WHAT’S GOOD FOR THE GOOSE (1969) – Well, is it?

 

Greg Goodsell here -- what we have in the Dungeon tonight is a vintage British sex farce that seems a tad too naughty for these here parts.  WHAT'S GOOD FOR THE GOOSE also went under the title GIRL TROUBLE in the States or NORMAN - GIR DEN GAS in foreign territories!

Yes, our man Norman Wisdom plays banker Timothy Bartlett ruled by his humdrum, workaday routine. For a British sex quickie, however, WHAT’S GOOD FOR THE GOOSE has quite a pedigree! It’s produced by horror film producer extraordinaire Tony Tenser, released by his Tigon Studios. Tenser had a hand in such classics as WITCHFINDER GENERAL (1968) and BLOOD ON SATAN’S CLAW (1971)! Director Menachem Golan would later join forces with his cousin Yorum Globus to forge the incredible bomb factory known as Cannon Pictures in the 1970s! He died on August 8 at the ripe old age of 85 this very year! But we’re getting ahead of ourselves -
 

 To borrow a phrase from an old Kinks ditty, “What are we living for? Two-roomed apartment on the second floor.” Norman’s three adorable kids ignore and don’t appreciate all of his hard work -- can you feel a mid-life crisis coming on?

Sent to a conference by his ailing boss at the coastal town of Southport, trouble comes quickly! These two British lolly birds are about to get our friend Norman into all kinds of trouble! LET THE CARTOON BEGIN!

Adjusting their sunglasses, Nikki (Sally Geeson) and Meg (Sarah Atkinson) size our Norman up as a repressed old prude! That’s about to change in a very big way –

Yup, a little bit of leg will get any girl far in this world. Norman here feigns disapproval –

Geeson, the lovely brunette in this shot is the younger sister of distinguished British actress Judy Geeson of HORROR PLANET/INSEMINOID (1980) infamy! She would only appear in a few more pictures until she chucked acting all together in 1972 to pursue a teaching career!

The girls ply their wares and let slip that they will be partying in town that weekend. You can see the bug slip into Norman’s ear at this point!

There’s a lot more from where that came from?

Out and about to pick up a pack of fags -- that’s CIGARETTES, for you yanks, Norman stumbles into a -- literally -- underground nightclub called the Screaming Apple!

As you can see, poor Norman is a real fish out of water in this kooky comedy as he takes to a psychedelic hippie joint in black bowtie and tuxedo!

As plainly evident, there are a lot of British hippies who were having FUN FUN FUN in this nightspot where patrons can swing on inner tubes! Looks unsafe …

The enthusiastic British hipsters welcome Norman with open arms, because -- HE HAS MONEY! YAY!

Here is why this film is remembered, if at all -- it features the noted and celebrated psychedelic and blues rock group the Pretty Things! The Things contribute four songs to this film’s soundtrack. As you can see, these Things aren’t particularly “pretty” -- but neither is rock and roll!

What is good for the goose REALLY is good for the gander, as this male waiter, in the manner of other swingin’ female birds of the time, goes “topless. “

Why, even a member of the house band also goes the Tarzan route!

And here’s our fave “it” girl again, trying to convince Norman to stop being such an old fuddy-duddy!

Bedding down with his lovely for a night of extramarital sex, a lock of her hair strategically placed foresees the macho street clone look that would become popular in the following decade!

Norman afterwards embraces the youth counter-culture. A bit of booze and some Carnaby Street clothes make the man!

Yours truly is ashamed to say that he, at one point, wore vests like that -- as late as 1976!

Feeling remorseful, Norman drags his wife (Sally Bazely) to Southport for some hippie clothes and free-wheeling fun, but as she slathers on some cold cream, our hero realizes -- you can’t go home again! Is what’s good for the goose REALLY good for the gander? You’ll have to see the movie to find out! This is Greg Goodsell – over and out!

BIRDS IN A SUITCASE Part 01 (1967-1968)

 

I've been trying to watch the whole series of "Man In A Suitcase," and every one of them has an interesting female character in it, so why not do a segment on this bevy of British Birds? Welcome to a Wonderful Wednesday down in The Dungeon!

 

The first episode of "Man In A Suitcase" called "Brainwash" featured Suzan (Die Monster Die) Farmer as Judy Davies. Suzan passed away in 2017 at the age of 75.

 

The second episode was titled "The Sitting Pigeon" and had Lois (Captain Kronos:Vampire Hunter) Daine in it as Valerie Wilmot. Lois is still alive and well today.

 

Here's a shot of Lois from the BBC TV series "Play For Today" and an episode called "The Long Distance Piano Player" in 1970.

 

 

The third episode was called "Day Of Execution" and featured Rosemary Nicols as Moira, a love interest of McGill.

 

Rosemary had the ongoing role of Annabelle Hurst in the fantastic TV series "Department S." Here she is in the first episode with a blonde wig as a disguise. Rosemary is also still around today.
 

