Leprechauns, Pookas and Banshees

When you think of the many accomplishments of animation pioneer and studio mogul Walt Disney, producing horror films is not one of them. At the same time, several Walt Disney films have featured horrific moments that made strong impressions and scared children such as the boys-into-donkeys transformation scene in Pinocchio (1940) or the fire-breathing dragon at the climax of Sleeping Beauty (1959). A few Disney productions even flirted with the supernatural and creepy folk tales such as The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1949) and Dr. Syn (1964) with its title character disguised as a demonic-looking scarecrow who haunts the marshes at night. Nothing, however, can top Darby O’Gill and the Little People (1959) when it comes to merging the ordinary with the fantastic. The film plunges the viewer into a fairytale Ireland where magical and terrifying things occur and some scenes could actually give the kiddies nightmares, making this my favorite Disney live-action film.

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Dirk Bogarde on LSD

When I think of LSD depictions in the movies, American International Pictures immediately comes to mind with actors like Peter Fonda (The Trip), Susan Strasberg (Psych-Out) and Mimsy Farmer (Riot on Sunset Strip) blowing their minds amid the counterculture of the sixties. Of course, other more unlikely actors have been dosed with the hallucinogen on screen such as Vincent Price (The Tingler), Lana Turner (The Big Cube) and Jackie Gleason (Skidoo) but probably the most unexpected one of all is Dirk Bogarde in Sebastian (1967), a fascinating curiosity released in the waning days of “Swinging London” cinema which has been unaccountably forgotten since its release.   Continue reading