Families and the holidays. Ugh. Could anything be more stressful? Something tells me that this clip from Female Trouble (1974) is a lot closer to the truth than most people would be willing to admit.

Christmas, Holidays, camp, cult Dawn Davenport, Divine, Female Trouble, John Waters

It’s criminal that the nut-house melodrama The Cobweb (1955) isn’t available on DVD. In it, Grahame plays the wife of loony-bin doctor Richard Widmark who has given the okay for the patients to design new drapes for the library. Grahame has her own ideas about the curtains, leading to an all-star battle about the drapes! Brilliant!

Birthday, camp, trailer

A special birthday shout-out to the late great cult film director William Girdler. Be sure to check out our in-depth reviews of his classics, Abby (1974) and Grizzly (1976). Below are the trailers for both Abby and Grizzly, as well as Sheba Baby (1975) and one of CCT’s all-time bad movie favorites The Manitou (1978).

Birthday, camp, cult, trailer

This month is TCM’s Summer Under the Stars film festival. Each day is devoted to a specific Hollywood star. Coming up on Sunday the 10th are the films of Doris Day. In addition to her comedies and musicals, they’ll be airing the stewardess-in-peril flick Julie (1956). The following day is devoted to Richard Widmark. Be sure not to miss the nuthouse classic The Cobweb (1955). On Tuesday the 12th, Kim Novak gets her turn in the spotlight. No day of Novak films would be complete without Robert Aldrich’s camp masterpiece The Legend of Lylah Claire (1968). None of the film mentioned above are available on DVD so be sure to set your Tivo and DVR’s!

Doris Day, Julie, Kim Novak, Robert Aldrich, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), What We're Watching, camp, cult, programing note

This month is TCM’s Summer Under the Stars film festival. Each day is devoted to a specific Hollywood star. Coming up on Sunday the 10th are the films of Doris Day. In addition to her comedies and musicals, they’ll be airing the stewardess-in-peril flick Julie (1956). The following day is devoted to Richard Widmark. Be sure not to miss the nuthouse classic The Cobweb (1955). On Tuesday the 12th, Kim Novak gets her turn in the spotlight. No day of Novak films would be complete without Robert Aldrich’s camp masterpiece The Legend of Lylah Claire (1968). None of the film mentioned above are available on DVD so be sure to set your Tivo and DVR’s!

Doris Day, Julie, Kim Novak, Robert Aldrich, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), What We're Watching, camp, cult, programing note

In The Velvet Vampire (1971) a young couple (Sherry Miles and Michael Blodgett from Beyond the Valley of the Dolls) meet a woman at an art opening and then agree to visit her desert home where they willingly fall prey to her blood-thirsty seductions. The Velvet Vampire is neither fish nor foul. It’s not scary, so it doesn’t succeed as a horror film. There is some nudity, but it’s not graphically sexual so it doesn’t succeed as a sexploitation flick either. So why should you watch? Sherry Miles’ empty headed performance as Susan is a genuine treat. Her “acting” style and flat line readings make it pretty clear that she’s not just playing a dumb blond. Below is a trailer in which it’s paired with Scream of the Demon Lover (1970).

What We're Watching, camp, cult, horror, sexploitation

“I’m a Dancer!” – Elizabeth Berkley as Nomi Malone in the trash masterpiece Showgirls (1995)

Birthday, camp, cult

We love Susan George! In honor of her birthday (as if we ever need an excuse to post crazy clips on CCT) here are the trailers for The House Where Evil Dwells (1982) Fright (1971) the deadly dull shark epic Tintorera (1977) and the southern-fried melodrama Mandingo (1975).

Bad Girls, Birthday, camp, cult, horror, trailer

What happens when you cross the sword and sorcery of Conan the Barbarian (1982) with the sci-fi cheese of Flash Gordon (1980)? You get the high camp adventures of a barbarian named Yor the Hunter From the Future (1983). Directed by Italian genre mainstay Antonio Marghetti (aka Anthony Dawson) and shot entirely in Turkey, Yor is a weird, wild and unintentionally silly ride that is sure to induce laughter in even the most jaded cinephile. Read review…

Special Programing Note: Yor is not yet available on DVD, but thanks to the wonder of YouTube, we’ll be posting the film in it’s entirety as part of our ongoing CCT Theatre series. Check back tomorrow for the first part of Yor the Hunter From the Future!

Babes and Beefcake, Yor, camp, cult, review, trailer

“A swarm of killer bees is coming this way.” – Olivia DeHavilland acting up a storm as matronly Miss Schuster in the gonzo Irwin Allen epic The Swarm (1978)

Birthday, Irwin Allen, camp, cult, trailer