Elvira's Movie Macabre
Title card
Also known asMovie Macabre with Elvira, Mistress of the Dark
GenreComedy
Horror
Science fiction
Presented byCassandra Peterson
StarringCassandra Peterson
John Paragon
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes140
Original release
NetworkKHJ-TV (1981–86)
ReleaseSeptember 26, 1981 (1981-09-26) 
November 2, 1986 (1986-11-02)

Elvira's Movie Macabre (titled on-screen as Movie Macabre with Elvira, Mistress of the Dark in its original run), or simply Movie Macabre, is an American hosted horror movie television program that originally aired locally from 1981 to 1986. The show features B movies, particularly those in the horror and science fiction genres, and is hosted by Elvira, a character with a black dress and heaven bump hairstyle, played by Cassandra Peterson. Elvira occasionally interrupts the films with comments and jokes, and in some episodes receives phone calls from a character called "the Breather" (John Paragon).

The popularity of the show led to a feature film, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, which was released in 1988. The character returned in the 2001 film Elvira's Haunted Hills. The show was revived in 2010 as Elvira's Movie Macabre, in which Elvira hosted public domain films. This revival aired on This TV until 2011. Elvira returned as a horror hostess in 2014 with 13 Nights of Elvira, a 13-episode series produced by Hulu. In 2021, she recreated her show for a one-night movie marathon on the streaming service Shudder to celebrate the show's 40th anniversary. The special was called Elvira's 40th Anniversary, Very Scary, Very Special Special.

History

Peterson dressed as Elvira at the 2006 San Francisco Gay Pride parade

In 1981, six years after the death of Larry Vincent, who starred as host Sinister Seymour of a Los Angeles weekend horror show called Fright Night, show producers began to bring the show back.[1]

The producers decided to use a hostess. They asked 1950s' horror hostess Maila Nurmi to revive The Vampira Show. Nurmi worked on the project for a short time, but quit when the producers would not hire Lola Falana to play Vampira.[2] The station sent out a casting call, and Peterson auditioned and won the role. Producers left it up to her to create the role's image. She and her best friend, Robert Redding, came up with the sexy goth/vampire look after producers rejected her original idea to look like Sharon Tate's character in The Fearless Vampire Killers.[3] They created the Elvira look by drawing inspiration from a Kabuki makeup book and the hairstyles of The Ronettes.[4][5]

Shortly before the first taping, producers received a cease and desist letter from Nurmi. Besides the similarities in the format and costumes, Elvira's closing line for each show, wishing her audience "Unpleasant dreams," was notably similar to Vampira's closer: "Bad dreams, darlings..." uttered as she walked off down a misty corridor. The court ruled in favor of Peterson, holding that "'likeness' means actual representation of another person's appearance, and not simply close resemblance." Peterson claimed that Elvira was nothing like Vampira aside from the basic design of the black dress and black hair. Nurmi claimed that Vampira's image was based on Morticia Addams, a character in Charles Addams's cartoons that appeared in The New Yorker magazine.[6]

Peterson's Elvira character rapidly gained notice with her tight-fitting, low-cut, cleavage-displaying black gown. Adopting the flippant tone of a California "Valley girl", she brought a satirical, sarcastic edge to her commentary. She reveled in dropping risqué double entendres and making frequent jokes about her cleavage. In an AOL Entertainment News interview, Peterson said, "I figured out that Elvira is me when I was a teenager. She's a spastic girl. I just say what I feel and people seem to enjoy it." Her camp humor, sex appeal, and good-natured self-mockery made her popular with late-night movie viewers and her popularity soared.[7]

Elvira was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and other talk shows. She also produced a long-running series of Halloween-themed television commercials for Coors Light Beer and Mug Root Beer (her trademark cleavage was concealed for the Coors campaign). She appeared in guest roles on television dramas such as CHiPs, The Fall Guy and Fantasy Island and appeared on numerous awards shows as a presenter. Although she is known primarily as Elvira, Peterson has made out-of-costume appearances as herself for television interviews and specials.

In 1982, with the success of Movie Macabre, Knott's Theme Parks hired Elvira to replace Seymour as the host of its annual Halloween Haunt during October. Elvira appeared nightly at the park, live on stage with a Halloween-themed musical comedy revue similar to her Mamma's Boys act from the 1970s.

