The B-movie world has lost one of its most iconic filmmakers, as The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that Bert I. Gordon – often referred to as “Mr. B.I.G.” by his fans – has passed away at the age of 100. Gordon produced and directed more than twenty films over the course of a career that lasted sixty-one years, from 1954 to 2015. He also wrote most of his movies. His most popular titles include The Food of the Gods, Empire of the Ants, The Amazing Colossal Man, War of the Colossal Beast, Attack of the Puppet People, and Beginning of the End.
Born on September 24, 1922 in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Gordon fell in love with filmmaking at a young age, being given his first camera when he was just 9 years old. He started making TV commercials after he graduated from college, then produced the horror adventure film Serpent Island in 1954. He was also the cinematographer on that movie,...
Born on September 24, 1922 in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Gordon fell in love with filmmaking at a young age, being given his first camera when he was just 9 years old. He started making TV commercials after he graduated from college, then produced the horror adventure film Serpent Island in 1954. He was also the cinematographer on that movie,...
- 3/9/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Bert I. Gordon, the sci-fi director who aimed to terrify drive-in denizens of the 1950s and ’60s with low-budget films featuring colossal creatures, shrinking humans and radioactive monsters, has died. He was 100.
Gordon died Wednesday in Los Angeles of complications from a fall in his Beverly Hills home, his daughter Patricia Gordon told The Hollywood Reporter.
Highlights (lowlights?) on his B-movie résumé include The Cyclops (1957), The Amazing Colossal Man (1957), Beginning of the End (1957), Earth vs. the Spider (1958), Attack of the Puppet People (1958), Tormented (1960), The Boy and the Pirates (1960) and Picture Mommy Dead (1966).
In the ’70s, Gordon directed Vince Edwards and Chuck Connors in The Police Connection (1973) and wrote and directed How to Succeed With Sex (1970), Necromancy (1972), The Food of the Gods (1976) and, starring Joan Collins in the muck, Empire of the Ants (1977).
Perhaps as a way to keep costs down, Gordon’s films often were family affairs: His late wife,...
Gordon died Wednesday in Los Angeles of complications from a fall in his Beverly Hills home, his daughter Patricia Gordon told The Hollywood Reporter.
Highlights (lowlights?) on his B-movie résumé include The Cyclops (1957), The Amazing Colossal Man (1957), Beginning of the End (1957), Earth vs. the Spider (1958), Attack of the Puppet People (1958), Tormented (1960), The Boy and the Pirates (1960) and Picture Mommy Dead (1966).
In the ’70s, Gordon directed Vince Edwards and Chuck Connors in The Police Connection (1973) and wrote and directed How to Succeed With Sex (1970), Necromancy (1972), The Food of the Gods (1976) and, starring Joan Collins in the muck, Empire of the Ants (1977).
Perhaps as a way to keep costs down, Gordon’s films often were family affairs: His late wife,...
- 3/9/2023
- by Rhett Bartlett
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Bert I. Gordon’s career groove of shrinking and bloating various animals and people bottoms out in this trashy drive-in groaner: it’s colorful but nigh-unwatchable. The exploitation target is sci-fi and the teen musical, with incompatible helpings of pre-teen ‘cutes’ and girlie show jiggle for the raincoat crowd. The show apparently did well, but I heard mostly about resentful walkouts. Gordon’s early films have far more charm; this one mostly shows contempt for his audience. For fans that think there’s Camp value here, the Blu-ray transfer is sensationally good, as is the reproduction of Jack Nitzsche’s rock music score. The only thing to call this movie is Poor, but how can that be when I find so much to say about it?
Village of the Giants
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1965 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 81 min. / Street Date February 22, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Tommy Kirk, Johnny Crawford,...
Village of the Giants
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1965 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 81 min. / Street Date February 22, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95
Starring: Tommy Kirk, Johnny Crawford,...
- 2/22/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Hello, everyone! Now that September is nearly upon us (which means we’re getting closer and closer to our favorite season), we have one last round of home entertainment releases ahead of us before we can finally bid August a fond farewell - and there are a lot of different titles making their way home tomorrow. Arrow Video is keeping busy this week with their 4K release of Dune as well as the special edition release of The Brotherhood of Satan, and Kino Lorber is resurrecting several classics on Blu-ray this Tuesday, including The Raven, The Last Man on Earth, and The Comedy of Terrors.
If you have younger genre fans at home, you’ll definitely want to pick up the new editions of Coraline and The Boxtrolls from Scream Factory, and for you cult film fans, Vinegar Syndrome has you covered with their new Blu-rays for Killer’s Delight, The Lamp...
If you have younger genre fans at home, you’ll definitely want to pick up the new editions of Coraline and The Boxtrolls from Scream Factory, and for you cult film fans, Vinegar Syndrome has you covered with their new Blu-rays for Killer’s Delight, The Lamp...
