Jamie
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vanjpes.bsky.social
Jamie
@vanjpes.bsky.social
630 followers 250 following 1.7K posts
Tired enthusiast. I write weird things. Mostly here to post about old television shows, films, comedy, books, and horror.

Rambles and tangents on culture here: https://arowofopengraves.co.uk/
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vanjpes.bsky.social
Don't often pick up a magazine these days but I'll make an exception for one that includes Hollywood ghosts, Columbo, werewolves in films, Conrad Veidt, the 1958 The Fly, Anthony Newley, tv's Angels, spooky TV shows from the seventies, George Romero and Return to Oz.
Photo of issue 93 of Yours Retro which has a big photo of Elvis plus Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Peter Falk, Jack Nicholson and others on its cover.
November 11, 2025 at 2:50 PM
vanjpes.bsky.social
Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914, dir. Henry Lehrman) is the second filmed appearance of The Tramp but the first actually released. It's a fourth wall breaking improv of Chaplin constantly annoying a film crew trying to shoot a kid auto race. Barely there as a concept, but funny in execution.
Kid Auto Races in Venice title card Chaplin, in shabby suit tramp costume, stands trying to look serious on a dusty race course with people lined up on either side. From behind this time, Chaplin striking a pose with hands on his hips. People line up either side. Chaplin in close-up, next to the camera, pulling an annoyed, silly face at the machine.
November 10, 2025 at 11:04 PM
vanjpes.bsky.social
Mabel's Strange Predicament (1914, dir. Mabel Normand) has her just wanting to hang out with her dog. But Charlie Chaplin's tramp (his first time in that costume) and agent of drunken chaos sets off a series of escalating misunderstandings instead. An agreeably silly farce with a dark heart.
Mabel's Strange Predicament title card In a hotel lobby, a bellboy and angry hotel manager look at Charlie Chaplin, in shabby suit and with cane, sits drunk on the floor Chaplin wanders along a hotel corridor. He hasn't yet noticed Mabel, stood next to her door looking very worried, dressed in pyjamas. Mabel in her pyjamas again, looking unsettled, and next to her a couple. The man has a sheepish look on his face, the woman looks distressed, holding her hands out in confusion.
November 10, 2025 at 10:30 PM
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Universal Horror (1998, dir. Kevin Brownlow) is a pretty solid, massively spoilerific history of the studio's classic horror cycle with lots of clips and background information. Talking heads include Sarah Karloff, Ray Bradbury, Gloria Stuart, Carla Laemmle, Fay Wray and a delighted James Karen.
The 1930s A Universal Picture intro, a model plane flying around a globe Universal Horror documentary title card Screenshot of introduction of 'James Karen Actor: Poltergeist' overlaid on a talking head shot of the actor speaking End card showing the credit 'Directed & Edited by Kevin Brownlow' under a small version of the Universal Horror title card
November 7, 2025 at 2:12 PM
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Hurkos claimed he'd take any test under any conditions to prove himself. And then...uh...just didn't. He makes an appearance at the end of the OSB episodes to make this offer. Pictured here with another 'psychic' who has never been <ahem> disproved. Randi claimed Hurkos was a cold reader and fraud.
The paperback cover for Hurkos' memoir Psychic, which shows an illustration of Hurkos in deep thought surrounded by illustrations of crimes and disasters he 'solved' or 'predicted'. Hurkos with big moustache alongside a younger Uri Geller, looking like a father-son folk duo instead of a couple of bullshit artists.
November 6, 2025 at 9:06 AM
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One Step Beyond spends two episodes telling The Peter Hurkos Story, that story being newly discovered psychic powers after a fall leading him to fame, infamy and redemption as a solver of murder. It being One Step Beyond and Newland the episodes are elegant and compelling, even if it's all bollocks.
One Step Beyond title card John Newland, standing, speaks to camera, with two men visible behind him, seated. A man is stood in a darkened room, a crackle of electricity visible in the left of frame A hand grasps another person's wrist tightly. The other person is trying to get them to let go with their other hand.
