Super Mates 87: House of Franklin-Stein Part 1

THE HOUSE OF FRANKLIN-STEIN RISES! The Super Mates return to discuss another atrocious abode, The Haunted Palace! Vincent Price and Lon Chaney, Jr. attempt to raise Lovecraftian horrors in the town of Arkham!

The Lovecraft theme continues in Flash Plus #1 as Wally West and Nightwing investigate a mysterious tourist attraction, only to find themselves in the midst of an interdimensional invasion!

Special shout out to Ryan Daly, Rob Kelly and Terry O'Malley!

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This podcast is a proud member of the FIRE AND WATER PODCAST NETWORK

Clip credits:

The Haunted Palace directed by Roger Corman, music by Ronald Stein

“The House of Franklinstein” by Terry O’Malley

"Deadman's Party" by Oingo Boingo

The Flash (1990) opening and closing themes by Danny Elfman & Shirley Walker

“Grim Grinning Ghosts” from Disney’s The Haunted Mansion attraction

38 responses to “Super Mates 87: House of Franklin-Stein Part 1

    1. I thought it was you, Anj, but my mind is full of so much useless knowledge, it’s hard to sift through the clutter sometimes, and pull out what I need. I hope my reading didn’t disappoint.

      More Cushing next month!

      Chris

  1. Glad to see “the House” is back. I’m going to have to turn in my nerd card. I haven’t seen the movie or read the comic. Just a couple of quick comments.

    Chris, you were spot on with your comment about Vincent Price’s acting. Normally, he brought charm to his villainous roles, which made it all the more shocking when he played straight up evil. I’m going by his performances in Cry of the Banshee and Witchfinder General.

    On who was Robin’s first : I vote for Betty Kane aka Bat-Girl, the niece of Batwoman. Have you ever read Batman 153?
    http://www.mikesamazingworld.com/mikes/features/comic.php?comicid=3680
    When he thinks they’re going to die, Batman tells Batwoman that he loves her. Meanwhile, while they’re in danger, Bat-Girl and Robin share a kiss. At the end of the story, Batman tells Batwoman that he only admitted to loving her to make her last moments happy. He turns to Robin for back-up, but Bat-Girl and Robin have snuck off together, arm-in-arm. I think Robin was going to get a little more Bat-Sugar.

    1. Don’t feel bad, Gothos. I sadly still haven’t seen Cry of the Banshee OR Witchfinder General. I just haven’t come across them anywhere to watch or purchase, but I think I really need to seek out the later, since it influenced my beloved Twins of Evil.

      You may be right about Betty, but I always kind of saw that as Robin’s “middle school” romance. I forgot about Dick’s longtime girlfriend at Hudson University, Lori Elton as well. He did have that Chevy van, in the 70s, no less!!!

      1. I got Cry of the Banshee in a Vincent Price set. It is very different from his usual fare, so I don’t know if you’ll like it or not. I thought it was well made, and Price is brilliant. He was really underrated as an actor.

      2. …Did Dick really have any room to get freaky in the back of his van? Don’t forget he had to store his Robin-cycle back there?

        That reminds me of that old movie the Teacher where Angel Tompkins was trying to seduce Dennis the Menace and he kept telling her that he really needed to work on his van. She got him eventually, though.

        I figure Dick probably got somewhere with Lori. Dick probably only kept Lori around because Babs kept busting his chops back then. I wish she’d stayed that way, but then, I wanted Babs for myself. Sigh, yeah, I know she’s only ink and paper but a nerd can dream.

        1. All the good super heroes in the 70s had their bikes stored in the back of their shaggin’ wagons. Robin, Reb Brown’s Captain America. 😉

          I liked the flirting between Dick and Babs in the 70s. It was kind of odd then, since she was supposed to be quite a bit older at that point, but Post-Crisis, and post-Animated Series in particular, they made them roughly around the same age, so it retroactively makes things more interesting.

          But don’t feel bad about having a crush on Batgirl. I know you’re not the only one, from personal experience!

  2. Sorry, but one thing I forgot….

    Chris, if you inherited your mom’s Elvis fanship (I did), don’t watch The Trouble with Girls, the movie that has Elvis and Vincent Price in the cast. Vincent Price only has a cameo and he and Elvis never appear on screen together. If you do watch it, fast forward to the parts where Elvis swings Swing Down Sweet Chariot, fast forward to the part where Elvis sings Clean Up Your Own Back Yard, and then cut it off. The movie is TERRIBLE!!!!!

  3. As you know, there are VERY FEW things I like about the end of summer, but the new season of HOUSE OF FRANKLINSTEIN is one of them!

    So glad to have the show back, and it did not disappoint. The opening sketch just keeps getting more and more elaborate, and I have to say my performance was exquisite. Power Records would be proud of you, Chris!

