists, the late great Andy Copp and Ebay for helping me get these episodes over the years. So if you are ready for some late night movie watching with Gilbert, Rhonda, Caroline and the Up All Night Logo….it’s time to stay UP….All Night. Oh and I will review these shows by Host with Gilbert being first, then Caroline, Rhonda and the Up All Night Logo, with the movies for each host appearing in alphabetical order.

USA Up All Night: Barbarian Queen
Starring – Lana Clarkson & Katt Shea     Rated R     1985

Host: Gilbert Gottfried ushers us in and out of the film over the show’s logo and title cards. No actual host segments.

Movie: Set during the days of the Roman Empire. A simple village is raided by Roman troops, and most of the people are whisked off to be slaves or killed. Three women survive and set off to liberate their people. When they arrive at the Roman city, they team up with the local underground to seek vengeance and liberation of the slaves.

Note From Matt: This episode is missing the opening segment.

USA Up All Night: Class Of Nuke’em High
Starring – Janelle Brady & Gil Brenton     Rated R    1986

Host: Gilbert opens the show on a balcony in The Limelight Club in New York and talks to us about the night’s first film, the Troma classic Class Of Nuke’em High, and all the while we are getting flashes of sideshow performers. He then takes us to the first part of the film. We join Gilbert who tells us before commercial that they have to show the film cause it was printed in TV Guide and it would be breaking the law if they didn’t. When we come back Gilbert makes jokes about the film and the acting and ushers us back in. We next see Gilbert who tells us coming up that the main actress will be wearing a blue bikini and dares us to change the channel. Next Gilbert reads a fan letter where the person tells him he is better than Rhonda, and then says things she does not like about his show…he is confused by this letter. Gilbert after a commercial break talks in an echo as he describes one of the gruesome things about to happen in the movie and shares that he has had that experience before taking us back to the film. The next few breaks has Gilbert still at Limelight making fun of the night’s film. Finally Gilbert ushers us to the end of the night’s first film.

Movie: When Warren and Chrissy notice some strange things happening around their high school, they begin to suspect that something is going on at the nuclear plant next door. Though the plant officials deny that there are any problems, Crissy gives birth to a bloodthirsty mutant who immediately begins eating everyone in the school. Will Warren and Chrissy be able to stop their killer kid?

Note From Matt: This is the first movie of the night with the second one being Class Of Nuke’em High Part 2. This also is missing Gilbert’s bumper after the film ends.

USA Up All Night: Dinosaur Valley Girls
Starring – William Marshall & Karen Black     Unrated     1996

Host: Gilbert is in his Bachelor Go-Go Pad along with two very lovely ladies who are go-go dancing and introduces this second film of the night to the viewers and take shots at how cheesy the film is as well as picks on actress Karen Black, who is in the film. As we keep coming back to Gilbert, the women keep dancing and Gilbert makes jokes about the ladies in the film. Gilbert is enjoying the ladies dancing as well as mocking the night’s film and once more goes for teasing Karen Black. In the end Gilbert thanks us for watching as the ladies just keep on dancing.

Movie: Haunted by recurring dreams of Hea-Thor a gorgeous cavegirl,and a menacing Allosaurus, action-movie star Tony Markham soon finds himself transported, by means of a magic Icon, back through time to Dinosaur Valley. Now trapped in a world of dangerous dinosaurs, grunting cavemen and a tribe of exotic, love-starved cavegirls, Tony must put his modern-days skills to extreme tests in order to survive prehistoric perils, win the cavegirl of his dreams and (maybe) return to his own time?

Note From Matt: This is the second film of the night with the other being “Jurassic Women” see its review in the “J” section of the films hosted by Gilbert.

USA Up All Night: Everything You Always..
Starring – Woody Allen & Gene Wilder     Rated R     1972

Host: Gilbert is playing pool at a club with Doctor Ruth, the famed sex therapist.  Gilbert asks questions at the start, but she just wants to play the game. Next the two make a bet on playing the game, and Gilbert says that she is a cheater and a fraud. The two shoot pool and chat about the film, sex, pool and crack jokes. Gilbert at one point goes off about his “friend” who is a weirdo…and it’s clear the friend is himself. After a few segments Doctor Ruth is away, and Gilbert at the pool table talks about the film and the segments. At the end of the movie Gilbert is taking a nap on the pool table as someone keeps knocking balls into the pocket. As the credits roll Gilbert yawns and gets more relaxed.

Movie: Seven segments related to one another only in that they all purport to be based on sections of the book by David Reuben. The segments range from “Do Aphrodisiacs Work?” in which a court jester gives an aphrodisiac to the Queen and is, in the end, beheaded to “What Happens During Ejaculation?” in which we watch “control central” during a successful seduction.

Note From Matt: This is the second film of the night, with the first being “Play It Again Sam” see that review a little down this list of Gilbert hosted films.

USA Up All Night: Evil Dead
Starring – Bruce Campbell & Ellen Sandweiss       Rated R       1981

Host: Gilbert is on the streets of New York giving out $5.00 to people who answer his questions. Gilbert closes the show giving out more $5.00 prizes and keeps yelling at people on the streets giving out prizes of money, t-shirts and posters. And next Gilbert does a voice over the show’s logo and theme and ushers in Evil Dead. The rest of the show has Gilberts voice ushering us back to the movie.

Movie: Five college students take time off to spend a peaceful vacation in a remote cabin. A book and audiotape is discovered, and its evil is found to be powerful once the incantations are read out loud. The friends find themselves helpless to stop the evil as it takes them one by one, with only one survivor left with the evil dead and desperately tries to fight to live until morning.

Note From Matt: This episode starts with the last part of the movie before it called “New York’s Finest” and this episode is missing the end credits of Evil Dead as well as Gilbert’s closing segment.

USA Up All Night: Flesh Eating Mothers
Starring – Robert Lee Oliver & Donatella Hecht       Rated R       1988

Host: This episode has the classic 90’s USA Up All Night logo and has Gilbert Gottfried talking over top it ushering us in and out of the film.

Movie: For some strange reason, never explained, a few of the local PTA-going mom’s suddenly turn on their offspring. For much of the film they walk around town, looking mutated and making unfunny wisecracks.

USA Up All Night: Fright Night Part II
Starring – William Ragsdale & Roddy McDowall     Rated R     1988

Host: We first join Gilbert as he has a roomful of paranormal investigators in his home who are looking for ghosts and spirits. We next join Gilbert while he is with the ghost hunters trying to talk to ghosts and the only message they are getting is that his apartment is saying “clean me” as it’s a mess! Next the host of the Paranormal show “Wild Speculation” welcomes us back and alerts us that there is a foul smell in the area and its shown that it’s a rotted mouse in a trap! We next see Gilbert at his apartment with Larry Lomax and his crew and Gilbert is getting mad at them and wants them to leave as they are harassing his flies that live on his windows. Gilbert ushers us next into the last part of Fright Night Part 2 as a paranormal cast member uses a heat lamp on him. Gilbert then closes the show in his shower by screaming help me as if he is stuck in another dimension!

Movie: Reluctantly, three troubled years after the blood-soaked events in Fright Night (1985), the now twenty-year-old survivor, Charley Brewster, comes to terms with the freakishly improbable incident that scarred his adolescence. Still struggling to convince himself after countless sessions of therapy that the undead creatures of the night were only figments of his imagination, Charley carefully stays away from his former vampire-slaying companion, Peter Vincent. However, when the cryptic and mysteriously alluring actress, Regine Dandrige, and her motley crew of oddballs arrive in town, suddenly, Charley’s past creeps up on him to haunt him. Is history repeating itself?

Note From Matt: This episode is missing the opening segment, and the tape starts to mess up by the middle of the tape and this is not the first time I got a tape off Ebay from a seller that has been messed up! So in other words when ordering a cool VHS Tape with a Horror Host show off it from Ebay make sure to beware as many terrible sellers with bad quality control and lying descriptions walk among the good sellers.

USA Up All Night: Hot Chili
Starring – Charles Schillaci & Flo Lawrence     Rated R     1985

Host: Gilbert is on top of a building in New York and is taking advantage of his new assistant who must do and get whatever he wants that includes a dominatrix, bagpipe player, a priest, keys to the USA Network office, transvestites, street musicians and even Rhonda Shear shows up! In the end Gilbert introduces the next film and this episode comes to an end.

Movie: A group of American teenage boys goes south of the border to work for the summer at a Mexican resort. There they encounter many wacky guests and have zany adventures involving a German dominatrix, a music teacher that gets hot when giving lessons, a buxom cook, and an uptight socialite that eventually thaws. More often than not they end up in bed with someone, but one of the teens is holding out for True Love.

Note From Matt: This episode is missing the opening segment and credits

USA Up All Night: Hot Times At Montclair High
Starring – Kim Valentine & Troy Donahue     Rated R     1989

Host: Gilbert starts off telling us about the night’s movie and compares it to a modern retelling of the Br’er Rabbit story and then tells us the actors who star in the film. We next join Gilbert as he gives a little preview of the boring next part of the movie as he says “More Talk And No Action”. Gilbert then takes a moment to read a viewers letter and then orders his assistant who is on the street to bring up a contortionist to the top of the building were Gilbert is. Next time we see Gilbert he once more makes fun of the film and what’s coming up in it! Gilbert ushers us into the last part of the movie and it’s clear he thinks this film is a real stinker. In the end Gilbert is yelling at his assistant again and ends the show making orders and watching as the young man is hit by a bus.

Movie: At Montclair High School, three different students bond with one another through a variety of comic, dramatic and episodic circumstances. Sean is a popular football jock who struggles to keep his grades up to stay on the school’s team. Sean’s girlfriend, Jenny, struggles with her outgoing friend Susan who hooks her up with a local rock band life of drugs and debauchery. Ziggy is a terminal nerd whom tries to find the right woman to be with despite his lack of social skills. Jason is a tough punk and resident bad boy who struggles to get by and takes out his aggression on others to get away from his abusive home life. Despite having nothing in common, Sean, Ziggy, and Jason’s lives take a turn during a stay in detention which leads to them trying to help one other in their own life problems and learn that all of them have a lot more in common with one another than they knew.

Note From Matt: This episode is the second film of the night as Gilbert alerts us that Hot Chili was the first film of the evening. Hot Splash was the third movie of the night.

USA Up All Night: Jurassic Women
Starring – Jan-Michael Vincent & Grace Del Rey     Not Rated     1996

Host: Gilbert is hanging out with some pretty go-go dancers and introduces the film and even takes a shot at the film’s star Jan-Michael Vincent, you see he says he is in his Go-Go Bachelor Pad for the night. And when we see him and the ladies again he once more takes a shot at Jan-Michael before we get back to the movie. Throughout this film Gilbert enjoys the lovely ladies dancing as well as takes shots at the film and many are still being directed at Jan-Michael Vincent.

Movie: A meteor shower causes a spaceship crash on a remote planet populated by beautiful and dangerous women as well as cavemen. All procreation has been forbidden as there is a war between man and woman. But when a woman and an astronaut falls in love, the spaceships jealous captain joins the cavemen and a fight ensues.

Note From Matt: This is the first film of the night with the other being “Dinosaur Valley Girls” see its review in the “D” section of the films hosted by Gilbert.