November 6, 2025 at 8:57 AM
vanjpes.bsky.social
Blunder Boys (1955, dir. Jules White) marks Shemp's final exit from The Three Stooges, a Dragnet parody taking them from being soldiers to detectives-in-training and a disastrous hunt for The Eel, a 'slippery' (ouch) thief. A solid swan song for Shemp, going out with broad gags and extreme violence.
Blunder Boys title card Moe as Halliday, dressed in a suit and hat as a detective, holds up a police badge Shemp in suit and hat holds up a stick of dynamite, his eyes closed and face scrunched in anticipation of an explosion Larry, shirt unbuttoned at the neck, no hat and hair wild, stares at the camera, a sign saying VII 1/2 The End stamped on his forehead
November 5, 2025 at 6:41 PM
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Minor in the scheme of things, I know, but still tickled at the WHSMITH band every time I pick up this edition of History of Movie Comedy by Janice Anderson
Photo of the book History of Movie Comedy by Janice Anderson. The cover is a full image of Mae West and W.C. Fields from My Little Chickadee, with the title of the book above their heads and a band with 'This edition produced exclusively for WHSMITH' along the bottom.
November 5, 2025 at 8:09 AM
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A Dash Through the Clouds (1912, dir. Mack Sennett) is a fun Mabel Normand short in which her Martha is diverted from having the time of her life flying with real-life aviation pioneer Philip Parmelee so she can help her piece-of-shit boyfriend out of a jam when he tries it on with another woman.
A Dash Through the Clouds title card Martha, looking resplendent in skirt suit and hat, at the entrance to their house, turning her back and giving side-eye to her partner Arthur, shabby in shabbier suit and hat, who she suspects is up to no good. Martha clapping her hands in delight in conversation with Parmelee, a handsome fellow in a big-ass knitted cardigan jacket. They are stood in front of a Wright B aeroplane. Arthur running in desperation from the pissed-off family of a woman he has tried to seduce. He WAS up to no good.
November 4, 2025 at 8:10 PM
vanjpes.bsky.social
The Gold Ghost (1934, dirs. Charles Lamont, Buster Keaton) has his spoiled rich son character Wally dumped, after which he drives from Boston to an abandoned Nevada town, meets a ghost, a gangster, and even deals with a gold rush. Slight but charming fun, Keaton as ever a master of physical comedy.
The Gold Ghost title card Buster Keaton as Wally, in a suit and hat next to a dusty car that has run out of gas. In front of him, a wide thoroughfare cuts between dilapidated old wooden buildings in a wild west ghost town. Wally stands next to a sign, looking despondent. The sigh reads roughly 'Notice. The boom is busted. Everybody is leaving - including me. Ed Perkins Sheriff Vulture City, Aug 1st 1896' Close-up of a hand holding a sheriff's star badge the reads Vulture County Sheriff
November 2, 2025 at 1:52 PM
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In each revisit to The Black Cat (1934, dir. Edgar G. Ulmer) I love something in this wonderful film more. This time? The tear slowly trickling from Werdegast's face, his heart breaking again when Poelzig shows him his awful basement. Karloff is beautiful death in this, Lugosi raging, defiant life.
The Black Cat title card A black cat walks past an opening, light from behind it casting its shadow in the foreground Werdegast (Lugosi) stares in furious, heartbroken horror at the offscreen fate of his wife Poelzig in ceremonial clothing stands behind a titled cross, preparing to deliver his black mass
November 2, 2025 at 9:06 AM
vanjpes.bsky.social
How about this magnificent Chamber of Horrors?
A police officer uses a torch to search a Chamber of Horrors. To the left of him in the frame is a model of a Frankenstein's monster. The cop shines their torch beam on another model, this time of Dracula, if he was played by a middle-aged 1980s British TV local news anchor, all bushy eyebrows and uncomprehending stare.
October 31, 2025 at 8:18 PM
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The Chief of Police's office is wood panelled. What more do you need?
