CORRIDA POUR UN ESPION - Ray Danton - "Code Name: Jaguar" (1965)

 

It's time to dig back into The Dungeon vault of spy and secret agent flicks for tonight's feature, "Corrida Pour Un Espion" released in the U.S. as "Code Name: Jaguar!"

To set the mood, here's just the smallest taste of the music in "Code Name: Jaguar" written by the brilliant French composer Michel Legrand! Three years later, Michel would win the Academy Award for 'Best Original Song' for the tune "The Windmills Of Your Mind" from "The Thomas Crown Affair" starring one of my favourite actors, Steve McQueen, who we haven't had a chance to talk about since "The Blob!"

 This is a film about sneaky cameras, big and small!

 And the star is Ray Danton as Jeff Larson! If you're not a big Ray Danton fan like me, then don't waste your time on this movie, because it's nothing but a showcase for Ray! He just does his thing, and if you and anybody else doesn't like it, then that's just tough!

 The Russians have a big hidden spy camera that is creating lots of problems, and it's up to Jeff to sort it all out!

German tough guy Horst Frank is in there causing all kinds of havoc!

Jeff Larson is not shy, so when he gets out of the shower and is told to hold his hands up, that's exactly what he does!

There's nothing politically correct about Jeff Larson! If he's not pulling a woman's skirt up over her head in scuffle, then he's burning guys with cigarettes to get them to answer questions!

As it turns out, she was on his side anyway! The woman in question is Pascale Petit! I used to always have a penchant for blondes, but the more Euro spy movies I watch, the more I find brunette women provocative! The other female lead in the film is the equally gorgeous Helga Sommerfield! Pascale and Helga spend quite a bit of time bickering over Jeff! My favourite dark haired actress today is Annet Mahendru in "The Americans," as Nina Krilova! She's got a look I really like!

No matter what he does, it's still always hard to take Ray Danton serious!

 This whole scene looks pretty science fiction!

There's a landmine hooked up to the Russian spy camera to keep anybody from messing with it!

Even though the mine itself is booby-trapped, that's not enough to stop the likes of Jeff Larson!

 Now if this shot doesn't convey lonely, I don't know what does!

Nice Mustang convertible!

 Awww! Poor little Jeffy is tired!

Too bad for her that the maid opened the cigarette case triggered to send poison gas into Jeff Larson's face before he did!

The Russians try to brainwash Jeff Larson after they finally capture him, but they're going to need some strong detergent to launder a whacked out brain like that!

And you're right, they ran out of quarters!
Tabonga will be back on Friday with Lord knows what, and I'll be back on Saturday with yet another Jaguar adventure featuring the other most irreverent secret agent of all time, and Dungeon fave, Jerry Cotton! Until then.................

DREAMSCAPE / Zupnik-Curtis Enterprises, Bella Productions - 1984

Welp, here's my favorite perverted ESP flick from the eighties, it stars Dennis Quaid, Eddie Albert, Max von Sydow, Christopher Plummer and Kate Capshaw. Also, the very talented David Patrick Kelly plays the super villain, Tommy Ray Glatman. The story's about a young psychic recruited by a government agency experimenting with the use of the dream-sharing technology (NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET) and is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of the US president.

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

The story starts with our president having a reoccurring dream of death and destruction, this time his wife (a Nancy Reagan type) gets toasted as heard in the sound clip.

Alex Gardner is chosen to participate in a government funded ESP experiments along with others with psychic abilities. Jane DeVries is his instructor and soon to be lover.

Tommy Ray shows up at the apartment of Alex unannounced and seems to be a real jerk.

Alex goes into a dream to help out a construction worker only to fall off the beam himself!.. Having fun yet?

Alex knows that something very weird is going on with Tommy Ray, his attitude is plain scary!

So, Alex decides to visit the dream of the president to try and figure out what the Hell is happening. Well, Hell's what's happening!

Then, Tommy Ray shows up to join the gang. After he pulls out the beating heart of the conductor, he sets his sights on Alex and the prez.

Tommy Ray has been studying the fine art of ninja fighting, putting Alex at a big disadvantage.

Then he calls out his Hounds from Hell to stalk Alex and the prez, the fun just never ends!

Tommy Ray has turned himself into a snake creature and has the president cornered, who only has a pipe to protect himself.

In a clever move, Alex turns himself into Tommy Ray's dead father... But, why?!

This amazes me, look at the expression of the eyes on the monster, Tommy Ray cannot believe what he's seeing... Is that his father?!..

That diversion gives the president just enough time to ram the pipe through the thing, and, causes Tommy Ray to reap what he sowed... Love this movie! Join us again Wednesday for more, here at The Dungeon!

13 FAMOUS TRIOS IN THE HISTORY OF ENTERTAINMENT

Been watching a lot of Three Stooges lately, and I watched most of the latest round of the Republican debates a couple of nights ago, and it made me start thinking of other famous trios in entertainment history, and this is basically what I came up with in no time at all! Welcome to the Saturday Night Special version of The Dungeon!

Despite all the heavy hitters on this list, I personally think that Larry, Moe, and Curly, the Three Stooges, are the undisputed champions of the trio!

Musically in the trio department, Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker collectively known as Cream, are hard to beat!

For fun in the movies, the trio of Dan Akyroyd, Bill Murray, and Harold Ramis in "Ghostbusters" remains supreme!

 Lord knows Alvin and the Chipmunks ruled the the airwaves for a time in the 60's, and have resurged a couple of times since!

Folk trios used to be pretty common, but Peter Yarrow, Noel Paul Stookey, and Mary Travers collectively known as Peter, Paul, and Mary were one of the best, and had some great success with songs like "Leaving On A Jet Plane" in the 60's!

In my humble opinion, the first power trio was Blue Cheer! While everybody else in the bay area was making trippy hippie music, Dickie Peterson on bass and vocals, Leigh Stephens on guitar, and drummer Eric Albronda were knocking out some of the heaviest music of the time!

Groucho, Harpo, and Chico Marx were like the more intelligent version of The Three Stooges! They were still goofier than Hell, but without all the slapstick physical violence!

I've always had a soft spot in my heart and head for Charlie's Angels! In the 70's, Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson, and Jaclyn Smith were always fun to watch no matter how insipidly stupid the shows were!

I need to teach a history course, because it's truly sad that a major portion of the population today doesn't even know who The Andrews Sisters were despite the fact that Patty, Maxene, and La Verne had more top ten hits than either Elvis or The Beatles!

"¡Three Amigos!"
 Chevy Chase, Steve Martin, and Martin Short do the best version of the Mexican Three Stooges in 1986!

John Stewart, Bob Shane, and Nick Reynolds, better known as The Kingston Trio were one of the major forces that pushed folk music into the limelight in the 50's and 60's! I literally wore out my copy of  "The Best Of The Kingston Trio," and I could probably still sing all the lyrics to every song if I was asked to, and I still have nightmares about being in a "Tijuana Jail!"

Why did I choose Z Z Top instead of The Jimi Hendrix Experience to be on this list? There's only one reason, this picture is ridiculous!

Back where we started with The Three Stooges! In the debate two nights ago, these three did everything but gouge each other's eyes, pull each other's hair, and bonk each other's heads! I guess that's probably not scheduled until the sequel, but I have no doubt that some day it will happen!
Buckle up kiddies, it's going to be a bumpy ride!