USA Up All Night: Murder 101
Starring – Pierce Brosnan & Dey Young    Rated PG-13    1991

Host: A young girl sits down at a microscope and on her slide is the floating head of Gilbert Gottfried who talks about the night’s movies and ushers us into Murder 101! We next get a quick look at Gilbert as he is standing in between a machine that is reading people and he once more brings us back to the movie.

Movie: Charles Lattimore, an author of a book about a famous murder trial, meets up with his ex-wife Laura, at her college, where he is due to give a series of lectures, on how to write a successful novel. When one of his students, asks to meet him later that night, to discuss the course, and is found murdered. Lattimore has no alibi, and he begins to suspect, that the subject of his book, has arranged the killing, to get back at him, for the evidence, Lattimore gave during the trial.

Note From Matt: This episode has many of the segments but they are cut up and edited by the original recorder, and others sadly have been cut fully. Sadly also the end segment is missing.

USA Up All Night: Play It Again Sam
Starring – Woody Allen & Diane Keaton     Rated PG     1972

Host: Gilbert is at a New York billiard club and is loaded and calling customers wrong names as he thinks some of them look like famous people. We join him next and he is doing test trick shots with pool balls lined up as he waits for his celebrity friends. We next join Gilbert who is getting tips from a pro pool player, and he is confused and she tries her best to help him. And finally he is playing pool with “Tony Roberts” who starred in the film. Gilbert also tries to do his best Humphrey Bogart while leaning on a pool table. Gilbert and his pool friend keep playing and it made clear that Gilbert is not good. He ends with just starting at the table filled with the pool balls and knows it’s impossible.

Movie: A mild mannered film critic is dumped by his wife and his ego is crushed. His hero persona is the tough guy played by Humphrey Bogart in many of his movies and the apparition of Bogart begins showing up to give him advice. With the encouragement of his two married friends, he actually tries dating again, with less than satisfactory results, until he relaxes.

Note From Matt: This is the first film or the night with the second one being “Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex* But Were Afraid To Ask”.

USA Up All Night: Return Of The Killer Tomatoes
Starring – George Clooney & John Astin   Rated PG     1988

Host: Gilbert is spray painting on a city wall and claims he is the best street artist. And then tells us about the nights movies and riffs on the Return Of the Killer Tomatoes. When we next join Gilbert he is still doing street art and riffs a little more on the film and how bad it is and how the makers only cared about profit. And Gilbert from here on is standing near walls with graffiti and painting on walls and just makes fun of the film, as it’s clear he is not a fan. He also takes shots at the then Friday night Up All Night host Caroline Schlitt in a playful sexual way! Gilbert has more fun painting and cracking jokes at the film expense.

Movie: Mad scientist Professor Gangreen is cooking up the second coming of the Great Tomato Uprising, in which music converted tomatoes into human form to war against mankind. Pizza delivery man Chad Finletter must save the world and beautiful tomato-girl Tara.

Note From Matt: Sadly the last part of the films credits as well as Gilbert’s final segment are missing for this one.

USA Up All Night: Sweet Sugar
Starring – Phyllis Davis & Ellaraino     Rated R     1972

Host: Gilbert Gottfried is having a celebrity auction in New York to sell off some of his junk that he has gotten as gifts over the years, and the bidders are all tourist who are tied up and being forced to be there! And he is very angry about how bad some of the gifts he gets are and wants the world to come together to stop bad gift giving! He starts selling off the junk at high crazy prices to people who are not even bidding, and of course also rifts on the movie while doing so. He even takes shots once more at Caroline Schlitt as he tries to sell her phone number and no one bids…even when he offers to pay them to take it. Gilbert is pushing hard to sell his junk and in the end builds up the next movie “Peggy Sue Gets Married”.

Movie: Prostitute Sugar is set up by a corrupt politician. She is convinced of the futility of appealing her case in the courts and signs on to a chain gang run by the notorious Dr. John who performs cruel medical experiments on the people who work for him.

Note From Matt: This episodes issue is that the audio is slightly off making every one seemed dubbed.

USA Up All Night: Toxic Avenger 1-3
Starring – Bruce Campbell & Ellen Sandweiss       Rated R       1981

Host: The show opens at Gilbert’s new New York night club that is called “Club Loveman” that is a tacky looking disco and just looks very cheap. Gilbert has a cheesy mustache and tells us that tonight’s films are the first and second film in the Toxic Avenger film series. We next join Gilbert who is behind a DJ table with a lovely woman who he is trying to teach how to be a DJ for his club, he then makes fun of the acting in the film. Every time we see Gilbert his club is empty minus some employees and all of them seem to be bored and really bad at their jobs minus the Janitor, he also has a few sports bar dudes standing around. Gilbert ends up reading a fan letter that praises movies like Howling III and then Gilbert gets mad as his female DJ who is really bad and yells at her as more men show up to the club and no females. The males request show tunes to be played and will dance with each other but not the pretty female DJ and Gilbert is getting sad that his club is not attracting women. Gilbert then finds out a mess up in the clubs phone book listing has made people think that it is a Gay Club, and he just rolls with it. As the second movie starts Gilbert is hit on by one of the guys who has crude request, and Gilbert sends him away and takes us back to the movie. Each time we join Gilbert he is at his club that is filled with more men and he takes a few moments to make fun of the film. Gilbert and his female DJ have the club cleared out and they are planning more events as they have made lots of money. The third film has the shows logo and shots of New York with just Gilbert’s voice bringing us in and out of the movie from time to time.

Movie: Toxic Avenger: Tromaville has a monstrous new hero. The Toxic Avenger is born when meek mop boy Melvin falls into a vat of toxic waste. Now evildoers will have a lot to lose. Toxic Avenger Part 2: The Toxic Avenger is tricked into traveling to Tokyo to search for his estranged father, leaving Tromaville open to complete domination by an evil corporation. Toxic Avenger Part 3: Toxie finds he has nothing to do as a superhero, as he has ridden his city of evil. He decides to go to work for a major corporation, which he discovers may be the evilest of all his adversaries.

USA Up All Night: The Vals
Starring – Jill Carroll & Chuck Connors     Rated R       1983

Host: Gilbert is hanging out in a New York clothing shop Appendix: A and is making fun of some of the styles and while in the shop he also takes a moment to read viewer letters as well as try on some of the shops fetish collars plus looks at some of the other naughty things the store stocks. Its clear Gilbert is having a blast in this store! At one point Gilbert decides to wear a female thong on his face and play fake doctor! Gilbert also puts on a blonde wig and acts like he is a valley girl! In the end he wraps up the show and so ends another episode of USA Up All Night.

Movie: Sam, Trish, Beth, and Annie are four Valley Girls bored with shopping and frat parties. They come across kind Mr. Stanton, who is running a home for orphaned boys. Mr. Stanton and his charges are in danger of being evicted from their home if they don’t come up with the rent money that is due, and one of the boys has taken to selling drugs for a couple of sleazy dealers. When Trish’s prized “TUBUL R” Mercedes convertible is lost in a bet in which their Beverly Hills rivals have cheated, mayhem ensues as the Vals, with the help of their frat boy boyfriends, save Mr. Stanton and his boys from being evicted, give the drug dealers their just desserts, and exact revenge on the Beverly Hills brats in a rematch.

Note From Matt: The opening segment is missing as The Vals was the second feature of the night.

USA Up All Night: Vampire On Bikini Beach
Starring – Jennifer Badham & Nancy Rogers     Not Rated       1988

Host: When we first join Gilbert he is in his apartment and it seems to have been robbed and he had a good showed planned that is now ruined. He spends time cracking jokes about being robbed and being annoyed by it as well as the night’s film.

Movie: Two teenagers find a book called “The Book of the Dead,” and soon they discover that a vampire cult, which needs the book to raise the dead so they can take over the world, is after them.

Note From Matt: This was the second film of the night so it’s missing the opening credits, film and sadly as well most of the closing segment.

USA Up All Night: Vixens Of Bandelero
Starring – Lisa Butaud & Nicole Dernenberger     Not Rated   1993

Host: Gilbert’s spends all his segments reading crazy fan letters that are of course over the top in nature, and he has snarky and funny responses to all of them!

Movie: Three sisters search for treasure to save their ranch.

Note From Matt: Sadly this episode is missing the opening credits and segment.

USA Up All Night: Waitress
Starring – Jim Harris & Carol Drake     Rated R    1981

Host: Gilbert Gottfried is in a triangle and is trying to find his inner peace…well and cause he meet a pair a cute new age girls and he wants to impress them! The first movie of the night is the Troma cheesy sexy classic film Waitress! Gilbert is trying his best to find his road to enter enlightenment and as well is making fun of the night’s movie. He also takes a moment to read a letter from a fan that he says is from Mother Theresa, and then a he also spends some times with crystals and tries to eat it. And while in his triangle he also is eating some cheap fast food cheeseburgers and pokes fun more at the film and even pokes fun at USA for cutting the film down for content. Gilbert while practicing breathing techniques ushers us into the end of the film. Gilbert also eats a dishrag to clean out his body…and it’s both nice and painful.

Movie: Three lovely waitresses contend with a drunken, slovenly chef and mutinous patrons.

USA Up All Night: Northern Kicks Southern Fist
Starring – John Liu & Alexander Rei Lo      Not Rated       1981

Host: Caroline Schlitt is celebrating a birthday with her crew at a table with a cake and decorations all around. She then tells us to enjoy the next movie of the night that is the martial arts film Northern Kicks Southern Fist. The rest of her segments are Caroline talking over images of her party table. In the end as the intro replays Caroline ends the show and tells the viewers to go to bed!

Movie: Rivals in public, allies in private: The now-legendary “Northern Kick” Shao Yi-Fei has been framed for the murder of “Southern Fist” Shen Yin-Wai’s younger brother. Once again joining forces, they uncover the mastermind behind the setup to prove Shao’s innocence.

USA Up All Night: Raiders Of The Living Dead
Starring – Scott Schwartz & Zita Johann     Rated PG-13      1986

Host: In this episode we get the voice of Caroline Schlitt over the logo, shots of the streets of LA and classic show jingle! And this is throughout the episode.

Movie: A newspaper reporter hears of strange goings-on on a remote island. He travels there and finds that a mad scientist lives there and he is creating zombies.

Note From Matt: This was the third film of the night!

USA Up All Night: School For Sex
Starring – Derek Aylward & Rose Alda     Not Rated     1969

Host: Caroline Schlitt and her mother are getting ready for a dinner party while watching the night’s films. And they wait for their guests to show up as Caroline chats about the film as well as some of the snacks they will be serving. During the show Caroline’s blind date David Hirsch who was the host of USA’s American Bandstand shows up for the dinner along with friends. The party is going well and the guests seem to even be happy about the night’s film and David is clearly trying to get Caroline drunk and worse Caroline’s mom keeps embarrassing her. But over all the dinner party is going well and David is clearly trying to get something out of Caroline as he keeps pouring her more and more wine. Caroline Schlitt ushers us to the next film after School Fro Sex ends that is Vampire Of Bikini Beach, we next join the dinner party who asks about the next film and her mom puts David on the spot asking if he can really step in the shoes of Dick Clark!….and because this is only the one episode we do now know how Caroline’s date ends with David.

Movie: British Sexploitation/Sex Comedy. Lord Wingate, aquitted after appearing in court for fraud, starts up a ‘finishing school’ to teach girls how to extract money from rich men, in return for a percentage of their gains. He enlists the help of the Duchess of Burwood (Alcoholic Aristocrat played by Rose Alba) as a teacher and Hector (Cockney Geezer played by Nosher Powell) as fitness instructor. A probation officer friend supplies the first batch of pupils fresh from Holloway prison via a clapped out old mini bus. Suspicious neighbours and police together with newspaper reports naming the prison girls now hobnobbing in high society results in a raid and new court appearance for Lord Wingate. The Judge sentences him but plots to start up his own ‘school for sex’.

