Svengoolie Season 30, Episode 53: The Comedy of Terrors (1963)

The Invisible Ray (1935)

A scientist becomes murderous after discovering, and being exposed to the radiation of, a powerful new element called Radium X.

150 min

The Old Dark House (1932)

Seeking shelter from a storm, five travelers are in for a bizarre and terrifying night when they stumble upon the Femm family estate.

150 min

The Evil of Frankenstein (1964)

A doctor obtains raw materials for his experiments. With an assistant's help, he tries reviving a heart. A suspicious priest interrupts, forcing them to flee abandoned experiments.

120 min

Willard (1971)

In our home base of Chicago, there’s been a lot of interest lately in the “Rat Hole”- the impression of what appears to be the outline of a rat in a sidewalk’s concrete - but, tonight on MeTV- a young man is tired of being under the thumb of a big cheese- and decides to fight back through an army of rats that he has learned to communicate with and control! It’s a riot of rodent revenge lead by “Willard”!

150 min

Revenge of the Creature (1955)

Explores a worthy sequel to the first film in the Gill Man saga, taking "King Kong" approach- bringing the monster back to civilization in a different unfamiliar environment.

124 min

The Monster That Challenged the World (1957)

We’ve shown you various watery threats like the Creature from the Black Lagoon, giant octopi, and a piranha or fifty- but tonight on MeTV, it’s a unique sort of subsea prehistoric menace that emerges from the deep to find food- and you can probably guess what item is at the top of its menu- as mankind faces “The Monster That Challenged the World”!

116 min

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Burning windmill where the monster battles his maker. Henry, thrown from the windmill's heights, is carried home by witnesses who mourn. Maria's father remains to ensure the monster's demise but the monster lives.

150 min

How to Make a Monster (1958)

Pete, make-up artist for 25 years, angered that the studio's new regime discounts his work . Recalling a past accidental discovery allowing him to control actors, Pete formulates special makeup to render them to his commands.

150 min

The Invisible Man's Revenge (1944)

An eccentric scientist helps a fugitive from the law become invisible, unwittingly giving him the power to exact revenge on his former friends.

116 min

13 Ghosts (1960)

A family inherits what proves to be a haunted house, but a special pair of goggles allows them to see their ghostly tormentors.

150 min

The Comedy of Terrors (1963)

Dishonest undertaker Waldo Trumbull and his sidekick Felix Gillie are creating their own customers when they cannot find willing ones.

116 min

Dan Curtis' 'Dracula' (1974)

Dan Curtis' made-for-tv version of Bram Stoker's Dracula from 1974, starring Jack Palance as the Count, who pursues a woman in England who resembles his long dead wife.

150 min

Gargoyles (1972)

An anthropologist and his daughter are traveling through the southwestern U.S. when they encounter a mysterious skeleton of a large creature with wings and horns at Uncle Willie’s Desert Museum. Initially dismissing it as a hoax, they soon find themselves entangled in a supernatural mystery, pursued by a group of living, breathing gargoyles.

150 min

The Time Travelers (1964)

A freak accident transforms a wall-mounted flatscreen TV into a portal to a post-apocalyptic future where fierce mutants roam a decimated earth and humanity struggles to survive.

150 min

Island of Terror (1966)

On an isolated island, a secret lab's experiments to cure a deadly disease go terribly wrong, unleashing horrific creatures. A doctor's call for help, but the visitors become trapped as the relentless creatures multiply.

150 min

The Wolf Man (1941)

In “The Wolf Man” (1941), Larry Talbot returns to his father’s castle in Wales and encounters a beautiful woman. During a visit to a local carnival, he meets a mysterious gypsy fortune teller who recites a chilling verse: “Even a man who is pure at heart and says his prayers by night may become a wolf when the wolf-bane blooms and the moon is full and bright.”

150 min

Trilogy of Terror (1975)

Three bizarre horror stories, all of which star Karen Black in four different roles playing four tormented women.

150 min

The Land that Time Forgot (1974)

During World War I, a German U-boat sinks a British ship and takes the survivors on board. After it takes a wrong turn, the submarine takes them to the unknown land of Caprona, where they find dinosaurs and neanderthals.

150 min

House of Frankenstein (1944)

A horrific house party brings together the original Frankenstein's Monster, Dracula, the Wolf Man, a hunchback, and other Universal monsters in this ultimate monster rally.

