Vintage Hollywood Halloween pin-ups

Three of my favourite things combine in this post. Vintage pin ups you say? Ooh, and from old Hollywood. Plus Halloween?!

I suggest you have a look and a read, there’s lots of information on this post too. Voila.

Exhibition: something wicked this way comes

Being in Englandland I will be one of the many who won’t get to go to this exhibition in Hollywood (I knew I should have subscribed to sugardaddy.com) but if you’re in the general vicinity this may well be quite interesting. Have a look at the post for more bizarre pictures and information.

A little list of post-Halloween weird for you

Bonjour, how are my little cocktail sausages? I decided to share a couple of things I’ve seen via t’internet over the last few days just to reassure myself that Halloween is never over:

Firstly is some stunning pumpkin carvery by artist Ray Villafane. Wander over to blog Halloween Culture for more (and you know you want to):

Secondly blog and home of loony literary kittens Bizarro Central will be alerting us to a new weird artist each day of December. Write it in your diaries! Not in blood, try this biro. Have a look at this blog post for more info and a list of last year’s December artists.

Next up is a facebook page (that’s it, I’m getting technical on you) dedicated to the gothic world of Old Hollywood: Decaying Hollywood Mansions. Enter a world of vintage stars, studio overlords and bootlegging gangsters.

Also included is this post on the Gashlycrumb Tinies, a children’s book for adults I remember reading many years ago. To read through the whole ghastly business (apparently Neville died of ennui, I know how he feels) visit this post on The Year of Halloween.

Lastly, it would be silly to miss out the Body Parts Bakery. Here is a picture and video stolen from Bizarro Central featuring the stash of bready body bits all made by artist Kittiwat Unarrom in Thailand (everything is edible and sold in the bakery):

The original big screen twists

We’ve all seen them, the movie endings that have been done so many times they’re nothing more than a cliche. But imagine the first time it was seen, it would have been thought of as a stroke of genius.

Here are a few examples of classic films employing the twists we’ve come to know and love.

*warning* contains extreme spoilers.

1. “It was all a dream,” Dead of Night, 1945.

An architect arrives at a genteel British house party where he reveals to the guests he’s seen them all before in a dream. He then begins to predict events that will happen, leading to death.

This film boasts ‘the scariest moment in film,’ which many modern viewers may disagree with but is still rather creepy, especially if you don’t like ventriloquist dummies. Its also the picture that began the portmanteu, or several stories linked by one, format employed by Amicus films.

2. “I was making it all up,” Cabinet of Dr Caligari, 1920.

Two friends competing for the same woman visit a travelling carnival, where Dr Caligari announces that his somnambulist slave Cesare can predict the future. One of the friends asks him to predict his fortune, to which Cesare replies, “You will die before dawn tomorrow.”

Part of the German expressionist movement, this film by Robert Wiene includes trippy set designs and dreamlike performances, and has to be the first film with a twist ending full stop.

3. “I was dead all along,” Carnival of Souls, 1962.

Mary Henry is involved in a car accident but manages to crawl free. She begins a job in a new town as a church organist, but is plagued by strange visions and sounds. She finds herself drawn to an abandoned carnival, where the truth is revealed.

Many, many films are still doing this twist. In my humble opinion Donnie Darko is merely a convoluted version of this film. Despite its obvious low budget, Carnival of Souls is still quite entertaining.

4. “It was me all along,” Stage Fright, 1950

This Hitchcockian crime tale sees Jonathan, a young actor, confide in his friend Eve that the actress he’s been having an affair with, Marlene Dietrich, has committed murder. Eve and Jonathan investigate, leading to one of the now most overused endings of the movies (Switchblade Romance I’m looking at you).

When the film was released some people had a problem with the ‘lying flashback.’ The Jonathan character relays a story to Eve which turns out to be a lie. Nowadays incorrect flashback is acceptable as even CSI uses it to portray theories, but at the time flashback had only been employed to show the gospel truth. This led many viewers to have little sympathy for the Jonathan character.

Well, there we are! They’re the genius endings which became the cliches of the future, watch them and rejoice!