FOR SINGLES ONLY - "...it's party time 24 hours a day!" (1968)

 Tonight's Weirdo Wednesday feature is just that! Something I rarely do is present you with movies I have not even seen myself, but I stumbled on this madcap lightweight sex romp called "For Singles Only," and decided it needs to be acknowledged on these pages for a couple of reasons!

First reason is "For Singles Only" had a lot of odd 60's music in it, and I'm pretty sure this manic video of The Lewis and Clarke Expedition called "Destination Unknown" will attest to that fact!

That's Texans Michael Martin Murphey as Travis Lewis, and Owen Castleman as Boomer Clarke! In 1968 Owen Castleman invented a device called the 'Palm Pedal,' that allowed guitar players to execute pedal steel-style string bends.
 

Another band performing a silly novelty song in this film was The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. I didn't know until just now that singer/songwriter Jackson Browne was an original member of the band for the first few months before pursuing his very lucrative solo career!


Nominated for various awards in the 80's and the 90's, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band finally won a Grammy in 2004 for "Best Country Instrumental" with added players Earl Scruggs, Randy Scruggs, Jerry Douglas, and Vassar Clements!

Brazilian Pianist and organist Walter Wanderley and his trio also perform a couple of songs in the film. Walter had a #26 hit tune in 1966 called "Summer Samba!" The song "Kee Ka Roo" is used in this movie, but I think this version with Luiz Henrique is the same, but different!

The great vibraphone player Cal Tjader, who was also known as the most successful non-Latino Latin musician, is also in this movie! It's not in this film, but one of my favourite Cal Tjader songs is "Soul Sauce" that peaked at # 88 in 1965!

The last of the bands in this movie was the pop rock group known as The Sunshine Company. I bought this LP new when it came out, but I never liked it much, because even though it might look like it would have psychedelic overtones, in my opinion it was just disappointing soft rock drivel!

Here's a great pair, Mary Ann Mobley and John Saxon! Miss Mississippi 1958 and Miss America 1959, Mary Ann had the unfortunate distinction of being originally chosen but dropped as both "The Girl From U.N.C.L.E." and Batgirl! She passed away in 2014.

The good news is John (Blood Beast From Outer Space) Saxon is still around and working today!

 The other stars are Lana (Diamonds Are Forever) Wood, and Peter Mark (Agent For H.A.R.M.) Richman. Lana and Mark are still both alive, and she's still acting, but he hasn't done anything since 2016!

 It's funny what one comma can do or not do. In this direct quote about the movie's story line from IMDB, it says "Anne and Helen move into a California apartment complex for single only where all the occupants are looking to hook up with Milton Berle as the building manager."
Even though I haven't seen the movie, I don't really think they were there to hook up with Milton Berle, but that would have probably been interesting!

I'd like to see "For Singles Only" but I'm not really willing to pony up the $20.00+ the DVD's are going for, but from the looks of that poster, I think probably the best part was the musical performances anyway, but if I find it streaming somewhere some day for free, I'm always up for a good party!

THE OUTER LIMITS / "The Forms Of Things Unknown" Season 1 Episode 32 - 1964

In this wild tale, two female friends poison Andre, a sadistic blackmailer, then while fleeing, they happen upon an isolated house containing a time machine, yeah! Kasha, his lover, and Leonora, the daughter of the blackmail target, fight to bury him before the idealistic inventor Tone Hobart is able to re-animate the murdered man, by tilting him back into the past...

This one stars Vera (PSYCHO) Miles, Cedric (THINGS TO COME) Hardwicke, Scott (FREDDY'S NIGHTMARES) Marlowe, David (AROUND THE WORLD UNDER THE SEA) McCallum and Barbara (IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE) Rush.

The story starts with a seemingly out of control Rolls Royce lurching along a mountain road.

The driver, Andre, he wants to stop and have a dip in a lake. While he frolics in the water, well, his girlfriend poisons his drink and Andre goes down for the count. They take his body and put it the trunk of the car...

And, wouldn't you know it, Andre disappears, freaking the girls out but good.

Leonora just starts running, Kasha follows her and they end up at a remote house in the woods.

Inside, they meet inventor Tone Hobart, he explains that he has devised a time machine and that's why they can't find Andre, he has tilted time and brought him back to life!

Just wanted to show this strangely lit shot, Vera almost looks like the space girl in THE ASTOUNDING SHE-MONSTER!

Leonora needs a stiff drink after hearing that Andre is still alive, but, where in the Hell is that sadistic son of a bitch?!.. Well, he has found the house and invites himself in.

Tone has a heart to heart with Colus (who's blind), he has made a big mistake by bringing Andre back to life, but, what to do?..

Tone tells Andre all about the mistake he's made and threatens to kill him. But, Tone is hypnotized by a moving metal toy. Andre just takes the gun away from him, he grabs Kasha and they drive away into the night...

