STRANGLER OF THE SWAMP / PRC - 1946

Welcome to Moldie Oldie Monday here at the Dungeon, with host Tabonga and little Dungeon helper, Rufus the Gnat! We have another PRC cheapie, considered to be one of their best productions and clocks in at a whopping 59 minutes!..

Tagline for this horror-mystery reads... "He was hanged for a crime he didn't commit, and now he's the... [Strangler of the Swamp]"

Story is basically... A number of local men have died by strangulation and the inhabitants believe that an innocent man they hanged is now seeking revenge on all of the descendants of those responsible for his death.

Flick stars Rosemary La Planche, who was Miss America in 1941, Blake Edwards, who went on to direct some of our favorite movies like OPERATION PETTICOAT, THE PINK PANTHER and THE GREAT RACE and Charles Middleton, who played Ming the Merciless in the original FLASH GORDON serials!

Original uncredited music is by Alexander Steinert. He had 11 composing credits which include DEVIL BAT'S DAUGHTER, THE UNKNOWN, BLONDIE KNOWS BEST, LITTLE IODINE and KING OF THE WILD HORSES! He was also a conductor for Disney's BAMBI.

Now it's time to present our latest Eariffic Earclip to your audio senses, via our lil' pet pal, Rufus The Gnat's hairy paw, as he pushes hard wonst again, that big red 'GO' button right there, which sets the tumblers turnin' which then opens the vault door to... Rufus, hit it!!.. STRANGLER OF THE SWAMP!

It's really hard to believe that anyone would ever choose to live in such a desolate, creepy place like that!! Well, it definitely gots atmosphere!

Ahhh... The glorious life of the dedicated ferryman...

Oh hey, and don't fergit 'bout all that hot swamp-chick tail! I guess if I had to choose, I'd take the one in the middle...

Ferryboy meets The Strangler, and the outcome ain't that great! Charles Middleton plays The Strangler, Charles was also in a flick called THE EVIL DEAD in 1922!! The Strangler is a real ghost!!

Rosemary La Planche plays Maria, granddaughter of the dude that just got killed by The Strangler. She's here to take over grandpaw's lucrative swamp ferrying business!!

Courteous service is the name of the game!

Believe it or don't, Maria lays down on some musty brush to catch a few winks between ferryings... Now, that's a country girl for ya!

Here, lovers do a bit of quarrelling. That's Blake Edwards there, who looks totally out of place in a suit and tie!!

This is just one beautiful still!

The Strangler can pop up just about anywhere, and he likes to give a back-breaker before he strangles you!!

Even though The Strangler wants to kill the relatives of the cursed people, he sees goodness in Maria and decides to end all the mayhem by destroying himself instead, so, you know, it's kinda sad...

~ TABONGA MAD LAFF #34 - When your breath stinks real bad after throwing up, you have vomitosis!

And now, get ready for this... The next 3 postings by Tabonga will be colorized versions of b/w classics!! This Friday... PHANTOM FROM SPACE! Next Monday... THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME! The following Friday... CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA!

DEATH RACE 2000 - Paul Chihara - "The Future Is Now" (1975)

I have been trying to get a copy of "Death Race 2000" for a couple of years now, and out of the blue it appears in my Netflix Que, and it happened at the same time that I got the latest issue of SCREEM with Greg Goodsell's Mary Woronov interview, and she's one of the stars of this film! It's like Fate I tell you!!

"Death Race 2000" is exactly what it says it is! It's just like going to Vegas and playing War, the simplest card game in the world, the biggest attraction of the future is like a game of Chicken, but with armed cars and extra points for hitting people in a crosswalk or a wheelchair etc! The killer-diller driving music in this insane flick was composed by the honoured Mr. Paul Chihara in his first film outing. Paul has won scores of musical awards and went on to write the music for such films and TV movies as "A Walk On The Moon," "Brave New World," and "Penn & Teller Get Killed!"

Instead of an actor, the announcer for the big event, Junior Bruce, is one of the most popular disc jockeys of all time, The Real Don Steele!! Don rocked L.A. hard for over 30 years, and even has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!!

It might be the future, but some things don't change, and every driver has their diehard fans, and in this movie they literally die hard!!

Commentators Joyce Jameson as Grace Pander and Carle Bensen as Harold get their first look at the driver "Frankenstein!"

Director/Actor Paul Bartel has a small part as Frankie's doctor! Besides directing "Eating Rauol," Paul Bartel left his mark on a whole lot of the best bad and worst good movies of the last 40 years; all-time classic cult faves like "Hollywood Boulevard," "Rock 'n' Roll High School," "Frankenweenie," and one of my all-time favorites, "Get Crazy!!"

