For fans of SF and horror films, will there ever be a decade to compare with the 1950s? Actors, directors, producers, and crews prevailed over microbudgets and four-day shooting schedules to create enduring films. This book turns a long-overdue spotlight on many who made memorable contributions to that crowded, exhilarating filmmaking scene. John Agar, Beverly Garland, Samuel Z. Arkoff, Gene Corman, and two dozen more reminisce about the most popular genre titles of the era. Lengthy, in-depth interviews feature canny questions, pointed observations, rare photos, and good fun.

Tom Weaver lives in Sleepy Hollow, New York, and has been interviewing moviemakers since the early 1980s. The New York Times called him one of the leading scholars in the horror field and USA Today has described him as the king of the monster hunters. Classic Images called him “the best interviewer we have today.” He is a frequent contributor to numerous film magazines and has been featured in the prestigious Best American Movie Writing. A frequent DVD audio commentator, he is the author of numerous reference and other nonfiction books about American popular culture.

Tom Weaver
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 425
Bibliographic Info: 139 photos, index
Copyright Date: 2006 [1988]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-2858-8
Imprint: McFarland

Introduction      ix

John Agar      1

Samuel Z. Arkoff      17

John Ashley      37

Edward Bernds      47

Susan Cabot      65

Robert Clarke      75

Gene Corman      93

Richard E. Cunha and Arthur A. Jacobs      105

David Duncan      119

Anthony Eisley      129

Harry J. Essex      143

Beverly Garland      153

Richard Gordon      169

Jack H. Harris      195

Howard W. Koch      209

Bernard L. Kowalski      221

Reginald LeBorg      231

Paul Marco      249

Ib J. Melchior      261

Jack Pollexfen      273

Lee Sholem      285

Curt Siodmak      297

Herbert L. Strock      311

Gloria Talbott      331

Del Tenney      343

Harry Thomas      355

Jerry Warren      369

Mel Welles      381

Index      397

“incisive”—Library Journal; “maybe more fun than the lovably cheap movies that inspired it”—Booklist; “fabulous”—Cornerstone Magazine; “fascinating”—New York Daily News; “I enjoyed every page”—VOYA; “Weaver’s well-informed questions elicit articulate and informative reminiscences about the colorful world of low-budget filmmaking”—Neil Barron, Editor of Fantasy and Horror.