MGM's MIDNITE MOVIES (A Comprehensive List Of All Movies Midnite) (2 Viewers)

[SWFF]

Every movie forum should have some kind of MIDNITE MOVIES list. These were great releases, with a great banner, and along with the requisite trailer, they gave us those cool factoids on the back of the DVD case. As of this posting the best place to still get some of these movies is at http://www.oldies.com/





So, here's what I got in my collection:

1. 
   Countess Dracula/The Vampire Lovers
2. 
   At The Earths Core
3. 
   The Land That Time Forgot/The People That Time Forgot
4. 
   Count Yorga, Vampire/The Return Of Count Yorga
5. 
   Die, Monster, Die/The Dunwich Horror
6. 
   The Monster That Challenged The World
7. 
   The Beast Within
8. 
   Empire Of The Ants/Tentacles
9. 
   Strange Invaders/Invaders From Mars ('86)
10. 
    Killer Klowns From Outer Space
11. 
    The Angry Red Planet
12. 
    Planet Of The Vampires
13. 
    Invisible Invaders / Journey to the Seventh Planet
14. 
    Invasion of the Star Creatures / Invasion of the Bee Girls

______________________________________________________________________





Wikipedia: Midnite Movies is a line of B movies released first on VHS then on DVD by MGM then later Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The line was begun by MGM in March 2001 following its acquisition of Orion Pictures, which bought out American International Pictures. AIP had a library of B movies from the 1950s and 1960s that were science fiction, horror, and exploitation films. The DVDs were first released as single films but most later releases would be double features. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment later became owners of the MGM library and continued the Midnite Movies line with distributor 20th Century Fox.





The collection is mostly made up of AIP films (including most of Roger Corman's and Vincent Price's horror movies) but also includes some Hammer Horror, Amicus, United Artists, and Empire Pictures movies as well.





[SIZE= 14px][COLOR= #b22222]Single Movie Releases Also Available in Double Features: [/COLOR][/SIZE]





The Abominable Dr. Phibes
At the Earth's Core
Attack of the Puppet People
Beach Blanket Bingo
The Beast Within
Count Yorga, Vampire
Die, Monster, Die!
Dr. Phibes Rises Again
The Dunwich Horror
Empire of the Ants
House of Usher
Invaders from Mars (1986)
It! The Terror from Beyond Space
The Monster That Challenged the World
Morons from Outer Space
The People That Time Forgot
The Pit and the Pendulum
Strange Invaders
Theatre of Blood (also as Theater of Blood)
The Thing with Two Heads
Twice Told Tales
Village of the Giants
War-Gods of the Deep
The Wild Angels





[COLOR= #b22222][SIZE= 14px]Single Movie Releases Not Available In Double Features:[/COLOR][/SIZE]




The Angry Red Planet
Donovan's Brain
Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine
The Food of the Gods
I Bury the Living
The Island of Dr. Moreau
Killer Klowns from Outer Space
The Man from Planet X
Mars Needs Women
Planet of the Vampires
Reptilicus
Witchfinder General
X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes





[COLOR= #b22222][SIZE= 14px]Double Feature Releases:[/COLOR][/SIZE]




The Abominable Dr. Phibes / Dr. Phibes Rises Again
Angel Unchained / Cycle Savages
Attack of the Puppet People / Village of the Giants
The Attic / Crawlspace
Beach Blanket Bingo / How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (HtSaWB was also released as a single disc but not a Midnite Movie)
Beach Party / Bikini Beach
The Beast Within / The Bat People
Blueprint For Murder / Man in the Attic
Chosen Survivors / The Earth Dies Screaming
The Comedy of Terrors / The Raven (1963)
Count Yorga, Vampire / The Return of Count Yorga
Countess Dracula / The Vampire Lovers
Cry of the Banshee / Murders in the Rue Morgue
Crystalstone / The Boy and the Pirates
Deranged / Motel Hell
Devils of Darkness / Witchcraft
Die, Monster, Die! / The Dunwich Horror
Empire of the Ants / Tentacles
The Fall of the House of Usher / The Pit and the Pendulum
Fireball 500 / Thunder Alley
Fortunes of Captain Blood / Captain Pirate
Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow / Ghost in the Invisible Bikini
Gorilla at Large / Mystery on Monster Island
The Haunted Palace / The Tower of London
The House on Skull Mountain / The Mephisto Waltz
The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant / The Thing with Two Heads
Invasion of the Star Creatures / Invasion of the Bee Girls
Invisible Invaders / Journey to the Seventh Planet
The Land That Time Forgot / The People That Time Forgot
The Masque of the Red Death / The Premature Burial
The Mini-Skirt Mob / Chrome and Hot Leather
Morons from Outer Space / Alien from L.A. (Alien from L.A. was also released as a single disc but not a Midnite Movie)
The Monster That Challenged the World / It! The Terror from Beyond Space
Muscle Beach Party / Ski Party
The Oblong Box (film) / Scream and Scream Again
Panic in Year Zero! / The Last Man on Earth (TLMOE was also released as a single disc but not a Midnite Movie)
The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues / The Beast with 1,000,000 Eyes!
Psych-Out / The Trip
The Return of Dracula / The Vampire
Strange Invaders / Invaders from Mars
Tales from the Crypt / The Vault of Horror
Tales of Terror / Twice Told Tales (ToT was also released as a single disc but not as a Midnite Movie)
Theater of Blood / Madhouse
The Tomb of Ligeia / An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe
Voodoo Island / The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake
War-Gods of the Deep / At the Earth's Core
The Wild Angels / Hell's Belles
Wild in the Streets / Gas-s-s-s
What's the Matter with Helen? / Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?
Yongary, Monster from the Deep / Konga (Konga was also released as a single disc but not a Midnite Movie)