Sandy McCallum plays the part of Mr. President, a man you can trust!!

Pretty cool looking future! Don't forget to bring your shades!

They call David (Kung Fu)Carradine's character Frankenstein, because he has been re-assembled a few times after various crashes and racing mishaps!!

It looks an awful lot like sunny California, and the future of the boondocks hasn't changed much in the last 35 years!

On the air, Harold explains the points system!!

Everything is hunky-dory and then, those silly freedom-fighting rebels who are opposed to the great race, take over the airwaves with Harriet Medin as Thomasina Paine, leading the charge!!

Great shot of "Frankenstein!"

Anyone want to disagree with me that Mary Woronov as Calamity Jane is hot in this movie? We haven't had a chance to talk about Mary much here, but she was an incredible classic beauty who came up through the Andy Warhol/Exploding Plastic Inevitable/Velvet Underground school of film making. She also starred in "Silent Night, Bloody Night" which we plan to get around to one of these days, and worked with Paul Bartel on some other films! She was in "House Of The Devil" last year, and still active today, although she'd rather be painting!

I love this part where the French rebels polish off one of the drivers "Wiley Coyote" style, with a mailorder Acme Detour and Fake Tunnel Entrance Kit!!

Here's another reason "Death Race 2000" is such a fan favorite, one of the drivers is Sylvester Stallone as maniac Machine Gun Joe Viterbo, another funny man from Chicago! Machine Gun Joe's character pre-dated "Rocky" by about a year!

Another brilliant scene is when Machine Gun Joe Viterbo takes out his own pit crew to get some extra points! This story was written by science fiction author Ib Melchior, who was also responsible for writing major titles like "Angry Red Planet," "Reptilicus," and "Journey To The 7th Planet" etc.

Never at a loss for words, The Real Don Steele still has something else to say! This is a very simple film, but there's too much to cover in this format, so you're just gonna have to go get yourself a copy. I do believe it has recently been released on Blu-Ray too! What are you waiting for?? There's something here for everybody!!

I, MONSTER / Amicus - 1971

Welcome everbloody to 'nother Friday Night Drive-In here at the Dungeon! Tonight we gots a great little Amicus sleeper that stars Dungeon favorites, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing!

For Tabonga, this flick is all about the awesome Christopher Lee and his truly creepy appearances as he undergoes another incarnation of the 'Jekyll and Hyde' tale. Notice the two-headed baby in the jar!

Music is by the great Carl Davis, who had a whopping 162 composing credits. He totally captures the airy insanity such a film requires! Some other movies he composed for are THE CHASTITY BELT, RENTADICK, WHAT BECAME OF JACK AND JILL, BIRTH OF THE BEATLES and FRAGMENTS OF ISABELLA, but worked mainly on British TV series.

Okay then, time for our lil' hunchback Dungeon helper, Ralphie the Tarantula, to push (again) that big red 'GO' button over there, and start our Eariffic Earclip for tonight! So, hit that button, Ralphie!!.. I, MONSTER!!

Lee plays the dubious Dr. Charles Marlowe, who's a brusque, anti-social, sadistic and voyeuristic character.

He's treating Susan Jameson for a sexual disorder. Sexy Susan can also be seen on these Brit TV programs... STRANGE REPORT, UFO, Z CARS, SPACE 1999, HELL'S BELLS, DRAMARAMA, WOOF! and A VERY BRITISH SEX SCANDAL!

While the doctor goes to get a syringe, Susan goes through some of the drawers in his study!.. Oopsie!!

...Okay, bend over!

The doctor's serum has quite an effect on the patient.

As Edward Blake, he goes out and gets a room in the city, where he can keep watch over the residents from his second story room.

When prodded by a street hood, Blake responds with glee. It's surprising that he doesn't slit the little bastard's throat with the razor, but he doesn't!

When he goes out to mingle with the ladies at a bar, it backfires big time as you can hear in the soundclip.

And, of course, revenge is just around the corner!

Blake's skating on the edge!

Children run away from him at the zoo, and now he's starting to transform without an injection.

Look at these teriffic stills as Blake becomes more and more hideous and demented!

As he destroys his lab in a blind rage, he picks up this book and quickly opens it without any thought, but when it's open, he looks intently at the pages in total disbelief and non-comprehension. Truly great acting!!

Oh yeah... Here's Peter!

Okay, here you go, Blake at his zenith!!

Goodnight, sweet Prince Of Darkness!..