The Sunday Memory Drawer - Halloween on the Small and Big Screen

 

Regular readers will remember that I wrote this in previous Octobers.

I hate Halloween. 

Always have.

Always will.

I hated the notion of picking out a costume when I was a kid.   I hated dressed up for adult costume parties.  Thank goodness nobody throws those damn things anymore.   Or maybe they do and I'm just not invited.

I don't care. 

And I hate it even more now that I spent Halloween of 2015 on an emergency room gurney with a fractured kneecap.  Fun times. 

I guess I am just one rotting pumpkin. 

If you want to know all my horror stories about trick or treating and the like, do a search of some past Sunday Memory Drawers.  It's all there in blood curdling detail.

But, there is one part of the annual festivities that I enjoy.   It's the scary movies that turn up on TV.   That takes me back to Saturday nights long ago.

For Chiller Theater and you see the opening above.  Every Saturday night on WPIX, they would run one of them.   For a while, they were hosted by this guy. 

Zacherley (recently deceased himself) was this NY radio deejay who got an extra gig on the weekends, doing intros for some cheesy horror movie that might have played in the local drive-in circa 1955.  He'd welcome us all every Saturday night.

"Hello, boys and ghouls."

He was creepy as all hell but this pre-teen loved it all.  The problem in my house is that both TV sets, both my parents and my grandparents, were tuned to Lawrence Welk and his bubbles.  I'd have to wait patiently so I could flip some set over to Chiller Theater.  If I did that downstairs, my grandmother was no fan.

"Oh, this is too spooky for me.  I go to bed."

Even better.   That left me alone in my glory with the likes of Mothra, Gorgo, or the wife and/or daughter of some monster.  

For some mystical reason, one of my favorite Chiller Theater movies was this mess called "Frankenstein's Daughter" that was made for about six dollars in 1958.   You'll notice the name of John Ashley, who was the actor who played the hero in this piece.   Well, years later, when my writing partner and I had become friends with the late actress Deborah Walley, she happened to drop his name into the conversation since Ashley had been once married to her.   I immediately blurted out.

Frankenstein's Daughter!

It was a gut, knee-jerk reaction that got me one, make that two, quizzical looks at the luncheon table.  The actor had gone on to perform in and produce dozens of other movies.   But it was this thing that had stayed with me for life.

I could be a strange kid and apparently a strange adult as well.

The best part of Halloween for me was that, at some point during late October, WOR Channel 9 in New York would get around to showing this.  My very favorite Abbott and Costello comedy of all time.

It was another one of those movies that popped up on WOR's Million Dollar Movie all the time and I would be glued to the freakin' TV for the whole week. Bud and Lou in a haunted house. Enough said. But, almost miraculously, the film gets stolen by their co-star Joan Davis, who had such wonderful chemistry with Lou that it's a shame they didn't team up permanently. The dance number they do in the kitchen as they slosh through some rain puddles is absolutely brilliant.  To quote Lou in this movie...

"If you see a pair of pants flying through the air, don't grab 'em.  I'll be in 'em."

I outgrew most of this horror picture stuff as I got older.   But, later on, one movie took hold of everybody's attention and didn't let go.

We had heard all the stories.    Heads turning.   Vomit spewing out all over the place.   And movie patrons getting sick in their seats and literally running up the aisles to safety.

You just needed to be part of that.   The movie was barely open a week when a contingent of my friends ran downtown to the one theater where it was playing.

The line was two blocks long.

We stood in it for an hour.

In a driving snowstorm.

Wind chill temperatures of 10 degrees.

At one point, my friend and I looked at each other.   Our eyes asked the same question.  What the fuck were we doing here?  We left for the warmth of any place else.

I ultimately didn't see "The Exorcist" until it came to Mount Vernon, New York six months later.   In the middle of the summer.   And an air-conditioned theater.  It was still as effective and I was nice and comfortable in my seat.

I can tick off some other horror movies that have captured my fancy.

"The Birds."

"Psycho."

"The Omen."

At some point every few years, I do revisit all of the above via my DVR.

And, yes, I do own a copy of "Frankenstein's Daughter."

Dinner last night:  Orange chicken from Panda Express.

Classic Movie Trailer of the Month - October 2026

 One of the best baseball movies ever.

