Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow | |
---|---|
Directed by | William J. Hole, Jr. |
Written by | Lou Rusoff |
Produced by | Lou Rusoff |
Starring | Jody Fair Russ Bender Henry McCrann Martin Braddock Paul Blaisdell |
Cinematography | Gil Warrenton |
Edited by | Frank P. Keller |
Music by | Ronald Stein |
Production company | Alta Vista Productions |
Distributed by | American International Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 65 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow is a 1959 AIP horror comedy film. It was a sequel to their film Hot Rod Gang . [1] American International Pictures released the film in July 1959 as a double feature with Diary of a High School Bride .
The film spoofed the 1950s monster and drag racing films of AIP, and has been regarded as a forerunner of the 1960s Beach Party films. Spoofs like this film helped bring a close to AIP's 1950s low-budget horror film genre. [2] This was the last monster movie that special effects technician Paul Blaisdell worked on. [3]
After being evicted from their old clubhouse, members of a Los Angeles drag racing club move into an old deserted mansion and set up shop, making it their new headquarters. For the club's grand opening, they hold a Halloween masked ball and invite everyone to come dressed as their favorite monster.
The festivities take an unexpected turn when one of the youths discovers an imposter among them: a real live monster (AIP's oft-reused She-Creature costume, played by its real-life creator Paul Blaisdell), who has been mixing in with the kids, hogging all the dances with the best-looking girls. The phony monster is unmasked at the end of the film by one of the teenagers, revealing it to be AIP's special effects maestro Paul Blaisdell.
Blaisdell cries, looking frail and tiny in the oversized costume, and complains into the camera: "You've seen me before. I scared you to death in The Day the World Ended. You shivered when you saw me in She-Creature. Oh the shame of it, the indignity! They didn't use me in Horrors of the Black Museum after my years of faithful service. They just... threw me away!" The kids then chase him out of the house and continue partying.
Ironically, Blaisdell never worked on another film after Dragstrip Hollow, making his comedic speech in the film seem sadly prophetic in hindsight. [4]
Paul Blaisdell, AIP's top special effects technician from 1954 to 1959, was asked to spoof himself in the film, not realizing how close the film's ending would parallel the end of his own career a year or two later.
The film was released on DVD by MGM on February 15, 2005. [5]
TV Guide panned the film, stating that "[the] deformed script could have only been helped by a complete rewrite". [6] On his website Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings, Dave Sindelar criticized the film's "turgid pacing", lack of plot, and underdeveloped scenarios. [7] Dennis Schwartz of Ozus' World Movie Reviews rated the film a grade D, writing, "A dreadful hot rod teen comedy for the drive-in crowd. This one stinks even for AIP."
American International Pictures LLC is an American film production company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution company known for producing and releasing films from 1955 until 1980, a year after its acquisition by Filmways in 1979.
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The beach party film is an American film genre of feature films which were produced and released between 1963 and 1968, created by American International Pictures (AIP), beginning with their surprise hit, Beach Party, in July 1963. With this film, AIP is credited with creating the genre. In addition to the AIP films, several contributions to the genre were produced and released by major and independent studios alike. According to various sources, the genre comprises over 30 films, with the lower-budget AIP films being the most profitable.
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First Man into Space is a 1959 independently made British-American black-and-white science fiction-horror film directed by Robert Day and starring Marshall Thompson, Marla Landi, Bill Edwards, and Robert Ayres. It was produced by John Croydon, Charles F. Vetter, and Richard Gordon for Amalgamated Films and was distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Invasion of the Saucer Men, is a 1957 black-and-white comic science fiction/comedy horror film produced by James H. Nicholson for release by American International Pictures. The film was directed by Edward L. Cahn and stars Stephen Terrell, Gloria Castillo, Raymond Hatton and Frank Gorshin.
The Monster of Piedras Blancas is a 1959 American horror monster film. It was produced by Jack Kevan, directed by Irvin Berwick, and stars Jeanne Carmen, Les Tremayne, John Harmon, Don Sullivan, Forrest Lewis, and Pete Dunn. The film was released by Filmservice Distributors Corporation as a double feature with Okefenokee.
The She-Creature, or The She Creature, is a 1956 American black-and-white science fiction horror film, released by American International Pictures from a script by Lou Rusoff. It was produced by Alex Gordon, directed by Edward L. Cahn, and stars Chester Morris, Marla English and Tom Conway, and casting Frieda Inescort and El Brendel in smaller roles. The producers hired Marla English because they thought she bore a strong resemblance to Elizabeth Taylor.
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Paul Blaisdell was an American painter, sculptor and visual effects creator, best remembered for his work in science fiction and horror B movies of the 1950s.