Haven't been doing a whole lot of anything while these colds of ours slowly die away. Have gotten a couple things watched/read (mostly by myself alone - Jen doesn't like people thinking she watched some of the movies I have - meaning: Barbarella):

3:10 To Yuma

Plot: After outlaw leader Ben Wade is captured, small-time rancher Dan Evans is persuaded to take Wade to the nearest town with a railway station to await the train to the court at Yuma. However Wade's gang isn't about the let Evans get their boss out of town without a fight.

Thoughts: The first hour is pretty leisurely but the last 20 minutes or so are nail biters! Both Glenn Ford and Van Heflin were fantastic. I was in a Western mood when I watched it and definitely spent the 90 minutes right.

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13 Ghosts

Plot: Reclusive Dr. Zorba has died and left his eerie mansion (and its collection of ghosts) to his penniless nephew Cyrus Zorba and his family.

Thoughts: Directed by legendary showman and "King of Ballyhoo" William Castle in Illusion-O, audience members were given special glasses with two different color lenses - red to see the ghosts and blue to not (in case you got scared!). It's pretty tame by today's standards but the nostalgia of novelty value still holds pretty well. Bonus points for having the possible witch housekeeper being played by Margaret Hamilton, the Wicked Witch from The Wizard Of Oz (I notice she also played Mrs. Larch from The Ox-Bow Incident, which I totally missed when I watched it).

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The Case Of The Curious Bride

Plot: Perry Mason postpones a vacation in China to clear an old flame of a murder charge.

Thoughts: Starring Warren William, a young Errol Flynn in a bit part, and directed by Michael Curtiz (who went on to much, much better things like, oh, Casablanca), this one really should have been titled The Case Of The Curious Viewer as it's conceivably the only instance where Perry Mason comes off as an unethical huckster. While watching it Jen even asked me "Isn't Perry Mason supposed to be a good guy?" Bizarre film.

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The Invisible Avenger

Plot: Lamont Cranston, aka The Shadow, investigates the murder of a New Orleans bandleader.

Thoughts: Shadow movies are rare to come by on DVD. If this one is an indication as to what a viewer can expect from the others then it's no surprise to me: it took all my effort available to stay awake through the running time. If Meeko hadn't kept nudging me for pets it would have been lights out before the final 15 minutes.

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Peculia and the Groon Grove Vampires
By Richard Sala

Plot: Three members of a local babysitters' club draft the services of passerby Peculia for a job at a dusty old mansion. But once there, as you might guess from the title, things go a bit awry.

Thoughts: Richard Sala draws beautiful women in deathly peril from icky monsters better than pretty much everyone else who tries. Add in a delightful Charles Adams sense of humor and you have this generations Edward Gorey. His stuff is just so fabulous, I absolutely love it.