The Elvira character rapidly evolved from obscure cult figure to a lucrative brand name. She was associated with many products through the 1980s and 1990s, including Halloween costumes, comic books,[8][9] action figures, trading cards, pinball machines, Halloween decor, model kits, calendars, perfume and dolls. She has appeared on the cover of Femme Fatales magazine five times. Her popularity reached its zenith with the release of the feature film Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, on whose script, written directly for the screen, Peterson collaborated with John Paragon and Sam Egan.[10]

Episode list

Season 1

EpisodeFilm shownEp #Date
01Grave of the Vampire1September 26, 1981
02Silent Night, Bloody Night2October 3, 1981
03The House That Screamed3October 10, 1981
04The Fall of the House of Usher4October 17, 1981
05The Dunwich Horror5October 25, 1981
06Blacula6November 1, 1981
07The Comedy of Terrors7November 7, 1981
08The Thing with Two Heads8November 15, 1981
09The Werewolf of Washington9November 21, 1981
10Cry of the Banshee10November 29, 1981
11Count Yorga, Vampire11December 5, 1981
12Murders in the Rue Morgue12December 12, 1981
13Baron Blood13December 27, 1981
14Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde14January 3, 1982
15The Crimson Cult15January 10, 1982
16The Murder Clinic16January 16, 1982
17Horror Express17January 23, 1982
18The Incredible 2-Headed Transplant18January 30, 1982
19Horror Hospital19February 6, 1982
20Rattlers20February 13, 1982
21Disciple of Death21February 20, 1982
22Frankenstein22February 28, 1982
23The Devil's Rain23March 6, 1982
24Psychic Killer24March 13, 1982
25Necromancy25March 20, 1982
26The Spectre of Edgar Allan Poe26March 27, 1982
30The Deathmaster30April 1, 1982
27Peeping Tom27April 3, 1982
28Legacy of Blood28April 10, 1982
29Deathdream29April 18, 1982
31Beware! The Blob31May 1, 1982
32Good Against Evil32May 8, 1982
33The Brotherhood of Satan33May 15, 1982
34The Mad Magician34May 22, 1982
35The Turn of the Screw35May 22, 1982
36Count Dracula's Great Love36May 29, 1982
37Jennifer37June 12, 1982
38Masque of the Red Death38June 19, 1982
39The Tomb of Ligeia39June 26, 1982
40The Incredible Melting Man40July 3, 1982
41The Fearless Vampire Killers41July 10, 1982
42Terror House42July 17, 1982
43The Baby43July 24, 1982
44The House of Seven Corpses44July 31, 1982
45Psychomania45August 7, 1982
46Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?46August 14, 1982

Season 2

EpisodeFilm shownEp #Date
01War-Gods of the Deep47September 4, 1982
02The Oblong Box48September 11, 1982
03The Raven49September 25, 1982
04The Conqueror Worm50October 2, 1982
05And Now the Screaming Starts!51October 9, 1982
06Blood from the Mummy's Tomb52October 16, 1982
07Madhouse53October 23, 1982
08The House That Dripped Blood54October 30, 1982
09Tales of Terror55October 30, 1982
10The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde56November 7, 1982
11The Day It Came to Earth57November 13, 1982
12The Blood on Satan's Claw58November 20, 1982
13Crucible of Horror59November 27, 1982
14Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde60December 4, 1982
15The Devil Within Her61December 12, 1982
16The Bat People62December 19, 1982
17The Return of Count Yorga63January 1, 1983
18Inn of the Frightened People64January 8, 1983
19Craze65January 29, 1983
20The Monster Club66February 6, 1983
21The Creature's Revenge67February 12, 1983
22Beast of the Dead68February 19, 1983
23The Island of Living Horror69February 27, 1983
24The Devil's Wedding Night70March 5, 1983
25The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism71March 12, 1983
26Curse of the Vampires72March 20, 1983
27The Vampire People73March 26, 1983
28Scream and Scream Again74April 2, 1983
29The Human Vapor75April 9, 1983
30Lemora: A Child's Tale of the Supernatural76April 16, 1983
31The Haunted Palace77June 18, 1983
32The Doomsday Machine78August 27, 1983