A man in beige clothes listens as another man in a checked blue shirt speaks. They are in a wood panelled monstrosity of an office.
October 31, 2025 at 8:13 PM
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Halloween 🎥 night: Terror at London Bridge (1985, dir. E.W. Swackhamer). What if there was a TV movie that kinda riffed on Jaws, but if it was set in Arizona and instead of a shark, a resurrected Jack the Ripper? David Hasselhoff is the cop who must ignore his bosses and stop the impossible killer.
Terror at London Bridge title card, shows the title overlaid on a shot of a stone bridge A stone from the wall of a bridge, a river down below visible behind it. A drop of blood on the stone is rolling towards its edge. Part of the bridge swamped with flags and with fog everywhere. In the fog, with their back to us, is the figure of a person in a long cloak and hat. Their arms are outstretched. In an otherwise dark shot, the eyes of a person can be seen under the brim of a hat. The rest of their face is masked.
October 31, 2025 at 8:01 PM
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The Ghost Talks (1949, dir. Jules White) is a so-so Three Stooges short that resurrects plenty of old gags. It's worth it, though, for the general off-paced weirdness of it all: talking suits of armour, skeletons playing chess, the ol' bird in a skull bit, the random moments of inspired silliness.
The Ghost Talks title card Moe and Larry entering into a grand home's foyer. It looks like a castle and has a suit of armour against a wall. A skeleton is reaching up with both hands to remove its skull Moe, sat on a sofa looking exhausted. To his left (our right) a skull sits on the back of the sofa, and appears to have wings. That's because an owl has got trapped inside.
October 30, 2025 at 9:36 PM
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The Goat (1921, dirs. Buster Keaton and Mal St. Clair) finds Buster hungry, in trouble with the police and then REALLY in trouble with the cops when he is mistaken for the killer Dead Shot Dan. A wonderful, funny short, full of perfectly timed and delivered gags, incredible stunt work and direction.
The Goat title card Buster Keaton next to a street, in a tatty suit and jacket that he's somehow managed to get his arms through and wrapped around a pole, has his hands in his pockets. A police officer stands next to him, looking at him, legs crossed, leaning against pole. Buster in front of a wall, his hands spread out, a look of mild panic on his face. The words 'Wanted for murder' can be read above him, with an obscured by Buster 'Reward $5000 Dead or alive' behind him. Keaton at a table, patterned wallpaper behind him, a bowl of soup in front of him. Keaton looking slightly down and also down, depressed, disappointed.
October 28, 2025 at 10:13 PM
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The Terror (1911, dir. Albert Capellani) is a gripping 12ish minutes, telling of an actress returning home to find a would-be thief hiding under her bed. A primal fear, sure, but for me the terror of the title is for the increasingly panicked burglar trying to escape. Great directorial flourishes.
An ornately furnished bedroom, and under the bed lies a man, a would-be burglar hiding from being discovered Shot from above, a woman is looking down at the thief's hand reaching out from under the bed to stub out a still-burning match The thief now trying to climb onto the roof of the building The thief on a balcony/ledge looking down in a panic, after his hat which has fallen to the ground far below
October 28, 2025 at 8:17 PM
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I wrote this collection of short stories inspired by classic radio horror shows, series like One Step Beyond and The Twilight Zone, British ghost stories, and my general predilection for the macabre. It really seems like the time of year you should be reading it*.

*Other times of year are available
A mock-up of a book called A Row of Open Graves (And Nine Other Stories of a Macabre Persuasion), showing the cover: an illustration of a torch illuminating three open graves with bodies inside of them, a spade above the graves. Cover design by Ray Newman.
