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Post by dem bones on Mar 22, 2008 14:26:27 GMT
Lifted wholesale from the Beaumont thread on Vault Mk. I. Hopefully Sean will copy over his comments? Charles Beaumont - The Edge (Panther, 1966) The Last Caper Mother's Day The New Sound The Music Of The Yellow Brass The New People The Magic Man Song For A Lady The Love-Master The Neighbours The Howling Man Night Ride.: Charles Beaumont - The Magic Man & Other Science-Fantasy Stories (Coronet, 1966) Foreword - Ray Bradbury
Miss Gentilbelle The Last Caper The New People The Vanishing American The Monster Show The Magic Man A Classic Affair The Hunger Black Country The Love-Master The Dark Music Fair Lady Perchance To Dream The Crooked Man Open House Last Rites The Murderers A Death In The Country.
Afterword - Richard Matheson: The most terrifying story identified with the gifted Beaumont (1929-1967) is that of how he came to die so tragically young. In 1964, he contracted a rare disease which aged him at an horrific rate and, when he died aged 38, he looked something not unlike the loved-up old timer on the cover of The Edge (and isn't that one of the most disturbing designs you've ever seen?). As well as these and several other short stories, Beaumont had several screenwriting credits to his name including Roger Corman's Masque Of The Red Death and The Haunted Palace, various episodes of the Boris Karloff-hosted Thriller and a number of adaptations for Rod Serling's Twilight Zone. As a rule, his best work is a miss-mash of fantasy,SF and psychological horror, and there's a distinct touch of the Ray Bradbury's about his quieter, small town America stories. He's at his most harrowing in Miss Gentilbelle - a mad, vindictive woman subjects her 'daughter', a young boy, to increasingly appalling mental torment by killing his pets when he displeases her - and The Hunger. Julie, a lonely, frustrated 38-year-old, is obsessed with a sex-killer, Richard Oakes, who has recently escaped from an asylum. Oakes has already struck three times around Burlington in as many weeks since he absconded. Julie sneaks out one night in her best dress and it is only when she is confronted by the crazed rapist that she understands her actions. In The New People, Hank Prentice would prefer not to believe Matt Dystall's drunken ramblings of the 'group activities' indulged in by his well-to-do neighbours - especially as, in the past, these have included wife-swapping and black magic, leading to the suicide of the previous occupant of his new house. The bored nouveau riche also take centre stage in The Murderers; Two youths decide they are going to kill someone, anyone, just for the sheer Hell of it. They invite home a tramp, get him gloriously drunk, and discuss how best to go about the deed. The Crooked Man is set in a future where heterosexual relationships are outlawed, and those who conduct them are viewed as perverts. Jesse and Mina are two such sicko's, but fortunately, they are discovered and subjected to 'the cure.' Sex pops up again in the jokey The Love-Master, as revived by Michel Parry for his Devil's Kisses anthology. Cubbison consults Salvadori, the aged Love-Master, for his assistance in defeating wife Beatrice's frigidity. When every infallible technique fails, there is nothing else for it - the ultra-wrinkly sex-God must come out of retirement, something no woman has managed to lure him into doing for decades. There are a couple of vampire tales that don't make either book, Place Of Meeting and the undead-on-the-psychiatrist's couch effort Blood Brother. A book of his collected horror stories would be very welcome indeed. Beaumont also edited a decent psychological horror collection, The Fiend In You
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Post by sean on Mar 22, 2008 14:55:44 GMT
From the old board:
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I've got that same edition of 'The Magic Man', and also a 1982 Bantam book entitled 'Best of Beaumont' which contains:
The Infernal Boulilabaisse The Beautiful People Free Dirt Fritzchen You Can't Have Them All Mother's Day Last Rites Blood Brother The New People Father, Dear Father A Classic Affair Perchance to Dream The Customers Hair of the Dog Insomnia Vobiscum The Crooked Man The Jungle Sorceror's Moon The Trigger The Love Master Three Thirds of a Ghost Place of Meeting
This one has another foreward by Mr Bradbury, and an afterword by Christopher Beaumont.
The forward contains an interesting snippet about the story 'Free Dirt':
"Chuck and I lived in the same Los Angeles territory, where we both passed a cemetary which sported a hand-painted sign: FREE DIRT. This intruiged me so much over the years that I jotted notes in a file folder and commenced a story based on the idea of cemetery earth. What would happen if you bought it and used it? For what? Then Chuck showed up at the house one night with a story titled - you've guessed it - 'Free Dirt'. I read it and threw up my hands, "Okay, it's yours! You did it first. Someday I may revise my 'Free Dirt' yarn, but for now - mail this out!" Chuck laughed, sent out his story, sold it. My story remains in the file...."
Bradbury's 'Free Dirt' finally got written and published in the 90s... it appears (amongst other places) in 'Dark Terrors 3', where he says that he found the idea when going through old story notes and decided to actually finish it.
Not bad, two stories for one sign.