Things don't go that well for Kasha, she jumps out of the moving car, then, Andre tries to run her over but puts the car in a ditch and he dies from the accident!

Back at the ranch, Leonora runs into the room with the time machine and gets tangled in the wires. Tone untangles her and tells her to get out of the room!

The others watch as Tone manipulates the machine...

He assumes a position in the wires and he disappears into time. So, check in Wednesday when we return with another load of terror, just 4 U, here, at The Dungeon!!

BATMAN - "Minerva, Mayhem, and Millionaires" (1968)

It's the eighth day of The Month of Mayhem, so what better way to celebrate than with the series finale of the "Batman" TV show from 1968!

So what the heck can I say about Batman that hasn't been said a million times before?

This was the last episode of the 60's TV series, and it was titled as you can see, "Minerva, Mayhem And Millionaires."

These people were crazy! The first season had 34 episodes, and in the second season, they cranked out 60 episodes in about seven months! Season three ended here after 26 more episodes! They might have been just a little burned out!

We were raised on Superman and Batman comic books, so when this TV show came on, we were more than ready. It was corny as Hell, but you just had to love it!

I think the Batman TV series was the premiere example of campy crap!

This was Pop Culture at it's finest hour!

This series finale featured a spa where the customers not only got their hair washed, they get their brains washed too, and for free!

Minerva was played by the timeless Goddess Zsa Zsa Gabor. She affixes this gizmo to the customer's head and then they spill the beans as to how to get to their hidden monies!

All she has to do is turn it on, and ask them a question and they will tell her everything she needs to know to be able to easily rob them later!

Don't you love it that this cat still has his shoes and socks on! He deserves to lose all his money to Minerva!

Dungeon Queen and iconic Hungarian beauty Zsa Zsa Gabor passed away at the age of 99 a couple of years back in 2016! From Orson Welles' "Touch Of Evil" to the 1958 classic "Queen Of Outer Space," Zsa Zsa always added something special to the mix! She will never be replaced!

Adam West was Batman, and boy was he good at it!

Most actors can't act like this and get away with it, except maybe The Shat! Adam also passed away not that long ago at the age of 88 in 2017. What a guy!

Minerva's guards and henchmen were William (Grave of the Vampire) Smith as Adonis, Al (Dracula's Dog) Ferrara as Atlas, and Mark (Doomsday Machine) Bailey as Apollo! Yvonne (her only role ever) Arnett is Aphrodite, and the guy in the middle is Jacques (Gigi) Bergerac as Freddie the Fence!

Minerva even lures Bruce Wayne into her lair so she can extract his secrets too!

Great shot! Batman and Robin look like they're going to a Toga party!

What the Holy Hell Batman? They put them in a pressure cooker!

Alfred and Bat Girl get there just in time to save the boys from getting cooked alive like a couple of lobsters!

Well we all know what happened to Batman after this!

The legend and the stories have continued in film on a regular basis for fifty years now, and honestly, I don't think they will ever stop making Batman something or another for the rest of eternity! 

Unless one of these evil thugs finally does him in for good, Batman will outlive us all, and maybe even the roaches too!

THE FIRESIGN THEATRE - "Volkswagen Mummy Fools"

 Welcome to yet another Wacky Wednesday in The Dungeon!
Our guests tonight are The Firesign Theatre!

The Firesign Theatre have been our comedic heroes for many, many years and we're referenced them many times in these pages before, as this Search Link will attest to.

I spend a lot of time rummaging around on the Internet Archive, and am always surprised what turns up at the end of the day. Lately, it's been The Firesign Theatre, so here's a couple of tidbits to tickle your funny bone in these dark times.

 First off, here is an actual TV commercial for a Los Angeles Volkswagen dealership that was made in 1969 that starts off with Peter Bergman at the helm!

 This would be about the same time that the boys came out with their classic LP,
"How Can You Be In Two Places At Once When You're Not Anywhere At All?"

It's poetic justice that Jack Poet Volkswagen would be the dealer giving these four bozos some air time!
This is Phil Proctor, one of the only two surviving members some 50 years later!

 Philip Austin was also the incredible genius behind "Roller Maidens From Outer Space!"

 David Ossman is the only other member still around today!!
Here's a YouTube link so you can watch this incredible thing for yourself.
Don't be fooled, the beginning is a commercial for the game "Battleship."

This really interesting 14 minute video that you can watch right here, shows the guys at work doing their thing in an impromptu radio podcast titled "Fools In Space" from 2002!

 Sadly, Peter Bergman on the right, left us in 2012 at the age of 72, and Phil Austin joined him in 2015 at the age of 74!

You can also watch this fun overdubbed 20 minute version of "The Mummy's Tomb" that was done by three of the Firesigns watching this movie on TV, telling radio listeners to turn to the TV channel and turn the sound down, and listen to the broadcast they were doing instead. You can also find links to other Firesign Theatre artifacts there, so what are you waiting for? Start Digging!