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Nature will run amok when Kino Lorber unleashes five classic eco-horrors on Blu-ray as part of its Kino Cult line:The Food of the Gods, Empire of the Ants, Frogs, Squirm, and Kingdom of the Spiders. Due out on August 20, each title comes with a slipcover and features reversible artwork. Pre-orders are up for $24.95.

1976’s The Food of the Gods is written and directed by Bert I. Gordon, based on H. G. Wells’ 1904 novel The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth. Marjoe Gortner, Pamela Franklin, Ralph Meeker, Jon Cypher, and Ida Lupino star.

In the film, “On a remote island, a mysterious substance is oozing from the ground. A farmer sees that it acts as a growth hormone and thinks his fortune is made. But when rats, chickens, worms and wasps begin sampling the potent substance, they morph into bloodthirsty giants! Now, it’s up to...

In Stuart Rosenberg's 1967 prison film "Cool Hand Luke," Lucas Jackson (Paul Newman) is thrown into a Florida penitentiary in the early 1950s for drunkenly cutting the heads off of parking meters. He is sentenced to two years hard labor working on a chain gang, and soon learns that the Floridian penal system is bleak and aggressive. The warden (Morgan Woodward) attempts to use modern, sensitive language to deal with the prisoners ("What we have here is failure to communicate"), but it's a gross juxtaposition given how cruel he is; the warden will give miscreants "a night in the box," a small wooden shack, as punishment for the smallest slights. 

Partway through the movie, Luke and his fellow prisoners are taken out to a field next to a remote country home. The prisoners haven't seen a woman for a long time -- some of them in years -- so when...

As reported by the New York Times, on March 8, 2023, prolific B-movie filmmaker Bert I. Gordon passed away at his home in Los Angeles. He was 100 years old. 

Bert I. Gordon is a name many may not be familiar with unless they were prone to visiting drive-in theaters in the 1950s, staying up late and watching monster movies on Uhf TV in the 1980s, or were paying attention to "Mystery Science Theater 3000" in the 1990s. Gordon was the director behind such low-budget classics as 1955's "King Dinosaur," 1957's "The Amazing Colossal Man," its sequel from the next year, "War of the Colossal Beast," the 1965 outsized J.D. flick, "Village of the Giants," the 1976 H.G. Wells adaptation, "Food of the Gods," and the 1976 giant ant film "Empire of the Ants." One might note that all the films listed above involve giants of some stripe. One might also want to take note of Bert I.

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,...

Bert I. Gordon, an American filmmaker and sci-fi director known for his low-budget monster movies in the 1950s and ’60s, died in Los Angeles on Wednesday. He was 100.

His daughter, Patricia Gordon, confirmed the news of his death.

Shortly after WWII, when Americans feared the impacts of nuclear testing and radiation, Gordon created mutated monster movies that wreaked havoc on the world. Despite his many low-budget films, Gordon’s movies featured stars like Ida Lupino and Orson Welles.

Nevertheless, the apocalyptic titles and jarring movie posters weren’t enough to keep them from flopping and receiving negative reviews, according to the New York Times.

Gordon’s career spans over six decades, as he produced, directed, and wrote 25 films. He’s most known for “The Cyclops” (1957), “Village of the Giants” (1965), “Necromancy” (1972), “The Food of the Gods” (1976), “Empire of the Ants” (1977) and “The Amazing Colossal Man” (1957), the last of which was brought...

Bert I. Gordon, an American filmmaker whose low-budget creature features brought super-sized monsters to drive-in cinemas in the mid-20th century, died Wednesday in Los Angeles after collapsing at his home in Beverly Hills. He was 100.

Gordon’s death was confirmed to the New York Times by his daughter, Patricia.

In Atomic Age America, Gordon’s science-fiction B movies manifested the country’s nuclear anxieties as eye-popping apocalypse spectacles. Mostly working under shooting schedules that could total to two weeks and change at most, Gordon produced, directed and wrote more than 25 features over a career spanning six decades, including striking titles like “Village of the Giants” (1965), “How to Succeed With Sex” (1970) and “Empire of the Ants” (1977). His films “Necromancy” (1972)” and “The Food of the Gods” (1976) featured Orson Welles and Ida Lupino, respectively.

As with many cult filmmakers, Gordon’s work was largely met with negative reviews and so-so commercial success...

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,...

