Month: March 2021

Redheads Writing In Cafes will be taking a blog vacation.

(except when it’s my bedroom)

Tis time for this girl to take a break from blogging. There won’t be any blog posts for April and May as I need time to concentrate on other writing projects and building a business. When I return, it will hopefully be with Bat Adventure posts!

See you all in June!

Queen of Schlock! The B Movies Queens: Peggy Webber

One of my all time favourite b-movies/horror movies is The Screaming Skull. I’ve mentioned this several dozen times and if you know me, you’ve likely watched it with me. I love everything about it from the sets, to the jump scares, to the cinematography, but me most favourite part, is Peggy Webber.

Peggy Webber is an incredibly versatile actress and performer who I was first introduced to via old time radio broadcasts. (I’ve done a post about them here) If you are a fan of old time radio programs you may have heard her on a variety of shows including, The Dreft Star Playhouse, Dragnet (approximately 100 episodes), Pete Kelly’s Blues, The Damon Runyon Theatre, and The Man Called X and Sears Radio Theatre. Oh, but her talent doesn’t end there, Peggy wrote and directed hundreds stage plays, radio and television programs.

Peggy Webber worked continually in television and voice acting and retired in 2005. I wonder what she thinks of the popularity of her 1958 horror movie these days or the fact that she was literally one of the very first scream queens. Have you heard her scream? It’s spectacular!

The Screaming Skull is moody, creepy an a lot of fun to watch. Peggy Webber’s Jenni Witlock would be the inspiration for the half out their mind, tormented character you would see in future horror movies. She is incredibly brilliant and is the reason I keep going back and watching it over and over again. Of course, let’s not forget her fantastic wardrobe. I insist that you go and watch this movie right now! Don’t give me excuses! Just do it! I’ve also written a blog post about The Screaming Skull, which you should also go read!

Peggy has been a very private person for most of her life, so there isn’t much written about her personal life.

Peggy was also in another memorable movie called The Space Children. If you can find a copy, I highly recommend it.

Each month I run a b-movie night called Killer B Cinema. Join Lizzie Violet & Zoltan Du Lac for a monthly evening of b-moves from the 1950s to 1990s! There will also be trivia with prizes & much more! Please follow us on Instagram and Facebook!

Queen of Schlock! The B Movies Queens: Zsa Zsa Gabor is The Queen of Outer Space!

Socialite, beauty queen and one of a trio of Hungarian born actress sisters, Zsa Zsa Garbor was known for so much more than her beauty, glamour and many marriages. AND when I say so much more — I mean b-movies. I could write a long post about her very colourful past, but instead, I’m going to talk about a b-movie she made, because it is spectacular, she is spectacular! The whole thing just brings me so much joy! That movie is the Queen of Outerspace!

The Queen of Outer Space is a 1958 Allied Artist picture that runs 80 minutes and is shot in Cinemascope, was produced by Ben Schwalb and directed by Edward Bernds. The movie is about a revolt against a cruel Venusian queen, and was originally titled Queen of the Universe.

The sets, the costumes and the soundtrack is out of the world! As a matter of fact, you will recognize sets, models and costumes from other outer space themed movies such as Forbidden Planet (1956) and World Without End (1956). It wasn’t unusual for low budget movies to borrow or reuse sets, costumes and other materials from previous productions. Even the rocket ship was from another movie, a comic by Huntz Hall in the 1954 Bowery Boys comedy Paris Playboys. All of this only adds to the beauty of this movie.

Now let’s get back to Zsa Zsa. She is sheer perfection in this movie and as the true hero. I’ve seen this movie twice and continue to drool over her glorious costumes, which she knows how to showcase. Every time she comes on screen, her presence overshadows everything else going on. Zsa Zsa definitely steals the entire show. This is a must watch movie for all b-movie fans.

A copy of the full movie can be found over on Daily Motion. Here is a link or click on the video below.

Each month I run a b-movie night called Killer B Cinema. Join Lizzie Violet & Zoltan Du Lac for a monthly evening of b-moves from the 1950s to 1990s! There will also be trivia with prizes & much more! Please follow us on Instagram and Facebook!

