The Del Tenney Double Feature DVD with Helen Warren, Roy Scheider, Margot Hartman (Unrated) +Movie Reviews

WHAT A COMBO.....

Mark Norvell | HOUSTON | 04/01/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This no-frills disc features two of Del Tenney's more memorable b&w low budget films. The first, "Horror of Party Beach", tells of radioactive spillage off a seaport coast spawning ridiculous looking monsters who proceed to decimate the town's young female population. In one scene, a whole slumber party is slaughtered---(20 girls, count 'em) and the chocolate syrup gets smeared all over. It's supposed to be blood, but that's what it looks like in b&w. Anyway, there's lots of "rock'n roll" by The Del-Aires, lots of silly dancing on the beach by "teens" and that scene stealer Eulabelle Moore (Eulabelle the maid) and her voodoo doll. So inept, so badly acted (except for Eulabelle) and so bad period that it's hilarious. However, Tenney's other feature "Curse of the Living Corpse" is the exact opposite. It's a well acted Gothic horror film that rises above it's low budget and features non-other than Roy Scheider (billed as Roy R. Scheider) in a very early role and Candace Hilligoss ("Carnival of Souls") as members of a family in 1892 New England stalked and murdered by a masked madman who may or not be the deceased patriarch come back from the grave for the family violating his will. One by one, as stipulated in the will, they die by the means they fear most---disfigurement, fire, drowning, suffocation etc. Pretty good stuff. And a surprising bath scene with actress Margot Hartman showing a little more skin than was the norm at the time (1963-64). The print has mild flaws that do not distract and the prints of both films are better than average. There's also an interview and audio commentary with Del Tenney included as extras. Worth owning just for "Curse" alone. Enjoy."

Basement films get luxury suite DVD treatment

Peter W. Many | New Orleans, Louisiana United States | 04/05/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It's been said that films like these don't appeal to anyone but the public, since critics line up to tear them apart, but they do offer fun if you're in the mood. (Horror of Party Beach is by far the more entertaining of the two, this being the elusive uncut version with all the gore intact (an unbearable toned-down version has been making the video and TV station rounds for years). Both films look and sound as good as they ever have; extras include trailers, photos, audio commentary and interviews."

Another fun DVD ruined by FAKE "widescreen"!

Nostalgic for the '50s | 04/29/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Catering to the owners of the new widescreen televisions, the manufacturers of many DVDs these days are presenting films (like these), which were originally filmed in standard-format, in FAKE "widescreen"--which essentially consists of lopping the tops and bottoms off the original prints (thus leaving many of the actors with half-faces and no feet!)! It is especially notable on this particular DVD as the CREDITS for both films have been "mini-boxed" in their ORIGINAL format. The movies themselves are nostalgic, fun-filled SCHLOCK, but I love them anyway. I would have loved this DVD version of them more, however, if they had been preserved in their original film ratio. I'm amazed that producer/director Del Tenney allowed this bastardization of his films to occur (he's a participant in the project, offering commentary, etc.) but, then again, the producers of the DVD probably gave him a monetary "offer he couldn't refuse". It's sad that the owners of widescreen televisions would apparently rather see their bloated screens filled from side-to-side, than enjoy movies as originally filmed--a disturbing trend, indeed, for a film purist like me. 5 stars for FUN, 1 star for presentation = 3 stars."

Horror At Party Beach

Horror Fan | 11/06/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Well this film brings back memories of watching the televison show Creature Features with host Bob Wilkins. The film Horror At Part Beach was a staple film of the show. The film's creatures are as scary as I remember them as a kid. This film is a cult classic. And should be part of every horror fans collection... I just love the film... Thank God I found this film. I had been searching for it for a couple of years and was happy to finally see that Amazon was offering not only Horror At Party Beach, but all of Del Tenny's Films. What a treat!

"

A great double-dose of drive-in fun on movie night

Johny Bottom | Jacksonville, NC | 05/26/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I intended to purchase these movies seperately, but if they were offered in a combo, then even better! In the special features there is a photo of a marquee over a cinema complex. These movies actually did show together as a double feature. I will review each movie seperately.....

Horror at Beach Party is a great old monster flick. A beach party is put to a halt after a girl is killed by a radioactive monster. Man that beach party was rockin' too. Check out some of those dancers, like the dude dancing in his Euro-underwear, what a fairy. Biker gang leaders danced back then too. And the band was awesome, on rhythm guitar looked like Buddy Holly's little brother. And the lead singer rocked, it's amazing how loud his voice was with no microphone. Come to think of it I didn't see any guitar amps either. Oh well. The monsters came about from a barrel of toxic waste that was dumped overboard and opened on top of a shipwreck. The monsters look a little like the Creature from the Black Lagoon, but with Cookie Monster eyes and these ginat hotdogs shoved in their mouths.

They need human blood to survive, but it seems they prefer female blood. That is why the attack all girl slumber parties, and New York girls on a road trip. But never fear, a scientist figures out how to kill them. He ignores the advice of his Aunt Jemimah housekeeper ("It's voodoo, dat's wut it is") and discovers that th emonsters can be killed by sodium. So the climax of the movie is sodium being thrown at mutants and watching them explode. Now I know that if you touch pure sodium it burns, so they must have made grenades or something.

Curse of the Living Corpse is a great flick. This is your daddy's slasher flick. A rich dude named Rufus dies and demands certain criteria for his funeral and burial. He was terrified of being alive, so he left instructions that his vault be left unlocked, the torches are always lit, etc. Of course his family ignores all this because they are in a hurry to have the will read. The will says that if his instructions are not followed, he will return and each of them will die in the way they fear most (drowning, fire, etc.) So of course a mysterious figure goes around killing people. There are some greta kills here, like the severed head breakfast platter. The nude drowning scene in the bathtub was probably watched very very closely by the sensors a couple of times. This is as close to a nude scene as you can get without it being a nude scene.

The reason I really wanted this movie was because Candace Holligoss was in it. I loved her in Carnival of Souls, and this is her only other movie. I can't believe such a beautiful woman did not make any more films. She is so hot. If you like her, you got to see her in this flick all decked out in her Victorian duds. She doesn't have a very big part, which was a little disappointing for me, but she makes the most of every bit of screen time. I am so used to her being in almost every frame of Carnival of Souls, that it was strange to see her in a movie that did not revolve around her.

So anyway, you get two great old movies on one SINGLE sided DVD. Fire up the player, make the popcorn and have a great Saturday night on the couch with your honey!"

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