THE BEATNIKS - Paul Frees - "Crazy, Huh?" (1960)

Well, it's time for "Beat Week Down In The D With Eegah!!" And to get us going is tonight's feature presentation, "The Beatniks!" Now I really wish I would stop renting movies from Netflix to only later find out I could have downloaded them for free at The Internet Archive, but oh, well, better late than never as they say! At least it makes life easier for all you crazy cats and kittens out there "living by the code of Rebellion and Mutiny!"

Now I like this movie, but I do have one ax to grind, and that is with the title! By my standards, the people in this movie are not beatniks, but just a bunch of punk 1950's thugs! I mean like, you'd never find Maynard G. Krebs acting like this, and there's no coffee, no acoustic guitars and no dripping candles or beat poetry either!

"The Beatniks" was pop culture genius Paul Frees only attempt at writing and directing a movie! We've gone this route before, but I'll tell you again, that life would not exist today as we know it without the work of Paul Frees! Now most of Paul's work was as a voiceover artiste, but the scope of his work spreads far and near! There's no place to start or end so I'll just hit some of the high spots! In the cartoon world, Paul Frees was the voice of Bozo The Clown, Ignatz Mouse, Barney Google, Boris Badenov, Captain Peachfuzz, Barney Bear, and Wally Walrus! In the 1960's Beatles' cartoons, he was the voice of John Lennon and George Harrison! He was the the voice of Francis the Talking Mule in "Francis In The Haunted House," and he was the voice of The President in "When Worlds Collide," the voice of the second radio reporter in "War Of The Worlds," the voice of the Alien in "Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers," the voice of the Police Chief in "Rodan", the narrator in "The Monolith Monsters," he overdubbed several voices in "The H-Man," he was the narrator in "The World's Greatest Sinner," and he dubbed several voices in this movie, and that's only up to 1962! Paul worked until 1987!!!!

This shot is nothing more than a shout out to our pal Charlie!

This gang of "Beatniks" is so uncool, they keep robbing the same little Mom and Pop store over and over!

Personally I make a point of avoiding people who talk to you with their head cricked over to one side like this! I find it terribly disturbing and annoying! This is Peter (THE CRAWLING HAND) Breck as gang member Mooney!

The leader of this gang of "Beatniks" is Tony Travis as Eddy Crane! Where's the shades, the goatee, and/or the Beret? Even though he was the star of this film, Tony's a difficult guy to find out much information about!

Eddy belts out a little number called something like "Sideburns Don't Need Your Sympathy" to his girl Karen (IT CONQUERED THE WORLD) Kadler as Iris!  Charles (THE THIRTEENTH HOUR) Delaney as Talent Scout Bayliss catches Eddy's karaoke routine and thinks he just might have some talent worth cashing in on! The songs in "The Beatniks" are all written by Paul Frees, and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he is actually the one singing them! Another one of Paul's credits was he sung "The Darktown Strutters' Ball" in "The Abominable Dr. Phibes!"

So here's the whole gang: Peter (112 Episodes of The Big Valley) Breck as the crazed Mooney, Karen (13 Demon Street) Kadler  as Iris, Tony (Jamboree!) Travis as Eddy Crane, Sam (Between Heaven And Hell) Edwards as Red, and Bob (The Obligatory Decapitation Finale) Wells as Chuck!

Eddy goes on Channel 5's popular TV show, "Rocket To Stardom" in L.A. and the kids really go crazy for his schmaltzy style! Next thing you know, it's record contract city!!

But Mooney and Iris and the rest of the guys ain't taking it that swell. They think Eddy's going to bug out on them!

I just happen to like this transition shot from inside and outside of the Hollywood Inn where the gang is living it, and tearing it up, all at Eddy's expense!!

Even though Eddy was perfectly content to just sit in the hotel room and drink a couple of beers, the gang guilt trips Eddy into going out with them and raising some Hell just like the good old days, and Mooney's big mouth gets them in a lot of trouble with the Charlie the local barkeep!

First Mooney sucker punches Charlie with a liquor bottle............

.............then he ends up murdering the poor bastard!!! So much for Eddy's career! Moral of the story? Don't have asshole friends!!

Eddy had fallen for Bayliss's dollface secretary Joyce (The Neanderthal Man) Terry, and tries to tell her that he's just no good, and that their hope for a relationship and a normal life was a rocket to oblivion from the start!

Back in the hotel room, it's all doom and gloom, Iris is starting to get the idea that Eddy doesn't dig her that much anymore, Red got shot by that barkeeper, Eddy doesn't know Mooney killed the guy, and he's scheduled to cut a record the next day!! What a mess!! Wow, just look how far that boom mike is hanging down into the scene!

