42ND STREET FOREVER VOL. 1: HORROR ON 42ND STREET
Ban 1 Productions

OK, all your trailerholics out there, on the trail of Gary Huggins' TRAILER TRASH comes another superb throwback to the good old days of trailers, when previews weren't afraid to pile on as much sex, violence, action, and hyperbole to draw suckers into the dark abyss of the theater. After several delays, Ban 1 has unveiled the first in their trailer disc series, 42ND STREET FOREVER, spotlighting a variety of coming attractions for some of the most memorable trash pics of the Golden Age of Exploitation. Despite the subtitle HORROR ON 42ND STREET, many of the trailers do not belong to that genre and even if you've seen many of them before, they are presented here in the best possible quality. Who would have thought that someone would actually take the extra step of digitally remastering and sweetening trailers?!

Kicking off the disc is the familiar intro which has appeared on several SWV discs of little kittens playing with yarn while graphics say the following film is restricted.

FREAKS - MGM's 1932 horror classic switched many hands to tour the roadshow circuit through the 1960s and 1970s, and this preview is from Joseph Brenner's period with the film. Most of the preview is the infamous rain-drenched finale, with the freaks chasing after haughty Olga Baclanova through the forest, and the "Gooble gobble" wedding feast. Thankfully Warner Brothers is releasing this on DVD!

THE CRIPPLED MASTERS - Not a horror film, but definitely one of the most eye-opening flicks you're likely to see! I've never seen the film itself in its original widescreen aspect ratio, which is preserved here in the trailer (with French subtitles?!). An armless man and his friend with useless legs join forces to fight the evil tyrant who crippled them. Goofy, shameless, and a whole lot of fun, here's hoping someone releases this on DVD in its original aspect ratio!

THE MUTATIONS - Also known as THE FREAKMAKER, Donald Pleasance is a mad scientist creating bizarre creatures for his own ends! The film is pretty similar to FREAKS, with his creations banding together like a family and a similar feast to FREAKS' wedding feast. There's a giant plant/cockroach monster, a man with eyeballs that pop out, multiple midgets and pinheads, and other sideshow regulars. With Julie Ege, the lovely Swedish bombshell.

AROUSED - One of the best NYC roughies ever made, Something Weird released this on DVD not far back. This trailer is slightly different from theirs, missing the murder of Fleurette Carter and with different color tints. I never noticed Joe Sarno regular Joanna Mills, but she's here in the trailer! See the finale and try to tell me William Lustig didn't see this before writing MANIAC!

SKIDOO - What the hell is THIS doing here?! Not a horror film, unless you consider it your idea of hell to sit through an LSD comedy with Jackie Gleason in jail and Carol Channing singing the title song. Can you believe the cast that director Otto Preminger talked into this thing: Frankie Avalon, Groucho Marx, Michael Constantine, Frank Gorshin, Peter Lawford, John Phillip Law, Burgess Meredith, Cesar Romero, Mickey Rooney, and Austin Pendleton! Dr. Timothy Leary hosts the trailer, with a strange appearance by Sammy Davis, Jr., too! Once you see SKIDOO, you'll never be the same...so see it!

THE WILD SCENE - Another bizarre inclusion on this disc, this is a trippie hippie flick with a mother and daughter going ga-ga for the same guy. Lots of sex, including underwater, and nudity, a lesbian scene, and an unwanted pregnancy! I won't deny wanting to see it, but I think it's odd the trailer's on here... The music is from THE CYCLE SAVAGES!

THE WILD EYE - Mondo Mania had taken over the U.S. following the success of MONDO CANE, so this one follows Philippe Leroy as a mondo moviemaker who travels the world "photographing beauty, jealousy, terror, death, anything and everything". Gabriele Tinti is his cameraman!

THE ANIMALS - Another "why is this here?" oddity. It's a violent western with a gang of outlaws kidnapping a high society girl and looking to. Stone-faced Henry Silva is an Apache who saves her from the ruffians, who raped his squaw. It's better known as APACHE VENGEANCE. Keenan Wynn stoops pretty low to be in this one.

