Friday Night At The Home Drive-In: Devil’s Partner (1960)

Poster for Devil's Partner (1960)Devil’s Partner (1960) by #CharlesRRondeau
w/
#EdgarBuchanan #JeanAllison #RichardCrane

A vengeful old hermit sells his soul to the devil & turns into a young man.

“Half man, half beast–he sold his soul for passion!”

“Doesn’t make sense, a hunk of beef killing a man like Doctor Marx.”

#Horror
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

I don’t recall seeing a lot of movies about Satanism, or making deals with the devil, when I was a young lad. So, I’m pretty sure I never saw Devil’s Partner (1960) on Not Quite Classic Theatre. The back of the DVD describes the plot like this: “”An old hermit makes a pact with the Devil and, in exchange for his obedience, is given restored youth and vitality. He returns to his hometown, after assuming the identity of his own nephew, and takes up residence in his former home.”

Well, if I hadn’t read that ahead of time, I would have had a lot more trouble understanding this movie. We see an old man die at the beginning. And then we see a young man, his nephew, appear in town looking for him. It takes the movie quite a while to reveal to us that they are in fact the same person. That’s okay. In fact, it might have been better not to blow that twist ahead of time (thanks DVD box). But there are a few other details that only make sense once you realize what’s really going on. Continue reading

Friday Night At The Home Drive-In: Last Woman on Earth (1960)

Poster for Last Woman on Earth (1960)Last Woman on Earth (1960) by #RogerCorman
screenplay: #RobertTowne
w/
#BetsyJonesMoreland #AntonyCarbone

A gangster, his wife, and his lawyer may be the last people alive.

“They fought for the Ultimate Prize!”

“You mean you’d exile one-third of the human race?”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

Last Woman on Earth (1960) is one of three movies that Roger Corman made in Puerto Rico. He made Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961) back to back with Last Woman on Earth to save money (shoot two movies while on location in one place). Last Woman on Earth is probably the better of the two. It was written by renowned screenwriter Robert Towne (Chinatown (1974), The Last Detail (1973)) and feels kind of like an old episode of The Twilight Zone (1959-1964).

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Friday night at the home drive-in: The Leech Woman (1960)

Poster for The Leech Woman (1960)The Leech Woman (1960) by #EdwardDein w/#ColeenGray #GrantWilliams #EstelleHemsley

An endocrinologist in a dysfunctional marriage with an aging, alcoholic wife journeys to Africa seeking a drug that will restore youth.

“In the Savage Heart of the Jungle She Found the Forbidden Secret of Eternal Youth!”

“She drained men of their loves and lives”

#Horror #SciFi
#NotQuiteClassicCinema
#FridayNightAtTheHomeDriveIn

DVD cover for The Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection.As I’ve mentioned a few times, I fondly remember watching a TV show called Not Quite Classic Theatre when I was young. This is how I was introduced to many horror and sci-fi movies from the 1950s. I happily discovered that some of the movies I can remember from the show have been included in a DVD set from Universal called The Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection. This led me to believe that the 10 movies in this set were likely part of a package that Universal licensed to Not Quite Classic Theatre for broadcast all those years ago. Re-watching them all now, many years later, has been an exciting trip down memory lane.

The Leech Woman (1960) is the final movie in the set. The fact that it came out in 1960 may be an indication that the glory days of 1950s monster movies were coming to an end. I don’t remember seeing The Leech Woman on Not Quite Classic Theatre back in the day, but I may well have. As I’ve said before, many of those films are lost in time to me now. They may come back to me if I see them again someday, but I wouldn’t want to count on that. Not Quite Classic Theatre used to show three movies starting at 10:00 PM. By the time the third one came on, my attention may have been somewhat less than perfect. Continue reading