Barboura Morris Movies

With a style and tone that wreaks of the late '60s, this cheap-looking adaptation of an H.P. Lovecraft story plays like an obvious reference to the battle between the establishment and the counterculture. The film stars Dean Stockwell as Wilbur Whateley, a brooding young man who makes a connection with a pretty librarian named Nancy (a very out-of-place Sandra Dee). Whateley wants to get his hands on the Necronomicon, a diabolical book that he believes will help him to open a doorway to a dimension inhabited by unspeakable creatures known as the "Old Ones." Hypnotized by Whateley's spell, Nancy accompanies the man back to his cursed home where he lives with his nutty grandfather (Sam Jaffe) and an unseen "thing" that is kept in an upstairs room. Meanwhile, the Necronomicon's owner, Dr. Armitage (Ed Begley), does some detective work on Whateley when he begins to fear for Nancy's safety. He quickly realizes that Whateley means to sacrifice Nancy in order to accomplish his diabolical plan. Whateley manages to steal the Necronomicon and begins the ritual to resurrect the Old Ones. As Armitage races to stop him, the thing from the upstairs room breaks out and beats a murderous path towards Whateley as well, leading to a final confrontation that leaves a lot to be desired. ~ Patrick Legare, All Movie Guide

Schlockmeister Roger Corman produced this graphically violent chronicle of the Chicago gangster wars of the 1920s and the events that lead to the bloody title showdown between rival mobsters Al Capone (Jason Robards) and Bugs Moran (Ralph Meeker) that marked a brutal end to a terrifying era. Fred Steiner's film score is effectively mixed with popular songs from the 1920s, and the re-creation of gangster-era Chicago is a credit to the set designers. Historic and insightful narration is dramatically provided by Paul Frees, giving the film the flavor of a docudrama. Jean Hale plays Moran's gun moll, who is mercilessly kneed in the stomach while arguing over a fur coat. Though The St. Valentine's Day Massacre was heralded by critics at the time of its initial release, their opinion of the film has changed with each decade as they waver on the cinematic value of all of Corman's work. Audiences continue to relish the film, which is often shown on the anniversary of the bloody executions. Watch for Jack Nicholson as one of the unfortunate victims. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Dr. James Xavier (Ray Milland) is a brilliant but unorthodox researcher whose work with human sight has yielded an experimental chemical that may vastly increase the range of what we can see. Despite the misgivings and warnings of the two people closest to him, Dr. Diane Fairfax (Diana Van Der Vlis) and Dr. Sam Brant (Harold J. Stone), he uses it on himself and finds that he is able to look inside the human body in real-time. This gives him the ability to save the life of a patient in surgery, but in the process, he offends a top physician and calls his own judgement into question. He won't stop or even slow his experiments, however, and when Sam is accidentally killed trying to stop him, he is forced to flee. Soon he is living the life of a hunted man, and is protected and exploited by Crane (Don Rickles), a larcenous carny-man who sets him up as a "healer" on skid row, taking peoples' pennies while Xavier makes his diagnoses. After getting away from Crane, Xavier is found by Diane, who joins him on the run, and by now his own worst nature is coming to the surface. They head to Las Vegas, where his ability to see through objects allows him to win at most of the games in front of him, but he is discovered because of the attention that his "streak" draws to him. Pursued out of town, he heads out to the desert, and by now his ability to see transcends the boundaries of earthly space, leading him to a terrible quandry and a hideous solution to his plight, inspired by an encounter with a preacher. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

A fine example -- perhaps the best available -- of "B"-movie overlord Roger Corman's "Weekend Wonders" from the producer/director's early career (see also the original Little Shop of Horrors), this horror-comedy was also the first of beloved actor Dick Miller's dozen-odd portrayals of the character Walter Paisley. A geeky waiter and busboy at a happening Beatnik café, Walter is intensely jealous of the swinging social lives of the artistic types who hang there. A bizarre twist of fate changes everything; when Paisley accidentally kills his landlady's cat, his frantic attempts to hide the body lead him to encase it in a layer of clay, creating a morbid sculpture -- which is eventually discovered and hailed as an artistic triumph by the unwitting Bohemian art crowd. (When asked what he's named the piece, the befuddled Walter stammers, "Uhh... Dead Cat?") Beset by numerous requests for similar "truthful" works, the moronic Paisley is forced to find inspiration -- a matter which is readily solved when a nosy undercover cop tries to slap a heroin-possession charge on him and finds himself on the business end of a cast-iron skillet. Before long, the creative urge prods Walter to narrow the competition by whacking his peers with various blunt or sharp implements, and the demand for more sculptures just keeps growing. Miller's tour-de-force performance, writer Charles B. Griffith's hilarious "Daddy-O" dialogue, and Corman's emphasis on the story's more lurid aspects raise this bargain-basement production (ultra-cheap even by Corman's standards) to classic status. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

This goofy but entertaining horror cheapie from producer-director Roger Corman and company involves the efforts of a questionable scientist working for cosmetics magnate Susan Cabot, who is developing a new rejuvenating beauty cream derived from an enzyme secreted by wasps, intended to make women look eternally youthful. A vain woman obsessed with restoring her lost beauty, Cabot insists on being the first test subject. The solution proves remarkably effective at first, transforming her into a sultry raven-haired vixen...until she begins to take on the predatory traits of a giant female wasp, setting out on a nocturnal killing spree. Originally double-billed with The Beast from Haunted Cave, this cheesy monster mash inspired the less-amusing Leech Woman and was later remade for 1980s audiences (i.e., with a higher sex-and-gore quotient) as Evil Spawn. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Its title notwithstanding, Roger Corman's Rock All Night is a tense little hostage melodrama. Corman regular Dick Miller stars as Shorty, a much-maligned hanger-on at the Cloud Nine tavern. Shorty's hotheaded pugnaciousness comes in handy when a pair of gunmen (played by Russell Johnson--yes, "The Professor" on Gilligan's Island! -- and Jonathan Haze) invade the Cloud Nine and terrorize the patrons. Mel Welles, who later played the kvetching flower-store proprietor in Little Shop of Horrors, is a riot as a hip-talking showbiz agent. Also on hand is Abby Dalton, the soon-to-be star of Corman's Viking Women and the Sea Serpent. The film's very brief musical interludes are provided by the Platters and the Blockbusters. Rock All Night was originally released on a double bill with Dragstrip Girl. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Teenage Doll in this Roger Corman-directed "J. D." opus is a little number named Barbara (June Kenney). Basically a good girl, she falls into bad company when she impulsively decides to rebel against her parents. It isn't long before Barbara accidentally kills her tough-babe romantic rival (Barboura Morris), whereupon she is pursued all over town by femme gang leader Hel (Fay Spain) and her henchgirls (Barbara Wilson, Ziva Rodann). Barbara runs to her punk boy friend Eddie (John Brinkley) for protection, setting the stage for a climactic rumble. And remembers, kids: This could happen to you, so keep your record clean and stay home nights! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide