Vintage Pulp

June 9 2023

SPEED KILLS

Are you ready to Rumble?

Bad movies, great posters. We never get tired of exploring that dichotomy. Hot Rod Rumble is a poorly budgeted, poorly acted entry in the carsploitation sub-genre of mid-century films, starring Leigh Snowden and Richard Hartunian. The story concerns a gang of racers called the Road Devils whose two main members get entangled in an antagonistic rivalry over a woman (Snowden), a fatal acccident, a cover-up of that accident, and a $1,500 Sweepstakes Race. As such movies will, it ends with a final showdown on the tarmac.

Certainly this one is interesting to watch for the cars, and Snowden is a competent performer, but we can’t say much for the others. Co-lead Hartunian never appeared in another film, and he may not have had a choice about that, so atrocious is his acting. We picture him motoring out of the movie lot and over the horizon in his hot rod, never to return. Our advice: everyone except racing fans should probably steer well clear of Hot Rod Rumble. But if you find its poster, buy it, frame it, and hang it. It’s a classic. The movie premiered in the U.S. today in 1957.

Hot Rod Rumble, Leigh Snowden, Richard Hartunian, poster art, cinema, movie review

Femmes Fatales

April 23 2021

LEIGH’S BIG CITY TRIP

We wonder if anyone warned her she was running out of sidewalk?

Because we’re always seeing the ridiculous in even the most innocuous situations we can’t stop imagining U.S. actress Leigh Snowden continuing to walk looking over her shoulder until she falls off the end of the sidewalk. Which would be ironic because she was famous for her graceful walk. These three promo images were originally made in 1956 as a single triptych to demonstrate precisely that grace. We’ve helpfully broken the original composite down to its constituent elements. Does Snowden look unusually graceful? Sure, we guess so—right up until the faceplant.

The full story is on the rear: Leigh Snowden demonstrates the walk which started her on the road to movie stardom. Jack Benny gave the first slight shove to the young actress who not long ago was singing in the choir in Covington, Tenn. He took her along as feminine interest for a performance of his tv show at the naval base in San Diego, early in 1955. All she did was walk on. Twenty thousand sailors let out with whistles and wolf calls which were heard in Hollywood. Leigh, unknown a few days earlier, had her choice of 11 studios and independent producers.

Tennessee, San Diego, Leigh Snowden, Jack Benny, television

Vintage Pulp

January 7 2020

CREATURE FROM THE SHLOCK LAGOON

Swamp monster discovers that it's humans who are the real slime.

Who is truly monstrous—beast or man? That pretty much covers The Creature Walks Among Us front to back. When a group of scientists set out to capture an aquatic humanoid that lives in the Florida Everglades, they clash over whether the mission is one of mere discovery or rather cruel experimentation. To wit, the head of the expedition wants to genetically alter the creature as a step on the ladder toward making humans hardy enough for space travel. No, it doesn’t really make sense. And it’s hard to care, since with three basically identical looking guys as the three male leads we had a hard time telling them apart. And this in a movie in which they also wear lab coats much of the time, making it even more difficult to distinguish them. Lean and lovely co-star Leigh Snowden, on the other hand, is distinguishable as hell, and the three haircuts are soon vying for her attentions. But there’s science that needs to be scienced, so they eventually capture the monster. It’s upon returning to dry land that their problems really start. As third in the canon of Creature from the Black Lagoon flicks, The Creature Walks Among Us is worth a gander, but not necessarily a recommendation. It’s damned funny in parts, though. Unintentionally. Above you see the movie’s Belgian poster, with text in French and Dutch. It’s far better than the film itself.

Florida, The Creature Walks Among Us, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Jeff Morrow, Rex Reason, Leigh Snowden, poster art, cinema, movie review, horror

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

April 20

1939—Holiday Records Strange Fruit

American blues and jazz singer Billie Holiday records “Strange Fruit”, which is considered to be the first civil rights song. It began as a poem written by Abel Meeropol, which he later set to music and performed live with his wife Laura Duncan. The song became a Holiday standard immediately after she recorded it, and it remains one of the most highly regarded pieces of music in American history.

April 19

1927—Mae West Sentenced to Jail

American actress and playwright Mae West is sentenced to ten days in jail for obscenity for the content of her play Sex. The trial occurred even though the play had run for a year and had been seen by 325,000 people. However West’s considerable popularity, already based on her risque image, only increased due to the controversy.

April 19

1971—Manson Sentenced to Death

In the U.S, cult leader Charles Manson is sentenced to death for inciting the murders of Sharon Tate and several other people. Three accomplices, who had actually done the killing, were also sentenced to death, but the state of California abolished capital punishment in 1972 and neither they nor Manson were ever actually executed.

April 18

1923—Yankee Stadium Opens

In New York City, Yankee Stadium, home of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees, opens with the Yankees beating their eternal rivals the Boston Red Sox 4 to 1. The stadium, which is nicknamed The House that Ruth Built, sees the Yankees become the most successful franchise in baseball history. It is eventually replaced by a new Yankee Stadium and closes in September 2008.

April 17

1961—Bay of Pigs Invasion Is Launched

A group of CIA financed and trained Cuban refugees lands at the Bay of Pigs in southern Cuba with the aim of ousting Fidel Castro. However, the invasion fails badly and the result is embarrassment for U.S. president John F. Kennedy and a major boost in popularity for Fidel Castro, and also has the effect of pushing him toward the Soviet Union for protection.