By Herbert Shadrak
SCARLET:
THE FILM MAGAZINE is a bi-annual print publication that covers classic film,
radio, TV, books and stage plays – especially in the mystery, fantasy and
horror genres.
“SCARLET is a scholarly look at
classic mystery, horror, science-fiction and fantasy, minus the stuffiness,â€
explains publisher Kevin G Shinnick. The East Coast publication covers all eras
of English-language films (foreign productions are considered in a companion
magazine – VAN HELSING’S JOURNAL).
“We and
our writers take the films seriously, but we don’t take ourselves seriously,â€
adds managing editor Harry H Long, who co-authored American Silent Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Feature Films, 1913-1929.
SCARLET has covered a wide range of bizarre and esoteric topics:
Christian themes in the Hammer Horrors; Lilian
Gish’s horror film The Wind (1928),
previously categorized as a drama/romance; Murdered
Alive – a look at a play Bela Lugosi performed in the early 1930s,
about a man who hopes to achieve success as a sculptor by embalming victims
while still alive and turning them to stone; an interview with Beverly
Washburn, star of Jack Hill’s cult classic Spider
Baby or, The Maddest Story Ever Told (1964); a history of the making of Bride of the Gorilla (1951) starring
Barbara Payton, Raymond Burr and Lon Chaney, Jr.; the Creature from the Black
Lagoon's tragic inability to be a Babe Magnet; neglected horror titles
from Republic Pictures; and the last interview given by the late Robert Quarry,
star of Count Yorga, Vampire (1970), Deathmaster (1972) and Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972).
The articles are extremely
informative, well-researched and entertaining, written by such noted genre specialists
as Frank Della Stritto, author of The Mythology and History of Classic Horror Films; John
Soister, author The Films of Conrad Veidt;
and Paul Legget, author of Terence
Fisher: Horror, Myth and Religion.
SCARLET: THE FILM MAGAZINE is available at newsstands and through sources such as
creepyclassics.com. It is sold in Europe via Hemlock Books
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