 Before Vincent Price was "The Last Man on Earth" in 1964, Harry Belafonte, Jr. was almost the last man on earth in the 1959 "The World, The Flesh and the Devil", the story of atomic warfare gone horribly wrong (or right, I guess, depending on the anticipated outcome) where the majority of the world's population is killed and there are only a few folks left here on earth to make a go of it again. Good luck with that. On one hand it's a tighter, faster version of The Stand, and on the other hand, we show that just because everyone's pretty much dead, racial hostilities, prejudice and the emotional fallout from that still lingers. This is a movie that you really need to see, it's a wonderful time capsule of the racial world of the 1950's, and also a beautifully written, directed and shot film. The Bill Makes Podcasts Website Bill Makes Podcasts Facebook Group Become a Patron! Join the Gentle Listener Newsletter!

Bill Watches Movies

The World, The Flesh and the Devil (1959)

It must have been a great time to be a screenwriter in the 1950’s and 1960’s at the beginning of the Atomic Era. Nuclear power, nuclear weapons, nuclear radiation and the inevitable nuclear holocaust were the best villains and challenges that a good script writer could ask for. It was like mad libs but with much more horrific consequences. Now, no one played this game better than the Japanese and their movies and television shows reflected their earnest and heartfelt warnings against doing stupid things again with nuclear bombs. We have Godzilla, we have The Mysterians, and now we have Starman - an intergalactic policeman sent to stop us from blowing each other up, befriending orphans and nuns while beating the crap out of evil rulers and gangsters. The Bill Makes Podcasts Website Bill Makes Podcasts Facebook Group Become a Patron! Join the Gentle Listener Newsletter!

Atomic Rulers of the World (1965)

Originally called "The Monsters of Terror" in Spanish, the movie was also known in the US as "Assignment Terror" (this is how most websites refer to the movie), and finally, the United Kingdom wins the best, but most confusing title with "Dracula versus Frankenstein". I can only imagine the sheer number of angry and confused British viewers after watching this movie with that title. The Bill Makes Podcasts Website Bill Makes Podcasts Facebook Group Become a Patron! Join the Gentle Listener Newsletter!

Assignment Terror (1970)

There are certain events that are seasonal in nature. The monarch butterflies return to Mexico each winter. The swallows return to San Juan Capistrano each March. The giant great white sharks return to Amity Island each July. And we, Gentle Listeners, each May, must return to Horror Mexico, land of the luchador - the heroic, super human wrestler who uses his masked powers for good and not for evil. Unless of course they are temporarily under the control of a mad scientist. This month, as last May, our guide and our gateway to Horror Mexico is Santo, The Saint, The Man in The Silver Mask, and this month, he is going to fight very undead, but very beautiful vampire women. In this early entry into the Santo mythos, the 7th film out of the eventual 52 that would be made, the movie both continues the tropes and traditions of the luchador, while adding some serious production values which add to the atmospheric black and white. Let’s get in our convertible, put the top down, blast some bossa nova music, grab a Big Gulp and some Slim Jim’s from the 7-11 and head down to Horror Mexico, shall we? Yes, we shall. The Bill Makes Podcasts Website Bill Makes Podcasts Facebook Group Become a Patron for as little as $5 a month and get weekly episodes! Join the Gentle Listener Newsletter!

Santo vs The Vampire Women (1962)

If there's one thing that a true film aficionado obsesses over it's lost media. These are films that were made, or rumored to have been made, but, due to any number of circumstances, are lost to time, presumably never to be seen again. In the horror genre, one such movie is the immortal Lon Chaney's "London After Midnight". In this silent detective/horror film, Chaney plays both the crime fighter and the criminal.  The last known print was lost in a fire in 1967, and the only way to see any version of it is through music and still photographs. This is a movie that deserves to be found, a movie that there is a burning desire for film students to see again, and learn from. Then, there are movies that are lost, and really don't deserve to be found, and one of those is Craig Denney's "The Astrologer", a $4 million dollar vanity project made by, and starring a man who had no talent in any way, shape or form, in film making, screenwriting, nor acting. "The Astrologer" has been found, and, after watching it, I want to punch the person who found it. The Bill Makes Podcasts Website Bill Makes Podcasts Facebook Group Become a Patron for as little as $5 a month and get weekly episodes! Join the Gentle Listener Newsletter!

