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Why Harry Knowles is Harry Knowles... STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT by Cortlandt Hull
Hey folks, Harry here...
Why am I me?
There's a lot of things that led me on the path that made me me. I am, very definitely, my father's son. When I was about 2 years old, my Father bought this short 4:33 film from Jerry Ohlinger in 16mm. I've seen it, countless times. As you can see by the lines in the print. This was my favorite thing as a child. I would make them play it over and over again. Which wasn't easy, as it was 16mm... they had to rewind it, rethread it and reproject it countless times from the ages of 2-11. Every new friend was shown it. This is my personal rosetta stone.
The mashing of classic movie monsters and the brilliant song, STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT. Such things can be put together easily now in the age of computer editing, but back then - well one can only imagine what poor Cortlandt Hull had to do to get these particular images and lay the soundtrack atop. It's grainy, crackle-y and perfect. The print was dupey - but it conveyed a passionate LOVE for classic horror. It made me, as a child, believe that monsters loved their prey and that the lovely ladies... well they kind of loved the monsters back. It became a theme I embraced in my life - a reassurance that if even these monsters and these beautiful ladies could stalk one another in a London fog, that if even a monster could feel love, perhaps then... even I could as well.
I'd seen Cortlandt Hall's name my entire life, but it had been 8 years since I watched this reel of 16mm awesomery. But this past year, I met Cortlandt at WonderFest in Louisville, Kentucky... then again at the Famous Monsters of Filmland convention. We became friends, not based upon this film... had I put it together, I would have been a blithering uncontrollable pile of tears. Cortlandt loves the monsters. Loves them. His uncle was the Werewolf of London, Henry Hull. Cortlandt Hull runs WITCH'S DUNGEON in Bristol, Connecticut - a shrine worshipping the classic monsters of yore.
Cortlandt's film below captured my imagination - gave me a love and passion for not just old horror films, but of romance itself. I don't expect this to hit many of you as nail on the head as it does me. This is my favorite anything ever. This makes me float. Makes me dance. It makes me want to clutch and stalk the one I love. So thank you Cortlandt. I wish you well forever. Your friend, Harry...
Readers Talkback
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Why Harry Knowles is Harry Knowles: STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT by Cortlandt Hull!!!
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from the cold great white north
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1st an 2nd
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now to bed
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Wishing you well, and looking forward to the day you get to put this recovery behind you, and step out on your own two feet. We may not always see eye-to-eye, but your sheer enthusiasm for 'geek cinema' has NEVER been in doubt. Now....about the difference between 'cool' and 'quality'...... ;)
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March 5, 2011, 12:01 a.m. CST
"if even a monster could feel love, perhaps then... even I could as well." Jeez Harry talk about a friday night downer...
by _Venkman
I'd rather you post an essay about you eating out Frankenstein than read this. Cool video...despite being an 80's kid
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But do you actually stalk Patricia?
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Thanks for sharing.
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Hey Geekgod, thanks for sharing this classic piece of awesomeness! This definitely makes one dream! Get well soon! Greetz from Vienna, Austria Prab
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I guess it's time to dust off some Universal classics. Very cool montage. Thanks for sharing.
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For sharing something so personal - that was magic stuff man. Much appreciated.
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...unless I want to become morbidly obese and bedridden?
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And it scared the shit out of me. First Post for me too, long time reader. Hope the recovery is going well still big H.
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1st I'm not sure you should have been watching that at aged 2pm. Your dad needed to be a bit more responsble. 2nd The film goes on too long and I therefore rate it naff. 3rd I've lost track of the number of "defining movies of your childhood that make you what you are" but I'll put your excess dramatics down to point 1.
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Harry talks about himself! Wowie!
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highlight reels of star wars and empire strikes back and creature from the black lagoon movies. All ordered out of famous monsters. Today's nerds are fat and lazy and know nothing of having to mail order shit you never knew would actually be delivered out of thin air with no tracking #
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....I remember posting that Harry loves that movie....for the same reason he has just claimed to love monster movies above. Kudos to me. Winning!
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There's a lot of things that led me on the path that made me me. It was never easy for me. I was born a poor black child in the swamps of central Florida. The doctor was too drunk to do his doctoring, so I performed a C-section on my mom from the inside, earning my name in the process...
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Which wasn't easy, as it was 16mm...and they suffered from advanced arthritis. They had to rewind it, rethread it and reproject it countless times from the ages of 2-11. Every new friend was shown it. This is my personal rosetta stone...and the source of their never ending torment for my amusement.
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March 5, 2011, 10:13 a.m. CST
"Strangers in the night, exchanging clothing--"
by The Reluctant Austinite
"Strangers in my pants, fingers probing." Sorry, but I can't hear that song anymore without hearing "Fletch". Or at least hearing Jerry Dandridge whistling it. I'm very happy that some amazing things happened at Wonderfest last year in spite of the last minute series of stress inducing cancellations. Corlandt is an interesting character with a lifelong family connection to classic horror. I've been obsessed with visiting his Witches Dungeon for years. Maybe one Halloween I'll actually make it there. You're always welcome back at Wonderfest, Harry, and Dave Conover told me he'd love to have you back. Speaking of Dave, his book on the development of the greatest fantasy film never made, Merian C Cooper and Willis O"Brien's "War Eagles" is available now at Amazon.com!
