At Plan9Crunch we've always used co-blogger Steve D. Stones' iconic art to go with blog articles. In the last month or so we have done it frequently and I hope it continues. The first art (above) is Steve's Kiss art. Accompanying it will be this blog review of Kiss Meets the Phantom in New York, one of the most kitschy TV movies ever made. Here's an excerpt:
Gene Simmons in particular left an impression on me with his long tongue and demon headed boots. Kiss Meets The Phantom of The Park greatly suffers from a thoughtful script and production values. Hanna-Barbara Studios, creators of Scooby Doo, produced the film. Guitarist Ace Frehley had a hard time showing up for work in make-up at 7 a.m. from partying the night before, and drummer Peter Criss had his lines dubbed by another actor because his dialogue was difficult to decipher. A stunt double was used for Frehley’s action sequences because he was so unreliable on the set.
Our second art by Steve (above) is the Bride of Frankenstein, It's a scandal but we have never published a review of that great film (we will one day). In any event, we link to our review of scholar Tom Weaver's wonderful book, "Universal Horrors," that reviews all of the Universal films of its golden era, including "Bride ...'
Here is an excerpt from my review (buy this book, it's on Kindle too):
Highly regarded directors, such as Tod Browning, James Whale and Earle C. Kenton were eventually replaced with by-the-numbers guys such as William Beaudine or Jean Yarbrough. It's also interesting to track the reviews through the 15 years. The earliest classic Universal monsters received grudging respect by the major newspapers (think New York Times) but gradually over time the reviews became -- appropriately -- pans. It's amusing to read the deliberate snide pans over the years from one New York Times film critic, the amusingly named Bosley Crowther!
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