LOST IN SPACE / "The Hungry Sea" - 1965

The clock on the Dungeon wall sez it's time for an adventure in space with our good friends, the Robinsons, Major West, Dr. Smith and their robot pal.

The Robinsons and Major West are out exploring the planet they're on and things are getting crazy. The temperature is dropping like a stone, and it's like -150 degrees. Dr. Smith is arguing with the robot on its analysis of the drop in temperature, and is bad mouthing the Robinsons to boot. He's very aloof in this one with little regards for his crew mates.

It's freezing cold, and their rover must cross a frozen sea to get to their destination...

They get across the ice okay. but the temperature is now on the rise and they have to remove their winter gear, it's getting hot now.

After Dr. Smith is unable to get a message to the Robinsons about the weird orbit of the planet they're on, he sends the robot out to locate the family and give them the unsettling info.

The Robinsons and Major West are having dinner when...

The robot shows up, and not trusting anything Dr. Smith has to say, or what info the robot has brought them, Don fries the robot's circuits with his ray gun! Bad move. Smith and West are real dicks in this episode, and John is at odds with the major, big time.

Even though the robot is out of commission, John is able to get a read out about the orbit of the planet, an elongated orbit like a comet, which explains the extreme changes in temperature.

It's getting hotter, and John says they have no choice but to put up heat shields to protect themselves from the scorching heat when they pass by the planet's sun!

They all cover up with more heat shields as the sun passes by...

I mean, it's HOT AS HELL!

After the worst is over, the crew barely survive the ordeal. The top shields are burned to a crisp but luckily they took the brunt of the extreme heat.

They have to get back to the ship but the ice is now water and they have to battle a storm and a giant whirlpool to get through to the other side.

The radar device has malfunctioned so Don goes out to fix it in the storm. He fixes it but falls off into the water. John tries to rescue Don but he cannot find him. Luckily, Don was barely able to hang on and he gets back inside the rover to everyone's delight.

The crew heads back to the ship and all is okay after locating a spot on the planet that is safe for them to live.

Back at the ship, the robot plays "There No Place Like Home" as Dr. Smith sadly sings along, an interesting end to the madness.

But wouldn't you know it, there is a missile headed right for them, if you believe the radar screen, looks like music notes to me.

And to find out what happens next, you'll have to wait a whole week to find out what's going on with the Lost In Space gang!

THE ASTOUNDING SHE-MONSTER - The Trailer - 1957

 Like I said, these trailers have a tale to tell, and it's about getting people to want to go and see the movie they're selling. Horror movies are extra thrilling for the kids, but how many times were they disappointed after watching the whole picture, like this one...

Now, this would perplex even an astronomer, so, kids were left only with their imaginations to figure out what it means. What do you think?

This sounds ominous, an unknown power radiating brilliant light, what in the heck could it be!

And it causes a brutal death, I'm getting scared, I don't want to die!

Here's the Astounding She-Monster crashing through a window, a wonderful low budget way to get the viewer's attention! Wow, she's crazy enough to do that! And what else is she capable of doing to get our attention?!

Now we know who she is, an Astounding She-Monster from space, beyond outer space, wherever the Hell that is.

This is the really scary part... There's no escape from her clutches!

Oh no, she's trying to play tag with the rest of the cast and they run away like school kids who don't want to be 'it.'

No escape from terrifying thrills, so, you'd better come and see this thing, or else!

Come and meet the Astounding She-Monster from space, beyond outer space, and shake her hand, there's a nice brutal death awaiting you!

SKY KING - "Operation Urgent" (1952) - In Color

 

It's Wild Western Wednesday down in The Dungeon, and tonight's feature is the first episode of the 1950's TV show "Sky King."

I saw this show a lot as a kid because it was on every Saturday morning after "My Friend Flicka" for many years, but I never saw it in color until yesterday, so this was pretty interesting. 

Thanks to that old cowpuncher Lord Litter in Berlin for once again finding crazy stuff like this for me. I hate to sound like a broken record, but if you don't think there's still good music being made in the world, then you really should go check out some of his radio shows. I guarantee you'll dig it!

 

Kirby Grant was "Sky King" in 72 episodes from 1952 to 1959. Kirby Grant was also a talented musician and singer, and performed or sang in quite a few movies like "Ghost Catchers" where he was the bandleader and performed with his orchestra, or in the movie "Chip Off The Old Block," where he was in a dance group called The Jivin' Jacks and Jills.

