Monster of the Day #118

Updated on October 21, 2010 By Ken Begg 15 Comments

Still not available on DVD.  What the hell?

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  • Ericb

    Is that Bela?

  • John Campbell

    I second that motion!

    It’s the eyes!

  • Ha, I almost had tagged the photo with the Village of the Damned tagline “Beware the eyes that hypnotize!”

  • Yet we can watch Marlon Brando and Val Kilmer whining and puling on that self-same island to our hearts content. I agree, what the hell?

  • David Fullam

    The House of Pain. God knows this is one of the best.

  • BeckoningChasm

    I’ve never seen this one. I think it was once available on laser-disk.

  • Rock Baker

    While not nearly as good as this version, the Burt Lancaster version was head and shoulders and torso and knees and ankles above the Brando version. At the very least, the Lancaster version was released by MGM with one of their typically nice transfers, so we have that if nothing else.

    It is weird that Island of Lost Souls still remains absent, maybe it has something to do with rights issues. If I recall correctly (and this is another flick I need to dig out and throw on the halloween pile), Island of Lost Souls was a Paramount picture. Now, I also understand the film was sold to Universal (or certain rights to it were) when it was sold to television in the famous Shock Theater package. Maybe there are still some issues that need to be cleared? Universal also released Dr. Cyclops on dvd, which I believe was another Paramount production, so maybe there’s an estate dispute or something. Whatever it is, I hope they get it cleared up soon, this is a great movie and needs to be much more visible!

  • BeckoningChasm

    Rock, do you have your own blog somewhere? Don’t misunderstand, I’m not criticizing your appearances here, in face I learn something pretty much every time you speak–but this sort of knowledge ought to be preserved some place!

  • Rock Baker

    Thank you! But no, I don’t have a blog or website or anything like that. Technological savy was never my strong point. I just have an obsession with genre movies and film in general, and no real life to speak of.

    I did have a monster movie magazine long ago, but I just couldn’t cover costs.

  • The Rev.

    I sat there for a moment trying to place him, and like others, it was finally the eyes that struck the bell, so to speak.

    I saw this at a past T-Fest, and it was pretty great. I didn’t know where Bela was in that case until he spoke; the only thing more distinctive than his eyes was his voice. He didn’t have much to do, but he did fine with what he had.

    I have to say, though, that Charles Laughton ran away with this movie, and I enjoyed every moment of his doing so.

  • sandra

    Charles Laughton tended to run away with just about every movie he was in. I saw this movie on TCM once. Aside from that, I don’t think its ever been shown on television. What a pity .

  • BeckoningChasm

    Am I correct in remembering that H.G. Wells hated this? Most of my memories are vague, admittedly, but something’s stirred up in the morass…

  • The Rev.

    I think you’re right on that, but I don’t recall details.

  • Rock Baker

    Not shown on television recently you mean? My copy was taped off AMC back around ’92 or sometime. And we can’t forget it was once a television staple thanks to its inclusion in the the Shock Theater package. It was pretty visible up until, maybe the mid/late 80s?

  • Kirk

    This is the Dawning of the Age of Asparagus, the Age of Asparagus!

    Asparagus!

    Asparagus!