THE BLOOD OF FU MANCHU - Daniel White - "The Ballad Of Sancho Lopez" (1969)

Okay, FU this, the word came down the pike, so we're taking over!! We're sending number one son, Fu Manchu out to do the dirty work for us, and if everybody just cooperates, nobody will get hurt much!! Just don't mess with The Man, cause you don't want to rile up "The Blood Of Fu Manchu"!!! He's got a bit of a temper!!

Okay, Hit the big gong Charlie, so we can introduce....

Christopher Lee as Fu Manchu!!
Fu Manchu has plans for you, and the rest of the world!

World Domination one chick at a time!!

But here's the weird part, because this is a Jesus Franco film, for my money, Ricardo Palacios as Sancho Lopez is the real star!!!

Sancho doesn't have plans for world domination, but just kicks a lot of ass on a local level!! I swear if they were to remake this film, they'd have to cast Jack Black as Sancho Lopez!!

Sancho likes to bring his band of outlaws to town so they can do their version of the hokey-pokey, the village-pillage!! Have fun or die!!

Sancho sez, "Everybody Dancing, C'Mon, everybody dance!!" And even if he's drunker than a skunk, you better do it!!

So here you are, smack dab in the middle of an English movie about an Oriental dude, and what's coming out of your speakers, a whole lot of Mexican music!! It's Great!

Music Melon Makeout Party!! Es Una Paraíso!!!

Ricardo Palacios had a long and varied career, and this was basically his first big role in an English speaking film, and he threw everything he had into it! It's too bad he's such a vicious, diabolical, cutthroat killer, but, everybody has some faults!! He turns out to be quite the foil for Mr. Manchu!!

I think this one still would reap as much curiosity as a two minute trailer!! I mean, wouldn't you like to know what's going on??

So, No, don't worry, Fu Manchu is still coming to get you, that part didn't change!!

WAR OF THE MONSTERS / Daiei - 1966 / Music by Chuji Kinoshita

Time for GAMERA!! and BARUGON!! It gonna be a WAR OF THE MONSTERS!!!

Music dude, Mr. Chuji Kinoshita busy guy with 136 composing credit, but, first and last time here at Dungeon. He work on about everything but monster movies! Here a few interesting title, though, auf English... THE GOOD FAIRY, WOMAN'S WORLD, DANCING GIRLS OF IZU, TWENTY-FOUR EYES, SHE WAS LIKE A WILD CHYRSANTHEMUM, I'LL BUY YOU, THE LOVEABLE TRAMP, GIRL VAGRANTS OF TOKYO and WOMAN GAMBLER!

Now, get ready for... RAINBOW OF DEATH!

Start wif recap of how Gamera get thawed out in first flick. Hey, you know dude Teruo Aragaki play Gamera?.. Now you do!!

Probably not much fun when lit on fire and spin around one-hundred twenty-two mile per hour!!!

Business guy steal 'opal' that turn out to be egg of Barugon and make everbloody in village dang mad... Good thing though, or no monster flick!

Hey, that how real world work!

Boy, Barugon one ugly dog! But, sure have pretty rainbow!!

Barugon have devilish tongue that freeze hell out of Gamera!

Will'it woik, baiting Barugon wif lil' rainbow?

Gamera stomp Barugon and then go back home!

Timely reflections at end...

GHOSTS OF HANLEY HOUSE - Don C. Parsons - "I Hope I Don't" (1968)

This one's for all our friends out there in Texas, starting with the good professor! Just when you probably thought we were running out of supercheap movies, up pops "The Ghosts Of Hanley House", to lower the bar even lower, or maybe just go on and set it down on the ground! I was really hoping that this film was going to be up there with with some of the other Texas classics like "The Black Cat" or "Creature Of Destruction," but that simply was just not meant to be! As a matter of dang fact, this movie is SO slow, I thought it stopped a couple of times!! Seems like in an effort to add more time, they continually hold the shot for seconds and seconds over and over again with no action at all. The acting is so stiff, it makes "Manos" look like "West Side Story!" The title and the ghost music sounds like recycled "Forbidden Planet" miked through about nine 50 gallon drums!

BUT....pretty close to the beginning of the film they are in a saloon making plans to stay in Hanley House, and the music by David C. Parsons is going to set you on your seat. I've probably said this before about something else, but this might just be one of the best rockin' pieces we've ever heard here, because I don't know who David C. Parsons was, or what ever happened to him, but this music sounds like vintage Fillmore 1960 something, and you're going to dig it cause when the rave-up starts, it sounds like The Sunflower jammin' with Quicksilver and a little Red Krayola thrown in for good measure! From there, the movie and the music pretty much runs to the outhouse in a hurry, but Hell, nobody's perfect, so take what you can get, cause what you got here is good!

Nice Caddie convertible!!!

1968 Texas in a haunted house, what else could you possibly do than chug a few 16 oz cans of "Brew 102"?! Life can be so sweet sometimes!!

Pretty cool painting has a starring role!!!

Writer/Director Louise Sherrill missed a major opportunity to really rock the joint right here, instead, they chose total dullsville music!!

Then to make matters worse, they dance to the crappy music, if they would have just used some more rockin' music about here, it would probably have woke you up, but no, it's downshift time, and now it's time to get ready to park this mess!!

Slapped down by a ghost, how embarrassing is that?

This is The Ghost!! Oooh, Oooh, pretty scary!! This movie was in black and white, and I think they blew their budget on these ineffective colour overlays!

THEM! / Warner Bros. - 1954 / Music by Bronislau Kaper

I got myself into a jam a few years ago and sold off many excellent posters I had. This was one of them! Makes a beautiful memory, though.

A really nice film from 1954! was THEM! Warner Bros. was going up against Universal and MGM for quality and put in a great effort, with stars James Whitmore, Edmund Gwenn, Joan Weldon, James Arness, Onslow Stevens, Fess Parker and a bunch of big old ants!

How's that for a title card?!.. Mr. Bronislau Kaper is the music composer for THEM and this is the first time he's been at the Dungeon, and, will be the last time! This is the only horror or sci-fi movie he ever worked on, but, check out these other titles he did... GASLIGHT, BEWITCHED, THE SECRET GARDEN, THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE, JET PILOT, AUNTIE MAME, GREEN MANSIONS, BUTTERFIELD 8, MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY, TOBRUK, THE WAY WEST and his last film, A FLEA IN HER EAR!!

Here at the Dungeon, we consider themes and music like this middle of the road, or weak from a creative standpoint, or basically a producer's error!!!

What makes this movie extra creepy is when they find young Sandy Descher walking in the desert, in a stunned daze, and, nobody can find out what in the world has happened to her!

Hmmm, looks like something broke out, not in!

Now, that's how you use a car in a shot!!

He tried to protect the sugar!

THEEMMM!!.....

Great, now they know what they're looking for!

Oh yeah, time for a little romance in the field!

Oops!.. They'll have to hold that thought til later!

James is THE MAN!

Hey, has Godzilla been sighted in this area?!

One thing that really disturbed me as a kid was skeletons!!

Boats and ships are not safe from attack!!

Again, James is THE MAN!!

And, that's why he had to die!.. NOOOOOOOOO!!!!.....

Well, did we find them all, or, are there more out there?

...WHO KNOWS?!