Alabama's Ghost (1973)

Nightclub janitor discovers a secret room, finds old magician's belongings, tries on the costumes and becomes "Alabama, King of the Cosmos."

Director:

Fredric Hobbs

Writer:

Fredric Hobbs

Stars:

Christopher Brooks, Peggy Browne, E. Kerrigan Prescott

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christopher Brooks	...	Alabama, King Of The Cosmos
Peggy Browne	...	Zoerae
E. Kerrigan Prescott	...	Carter's Ghost
Steven Kent Browne	...	Otto Max
Ken Grantham	...	Granny / Moxie / Gault
Karen Ingenthron	...	Dr. Caligula
Ann Weldon	...	Mama-bama
Ann Wagner Ward	...	Marilyn Midnight
Joel Nobel	...	Doc
Linda Shelburne	...	Groupie
Squeak Krauthamer	...	Groupie
Erica Shapiro	...	Groupie
Lani Freeman	...	Groupie
Hillary Roth	...	Groupie
Patricia Shallcorss	...	Groupie

Storyline

Nightclub janitor discovers a secret room, finds old magician's belongings, tries on the costumes and becomes "Alabama, King of the Cosmos."

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Plot Keywords:

alabama | elephant | magic | surrealism | absurdism | 

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Taglines:

A super hip horror movie

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

February 1973 (USA)

Box Office

Budget:

$55,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ellman Film Enterprises

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Celluloid Bloodbath: More Prevues from Hell (2012)

User Reviews

Now what was all of that?!

I've seen a lot of bizarre movies in my time - "Eraserhead", "The Holy Mountain", "Zardoz", "Pink Flamingos", "Persona", and the Coffin Joe and Luis Bunuel films all blow my mind no matter how many times I see them. Well, I can safely now add "Alabama's Ghost" to that list. As strange as the two other F.C. Hobbs films I've seen ("Godmonster of Indian Flats" and "Roseland") were, they couldn't prepare me for the jaw-dropping strangeness in full force here. The plot involves a black handyman who stumbles upon an old stage magician's costume behind a wall in the basement of the jazz club he works at. He wears the costume and begins to tour across the country as a huge star attraction to the youth. However, he the ghost of the magician returns and is irate that hes using his skills for purely commercial purposes. To make matters even worse, he discovers hes being managed by vampires.

All I can say is what the hell was all of that? The film is incredibly loopy and surreal and makes absolutely no sense at any time. Its psychedelic in the extreme, and as inept as it is, it seems the director Hobbs had a genuine vision. F.C. Hobbs has become a fascination for me - he only made four films and there seems to be absolutely no information available about him out there. However, the three films I've seen so far by him are among the most bizarre and insane ever made. There's nothing else out there like "Alabama's Ghost". This film is only for a very select taste, but hardened psychotronic buffs or fans of the surreal really owe it to themselves to track this rarity down. (7/10)