- 8/30/2021
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
The Magic Sword
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1962/ 1:85 / 80 min.
Starring Gary Lockwood, Basil Rathbone, Estelle Winwood
Directed by Bert I. Gordon
Fresh off producing and directing Tormented, a mildly lurid psychological shocker released in 1960, Bert I. Gordon pointed his next film in the direction of the Saturday matinee crowd, a select audience of thrill crazy adolescents who made box office bonanzas out of phantasmagorical entertainments like 7th Voyage of Sinbad. As with most (all?) of Gordon’s work, his eyes were too big for his stomach – the 1962 fairy tale called for Sinbad-sized thrills but Gordon was working with a fraction of Ray Harryhausen’s budget and a two week shooting schedule. If nothing else the director was determined to put up on the screen what was promised on the poster, “The Most Unbelievable Sights Ever Seen” but once again, Mr. Big came up short.
In the run-up to its...
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1962/ 1:85 / 80 min.
Starring Gary Lockwood, Basil Rathbone, Estelle Winwood
Directed by Bert I. Gordon
Fresh off producing and directing Tormented, a mildly lurid psychological shocker released in 1960, Bert I. Gordon pointed his next film in the direction of the Saturday matinee crowd, a select audience of thrill crazy adolescents who made box office bonanzas out of phantasmagorical entertainments like 7th Voyage of Sinbad. As with most (all?) of Gordon’s work, his eyes were too big for his stomach – the 1962 fairy tale called for Sinbad-sized thrills but Gordon was working with a fraction of Ray Harryhausen’s budget and a two week shooting schedule. If nothing else the director was determined to put up on the screen what was promised on the poster, “The Most Unbelievable Sights Ever Seen” but once again, Mr. Big came up short.
In the run-up to its...
- 11/26/2019
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Studio 100 has inked its first major deal at Afm, selling its upcoming children's animation feature Vic the Viking – The Magic Sword to Russia's Volgafilm.
The German production and sales outfit closed an all-rights deal with Volgafilm for Russia, Ukraine and the Baltics.
Vic the Viking is the latest animated incarnation of the popular German children's tale about a clever Viking boy who helps his more bone-headed father — a Viking chief — and his dim-witted warriors out of scraps.
Originally made as a 2D animated TV series in the 1970s, Vic the Viking has also been a ...
The German production and sales outfit closed an all-rights deal with Volgafilm for Russia, Ukraine and the Baltics.
Vic the Viking is the latest animated incarnation of the popular German children's tale about a clever Viking boy who helps his more bone-headed father — a Viking chief — and his dim-witted warriors out of scraps.
Originally made as a 2D animated TV series in the 1970s, Vic the Viking has also been a ...
- 11/5/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Studio 100 has inked its first major deal at Afm, selling its upcoming children's animation feature Vic the Viking – The Magic Sword to Russia's Volgafilm.
The German production and sales outfit closed an all-rights deal with Volgafilm for Russia, Ukraine and the Baltics.
Vic the Viking is the latest animated incarnation of the popular German children's tale about a clever Viking boy who helps his more bone-headed father — a Viking chief — and his dim-witted warriors out of scraps.
Originally made as a 2D animated TV series in the 1970s, Vic the Viking has also been a ...
The German production and sales outfit closed an all-rights deal with Volgafilm for Russia, Ukraine and the Baltics.
Vic the Viking is the latest animated incarnation of the popular German children's tale about a clever Viking boy who helps his more bone-headed father — a Viking chief — and his dim-witted warriors out of scraps.
Originally made as a 2D animated TV series in the 1970s, Vic the Viking has also been a ...
- 11/5/2019
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
“From the land beyond beyond…” — oops, wrong movie. Kerwin Mathews battles Torin Thatcher once again, with Judi Meredith in a stunning double role as both a delicate heroine and her evil counterpart in a magician’s mirror. Plus more stop-motion monsters than one can throw a ten-league boot at! Boy, we’re coining phrases left and right here.
Jack the Giant Killer
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1962 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 94 + 91 min. / Street Date June 12, 2018 / Special Edition / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Kerwin Matthews, Torin Thatcher, Judi Meredith, Walter Burke, Don Beddoe, Barry Kelley, Dayton Lummis, Anna Lee, Roger Mobley, Tudor Owen.
Cinematography: David S. Horsley
Film Editor: Grant Whytock
Special Effects: Augie Lohman (practical), Howard A. Anderson (optical composites), Tim Baar, Wah Chang, Lloyd Vaughan, Gene Warren, Bill Brace, Jim Danforth, Tom Holland, Phil Kellison, David Pal (stop-motion animation).
Original Music: Paul Sawtell, Bert Shefter
Original Music Alternate musical version: musical...
