Friday, December 25, 2009

MONSTER AND THE STRIPPER and/or "The Exotic Ones" (1968)

Ho, Ho, Ho!! Merry Christmas everybody, and a special shout out to another birthday boy on this fine day, Mr. Zillagord himself, who has been sadly missing in action around here lately!! (Don't tell anybody, but I think he's on some kind of covert task force.) Anyway, tonight's super extra special present is a film that I'm sure the turkey knocker would have loved to digest himself, a film unlike any other, "Monster And The Stripper"!! Yes, dear friends, it is indeed, a special day, and you can throw an extra thanx at Tabonga for unearthing this little yuletide jewel!!

Where the Hell do you start with a movie like this? It all begins in a swamp!! There are no real credits for most of the funky ass music, which is almost non-stop through the whole flick!!

It's 1968 in a little Louisiana burg called Nawlins' as seen through the eyes of Ron and June Ormond! You might remember the Ormonds as the good folks who brought us "The Mesa Of Lost Women" way back in 1953!! These weirdos have got some serious credentials, and they decided to bring it all to the table in this musical freak fest with musicans as actors and actors as musicans!!

It's audition nite at the strip club and forgive me if I get some of these credits wrong, but I do believe this is Sonja Massey as the "real sharp hippie!"

Followed by a high class stripper and a Mr. Harris Martin as the psychedelic painter! Most of these incredibly talented people only had this one movie credit, if you can believe that!!

This is Ron Ormond himself playing the part of the combover-shades Percy Dovetonsils wannabe evil boss Nemo, and crediting himself as Vic Narno,(What A Card!!) together with Georgette Dante as Titania, the very fiery Exotic Stripper with the Tura Satana look, taken to level 43!!

June Ormand as Bunny also does a very modest strip scene that I'm not going to subject you to!! June "Carr" Ormond was mostly a producer, and you'll play Hell finding any reference to her in this film, but it's in the rolling credits that this is her, as Bunny!!

Okay, now we're starting to get going! This feller here in the wild sweater is the MC at Nemo's strip club! His name is Gordon Terry and he was a world class fiddler who played at the Grand Old Opry when he was 9 years old! He's a charter member of The Fiddler's Hall of Fame, played fiddle with Johnny Cash, Neil Young and Merle Haggard, and has a highway named after him in Alabama! In 1964 he built a western theme park in Loretto, Tenn called "Terrytown!"

Southern Legend Gordon Terry was whatever is way beyond cool!! Unfortunately, He passed away a couple of years ago, in 2006!

Gordon is joined here by Timmy, aka Tim Ormond, the son of the makers of the film! I know if I was out hunting swamp monsters, I'd be wearing that same style of unzipped windbreaker!

Gene McFall as Bugeye or as he likes to be called, Stud, gets the Swamp Monster in his sights!!

And Finally, here he is, the 9 or 10 foot tall Swamp Monster played by rockabilly sensation Sleepy LaBeef, who is actually about 6'7"! Thomas Paulsley LaBeff was born in Smackover, Ar in 1935, and had a career in rockabilly and country that started in the 50's and continues today! For the full story, head on over to Sleepy's Site!!!! The crazy thing is neither Sleepy or Gordon perform any music in this film!!

In quite the gruesome scene, Sleepy pulls off Bugeye's arm with a resounding "Pop" and then proceeds to beat him to death with it!! You actually forget how hilarious everything is for a while!

The Sleepy Swamp Monster picks up a big rock that must weigh 400 pounds and throws it at Gordon and Timmy!

But Gordon checks the big guy with a tranquilizer dart, and the battle of the musical titans is over!!!

The slick cinematogrphy by Sid O'Berry makes Sleepy look even bigger than life!!

The whole place is abuzz, with everybody excited about the new act, including all the hottest cougars in town!!

Even backstage, all the girls are talking about it!!

Gordon is one happy sumbitch, and plenty proud of his new star and show!!

Gordon and Bunny make the introduction together!!!

"And now, without further adieu, we present, The Swamp Thing!"

Then, this gal, who I think is Donna Raye, comes on and belts out a song titled something like "Learning How To Love" that's going to keep your foot tappin' for a week! It's southern white trash soul at it's best, and, in my book, should have been a 1968 hit!! It's a real "Beauty and the Beast" affair!!!!

Titania comes on next and does one of her fire numbers that really pisses off the Swamp Monster!!

Next up on the program is Jimmy and Mildred Mulcay doing one of their multi-faceted harmonica duets that were quite popular at one time!!

Backstage, Donna and Titania have some words, and the next thing you know.... CATFIGHT!!!!!

Now, the Sleepy Monster has been very well behaved through all this as long as he was able to geek a chicken or two. Little Timmy has befriended him and everything was going pretty smooth, but when that catfight started Timmy ran off in a hurry and left Sleepy's cage open!!! Uh Oh!!

Sleepy remembers that Titania was trying to set his ass on fire, and disposes of her quite quickly!!

Meanwhile, back on stage, there's a fascinating display of talent and fashion going on!!!

Sleepy clears the place out pretty quick, and damn if he ain't 9 feets tall when he's standing on that table! Pretty damn graceful for a big cat!!!