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(I'll get round to scanning the 'best of' cover and do a story by story whotsit later this week. I have to say I think Beaumont is a wonderful writer and his terrible illness and death brought about a great loss to the horror genre).
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Post by sean on Mar 22, 2008 15:08:30 GMT
Here's a scan of a couple of pages from 'The Twilight Zone Companion' (again!) by Marc Scott Zicree, dealing with Beaumont's death:
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Post by sean on Mar 23, 2008 10:45:38 GMT
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Post by carolinec on Mar 23, 2008 21:01:55 GMT
I find seeing that MySpace page on Beaumont quite spooky. It'll be good to see the documentary though.
As a HUGE Twilight Zone fan, I'm also a great fan of his work. There was always a certain tinge of sadness to every one of his stories, and it was so sad how he ended up - such talent cut short so awfully.
I have a copy of The Magic Man bought on eBay a while ago, but I'm afraid it's still in my "to be read" pile. Might have to push it nearer the top of the pile now ...
Oh and Sean, I have The Twilight Zone Companion right here by me too - an excellent guide (and companion!) ;D
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Post by Johnlprobert on Mar 23, 2008 23:53:47 GMT
That's a tremendously sad story. I'm a big TZ fan as well, (I got my TZ companion free with the DVD box set of series one) & I have Beaumont's hardcover collection 'A Touch of the Creature' from Subterranean Press
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Post by nightreader on Mar 24, 2008 10:46:51 GMT
Sex pops up again in the jokey The Love-Master, as revived by Michel Parry for his Devil's Kisses anthology. Cubbison consults Salvadori, the aged Love-Master, for his assistance in defeating wife Beatrice's frigidity. When every infallible technique fails, there is nothing else for it - the ultra-wrinkly sex-God must come out of retirement, something no woman has managed to lure him into doing for decades. Just dipped into a couple of the Beaumonts from The Edge collection. Quite a strange mixture but 'The Love-Master' was amusing - presumably he's the guy on the cover - with his catalogue of fool proof love positions, like the Chinese Flip and the Australian Hop or Method No. 26 the The Drunken Reptile !! Also read 'The Neighbours' which seems to me to be a straightforward story condemning racism in 60's America. 'The New Sound' is a darker tale, of a man colecting the death sounds of animals, he's a necroaudiophile. Soon animals aren't good enough of course and he moves on to the death cries of humans, until that isn't enough either. He eventually gets the ultimate new sound...
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Post by sean on Mar 24, 2008 13:21:50 GMT
I have Beaumont's hardcover collection 'A Touch of the Creature' from Subterranean Press Which stories are in that one, John?
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Post by Johnlprobert on Mar 24, 2008 18:17:35 GMT
Hi Sean
Here's the contents:
Adam's Off Ox A Long Way From Capri With the Family Moon in Gemini The Indian Piper Lachrymosa The Rival The Junemoon Spoon Time & Again A Friend of the Family Mr Underhill Resurrection Island The Pool Fallen Star
There's an introduction by Richard Matheson & a foreword by Beaumont's son Christopher who has signed my copy.
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Post by sean on Mar 24, 2008 20:15:05 GMT
Cheers, John.
I don't think I've encountered any of those stories!
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Post by Johnlprobert on Mar 24, 2008 21:50:11 GMT
Apparently they're all previously unpublished
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Post by sean on Mar 26, 2008 13:43:08 GMT
Ah, that'll be for why then...
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Post by sean on Apr 7, 2008 19:45:33 GMT
Best of BeaumontBantam Books 1982, the only edition as far as I can tell: Not a very inspiring cover, is it? BLURBITIS: In just two short decades before his untimely death in 1967, Charles Beaumont's tales of terror and wonder established him as a modern master. His ground breaking fiction appeared regularly in PLAYBOY, IF, MYSTERY DUGEST and THE MAGAZINE OF FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION. His screenplays for BURN WITCH BURN, THE SEVEN FACES OF DR LAO and the tales of Edgar Allan Poe are contemporary classics.
Now, the best of Beaumont has been collected here in one volume, including two never-before-published stories and three tales which were the basis for memorable episodes of Rod Serling's THE TWILIGT ZONE, with an introduction, "Beaumont Remembered," by Ray Bradbury.
"Here's Charles Beaumont. MY cup of tea. Is he YOURS?" -Ray Bradbury
This is a pretty good collection, and seems to be a fair representation of his work, although, as with all 'Best ofs', there are tales that you think should be there and maybe one or two that shouldn't. A brief look at all the stories to follow shortly...
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Post by sean on Apr 9, 2008 13:35:46 GMT
The Infernal Boulilabaisse Mr Frenchaboy of the Gourmet Club is driven to murder in an attempt to discover the recipie to the greatest dish any of them have ever tasted.
The Beautiful People At the age of 18, people are eligable for their Transformation, which makes them hansome or pretty, but blandly conforming. Mary (a strange girl... she even reads books!) decides that she doesn't want to go through with it, but find out that soicety can be quite insistent when it comes to non-conformists.
