What movies do you have that no one else has ever heard of?

[Inyarear]

As I once told my dad when he brought home a dreadful Z-grade movie he'd gotten for 25 cents at the local discount store, the reason some movies are so rare is that they deserve to be. (I don't even remember what movie it was, but it had something to do with a TV evangelist charlatan running into a real miracle worker and what happens after that. That whole premise may sound interesting, but the film really wasn't.)

On the other hand, some films are actually quite good, and they're rare simply because they weren't very flashy and didn't appeal to a huge market. Several animated pieces I have fit this description: the 1971 version of "The Selfish Giant" for instance, and "The Mouse and His Child" which looked like an animated version of what were called "underground" comics, featuring Shrews marching with Dick Nixon campaign buttons as their shields among other bizarre visuals. The former I'd seen in elementary school, and the latter my mother had seen in an independent theater in the week or so it had been shown. Until the rise of the internet, it hadn't been possible to rediscover either one.

Most of the rare films I recall are, in fact, children's films, since they're half-forgotten memories of mine from childhood. "The Great Land of Small" is one I've recently been able to reacquire. When I told Mom about these memories, she at first asked me whether I hadn't just dreamed of the whole thing, but I eventually figured out what it was and where to get it, and now I have a copy. (It's only available as a fullscreen VHS, though. Grrr!) As I told her, I remember going and seeing it in the theater for someone's birthday party (possibly my own) when I was a kid. Looking back now, I begin to realize that the reason so few others have seen it is that it was a local product: the film was shot in Canada, and distributed only to a few theaters in the area. (I was living in Minnesota at the time).

"The Great Land of Small" may be the least-well-known movie I have in my collection. I may have to do a review of it for this place sometime. (St. Patrick's day would be a fitting day for it; it features a dwarf evidently playing a leprechaun, though no one actually calls him that. The children find him at the end of a rainbow, though, and he has a bag of magical "goldy gold" that he gives the villain early in the film, so he's a leprechaun, all right.) If anyone here has ever heard of it, do tell me! I know someone else has to have seen it, but I've never met any of them in person, only online.

What about you people? Got any films no one else has ever heard of? I'll bet our esteemed moderator has piles of them, but even he can't have seen them all. What no-brand movies have you got? Bonus points to you if even the Internet Movie Data Base has never heard of it, or if it has it, but it has no reader comments at all on it.

[Amontillado]

The most obscure movie I own would have to be The Worm Eaters. The Mrs. and I also seem to be the only people who like it for that matter. It's one of our favorite movies. Yeah, it's a cheesy b-movie, but it puts a mile-wide smile our faces! I'm being Umgar for Halloween. I've got the rose and the platform shoe. I also used to own Flesh Eating Mothers but I sold it. I wasn't terribly fond of it, and a acquaintance offered $10 for it. One born every minute, as they say. I've also got this movie called A Bell from Hell, a very overlooked Spanish horror film. Kicks the crap out of any of those wretched Blind Dead movies. Ugh! I got one of those 4 in 1 jobbers with the third one on it. Awful. However, in the same set I did luck out. I got the uncut House by the Cemetery and unknowingly completed Fulci's zombie cycle. Also El Espanto Surge de la Tumba (Horror Rises from the Tomb) which is one of the worst-yet-somehow-entertaining movies I've ever seen. I've never seen a horror movie degrade into a soft core porn in such a way before or since. Its something else.

[The Burgomaster]

I also own a copy of THE WORM EATERS.  Some other obscure movies I own are:

- Teenage Strangler
- Teenage Gang Debs
- The Violent Years
- Gril Gang
- The Defilers
- Scum of the Earth
- The Master Gunfighter (one of Tom Laughlin's non-Billy Jack movies)
- Funny Games

Plus, there are quite a few movies in the Mill Creek 50 movies packs that I own that many people have probably never heard of.

