The movies
Creature Features normally showed classic Universal Horror, like Dracula , Frankenstein , Bride of Frankenstein , The Mummy , plus many Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi films and others.
They also aired all the movies produced and distributed by American International Pictures. This included all the Roger Corman B-movies of the 1950s and 1960s like The Raven , and The Terror , plus most of the Japanese "monster movies" produced by Toho Studios, and Daiei Motion Picture Company (famous for their Godzilla and Gamera movies).
They also broadcast all the best British horror films by Hammer Film Productions, like The Quatermass Xperiment , The Curse of Frankenstein , Dracula: Prince of Darkness , The Phantom of the Opera , The Curse of the Werewolf , and The Hound of the Baskervilles . Also Amicus Productions, and Tigon British Film Productions films such as Dr. Terror's House of Horrors , and The House That Dripped Blood .
But what became most well known about Creature Features is the airing of all the 1950s science fiction movies. These included Them! , The Thing from Another World , It Came from Outer Space , It! The Terror from Beyond Space , The War of the Worlds , and Forbidden Planet .
Seasons
The following is a checklist and brief broadcast history of the Creature Features horror movie showcase:
- Promo Season
- July–August 1969 (7:30pm Saturday)
- 1st Season
- November 1969 – September 1970 (8:30pm Saturday)
- 2nd Season (Double Feature)
- October 1970 – September 1971 (12:00 Noon, 8:30pm Saturday)
- 3rd Season
- November 1971 – June 1972 (8:30pm Friday)
- 4th Season
- July–September 1972 (7:30 Friday)
- 5th Season (Double Feature)
- October–September 1972 (12:00 Noon, 11:30pm Saturday)
- 6th Season
- October–December 1972 (12:00 Noon Saturday)
- 7th Season
- January– March 1973 (8:30pm Saturday)
- 8th Season
- April–June 1973 (12:00 Noon Saturday)
- 9th Season (Double Feature)
- July–August 1973 (12:00 Noon, 8:30pm Saturday)
In late 1973 Creature Features was dropped from its nighttime slot and replaced by football games and other programming (although the Saturday's horror movies continued with Chiller Theater). When horror movies eventually returned to Saturday night, they would usually air in a late night timeslot. The daytime version, during the second and fifth seasons, was usually entitled "Jeepers Creepers" (with a cartoon figure metamorphing into a troll-like monster a la Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde).
Creature Features would resurface at odd intervals, specifically during 1976–1978, but none of these runs lasted for very long. Lou Steele, The Creep himself, died of a heart attack in February 2001.
Creature Double Feature is a television show, syndicated in the Boston and Philadelphia area during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. It sometimes also aired under names like Sci-Fi Flix and Creature Feature. The show aired classic monster movies, with the name "Creature Double Feature" based on its airing two movies during its three-hour time slot. The movies broadcast were taken from the classic Universal Horror movies of the 1930s to 1950s, the Hammer Studios and American International Pictures films of the 1950s, Roger Corman's horror films of the 1960s, and Toho Studio's "giant monster" movies of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.
Van Helsing is a 2004 action horror film written and directed by Stephen Sommers. It stars Hugh Jackman as monster hunter Van Helsing and Kate Beckinsale as Anna Valerious. Van Helsing is both an homage and tribute to the Universal Horror Monster films from the 1930s and 1940s, of which Sommers is a fan.
John Zacherle was an American television host, radio personality, singer, and voice actor. He was best known for his long career as a television horror host, often broadcasting horror films in Philadelphia and New York City in the 1950s and 1960s. Best known for his character of "Roland/Zacherley", he also did voice work for films, and recorded the top ten novelty rock and roll song "Dinner With Drac" in 1958. He also edited two collections of horror stories, Zacherley's Vulture Stew and Zacherley's Midnight Snacks.
Terence Fisher was a British film director best known for his work for Hammer Films.
Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, and the famous character of Frankenstein's monster, have influenced popular culture for at least a century. The work has inspired numerous films, television programs, video games and derivative works. The character of the Monster remains one of the most recognized icons in horror fiction.
