Wednesday, August 17, 2011

TEN LITTLE INDIANS - Malcolm Lockyer - "And Then There Were None" (1965)

Well, it seems Wednesdays have kind of morphed into Thriller, Spy, Mystery, Secret Agent, Giallo, Film Noir nights, but that just means more cool music and people, and tonight's feature, "Ten Little Indians" is a right fine example!

Based on the best selling book by Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller Christie, the "Queen of Crime" whose book sales are only surpassed by William Shakespeare and The Bible, "Ten Little Indians" is a fetching tale with a superlative iconic cast, and here they are.....the "Ten Little Indians"

For many, manly man Hugh O'Brian will always be remembered as Wyatt Earp in 225 episodes of "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" that ran from 1955 to 1961! He was also Daniel Slade Hardy in one of my favourite titles, the 1958 film "The Fiend Who Walked the West." To my knowledge, Hugh is still kickin' it somewhere today!

The ravishing Shirley Eaton will live on forever for her role as the golden girl Jill Masterson, in "Goldfinger!" Shirley was in some other interesting flicks like "Life Is A Circus" and "The Million Eyes of Sumuru" too. She hasn't acted in years, but I'm sure Shirley's still hanging around somewhere too!

Born Fabiano Anthony Forte, Fabian is one of the founders of the of "So Cool You Only Need One Name" club that has gone on to include Sting, Prince, Madonna, Bono, and Simon & Garfunkel! Fabian was a lot cooler than all of them!! Fabian's still going strong today!

This brings us to the part of the cast that isn't around anymore! Leo Genn was in "Moby Dick," "Playgirl After Dark," "The Secret Of Dr. Mabuse," and "Psycho-Circus!" Leo lived the good life til the age of 72!

Stanley Holloway was in some strange films like "Bikini Baby," "Meet Mr. Lucifer," "An Alligator Named Daisy," and was Mr. Brown in "Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Daughter," that was based on the Herman's Hermits song of the same name! Stanley lived to be 91!

Next up is Wilfrid Hyde White, a gentleman who had 157 acting roles that included some good stuff like "Teenage Bad Girls"(Is that not like the ultimate title or what?), "Chamber Of Horrors," and he was Martin Peyton in 13 episodes of the popular sleazy 1967 TV show called "Peyton Place!"

Back to the living, the spectacular Daliah Lavi did some good work in "The Return Of Dr. Mabuse," "The Demon," "The Whip And The Body," and Dino's "The Silencers!"

Dennis Price also had an amazing career with 141 titles under his belt, with some real horror classics like "The Horror Of Frankenstein, "Vampiros Lesbos," "Twins Of Evil," and "Drácula Contra Frankenstein!" Dennis was one of the less fortunate of the cast, he only lived to be 58!

Well, that's the main cast, the two that are left are the hired help! Marianne Hoppe's career consisted of mostly German films with titles like "13 Kleine Esel Und Der Sonnenhof!" Marianne lived to the ripe old age of 93!!!

The last but not even close to least of this 10 member dramatis personae is the living legend Mario Adorf, who has 203 titles to his credit, and has two films coming out this year, "Gegengerade - 20359 St. Pauli," and The Invention Of Love!"

I lived in Alaska for 2 1/2 years, but this still looks awfully freakin' cold to me!!

Pretty damn odd place to get invited to for a weekend of fun and games by somebody you don't even know!

Hugh's not only a peeper, he's also getting peeped on!

I love the contrast in this shot of Hugh and Shirley with him decked out in black, and her all in white!

Fabian sings a chorus of "10 Little Indians" to a less than delighted crowd!

That's the great thing about screen capture, it allows you to relive those surprising moments you don't normally remember!

One little, two little, three little Indians, too bad, but Fabian's the first one to go!!

Guess what? Nobody gets to leave because this is the cable to the buggy that brought them there, and it's about to snap through no fault of it's own!!

The music is by a name that should be pretty familiar to you by now, since we've been talking about him a lot around here lately because of his awesome contributions to films like "Dr. Who And The Daleks," "Deadlier Than The Male," and "Island Of The Burning Damned," Malcolm Lockyer!!