In the studio everybody's buzzed about how popular Eddy is going to be since they have no clue what deep shit Mooney has gotten Eddy into! The photo on the right shows "Love Is A Thief" being cut directly onto acetate!

While the recording session is going on, Bayliss volunteers to go back to the hotel room to try and talk some sense into Eddy's friends, but instead ends up getting shanked by Mooney!

After that little incident, Mooney flips out completely, and goes on the lam to nowheresville!

Eddy is pretty dense, but he finally sees the light, and tracks Mooney down where they have the final rumble! Eddy kicks Mooney's worthless ass and then gets hauled off by the cops! Life just ain't fair!

H E A D - Peter Tork - "Can You Dig It?" (1968)

"Head" is one of the most difficult films to try and present to you in this format because it has so damn much going on, so many twists and turns, so much great music, so many cameos, it's just impossible, the only real option you have, is to watch the film yourself! It's all pretty confusing, even this title card was actually at The End of the movie!!

"Head" starts at The End, and ends at the beginning, and that's pretty much what you can expect through the whole film, or as the boys in The Firesign Theatre would say, "Everything you know, is WRONG," and they would be right about that!!

In this scene, Mike Nesmith is having trouble sleeping, so.......

Davy, Mickey, and Peter decide to throw him an unappreciated surprise birthday party!

There is way too much cool music in this movie, The Monkees had their TV show cancelled, and jumped off that last Boyce & Hart Train To Clarksville, and started writing their own music like this song composed by Peter Tork, "Do I Have to Do This All Over Again?"

Sounding more like vintage Quicksilver Messenger Service or Country Joe and the Fish on this song, the timeless soundtrack for this movie stands alone and is also well worth checking out!!

"Head" is anti-war...

"Head" is anti-corporation....

And hopeful for one world unity, all through the power of satire, parody and Pop culture!

You can just read it all over Mike Nesmith's face!!!

"Head" is filled to the brim with appearances by a Who's Who of 60's Pop icons! People like Carol Doda, seated on Mike Nesmith's left, who stunned the world 4 years earlier with her topless Go-Go act at The Condor Club in San Francisco, giving new meaning to the term topless jerk! Carol was a shrewd businesswoman and was called Sally Silicone in this film, because by recognizing her assets she became wildly popular, and one of the first strippers to bounce her 34D's up to 44 Double D's!!

With a record of 50-4, Heavyweight Champion Of The World, Sonny Liston scared the crap out of me as a kid. Floyd Patterson had put his Heavyweight title on the line and they broadcast the big event on the radio. Liston devastated Patterson, and knocked him out in the first round! In this nightmare sequence, Sonny towers over Davy Jones, even though he was supposed to take a fall!

There have been few people throughout history who were so famous, they only had to use one name, like Houdini, Dali and Bono, and I would venture to say that Disney sweetheart Annette was one of the chosen few, although sometimes she would be referred to by her whole name, Annette Funicello!

Pro Football Hall OF Famer Ray Nitschke was the Middle Linebacker for the Green Bay Packers for 15 years from 1958 to 1972!!

Davy's partner in this scene was dancer and choreographer Toni Basil, who would make it to #1 in the Billboard Charts in 1982 with the novelty tune, "Hey Mickey," you know like in Dolenz!!

Even Frank "No Commerical Potential" Zappa would find time to do a walk through with a cow!!

Jumper June (Pretty Maids In A Row)Fairchild has been known for also coming up with the name "Three Dog Night" for her boyfriend's band!

Timothy "The World's Greatest Sinner" Carey makes an indecipherable appearance as "Lord High 'n Low!"

Even director/producer/writer Bob Rafelson and producer/writer Jack Nicholson make a small appearance, and the list of cameos goes on and on with names like Tor Johnson, Terri Garr, Rona Barrett, professional wrassler Tiger Joe Marsh, Dennis Hopper( Who I just read died of cancer today, Damn!) and a whole bunch more people with their names spelled backwards!!

When the boys become dandruff, is it all about crass commercialism or a tribute to "The Incredible Shrinking Man?"

Hey Mickey, is it really "The Beginnning Of The End" or are we all just "stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues again?"

There are also references to Bela and Boris, and Universal Horror as evidenced by this shot, and don't forget about the The Radio City Rockettes, in fact I'm not sure if there is anybody who is not in this picture!!

Victor Mature takes on the role of the "Amazing Colossal Man!" So, is it the beginning or the end, is it big or is it small, is it commercial or non-commercial, ass backwards or bass ackwards? It's been 42 years, and I'm not quite sure if anybody has ever figured it out yet!!You can get "Head" from Netflix, and I have no idea what you are waiting for!