[COLOR= #b22222][SIZE= 14px]Box Sets:[/COLOR][/SIZE]





Midnite Movies: Creepy Classics
- X: The Man with X-Ray Eyes
- The Fall of the House of Usher
- The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
- The Dunwich Horror
Midnite Movies: Volume One - Creatures & Monsters
- Yongary, Monster From the Deep / Konga
- Chosen Survivors / The Earth Dies Screaming
- The Food of the Gods
- Gorilla at Large / Mystery on Monster Island
- The Phantom From 10,000 Leagues / The Beast with a Million Eyes
Midnight Movies: Volume Two - Vampires & Witchcraft
- The Beast Within / The Bat People
- Devils of Darkness / Witchcraft
- Witchfinder General
- The House on Skull Mountain / The Mephisto Waltz
- The Return of Dracula / The Vampire


Vincent Price: MGM Scream Legends Collection
- Tales of Terror / Twice Told Tales
- The Abominable Dr. Phibes / Dr. Phibes Rises Again
- Theater of Blood / Madhouse
- Witchfinder General / Disc of Horrors (Bonus Disc)


Roger Corman Collection:


(This was an eight disc collection that also included Bloody Mama, A Bucket Of Blood and The Young Racers)


- Gas-s-s


- The Premature Burial


- The Trip


- The Wild Angels


- X: The Man With The X-Ray Eye





[COLOR= #b22222][SIZE= 14px]Movies That Were Released Without The MIDNITE MOVIES Banner On The Front Covers[/COLOR][/SIZE]


[SIZE= 14px]- Pajama Party[/SIZE]


[SIZE= 14px]- Frogs[/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px]The back covers follow the MIDNITE MOVIES design faithfully. [/SIZE]








[COLOR= #b22222][SIZE= 14px]All Released Titles In Alphabetical Order: [/COLOR][/SIZE]

