Part One can be found here, Part Two is located here, and here is Part Three. Let's continue the review of what movies and if list which episodes of Thriller were shown during the WSM Channel Four horror movie series Creature Feature which ran on Saturday nights at 10:30PM. The great Sir Cecil Creape hosted these shows and was often the main reason to tune in to the show. This list will have 1973 up to the last Saturday night show. It would get moved to Saturday afternoon once the baseball season ended. I've provided a short synopsis of each entry. If you want more information you can always go to IMDB, google it, or you can buy the forthcoming book by Larry Underwood AKA Dr. Gangrene all about Nashville horror movie hosts and the films they showed. Many of the episodes shown during 1973 featured films previously shown. When this is the case I will note the other air dates and you can refer back to previous posts if you want more information.
January 6, 1973 "Karloff Special" The Man in Half Moon Street 1944 A scientist has figured out how to prolong his life, but he needs new glands or he will finally die.
January 13, 1973 "Karloff Special" I Bury the Living 1958 Previously shown on October 30, 1971
January 20, 1973 Preempted by Inaugural Balls coverage
January 27, 1973 "Karloff Special" The Creeping Unknown 1955 Previously shown on October 9, 1971
February 3, 1973 Preempted by UCLA vs USC basketball game
February 10, 1973 "Karloff Special" This episode of Thriller is "The Weird Tailor"
The Ghost Breakers 1940 Bob Hope in a haunted Cuban castle.
February 17, 1973 "Karloff Special" This episode of Thriller is "Waxworks"
The Horror of Dracula 1958 The first Hammer horror film and one of the best. Christopher Lee as Count Dracula and Peter Cushing as Doctor Van Helsing.
This episode of Creature Feature would be the second to last one with an episode of Thriller called "Karloff Special" playing before the movie. They would be programmed after the film instead other than the March 17, 1973 airing. I will now list them after the movie and if the episode title is listed I will share it. Many of the movies are ones previously shown.
February 24, 1973 House of Wax 1953 Vincent Price is a wax museum artist who survives his museum burning down. He continues his craft anew many months later with murder on his mind.
"Karloff Special" This episode of Thriller was "The Closed Cabinet"
March 3, 1973 Journey to the Center of the Earth 1959 Since this film's runtime is over 2 hours there was no episode of Thriller on this Creature Feature. The movie is based on the Jules Verne novel and the title describes the plot for you. James Mason is great. Pat Boone m'eh.
March 10, 1973 Preempted by the Cerebral Palsy telethon
March 17, 1973 "Karloff Special" This episode of Thriller is "God Grante That She Lye Stille"
The Last Man on Earth 1964 Previously shown on March 4, 1972
March 24, 1973 The Man with Nine Lives 1940 A cryogenic cancer cure goes awry.
"Karloff Special" This episode of Thriller is "A Third for Pinocle"
March 31, 1973 The Blood Rose 1970 An artist's fiancee burns her face. He becomes obsessed with repairing the damage with the help of an unorthodox plastic surgeon.
"Karloff Special"
April 7, 1973 The Curse of the Living Corpse 1964 Millionaire's dying wishes are not honored. His relatives all gather at this home. Murders commence.
"Karloff Special"
Sir Cecil Creape appeared at Capitol Chevrolet on April 14, 1973.
April 14, 1973 Indestructible Man 1956 Previously aired on June 10, 1972 "Karloff Special"
April 21, 1973 Man with the Synthetic Brain 1967 I'll make an exception about linking to the IMDB page as this movie has one long twisted history with multiple titles. The more common title is Blood of Ghastly Horror. There's a very good explanation at IMDB in the user reviews by kevinolzak.
"Karloff Special"
April 28, 1973 Vampire Men of Lost Planet 1970 Original title Horror of the Blood Monsters The movie is about the Earth having a vampire plague which came from space. Astronauts are sent to find the source.
