THE OUTER LIMITS / "Second Chance" Season 1 Episode 23 - 1964

Welp, I guess it's time to hit the Outer Limits Zone! In today's classic story, a carnival space ride becomes frighteningly real when a weird alien bird-man called an Empyrian secretly rigs it up with actual rockets. The alien carefully selects his unknowing crew of misfits including the carny ride captain who's a closet intellectual, an angry middle-aged man, and a star high school quarterback accompanied by his adoring buddy and his steady girl.

This one stars Simon (THE NIGHTSTALKER) Oakland as the Empyrian, Janet De Gore, Don Gordon, Yale Summers, Arnold Merritt, Mimsy Farmer, John McLiam and Angela Clarke.

Welcome to the Joyland carnival, it has everything a kid back then could want, rides, attractions, food, games, and even a ride into space!!.. We see the security cop making sure all the people are off the premises after closing. He goes inside the Space Ride for inspection and then mysteriously disappears... Forever!!

Okay, I showed this Tilt-A-Whirl for a reason, I hate this fucking ride!

Anyway, the Empyrian accosts a number of people with free tickets for the Space Ride...

But before the take off, the alien knocks out Dr. Crowell, the commander of the ride. Then the hostess, Mara Matthews, has to be restrained before he can proceed...

After the ship takes off, things get real for the passengers. The top pic speaks for itself! Tell 'em all about it, Eegah!!

Then, the realization sets in.. They... Are... In... Freakin'.. SPACE!!!

Buddy throws a tantrum where he attacks his best bud Tommy, then Tommy tells Buddy's girlfriend Denise that the quarterback cheated during the winning game. The alien then zaps Buddy a goodern!

Tommy totally flips out and ends up opening the airlocks, and gets sucked out into space!! A little shock to keep the hard core viewer satisfied.

So, the beans get spilled all over everything and it's revealed that the Empyrian is trying to prevent the Earth from being hit by an asteroid called Tythra. He had planned on attaining help from the earthlings on board, but it's decided that the unwilling passengers be taken back to Earth and be replaced by volunteers, which Dr. Crowell assures the alien, will be numerous! The viewer is left to believe that the problem will be solved by mutual help.

And, if you have any kids giving you trouble at home, you can get your very own Kid Zapper Medallion! - We're back on Wednesday with another Dungeon Delight, or something like that, just for you!

NIGHT AND THE CITY - "The Rat Of Soho" (1950)

Tonight's Saturday Night Special comes with a message.....as Frank Zappa would say many years later, "BE A JERK! GO TO WORK," but at least you might stay alive!

The title "Night And The City" is very awkward to me, I think the German title is much more descriptive, "Die Ratte Von Soho," or as translated...

"The Rat Of Soho!"

 It's 1950 London, and everybody's got a hustle going! This is the story of just one of the losers, and all the trouble and pain he causes for a whole bunch of other people because of it.

 Here's a portrait of  the happy/unhappy couple of Harry and Mary, but that was all in the distant past!

Richard (Kiss Of Death, Madigan) Widmark is Harry, and gorgeous Gene (Heaven Can Wait) Tierney is Mary!

 Now all the dirty rat Harry can think about is where his next buck is coming from because he's nothing but a cheap hustler and a two bit con man! Mary, on the other hand continues to love him as she always has.

 Mary works at a club called The Silver Fox where the girls dance and drink with the guys for a price. Harry goes out and finds suckers like these tourists to send her way!

After these guys got dropped off, Harry asked the cabbie what the guys were talking about on the way there, and then he approaches them like an old friend of a friend.

 It was seventy years ago, and this guy was running a business where he outfits people and sends them out on the street to beg. He's like a beggar pimp!

 Georgette Lizette Withers aka Googie Withers is Helen Nosseross. She ends up to her neck in trouble in no time at all! Googie was in classics like "The Lady Vanishes," and "Haunted Honeymoon." Googie was born in India, and was given her nickname Googie as a child by her nanny.

 "Night And The City" is a must see for any diehard wrasslin' fan! Harry's next big scam is to become a wrestling promoter in Soho. He can't wait to see his name in lights!

 Just another day in the gym!

 Real life big-time wrassler Stanislaus Zbyszko was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2003. The guy in the back is Ken Richmond who won a bronze medal in wrestling at the Olympics in 1952. These guys are more legitimate than professional wrestling itself!

 One of our favourite guys, Big Mike Mazurski is in there too, as

THE STRANGLER!

From Dick Tracy's Splitface to Batman's Allegro, Mike was always entertaining!

Iron Mike Mazurski was also a professional wrestler, and founded the "Cauliflower Club" in Los Angeles in the 60's to benefit all members of the boxing and wrestling community.

 Harry is so proud of himself, but just you wait.......

 The owner of the Silver Fox, Helen's husband, is played by Francis L. (Strange Wives, Cheating Cheaters, Chu-Chin-Chow) Sullivan. So his last name is Nosseros, if him and Helen ever had sex and had a little boy they could have called him Rye Nosseros.

