Cereal At Midnight

If you only know Frankie Ford's biggest hit: "Sea Cruise," you're forgiven. Between 1958 and 1960, the New Orleans rocker released a string of singles: "Alimony," "Seventeen," and a version of "You Talk Too Much" are all worth a listen. However, oo-wee, baby, it's "Sea Cruise" that stands as Frankie Ford's legacy. SEA CRUISE: THE COMPLETE RELEASES - 1958-62 gives a near-complete overview of the swamp pop/New Orleans R&B artist's original and most vital career period.  Numerous gems are uncovered, such as "Morgus the Magnificent" which is an ode to a local horror host that he recorded with Malcolm Rebennack Jr., aka Dr. John: "we don't go out to roll and rock, we get our kicks from the house of shock." Also worth seeking out is the provocative (especially for its era) "It Must Be Jelly ('Cause Jam Don't Shake Like That"). Not all the songs are piano-bashing rockers: when ...

1958's Apache Territory  exhibits everything that I love about the western genre at its mid-century pinnacle. Rory Calhoun plays a drifter who wanders into the titular Apache territory, a highly-dangerous land where outsiders are quickly attacked and killed by the warrior tribe that inhabits the area. Within minutes, Calhoun has spoiled an Apache raid on one group of travelers, yet arrived too late to stop another attack, which left behind a young female survivor. With certain death closing in on all sides, Calhoun finds a box canyon that has a small water supply and enough protection for a temporary refuge. It doesn't take long for a host of other desperate characters--including an old flame--to descend upon the same defensible post. With the gang in place, time is running out; if the Apaches don't get them, their dwindling resources and cabin fever will.  Quite a few themes are packed into this short feature. Calhoun simply wants to be left alone to wander, but his knowle...

Book talk! In this episode, let's discuss TEENAGERS AND TEENPICS, a deep look at the teensploitation movie cycle of the 1950s! Buckle up for monster mayhem, youth-gone-wild flicks, and rock and roll riots! If you love cult, low budget, and exploitation movies, you won't want to miss this episode! Order the book here Stay up to date on everything happening with Cereal At Midnight with these links: CerealAtMidnight.com Shop: CerealAtMidnight.Threadless.com Ebay.com/usr/cerealatmidnight Patreon.com/CerealAtMidnight Facebook.com/CerealMidnight Twitter: CerealMidnight Instagram: CerealMidnight Letterboxd: CerealAtMidnite

There's no other studio quite like Hammer. Often imitated, never duplicated, Hammer dominated genre films from the late fifties all the way through the seventies with a unique English style and a stable of regular actors who would become household names to monster kids of multiple generations. They breathed new life (and fresh blood) into monster movies that had become relatively tame, and by putting their own decidedly-adult spin on the classics, they presented old favorites like Frankenstein, The Mummy, and yes, Dracula himself, in a way that not only felt fresh, but more explicitly scary than arguably ever before.

Fort Massacre  is one of the many smaller westerns from the 1950s that features an excellent script, solid performances, and beautiful cinematography. The film was released by United Artists and was directed by Joseph M. Newman, the same guy who made the underrated sci-fi classic  This Island Earth.  The story follows the U.S. Cavalry's C Troop as they navigate Apache country after an ambush that left a number of their men either dead or injured. They're trying to get to their outpost 100 miles away while under constant fire from hostile natives. It's the same plot that could have been (and was) used for a ton of war movies, but the draw of Fort Massacre  isn't the story; the real beauty is watching these characters as they deal with what appears to be a no-win situation.