Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Two Ways to Die!

Two numbskulls try to bump off their innocent old aunt for her money, only she's not so innocent--- not even a little! I love stories like this, reminds me of something William Castle would have had fun filming, so let's do another casting call: David Niven as Leslie, Frank Cady as James, and Ellen Corby as Aunt Lenore.

From the December 1951 issue of Chamber of Chills #24










12 comments:

Unknown said...

Heh. This was like Abbott and Costello, except with everyone trying to kill everyone else.

Mark B said...

I felt as confused as the bumbling brothers when I looked up this comic on the GCD. Then I found out the Harvey Chamber of Chills started with a run of #21-24 in 1951.Then it continued as issues #5-26 in 1952-1954. The game of Comic Issue Bingo can be confusing on these old titles!
Nice art by Vic Donahue. This was definitely Castle material.

jpmorgan said...

The two bumbling killers would almost fit in an Archie comic; I like those sweat drops that fly from their heads when spooks come at them. And yes, this would've made a dandy Castle movie!

sfdoomed said...

Another great story! I'm becoming a bigger fan of Chamber of Chills each day. The artwork was killer, with interesting angles such as the brothers' reflections in the pool and Aunt Lenore's shadow cast on the wall (both on page 2). The ghost tapping on the window was pretty darn creepy, and the head being cracked open on the side of the pool was enough to make Freddie Wertham lose an hour's sleep. Good stuff.

Prof. Grewbeard said...

i've read this story before- must have been an Eerie Pub. remake but i swear i read it here at THOIA- am i going INSANE?!?...

i've seen Castle's Old Dark House- not too impressive. it's more like a remake of The Horror Of It All anyway. i'm pretty sure Pat Boone could beat up Tom Poston and i wish he would've...

Mr. Karswell said...

>Chamber of Chills started with a run of #21-24 in 1951.Then it continued as issues #5-26 in 1952-1954.

Correct! Blondie Comics #20 became Chamber of Chills. It ran for a few issues and then because of it's popularity received it's own series which started numerically where it had left off (if it actually started with #1.) After the Comics Code bullied it's way in, Chamber of Chills became Chamber of Clues at #27 in 1955, and of course lasted only 2 mediocre issues.

>i've seen Castle's Old Dark House- not too impressive.

I agree Prof, it's not terrible but definitely not up to Castle's usual standards either. I guess Shanks, Let's Kill Uncle, and The Spirit is Willing shall remain buried in the vaults until whenever too.

8thRay said...

"And from a distant, northern place came... Aunt Lenore!"

"I'm just taking a short trip away from my home in the Florida swamps..."

Where did this story take place, Rio de Janeiro?

I like how the two seedy bum brothers serve themselves an elegant breakfast al fresco by the pool. Does that seem right for guys like this? And why do they share a bedroom?

Anonymous said...

cool story but the coloring is kind of goofy. the old hag looks like a smurf on page 6

Trevor M said...

I don't think this is a William Castle movie. Just look at the elements. A nasty killer old aunt, the ruthless and obviously gay incestuous brothers -- the whole family all evil, unwholesome, hateful conniving people. The clumsiness of it all. Even the weird coloring.

This is an Andy Milligan movie. The only thing missing is the shaky out of focus camera and a hunchback character.

sfdoomed said...

And my official T.H.O.I.A. shirt came in the mail today!! Hopefully I'll find a good situation sometime soon to take a decent photo of it.

Thanks Karswell!

Mr. Karswell said...

>the old hag looks like a smurf on page 6

Ha! Totally.

>This is an Andy Milligan movie.

HAHA! Even better!

>And my official T.H.O.I.A. shirt came in the mail today!!

Yay! I hope you do take a pic and send it in to me, it's been awhile since anyone has done that... so hey, if you're reading this and have recently purchased a THOIA sirt (or won one in a contest), please email me a photo and I will post it! Enjoy the tee SFD, and like I always say "Wear the hell out of it, cuz after all--- it is an EVIL shirt!"

More Chamber of Chills coming up, and this time things are gonna get REALLY CHILLY!

Bill the Butcher said...

That was pretty damn funny. Aunt Lenore's gleeful face as she arrives at Chez Killers, our incredibly incompetent murderous duo, the hilarious faces on the ceiling, and to top it all Aunt Lenore's "wet footprints" hours after she climbed out of the pool. I don't know which I love best.