THE PENTHOUSE - Lisa Shane - "World Full Of Lonely Men" (1967)

After a long absence, due to a thing called work, Greg Goodsell has returned to The Dungeon! Tonight's feature is a British bit of psycho-babble called THE PENTHOUSE from 1967! This very 1960s poster seems to give away a good part of the film's story, and this installment may have quite a few spoilers. You should see it anyway!

And so it begins -- THE PENTHOUSE is a psychological horror film without blood or physical mayhem. Think it will work? You bet your boots! I've always felt that this feature had a J. G. Ballard-ian vibe to it. For further information, read his novels High Rise and Concrete Island. An interpretation from director David Cronenberg on his novel Crash rattled quite a few cages back in 1996.

With a cast of five, it's important that we introduce all our players and give them justice! The blonde beauty you see before you is popular Eurotrash starlet Suzy Kendall. She's appeared in such fare as TO SIR, WITH LOVE, worked with Dario Argento in THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE and is perhaps best known for her participation in the proto-slasher TORSO! She appeared, if that can be the word, in BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO as recently as 2012 -- a film which gently mocked Italian horror films of yore.

Very little is known about Terrence Morgan, who had a mere four other acting roles after appearing in this film! To cut to the chase, Morgan plays Bruce, and Kendall plays Barbara, and they're having a clandestine affair in the aforementioned structure.

As a certain cartoon dog would exclaim, Ruh Roh! It's Tony Beckley as Tom and Norman Rodway as Dick! The two, after taking the stairs all their way up to the penthouse (puff, puff, puff) insinuate themselves into the domicile and begin a long session of sadistic fun and games. We'll get to Harry, who compliments Tom and Dick later.

Brunet Beckley was a durable British character actor who worked with Peter Sellers in RE-VENGE OF THE PINK PANTHER in 1978. He would rejoin Kendall in 1971 IN THE DEVIL'S GARDEN. Blond Rodway has an acting career in TV and movies more than a mile long, and in his own way makes this film!

Ruh Roh indeed! Things go pretty south really fast as one of the disgusting duo produces a knife! Such begins one of the most harrowing home invasion scenes this side of A CLOCKWORK ORANGE! -- which has some surprising similarities with this film.

The odious pair are unafraid to wave a knife around, but no worries -- they have no intention of marking up Kendall's lovely face ... wink, wink, nudge, nudge. On a more serious note, THE PENTHOUSE was the first feature film for TV director Peter Collinson. He would go on to direct one of my very favorite Hammer horrors, the tragically misunderstood STRAIGHT ON ‘TIL MORNING. Tragically, he dropped dead of a heart attack – at the far too young age of 44 – in 1980.

Yes, the scumbags want to get Kendall good 'n' drunk first! Candy is dandy but liquor, as they say, is quicker --

C'mon love, you're not going to decline some hospitality from two dangerous psychopaths who've crashed your illicit love shack, are you? DRINK UP!

An avant-garde cover for a jazz album. The crocodile pictured here figures into a later conversation -- wait for it!

All tied up with nowhere to go, in the manner of Jerry Lewis at the hands of Sandra Bernhard in Martin Scorsese' THE KING OF COMEDY, Bruce puts on a brave face -- but his inherent cowardice begins to become very evident!

Its little wonder why Rodway had such a lengthy career in movies and TV -- oozing menace, he could conceivably play Mr. Hyde without makeup! Based upon the play “The Meter Man” by Scott Forbes, the film takes swipes at Britain’s classist system, as well as the British practice of “molly-coddling” prisoners.   

                   
Ms. Kendall gets down to the business of showing some skin and substantial nudity -- rather daring for the film at the time of its release, 1967! We'll be seeing a lot more of Kendall later on in the film!

BANG! What did I tell you? 

Beckley waves his trusty switchblade at Bruce, while Bruce keeps up his stiff upper lip resolve! It is here that Beckley begins his long, eloquent soliloquy -- concerning the crocodile, as referenced by the record cover. Beckley waxes eloquent on how baby crocs were onetime popular pets by children, and how parents flushed them down the john, where the poor, benighted crocs had to stay alive in a sewers to survive, becoming even more savage and a threat to society as a result. Do we hear a reference to Britain's notorious class system going on here?

Kendall, reborn from her boozy ordeal as a Venus in furs, decides she's sick and tired of Bruce's crap -- she knows he'll never leave his wife and kids for her -- and begins to wave that switchblade around! YIKES!

And now the fun really begins! Harry, who Tom and Dick have referred to repeatedly through the siege appears -- and Harry turns out to be horror movie icon MARTINE BESWICK! If you need an introduction to this fantabulous Seventies scream queen icon -- you're on the wrong website. Beat it…

Usually cast in dominatrix-styled roles, Beswick is devastating -- and wonderful in a gray business suit and glasses, in lieu of the slinky get-ups featured in her other roles. This confirms that Beswick was criminally underused during her brief acting career!

ANYWAY ... Beswick informs the couple that she is Tom and Dick's parole officer, and that they have failed her! In fact, she's bringing them back to personally apologize! I tell you, Beswick is only in the film's last 13 minutes, but her eccentric, hilarious performance is the perfect payoff!

Tom, Dick and Harry lean in for a personal exchange, and --

-- the laugh is on the adulterous couple, as well as the audience! Was there any doubt that she was one of them?

The terrifying trio mete out their final verdict! The thing is -- they know full well Bruce isn't going to say anything that would reveal his affair, costing him his career and marriage! Tonight's fun and games has BEEN ON THEM!

Tied up again with no place to go, the adulterous couple are sadder -- but wiser! They escape unharmed, but things aren't going back to what they once were, that’s for sure!

