BLACK SABBATH (1963) – Episode 108 – Decades of Horror: The Classic Era

"No one can love you as much as we do. You know that." That’s what Mom always said, but when Boris Karloff says it, somehow, it carries more weight. Join this episode’s Grue-Crew - Whitney Collazo, Daphne Monary-Ernsdorff, and Jeff Mohr along with special guest Bill Mulligan - as they journey through the decades depicted in the three stories included in Mario Bava’s Black Sabbath (1963).

Decades of Horror: The Classic Era
Episode 108 – Black Sabbath (1963)

Join the Crew on the Gruesome Magazine YouTube channel!
Subscribe today! And click the alert to get notified of new content!
https://youtube.com/gruesomemagazine

ANNOUNCEMENT
Decades of Horror The Classic Era is partnering with THE CLASSIC SCI-FI MOVIE CHANNEL
which will now include video episodes of The Classic Era!
Available on Roku, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, AndroidTV, Online Website.
Across All OTT platforms, as well as mobile, tablet, and desktop.
https://classicscifichannel.com/

Boris Karloff hosts a trio of horror stories concerning a stalked call girl, a vampire-like monster who preys on his family, and a nurse who is haunted by her ring's rightful owner.

IMDb

 

• Director: Mario Bava
• Writers: Marcello Fondato (screenplay with the collaboration of) Mario Bava & Alberto Bevilacqua; (freely adapted from three stories by) Anton Chekhov, Aleksei Tolstoy, & Guy de Maupassant
• Special Effects: 
  • Eugenio Bava (sculptor: masks and faces) (uncredited)
  • Mario Bava (matte paintings / special effects) (uncredited)
• Selected Cast:
  • "The Telephone" ("Il telefono")
    • Michèle Mercier as Rosy (segment "Il telefono")
    • Lidia Alfonsi as Mary (segment "Il telefono") (as Lydia Alfonsi)
  • "The Wurdulak" ("I Wurdalak")
    • Boris Karloff as Gorca (segment "I Wurdalak")
    • Mark Damon as Vladimir D'Urfe (segment "I Wurdalak")
    • Susy Andersen as Sdenka (segment "I Wurdalak")
    • Massimo Righi as Pietro (segment "I Wurdalak")
    • Rika Dialyna as Maria (segment "I Wurdalak") (as Rica Dialina)
    • Glauco Onorato as Giorgio (segment "I Wurdalak")
  • "The Drop of Water" ("La goccia d'acqua")
    • Jacqueline Pierreux as Helen Chester (segment "La goccia d'acqua")
    • Milly as The Maid (segment "La goccia d'acqua") (as Milly Monti)
    • Harriet Medin as Neighbor (segment "La goccia d'acqua")
    • Gustavo De Nardo as Police Inspector (segment "La goccia d'acqua")

Black Sabbath is a big hit with Whitney and her nephew, who realizes immediately that the woman getting the threatening telephone calls in “The Telephone” needed to get the heck out of there! Daphne had always watched the Italian version of Black Sabbath in the past so she loved hearing Karloff’s voice in the US release, and the more she learns about Bava, the more she appreciates the film. When Bill, DoH’s resident Bava-head, first saw Black Sabbath’s trick ending, it made him wonder what else wasn’t what he thought he was seeing. Jeff wishes that all the things he loves about Black Sabbath were combined in one version instead of being split between the Italian and US versions. Even so, he describes it as an amazing and beautiful film.

If you haven’t seen Black Sabbath in a while, the Classic Era Grue Crew thinks you owe it to yourself to catch it again. The film is currently available to stream on Shudder and on physical media as separate Blu-rays for the Italian or US versions from Kino Lorber.

Gruesome Magazine’s Decades of Horror: The Classic Era records a new episode every two weeks. Up next on their very flexible schedule is one chosen by Jeff, Hammer’s Horror of Dracula (1958), starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee! The Classic Era Grue Crew will be joined by special guest Dick Klemensen, who since 1972 has been the editor and publisher of LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS Magazine - The Journal of Classic British Horror Films. We can’t wait!!

Please let them know how they’re doing! They want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: leave them a message or leave a comment on the site or email the Decades of Horror: The Classic Era podcast hosts at [e-mail]

To each of you from each of us, “Thank you so much for listening!”