Los Monstruos del Terror, also known as Dracula vs. Frankenstein and Assignment: Terror, is a 1970 Spanish-German-Italian horror and Sci-Fi film co-directed by Tulio Demicheli and Hugo Fregonese.. Eberhard Meichsner was also credited as a director only in the British promotional material, but by all accounts he was not actually involved.
Louis J. "Lou" Steele was an American actor, radio, and television announcer.
Fright Night was the name of two science fiction and horror film programs. One ran from 1970 to 1981, and the other ran from 1973 to 1987. Both programs were broadcast by KHJ-TV Los Angeles, and its sister-station WOR-TV New York City.
Creature Features is a program of horror shows broadcast on local American television stations throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The movies broadcast on these shows were generally classic and cult horror movies of the 1930s to 1950s, the horror and science-fiction films of the 1950s, British horror films of the 1960s, and the Japanese kaiju "giant monster" movies of the 1950s to 1970s.
Dracula vs. Frankenstein, released in the UK as Blood of Frankenstein, is a 1971 American science fiction horror film directed and co-produced by Al Adamson. The film stars J. Carrol Naish as Dr. Durea, a descendant of Dr. Frankenstein who is working on a blood serum with his assistant Groton. The serum soon becomes sought after by Count Dracula, who hopes that it will grant him the ability to be exposed to sunlight without harm. Other members of the film's cast include Anthony Eisley, Regina Carrol, Angelo Rossitto and Russ Tamblyn.
Frankenstein vs. the Creature from Blood Cove is a 2005 horror film written and directed by William Winckler. It is the second film from William Winckler Productions. Filmed in black and white, the film is an homage to classic monster movies, harkening back to the days of Universal's "Monster Rally" heyday. The film was released direct to DVD in 2005 and has since gone on to acquire a growing fan base. Part of the success of the film to date has been the support it has received from horror hosts and fans of late night cinema, with a national syndicated showing on Mr. Lobo's Cinema Insomnia Halloween special as well as local airings on shows from the Horror Host Underground. The film was awarded the "Best Feature Film" award at the 2006 World Horror Convention.
Terror in the Aisles is a 1984 American documentary film about horror films, including slasher films and crime thrillers. The film is directed by Andrew J. Kuehn, and hosted by Donald Pleasence and Nancy Allen. The original music score is composed by John Beal.
Movie 4 is a television program that aired at various times, but predominantly weekday afternoons, on various television stations on channel 4, including WNBC-TV in New York City from 1956 to 1974. WNBC's program aired top-rank first-run movies and other future classics from Hollywood, as well as foreign films. As with other movie shows of 90-minute length, films that ran longer were often divided into two parts.
Chiller Thriller was a kid-friendly horror showcase that aired on New York City television station WOR-TV on Saturday mornings as early as 1974 and as late as 1977.
Chiller Theatre, or Chiller Theater, was a late-night horror and science fiction movie program on WIIC/WPXI, Channel 11, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It aired from September 14, 1963 to January 1, 1984. It was hosted by Bill Cardille, known to fans as "Chilly Billy". It was a Saturday night tradition for two generations of Pittsburghers. Two films were shown, one starting at 11:30 p.m. and the second starting at about 1:00 a.m. In between films, and at random times during the films, breaks were taken for skits such as reports from the "PSS"; in these skits, Bill Cardille would go into another part of the WIIC studios and pretend he was broadcasting from the (nonexistent) Pittsburgh Subway System. Other characters included Captain Bad, Maurice the Matchmaker, and Mr. Magnificent. Cardille and WIIC publicist Robert Willis wrote the skits, followed by staff director/producer Michael Styer and sometimes Channel 11 staffers were enlisted to play bit parts. At the end of the show, Cardille would sit on a stool and banter with the studio crew.
Chiller Theatre was a Saturday night television series broadcast by Channel 11 WPIX New York City that showed classic horror movies.
The BBC2 Horror Double Bills were seasons of classic horror movies broadcast annually in the UK on BBC2 television between 1975 and 1983, with a revival in 1993. They provided rare opportunities to see some of these films.
Creature Feature may refer to:
The World of Hammer is a British television documentary series created and written by Robert Sidaway and Ashley Sidaway, and produced by Robert Sidaway.
