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Date Posted: 20:38:50 11/15/07 Thu
Author: Tim
Subject: Re: When did you first see Universal Horror films?
In reply to: Rick 's message, "When did you first see Universal Horror films?" on 11:40:22 11/15/07 Thu

I am 50 years old, and remember seeing many of the Universal horror films as a kid growing up in the 1960s. We only had three television stations, but one of them devoted Saturday nights to horror and science fiction movies. Most USA markets back then had their own local horror host who would air vintage horror pictures, usually late on Friday or Saturday night. So when I was able to stay awake late enough I was treated to some of the Universal horror classics, as well as a plethora of low-budget horror and science fiction movies like The Angry Red Planet and The Cape Canaveral Monsters. Of course at the time I didn't know a Universal Picture from any other studio's pictures, they were all just "scary movies", but some were obviously much better than others. I continued to be a late night horror movie fan into the 1970s, and like Alan, read Famous Monsters of Filmland, learning about the various actors and studios like Universal, RKO, Hammer, etc.

Around 1978 I got cable, which greatly expanded the number of horror pictures one could catch on the tube. I seem to remember something called Friday Night Frights on the old WTCG (which soon became WTBS), but am not sure if they showed any of the Universal pictures. In the 1980s American Movie Classics came along, and they aired many of the Universal classics, especially around Halloween. It was there that I first saw a number of the Universal films I had missed in the 1960s and 1970s, like The Old Dark House (once considered a lost film) and Tower of London.

Although VHS came along in the 1970s, it did not get widely popular until the early 1980s, and it had a huge impact on movie viewers. And now with DVDs we can watch virtually any film we want at any time. Modern technology is marvelous, it's a wonderful time we live in. Still, I will always fondly remember those late nights in front of the television, watching the old monster movies.

Tim

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[> [> Re: When did you first see Universal Horror films? -- Officer Torch, 11:24:34 11/16/07 Fri [1]

Tim brought up some good points..allow me to share some experiences and thoughts. Being yet a few years older, with maybe one foot on a banana peel, I can go back further..with TV, radio, etc. Hmm...Lecture in Memories 101 Class.
Think..comfort food. It's eg cold out. You maybe recall as a kid gettin' a bowl of simple chicken soup from a red and white can. It tasted great, made you comfy, maybe you slurped it in front of TV watching an old "cowboy" movie, or kid show with a serial fill-in, maybe some cartoons, Howdy Doody, the Stooges, some movie, etc. Disclaimer> this relates to my experiences, in Northeast. Ok, let's time travel to now.

It's Nov.2007, a Saturday morn, TV was left on and I see some(now) animated cartoons..a Disney one, with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and gang. They move human like..all smoothly, pix is smooth as silk, no visible flaws..and I say, hmm, tech stuff great, but something just not right.
Day goes on, you've free time..find a "cowboy" movie, it's in color, picture perfect, all politically correct ideas/cast, you channel surf, hmm, some sports..but you're not up to a 4 hour game now, a scifi or maybe action/adventure shoot-em-up flick, where CG may be used big time and stuff only happens in the movies? Want something lighter..so you switch to comedy on cable or satellite. First few minutes, maybe cursing and tasteless jokes..nah. Darn..room with your DVDs/Tapes is being cleaned-you can't get your stuff.

Ahh...heck with it..you pull out old still working cheapie record player and enjoy some old scratched up Beatles tunes, gladly maybe. Point is newer tech doesn't always satisfy..sometimes definitely, other times..you just need that comfort food, or watch an old cel type Woody Woodpecker cartoon or experience something as you once did. Maybe this day, you'd prefer a scratchier version of some old movie to watch...perhaps a tad grainy, some overscan, imperfect images/sound in this imperfect world of ours. Yes, you might have the best state-of-art this and that, BUT..sometimes, you'll associate snowy, grainy images and so-so audio, with fond memories from yesteryear!

This was a mini trip down memory lane. I saw tons of monster movies on Chiller, shows hosted by..umm, was it Zackerly?? Lots more...and I indeed have fond memories, by association, of seeing those movies as I did. I'm not against progress/improvement, and enjoy upgraded versions.. but, there's two sides to the coin. Hmm, I recall seeing a guy on a fixit/restoration type show recently, buying and scratching up, then refinishing a new cabinet to give it a "distressed" look. I dunno. Let's hear your stories.


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