DEVIL DOG: The Hound Of Hell - 1979

Welp, gots a weird one for you today, it's a TV movie directed by Curtis Harrington with a big cast of stars. The story's about a devil cult that forces a female dog to give birth to ten pups fathered by the devil, if you can process that...

Tons of stars including Richard (WAIT UNTIL DARK) Crenna, Yvette (THE TIME MACHINE) Mimieux, Kim (RETURN TO WITCH MOUNTAIN) Richards, Ike (ESCAPE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN) Eisenmann, Lou (THE OTHER) Frizzell, Ken (THE SEVEN UPS) Kercheval, Martine (DR, JEKYLL & SISTER HYDE) Beswick and more. Curtis Harrington directed six shorts between 1942 and 1956 and got his break in 1961 when he directed his first feature film, NIGHT TIDE.

The Barry's are a happy well to do family in LA. Daughter Bonnie wants a dog for her birthday or something, so, she picks up a pup from a weird dude out in the country...

The dog's name is Lucky, here he is after a year or so, he watches Mike, the dad, as he works on the lawnmower. The dog hypnotically tries to force Mike to stick his hand into the turning blade! Hmmm, wonder if there's a problem here...

This scene shocked me, mom's snooping around in one of the kids' rooms, they have both been acting strangely lately. She sees a drawing that creeps her out, when, Bonnie and Charlie show up with Lucky. They say things like "I said, what are you doing sneaking around in here?!" and "Leave my things alone. Get out of my room and forget all about this. I mean it!" Lucky licks Charlie's hand and the kids turn all nicey-nice, oh, we're sorry, we had just sat on a tack and were all angry and the such... We love you!

Yvette's still hot 19 years after The Time Machine, but, she plays a royal bitch after the Devil Dog gets control over her. The stuff she says to Mike, wow.

Then, the kid's principal is a target because he's concerned they have turned into sadistic bullies at school. The Devil Dog pays him a visit one night, the man runs into the street trying to get away, he's hit and killed by a passing car...

Dad decides to do some snooping of his own in the attic and is baffled by what he finds.

He also finds a drawing in blood, he turns around to see what had once been his adoring family. They all have some choice words for him...

Mike goes to see a lady that know a lot about the occult, she fills him in on a bunch of stuff, like, how to tell if a person is possessed by the devil. Bonnie is definitely possessed!!

So, Mike heads to Ecuador by himself to find some answers to his problem.

This dude just wanders into the scene, and for some reason, he knows why Mike is there in Ecuador. Mike gets the same tattoo on his palm that the old man has, but whyever for?..

Back home now, Mike gets access to an industrial facility (obviously for effect, I mean, you could fight a freakin' Devil Dog in a vacant lot!). Cool damn place though!

Once inside, it's not long before the Hound of Hell shows up to dispose of measly lil' Mike!

But remember that ding-danged tattoo, he holds up his hand and creates a counter force to the monster's ominous power.

He touches the thing and it starts burning the Hell out of itself until it evaporates... The spell is broken and the family's normal again, but Charlie asks dad, what about those other nine pups?!.. Okay then, here we go with another month of thrills, here at The Dungeon!!..

THE NEW MIKE HAMMER - "Harlem Nocturne" (1986)

This Saturday Night Special is the continuing story of how many times can they make one good story into a movie or TV episode. This episode of "The New Mike Hammer" show from season three in 1986 was titled "Harlem Nocturne" and even though they give absolutely no credit to Raymond Chandler, the story is obviously still based on Chandler's "Farewell, My Lovely!"

So instead of the main character being Philip Marlow, the role has now been turned over to Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, and Mickey along with Director Ray Danton, don't seem to have a problem taking credit for it!

The "Moose" character in this version is called Malachi 'Bubba' Crown, and he's played by 6'6" Samm-Art Williams!

Mike Hammer is played by Stacy (Nebraska) Keach!

Besides being an actor, Samm-Art Williams was also a writer and a producer. He was the executive producer on both "Martin," and "The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air."