Jack the Giant Killer
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1962 / Color / 1:66 widescreen / 94 + 91 min. / Street Date June 12, 2018 / Special Edition / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Kerwin Matthews, Torin Thatcher, Judi Meredith, Walter Burke, Don Beddoe, Barry Kelley, Dayton Lummis, Anna Lee, Roger Mobley, Tudor Owen.
Cinematography: David S. Horsley
Film Editor: Grant Whytock
Special Effects: Augie Lohman (practical), Howard A. Anderson (optical composites), Tim Baar, Wah Chang, Lloyd Vaughan, Gene Warren, Bill Brace, Jim Danforth, Tom Holland, Phil Kellison, David Pal (stop-motion animation).
Original Music: Paul Sawtell, Bert Shefter
Original Music Alternate musical version: musical...
- 6/2/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Review by Sam Moffitt
Being the first is not always a good thing. Many ground breaking artists who introduce something new into the cultural mix do not always fare well after they have changed the rules and the game. Take, just as one example, Orson Welles who changed forever how movies were made as well as radio drama and stage productions. Although Welles made out better than Maila Nurmi, also known as Vampira, the subject of the incredible and unforgettable documentary Vampira and Me.
H Greene first got to know Maila Nurmi when he interviewed her for a documentary called Schlock! The Secret History of Hollywood, (a good documentary in its own right.) Nurmi had grown distrustful of just about everyone, and with good reason. Yet for reasons Greene doesn’t even speculate on she trusted Greene and gave him almost two hours of interview time and discussed every last moment of her bizarre,...
Being the first is not always a good thing. Many ground breaking artists who introduce something new into the cultural mix do not always fare well after they have changed the rules and the game. Take, just as one example, Orson Welles who changed forever how movies were made as well as radio drama and stage productions. Although Welles made out better than Maila Nurmi, also known as Vampira, the subject of the incredible and unforgettable documentary Vampira and Me.
H Greene first got to know Maila Nurmi when he interviewed her for a documentary called Schlock! The Secret History of Hollywood, (a good documentary in its own right.) Nurmi had grown distrustful of just about everyone, and with good reason. Yet for reasons Greene doesn’t even speculate on she trusted Greene and gave him almost two hours of interview time and discussed every last moment of her bizarre,...
- 9/7/2015
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
This week sees the DVD release of Mystery Science Theater 3000: Xxvi, featuring The Magic Sword, Alien From L.A., Danger!! Death Ray and The Mole People:
“The poet Tennyson wrote that in spring our fancies lightly turn to thoughts of love. This spring, turn your fancies to the intrepid crew of The Satellite of Love with the latest installment in the Mystery Science Theater 3000 line: Mystery Science Theater 3000: Xxvi. Available March 26th, 2013 from Shout! Factory, this 4-dvd set is a must-have for fans of cult television shows and B-movies alike. Featuring four episodes previously unreleased on DVD: The Magic Sword, Alien From L.A., Danger!! Death Ray and The Mole People; MST3K: Xxvi also includes all new bonus features including a new interview with Alien From L.A. director Albert Pyun, an interview with The Magic Sword director Bert I. Gordon, Life After MST3K: Mike Nelson,...
“The poet Tennyson wrote that in spring our fancies lightly turn to thoughts of love. This spring, turn your fancies to the intrepid crew of The Satellite of Love with the latest installment in the Mystery Science Theater 3000 line: Mystery Science Theater 3000: Xxvi. Available March 26th, 2013 from Shout! Factory, this 4-dvd set is a must-have for fans of cult television shows and B-movies alike. Featuring four episodes previously unreleased on DVD: The Magic Sword, Alien From L.A., Danger!! Death Ray and The Mole People; MST3K: Xxvi also includes all new bonus features including a new interview with Alien From L.A. director Albert Pyun, an interview with The Magic Sword director Bert I. Gordon, Life After MST3K: Mike Nelson,...
- 3/25/2013
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
As Age Of The Dragons arrives on DVD and Blu-ray, Duncan takes a look at the history of dragons in the movies…
It's no wonder so many of us have grown up geeky, for dragons have been a strong mainstay of children's movies for decades now. With their inextricable link to the fantasy genre, many of us have been brainwashed into a fixation with them before we even knew what was happening. Well, that's a decent enough excuse, anyway, should you ever find yourself needing one in a dragon-based argument, which I'm sure there aren't nearly enough of.
Pity the children growing up from the mid-nineties onwards, as they've barely been able to make it through one whole year without a dragon movie being released, a trend which sees no sign of slowing. This year has already seen the release of Age Of The Dragons, starring Danny Glover and Vinnie Jones...