1. 
   The Abominable Dr. Phibes
2. 
   Alien from L.A.
3. 
   An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe
4. 
   Angel Unchained
5. 
   The Angry Red Planet
6. 
   At the Earth's Core
7. 
   Attack of the Puppet People
8. 
   The Attic
9. 
   The Bat People
10. 
    Beach Blanket Bingo
11. 
    Beach Party
12. 
    The Beast with 1,000,000 Eyes!
13. 
    The Beast Within
14. 
    Bikini Beach
15. 
    Blueprint For Murder
16. 
    The Boy and the Pirates
17. 
    Captain Pirate
18. 
    Chosen Survivors
19. 
    Chrome and Hot Leather
20. 
    The Comedy of Terrors
21. 
    Count Yorga, Vampire
22. 
    Countess Dracula
23. 
    Crawlspace
24. 
    Cry of the Banshee
25. 
    Crystalstone
26. 
    Cycle Savages
27. 
    Deranged
28. 
    Devil's of Darkness
29. 
    Die, Monster, Die!
30. 
    Donovan's Brain
31. 
    Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine
32. 
    Dr. Phibes Rises Again
33. 
    The Dunwich Horror
34. 
    The Earth Dies Screaming
35. 
    Empire of the Ants
36. 
    The Fall of the House of Usher
37. 
    Fireball 500
38. 
    The Food of the Gods
39. 
    Fortunes of Captain Blood
40. 
    The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake
41. 
    Gas-s-s-s
42. 
    Ghost in the Invisible Bikini
43. 
    Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow
44. 
    Gorilla at Large
45. 
    The Haunted Palace
46. 
    Hell's Belles
47. 
    House of Usher
48. 
    The House on Skull Mountain
49. 
    How to Stuff a Wild Bikini
50. 
    I Bury the Living
51. 
    The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant
52. 
    Invaders from Mars (1986)
53. 
    Invasion of the Bee Girls
54. 
    Invasion of the Star Creatures
55. 
    Invisible Invaders
56. 
    The Island of Dr. Moreau
57. 
    It! The Terror from Beyond Space
58. 
    Journey to the Seventh Planet
59. 
    Killer Klowns from Outer Space
60. 
    Konga
61. 
    The Land That Time Forgot
62. 
    The Last Man on Earth
63. 
    Madhouse
64. 
    The Man from Planet X
65. 
    Man in the Attic
66. 
    Mars Needs Women
67. 
    The Masque of the Red Death
68. 
    The Mephisto Waltz
69. 
    The Mini-Skirt Mob
70. 
    The Monster That Challenged the World
71. 
    Morons from Outer Space
72. 
    Motel Hell
73. 
    Murders in the Rue Morgue
74. 
    Muscle Beach Party
75. 
    Mystery on Monster Island
76. 
    The Oblong Box (film)
77. 
    Panic in Year Zero!
78. 
    The People That Time Forgot
79. 
    The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues
80. 
    The Pit and the Pendulum
81. 
    Planet of the Vampires
82. 
    The Premature Burial
83. 
    Psych-Out
84. 
    The Raven (1963)
85. 
    Reptilicus
86. 
    The Return of Count Yorga
87. 
    The Return of Dracula
88. 
    Scream and Scream Again
89. 
    Ski Party
90. 
    Strange Invaders
91. 
    Tales from the Crypt
92. 
    Tales of Terror
93. 
    Tentacles
94. 
    Theatre of Blood (also as Theater of Blood)
95. 
    The Thing with Two Heads
96. 
    Thunder Alley
97. 
    The Tomb of Ligeia
98. 
    The Tower of London
99. 
    The Trip
100. 
     Twice Told Tales
101. 
     The Vampire
102. 
     The Vampire Lovers
103. 
     The Vault of Horror
104. 
     Village of the Giants
105. 
     Voodoo Island
106. 
     War-Gods of the Deep
107. 
     What's the Matter with Helen?
108. 
     Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?
109. 
     The Wild Angels
110. 
     Wild in the Streets
111. 
     Witchcraft
112. 
     Witchfinder General
113. 
     X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes
114. 
     Yongary, Monster from the Deep

 

[ahollis]

Dude you did a lot of work. I have truly enjoyed the Midnite Movie collections and looked foward to them every year. Too bad Fox messed it up, but there is a chance they could return in some form. Thanks for this trip down memory lane. The AIP films were always the best.

 

[Charles Smith]

Yeah, loved these. I don't know how many I have, but I started with Corman's Poe films and have acquired quite a few others along the way. Great series. One misstep I hope to find corrected someday is the "Vault of Horror" release which is a TV cut instead of the theatrical version.

 

[SWFF]

Wikipedia did all the work, Allen, all I did was cut and paste and alter it a bit. My original intent was to present a pictorial history of ALL the movies, that is until I went to Wikipedia and saw just how many movies and how many times they were released. Wow! That would have been A LOT of photos. I think my ambition was sorely tested. And, some how, I can't help feeling that I have failed you all.

 

[Richard--W]

Useful list.
I saw most of the 1960s and 1970s titles in a theater. The first time I walked into a Walmart I stopped just inside the entrance at a display of Midnite Movies on sale for $5 each. I bought fifteen of them. Gradually I added more Midnite Movies to my DVD library. I have:

The Abominable Dr. Phibes
At the Earth's Core
Attack of the Puppet People
Beach Blanket Bingo
Die, Monster, Die!
Donovan's Brain
Dr. Phibes Rises Again
The Dunwich Horror
Empire of the Ants
House of Usher
I Bury the Living
It! The Terror from Beyond Space
The Monster That Challenged the World
The Pit and the Pendulum
Theatre of Blood
Twice Told Tales
Village of the Giants
War-Gods of the Deep
The Wild Angels

