The Film Blogs of Laurence Niblick!

I happened across a blog on exploitation-type film the other day (at exploitationfilm.blogspot.com, no less) that I quickly surmised was better than average for its kind; the blog's name was The Celluloid Teapot, it was created and currated by one Laurence Niblick, and I was saddened to see it lasted a mere twelve months, from late July 2005 to mid-August 2006.

During those twelve months, The Celluloid Teapot covered Nazi exploitation, video nasties, Hammer horror, giallo, mondo and 'extreme' cinema, the Emanuelle films, Italian sword and sandal epics, cult (Bava, Wishman, Deodato, Franco), various classic TV shows of interest such as Ace of Wands...you get the idea.

Lots of great screencaps and incisive text make this one to explore. I will point out a few particular faves: The History of O, The Image (aka The Punishment of Anne), The Beast In Heat, Hardcore ("turn it off!"), Ilsa, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks, The Devil In Miss Jones, and, one of my fave pornos ever -- Zebedy Colt's The Devil Inside Her.


Niblick then went on to create a blog called The Fringe Fantasy Show, at filmfantasy.blogspot.com. This blog lasted from July 31 2006 until the end of that year. The focus here was much the same as The Celluloid Teapot, only with more of an emphasis on Italian sword and sandal films and British TV fare (particularly Dr. Who and Doomwatch).

To be honest, this was my least favourite of Niblick's blogs, although it did feature this piece on the amazing Maciste All'Inferno from 1926, as well as a couple of Caligula-themed posts I enjoyed: Tinto Brass' infamous 1979 film, simply called Caligula - and Joe D'Amato's 1982 'sequel', Caligula 2: The Untold Story. Now that's some sleazy stuff!

After The Fringe Fantasy Show bit the dust at the end of 2006, Mr. Niblick then went on to his third film blog, The Indigo Fleapit (at cultretro.blogspot.com); this blog lasted eight months, from January 2007 through to August 9th 2007. The Indigo Fleapit included reviews of noteable 1975 British porno Diversions, as well as 1976 Gillis classic Through The Looking Glass.


The blog also took a deeper look at some of the more risqué Laura Gemser Emanuelle films such as: Emanuelle Around The World, Emanuelle's Revenge, Emanuelle In America, Black Emanuelle, and Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals. Otherwise, there's an awful lot of Doctor Who.

Niblick then embarked on his fourth and final (?) film blog, Pan's Pictureshow, at - wait for it - panspictureshow.blogspot.com. This blog focused on Britain's notorious video nasties list (containing such classic letdowns as The Ghastly Ones or Absurd), more Hammer horror, as well as another British TV series, Crown Court.


Pan's Pictureshow lasted nine months, from July 2007 to April of this year (2008); the last entry gives us the standard Niblick 'I'm wrapping this blog up and starting a new one, stay tuned' message, only without the usual link to the next blog.

If you know of a newer Laurence Niblick film blog, I'd sure love to check it out. The entries I've linked here provide silent testament to how the internet gives and takes with equal ruthlessness. Much respect due to this valiant explorer of fringe film; it's depressing to see such a succession of great blogs with hardly a comment between them. Show your love film fans, and remember a little love can go a long way in this sometimes lonely world of blogging.

Orgy for your eyeballs!

What we have here are a few very nice collections of illustrations. Granted, these files aren't always very big, but I for one am not complaining.


First up, via WFMU, a collection of nearly 1500 nude album covers - something old, something new, something borrowed, and much that is blue. More nudity here than you can shake your dick at!







Also, with *over* 1500 images is The Pin-Up Files, a cheesecake database with not only the classic artists of yesteryear (like Earl Moran, Peter Driben, or Gil Elvgren), but newer talent drawing pin-ups as well.



That still not enough for you?

Bosnuk has more weird posters than your fragile little mind can handle.

The Glass Guillotine hasn't posted for a couple of weeks now (hope everything is OK). This is a fairly addictive site of strange images. Lots of great stuff.

You say you like motorcycle club colours (or patches)? How about mod scooter run patches?

If you like club patches, *this* is a real find -- The Colors of Leather, a treasure trove of leather club history and leather club colours. Check the patch gallery. There's also info on related magazines, artists (like Bill Ward or Eric Stanton, for instance) and publishers (example: Satan Press and Bizarre/Eros) and different clubs, bars, etc. For anyone interested in S&M and the leather scene, this should flip your head back.







