Movie Action Magazine

This was a short lived (6 issues, Nov. '35 - June '36) pulp from publisher Street & Smith. The editor was John L. Nanovic and it featured prose adaptions of the movie scripts. I wish it had lasted longer, if only to get more covers like the two below!

Jan. 1936

June 1936

Before FM pt. 5

Creature From The Black Lagoon

This movie certainly got a lot of press (including some from Marilyn Monroe, who discusses the movie with Tom Ewell after a screening in The Seven Year Itch), but not very many magazine articles. Here are a couple, one fairly common and one very rare.

Mechanix Illustrated

May 1954

The Skin Diver

Aug. 1954

Before FM Cover Gallery

Here are a few favorite pieces of movie monster/sci-fi art from the covers of a wide variety of pre-1958 magazines.

This Jan. 1934 issue of Ten Dectective Aces has an obvious swipe of Chaney's "Phantom" face. Not sure what story is being illustrated, but it's not one by Gaston Leroux.

Jan. 1934

















And speaking of Lon Chaney, here's a nice portrait (sans makeup) from the June 1930 issue of Movie Monthly.

June 1930

















This cover of Thrilling Wonder Stories, by pulp legend Howard V. Brown, illustrates the movie version of the Henry Kuttner story. One of my favorites!

June 1940

















Sci-Fi Time! Destination Moon probably got more press than any other '50s sci-fi movie and the May 1950 issue of Popular Mechanics has one of the best covers.

May 1950

















Ziff-Davis Published a special issue of Amazing Stories with a novelization (by Henry Slesar) of Columbia Pictures' 20 Million Miles To Earth.

1957

Before FM pt. 3

Makeup and SPFX

Before the invention of the monster magazine, you got your fantasy film coverage wherever you could find it. Modern Mechanix & Inventions was one of those places.

First up is Makeup Secrets of Movie Horror Pictures, featuring Karloff and Jack Pierce.

Feb. 1933

And some movie magic with Filming Tabletop Earthquakes, featuring Willis O'Brien's spfx for Last Days of Pompeii and Ned Mann and the miniatures crew of Deluge.

Dec. 1935

Before FM pt. 2

Well, let's try and get this thing started up, again, shall we? In the meantime I'll work on the Monster Times gallery. (So, whatever happened to Fangoria scanning all the old issues of TMT?)

Here's a great old cover of Everyday Science and Mechanics from Feb. 1934. It ain't often that you see The Invisible Man on a cover and this is a nice colorful one!

Before FM pt. 1

An occasional look at a magazine cover, or artical (focusing on a fantasy film, or films) that predates the first monster mag.

First up,  LIFE  Magazine Nov. 11, 1957. "Ghastly Look Of A Film Fad". A two page article on the latest batch of "B" sci-fi/horror movies playing at your local drive-in. Click for the large pics.