Dinner last night:  BLT at Art's Deli.

Len's Jukebox of the Month - October 2026

The summer has passed but the music still warms us. 

Dinner last night:  Salisbury steak.

Dead Comics Society

 

Fresh on the heels of last week's documentary on Martin Mull, we have another one.   It's practically the same movie.   So, if you're a fan of Norm MacDonald, this film is for you.

Indeed, the format of this movie is almost a copy of the one about Martin Mull as it involves a lot of extensive interviewing of the subject matter who died a year or two later.  As a result, Norm is virtually in every frame of the film.  If it's not his 
"talking head" dialogue, the footage is culled from what seems to be thousands of talk show and podcast appearances.   

In a way, Martin and Norm are very similar performers who had a modicum of success but never became huge mega-stars.  I have to admit that I did enjoy Norm when he anchored SNL's Weekend Update for a while.   Unknown to me was the reason why SNL eventually fired him.  It seems he made one too many weekly jabs at O.J. Simpson, who happened to be good friends with NBC executive Don Ohlmeyer.

"Norm" is a perfectly serviceable documentary and it now serves as a tribute to the lead who apparently fought cancer for 9 years without telling anybody.  For that reason alone, this movie is worth checking out.

LEN'S RATING:  Three stars.

Dinner last night:  SPO from my freezer.

This Date in History - October 21

 

Happy birthday in Heaven to Joyce Randolph, the original...and only true "Trixie" of "The Honeymooners."

1096:  DURING THE PEOPLE'S CRUSADE, THE TURKISH ARMY SUCCESSFULLY FIGHT OFF THE PEOPLE'S ARMY OF THE WEST.

Rhetorical question: was there a People's Army of the East?

1097:  FIRST CRUSADE - CRUSADERS LED BY GODFREY OF BOUILLION BEGIN THE SIEGE OF ANTIOCH.

Against Bouillion, the enemy was really in the soup.

1520:  FERDINAND MAGELLAN DISCOVERS A STRAIT NOW KNOWN AS STRAIT OF MAGELLAN.

Well, that was easy to name.

1774:  FIRST DISPLAY OF THE WORD "LIBERTY" ON A FLAG, RAISED BY COLONISTS IN MASSACHUSETTS.

...and justice for all.

1797:  IN BOSTON HARBOR, THE 44-GUN US NAVY FRIGATE USS CONSTITUTION IS LAUNCHED.

I always love the word "frigate."

1824:  JOSEPH ASPDIN PATENTS PORTLAND CEMENT.

A national holiday declared by the Mafia.

1833:  ALFRED NOBEL IS BORN.

He invented dynamite and that stupid award.

1854:  FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE AND 38 NURSES ARE SENT TO THE CRIMEAN WAR.

I wonder how many of them were cute.  And wearing squeaky shoes.

1861:  THE CIVIL WAR - UNION FORCES UNDER COLONEL EDWARD BAKER ARE DEFEATED BY CONFEDERATE TROOPS IN THE SECOND MAJOR BATTLE OF THE WAR.

Back when they were not shy about raising that flag.

1879:  THOMAS EDISON INVENTS A WORKABLE ELECTRIC LIGHT BULB.

Good.  Now he could see the other things he was inventing.

1902:  IN THE US, A FIVE-MONTH STRIKE BY UNITED MINE WORKERS ENDS.

Dig they now must.

1921:  PRESIDENT WARREN G. HARDING DELIVERS THE FIRST SPEECH BY A SITTING US PRESIDENT AGAINST LYNCHING IN THE DEEP SOUTH.

He was sitting because he wanted to.  FDR was sitting because he had to.

1921:  "THE SHEIK" STARRING RUDOLPH VALENTINO PREMIERES.

And women swoon all over America.

1924:  ACTRESS JOYCE RANDOLPH IS BORN.

I met her once.  Nice lady.

1928:  BASEBALL STAR WHITEY FORD IS BORN.

I met him once.  Dirt bag.

1940:  ERNEST HEMINGWAY'S NOVEL "FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS" IS PUBLISHED.

It tolls for thee.

1942:  JUDGE JUDY SHEINDLIN IS BORN.

Boy, I wish there were nine of her on the US Supreme Court.