Angel Unchained / Cycle Savages
Beach Blanket Bingo / How to Stuff a Wild Bikini
Beach Party / Bikini Beach
The Comedy of Terrors / The Raven (1963)
Count Yorga, Vampire / The Return of Count Yorga
Countess Dracula / The Vampire Lovers
Cry of the Banshee / Murders in the Rue Morgue
The Haunted Palace / The Tower of London
The House on Skull Mountain / The Mephisto Waltz
The Land That Time Forgot / The People That Time Forgot
The Masque of the Red Death / The Premature Burial
The Oblong Box (film) / Scream and Scream Again
Panic in Year Zero! / The Last Man on Earth
Psych-Out / The Trip
The Return of Dracula / The Vampire
Tales from the Crypt / The Vault of Horror
Theater of Blood / Madhouse
The Tomb of Ligeia / An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe
Voodoo Island / The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake
The Wild Angels / Hell's Belles
Wild in the Streets / Gas-s-s-s
What's the Matter with Helen? / Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?
Yongary, Monster from the Deep / Konga

I need to catch up with more titles than I thought:

Blueprint For Murder / Man In the Attic
Chosen Survivors / The Earth Dies Screaming
Devils of Darkness / Witchcraft
Fireball 500 / Thunder Alley
Fortunes of Captain Blood / Captain Pirate
Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow / Ghost in the Invisible Bikini
Gorilla at Large / Mystery on Monster Island
The Mini-Skirt Mob / Chrome and Hot Leather
Muscle Beach Party / Ski Party

The remainder I'm not interested in.
It would be nice if MGM continued the Midnite Movies line.
Some of the later double-features were not well-paired, I thought.


Richard


edited to add Donovan's Brain and I Bury the Living which I overlooked the first time.

 

[ahollis]

Ah nostalgia, it was so much fun to go to Best Buy where they had a rack for the MGM Midnite Movies. Mulling through the titles to see if you could find an obscure title that had evaded you several times. Longing for those days.

 

[John Sparks]

What MGM should do, but never will, is go back and put the ones that need to be anamorphic and in their correct aspect ratio.

Then we will be all happy campers. Also, thanks Shawn for the list. I'll have to see what I'm missing, but I think it's nothing.

 

[SWFF]

Originally Posted by Richard--W
Some of the later double-features were not well-paired, I thought.


Richard

The best pairing I ever encountered was the DIE, MONSTER, DIE/THE DUNWICH HORROR Double Fetaure. Both flicks are based on H.P. Lovecraft tales, they are both directed by the same director, and most importantly, I love them both, which made replacing my singles of each flick with this double feature a no-brainer.

 

[Richard--W]

I gather the Lovecraft adaptations were Daniel Haller's idea. Both very seductive-looking films with their emphasis on antique houses and furnishings hosting some kind of ancient and thinly veiled evil that's also natural and organic. I suspect Haller had a hand in designing the films as well as directing them. He captures Lovecraft's aesthetic very well, don't you think. Haller didn't direct many films. He was Roger Corman's production designer and he designed the early Poe films for Corman and AIP.

My only complaint about The Dunwich Horror is the "beings' from the other side look like a bunch of stoned hippies cavorting on Zuma Beach. I wish Haller & company had given more thought to how to depict the abnormal beings from the other side, or show less of them.

 

[Charles Smith]

Never understood how all of the Poe films (to my knowledge) were anamorphic except Pit and the Pendulum. And yet if I'm not mistaken, the UK DVD was anamorphic.

 

[SWFF]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard--W
I gather the Lovecraft adaptations were Daniel Haller's idea. Both very seductive-looking films with their emphasis on antique houses and furnishings hosting some kind of ancient and thinly veiled evil that's also natural and organic. I suspect Haller had a hand in designing the films as well as directing them. He captures Lovecraft's aesthetic very well, don't you think. Haller didn't direct many films. He was Roger Corman's production designer and he designed the early Poe films for Corman and AIP.

My only complaint about The Dunwich Horror is the "beings' from the other side look like a bunch of stoned hippies cavorting on Zuma Beach. I wish Haller & company had given more thought to how to depict the abnormal beings from the other side, or show less of them.

DIE, MONSTER, DIE, is Lovecraft by way of Poe. If you didn't know anything about Lovecraft, you'd swear you were watching another Poe adaptation. I just ordered THE CURSE/CURSE 2: THE BITE (Double Feature), mostly for THE BITE, but I'm gonna reevaluate THE CURSE, the second adaptation of Lovecraft's THE COLOUR OUT OF SPACE. Until then, DIE, MONSTER, DIE is my favorite cinematic version of that tale. I remember not liking THE CURSE when I saw it back in the day, maybe that's changed. I'll let you know.

