Now, I cannot say that I am pro-Colorization.  As a matter of fact, I would be one of the first people to fill in the anti-Colorization bubble if the process ever appeared on a ballot… but nevertheless, I did own several colorized movies on videocassette back in the more “primitive” days of the process.

Let’s face it, it wasn’t exactly easy to find the black-and-white version of Laurel & Hardy’s Way Out West on the Nostalgia Merchant label back before the advent of the Internet… sure, I could have simply ordered a dupe from a dubious “retailer” advertised in the back of a fanzine, but no… a thousand times, no.

Despite my prejudices against the early forms of what I felt amounted to a paint-by-numbers procedure performed  by the colorblind, it would be foolish of me to deny that the whole colorization method has grown (for the better) by leaps and bounds over the last twenty years.

And it can all be attributed to Legend Films.

To see what I consider to be Legend’s finest example to date, I would suggest that you pick up Richard Elfman’s über-cult classic Forbidden Zone.  Their release of the film, which was photographed in black-and-white with the intent of sending the feature off to China during post-production for animators to hand-tint the frames, gave the movie the weird Max Fleischer/comic book-esque feel the filmmakers were striving for.  Granted, Forbidden Zone is a classic on its own without color, but the work Legend did was undoubtedly the best I have ever seen!

Other notable instances from Legend Films were the remarkable restoration/colorization jobs of Ray Harryhausen’s 20 Million Miles To Earth, Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers, and It Came From Beneath The Sea, all of which have been issued on both Standard Definition DVD and High Def Blu-ray (individually and in box sets) by our friends at Sony Pictures.  Legend has also teamed up with Mike Nelson for releases of Reefer Madness, Roger Corman’s The Little Shop Of Horrors, George A. Romero’s Night Of The Living Dead, Herk Harvey’s Carnival Of Souls, Ed Wood’s Plan 9 From Outer Space, and the William Castle’s House On Haunted Hill starring Vincent Price, giving viewers the chance to see the movies in their original black-and-white format, along with their colorized versions, with optional comedy commentaries from Nelson (three movies in one, really).

Recently, Legend has taken several Public Domain science fiction and horror B-Movies (the best kind) and given them the colorization treatment.  The movies (which are the very point of this whole article, incidentally) are from the mixed résumés of cult auteurs Edward D. Wood, Jr. and Roger Corman and feature both the newly colorized versions as well as the restored black-and-white originals.

Titles include (in alphabetical order)…

Bride Of The Monster (1955) - Directed by Edward D. Wood, Jr. - One of Ed Wood’s greatest films (the only one that made a profit when released) and the last of his “official” collaborations with Bela Lugosi before the actor’s infamous posthumous performance in Plan 9.  Despite the actor’s apparent ill-health, Lugosi gives the movie his all (as well as the long overdue opportunity to take his aggressions out on the very community that ousted him by whipping Tor Johnson) as Dr. Eric Vornoff, the mad scientist that has assembled a mutated, atomic octopus out of rubber and stock footage.

When he’s not looking like he’s about to reach out and fondle co-star Loretta King’s boobage, Bela walks about a bizarrely-constructed set (e.g. stairs that go nowhere, a window on the wall in the lab is underwater while the door next to it is above water… imagine what might have happened if M.C. Escher and Salvador Dali had designed a lake cabin for Sarah Winchester… only without a budget) along with the lumbering Tor Johnson, throws his enemies out to his pet, and still finds time to deliver his epic “I Have No Home” speech.  The mind-boggling finale has Dr. Vornoff wrestling with the lifeless rubber beast before being struck by stock footage lightning, resulting in the complete atomic annihilation of everything and everyone… except for the good guys of course… somehow they’re immune to the whole thing.

Luigi’s Useless Information: Contrary to popular belief, the man that wrestles with the fake octopus at the end of the film is not Bela Lugosi (one only need take a good look) but rather a stuntman (thought by many to be Eddie Parker).  This episode was also featured on “Mystery Science Theater 3000”.

Creature From The Haunted Sea (1961) - Directed by Roger Corman - Part of Corman’s Creepy Comedy Trilogy as well as his Puerto Rico Trilogy, Creature From The Haunted Sea is perhaps one of the greatest spoofs ever made.  Antony Carbone does a marvelous Humphrey Bogart impersonation as gangster Renzo Capetto (alias Shirley Lamour), who decides to help some Cuban military officials (with names like General Tostada) who are fleeing Castro’s newfound regime with a strongbox filled with gold.  Not one to let an opportunity like this pass him by, Renzo, his girlfriend Mary-Belle (Betsy Jones-Moreland), and his crew dream up a phony sea monster as an excuse to kill off the Cuban soldiers.  Unfortunately, such a monster really does exist, and starts picking off Renzo’s crew.  Famed Chinatown screenwriter Robert Towne (as Edward Wain) also stars as US Government Agent XK-150, alias Sparks Moran.