1945:  WOMEN ARE ALLOWED TO VOTE IN FRANCE FOR THE FIRST TIME.

Viva La France.

1959:  US PRESIDENT DWIGHT EISENHOWER SIGNS AN EXECUTIVE ORDER TRANSFERRING WERNHER VON BRAUN AND OTHER GERMAN SCIENTISTS FROM THE US ARMY TO NASA.

Outer space, here we come.

1959:  IN NEW YORK CITY, THE GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM OPENS TO THE PUBLIC.

Yeah, that round looking building.

1967:  VIETNAM WAR - MORE THAN 100,000 PROTESTERS GATHER IN WASHINGTON, DC.  A PEACEFUL RALLY IS HELD AT THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL.

As opposed to the thousand other non-peaceful rallies that will happen over the next five years.

1969:  POET JACK KEROUAC DIES.

On the road no more.

1973:  JOHN PAUL GETTY III'S EAR IS CUT OFF BY HIS KIDNAPPERS AND MAILED TO A NEWSPAPER IN ROME.  IT DOESN'T ARRIVE UNTIL NOVEMBER 8.

Forget the ear.   That's some shitty mail service.

1973:  FRED DRYER OF THE LA RAMS BECOMES THE FIRST PLAYER IN NFL HISTORY TO SCORE TWO SAFETIES IN THE SAME GAME.

Seems odd that it took that long.

1979:  MOSHE DAYAN RESIGNS FROM THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT BECAUSE OF DISAGREEMENTS OVER POLICY TOWARDS THE ARABS.

Moshe Dayan:  "Are they coming on the left?"

1983:  BASEBALL PITCHER ZACK GREINKE IS BORN.

He had a phenomenal season for the Dodgers in 2015 and hasn't been the same since he left.

1984:  FILM DIRECTOR FRANCOIS TRUFFAUT DIES.

Truly that was the Last Metro.

1990:  ICE CREAM KING TOM CARVEL DIES.

Yes, I worked for him.   And, yes, I believe he was murdered.

1992:  LAWYER JIM GARRISON DIES.

Back and to the left.  Back and to the left.  Back and to the left.

2003:  ACTOR FRED "RERUN" BERRY DIES.

No longer happening.

2012:  POLITICIAN GEORGE MCGOVERN DIES.

And he thought he lost big in 1972.

2013:  RECORD SMOG CLOSES THE CITY OF HARBIN, CHINA.

Doesn't say much about the emission controls over there.

2014:  PUBLISHER BEN BRADLEE DIES.

All The President's Dead Men.

2015:  COMIC MARTY INGELS DIES.

Making Shirley Jones a widow.

2019:  ACTOR JERRY FOGEL DIES.

The last member of "The Mothers-In-Law."  Interviewed him once.   Nice, nice guy.

Dinner last night:  Leftover chili.

Facebook Sort Of Like

 

Aaron Sorkin must love social media.   This is the second movie he has written and directed about Facebook.   The first, "The Social Network" was the story about how the concept got started.   This new one is "The Social Reckoning" is much less kind.  It's all about how Facebook used algorithms to promote hate speech.

Or did they?

You really can't tell from this film which is two hours of nothing but Congressional hearings on the subject.   Of course, the main target is owner Mark Zuckerberg, this time played by creepy actor Jeremy Strong who always makes me feel uncomfortable watching anything he is in.

The rest of the cast is pretty basic.  Jeffrey Allen White from "The Bear" plays a WSJ reporter digging into the story.   He's getting his ammunition from a Facebook staffer/whistle blower played by recent Oscar winner Mikey Madison.

And that's it.   A bunch of interrogations as the three characters have various dialogues and monologues on the subject.   Naturally, the movie's conclusion is dovetailed with the activities on Capitol Hill circa January 6.   It's Aaron Sorkin at work.  Of course, it would.

The acting here is fine.  The subject matter is interesting.   I liked it...sort of.  But don't be surprised if your eyes close periodically because...well, it's Aaron Sorkin.

LEN'S RATING:  Two-and-a-half stars.

Dinner last night:  Sandwich.

Monday Morning Video Laugh - October 19,2026

 Our 75th anniversary salute to Lucy and Ricky continues.  The cheese that is a baby.

Dinner last night:  Grilled sausage.