THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN / Hammer Film Productions - 1958

So, here's your belated Easter surprise, it's Hammer's second Frankenstein offering about Baron Frankenstein escaping from the guillotine and then going to Germany where he names himself Dr. Stein and plans to restart his experiments by using parts of dead bodies... Again! I saw this one at the theater with my neighbors in 1958.

We gots a sound clip from this classic tale, sooooo, you can push the big red 'GO' button located there by our miniature mad lab, NOW, Ralphie The Tarantula!.. Here's... THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN!

You think that the Baron is going to lose his head at the beginning but everyone's been paid well for the charade and...

He goes to Germany as Dr. Stein and ends up working as a friend to the sick and dying.

Dr. Stein gets a visit from Dr. Hans Kleve, he knows the dirty little secret and wants to join the team. Dr. Stein needs another helper and shows Kleve the hidden lab and all its wonders.

Then, he shows him his latest creation, Karl, this time, one that's perfectly normal in appearance. Michael Gwynn was chosen to play Karl probably because of his 6' 4" frame.

I threw in a shot of this lit up machine just because it looks so damn cool!

As heard in the sound clip, this big brute pummels Karl from pillar to post before...

Karl's rattled brain snaps and he chokes the life out of the fat slob bastard.

Then, the worst part of the movie for me is this scene where the hospital inmates find out that Dr. Stein is actually Dr. Frankenstein and attack and beat him within an inch of his life. We love Peter Cushing, man, c'mon!!

Anyway, there is only one solution to the problem. The authorities have come to see the dead body of Dr. Frankenstein, but, is he really dead?!..

HURRAY!!.. We'll be back on Wednesday with another dose of the Dungeon Drug...

CARNIVAL ROCK - Roger Corman Rocks (1957)

I've been holding onto this one for a long time, and I thought coupled with "Carnival Of Crime," "Carnival Rock" would make for a nice carnival week during this festive time of the year, but then "Carnival Of Crime" turned out to be such a piece of crap! So it goes, Welcome to the Saturday Night Special in The Dungeon, and a special tribute to the man that, well, this blog wouldn't exist without, Mr. Roger Corman!

 Roger Corman has produced over 400 movies, and has two titles in post production right now, if you can believe that, and has the man mellowed out at all? Not with titles like "Cobragator" and "Sharktopus vs. Mermantula" coming out sometime in the not too distant future, but let's get back to tonight's feature! I love "Carnival Rock" and I hate "Carnival Rock!" How's that for confusing? I love this movie because it features a bunch of the Roger Corman regulars of the time, and like Roger, it rocks! Roger Corman was and obviously still is, ahead of his time!

 Welcome to The Carnival kids! Probably the closest thing you'll find to having this much fun today is Fremont Street in Las Vegas! Fun, Tricks, Shows, and Rides, what the Hell more could you possibly want? Here's the theme performed by the dynamic Blockbusters who also contributed to Corman's "Rock All Night!" Hell Yeah!

 They don't have a huge crowd, but the joint is jumpin' down at Christy's Club!

Christopher 'Christy' Cristakos as portrayed by David J. Stewart is the big problem with this film! It's very difficult to identify with a character this stupid and weak-minded, but that's what Roger decided for some reason, so I'm able to pass it by, even though he's pretty much the main focus of the film! The problem is that Christy is way gone in love with a girl that basically doesn't love him at all, but she's been leading him on for years! He wants to propose, she wants to split! Christy's best buddy and business associate is Dick Miller as Benny! Dick is a major Dungeon hero, and probably one of our top five favourite actors! Maybe even number one, for "Bucket Of Blood" if nothing else!

Susan (THE Wasp Woman) Cabot is Natalie Cook, the woman that Christy is madly in love with! Natalie is performing a song called "There's No Place Without You," and how about a big round of applause for those sharply dressed cats in the band? Damn, life was good back in 1957!

This shot is a grade Z film lover's dream! A trio of Roger Corman starpower unsurpassed to this day! On the left is Ed (ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS, INVASION OF THE SAUCER MEN, TEENAGE DOLL, TEENAGE CAVE MAN, NIGHT OF THE BLOOD BEAST, THE BRAIN EATERS, A BUCKET OF BLOOD, DEVIL'S PARTNER) Nelson, in the middle is Bruno (THE WILD ONE, DEMENTIA, THE UNDEAD, ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES, A BUCKET OF BLOOD, THE WASP WOMAN) VeSota, and Dick Miller too!  And if just having the three of them on screen together isn't enough, the background is a side show belly dancer and a barker in a carnival! That's just about as good as it can possibly get!

Here's a good closeup of Ed and Bruno, as a guy who Christy owes money to, and his shifty lawyer!

Christy is as dense as 36 inches of frozen tundra, and even when Natalie comes right out and tells him that she doesn't love him, he just won't fuckin' give it up! He's in debt past his ears, but he wants to still spend money on a ring for her! He's an idiot of the highest caliber!

Did I not tell you this movie has the greatest Corman cast of all time? Yep, that's Jonathan (Little Shop Of Horrors) Haze on the left as little rat Max!  The fellow on the right is Stanley, the cheap hustler guy that Natalie is really in love with! Stanley was played by Brian (King Creole) Hutton in what might have been his only Corman appearance! In the pretty freakin' werid department: Both Ed Nelson and Brian Hutton passed away in August of last year, 10 days apart!

