SPACE MONSTER / AIP TV - 1965

This is the original theatrical release 1 sheet poster, one of the last old school, fifties style sci-fi flicks. We gots the TV title, tonight, here at The Dungeon. Remember, after 2001 came out in 1968, the special effects bar was raised forever. Another movie in this category is an all time favorite of Tabonga's... MISSION MARS, with Darren McGavin and Nick Adams!

Check out this tagline... "Horror so incredible it stretches the mind of man beyond the breaking point!"

Mr. Marlin Skiles did the music for this space adventure, and sometimes, space opera. Marlin had an amazing 253 music department credits between 1934-68. A few of those titles are KING SOLOMON ON BROADWAY, DANCING FEET, SEA SPOILERS, DOWN MEXICO WAY, THE CYCLONE KID, THE PURPLE MONSTER STRIKES, SLIPPY MCGEE, KING OF THE ROCKET MEN, MULE TRAIN, COW TOWN, ATOM MAN vs SUPERMAN, LOST PLANET AIRMEN, JALOPY, ZOMBIES OF MORA TAU, SPOOK CHASERS, THE GIANT CLAW, 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH and D-DAY ON MARS!

Okay, Rufus, come on in and press the big old red 'GO' button, you little rascally gnat, you, and start our end of the year redo of... SPACE MONSTER!

Like Eegah!! always sez, dials are cool! Unfortunately, these dials are connected to the destruct button, and in a matter of seconds our space jockey here gets blown to pieces. There's a good reason, though, he's sick with a plague from space, and can't be allowed to land back on Earth!! You know, we'll all catch it!

So, you think that stops Space Probe Taurus from heading out into space with Francine York (top billing), James Brown, Baynes Barron and Russ Bender?.. Hell, no!!

Baynes Barron plays Dr. John Andros. You can hear in the soundclip as he dreams about being back on Earth with his very own, bikini beach girl! Baynes had 99 acting credits and include RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON, PHANTOM OF THE RUE MORGUE, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, FROM HELL IT CAME (Chief Maranka!), THE PARTY CRASHERS, NORTH BY NORTHWEST, THE STRANGLER, MARYJANE and THE DEVIL'S 8!

Here's the doc, trying to put the make on shipmate, Dr. Lisa Wayne. Francine York is still beautiful today!! We remember her from MUTINY IN SPACE, and, get this... She's plays Sabrina in this year's ASTRO ZOMBIES: M3 - CLONED!!

They come across a seemingly deserted alien spacecraft, just floating around in space.

So, Colonel Stevens and Dr. Andros jet over to check the pad out!

Hey, it's even got a big screen TV! I wonder how you change the channel, this program stinks!

Here's Jimmy Bracon as the little space creep, borrowed from THE WIZARD OF MARS! This was Jimmy's only credit!

They end up killing it, then they blow up the space pad before going on their merry way!..

Later, hormones get the best of the Colonel and Dr. Wayne!

One of my favorite Benny Hill jokes is... "What's the difference between a vitamin and a hormone? ...You can't make a vitamin!"

They have to make an emergency landing on a planet but end up in the drink with some giant crabs!

Dr. Andros is chosen to swim to the shoreline and check to see if the land can support life.

Then, there's this aquatic creature, a leftover from WAR-GODS OF THE DEEP. It attacks and wounds the doc as he's swimming back to the ship.

Dr. Andros barely makes it back before deep sixing it. He tells them the place will support life, so, they name the planet after him!

88... 87... 86... 85... 84... 83...

...JUST EFFIN' PUNCH IT!!!

..BLASTOFF!!

Ghoulnight Everbloody!!

THE SATAN BUG - Jerry Goldsmith "Green Pepper Burritos and Cold Mexican Beer" (1965)

First off, We'd like to say Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to all the readers and followers of this blog, without you, we're nothing, and just like us, we hope you've discovered some weird movies you never knew about before!

!!! Satan Santa Saturday, it's got a nice ring to it!

Now that's good old-fashioned security, double concertina wire, with powerful lights and roaming killer attack dogs! Thanx to The Tedster for braving it all and unearthing this flick for you!

Most of the works of composer Jerry Goldsmith are not as difficult to find as "The Satan Bug," and that's an understatement! Mr. Goldsmith passed away back in 2004, but the legacy of films and TV shows he wrote for is beyond compare! How about seven episodes of the original "Twilight Zone" and 18 episodes of Boris Karloff's "Thriller" just for starters, "Gunsmoke," "The Man From U.N.C.L.E," "Planet Of The Apes," "The Waltons," and "Star Trek" to round it out! Jerry has probably affected more people's lives than The Stones, the only difference is, they don't know who did it!

In this scene we're introduced to the back of the hero of the flick, George Maharis, as Lee Barrett while the music cooks in the background!

Kind of hard to imagine that this was considered super high tech communications in the not that distant past!

Cruzin' in style à la 1965!

"The Satan Bug" had a major cast as you can see, here's a good shot of Richard(Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea)Basehart and Frank(Sgt Vince Carter)Sutton as a couple of major nefarious evildoers!

