B-Movie Madness: Tarantula 1955

"I knew Leo G. Carroll

Was over a barrel

When Tarantula took to the hills ..."

A spider escapes from an isolated desert laboratory experimenting in gigantism and grows to tremendous size as it wreaks havoc on the local inhabitants.

A severely deformed man stumbles through the Arizona desert, falls and dies. Dr. Matt Hastings, a doctor in a nearby small town is called in by the Sheriff to examine the body at the local mortuary.

Asked to define the cause of death, he finds himself perplexed as the deceased was someone he knew and had just seen recently whose deformity appears to be acromegaly, a distortion which takes years to reach its apparent present state.

Dr. Hastings asks to be allowed to perform an autopsy to clarify the diagnosis but the sheriff refuses, judging an autopsy unnecessary because there is no indication of foul play.

Hastings then approaches Jacobs' colleague, Dr. Gerald Deemer (Carroll), who more bluntly refuses permission, then signs Jacobs' death certificate in lieu of Hastings, with heart disease listed as the cause of death.

Bothered still by the anomaly, and also by Deemer's abruptness, Hastings later drives to Deemer's combined home and research lab in the desert far from town.

Deemer apologizes for his hostility, blaming it on his grief, then insists that Jacobs had developed acromegaly incredibly rapidly, over just four days. He cannot offer an explanation but attempts to convince Hastings this was only an anomaly, not a result of anything sinister. Hastings appears to accept this apology.

After Hasting leaves, Deemer goes to his closed lab, where huge cages contain white rabbits and mice, some of enormous size. Deemer examines each of the oversized specimens, noting when each last received an "injection", and how many each has had altogether.

Then he turns to observe a glass-fronted inset in the back wall, as a different sort of specimen slides into view inside - a tarantula bodily the size of a large dog, plus legs.

As Deemer finishes his observations of this creature, a second deformed man appears, attacks Deemer and begins destroying the lab.

During this rampage the lab catches fire and the glass covering the tarantula's cage is shattered. The man grabs a hypodermic that Deemer was preparing, knocks him out and injects him with the contents.

As flames and electrical sparking rage over the lab, the arachnid escapes outdoors ...

Interestingly, Prof Deemer predicts that by the year 2000 the human population will be 3.6 billion. In fact it was almost double that at that time.

Clint Eastwood appears as the (uncredited) leader of the jet squadron that attacks the tarantula in the film's climax.

The starring spider also 'acted' in a previous film featured here on The Folly Bird: The Incredible Shrinking Man.

🎞📽🎞

Did I enjoy this?

I did actually, animals in laboratories aside, obviously.

It even made me jump in one place which I have never done before when watching one of these b-movies.

Chuck Berry

 Charles Edward Anderson

'Chuck' Berry

October 18th 1926 – March 18th 2017

Rest In Peace

"It was a teenage wedding, and the old folks wished them well
You could see that Pierre did truly love the mademoiselle
And now the young monsieur and madame have rung the chapel bell,
"C'est la vie", say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell

They furnished off an apartment with a two room Roebuck sale
The coolerator was crammed with TV dinners and ginger ale,
But when Pierre found work, the little money comin' worked out well
"C'est la vie", say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell

They had a hi-fi phono, boy, did they let it blast
Seven hundred little records, all rock, rhythm and jazz
But when the sun went down, the rapid tempo of the music fell
"C'est la vie", say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell

They bought a souped-up jitney, 'twas a cherry red '53,
They drove it down to Orleans to celebrate the anniversary
It was there that Pierre was married to the lovely mademoiselle
"C'est la vie", say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell."

B-movie Madness: The Blob 1958

Today's b-movie is 1958's The Blob, maybe one of the most famous of the 1950's b features.

An alien lifeform consumes everything in its path as it grows and grows.

Over one night in a small Pennsylvania town in July '57, teenager Steve (Steve McQueen) and his girlfriend, Jane (Aneta Corsaut), are kissing on lovers' lane when they see a meteor crash beyond the next hill.