Season 3

EpisodeFilm shownEp #Date
01They Came from Beyond Space79September 17, 1983
02Blue Sunshine80October 1, 1983
03Screamers81October 29, 1983
04Willard82November 5, 1983
05The Time Travelers83November 12, 1983
06Maneater of Hydra84November 20, 1983
07They Came From Within85December 11, 1983
08Gamera: Super Monster86December 24, 1983
09New Year's Evil87December 31, 1983
10Homebodies88January 28, 1984
11Dracula89February 4, 1984
12Attack of the Killer Tomatoes90March 3, 1984
13Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype91March 17, 1984
14Alien Contamination92March 24, 1984
15Village of the Damned93April 14, 1984
16Monstroid94May 12, 1984
17The Beast in the Cellar95May 19, 1984
18The House of the Dead96May 26, 1984
19Circus of Horrors97June 10, 1984
20Pigs98June 17, 1984
21Schizoid99June 24, 1984
22The Godsend100June 30, 1984
23Blood Bath101July 8, 1984
24Kiss Daddy Goodbye102July 14, 1984
25The Love War103July 28, 1984
26The Human Duplicators104August 5, 1984
27Mark of the Devil105August 11, 1984
28So Sad About Gloria106August 19, 1984
29Night of the Zombies107August 26, 1984

Season 4

EpisodeFilm shownEp #Date
01Inn of the Damned108September 1, 1984
02Tombs of the Blind Dead109September 8, 1984
03Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks110September 15, 1984
04The Capture of Bigfoot111September 22, 1984
05Village of the Giants112November 3, 1984
06The Legend of Hell House113November 10, 1984
07The Other114November 25, 1984
08The Navy vs. the Night Monsters115December 1, 1984
09The Last Bride of Salem116January 12, 1985
10Yeti: The Giant of the 20th Century117February 9, 1985
11The Revenge of Frankenstein118March 10, 1985
12Curse of Bigfoot119March 24, 1985
13The Great Alligator120May 4, 1985

Season 5

EpisodeFilm shownEp #Date
01House of Dark Shadows121June 22, 1986
02The Horror of Death122June 29, 1986
03Kill and Go Hide123July 6, 1986
04The Legend of Lizzie Borden124July 13, 1986
05The Mad Butcher125July 20, 1986
06The Meateater126July 27, 1986
07The Mighty Gorga127August 3, 1986
08Scream, Baby, Scream128August 10, 1986
09Straight Jacket129August 17, 1986
10They Saved Hitler's Brain130August 24, 1986
11Tomb of the Living Dead131August 31, 1986
12The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll132September 7, 1986
13The Boy Who Cried Werewolf133September 14, 1986
14Let's Scare Jessica to Death134September 21, 1986
15Horror of the Zombies135September 28, 1986
16House of the Long Shadows136October 5, 1986
17Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things137October 12, 1986
18Empire of the Ants138October 19, 1986
19Nightwing139October 26, 1986
20Nightmare City140November 2, 1986

Revivals

Midnight Madness (1990s)

In the 1990s, Rhino Home Video released Midnight Madness, a collection of films hosted by Elvira, on VHS.[11]

Elvira's Movie Macabre (2010–11)

The logo used for Elvira's Movie Macabre (2010–11)

In September 2010, Elvira's Movie Macabre returned to television syndication in the United States, airing on This TV.[12] This revival saw Elvira hosting public domain films. 26 episodes were produced; six were left unaired, but were released on both DVD and iTunes.

s#e#Film shownepWeek of
s1e01Night of the Living Dead1September 20, 2010
s1e02The Terror2September 27, 2010
s1e03The Giant Gila Monster3October 4, 2010
s1e04The Brain That Wouldn't Die4October 11, 2010
s1e05The Satanic Rites of Dracula5October 18, 2010
s1e06Scared to Death6October 25, 2010
s1e07The Werewolf of Washington7November 1, 2010
s1e08Eegah8November 8, 2010
s1e09Teenagers from Outer Space9November 15, 2010
s1e10Santa Claus Conquers the Martians10December 20, 2010
s1e11I Eat Your Skin11January 17, 2011
s1e12Don't Look in the Basement12January 24, 2011
s1e13Untamed Women13January 31, 2011
s1e14Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter14February 7, 2011
s1e15Lady Frankenstein15February 14, 2011
s1e16The Manster16February 21, 2011
s1e17Tormented17April 25, 2011
s1e18Manos: The Hands of Fate18May 2, 2011
s1e19Hercules and the Captive Women19May 9, 2011
s1e20A Bucket of Blood20May 16, 2011
s1e21Attack of the Giant Leeches21unaired
s1e22Beast from Haunted Cave22unaired
s1e23Monster from a Prehistoric Planet23unaired
s1e24The Killer Shrews24unaired
s1e25The Wasp Woman25unaired
s1e26The Wild Women of Wongo26unaired

13 Nights of Elvira (2014)

13 Nights of Elvira was produced for Hulu by Brainstorm Media. A new episode streamed each day through Halloween.[13] The series teamed with film distributor Full Moon Features; it provided the majority of the films chosen for the series.