 

Sky King's plane was a twin engine Cessna called "Songbird" and there were quite a few of them used over the years, but the best known one was one of the later ones, a 1958 Cessna 310B, serial number 35548 that was owned by the Cessna Company. 

After the show ended, the plane was sold in 1959, and in 1961 it crashed near Delano, California, killing the pilot!

 

 

This first episode of the series was called "Operation Urgent." This distressed Air Force pilot is going down, and he's carrying secret documents that need to be protected. He's in the general area of The Flying Crown Ranch, and Sky King is able to get his call for help.

Todd (Invaders From Mars) Karns is Lieutenant Doug Mercer.

 

Lieutenant Mercer gives special instructions for Sky King to call into his base!

Sky gets a hold of his old friend Colonel Yates as played by Pierre (Creature With The Atom Brain) Watkin. 

Pierre had 431 credits to his name and was billed as White (As in Perry) in the 1948 version of "Superman," and was also in four episodes of the 1950's "The Adventures Of Superman" in different roles.

Lieutenant Mercer is stuck in literally the middle of nowhere.

 

 How ironic, a kindly old man just happens to be out strolling in the area!

 

Turns out that the old man has a shack with a bunch of radio equipment in it. Nothing suspicious of course. "Come on in, you look tired, have a cup of coffee!"

Do you suppose this is how 'Radio Shack' got their name? Are there even any 'Radio Shacks' open anymore?

 

Weird, the coffee is having the opposite effect on the Lieutenant. I think it was drugged! 

 

 

Lieutenant Mercer is a little slow, it took him this long to figure out that the kindly old man was actually a dirty rotten scoundrel named Griz Raetze! How'd this guy ever learn how to fly a plane?

 

Pretty hard to recognize him here, but the diabolical Griz Raetze was played by John Banner, who was also the beloved Sergeant Schultz in 168 episodes of "Hogan's Heroes" from 1965 to 1971.

 

 

Sky King's niece and nephew Penny and Clipper King, live with him and usually get involved in his adventures. Penny was played by Gloria (The Life Of Riley) Winters, and Clipper was played by Ron Hagerthy who was in "The Twilight Zone" episode titled "Dead Man's Shoes."

Clipper finds Lieutenant Mercer but Griz Raetze is a step ahead of him!

 

When she's not looking cute, a big part of Penny's job is to look worried.

 

Griz Raetze has got the shack wired up to blow up at two o'clock with Lieutenant Mercer and Clipper trapped inside!

 

Just in the nick of time Sky King bursts in and manically tears the bomb apart with only five seconds to spare. Sky was a real do or die kind of guy!

In real life Kirby Grant was a flying enthusiast and pilot, and sadly on Oct. 30, 1985 he was killed in a car accident while on his way to watch the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger at Cape Canaveral, Florida, but Sky King will live forever!

MONSTER MOVIES I SAW AT THE THEATER IN 1958

 Well, I thought I'd do another post of  horror and sci-fi movies I saw at the theater, this time 1958, and it was a banner year to be sure! Just check out the movies I was sooo lucky to see when I was a measly 10 years old...

Oh man, this movie was a thrill and a half plus some! It was non-stop action with some of the greatest animated movie monsters ever created, by Ray Harryhausen and his pals of course. Wow, a real scary/fun roller coaster ride!

This movie had a great cast of characters and was very fun to watch, but was tarnished by its special effects, namely the giant space alien that was very transparent at times. They tried to fix it in post but it was futile. And that weird giant hand just made me laugh. All in all though, it was an entertaining sci-fi flick

This was one of Mr. BIG's finest movies, the special effects were top notch for the time. I remember loving the giant furniture and telephone, the dolls of puppet people were excellent even if they used cut out photos.

O... M... G!.. My dad took me to see this freak out fest and I was never the same again, seriously!! The creepiest parts were at the beginning, starting with the old man and then at the doctor's office. When Steve went back to see if the old man was okay, he's walking outside the house when he sees something crashing against the window blinds... I got out of my seat and went into the lobby and sat there 10 minutes before my dad dragged me back to my seat. Man, this movie was the absolute scariest! I even had the 45 record, freaking love that theme song!!