Bert I. Gordon, who was given the nickname “Mr. B.I.G.” by Famous Monsters of Filmland editor Forrest J. Ackerman not just because it matched his initials but also because it matched the director’s favorite big-screen subject — giant monsters — died today. He was 100. His daughter Patricia Gordon confirmed the filmmaker’s death to the New York Times.

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Gordon often produced, directed, wrote and created the special effects for his movies, which were shot on ultra-low...

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,...

Tommy Kirk, one of Disney’s major young stars of the 1950s and early ’60s with performances in generational touchstone films such as Old Yeller, The Shaggy Dog and Son of Flubber, died Tuesday at his home in Las Vegas. He was 79.

His death was announced on Facebook by friend and fellow child star Paul Petersen.

Showbiz & Media Figures We’ve Lost In 2021 – Photo Gallery

“My friend of many decades, Tommy Kirk, was found dead last night,” wrote Petersen, who has long been an advocate for child actors through his organization A Minor Consideration. “Tommy was intensely private. He lived alone in Las Vegas, close to his friend … and Ol Yeller co-star, Bev Washburn … and it was she who called me this morning. Tommy was gay and estranged from what remains of his blood-family. We in A Minor Consideration are Tommy’s family. Without apology. We will take care of this.

Johnny Crawford, who found early fame in the 1950s as an original Mouseketeer on The Mickey Mouse Club and even more success as the son of Chuck Connors’ title character in the 1959-63 Western series The Rifleman, died Thursday two years after an Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis and a recent battle with Covid-19 . He was 75.

Crawford’s death was announced on his website.

According to the Johnny Crawford Legacy website maintained by his family and friends, the “passed away peacefully” last night with wife Charlotte by his side. “Sadly, Johnny was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and he was living in a memory care residence before contracting Covid-19, then pneumonia,” the site states. “After a temporary placement at a skilled nursing facility, he was recently moved to an excellent smaller care home close to his wife.”

Born John Ernest Crawford in Los Angeles into a theatrical and musical family – his...

Schlock should never be a dirty word in the world of cinema. Some of my favorite films are utterly devoid of taste and frequently, refinement. The majority of drive-in treasures lie somewhere between perspiration and inspiration, covered in flop sweat and trying desperately to entertain. This is often where you’ll find the films distributed by American International Pictures, and always where you’ll see director Bert I. Gordon’s oeuvre. Empire of the Ants (1977) is no exception.

Released by Aip in July and bringing in $2.5 million, Empire was the follow up to Gordon and producer Samuel Z. Arkoff’s success from the previous year, The Food of the Gods, another “loose” H.G. Wells adaptation, and was an even bigger hit (in B.I.G. terms, anyway—everything’s relative, folks). Naturally dismissed by critics, Empire continues the winning Gordon formula of B stars and groovy, goofy, rear projection grisliness.

Sometimes in horror, a giant creature will do. It takes us back to a simpler time, I think. A time when an oversized spider, or a massive lizard sparked shuttered eyes at the Drive-In or local theatre. It feels almost like a cleansing; a reset of the scare-o-meter back to the innocent levels of the Saturday matinee. And if you were a kid in the ‘70s, Bert I. Gordon’s The Food of the Gods (1976) fit the bill nicely.

Released in June by Aip stateside, and then rolled out across the world in ’77, Food brought in $1 million at the gate (good revenue by Aip standards) and the reviews were, not surprisingly, as low grade as the budget. But hey, legendary schlockmeister Gordon did not survive the biz on good copy. And what kind of reviews would you expect from a movie that features giant chickens, gargantuan rats, and Marjoe Gortner?...

Tomorrow, Scream Factory's unleashing respective double feature Blu-rays of The Food of the Gods and Frogs, and Empire of the Ants and Jaws of Satan. We've been provided with three Blu-ray copies of each double feature to give away to Daily Dead readers.

The Food Of The Gods

"Legendary director Bert I. Gordon (The Amazing Colossal Man, Attack of the Puppet People) – the father of the "gigantic creature" genre – delivers this spine-tingling tale of ecology gone berserk. Based on H.G. Wells' classic horror novel, The Food of the Gods predicts a terrifying future where oversized animals are suddenly at the top of the food chain and ready to take over!

On a remote island, a mysterious substance is oozing from the ground. A farmer sees that it acts as a growth hormone and thinks his fortune is made. But when rats, chickens, worms and wasps begin sampling the potent substance,...