It's no wonder so many of us have grown up geeky, for dragons have been a strong mainstay of children's movies for decades now. With their inextricable link to the fantasy genre, many of us have been brainwashed into a fixation with them before we even knew what was happening. Well, that's a decent enough excuse, anyway, should you ever find yourself needing one in a dragon-based argument, which I'm sure there aren't nearly enough of.
Pity the children growing up from the mid-nineties onwards, as they've barely been able to make it through one whole year without a dragon movie being released, a trend which sees no sign of slowing. This year has already seen the release of Age Of The Dragons, starring Danny Glover and Vinnie Jones...
- 3/24/2011
- Den of Geek
Robert Gary worked in films and television as a script supervisor from the 1950s onward. He worked on most of the Star Trek television series during his career, including the original series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager.
Gary was born in Illinois in 1920. He was an aspiring actor before taking a job as a script supervisor on John Ford’s 1956 western classic The Searchers. He also served as script supervisor for the films The Magic Sword (1962), What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), The Strangler (1964), Hush… Hush… Sweet Charlotte (1964), and The Flight of the Phoenix (1965). He also worked frequently in television on such shows as Perry Mason, The Outer Limits, and Highway to Heaven.
Gary died in Los Angeles on May 3, 2010 at age 90.
Gary was born in Illinois in 1920. He was an aspiring actor before taking a job as a script supervisor on John Ford’s 1956 western classic The Searchers. He also served as script supervisor for the films The Magic Sword (1962), What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), The Strangler (1964), Hush… Hush… Sweet Charlotte (1964), and The Flight of the Phoenix (1965). He also worked frequently in television on such shows as Perry Mason, The Outer Limits, and Highway to Heaven.
Gary died in Los Angeles on May 3, 2010 at age 90.
- 6/22/2010
- by Harris Lentz
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
Out to eat am I, but I also Have to write a Starblog with dinner. And it amuses me (if not others) to recount past meals I’ve had that were sort of far-out to eat. Or as the topic title I’ve assigned myself declares: Seven Meals to Doomsday!
Our cuisine criteria: I had to be at the table (sometimes semi-against my will), pop culture should be involved and there must be some Surreal aspect to it all. How good the food is—well, that hardly matters. It’s not the vittles; it’s the experience.
#1) Bethany College, Bethany, West Virginia, 1976 or ’77. CBS (and later NBC) newscaster Roger Mudd has come to our small college of distinction to give a lecture. We’re going to feed him, too, and I (as one of Communications Department Chairman James Carty’s pet students) have been drafted to attend that small dinner in the cafeteria rear.
Our cuisine criteria: I had to be at the table (sometimes semi-against my will), pop culture should be involved and there must be some Surreal aspect to it all. How good the food is—well, that hardly matters. It’s not the vittles; it’s the experience.
#1) Bethany College, Bethany, West Virginia, 1976 or ’77. CBS (and later NBC) newscaster Roger Mudd has come to our small college of distinction to give a lecture. We’re going to feed him, too, and I (as one of Communications Department Chairman James Carty’s pet students) have been drafted to attend that small dinner in the cafeteria rear.
- 11/17/2009
- by no-reply@starlog.com (David McDonnell )
- Starlog
Since we just announced that Fango #287 is out there staggering around to infect the masses, it's time to look into the future to see what Fangoria #288 has in store.
Hitting retailers on October 15th (with subscribers getting theirs early as always), Fango #288 is packed with another 100 pages of gory goodness. With a cover photo featuring Edi Gathegi in his role as Laurent from The Twilight Saga: New Moon, this next issue of Fango is sure to burn up the magazine racks!
What else is inside? Check out the full Guts and Gravy below the jump! Guts:
When “Halloween II” First Fell Twenty-eight years ago, Michael Myers made his initial stab at franchise-hood. “Box” Your Fears Would you make the deadly bargain this film offers? And how would you deal with the aftermath? *Contains Exclusive Cast Interviews, and a full gallery of never-before-seen exclusive photos! The “Saw VI” Factory If it’s Halloween,...
Hitting retailers on October 15th (with subscribers getting theirs early as always), Fango #288 is packed with another 100 pages of gory goodness. With a cover photo featuring Edi Gathegi in his role as Laurent from The Twilight Saga: New Moon, this next issue of Fango is sure to burn up the magazine racks!
What else is inside? Check out the full Guts and Gravy below the jump! Guts:
When “Halloween II” First Fell Twenty-eight years ago, Michael Myers made his initial stab at franchise-hood. “Box” Your Fears Would you make the deadly bargain this film offers? And how would you deal with the aftermath? *Contains Exclusive Cast Interviews, and a full gallery of never-before-seen exclusive photos! The “Saw VI” Factory If it’s Halloween,...
- 9/19/2009
- by no-reply@fangoria.com (James Zahn)
- Fangoria
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