Oh, the horror!! Sleepy also catches up with Nemo, and almost pulls his head off, but have no fear, for even if he gets killed in this movie, Mr. Ormond was born again, and the next film he made was totally religious with no undertones, and was entitled "The Burning Hell!" Merry X-Mas to Ya'll!!!!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

FRANKENSTEIN / Edison Studios - 1910

Welcome again, everbloody, to Wednesday Night B+W Bijou Theater, only two day away from jolly old XMAS! Tonight we gots a rare silent classic from 1910, almost never to be seen because of recluse film collector Alois Dettlaff, who had the only known copy on Earth!

Actor Charles Ogle play Frankenstein monster, and, did own makeup like the great Lon Chaney! This 16 minute short is considered very first horror flick, ever.

Music was produced after print became available, but, with no credit for it...

Eegah!! give us very nice soundclip and Tabonga tint photos for special holiday posting... SCARY XMAS & HARPIE NEW YEAR!

Tonight we have lil' Piff flying by, ready to start giant snowball rolling into you eye and ear, whatever that mean!! But, anyways, hit that button, Piff!.. FRANKENSTEIN 1910!! Also, thanks to Dungeon bud Charles Del Rio for the DVD copy he provided...

Aloha 'oe, aloha 'oe...

Director J. Searle Dawley have 162 directing credits from 1907-26, which mean he never directed a movie with sound! A few title he directed are THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER, HANSEL & GRETEL, A CHRISTMAN CAROL, THE THREE MUSKETEERS, THE BIG DAM, JACK AND THE BEANSTALK, THE CORSICAN BROTHERS, A GOOD LITTLE DEVIL, THE LOST PARADISE, SNOW WHITE, UNCLE TOM'S CABIN, HAS THE WORLD GONE MAD?! and more!

Flick was filmed with immobile camera, which give it feel of a play.

Monster sees reflection of self in mirror and is repulsed by grotesque image!

An' finally, here are two pic of mechanical metal monster standin, who get all incinerated in furnace at end!

Monday, December 21, 2009

THE MOVING FINGER - Teddy Vann - "Pull My Finger" (1963)

Been in kind of a beatnik mood here lately, and it seems like a groove, so let's just can the lip, and get on with the flicK! blast the Edison and follow the Lama, but don't be no Murgatroid, and this monkey run will set your soul on firE!!

It's New York City, circa 1963, and it's called "The Moving Finger" for some damn reason, (a title that has been used multiple times over the years for no apparent reason) and features Barry "Vanishing Point" Newman in a very early role!!

I'm pretty sure this is Alan Ansara as the guy who thinks he's going to get away with a bank robbery!! What a chump!!

Sorry, Alan, but you should have planned this heist a little bit better!!

Monroe "Agent 43" Arnold and his partner take care of Alan's buddies!!

The marvelous gravel voiced Lionel Stander was blacklisted in the 1950's when he was outed for being a communist!

Here he plays the role of a club owner in The Village who lets these kids crash in the digs in the back of his club........!

The catch is they have to come out and act like over the top hipsters to entertain these turistas!

Because of his voice and grim appearance, Lionel was used mostly in the role of mobster or gangster, but the role of a hipster was much more akin to his real personality!!

The crowd listens intently, and hangs on to every single word of the bullshit Lionel so deftly spews!

Okay, so here we go, remember Alan, the bank robber with the dead friends, well, he was shot too, and had collapsed in the kids crash pad, and so they got an underground doctor to check him out and kind of get him going again as best as he could!

Everything's starting to be pretty cool, and it seems likes Alan's getting better, I mean, at least he's well enough to smoke some pot with his new friends, and is starting to get a new perspective on life!!

And of course, all the while Detective Monroe "The Tammy Grimes Show" Arnold is trying to get into sunshine's pants!

Here's some classic reactions at an Art show, that the boys used to scam some change and score some hors d'oeuvres!!!

In an effort to show how bright the cops are, Detective Monroe hits the streets to seek any witnesses to the robbery, and decides to ask blind street musician Moondog if he has any insight!!

After that wild interpretation of Sun Ra's "Space Is The Place" a few month's back, I got to thinkin' about what other strange musical characters were out there, and had left some kind of artistic footprint on celluloid, and so I searched, and lo, and behold, suddenly, there it was "like a hot kiss at the end of a wet fist!" MOON DOG !!!

And that's how it came that I'm writing about this flick tonite! Kind of a drag for us, they only used The Dog for a sight gag, and he doesn't perform any music at all! What a waste!!!

Meanwhile, back at the pad, Lionel keeps on rappin' and yappin'!!

And the joint keeps on swingin'!!

And the gang just keeps on getting high!!!

There's a man dying here, does anybody care???

Sunday, December 20, 2009

SOMETIMES YOU JUST NEED TO TAKE A SECOND and "SCREEM" HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

For all you film freeks that still have some cash left over, do yourself a favor and check out current issue, #19 of "SCREEM" magazine!! There's a bunch of great articles and reviews as always, and an excellent interview with Director/Writer/Actor Greydon Clark written by Dungeon pal, Greg Goodsell!! You can buy the current issue and back issues right from the site, so what are you waiting for? And while you're at it, go on over to the site of the man behind titles like "Dracula Vs. Frankenstein" and "Satan's Cheerleaders," GREYDON CLARK, and pick up yourself some autographed DVD's by Greydon himself!! Happy Holidays!!!!!

Monster Music

Monster Music
AAARRGGHHH!!!! Ya'll Come On Back Now, Y'Hear??