Today, we celebrate the one and only art master Alex Ross, as a special tribute to Halloween, with a look at his beautiful magnificent drawings of the beloved Universal monsters.
Why we love it: Alex Ross’ influence on comic book artists is unparalleled. The man’s technical artistry is awe-inspiring, with his ability to show realism and the emotional depth of characters truly makes them come alive.
I could just sit here all day describing him with good adjectives. Mr. Ross is simply a marvel. One doesn’t just look at his art, they have feelings.
Title: Young Frankenstein Director: Mel Brooks Screenwriter(s): Gene Wilder, Mel Brooks Starring: Gene Wilder, Teri Garr, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman Distributed by: 20th Century Fox Year: 1974 Run Time: 1 hr 47 minutes
Tomorrow is Frankenstein Friday. Last Friday before Halloween in October is always dedicated to Mary Shelley’s novel about a mad scientist and his undead monsterous creation. So, in tribute and in keeping with our theme of Halloween Classic, today’s Thursday Time Travel is Mel Brook’s Young Frankenstein.
Newly engaged Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, grandson of the mad scientist Dr. Victor Frankensten, learns he’s inherited his family’s estate in Transylvania. Embarrassed by his family’s legacy, Dr. “Fronkenstein” travels to Europe, where he meets his late grandfather’s staff, hunchbaked assistant named “eye-gore”, the lovely Inga, and scary housekeeper Frau Blucher.
When Frederick finds Victor’s secret laboratory and private journals, the doctor attempts to perform his own experiments on a reanimated dead corpse.
Mel Brook’s hilarious parody of the old Universal monster films of the 30s and 40s was shot in black and white and consistently shows up on all the top comedy lists of all-time. In 2003, it was deemed culturally, historically, and aestethically significant by the United States National Preservation Board and selected for preservation in the Library of Congress National Film Registry.
You can find Young Frankenstein on Amazon Prime this October.
Why we love it: Johanna Parker’s name is synonymous with Halloween folk art and vintage Halloween replicas. She often partners with top retail and wholesalers, where her art and designs are featured on everything from art and clothing to Halloween decorations and home goods.
Title: Little Shop of Horrors Director: Roger Corman Screenwriter(s): Charles B. Griffith Starring: Jonathan Haze, Jackie Joseph, Mel Welles, Dick Miller, and Jack Nicholson Distributed by: The Filmgroup Year: 1960 Run Time: 1 hr 10 minutes
Bumbling florist assistant Seymour and his pretty colleague Audrey work in rundown floral shop on skid row, run by the cranky Mr. Gravis Musgnick. After getting fired for messing up order for crazy local dentist, Seymour claims to be growing a unique surprise plant for the owner. A flower-eating customer Burson Fouch tells Mushnick a special plant can help his businesses grow, so Mushnick gives Seymour one week to drum up business.
Named Audrey Jr., affectionately named after his co-worker, Audrey Jr. is a scrawny little bud cultivated from unknown seeds that were given to Seymour by a Japanese florist. Seymour has trouble feeding Audrey Jr., that is until he pricks his finger and he realizes the plant feeds on blood. So, he begins a feeding the plant a steady diet of his own blood.
With business blooming, Audrey Jr. grows bigger each day and even learns to talk, demanding more and more blood, leading poor Seymour to realize he’s got a big problem on his hands. One day during a walk, he accidentally knocks out a drunk, who then falls on the tracks and gets killed by a train. Guilt-ridden Seymour feeds the man’s body parts to Audrey Jr., who grows ten times bigger.
Of course, with a man-eating talking plant, the body count rises and eventually, the film’s narrator Sgt. Joe Fink and local homicide come calling.
One of Roger Corman’s earliest films was never meant to be a comedy. Corman originally wanted to write a detective story. Screenwriter Charles B. Griffith wanted to write a horror-comedy. At some point, during development, Corman learned that the sets they used for Bucket of Blood were about to be torn down. Never one to miss an opportunity to save money, Corman and Griffith hammered out their script, which was heavily influenced by the original science fiction short story ‘The Reluctant Orchid’ by Arthur C. Clarke and set out to film the movie in three days.
Corman never thought Little Shop of Horrors would make any money beyond its first theatrical run, much less become a cult hit, so he mistakenly let the movie fall into public domain by failing to secure the copyrights.
It can now be found on several streaming services, including Amazon Prime.
Why we love it: Spooky Wil’s original designs are whimsical nods to that feel-good vintage Halloween style. In his shop in the UK, Wil sells vintage style halloween clothing, decor, homewares, and memorablia, Hocus Pocus and other spooky movie merch, and even rare, hard to find Halloween items.
There’s a new 2025 calendar up for sale. Order yours today before they sell out!
It’s an election year… remember to go vote and check out one of my favorite fantasy comedies this month, I Married a Witch starring Veronica Lake and Fredric March.
Just before being burned at the stake, 17th century witch Jennifer casts a curse on the family of her accuser, Jonathan Wooley, dooming all the men in the lineage to be unlucky in love and marry the wrong woman.
250 years later, Jennifer and her warlock father Daniel are accidentally freed from their eternal prison, but in incorporeal form. When Daniel starts a fire in order to casts a spell to give Jennifer a human body, they come upon the latest Wooley descendant, Wallace Wooley, who just so happens to be running for governor and engaged to the spoiled daughter of his biggest campaign supporter and financier, J.B. Masterson.
Hijinks ensue after Jennifer accidentally drinks a love potion she intended for Wallace. Jennifer and Daniel, now also in human form, crash the wedding. Estelle to call the whole thing off when she catches her groom to be in an embrace, leading JB to denounce Wooley to the papers. After eloping, Jennifer casts a spell rigging the election, so the while city votes for Wallace, including his opponent! This finally convinces Wolley that he’s indeed married to a witch.
Veronica Lake and Fredric March have great chemistry here and the entire cast is perfect. This movie is a lot of fun and great for Halloween viewing.
(Promo shot for I Married a Witch)
Veronica Lake was somewhat of a troubled star. She was a heavy drinker and had a bad reputation for being difficult on set. Many of her directors and co-stars didn’t like her, including March, who said some pretty nasty things about her. Her career supposedly stalled out in late forties. Many critics and fans have since then revisited her life’s story and realized her alcoholism was result of untreated schizophrenia and some horrible tragedies that befell upon her. We may never know how much Hollywood directly contributed to her downfall.
Halloween Horror Haiku 
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