[RCMerchant]

SOUL VENGANCE-A blaxploitation movie from the 70's. Also known as WELCOME HOME,BROTHER CHARLES. I got it on an old Xenon Video.It's about a guy who goes to prison,and some kindo weird voodoo gives him the power to grow his d1ck to boa size...and he strangles people with it!
CALIFORNIA REICH-documentary made in the late 60's or early 70's about the Neo Nazi party in California. Watch a nice,homespun mom bake a cake decorated with swastikas! Watch dum rednecks teach pre schoolers about Hitler! Twisted sh!t...very disturbing.
.Track of the MOONBEAST- Scaly monster runs rampant in low budget nonsenese.Watch a cartoon metorite hit a guy and turn him into the title monster! COOL!
.DEVIL MASTER-aka DEMON LOVER-made right here in good old Michigan,by the genuis who gave us HELL COMES TO FROGTOWN,Donald Jackson.A Ted Nugent wannabe uses black magic to kill his buddies! And summons a demon too! And Gunnar Hansen has a bit part! And it's really badly acted! And dumb! And I love it!
Usta have MANSON (1972) a documentary on the Family that is rarer than chicken lips now!But my numbskull step son loaned it out...and I cannot find it ANYWHERE! Dammit!

[Amontillado]

My favorite blaxploitation movies are The Black Gestapo and, of course, Blackula.

[Raffine]

Plus, there are quite a few movies in the Mill Creek 50 movies packs that I own that many people have probably never heard of.

I have a quite a few movies in my Mill Creek packs that I've never heard of!   

I also have those two Treasures from the American Film Institute Archives collections, which are chock full or obscure stuff like ROSE HOBART (1936), the 1928 version of THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, and the 1916 version of SNOW WHITE.

I have a quite a few films with Bernard Herrmann scores that have never been released on VHS or DVD like HANGOVER SQUARE, WHITE WITCH DOCTOR, A HATFUL OF RAIN, TWISTED NERVE, and THE NIGHT DIGGER that are lovingly recorded and traded amongst us Herrmannophiles.

I also have a bunch of bizarre stop motion animated films by the likes of Jan Svankmajer, Charlie Bowers, Jiri Trnka, and, my favorite, Ladislaw Starewicz. They used to show brief clips of Starewicz's films on the old USA Night Flight. If you ever watched that show and caught a clip of some bizarre b&w animated stuff involving puppets, frogs, and demons and thought "WHAT THE &@&# WAS THAT?!?" it was probably Starewicz.   

[KYGOTC]

My favorite blaxploitation movies are The Black Gestapo and, of course, Blackula.

Im a fan of TROUBLE MAN, myself.

[Goji_girl]

I own a film called "The Thing". Not a lot of people I know has heard of it but no wonder! If no one told me that it was from the 80's I would've guessed that it was from the 60's! The movie is terrible. Who knew that people's eyes could actually pop like paintballs? I know I didin't. Yeah, I'm not really sure if it's burned or something but I do know that not a lot of people have seen this movie before.

[BeckoningChasm]

I've got a cassette of "Lobster Man from Mars" with Tony Curtis that I've never taken out of its shrinkwrap.  It's supposed to be a comedy about low-budget movie making.

I've also got a double-cassette of "The Tripods" which is the first half of John Christopher's book trilogy.   I've also got "The Day it Came to Earth" with George Gobel.

Generally speaking, if something's on DVD it's not that obscure.   "Track of the Moonbeast" is on one of those four-movie packs you can usually find in Suncoast stores for around $8.  Kind of a fun film, though.

[Kester Pelagius]

If Paul Naschy titles are obscurities then. . .

Fury of the Wolfman
Night of the Werewolf
Horror Rises from the Tomb
Vengeance of the Zombies
Werewolf Shadow (AKA Werewolf vs. the Vampire Women)
Werewolf vs. the Vampire Women (Yeah I have this version too)
Count Dracula's Great Love

And, let's see, has anyone heard of these. .