Donald Wolfit was a terrifying mad scientist, but I don't remember a whole lot about the movie because Hammer made so many of them using that formula. Their labs were the best!

As cheap as this little thing is, I love it to pieces. At the time though, it was hilarious when they show the little Brain Eaters scooting around the place, I mean, holy cow, what the Hell!

This movie left me stunned at how cool the Colossus looked, what a great monster movie it was! As usual, it ends up a tragedy, his son is the one that destroys him...

Here's another cheapie that has its moments, especially when the Faceless Man starts moving around, causing mayhem and crushing people!

I actually saw EARTH vs. THE SPIDER, and that particular poster is a little hard to find for some reason. Anyway, I liked it, but I had already seen TARANTULA a few years earlier and there was no comparison. Joe's hot rod was very nice, but the part that still bugs me is when the Spider was displayed at the school (really?!), its leg just looked wimpy! Best part was Paul Blaisdell's motorcycle policeman dummy after the Spider sucked all his blood out!

THE FLY and THE BLOB were the two movies that really kicked my ass, remember, I was only 10 years old! When David Hedison was walking around in his lab coal, right hand in pocket, head draped, unable to talk, well that was unnerving enough, but when he was shown with his fly head and hand exposed, I almost fainted, I'm not kidding. I cannot watch it now, too sad. James Clavell's screenplay is pure genius! What a ride!

Wow, here's another mind blowing movie for me, it totally kept my attention the whole time. The skeletons looked a little crappy with clear plastic wrap for skin, but when they go into the cave with the satellite and see the guy who got stuck there inside of the blob, yikes, blobs! The tension of the thing growing in cycles was pretty intense too.

Oh man, I dug this crazy movie! The Frankenstein monster at the beginning was creepy and weird as Hell. Boris Karloff as the mas scientist was great, but I liked that freaky atomic Frankenstein wrapped in cloth, it's one of my all time favorite monster!

There was so much drama going on that it was easy for this monster kid to lose interest, I just didn't remember much about it. It used some gadgets from FORBIDDEN PLANET and even some of the electronic sounds, round peg in a square hole.

I liked this one, the monster was pretty unique, the action was okay, and that last scene made me dizzy because I has a touch of acrophobia. But the part I'll never forget is the sweat on Robert's rear end when he was climbing the stairs, looks like he wet himself!

Wow, wow, wow!! This thing was a real thriller, in color with lots of bright red blood. Chris Lee was the man, his portrayal of Dracula is number one. The climax was just too much, another amazing movie from Hammer!

I saw this one with my dad and loved every minute of it, the rocket was definitely from Hell. The ending was intense, would their Thor missile destroy the Lost missile?!!

Talk about a thrill packed movie, this thing had it all, the creepy prehistoric fish, great transformation scenes, and plenty of mayhem! The cherry on top was that giant dragonfly!

I was enthralled by the beginning credit music and the digital delay used after the spaceship goes through a time warp. It was okay as a movie, beautiful women are always a plus, it had a giant spider reused from WORLD WITHOUT END. The girlie power plant at the end is one of the worst sci-fi sets, ever!

Again, those Hammer horror movies came through with a consistent mad lab theme, always the best. I remember this one had a sad ending, being their latest Frankenstein monster.

I really like this strange little movie, it was about kids saving the day. Loved the rocket at the military base, and it had a different kind of blob creature, making my day. 

This is another weird movie I liked, it just had a lot of elements that pushed my buttons. The characters went to a double bill movie with I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF and i WAS A TEENAGE FRANKENSTEIN playing, I liked the noise their time machine made, but showing the lady from the future at the end, well, she looked goofy. One great part is when the hired hand Angelo is seen in his shack reading a girlie magazine and has nudie pictures of girls pinned on the wall!

This one creeped me out pretty good, the Thing looked terrifying with its makeup. All in all, it was at the end of the Universal fifties run and this one had a small budget.

Damn, I loved this movie, with the aliens taking over the mind of the head of the space project, where he burns his hand and just wipes off the residue, the squat rockets and wild satellites, it's definitely one of Corman's best films.

Wow, how lucky was I to get to see this many monster movies, they have had a lasting effect on me and I/m still doing retro monster art, in fact, I'll be working on them after I hang up. Click.