150 min

Scream Blacula Scream (1973)

The vampire Mamuwalde (a.k.a. Blacula) is resurrected by voodoo and forced to kill again.

150 min

Destroy All Monsters (1968)

In 1999, a race of she-aliens, the Kilaaks, brainwash Earth's monsters into attacking major cities, prompting a team of astronauts to stop the invaders while the monsters battle Ghidorah.

150 min

The Tingler (1959)

An obsessed pathologist discovers and captures a parasitic creature that grows when fear grips its host.

150 min

The Monolith Monsters (1957)

Rocks from a meteor which grow when in contact with water threaten a sleepy Southwestern desert community.

150 min

The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)

In the sixteenth century, Francis Barnard travels to Spain to clarify the strange circumstances of his sister's death after she had married the son of a cruel Spanish Inquisitor.

150 min

The Leech Woman (1960)

An endocrinologist in a dysfunctional marriage with an aging, alcoholic wife journeys to Africa seeking a drug that will restore youth.

150 min

The Undead (1957)

A beautiful woman is sent back in time via hypnosis to the Middle Ages where she finds she is suspected of being a witch, and subject to being executed.

150 min

The Angry Red Planet (1959)

Shortly after their rocket reaches the mysterious red planet, the band of brave space explorers discovers monstrous yet highly intelligent alien life forms, which first attack, then deliver a haunting word of warning intended for all mankind.

Munster Go Home (1966)

Herman inherits Munster Hall in England

Dracula (1931)

The dashing, mysterious Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi), after hypnotizing a British soldier, Renfield (Dwight Frye), into his mindless slave, travels to London and takes up residence in an old castle. Soon Dracula begins to wreak havoc, sucking the blood of young women and turning them into vampires. When he sets his sights on Mina (Helen Chandler), the daughter of a prominent doctor, vampire-hunter Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan) is enlisted to put a stop to the count's never-ending bloodlust.

The Killer Shrews (1959)

A disparate group are trapped on a remote island by a hurricane. On the island, a doctor works to make humans twice as small as we already are. This, apparently, will help prevent over population. Unfortunately, his experiments have also created some giant shrews. As the shrews run out of smaller animals to eat, they move in on the people in the house.

Cult of the Cobra (1955)

American servicemen are targeted by a beautiful woman who can transform into a cobra after they interfere in a ceremony

The Mad Magician (1954)

An 1880s magician (Vincent Price) creates illusions of mayhem that work.

It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955)

A giant octopus from the nether reaches of Mindanao Deep has been awakened by nearby nuclear testing. Radioactive and monstrously huge, the rampaging leviathan is heading toward the North American Pacific Coast.

Black Friday (1940)

Dr. Sovac transplants the brain of a gangster into his professor friend's body to save his life, but there is a side effect that causes a dangerous split personality.

War of the Colossal Beast (1958)

(Sequel to "The Amazing Colossal Man") Manning is a gigantic behemoth, a victim of overexposure to radiation who has gone insane due to his freakish size.

KIller Klowns from Outer Space (1988)

When teenagers see a comet crash outside their small town, they investigate and discover a pack of murderous aliens who look very much like circus clowns.

The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)

A dangerous combination of radiation and insecticide causes the unfortunate Scott Carey to shrink, slowly but surely, until he is only a few inches tall.

The Night Stalker (1972)

movie that predates the TV show After several high-profile newspapers fire him for his difficult attitude, investigative journalist Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) finds a job following the police beat for a small Las Vegas publication. When Carl discovers a series of dead showgirls drained of blood with bite marks on their necks, the police hesitate to take the case any further, and his boss (Simon Oakland) wants nothing to do with the story, leading Carl to believe there may be a real vampire prowling the city streets.

Dead of Night (1977)

Son of Frankenstein (1939)

Baron Wolf von Frankenstein (Basil Rathbone) is determined to prove the legitimacy of his father's scientific work, thus rescuing the family name from disgrace. With the help of Ygor (Bela Lugosi), a grave robber, Wolf successfully reanimates the monster (Boris Karloff) his father originally brought back from the dead.

The Monster That Challenged the World (1957)

(Second episode of the night as part of Svengoolie's Halloween BOO-Nanza) An earthquake awakens a nest of monsters lurking in the Salton Sea. These bloodthirsty sea snails are gobbling up anyone who sets foot in the water. And when the creatures move on to land in search of wider hunting grounds, they launch a reign of terror that threatens to spread across the whole country.

