We’re sad to report that the writer Alan Frank, author of such seminal film texts as HORROR FILMS, MONSTERS AND VAMPIRES and HORROR MOVIES has died aged 85.
His books inspired a generation to appreciate, seek out, and enjoy horror movies, and the covers of those books are burned in the memory of all who got them back in the 70s and 80s.
‘I got my copy as a Christmas present in 1975 when I was 12, and it became my own personal horror movie Bible throughout my teens. I spent hours poring over that book, and sought out the films contained therein, diligently ticking them off in the index when I’d seen them. Almost fifty years later, that self-same book still sits on the shelf behind me as I work. Now and again I take it down and flick through it, and it never fails to bring back many happy memories,’ says author Mark Morris on Facebook.
‘Most of the books about films I bought in the 70s and 80s had his name on the cover or among the contributors. A nice easy writing style that made it look effortless. It’s a lot harder to do than it looks. You’ll know his books even if you don’t know his name,’ said researcher David Brunt on Facebook.
‘Alan took me to see the press viewing of Congo, when it first came out. He was married to my first agent, who is also no longer with us sadly, and then for a Chinese afterwards. What a great guy and what a mine of information he was when it came to horror movies. I had no idea, by the way, that he played one of the zombies in the nightmare scene in Plague of the Zombies, because they were short of extras that day,’ said writer Paul Finch on Facebook.
Frank’s own website can be found here, on which he, along with critic David Quinlan, reviews films and DVDs: http://www.picturesthattalk.com/
And there’s a recent extensive interview with Frank here, with more content promised: https://www.spookyisles.com/alan-frank-the-man-who-taught-us-about-horror-films/
And the same site has a piece with Frank on Peter Cushing: https://www.spookyisles.com/alan-frank-on-peter-cushing/