Horror on the Big Screen October 26, 2012

HORROR: The Ways You Like It On Screen

At The Landmark Loew’s Jersey Theatre
54 Journal Square, Jersey City, NJ 07306
Tel. (201) 798-6055 Fax: (201) 798-4020 Web: www.loewsjersey.org

A Not-For-Profit Arts Center in a Landmark Movie Palace

Press inquiries: Colin Egan at (201) 798-6055 or CEL: (201) 344-7477. Email: [email protected].

On our BIG 50ft Wide Screen

Friday, October 26 8PM
DOUBLE BILL:
"Homicidal" Starring Glenn Corbett, Patricia Breslin, Jean Arless, Eugenie Leontovich. Directed by William Castle. 1961, 87 mins., B&W
With
"Carnival of Souls" Starring Candace Hilligoss, Frances Feist, Sidney Berger. Directed by Herk Harvey. 1962, 80mins., B&W.
"Homicidal" was B-movie auteur William Castle’s take on Hitchcock’s “Psycho”. “The Master’s”faithful undoubtedly dismiss it as a rip-off, and in fact “Homicidal” does lift key plot hooks and set pieces from “Psycho”. But it’s a clever pastiche that mixes in some neat twists of its own, and is surprisingly intense for its time. Then there is the amazing performance by Jean Arless, who delivers a level of scenery-chewing histrionics worthy of Joan Crawford. Perhaps best of all, there is Castle’s direction, which mixed the grittier elements of Hitchcock’s approach with pure B-Movie flamboyance. There are some surprisingly effective shocks, including one scene that cleverly sets a similar scene in “Psycho”on its ear. And there’s even one of Castle’s signature gimmicks: a "fright-break" which stops the film just prior to the climax for 45 seconds, counted down on the screen, purportedly to allow terrified audience members to leave the theater in order to avoid being "frightened to death." If it’s not quite “Psycho”, it’s still a decent thriller that’s fun for horror fans who also enjoy a splash of humor.
"Carnival of Souls" was made in the 1960s, when there were dozens of small filmmakers cranking out low-budget horror and sci-fi pictures. Most were pale imitations of B-movie masters Roger Corman and William Castle. But Herk Harvey, who otherwise worked as an industrial film maker, managed to create something decidedly different than any other horror movie of its time. Telling the story of a woman caught in a spiritual netherworld between life and death, “Carnival of Souls”has a cool, slightly forbidding tone and a desolate beauty in its visual style that stands apart from the other B- (or A-, for that matter) horror films of the period, and the icy emotional remove of leading lady Candace Hilligoss suggests a character more out of Ingmar Bergman rather than the usual screaming damsels being chased by the monsters who flashed across drive-in screens of the 1960s. And the film has a surprisingly glossy and distinctive look, given its shoestring budget. Director Harvey never made another feature, but “Carnival of Souls” has stood the test of time and become a cult classic that truly deserves its reputation.
Admission For BOTH: $10 for Adults, $7 for Seniors (65+) and Children (12 & younger). (May not be suitable for young children.)
Saturday, October 27 6PM
DOUBLE BILL:
"Murders in the Rue Morgue" Starring Bela Lugosi, Sydney Fox, Leon Waycoff (Ames). Directed by Robert Florey. 1932, 61mins. B&W.
With
"Dracula" Starring Bela Lugosi, Edward Van Sloan, Helen Chandler, Dwight Frye. Directed by Tod Browning. 1931, 75mins. B&W.

"Murders in the Rue Morgue" was offered to Robert Florey by Universal as a consolation for having missed the opportunity to direct “Frankenstein”, whereupon he transformed a pedestrian property into a horror classic. Owing more to “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” than to the Edgar Allen Poe story on which it was based, the film stars Bela Lugosi as Doctor Mirakle, a carnival sideshow entertainer whose prized attraction is a killer gorilla. The good Doctor is obsessed with mixing the gorilla’s blood with that of a woman, and so he kidnaps prostitutes off the Paris streets until he realizes that his experiment needs the blood of a virgin. Lugosi gives one of his finest post-Dracula performances, even as the shadow of being eternally typecast as a mad villain was settling over him. Director Florey keeps the action moving and the audience on their toes. Masterful cinematographer Karl Freund (“Metropolis”, “Dracula”) gives the film an appropriately sinister look – especially at the key murder scenes. “Murders in the Rue Morgue” may not be as famous as “Dracula” or some of the other blockbusters in Universal’s pantheon of horror films, but it is every bit as creepily entertaining. (Look for Arlene Francis, best known to a later generation for her frequent appearances on panel shows, playing one of the prostitutes.)
"I am....Drac-u-la. I bid you velcome." Thus does Bela Lugosi declare his presence in the 1931 screen version of Bram Stoker's “Dracula”, forever associating himself with the role and founding Universal Pictures’ dynasty of classic horror. Lugosi’s suave style and unusual cadence in delivering his lines became the touchstone for many who followed in the role. Lugosi and director Browning also gave the character the hint of sexual carnivore that became part of the Dracula canon (who can forget the lustful gleam in the eyes of Helen Chandler as she succumbs to the will of Dracula?) and which has been made much more of in later versions. Legendary cinematographer Karl Freund added to Lugosi’s masterful incarnation by shining tiny pinpricks of light into his eyes, giving them an eerily penetrating but hypnotic quality. Adding to the film’s lore is Freund’s Expressionist-style cinematography and the wonderfully Gothic sets which created a creepy and foreboding feeling that not only pervades this movie, but would go on to define the horror genre for a generation. There can be little argument that horror in the sound era of the movies was launched by “Dracula”. It remains a timeless classic.

