Saturday, June 11, 2011

BIGFOOT - Richard A. Podolor - "Bring Me A Bigfoot And A Bottle Of Peer" (1970)

Tonight's feature is brought to you courtesy of The Trash Palace and is rightfully entitled "BIGFOOT"!!! The very entertaining music for "Bigfoot" was created by composer Richard A. Podolor, who has written songs for films like "The Hellcats," Blues Brothers 2000," and "Death Proof!" Richard produced LPs by Steppenwolf, Three Dog Night, Blues Image, Iron Butterfly, and Alice Cooper, etc, and as a guitarist co-wrote many songs with Drummer Sandy Nelson, including the massive hit "Let There Be Drums!" He was also the first producer to ever receive a platinum album! What a talent!!

"Bigfoot" starts with Blonde bombshell Joi Lansing flying a plane over the Big Bear Mountains in California, when she develops engine trouble and has to parachute to safety...

.....where she is captured by none other that Sasquatch! For the longest time, I thought that was the end of Joi's part in the film, but it's not!! It seems that director/writer Robert F. Slatzer had a thing for blondes, having written two books about Marilyn Monroe, and a long standing claim that he was married to Marilyn for 3 days in 1952, a fact that he was never clearly able to substantiate! Robert's other two claims to fame are "The Hellcats," and a rah, rah, rah 1970 documentary made about the Vietnam war that was narrated by John Wayne, called "No Substitute For Victory." Many of the people involved with "Bigfoot" were also in "The Hellcats!"

The alternate title for this film was "Big Foot," which I personally find very funny!

That would be "Introducing" and forgetting about, all in the same sentence. James' film career was less than stellar, this was his only film credit ever!

With all star actors like John Carradine, it seems pretty obvious that Robert didn't really write much of a script, but just told the actors to start talking about almost anything!

"Bigfoot" is not really that great of a movie, but more of a pop culture lovefest! This is Judy Jordan who before "Bigfoot" was one of the Glea Girls on Jackie Gleason's variety shows that ran from 1964 to 1968, and was also Patricia Switzer on 9 episodes of "The Beverly Hillbillies!"

Even the consummate veteran John Carradine is bored by the whole thing!

Veteran cowboy actor Ken Maynard has the role of the storekeeper, Mr. Bennett! As a matter of fact, that's a poster from one of his movies on the wall behind him!

Seems there's a whole family of them Bigfoots living up in there in the woods, and it looks like they roasting up some marshmallows!

Finally, we get back to Joi Lansing again! She's been tied up the whole time we've been getting introduced to the traveling salesmen and the Yamaha biker gang, and in the meantime Judy Jordan had got captured too!

It's at this point that it is revealed that some of the younger Bigfeet have some more human characteristics, like there has been some inner species hanky-panky going on, and that kind of worries the girls who are wondering what's going to happen to them!

Probably a good 20 minutes of "Bigfoot's" hour and 24 minutes run-time is spent aimlessly wandering through the forest and mountains!

Left to right, here's John Carradine, Chris Mitchum, and John Mitchum. The Carradine family needs no introduction, but Chris Mitchum was Robert Mitchum's son, and John Mitchum was Robert Mitchum's younger brother! John Mitchum was a bartender in 7 "Bonanza" episodes, and Bucky the bartender in 9 episodes of "The Virginian!" He played two characters on "Batman," Hot Rod Harrington, and Rip Snorting, and was in two episodes of "Twilight Zone." He was also Dirty Harry's partner, Frank DiGiorgio, in Clint Eastwood's first three Dirty Harry movies, and he was also a folksinger, songwriter, and a poet! Among Chris Mitchum's many efforts are a co-starring role in "Rio Lobo" with John Wayne, and in the 1996 biopic flick about Jimi Hendrix titled "Jimi," Chris had the role of Chas Chandler! Chris was also in two movies in 2011!

At the young age of 64, John Carradine was not even being close to being done with his career, and would still add 102 more credits to his portfolio after "Bigfoot!" John Carradine was simply an amazing person!

Here we've got Lois Red Elk as Falling Star, Noble 'Kid' Chissel as Hardrock, and Nick Raymond as Slim! Nick also played one of the creatures! Hardrock is missing an arm from his last encounter with "Bigfoot" a few years back!

Other cast standouts are the Producer of "Bigfoot," Anthony Cardoza of "Beast Of Yucca Flats" fame as the fisherman, James Craig who was name-dropped in the novel Myra Breckinridge by Gore Vidal, as the hero's favorite movie star, as Sheriff Cyrus, and in this shot, in front is the very Captain Kirk looking Bing Crosby's son Lindsay as Wheels, and on the back of the second bike is the "Double-D Avenger" herself, Haji as Haji!

Even though they were armed, the stupid guys also get caught and tied up by them Bigfeet!

Joi is taken off to meet The Boss! Just to make sure nobody gets confused, her name in the film is Joi Landis!

The classic Doodles Weaver as the forest ranger explains to the Sheriff that, No, he hasn't seen anything resembling Bigfoot in his area!

Joi is tied up ala Fay Wray and the large monkey-like creature has to do battle with a vicious bear to save her! Sound familiar?

Here he is, in all his glory, James Stellar himself as the creature of the hour "BIGFOOT!"

Sadly, "Bigfoot" was to be Joi Lansing's last film. She did have one more televison appearance on "The Governor And J.J." and two years later died from breast cancer at the age of 43!

The cliché ridden ending has to be seen and heard to be believed, and now you know where you can find it! And while you're at it, go and get yourself a copy of "Monster" by Steppenwolf too, a record that still screams the truth 40 years later!

5 comments:

The Lumberjack said...

Great title card!

Cliff said...

Hard to get any cheesier than this

EEGAH!! said...

Thanx Cliff! I couldn't agree with you more!

Anonymous said...

Anyone know how tall James Stellar was? Can't find a thing on him?

Eegah!! and Tabonga! said...

IMDB has him standing at 6' 8"

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