SUPERMAN AND THE MOLE-MEN - Darrell Calker - "Superman Anthem" (1951)

Great movie from way back in 1951, that was the pilot for the Superman TV series, directed by the master of speed, Lee "Rollem" Sholem, and starring George Reeves as Superman, and Phyllis Coates as Lois Lane! "Superman And The Mole-Men" is a fun watch the whole way through, and you just havn't lived if you have never experienced it!!

Superman is, was, and will always be, the greatest super hero ever, period!! And without a doubt, this shot proves it!!!!

Every town has their claim to fame, like Baker, Calif. and their world's tallest thermometer, but only Silsby has the world's deepest hole!

I could just stop here, because the shot of this Buick just mesmerizes me; Hell, it's got more chrome on it than the whole production line of 2008 Hondas, and talk about gettin' out of my grille, this thing looks like a shark about ready to attack, and check out that license plate, it has to be some Satanic reference!! Poetry in motion as Clark and Lois pull into town to check things out!!

The consummate Clark Kent!!

So out of the world's deepest hole, here they come, The Mole-Men!!!

The Mole-Men are just kinda harmlessly creeping around, but when somebody does see them, they generally get this reaction! The Kreng!!!

Phyllis Coates' interview with Tom Weaver in his book "Return Of The B Science Fiction and Horror Heroes" is priceless and a must-read if you can get your claws on a copy. She was a very spirited women with a good sense of humour! Here she reacts to the little Mole-Men peeping toms!

Lois is quite a strong female role model, and doesn't take much crap from anyone. Phyllis recounts in that Tom Weaver interview that she took a good shot to the chin that knocked her cold in one of the episodes, when she wasn't on her mark! To show you how cool she was, she only blamed herself!!

OH, so you like to beat up on women, now you're starting to piss Superman off!

So, after the local mob tries to kill the innocent little Mole-Guys, they go back down in the hole to their home and come back with a little re-enforcement! Oh, Yeah, they only looked cute!! You got to love that tag team effort! These guys know how to work together!

Shakespearean actor Jeff Corey, who I'm sure was a helluva nice guy, shows what a great actor he was in the extremely unlikable role of stupid redneck Luke Benson, who would have got his sorry ass wasted if Superman hadn't of showed just up in the nick of time!!

One of my heroes Lenny Bruce once said, "I don't know what it is about midgets, they just don't like it when you try and pick them up!!" Watch out Superman!!!

It's all fine in the end, Superman saves the day; I don't think anyone really got killed, and there's still time to have a drink on the set and wax poetic!!!!!

THE NEW INVISIBLE MAN / Mexico - 1958 / Music by Antonio Díaz Conde

Tonight Tabonga keep 'new year ball' rolling with Mexico 'New' Invisible Man flick for 1958, the year regular Invisible Man re-invent hisself!

You see they use Invisible Man image in poster and title sequence. Called 'very smart' in low budget city. Tabonga not sure but Tabonga think that 'pose' come from some other flick artwork!!

Every monster' dream!.. Look like he have invisible hand in interesting place!

Music dude Antonio Díaz Conde is Mexican treasure with whopping 267 composing credits from as early as 1942!.. Hell, yeah!!

Okay, hit it!.. HAPPY NEW INVISIBLE YEAR, MAN!! ...'Hic!'

Ana Luisa Peluffo look totally hot as she drive New Invisible Man around... Tabonga bet he always like to play around wif' that 'invisible hand' of his!!

New Invisible Man have wild sense of humor, burn up crook' money and then blow up lil' TV and make ever'bloody run like scared chicken!!

Tabonga just like this shot!.. Make Tabonga thirsty!!

Oh, in the news, had to close down water park here, too many kid gettin' hurt!.. Bad!!

They so cute when they asleep!!

When dude wake up, he say... 'Wha' hoppin'?!'

DAS UNGEHEUER VON LONDON CITY - Martin Böttcher - "The Monster Of London City" (1964)

Born in 1927, and still living well, as far as I can tell, composer Martin Böttcher is, in my humble opinion, one of the most gifted soundtrack composers out there, and after hearing the musical musings of "Monster Of London City", I'm sure you'll agree!! Chopped, hacked, and mutilated, this Edgar Wallace take on the Jack The Ripper tale is brutal, and the music fits the mood perfectly, just like O.J.'s glove!!! If you like movies that treat women like dirt, and allow little kids to witness murder, then you're going to love this 1964 German horror thriller!

Not merely twisted enough on it's own, you have to have at least two stories and their characters intertwined, so a major part of this film is a stage production of "Jack The Ripper!" It's also a real cheap and easy way to slip in some early backstage nudity!!

I lost track of the victim count, this is probably 3 or 4!!

If truth be told, this hooker was really dumb! I guess it's commonplace to hang out in dark secluded alleys, and not get killed!

The last victim just lays down on her bed and invites whoever into her flat! I guess she hasn't heard about the killer going around chopping up prostitutes! Gee, do you think she's going to get it too?? Twisted to the end, the writing is almost as brilliant as the music, but if this movie was in colour, it'd be too gory for me to watch!!

Damn, I love this music, and I just recently read that Martin Böttcher played the guitar at a very young age, so, maybe that's where all that cool electric guitar influence comes from! How to explain all that outstanding sax, bass and bongos is anyone's guess!! Hey Martin, how about an interview so we can find out??

THE MONSTER THAT CHALLENGED THE WORLD / United Artists - 1957 / Music by Heinz Roemheld

We've put this one off long enough... So, tonight's treat is a little classic from 1957, a very good year!!

Music conductor Heinz Roemheld did a lot of uncredited composing for older movie serials that were later edited down, some released as theatrical features in the '50s and '60s, and, of course, they ended up on TV. Here's some of those titles: SATAN'S SATELLITES, MISSILE MONSTERS, PURPLE DEATH FROM OUTER SPACE, PERILS FROM THE PLANET MONGO and DEADLY RAY FROM MARS!

But, for now, here's THAT MONSTER THAT CHALLENGED THAT WORLD!!!

Here's how things worked in the Navy in the fifties... A horrible creature comes out of the sea and bites your head off!!.. So, you scream real loud.

The slacker in the radio room (with an awesome calendar!) hears you loud and clear!

He calls the commander's office and the hot secretary answers the phone...

The commander, played by Tim Holt, finally takes the call and asks... "What do you want me to do about it?!.. He sounded dead, right?!"

WHAT THE?!!..

WHAT THE?!!..

There's Sarah Selby playing Barbara Darrow's mom, one of the most noticible faces on TV at the time!

Both teens end up in the briny deep, a clear warning about being young and stupid!

A diver checks out a monster shell while handsome, there, checks the diver out!!

I think the main message here, is... Just don't get so damn close! Sheesh, they're not that fast!!

One of my favorite stills.

Hans Conried shows the brass some movies of slugs and snails, and puppy dog tails! We love Hans because he was involved with Jay Ward!!!

Believe it, or not, the kid is allowed to play in the room that houses the thing in the tank, and, she actually turns the heat up and that's what allows it to transform and attack!!!

So, when you hear her scream in the sound clip, you can say... "Well, she diserves it!!"

A moment from now, guys come in with rifles to shoot the monster dead, and its... GAME OVER!!