With Memorial Day behind us and summer just right around the corner, the horror and sci-fi home releases are really begin to heat up as we’ve got a bunch of great cult classics and new indie genre films to look forward to this Tuesday. Scream Factory is giving fans a double dose of double features with their The Food of the Gods/Frogs and Empire of the Ants/Jaws of Satan Blu-rays and we’ve also got the latest from Dark Sky Films- Let Us Prey- arriving on both Blu-ray and DVD on May 26th.

Anchor Bay is also bringing home Spike Lee’s Da Sweet Blood of Jesus this week, Vinegar Syndrome is giving the cult film Madman a high-def upgrade and Universal is keeping busy as well with their releases of Seventh Son, The Loft and the Orson Welles classic Touch of Evil too.

On May 26th, Scream Factory's unleashing nature-gone-wrong creature features, including the killer amphibians from Frogs, the giant rats from The Food of the Gods, the killer ants of Empire of the Ants, and the creepy king cobra from Jaws of Satan.

The Food Of The Gods

"Legendary director Bert I. Gordon (The Amazing Colossal Man, Attack of the Puppet People) – the father of the "gigantic creature" genre – delivers this spine-tingling tale of ecology gone berserk. Based on H.G. Wells' classic horror novel, The Food of the Gods predicts a terrifying future where oversized animals are suddenly at the top of the food chain and ready to take over!

On a remote island, a mysterious substance is oozing from the ground. A farmer sees that it acts as a growth hormone and thinks his fortune is made. But when rats, chickens, worms and wasps begin sampling the potent substance, they morph into bloodthirsty giants!

Long before he co-starred as James Dalton's memorable mentor and friend in Road House, Sam Elliott took on killer amphibians in 1972's Frogs, and with Scream Factory offering up two double doses of nature-gone-wrong creature features, Frogs is invading homes on Blu-ray this May along with the giant rats of The Food of the Gods, the killer ants of Empire of the Ants, and the creepy king cobra from Jaws of Satan.

Press release - "This spring, nature strikes back! On May 26, 2015 Scream Factory presents Food of the Gods and Frogs, two nature-gone-berserk shockers on Blu-ray for the first time. This release comes complete with bonus features, including new interviews with the films’ stars Belinda Balaski and Joan Van Ark.

The Food Of The Gods

Legendary director Bert I. Gordon (The Amazing Colossal Man, Attack of the Puppet People) – the father of the "gigantic creature" genre – delivers this spine-tingling tale of ecology gone berserk.

By Tom Lisanti

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Gail Gerber passed away on March 2, 2014 due to complications from lung cancer. Gerber was born on October 4, 1937 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and began studying ballet at age seven. Extremely talented, at fifteen she became the youngest member of Les Grandes Ballets Canadiennes in Montreal. Quitting the ballet troupe in the late 1950s and abandoning a husband who was a jazz musician, she moved to Toronto to work as an actress. She appeared on stage and in many live CBC television dramas. As part of the act of legendary vaudeville entertainers Smith and Dale (who were the basis for The Sunshine Boys), she appeared on The Wayne and Schuster Show and The Ed Sullivan Show. Moving to Hollywood in 1963, the talented blonde with a flair for comedy quickly snagged the lead role in the play Under the Yum Yum Tree...

Shout! Factory has announced that Mystery Science Theater 3000: Xxvii will be available on DVD this summer and includes The Slime People, Rocket Attack USA, Village of the Giants and The Deadly Mantis. Continue reading for a list of bonus features, additional release details, and the cover art:

This summer, throw a mad monster party with motley crew of the Satellite of Love as they celebrate the release of Mystery Science Theater 3000: Xxvii! Available July 23rd from Shout! Factory, this 4-dvd box set is a schlock-tastic Monster Movie Mash featuring four episodes never before available on DVD: The Slime People, Rocket Attack USA, Village of the Giants and The Deadly Mantis.

Also included are all new bonus features, including an introduction by Mary Jo Pehl, an all-new featurette Chasing Rosebud: The Cinematic Life Of William Alland, Life After MST3K: Trace Beaulieu, an interview with Village of the Giants star Joy Harmon,...

We at Blogomatic3000 love our horror movies, so it’s fitting that we get the chance to bring you the schedule for FEARnet’s exclusive Halloween horror movie extravaganza! So if you’re looking for a good scare in the month of October, read on to see just what FEARnet has planned for you!