The basis of the TZ episode 'Number 12 Looks Just Like You'
Free Dirt Mr Aorta like to get something for nothing. In fact, that is how he lives his life. So when he sees a sign outside a cemetry advertisin 'Free Dirt', he makes the most of the offer, deciding to fix up his garden with it. What grows there, however, is not quite what he had expected.
Fritzchen A horrible brat of a child finds a strange little creature by a river. His father, not much more pleasant, takes it away to store it in the pet shop he owns, with the idea of selling it. But then several other animals in the store begin to die, their insides seemingly sucked out.
A nasty piece, this one. The ending is well-deserved by the characters involved.
You Can't Have Them All A story cut from the same cloth as 'The Love Master', in which a man decides that you can in fact have them all, and sets about sleeping with every woman of his preffered type (with the aid of a computer and a love potion). However, eventuall ehaustion sets in, and a doctor is called, a doctor whose wife is on the list of future conquests.
Mother's Day A murderer is given the option of imprisonment on an asteroid, or marrying a Martian - in the interests of race relations. Unfortunately for him, the man becomes pregnant with a half human, half martian baby.
Last Rites
A priest is given a dilemma by his closest friend whom is on his death bed: can a robot have a soul? Would the priest perform the last rites over a machine in human form?
Although not a religious type myself, I found this to be an incredibly moving piece of writing, in which the robot seems more human than many a flesh and blood person.
Blood Brother A vampire complains to a psychiatrist that the life of the undead isn't all its cracked up to be. Shaving is a problem, as is the cost of replacing blood stained shirts. And he hates blood. And is scared of bats...
Genuinely amusing
The New People Dem covered this one at the top of the thread somewhere.
A Classic Affair A man begins to neglect his wife and she fears he is seeing another woman. He isn't though, in fact he has fallen head over heels in love with a car. A friend of the couple plans to buy it for him, as an exchange for his now-neglected wife, but finds the vehicle difficult to give up.
Perchance to Dream This one was adapted as one of the creepiest 'Twilight Zone' episodes ever.
A man visits a psychiatrist to explain why he dare not sleep anymore. When he does sleep, he is victim to a recurring dream which he is sure is coming close to killing him. Tense and doom-laden.
The Customers An old couple, waiting for Death, are oddly cheered by the arrival of a funeral-plot salesman.
Hair of the Dog A man makes a deal whereby he will be given a very extended lifespan in return for payment of one hair plucked from his head every month. All is well until he starts to go bald.
Insomnia Vobiscum This one is basicaly a piece of flash fiction, years before the term was coined.
A man is kept awake by strange noises beneath his bedroom. Thing is, he's on the ground floor...
The Crooked Man See Dem's comments earlier.
The Jungle To ease overpopulation, a city is built in the jungles of Africa. The previous tenants of this land are none too happy, and set up a curse on all that have worked on the project.
With many a change, this was adapted as a TZ episode of the same name.
Sorceror's Moon The last two warlocks battle it out with a rune that kills.
Nice little story with a nifty twist.
The Trigger A spendid psychological thriller, this one, based around an idea that has been since used often in many a good story.
Four members of a club have recently committed suicide. The cause is a mystery as each of the individuals was happy, financially secure and well-balanced. It appears that the deaths could be murder, but of a very intricate kind.
The Love Master See Dem's and Nighreaders comments furthur up the thread.
Three Thirds of a Ghost A vaguely comic piece in which a traveller staying at a stately home enjoys the nighttime company of his host's wife. Unfortunately, it turns out that she is dead...
Place of Meeting Almost all life on Earth has been wiped out. All that are left are the vampires. And now they have nothing to eat.
A nice, gently creepy ending to a damn fine collection.
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Post by Johnlprobert on Aug 10, 2009 11:06:18 GMT
Charles Beaumont - The Edge (Panther, 1966)
I finished reading this over the weekend and really enjoyed it. Let's have another look at the contents:
The Last Caper - bonkers SF wordplay that demands you pay attention
Mother's Day - more comedy SF with the kind of ending you'd expect from Mr Bloch.
The New Sound - I was starting to worry that they were all going to be like the above but no - here we have a man who wants to collect the noise people make as they die. Oh what a sublime idea.
The Music Of The Yellow Brass - from the nasty to the bittersweet: a lovely story about, of all things, bullfighting!
The New People - this really unsettled me for some reason. Perhaps the thought of 50-something successful individuals getting bored and turning to increasingly decadent thrills is something that worries me
The Magic Man - another lovely story set the Wild West and with an ending that's heartfelt and poignant
Song For A Lady - a sweet romantic tale
The Love-Master - a hilarious tale of seduction that had me chuckling out loud
The Neighbours - racism tale as mentioned above
The Howling Man - a classic, and just as good as the Twilight Zone episode adapted from it.
Night Ride - I liked this and I'm not even a fan of jazz. Beaumont probably is though, but rather than alienate the non-jazz fan he actually draws you in with some of his more technical descriptions.
And yes - that cover IS splendid!
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