Posted tagged ‘Creature Feature’

“I’ve buried a lot of my laundry in the back yard.”

May 26, 2017

Okay, it’s raining yet again and is supposed to rain all day.  I have to go out to do an errand, but I’m used to the rain, and I’m used to getting wet. The trips Gracie and I make to the backyard are despite the rain. As for me, I’d like a bit of sun.

I did it!! I finally did my laundry. The bag has been leaning against the cellar door for a week or more and was beginning to overflow. What forced the issue, though, was the need for undergarments. Already this morning, I’ve emptied the dryer of clothes from two weeks ago, have a load in the dryer and another in the washer. I’m expecting applause.

TCM has Creature Feature every Thursday and most films are old black and whites. The first film last night was Cosmic Monsters, released in 1957. According to Wikipedia, it was notably unsuccessful at the box office but became something of a cult film due to television. The special effects are forgettable. The monsters are giant insects from Planet X. I loved the shadow effect of their legs on the closed shade of the schoolhouse. The teacher screamed. Of course, she did. Right now I’m watching The Wasp Woman. I figure the title gives away the plot. She is injected with a wasp chemical and turns murderous, all in an attempt to look younger. I have one movie left to watch: The Killer Shrews.

The best thing about sleeping on the couch is I don’t have to make my bed. I fold the sheet and the afghan, put the pillows back on the couch, and I’m done.

This morning Maddie and Gracie drove me crazy. Maddie kept meowing and Gracie was just as restless. I fed both of them, gave each of them a treat, refreshed their water, patted the cat and took Gracie outside. Finally, they both went down for their morning naps. The house is quiet except for the background music from the Wasp Woman.

Peapod is coming tonight. My larder will be filled. Rejoice!

“CONTROL MYSELF?!! I’m a MONSTER! Monsters don’t control themselves! That’s the whole IDEA!”

November 14, 2015

The morning was gloomy with a whitish grey sky and a strong breeze. The sun has just appeared and the sky is clearing as I can see some blue. Pine needles continue to fall on the side of my front lawn under that big pine tree. My backyard is filled with pine and oak trees, but that’s Gracie’s area and only branches are cleared from it. I always know where she is even in the dark as I can hear the crunching sound as she walks on the bed of leaves and pine needles. It is chilly today.

I miss Creature Feature. When I was a kid, two old black and white science fiction movies were on every Saturday. I watched almost every week and got to know the creatures well. Strangely enough I never thought about how many of those creatures had no names. They were just pronouns like Them and It or indeterminate nouns like Thing, the beast or the monster. Some had addresses like The Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Man from Planet X or The Devil Girl from Mars. We had the ants, spiders, giant tarantulas, robots, Mole Men, a deadly mantis and one of my favorites, The Monolith Monsters. The Fly I’ll put in another category as it was half human. Who can forget, “Help me! Help me?” Women were either creatures, dainty scientists, reporters or just fluff.

In the Attack of the 50 Foot Woman, my favorite science fiction woman had a name, Nancy. She became 50 feet tall thanks to an alien. She was driving in the desert and had been drinking, a favorite pastime, when she runs into a giant alien hand. She manages to escape his grasp but no one believes her, the drunk. Later she and her husband go to the desert to find this alien, and they do. Harry, her husband, runs away ( finally a man who runs away) and she is left there. Later they find her on the roof of her pool house. She is delirious so the doctor gives her a sedative. The husband, who plans to kill her, later goes to her room and sees she has become a giant. He and the doctor decide to keep her sedated and in chains, but she wakes up and gets free (she has or the movie ends there). Meanwhile her lowlife philandering husband is at a bar with his latest girlfriend, honey. His giant wife wearing a bikini made from sheets goes looking for him. She finds him with Honey who didn’t know you never make a 50 foot woman mad. Nancy, now known as the giant, drops a beam from the roof on Honey who is killed. Harry starts shooting but his wife, the giant, just picks him up in her hand and walks away. Later our favorite giant is killed by the sheriff who blows up a power line transformer which kills poor Nancy. They find her dead husband in her hand. That’s what he gets!