Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: Elderly and unliked goat farmer, Pete Jenkins, performs a Satanic ritual right before he dies and later returns as a younger version of himself, posing as his nephew, Nick Richards. Soon after, a dog attack leaves a local gas station owner, David Simpson, seriously disfigured and that is followed by a pair of mysterious deaths. Meanwhile, Richards seems to be endearing himself to Simpson's fiancée, Nell Lucas. Who's in it? The movie stars Ed Nelson , Jean Allison, Richard Crane , Edgar Buchanon and Spencer Carlisle. Review: I had woken up this morning intending to watch the 1927 silent film version of The Cat and the Canary.  However, it turned out to be a poor-quality copy, and I decided to call an audible after a few minutes. I had come across Devil's Partner a couple days ago, thought it looked interesting and decided to give it a try. It turned out to be an OK choice but not quite as good as I was hoping it would be. I think the best way to describe this fi...

Synopsis: Five years after being exiled from his hometown of Rock Valley for killing Carl Avery's sons, Case Britton returns to warn the sheriff about a gang of outlaws looking to steal $75,000 from a stagecoach. The sheriff believes Britton and arranges for the money to be kept in the town's bank instead. However, with many of the townspeople still unable to trust the gunman, Britton's offer to help is refused and he is instead locked up in the jail. Meanwhile, Britton's fiancée, Della, believes he should just walk away and not put his life in any more danger, despite Britton believing Avery both killed his brother and is the one who the outlaws are working for. Who's in it? The movie stars Jim Davis , Lyn Thomas , Ted de Corsia , Barton MacLane and Harry Carey, Jr. Review: It's been a while since I last watched a classic western and since Noose for a Gunman looked somewhat interesting, I decided to give it a try this morning. While nothing I would describ...

Synopsis: After her carriage driver abandons her in a Transylvanian village, French schoolteacher Marianne Danielle accepts an invitation to stay with the Baroness Meinster despite warnings from the locals. While there, she discovers the Baroness' son chained to a wall and frees him, not knowing he is the vampire, Dracula. As Dracula begins feeding on the villagers, the only hope is the vampire hunter Van Helsing. Who's in it? The movie stars Peter Cushing , Marita Hunt , Freda Jackson , Yvonne Monlaur and David Peel. Review: I've been trying to get back in the habit of watching classic movies in my free time and came across The Brides of Dracula last night on Amazon Prime. It's a film I've wanted to watch in the past but never got around to seeing. I changed that early this morning and, overall, thought it was an OK film. David Peel made a halfway decent Dracula, though I'm not really sure if he was supposed to be the real Dracula or just being referred to...

Synopsis: When her lover, Sam, tells her he can't marry her until he's out of debt, Marion Crane decides to steal a $40,000 cash deposit that was entrusted to her by her employer and drive to California to be with her boyfriend. Feeling stressed and guilty after an encounter with a police officer and accidentally getting off the highway because of the rain, Marion checks into the Bates Motel and has a run-in with its mother-obsessed manager, Norman. Who's in it?  The movie stars Janet Leigh , Anthony Perkins , Vera Miles , John Gavin and Martin Balsam . Review: I came across this movie last night while my wife was taking a shower and, since it had been a while since I had an opportunity to watch it in its entirety, decided to do so. Even though I have seen this Alfred Hitchcock classic at least a dozen times, it still manages to impress me. Even though this movie is now roughly 63 years old, it still sets a standard when it comes to slasher movies. And that has very litt...

Synopsis: In 1960, military test pilot Maj. William Allison inadvertently flies an experimental aircraft into a time warp and is propelled to the year 2024. There, he discovers the world's population has either been mutated or sterilized by a plague. He meets other accidental time travelers who want him to return to his own time and prevent the plague from happening. However, the local ruler wants to keep Allison captive so he can procreate with the ruler's granddaughter, the only other person who isn't sterile. Who's in it? The movie stars Robert Clarke , Darlene Tompkins , Arianne Ulmer , Vladimir Sokoloff and Boyd 'Red' Morgan . Review: I came across this movie last night and wound up adding it to my movie library mostly because the "future" world it described was supposed to happen just two years from now. I had some doubts about the movie but wound up enjoying it a bit more than expected. I think the thing I liked best about this film was it w...

Synopsis: Three months after getting married and moving to London with her new husband, American Kit Preston is walking home in a thick fog when an unseen man threatens to kill her. At first, she is convinced it is just a sick prank. But, the man begins to make obscene phone calls to her with promises she'll be dead by the end of the month. As the calls begin to take their toll, she finds nobody around her believes her because they think she is just making the whole thing up so her workaholic husband will pay attention to her. Who's in it? The movie stars Doris Day , Rex Harrison , John Gavin , Myrna Loy and Natasha Parry . Review: I've reached that time of the year when I have an excessive amount of vacation time that needs to be used by the end of the year and, to burn it off, I begin working some half days. I did this yesterday and, after mowing the front yard, wound up watching this movie while waiting to pick up my oldest daughter after school. Overall, I ha...