Frankenstein Monster Exhibit

The Summer Monster Bash 2018 featured an impressive display of the Frankenstein monster and friends.

RIP Clint Walker

Giant soft spoken and likable western star battled bad guys, Nazis, rogue bulldozers and grizzly bears of filmdom.

Glenn Ford’s Projector Lens?

While visiting Palm Springs, California, I stopped off at a vintage record store, and noticed this CinemaScope projector lens. I asked the shop proprietor about it and he claimed it was brought in by a guy named Charles Massa —projectionist for the stars, who set up film rooms and showed films for Sinatra, Streisand, Albert “Cubby” Broccoli and other luminaries.

I asked if he knew more about the lens and he noted it came from actor Glenn Ford’s private screening room. These are not rare lenses and can be found for less than $50 on eBay. They can be adapted for use on modern digital cinema and film cameras. I overpaid for this one, but I like the story and the lens is in superb condition.

Glenn Ford did make some CinemaScope films, including:

• Fate is the Hunter (1964)
• The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1962)
• Cimarron (1960)
• The Gazebo (1959)
• It Started with a Kiss (1959)
• Torpedo Run (1958)
• The Teahouse of the August Moon (1956)
• Jubal (1956)

There’s probably a few more and I likely missed some others (if you are game to cross-reference, see the CinemaScope film list link below).

There were several superb CinemaScope films. Before the days of video, laserdisc, capacitance electronic discs (CEDs —remember those?), DVD and Blu-ray, a fat cat like Glenn Ford could sit back and watch a full screen anamorphic projection of his favorite available films.

I’ve ordered some parts to adapt this to a DSLR. The notion of filming something through a lens that once projected images for Glenn Ford’s viewing is really cool to me.

Then, again—I could have been taken! Massa checks out though, so I am believing the anecdotes.

List of CinemaScope Motion Pictures

The Panther Woman

Along with Murders in the Zoo (1933), Paramount’s Island of Lost Souls (1932) are probably the most gruesome horror films from the pre-code Golden era of Hollywood. Both films feature the exotic-looking Kathleen Burke, who appeared in at least 22 features from 1932 to 1938.

Recently I came across additional information on Burke’s life.

This summary is taken from a thread posted on the Northwest Indiana History Facebook Page, from member Steven Shook (used with permission):

[Kathleen Burke is] A distant relative on mine. She’s seen in this photograph [below] as the woman with the black belt. The second woman from the left standing (arms on shoulders of young girl) is Kathleen’s mother Eulalia.

Kathleen was born September 5, 1913, in Hammond, the daughter of Cullen Dean Burke and Eulalia E. (Duff) Burke. She attended Waller High School (now Lincoln Park High School) in Chicago.

On September 29, 1932, it was officially announced by Paramount Studios that Kathleen B. Burke had won their contest to find the Panther Woman for their upcoming film “Island of Lost Souls.” Burke was chosen by Cecil B. DeMille, Ernst Lubitsch, Rouben Mamoulian, and others, from four finalists and a total of 60,000 contest entrants. Burke’s photographs for the Paramount Pictures contest were taken by her future husband, Glen Rardin.

She married Glen Nelson Rardin on February 25, 1933, at the Old San Fernando Mission in Mission Hills, California. Glen and Kathleen would divorce on November 8, 1934. She then married Jose Torres Fernandez at Hollywood on March 8, 1936, and they’d have one daughter, Antonia. Kathleen and Jose divorced – probably in 1942. Kathleen’s third marriage was to Forrest L. Smith and from 1965 to 1980 she’s resided in the New Town area of Chicago. Kathleen died April 11, 1980, at Chicago’s Columbus Hospital and she was buried in Montrose Cemetery in Chicago.

Photograph taken in Chicago.

Harryhausen Cyclops in “Ready Player One”

I noticed at 1:45 mark, in new Ready Player One trailer that The Iron Giant and Harryhausen’s Cyclops from The 7th Voyage of Sinbad make cameos.

Congrats GTD!

Nice to see a fantasy film do well at the Oscars!

Happy Birthday Lon Chaney, Jr.

Pictured here in High Noon (1952).