Queen of Schlock! The Bad Girls

Vamp, Vixen, Sassy, Sinful, Smart Ass, Wilful, Wiley, Badass, Bitch… The many, many names that bad girls get called. Personally, when I think about my favourite bad girls, I use words like tough, fierce, independent, resourceful, stubborn, motivated, clever, street-smart, and a word shared with the other list, sassy. It has always bugged me that women who won’t put up with anyone’s guff end up with the first list of names and labels. Even to this day, society is still both intrigued and frightened of the bad girl.

They’ve been around since the beginning of time and will be here when it all ends. They are your grandmothers, mothers, aunts, sisters and friends. Some are there to help you learn life’s hard lessons while others are there to save your sorry asses. What ever end of the spectrum they fall in, they all deserve our respect.

Ok.. speech over. Now onto my favourite bad girls.

I was first introduced to Theda Bara by my Great Grandpa Bill. He loved Silent Film and her really loved Theda Bara. Sadly, not a lot of Theda’s work still exists on film, but if you are lucky you can still catch short clips of her on YouTube. Some of the only things that still exist are a short clip of her as Cleopatra, and a couple short films. (The Unchastened Woman (1925)/Madame Mystery (1926)/45 Minutes from Hollywood (1926))

Clara Bow will always be my sassy favourite! Not only could she act, she could hold her own to any man. Both in life and on screen she was a force! Clara was a tour de force in Silent Film and once she found her footing, a joy to watch in The Talkies! A few of my all time favourite Clara Bow movies are It (1927), Hoop-la (1933), Children of Divorce (1927), Call Her Savage (1932) and Wings (1927).

The first time I fell in love with Barbara Stanwyck was when I saw Night Nurse (1931). Her character Lora Hart, was tough, dedicated and took no guff, not even from the handsome bundle of trouble Nick, played by Clark Gable. She had a job and she was going to do it if it killed her. Many of Barbara’s roles in the late 1920s and the pre-code years of the 1930s had her playing gritty, down to earth women who had to fight to stay alive. It’s that spunk and determination that has always drawn me to her. As with many of her characters, Barbara Stanwyck had a hard childhood and had to learn early to fend for herself. This bad ass lady deserves everyone’s respect!

My favourite Barbara Stanwyck movies are Ten Cents A Dance (1931), Night Nurse (1931), Babyface (1933), Stella Dallas (1937), Meet John Doe (1941) and Lady of Burlesque (1943).

Bette Davis is the queen of the bad girls. Her most famous bad girl role and one of my absolute favourite of all of her films is Of Human Bondage. She oozes everything in that movie, from sex appeal to horribleness! She showed the world how incredibly talented she was and to this day, I have yet to see a performance to equal that. Like any actress at that time, she would do what was necessary to succeed and never look back! She was tough, driven and successful, setting a standard for others that would be hard to follow. She knew what she wanted and got it.

My list of bad girls wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t include the illustrious Joan Crawford. She oozed a glamour that was blinding. Many actresses of that era started out as chorus girls. It was a way on stage and a foot into the door known as Hollywood. Joan worked her way up from the chorus lines of Detroit and onto movie screens. Joan Crawford started out in Silent Film and her long career lasted until the 1970s.

I tend to favour more of Joan’s Silent Films, but am also a huge fan of her work in the 1940s.

Last, but certainly not least is Tura Satana! The badass of all badass women! Tura lead a very amazing and colourful life, with parts of that life being incredibly tough. Tura was a survivor of sexual assault, domestic abuse and had to take care of herself from the age of 15. She was a burlesque dancer, a photographic model for Harold Lloyd (yes, that Harold Lloyd) and turned down Elvis when he asked her to marry him. I can’t wait for the documentary about her life to come out!

Two of my all time favourite Tura Satana movies is The Doll Squad (1973) and Faster Pussy! Cat Kill! Kill! (1965) By the way and for those of you wondering, she knew martial arts. She wasn’t just faking it for the cameras.

Who are some of your favourite badass actresses?

Each month I run a b-movie night called Killer B Cinema. Join Lizzie Violet & Zoltan Du Lac for a monthly evening of b-moves from the 1950s to 1990s! There will also be trivia with prizes & much more! Please follow us on Instagram and Facebook!