LOONEY TUNES / Bugs Bunny In "Haredevil Hare" - 1948

This classic cartoon came out when I was just a measly 4 months old, it's directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese, my favorite cartoon team...

It seems that Bugs has 'volunteered' to be the first one to go to the Moon!

Bugs is dragging his feet as the scientists are trying to get him to the ship for the flight. But when they drop a big pile of carrots into the ship...

Bugs makes a b-line to the rocket and gets inside, ready for the wild ride.

This daring soul lights the fuse, and it's... BLAST OFF TIME!

Bugs has to peel himself off the floor as the rocket streaks toward the Moon, and barely misses two comets that come shooting by!

Bugs is totally traumatized by the experience...

Bugs is just starting to enjoy the idea of being alone on the Moon when he gets buzzed by another spaceship out of nowhere!

The ship is an expeditionary force from Mars and a V-16 rocket is deployed out of the bay.

It's Commander X-2 (later known as good old Marvin Martian) and he's simply going to blow up the Earth!

Once Bugs realizes that all the people he knows live on Earth, he swipes the weapon, a Uranium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator.

K-9 is sent out to retrieve the weapon. The mutt grabs the modulator from Bugs, he then gets into a 'give it back, no I won't, yes you will' shouting match with the wascally wabbit. K-9 ends up giving the modulator back to Bugs after he gets confused, and in a mean way. As Bugs walks away with the weapon in hand, he tells K-9 that he's going to go tell his big brother and then he'll be sorry, yeah!

K-9 gets a swift kick to the rear from the commander!

There's a special delivery from Mars, a brand new modulator, whoopie, what joy!!

Of course it's a setup by Bugs, all he has to do is push that handle down, and!

Ground control checks in with Bugs... Yes, he made it to the Moon. Bugs is asked if he has prepared a statement for everyone back on Earth.

Yeah, get me outta here!!! Ditto!!!

NIGHT AFTER NIGHT - "Archival Sunday" (1990)

 

I remember when "The Comedy Channel" came on in 1990 because in the beginning, some of it like "Night After Night" with Allan Havey was hilarious. It really seemed like it happened all too fast, and they said, "Okay Allan, be funny for two or three hours." It was fascinating, and that's why it's this week's Weird Wednesday presentation!

 

Allan Havey has gone on to be in many TV shows like "Madmen," and his latest was a show called "Billions" that was on from 2017 to 2020. Allan is a very funny and sarcastic guy, and I'd really like to see how his stand up routine holds over to today's standards of what's funny and what's not!
 

This bit on "Night After Night" was called "Archival Sunday" which was nothing more than showing weird shorts made over the years that I'm sure were public domain, with Allan as the host.

It was all silly stuff like "Dating Do's & Don'ts" from 1949. 

It was not much different than a lot of public access TV shows I've seen.

Then they'd cut back to Allan and whatever the heck he'd come up, like this bit about "Ploughman's" Piccalilli, which was a pickle relish, or this other fine product known as "Bovri" which was a meat extract like bouillon but the texture of "Vegemite."

The topic was spotlight on archival snacks, and the show is now called "Cholesterol Carousal." Allan goes on to tell you that these products meet all our "traditonal requirements, like high fat, high sodium, and low nutritional value!"

 "Let's pour some out, and explore "Ploughman's Piccilli." It's vicious, it's pungent, and it leaves an ooze trail like a tree slug." He even describes it as being a goose turd colour.

Yummy!

Then out comes the "Bovril." 

Allan thinks that both of these classic condiments would probably taste great on a chunk of "Spam."

The disgusting stench eventually gets to him, and his has to push the plate away while he's speaking.

 

Time for more fun shorts like "Round-Trip Tickets from 1961.

And, video of this "Lottery Winner" from 1936.

And if all that wasn't enough, there were monkeys in pajamas..................

..........and footage of 80's heartthrob, the beautiful and hilarious Judy Tenuka!

The only thing I have to compare this to is when a local FM rock radio station went out of business here about 25 years ago, and when you turned it on, and they played Neil Young's "Rockin' In The Free World" over and over with no interruption for I think was about 72 hours straight. It was all just very Surreal.

 

 

The Comedy Channel turned into Comedy Central, and although it will never be as funky as it was when they first started, at least they brought "Drunk History" to the world, and for that, I am forever indebted!

PILLOW OF DEATH / The Thrilling Story Of The Whispering Corpse! - 1945

This was the last of the Universal Inner Sanctum stories, and boy is it a doozie! It stars our man Lon Chaney as attorney Wayne Fletcher, Brenda Joyce as his secretary Donna Kincaid, J. Edward Bromberg as psychic Julian Julian, Rosalind Ivan and Clara Blandick as the Kincaid sisters, George Cleveland as Samuel Kincaid and Wilton Graff as Police Captain McCracken.

In this story, attorney Wayne Fletcher and his secretary Donna Kincaid are having an affair, when Wayne's wife is found smothered in her bedroom, he becomes the prime suspect. As McCracken investigates the crime, a psychic with questionable intentions tries to contact Wayne's dead wife. Wayne begins to have visions of his wife, then people involved in the case begin to be killed off one by one...

Wayne's wife is dead (you never see her) and Police Captain McCracken is questioning Wayne about the case. Psychic Julian Julian has paid a visit because he got a vision that Wayne's wife was in danger, and came to check on her. Wayne shows the Captain a book of hers called "Famous Suicides Of History" and Wayne says that Julian's influence over his wife was to blame for her death.

Holy cow, this movie has so much detail that I cannot spell everything out, so...

The Captain goes to the Kincaid home to question the family (who are believers in psychic powers) where strange noises and voices upstairs are investigated. Left to right, Samuel Kincaid, Captain McCracken, Julian Julian, Donna Kincaid and Bruce Malone.

Wayne is invited to a séance given by Julian to contact Wayne's dead wife, and to find out who the killer is. Wayne breaks it up because he thinks Julian is faking it.

And, next door neighbor Bruce is sneaking around in the background and is threatened by Wayne, because Bruce says he's there to protect Donna from him!

Back at him house, Wayne is getting drunk when he hears his wife calling to him.

She tells him to go to the crypt in the cemetery, she has something she wants to show him. He goes to the crypt but the door is locked.

The very next day Samuel Kincaid is found smothered, hmmm...

Bruce (who's in love with Donna) pops in again and begs Donna not to go see Wayne, who he believes to be the murderer. Donna tells him to get lost.

Then, Belle Kincaid is found murdered!! What is going on here?!

At the Kincaid's home, Wayne and Donna hear some sounds and go exploring in the basement, where they find Bruce yet again. Wayne is ready to pound Bruce.

Spending the night at Donna's, it's finally revealed who the real murderer is... WAYNE!! Great twist, he was always portrayed as the victim in the Inner Sanctum stories.

Wayne goes upstairs and has a discussion with his dead wife on how to handle Donna, who, you know, could tattle-tale on him!

This is the only pillow that you see in the movie, as he presses it down over Donna's head!

But, McCracken and Bruce break into the room and Wayne is pulled off Donna. Bruce runs over to console Donna.

Wayne asks his wife what he should do now that he's caught, and she tells him to join her and Wayne jumps out the open window!

It's a happy ending, Bruce now has Donna and Julian inherits the Kincaid estate enabling him to continue his work in psychic phenomenon.