Friday, October 30, 2009

Vampires, KIller Robots and Ghouls Beware! The Bob Wilkins/Creature Feature Phenomenon

It was Saturday Night in the Bay Area some time ago, 1971 to be exact, that I first came across the buttoned-down, low key television persona of Bob Wilkins, the host of "Creature Features".  He worked on  a local independent television station (KTVU-2) out of Oakland/San Francisco, hosting a program called "Creature Features".   The locally-produced show would present a newer horror film in the 9-11 pm slot, followed by an older, often classic horror film from the Universal or Hammer film catalog around 11.  What made Mr. Wilkins  memorable was the way he presented these movies.  
Those old enough to remember the horror movie craze that was directed at teens and pre-teens at the time probably recall television hosts who dressed up like characters out of "The Munsters" or "The Addams Family".  The generally hammed it up mercilessly while selling commercial products and introducing movies they played off as "scary" or "chilling".  Their were probably dozens of these local part-time "ghouls" in major markets, trying to scare up some ratings with the younger crowd not yet able to go out on Saturday Night.  

Wilkins  was decidedly different.  For one thing, he presented the films dressed as what one critic called "The Nerd-Hipster": the sort of television host who was a cross between comic intellectual Dick Cavett and the Anglo-American swell, Alister Cooke, of "Letter From America" and "Masterpiece Theater" fame. 

Here's some idea what I'm talking about:     


 Wilkins was famous for beginning his programs with admonishments if the film chosen for that evening by the program director was less than top-notch. "Don't stay up tonight," the host would warn. "It' not worth it". I remember being quite amused one weekend night as a kid when he opened up a copy of the tube-junkie's bible, "TV Guide" and began reading  aloud to viewers what was on other channels in the Bay Area and how discerning viewers would be better off checking out other option besides the trashy 'Dracula Vs. Frankenstein' (1971) film that was on for that night.

How did Wilkins get away with this and stay on the air? It was because he was honest about what he presented and, because of that, people who didn't normally watch horror films tuned in just for his ironic sense of wit and humorous asides to the main features.  The ratings for his shows were through the roof compared to other independent television offerings, according  to a recent article in San Francisco's "Metro" magazine. He also offered some interesting interviews with minor and sometimes major stars and directors and f/x people from the horror and fantasy side of the television and film industry.  

The 9:00 showing, as I said, was usually the newest and often the lesser of the double feature.      I'll spare you the bad previews and show one I remember that was on one night and was pretty good, 1973's "The Legend of Hell House", starring a good cast with a screenplay by top notch science-fiction writer Richard Matheson.  (Warning: the following contains scenes of "bad, bad kitty" behavior and the breaking of nice crockery.) 

   

The later show was the one I usually looked forward to.  Not all of them were classics, but they were films made by better and more experienced hands than those who cranked out flicks from the 50's and 60's with titles like "The Horror of Party Beach" and  "Attack of the Mushroom People".  And the photography was certainly better, as this video tribute to early sound horror films proves:


When Halloween comes around, I remember fondly all the  movies I saw as a youngster, some scary and some silly.  But, since he passed away this year at age 76, I also fondly recall the sarcasm and good humored fun that Bob Wilkins brought to the presentation of these "creature features."    













Pictured below: Northern California's favorite Saturday night horror film host, the inimitable Bob Wilkins, interviewing Christopher Lee on the set of "Creature Features" sometime in the 1970's. 

8 comments:

  1. A thoroughly seasonal topic for Halloween Doug, "The Legend of Hell House" clip is particularly spine chilling.
    Christopher Lee was knighted today by Prince Charles which is a horror double bill all in itself I think.

    Creature Features sounds like a great programme, it was good of Bob Wilkins to give nervous individuals reasons to change channels without having to admit to the jitters

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  2. "How did Wilkins get away with this and stay on the air? It was because he was honest about what he presented and, because of that, people who didn't normally watch horror films tuned in just for his ironic sense of wit and humorous asides to the main features. The ratings for his shows were through the roof compared to other independent television offerings, according to a recent article in San Francisco's "Metro" magazine. He also offered some interesting interviews with minor and sometimes major stars and directors and f/x people from the horror and fantasy side of the television and film industry."

    Most interesting person to say the least.

    I am trying to think of one that I recall that came out in upstate at around this time. However I can recall the time that the exorcist first came out and remember how teenagers were running out of theatres at this same time.

    How things have changed...

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  3. LOL. Yes, Sir Christopher deserves his long-awaited honor for actually deliberately scaring millions for so long. The same cannot be said, I'm afraid, for the Boorish Prince Charlie, whose endless VIP touring about for no purpose, the "will he/won't he marry the girl" romances in the 70s and on to the tawdry infidelities of the 80s and 90's ...what a great legacy for the nation! He has grated on nerves throughout the world. "Excalibore!"

    Perhaps the next "Legend of Hell House" could be filmed in Buckingham Palace, its probably drafty and spooky enough with all the ghosts of mistresses past. All the profits from the film could go to benefit the homeless in the other parts of London.

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  4. Wilkins was a smart guy who broke the mold of what people expected from a horror film host. I was glad he lived long enough to be appreciated. In my neck of the woods, there's been no one like him before or since.

    I never saw "The Exorcist". I'm not much of a fan of gross-out horror, and when it came out I was not into religion or watching people vomit. Probably was better than that... in parts at least.

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  5. Thanks Frank. I wanted to do something about the ironic Mr. Wilkins and the way he handled a sometimes motley bag of films ... this seemed a good time.

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  6. "The Ledend of Hell House" looks like it's all action! To think they set the table so nicely. Wait until his Mummy sees the mess! "That's the last Halloween party you have my boy!"

    I can't say I've heard of Bob Wilkins, Doug. Better known to Americans maybe?

    A super Halloween write up with a couple of good clips, thank you.

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  7. "Legend of Hell House" is one of the better horror films from that era I think. I think of it as kind of a bridge between the gothic scariness of spooky house films like "The Haunting" (1963) and the grimmer slasher films that never peaked my interest, like "Halloween" (1979).

    And, yes, "mummy" would have had a fit :-) I can see the guests blaming the poor domestic staff for all those broken dishes and cups in the table scene. That demonic spirit has no sense of etiquette! Even Americans know you never smash glasses and throw knives and platters at guests before the second round of sherry is served! Hell House garden parties must have sheer chaos!

    Alas, Bob Wilkins is only well-known in television as a northern California media personality, Cassandra. His career came in the days before major satellite stations came out of anywhere but New York or Los Angeles.

    Part of the charm of his show was his humorous references to local events and wry remarks Bob would make about fake horrific events in the dull, small suburban towns around San Francisco and Sacramento. In some ways, now that I think of it, he might have been inspired by the understatement and wry wit one finds in Alfred Hitchcock's remarks in film trailers like "The Birds" and his anthology series from 1955-63, which remained popular in reruns over here for years.

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