The whole story, while recycled from several earlier Corman projects, also takes its cue from Ernest Hemingway’s To Have And Have Not (Hemingway himself is mentioned in the film as the first person to encounter the legendary monster), right down to Carbone’s skipper’s hat.  A lot of people seem unable to grasp the fact that the movie is not to be taken seriously and have picked apart the hammy performances and ridiculous monster suit to death.  To them, I say, “Ha, ha” -- it’s a classic in my opinion.

Luigi’s Useless Information: The three leads here also portray the main characters in Corman’s own Last Woman On Earth.  Both films were shot back-to-back with the Corman-produced Battle Of Blood Island.  When released to television two years later, Corman hired Monte Hellman to shoot additional footage with the same cast.  The scenes included a prologue with Robert Towne, a sequence where Betsy Jones-Moreland sings the movie’s new “theme song” (which I know all the lyrics of… what the hell is wrong with me, anyway?), and another segment where Towne finds a payphone on the island (the final scene includes a cameo by both Corman and Frank Sinatra’s brother, Richard.

The Devil Bat (1940) - Directed by Jean Yarbrough - We now take you back to late 1940.  Poverty row production company PRC (Producers Releasing Corp.) had just risen from the ashes of the failed PDC (Producers Distributing Corp.) and with it, came their most successful horror film.  Dr. Paul Carruthers (Bela Lugosi) is a scientist that had helped a local fragrance manufacturer go worldwide with his contributions.  Unfortunately, Dr. Carruthers chose the “quick cash” option over “partner” and now, as the rest of his colleagues enjoy a life of luxury, the old inventor gets a taste of “Should’a, could’a, would’a”.  Undaunted, the now-mad scientist uses electricity to increase the size of a blood-sucking bat… training it to go for the throat of anyone wearing his new aftershave lotion… which he promptly starts giving to his old friends (giving them an amusing sighful “Goodbye… ” each time).

When news of this Devil Bat reaches the city, reporter Johnny Layton (Dave O’Brien) and his photographer “One-Shot” McGuire (Donald Kerr) rush out to the countryside to investigate the murders.  Naturally, the local sheriff is too stupid to put 2 and 2 together, so he just lets a reporter snoop all over the place.  Suzanne Kaaren (a familiar face to fans of the Three Stooges) plays the naïve heroine in this fun B-Horror masterpiece.

Luigi’s Useless Information: Like all good production companies, PRC knew they had a winner with this horror quickie.  Six years later, they released an unrelated sequel entitled Devil Bat’s Daughter as well as an almost scene-for-scene uncredited remake, The Flying Serpent.  The latter film starred George Zucco, whom Lugosi had starred with in 1944’s Voodoo Man (with John Carradine) and Scared To Death (1947).  Zucco also received billing alongside Lugosi (and Carradine) for The Return Of The Ape Man (another unrelated sequel), but Zucco did not in fact appear in the movie (his part was instead played by Frank Moran… who also played in several other movies with Bela… and George… and John… look, there’s a reason I call this section “Luigi’s Useless Information”!).

The Last Man On Earth (1964) - Directed by Ubaldo Ragona and Sidney Salkow - Vincent Price stars in the first (and undoubtedly best) screen treatment of Richard Matheson’s immortal novel, “I Am Legend”.  In it, Price gets more screen time than any actor could ever hope for as Dr. Robert Morgan, the only survivor of a devastating and mysterious plague that has turned the rest of the world into bloodthirsty vampires!  The daytime is not a problem for Morgan.  Hell, the whole world is literally at his disposal then!  But as the sun beings to fall, the undead beings come-a-knockin’ at his door in search of blood.

Once a potential project for Hammer Films, The Last Man On Earth wound up in the lap of Hollywood mogul Samuel Z. Arkoff (co-founder of legendary AIP Pictures) and “Quickie King” Robert L. Lippert, who produced the film in Italy, hiring local talent for their crew (and extras), giving the movie just the right amount of atmosphere.  Seven years later, Charlton Heston starred in the less-than-thrilling-yet-nonetheless-memorable remake, The Omega Man, giving the late NRA advocate another chance to ride around and shoot things.  Thirty-six years after that, Will Smith (of all people) took on the role of the lead character in the very disappointing I Am Legend, in which the Fresh Prince embarrassed himself further by fighting CGI zombies and quoting dialogue from Shrek.  Needless to say, The Last Man On Earth is the definitive adaptation of the novel.

Luigi’s Useless Information: Richard Matheson himself co-wrote the screenplay, but had his credit changed to read Logan Swanson when he ultimately became dissatisfied with the project.  His loss, I guess.