Admission For BOTH: $10 for Adults, $7 for Seniors (65+) and Children (12 & younger).

Saturday, October 27 8:40PM
"Horror of Dracula" Starring Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Melissa Stribling. Directed by Terence Fisher. 1958, 82mins. Color
If Universal defined horror in the black and white era, Hammer Studios redefined it in color. Having had great success with a new, color version of Frankenstein, Hammer turned to the next logical character in the pantheon of movie monsters - Dracula, and produced a film that is far closer to the letter (and spirit) of the Bram Stoker novel than the Bela Lugosi version. The premise finds the infamous count journeying from his native Transylvania to England, where he takes a headfirst plunge into the London nightlife, and begins to rack up victim after victim. In the process, Dracula also runs into his arch-nemesis, Van Helsing, which ignites a battle of wills between the two. Christopher Lee is superb, managing to place himself right next to Lugosi in the public’s mind when imagining Dracula, and Peter Cushing as Van Helsing is equally good. The pacing is brisk, the dialogue sharp. Appropriately atmospheric and dark, even in color, the film notably builds on the hint of sexuality in the Lugosi film and adds touches of humor to update the tale's sometimes staid feel. All told, Horror of Dracula may be the single best movie incarnation of the most famous vampire. With its success, the film launched Hammer Studios and many other movie makers into a new era of horror films.
$7 for Adults, $5 for Seniors (65+) and Children (12 & younger).

Saturday, October 27 10:40PM
"The Sentinel" Starring Chris Sarandon, Cristina Raines, John Carradine, Martin Balsam. Directed by Michael Winner. 1977, 91mins, Color. Rated R.
The Sentinel is something of a combination of “Rosemary’s Baby” and “The Exorcist”, and plays on the mix of fear and respect that people (non-adherents in particular) hold for priests and the centuries of arcane rituals of the Catholic Church. New York model Christina Raines' new apartment building is populated by a group of eccentric neighbors (including Burgess Meredith, reminiscent of Ruth Gordon’s nosy character in “Rosemary’s Baby,” and John Carradine, wonderful in his late-career camp horror typecasting as a mysterious blind priest) who expend an inordinate amount of effort to draw her into their circle. When it's discovered that they may or may not be figments of her imagination, “The Sentinel's” story takes some nice twists of its own, and ultimately succeeds as a creepy little thriller. The film also boasts an amazing constellation of stars, some established and others still relative unknowns at the time, including Ava Gardner, Jose Ferrer, Martin Balsam, Eli Wallach, Jeff Goldblum, Jerry Orbach and Christopher Walken.

$7 for Adults, $5 for Seniors (65+) and Children (12 & younger).

"The Sentinel" is being presented with Saturday Nightmares; go to www.saturdaynightmares.com.

- - - Combo discounts available for multiple screenings in a weekend. - - -
**Film descriptions are compiled from various sources.

Press inquiries: Colin Egan at (201) 798-6055 or CELL (201) 344-7477. Email: [email protected].

The Loew's Is Easy To Get To: The Loew's Jersey Theatre, at 54 Journal Square, Jersey City, NJ, is directly across JFK Boulevard from the JSQ PATH Center with trains to and from Lower and Midtown Manhattan and Newark's Penn Station, and is minutes from the NJ Turnpike, Rts. 3 and 1&9 and the Holland & Lincoln Tunnels. We're easy to reach by car or mass transit from throughout the Metro Region.

Discount off-street parking is available in Square Ramp Garage adjoining the Loew's at the foot of Magnolia Avenue off Tonnelle Avenue, behind the Loew's. Patrons must validate their parking ticket before leaving the Theatre.

What’s Special About Seeing A Movie At The Loew’s? The Landmark Loew’s Jersey Theatre is one of America’s grandest surviving Movie Palaces. We show movies the way they were meant to be seen: in a grandly ornate setting – on our BIG 50 ft wide screen! The Loew’s runs reel-to-reel -- not platter -- projection, which often allows us to screen an archival or studio vault print that is the best available copy of a movie title.

PLUS – Live organ entrance music (from the Loew’s magnificently restored pipe organ) before most screenings.
The Loew’s Jersey is managed by Friends of the Loew’s, Inc. as a non-profit, multidiscipline performing arts enter.

Classic Film Weekends are presented by Friends of the Loew’s, Inc.