Steve decides to look for it but a local man finds it first. Poking it with a stick, it breaks open and a jelly like blob attaches itself to his hand. In pain and unable to remove it, he heads for the road where he is almost hit by Steve's car. Steve and Jane then take him to Doctor Hallen.

Doctor Hallen who is about to leave the surgery, anesthetises the man and sends Steve and Jane back to the where they found the man to see if anyone knows what happened. Meanwhile he decides he must amputate the man's arm since it is being consumed by the ever increasing Blob.

Before he has a chance, the Blob consumes the man, then Hallen's nurse, and finally the doctor himself, all the while increasing in size.

As Steve and Jane return to the office, they are in time to witness the doctor's death. Heading to the police station, they return to the house with Lieutenant Dave and Sergeant Bert who dismiss the story as a prank when there is no evidence to back up their story.

At the Colonial cinema, which is showing a midnight screening, Steve ropes in some of his friends to warn people about the Blob.

When Steve notices that his father's grocery store is unlocked, he and Jane go inside. They are cornered in a walk in freezer by the Blob which oozes in but then retreats. The townspeople and police still refuse to believe Steve's story.

Meanwhile, the Blob enters the Colonial and consumes the projectionist before oozing into the auditorium and doing the same to a number of the audience ... ... ...

***

I really like this film and think Steve, or should I say Steven McQueen is really great in this, despite being twenty seven and playing a teen!

I saw this for the first time years ago and the bit that always stuck in my head was Jane, aka Janie Girl and her never-ending talk about The Little Dog. Though to be fair, I would have worried about it too. And I, unlike Jane, who had some wonderful outfits by the way, would have had no problem with Steve calling me Janie Girl. Except Jane's not my name, so maybe I would 😉

Did you know ... The actual Blob, a mixture of red dye and silicone, has never dried out and is still kept in the original five-gallon pail in which it was shipped to the production company in 1958 from Union Carbide.

*

Have you seen The Blob?

Family Fashion Parade!

I thought I would share some family snaps!

This is my maternal grandmother Sarah.

Aged sixteen.

I believe I have the necklace she's wearing.

Holding my mother

  

 No idea who that girl is.

  

 

She's second from the right here.

Second from the left here and apparently my family knew Grandpa Munster! Who knew 😉

On the right here 

On the left holding my mother with three on her sister in laws. Guess this explains my curls!

My granddad is in the middle and that's his sister, June I think, on the left and that's my nan again on the right.

Seriously, how cool is my granddad? I rarely use that word but he looks like a rockabilly here! I'd love for Andy to have a sleeveless cardigan like he's wearing here but alas, I don't knit.

My granddad again, in Germany.

My granddad's brother Ray marrying wife June

My mother

and her again, aged fourteen

and again, marrying my step dad aged twenty three I think.

Fabulous wedding photo isn't it.

My biological father at the Isle of White festival.

My Scandinavian, paternal great grandparents

Great uncle Bert, my nan's brother.

And I saved the best for last.

The In Crowd.

My nan's brothers and sisters plus girlfriend.

That's Bert again second from the right.

Hey! Haven't I Heard This Before? Blue Suede Shoes

Or ... Grammy Done Shook Her Moneymaker To Thissun!

There are songs a-plenty from my favoured musical era, which every one will know, but the chances are, many people will know the cover version better than the original.

Take the extraordinarily well know Blue Suede Shoes. Who do you know that recorded this? Elvis Presley I'm betting in most cases. Did you know though, that Elvis didn't record it until March of 1956, Carl Perkins released it three months earlier  on January 1st 1956.

Johnny Cash gave the idea to Carl in the autumn of 1955 while they and other Louisiana Hayride acts toured throughout the Southern states of America. He told him the story of a black airman, who he had met when serving in the military in Germany, who had referred to his military regulation airmen's shoes as "blue suede shoes." He suggested to Carl that he write a song about those shoes. Carl replied, "I don't know anything about shoes. How can I write a song about shoes?"

