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I’m confused! I look a little like Vincent Price, but I sound nothing like him! And why is that tree trying to eat my wife?
Provided
Gerardo De Leon and Eddie Romero, two major names in the Filipino film world, made four “Blood Island” films between them. The first was released in 1959 and is a modest but stylish black and white horror movie. The remaining three were made a decade-plus later, and are properly schlocky.
The whole shebang is now available in a slipcased set from Severin Films.
Terror is a Man (1959): Odd economy reworking of “The Island of Dr. Moreau.” Odd because it has a lot of weird plot that gets in the way of the story, and economy because there is only one man-animal hybrid, and because they shot it in black and white. Good production values throughout, which is also confusing when you’re expecting dreck. Decent monster and no nekkidity, because it was 1959.
The universe comes back into balance with the next film in the series, “Brides of Blood Island” (1968). Shot in color, very little plot to get in the way of the story, man-eating plants, day-for-night continuity problems, cut-rate Desi Arnaz, bargain basement Vincent Price, one bald henchman, mild bimbotation, a bit of gratuitous nekkidity, a sex-crazed beast, mutant transformation, a regrettable and lengthy dance of triumph scene, and nuclear radiation (which explains the art in the castle). I suspect Sam Raimi had this flick in the back of his mind for the first couple of “Evil Dead” movies.
The chlorophyll monster in Mad Doctor of Blood Island doesn’t stand up to close inspection, so the filmmakers wisely don’t let the audience get a good look.Provided
The Mad Doctor of Blood Island (1968): Well, here we are back at Blood Island. This time we’re looking for the cause of a strange disease that turns the natives green. Turns out it’s simple -- crazy Dr. Lorca shot a cancer patient up with a rare chlorophyll strain he found on the island. It’s just science. Gratuitous nekkidity, green blood, dismemberment, a sort of luau/orgy hybrid, and every time the monster is about to do something the camera zooms in and out rapidly, perhaps to prevent the audience from getting a good look at the lame monster costume. Spoiler: The beast hides out in a lifeboat as the gang sails away from Blood Island, the better to set up…
…Beast of Blood (1971), in which the monster kicks things off immediately by blowing up the boat, perhaps in protest of the producers’ decision to drop the word “island” from the title. Dr. Lorca’s got a whole army of green mutants now, and the islanders aren’t up to much in the resistance department, so it’s up to Bill Foster (John Ashley) and Myra the reporter (Celeste Yarnall) to get things sorted out. Which they do, eventually, but not before there’s some highly dubious surgery, a henchman who can only grunt, the usual nekkidity, an artificial head that talks. and plenty of extra fake-looking blood. Bonus points for the hero’s Modified Elvis haircut, a bold choice in 1971. This movie is an excellent example of the plot getting in the way of the story, but when a man sets out to watch all four Blood Island movies, he’s got to tough it all the way through.
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Willy Yahn at bat. He logged five RBIs and three runs for the Trojans June 29.
Copey Rollins
LITCHFIELD — The Tri-State Baseball League entered its 91st season this past May.
The historic league features players aged 16 and up from Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts.
The games are played with wooden bats and provide spectators a free opportunity to watch competitive baseball in local parks on both weekdays and weekends.
Games last either seven or nine innings, depending on factors such as day of the week, and have a combination of strong high schoolers, college players and even players who were drafted to the majors. The games make for a fun yet competitive environment and are open to spectators to come and watch.
In Northwest Connecticut, athletes play for the Tri-Town Trojans: a club trying for its fifth consecutive league championship.
The team is coached by Housatonic Valley Regional High School varsity baseball head coach Bobby Chatfield. Willy Yahn, an HVRHS alum previously drafted by the Baltimore Orioles, plays infield for the reigning champs.
The Trojans hosted the Bethlehem Plowboys on Sunday, June 29, at Community Field in Litchfield.
The Trojans and Plowboys have a storied past and have faced off in the league final series each of the past three years. The rivalry was palpable in their most recent meeting.
Tri-Town prevailed in the hard-fought game with a final score of 9-7. The Plowboys started to mount a comeback near the end, scoring four runs in the final inning. But it was too little, too late.
