Delays, Delays...

I am making this rather late-in-coming post to inform all you wonderful people about my intentions regarding this blog.
I have been watching the stats regarding people visiting this blog, and have come to the awful realization that... no one is reading the blog. Minus you, of course. That being said, I am deleting this blog in seven days, and migrating all my work to my website, OldTimeRadioExtra.Weebly.com. OTRExtra will be much better than Blogger, in the fact that I can actually run it as a website with much more control, versus the rather limiting abilities that Blogger provides. I hope you will make the move with me, and I want to thank you for all the great support you have given.

Lotsa love,
J

CLASSIC MOVIE: His Girl Friday (1940)

Classic TV: "This Is Your Life: Milton Berle"

Here, for your viewing enjoyment, is a classic TV episode of the "reality" show "This Is Your Life", featuring classic funny-man Milton Berle. Enjoy!

Old Time Radio HORROR Review: Vincent Price in "The Price Of Fear"

If you were born before 1990, or were caught up in a frenzy of '90's nostalgia, you may remember seeing the Tim Burton film "Edward Scissorhands", with Johnny Depp and Wynonna Ryder. Remember the inventor who offered Edward a pair of real hands? That old man is none other than Vincent Price, who is remembered by most as being the "master of horror and gore", starring in gore-fests like "Dr. Phibes", "Theater of Blood", and the horror classic "House On Haunted Hill". What most people do not realize is that Price was a fantastic dramatic and comedic actor, acting in drama classics (Laura), and appearing in radio and TV shows like The Jack Benny Show and Duffys Tavern.

Nonetheless, today's blog post consists of a review of Price's radio show, "The Price Of Fear". The Price of Fear aired in the 1970's on the UK radio network BBC Radio, with Price as host, narrator, and star in stories that usually begin casual, but end with the listener hanging on to every macabre word and sound effect. These tales of terror were centered around fictional events in Price's life and world travels, going from England to Australia and back. Having listened to some of the shows, I can safely say that the shows have great production value in direction, sound effects, and acting. Due to the rather finicky nature of BBC Radio, I can only find three episodes of the show available in my OTR resources:

http://tinyurl.com/PriceOfFear

FINAL RATING: 9/10. A great horror show!

OldTime Link: RelicRadio

I have been enjoying the fantastic podcasts that RelicRadio puts out for over three years now, and it's time to pay them some due. Go to RelicRadio.com and subscribe to some (or all) of their great podcasts, like "The Horror", "Case Closed", "Strange Tales" and "Relic Radio Thrillers"!

Also, please feel free to donate to RelicRadio, as they have operating costs to keep up their wonderful programming.


COMING SOON: A review of "The Third Man", Old Time Radio's "The Big Show", and more!

CLASSIC FILM REVIEW: Abbott and Costello's "Meet The Killer: Boris Karloff (1949)"

Abbott and Costello have always been a great source of entertainment and joy for me for years, and this blog only proves it, the way I keep on reviewing their films! Their 1949 escapade, however is an interesting one; it is the boy's one and only foray into a genre generally only reserved for Coen Brothers films: Black Comedy. The genre, for those unfamiliar with it, is a very dark look into topics generally dealing with death and the dark side of life. A&C only filmed one black comedy, and this is it.

After being the first to see the body of a murdered power attorney in the "Lost Canyon Hotel", Costello's character begins to be the target of several attempts on his life, all while trying to clear his name. His pal, Abbott, the house detective, helps him escape the attempts, and also helps Costello hide the bodies that are just DYING to hang around him!
The suspects in the murder case are many, and all have perfect motives (and alibis, too!). There's Lenore Aubert, the husband-poisoner who tries to help Costello to "one of her special cocktails"! There's also Boris Karloff, who, despite the fact that his name is in the title (implying that he will be a major character), is only given a relatively small bit part as a "fake Swami from Brooklyn". His classic suicide scene with Costello brings the memorable line from the film: "You'll commit suicide if it's the last thing you do!" The film begins and travels at a moderately fast pace, and the gags and dark-themed jokes are plenty. However, as the last 10-15 minutes of the film take place in a (supposedly) deserted canyon near the hotel, it only seems that the gags in this scene are stale and, thus, the film drags until the last 3 minutes when all is revealed.

FINAL RATING: 8/10. A hilarious film, except for those last 10 minutes.... I may be wrong! Am I? Use the comments button to tell me! Thanks for reading!