Kendall dumps her loser boyfriend as a torch song plays ... So much for being the other woman! The “World Full of Lonely Men,” as Lisa Shane croons, but the way Brucie acts, he’s destined to be a very lonely man!

SIMON THE MONK Monkeydoodle / Jacques Kopfstein - 1931

It's Change Up Friday with Tabonga, here at The Dungeon!.. I have a huge DVD library of Wild 'n' Weird stuff, so, here's a little pre-code cartoon from 1931 featuring Simon The Monk, one of the many barely remembered rubbery dancing characters from that time. Much of the audio has been omitted because of its racial stereotypes, but, bare breasts are left intact. I saw color archive footage on The History Channel that showed young bare breasted women serving guests at one exhibit at the 1939 World's Fair in New York!!

Eegah!! sent over a fun lil' sound clip for our earjoyment, sooooo, you can push the big red 'GO' button next to the spider monkey cage, NOW, Rufus The Gnat! Here's a taste of... MONKEYDOODLE!

Simon wants to ride his pet dog in this adventure, so, he has to fill him up with gasoline to get him to move... One dude I knew in the Army said that when he inhaled gas fumes (like Early Cuyler) it felt like his face got stretched 2 feet long!

The band is in full swing and all the jungle jive cats join in, as heard in the sound clip.

Over here, this cute couple's cuttin' up a rug!

Then, out of nowhere, this giant horn crawls into the scene and lets out a big blast.

The wind from the horn blast blows this lady's dress over her head, also causing a tree branch to smack her on the rear! She thinks the guy's to blame and slaps him upside the head! Just wondering, why are they standing in a tree?!

Suddenly, a killer tiger storms into the scene and everyone makes a hasty 23 skidoo!

Simon hops on his trusty hound and they skedaddle down a trail... Weird pants on the dog!

Meanwhile, at this sexy chick's house... The moose head is totally checking her out!

The tiger has caused Simon to go flying through the air and he crashes into her living room!

She likes what she sees and hands Simon a book to give him some ideas on how to proceed!..

Simon's not ready for a relationship and she kicks him out of the house! Oh well, it's on to another adventure. Check in tomorrow to see what Eegah!! and Virus Man have for us!

GOLDSNAKE 'ANONIMA KILLERS' - "Suicide Mission To Singapore" (1966)

Tonight's Dungeon spy flick is called "Goldsnake" or "Suicide Mission To Singapore" whichever turns you on! So, let's get ready to ramble....

 

"Goldsnake 'Anonima Killers"

 

First off, this guy is not Goldsnake, nobody is! You'd think somebody in the movie was named Goldsnake! This is Stelio Candelli, as Agent Kurt Jackson, aka Stanley Kent in this film, but sometimes Steve Elliot or Steven Candell, and sometimes Stelio Scandelli! Stelio has been in some pretty cool flicks, and his name was literally Mud in "Planet Of The Vampires!"

I do believe this is Juan (Tombs Of The Blind Dead) Cortés as Jean! Pretty sleazy lookin' and he's one of the good guys!

In 1966, pool parties were cool parties!

This gal would be Yôko (First Spaceship On Venus) Tani as Annie Wong, nightclub singer and part time spy!

If you approach Annie and try to tell her you're a friend of a friend, you won't get anywhere unless you have this cigarette holder device to show to her! Otherwise, she won't even acknowledge your existence!

Kurt Jackson shoots a lot of people and he also judo chops a few to the neck with good results, like death! Chop! Die! Bam! That's it! Kurt's a bad dude!

Cryptic Chinese characters drawn in blood! This can't be good!

I told you Kurt Jackson was a bad dude, here he holds off a whole hit squad and escapes without a problem! Suicide Mission I guess! More than once he manages to escape without any real pursuit for some reason!

 

"Goldsnake 'Anonima Killers" is a pretty rare flick, and because of that fact, it's even rarer to find a good copy! I'm pretty sure this is as good as it gets, because this is what happens when movies go the same route as the dinosaurs! The sound on this DVD was all over the place from warbly to indistinguishable, and at one key point the overdubs dropped out and they were speaking German instead of English for about five minutes! The soundtrack by Carlo (Secret Agent Fireball, Crypt Of The Vampire) Savina swings, but I was only able to rescue a couple of minutes because of the bad sound quality, so HERE's a comical sound bite from when Annie gets out of the shower, followed by a taste of the theme! That was all I could salvage!

I'm pretty sure this is my favourite shot from anything I've seen lately! 

Annabella (Goliath and the Vampires, The Ambushers, Black Belly Of The Tarantula, The Case Of The Bloody Iris) Incontrera is Evelyn, the top of the food chain in the bad girl department!

Here's a sample of some 1966 high-tech surveillance equipment!

This chump guard comes walking out all bad lookin' with his gun stuck into his waistband! Might as well have been a wasteband, cause it was sure a waste of Kurt Jackson's time! One shot, and this cat was history!

Here's how Kurt does it, he gets his gun out, and puts his finger on the trigger and...............

...............No, no, I can't believe it, the guy took Kurt out with one of those circus tent lookin' cushions on the floor! Don't worry! Just as easy as it was for them to take Kurt out, that's how easy it is for Kurt to get back in the game!

Next thing you know, Kurt shows up in disguise as a musician!

Good thing his koto is also a machine gun! It's out of tune so it drives them crazy!

Annie shows back up just in the nick of time looking like some Japanese beetle with an automatic weapon!

And so that's how it goes! You hide over there, and I'll pretend like I don't see you, and if I do see you, we'll have a scuffle, and then I'll shoot or judo chop you, and/or run away! And that's the whole story........