INTERCONTINENTAL EXPRESS - "Reise An Die Grenze" (1966)

Halloween's over, so now we can get back to just every day normal weirdness, and that's exactly what this Weird Wednesday is all about! "Intercontinental Express" was a 1966 German TV show that was kind of a cross between German Krimi films, "Thriller," and a soap opera, or something like that!

I still haven't figured out why the title cards say "Intercontinent-" instead of "Intercontinental."

 

"Reise An Die Grenze" was episode number one, and translates roughly to "Travel To The Limit."

 

This rich guy gets dropped off at the train station by his loving wife! Kurd (Room 13) Pieritz is Thomas. His wife Christine is played by Claude (The Zombie Walks) Farrell.

The scoundrel Thomas almost immediately meets up with his much younger girlfriend Ines, who was played by Marion (Bonditis) Jacob.

A cell phone in 1966, hard to believe but it's true! 

Margot (Raumpatrouille) Trooger is the pissed off Florence with a bad wheel.

Her husband Robert doesn't understand why she's so mad all the time. Maybe it's because she's in pain! Robert was played by Heinz Weiss who was Phil Decker in the Jerry Cotton movies.

A newly married and oddly happy couple get on the train. In about ten minutes, they will get back off!

This guy asks too many questions, so he just gets ignored by everybody, and decides to leave!

Smoke break!! Can you believe how bad the stench would be in that small confined place?

Loving husband Thomas and his girlfriend Ines try to enjoy a meal together, but this beyond obnoxious salesman sitting at the same table is making it difficult for them.

Ines gives Thomas a gift of spices for the kitchen in the home they're never going to have together!

While Thomas is gone, this nice lady explains to Ines that a relationship with a 51 year old married man is probably bullshit, and that he's just using her, so she grabs her bag and splits!

Just like in "Sneaking Sally Through The Alley," "Up pops the Queen."

 

Busted!

This picture has absolutely nothing to do with this TV show, but it is the cool label on a record made in 1976 by a band called "Intercontinental Express." Is that garlic??

Speaking of records, for the record, it was my Editor Perry White, who hooked me up with this show!

"For The Time Of A Journey, A Speeding Train Is It's Own Universe!"

In English, you can watch a nice quality copy on......

YOUTUBE!

THE THREE STOOGES In "The Sitter Downers" - 1937

Here's one of my favorite Stooges episode, there's just something about it...

The boys are all dappered up, going to see their sweethearts. They even include their dog in the caravan as the girls have a female dog for him to visit too. Love this shot.

So, the boys get on their knees and ask the girls to marry them. The girls are, from left to right, Flora Bell, Cora Bell and Dora Bell. They reply to the suitors... You'll have to ask our dad!

This is my favorite moment, when he hears a commotion in the living room, Pop Bell comes in to find the Stooges standing there, and asks them, what do you want?! The boys say they are asking him for his daughters' hands in marriage. Before they finish the sentence, Pops yells out... NO!!!

The Stooges stage a sit down strike at the Bell's house! And the public is on their side and they're receiving gifts like a new lot and home, silverware, etc., and tons of fan mail!

Pops figures the only way to get the loafers out of his home is to let his daughters marry the morons. A justice of the peace is brought in to perform the ceremony...

So, the guys and girls head off to their dream home.

They have arrived on the truck delivering the lumber to build their house. Moe looks around and asks the driver where the carpenters are? The guy laughs at him and informs them that they have to build it! Then he quickly drives away, dropping the load with a big thud. The wives then show them, no house, no honeymoon, not the other way around!!

After they build this much, they go on strike!

Flora picks up a board and puts an end to that nonsense by knocking out a brace, and the boys come tumbling down!

Everyone's chasing each other as Curly tries to smooth out the cement job he's working on and they keep running through it. So, he sees them coming and messes it up himself.

Curly gets conked on the head by a keg of nails and is out as the cement sets up...

Curly comes around only to find his feet stuck in dried concrete. He chisels himself out and walks over to Moe and Larry to show them what happened. Moe says, I thought we lost a keg of nails!

So, Moe ends up drilling holes in the cement shoes and putting a stick of TNT in each hole, then lights them and him and Larry run for cover!

Curly starts thinking, and goes around the lumber pile to tell Moe that he can just take his shoes off!.. Hey, where you guys going?!

An explosion goes off, and thinking Curly got blowed up real good, Moe tells Larry that they should have only used a half stick of TNT in each slab.

Curly starts screaming from a tree limb and everyone runs over to him. Cora uses a board to pry him loose, but...

Curly falls right on top of her and she's knocked out cold. Moe tells Curly to grab a pail of water. He grabs a pail but a chunk of cement landed in the pail after the explosion, and he unloads the pail of 'water' in her face!

Well, believe it or not, it's time to get the honeymoons started. The home is finished, and the wives just love it!!

Flora finds a piece of wood they forgot to remove!

And the place comes tumbling down, big time. A perfect Stooges ending!!

TALES FROM THE CRYPT - "Only Skin Deep" (1994)

This is the last Saturday Night Special of this years Countdown To Halloween, so let's send it off with a Halloween party, a party that would have been better off to avoid, since you never know whose really behind that mask, especially these days.

 

Tonight's tale was originally in the Educational Comic "Tales From The Crypt" that was published October of 1953.

The cover story for this issue was called "Tight Grip," but one of the other stories inside was titled "Only Skin Deep."

For the movie they put "Only Skin Deep" on the cover of the comic, and that's not even close to the only thing they changed.

The party in the comic was a celebration for Mardi Gras, not a Halloween party.

This TV show aired on October 31, 1994, and starts off with The Cryptkeeper playing poker with a couple of his best friends, and then Death decides to join the party.

Peter (Cop Rock) Onorati is a scallywag named Carl Schlag. It's no wonder he came to the party as a pirate! Peter was an NCAA all-conference wide receiver turned businessman, and didn't start acting until he was well into his 30's. He's been very busy ever since.

Carl Schlag is not even supposed to be at this party being thrown by his ex, but being the ass that he is, he refuses to leave.

Carl meets this woman in the kitchen, because everyone knows that all the cool people hang out in the kitchen at parties!

And this is where the story really deviates from the original comic never to return.

 

In the comic book, Carl goes to an annual Mardi Gras party with the intention of asking an old flame to marry him, even though he has never seen her face. In this story he picks up on this woman and goes home to her very strange and eerie home, and they hop in the sack together. It's supposed to be a don't ask, don't tell affair with both keeping their masks on, but Carl screws the whole thing up when he thinks he's in love. The very talented Sherrie (Night Claws) Rose is the very odd young lady known only as Molly. Sherrie Rose is not only an actress, but has also written, directed, and produced films, and was also in an earlier episode of "Tales From The Crypt" called "On A Deadman"s Chest."

This shot gives you a good idea of what the interior of Molly's pad is all about!

While Molly sleeps, Carl starts looking around desperately trying to find out more information about this woman he has just fallen for. He doesn't get too far!

In my less than humble opinion it's very difficult to film a dream sequence or something that is supposed to look akin to a comic book, but the makers of "Tales From The Crypt" do about as good a job as anybody!

Carl discovers that Yech, this woman doesn't collect something like rainbow or unicorn figurines, but has some very strange collectibles in her curio cabinet instead! Too bad it's too late since she has already drugged him. 

Carl gets over falling in love! Faces are overrated anyway, don't you think?

So that's it kiddies, another Halloween shot to Hell! Just remember, stay safe and sane, or end up like Carl, Unsafe, and Insane!