    I have never seen THE HAUNTED PALACE, somehow it’s just fallen through the cracks over the years. But it sounds great! Maybe Kelley (who loves horror movies) will give it a spin one night, as she, like you guys, starts celebrating Halloween in early September.

    I don’t think I’d ever even heard of the Flash + comic, nice tie-in. You’re right, you’re not going to go wrong with Eduardo Barretto.

    Great start Franklins! Can’t wait until you get to DR.PHIBES RISES AGAIN!

    1. Thanks Rob! And thanks again for the assist.

      I would definitely recommend The Haunted Palace. If Kelley is into Halloween, it’s so full of that good old fashioned spooky Halloween atmosphere, I can’t see her not enjoying it.

      It’s going to take a LOT of bribery to get Cindy to watch any Phibes film, but I think I’ll watch it sometime this season!

  4. Oh, and somewhat tangentially: I have only seen a tiny handful of Elvis films, but supposedly he’s pretty good in a few of the early ones, when those movies were assigned “real” directors (I hear good things about KING CREOLE, directed by WHITE CHRISTMAS’ Michael Curtiz).

    But I do need to see the film SPINOUT. Not because it’s supposed to be very good, but on the soundtrack be covers Bob Dylan’s “Tomorrow is a Long Time”, which Bob has said is his favorite cover of any of his songs. I’ve heard the song, but really want to see how its incorporated into whatever silly plot they had Elvis shoved into for that movie.

    1. I think I’ve seen parts of Spinout…is that the film where he’s a race car driver? I don’t recall the music in that one, though. What I have seen starts to blur together, as if Elvis were Quantum Leaping into different occupations and situations, and randomly singing in each one, in a huge mega movie.

      That’s actually a pretty cool idea for a film…

      Chris

    2. Hi Rob,

      Elvis doesn’t sing “Tomorrow is a Long Time” in Spinout. He would have bonus songs on his soundtrack albums that were studio recordings that had no relation to the movie. “Tomorrow is a Long Time” is one of those.

      Yes, Spinout is one of three movies where Elvis plays a race car driver.

  5. Welcome back House of Franklin-stein! I already have a Karloff casserole baking in the oven for the housewarming party. I’m sure you’ll love it. It’s made of some odds and ends that I happened to find lying around late one night.

    I haven’t seen The Haunted Palace! before, but it sounds great. Interestingly, I have been bumping into a lot of things inspired by Lovecraft’s stories, which makes me think I need to track down and read some of that original source material.

    1. If you’ve been bumping into Lovecraftian things…run! Or move!

      But Karloff Casserole sounds…interesting. I can just picture him or Price hosting a cooking show. I know Price wrote cookbooks, so can you imagine him having a spooky show on Food Network? I’d watch it!

      Chris

  6. It’s so great to have the House of Franklin-stein back! You folks really outdid yourselves with that opening skit! I’m glad you picked this movie for the episode, because 1) I’d never heard of it and 2) I am a big Lovecraft fan, which makes it even stranger that I’d never heard of it! I also love Vincent Price, but there are apparently more than a few films that he starred in that I’ve never seen (including anything with “Phibes” in the title!). Thanks, Franklins!

  7. I’m so glad the House is back! I enjoy this time of year but I haven’t seen a lot of these great movies you cover so these episodes act like a great playlist to get me in the mood for Halloween so I now want to check out the Haunted Palace.
    This show is definitely diggity dank!

  8. The House of Franklinstein is back ‘in da house’! Wonderful to have you both back – the spookiest time of the year has now officially begun…
    Thoroughly enjoyed this episode and will hunt down the movie as you both sounded as if you had a lot of fun watching. What an intriguing Lovecraft/poe/ Corman mash up it seems – but you can never go wrong with ‘Uncle Vinny’ Price – right Cindy? Can’t wait to see what else lies in store over the next few weeks!

      1. Thanks so much Chris, much appreciated! I love how Halloween is becoming more and more the ‘Geek’s Christmas’ each year, (and love your special artwork for this show, too!)

  9. Impressive pod cast. Most impressive. I’ve never seen this movie, but I did like Vincet Prices co loab with this director in the Raven. Which had vince as the hero. Boris Krolf as the villain. And a young Jack Nicolson as the side kick to Vince. Still in Shock that Boris is just 5’11. Any way this 2 sounded like a fun movie. Er On to the comic. Looks like this was a cool comic. Yeah We’ve all had the bad wake up hair. And Dick forgot to re brush it. This sounds like a fun story. The door bit was used in TNG. On a planet that was sailing stuff to people and had a door way bit.

    The pony tail wasn’t the worst part of that look. The ugly costume was. This was better, but the blue bird bit is the best Grayson has worn. The Red one wasn’t to bad. The Cathulu like creature reminds me of the defenders. Nebulon kind of looked like that. The villan kind of gives them the win. If his fake corpse wasn’t pointing to the door Wally wouldn’t have found it. And Dick wouldn’t have believed this was a thing till he walked in. Then he touched the thing that killed him. LOL. Ah another woman with no name. I can use this for my Suda Name fan fic bit. There are pliantly of Men and women in comics with no name, but a few that fit in pivotably points. I once wanted to be a writer…but, I wasn’t any good at it. Ah well.

