Wednesday, August 26, 2009

THE APE MAN / Monogram - 1943 / "Don't call me Tarzan!"

Tonight we gots lil' Monogram cheapie flick made in just 19 day back in middle of WWII. Star Bela Lugosi as doctor who turn self into part ape by mistake and have to get OP spinal fluid so he can stand up straight an' walk like man!! Oh, an' talk like a man!

And, not to forget, flick directed by Dungeon hero William Beaudine. Get ready, William have 367 directing credit!!!!!!!!!!!

Music director Edward Kay have 328 music department credit with titles like DOOMED TO DIE, THE APE, KING OF THE ZOMBIES, GHOST TOWN LAW, COSMO JONES, CRIME SMASHER, REVENGE OF THE ZOMBIES, RETURN OF THE APE MAN, GHOST GUNS, SPOOK BUSTERS, HAUNTED TRAILS, BOMBA ON PANTHER ISLAND and many more!

Don't call me 'chieffy' - call me... BELA, THE APE MAN!

There is always logical explanation for puzzling newspaper report! Hey, Tommy Smothers!!

AWWWKK!!..

Oh, hi sis!

'Chieffy' joke been around a long time! When Tabonga was lil' splinter, we all remember Editor Perry White and Jimmy Olsen going round and round with same joke!

Generally speaking, it kinda fun to be crazy maniac! Mad lab are cuuuuhl!

So, Mister + Missus Reporter head out to get answers at old spooky place in country!

Hendrix or Beatles?

With Bela, it the same old story... "spinal fluid!"

Almost Escher!

Bela make the mistake of choke gurl in front of killer pal ape buddie!

Bela get lousy taste of own medicine!

Classic 'gurlie in distress' pose!

Good guy- 552 / Monster- 0

Who, me?!.. I'm the guy who 'authored' this screwy story!

Monday, August 24, 2009

THE WILD RIDE - "Chicken" (1960)

I think this is about as good a time as any to celebrate what you might call Jack!! Do you know that three time Oscar winner Jack Nicholson was working for like 15 years, doing weird movies and strange roles, before he actually got any notoriety? Just proves that if you're weird enough and persevere, you just might make it! Probably not, but maybe!!! Tonight's feature, "The Wild Ride" kinda proves that point! No monsters or flying saucers, but Psychotronic as you wanna be, and it's all Jack!!

The film starts when Jack as Johnny Varron, runs this motorcycle cop off the road and into a tree and then has the audacity to call him a chicken!!!

And then it's time to party with his friends down by the water!!

Cops aren't so dumb, they know how to check which car just arrived and who the driver was!!

Basically nobody else in this film had a career that went much further, just not weird enough I guess!! Robert Bean as Dave went on to play Happy Jack Monahan in "Creature From The Haunted Sea," otherwise almost every other person in the cast never acted again except for Wesley Marie Tackitt who went on to play Nora Clayton in 26 episodes of the TV comedy "Margie" in the early 60's. I never met a girl named Wesley, that probably makes me weird!

Georgiana Carter as Nancy had been in "Night Of The Blood Beast" two years earlier, but never worked again after this wild ride! Here's a couple more shots of Georgiana, a gal we never got to see enough of! You can thank Rodan!!

This would be Jack's 4th film following "Cry Baby Killer" and "Little Shop Of Horrors" and it couldn't be cooler, and don't forget, he still goes on to do "The Raven" and "The Terror" and "Hell Angels On Wheels" and "Psych-Out" before he even gets around to "Easy Rider!"

Since "The Wild Ride" was nine years before the psychedelic era of "Easy Rider" the music provided is firmly entrenched in the late 50's Beat era, and smokes, literally!!! It was also a time when they also felt like there was no need to credit the music, so who knows who wrote this fantastic score! If it would be known, I'd bet it's gonna be a name we've heard before. This is some good stuff, and it just keeps on going through the whole film! Here's a shot from the police station, where Jack, the consummate smart-ass gives crap to the cops even as he sits there guilty as sin!

Colloquialism is a very cool word that consists of 13 letters and used here would translate as Hangin' with your Homies!!

You're probably not old enough to remember church keys and pop-tops, but there was a time in history when crushing a beer can with your bare hands was an enormous pleasure and great pastime that totally entertained members of the opposite sex, who would watch on in awe! Although, I must say, real men crushed them upside their forehead, and we're not talkin' pansy aluminum cans either, but real metal!!!

Aw, crap, ran out of things to do!!

See ya later, Jack, we'll catch back up with you on Friday!!

If you want to watch a nice copy of "The Wild Ride," get a hold of Johnny Legend's reprint, or it streams on the internet freely at places like the Internet Archive!

Sunday, August 23, 2009

BELA LUGOSI Serial Posters

Wow! Here are six teriffic posters that featured Dungeon favorite, Bela Lugosi, in some of his classic movie serial roles!


Saturday, August 22, 2009

THE GALAXY INVADER / Don Dohler - 1985 / Music by Norman Noplock

Saturday Afternoon Filck bring you Don Dohler 1985 schlock classic THE GALAXY INVADER. Don do it all, here is what IMDb credit him for... Producer, Writer, Editor, Director, Cinematographer, Sound Department, Actor, Camera and Electrical Department, Self! Not bad, he even get credit for being 'Self.' Other project for Don: ALIEN FACTOR (coming soon), FIEND, NIGHTBEAST, CRAWLER, VAMPIRE SISTERS and more.

Music guy Norman Noplock, get this, work only on this one flick and get credit for composer, sound effect editor and musician!! Afternoon soundclip also feature excellent dialogue and show difficulties of monster crashing rocketship in South! Better to crash someplace like SF!!
We got 'em!!.. ALRIIIIGHT!!!

GALAXY INVADER crash in woods and electrify car when pass by overhead!

Couple hear noise in basement. But, there not supposed to be noise in basement!

Redneck Sr. and Redneck Jr. find INVADER' electric egg.

Gurlfiend shouldn't interrupt King Asshole Galoot when acting so important in front of idiot pals!

Dude look scarier than him!!

Pencil-neck geek (who car got electrified at beginning) call scientist to come and help find INVADER before redneck do! Bar chick think science is very sexy!!

YEEEEE.. HAW!!.. YIP, YIP, YIP!! WOOB, WOOB!.. AOOGA!

Shootout at Holdup Hollow!

For redneck, everyday is 4th of July!

Sometime, monster have to get sleep too!

You know about Blueboy?

Drunk redneck dad love his niece, in all wrong ways! He wear that same dirty t-shirt full of holes for entire flick!!

Mom finally had it with nutjob redneck dad and whomp his thick skull hard wif' rifle butt!

Now, world is better place!

GALAXY INVADER end up just DEAD MONSTER ON EARTH!

Monster Music

Monster Music
AAARRGGHHH!!!! Ya'll Come On Back Now, Y'Hear??