Tag Archives: Forrest J. Ackerman

Titans of Terror: Godzilla and King Kong as Pop Culture Icons

As the film Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire opens, we consider the history and legacy of the two most famous giant monsters in film history. Both monsters are represented in posters and stills from the collection of Forrest J. … Continue reading

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Meet Grande Dame Guignol at the American Heritage Center

This Halloween, we consider the sub-genre of horror films referred to as “Grande Dame Guignol,” also known as “Hagsploitation,” “Psycho-biddy,” or “Hag Horror,” and three films in that sub-genre that are represented in three of our collections. Films of this … Continue reading

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The Many Faces of Peter Lorre

This Halloween, we highlight the career of actor Peter Lorre (1904-1964), who is represented in two of our collections. Lorre, who was born László Löwenstein in Hungary, began acting for the stage in Vienna in the early 1920s. He gained … Continue reading

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William Beaudine, Bela Lugosi, and Horror Films Out West

For Halloween 2018 and 2019, we brought you blog posts on The Killer Shrews and The Giant Gila Monster, two low-budget horror movies financed by Texas radio pioneer Gordon McLendon. This year, we shine a spotlight on the career of … Continue reading

Posted in Film History, Holidays, Hollywood history, Horror, Motion picture actors and actresses, motion picture history, Pop Culture, popular culture, Uncategorized, Western Films | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

In A World Not Like Our Own

The Science Fiction or Si-Fi world has expanded and captured the minds of many due to its striking details, other worlds, and personable characters. Today it produces TV shows, box office features, and conventions that bring visitors from around the … Continue reading

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The Giant Gila Monster

Last Halloween, we brought you a blog post on The Killer Shrews, a low-budget horror movie shot in Dallas, Texas, and released in 1959.  What is the film’s connection to the American Heritage Center?  We hold the papers of Forrest … Continue reading

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Terror in the Theater – Fifties Fears

Science fiction films of the 1950s commonly expressed several themes: fear of technology leading to unintended consequences; invasion of the planet by aliens; and the effects of atomic radiation. Because science fiction movies were not constrained by reality, more imaginative … Continue reading

Posted in Cold War, Fantasy, Horror, motion picture history, Politics, Pop Culture, popular culture, science fiction, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Cat Women of the Moon: When Felines Attack!

I’ve been beginning blog posts recently by writing about this or that gem that I found in the Forrest J. Ackerman Collection. After watching enough movies and looking through the artifacts that are in the collection I’m starting to realize that … Continue reading

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The Wasp Woman: A Makeover Gone Murderous

One of my favorite “B” movies from the 1950s is a film called The Wasp Woman, released in 1959. The film is about a woman named Janice Starlin who is the CEO of a cosmetics company. As she is quickly … Continue reading

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King Kong’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’

In the Forrest J. Ackerman collection, one can find a variety of well-known artifacts of the film era, including work from before World War II (the oldest artifact in the collection is from 1890, a literary review that has an … Continue reading

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