 This impomptu match breaks out between The Great Gregorius and The Strangler, and it  goes on for quite a while!

 It actually wore me out just watching it!!

 Gregorius comes out the victor by putting a backbreaker on The Strangler, but at his age, the fight takes it's toll on him!

 Gregorius leaves with his son, and keeps telling his son to close the window because he's cold, but the window isn't open!

 The son's name is Kristo, and he's the biggest wrestling promoter in town, and now he's pissed off, and now Harry is in over his head. Kristo was played by none other than Herbert (Phantom Of The Opera) Lom. Unbelievably, Herbert Lom was on the silver screen from 1937 until 1993!

 Here's the big and the small of it, Mike Mazurki and Chunky Pattison!

 I seriously thought about doing this with only shots on stairs, or in hallways, and alleys, because there's that many of them!

 Harry is now a lost and broken man. There's no place to run and no place to hide. All he can do is disappear, but not the way he would like to!

Just for fun I started compiling a list of one word name titles for movies, and it's surprising how many of them would have been a good fit for this film too, like BAFFLED, BESERK, CORRUPTION, FRENZY, IMPACT, LURED, NIGHTMARE, OUTRAGE, REPULSION, SQUIRM, and TRAUMA, just to name a few! SCREWED would have been a good one too. It all works!

HOT RODS TO HELL / Call Them Punks, Call Them Animals... But You Better Get Out Of Their Way! - 1967

In today's super wild adventure, Tom Phillips, his wife Peg, their teenage daughter Tina and younger son Jamie drive through the California desert heading for a new life by running a motel. Things go south when teenage bad girl Gloria and her two delinquent boyfriends, Duke and Ernie, chase and harass them in a Corvette! With Duke attempting to seduce the daughter, it finally drives dad to take action against the sadistic trio. Filmed at Lake Los Angeles, Calabasas, Antelope Valley, Wilsona Gardens and Culver City.

It stars Dana (CURSE OF THE DEMON) Andrews, Jeanne (CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN) Crain, Mimsy (THE BLACK CAT '61) Farmer, Laurie (RIOT ON SUNSET STRIP) Mock, Paul (ANGELS FROM HELL) Bertoya, Gene (executive producer of ROCKY!) Kirkwood and Jeffrey (THE DUNGEONMASTER) Byron.

On his way back home for Christmas, Tom Phillips' car is hit by a drunk driver and he sustains multiple injuries. After he gets out of the hospital, he must choose a new life and a friend helps him aquire a motel establishment in the Californian desert...

Here are Tom and his family driving to California in their 1961 Plymouth, I think, the ugliest car Plymouth ever made. The next year though, the 1962 version was super nice!

A few miles away from their destination, the family meets up with one of the hot rods headed to Hell, back in the day when crazy girls (like in THE GIANT CLAW) could legally sit like that in a vehicle. Those are Gloria, Duke and Ernie in the Vette, all are poor little ass hole rich kids with nothing else to do, naturally.

At one point, Ernie calls his friends to help harass the the family.

Duke likes Tina and stalks her at a park when the family stops to rest from dealing with the little fuckers. Problem is, Tina is attracted to Duke...

Finally, Tom is able to talk to a policeman about the situation and he is relieved when the officer says he'll keep an eye on the brats.

Tom is taking over the motel and roadhouse, and that night a great little band is playing live, and, it's none other than Mickey Rooney Jr. and his Combo!! Love those threads, man!

Tina goes to the roadhouse to see what's going on and Gloria confronts her (she thinks she's Duke's girl) and there's a bit of drama... Then guess who shows up and flatly tells Gloria (his girl before Tina arrived) that she ain't his girl, ouch!!

Tom can't find Tina at their place so goes out looking for her...

Not cool, Tom finds Duke putting the make on Tina!!.. Uh-Oh!!

That's it, Tom and the family pack up and head to the nearest police department 30 miles away to file a complaint against the delinquents! But Duke finds out so him and Ernie set out to stop them! Then at one point, Duke nearly runs Tom into a wall before the shits finally leave!!

Tom comes up with a plan, mom and the kids stand at a distance (check out that matte painting used for close ups in the background) while he turns the car around and turns on the lights. You see, the jerk asses have been tormenting the family on numerous occasions with a deadly game of chicken, so...

Duke and Ernie are laughing their asses off until they realize they're going to crash unless THEY swerve this time!! They end upside down in the dirt and weeds (I was actually hoping they'd run into the car!).

Tom's not taking any chances with these little bastards and has his handy equalizer ready and set to go!

After saying this is what he'd like to do to both of them, he starts beating the crap out of the wreck!! He gives them a few more lectures before...

The cop takes them away and the Phillips family head back to motel to live, peacefully!.. Tune in tomorrow for more mayhem, here at, The Dungeon!!..