HOOKER'S REVENGE/PHOTOGRAPHER'S MODEL - A Eurocult double feature masterpiece! First up is HOOKER'S REVENGE, aka THRILLER: A CRUEL PICTURE. Christina Lindberg is a heroin-addicted hooker who has her eye stabbed out by her pimp and seeks revenge in a black trenchcoat armed with a shotgun. If you see this trailer and don't want to see Synapse's upcoming disc, you have no pulse! Packed with action, nudity, violence, and Lindberg in perhaps her greatest performance (her look influenced not only KILL BILL, but THE MATRIX as well), this is a masterpiece! THE PHOTOGRAPHER'S MODEL is aka HOUSE OF WHIPCORD, the Pete Walker nasty. A beautiful French model is seduced by a sleazy guy who takes her home to mother, who keeps sinful women jailed in her private dungeon. It's a superb film, but the trailer here tries to sell it as a sexploitation comedy!

VIGILANTE FORCE - Another non-horror trailer, but it's so action-packed and wild all can be forgiven. Kris Kristofferson and Jan-Michael Vincent are two brothers torn apart by a small town's corruption. The plot is basically that of BUCKTOWN, with a gang of ruffians hired to clean up a town, but go mad with power. With Victoria Principal and Bernadette Peters as the women in their lives. Lots of explosions and gun battles!

DIXIE DYNAMITE - OK, by this time, I'm wondering when we're getting back to the horror?! Two beautiful sisters take over their dead father's moonshine business. Though it's directed by personal favorite Lee Frost, it doesn't look that great and with a PG rating, it can't be that sleazy. Look for Christopher George, Warren Oates, and in the film, apparently Steve McQueen was talked into a cameo appearance!

FIGHTING MAD - You get two previews for this: a teaser/TV spot and a full-length trailer. Both are great! Peter Fonda comes home to his farm where land barons kill his family to steal their land. He doesn't take it well, setting fires and wreaking havoc with his trusty bow and arrow. The second trailer features Lynn Lowry (!) as Fonda's lover! Jonathan Demme's film has never been available on legitimate home video in this country, so here's hoping someone steps up to the plate.

WELCOME HOME, BROTHER CHARLES - Out on DVD as SOUL VENGEANCE, this blaxploitation eye-opener is summed up pretty well in this trailer. You get to see a black man escape from the cops by running towards them, waving his arms, and screaming (!), Charles' outburst in the court (foul language is bleeped), his crazy penis-strangling vengeance (!!!), and basically everything good in the movie, all the way up to the finale.

SHANTYTOWN HONEYMOON - Back to the Southern drive-in regulars. Aka HONEY BRITCHES, this is a sex-packed Donn Davison production about a moonshine business torn apart by the sexy young child bride of one of its owners. There's bizarre violence, diamonds and jewelry, poor white trash, and plenty of flannel.

THE HOUSE OF MISSING GIRLS - Anna Gael, a mix between Marie Liljedahl and Cristina Galbo, stars in this roughie European-style. A lame car chase is called "the wildest since BULLIT!" It doesn't look that great...

SINS OF THE DAUGHTER - Any movie with roly-poly Sebastian Gregory is a guaranteed good time. Here, he plays a gigolo who is tired of his rich bitch lover. Her daughter comes to stay with her and he finds plenty of time to knock her boots. Former AIP teen star Beach Dickerson is a gay bar patron! Something Weird carries this as LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER, and it's directed by Robert Vincent O'Neill (THE PSYCHO LOVER, ANGEL).

SCHOOL GIRL BRIDE - Another retitled European sex comedy. This one stars a girl who looks like a mix between SCARY MOVIE's Anna Faris and Christina Lindberg! Lots of sex and some lesbianism. Doesn't look that hot...

JOSIE'S CASTLE - Never heard of this one, but it looks pretty kooky! Beautiful Josie sleeps with lots of guys, including a handsome mustachioed blonde guy who's busted and put in jail and lectured by his rich mother through the bars (he contributes nudity, too). I don't know what the plot is, but it looks funny, sexy, and goofy. George Takei ("Star Trek") appears at the end of the trailer on a bike!

