PORKY IN WACKYLAND - "Beaking The Fourth Wall" (1938)

I'm kicking Summer into high gear with a new feature starting tonight called The Weekly Wacko Cartoon! I've been watching quite a few cartoons lately (the internet is alive with cartoons), and it just reminds me of how much time I spent watching cartoons as a kid! I'm sure I wasted more time watching cartoons than I did movies! So I hope you dig it as much as I plan to, and without further delay, from 1938, here's the first featured cartoon in the series.......

"Porky In Wackyland!"

Looney Tunes! Two words that say it all, and the music from the mad mind of the genius Carl Stalling just punctuates the whole experience!

 

The sheer volume of work put out by Bob Clampett, Carl Stalling, Mel Blanc, Leon Schlesinger, Norman McCabe and I. Ellis is a testimonial to mad genius!

Porky Pig's first appearance on the big screen was in a 1935 cartoon called "I Haven't Got A Hat," and his voice was done by a guy named Joe Dougherty! By 1937, Mel Blanc had totally taken over the role, and continued doing the voice of Porky all the way into the late 80's! It's really hard to imagine!

This portrait of Porky in the cockpit is a beautiful exercise in simplicity!

The jokes never end, it's like their brains were on fire!

In Wackyland, this big ferocious monster turns out to an effeminate sweetheart! There are also two moons in the sky!

A flower blossoms with a drum solo!

Wackyland seems like a cross between Rube Goldberg, Basil Wolverton, and.....

..............Salvador Dali!

In 1938, "Looney Tunes" = Anything goes!!

Seriously, wouldn't you like to know the story behind each and every one of these characters?

This is the classic half-cat and half-dog creature that spends all it's time chasing and fighting itself, taking tail chasing to a whole new level!

Speaking of Rube Goldberg, the first film that ever featured what would be later known as "The Three Stooges," was written by Rube Goldberg, and called "Soup To Nuts," and was unleashed on the public on my birthday in 1930. They weren't known as the stooges yet and in fact, Moe wasn't even using the name Moe, but was billed as Harry Howard. By 1938, "The Three Stooges" were so popular that of course they'd be parodied by Bob Clampett and the gang!

Just like this blog, you want information, then you've come to the right place!

Some people don't like cartoons, because they think they are stupid! I'm just the opposite, I think you're stupid if you don't like cartoons!

Once Porky catches up with the Do-Do, everything just get worse!

Gee, maybe they weren't going extinct after all! This final shot and concept personifies what's wrong with the world today! If you don't get it, then I guess you just haven't watched enough cartoons! The internet is a classic cartoon lover's dream, between YouTube, and the Internet Archive, there's a virtual lifetime of cartoons out there that you can watch for free, so fire your therapist and your pharmacist, and get the best high-speed internet connection available, and let's all start laughing again!

THE OLD DARK HOUSE / Universal Pictures - 1932

I'll finish my June posts with this wild and crazy Universal movie that started a trend of like a hundred copy cat stories over the upcoming years, including William Castle's version from 1963 with the same name.

I have a sound clip from this classic flick for your approval, sooooo, you can push the big red 'GO' button located there by our old dark mouse hole, NOW, Ralphie The Tarantula!.. Here's... THE OLD DARK HOUSE!

Here are Gloria (THE INVISINLE MAN) Stuart, Raymond (THINGS TO COME) Massey and Melvyn (THE VAMPIRE BAT) Douglas as travelers on a stormy night. Gloria and Raymond are Margaret and Philip Waverton, Melvyn is Penderel.

The travelers find themselves at the musty old dark house of Horace Femm, played with gusto by Ernest (BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN) Thesiger.

People today would lose their freakin' minds if they ever had to just sit in a secluded area and simply talk to the people around them!!

Boris plays the mad butler, Morgan. He seems to have some issues with Margaret...

She keeps trying to get away from the creep but he just keeps getting closer and closer!

Is this close enough for you?!!

The real crazy person enters the scene and fights like a wildcat attacking Penderel. They both end up crashing through the railing and land on the floor!.. WOW!!

Morgan tries to comfort his dead friend, he picks him up and carries him away.

Here's a nice parting shot of Charles (ISLAND OF LOST SOULS) Laughton...

Penderel survives the fall but then falls in love! Be back Wednesday to check out our first post for July as we continue down the Dusty Dungeon Trail...

DARK PLACES - One Last Small Tribute To Christopher Lee (1973)

Here's a pretty cool Saturday Night Special for you that was off my radar! Luckily it can be found for a reasonable price over at Sinister Cinema.combo!

There's another film called "Dark Places" that was just released last month, so don't get confused, this "Dark Places" was made back in 1973! Since I haven't seen the latest release, I really have no idea, but as far as I know, the two movies have nothing in common, except probably murder and title!

One man listens to the dying words of a rich man in a mental institution, and asks that fateful question, "Where is the money?"

Welcome to your new home!

The olde house he inherits is all boarded up, and when he gets in to clean it up and start looking around for the money, he finds all kinds of strange shit like this!

"Dark Places" literally has a killer cast! Joan Collins and the late Christopher Lee together as scheming brother and sister who also want to get their hands on the old man's money! What a pair, the suave Chris Lee, and one of the sexiest women on the planet in the same scene eating and drinking a beer! Just seeing these two on the screen together is worth the admission alone!

The gentleman who inherited the house is played by another fantastic actor, Robert (Cornelius Fudge) Hardy! There are some strange things going on in this house, that's for sure!

Joan Collins is the town slut, and volunteers to help the new owner clean the place! She seems to also have ulterior motives, but it's lost on Robert's character!

Here's a nice Craftypants shot of 60's Brit pop icon Jane (Blow-Up) Birkin!

Sure going to miss Chris Lee, but at least he's left a ton of memories behind!

Except for Christopher Lee, all the aforementioned actors, Joan Collins, Robert Hardy, and Jane Birkin are still very much alive and actively working today! Must prove that a little darkness is good for the soul! Speaking of darkness, the music in "Dark Places" was written by Wilfred (The Prisoner) Josephs, and isn't anything that will make you want to stomp and shout, but here's about 30 seconds of what he could do with scary!

The reason I didn't tell you the names of any of the characters is because it's all a bit confusing. I'll just say that the guy who inherited the house looks just like a portrait of the first owner, and he starts blacking out frequently, and when he does, he finds himself in the role of the original owner, who was having an affair with Jane Birkin. He also has a mustache!

The spells become increasingly stronger and last longer, and he never knows what's going to happen when the other character kicks in! 

The original owner's prim and oh so proper wife was played by the magnificent Jean (Morgaine) Marsh! She loses it completely when he tells her he's going to leave her for Jane Birkin! Jean Marsh is also still alive and working today!

At the same time, the new owner is acting out the same scenario on Joan Collins! It's not all that complicated, but it's a bit hard to explain!

At this point, he has completely lost it!

Flashback to the undisciplined kids who caused all this trouble to begin with!

They shouldn't have spared the rod on these little brats!

Oh, my, look what the children have done now! Looks like he's not going to be running off with his lover any time soon!

There's just not anything much worse than these evil children played by Jennifer Thanisch and Michael McVey!

I'll leave you with this parting shot of yet one other amazing cast member, Herbert (The 1962 Phantom Of The Opera) Lom as the neighbor Prescott peering in to try and find out what's going on!

I'm not going to say that "Dark Places" is the best movie ever made, but without a doubt, it's an entertaining film with an excellent cast!