Note From Matt: This episode is missing the opening show credits and host segment.

Up All Night: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Starring – Bee Gees & Peter Frampton     PG     1978

Host: Caroline Schlitt talks over the show’s logo as well as shots of the city and really cool is they show clips of her! She also tells the viewers that she went and seen this film in the theater when released and also during breaks gives facts and says funny things about the film.

Movie: A small-town band hits it big, but they must battle a nefarious plot in the music industry.

Note From Matt: This was the third film of the evening so it’s just Caroline’s voice over the shows logo.

USA Up All Night: Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes
Starring – David Miller & George Wilson    Rated PG     1978

Host: Rhonda Shear in her red dress is going to a Monster Truck Madness showdown, and after changing she heads out to watch the trucks. Rhonda next gets a monster truck to run over a box of tomatoes and even chats with some of the fans in the crowd. All the while Rhonda is hosting she is having to scream over the massive trucks engines and sounds. She also talks to the only female truck driver at the time and they take jabs at the night’s film. She then goes around and talks to more of the drivers of the Monster Trucks as well as the dirt bikers. In the end Rhonda ushers us to the second film and shows a toy Monster Truck that she has run over mini tomatoes.

Movie: A group of scientists band together to save the world from mutated killer tomatoes.

Note From Matt: This episode is a Fan Reproduction, and while these are cool to see they just do not feel like watching the show from broadcast.

USA Up All Night: Beach Balls
Starring – Phillip Paley & Heidi Helmer     Rated R     1988

Host: Rhonda Shear is at a very loud bar and introduces the nights second film Beach Balls, as a waitress clearly is checking her out in the background. We next join Rhonda who makes a joke about Tom and Roseanne Arnold at the beach and then Rhonda has a hidden camera in her cleavage to see if guys are looking or being gentlemen, and the first guy passes but still comes off creepy. The second guy passes but talks about taking her to Hawaii with some creepy sex puns. Rhonda is still at the bar and talks to her friend Michael who shows a pool trick that he is doing just for Rhonda and fails in his attempt to impress her. Rhonda admits that she has been cheating at pool all night and introduces the viewers to the man who was doing all the trick shots she has been taking credit for. Rhonda ends the show in the bar with a sexy pose and sends them to the third and final films of the night as the shows credits role and a Van Halen song plays.

Movie: Charlie Harrison dreams of being a rock star and, with the help of friends and a gang of local toughs, he arranges a concert in his house for a big time record producer, or at least that is what Charlie thought he was arranging.

USA Up All Night: Big Top Pee-Wee
Starring – Paul Reubens & Valeria Golino     Rated PG     1988

Host: Rhonda starts the show in her apartment saying she misses the comedy of Eddie Murphy and then plays a small about of his song “Party All The Time” and then talks about the next movie and then makes fun of Pee-Wee in movie theaters. We then get a bunch of bumpers of Rhonda dancing around for our segments with the USA Up All Night logo! We next join Rhonda who is still relaxing in her room and takes us to the last part of the film. In the end Rhonda ends the episode and wishes us all a good night.

Movie: Pee-wee Herman is now a small-town farmer with a fiancée, but when a traveling circus comes to town, he finds himself falling for the trapeze artist.

Note From Matt: This is sadly a fan reproduction and is missing the opening credits, the first movie, all the commercials and over all is just an average reproduction.

USA Up All Night: Cannibal Women
Starring – Shannon Tweed & Bill Maher     Rated PG-13     1989

Host: Rhonda Shear is in New Orleans and brings us to the second film of the night the cheesy cult classic Cannibal Women In The Avocado Jungle Of Death! Rhonda then goes to the voodoo museum and sees some strange and dark stuff. She also chats with Chicken Man, a voodoo priest about curses and the fact its Rhonda Shear Day in New Orleans! Rhonda then goes back to a club to listen to some blues music. In the end Rhonda thanks all the people of New Orleans and ends this episode of Up All Night…well at least the second movie.

Movie: The government hires a feminist at the local university to track down the Piranha Women living in the uncharted Avocado Jungle (westernmost outpost is San Bernardino) to convince them to move to a reservation condo in Malibu. She hires a guide at the edge of the jungle, a male chauvinist pig, and they have many arguments about men and women as they work their way in, and eventually confront the Piranha Women.

Note From Matt: This episode is the second movie shown for the night with the first being Reform School Girls that is also covered here on this epic Horror Host Icon Update.

USA Up All Night: Cemetery High
Starring – Debi Thibeault & Karen Nielsen   Rated R     1988

Host: Rhonda tries to give your tips on what wear to The Super Bowl and is hanging out with cheerleaders. And she is in fact at the Rose Bowl and is having a tailgate party thanks to beer company Coors. All the while Rhonda rips on the cheesy film she is hosting as the cheerleaders seem to be having a blast as they all bound over comedy, sports, men and a bad movie.

Movie: A group of High School girls with guns go on a killing spree. They are intent on ridding the world of scummy men.

Note From Matt: This sadly is a fan reproduction and is even missing the films opening credits and segment…disappointed for sure.

USA Up All Night: Cheerleaders Wild Weekend
Starring – Kristine DeBell & Jason Williams      Rated R       1979

Host: Rhonda Shear goes to LA hot spot Tatou and goes into the clothing boutique in the middle of the club and tries on some amazing clothes and speaks to the owner. While trying stuff on Rhonda is knocked out by Beverly Center who takes over hosting duties and shares tips on how to cheat stores to get cloths cheaper and gets caught changing prices. Beverly ends up going to the club proper as well and enjoys the singers on stage. And later joins them all on stage for a song were she is out of tune, and later takes the stage for a solo. And as well goes to the art gallery in Tatou and chats with some people and just hangs out.

Movie: A bus-load of cheerleaders is hijacked and held for a $2 million ransom. After several comic and arousing interactions, eventually the girls are forced by their captors to participate in a topless “beauty pageant” in which they must pose before their captor-“judges” in nothing but their underwear.

Note From Matt: The end host segment from Rhonda is missing which also means that the opening for the second film is also missing in action.

USA Up All Night: Class Of Nuke’em High
Starring – Janelle Brady & Gil Brenton     Rated R     1986

Host: Rhonda in this episode Rhonda is shopping for Valentines Day and wearing sexy outfits and dancing around. Rhonda next talks to a worker at the show Playmates about what was the best gift she has ever gotten on Valentines Day. Rhonda keeps pushing Valentines Day and how if you are with someone you should do something special for them on the day. Rhonda and Miller Beer pick’s the moment of the movie and gives a hint by coughing through her segment. Rhonda nexts looks at jewelry and tries to get viewers so send videos of themselves reenacting scenes from movies shown on Up All Night. Rhonda next reads some mail from fans one that has a fan wanting her to walk on his back and then talks to another business owner for a flower shop, and ends the show taking a tour of the flower shop.

Movie: When Warren and Chrissy notice some strange things happening around their high school, they begin to suspect that something is going on at the nuclear plant next door. Though the plant officials deny that there are any problems, Crissy gives birth to a bloodthirsty mutant who immediately begins eating everyone in the school. Will Warren and Chrissy be able to stop their killer kid?

Note From Matt: This episode is a fan reproduction and sadly at times the disc acts up and freezes. Not to even mention the segments are placed in wrong. And as always Rhonda looks super stunning in her outfit!

USA Up All Night: Dialing For Dingbats
Starring – John Caponera & Johnny Mask     Rated R     1989

Host: Rhonda hosts this film in voice only over the shows logo and shots of LA and the shows classic theme.

Movie: A lonely man finds love through a party line.

Note From Matt: This is the third film of the night and was during the Holiday season in 1992.

USA Up All Night: Dream A Little Evil
Starring – Tom Alexander & Michelle Gaudreau     Not Rated   1990

Host: We join Rhonda, as she is relaxing on a bed looking as lovely as ever and talks about a trivia challenge where the winner could win a very cool Up All Night ball cap. She then takes us to the first part of the film. Rhonda when we join her again pushes the contest some more and give the first question and from there Rhonda gives out the questions and pushes for the contest hard. Later in the show Rhonda is joined by Playboy Playmates and they chat about them being the first mother and daughters team up to be in the pages of the magazine and later the son also shows up and they all chat about modeling and Playboy, she also takes a few shots at the nights film and its cheesy acting.

Movie: An unsuccessful electronics technician builds a machine in the shared home of he and his brother he later shows his friend who creates wishes from from their subconscious into reality. Little do they know that they’ve summoned darkness to wreak havoc within the home by a demonic lustful witch of twisted imagination the technician must find a way to destroy.

Note From Matt: Sadly the end of the movie as well as Rhonda’s end segment for the episode is missing, as the end of the movie and such was tapped over for an episode of Bonanza.

USA Up All Night: The Fly II
Starring – Eric Stoltz & Daphne Zuniga     Rated R     1989

Host: Rhonda is dressed as a sexy vampire and is attempting to bite her first victim, and it’s not going well as she takes us to the first part of the film. We next join Rhonda as she has bitten her victim, but one of her fangs falls out and she needs a wet nap and breath spray and sends us back to the movie. Rhonda then bites her victim more and more, and tells him to get over it and goes back to the night’s film, and from their her and the victim share cheesy jokes and puns.

Movie: Seth Brundle was a renowned scientist whose warped experiments with teleportation transformed him into a man/fly hybrid called BrundleFly. A few months after the BrundleFly insect met its demise by his lover’s, Veronica, shotgun, she dies while giving birth to their son, Martin. Seth’s corrupt employer, Bartok, adopts Martin, only so Martin can solve the new problems that the still-functioning TelePods present and to use him as a science project because of the dormant insect genes. Martin is now fully grown, even though he is five, and the fly genes begin to awaken and make him just like dear, dead dad. With the help of his girlfriend, Beth, they go to wherever they can find a possible cure before Bartok finds them and brings them back, but not before Martin finishes his transformation into MartinFly, the deadliest of the BrundleFly species.

Note From Matt: This episode sadly has a bad hiss and pops to the audio throughout and is missing the last part of the film as well as Rhonda’s segments…sucks as I would have loved to see more of Rhonda as the vampire!

USA Up All Night: Friday The 13^th Part 7
Starring – Kane Hodder & Lar Park-Lincoln     Rated R     1988

Host: Rhonda Shear is at LA clothing store Dressing For Pleasure and shopping with her snooty friend Robear her artsy sleek friend who is her fashion coordinator and they seem to be having fun looking at the fetish cloths and are enjoying the styles. At one point he puts on a horned masks as charges Rhonda and as he tell him to stop he is confused as he says he thought this was her favorite. Rhonda soon finds out that they are there not for her fashion but for his fetishes! Rhonda also interviews the owner of the shop who plugs a fashion show she has coming up and Rhonda even takes a stroll through the erotic movies the store has in stock. In the end Rhonda asks Robear if she should buy the whip or the handcuffs!