EpisodeFilm shownDate
01Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of DeathOctober 19, 2014
02Puppet MasterOctober 20, 2014
03Demonic ToysOctober 21, 2014
04HobgoblinsOctober 22, 2014
05The Gingerdead ManOctober 23, 2014
06DollmanOctober 24, 2014
07TrancersOctober 25, 2014
08OblivionOctober 26, 2014
09Shrunken HeadsOctober 27, 2014
10Hideous!October 28, 2014
11Evil BongOctober 29, 2014
12SeedpeopleOctober 30, 2014
13Night of the Living DeadOctober 31, 2014

Elvira's 40th Anniversary, Very Scary, Very Special Special (2021)

To celebrate the original show's 40th anniversary, Cassandra Peterson revived her role for a special one-night movie marathon, which premiered live on Shudder, the horror streaming service. The special came out on September 25, 2021, the same week as her memoir, Yours Cruelly, Elvira.[14]

Film shownYear made
01Elvira: Mistress of the Dark1988
02House on Haunted Hill1959
03The City of the Dead1960
04Messiah of Evil1973

DVD releases

Time Life

In 2004, Time Life released a series of special Elvira DVDs titled Elvira's Horror Classics, which was done in a similar fashion to Movie Macabre. There were seven films total in the series. There was a 3-DVD box set for six of the seven films titled Elvira's Box of Horrors. This box set consists of three double feature DVDs. The films featured were all in the public domain. They included:

The films were also released on four stand-alone DVDs. Three of the four DVDs were double features under the Elvira's Horror Classics title. Night Of The Living Dead was a single feature DVD without the Elvira's Horror Classics title branding on the DVD case art. It was titled as Night of the Living Dead "Hosted by Elvira". The disc itself does have the Elvira's Horror Classics branding on it.

Shout! Factory

Shout! Factory has released a small number of Movie Macabre episodes to DVD, in both single and double feature format. The DVDs allow the material to be shown either complete with Elvira's interruptions or uninterrupted. Unlike the original broadcasts, the films are complete and uncensored.[15]

Single DVDs

Double feature DVDs

E1 Entertainment

Following the revival of Elvira's Movie Macabre in 2011, E1 Entertainment began releasing episodes of the new series on DVD. Unlike the Shout! Factory editions, these films were released in their edited format as aired in syndication.

Single DVDs

Double feature DVDs

Quadruple feature sets

See also

References

  1. Boone, Brian (October 23, 2018). "What Elvira, Mistress of the Dark Looks Like Today". Nicki Swift. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  2. Wax, Alyse (December 11, 2019). "This Day in Horror: Happy Birthday Maila Nurmi aka Vampira". Dread Central. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  3. Pierce-Bohen, Kayleena (June 2, 2020). "Elvira's Movie Macabre: 10 Things Fans Never Knew About The Horror Show". Screen Rant. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  4. Stardust, Lisa. "Cassandra Peterson on Elvira's Legacy, Goth Glam, and Feminine Power". InStyle.
  5. Peterson, Cassandra (24 September 2021). "How the Iconic Late-Night TV Character of Elvira Came to Be". Literary Hub.
  6. "Nurmi v. Peterson". Vampira: The Movie. March 25, 2007. Archived from the original on 3 October 2021. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  7. "About Cassandra Peterson". MovieWeb. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  8. Elvira's House of Mystery DC Comics (11 issues) at the Grand Comics Database
  9. Elvira, Mistress of the Dark Claypool Comics (166 issues) at the Grand Comics Database
  10. Pierce-Steinmetz, Johanna (September 30, 1988). "'Elvira' True to Star's Deadpan Humor Trademark". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  11. "'MST3K' Arms Rhino Home Video". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 17. April 27, 1996. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on August 18, 2022. Retrieved August 18, 2022.
  12. Coplan, Chris (September 30, 2010). "Check Out: The Jack White-produced Theme for Elvira's Movie Macabre". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved June 7, 2020.
  13. Turek, Ryan (October 2, 2014). "Elvira Heads to Hulu for All-New Series". Shock Till You Drop. Archived from the original on October 5, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
  14. Yates, Jonny (September 23, 2010). "Newly-out Queer Icon Elvira celebrates 40th Anniversary with 'Very Special' Event". PinkNews. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  15. Klippert, Thor (November 8, 2007). "DVD Review: Elvira's Movie Macabre Double Features". CHUD.com. Archived from the original on December 4, 2008. Retrieved July 18, 2009.
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