However, when Perkins played a dance on December 4, 1955, he noticed a couple dancing near the stage. Between songs, he heard a stern, forceful voice say, "Uh-uh, don't step on my suedes!" Looking down, Carl noted that the boy was wearing blue suede shoes and one had a scuff mark. "Good gracious, a pretty little thing like that and all he can think about is his blue suede shoes", thought Carl.

That night he began working on a song based on the incident at the dance. His first thought was to frame it with a nursery rhyme and he considered, but quickly discarded "Little Jack Horner..." and "See a spider going up the wall...", before settling on "One for the money..."

Leaving his bed and working with his Les Paul guitar, he started with an A chord.  "Well, it's one for the money... Two for the show... Three to get ready... Now go, man, go!" he broke into a boogie rhythm. He quickly wrote the song down, writing the title out as "Blue Swade"; "S-W-A-D-E – I couldn't even spell it right," he later said*!

According to Carl, "On December 17, 1955, I wrote 'Blue Suede Shoes'. I recorded it on December 19.**"

Sun Records released the second take of the song with Sun producer Sam Phillips, suggesting that the lyric "go cat go" be changed to "go man go", but the suggestion was not taken.

In Jackson, where Perkins lived, and in Memphis, radio stations were playing the flip side of the record, "Honey Don't." However, in Cleveland, Ohio, disc jockey Bill Randle was featuring "Blue Suede Shoes" prominently on his nightly show, and before January was over, the Cleveland distributor of the record asked Phillips for an additional 25,000 copies of the record.

Blue Suede Shoes became the side of choice throughout the South and Southwest. On February 11 it was the number 2 single on Memphis charts; it was number one the next week and remained there for the next three months.

Carl made four appearances on the radio program Big D Jamboree on station KRLD in Dallas, where he played the song every Saturday night and was booked on a string of one-nighters in the Southwest. The Jamboree was broadcast from the Dallas Sportatorium, with about four thousand seats, and it sold out for each of Perkins' performances. Music shops in Dallas ordered a huge number of copies of the record, and at one point it was selling at a rate of 20,000 copies per day.

On March 17, Carl became the first country artist to reach the number three spot on the rhythm & blues charts. That night, he and his band first performed "Blue Suede Shoes" on television, on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee.

He was booked to appear on The Perry Como Show on NBC-TV on March 24th, but on March 22nd he and his band were in a serious car crash on the way to New York City, resulting in the death of a truck driver and the hospitalization of both Carl and his brother. While he recuperated from his injuries, "Blue Suede Shoes" rose to number one on most pop, R&B, and country regional charts. "I was a poor farm boy, and with 'Shoes' I felt I had a chance but suddenly there I was in the hospital," he recalled bitterly.

Carl Perkins never attained the stardom of Elvis Presley, who, according to Perkins, "had everything. He had the looks, the moves, the manager, and the talent. And he didn't look like Mr. Ed, like a lot of us did, Elvis was hitting them with sideburns, flashy clothes, and no ring on the finger. I had three kids."

After Presley hit the chart with his version of "Blue Suede Shoes," Perkins became known more for his song writing than for his performing.

Carl's original version:

I prefer this one.

Elvis's cover:

* As a child, I couldn't spell suede either, I used to spell it swede. 

** My birthday!

Folly Come Lately

My week in three pictures and much waffle.

There has been a lot of Ricky Nelson here this past week as I have become somewhat obsessed with his voice. I've always had a thing for voices, speaking voices in particular but sometimes a singer comes along and makes me melt.

There has been a moderate amount of sewing too. I was ironing and pulled a freshly washed apron from the basket. It was torn, so I pulled it apart and pinned it back together. I then did the same to my other apron as it was sitting a little high when wearing it. I then spent Wednesday putting them back together and also turning Andy's tired work trousers into work shorts. I also did battle with the epic patchwork quilt cover that I started years ago now. I have absolutely had enough of it at this point and have decided that it can stay wonky and rustic, as I'm officially beyond caring.


