Come with us now to those thrilling drive-in days of yesteryear, when the concession stands vended mystery-meat burgers and stale, fake-butter-soaked popcorn, windshields were steamed with passion, and Roger Corman-produced, shoestring-budget celluloid trash filled the screens from dusk to dawn.

Actually, the outdoor cinema was a cultural phenomenon that had long been on the decline when the “King of the B’s” released “Humanoids From the Deep” (aka “Monster”) in 1980, but this creature feature turned out to be one of his best under the direction of Barbara Peeters, who helmed several pics for Corman’s New World Pictures in the ’70s and ’80s before moving to a career directing hit TV series such as “Remington Steele.”

Doug McClure, Ann Turkel, Cindy Weintraub and ever-dependable villain Vic Morrow star in this tale of a sleepy fishing village that’s invaded by fishlike humanoid creatures spawned from mutant DNA that are bent on raping bikinied babes. “They’re not human. But they hunt human women. Not for killing. For mating,” goes the tagline. They also mangle kids, dogs and men in graphically bloody ways. Genuine jolts are in store for horror buffs, and there’s enough bad acting and dialogue and rubber-suited monsters to guarantee some chuckles, but this fare is definitely not for the squeamish. It is, however, one of the last of the great made-for-the-drive-in delights.

This uncut international version, with a haunting score by Academy Award-winning composer James Horner (“Titanic”), also has Leonard Maltin’s amusing interview with Corman, New World trailers, deleted scenes and a making-of documentary.

— Gene Triplett

Leonard Maltin

BY DENNIS KING

Movie critics, who see scores if not hundreds of movies each year, are often asked by acquaintances headed for the video store or their Netflix queue, “What movie should I rent this weekend?”

Since that’s always a matter of mood and personal taste, it can be a thorny question. People are usually fishing not just for the latest star-driven blockbuster but for some hidden gem or eye-opening sleeper that’s somehow escaped popular notice. Still, it’s a loaded question.

So for we movie wonks who don’t want to get crossways with our friends by  some weird, obscure or dicey film recommendation, Leonard Maltin comes to the rescue. That man of encyclopedic knowledge and 17,000 movies has a new book called “Leonard Maltin’s 151 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen” (HarperStudio, $16.99).

It’s filled with offbeat recommendations of both forgotten classic movies and underappreciated contemporary films.

For instance:

“Lady for a Day,” Frank Capra’s 1933 charmer about a poor bag lady (Mary Robson) who sells apples in Times Square yet leads her far-away daughter to believe that she’s a wealthy dowager. Capra remade the story with a bigger budget and more publicity in the 1960s under the title “Pocketful of Miracles,” with Bette Davis and Glenn Ford.

“The Pledge,” a 2001 drama directed by actor Sean Penn and featuring an all-star cast led by Jack Nicholson as a retiring Reno police officer who gets drawn into the case of a brutal attack on a young neighborhood girl. Despite an amazing ensemble featuring Patricia Clarkson, Aaron Eckhart, Mickey Rourke, Vanessa Redgrave and Helen Mirren, Penn’s third directing effort apparently fell through the box-office cracks and was largely overlooked.

A few other regrettably ignored titles on Maltin’s list are “The Ballad of Little Jo” (1993) with Suzy Amis as a gal passing as a rough-hewn cowboy; “In the Shadow of the Moon” (2007), a candid, intimate documentary about the astronauts of America’s Apollo space program; “The Whole Wide World” (1996), a real-life drama about a prim Texas school teacher (Rene Zellweger) and her relationship with troubled comic-book creator Richard E. Howard (Vincent D’Onofrio), and “The Weather Man” (2005), with Nicolas Cage as a Chicago weather forecaster struggling with maturity, family and ambition.

So next time someone corners you at a party and asks you to pull a brilliant movie recommendation out of your hat, just let Leonard do it.

BY DENNIS KING

Spring is jam-packed with film festivals in varying shades of hipness, exclusivity and adventurousness, most of them aimed at showcasing the latest, cutting-edge works of cinema.

But for the old popcorn-munchers among us, for whom cinema dreams most often occur in black-and-white (and, well OK, occasionally in widescreen Technicolor with plush curtains and footlights), a brave new film festival is in the offing. And it’s one that’s both exhilarating in its originality and comforting in its traditionalism.

It’s the first, and one hopes annual, TCM Classic Film Festival taking place April 22-25 in that most mythic of movie meccas – Hollywood.

Turner Classic Movies has since its founding in 1994 been the go-to cable TV channel for lovers of old movies. Its extensive library is a priceless treasure trove of everything from silent films, to screwball comedies of the 1930s and ’40s, film noir of the 1950s, glamorous escapist musicals, weepy melodramas, tingling mysteries, galloping cowboy movies and virtually anything else that might be classified in film as “classic.”

So, who better to initiate such a celebration?

Over four days and nights, the TCM festival – taking place at storied venues such as Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and the Egyptian Theatre – will feature some 50 film screenings with special appearances by actors, actresses, directors, producers and other notables. There will also be red-carpet galas, tributes to classic stars and filmmakers, first looks at newly restored films, a sneak preview of the new documentary “Moguls and Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood” and interviews and panel discussions with an impressive roster of movie luminaries.

Naturally, rubbing shoulders with Hollywood blue-bloods such as directors Mel Brooks (who’ll unveil his new star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame) and Peter Bogdanovich, actors Norman Lloyd, Tony Curtis, Martin Landau and Jerry Lewis, writer Buck Henry, film critic and historian Leonard Maltin, 100-year-old actress Luise Rainer and, of course, TCM’s own host with the most, Robert Osborne, doesn’t come free.

From out here in the deep balcony seats of Oklahoma, it’s a far piece to Tinseltown. But for those who can spring for air fare and lodging, festival tickets are now being sold through TCM’s website (www.tcm.com/festival).

Passes are available on three levels – The Classic, The Essential and The Spotlight – carrying escalating perks and access. And they’ll set you back, respectively, $499, $599 and a whopping $1,199 (which provides V.I.P. entry to all events and venues).

But the opportunity to view such classics as “Casablanca,” “The Adventures of Robin Hood,” “The Magnificent Ambersons,” “The Producers” and more on the big screen in archival prints is reason enough to celebrate this rare festival.

TCM’s website contains a list of films being screened, special events, panel discussions, invited guests and amenities for festival-goers. The site is updated regularly as new festival features are announced.