Still here?

If you're like me and dig Godflesh but aren't too keen on Jesu, you may be thrilled to hear Justin K. Broadrick is involved in a new project (with Dave Cochrane, no less) called Grey Machine. You can download a track off the forthcoming Disconnected album called Vultures Descend. It is very good indeed.

The Offence

Detective Sergeant Johnson:

A man with a face, burned away, his face. Acid. They tied him to a chair. He knew, they thought he knew something...to do with money, I don't remember. He was in this room, he had no face. I didn't know what to do, I didn't know how to make it stop - the pain, the screaming. I didn't know.

Red on white, Timmy Miles. The man had a thimble of pain, Timmy told us, for naughty boys the man said. But Timmy was a good boy. He did what the man told him to do. Filthy, obscene things, the man told him. Things...

He was well-spoken, posh, Timmy thought. Eight years old, blue eyes, fair hair, cut short, fresh complexion, wearing a school blazer with a badge on the breast pocket. Grey, grey trousers, white shirt, school tie. Timmy was missing for three days. The man had him for three days.

She was dead when we found her. She was dead. The wheels of the train had cut one leg off just above the knee. It was still there when we arrived beside the line. The girl was half a mile away. She crawled after the train cut... She crawled. God knows where she thought she was going, she didn't get there. 'Course she wanted to die, so...that was alright.

Now, she's dead. She went through the windscreen, bloke got the steering wheel. His mother said he just went up climbing after the cat and the railing just happened to be there when he fell, the bloke didn't know what he was doing.

He used twice too much jelly on the safe, painted the walls with himself and his mates, and the girl was pregnant and she wasn't married. Didn't have anyone, you know, to talk to. She went into the woods, deep into this wood, and hanged herself. That was in the winter, November they reckon sometime. We cut her down in March.

Running, burning streets. Burnt alleys, standing in doorways, dark corners, always night. No one there. Silent, empty, people dying. No one, bloody dying, no one. Oh, I've seen it.

Three weeks in the water, hung up on a branch, hidden under a bush. There wasn't a lot left. A baby, you could tell it was a baby, you couldn't tell much else. Fished it out, couldn't leave it there, leave to rot, go on rotting. Fished it out, no sweat, no fuss about the job. Plenty of things people have lost, thrown away...

(screenplay by John Hopkins)

Klute 02

Bree Daniels: The only responsibility you have to me is to enjoy yourself. Oh, inhibitions are always nice because they're so nice to overcome. Because I'm very bad, you know. I'm wicked.

Peter Cable: In what way? How are you bad?

Bree Daniels: In my head. I have very wicked ideas. Lots of them. I'm sure that as you're sitting at your great desk, you have all sorts of strange things going through your mind. You should never be ashamed of things like that, nothing is wrong. You know that I - I will do anything you ask. I think the only way that any of us can ever be happy is to...is to let it all hang out, you know, do it all and - fuck it.

(screenplay by Andy Lewis & Dave Lewis)

Water Power

Burt: October 16th. I feel at last that my life has some kind of purpose. I've always known that the filthy whorey element of the city was growing, getting bigger, but I never knew what to do about it. Now I know what I can do.

This girl, the stewardess, she was different from all the others, she was clean and good. She didn't do bad things with men, she didn't let men touch her with their cocks. She was pure, she was mine. All that's changed now. She let that man do terrible things to her and he didn't force her, I saw them, she let him do it.

Now she's dirty, but maybe she can be alright again. I couldn't want her if she was dirty, but maybe she can be cleaned out. If I cleaned her out, she could be clean again. She could be alright. She could have good thoughts. Now she's dirty, and it's shit thoughts, puke thoughts. But I can fix that. I'll give her an enema.

She has vile humors, that's why she's acting like this. I'll clean out her vile humors. She might not understand right away because she's having bad thoughts but after it's over she'll be glad, I know she will. She'll be glad I cleaned her out.


(screenplay by Shaun Costello)

M

Hans Beckert: It's there all the time, driving me out to wander the streets, following me, silently, but I can feel it there. It's me, pursuing myself! I want to escape, to escape from myself! But it's impossible. I can't escape, I have to obey it. I have to run, run...endless streets. I want to escape, to get away! And I'm pursued by ghosts. Ghosts of mothers and of those children...they never leave me. They are always there...always, always, always! except when I do it, when I...

(screenplay by Fritz Lang and Thea von Harbou)