Ann wanted to see the perfume I got after I told her that the stopper was designed by a glass designer. I may have told a fib as I have since found out the whole bottle was designed by Polish designer Bronislaw Krzysztof. I feel very fancy pants having this. I actually got this free in a goodie bag as an apology. £95 perfume as a freebie isn't to be sniffed at, well technically it is, but you know what I mean!

What else .. Oh yes, I rediscovered my white lace peignoir last weekend. There was me thinking I looked not unlike Christine from Phantom Of The Opera wearing it, but when teamed with my baby doll nightwear, Andy said I looked like I belonged in a 1950's New Orleans brothel. I believe this was meant to be a good thing.

B-Movie Madness: The Incredible Shrinking Man 1957

B-Movie time again!

Today I'm featuring The Incredible Shrinking Man from 1957.

When Scott Carey begins to shrink because of exposure to a combination of radiation and insecticide, medical science is powerless to help him.

It took me a while to watch this one. It sat on the Sky+ box for a little while, with me umming and ahhing. I then finally took the plunge. 

Once it had started, I was alert and ready for business! Yes sir!

I was going nowhere. Maybe this was why ...

Isn't star Grant Williams just so extraordinarily handsome?
If I was a fifties teen, I would be sighing and declaring him dreamy.

I hear he had a Madonna complex.

Lying sunbathing on the deck of a boat, and trying to persuade her to get him a drink, he referred to his wife as wench.

This made me fall for his charms just a little more.

But then, I'm odd like that.

"The cellar stretched before me like some vast primeval plain, empty of life, littered with the relics of a vanished race. No desert island castaway ever faced so bleak a prospect. "

I'm not the biggest fan of cats, sorry cat furmums out there, I'm a bunny lady through and through, and this cat didn't help the cause, it was horrible! My word it had an attitude problem!

This scene struck a cord with me, and not because I have been trapped in a dolls house by a jerky ginger cat, but because as a child I often wondered what it would be like to walk through my own dolls house.

"I felt puny and absurd, a ludicrous midget. Easy enough to talk of soul and spirit and existential worth, but not when you're three feet tall. I loathed myself, our home, the caricature my life with Lou had become. I had to get out. I had to get away."

Apparently this spider is the same spider who starred in the film Tarantula!

Film star spider!

"I was continuing to shrink, to become... what? The infinitesimal? What was I? Still a human being? Or was I the man of the future? If there were other bursts of radiation, other clouds drifting across seas and continents, would other beings follow me into this vast new world? So close - the infinitesimal and the infinite. But suddenly, I knew they were really the two ends of the same concept. The unbelievably small and the unbelievably vast eventually meet - like the closing of a gigantic circle."

"I looked up, as if somehow I would grasp the heavens. The universe, worlds beyond number, God's silver tapestry spread across the night. And in that moment, I knew the answer to the riddle of the infinite. I had thought in terms of man's own limited dimension. I had presumed upon nature. That existence begins and ends in man's conception, not nature's. And I felt my body dwindling, melting, becoming nothing. "

"My fears melted away. And in their place came acceptance. All this vast majesty of creation, it had to mean something. And then I meant something, too. Yes, smaller than the smallest, I meant something, too. To God, there is no zero. I still exist!"

Did you know ... the psycho cat in this film was named Orangey and also featured in Breakfast at Tiffanys, as Cat.

🎞🎞🎞

Overall I did enjoy this, though I did find myself a little deflated when it had finished.

And no, not because the film was finished and Grant Williams wasn't there in front of me anymore.

I don't like to give spoilers or endings away, so if you're interested, do watch, it's one of the better ones I believe. I sincerely cared about Williams character Scott, and do still think about the film from time to time.