Customer Reviews

Monster Movie Memories: From Movie Palace To Drive In

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1 star:		(2)

 

 

First I should let you know that I provided the artwork for the cover, hence my possible bias. I had no part in creating the content for the book though, and I was really pleased with it once my copy arrived.

Cheryl Duran is a one-woman horror industry in the Sacramento area, and she's accomplished more than most people I know put together. Her books, much like her Monster Club.com, and newsletters, are basically love letters to the great classic horror films many of us grew up with. Her style isn't to focus too heavily on one subject or another, as she's got a lot to say about many different films.

Monster Movie Memories is a great reference guide both for the horror novice and for the old school horror fan. It can both introduce and remind the reader of many great films that are all worthy of a private late-night horror show.

Horror host Mr. Lobo provides a nice introduction to start things off right. This is a fun read and the mood is kept light.

This book brings back memories. If you are a fan of Famous Monsters Of Filmland, love movies like Frankenstein, Konga and House Of Wax, get out the popcorn because this book will please. Monster Movie Memories is basically a list of beloved movies from the forties, fifties and sixties that includes a short summary, trivia and other ins and outs on each movie and a look at a prolific person that was involved with each. The first part of the book is made up of short, informative chapters on movie palace, theater, drive in and other pertinent history to this type of movie. Although the chapters were short, I found some information in here that I have not come across anywhere else. Monster Movie Memories is a fun, light-hearted, reflective book and a must for real classic monster movie fanatics.

I just read the "search inside" bits and just had to have it, so I ordered it with 'one click shopping'! If you're a "Monster Kid" who grew up loving Creature Double Feature, Universal Monsters, Hammer Films, or the like, than this book is for you! The book appears to concentrate on the evolution of the monster movie industry on our culture, and it's really fasinating, as many of us enjoyed only one era or another of the culture. For example I discovered monster mania in the mid 70's- lots of reruns and old throw aways by then, but this book tells me what I missed from the earlier era. I can't wait to receive it !!

Thank goodness books like this are being written! Monster Movie Memories starts out with a few short chapters in the beginning about subjects ranging from movie theater history to advertising art. I particularly liked the chapter on theater gimmicks. William Castle was a wild man! I consider myself an aficionado of horror films and this book had facts that even I didn't know. It then lists 100 much-loved movies from the early days of horror film, mostly from the thirties through sixties decades. Each film listed has a summary, a very quick review (no tedium or drone here), some trivia connected to the movie and a brief bit on someone connected to the movie, be it a director, actor or even art. I especially surprised and pleased by the mention of Saul Bass. Monster Movie Memories is one of the most enjoyable books I have in my collection. It has some serious information to offer, but is light enough to just sit back on a Saturday afternoon and lose yourself in. The only real complaint I can come up with is that when I was done reading it, I wanted more. I wish the book had been bigger and covered more movies. One other reviewer complains that it isn't about "memories". This person must have completely missed the look inside feature, because as anyone can plainly see, no it's not about memories of the act of watching movies, it's about the movies and the people who made them that we remember and love. I reccomend it.

I just received my copy yesterday and am up to the beginning of the "D" section (the movies are listed alphabetically) and I've already been disappointed by numerous factual errors by the writer (writer rather than "author" because the title "author" carries with it a certain level of professional expertise which seems scarce in this book). For example, her description of the story line for Creature from the Black Lagoon obviously is confused with the story line for one of the sequels to that film and is totally wrong. Most disappointing.

I so looked forward to this book! Sounded great, reading all those memories,experiences and and recollections of "golden era" horror films. I counted exactly one memory, in the forward. This is NOT a book about memories. It's more reference book than nostalgia. It's a book of one to two page synposis with partial cast and crew listings for several dozen horror movies. Sort of an expanded TV guide listing. But the real monster here is the misleading title. I will attempt to get my money back, because I believe the title is ethically on very shaky ground.