CHATTERBOX - 70s drive-in goddess Candice Rialson bid farewell to the screen after this one-note sex comedy, which is a shame because she was headed towards better things for sure. Former gay porn director Tom DeSimone (who later lensed HELL NIGHT) was behind this one.

THE BLOOD SPATTERED BRIDE/I DISMEMBER MAMA - This is the much-seen double-feature trailer with a TV reporter interviewing patrons who come out of the double-feature show. One guy goes completely crazy and has to be dragged out in a strait-jacket! A New York couple pretend to be upper-class, and one woman gets orgasmic over the Upchuck Cup, a gimmick tied in to the movie. Most of the clips in the preview are from BLOOD SPATTERED BRIDE; I DISMEMBER MAMA is bland and boring.

CARNIVOROUS - This is the American reissue trailer for Ruggero Deodato's cannibal masterpiece JUNGLE HOLOCAUST. After a scrolling disclaimer, this exciting preview sells the movie as a jungle adventure and surprisingly leaves out most of the moist special effects. Strangely, some of the scenes show star Massimo Foschi in a black speedo, even though in the finished film, he is completely nude in the given scene....?! Sound bytes are heard of Marilyn Burns screaming in TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE! This was double-featured with RAW MEAT.

THE FOOD OF THE GODS - Who wouldn't want to see this kooky Bert I. Gordon monster epic after sitting through this trailer? Giant chickens, rats, wasps, and an all-star cast (including Marjoe Gortner, Pamela Franklin, and Ida Lupino!) populate this 70s artifact that should be on DVD!

TALES OF THE BIZARRE - Aka SECRETS OF SEX, Synapse Films will be releasing this one on DVD in the near future. It looks to be a British anthology sex 'n' horror flick, with a mummy acting as the host. I'll pass.

THE DEVIL'S RAIN - Another fabulous 70s drive-in classic, starring William Shatner, Ida Lupino, and Tom Skeritt as a family plagued by a vicious devil cult seeking an important book to control the world. They are led by scene-chewing Ernest Borgnine, and John Travolta appears as a chin-dimpled follower. There are explosions, chase scenes, authentic Satanic rituals overseen by Anton LaVey (!), and the oozy melty finale is spoiled here. Keenan Wynn's slumming again here.

BLACK CHRISTMAS - Considering this is my personal favorite horror film of the 1970s, the trailer isn't very good... Carl Zittrer's haunting musical score is used, and several of the best scares are given away, but it never really sells the movie as well as it should. If you haven't seen this one yet, ignore the bland trailer and seek it out now!

THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK - This is the trailer which scared countless kids in the 70s. Who would have thought a film about Bigfoot would amount to a box-office smash? Sun Classics made a fortune with this docudrama about Sasquatch terrorizing the denizens of a swamp town in Arkansas. It is a very good trailer, with atmospheric photography and horrifying sound effects.

THE CREATURE WITH THE BLUE HAND - Out on DVD as THE BLOODY DEAD (Independent-International's retitling), Klaus Kinski stars in this atmospheric German color krimi. It looks pretty good, with a killer with a claw hand ripping open curtains to terrorize beautiful damsels in their beds, a room of snakes, a monstrous bald brute (as in DEAD EYES OF LONDON), and some surprising striptease footage. The trailer misspells Kinski's name "Klaus Kinsky".

MARK OF THE WITCH - This regional horror film from Texas is very hard to find, but reviews of it are quite positive. A young college student is possessed by the spirit of a witch during a séance and continues to sacrifice innocent victims to feed her bloodthirst. It looks quite atmospheric and full of local Dallas touches.

MARK OF THE DEVIL PART 2 - The sequel to the infamous "V for Violence" shocker looks much darker and nastier than its predecessor. Reggie Nalder returns as a different witchhunter and Erika Blanc is the heroine, and of course, all the bloody torture of beautiful girls and unlucky fellas you could ask for!

VIRGIN WITCH - Image has been promising this on DVD forever, and I can't wait for it! Beautiful sisters Vicki and Ann Michelle are twin models, one of whom is becoming involved with a Satanic cult. There's some surprising full frontal nudity from men and women, atmospheric rites, and both the Michelle girls are lovely. Ann would appear in Pete Walker's HOUSE OF WHIPCORD and QUEEN KONG over the years.

