As for entire films, I did see JAWS "in theaters" and when the head pops out of the boat, I (and the two friends I was with) just about levitated over the back of the seats.

1) "...it means someone's...been...in...here..." and then they open the drawer in the greenhouse

2) speculating about its origins when suddenly something...starts tapping...on the table ahead...and the camera remains fixed on their staring faces while slowly pulling back

The music was unforgettable--piano SLAM in 1) and ultra-eerie ghostly sound in 2).
And now class, can anyone tell me the 3 monsters (so far not cited) that were stopped by
1) a torpedo down the gullet
2) a radioactive dart to the throat
3) fire extinguishers--of the CO2 variety!

Good music in the first 2, cheesy theme song in the last.

"...wasn't the radioactive dart to the throat 'The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms'? And the fire extinguishers and the theme song -- would that be 'The Blob'?"

Correct, Peter! Two down, one to go. HAL should have gotten the first one by now per other thread...

PS
Hey H Rocco--Beast From 20,000 Fathoms & ? were MILLION DOLLAR MOVIE staples, just like Rodan

The scariest movie I remember from my childhood is "It! Terror from Beyond Space," or something like that. Same plot as "Alien." I'll never forget the monster punching up through the iron hatch and there was nowhere the crew could run to. (shiver)

TORPEDO TO THE GULLET -- "It Came From Beneath the Sea." Giant Squid was the recipient.

I also want to add my praise to Howard Hawk's "The Thing." One thing I always notice is how the characters talk like real people, stepping all over each other's lines, not waiting till others are finished talking and the banter you hear among the military guys is very realistic.

About "THEM!" Also one of my favorites, but it made too big an impression on me. While in the Navy I had a job as a security guard. One night I was out checking buildings when I heard that awful screeching sound the ants made when communicating with each other. Almost dropped my flashlight (among other things) until I realized it was a loose belt on an air conditioner. Had my .45 loaded and cocked in record time.

BZZZZZT! Wrong! Now repeat after me: "Give me the booze, make me a sergeant."

"E.T." scared me. No joke. When I was going to bed, I was terribly afraid that E.T. would be sitting in the corner next to me!

Ironically that sounds just like a scene from that OTHER Spielberg movie that was in theatres at the same time. Poltergiest. When the little boy is stalked by his own clown doll while he's in bed. That kid was great.

The only thing I've ever seen Nyby's name attached to where he may have actually done the directing is a pair of rather forgettable Twilight Zone episodes. Hooper, on the other hand, has certainly gone on to establish himself far better after his "forced apprenticeship."

THE THING features one of the most shocking and unusual moments in any horror film made up to that date: the casual opening of the door, and there IT already is! That kind of thing has been copied more times than anyone could count. And that horrifying attack sequence we can barely see (the power's out, it's all flashlights or torches or something ... can't remember, have been meaning to revisit this one for quite some time.)

BZZZZZZT!
WRONG!

In his essay on the jacket of the Image laserdisc, Jeff Schwager says that Hawks had "promised [Nyby] a shot at directing" after the superb job Nyby had done editing RED RIVER and other Hawks films, but that "Hawks kept a close eye on the production." And he offers these quotes from Hawks and Nyby. First from Hawks:

"The very first day of working, Chris came in and said, 'Look, I'm in trouble. It's a lot different making scenes than taking the stuff you give and putting it together. I need help.' So I used to be there. I'd come in and watch him rehearse a scene in the morning and I'd say, 'I think I'd tackle it this way.' So, my having written THE THING and doing that, people say Nyby didn't have anything to do with it. Well, he did have something to do with it. But he needed some help."

And from Nyby:

"When you are being taught to paint by Rembrandt, you don't take the brush out of his hand. You listen and watch him paint. The same when you're working with a great director like Howard Hawks. I discussed every scene with him thoroughly. I can't say whether the picture would have been as good without him. But I do know I would have been a fool to say, 'I'm going to do it my way. The hell with you.'"

(By the way, I don't think anyone's mentioned THE CRAWLING EYE yet. Definitely the peak of Forrest Tucker's career, if Forrest Tucker's career can be considered to have a peak.)

You may wish to go to "Most Threatening Theme" thread (p.2) for a few Crawling Eye reminiscences. I might disagree a wee bit re Tucker's career. No question that for me it's think Tucker/think Capt. Morgan O'Rourke in "F Troop" but he did have a rather successful portfolio as a dependable supporting character actor in all kinds of movies.

Re Hawks/Nyby: I recall an evening in Barnes & Noble last year poring over this topic from a new Hawks biography. If memory serves, what was there made it sound like Hawks was very aggressive and maintained strict control over the production. Will re-read next visit. BTW, I have a tape off an excellent TNT colorized showing from over 10 years ago but am wondering if one of y'all with the laserdisc might be able to transfer a viewing onto VHS. The old memory banks recall a filler scene where Capt. Henry & ladyfriend play a game of "kidnapped" in her office; it's been excised in various versions, haven't seen it in many moons. Perhaps there were other cuts that have been restored on the laserdisc, too?

YIKES!

Hitchcock managed to shock me one more time! Or was this subliminal dissolve the idea of designer Saul Bass? I don't know. But it scared the s--- out of me!

NP: First Knight Goldfarb

The original THE FLY ... I guess I just blocked that one. I find most of the picture more terribly sad than frightening, but I CANNOT watch the last scene with the spider, haven't in 15-20 years, hope I never see it again. Even the parody version on one of the "Treehouses of Horror" on THE SIMPSONS made me jump a mile. If I rent a 20th Century-Fox video from a certain period, I make sure to keep my hand near my eyes in case they're running that "Buy our vintage videos!" trailer which includes a few hideous frames of the spider advancing. I feel like throwing up just thinking about it. (The SIMPSONS parody, with the Bart-Fly soaring away at the last second -- "Sucker!" -- and the spider shaking its "fists" in frustration, was a hilarious kind of catharsis for me. As was the WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS parody at the very beginning of BEAVIS & BUTT-HEAD DO AMERICA.)

EEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAHH!

Katherine Ross with DICK SMITH BREASTS!

YEAH!

Christopher: Have you even BEGUN to think about the implications of the phrase "DICK SMITH BREASTS"??????

Get the shudders just thinking of that sock sticking to the wall.

If so,Saw it when I was very young!!!,VERY SCARY INDEED!

Anybody able to clarify my garbled message