On Sunday, October 30th at 9:00 p.m. Et, FEARnet will air a special Halloween episode of Psychoville, the award-winning British black-comedy thriller series written by and starring Reece Shearsmith (Shaun of the Dead) and Steve Pemberton (The League of Gentlemen, Doctor Who). In the Halloween special, four tales of terror unfold as a film crew investigates the abandoned ruins of Ravenhill Psychiatric hospital.

On Halloween, FEARnet will air an all-day marathon of Trick ‘r Treat, starring Anna Paquin (True Blood), Brian Cox (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) and Leslie Bibb (Zookeeper). Michael Dougherty...

One of our favorite channels is back at it, and Joe Dante preps you for Thursday’s night of great sci-fi double bills! If you’ve been following along with TCM’s Thursday night lineups this month, you’ll know that they’ve had killer double-bills of sci-fi monster movies. It’s been really wonderful and this week, they’re back with possibly the best and weirdest lineup yet. Here’s Joe with his takes:

Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman – The bizarre death of co-star Yvette Vickers (“that slut Honey Parker”) has thrust this iconic but endearingly preposterous anti-classic into the limelight once more. Who else but that damned can’t get-rid-of-him Dante, who knew Yvette personally, is back to expound in one of the very first Tfh episodes, as you can see by the backdrop, his Hollywood screening room.

Village Of The Giants - Apart from the cool...

Assuming you have a humongous front door or outstanding insurance, Thursdays in June will be good night to pull your car into the living room, park it in front of your flatscreen, turn the channel to TCM, and try to relive the golden age of drive-in monster movies as TCM is loading its schedule this month with nothing but classic old school monster movies.

As if Turner Classic Movies wasn't already a fantastic channel as is (they're airing the 1977 Jaws with claws cult classic Grizzly this Friday at 2:00 Am Et), every Thursday in June they'll be running all-night Atomic Age monster movie marathons. From Godzilla to Harryhausen, from classics like The Thing from Another World to not-so-classics like Creature from the Haunted Sea to bad movie greatness like The Giant Claw... Here's TCM's own press release:

It came from the drive-in! The al fresco movie theater, a rage of the 1950s and '60s,...

It's another week of great revival screenings here in Weirdsville, and although the Paramount's Summer Film Series has come and gone for another year, there are still a mess o' fine flicks for the Classic Film connoisseur to enjoy.

And although the Austin Classic Movies Examiner has a somewhat arbitrary, self-imposed time limit of ten years before a film is considered "classic," he would be remiss if he did not give mention to what is sure to be a hilarious evisceration of M. Night Shyamalan's 2008 craptacular The Happening by the geniuses at Master Pancake Theater this weekend at the Alamo Ritz. What a twist!

Here are This Week's Classic Movie Screenings in Austin from Friday September 17th through Thursday September 23rd:

Grease (1978) with John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, and Sid Caesar, directed by Randall Kleiser, Sing-Along at Tinseltown South, Fri. @ 4:40, 7:30, and 10:10 p.m.; Sat. and Sun. @ 11:50 a.

Thank heavens we live in a world where B-movie czar Bert I. Gordon, he of the larger-than-life-monsters-vs.-puny-humans classics of the 1960’s and 70’s, still walks among us. With pictures like The Amazing Colossal Man, Earth Vs The Spider, The Beginning Of The End, Village Of The Giants and Food Of The Gods on his résumé (he also worked with Orson Welles on The Witching and made the underrated Zsa Zsa Gabor Gothic Picture Mommy Dead), Gordon has firmly stamped his signature on B-cinema, creating a body of work that will stand the test of time.

Actor and voiceover artist Tim Rooney, son of Mickey Rooney, has died. He was 59. Rooney died on September 23 in Hemet, California after a five-year battle with the muscle disease dermatomyositis. He was the second son of the veteran actor and his wife, singer Betty Jane Rase, who performed as BJ Baker. As a child, Rooney had polio, which left him paralyzed for two years, but he eventually recovered. He was chosen as one of the original Mouseketeers for the Mickey Mouse Club in 1955, but never appeared on the show after being fired after getting into mischief in the Disney paint shop. His later career included parts in Riot On Sunset Strip and Village Of The Giants. He appeared on TV shows including Dragnet, Bewitched, Petticoat Junction and Gidget and did voiceover work for cartoons including The Jetsons and Mr. T.