Hidden Gems?? 1960s

[TheWickerFan]

A little OCD project I was working on. These are films from the 1960s that I haven't seen, that didn't make the HDC lists, that have an IMDB rating of 6.5 or higher. What is the consensus on the following films? Any great classics in here?

Spirits Of The Dead (1968)
Carry On Screaming (1966)
Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte (1964)
Blood And Roses (1960)
The Joy Of Torture (1968)
Mill Of The Stone Women (1960)
The Masque Of The Red Death (1964)
The Whip And The Body (1963)
The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1963) (#10 - Roshiq's Top Giallos)
Kill Baby Kill (1966) (#11 - Roshiq's Top Giallos)
Go Go Second Time Virgin (1969)
Premature Burial (1962)
The Sorcerers (1967)
Dracula: Prince Of Darkness (1966)
Mr. Sardonicus (1961)
Panic In Year Zero (1962)
The Haunted Palace (1963)
A Study In Terror (1965)
Django Kill! (If You Live Shoot!) (1967)
Nightmare (1964)
The Plague Of The Zombies (1966)
Twice-Told Tales (1963)
Horror Hotel (1960)
Night Creatures (1962)
Paranoiac (1963)
Strait-Jacket (1964)
The Brides Of Dracula (1960)
This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse (1967)
Burn Witch Burn! (1962)
Homicidal (1961)
Horrors Of Malformed Men (1969)
The Book Of Stone (1969)
The Sadist (1963)
House Of Usher (1960)
The Flesh And The Fiends (1960)
Twisted Nerve (1968)
Scream Of Fear (1961)
Hasta El Viento Tiene Miedo (Even The Wind Is Afraid) (1968)
The Housemaid (1960)
The Cremator (1969)

Any you're familiar with, like or hate, I'd like to hear about.

[neverending]

Spirits Of The Dead (1968) - Top notch anthology of twisted takes on Poe stories. Though the Felini segment is far removed from Poe, it's great.

Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte (1964) Excellent American Gothic with Bette Davis & Joseph Cotton. How could you go wrong? Great theme song too.

Premature Burial (1962) - Anything Corman directed in the 60s is worth watching, plus this has Ray Milland and scream queen Hazel Court.

Dracula: Prince Of Darkness (1966) - Any Hammer Dracula film is worth watching. Even though Lee has no lines in this one, it's still a worthy entry in the series.

Mr. Sardonicus (1961) - One of William Castle's greatest films, with a great shock.

Panic In Year Zero (1962) - A surprisingly dour post-nuclear war survival film starring Ray Milland. There's a bit of camp value, but there's also some well done drama.

The Haunted Palace (1963) - Ostensably based on Lovecraft, there's not much of the source left there, but Price is wonderful, as always, and there's plenty of atmosphere.

Nightmare (1964) - A great Hammer psychological thriller penned by Jimmy Sangster, who wrote most of their classic horror films.

Horror Hotel (1960) - A similar story to The Wicker Man which I'm sure you will enjoy! Christopher Lee!

Strait-Jacket (1964) - Watch Joan Crawford chew the scenery in this great William Castle thriller.

The Brides Of Dracula (1960) - Though there's no Christopher Lee, this is still a worthy Hammer classic.

This Night I'll Possess Your Corpse (1967) - Jose Mojica Marins is a real insane genius, and any film by him is a must see.

The Sadist (1963) - A savage little indie film, quite surprising for the violence, given the time.

House Of Usher (1960) - It's Corman, Matheson & Price, in one of their Poe adaptations. That's all that really needs to be said.

The Flesh And The Fiends (1960) - Based on the Burke & Hare case of body snatchers in England. Stars Peter Cushing & Donald Pleasance and features one of the greatest under-rated actresses of all time, Billie Whitelaw (you'll remember her late in her career as the nanny in The Omen).

All of the films on your list are worth a look. I've just listed my favorites. I'm sure Roshiq will post about some of the early gaillo entries.

[TheWickerFan]

Wow, that was a lot more work than I expected anyone to put in. Thank you kindly.:)

[neverending]

Well, I grew up watching these films, and I love talking about them.

[TheWickerFan]

Something that has been sadly lacking for a long time are really strong, charismatic horror icons. There are a few around, but it's not like it was during the sixties, when people would hear the name Vincent Price or Christopher Lee, and start forming a line for their next film.

I'd also love to see the William Castle gimmicks make a comeback. Unlike 3-D, I would gladly pay extra for something like Percepto.

[swiss tony]

Good list. You've highlighted quite a few movies a really need to watch, so thanks. I'll recommend the ones I've seen that I'd watch again...

The Masque of the Red Death & House of Usher - Excellent and typical Price performances. I love the grim reaper in red rather than black in Masque... Director probably taking advantage of the relatively new availability of colour t.v. Usher is not quite as OTT, is that a good or a bad thing? hmmm

Dracula: Prince Of Darkness - Again, a must see if for no other reason than that great icon, of not just horror cinema, Christopher Lee, is wonderful in it.

The Brides Of Dracula - A Hammer, I think, and having contemplated this movie and the others above, I'm desperate to rewatch them.

You're in for a treat with these four alone.

[TheWickerFan]

Originally Posted by swiss tony

Good list. You've highlighted quite a few movies a really need to watch, so thanks. I'll recommend the ones I've seen that I'd watch again...

The Masque of the Red Death & House of Usher - Excellent and typical Price performances. I love the grim reaper in red rather than black in Masque... Director probably taking advantage of the relatively new availability of colour t.v. Usher is not quite as OTT, is that a good or a bad thing? hmmm

Dracula: Prince Of Darkness - Again, a must see if for no other reason than that great icon, of not just horror cinema, Christopher Lee, is wonderful in it.

The Brides Of Dracula - A Hammer, I think, and having contemplated this movie and the others above, I'm desperate to rewatch them.

You're in for a treat with these four alone.

Thank you for the recommendations. Anything with Vincent Price or Christopher Lee has got to be worth watching.

[neverending]

The grim reaper in Masque of the RED Death is red because it's based on an Edgar A. Poe story called The Masque of the RED Death, not Masque of the Black Death. All of the Corman Poe adaptations are drenchedin rich color. It's one of their hallmarks. They were made to look like more expensive films than they really were by redressing and reusing a few large sets.

[swiss tony]

Yeah, that makes sense. Does the film establish that the red figure is the grim reaper? I seem to remember being unsure if it was the reaper or Satan.

I had heard that a lot of the, lets say flambouyant, sets and wardrobe were to 'masque':) a low budget. Either way, it's a great movie and if you havent seen the Phibes series of movies I'd highly recommend them. Also, the Last Man on Earth is good.

[TheWickerFan]

I've seen the Phibes films and Last Man On Earth. I really enjoyed them. I preferred Last Man On Earth to I Am Legend and Omega Man.