War Goddess
Gladiator Eroticus
Killers Eroticus
Vampire Stakes
Spaced Out
Wham Bam Thank You Spaceman
Star Crystal
Neon City
Wizards of the Demon Sword
Inhumanoid
Future War
One Million AC/DC
Twisted Justice
Pizza Wars
Star Odyssey
War of the Robots
Cosmos: War of the Planets
The Pickle. . .

Actually probably most of my video collection would qualify.  ;)

[Allhallowsday]

On the other hand, some films are actually quite good, and they're rare simply because they weren't very flashy and didn't appeal to a huge market. Several animated pieces I have fit this description: the 1971 version of "The Selfish Giant" for instance, and "The Mouse and His Child" which looked like an animated version of what were called "underground" comics, featuring Shrews marching with Dick Nixon campaign buttons as their shields among other bizarre visuals.

"The Selfish Giant" was a made-for-TV film that I remember very fondly and was a faithful adaptation of Oscar Wilde's story.  THE MOUSE AND HIS CHILD is one of my favorite animations, though I haven't seen it in at least 20 years; in the late 70s I had first seen it on HBO several times.  It's a wonderful, strange, adult animation. 

Some less seen ones I have on VHS:
CONDEMNED TO LIVE
MOLE MEN AGAINST THE SON OF HERCULES
THE THIRTEENTH GUEST
TRIUMPH OF THE WILL
THE SNOW QUEEN (Russian animation)

I have a quite a few films with Bernard Herrmann scores that have never been released on VHS or DVD like HANGOVER SQUARE, WHITE WITCH DOCTOR, A HATFUL OF RAIN, TWISTED NERVE, and THE NIGHT DIGGER that are lovingly recorded and traded amongst us Herrmannophiles.

I think what converted me into a VERTIGO lover was Herrmann's score (an homage to Tristan und Isolde).  I have CDs with several Herrmann soundtracks including THE GHOST AND MRS MUIR, PSYCHO, MYSTERIOUS ISLAND, TAXI DRIVER...I love many film music composers (Rosza, Jarre, Williams, Steiner) but there's never been anyone as great as Herrmann. 

[Pilgermann]

I wish The Mouse and His Child would get a DVD release.  It's quite good (the book by Russell Hoban is better of course, and his other books are brilliant as well).

I have a number of things that the general population probably don't know very well, but most of you would probably be familiar with them.  I've only got a few that I think are truly obscure:

Arsenal -- Confusing as hell silent Ukranian film from 1928 about an event during World War I.
Land of Look Behind -- An odd documentary based around the funeral of Bob Marley, but is mainly about the people of Jamaica and Rasafarian culture.  I don't really care either way about reggae or Bob Marley, but this is a really good and really unique film.  Fans of Herzog's documentaries would probably enjoy it.
Powwow Highway -- A road trip buddy movie about two childhood friends from a Cheyenne reservation.  It's pretty decent and gives you a realistic glimpse of reservation life.

[KYGOTC]

I know i pluged this movie LOTS of times on here before, but G-MEN FROM HELL is something that I think would be every b-movie fans dream come true. SO much goes into this movie, (costumed vigulanties, psycotic robots, a gay cop, homicidal hand puppet, mad scientist, a dumb blond, and the devil himself.) As well as some awsome casting. (Robert Goule, The cop from Devils Rejects, Gary Beusey, and alot more.)

[Dr. Whom]

Has anybody else seen Corn Man? A silly superhero spoof about a hero who can talk to corn. If you haven't, stay away from it.

[Andrew]

I have a couple of weird ones, both in the reviews section and yet to be reviewed.  "The Witch With Flying Head" is one, same with "Warbus" and "Battle Beneath the Earth."

One that Ken Begg has that I would love to get is "Mistress of the Apes."  Most of the film is garbage, but there is a sudden musical scene in the middle that is a riot.