Weird Cinema: 15 Freaky Flicks 2007 Horror Movie Review

The first all-midget western! Dennis Hopper in love with a murderous mermaid! Pia Zadora and Santa Claus on Mars! Homicidal Siamese twins! A transvestite writer-director-leading man! Lon Chaney Jr. singing! This is just a taste of the weirdness that awaits you in this offbeat and eclectic collection of certifiably strange cinema.

These 15 rare and bizarre films, spanning four decades, are sure to amaze, intrigue, unsettle, and bewilder family and friends for years to come!

The Terror of Tiny Town (1938) Child Bride (1938) Hitler: Dead Or Alive (1942) Bill And Coo (1948) Chained For Life (1951) Glen Or Glenda (1953) Mesa Of Lost Women (1953) The Killer Shrews (1959) Teenagers From Outer Space (1959) Night Tide (1961) Carnival Of Souls (1962) Wild Guitar (1962) The Sadist (1963) Santa Claus Conquers The Martians (1964) Spider Baby (1968)

LONG DESCRIPTION: Disc One

The Terror of Tiny Town (1938) – Billed as “The First All-Midget Western” (there’s a safe bet), this western saga features “little people” riding Shetland ponies and entering saloons under the swinging doors. The hero (Billy Curtis), the girl (Yvonne Moray), and the villain (Billy Rhodes) would all portray prominent Munchkins the following year. (62 mins.)

Child Bride (1938) – A schoolteacher in the Ozarks campaigns to end the practice of older men marrying underage girls. Twelve-year-old Shirley Mills (The Grapes of Wrath) and 2’11” Angelo Rossitto (Freaks) are among the few professional actors. Genuinely unsettling. (62 mins.)

Hitler: Dead Or Alive (1942) – A tycoon offers a million dollars to bring back Hitler dead or alive. A group of ex-cons takes him up on his offer – and succeeds! (Wishful thinking.) Bobby Watson holds the dubious distinction of having played Adolf Hitler more often than any other actor. (70 mins.)

Disc Two

Bill & Coo (1948) – An all-animal motion picture! Yes, actual birds, kittens, and puppies play all the parts in this story of the residents of Chirpendale who are terrorized by an evil crow. This cinematic curiosity set the record for world’s smallest film set (30’ x 15’). (61 mins.)

Chained For Life (1951) – Vaudeville and Freaks stars Daisy and Violet Hilton (the original Hilton sisters) are actual Siamese twins, one of whom murders her husband. How do you punish one without punishing the other? You won’t see this on Judge Judy! (81 mins.)

Glen or Glenda (1953) – Ed Wood’s transvestite trifecta: He wrote, directed, and stars as a man who is afraid to tell his girl friend (Wood’s real-life girl friend, Fuller) that he likes to dress in women’s clothing. Bela Lugosi plays a scientist who babbles on about devils, snails, and puppy dogs’ tails. (71 mins.)

Disc Three

Mesa of Lost Women (1953) – A mad scientist (Jackie Coogan, in-between The Kid and The Addams Family) creates super-women, giant spiders and male dwarves in his Mexican laboratory. Future Plan 9 From Outer Space costars Lyle Talbot and Dolores Fuller add to the fun. (70 mins.)

The Killer Shrews (1959) – Giant carnivorous shrews (developed by a doctor who was attempting to shrink humans) terrorize a group of people who are stranded on a desert island. James Best (The Twilight Zone, The Dukes of Hazzard) is the hero. (69 mins.)

Teenagers From Outer Space (1959) – A young alien and a pretty Earth girl fall in love, then join forces to try and stop his fellow aliens from taking over the Earth. King Moody, who plays the Spacecraft Captain, was the world’s very first Ronald McDonald. (72 mins.)

Disc Four

Night Tide (1961) – Eerie tale of a young sailor (25-year-old Dennis Hopper) who becomes enchanted by a beautiful and mysterious woman who plays a mermaid in a side-show – and who may be an actual mermaid – who kills people! Luana Anders, who later appeared opposite Hopper in Easy Rider, is the third side of this bizarre love triangle. (84 mins.)

Carnival of Souls (1962) – Atmospheric, Twilight-Zone-like story of a young woman (Candace Hilligoss of Curse of the Living Corpse) who somehow survives a horrific traffic accident and is irresistibly drawn to a strange abandoned carnival. Filmed in Salt Lake City (in three weeks). (78 mins.)

Wild Guitar (1962) – Ray Steckler (The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living And Became Mixed-Up Zombies) directed and costars in this tacky tale of an ambitious young rocker (Arch Hall Jr. of The Sadist) who gets sucked into the sleazy world of the recording industry. Arch Hall Sr. (Eegah) plays the owner of the record company. (92 mins.)

Disc Five

The Sadist (1963) – A homicidal psychopath (Arch Hall Sr.) and his equally unbalanced girlfriend terrorize a trio of hapless travelers. Based on real-life thrill-killers Charlie Starkweather and Caril Fugate, who also inspired Badlands and Natural-Born Killers. If this low-budget thriller looks better than it deserves to, it’s because it was the first American film for famed cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond. (92 mins.)

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964) – Camp classic starring 10-year-old Pia Zadora (The Lonely Lady) as a green-faced Martian girl who witnesses a plot to kidnap Santa Claus and take him back to Mars so he can give presents to Martian children. (81 mins.)

Spider Baby (1968) – Aging horror icon Lon Chaney Jr. (who sings the title song!) and lovely Carol Ohmart (House on Haunted Hill) star in this truly bizarre tale of an inbred (and homicidal) rural family. Beloved character actor Mantan Moreland (King of the Zombies) and Sid Haig (House of 1000 Corpses) costar. (81 mins.)

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