Halloween has long been one of my favorite holidays, so I’m really happy to have a couple of things going this particular October 31 that may be of interest. I’m also proud to say that both of them come to you via the public airwaves.
First, at 8 p.m. Tulsa time, Scott Gregory and I co-hosting The Hidden Sixties Halloween Show on Public Radio Tulsa, 89.5 FM (and streaming live anywhere in the doggone universe at publicradiotulsa.org). The latest in our semi-regular series of broadcasts featuring rock ’n’ roll, jazz, and pop music you may not have heard since the ‘60s — if you’ve heard it at all –this one runs the gamut from the Bonzo Dog Band to Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross; Duke Ellington to the Del-Aires. And you know we’ve got some Bobby “Boris” Pickett in there, as well as the creepiest of all the ‘60s teenage death ballads.
Please join us at 8 p.m. Halloween night for a full hour of weirdness on a couple of levels, as Scott Gregory and I proudly let our freak flags fly with The Hidden Sixties Halloween Special. My brother, Mark, and I plan to listen as we’re handing out candy to the costumed kids coming down Ninth Street in Chelsea, Oklahoma, continuing a tradition started at that same address more than 60 years ago.
And then — the very same night — it’s time for the new TV series Film Noir Theatre, debuting at 10 p.m. on RSUTV, Channel 35. (Tulsa-area cable and satellite subscribers should check their listings for the station, which may be different.) Jennifer Sterling and I, with the invaluable help of director Rachelle Faught and her crackerjack crew, co-host this six-episode presentation, which will air in the same time slot for five more weeks after the debut.
Each week we’re bringing you a classic film noir, one of those dark and fatalistic Hollywood films that flourished for a time after World War II, thanks to our great friends Bob and Don Blair at VCI Entertainment. (Check out their terrific collection of movies out at www.vcihomevideo.com)
On Halloween night, we’ve got one of the best to kick things off: It’s Detour, the tawdry and ragged 1945 thriller from that weirdly fascinating Poverty Row studio PRC, directed by the low-budget auteur Edgar Ulmer and starring B-pic leading man Tom Neal. There may not be any monsters in it — although that depends on your definition of the term — but it’s sure perfect for Halloween, because if it doesn’t give you a case of the heebie-jeebies, you don’t have a heartbeat.
As a guy with a face for radio, I really stepped outside the old comfort zone with Film Noir Theatre so it’s quite possible that I may give you the heebie-jeebies as well. Rachelle and Jennifer made me look as good as possible — and Jennifer looks great — but it may not have been enough. Luckily for all concerned, there’s more movie Friday night than there is me, and for my money Detour is one of the best ever.
Check it, and us, out at 10 p.m. Halloween night, on RSUTV, Channel 35.
