THE MONITORS - Fred Kaz - "Peace Brings Happiness" (1969)

Tonight's special feature is a freaky deaky affair from the year 1969 entitled "THE MONITORS!" I've been looking forward to seeing "The Monitors" for quite some time now, and I must say, I was not disappointed, and I've got one word for you, Weirdsville!!

"The Monitors" IS a comedy, I'm pretty sure, but sometimes you just can't tell, because it also has some seriously dark moments and some biting social commentary!

"The Monitors" themselves are these derby and trench coat kinda guys from another planet, and are only here to keep the human race from doing any harm to itself, and it's all fine and well as long as The Earthlings don't get in the way or out of line!

Even the Honourable Senator Everett Dirkson who was still in office when this film was made, and died before it was released, chimes in with his approval of what a great job "The Monitors" are doing!! Everett was quite an interesting guy for being a Senator, and he recorded 4 patriotic albums, including one called "Gallant Men," that won a Grammy!

This is Guy Stockwell as Harry, the Hero of the film! Guy was the older brother of actor Dean Stockwell, and had quite an amazing career that included lots of TV, like a 26 episode run as Chris in the early 60's "Adventure In Paradise," or the fact that he was in 14 episodes of the dramatic "Richard Boone Show," and he played a different character in each show!

If for nothing else, Larry Storch will always be remembered for his role in 65 episodes of "F-Troop" as Corporal Agarn, but his role in "The Monitors" as Colonel Stutz, the leader of the resistance movement is just a little bit too far over the top, almost to the point of annoying! I'm sure as a teenager, I would have found him hilarious!

Susan Oliver is the blonde two-timing agent Barbara. Susan will always be remembered as Vina from "Star Trek," but she was so much more than that, spending a great deal of her time as a pilot of some renown!

I'm upside down over the beautiful Sherry Jackson as Mona!! Sherry was the daughter Terry on 132 episodes of "The Danny Thomas Show," and has her 69th birthday coming up on the 15th of this month!

Even the fantastic bandleader Xavier Cugat shows up to make a joke about himself!!

One of those kind of guys with a face you always remember, but you can't remember his name, Shepperd Strudwick had the role of the almighty leader of "The Monitors," Tersh Jeterax!

"The Monitors" is a like a dictionary of 60's Pop Culture! The very cool music was composed by a fine gentleman named Fred Kaz! Fred is an exemplary musician, who prefers to play jazz piano, but was also the musical director for "Second City" for right about 30 years! Fred didn't do a lot of acting, but he did have a role in the 1993 movie "...And God Spoke," as Noah. That very same film had our "Offbeat" Girl Christy Taylor in it too, in the role of Eve!! For some odd reason, our public access TV show, "Offbeat" is not listed in Christy's acting credits on IMDB! She was a good sport, and never missed a show, but when she got an agent, he told her to get as far away from us as possible, which was probably good advice!!!

The other main character back there with the moustache is the face of Doritos, Avery Schreiber as Max. A very funny comedian by trade, his role here is just as irritating as Larry Storch's! This movie would have been a Helluva lot funnier if it wasn't a comedy!

The gang is on the run which leads to no good, that's for sure!!

Guy Stockwell's character gets detained for a while until "The Monitors" can decide what to do with him!

Mona kinda falls for Harry, and in turn, helps him escape!!

Now get this, when she was a little girl, Sherry Jackson had the role of Susie Kettle in 4 Ma and Pa Kettle movies! Sherry Jackson was Mignonne McCurdy on "The Many Loves Of Dobie Gillis," and has also been on all these now cult TV shows, "Twilight Zone," "Lost In Space," "Batman," and "Star Trek!" Sherry was also supposedly in a 1972 flick with Adam West that nobody can seem to produce a copy of, called "Curse Of The Moon Child!"

The brilliant cinematography throughout is by Wünderkind Vilmos Zsigmond, who has worked with everybody from Al Adamson to Steven Spielberg!!

Being chased by "The Monitors," Harry and Mona find the perfect place to hide, in a fountain!!

Harry is lucky enough to get tangled up with both Barbara, and Mona!!

How's this for scathing commentary? The President of the United States of America is so useless and unnecessary that his desk has been taken over by spiders, and he spends all his time doing what's really important, crossword puzzles!!!

There's yet one more blonde in Harry's mixed up life, it's Larry Stortch again, with his best friend, a bomb!

Maybe we do need the help of "The Monitors!"

ISLE OF THE DEAD / RKO - 1945

Welcome to Mondo Monday with Tabonga, here at The Dungeon!.. Tonite we gots more Boris for your enjoyment, released just after WWII ended. Val Lewton is co-producer.

The story goes like this... On a Greek island during the 1912 war, several people get trapped there by a quarantine for the plague. To make things even more creepy, a superstitious old peasant woman that lives there suspects one young girl of being a vampiric sort of demon called a Vorvolaka! The tagline reads... "One of these six will be BURIED ALIVE! None can hear their screams on this far-off horror island! None can stop the terrors a man-monster holds in store!"

The music is by heavyweight, Leigh Harline. Leigh had 195 composing, 102 music department and 37 soundtrack credits! Check some of this out, for Disney's PINOCCHIO (music: "When You Wish Upon A Star" 1939 - uncredited, "Little Wooden Head" 1939 - uncredited, "Give A Little Whistle" 1939 - uncredited, "Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee" 1939 - uncredited, "I've Got No Strings" 1939 - uncredited), MR. BUG GOES TO TOWN, HENRY AND DIZZY, THE BRIGHTON STRANGLER, DING DONG WILLIAMS, THE BACHELOR AND THE BOBBY SOXER, THE BOY WITH THE GREEN HAIR, MONKEY BUSINESS, THE DESERT RATS, THE BOTTOM OF THE BOTTLE, TEENAGE REBEL, THE GIRL CAN'T HELP IT, VISIT TO A SMALL PLANET and 7 FACES OF DR. LAO.

