PSYCH-OUT - "Freak Out In The Darkness" (1968)

Welcome to the summer of love Freak-Out Friday edition of The Dungeon! I know it's only Wednesday, but Freak-Out Friday sounds better than Freak-Out Wednesday! This damn thing is just one big flashback anyway, so what difference does a couple of days make? The title on the Spanish poster translates as "Passport To Madness!"

Unlike other psychedelic and biker movies of the 60's like "The Trip," "Psych-Out" is not a Roger Corman production, but instead was a Dick Clark movie, and it makes for some noticeable differences!

Susan Strasberg had top female billing in both "The Trip" and "Psych-Out," the only difference is that she is actually in this movie! If I recall correctly, she was only in "The Trip" for a handful of minutes! In "Psych-Out" she plays a deaf girl searching for her flipped-out brother in San Francisco!

If you're not stoned enuf, you might just haight this movie!

Sandals have got a bad rap over the years, but as far as comfort is concerned, you just can't beat a good pair of Bikenstocks! There was a time in the 60's when independent sandal makers were able to eke out a fairly decent living!

The lead character in this film is played by Jack Nicholson, and what do you think his name is, that's right, Stoney!!! "Psych-Out" was made one year before "Easy Rider!"

Stoney is the lead singer in a psychedelic rock band called "Mumblin' Jim!"

Here's where Dick Clark got it all wrong! The two bands appearing in "Psych-Out" were The Seeds, and The Strawberry Alarm Clock, two bands I like a lot, but there's just one thing, this movie is about San Francisco, and those two bands were from L.A. It would have made it a lot more authentic if he would have used a couple of bands like Jefferson Airplane and Quicksilver Messenger Service! Still, a chance to see The Seeds for a couple of minutes in a motion picture is worth the admission alone! The trippiest thing is that the music in "The Trip," a movie set in Los Angeles, was made by the San Francisco band, The Electric Flag!

Bad trip! This looks like a psychedelic version of Michael Jackson's "Thriller!"

Never ever take the black acid!!

I remember years ago seeing an advertisement in a newspaper that read, and I quote, "Jesus Saves, and at today's prices, that's a miracle!!!"

Just like Susan Strasberg, Bruce Dern was in both "The Trip" and "Psych-Out!" In this film, he plays the lost whacked-out brother known among the locals as "The Seeker!" He's trying to find out where his scrambled brains went!

"Psych-Out" has got more story to it than "The Trip" but that doesn't make it a better movie, because the story is actually pretty stupid! I completely left out Dean Stockwell's character Dave on purpose because I can't stand those kind of sanctimonious, enlightened, headband wearing hippies,  they just bug me, and I don't need to be bugged any more than I already am!

                                               No, No, don't give the deaf girl the acid!!

And on that note, I'm off to go see two other classic 60's - 70's Bay Area musicians in concert tonight, Boz Scaggs and Michael McDonald!  Want to see it? "Psych-Out" is a double feature DVD coupled up with "The Trip" that's available on Netflix or Amazon! Just let someone else drive!!!