This story wouldn't exist without some bars, so this time it's "The Three Deuces".........

.........And Dixie Wells' Club!

This hooker named Peaches is played by Marguerite (The Incredible Hulk, The Powers Of Mathew Star) DeLain.

Bubba's looking for his girlfriend Bess Irwin, but the bar she used to sing in is now a strip joint and there's no more singing going on!

You gotta just love a good shot of a disco ball!

She might be Big Mama Vibes here, but for ten years and 253 episodes, Isabel Sanford was Louise Jefferson on "The Jeffersons,"

Same as the original story, Big Mama gives Mike Hammer a picture of the wrong woman to look for!

Ernie (Ghostbusters) Hudson is a record producer known as Digger Love!

Just like in the original story, there's a string of murders in an attempt to hide what's really going on, and Digger Love is just another one of the victims!

For a little while it seems that his episode of  "The New Mike Hammer" is nothing more than a music video for one the greatest, and most soulful jazz guitarists of all time, George Benson!

George has the role of a blind recording artist named Sweet Billy Marvel! Besides music videos, George was only ever in another Mike Hammer episode and as one of the many 'Our Guests At Heartland' in the "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' movie along with people like Jack Bruce and Donovan, just to name a couple.

Lynn (Josephine Baker) Whitfield has the role of Bess Irwin who is now Billy Marvel's wife Delia, and although she looks as sweet as candy, she's not somebody to be trifled with!

Big kudos and mucho thanx to Scott Lovrine for leaving a comment on "Farewell, My Lovely," and bringing this to our attention!

It's not the greatest copy in the world, but you can watch this episode of "The New Mike Hammer" on YouTube!

THE TERROR / An Edgar Wallace Murder Mystery - 1938

This is the second movie version of Edgar Wallace's play, The Terror, the first was a silent movie in 1928. The story goes like this... A mysterious criminal mastermind plots a spectacular gold robbery. After the robbery is completed. he makes sure his gang is caught by the police and keeps all the gold for himself, then disappears. After his former accomplices are released from prison ten years later, they go searching for their former boss to take their revenge and get their share of the heist.

This British production has a lot of actors from the distant past that I don't really care much about, and the plot is twisted all over the place, so, watch the movie for all the details. I'm basically just enjoying the purdy pitchers here on a lazy Friday...

It starts with three men meeting on a desolate road at night, ready to put their plan to rob a security truck into action...

They put on their gas masks and open the valves on the tanks. The driver and his partner are both gassed and they fall into unconsciousness before the gold is carted away...

Two of the men are friends, the mastermind dude is just an acquaintance of theirs. Well what do you know, the cops come to arrest them for committing the robbery! As they're being taken away, the mastermind creep is sitting there in costume, gleefully giggling to himself!

Ten years later the two men are being released from prison and they're mad as Hell. They say they will hunt down their nemesis and kill him! The officials say like.. Well, you can try, but don't count on it.. Oh, and have a nice day! Try putting that into focus nowadays!!

Meanwhile at Crazy Castle, dude has two young women living there with him, one's a psychic... He's an animated old rich fart!

There have been strange things going on at night, like an organ that plays by itself.

Then, old fart gets strangled (or maybe not) from behind a curtain, more running around the huge place ensues.

Yes, the old gasser is the mastermind behind the crime, he's actually in love with one of the girls that lives there with him...

But, since she's in love with another, it's time for him to die!

Both of the men wanting revenge the old man had come to the castle only to be murdered by him, or so he thought... This one comes out from behind the wall and attacks the old coot, but, the freak enjoys the pain!

Our girl gets her beau untied and he attacks!.. One very cool part of the plot is that you think he's a booze hound that irritates everyone, when, he's a police detective on the case!!

He punches the old man so hard it sends him into the posts holding his precious organ up, sending it crashing down on his skull, a perfectly satisfying end to a little bitch of a person.

And, we discover the secret of where the gold was hidden!! Great little story, huh? Tune in tomorrow when we're back with our last post of May...