As for THE DUNWICH HORROR, so far no movie has ever done Wilbur Whateley justice. He's a horribly deformed monster of a person in the tale, who's part human and part Elder thing, or, Outer Ones, or, I forget, I haven't read the tale in a while, exactly which of Lovecraft's Gods he's part of, but his other half is all tentacles and unnamable parts. I'm still waiting for someone, perhaps, Stuart Gordon, to do that character justice.

[COLOR= #b22222][SIZE= 9px]UPDATE: Just looked it up, Wilbur's "father" is supposed to be Yog-Sothoth, one of the Old Ones. [/COLOR][/SIZE]

 

[Richard--W]

Dean Stockwell is creepy, though, or so the ladies tell me. Sam Jaffe was good casting as well. To be fair, I suppose AIP didn't have the technology to do justice to "The Dunwich Horror" (which was published in Weird Tales in 1928, mid-term Lovecraft). Nobody did back in 1970. It is to their credit that they didn't do the rubber-suited monster thing like Amicus did across the pond with its Burroughs adaptations. Making monsters is one of the few things CGI is good for. That and the weather.

The Curse and The Bite are strictly yawn-city.

 

[SWFF]

They did have a monster in THE DUNWICH HORROR. Remember, Wilbur had a twin brother, who took after his "father" more than Wilbur did, and, in the movie, they locked up in that room on the second floor. When it gets loose, I thought that was a pretty cool monster effect. The two times you actually see it.

I like Dean Stockwell in that role. You're right, he plays it very creepy. And, Sandra Dee is hot!

I still have good memories of THE BITE. You have to admit it's original. I mean, that dude's arm turns into a goddamn snake! I still wish MGM had released that one, and THE CURSE is their proper 2.35:1 aspect ratio.

Originally Posted by John Sparks
What MGM should do, but never will, is go back and put the ones that need to be anamorphic and in their correct aspect ratio.

Damn, this would have been a great poll question, How many of us would like to see MGM remaster some of their Midnite Movies?

 

[Corey3rd]

I nabbed a majority of them. should have grabbed a few more when Wal-Mart had the $5 deal years ago for the solo shots. Only ones I had zero interest in grabbing was the Sony Pirate titles.

would be nice if they'd continue the series, but I've caught a few of the missing titles on THiS and didn't feel too upset that they weren't on the DVD shelf. Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs and Sgt. Deadhead. Still would have liked the Riot on Sunset Strip/Maryjane Double Feature.

It's only a shame that Lionsgate gave up so fast on the Sam Arkoff AIP titles and Susan Hart still hasn't let her AIP titles get released on DVD. The full legacy of AIP should be on discs.

 

[Nebiroth]

I picked up pretty much all the ones I was interested in, except a couple of the old singles. There were a few - like the pirate and biker ones - that held no interest for me at all.

 

[Dick]

Originally Posted by Chas in CT
Never understood how all of the Poe films (to my knowledge) were anamorphic except Pit and the Pendulum. And yet if I'm not mistaken, the UK DVD was anamorphic.

You are correct. I bought the UK edition (for peanuts) and it of course looks far superior to the letterboxed domestic release, if you have an all-region machine that plays PAL discs. I really think there is no reason, good or bad, why MGM released the non-anamorphic transfer here -other than just utter negligence.

 

[Karl R]

You might want to add (under box sets) Roger Corman Collection, which contains five (5) Midnight movies among it's eight titles: Gas-s-s; The Premature Burial; The Trip; The Wild Angels; X: The Man With X-Ray Eyes (as well as Bloody Mama; A Bucket of Blood and The Young Racers.)

 

[SWFF]

Good catch, Karl. Info has been added to opening post. If anyone else knows of anything from that list that's missing, or even wrong, don't hesitate to let me know. I want this thread to be the definitive MIDNITE MOVIES thread, as it pertains to everything, and I do mean, everything, that was released under this magnificent line.

I still wish I could have done that pictorial history. You know that would make a great coffee table book. A nice compact visual tome of all the DVD covers, back and front. If anyone can make that happen, my God, please do.

 

[Charles Smith]

I'd jump for that anamorphic Pit and the Pendulum if it weren't for PAL speedup. This is a film I've seen so many times over the years that I think the change in pitch and speed would be distracting. I do have a number of PAL DVDs that I enjoy, but for the most part they're titles that I never had from any other source, and I don't have their sound nearly as "in my ears" like I do this one.

 

[John Sparks]

Thanks for the list!!! I was missing 4 double features and I ordered them off eBay for around $7 each...now I'm a real happy camper.