Movie: After Jason Vorhees was chained to the Bottom of Camp Crystal Lake by Tommy Jarvis. A Young Telekinetic Girl known as Tina Shepherd accidentally killed her Father with her Powers at Crystal Lake. Years Later, Tina and Her Mother return to Camp Crystal Lake, Where Tina’s Doctor trys to manipulate her powers for his own evil plans. Tina then trys to ressurect Her Father but Accidentally Awakens Jason Instead. It’s now up to Tina to use her Powers to Stop Jason and Her Evil Doctor.

Note From Matt: This episode is missing the opening segment. Side note Friday The 13^th Part 8 is the second part of this episode.

USA Up All Night: Friday The 13^th Part 8
Starring – Kane Hodder & Jensen Daggett      Rated R     1989

Host: Rhonda and Robear are still at Dressing For Pleasure and are still trying on weird fetish items and Rhonda is getting more and more annoyed when he keeps clearly shopping for himself and his weird fetishes. With most of Rhonda’s segments being over items and pictures at the store for the remainder of the episode. At one point Rhonda and Robear are once more in the adult film room making fun of some of the titles. In the end Rhonda and Robear leave the store.

Movie: A whole high senior class is finally graduating. For that, they get into a luxury cruise called ”Lazarus”. At the beginning they are all having fun, including our main heroine ”Rennie” who has a serious problem with the water because of past traumatic events ” Almost got drowned when she was little”. When we get to see all the young teenagers our friend Jason who got on board the ship starts with his killing rampage until we get to see only the main characters of the movie.. After that, they decide to look for the killer and kill him… Unfortunately, Jason got them first… After only a few of them escaped and got off the ship reached N.Y where they now have a bigger problem. Jason managed to get there too! He’s cashing the survivors so he can kill them. Now the young teenager couple must escape or die in the dark waters of New York.

USA Up All Night: Fright Night
Starring – Chris Sarandon & Roddy McDowall     Rated R     1985

Host: In this second part (see Shocker for first) Rhonda is meeting the women that could be her Mother In-Law when she makes he choice between two men with the winner being her husband. First she meets Artie’s who is very mean and has no manners. We next join Rhonda on the dance floor and meets Tex’s mom who is pure country and even brings a banjo player for people to dance along to. We next see Rhonda dancing again and she has not made up her mind on who to marry yet and she is feeling pleasure from the mother in laws. Rhonda snaps and trashes both mothers as they she dislikes the way they view her. In the end Rhonda has to make the choice of husband and she asks her own Mom for advice and they decide to choose no one! Rhonda ends the show loving being single and enjoys all the gifts that was for her wedding.

Movie: For young Charley Brewster, nothing could be better than an old horror movie late at night. Two men move in next door, and for Charley with his horror movie experience, there can be no doubt that their strange behavior is explained by the fact that they are a vampire and his undead day guardian. The only one who can help him hunt them down is a washed-up actor, Peter Vincent, who hosts Charley’s favorite TV show, Fright Night. Vincent doesn’t really believe that vampires exist, but does it for the money.

Note From Matt: This is the second movie of the night with Shocker being the first I want to say see below for that one.

USA Up All Night: The Girl I Want
Starring – Linnea Quigley & Burt Ward     Not Rated       1990

Host: Rhonda has a pair of shoes that are not broke in and she calls Mr. Bruce who for $5.95 will break in any pair of shoes for you! And after running the shoes around he is able to break them in for her. She next decides to read a letter from a viewer about her missing father who is rumored to be a cook, and as always Rhonda has a comedic answer for them. Rhonda also just chills in her studio room and gives jokes about the night’s movie as well as just seems to be enjoying the night at “home”.

Movie: A brainy girl turns bimbo and a football star turns brainy in order to attract each other’s attention, only to discover that they liked each other the way they were in the first place.

Note From Matt: This episode is missing the opening credits as well as Rhonda’s first segment as well as the opening credits. This episode as well has no closing segment.

USA Up All Night: The Howling III
Starring – Barry Otto & Imogen Annesley      Rated PG-13     1987

Host: In this episode USA Network salutes Rhonda Shear as this is her final episode of being the Host of Up All Night and they show some quick clips of her with celebrities on the show over the years like Alan Thicke. They once more show a classic Rhonda Shear moment that has people acting like Sonny and Cher singing a song to each other that is taking shots at their relationship. Next is Rhonda in a Gilligan’s Island skit dressed as Ginger singing like Betty Boop! Next is Rhonda as Genie from I Dream Of Genie and turns her master into meatloaf! Then we have Rhonda doing a skit based on the Honeymooners as she threatens to smash Ralph over the head with a pan while he sleeps. Next they show a few quick clips and as a song about Rhonda plays they show a tombstone that’s simple says R.I.P. and then its white noise on the marker as the credits role.

Movie: A strange race of human-like marsupials appear suddenly in Australia, and a sociologist who studies these creatures falls in love with a female one. Is this a dangerous combination?

USA Up All Night: Jocks
Starring – Christopher Lee & Richard Roundtree     Rated R    1986

Host: Rhonda is getting ready as she is going to take us to the California landmark Roosevelt Hotel! And before she goes to the movie she also says at the next break they will pick a movie mogul that will be going on a date with her. Rhonda is now at the Hollywood Hotel and teases after the next commercial they will meet the winner of the date contest but he shows up early and really quick she introduces them to Daryl who looks like a deer in the headlights! Daryl when we come back tells Rhonda that he made a film pitch to Paramount Pictures that starred Gilbert Gottfried and this upsets her. Next she and Daryl are by poolside and she is given him tips on being important in Hollywood. The next time we join Rhonda she gives a history lesson on the Hotel as well as Hollywood nightlife. Rhonda is now with Kelly Green getting ready to have dinner at the hotel as Kelly is a historian of the hotel and she once more shares history of it, and from there Rhonda just has a blast at the hotel showing off all the glamour’s sights to see if you stay there. In the end Rhonda is locked out of her room and is stuck on the hotels roof until a security guard shows up and picks her up and takes her back inside.

Movie: The coach of a college tennis team is given an ultimatum: put together a winning team, or else.

Note From Matt: This is the first film of the night and the second would have been The Van. This one also does not have the end segment as the tape ends at the films end credits. Also Ebay Seller Lied and this was not a broadcast version and was a fan reproduction, man so many fan reproductions.

USA Up All Night: Lifeforce
Starring – Steve Railsback & Peter Firth     Rated R      1985

Host: Rhonda Shear starts this film standing in front of an American flag background and makes an TV show E.R. joke before taking us to the film. We then just have random Up All Night Bumpers played throughout the movie. The next time we join Rhonda she alerts us that the next part of the movie is the final part of the film. In the end Rhonda ends the show in front of her flag background and hopes we will join her again for the next weeks show.

Movie: The space shuttle Churchill is assigned to observe Halley’s Comet under the command of Colonel Tom Carlsen. They see a strange form attached to the comet and Carlsen goes with a team to investigate. They find three humanoid life forms in caskets and they bring them to the Churchill. However, Earth loses contact with the shuttle and the Space Research Center sends another spacecraft to search the Churchill. They find the crew dead and the shuttle burnt and one rescue pod missing. They bring the humanoids to Earth and soon Dr. Hans Fallada and his team discover that the Space Girl is a sort of vampire and drains the life force from people, transforming them into zombies. When the authorities find that Colonel Tom Carlsen has survived, they summon him to explain what happened in the Churchill. Carlsen tells an incredible story about the three aliens and he teams up with Colonel Colin Caine trying to save mankind from the evil vampires from space.

Note From Matt: This is the second movie of the night with the first being Night Shift and sadly this episode is a Fan Reproduction. And I should not just like the Night Shift Fan repro this one is not well done.

USA Up All Night: Lovers’ Lovers
Starring – Jennifer Barker & Jennifer Ciesar   Rated R    1994

Host: Rhonda is outside a hotel door at Caesars Palace with a man whose wife of six hours has locked him out and says the marriage was a sham, and worse, it’s Valentines Day and Rhonda seems bored. And now must sit around and hear the man speak about the love of his dog and all around her are weird people. You see Rhonda has had a fight with her boyfriend and that’s why she is in the lobby watching the nights movie with the others who have been kicked out of their rooms by their mates and she is kind of upset by it. Rhonda’s next plan is to try and patch up the two guys in the lobby’s dates so they will stop hanging out with her, and she has her work cut out for her as they are real goofy. But Rhonda succeeds in getting them all back together and now must try and do the same for herself and her boyfriend. And of course she patches things up with her boyfriend who shows up to the Hotel with flowers and all the couples stay up and watch the end of the film.

Movie: A man at a party discovers a woman on the floor eating from the fridge. After a brief sexual encounter the man thinks he will never see her again. That is until he finds her eating from the fridge at his house, which he shares with his girlfriend. Soon an affair develops. Meanwhile the audience learns that the girlfriend is having an affair with the fridge girl’s boyfriend. The plot follows the couples as they narrowly miss discovering what’s going on.

Note From Matt: This episode sadly is missing the opening skit and is the second film of the evening, and worse the end segment is also missing.

USA Up All Night: Lunch Box
Starring – Ava Cadell & Warren Farina     Rated R     1992

Host: Rhonda Shear starts off in her apartment and says she is going to take the viewers to Hollywood Hits a female boxing review, and while she gets ready she sends viewers to the movie! We next join Rhonda who is at the bar watching the girls box as the grease men watching the fight seems annoyed by her. They show some clips from matches and talk to promoter Hal Stone who just yells and screams and Rhonda says his loud mouth is kind of like Gilbert’s! Rhonda is still hanging around watching the fights and even talks to some of the fighting girls as well as some of the fans in the crowd. Rhonda then talks to the ref and asks him if he thinks she could be a fighter, and then spends more time around ringside and then makes up a story about boxing the champ who gave up when Rhonda told her about all the fights she has had with USA Network censors. And to end the episode Rhonda with one punch knocks out all the ladies and she ends up back at her apartment in a tight pink body suit and introduces the next movie.

Movie: High school graduates CC and Waldo get a job in a warehouse for the summer. On the first day on the job, CC’s lunchbox gets mixed up with a lunchbox full of cocaine. Hijinx and stupidity follow as the drug dealers try to get the lunchbox back.

Note From Matt: This episode sadly is another fan reproduction, while it’s great to see Rhonda in all her beautiful glory…it’s just not the same feeling with the unedited film.

USA Up All Night: Mankillers
Starring – Gail Fisher & Edy Williams     Rated R     1987

Host: Rhonda Shear is climbing a rope in her apartment and introduces the nights movies, but she might be stuck on the rope upside down! We next join Rhonda who is still stuck on the rope, but her trainer comes and saves her…he was part of Circus Of The Stars. She then shows some video of behind the scenes and interviews of the circus, for many of the segments. She then shows a clip of her doing the rope trick at the circus and even gives a sneak peek at her outfit, and then more chatting with celebrities from the circus. And of course in-between all this she also talks a little about the film Mankillers and they cheesy action of it. She even gets a visit in her apartment from a horn honking clown who Rhonda says reminds her of Gilbert! Rhonda ends the first film by relaxing in bed in a sexy leopard outfit with long black boots, and before the next movie gets a visit from a peanut seller straight from a circus.

Movie: A female CIA agent is assigned to train and lead an all-female squad to Colombia to stop a renegade agent who has hired himself out to a drug cartel.

Note From Matt: This episode sadly is another fan reproduction and it has the uncut versions of the movie making it not feel like an old school watch on the USA Network, but as always it’s nice seeing Rhonda Shear in all her beautiful glory.