The Astrologer (1976)

When it comes to movies, you would hope that the marketing department and the screenwriter put together a title that is enticing, exciting and descriptive of what the movie is about. "The Mummy", for example, certainly does have an undead priest of Egypt as the main character. “The Giant Gila Monster” will show you, through the magic of special effects, a desert dwelling gila monster that seems to be the size of a dang house. “Frankenstein”, however seems to cheat a bit, in that the title could be talking about the Doctor, the Baron or the Modern Prometheus, as Mary Shelly subtitled her novel. In this month’s movie, "Frankenstein Meets The Spacemonster" well, the filmmakers pretty much lie to our faces. The Bill Makes Podcasts Website Bill Makes Podcasts Facebook Group Become a Patron for as little as $5 a month and get weekly episodes! Join the Gentle Listener Newsletter!

Frankenstein Meets The Spacemonster (1965)

The 1970’s were Peak Made for TV Movies, and they tended to fall within three camps: You had the good - Brian’s Song, a true story about the death of the Chicago Bears football player, Gayle Sayers - the one movie that made every man on the planet cry before Spock’s death in the Wrath of Khan came along. You had the hidden potential - Duel, a young Steven Spielberg’s first foray into full length film that pitted ol’ Marshall McCloud himself, Dennis Weaver, against a homicidal big rig driver who just will. Not. Die. You had the springboard - Shows such as The Night Stalker and Columbo came from Made for TV movies. Then you have this month’s movie - Black Noon. The Bill Makes Podcasts Website Bill Makes Podcasts Facebook Group Become a Patron for as little as $5 a month and get weekly episodes! Join the Gentle Listener Newsletter!

Black Noon (1971)

Have you ever seen a dragonfly larvae? If not, hint: THEY ARE NOT PRETTY, but I think that we can absolutely agree that the final product is astoundingly beautiful, nature's iridescent little Sikorsky helicopters. The lesson here is that beautiful things can come from ugly things. That despite a bad idea, a great product can be brought into the world. So it is with Hammer's 1957 production of "The Abominable Snowman". Upon first blush, you're like okay, it's a Bigfoot movie, let's not get too excited about it, but then - then you see that it has Peter 'effin' Cushing in it. And you start watching it. And you change your mind. This movie is really, really good. Let's take a look at it, shall we? The Bill Makes Podcasts Website Bill Makes Podcasts Facebook Group Become a Patron for as little as $1 a month! Join the Gentle Listener Newsletter!

The Abominable Snowman (1957)

Made just three years after the classic “Gojira” by the same director, “The Mysterians” is one of those movies where you wonder just what the hell happened between initial idea and finished film. A cautionary tale against the proliferation and use of nuclear weapons, we have flying saucers, a Giant Anteater Robot, Disco Overlords bent on world destruction and, of course, marrying our Earth women. It’s just as bonkers as it sounds. The Bill Makes Podcasts Website Bill Makes Podcasts Facebook Group Become a Patron for as little as $1 a month! Join the Gentle Listener Newsletter!

The Mysterians (1957)

Sharks. Nature’s Death Torpedoes, or Misunderstood Gentle Ocean Creature? In this movie we’re going for the latter, as Richard Jaekel, only a scant 5 years away from an Oscar nomination, plays Sonny Stein, a former marine salvage worker in the Philippines, who is now, powered by a mystical amulet given to him by some random old dude, able to communicate telepathically with said sharks, give them names like Matilda and Sammy, and protect them from evil scientists, evil fishermen and evil morbidly obese night club owners. Jacques Cousteau, he ain’t. Maybe slipping a $10 donation to Sea Shepherd or Greenpeace would have been better. Let’s take a look at Richard Jaekel, Shark Whisperer, shall we? The Bill Makes Podcasts Website Bill Makes Podcasts Facebook Group Become a Patron for as little as $1 a month! Join the Gentle Listener Newsletter!

