Friday, November 13, 2009

Scary openings, etc.

I guess I shoulda used these for Halloween, but decided to save them for Friday the 13th. :)

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The first is from the British anthology TV series titled Journey to the Unknown, which used to scare little Daisy to death.

Wikipedia link says:

The series had a memorably famous whistled theme tune by [famous horror moviemakers] Hammer's Harry Robinson and title sequence involving a deserted and apparently haunted Battersea fairground.

Journey to the Unknown - TV opening (1968)



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Rod Serling's 70s anthology series Night Gallery was often too goofy-spooky for me, and I was still a kid. I am sure much of it is even goofier now.

But every now and then, one of them would blow your mind and you'd be up all night. My all-time favorite was "The Diary" (first episode at link, length is about 26 minutes)--which featured the ever-fabulous Patty Duke. I have thought of it at least once a month since seeing it, eons ago. Terrifying and truthful.

All of these paintings (in the opening sequence) represented a different episode and sometimes at the end of a show, the frame would freeze and morph into the painting. I loved that!

Night Gallery - TV opening (1970)



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And looky what I found?! My second-favorite Night Gallery of all time, Silent Snow, Secret Snow, from the story by Conrad Aiken, narrated by Orson Welles.

A few clunky glitches in this ancient video, but well worth your while. Take a peek, I guarantee that you are in for a big treat.

Silent Snow, Secret Snow - Part I (Night Gallery)



Silent Snow, Secret Snow - Part II (Night Gallery)