"Karloff Special"
May 5, 1973 Return of the Fly 1959 The son of Philippe Delambre decides to carry on his his teleportation experiments. What could possibly go wrong? "Karloff Special"
May 12, 1975 Frankenstein 1970 1958 Boris Karloff gets to play a descendant of the original Victor Frankenstein. The Nazi's scarred his face and he's out of money. Here's where the movie becomes meta. He invites an American television company to film at his castle so he can get the funds for an atomic reactor. Then he will create his own monster! "Karloff Special"
May 19, 1973 House on Haunted Hill 1959 Previously shown on February 26, 1972
"Karloff Special"
May 26, 1973 The Man They Could Not Hang 1939 A mad scientist is hanged. That was probably a mistake. Terror comes to those who tightened the noose's threads. "Karloff Special"
June 2, 1973 The Uninvited 1944 Gothic sea side mansion sells dirt cheap. A composer and his sister discover why the place was such a steal. Ghosts. It's always ghosts. "Karloff Special"
June 9, 1973 The Beast with Five Fingers 1946 Previously shown on November 20, 1971 and on October 21, 1972 "Karloff Special"
June 16, 1973 The Night of the Hunter 1955 Previously shown on October 2, 1971 and September 16, 1972 "Karloff Special"
June 23, 1973 The Black Sleep 1956 Previously shown on September 25, 1971 and October 28, 1972 "Karloff Special"
June 30, 1973 The Ape 1940 Karloff plays a scientist trying to cure polio. An escaped circus ape is on the loose with murder on its mind. "Karloff Special"
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July 7, 1973 The Creeping Unknown 1955 Previously shown on October 9, 1971 and January 27, 1973 "Karloff Special"
July 14, 1973 Gog 1954 Previously shown on November 27, 1971 "Karloff Special"
July 21, 1973 I Bury the Living 1958 Previously shown on October 30, 1971 and January 13, 1973 "Karloff Special"
July 28, 1973 The Curse of Dracula 1958 Theatrical title The Return of Dracula Previously shown on November 13, 1971 "Karloff Special"
August 4, 1973 The Manster 1959 An American journalist can now get twice as many articles done once a Japanese scientist injects him with something that gives him 2 heads. Maybe he'd need more hands. "Karloff Special"
August 11, 1973 The Fly 1958 Previously shown on December 30, 1972 "Karloff Special"
August 18, 1973 The Horror of Dracula 1958 Previously shown on February 17, 1973 "Karloff Special"
August 25, 1973 The Brides of Fu Manchu 1966 Christopher Lee plays Fu Manchu. He kidnaps the daughters of scientists to force them to make a death ray so he can take over the world. "Karloff Special"
September 1, 1973 The Curse of the Living Corpse 1964 Previously shown on April 7, 1973
"Karloff Special"
September 8, 1973 House of Wax 1953 Previously shown on February 24, 1973 "Karloff Special"
This would end the airing of Creature Feature(s) hosted by Sir Cecil Creape on Saturday nights. WSM Channel 4 decided to show them on Saturday afternoons once the Major League Baseball season ended. I was originally not going to go past the September 8, 1973 date, but I'm having too much fun. The very least I can do is list the days the show ran. Maybe I'll even find out what was shown. Lets's commence with BONUS CONTENT!
October 20, 1973 Creature Feature 1PM - 2:30PM is announced in the Sunday paper however if you go to the daily guide the World Series is listed. The Oakland A's beat the NewYork Mets 3-1 to tie the series. I suppose that was horrible for the Mets fans.
October 27, 1973 Creature Feature 1PM - 2:30PM It's back! Finally. It will air in the same time slot until it is canceled. If I know the movie I will list it.
November 3, 1973 Creature Feature
November 10, 1973 Invisible Invaders 1959 Previously shown on December 4, 1971
November 17, 1973 Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein 1948 Horror comedy at its very best. I watched this every chance I got as a child. This would have a been super special Saturday to get to see the movie run as a Creature Feature. The plot is simple. Dracula wants to put Costello's brain into the Frankenstein monsters. The Wolfman shows up to warn Abbott and Costello.
November 24, 1973 Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 1953 Abbott and Costello are cops in this way on the hunt for Mr. Hyde. Perhaps they'll get some help from Dr. Jekyll.
December 1, 1973 Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy 1955 Are you my mummy? This marks the end of Creature Feature on Channel 4. Host Sir Cecil Creape would be revived to host The Phantom of the Opry on The Nashville Network (TNN) from 1983 to 1985.
I hope you've enjoyed this look back at what movies and Thriller "Karloff Special" episodes were shown on Creature Feature(s). Be looking out for Larry Underwood's upcoming book about Nashville horror hosts as I hear it will be a real page turner. Now I'm going to try and watch as many of these movies as I can find. "Good night, sleep tight and don't let the beddy bugs bite."
Since y'all have been good here's one last midnight movie snack. Your very own Sir Cecil patch.
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