Bela Lugosi

Question: I'm just curious about why Paul Thomas Anderson's production company is named Ghoulardi Films. Was he a big fan of Channel 8's Shock Theater when he was a kid?

Answer: Here's a hint: Hipster Cleveland-area TV horror host Ghoulardi's real name was Ernie Anderson. Yes, Paul Thomas Anderson is his son. The director actually grew up in California; his father moved from Cleveland in 1966 to pursue work as a voice actor and became an extremely successful TV announcer. For younger readers who think the history of horror hosts begins with Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, Ghoulardi was only one in a long line of oddball characters who introduced TV showings of old horror movies. They're all descended from "Vampira," a wasp-wai read more

Question: I recently saw Rumble Fish, and I know this is a petty detail, but can you tell me what movie is playing on the TV when Patty and Rusty James are making out? At first I thought it was Dracula, but it doesn't look quite right and I couldn't find the title in the credits.

Answer: It's Murder by Television (1935) starring Bela Lugosi, which is no doubt why Dracula (1931) occurred to you.

Question: I saw a movie in my horror-film class that was filmed in the '30s or '40s. It took place on an island, and I think there were zombies and voodoo. It was really good. Do you by any chance know what it might have been?

Answer: I have two suggestions, one from the '30s and one from the '40s. Zombie movies were actually relatively uncommon until the '70s. George Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968) reconceived the walking dead, with a heavy dose of inspiration from Richard Matheson's novella I Am Legend, which was filmed first as The Last Man on Earth (1964) and subsequently as The Omega Man (1971). Romero's zombies are sort of rotting lan read more