THE GIANT GILA MONSTER - Jack Marshall/Don Sullivan - "Mushroom Dance Attack" (1959)

"The Giant Gila Monster" is another one of those films that was so packed with musical superstars, you almost take it all for granted. Like "Ghost Of Dragstrip Hollow" or "Horror Of Party Beach," the rockin' sounds just keep on coming!! The composer for the soundtrack in "The Giant Gila Monster" was Jack Marshall, who went on to do the music for 70 "Munsters" TV episodes. His swingin' compositions are some of the best anywhere!!! The Masestro Paul Tanner, who played trombone and sat behind Whitey Thomas with the original Glenn Miller Orchestra, handles the job of providing the eerie elements on his invention, the electro-theremin which was a new and improved version of the original theremin. Paul also played the electro-theremin on The Beach Boys song, "Good Vibrations"!!!!! Paul is about 92 these days and still going strong!!! 

 

Don gets a Coke, takes a swig, and hands it to Lisa who doesn't notice, so he takes another drink and now she's looking for her cue, and he's drinking it! 

 

Old Man Harris portrayed by bass fiddle player Shug Fisher went on to play with Roy Rogers and the Sons Of The Pioneers before becoming a regular as Shorty Kellums on "The Beverly Hillbillies." 

 

Don Sullivan, who also starred in Jerry Warren's "Teenage Zombies" does a reprise of the over the top super sweet "The Mushroom Song." 

 

Just when Don sings the lyric "and the Lord said I created for you, a world of joy, from out of the blue" the giant lizard, which wasn't even really a gila monster, busts through the wall and scares the crap out of all the kids!! How ironic, how laconic!!! 

 

The short guy hanging on to the tall guy in fear for his life is pretty funny!! 

 

Don says, "Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!" 

 

This movie is available anywhere and everywhere for free, so there is absolutely no reason or excuse not to see it!!! None!!

THE NASTY RABBIT - Arch Hall - "Jackie" (1964)

First off, this is what you need to do before attempting to watch this movie!! I almost forgot this was still laying around, one of my least favorite songs from what is indubitably the worst Arch Hall film, "The Nasty Rabbit." I've carped about it enough times already, so let's just get it going. 

 

All the guys have got eyes for "Jackie"!!! This was Sharon Ryker's only appearance on film, so you better make the most of it!! 

 

Jackie only has eyes for our hero, Britt! 

 

This is a cute little scene where Arch and the boys are serenading Jackie. Actually, after multiple listenings, this song is starting to grow on me, like a fungus! You know, it just makes you want to take Arch and throw him in the pool!!! 

 

Just to show you it was a joke, here's a picture of the whole cast together. See, they were just acting, they really like each other. There's not really a bomb!!

MONSTROSITY (The Atomic Brain) - Gene Kauer - "She Thinks She's A Cat" (1964)

"The Atomic Brain" is a freaky little movie that seems a lot older than it is. Composer Gene Kauer, sometimes working as Guenther Kauer seemed to either have a penchant for, or just needed the money for, quite a string of freaky little movies. Titles like "Cape Canaveral Monsters", another 'Atomic' monster movie, "Beast Of Yucca Flats", "Mother Goose A Go-Go", and "Agent For H.A.R.M.", just to name a few, before ending his career with the music for the original "Faces Of Death" series. In 1958 Gene co-wrote two songs with Johnny Cash for a feature film "Five Minutes To Live", the title song and another song called "I've Come To Kill!" The film which starred Johnny Cash wasn't released until 1961, and was later re-released with added footage in 1966 as "Door-To-Door Maniac!" Quite an interesting and prolific tunesmith, Gene passed away back in 1983!! 

 

Normally playing a cop, a captain or a cowboy, Frank Gerstle does a good job in his only mad doctor role as Dr. Otto Frank. Combine his names in this film and he's Frank Frank!! 

 

It's pretty darn hard not to be weird, when you're talking about brain transplants because some evil rich old bag wants the body of a young woman!! 

 

So.....They transplanted a cat's brain into this lady, and so now what do you do with her? She eats mice and doesn't brush her teeth, and probably would be very popular on myspace!! 

 

The music from "The Atomic Brain" is odd, brash, eerie, pungent, spacey and will slap you in the face, and kick you if you go down, so listen with caution!!! 

 

Revenge really is sweet, and Dr. Frank's bad karma cup was filled to the brim and overflowing!! Go get a copy to find out his fate!!

