ALL SCI-FI

Robert (Butch) Day · Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2016 5:17 am Post subject: Night Curse of the Demon (1957)

Curse of the Demon is the cut to 83 minutes US release of the 95 minute UK Night of the Demons based upon the 1911 novel Casting the Runes by M. R. James.

UK artwork:

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Common Sense ISN'T Common

Bud Brewster · Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2016 7:36 pm Post subject:

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Great painting!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

CinemaBill · Posted: Fri Mar 04, 2016 7:00 pm Post subject:

I just can't get enough of this movie. Something about it strikes a chord with me. I watch it at least once a month.
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CinemaBill

orzel-w · Galactic Ambassador Joined: 19 Sep 2014 Posts: 1865

I particularly liked the backlit night shot of the demon towering over the train.
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...or not...

WayneO
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Ludi · Space Cadet Joined: 09 Jun 2016 Posts: 4

This is one of my favorite movies of all time, I don't care which version. I think Niall McGinnis is just terrific.

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ernestthesiger.org

Krel · Guest

The story, "Casting the Runes": http://www.hypnogoria.com/html/castingtherunes.html

I love this movie and watch it every Halloween season. Dana Andrews is great as the modern scientific man, who has no patience for those how believe in the supernatural, then his arrogance slowly stripped away.

David.

Robert (Butch) Day · Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2016 6:59 pm Post subject:

Unfortunately most of the citizens on this planet treat science as an alternative to religion and treat it as if it were a religion.

WRONG

Science is just an orderly way of investigation.

And scientists are often more wedded to their "viewpoints" and "opinions" than in finding answers.

Therefore they are just as often wrong as the rest of us.

THAT, to me, makes this one of the great sci-fi/horror movies.
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Common Sense ISN'T Common

orzel-w · Galactic Ambassador Joined: 19 Sep 2014 Posts: 1865

Robert (Butch) Day · Posted: Wed Jun 22, 2016 4:25 am Post subject:

Peer review certainly didn't work in the late 1800s - early 1900s debate over brontosaurus.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_Wars

Peer review is often side-tracked by a dominant personality, such as Dr. Harlow Shapley. According to him — despite evidence to the contrary — space was an absolute vacuum. He was very wrong and refused to admit it.
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Common Sense ISN'T Common

Bud Brewster · Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2022 5:34 pm Post subject:

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My God, this thread has several "lost" members who have inexplicable left All Sci-Fi for reason I can't fathom! I wish I knew why fine members like these wandered off and haven't returned. Sad

Several of them made interesting post . . . and then never came back! Shocked

On the other hand, I suspect that a few of them simply disliked the political views of our current active members (like me).

And I know that one of them left because he was posting inaccurate information . . . and we proved it. peatedly.

One of them left because he strongly objected to any dissenting opinion that was posted in a spirited debate. Sad

I wish All Sci-Fi still had valued members like these, But apparently some of them have emotional baggage that precludes them from being part of a message board like ours.

Oh well . . .
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

Pow · Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2022 9:27 pm Post subject:

IMDB.

Director Jacques Tourneur never planned to show the monster, but wanted to leave it up to the audience's imagination.

The studio insisted that that the monster be seen and added it in post-production, allegedly without Tourneur's consent, approval or involvement.

Ray Harryhausen was contacted about providing the special effects scenes for the demon, but he was already committed to working on his project The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.

Tourneur chose Dana Andrews for the lead role over Robert Taylor.

Curse of the Demon is one of Martin Scorsese's favorite horror movies.

The film was based on the story Casting the Runes by M.R. James.
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Note: As Bud mentioned, that poster for the movie is terrific. This is indeed a marvelous horror movie that has two thumbs up from famed director Martin Scorsese no less.

Love to have seen what Ray would have designed for the demon had he been free to work on this film. Naturally his stop-motion animation would have been flawlessly executed.

Dana Andrews was a fine lead for the movie, but Robert Taylor would have done justice to the role had he been hired instead.