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966)

To win a reporting job, a young man must spend the night in a haunted house.

Fiend Without a Face (1958)

(Second episode of the night as part of Svengoolie's Halloween BOO-Nanza) A scientist's thoughts materialize as an army of invisible brain-shaped monsters

House of Wax (1953)

A scarred sculptor (Vincent Price) re-populates his ravaged wax museum with human corpses.

Labyrinth (1986)

House of Svengoolie, primarily hosted by the characters IMP, Gwengoolie, and Nostalgiaferatoo. second episode of the night as part of October's Boonanza A teenager with an active imagination, summons the Goblins to take her baby stepbrother away. When little Toby actually disappears, Sarah must follow him into a fantastical world to rescue him from the Goblin King (David Bowie). Guarding his castle is the labyrinth itself, a twisted maze of deception, populated with outrageous characters and unknown dangers.

Invaders from Mars (1953)

A young boy learns that space aliens are taking over the minds of earthlings.

The Dark Crystal (1982)

House of Svengoolie, primarily hosted by the characters IMP, Gwengoolie, and Nostalgiaferatoo. second episode of the night as part of October's Boonanza On another planet in the distant past, a Gelfling embarks on a quest to find the missing shard of a magical crystal, and to restore order to his world.

The Mummy (1932)

Tonight on MeTV- as the weather turns colder, it seems like a good time to get wrapped up-and join one of Universal’s iconic monsters as he goes "for a little walk"... and begins a marathon of evil and death, thanks to a curse from ancient Egypt that brings danger to all who come into contact with- "The Mummy"!

150 min

The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)

Tonight on MeTV- we present Vincent Price in possibly his most memorable role of the 1970s-as a man thought to be dead who is not only alive, but on a mission- to get revenge on the physicians who failed to save his wife’s life- by killing them off one by one! There are equal measures of dark hilarity and horror in the campy classic from 1971- “The Abominable Dr. Phibes”!

150 min

Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972)

Tonight on MeTV-find out what gets a rise out of Vincent Price’s disfigured “dead-again/live-again” villain- as we pick up where last week’s movie left off- only a few years later- when the killer keyboardist is restored to life- and sets out on a quest to return his beloved wife to the realm of the living- while racing against an anxious adversary to a certain spot in Egypt that promises eternal life- as “Dr. Phibes Rises Again”!

150 min

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

We’re showing what may be the most requested film in our library-that our viewers demand to see at least annually! While Universal’s perennial top comedy team- had lost some of their box office power- this film teamed them up with some of Universal’s classic monsters, who had also been declining in popularity (at least in the opinion of the studio heads). Two of the classic monsters are played by the men who established them as horror legends- Bela Lugosi as Dracula and Lon Chaney Jr. as Larry Talbot, the Wolf Man- with the Monster portrayed by Glenn Strange- for the comedic and creepy encounter “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein”!

150 min

The Crawling Eye (1958)

Tonight on MeTV- “Black Friday” gives way to a “Black and White Saturday” Sven feature- as we learn about a snowy mountain peak surrounded by a mysterious mist that conceals a deadly menace to mankind! Anyone who dares to climb into it risks certain death- and a major threat looms to local residents when the mist moves downwards towards their town! Inside the mist lies the terror of “The Crawling Eye”!

150 min

Dinosaurus! (1960)

Tonight on MeTV- while you might be getting in the holiday mood roasting chestnuts on an open fire- some less-than-holiday heat from lightning will be thawing out prehistoric creatures on a tropical island-where the nasty local town boss is actually more savage than a newly- awakened Neanderthal- as both the good and evil islanders face the destructive might of- “Dinosaurus!”

150 min

Phantom of the Opera (1943)

Tonight on MeTV, we have a pre-Christmas present for you- with a character who was part of the Universal roster of horror even before the advent of talkies! This time he is portrayed by a distinguished actor who can perfectly embody the heartbreak, fury, and insanity of- “The Phantom of the Opera”! This is the 1943 Technicolor version based on the oft-remade story written by Gaston Leroux about brilliant musician/composer Erique Claudin...

150 min

Blood of Dracula (1957)

Tonight, on MeTV- we end the year by bringing back an American International 1950s offering that takes its place among the teenage monster films like “I Was a Teenage Frankenstein” and “I Was a Teenage Werewolf”- but this film puts a twist on the formula by making the terror- a female! Should old acquaintance be forgot-but not the old savage murders in “Blood of Dracula”?!

150 min