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The Horror Show

  • TV Movie
  • 19791979
  • 1h 40m
IMDb RATING
8.9/10
157
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
The Horror Show (1979)
  • Documentary
  • Horror
  • Thriller
A history of horror movies hosted by Anthony Perkins, and featuring clips from scores of horror and sci-fi classics.A history of horror movies hosted by Anthony Perkins, and featuring clips from scores of horror and sci-fi classics.A history of horror movies hosted by Anthony Perkins, and featuring clips from scores of horror and sci-fi classics.
IMDb RATING
8.9/10
157
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Richard Schickel
  • Writer
    • Richard Schickel
  • Stars
    • Anthony Perkins
    • Bud Abbott(archive footage)
    • Julie Adams(archive footage)
Top credits
  • Director
    • Richard Schickel
  • Writer
    • Richard Schickel
  • Stars
    • Anthony Perkins
    • Bud Abbott(archive footage)
    • Julie Adams(archive footage)
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 1User review
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos

    The Horror Show (1979)
    The Horror Show (1979)
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    Top cast

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    Anthony Perkins
    Anthony Perkins
    • Self - Hostas Self - Host
    Bud Abbott
    Bud Abbott
      Julie Adams
      Julie Adams
        Richard Arlen
        Richard Arlen
          James Arness
          James Arness
            Lionel Atwill
            Lionel Atwill
              Martin Balsam
              Martin Balsam
                John Barrymore
                John Barrymore
                  Paul Birch
                  Paul Birch
                    Ernest Borgnine
                    Ernest Borgnine
                      Ricou Browning
                      Ricou Browning
                        John Carradine
                        John Carradine
                          Lon Chaney Jr.
                          Lon Chaney Jr.
                            Lon Chaney
                            Lon Chaney
                              Ben Chapman
                              Ben Chapman
                                Lonny Chapman
                                Lonny Chapman
                                  Colin Clive
                                  Colin Clive
                                    E.E. Clive
                                    E.E. Clive
                                      • Director
                                        • Richard Schickel
                                      • Writer
                                        • Richard Schickel
                                      • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
                                      • All cast & crew

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                                      Storyline

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                                      Did you know

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                                      • Trivia
                                        10 movies featured in this documentary were selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant": Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), King Kong (1933), The Invisible Man (1933), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), Psycho (1960), The Birds (1963) and Jaws (1975).
                                      • Connections
                                        Features The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)

                                      User reviews1

                                      Review
                                      Top review
                                      7/10
                                      A precursor to "Terror in the Aisles"
                                      Written by Time Magazine critic Richard Schickel and hosted by "Psycho" star Anthony Perkins, "The Horror Show: 60 Magical Years of Movie Monsters, Madmen and Other Creatures of the Night" is a documentary about the horror film genre which aired on CBS in February 1979 and attained theatrical distribution elsewhere in the world later in the year.

                                      Like the '80s feature "Terror in the Aisles," what's appealing about this is that it's one enormous clips show featuring a wealth of snippets from a vast array of popular horror movies. In an era just before home video made movie collecting accessible to the public, movie fans had to get their fix from TV specials like this one. While it delivers the goods in many respects, it's disappointing in others.

                                      Perkins was an inspired choice to host (he even appears on a mock porch of the Bates house while introducing a clip of "Psycho") and there are more memorable movie moments than they could probably get away with featuring today. Unfortunately, a lot of the clips are lengthy (the Dracula and Frankenstein sequences both seem to drag on forever) and tons of influential classics ("Carnival of Souls," "Night of the Living Dead," "Rosemary's Baby," "Carrie," "Halloween," etc.) were omitted. This was in the heyday of TV censorship, so there's no way that they could've featured some of the scarier/gorier clips, which might explain the omissions. Further detracting from the proceedings is some of Shickel's heavy-handed narration, which takes a psychological "this is why people are attracted to horror movies" sort of viewpoint, mostly omitting interesting information about the makings of the films - and numerous times throughout, Perkins spouts off misinformation about the years that films were released.

                                      For what it is and when it was made, the special is a tad above average - but in an era when we can click a button to get information about and watch clips from practically every popular film in existence in HD clarity, it's pretty outdated.
                                      helpful•2
                                      0
                                      • VinnieRattolle
                                      • Aug 2, 2014

                                      Details

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                                      • Release date
                                        • February 6, 1979 (United States)
                                      • Country of origin
                                        • United States
                                      • Language
                                        • English
                                      • Also known as
                                        • The Horror Show: 60 Magical Years of Monsters, Madmen and Other Creatures of the Night
                                      • Filming locations
                                        • Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA
                                      • Production companies
                                        • Heyday Productions
                                        • Universal Television
                                      • See more company credits at IMDbPro

                                      Technical specs

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                                      • Runtime
                                        1 hour 40 minutes
                                      • Color
                                        • Color
                                        • Black and White
                                      • Sound mix
                                        • Mono
                                      • Aspect ratio
                                        • 1.33 : 1

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