Whoooooooo!! It's HALLOWE'EN tonight, and happy memories spring to mind of when I was still young enough to go out 'on the scrounge' every October 31st. As well as the usual assortment of apples, monkey nuts, oranges and stuff to look forward to, there was also a tidy pile of cash to be reaped from grown-ups who couldn't be bothered to get fruit in for the 'guisers' who came to their door. We'd give them a verse or a song, and a shilling (or two) would be quickly pressed into our grasping little hands before the door was hastily shut so they could get back to watching CORONATION STREET on the telly.
We Brits were far more innocent in our approach to All Hallows' Eve than our Stateside counterparts. Essentially, we were begging - but at least we also offered a few moments of entertainment in return for the treats and cash pressed upon us. In America, it was nothing less than extortion, pure and simple. "Trick or treat!", these masked, tiny-terrorists would proclaim, threatening to inflict some form of mischievous retribution upon any poor householders who didn't meet their demands. Well, I don't know about you, but I know which version of the age-old tradition I prefer.
I couldn't quite think of a suitable picture to accompany this post, so in the end I decided to feature film-fandom's favourite frightmeister, BORIS KARLOFF! However, just to be different, here he is not as the Monster or the Mummy, but as simply - himself.
Happy Hallowe'en!
Monkey nuts remind me of guising a few times as a primary school child in the village.
ReplyDeleteThe first time I experienced the American tradition was in October 1995 when I visited my friend Jim, a BBC journalist in New York. We went to a Hallowe'en party in a swanky apartment dressed as the Kray Twins, the joke being we look nothing like each other. It was not met with enthusiasm and we ended up spending most of the rest of the night in PJ Clarke's Saloon ( as seen in The Lost Weekend) having "gone out to get ice". A party a day or two later in the Estonian House was more successful but I was asked by some preppy types if I had ever slashed anyone...
To which you should have replied: "Well, I've left a few people in stitches in my time!" (Meaning laughing, but suitably ambiguous.)
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing one of Karloff's last films, Targets, where he plays a role that mimics his real-life career and eventually takes down a psychotic sniper. It, like many horror films, was a "B" film (written and directed by, of all people, Peter Bogdanovich), but I remember the cheers from the audience when Karloff made his move near the end of the film and got the bad guy. His fan base certainly persevered.
ReplyDeleteI saw that movie on TV back in the late '70s, and recall the sniper's reaction to seeing Boris advancing towards him at the same time as being on a giant drive-in cinema screen. (At least, that's the way I remember it.) Boris always gave value for money, even in his 'B' movies. Long live Boris!
ReplyDeleteThe story behind the making of "Targets" is as interesting as the film itself (the Wikipedia entry sketches it out) - I recommend watching the DVD with Bogdanovich's commentary - it's a pretty solid lesson in making films on a low-ish budget.
ReplyDeletecheers
B Smith
PS More Missing Link please!
More Linky coming soon, B.
ReplyDelete