THE LAS VEGAS STORY - Hoagy Carmichael - "The Monkey Song" (1952)

Welcome to another Saturday Night Special down in The Dungeon! Tonight's feature has an extra special cast, and also features Vincent Price is one of his non-horror roles! It's a fun movie to watch for a lot of reasons!

As one of the producers, who knew Vegas better than Howard Hughes?

Vincent Price deserved to have his name on the main credits too!

Rather than "The Las Vegas Story, it really should have been titled "A Las Vegas Story!"

During the collage splash of a bunch of casino neon signs, you'll see all the great names including "The Golden Nugget," and "The Flamingo," but.......

.........On the stage of the movie, they call the main casino "The Fabulous," and they even use the same kind of lettering as the real one!

Too me, shots inside of a 1950's casino are fascinating!

Equally fascinating is the pairing of Vincent Price and Jane Russell as the less than happy couple! They both have problems, hers are love, and his are.......

..........Money! 

Vincent's character is seriously in debt, and has a gambling problem, not a good combination!

Victor (One Million B.C.) Mature is the local cop and spurned lover, another bad combination!

 Brad Dexter went on to be one of the original "Magnificent Seven," and that's a feat all unto itself!

 All the two shots of Vinnie and Jane are fabulous too!

I love this shot of Jane in front of "The Last Chance" bar and casino! It looks like the entrance to Hell, or a kid's ride on the boardwalk!

My how times have changed!

Here's the fun part! Songwriter Hoagy Carmichael is Happy, the narrator and guy who plays the piano and performs at The Last Chance! Hoagy wrote classics like "Stardust," and "Georgia On My Mind!" My sound software is giving me problems, but I did find this video on You Tube of him here performing "The Monkey Song!" It's a must see!!! I wish the quality was a little better, but it's better than nothing for sure!

I thought this shot of them photographing one of the stiffs was pretty funny!

This is an odd shot!

Very cool penthouse shower!

Jane Russell was in a movie with Marilyn Monroe called "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes," that pretty much underscored her career. Two years later they tried "Gentlemen Marry Brunettes," this time with Jeanne Crain, but Jane's career never really blasted off like it should have!

I'm not the biggest fan of long drawn out chase scenes, but how can you go wrong in a battle between a helicopter and a woody out in the desert? You can't, and that's just how good "The Las Vegas " story really is!

KARATE, THE HAND OF DEATH / Joseph Brenner Productions - 1961

It's Friday, and time for this title found on Something Weird Video, the story goes like this... Before the credits roll, a Nazi war criminal is in Tokyo to cash in his war loot, a million dollars in platinum, and is murdered by karate chops!! A visiting American is framed and must elude police as well as a gang that thinks he has the precious metal. The American, Matt Carver, has his own history, he was raised in Japan, he's fluent in Japanese and karate, and he was an American soldier in the Pacific in WWII. While in hiding, Matt turns to the Harakawa family that includes Akira, his boyhood friend. Matt's history with the family holds the key to the mystery of the dead Nazi, but how do these separate stories connect, and can he figure it out before it's too late?.. Well, keep reading!

Matt arrives in Tokyo and meets with the police, they notice the calluses on his hand, a sign of karate training, could he be the killer? He also receives a coin during the interview.

Then, two gangsters accost Matt and it looks like there will be a deadly fight, but...

Matt has a flashback where he kills a number of Japanese soldiers during the war with karate chops and feels like his karate training is a curse.

While Matt is daydreaming, the thugs beat him down and take him away.

When he comes to, he's in the company of Mr. Harakawa and is welcomed by the family. Matt then gives a karate demonstration at his pal Akira's gym!

Break time, Matt and his friend Ivan take in a show at a popular restaurant...

Matt digs out his secret recording device to see if he can get some poop on the killer!

Holy crap, guess what, freakin' Akira is behind the killing and theft!!

And, Akira's father has been listening in, hiding behind some crates! When dad gives Akira a sword to commit hara-kiri for dishonoring the family, he attacks his dad, and, the fight is on between him and Matt!

Akira has broken a big vat of acid on the floor and has pushed Matt into it!!.. YOW-EEE!!

Then, with a super quick karate jab to Akira's throat, well, the killer becomes the killed! You know, bad karma has a way of sneaking into the game.

Matt is not proud of what he's done, but, it had to be done! How's that for a brain twister?! Tune in tomorrow when Eegah!! haunts this spot...

SODA SQUIRT - UB I Werks - "A Flip Cartoon" (1933)

A couple of months ago I did a post called Over a 100 Years of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,

but it seems I neglected this cartoon from 1933, so it's time to fix that and have a Way-out Wednesday at the same time, cause once you get over the hump, the rest of the downhill trip is gravy!

Flip the Frog's here to serve it up to you, in  a strange little U B I, and I be you Werks tale called "Soda Squirt!"

Flip's having a grand opening for his all new joint!

All the big name celebrities of the day show up like Laurel and Hardy....

....And that oh so mad monk, Rasputin (Lionel Barrymore!)

Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and even Zeppo Marx show up too!

Buster Keaton and Jimmy Duranted come along too, probably to enjoy the "Grilled Lamb Kidneys with Bacon!"  Gotta be better than the frog legs!!

It's never mentioned, but by the looks of it, there's got to be booze in that drink!

Mae West comes by and heats the place up a bit!

Known for his big mouth, Joe E. Brown eats everything but one piece!

Then, an unknown, but extremely effeminate man makes the scene!

Flip is so taken with Mae West, he makes the man a kitchen sink drink rhat even includes tacks!

What can I say? It's an amazing transformation scene!!

And out pops the Frederic March version of Mr. HYde!

Flip has to get everything back in order the way it used to be, so he literally kicks Mr. Hyde's ass!

After a great start, it really turned into a big zero of a day!