Mako: The Jaws of Death (1976)

Coming in 2021, Monsters by the Minute is the new podcast from Bill Mize, the man who brought you the award winning Bill Watches Movies podcast. Join Bill as he takes a minute by minute look at the 1932 Boris Karloff classic "The Mummy" and brings you the stories both in front of, and behind the camera. You'll learn about the stars, the director, the artists and more who brought this understated occult classic to life. Head over to the Monsters by the Minute website and sign up for the newsletter that will bring you the latest information on the podcast. Welcome, Gentle Listeners, to Monsters by the Minute, Season One, The Mummy. The Bill Makes Podcasts Website Bill Makes Podcasts Facebook Group Become a Patron for as little as $1 a month! Join the Gentle Listener Newsletter!

Monsters by the Minute Trailer

When one thinks of Great Britain, we think of Downton Abbey, Queen Elizabeth, punks with big mohawks, and of course, Winston Churchill. We might think about Stonehenge, Rendelsham Forest, and of course, David Icke. We do not, however, think about train stations, excavated UFO’s, and the desiccated corpses of giant grasshoppers who may or may not be, our Martian Mind Control Overlords, bent on Complete World Domination. Now granted, that’s a lot to take in, so let’s unpack this movie bit by bit and see where we land, shall we? The Bill Makes Podcasts Website Bill Makes Podcasts Facebook Group Become a Patron for as little as $1 a month! Join the Gentle Listener Newsletter!

Quatermass and the Pit (1967)

To many among us, Hawaii is a distant paradise. Thousands of miles away, it is a remote, mysterious, exotic travel destination. We envision sandy beaches, clear blue water, surfers, drinks with umbrellas, luaus and beautiful women in grass skirts to greet us as we exit the plane. To those that live and fight crime in Hawaii, each day is an adventure. They drive Jeeps. They shoot guns. They wear little to no clothing. They fight drug lords, have impromptu casual sex with no warning, battle snakes that shouldn’t even BE on the island that want to kill them and finally - finally they shoot bazookas from the back of the previously mentioned Jeep and blow up evil skateboarders with wild abandon. That, my friends is how they fight crime in paradise. Welcome, Gentle Listeners, to Hard Ticket to Hawaii. The Bill Makes Podcasts Website Bill Makes Podcasts Facebook Group Become a Patron for as little as $1 a month! Join the Gentle Listener Newsletter!

Hard Ticket to Hawaii (1987)

To really enjoy luchador movies, masked wrestler movies made in Mexico, we must go to a place that I call Horror Mexico. Horror Mexico is a place where monsters exist, where terror is a common occurrence, and where Masked Wrestlers walk down the street, with a girl on each arm, just daring those monsters and terrors to come out of hiding so that they can punch them in their horror faces. Today we enter Horror Mexico for the first time on the show, and we talk about the most beloved Luchador of all time, El Santo, the Saint, the Man in the Silver Mask. I do hope you enjoy it. The Bill Makes Podcasts Website Bill Makes Podcasts Facebook Group Become a Patron for as little as $1 a month! Join the Gentle Listener Newsletter!

Santo and Blue Demon vs. the Monsters (1970)

There’s something about being a Secret Agent that people just love. Danger, excitement, fast cars, alcoholic beverages, smooching and of course, being able to dress really, really well. The degree of wish fulfillment is so high that you come out of a James Bond movie wanting to pick a fight with a stranger, just to see if you would win, then get the girl and have someone place a martini in your hand. That’s the sign of a good Secret Agent movie. Which brings us to this month’s movie. It’s an Italian movie that wants to be a James Bond movie, but without the acting, writing, directing, stunt work or even intellectual property to do so. You will come out of this movie wanting to cry on the shoulder of a stranger, just for the comfort, and then have someone place a lite beer in your hand just to wash away the pain. The Bill Makes Podcasts Website Bill Makes Podcasts Facebook Group Become a Patron for as little as $1 a month! Join the Gentle Listener Newsletter!

Secret Agent Fireball (1965)

A rich, aromatic podcast with flavors of B movie weirdness, Hollywood history and Old Time Radio. Join host Bill Mize as he takes you on a humorous storytelling journey into our B Movie past. Best served on Saturday afternoons with hot buttered popcorn.

hubhopper

Bill Watches Movies

hubhopper