B-Movie Theater, a web site celebrating the art and industry of the low-budget film genre, announces the fourth annual inductions in the B-Movie Hall of Fame. The B-Movie Hall of Fame honorees were selected from nearly 2,000 votes submitted by cinephiles from around the world who paid tribute to the classic films and versatile artists of the B-Movie orbit.
For this year’s voting, the B-Movie Hall of Fame provided ballots with 100 B-Movie titles and 100 B-Movie icons to choose from. “The winning votes reflect the timeless quality of the genre,” said Ron Bonk, president and founder of the B-Movie Hall of Fame. “This year, B-Movie icons of years gone by–including Hillary Brooke, Lon Chaney Jr. and George “Gabby” Hayes–were among our top vote getters. However, contemporary B-Movie classics such as ‘The Blair Witch Project’ and ‘El Mariachi’ were also inducted by a high vote volume.”
The newest members of the B-Movie Hall of Fame, categorized by artists and classics, are listed in alphabetical order: ^ B-MOVIE ACTORS ^ FORREST J. ACKERMAN. Legendary movie historian and memorabilia collector who introduced new generations to the joys of sci-fi with his magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland. ^ HILLARY BROOKE. Blonde leading lady who brought class and grace to B-classics including “The Woman in Green” (1946), “Africa Screams” (1949) and “The Lost Continent” (1951). ^ JACKIE CHAN. Excessively prolific actor/director who achieved superstardom in the Hong Kong martial arts genre before achieving (after several attempts) a foothold in American action films. ^ LON CHANEY JR. Perrenial star of B-Movies who achieved screen immortality as the definitive lycanthropic anti-hero in “The Wolf Man” (1941). ^ PETER CUSHING. Versatile British actor best known for his performances in the Hammer horror classics including “The Curse of Frankenstein” (1957) and “Dracula” (1958). ^ TAMARA DOBSON. Groundbreaking blaxploitation action star best known for playing the title role in the 1973 hit “Cleopatra Jones.” ^ GEORGE “GABBY” HAYES. Hirsute comedy relief sidekick in numerous B-Westerns, most notably “Sons of the Pioneers” (1942), “My Pal Trigger” (1946) and “El Paso” (1949). ^ ARTHUR LUBIN. Director who launched the career of Abbott and Costello with the surprise B-Movie hit “Buck Privates” (1941) and then began the popular series starring a sassy talking mule with “Francis” (1951). ^ LEE VAN CLEEF. Character actor best regarded as the ultimate Western villain in “For a Few Dollars More” (1965) and “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” (1966). ^ JAN-MICHAEL VINCENT. Two-fisted leading man who starred in the B-flicks “The Mechanic” (1972), “Buster and Billie” (1974) and “Baby Blue Marine” (1976).
B-MOVIE CLASSICS: ^ ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES! (1978), directed by John DeBello. Camp classic with oversized and overripe tomatoes trying to take over the world. ^ THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999), directed by Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sanchez. No-budget box office blockbuster following three would-be filmmakers who get fatally lost in the woods while searching for an elusive legendary witch. ^ THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS (1962), directed by Steve Sekely. British sci-fi classic in which a meteorite shower blinds most of the population, allowing an experimental plant life to gain power and exercise homicidal tendencies. ^ EL MARIACHI (1992), directed by Robert Rodriguez. The $7,000 Spanish-language action flick in which a traveling musician is mistaken for a hired killer. ^ ENTER THE DRAGON (1973), directed by Robert Clouse. The kung fu classic starring Bruce Lee as a martial artist who infiltrates a drug ring. ^ A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (1964), directed by Sergio Leone. The Italian production that launched the Spaghetti Western genre and established director Leone and star Clint Eastwood as big screen icons. ^ GORGO (1961), directed by Eugene Lourie . British monster classic in which a baby dinosaur is discovered and put on display in London…until his mother comes looking for him! ^ A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984), directed by Wes Craven. Phantasmic killer Freddy Kreuger invades the dreams of a group of teenagers in the first of the highly popular horror series. ^ REPO MAN (1984), directed by Alex Cox. A wild mix of conspiracies and comedy in this cult classic about a punk who finds a weird new world when he takes a job involving automobile repossessions. ^ X, THE MAN WITH X-RAY EYES (1963), directed by Roger Corman. A scientist developing a serum to enable x-ray vision gets more than he bargained for when he uses his own eyes to test the formula.
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