Okay then, let's bring in our littlest (and cutest) Dungeon helper and buddy, buddy... Rufus The Gnat. He'll be pushing that big red 'GO' button over there inna sec, an' start our Eariffic Earclip for... ISLE OF THE DEAD!


Boris shows Oliver Davis, played by Marc Cramer, the island cemetary where his wife is buried. They boat over for a short, 3 hour tour...

Once there, they find out that they cannot go back because there has been a plague outbreak, and the island is under quarantine! Now, that's a good one!! There's the distinctive looking Skelton Knaggs on the left, he's in one of The Dungeon's very favorite flicks, MASTERMINDS! And, he played X-Ray in DICK TRACY MEETS GRUESOME.

When I was a kid venetian blinds were very popular and I still love the look of them.

Now, people are starting to die from the affliction...

Here's Alan Napier as St. Aubyn, he's being covered by a sheet as he's just died. Alan also played the very clever mad doctor in MASTERMINDS! We'll be bringing you another flick starring Alan one of these days, ISLAND OF LOST WOMEN.

Depression starts to set in among the people still not affected yet.

Another one bites the dust!

Madame Kyra tells Boris that she believes young Thea is a vampire, and responsible for the disease that's spreading over the island.

Check out these shadows on Thea's face, makes me think of I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTER SPACE!..

More great shadowing as Boris gets freaky with delusion near the end.

The natural beauty of a fleeting woman.

Ghoulnight Everbloody!!

TURIST ÖMER UZAY YOLUNDA aka "The Turkish Star Trek" (1973)

Well, the way things were going, Shock just wasn't working out, so with the line up we've got planned, I was going to change it to Silly Saturday, then I considered Schizoid Saturday, maybe Sardonic Saturday, or we could get really interactive and go for Suggestion Saturday, but I think I've settled on Sarcastic Saturday for a week or two!

It really doesn't matter much right now, because any kind of logic you try and use will be thrown out with the Saturday Suds when you're dealing with something like what we've got tonight! I was blind, and it took the wisdom of Professor Grewbeard to open my eyes, so I could see, and share it with you, so here you go...without further delay...it's the "Turkish Star Trek!"

"Turkish Star Trek," those are words that are just not meant to be used together, and make for an Experience I'm pretty sure even Jimi wouldn't have been ready for! Wow, man, what the F was that??

Okay, let's roll, here's Erol Amaç as the notorious Mr. Spak!! Well, it's kinda close, at least he can lift one eyebrow!

Cemil Sahbaz is Kaptan Kirk!

The theme music in "Turist Ömer Uzay Yolunda" is uncredited, and in typical form, is an over modulated ripoff of the "Star Trek" theme with a big chunk of The Marketts' "Out Of Limits" sloppily injected into the middle of it! What a pack of cards!!

In typical fashion, the boys beam down to some enigmatic planet, replete with a mad scientist, and an army of android robots wearing nothing but faux animal fur briefs!

Pretty cool place to shoot a movie for probably nothing!

Most people agree that the plot seems to be based on the "Man-Trap" episode of "Star Trek!"

In order to add some local colour, they write the whole story around Sadri Alisik as the ever annoying Turist Ömer in the title! Check out Ömer's best man, he's holding Ömer at gunpoint!! Ömer's bride must be his sister! This would be the 8th movie Sadri Alisik would make as the character Ömer The Turist, finishing up a run that started in 1964 with, what else but "Ömer the Tourist!"

Right about the time he was about to take the vow, Ömer is saved from the shotgun wedding by being mysteriously whisked away into this "Star Trek" episode, and on to the same planet as the crew, where he is immediately picked up by one of the Androids!

A big scary monster attacks Kaptan Kirk!!!

The main story line centers around a changeling monster that sucks in more than one way! The creature goes from taking over one human form to the next, so they never know which person he's in, except if they would notice, every time he takes over somebody, that person starts fiddling with and sucking their hands a lot! The creature craves salt!! Right now the creature is inside Ferdi Merter, as Doktor McCoy! Unlike a lot of the others, Ferdi continued working, and was in 23 episodes of the Turkish TV show, "Aci Hayat" as Sefa Kervancioglu in 2005-06!

Sabotage is afoot and Ömer is transfixed by the phantom girl of his dreams!!

Mr. Spak too is taken in by the ruse, and falls in love instantly with his own personal type of Turkish Vulcan dream girl!!

Kaptan Kirk can't get through Dr. Spak's thick skull what the heck is going on, so a battle between to two men ensues, because Spak really wants this gal!!

Mr. Spak attempts to deliver the final blow!!

Take that, Mofo!!

After they snap out of it, a ferocious battle takes place between the guys and the android army!

In classic form, Ömer saves the day!!!

And of course, the mad scientist is stopped dead in his tracks!!

The salt sucking monster is finally exposed in it's true body form, and viciously attacks Kaptan Kirk!!

After it all gets sorted out, they return Ömer back to where he came from.....

......and The Enterprise and it's krew shove off back into space with a bunch of smug looks on their face because they all know how cool they are!!