Bryant Haliday alert

Were you aware that the co-founder of Janus Films spent twenty years in a Benedictine Monastery preparing for priesthood, studied law at Harvard, refurbished the landmark Brattle Theatre into a thriving cinematheque, and acted in a handful of low budget horror movies? Bryant Haliday (1928-1996) was a man of many tastes and talents, and projected an imposing figure on the screen, perhaps best served by the delicious Devil Doll (1964), playing a psychotic magician-ventriloquist haunted by a very nasty dummy.

Check the December 12 schedule at Turner Classic Movies for their late-night broadcast of Haliday’s last feature, Beyond the Fog (1972). Directed by Jim O’Connelly (Berserk!, The Valley of Gwangi), produced by the prolific Richard Gordon, it's also gone under the titles Horror on Snape Island and Tower of Evil. Arguably Haliday’s worst gig as an actor, any chance to see the great man at work is worth staying up late for.