Saturday, June 22, 2013

YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE - Nancy Sinatra - "When Once Isn't Quite Enough" (1967)

Once again, it's time for Super Saturday Spy Guy Night, and tonight we feature the best of them all, Bond, James Bond!!

Now what the Hell could I possibly tell you about a James Bond flick that hasn't been hashed and re-hashed a thousand times already? Not much, so I'll just try and provide you with a little info and some licensed to kill eye candy!! This is just more of a reminder that when you don't have anything else to do, you can always throw on one of the James Bond films starring Sean Connery, and you'll very rarely be disappointed!

.................As the classic bumper sticker says, "Now Go Home!"

We've got a little treat for you tonight, Tabonga's little pal Rufus got locked in the studio over the weekend, so let's give him something to do! All right Rufus, go push the big read Go button over there by the abandoned space capsule, and let's get this show off and running with the theme from "You Only Live Twice" sung by The Chairman of the Board's daughter, Nancy Sinatra!

The movie starts off with James Bond being killed and his body being put to rest at sea, hence the title, "You Only Live Twice!"

But it doesn't take long before you get the chance to realize that his death was a bit exaggerated, and he resurfaces with vigor!

No explanation needed, I just like this shot of James Bond looking back! Actually James Bond lives not just twice but four or five times in this film!

Here's one great way to dispose of some bad guys, get a big magnet attached to a helicopter, pick them up and drop them in the ocean!

Dungeon goddess Karin (Room 13) Dor tries her best to intimidate our hero!

Time to break out the toys!!

Q provides Bond with this super little mini-copter!

Of course it has all the prerequisite attachments, bells and whistles . Nothing too fancy though, still labeled with a Dymo label-maker!

Did you ever notice that one particular type of throwing star looks like a Nazi swastika!

This is the point where it all starts getting a bit insane, and they decide they need to make James Bond look like an Asian!

Well, that was pretty much a wasted effort!

Wah, Wah!!!!!!!

Cute as a bug Mie Hama will also always be remembered around here for her roles in "King Kong Vs. Godzilla," and "King Kong Escapes!"

Time to bring in the big Aryan beast for one tough battle!

The omnipotent Donald Pleasence as Blofeld tries unsuccessfully to get in the last word!! You can find these James Bond movies everywhere, I've seen most of them at Big Lots for three to five dollars! In the real world, you only live once, so what are you waiting for?

Friday, June 21, 2013

THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME / RKO Radio Pictures - 1939

It's another Friday wif' Tabonga, here at The Dungeon!.. We gots a classic story by Victor Hugo starring Charles Laughton as the poor hunchback, Quasimodo. Of course, Lon Chaney played the character in 1923 and Anthony Quinn played him in 1956, I saw the Quinn version at the theater when it came out. Our 1939 version had a whopping $1,800,000 budget, and, it shows.

Eegah!! sent over a soundclip of the theme from this great movie, sooooo, you can push the big red 'GO' button there next to atomic Quasimodo, NOW, Rufus The Gnat! Here's our audio offering for... THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME!

It's amazing to see the huge amount of extras used in a number of breathtaking scenes! Here, they prepare for a celebration in the town square.

Naturally, poor old Quasimodo is crowned king of the fools.

In the love interest department on the poor side of town, Esmeralda saves this handsome clown, Gringoire, from hanging by marrying him!

You can see how the heavy makeup and body suit must have been extremely uncomfortable and sweaty!

Esmeralda is falsely accused of murdering the Captain of the Guards and is ordered to be hung! The guy in the goofy looking monkey suit sentencing her to death there is the actual murderer, I wonder what they wear when the Numbskull and Boneheads boy's club assembles?..

Anywho, Quasimodo saves the day by swooping in on a rope, he grabs Esmeralda and takes her to the safety of the bell tower. A very exciting scene to say the least!

Quasimodo freaks out Esmeralda by riding and jumping to and fro on the tower bells while they clang away!

Quasimodo brings her a small pet bird to keep her company, he covers the twisted side of his face as he watches her enjoy the gift. She then learns how intelligent and sensitive he actually is!

Quasimodo single handedly prevents the angry mob from storming the church, exciting stuff!

In the most satisfying scene, Quasimodo gets revenge on his cruel master by tossing him out of the bell tower to a well diserved death on the ground below! Goodnight, sweet asshole!!

Esmeralda and Gringoire give a thankful look back to see Quasimodo with his best friends, the gargoyles, as the two leave the city to persue their dreams...

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

PSYCH-OUT - "Freak Out In The Darkness" (1968)

Welcome to the summer of love Freak-Out Friday edition of The Dungeon! I know it's only Wednesday, but Freak-Out Friday sounds better than Freak-Out Wednesday! This damn thing is just one big flashback anyway, so what difference does a couple of days make? The title on the Spanish poster translates as "Passport To Madness!"

Unlike other psychedelic and biker movies of the 60's like "The Trip," "Psych-Out" is not a Roger Corman production, but instead was a Dick Clark movie, and it makes for some noticeable differences!

Susan Strasberg had top female billing in both "The Trip" and "Psych-Out," the only difference is that she is actually in this movie! If I recall correctly, she was only in "The Trip" for a handful of minutes! In "Psych-Out" she plays a deaf girl searching for her flipped-out brother in San Francisco!

If you're not stoned enuf, you might just haight this movie!

Sandals have got a bad rap over the years, but as far as comfort is concerned, you just can't beat a good pair of Bikenstocks! There was a time in the 60's when independent sandal makers were able to eke out a fairly decent living!

The lead character in this film is played by Jack Nicholson, and what do you think his name is, that's right, Stoney!!! "Psych-Out" was made one year before "Easy Rider!"

Stoney is the lead singer in a psychedelic rock band called "Mumblin' Jim!"

Here's where Dick Clark got it all wrong! The two bands appearing in "Psych-Out" were The Seeds, and The Strawberry Alarm Clock, two bands I like a lot, but there's just one thing, this movie is about San Francisco, and those two bands were from L.A. It would have made it a lot more authentic if he would have used a couple of bands like Jefferson Airplane and Quicksilver Messenger Service! Still, a chance to see The Seeds for a couple of minutes in a motion picture is worth the admission alone! The trippiest thing is that the music in "The Trip," a movie set in Los Angeles, was made by the San Francisco band, The Electric Flag!

Bad trip! This looks like a psychedelic version of Michael Jackson's "Thriller!"

Never ever take the black acid!!

I remember years ago seeing an advertisement in a newspaper that read, and I quote, "Jesus Saves, and at today's prices, that's a miracle!!!"

Just like Susan Strasberg, Bruce Dern was in both "The Trip" and "Psych-Out!" In this film, he plays the lost whacked-out brother known among the locals as "The Seeker!" He's trying to find out where his scrambled brains went!

"Psych-Out" has got more story to it than "The Trip" but that doesn't make it a better movie, because the story is actually pretty stupid! I completely left out Dean Stockwell's character Dave on purpose because I can't stand those kind of sanctimonious, enlightened, headband wearing hippies,  they just bug me, and I don't need to be bugged any more than I already am!

                                               No, No, don't give the deaf girl the acid!!
And on that note, I'm off to go see two other classic 60's - 70's Bay Area musicians in concert tonight, Boz Scaggs and Michael McDonald!  Want to see it? "Psych-Out" is a double feature DVD coupled up with "The Trip" that's available on Netflix or Amazon! Just let someone else drive!!!

Monster Music

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