WOMEN AND BLOODY TERROR/NIGHT OF BLOODY HORROR - A Joy Houck double feature! Extremely low-budget films shot in New Orleans, neither of them is a lot of fun to sit through. BLOODY TERROR has lots of scenes of women being beaten, chased, punched, screaming bloody murder, and actually isn't really a horror film. It's more of a crime thriller. BLOODY HORROR is one of the most uneventful horror films I've ever seen, with "Major Dad" Gerald McRaney as a mentally disturbed guy who may be murdering every woman he encounters. I wouldn't want to be the crowd suckered into this twin feature!

THE REVENGE OF THE BLOOD BEAST - Here is probably the only place where you can see footage from Michael Reeves' THE SHE BEAST (1965) uncut and in its original widescreen aspect ratio! There's no dialogue or anything, indicating this is a European trailer. Barbara Steele and Ian Ogilvy star.

WONDER WOMEN - Here is another one screaming for a DVD release! More female ass-kicking than you've seen since POLICEWOMEN, Nancy Kwan, Roberta Collins, Maria De Aragon, and Marilyn Joi are just some of the killer-hot babes who make up a deadly army who plan to take over the world! Hero Ross Hagen must stop their devious plot by thinking with the right head... God, this looks great!!! With Vic Diaz and Sid Haig, too, and a cockfight! All directed by Robert Vincent O'Neill, too (ANGEL, PSYCHO LOVER); somebody get this guy for commentaries!

SAVAGE SISTERS - Yet another fabulous action-packed female action pic! GINGER herself Cheri Caffaro, in one of her few other films, is a white revolutionary who teams with blaxploitation goddess Gloria Hendry (the first black Bond girl) and Rosanna Ortiz to take over a corrupt prison run by Vic Diaz and Sid Haig (working together again after BIG BIRD CAGE). John Ashley is a love interest for Caffaro. This is another AIP eye-opener which hasn't received a video release in the US, which is a shame because it looks simply awesome! A prime candidate for MGM's Midnite Movies label!

SALO, OR THE 100 DAYS OF SODOM (German trailer)- This one is tough to take...I've not seen the final film of Pier Paolo Passolini, but it looks in very bad taste and worse than some of the trashiest films I've seen. A horde of teenage girls and boys is kept locked in a house of Nazi soldiers for the sadists' own perverse pleasures. With anal rape, pissing, shit-eating, transvestism, homosexuality, Russian roulette, black cutie Ines Pellegrini (EYEBALL), and lots of cold-blooded murder.

On a disc that is essentially all extras, there are several supplements to be found here. First up and best of all is the sneak preview for the next installment of the series, WORLD WIDE TRASH! Including trailers for HITCH HIKE (under the title DEATH DRIVE), THE BUTCHER OF BINBROOK, DEATH WILL HAVE YOUR EYES, THE ONE-EYED SWORDSMAN, CREAM PUFFS (with Edwige Fenech, grrrr!), THE DEPRAVED (Christina Lindberg's best film), and CHARLIE AND THE HOOKER, this looks to be even better than Vol. 1!

A fascinating gallery consists of publicity stunts concocted by the geniuses at AIP for the release of FOOD OF THE GODS, including a Rat-mobile, a guy in a giant chicken costume, and kooky lobby displays. A lengthier gallery features posters, video art, and pressbooks for all the films featured in the trailer show, with special attention paid to THE DEVIL'S RAIN, THE MUTATIONS, FOOD OF THE GODS, and VIGILANTE FORCE. It would be nice for future installments if radio spots or perhaps sounds of 42nd Street (honking cars, crowds, hookers shouting for clients, etc.) played over the images. An Easter Egg on the Main Menu shows the U.S. SHE BEAST pressbook and a poster for the SHE BEAST/EMBALMER double feature, materials which I assume came in a late date and could not be included in the finished gallery.

Score 1 for Ban 1 Productions on this debut disc which promises many more delirious thrills celebrating the trailers and films that frequented the sleaziest theatres during the Golden Age of the Deuce. (Casey Scott)

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