MANNIX - "The Mouse That Died" (1970)

 

This Saturday Night Special is brought to you courtesy of Lord Litter in Berlin. There were 194 episodes of Mannix made, and I sure as Hell don't have time to sort through them all, so it's pretty cool that I have somebody I can trust to find one for you, and this is a good one!

 

"The Mouse That Died" was episode five of the fourth season of "Mannix," and aired in 1970. 

 Mike (Voodoo Woman) Connors is "Mannix." Mike's real name was Krekor Ohanian, and in his first few films he was billed as Touch Connors.

Mannix would be lost without Peggy, as played by Gail Fisher. Gail was a multiple beauty contest winner, and was the first black actress to win an Emmy, and she was also the first black actress to win a Golden Globe award.

"Mannix" is shot from a lot of different angles, and at times it feels like you're watching a German Krimi movie. The music swings like a German film too, and was composed by Laurence (Meteor)  Rosenthal.

Mike Connors was born in 1925 in Fresno, California, and lived to be 91 years old!

In this episode, Mannix has been poisoned, and the whole time is spent trying to find out who did it and why, because it's unknown what the poison is, but what they do know is that it's slowly killing Mannix.

Mannix suddenly finds himself in the middle of some ritual he doesn't understand!

And then he dies!

What was really going on was he was having some severe hallucinations, and he finds out about it when he wakes up in the hospital after falling down a flight of stairs.

Mannix keeps feeling worse but insists on trying to get to the bottom of the whole thing

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While riding in the car he hallucinates that they are being attacked by an armed helicopter.

This is a very oppressive looking logo.

Hugh Beaumont has a small part as a guy named Hammond. Most people when they see Hugh's face immediately think "Leave It To Beaver," but Hugh also had some good monster movie creds like "Lost Continent," "The Mole People," and "The Human Duplicators."

Mannix is just getting sicker and sicker, and now has received the bad news that the mouse had died. They had taken a mouse and shot it up with some blood from Mannix, and they were monitoring it to see how long it took for the poison to work. That's where the title came from.

Mannix is getting so weak and pale, he's starting to look like Barnabas Collins.

Of course the guy causing all the problems, and doing all the poisoning was Walter White!

Longevity says a lot about quality. "Mannix" was on television for eight seasons from 1967 to 1975. I think that about says it all!

WILLIE WHOPPER In "The Air Race" - 1933

Well, do I have a one wild and weird cartoon for you, and something that will blow your mind, like it did mine!

The kids notice a poster of the Big Air Meet! happening today.. So, Willie starts telling his tall tale of when he won an air race!

Even here it's a little weird, one of the racer's name is Dirty Dick! flying in his plane, the 'Buzzard.' It's fun to read those old signs.

Here are the pilots getting their DIY planes ready for the race.

Dirty Dick has a very cool plane you gotta admit. In almost every 'race' cartoon the bad guy is a big bully with an awesome black car, train or plane.

Dick fine tunes his gigantic engine with a tuning fork. Great artwork!

He messes with Willie, laughing his ass off about what a sorry excuse he has for a plane!

Another weird part is when Dirty Dick gives Willie the raspberries and Willie looks back at his plane's rear end. What else could it mean except that he thought the plane let one?

And, the race is on!

Okay, get ready for the big one, Elizabeth! This angel was thumbing for a ride when the planes come whizzing by, AND, he flips them off when none of them stop for him!!! Seriously, what the Hell, man!! Can you believe this?!! Wow!

I just like this shot for no reason.

Willie's catching up with Dirty Dick, so, Dick tosses a blanket at him. Willie is blinded when it wraps around his head.

They animated Willie flying into a giant smoke stack, causing it to fall after he crashes through it. The scene was of the actual demolition of the stack, shown falling in a news clip that makes it look like Willie knocked it over as it crashes to the ground! Pretty cool.

Along the way, Willie runs into a fireworks shack and uses some of them to make his plane jet powered.

Dirty Dick sees Willie coming and whips his plane like a horsey to go faster. The top pic is fairly psychedelic for me.

Willie ends up plowing through Dirty Dick's plane and he wins the race.

And of all things, Amelia Earhart praises Willie and gives him a big kiss on his cheek for winning the race!

Back to reality, as Willie is finishing up his story, the big horseshoe hanging there comes loose and conks him on the head, becoming his flower wreath like in the pic above! And the cow is the one that really kissed him. So, leave some comments for this crazy cartoon from Ub Iwerks Studio...

MERRIE MELODIES - "Love And Curses" (1938)

First there was Looney Tunes, then there was Merrie Melodies, and over at Disney, it was Silly Symphonies. The original concept of Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies was to to use a song out of a Warner Bros movie, and then the cartoon would essentially be an ad for that movie!

 

The name of this cartoon was "Love And Curses," and it was released in 1938.

 

"Love And Curses" starts off with this happy couple looking through an old photo album and reminiscing. There's a couple of quick gags, and then it's on with the story!

The happy couple are named Harold and Emily. They are deeply in love, and on a picnic.

The mean and evil Roger St. Clair thinks that Emily should be his girlfriend and tries to kidnap her.

Harold makes a valiant attempt to rescue Emily, but first gets his fingers stomped on, and then he gets a boot to the face for his trouble. Roger St. Clair whisks Emily away, and Harold doesn't know where they have gone, or where to find them.

Six months later, and Harold has not been able to locate Emily, although he has tried desperately.

Harold shows this lewd and crude sailor a picture of Emily and asks him if he's seen her, and the guy tells him "Aw, go on, I've pushed better dames than dat off the boat." He then inhales on his cigar and the smoke comes out of the smokestack on the boat tattoo he has on his chest.

It doesn't look like Roger St. Clair is concerned about trying to hide his whereabouts.

Emily is forced to sing in Roger St. Clair's bar.

And that's where she is when Harold finally finds her!

Roger drops the curtain on Harold, and scoops up Emily and takes off again!

Right out of "The Perils Of Pauline," Roger ties Emily to the railroad tracks, then he tells her that in just a minute, her pretty little head will be "bouncing along the rails."

Once again, Harold shows up right on time, and saves the day, but while he's doing it, Roger St. Clair snatches up Emily again, and runs off to the old sawmill.

Harold gets knocked out, and is on his way to have a splitting headache.

But......apparently Harold has the hardest head in the world, and the saw comes completely apart when it makes contact with his noggin.

Harold seems to be some kind of Superman as he dodges and deflects bullets with his bare hands!

Roger throws some good body blows, but Harold is unfazed!

Harold then unleashes a mighty punch that sends Roger St. Clair completely out of the scene, and into a river!

But just like the proverbial bad penny, Roger shows up again, and whisks Emily off one more time. The story ends, and the world is left to see if good or evil will prevail!