USA Up All Night: Night Of The Comet
Starring – Robert Beltran & Kelli Maroney       Rated PG-13      1984

Host: Rhonda opens the show making some jokes about news headlines in 1993, and then sends us to the movie. Rhonda in her apartment set talks to the shows hairdressing who claims something is loose in Rhonda’s foot and starts “working” on it, and working on it through out the episode. All the while Rhonda is both enjoying and being creeped out by it, and is still telling jokes the whole time about the night’s first film and he rubs and makes her feet feel good.

Movie: It’s the first comet to buzz our planet Earth in 65 million years, and everyone seems to be celebrating its imminent arrival. Everyone except Regina Belmont, and her younger sister Samantha, two Valley Girls who care more about fashion trends than celestial phenomena. But upon daybreak, when the girls discover that they are the only residents of Los Angeles whom the comet hasn’t vaporized or turned into a zombie, they would do what all Valley Girls do – they go shopping. However, with the help of a friendly truck driver, the girls save Earth and escape from flesh-eating zombies and blood-seeking scientists in hot pursuit.

Note From Matt: This is the first movie of the night and is followed by Private Benjamin.

USA Up All Night: Night Shift
Starring – Michael Keaton & Henry Winkler     Rated R     1982

Host: Rhonda is standing in front of an American flag background and welcomes us to Up All Night and then introduces us to the night’s films as well as an episode of Duckman! We then go to the night’s first film. We then go to a short black and white film of Rhonda driving around town. And the rest of the segments as well has Rhonda in black and white short films and fake trailers. Rhonda ends with showing a clip for the next episode of ER and then takes is to the start of the second film Lifeforce by Tobe Hooper.

Movie: A nebbish of a morgue attendant gets shunted back to the night shift where he is shackled with an obnoxious neophyte partner who dreams of the “one great idea” for success. His life takes a bizarre turn when a prostitute neighbor complains about the loss of her pimp. His partner, upon hearing the situation, suggests that they fill that opening themselves using the morgue at night as their brothel. Against his better judgement, he gets talked into the idea, only to find that it’s more than his boss that has objections to this bit of entrepreneurship.

Note From Matt: This sadly is a fan reproduction of the episode and is missing the Duckman episode as well as commercials and second movie. The movie is a crisp widescreen version and makes it so that it does not feel like watching it during broadcast…disappointing indeed!

Up All Night: Nightmare Sisters/Rollerblade Warriors
Starring – Brinke Stevens & Kathleen Kinmont       Unrated/Rated R       1988/1989

Host: Rhonda is in a patriotic mood cause out troops are coming home from war while hanging out at her apartment set, she ushers us to the first film of the night. We next join Rhonda as she is looking through her closet to find something to wear as she wants to have a night out on the town, and when she changes her dresses she gets a phone call from Bev who is upset about the nights movies and just keeps Rhonda on the phone for awhile and once off the phone Rhonda has to change dresses again! Once dressed she looks for something to do in L.A. for the night and even checks the ads. Rhonda then gets a visit from her sister who judges her for they way she lives and dresses. With her sister gone Rhonda takes a moment to read a few fan letters. She then takes us to the second film of the night and is going crazy as she wants to go out for the evening and gets a visit from Noodles who has broken in to steal some of her dolls and panties, and she spends tome trying to help Noodles who is clearly an odd person and then kicks him out. Next an old cowboy shows up to hang out with Rhonda and talks about sheep before he leaves, and she is loosing her mind. Rhonda shares a home video that a fan sent in that had her acting like Rhonda and then she once again changes dresses, and the gets a visit from a NFL Football Player who played for the Kansas City Chiefs. Rhonda changes into a nightgown and decides that she is just going to stay in for the night and her phone rings again and it’s from her grandfather! And in the end she gets ready for bed as Bev calls the USA Network.

Movie: Nightmare Sisters: Melody, Marci, and Mickey are three geeky college girls who can’t get a date. One night, they invite some geeky college guys over and have a seance that results in the girls becoming possessed and turning into sex starved vamps. Will the geek hero guys be able to stop the horrible (?) possession? Rollerblade Warriors: In the future, a warrior nun on roller skates must rescue a seer, who is to be sacrificed by a band of mutants.

Note From Matt: This episode sadly is another fan reproduction and it has the uncut versions of the movie making it not feel like an old school watch on the USA Network, but as always it’s nice seeing Rhonda Shear in all he beautiful glory.

USA Up All Night: Porkys II
Starring – Dan Monahan & Wyatt Knight     Rated R     1983

Host: Rhonda is at her studio apartment and is surrounded by her artwork that she is giving away to lucky viewers! Rhonda then shows off each art piece and tells a little about them. Rhonda also shares a fact about oil that turns into a joke about Jerry Lee Lewis’s hair! She continues the rest of this episode to give away her art to lucky random selected winners.

Movie: When the students of Angel Beach High decide to stage “An Evening With Shakespeare,” their efforts are threatened by Miss Balbricker, who views the works of Shakespeare as obscene. She enlists the help of Reverend Bubba Flavel, a religious fanatic who brings along his flock of followers to pressure the school into shutting down the production. When they succeed with the help of corrupt city officials seeking re-election, the gang don’t get mad… they get even!

Note From Matt: This is missing the second film as well as the end segment.

USA Up All Night: Princess Warrior
Starring – Sharon Lee Jones & Dana Fredsti     Rated R     1989

Host: Rhonda is going Mayan Club, a very cool nightclub in California and she is taking us along with her. Before the club she interviews a Mayan dancer who are getting her in the mood for the club. Once at the club Rhonda she has a blast dancing and having a good time with club goers and showcasing some of the people at the club. Rhonda returns to the studio and decides she wants to learn a little about history…comedy history that is. She also talks a little about the film and in the end she gets a phone call from her sister and then talks about the next movie “Vals”.

Movie: Sisters from the planet Vulkaria teleport themselves to Earth to investigate and report back in order to prove to their mother, the planet’s ruler, that they are worth of becoming Queen.

Note From Matt: Sadly this episode is a fan reproduction so has the uncut film as well as no commercials.

USA Up All Night: Private Benjamin
Starring – Goldie Hawn & Eileen Brennan     Rated R      1980

Host: Rhonda at the start of the episode calls actor Albert Brooks and tries to get him to show up on the show and talk about acting, and he acts all weird on the phone and does not show up as Rhonda takes us to the movie. Rhonda just hangs around her apartment set and cracks some jokes, looks sexy and talks up the film. At one point Rhonda is sitting around with a baby chimpanzee that she claims is the producer’s new born baby! Rhonda ends the show relaxing thanking us for staying Up All Night!

Movie: When her husband dies on their wedding night, Judy decides to join the United States Army. She realizes that she has never been independent in her entire life. What looks like a bad decision at first, turns out not so bad at all. That is, until her superior officer makes sexual advances on her. She has been transferred to NATO headquarters in Europe and (re)meets the Frenchman Henri Tremont. Judy and Henri decide to marry, but will they?

Note From Matt: This is the second movie of the night with the first being “Night Of The Comet”.

USA Up All Night: Reform School Girls
Starring – Wendy O. Williams & Linda Carol      Rated R      1986

Host: Rhonda is walking around the streets of New Orleans talking to locals and enjoying the sights of the nightlife including jazz clubs like Jelly Rolls to try and score free drinks, as she has no money. She gets homecoming welcome and even dances on stage for a crowd as the people love her. Next she talks to Pete Fountain a famous Jazz Musician in his own bar.

Movie: Jenny is sent to a women’s reform school. It is run by evil warden Sutter and her henchwoman Edna. Jenny will stop at nothing to escape but she also has to deal with Charlie the bully.

Note From Matt: Sadly the start of this episode has some major tracking issues that causes the sound to be super speed up.

USA Up All Night: Return To Horror High
Starring – Maureen McCormick & George Clooney       Rated R       1987

Host: Start this episode with Rhonda Shear on the streets at night taking a break from an auction and she quickly ushers us to the night’s second film. The rest of the bumpers through out the episode are Rhonda’s voice over the shows logo.

Movie: A few years ago, a mysterious serial-killer caused panic on Crippen High School. The killer was never caught. A movie company, Cosmic Pictures, has decided to make a feature movie about these events – on location, at the now abandoned school. Since members of cast and crew disappear without a trace, it seems as if history is repeating itself.

Note From Matt: Sadly the end credits for the film and the last segment from Rhonda are missing.

USA Up All Night: Screwball Academy
Starring – Collen Camp & Kenneth Welsh     Rated R     1986

Host: Rhonda Shear is at the Rose Bowl and is in a trailer gearing up to have a tailgate party and also host two movies with the first being Screwball Academy! While Rhonda waits for her friends, she gives pointers on snacks you should have for football parties as well as shares her grilling skills and Coors Light shows up and brings some beer to her party and she has the truck driver join the party! And you find out that the driver is really Brick Bronsky, actor of Troma Movies like Class Of Nuke’Em High Part II & Part III to name a few. Later she is joined by Raiders Cheerleaders! While Brick hangs out, the ladies all gossip about football players and more.

Movie: Foxy filmmaker Liberty Jean and her movie company arrive at Wagatno Beach to film a torrid movie called “Say Cheese”, going against the wishes of the puritanical Church of the Divine Light, leading all hell to break loose. The church’s phony leader Bishop Wally plans to lead a holy war of the highly religious against the trashy film. That’s when a bumbling gang of thugs are hired to sabotage the production whenever they can. How will the film crew get out of this one?

Note From Matt: This is a fan reproduction episode and goes alongside Cemetery High as this is the first movie of the night.

USA Up All Night: Shocker
Starring – Mitch Pileggi & Peter Berg       Rated R      1989

Host: Rhonda is in the Bronx and has decided to finally get married and she has her pick of grooms with one being Tex who wants her to quite hosting and shopping and have a ton of kids with him! Rhonda is more exited for the wedding gifts and is not sure who she should marry and her two main options is Tex and Artie and neither are a good fit for her as they are both annoying people! And in the end she meets Artie’s mom who is mean and Rhonda ushers us to the second film of the night “Fright Night”.

Movie: A murderous TV repairman, Horace Pinker is killing people in a small town left, right and center. He eventually finds the home of Lt. Parker, who is investigating his crimes, and savagely murders Parker’s wife, son and daughter. His other son, Jonathan has a strange connection to Pinker through his dreams, and he directs his father to Pinker’s business, where a small group of officers enter. Pinker escapes in a horrific spree, killing four officers and then targeting Jonathan’s girlfriend, Alison. Another dream leads Jonathan and his dad to a residence where they catch Pinker in in the act of kidnapping. Pinker is arrested after a fight with Jonathan and sentenced to die in the electric chair. When executed, Pinker – who supposedly had given his soul to the devil in exchange for the power to come back as an energy source – takes over people’s bodies and continues committing murders, until Jonathan devises a plan to bring Pinker into the real world, and then cut off his power source.

Note From Matt: This episode is missing its opening segment as well as show credits.

USA Up All Night: Slammer Girls
Starring – Devon Jenkin & Samantha Fox     Rated R     1987

Host: Rhonda Shear welcomes us to Up All Night and is at Tatou, a famous Beverly Hills Night Club where she will help a drag troop get ready for a show. Rhonda next meets Gypsy the head Drag Queen and the pair goes back and fourth and they both help prepare each other to swap genders. She then talks to more of the Drag Queens about how she can become more man like for her performance at the club. Rhonda dressed as a man shows us Mojo Nixon weird short “Shut Up And Drive”. And hangs around the club as her friends perform. And after the first film she still dressed as a man introduces the nights next film Beach Girls.

