ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE - "R.I.P. Diana Rigg" (1969)

 

This week's Saturday Night Special was the sixth, and probably the strangest, of all the James Bond franchise films!

I'll come right and say it, I never saw this film until just a couple of days ago. I was kind of busy back in 1969, having just gone into the Army, and I was one of those guys who thought the only real James Bond was Sean Connery, so I probably wouldn't have watched it even if I had a chance.

But it ain't necessarily so! 

The guy who plays James Bond is this film is named George Lazenby. George was the number one male fashion model in the world from 1964 to 1968 whose only previous acting was done in TV commercials, and so considering all that, I think he did a pretty good job. I guess that's why the movie is almost two and a half hours long, because you need about an hour before you start believing this guy is really James Bond!

For me the real star of the show is Diana Rigg who I have been in love with ever since I saw my first episode of  "The Avengers" back in the 60's.

Diana was born on July 30, 1938 and just left us two days ago on September 10, 2020, but she will remain in our hearts forever!

There are 255 grand photos of Diana throughout the years on IMDB, and even if you have something better to do,  I still suggest you go look at all of them!

George Lazenly wasn't even British, but instead was actually born in New South Wales, Australia, and he was also the youngest actor to ever play James Bond!

I think another reason I never saw this film before is because of the title. After titles like "Dr. No," Goldfinger," and "Thunderball," "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" just did not sound that exciting to me. What was Ian Fleming thinking?

George Lazenly was also a trained martial arms artist who studied under Bruce Lee, and was going to co-star in a film with Bruce, but two weeks before filming started, Bruce Lee died of a heart attack.

 

I just like this shot for some reason!

Diana Rigg was in 51 episodes of "The Avengers" from 1965 to 1968 as the always engaging Emma Peel! It this film, she is known as just Tracy!

Surrounded by beautiful women, James Bond still finds the time to peruse this issue of Playboy that he stole from a guy's office!

 Piz Gloria, Kanton Bern, Switzerland.

What a location!

 

 

Of course there is a bevy of International beauties included!!

 

Geoge Lazenby was offered a seven film deal as James Bond, but opted to be in only this one feature, because he thought the dapper Bond character was a dying breed that people would soon be losing interest in, as the slovenly hippie lifestyle was gaining popularity!

Telly "Kojak" Savalas, one of the most famous chrome domes of all time, has the role of the evil Blofeld!

What can't he do? George Lazenby has raced dirt bikes and stock cars, he's an avid golfer, and was also a very accomplished skier, which I'm sure helped a great deal in filming some of this stuff!

Another one of the strangest things that has ever happened in a James Bond movie, is that he actually falls in love with a woman, and asks her to marry him! Of course, it's Diana Rigg, so how can you blame him?

For all you people who aren't old enough to remember "The Avengers," then I'm sure you will know Diana Rigg from later in her career, and her eighteen appearances as Olenna Tyrell  in "Game Of Thrones!"

 

James Bond and Tracy actually do get married in what has got to be one of the happiest/saddest endings ever in a spy movie because Tracy gets murdered soon after the marriage, and now 51 years later, Diana Rigg has died for real! At least we had her around for 82 years to enjoy!!

LOONEY TUNES / Porky Pig In "The Case Of The Stuttering Pig" - 1937

Oh boy, here's one of my favorite cartoons I used to watch after school starting in 1953. It's directed by Frank Tashlin aka Tish Tash, Frank was an interesting guy, he started in cartoons and switched over to movie director in 1951. He directed movies like THE LEMON DROP KID, SON OF PALEFACE, ARTISTS AND MODELS, THE GIRL CAN'T HELP IT, WILL SUCCESS SPOIL ROCK HUNTER?, ROCK-A-BYE BABY, THE GEISHA BOY, CINDERFELLA, SNOW WHITE AND THE THREE STOOGES, WHO'S MINDING THE STORE?, THE DISORDERLY ORDERLY, THE ALPHABET MURDERS, THE GLASS BOTTOM BOAT and more...

It's a dark and stormy night, Porky and his brothers are there with Petunia for the reading of their late Uncle Solomon's will. The kindly Lawyer Goodwill has brought all the official documents concerning the uncle's estate.

Of course Uncle Solomon is none other than, who else, Oliver Hardy!