These screencaps are kind of dark, but it's a pretty dark subject matter! The only thing these picture postcard shots are missing is the greeting 'Welcome to Palm Springs!'

Here's the gorgeous, and exquisite Anne Francis as Ann Williams, and also Ed Asner as Veretti the heavy henchman, along with George Maharis, in a simple, but very effective shot!

This was a most diabolical performance by Edward Asner, who is still working hard today, and out of all his almost 300 performances, is probably still most known for his role in 166 episodes of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" as Lou Grant!

Here's another great outpost card!

It's difficult to imagine Lou Grant trying to use poison gas on Mary Tyler Moore, or Sergeant Carter snuffing the life out of Gomer Pyle, that would be kind of like Maynard hitting on Thalia Menninger, and quite disturbing!

Anne Francis had an absolutely amazing career, and if you don't know what I'm talking about, I'll just say one thing, "Forbidden Planet" and that just scratches the surface! George Maharis is probably best known for his role in the hit TV series "Route 66." He started his career as a singer, and released a couple of albums later on in his career! He's spent his later years painting!

"The Satan Bug" is a extremely fast acting virus that if it gets into the wrong hands, could cause the complete extinction of all life as we know it! They stuck these guys in this out building, and if you look close, you can see that the bad guys have tossed in a vial of the stuff from one of those open upper windows!

It's a stalemate, a real Mexican standoff!!!

There's a whole big action sequence involving this cool looking helicopter!

Now if they can just decipher this madman's cryptic scribblerenders!

Here's the plan, evacuate the whole city of Los Angeles in two hours or less! Right, Boss!

Oh, man, gassed on the golf course, that just ain't right! Why do they always have to pick on the golfers, and why's that one dude look like he's got just a bathing suit on? WTF?!

Nothing has changed more in the last 40 years than communications! I'll leave you with yet another shot of 1965 high-tech intelligence, when spying on somebody, use the old tie the phone to the patio and look casual number!

"The Satan Bug" - Excedrin Headache #13!!! "And to all a good night!!!"

HOMICIDAL - Hugo Friedhofer - "Emily, William or Warren" (1961)

Seems like Tabonga has got some kind of satan bug from trying to be a nice guy, right! I told him not to go there, but since when does anyone listen to me? SO, instead it's me, yer pal, Eegah!! again, and since it's Christmas Eve, I brought along my little buddy, Mickey the Worm to push that big red button thing, since neither Ralphie or Rufus showed up for work either! So, hit it Mickey......Ok, he's on his way, it'll just be a second or two longer, please just hang on,..... Ok, he's almost there.........

Confound it, I can't wait any longer, I'll do it myself! Here's your early freakin' X-Mas present, William Castle presents: "HOMICIDAL"! How's that for a needlepoint and stogie smug mug??

Here's a good spot to tell you that the music was composed by cellist Hugo Friedhofer, who played in live orchestras during silent films, and scored his first film, "Seven Faces" in 1929. He went on to compose, orchestrate, and musically direct hundreds of films over the years!

"Homicidal" begins right here, the year Tabonga was born, in the little village of Solvang, California, just a few miles down the road from the happiest place in the world, and just a couple of hours away from where the stupidest people in California live, if you believe what you read on the internet!

Wow, they've got a lot of classic cars in Ventura!!

Seems like Jean Arless, I mean Joan Marshall, here as Emily, is hot to trot! She checks into the Hotel and says, go on ahead and send up the bellhop too!! The older guy gets a little disappointed! Joan was a strange bird, she was a Las Vegas Show Girl at the age of 16, the movie "Shampoo" was based on her life, and when she had enough of Hollyweird, she moved to Jamaica, where her ashes were scattered in 1992!

Richard Rust is Jim Nesbitt, the Hotel clerk about to get suckered into turning his whole life around. Richard was in almost every cowboy TV show during the 50's and 60's from "Lawman" to Bonanza!"

I doubt it's an accident that the money Emily is offereing Jim is laying on Gideon's Bible!

Emily has offered Jim a large sum of money to marry her on the spot, so what's a fellah sposed to do, he gets in the car and goes!!

The Justice of the Peace Alfred S. Adrims portrayed by classic actor James Westerfield, and his wife played by Hope Summers are fairly annoyed by Emily's late hour demands!

You can now kiss the bride, Uh, Oh, I think I'll pass!!

Sometimes a person just needs to give in to the fact that there are Psychos in the world!

Emily's new husband watches on in disbelief and horror, this wasn't part of the deal!

Emily splits the scene post haste, leaving Jim to do the explaining!

Later, in the flower shop, Emily reacts to the cute little bride and groom figurines just about how you would expect!!

You just can't go wrong with gauges, clocks, and meters!

So, basically, I've told you nothing about "Homicidal," and I don't care if it has been 50 years, I can't give away all of William Castle's gimmicks, but I will leave you with this William Castle "Fright Meter," that gives you 45 seconds to get the Hell out of the room, by warning you when something truly horrible is going to happen.........and, trust me, it will!