"And then there were seven!"

How can you go wrong, Shirley Eaton gets undressed two or three times!!

Then there's the big musical number, where the guys do 'The Twist' together!

The composition of this fight scene shot is great!!

This shot just screams Agatha Christie!"

"Ten Little Indians" is a fun movie to watch, but as far as mysteries go, even though he didn't sell as many books, I'll stick with Edgar Wallace! Agatha Christie just never had the cajones to write something as wild as "King Kong!"

Monday, August 15, 2011

FIRST MAN INTO SPACE / Amalgamated Productions - 1959

Welcome to Monster Monday with Tabonga, here at The Dungeon!.. We do not disappoint with tonite's posting, as, it definitely gots a monster in it, a hideous, one-of-a-kind monster! This is an updated version of a previous post.

Great teaser poster! ~ Before... Handsome! After... Horrible!

The storyline is, flying in the experimental rocket plane Y-13, Navy test pilot Lieutenant Dan Prescott disobeys orders and becomes the first man to fly outside the ionosphere, and so, becomes... The FIRST MAN INTO SPACE! During his second flight, he over-accelerates and heads out into space. Unable to turn the Y-13 back, he ejects the nose cone but is caught in a storm of meteor dust. The pilot compartment lands with no trace of Dan... First cattle, then people are found with their throats cut by something that seems to have a craving for blood!!.. BOO-WAH!

The music is by Buxton Orr, who only had 9 composing credits, but, check out 6 of the titles... THE HAUNTED STRANGLER, FIEND WITHOUT A FACE, CORRIDORS OF BLOOD, FIRST MAN INTO SPACE, DOCTOR BLOOD'S COFFIN and THE SNAKE WOMAN! Not too shabby.

Lettuce now bring in our official Monster Monday button pusher and fuzzy lil' pal, yes, its... Ralphie The Tarantula! Ralphie just informed me that he's ready to do his thang, and, that is, to start our eariffic soundclip for your listening enjoyment. So, push the big red 'GO' button, now, Ralphie!! Here's... FIRST MAN INTO SPACE!

Lieutenant Dan Prescott disobeys ground orders and pushes the Y-13 dangerously into the ionosphere, and becomes...

...The biggest lush on Earth!!

Here they are in some military stock footage, testing the Y-13 for it's next flight. The rocket plane shown here is actually a Bell X-2.

Marshall Thompson plays Dan's brother, Commander 'Chuck' Prescott, he gives the flight orders from the ground command center. He starred in two all-time classic sci-fi films, FIEND WITHOUT A FACE and IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE. And, we'll be featuring CULT OF THE COBRA in the upcoming months! Bill Edwards plays Dan, you can see Bill for just a second as a ship's radio operator in THE GIANT BEHEMOTH.

So, Dan goes out to far in the Y-13 and encounters a meteor dust storm in space, then, has to abort the mission...

Chuck is mystified and intrigued by the cratered metallic coating on the plane's surface. The nose section is brought back to the lab for study and analysis.

Carl Jaffe plays Dr. Paul von Essen, who's job it is to try and figure out what in the Hell it all means! Carl was also in THE ATOMIC MAN, SATELLITE IN THE SKY and THE ELECTRONIC MONSTER.

Meanwhile, Dan's on the loose and has recently aquired a taste for human blood!

Here's the part in the soundclip where lover boy gets his throat slit by the meteor man!

Then, Dan deep sixes two cops after they stop him for wreckless driving. He tromps off in search of the laboratory.

Dan finally locates the medical facility and breaks in.

He's a real hit with the chicks!

> I'm including this still, because, here's someone you probably never notice. He's working in the lab late that night, when, Dan comes in throwing blows! You see the guy flip a couple of switches, and, that's that! So, here's to this dude, whoever he is!!

God!!.. His farts are really stinky!!.. Oh Man, I think I'm gonna pass out!

No, I'm serious, get me outta here, and like... HURRY!!

...I, I, I... I could'a been a contender!

Monster Music

Monster Music
AAARRGGHHH!!!! Ya'll Come On Back Now, Y'Hear??