So, Lawyer Goodwill reads the will, and, looks like he will get it all if anything should happen to the brothers and sister! Now wait a minute... Porky and Petunia are brother and sister, in later cartoons they were boyfriend and girlfriend! Like, what the Hell's going on here Frank?!!

Lawyer Goodwill leaves the house in the storm but goes directly to the basement, where, he has a complete mad lab with all kinds of dangerous poisons and concoctions! He grabs the Jekyll and Hyde Juice and fixes himself a glassful...

He slams it down, but........ NADA!

He goes over to his electric mixer and tries again.

It works like a charm! He transforms into Mr. Hyde and tells the audience that he's going to get rid of the pigs, and, there's nothing they can do about it! Hyde also calls out a guy in the third row, he calls him a softie and later a cream puff! Gawd, he's hideous!!

Now the fun begins!.. Hyde turns the lights off and one by one, all the brothers disappear.

Luckily, Porky and Petunia both duck behind the couch before they also disappear!

Here's what Hyde has in mind for the pigs, all he needs now are those last two...

Upstairs, Petunia has been captured, and Porky has a few run-ins with the creepy monster!

Porky finds the others in the basement and has the door locked to keep the thing out. But, Hyde easily breaks the door apart...

And just as Hyde's ready to grab Porky, a theater seat comes hurdling into the scene from nowhere and conks the monster on the head, and after he hits the wall from the slide...

He ends up in the stocks, defeated! He asks who threw the chair? He hears.. I did! Hyde asks .. Who are you? The voice says.. The guy in the thoid row, you cream puff! Join us again tomorrow for our Saturday evening post, here at The Dungeon!!..

ANT-MAN - "No Shield. No Armor. No Problem." (2015)

Tonight's Mid-Week Matinee is the 2015 Marvel film called

"ANT-MAN!"

I don't normally watch very many modern movies, but for various reasons, I did kind of want to watch "Ant-Man."

"Ant-Man" and I go back a long way, in fact this is the only Marvel comic I still have from my collection as a kid that used to include "Spiderman" #5, and "The Avengers" #1.

I never expected them to make "Ant-Man" into a movie, because like "Dr. Strange," back in the day, he wasn't really that popular, and that is why after only fourteen issues, they changed him into "Giant Man."

 "Ant-Man" never really had his own comic, but was just a featured character in "Tales To Astonish" which was a Sci-fi comic of different stories. The first reference to an Ant character was in issue number 27 of "Tales To Astonish" in 1962.

 After that, they went back to their normal format consisting of Gorilla Men, Space Beasts, Swamp Things, Mummies, Evil Quicksand, Invading Enemies, and Jack Kirby's silly monsters like this for seven more issues before re-introducing "Ant-Man."

In issue # 35 "Ant-Man" returned and was ready to take on the world, which brings us to the subject at hand.

After doing time for a sophisticated heist gone wrong, Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, aka Ant-Man, is released and ready to give it a new start!

But of course he can't find a good job, and can't even hold on to a bad one, because he lied about his criminal past!

Michael Douglas is the creator of the Ant-Man, Dr. Hank Pym!

Scott Lang goes by to see his daughter who is living with his ex-wife and her cop husband. For some reason, he brings this hideous stuffed animal to her!

It's Ant-Man!

Shrinking people in the movies is not a novel concept, the first time it happened was in a 1901 short that was made by Georges Méliès titled "The Dwarf And The Giant," although the shrinkage was minimal in that initial effort!

This shot brings "The Incredible Shrinking Man" from 1957 to mind, or maybe "Attack OF The Puppet People" from 1958.

It was kind of hard to get decent stills from this film because Ant-Man is so small!

There are plenty to choose from, but "Fantastic Voyage" from 1967 is another excellent film featuring microscopic people!

Learning how to get along with your new friends can be difficult at first!

 

You've gotta dig Ant-Man's best pal Anthony!

Evangeline Lilly will go on to be in the sequel as The Wasp.
If they ever make a film about Louise Brooks, I think Evangeline would be a fine candidate for the lead role!

Corey Stull is the ultimate scumbag villain Darren Cross!

Corey is also the one who dons the suit as The Yellowjacket!!

Well, this certainly looks familiar!

I'm pretty sure you knew that already!

So there you go! Downtrodden but intelligent ex-con gets a new suit, and a new chance, and goes on to save the world, or on a smaller scale, at least the relationship with his daughter!