Bob Luman and his guys known as The Shadows are the house band at Christy's club! These guys are pretty damn dynamic and would pack any house these days! Bob Luman had a pretty good career, and his biggest hit made it to number four in 1972, called "Lonely Women Make Good Lovers!" I put "Sue" in the sidebar on the jukebox so you can enjoy Bob's manic style! Check it out!

"Carnival Rock" isn't really a monster movie, but Christy is really turning into a demented Jekyll and Hyde Character!

Christy gets all mouthy with Stanley when he finds out that Natalie loves him, so they start gambling in one of the most simplest forms imaginable, pick a card, high card wins! 

Five or six cards later, and Christy has lost everything, including his club that he was over his head in debt for anyway!  Loser dude still can't face reality! It's a good thing the rest of the cast and the music is so damn good!

The new owner Stanley brings in one of the top vocal groups of the time, The Platters, and just like that, the joint is jumpin' again! That's like Fleetwood Mac performing down at your local 7-11!

Instead of just kicking Christy to the curb, Stanley shows his tender side, and gives Christy a job as a clown at the carnival! Mr. Hyde is becoming even more visible!

Natalie and Stanley are truly in love, and are about to get married when Christy crashes the party before it even gets started, and decides to set the whole place on fire! He really IS a monster!

Christy is saved, but he is still one of the biggest losers on the planet while the rest of the cast watches the place burn down! What a dumbass!

Bob Luman's band plays a song called "The Creep," the same title as the movie we made that if anything, was influenced by "Bucket Of Blood!" Coincidence or just another moment of time in The Twilight Zone? I've had my "Carnival Rock" disc so long that I don't even remember where I got it! I thought it was available on The Internet Archive, but that's "Carnival Story" so your guess is as good as mine, but if you can find it, do it, and you won't be disappointed, and that's a guarantee I'm willing to stand behind! If nothing else, somebody really needs to release a soundtrack of "Carnival Rock," the music is THAT good!

SANTO CONTRA LOS SECUESTRADORES / Oro Films, Producciones Puerto Mex Films - 1973

It's time to bring in Santo for a south of the border stomp romp in Ecuador! The story involves our hero getting the call from Interpol to investigate the kidnapping of Pedro Miller, a former counterfeiter. Interpol believes that Miller is being forced to work for a counterfeiting ring, so, Santo tracks down the bad guys and puts them out of business. Alternate title is SANTO vs. THE KIDNAPPERS.

Before the credits roll, Santo is seen fending off about 25 tough dudes at the pier, seriously!

We've got a little sound clip from this flick for your approval, sooooo, you can push the big red 'GO' button over by our pile of Monopoly money, NOW, Rufus The Gnat!.. Here's a taste of... SANTO CONTRA LOS SECUESTRADORES!

I suppose if I wore a silver mask around town I'd get a bunch of rubberneckers too!

Santo goes to the club in Ecuador to see the voluptuous Rossy Mendoza do her thing!

Santo and his girlfriend are being followed by a black Plymouth and Santo has to fight the goons inside after being cut off. This time though, the cops have to save Santo!

The bad guys escape wearing their cool monster masks... Being incognito is a freakin' blast!

Santo's pal checks out Rossy's chichis!..

The announcer introduces Rossy one more time as she dances to the tunes in the sound clip...

I love this shot of Santo just lounging on his bed in the hotel room with hot pink walls.

Of course there's plenty of wrasslin' with Santo's hand being raised in victory once again!

The leader of the counterfeit ring finally shows his mask. Jeez, if I were a villain, I wouldn't be caught dead riding around in that super girlie helicopter, especially in the middle of the day!!

I'm showing this scene because of those wild 'n' weird walls, man, I love Ecuador!

This a fitting shot to end with, and, that's my favorite guy on the left, Mr. Spider Arm, Fernando Osés. We'll be back tomorrow with another offering from the Dungeon Gang!

SÓCIO DE ALCOVA - Luiz Bonfá - "Carnival Of Crime" (1962)

Howdy Ya'll, it's April Fools Day down in The Dungeon, but wouldn't you know it, tonight I'm actually not kidding around! I was really looking forward to seeing "Sócio de Alcova!" Great title, cool poster, it sounded like a party I didn't want to miss, but you know what the bottom line is, life is just too short, and I don't have time to sit through movies like this any more! Maybe it's a great movie, but I doubt I'll ever be desperate enough to try and find out, and I'll tell you why!

From The Dungeon Of Doom to the Carnival Of Crime! "No, No, No, I really don't care!"

 

 I seriously think that if I hadn't of sat through this agonizingly long scene of absolute bullshit that I swear it seemed like it went on for 10 or 15 minutes that I might have had a different opinion of this film, but if this is any indication of what the rest of the film is like then you can count me out! Besides the ultra dull and tedious conversation about nothing between two utterly uninteresting characters, they didn't even take the time to get a decent shot!! I'd watch "Manos: Hands Of Time" for the 10th time before I'd try and sit through this again!

 Personally, I just think this movie was made to try and take advantage of the location of the newly built city and capital of Brazil, Brasília!

 

Today, a mere 55 years later, Brasília is the home to a population of almost three million!

 Being a fan of Brazilian music, I was excited to learn that the soundtrack for "Carnival Of Crime" consisted of music by the brilliant Brazilian guitarist Luiz Bonfá who also wrote some of the music for"Orfeu Negro!
Here's the theme that is not disappointing at all! I'm sure it's the most exciting part of the movie!

 If you think I'm just all sour grapes, and you have an Amazon Prime account, you can go and see for yourself, and please be sure and get back to me! The good news is that you won't waste any money, bad news is that in my humble opinion, you will probably end up wasting some time! Ball's in your court!