The Whistler - Newspaper Ad

Oakland Tribune - December 26, 1943

"I am The Whistler and I know many things, for I walk by night..."

The Whistler was more Inner Sanctum than The Shadow, as he was more of a commentator/host for the episode's story than a recurring character.

I do remember seeing an album containing two episodes of The Whistler in the Old Time Radio LP section at, I believe, Gemco. That would have been the late 70s or the first year or so of the 1980s. When I was really into listening to OTR. I had a collection of Lum and Abner cassettes, a Burns and Allen LP, as well as one for The Shadow. No idea why I passed on nabbing The Whistler, but it was a decision I came to regret. So it goes.

While there are a great many episodes of The Whistler archived on various websites, this particular episode appears to be one of those that was lost to the ravages of time and circumstance. I could not find it anywhere...

Fright Flicks - Trading Card #19

A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)

Freddy (Robert Englund) makes another grand and memorable entrance. 

City Hall (1996) - Soundtrack

Although I do remember the theatrical release of this 1996 melodrama, I have not seen it. Film's like City Hall were just not in my interest wheelhouse at that particular time. Just one of countless examples of films that slipped through the cracks and were fast buried underneath the sands of time. So it goes.

When Varèse Sarabande released this deluxe edition of Jerry Goldsmith's score, I picked it up. Yes, Goldsmith might have grumbled (good-naturedly or otherwise) about my desire to collect every note of his score like bottle caps, but I like what I like and I want what I want. So it goes.

Tim Greiving's liner notes reveal that Goldsmith drew his inspiration from Leonard Bernstein's only film score, for On the Waterfront (1954). Greiving describes that score a featuring a "lonely, bluesy French horn and a percussive rumble." Elements that Goldsmith put to very good use for his brief 34 minute score for City Hall.

The Bat - Newspaper Ad

San Francisco Examiner - December 25, 1921

Just the other day I posted the ad for the second film adaptation of The Bat, The Bat Whispers (1930). Turns out that nine years to the day before The Bat Whispers opened on Christmas Day, the source material itself also opened at the Century Theatre in San Francisco on Christmas Day.

The San Francisco Examiner printed a review on the 26th, Boxing Day, which raved The Bat was "merry melodrama. Mystery and laughs; surprises and laughs; complications and laughs. Thrills all the time. And laughs all the time." Sounds like it was a lively and entertaining evening at the theatre. The review ends with the statement that The Bat "is a play you must not miss."

Lady Death: Dark Alliance - Trading Card #54

Reflection

After thousands of years of unceasing forward motion, Purgatori rarely takes time to pause and reflect on when she has come from where she is going. Caught in a contemplative moment, the goddess reveals her inner beauty. 

Abby (1974) - Newspaper Ad

Oakland Tribune - December 24, 1974

One year after The Exorcist opened on Christmas Day, William Girdler's knock-off cash-in is poised to open on December 25th as well. Because nothing says Christmas better than demonic possession, right?

While I know about the legal dispute and such, I have yet to see the actual movie. I need to change that.

Fright Flicks - Trading Card #18

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Not much to say about this image, or the strained 'joke' the writer(s) came up with, other than it makes me notice the burn make-up only went to Englund's collarbone, at most.
 

The Bat Whispers (1930) - Newspaper Ad

San Francisco Examiner - December 23, 1930

The second of three film adaptations of Mary Roberts Rinehart's 1920 mystery play The Bat is poised to open on Christmas Day. The first film adaptation of The Bat was made in 1926 by Roland West, who also helmed this 1930 version. Bob Kane also wrote, in his autobiography, that the titular villain of this piece was an inspiration for Batman. Vincent Price and Agnes Moorehead starred in the third film adaptation, which was released in 1959. 

Lady Death: Dark Alliance - Trading Card #53

Tower of Pain

Skull by skull, life by life, Purgatori has clawed her way to where she is now, a succubus goddess with an insatiable thirst for blood. Blood brings power and life, and she can never get enough. 

Kolchak The Night Stalker - Promo

Oakland Tribune - December 22, 1974

The Oakland Tribune's 'Entertainment Calendar' Sunday supplement informs readers that a repeat of The Vampire, Kolchak The Night Stalker's fourth episode, would be airing on Friday, December 27.

Although the vampire was from Las Vegas, no serious connections or references between the first film and this episode were made.