The fourth episode was titled "Variation On A Million Bucks: Part 1"

McGill's Romantic partner in this one is Yôko Tani as Taiko. Although Yôko is Japanese, she was born, and passed away in Paris, France. She's the only one so far here not British.

 

Episode five is "Variation On A Million Bucks: Part 2," and Taiko stays on as McGill's girlfriend.

Of course we love Yôko Tani for her part in the classic "First Spaceship On Venus."

Gay (Journey To The Unknown) Hamilton was also in Part 2. Gay is still with us too.

 

Episode number six was actually the pilot episode of "Man In A Suitcase," but oddly inserted at the number six position, and featured Angela Browne as McGill's ex-girlfriend Anna Wilson.

Angela was also in a couple of episodes of "The Avengers" and was the leading lady in this episode of "Danger Man" titled "The Girl In Pink Pajamas." Angela passed away in 2001 at the age of 63.
 

Episode number seven was titled "Sweet Sue," and had Judy (Berzerk) Geeson in the role of Sue herself.

Judy is probably the most recognizable face here so far, and she just celebrated her 73rd birthday a couple of weeks ago on September 10th, and is still working today.
 

Jacqueline (The Reptile) Pearce also had a small role in this episode. Jacqueline left the planet in 2018 at the age of 74.
 

Episode number eight was called "Assay In Evil" and has Wendy Hall as the wife of one of McGill's Clients.

Wendy was also a regular on eleven episodes of "Doomwatch." Wendy is also still alive.

Episode nine titled "The Girl Who Never Was" featured Annette Carell as an unscrupulous art dealer. Annette was also in "The Vulture," and believe it or not, a TV show called "The Man Who Never Was."

Annette took her own life at the age of 41 in 1967.

Priscilla (The Wednesday Thriller) Morgan had the role of Mavis Fletcher. Priscilla is still very much alive.

The tenth episode was titled "All That Glitters," and featured the beautiful Barbara Shelley!

British horror would be a vacuum without the likes of actresses like Barbara Shelley, who was in such classics as "Blood Of The Vampire," "Village Of The Damned," "The Gorgon," "Dracula: Prince of Darkness," as shown here with Sir Christopher Lee, and "Quatermass And The Pit."

Sadly, Barbara just passed away in January of this year at the age of 88.

25 GOOD REASONS TO WATCH OLDE MOVIES Part 05

Welcome to another Saturday Night Special in The Dungeon!

It's getting a little more difficult, but as you're about to see, there's still a lot of talent out there!

Part 05 gets me up to 125, it should be interesting to see if I can make it to 200!

It might take a while, but I think I can!

# 101 - Andree Melly - "The Brides Of Dracula" "The Horror Of It All"

#102 - Ann Margaret - "Murderer's Row" "Tommy"

#103 - Anna Karina - "Alphaville"

#104 - Annabella Incontrera - "Goliath And TheVampires" "The Ambushers" 

#105 - Anne Gwynne - "House Of Frankenstein" "Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome" "Teenage Monster"

 

#106 - Maura Monti - The third member of the Mexican trilogy of beauty with Lorena Velzaquez and Elizabeth Campbell!

#107 - Anouska Hempel - "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" "Scars Of Dracula"

#108 - Debra Paget - "From Earth To The Moon" "Tales Of Terror"

#109 - Diane Varsi - "Wild In The Streets" "Killers Three"

#110 - Gaia Germani - "Hercules In The Haunted World" "Castle Of The Living Dead"

#111 - Hazel Court - "Devil Girl From Mars" "The Curse Of Frankenstein"

#112 - Jane Fonda - "Barbarella"

#113 - Judy Geeson - "Berserk" "It Happened At Nightmare Inn"

 #114 - Juliet Prowse - "G.I. Blues" "Who Killed Teddy Bear"

#115 - June Cunningham - "Horrors Of The Black Museum"

#116 - June Kenney - "Teenage Doll" "Attack Of The Puppet People" "The Spider"

#117 - June Wilkinson - "Macumba Love" "Frankenstein's Great Aunt Tillie"

#118 - Kim Novak - "Vertigo"

#119 - Lois Collier -  "Weird Woman" "Cobra Woman" "Jungle Woman"

#120 - Mabel Karr - "The Diabolical Dr. Z"

#121 - Madeline Smith - "Taste The Blood Of Dracula" "Theatre Of Blood" "Live And Let Die"

#122 - Nancy Kovack - "Jason And The Argonauts" "The Silencers" "Star Trek"

#123 - Sydne Rome - "Some Girls Do" "Just A Gigolo"

#124 - Veruschka - "Blow-Up" "The Bride"

#125 - Ziva Rodann - "Pharoah's Curse" "Macumba Love"

So there you have it! What would four decades of movies have been without them? Pretty boring, I'd say!