THE BLACK ZOO - Paul Dunlap - "King Come On" (1963)

As far as cool jazz scores for monster movies goes, Paul Dunlap is definitely one of the names at the very top of the list with mandatory titles like "Angry Red Planet", "I Was A Teenage Werewolf," "Blood Of Dracula," "How To Make A Monster," "Frankenstein 1970" and so much more, including this great film "The Black Zoo"!!! Now, while "The Black Zoo" is often thought of as the last corner of the Michael Gough horror trilogy that also includes "Konga" and "The Horrors Of The Black Museum," there is one difference, and that is those other two Herman Cohen masterpieces, while both being very swingin', had soundtracks composed by Gerard Schurmann, yet another truly super talented individual!! 

 

First we're introduced to Mr. Jeffrey Stengle, played by Jerome Cowan, who passed away back in 1972, but whose legacy will live on forever through his work. He had been in the movies since 1936 and had gone on to be in a ton of TV shows of every ilk and flavor. Cowboys, cop shows, and comedies, Jerome did them all! 

 

Here we get a big dose of Michael playing the organ. Just about the time that you think he's going to break into "In A Gadda Da Vida" is when it cuts to........ 

 

This scene where Mike's wife Edna, played by the charming Jeanne Cooper, who was born in the big town of Taft, Calif. in 1928, lights a smoke, and starts listening to the radio when she gets the real news! If you don't have a life, you may have seen Jeanne in one of her continuing performances as Katherine Chancellor in the TV soap opera "The Young And The Restless", that she has been doing from 1978 right up to the present day. 30 years and almost 300 shows!! Now this woman is a real actress!!! 

 

"Carl, Did you take the truck and one of the animals and drive Mr. Conrad into Hollywood last night?" This is a difficult movie to find these days. The only place I had any luck rounding up a copy was ioffer.com. Good Luck!!

IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE - Gertz/Mancini/Hoffman - "The Theme" (1953)

More crazed theremin from the master, Dr. Samuel Hoffman, mixed with the incredible orchestral talents of Irving Gertz and Henry Mancini, and you're going to get an extra spooky winner each and every time!! There is no way to lose with that combination of talent, and the theme from the classic  is no exception! 

 

This is either what the desert looks like driving home from the local cantina after drinking too much tequila reposado, or from the view of a one-eyed monster from outer space!!! 

 

This is either what those two girls look like you picked up at the cantina after drinking too much tequila anejo, or what two future dead hillbillies look like to a one-eyed space monster! 

 

This would be the one-eyed space monster himself, the third amazing creation of the fabulous Milicent Patrick in the trilogy of horror annals, along with 'The Mutant' from "This Island Earth," and "The Creature From The Black Lagoon!" Three icons all created by one amazing woman, so lift that shotglass high, this one's for Milicent!!! 

 

"It wasn't the right time for us to meet. They'll be back!"

KISS ME MONSTER (Küß Mich, Monster) - Jerry Van Rooyen - "Red Lips Hot Band" (1969)

Here's your Saturday night special!! The music in this Jess Franco masterpiece, "Kiss Me Monster" will blow you away from start to finish. The music is attributed to Jerry van Rooyen, and this twin saxes number from Janine Reynaud and Rosanna Yanni performing as "Red Lips" is definitely as good as it gets ever!!!! 

 

When Professor Bertrand mysteriously gets killed, Janine is shocked, and their song suddenly falls apart............ 

 

The backing back has to just spontaneously take off, and it's one of the best little rockin' musical bits ever filmed!! I don't know anything about this band except that they were way past cool! Anybody out there got any clues?? 

 

"Hey, Hey, Hey Love"...........A highlight in the world of Monster Movie Music history!!! 

 

Unfortunately, our new favorite unknown band's rockin' sound gets pushed into the background as this drunk enters the scene. 

 

Then there's this whole big scene where this black hooded conehead's meeting gets disrupted, aw, I'm not even going to try and explain it, you just have to see it! This film stands out like a burning star in a sea of steaming hot monkey dung, and it is actually available on Netflix last time I checked! Do yerself a favor..............

BLOOD BATH (Track Of The Vampire) - Ronald Stein - "Sordi" (1966)

"Spider Baby" creator and Francis Ford Coppola associate Jack Hill just misses the mark on this film, which I chalk up to casting mostly, but despite all that, this movie has one of the jazziest scores that Ronald Stein has ever composed, unfortunately, this terrific music fails to rescue this movie from the doldrums!!!

It's quite a stretch to think that Sordi's art really appeals to this lady, but then, the original name of this film is "Blood Bath"!!!!

Some costumed revelers celebrating come across Sordi as the vampire and the one guys says, "Man, Look at those fangs, they're better than mine!"!!

William Campbell is really excellent as demented artist/vampire Antonio Sordi, and all the women he kills are great, but the counter character lot of beatnik artist wannabees still just doesn't work.

The production company for this movie was "Avala Film" who produced 400 movies since 1947, and besides this film, you'd be lucky if you had ever heard of one of them unless you are from Yugoslavia!!! Amazing!!!!