Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow

Plot

After being evicted from their old clubhouse, members of a Los Angeles drag racing club move into an old deserted mansion and set up shop, making it their new headquarters. For the club's grand opening, they hold a Halloween masked ball and invite everyone to come dressed as their favorite monster.

The festivities take an unexpected turn when one of the youths discovers an imposter among them: a real live monster (AIP's oft-reused She-Creature costume, played by its real-life creator Paul Blaisdell), who has been mixing in with the kids, hogging all the dances with the best-looking girls. The phony monster is unmasked at the end of the film by one of the teenagers, revealing it to be AIP's special effects maestro Paul Blaisdell.

Blaisdell cries, looking frail and tiny in the oversized costume, and complains into the camera: "You've seen me before. I scared you to death in The Day the World Ended. You shivered when you saw me in She-Creature. Oh the shame of it, the indignity! They didn't use me in Horrors of the Black Museum after my years of faithful service. They just... threw me away!" The kids then chase him out of the house and continue partying.

Ironically, Blaisdell never worked on another film after Dragstrip Hollow, making his comedic speech in the film seem sadly prophetic in hindsight.

Cast

• Jody Fair as Lois Cavendish
• Russ Bender as Tom Hendry
• Henry McCann as Dave
• Martin Braddock as Stan
• Elaine DuPont as Rhonda
• Jack Ging as Tony
• Tommy Ivo as himself
• Paul Blaisdell as man in Monster Suit

Production

Paul Blaisdell, AIP's top special effects technician from 1954 to 1959, was asked to spoof himself in the film, not realizing how close the film's ending would parallel the end of his own career a year or two later.

Home media

The film was released on DVD by MGM on February 15, 2005.

Reception

TV Guide panned the film, stating that "[the] deformed script could have only been helped by a complete rewrite". On his website Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings, Dave Sindelar criticized the film's "turgid pacing", lack of plot, and underdeveloped scenarios. Dennis Schwartz of Ozus' World Movie Reviews rated the film a grade D, writing, "A dreadful hot rod teen comedy for the drive-in crowd. This one stinks even for AIP."

Filmink called it "a boring movie".

References

References

1. "Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow". The Astounding B Monster.
2. Miller, John M.. "Beach Party".
3. Palmer, Randy (2009). Paul Blaisdell, Monster Maker: A Biography of the B Movie Makeup and Special Effects Artist. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0786440993.
4. Palmer, Randy (2009). Paul Blaisdell, Monster Maker: A Biography of the B Movie Makeup and Special Effects Artist. McFarland & Company. p. 214. ISBN 978-0786440993.
5. "The Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow (1959) - William J. Hole, Jr.". Allmovie.
6. "Ghost Of Dragstrip Hollow - Movie Reviews and Movie Ratings". TV Guide.
7. "Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow (1959)". Dave Sindelar.
8. Vagg, Stephen. (4 December 2024). "Beach Party: An Appreciation".