October 28, 2025 at 6:13 PM
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Felix the Ghost Breaker (1923, dir. Otto Messmer) is a great, weird little cartoon. Felix tries to catch a nap on a grave (haven't we all?) only to be disturbed by a ghost who then causes chaos at a farmhouse. But Felix isn't convinced... Charming, wild, surreal, gorgeous horror-for-the-kids fun 🎃
Felix the Ghost Breaker title card Felix, an animated black cat, is stood in a graveyard at night. He is gesturing at a grave and headstone and saying to camera (via speech bubble) "That's what I call an ideal resting place!" The same setting, except now a ghost has risen up from behind the grave and is hovering above Felix, a grin on its face, pointing down at Felix who is looking up at it. The ghost in close-up, a sinister look on its face, pointing directly at the camera
October 28, 2025 at 11:27 AM
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Lonesome Ghosts (1937, dir. Burt Gillett), a little diversion that has bored phantoms calling up Mickey, Goofy and Donald's 'day and night' ghost extermination service and inviting them over just to fuck with them. The wild horror imagery of earlier cartoons is gone, but it's still good, silly fun.
Lonesome Ghosts title card showing small silhouettes of Mickey, Goofy and Donald against an almost expressionist sky of greens (like trees) with a large ghostly figure looming through it. Four translucent ghosts in green suits and hats with bright red noses crouch around a newspaper open on the floor, in an old, dilapidated room of a house. Shot of a classified ad that reads in part "We exterminate all kinds of ghosts day and night service" Mickey, Goofy and Donald stood at an open doorway, the door to the house on the floor in front of them, a snowy landscape behind them. Mickey holds a shotgun, Donald a net, Goofy a box and an axe and mallet.
October 28, 2025 at 8:40 AM
vanjpes.bsky.social
Another very enjoyable 7 minutes or so with a 'Walt Disney Comic', this time The Cat's Out (1931, dir. Wilfred Jackson). A cat tries to catch a bird, then falls foul of the residents of its Halloween-all-the-time nocturnal neighbours: giant birds and spiders, scarecrows, bats. Some beautiful frames.
The Cat's Out title card An animated cat creeps along a roof, sneaking up on a bird singing on top of a weathervane That same cat on the ground surrounded by bare trees on which rest several sleeping owls. The cat is crying out in fear as behind it, a bird is poking at its back. The arm of a scarecrow set against the night sky and a full moon. There's a bat standing on the arm, its wings fully outstretched, a wicked expression on its face.
October 27, 2025 at 11:03 AM
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An appearance, too, for the Ennis House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and used effectively in HoHH for the arrival of the possibly soon-to-be-departed guests.
The Ennis house in California, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the Mayan Revival style, so that it resembles Mayan temples/buildings.
October 27, 2025 at 7:23 AM
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This starts with that great introduction from Vincent Price's floating head: "I am Frederick Loren, and I have rented the house on Haunted Hill tonight so that my wife can give a party. She's so amusing. There'll be food and drink and ghosts, and perhaps even a few murders. You're all invited."
Vincent Price, a tall, well-groomed man dressed in trousers and a short, 'dances' with a skeleton in a basement set
October 27, 2025 at 7:00 AM
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Talk of William Castle and it's not long until someone mentions his promotional gimmicks. Don't let that obscure that House on Haunted Hill (1959, dir. William Castle) is actually a gloriously cynical, mean, pretty solid horror-thriller. Goofy jump scares, arch acting, great atmosphere, lots of fun.
Vincent Price's floating head introducing House on Haunted Hill House on Haunted Hill title card, the title overlaid on a shot of the exterior of the house Three small open boxes in the shape of a coffin sit on a table. We can see inside two of the boxes to see each contains a pistol. A woman in a dress has her back against a door that is half open into a hallway behind. She is looking to her right and screaming at a monstrous hand that is reaching around the door to grab her.
October 26, 2025 at 10:38 PM
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On the topic of Vincent Price, he loved his dog Joe so much he defended him in court against a lawsuit when a guy claimed Joe made him fall off his bicycle and break his collarbone.

Joe is "...the world's best dog...I love him so much I'm here to defend his honor against this charge."
Vincent Price, a well-dressed man in a shirt, tie and jacket, sitting on a garden feature with a dog next to him. Vincent is looking lovingly down at the dog.
October 25, 2025 at 2:44 PM