Empire of the Ants (1977) - Newspaper Ad

Oakland Tribune - June 12, 1977

Last year I clipped and shared the STARTS WEDNESDAY ad for Bert I. Gordon's Empire of the Ants that ran in the San Francisco Examiner. Now it is the Oakland Tribune's turn.

The other day the 7 disc Sangster Directs Hammer box set from Severin arrived in the mail. One of the film contained therein is Fear in the Night, which just so happens to feature star Joan Collins. Who played a vibrant and campy role in today's subject.

My reason for mentioning this factoid is that the Fear in the Night disc features a video essay titled Joan Collins: Queen of the Horror Film. Collins appeared in a lot of British horror films in the early seventies, the most famous being Tales from the Crypt, of course. 

Yet it seems this particular slice of b-grade cheese schlock was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. Embarrassed and, quite possibly, infuriated, Collins would option her sister Jackie's novel The Stud and reinvent both her public persona and acting career. A decision that paid huge dividends when she was cast in the long-running primetime soap opera Dynasty.