Episode 178: I Was a Teenage Monster

The 1950s was the decade of the teenager. Along with rock and roll and fast cars, another thing teenagers were obsessed with were movies. And the studios recognized this and began making films tailored to their interests. American International Pictures, or AIP, was particularly astute at making films that struck a chord with young audiences. In 1957, they made a trio of films that combined the teen-age craze with another, that of monsters, producing "I Was a Teen-Age Werewolf," then later that year, "I Was a Teen-Age Frankenstein," and "Blood of Dracula." Each film featured a teen-age character who turned into a "monster" of some type, not from the typical supernatural cause, but from a pseudoscientific one. This episode, your Planet 8 crew, along with our guest Lord Blood-Rah, discuss these films and how they express old themes in new ways for a growing demographic in the 1950s. And of course, we also jabber about the make-up, Whit Bissell, having an alligator pit in your house, and a bunch of other crazy stuff.

For our Sensor Sweep, our good friend Lord Blood-Rah has a live event coming up this fall that you'll want to know about: November is the Out of the Cellar film festival! Film-makers will be challenged to complete a short film in 48 hours, and the resulting films will be shown at the festival. Check out Lord Blood-Rah's Events page to learn more. 

Bob is still working hard to make sure Godzillafest in September and the Godzilla Film Fest in July both go off without a hitch! You can learn more and buy tickets at the website here.

Larry has become the proud owner of a Twiki robot. And Karen found some old Star Wars pictures. So check it out.

Let us know what you think of these films. When did you first see them? How do you think they hold up?

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Don't be square - be were!