Movie: A young girl is framed for a crime she didn’t commit and sent to the state penitentiary, which is run by a crooked warden and a corrupt staff. A reporter manages to get herself sent to the prison so she can expose the brutal conditions and prove the girl’s innocence.

USA Up All Night: Tender Loving Care
Starring – Rhonda Shear & Pamela Manning     Rated R     1994

Host: A parade is being thrown in New Orleans for Rhonda Shear and little does she know the event is in celebration of her leaving town as they find her to be annoying! Jeb Morris is doing the bulletins on her whereabouts at the parade as the late night hostess is on her way from LA to New York…and the Big Easy don’t want her in town a moment longer. They call the bulletins Up All News and they not only talk about what Rhonda is doing in the parade but also facts about her and why they find her annoying. During the parade the crowd also are throwing bead necklaces at Rhonda as she does her best to host and play it off.

Movie: Generous young women will do (almost) anything to save a public service from destruction by greedy town developers.

Note From Matt: Sadly this movie is missing the opening segment also this episode acts as when they moved Rhonda’s show from California to New York.

USA Up All Night: Toxic Avenger
Starring – Mitch Cohen & Pat Ryan     Rated R     1984

Host: We join Rhonda in her room as she tells us viewers that Toxic Avenger will be stopping by and she is also getting ready to visit The Shark Club. We next see Rhonda who says she feels bad for Melvin from the film and ushers us into a commercial break. Rhonda arrives at Shark Club in a sexy dress and talks to people at the club as well as dances and flirts. Rhonda is looking amazing as always and the guys at the club are clearly drooling over her. Rhonda cages dances as well as has a quick bite to eat at the club as well. Rhonda leaves the Shark Club and heads back home, and she as a visit from Toxic Avenger who ends up cleaning her apartment! Rhonda ends with dancing with a blow up shark.

Movie: Tromaville has a monstrous new hero. The Toxic Avenger is born when meek mop boy Melvin falls into a vat of toxic waste. Now evildoers will have a lot to lose.

Note From Matt: This is the first film of the night and is missing the opening credits as well as a small part of the opening segment. The second film is Toxic Avenger Part II and see its review below.

USA Up All Night: Toxic Avenger II
Starring – Ron Fazio & Phoebe Legere     Rated R     1989

Host: Rhonda starts the show dancing with a blow up shark and takes a budget and story writing shot at the second movie of the night Toxic Avenger II, she then kisses the shark and takes us to the movie. Rhonda next is wearing a shark nose and her room seems to be over flowing with blow up sharks. We then see very quick shots of Rhonda screaming at toy sharks as most of her segments had been cut by the person who originally taped this.

Movie: The Toxic Avenger is tricked into traveling to Tokyo to search for his estranged father, leaving Tromaville open to complete domination by an evil corporation.

Note From Matt: This second film of the night has some of the commercials cut out and it also seems like they might have cut out some of Rhonda’s segments. And then sadly after a little under an hour the recording stops making the episode not complete.

USA Up All Night: Vice Academy 4
Starring – Julia Parton & Elizabeth Kaitan     Rated R     1995

Host: Rhonda’s cameraman is passing a stone and has to film the episode from the floor so its Rhonda’s feet in heels opening the show. Next we join Rhonda’s bare feet that get cramps when she tries to call for help on the phone, and then she puts on bigger black heels and her injured cameraman likes that. Rhonda also says that she is working on breaking in her heels as her cameraman tries to pass the stone and he can be heard in pain. Rhonda also uses her feet on a banana that becomes a mess, picks her toes, talks about web toes, has her feet glued together, mocks her cameraman, waves at the viewers with them, has the cameraman tickle them and in the end Rhonda ends the show and the camera man passes the stone.

Movie: “To Protect and Serve” takes on a whole new meaning when the Vice Academy girls are on the case. Candy and her new partner Samantha are back in an all new wild adventure! The wicked nymphomaniac, Malathion, has broken out of prison again and is on the rampage. The vice girls must bust her before she can seduce the Commissioner and destroy his wedding plans. Malathion, with the help of her new boy-toy, wreaks havoc and sexual hi-jinks as only she knows how. Will Candy and Samantha be triumphant, or will Malathion succeed with her dastardly plot?

Note From Matt: Sadly this episode is another fan reproduction that has all the cussing and nudity intact. And that also means no commercials or USA Network bumpers are shown.

USA Up All Night: Virgin High
Starring – Burt Ward & Linnea Quigley     Rated R     1991

Host: Rhonda Shear is hanging out with her girlfriends from a miniature golf course in LA that also has arcades and more! And Rhonda and her friends first start playing miniature golf as Rhonda seems to be loving the nights film. During the golf game of her friends get her foot stuck in the hole as Rhonda decides that her injured friend get a point as the others disagree. As the episode goes on it’s clear the women do not know how to play as they are all cheating to try and win. All the while Rhonda gives tips and such on playing miniature golf and the ladies all seem to be having fun. At one point the ladies are using their golf clubs as baseball bats!

Movie: A girl gets in trouble with her parents for allegedly fooling around with her boyfriend, and they send her to a catholic girls’ high school. There she finds that one of the students is “in charge,” and makes demands on the other girls because she has unofficial connections with the faculty.

Note From Matt: This episode has some issues toward the end of the film as some issues from the master source that would freeze up and skip seconds of the film and some skits. And also has no closing segment.

Up All Night: Wild Malibu Weekend
Starring – Barbara Moore & Kathy Pasmore     Rated R     1995

Host: Rhonda is sitting alone waiting for her guests that have not shown up and is disappointed that Rodney Dangerfield has not even showed up. And as well they show some of Rhonda’s best of moments over the years as she continues to wait. In the end no one shows up and Rhonda seems fine with it as she wishes the viewers a good night.

Movie: National beauties compete in a TV game show.

USA Up All Night: Killer Clowns
Starring – Grant Cramer & Suzanne Snyder     Rated PG-13     1988

Host: This episode only features the 2000’s version of the Up All Night Logo and is used only sometimes in-between commercial breaks with a very generic jingle that holds none of the charm of the original.

Movie: When a small town is invaded by aliens from outer space who are capturing and killing the townspeople, no one takes them seriously. Why? The aliens all look like circus clowns, use weapons that look clown like, and all have painted on smiles. Only a few of the young people in the town realize the danger and of course no one believes them. Armed with an ice cream truck they try and rescue their friends.

Note From Matt: This episode is one of the very late in the series when both Rhonda and Gilbert had been let go and the “Up All Night” logo was generically used for their films that aired during weekend nights.

USA Up All Night: NOTLD
Starring – Duane Jones & Judith O’Dea     Not Rated     1968

Host: The segments are the shows logo as well as the shows iconic theme.

Movie: A ragtag group of Pennsylvanians barricade themselves in an old farmhouse to remain safe from a bloodthirsty, flesh-eating breed of monsters who are ravaging the East Coast of the United States.

Note From Matt: The sound on this episode is really rough by the end and crackles and hums. And I am not 100% sure but I think this was the third movie of the night after Rhonda hosted Shocker and Fright Night.

Up All Night: Nightmare On Elm St. 5
Starring – Robert Englund & Lisa Wilcox     Rated R     1989

Host: The segments are the shows logo as well as the shows iconic theme.

Movie: Alice, having survived the previous installment of the Nightmare series, finds the deadly dreams of Freddy Krueger starting once again. This time, the taunting murderer is striking through the sleeping mind of Alice’s unborn child. His intention is to be “born again” into the real world. The only one who can stop Freddy is his dead mother, but can Alice free her spirit in time to save her own son?

I truly miss USA Up All Night being on Friday and Saturday nights as the humor of Gilbert and Rhonda helped make bad weeks better! Plus I just miss seeing Rhonda on my TV Screen every week, but I must say she does a fun Facebook Live show so I am able to get my Rhonda fix and she still is a great Host! When I was a kid USA, TNT and TBS were the kings of cable Horror Hosts and now I would say Shudder has taken all their places in modern times as they have given Joe Bob Briggs and even Elvira The Mistress Of The Dark new shows. But truly I want to really say THANK YOU to Rhonda Shear, Gilbert Gottfried and Caroline Schlitt for keeping me Up All Night and introduced me to many cheesy, sleazy and creepy films over the years they graced out TV Series. For the next update I will be walking away from the world of Horror Hosting and into the world of Jack Kirby as we will be looking at his characters The Satan’s Six that was released and developed by Topps Comics back in the 90’s. So as you can see, it will be a perfect Thanksgiving Day update! So until next time, read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Horror Movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update for Turkey Day and a Hellish good time.

SOV Flashbacks Classics – “Hatchet”

Welcome back to Rotten Ink and another entry in my “SOV Flashback Classics.” This one will be short and sweet and something very fun! The film we will be talking about is one that I know very little about as it was a found gem that I was able to get on DVD thanks to the guy who discovered it on a VHS tape and made it available to fans of Shot On Video Horror. The film is called “Hatchet” or so its said by the tape finder and this could be the original Hatchet film and could even maybe be the start of Victor Crowley as this film was made sometime in the 1990’s. So I know you are really excited to learn about “Hatchet” as I am to share the little information I have on it! So sit back and relax as we take a SOV Flashback look at a film that was once lost and now has been found, the spooky slasher flick dubbed “Hatchet”. And with that also Happy Halloween as what a better way to spend this spooky Holiday than with a SOV Horror flick!!

The story for this little shot on video gem is that it was found on a VHS tape by a guy and he saved it by transferring the short film to a DVD and then shared it with the fans of SOV Horror. The short seems to have been shot in the 1990’s and was filmed in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and had a cast of maybe four people tops with only two of the kids being the stars and sharing duty of also being the camera guy. The odd thing about the film is that it feels like it was very influenced by films like “Blood Hook” and “Savage Weekend,” but I doubt if these kids making this film had seen those films before making it. The film could have been made by the friends for the fun or it or even could have been made as a school project. And if these kids made this film for the fun of it I wonder if they made any more Horror Movies and if either of them grew up to continue to make films, I mean who knows, maybe one of them is a famous Horror director now or could even be on the crew of the newest Blumhouse Horror Film. It’s a shame that “Hatchet” does not have any credits as the identity of the makers of this flick are truly unknown at this time and makes it hard to know the history of this short Horror film as well as that of the makers.

So it’s now time for us to take a look at “Hatchet” the film that could have started it all for these young unknown filmmakers and who knows maybe one of these kids in this film was Adam Green, the creator of The Hatchet film series…yeah I doubt it too, but it’s fun to pretend that this might in fact be Hatchet 0! This will in fact of course be a first time watch for me, and I would like to thank the guy who discovered this tape and sold me a copy on Etsy for having it in stock and making this SOV Horror Flashback Classics update possible. I also want to say that for these SOV films, I will write about its plot, my thoughts on the film and will in the end give it a Report Card Grade on the classic A-F scale and will only be judging it on a scale that is ONLY for SOV Horror films as I feel it would be unfair to grade it on a scale that Hollywood or even bigger budget Indie films are graded on. So with that let’s head into the world of “Hatchet”!

