For the next few weeks, it's going to be a no holds barred affair down here in The Dungeon! I'm going to leave all the doors open, and God only knows what might escape, so be prepared, you've been warned! So let's get this rock rollin' with "The Name Of The Game Is Kill!"
"The Name Of The Game Is Kill" was released in 1968, and I can give you 84 reasons not to bother seeing it, and each one of those reasons is a minute long!
It's almost a given that when you see disembodied doll parts, something weird is going on!
The same thing goes for abandoned graves out in the middle of the stinkin' desert!
Jack Lord, yep, 281 episodes of "Hawaii Five-O" Jack Lord, has the lead role as Hungarian hitch hiker Symcha Lipa! He even talks with an accent, it's that authentic!
Symcha is given a ride into Jerome, Arizona by a beautiful young lady named Mickey Terry, who was played by Susan (The Trip, Psych-Out) Strasberg! I love these kinds of shots!
There are some odd and creepy things going on in Jerome!
The keen eye of the Oscar winning cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond saves the day! From his meager beginnings working with the Al Adamsons and the Arch Halls of the world, Vilmos clawed his way to the top of the heap where he remains to this day!
There are only seven actors total in this film. This is Nan Terry, Mickey's juvenile delinquent sister as played by Tisha Sterling! Tisha had the role of 'Legs' on two episodes of the "Batman" TV series! For me, this is the best part of the whole movie! Nan has just put on a new record she brought home, and is groovin' to the cool psychedelic sounds of
The Electric Prunes playing "Shadows!" Somewhere in there, The Marketts of "Out Of Limits" fame contribute their version!
Uum! It looks like Nan seems to have gotten Symcha's attention!
Uh, Oh, time to change reels! jeez, even the guy in the projection booth fell asleep!!
Jack Lord was 11 1/2 inches taller than Susan Strasberg, but he looks about two feet taller in this shot!
"Hey Mickey, you're so fine, you blow my mind, Hey Mickey!" You should start getting the idea that there's something wrong with this family any moment now!
I told you there was a total of seven members in the cast! There's also Mickey and Nan's sister Diz, as played by Collin Wilcox Paxton! Collin had a fine stage and screen career, I'm sure there's a story how she ended up here! Collin was in the "Twilight Zone" episode titled "Number 12 Looks Just Like You"!
Symcha takes one for "The Gipper!
First Mickey has a realization!
And then when he comes to, Symcha realizes things are different in America!!
The girl's Mother is really Dad!! The same Dad we've heard three very elongated stories about how he disappeared and/or was murdered years earlier! T.C. Jones Played Mr. and Mrs. Terry! Here is his entire biography as quoted from the IMDB, "Born Thomas Craig Jones in Pennsylvania. A character actor, he specialized in cross-dressing and deranged behavior." In The Monkees' movie "Head," T.C. played Mr. and Mrs. Ace!
Mickey and Symcha run off together and live happily ever after, and the rest of the family is reunited in one big joyous celebration!!
NOT!!!!
Uum! It looks like Nan seems to have gotten Symcha's attention!
Thank you for your blog, it's fun reading your opinions of these classics (?). Can you tell my if there are many scene shots of the town of Jerome. This is about the time I moved to AZ and did road trips to that town and other parts of northern AZ.
ReplyDeleteThere are a few shots of Jerome, but honestly, the print that I found is not that great, and on the wide shots, the details are pretty washed out, so you can't make much out! Thanx for reading!
ReplyDeleteI've never seen it, but the idea of Susan Strasberg and Collin Wilcox playing two weird sisters seems like almost perfect casting.
ReplyDeleteOne of the less famous genre movies with Susan Strasberg in it is THE LEGEND OF HILLBILLY JOHN. Have you ever reviewed it?
Ideas are not always perfect! Valiant effort though! Hillbilly John is on the list of the future!
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