All aboard! The House of Franklin-Stein is your deadly depot for catching a ride on the Horror Express! Chris and Cindy discuss this 1972 classic starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, as they struggle to solve the mystery of a frozen prehistoric specimen come to life, bent on murder and possession! Plus, Telly Savalas as a roguish Cossack captain!
Then it’s off to the comic crypt and Superman (1987) #6, continuing the tale of the giant mummy from last episode! When Lois is possessed, Superman uncovers an ancient race planning to take over the world!
Subscribe via iTunes. Or Spotify..
This podcast is a proud member of the FIRE AND WATER PODCAST NETWORK
Visit our WEBSITE: http://fireandwaterpodcast.com/
- Please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/fwpodcasts
- Like our FACEBOOK page – https://www.facebook.com/FWPodcastNetwork
- Like our FACEBOOK page – https://www.facebook.com/supermatespodcast
- Use our HASHTAG online: #FWPodcasts
- Email us at supermatespodcast@gmail.com
Clip credits:
Horror Express (1972) directed by Eugenio Martin
Superman The Animated Series theme by Shirley Walker
“Transylvania Terror Train” by Captain Clegg and the Night Creatures
“The House of Franklinstein” by Terry O’Malley, of Stop Calling Me Frank https://www.facebook.com/rockSCMF
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Hi Chris,
Thanks for the heads-up that there is a good quality version of Horror Express on Youtube. I’m going to check it out this Halloween season. I first encountered Horror Express in one of those Mill Creek 50 movies for $10 packs. All the movies were public domain films that looked like they were duped off a worn-out VHS. Horror Express was one of the good movies that made the pack worth the purchase, although I got the pack for Lady Frankenstein. Don’t judge. I love that movie. There was also a movie in that 50 pack that I think is the worst POS that I’ve ever seen. I kind of want to warn you off, but I’m afraid that might tempt you to watch it. Trust me. Cindy would divorce you if you made her sit through it.
BTW, is anyone else surprised Telly Savalas didn’t do more horror movies? If you watch Lisa and the Devil, I swear Telly is the only man who could make sucking a lollipop look menacing. Yeah, I know he sucked one on Kojak, but he didn’t look evil sucking it on there.
I think I have that box set (or I have ONE Mill Creek Box Set with Horror Express), so now I’m curious. And hey, I’m not going to give you no grief on Lady Frankenstein. It’s fun!
I just learned about Lisa and the Devil from a YouTube channel I like called The Cobbwebs Channel. I definitely need to seek it out!
Sounds like you have the same Mill Creek set I have. The movie to avoid is Slashed Dreams, which was originally released as Sunburst. It should have been Sh!tburst. I consider it one of the great crimes of humanity that James Keach foisted that piece of garbage on an innocent public and then he got to marry a Bond girl.
Lisa and the Devil is on Tubi, Fawesome, and Plex. The version on Tubi is good quality and is the preferred original edit by Mario Bava. I haven’t seen which version is on Fawesome or Plex. There is a reedited version titled House of Exorcism.
Thanks for the tip! I best know James Keach as the motorcylce cop from National Lampoon’s Vacation, and the voice of the Lone Ranger (dubbing Klinton Spilsbury) in Legend of the Lone Ranger… which I do like despite myself (see an old Film and Water for me and Rob talking about that). I will avoid Slashed Dreams/ Sunburst.
I WILL check out the Tubi version of Lisa and the Devil. Thanks for the recommendation!
Thanks for the tip about Horror Express being on YouTube. I’m going to try to catch that sooner rather than later.
Otherwise, I’m still really liking Kesel’s inks on Byrne’s pencils – the art samples you posted all look quite striking, even without the shots of Ms. Lane’s rather comely posterior,
Yes, if you want to watch Horror Express, and the Arrow Blu-Ray isn’t available, go the YouTube route. I think you’ll enjoy it!
The last page of the Superman #6 looks almost more Kesel than Byrne to me. Maybe Byrne just did loose breakdowns on that page? The hair of Superman and Lois is more…crispy. Either way, I’m with you, he’s a great inker for Byrne, butt shots or not!
We had Horror Express at the video store I worked at, but because the box only showed Telly Savalas and made ABSOLUTELY NO MENTION of Lee or Cushing being in it, I always thought that Savalas must have done two horror movies set on a train–this movie, and then some other movie with Lee & Cushing. Having multiple titles didn’t help either. I finally got to see HE a few years ago, and as you guys mentioned it’s a lot of fun, and I really enjoy Lee and Cushing as friends (like the are in THE SKULL, a real favorite here at K2HQ).
I’m glad you covered this one, definitely a more obscure title in their catalog!
I’ve seen a few posters and promotional pieces that singled out Savalas, possibly during Kojack’s heyday. The Skull is one I enjoy too, and we may have to cover here at some point. Even though that’s an Amicus film, I got it on a Blu-Ray double feature with Hammer’s The Man Who Could Cheat Death. The distribution and tangled rights of these British films are NUTS.
I haven’t seen Horror Express, but I may check it out on YouTube in the near future. When you referenced Roger Delgado (still my favorite Master on Doctor Who), it made me think of how he seems like a perfect actor for horror films with the beard, piercing eyes, and voice. See the Doctor Who story The Daemons for example.
And I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought that this Superman story was a little hard to follow. I was re-reading it prior to this episode and, like Cindy said, I wondered if my copy had skipped a few pages.
Strange names like the H’v’ler’ni can make it harder to enjoy a story. Speaking of Doctor Who, I recently read a Who novel set on Venus featuring characters named Afhighid Kontojij, Jilet Mrak-ecado, and Bismar Mrodtikdhil among others. It made me question if the writer just fell asleep on the keyboard and left the result as character names.
With the return of October, my wife and I have gone back to the Universal movies starting w/ The Wolf-Man. Off to listen to your podcast’s coverage of that one.
I forgot to mention Roger Delgado IS in a Hammer Horror, The Mummy’s Shroud, and also Hammer’s Terror of the Tongs. So he did get to do some horror work on camera as well.
The writer falling alseep on the keyboard perfectly explains these unpronuncable names!
The Wolf Man is back in HoF Season One! I think our son Andrew was on that one with us, back when he was still willing to podcast. The Wolf Man is still one of my favorite films period, my personal favorite Universal Monsters movie, and hands down my favorite monster!
Great show, Cindy and Chris! Never heard of the Horror Express, but it reminds me of the time I took the Philly subway on New Years Eve. I always love seeing the old movie poster art – I’m glad you post those. The make-up on the monster was very good. It had a great melty-face skull. Really gross. I’ll try to catch this on YouTube. I, of course, remember the second part of this Superman story. Not to harp on it, but Byrne really did Lois Lane no favors with the personality and the Webster’s Mom style haircut. I wonder if Byrne just wanted excuses to let Superman play the field without the fans complaining.
I hope your Philly subway ride didn’t include an alien-posessed missing link! But sounds like it may have had something worse!
“Webster’s Mom style haircut”. I never thought of that before, but man, you nailed it! Maybe Byrne made Lois less than desirable because he was clearing the deck for his “Superman and Barda make a porno” storyline?