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Loved it.
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with a twinge of added Sheen.
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Is there any weird, obscure crap that Harry *doesn't* claim has had a profound, transformative influence on him?
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what's it like to be unaffected by everything?
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It's weird how much of that is so familiar; and I'm a thousand floors below Harry in the Tower of Geek. Good stuff, doobie, doobie doo.
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I feel neither highs nor lows.
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Err, also, get better.
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Now I'm a 53 year old monster kid. Thanks for posting this. I sent you my 1973 six-minute version of Phantom. did you see it? http://youtu.be/egbnnMqancs
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If this made you who you are it must contain several million calories. If this made you who you are then it should never have been. I hope it now comes with a warning that side effects include the sudden overabundance of ginger pubes on neck, apparent color blindness, the desire to be the worst kind of starfucker, loss of objectivity, "general Humpty-Dumptyness", increased maudlin behavior, neediness, swelling of ego, and AIDS. The last one is just a fervent hope.
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I know most of them but the few that I didn't know look interesting.
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March 6, 2011, 1:33 a.m. CST
Chiller Theater, The Late, Late Show, and Famous Monsters...
by Anti-fanboy
Thanks to those outlets, I have that same life long love from very early childhood of the classic Monsters, especially the Universal Monsters. Funny how they struck such a cord with some of us. That was awesome, Harry.
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March 6, 2011, 2:21 a.m. CST
Harry, you should really have someone read these posts before you make them public
by Dan
That's a great short but I almost stopped reading and missed it because the post was so confusing. I read the first paragraph 3 times and I couldn't figure out what the heck you were talking about. As far as I knew (and I think, as far as most of us know) "Strangers in the night" was a song. I had no idea what "film" you were talking about. In fact, because the title of this article ends with "by Cortlandt Hull" I clicked on the link thinking the article was about you and was written by someone named Cortlandt Hull. I understand that posting the video at the top of the article is kind of blowing your wad right off the bat but I would understood instantly what you were referencing.
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1) Cut down on the melodrama in these articles. You are a target for inordinate amounts of criticism from those of us who frequent your site, and misplaced sentimentality such as " if even a monster could feel love, perhaps then... even I could as well," just alienates posters further away from you. I am not convinced that a child of 2-11 has any remote idea the complexities of love and desire between a man and a woman, and using such diatribe here to convey that you, yourself either classed yourself as "The Monster who could never be loved" or "The perennial outsider who is always shunned" at that tender age is bordering on the absurd. A simple "I found this fantastic/mesmerising/powerful/whatever as a child..." would suffice. We would get the point. 2) We all wish you well. That said, could you please refrain from discussing the particulars of your illness and of your ongoing recovery in
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...EVERY article you produce? Keep us up to date if you feel you need to, and have maybe separate threads relating to yout health, but the want to force your condition onto others consciences is becoming an unhealthy obsession for you, and is taking away the onus from what this site should be about....... Take care AND God speed.
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Haha just kidding, good article
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P.S. Keep on truckin' Harry. All monsters are badass! Get well soon big fella'
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I think Harry has a lot of "favorite anything"s.
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but he's also hyperbolic. What's not to like?
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March 7, 2011, 12:59 p.m. CST
That "Phantom of the Opera" reveal is still one of the scariest goddamned things...
by WriteForTheEdit
...I have ever seen. Holy fuck, that is the stuff of nightmares, still. Awesome little homage.
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That was/is fabulous! Really appreciate you sharing it.
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I had this on super 8 sound in the 70s, and it was short the middle verse. It was sold as "Rendezvous" (it had that title at the front). I also had the sequel, called "Revenge of Rendezvous," set to Sinatra's "Watch What Happens." I remember that one ending with a shot of Spock from "Catspaw."
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Hey Harry. I couldn't agree more. Love this and it's sequel...Rendevous II. I even showed this great short on my Horror Host show, Prof.Griffin's Midnight Shadow Show as part of our one-hour tribute to all things Universal. (with Cortlandt's blessing). Great stuff...I'll weep right along with ya pal. Prof. Griffin Fangoria TV
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Good to see you! It's Perry Shields (Jack Pierce). I'm glad to hear at least one other person remembers the second one.
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cant think of what else to say, but a really good edit/find. This, Vangelis collection, and that 'Paulstretch'ed Jurrasic Park theme will probably be doing the rounds constantly tonight now....
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...but no need to get all weepy ya big poof! Just kidding. How's the rehab coming along anyway?
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Harry reviews self.
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....but this pedo guy is a blithering idiot. Cue the witty yet ingenious flame...exactly like the posts above.
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Harry, as a child Jerry Ohlinger supplied me with my trailers and stills at the first Luna Cons and Creations and Star Trek Conventions in NYC. I am so glad to hear that you love monsters as I did -- so let me ask you -- Don't you MISS them? Why can't filmmakers today get it right? Understand the catharsis missing form the FRIDAY THE 13s and even the movie named "MONSTERS" which didn't even contain HUMAN monsters? Monsters stand in for our fears. We see them defeated, and leave the theater feeling better. Demented Psycho killers are real. We leave those theaters looking around the parking lot for them. I miss monsters...
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Harry is what he is because of body fat, red hair, hideous shirts, a 1200-pound memorabilia cart & a refusal to move past being a 39-year-old man-child. Guess I was wrong...
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