“Hatchet”
Starring – ????? & ????     Directed by ?????
199?     Not Rated     7min     Unknown     DVD-R     Full Frame

Movie: A hillbilly in sunglasses with a flashlight to his face talks to the camera about a group of missing people that headed to a old haunted shed and never where seen again, and says that the only way to find out if the legend was true is to go to the shed yourself. We then cut to a warehouse and a delivery driver is asked to make a drop off to the old shed and as he packs up some VHS tapes and heads out his boss goes home and sharpens an ax with a file. Back to the shed, the driver makes the mistake of entering and finds a bloody ax hanging on the wall and learns that he can not leave now as he is trapped in this spooky place and he starts to freak out as he finds that there is no way out! As the deliveryman sits in the dark questioning his life choices, he hears music and follows it only to find a bloody faced dead man in the corner of the shed and then a man with a hatchet appears and starts to chase the deliveryman around and then kills him with the hatchet. We then cut back to the hillbilly from the start of the film and it shows that he is really the Hatchet Killer of the Haunted Shed.

Thoughts: “Hatchet” really seems like a short film that two friends made in one day over the weekend to have fun with a VHS camera that they got in contact with. They filmed in one location with the Haunted Shed clearly being a work shed that is connected to a garage and they did a really good job of using the environment around them to try and pull off a spooky film. The garage does have a great atmosphere as its dark and dingy looking and the only one thing I would say is they should have shot the trapped inside parts at night so that no sunlight would appear in the film. The killer is great as the kids did not go for the normal Halloween masked killer as they used the look of a creepy guy you would see hanging around a fishing pond on a Sunday morning who is trying to make small talk about the bluegill not biting all the while he is looking at you deciding if he could gut you like a fish in 40 seconds flat. The acting is not terrible for this level of SOV Horror with the Deliveryman and the Hatchet Killer only grinning a few times. The film has very little blood and when shown it’s clearly ketchup, the blood substance that all young filmmakers started with. And oddly enough the film also has a first person scene that reminded me of a part of my old film Werewolf Of Ohio as it was shaky as hell as well and was filmed by the films lead as he was fleeing the killer. Over all this little short has charm and was clearly made by friends who were bored one weekend and wanted to make a Horror Movie for them to share with friends and laugh at when they got older.

Grade: B

I love that this film was found and saved and is now out in the world for fans of cheesy zero budget SOV Horror films can see! Nothing bothers me more then knowing that so many of these types of films as well as Horror Host shows are floating around on Beta and VHS tapes rotting in garages, basements and landfills when so many people out in the world would love to see them. Films like “Hatchet” also show that creative minds are everywhere and that fans of Horror will always find creative outlets to showcase their love for the genre as well as show the viewers their skills in chilling the blood of viewers, readers and listeners. I also want to say that this might sound silly but I would love to see “Hatchet” get a SOV sequel or even a remake and I could do one heck of a fun comic book based on this tale of terror for Blood Scream Comics. Well it looks like the tape is over and the film is starting to rewind, so before we end this update I would like to alert you all about the next one that will be taking us away from the world of SOV Horror and will be taking us back to comic books and better yet one that is based on a Western TV Show, and I am talking about Brave Eagle! I hope you are having a spooky Halloween this far and that this look at “Hatchet” made your holiday a little more dark and spooky! So until next time read a Horror Comic or three, watch a Shot On Video Horror Film or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next time for out time with Brave Eagle and his tribe.

SOV Flashbacks Classics – A Night Of Total Terror

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. For this update, we will be taking a look at another Shot On Video Film of James Rolfe and his Cinemassacre Productions, and when looking at the DVDs I have of some of his movies I decided to choose his 1996 Silent Film “A Night Of Total Terror” as it’s one that seems to be a one he truly loved making and is a major influence of his creative life that followed. The film was made because of a mix of boredom and creativity and was inspired by “Night Of The Living Dead” and the silent film masterpiece “Nosferatu”! So what awaits you readers on this Night Of Total Terror? Well read on and find out as this SOV Flashback update is going to be a blast, and I hope will inspire some of you to pick up a camera and film your own backyard films.

James Rolfe was hooked on making movies at a very young age and armed with his family’s VHS camera he would write and direct his own fright flicks and would try his best to get his friends to act in them and allow his visions to come alive. In May 1996 James at the age of 15 was itching to make another movie and after two of the SNIX flicks and some shorts were in his past, he knew that getting his friends to be in another was not in the cards so he came up with a Silent Horror Film that he himself could play all the roles! You see James was a big fan of classic Horror with the Universal Monsters being some of his all time favorites and during this boring summer he knew he had to make this film and nothing was going to stand in his way and his dream to make this creepy classic style Silent Horror Film. And it was at that time while bored in his room hearing the lawnmowers of his neighbors going outside that he made the decision that this was the summer he was going to make another film and he was going to give it his all as he was going to be a one man cast and crew! And on that day the shot on video film “A Night Of Total Terror” was born and James’s creative life would forever be changed.

James spent a whole day filming and coming up with the film’s plot on the spot and putting the ideas that would come to his mind onto tape, and thanks to all the Halloween masks and props he had from the haunted house he held every year in the family basement he had all the tools he needed to create his monsters! James played all the parts in the film and would have to set his shots up change into another character then hit record and the camera had a three second delay and he would have to run and be in the spot in order to get his shot. When needed during this day of filming he would ask his younger sister to put on the outfit of one of the ghouls in order to get a certain shot, and once she filled in he would take the role back over. He of course shot the film during the day and knew that by turning the film black and white he could play it off that it was late night. And after a long day of filming and editing James had a very interesting short horror film that he could be proud of…but this first day was not the end of this film!

The second day of filming James ended up showing the first part of the film to some of the neighborhood kids and they loved it and wanted to help make the second part of the film, and this gave James the cast and crew he needed and was able to make the film a little easier for him to pull of shots and his ideas could get a little bigger! Plus he could add more monsters to his story, and that is always a good thing in the world of SOV Horror. And things started to move faster on set as he was able to shoot scenes faster and was able feel that rush of making a film at that age and being creative with his friends. He wanted to make a film that built a spooky atmosphere and for that level of filmmaking he pulled it off! James really was a one man production team as for the most part he not only was the story creator, actor, director, special effects guy he also was the film’s editor that he did all in camera…think about that he edited the film in camera and had to rewind the tape in order to take out bad and messed up takes. He also in order to get the silent and black and white look he wanted he had to play the tape on his VCR and turn the sound and color down on the TV and then use the camcorder to tape the TV Screen! And when this film was done James was proud of it, and this is the film that gave him the encouragement to prose a career in filmmaking.

A Night Of Total Terror is for James what “Werewolf Of Ohio 2: 10 Years Before” was for me that moment of picking up a camera and filing with your friends watching your story and characters come to live, the feeling of knowing you want to make films your life…it’s a feeling that is hard to describe but really does give you that bug to want to film more and get better at all aspects of creating a movie. James was so inspired by this film that he would go on to do a “Making Of Film” did a sequel he called “ An Evening Of Real Supernatural Horror”, at one point was working on a remake and even did a mini version for collage called “A New Night Of Total Terror” and even other films he made have taken elements from this film. So while SNIX and a few other films came before it truly his first film that brought him to the SOV dance was A Total Night Of Terror. The film was mostly seen only by his friends and family and would run around 30 minutes, and in 2006 he recut the film and released a shorten version on the internet…it’s a shame as I for one would have liked to see the original version of the film as to me that also shows the heart of the production as well as the skill of the director. But I must also say at least we get to see the film in some sort of way and for that thanks James for sharing your early creative film works with the world.

So I want to say that for this film I will write about its plot, my thoughts on the film and will in the end give it a Report Card Grade on the classic A-F scale. Now keep in mind it would not be fair to grade SOV films like you would a big budget Hollywood Movie or even a bigger budget Indie Feature, that’s why much like I do for “Fan Films” I will be grading them on its own scale on a scale of true to life backyard cinema the true shot on video warriors of the camcorder days. So grab a flashlight and lets take a spooky journey into a Night Of Total Terror!

A Night Of Total Terror
Starring – James Rolfe & Gina Rolfe       Directed by James Rolfe
1996     Not Rated     10min     Cinemassacre       DVD-R     Full Frame

Movie: A thief breaks into a tomb in order to steal a magic lamp, but unknown to him this has caused ghouls and creatures to track him down as they want back what is theirs! The enter his home and try to scare him with eye balls and hands that they leave around even a rat attacks him and bites his neck causing the thief pain…his defense is to throw it all out the window! But when a hockey mask wearing Creep with a top hat and cane enters his home all hope is lost as the Creep attacks him with his cane causing the thief to fight back and bash the Creep with his fists as well as taking the cane and beating him with it, but before he can truly escape or get help a ghoul as well enters the house and the Creep comes back for more causing him to have to flee his house and run into the near by woods at night and finding shelter with a young man who has a tent up as he is camping. The thief will not give up the lamp and has it with him as he sits in the tent and tells the man that he has it and that’s what they want! Meanwhile outside the monsters are gathering as besides the Creep and Ghoul such monsters as a Dinosaur Man, Vampire, black hooded man, the rat and Werewolf have joined in the stalking! The youngster in the tent takes out a gun opens fire on the ghouls and then the thief as well takes the gun and shoots the ghouls and they hurry back into the tent. Once inside the thief asks the kid if he believes in the curse of the lamp, and before he can fully answer the tent is attacked by the ghouls! When one finally gets in they remove their mask as does all the ghouls outside as they only dressed this way to scare them and take the lamp as they are thieves as well! But the joke is on them as the lamp curse is real and turns the original thief and the tent kid into monsters who kill them in the end.

Thoughts: A Night Of Total Terror is a fun backyard shot horror film that you can tell was very much thought up on the spot and props pulled out of the Halloween boxes from the basement, but because of this is why I think it has a charm of being a early work of a director that went onto bigger and better films and shorts. The film for the most part is a silent horror film all though very little title cards are used to explain the plot, but to be honest it’s very easy to follow. You can tell that James had his heart into the film even with the zero budget and at the start lack of help and you can also see his influences from classic black and white horror films throughout. He also had a nice twist ending that was very popular in classic horror that has not everything you see being what it seems. Plus in the end when the thief who is played by James Rolfe turns into a monster cause of the lamp he transforms into a gorilla creature and this makes me wonder if he does so cause of his love for the film King Kong or because Gorilla’s were super popular in classic horror to be the monster on film? The films effects are super backyard and charming with clearly store bought plastic limbs and eyes being used to pull off the “gore”. Also I am not sure but I think that the magical lamp is a Disney Aladdin toy and that is awesome as kids and teens in their backyard epics use what they have and that’s lots of toys, I mean in Werewolf Of Ohio I used a old Lone Ranger gun as the leads weapon! While A Night Of Total Terror is not super scary nor is it the best film James has made, I will say that holds lots of magic as you can tell it was made with the love of horror cinema and filmmaking. Check it out if you are a fan of silent horror and zero budget backyard films.

Grade: B+

After watching this chopped down version of this film I for one once more must stress that I would have liked to have seen the full 30 minute version and hope that one day James will stop chopping these down and allow us to also see the true original versions, no need to George Lucas these films as those who love SOV films enjoy them no matter how flawed they are. In fact I am hoping that someday a company like SOV Horror get the rights from James and put this film out in a collectors edition DVD as the world needs it! I am having such a great time doing these updates based on Shot On Video Horror Films and I hope you are enjoying reading them, and in 2022 I will be doing a few more so that is something for you to look forward to as one of them will be Werewolf Of Ohio the first film I ever made! But for my next update we are leaving the SOV films behind and will be once more looking at a Horror Host and a very awesome one at that as its time we take a look at Dayton, Ohio’s own Baron Von Porkchop! So until next time make sure to read an indie comic or three, watch a SOV film or two, and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next time for a Terrifying Tale Of The Macabre!