Phantom From Space (1953) - Directed by W. Lee Wilder - If that whole Truth In Advertising myth applied to the moving pictures, Phantom From Space would probably have been titled People Sitting Around Smoking While Waiting For Something To Happen.  The whole premise (while rather original) starts out with a UFO crashing near Santa Monica.  An alien life form (attired in his big bulky spacesuit) escapes from the wreckage and terrorizes the populace.  Sounds pretty good so far but, due to the lack of a budget, practically all that excitement occurs off-screen.

Phantom From Space does have one interesting and noteworthy factor that separates it from its successful, big-budgeted counterparts: the alien is a completely benevolent, innocent creature and wants nothing to do with our planet or our people.  He has not landed on Earth to warn us of our impending destruction, nor has he come to commence the same… he simply got a flat while driving around and now he’s trying to find a way out of town while being pursued by the fearful, confused locals… resulting in one of the most depressing endings ever committed to a science fiction film (like Silent Running, only not as cheerful).

Luigi’s Useless Information: The brain behind this project was none other than Wilhelm (“Willie”) Lee Wilder, a former pursemaker who just happened to be the estranged older brother of famed Some Like It Hot director Billy Wilder.  Billy once (jokingly) remarked that his brother was “a dull son of a bitch”.  If you compare the collective works of Willie and Billy to one another, it’s easy to see why.  However, W. Lee kept at it, churning out additional riff-worthy fodder like Killers From Space and The Snow Creature (From Space?), all of which were written by his son, Myles (who went on to write for television shows in the 70s).

The Phantom Planet (1961) - Directed by William Marshall - Another science fiction B-Moviethat was famously satirized on “Mystery Science Theater 3000”.  A weird-looking astronaut (Dean Fredericks from “Steve Canyon”) crash lands on a giant meteor and, upon breathing its atmosphere, shrinks in size and is captured by the local action figure-sized inhabitants.  Fortunately, mostly everybody is on our main character’s side, and soon, our hero is assisting his new group of friends when the dreaded Solarites (all of which are played by Richard Kiel) dive in to attack the peaceful colony.

The Phantom Planet is an entertaining romp through the Science Fiction Cheese Factory which co-stars former silent movie great Francis X. Bushman (in one of his final performances), Dolores Faith, Coleen Gray, the voice of Marvin Miller, and, as our hero’s doomed philosophic co-pilot, Richard Weber, whose character gets sucked out into the vast reaches of space years before Gary Lockwood’s Dr. Frank Poole met a similar fate in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Luigi’s Useless Information: Both Bushman and Weber played some major-minor roles in the previous year’s 12 To The Moon, an equally cheap sci/fi movie that also (not surprisingly enough) showed up on MST3K once.  Kiel and Faith reunited four years later in The Human Duplicators (also another MST3K favorite).

In addition to their newly colorized incarnations, each of the new DVD releases also houses the original (and restored!) black-and-white versions (all of which have Mono sound).  Bride Of The Monster, Creature From The Haunted Sea, The Devil Bat, Phantom From Space, and The Phantom Planet are all presented Full Frame (1.33:1) and look golden when compared any one of the many awful bootlegs and dupes out there that are distributed by no-name companies. 

The Last Man On Earth, which the back cover proudly hails as the “Original Full Frame Edition”, is in fact the original anamorphic widescreen version (possibly the same great-looking print that MGM used for its 2004 release), an error that the folks at Legend may want to correct the next time this cover goes to press.

Speaking of covers, the artwork on these titles range from rather decent “Public Domain” looking to downright hilarious (see the Bride Of The Monster cover, which uses the same image of Lugosi used for The Devil Bat, only with a modern, bleach-blonde woman in front of him transforming into an octopus, with the tagline below reading “Dr. Vornoff Tampered In God’s Domain”), keeping up with the lightheartedness that these movies bring.

There aren’t a whole lot of Special Features included: Bride Of The Monster does have an Interview with Bela Lugosi from 1950 as well as a clip from the “Pippi Longstocking” episode of “Shirley Temple’s Storybook” from 1961 featuring none other than Tor Johnson (in color!); and The Last Man On Earth features an obscure television special entitled “It Happened In Hollywood” (1960) with your host, Vincent Price, hamming it up while taking us on a journey throughout a Hollywood western set.  All of the discs include Trailers for other Legend Films releases (sadly, Creature From The Haunted Sea’s shot-for-TV scenes didn’t make the cut here).

Well, there you have it, kids: six newly colorized releases from Legend Films for you to go out and buy.  Enjoy.

Now then, Legend: you should seriously give David Geffen and Frank Oz a call to see if you can colorize the original ending of Little Shop Of Horrors so we can at last see a “Director’s Cut” that both filmmakers would be happy with on video! (wink wink, nudge nudge)