    I’ll make a vid of it on U-tube… that’s Liz Anne Oswalt. Yeah it’s a goofy bit, but why not? Something to do. Back to the comic. I like their team up. Flash and Night Wing make a good team. Any funny together. Wally was my fav Flash. Sorry to Barry, but as much as I liked his 70s and 80s stuff. I just enjoyed Wally more. Yep Night Wing has a nice butt. Maybe that’s why Dadio doesn’t like him? Does he have butt envy? 😀 Kiding Dadio seems to be a nice guy. I just don’t get his dislike of Night Wing. He’s kind of popular and a money maker. I don’t get it.

    1. The Raven is a fun film. And what a cast! That’s one we may have to do in a future HoF!

      I never thought about the number of unnamed characters in comics…but yeah, there are a lot, aren’t there!

      I don’t get DiDio’s hate for Dick/Nightwing either. Especially since he LOVES the “classic” version of the characters, hence bringing back Hal, Barry, etc. Dick is one of the most recognizable characters in DC’s history, whether he likes it or not!

      Chris

  10. Welcome back, I loved the ornate introduction, with special spooky guest star PJ Frightful and Terry’s new theme song. And that’s brilliant new show artwork, Chris.

    I’ve never seen The Haunted Palace, and now really want to, so you’ve done your job! I really envy that you get horror marathons in the States, we very rarely see the old stuff on TV anymore. There is a ‘Horror Channel’ but it is just pants.

    Those Plus One comics were fun, and Flash/Nightwing was a fun one, and a nice surprise given the obvious Lovecraftian pick would be one of those early Seventies Doctor Strange books. Very entertaining discussion, Cindy and Chris!

    1. Thanks Martin! The artwork was a lot of fun to do. And Terry’s song is just fantastic!

      Man, MGM or whoever owns the rights to The Haunted Palace are really leaving money on the table by not having this readily available! People want to see this movie! I think we should get a cut. 😉

      I try to have our comic picks be non-supernatural heroes encountering the occult, so Doctor Strange usually doesn’t come to mind, although he’s certainly the comic expert when it comes to Lovecraftian horrors!

  11. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! Thanks for using my song! I feel like a Bad Mamma Jamma! (Now, I’ll write “The Ballad of Rob and Shag” and we can release a single on Fire & Water Records!)
    On to the rest of the episode! Anyone else out there a Svengoolie watcher? Every time Chris said the name “Curwen,” I said “Berwyn” in the style of Svengoolie! Has he shown this movie? Bet he’d do it all through the picture.
    When you played the clip with the doctor talking about “The Necromicon,” I immediately thought, how does he know what would be in a non-existent book? Why does he use all these Lovecraftian terms in a world with no Lovecraft? Once I start thinking like that it’s all over for me!
    Oh! Just today I was reading, over at Marvel University, a review of “Marvel Premiere 4,” Dr. Strange in “The Spawn of Sligguth.” which is essentially based on the same story as this movie!
    As to the comic, once again Chris simultaneously finds the flaw and the fix in a story. i.e., the young ladies reason for being in the story. And as much as I like Barreto’s art, he did Dick’s barber no favors.

    1. I thought of the Berwyn thing, but forgot to mention it, Terry, so thank you. I’m not sure Sven has hosted this film, but I sure hope he gets around to it!

      And of course, thanks for your wonderful songwriting, singing and musical talents!

      Chris

    2. I haven’t seen Svengoolie cover this one either, but I would love it if he did. I’m kicking myself for not seeing the Curwen/Berwyn connection. This movie was made to be shown on Svengoolie, or (to be chronologically correct) Svengoolie was made to show this movie.

  12. Good news for anyone who gets TCM! Among the horror films this month is “The Haunted Palace” on Halloween night! It’ll be preceded by two other films in the Poe cycle… I guess I should say two “other” films in the Poe cycle… no, wait, they ARE the Poe cycle, THIS is “another” Poe film… whatever, “House of Usher,” “Pit and the Pendulum,” “Haunted Palace,” then the next Lovecraft story adapted into a movie: Karloff in 1965’s “Die, Monster, Die” aka “Monster of Terror” a greatly changed version of “The Colour Out of Space.” So, three Poes and a Lovecraft… I mean two Poes and two Lovecrafts… three Poes and two Lovecrafts?

    1. Wow, thanks for the heads up, Jack! That is a night full of win, for sure! I unfortunately dropped cable/satellite this summer (we just never watched it), so I won’t be able to partake TCM’s offerings, which is a real bummer. But at least the movie is out there for folks to watch!

      Chris

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