Horror Host Icon: Gorgon The Gruesome

How many of you readers and friends have a great memory of staying up late watching your local Horror Host on TV as the movie scared you and the host segments delighted you with humor or creepy flare? Here in Dayton, Ohio I grew up with the likes of Dr. Creep on Channel 22, A. Ghastlee Ghoul on DATV and The Creeper on MVCC, all local icons of Horror Hosting who have all been covered here on Horror Host Icon updates and all three are in the Official Horror Host Hall Of Fame! And for the people of Fort Worth, Texas during the 50’s-70’s the Host that was must watch TV was Gorgon The Gruesome and his show Nightmare. He was a true icon of local television and spread his horrors for generations of monster movie lovers. Texas has had a long history of great Hosts that include names like Professor Cerberus, Professor Anton Griffin, J.R. Ghul, Miss Jami Deadly, Peter Lorre Jr. and Dr. Zekow, to name a few, and while they are all fantastic, none are as iconic as Gorgon with the only Texas based host that is his equal being Joe Bob Briggs. So sit back, turn off all the lights as it’s with great honor that I bring to you Horror Host Icon: Gorgon The Gruesome!

Gorgon is a ghoul who lives in a massive creepy castle that is complete with cobwebs and spooky storms outside. And with no humor and no laughs (besides his own) Gorgon loved bringing viewers his shows over the decades, as he truly loved to scare the wits out of them and educate them not only about the film being shown but mostly in fright. Gorgon was a well-dressed ghoul who wore a white button up shirt as well as a long black cape. He had black circles around his eye and a mole under his left eye. Gorgon was well spoken and would make the viewers hang onto every word as he would speak of the spooky stuff that chilled their blood and sent shivers down their spines. Gorgon would also famously be holding his candelabra to light the darkness of his castle as well as add to the eerie mood of the show. Gorgon would make his first appearance 1957 hosting the Shock Package on his show “Nightmare” and became a true icon of late night viewing. While Gorgon is no longer on the airwaves of Texas, his memories still haunt all those in the Lone Star State who watched his Nightmares! He is also very powerful and has supernatural powers that can both amaze and as well as kill you stone dead!

Bill Camfield was the man behind Gorgon The Gruesome, and he was a beloved TV personality in the Fort Worth area and beyond. William Joseph Camfield was born on June 27, 1929 in Mineral Wells, Texas to parents Joseph and Nina Camfield and lived in the area where he was born until 1935 as he and his mother moved to Fort Worth after the passing of his father who was a coal miner. He graduated from High School in 1947 and got a job working as a writer for Leonard’s Department Store doing ads, and later worked on writing and starring on a show called “Hometown Harmony” that was produced by Leonard’s who would go on to promote Bill to the job of Radio-TV Director for the store and would go on to develop many shows over those years including “Man About Music”, “Meet The Candidate”, “Let’s Go Shopping” and “Billboard”. But it was in 1954 that his career really started when he took a job at KFJZ-TV Channel 11 as a jack of all trades as he not only created original programming he also wrote advertising copy as well as commercials and he would star in many of them. His first most loved role was the voice of Hoover The Hound, a dog puppet that was the costar of the show “Million Dollar Matinee” hosted by I believe Ann Harper. He then would become Gorgon The Gruesome for the show Nightmare in 1957 and would play the character off and on for many decades. And his most popular character and show he created was “Slam Bang Theater,” a kids show that started in 1959 that would aired Three Stooges shorts as well as cartoons and he played the lovable host Icky Twerp that would become a true icon for kids of the time as the show would run until 1972 and would even go on to influence such actors and comedians as Mike White, Gary Panter and Bill Paxton! Playing Icky would also lead him into starring as Wyatt Earp in the film “The Outlaws Is Coming” along side the Three Stooges in 1965. In 1972 Bill would leave the Fort Worth area for awhile and take a job in Denver Colorado for a short time only to return of Fort Worth and work for KDAF-TV Channel 33, and in 1985 he even brought back the iconic Icky Twerp on a show called “Icky Twerp’s Summer Reunion” that had him and his real son performing skits and hosting summer themed films. But sadly Bill Camfield passed away in 1991 after battling brain cancer, and while gone, his legacy of entertainment lives on forever with those who grew up watching him and for those who discover him thanks to things like YouTube and The Horror Host Hall Of Fame.

Nightmare started in September 1957 on Channel 11 in Fort Worth, Texas when they got the “Shock” Movie package from Screen Gems that featured many of Universals classic Horror and Thriller films from the 1930’s and 1940’s. And with this they hired Bill Camfield to play the shows host Gorgon The Gruesome, and the show would run until 1959 as a weekly Saturday late evening show that started at 8:00pm and would show a double feature of films. And starting in 1959 over the years Nightmare would return for Halloween specials that would have Gorgon hosting single and sometimes triple features of fright and became something that viewers of Fort Worth would look forward to every season. And every time the show aired it was must see TV and Monster Kids young and old were glued to the horrors of the small screen and wanted to see what Gorgon had in store for them in his castle. But like all good things, Gorgon and Nightmare would come to a full end in 1976 with the last of the Halloween Specials. And while Nightmares ongoing show only lasted about three years and the Halloween Specials were not an every year thing, the impact Nightmare made on viewers is long lasting and it as well as it’s host Gorgon are a true part of Texas TV History and will forever be a show that is chatted about by fans of the past and those who newly discover it.

Gorgon The Gruesome is a classic Horror Host that I first learned about thanks to the Internet and sites like E-Gor’s Chamber Of TV Horror Hosts and his look always caught my attention not to even mention when reading memories from his past viewers hyped me up as he was a none jokey host and had a spooky edge to him, and this made me want to see footage of his show! And sometime later, thanks to YouTube and Compilation DVDs, I was able to see some of his work, and I must say he is really good at what he did and delivered some good chilling creepy moments as he brought the fears of the night film into your living room. It’s crazy to me that Gorgon The Gruesome is not talked about as often as he should be when the topic of the true icons of Horror Hosting is brought up as I feel he is that good and should be considered a true icon of the genre. It’s a shame that not more footage has been uncovered of Gorgon and his show Nightmare as the world needs to see it and remember just how amazing his style was. And man his laugh is great and reminds me of classic horror from the 60’s!

Horror Hound Weekend on March 23, 2013 in Cincinnati at 10am that Horror Host Hall Of Fame began to induct the 2013 class that included the one and only Gorgon The Gruesome! The turnout for the Hall Of Fame seemed to be very happy to see him take his place among the icons that came before him in the Hall Of Fame. In his class he was joined by the likes of Sivad, Commander USA, Shock Armstrong, Chuck Acri, Svengoolie and I, Zombi to name a few. And as you can see, he is joined by some amazing hosts and it was fantastic to be there to not only watch Commander USA and Sivad get inducted but also Gorgon.

So as you can see, Gorgon The Gruesome really is a truly iconic Horror Host who had a great style of hosting the spooky films of the night. I think what made him so amazing is that he did not go for the cheap laughs nor did he relay on repeated gimmicks. So let’s get ready to talk about the two fan reproduction episodes I have in my collection. I would like to thank a Horror Host Tape Trader for having these episodes and trading them to me. I also would like to remind you that I will not be giving these episodes a star rating and I will be writing about the host segments and the film’s plot is taken from our friends at IMDB. So if you are ready lets see what this Nightmares has in store for us!

Nightmare: Pit and the Pendulum
Starring – Vincent Price & Barbara Steele     Not Rated     1961

Host: Gorgon comes walking down stone stairs and sends away his hunchback helper as he claims he can pick up the fear of the viewers! He then takes us on a tour of where they damned once stood and then takes us inside a cell and a woman is chained to a table with a blade hanging above her, he tells us this use to be so normal back in time for those who have done bad as this is justice. We join Gorgon again as he talks about the night’s film and the pendulum blade starts to swing as the woman tries to escape her chains and save her life. When we join Gorgon next he is speaking to us about the fear that is building in us as the blade is getting closer to the woman he takes us to a commercial break. Once we join Gorgon again as he watches the blade get closer to the young woman, and he is loving her fear and sends us back to the movie. Gorgon and his hunchback friend are watching as the blade is so close now and Gorgon talks very poetic about her upcoming death before sending us to the movie with a sinister laugh. The last segment has Gorgon talking about the blade and we hear a scream and then see it covered with blood as he laughs and the episode ends.

Movie: Francis Barnard goes to Spain, when he hears his sister Elizabeth has died. Her husband Nicholas Medina, the son of the most brutal torturer of the Spanish Inquisition, tells him she has died of a blood disease, but Francis finds this hard to believe. After some investigating he finds out that it was extreme fear that was fatal to his sister and that she may have been buried alive! Strange things then start to happen in the Medina castle.

Note From Matt: This is one of the better Fan Reproductions I have ever seen as the print of the movie fits the age of the footage and the cuts in and out look really good! So in other words great work to who ever did this episode, as well I should note Gorgon’s segments are in color!

Nightmare: Spooks Run Wild
Starring – East Side Kids & Bela Lugosi     Not Rated     1941

Host: We join Gorgon in his as he enters his dungeon lab and a man with a knife sneaks up on him and stabs him in the back and as his body hits the floor another Gorgon appears and as well gets stabbed and then another appears and with the clap of his hands the man disappears and dies in pain as Gorgon talks about his powers and says tonight they will show a more funny look at horror and sends us to the film. We then get a few Nightmare logo we will be back before we finally see Gorgan again who this time gives us a tour of monsters trophy room as they are his what’s dear to him! He shows us Mad Ghoul, Frankenstein’s Monster, Dracula’s Daughter and Wolfman’s Coffin, Rou Morgue torture items, The Mummy and the park bench that where Werewolf of London killed a man on…he is filled with joy as he sends us back to the movie. The final time we see Gorgon he wishes us well and says he will be ending Nightmare for awhile and gives a few secrets away that his monsters are not real, that is until Frankenstein’s Monster goes on a rampage on set and Gorgon ends his first TV run with a evil laugh!

Movie: The boys are sent to a mountain camp. Stranded in a small rural town, they hear about a “monster killer” roaming the countryside. At night, they sneak out. Peewee is shot by a grave-digger, and they are forced to seek aid at an old mansion. The owner of the mansion insists that the boys spend the night. After seeing PeeWee walk around the house in a trance, the boys decide that the man turned him into a zombie. They gang up on him and tie him up. The nurse at the boy’s camp sets out to find the missing boys with Von Grosch, who has come to rid the town of the killer- or has he?

Note From Matt: this is a pretty good fan reproduction and showcases classic black and white footage and is cut together pretty well.

Gorgon The Gruesome is Texas’s most ionic and important Horror Host of all time in my opinion and is truly one of the all time greats in the art of hosting. Not many Horror Hosts play it frightful and that’s really what sets Gorgon apart from others. One day I hope more footage of Gorgon is found as I would love to see more of his work and style! Well let’s leave Nightmare behind and with our next update let’s go back to the world of Marvel Horror and take a look at The Living Mummy! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a Horror Movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update for our first in our countdown to Halloween updates that shows Marvel used to know how to do Horror!