Overview

American filmmaker Ray Dennis Steckler may forever be remembered for his cult classic The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? but his career path is even more fascinating than his strange signature film. Between 1962 and 1986, Steckler wrote, directed, edited and occasionally acted in nine more underground feature films. After his live oddities roadshows helped propel the director to even greater cult infamy, Steckler turned his camera towards the adult film world. Between 1970 and 1984, Steckler directed no fewer than three dozen of these explicit genre pieces. This book covers Steckler's nearly 50 movies, including several lost, incomplete or experimental films. Each entry includes a full list of cast and crew credits, along with a plot synopsis, plenty of images and behind-the-scenes anecdotes. Transcriptions of the author's interviews with Steckler's ex-wife Carolyn Brandt, his daughter Laura H. Steckler, actor Ron Jason and stuntman and actor Gary Kent are included along with an homage chapter and an overview of the director's collectable memorabilia.

Full Product Details

Author:   Christopher Wayne Curry
Publisher:   McFarland & Co Inc
Imprint:   McFarland & Co Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 17.80cm , Height: 1.30cm , Length: 25.40cm
Weight:   0.472kg
ISBN:  

9781476689364

ISBN 10:   1476689369
Pages:   263
Publication Date:   17 February 2023
Recommended Age:   From 18 years
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Table of Contents Acknowledgments Preface Introduction Part One: The Films of Ray Dennis Steckler Wild Guitar (1962) Goof on the Loose (1963) The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became ­Mixed-Up Zombies!!? (1963) The Thrill Killers (1964) Rat Pfink a Boo Boo (1966) The Lemon Grove Kids Meet the Monsters (1967) Body Fever (1969) Sinthia: The Devil’s Doll (1970) Blood Shack (1971) The Hollywood Strangler Meets the Skid Row Slasher (1979) Las Vegas Serial Killer (1986) Part Two: The Adult Films of Ray Dennis Steckler Introduction The Films Part Three: Unfinished Films, Unreleased Films and Compilations Part Four: Homage and Memorabilia Part Five: The Interviews High Hopes to Hard Knocks: Carolyn Brandt on Living and Working with Ray Dennis Steckler Growing Up Steckler: A Conversation with Laura H. Steckler Gary Kent: The Danger God Speaks Have Talent, Will Travel: A Conversation wwith Cult Movie Star Ron Jason Conclusion Bibliography Index

Reviews

Curry's painstaking research brings to life this fascinating and much overlooked director. Essential reading for anyone interested in the incredibly strange world of independent filmmaking. --David Dent, Dark Eyes of London Deep-diving into Steckler's unique filmography requires a guide who understands the full range of delights he offered. Christopher Wayne Curry *is* that guide. --Aaron AuBuchon, associate professor of film, Webster University When it comes to his knowledge of Steckler, author Chris Wayne Curry is no joke. --Andrew Furtado, Severin Films

Curry's painstaking research brings to life this fascinating and much overlooked director. Essential reading for anyone interested in the incredibly strange world of independent filmmaking. --David Dent, Dark Eyes of London Deep-diving into Steckler's unique filmography requires a guide who understands the full range of delights he offered. Christopher Wayne Curry *is* that guide. --Aaron AuBuchon, associate professor of film, Webster University When it comes to his knowledge of Steckler, author Chris Wayne Curry is no joke. --Andrew Furtado, Severin Films The Incredibly Strange Features of Ray Dennis Steckler is the book you never knew you needed about a filmmaker you never knew you needed to learn about. There's nothing particularly strange about Christopher Wayne Curry's new book, but true to its name it is incredible. --Andrew J. Rausch author of The Godfather of Gore Speaks: Herschell Gordon Lewis Discusses His Films and The Cinematic Misadventures of Ed Wood Covering the career of Ray Dennis Steckler is no easy task without either being overly critical or just a love encrusted puff-piece. Curry gives us a bit of both, showing what was really going on, but also why we should love or at least admire Steckler and his work. --Jon Kitley, Kitley's Krypt, author of Discover the Horror Curry's biography of Ray Dennis Steckler is clearly a labor of love and it takes me through a wonderful schlock time warp in the same way as my favorite books on the subject. --David Konow author of Schlock-O-Rama: The Films of Al Adamson and Reel Terror: The Scary, Bloody, Gory, Hundred-Year History of Classic Horror Films

Author Information

Freelance writer Christopher Wayne Curry lives in Indianapolis, Indiana.

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