Wednesday, April 6, 2016

CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD PROMO PHOTOS (1938-39)

 I was recently rummaging through some of my Father-In-Law's old papers the other day, and I stumbled on all these classic old Hollywood Photos. It looks to me like they were something they used to hand out at the theatre when you went to the movies! Anyway, I thought you'd like them!
The first one is of the beautifully stunning Linda Darnell! You can read a little bit more about Linda's tragic life in this post I did for the movie, "Hangover Square" starring Laird Cregar!

About half of them have biographies on the back!

  Surprisingly enough, even classy actors like Cary Grant show up on this site from time to time!

Gals like Alice Faye generally stayed away from movies that end up on sites like this!
Great photo just the same!

This would be the first time that Tyrone Power showed up on these pages too!

I love this sepia toned portrait of Carole Lombard with those red lips painted on!

The flyers without biographies on the back had advertisements for upcoming shows!
Adults 25 cents, Children 10 cents!
Amazing!

The only other time we had Clark Gable on this show was in this "Headless Horseman" cartoon!!

These ads are the best and include Boris Karloff in "Devil's Island," and "Son Of Frankenstein!"

Maybe some day, we'll get around to a movie that had Jeanette Macdonald in it!
In the meantime, you get this photo instead!

Twenty-Five bucks for free?? Wow, that would have got an adult into the movies 100 times or a kid 250 times!  That would be a little over $2000.00 today!
Pretty damn incredible!

On a completely unrelated subject:
Rest In Peace Merle!
We'll Miss Ya!!

Monday, April 4, 2016

VIDEODROME / Canadian Film Development Corporation, Famous Players, Filmplan International - 1983

Here's a flick from supreme gore meister, David Cronenberg. THE DEAD ZONE and THE FLY will be his next productions. This story's about Max Renn (James Woods), who runs a TV channel, and when he's looking for new material to show, he discovers something called, "Videodrome." His girlfriend, Nicki Brand (Deborah Harry), goes on an audition for the show, and Max gets drawn into the plot that uses the show as its front for a global conspiracy!

I have a sound clip for your approval, sooooo, you can push the big red 'GO' button located there by our psychodrome knockoff, NOW, Ralphie The Tarantula!.. Here's a sample from... VIDEODROME!

A salesman goes to Max and shows him a selection of VHS tapes designed that are assured to get the viewer's attention. Max is interested...

This flick is an endless parade of violent sex, Max and his pals check out the tape.

Here's are Max and Nicki on the Rene King Show, the eighties was an interesting time, maybe.

Nicki is really getting into the tapes, she burns her boob with a cigarette to show her pleasure, and, Max is starting to lose his mind...

Then, things start going to the next level of weird. Nicki wants a BIG wet, juicy, kiss!!

The weirdness doesn't stop, Max comes up with this cool helmet to do... Well, something!

Max just keeps getting deeper and deeper into Weirdsville, he pulls his gun out of his stomach only to have the weapon attach itself to his hand.

Videodrome is in full control and the gun is now a built in murder device!

Here's the money shot! Max fills this TV dude full of lead, then, the evil comes pouring out all over the damn place!

So, Max has no choice, he uses his gun hand to blow his brain out. A typical Cronenberg happy ending. Tune in again on Wednesday for more from... The Dungeon!

Saturday, April 2, 2016

TORCHY THE BATTERY BOY - Gerry Anderson - Roberta Leigh - "Pom-Pom And The Toys" (1957)

Welcome to an extra weird Saturday Night Special in The Dungeon!

Tonight's short feature is titled: "WTF!?," no, I mean.......
Listen to that sound clip and you just might have a better historical perspective on what's wrong with the world today!

"Pom-Pom and The Toys" was the first episode of "Torchy The Battery Boy!" The story and the grating Torchy theme song were both written by child's author Roberta Leigh! Roberta also wrote "The Adventures Of Twizzle," and "Planet Patrol!" She just might have been a little cracked!

"Torchy The Battery Boy" was also produced by Roberta Leigh, and was one Gerry Anderson's first films!

The puppeteer was Christine Glanville! Christine went on to be the puppeteer in "Supercar," "Thunderbirds" and many other Gerry Anderson productions, but my favourite credit is that she was also a puppeteer in David Bowie's "Labyrinth!"

This is the kindly Mr. Bumbledrop! He likes to have kids play in his yard! In current modern society, he would probably be under investigation!

Mr. Bumbledrop's dog is named Pom-Pom! Pom-Pom is a poodle with straight hair, so Mr. Bumbledrop has to put curlers in his hair!

Mr. Bumbledrop and Pom-Pom are very happy together

Some of the kids playing in Mr. Bumbledrop's yard are spoiled complaining whiny little brats, so Mr. Bumbledrop gives them some kites to play with! 

The brats tie toys to their kite strings and the toys along with Pom-Pom get sucked into space and onto some other planet! Wow! Anything goes!

Torchy takes kind of a Frankenstein crossed with Pinocchio turn at this point! Mr. Bumbledrop creates a toy creature to go and rescue his poodle!

He's called Torchy because he has a flashlight built into his cranium! I don't know about you, but weird dolls kind of creep me out!

Torchy's beam shines near Pop-Pom's portrait on the wall!

Next step for Mr. Bumbledrop, build a rocket in the yard so Torchy can go into space and rescue Pom-Pom and the other toys! Is any of this making any sense yet?

BLAST OFF!
This first episode ended here, but believe it or don't, Torchy continued on for a couple more years!
This first episode is available gratis from the Internet Archive right....
HERE! 

 
But if your world rocks around weirdass space puppets from the future past....

TORCHY! TORCHY!!

Monster Music

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