Bethlehem disputed some calls with the umpires and became visibly frustrated. The Trojans maintained the poise of four-time champions, seemingly enjoying the match on a beautiful Sunday morning as they earned the win.
After the result, Tri-Town advanced to a record of 6-1 and Bethlehem moved to 8-3.
On the New York side of the border, the Amenia Monarchs play at Doc Bartlett Field in Beekman Park.
In a game against the Winsted Whalers Sunday, June 29, Amenia won a 9-0 shutout and gained some much needed momentum after a close 2-0 loss earlier in the week against the Valley Kraken.
For schedules and info, visit tristatebaseballct.com
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Kent’s Swift House future uncertain
Jul 09, 2025
KENT — At its July 2 meeting, the Board of Selectmen was divided in its opinion on the future of the historic Swift House, which was denied renovation funds in the last allocation of the state’s Small Town Economic Assistance Program, known commonly as STEAP grants.
The STEAP finances would have paid for the transfer of Kent Food Bank to an expanded space in the Swift House, moved the town’s social services offices to the building, and several other projects, including fitting the building for ADA compliance and the addition of several meeting rooms.
The question of how to best use the town-owned building, estimated to be among the older extant structures in Kent, has been on BOS agendas for years. Selectman Glenn Sanchez said he’s been thinking about the Swift House for “two terms,” and he’s still determined to find an answer.
“Even though the STEAP grant didn’t come through for us, I am undeterred,” Sanchez said. “I am not ready to punt.”
First Selectman Marty Lindenmayer, however, took a more ambivalent tone, suggesting a vote where residents decide if it stays under municipal ownership or is sold to a private developer.
Lindenmayer expressed that moving the food bank had been an unpopular idea, and that he’d rather see funds budgeted for municipal building improvements go towards recarpeting, rewiring and otherwise updating Town Hall and the Community Center.
Lindenmayer said it should be up to the town to answer the question, “Do we see this as a town building?”
“I do,” said Selectman Lynn Mellis Worthington. “In terms of location… there’s nothing better,” she said, explaining that the town would benefit from having a facility at the other end of downtown from Town Hall.
Lindenmayer also argued that the town may have to go it alone to fund future Swift House projects. “Historically, I think it’s important to the town of Kent… I’m not sure the state of Connecticut has that same view anymore,” he said of an assessment done by the State Historic Preservation Office.
Mellis Worthington disagreed with Lindenmayer’s takeaway from the appraisal, which she felt was positive. She said she was critical of SHPO’s process and lack of communication with the town, but she felt it wasn’t to “diss [the town] about the historical significance of the building.”
She and Sanchez agreed the BOS should have a specific plan in place for the building before bringing it to a town vote, so that residents may see the possibilities for the structure before voting the building out of town ownership.
“It needs strategic thinking. It needs a plan,” said Mellis Worthington.
The Board hinted that the future Swift House could be a primary focus of an Economic Development Committee, which may enter the town’s roster of boards and commissions in the near future.
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Judi Jones teaches youngsters the art of hula hooping Tuesday, July 1.
Patrick L. Sullivan
FALLS VILLAGE — A group of adults and children paraded and gyrated with hula hoops on the lawn of the David M. Hunt Library Tuesday, July 1.
They were led by the seemingly inexhaustible Judi Jones of Creative Game Parties, aka “Energizer.”
Prior to the start of the event Jones said some 18 years ago she “chanced” onto an original Wham-O brand Hula Hoop at a camp store and was struck by the possibilities.
She makes her own hula hoops out of irrigation tubing in different gauges, gaffer’s tape and decorative tape.
The term “hula hoop,” originally a trademarked name, has become a generic term, much like another Wham-o product, the Frisbee.
Jones had the group of youngsters and a couple of sporting adults cavorting around the lawn with the hoops — sometimes over the head, or around the neck, or in the traditional and familiar hip swirl.
This frantic activity was accompanied by a decidedly eclectic mix of music, starting with Ella Fitzgerald essaying George and Ira Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm.”
The secret to the latter is a forward and back motion on the hips, not side to side.
The library’s Brittany Spear-Baron proved particularly adept, as did young Noah Sher.
Brittany Spear-Baron found the rhythm on the David M. Hunt Library lawn.Patrick L. Sullivan
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