Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow (1959)

4 years ago
47

#GhostofDragstripHollow #Halloween #Elvira
Let's have fun watching Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow from 1959!
Review from Shadow's B-Movie Graveyard
http://www.bmoviegraveyard.com/
"Before the mid 1950s, the protagonists in horror and science fiction films were almost always adults, be they knowledgeable scientists, devoted soldiers, fearless explorers, every day Joe Blows caught up in extraordinary and/or terrifying events or even shifty individuals out to benefit themselves by any means necessary. Somewhere along the line however, somebody noticed that the bulk of the audience flocking to such films was comprised of teenagers. Why not appeal to those youths even more by producing and marketing such films directly for that target audience?

James H. Nicholson, a sales manager for the RealArt Production Company, and Hollywood lawyer Samuel Z. Arkoff were the first to realize the ticket buying power of that teenage audience. They formed the American Releasing Corporation in 1954 in order to cater to that newly emerging youth market. Two years later the name was changed to American International Pictures, but the focus on youth-oriented action, comedy and horror films remained. Thus began thirty years of AIP films, categorized by low budgets, quick shooting schedules and all the problems that such measures usually beget. Still, in many cases the films were loaded with a sense of fun – the epitome of what the “B” movie represents in our day and age.

While Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow may not be remembered as one of their better efforts, nor will it be recalled as one of the worst, it can be said that this film fills a special niche – the comedy-horror, and it’s look at teen culture from that era is almost fascinating. Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow is the quintessential AIP film: cheap and quick. Things such as story, characterization, drama, action and relatively cool-looking FX were left by the wayside in order to churn these things out. Why bother with such things when the kids paying to see the film would be equally satisfied with cute girls, fast cars and the occasional spook with some Rock ‘n’ Roll thrown into the mix for good measure? The ingredients for many movies from American International Pictures were basically the same, yet they managed to produce a variety of flicks that are still loved to this day. At a time when the big studios were spending major bucks to lure TV viewers back into the theater, AIP was making a killing because they knew what the core audience wanted, and they delivered. This simple method was the epitome of the idea of supply and demand."

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