GOODBYE GEMINI - Christopher Gunning/The Peddlers - "Twinsanity" (1970)

Tonight's WTF!? Feature is brought to you courtesy of Greg Goodsell, who recently turned me on to this flick. So, let's see, Greg Goodsell/Goodbye Gemini and it's #999, ....Uummm? Without a doubt a Triple F Flick! Stay tuned...I think you'll know what I mean!

So here they are, Martin Potter as Julian, and Judy Geeson as Jacki, twin brother and sister, happy team extraordinaire! Pretty easy to picture Martin in some of his later roles as Paolo Orsini, Robin Hood, or Gaius Calpernius Piso, and Judy Judy as Caroline Penvenen Enysm, Becky Royce, or Pookie!

Where do we start? Such happy go lucky unidentical brother and sister moving to the city! Life is just freakin' fantastic! The instrumental music for this film was composed by Christopher Gunning in his first outing. Christopher is still working today, and has composed the music for a host of Brit TV shows like "Intimate Strangers," "Day Of The Triffids," "Knights Of God" and "Rosemary & Thyme" just to name a few. Roy Phillips, Tab Martin, and Trevor Morais better know as The Peddlers perform the raw and extra funky "Tell The World We're Not In" in their only film music appearance, which is really astounding when you realize that their first incarnation as a band was called, what else, The Soundtracks!!!

For me personally, it gets real freaky real fast, not that I didn't have any stuffed animals as a kid, but when an adult cannot detatch themselves from their toy bear, there is bound to be some psychological trauma involved, combined with the fact this film is 1970 UK, can you spell C R E E P Y?

In no time at all the Happy kids are up to their keisters in swingin' London, and hanging out in places plum full of sexual ambiguities, and.......

....meeting weird blokes like the late Alexis Kanner as Clive Landseer, a bisexual dude with the worst John Lennon wannabee freakin' sideburns in the world. Somebody please tell me why they think this is a cool look cause I have never got it!! Not nearly as bad as full blown lambchops, but in reality, a style only Lemmy can embrace successfully!

The kids are best friends, but Julian is having difficulty, I mean, okay, he wants to do his sister! Another new meaning for the term family values!!

I have not read it yet, but there is a review of this film in SCREEM #20, one of the only few real monster magazines that still exist in print! Go grab yerself a copy, if for no other reason, there's an amazing article written by the aforementioned Greg Goodsell about the wonderful actress Mary Woronov, amongst a hoarde of other killer info!!

Okay, where was I, what's on TV anyway?? That's the arm of Michael Redgrave as James Harrington-Smith, who gets third billing in this movie, but I'm not going to tell you why!

Now I'm no teetotaler, but there is no way I could keep up with this group, they would drink me under the table, where I wouldn't mind meeting Judy, but that's another story!

I'm pretty sure "that's what it said, the letter that Johnny Walker Red!! After the bear, there are more shots of whiskey than anything else!!

Once again Julian's love is spurned by Jacki!!

Back in the good old days, they called it intermission!

After the pot and even more whiskey, Clive takes Julian to a sleazy Hotel to have a threesome with a couple of super hot chicks!!

Well, if he can't have his sister, the booze tells him that this looks like a pretty good deal!

Whoops! More trouble in paradise!! This gal needs a shave!!

Shit! Clive! Whiskey! Pushin' too hard, pushin' his luck!!

It took the whole movie, but fed up with Clive's crapola, Julian and Jacki have moved to the dark side!

It's another happy ending as the kids escape off into the sunset to fulfill their love for each other! NOT!!!

There was a lot of whiskey drinking, but in the end, the bears win the psycho contest by a landslide!! Twinsanity indeed!!!

VAMPYR / French-German / 1932

Welcome to Moldie Oldie Monday here at the Dungeon... Today's feature is a surreal Euro look at vampirism from way back in 19 and 32! Alternate titles are NOT AGAINST THE FLESH, VAMPYR- DER TRAUM DES ALLAN GREY, CASTLE OF DOOM and THE VAMPIRE.

Julian West starred in and produced this title, his only venture into film! Weird!!.. I was able to get this decent restored print of the film off TCM. Originally filmed with no sound, dialogue was added later!

Original music is by the prolific Wolfgang Zeller, who had 87 composing credits from 1926-59 with titles like BRIDE 68, QUEEN OF ATLANTIS, THE LOST ATLANTIS, PAN, GOAL IN THE CLOUDS, MORITURI and MY 16 SONS (take that, Fred MacMurray)!

Okay, here's little Dungeon helper, Rufus the Gnat, and he's all excited to push the big red 'GO' button and send our Eariffic Earclip directly to yer awaiting eardrum! So, hit it, Rufus!.. VAMPYR!

Actor/producer Julian West is said to have been as spacey in real life as he was playing the character, Allan Grey!

Allan takes a vacation to a country village outside of Paris, there's a strange feeling in the air...

I thought this guy was pretty damn creepy! Excellent makeup, or, is it?!

The washed out and spotty look of the print was actually done deliberately. Cinematographer Rudolph Matté had accidently opened a can of exposed film, when director Dreyer saw the result he was delighted with the effect. Today, it would be referred to as a 'happy accident!'

Love those two pics!!

One of the infected sisters needs a blood transfusion.

Death is always lingering somewhere in the background!

In this unnerving nightmare sequence, Allan can only watch through a window in the coffin lid as he's taken to his own gravesite for burial!

Even more mysteries are revealed as this grave is exhumed.

Allan and Gisele are caught in an impressionist painting!

And, the old man gets buried with flour at the old flour mill...

BE BACK WEDNESDAY FOR MORE WTF?!..

DONOVAN'S BRAIN - Eddie Dunstedter - I Saw Mommy Kissing A Brain (1953)

There are very few classic 50's movies that we've haven't showcased here already, but tonight's freak show is one I've been holding on to for some special occasion, and since the honorary president of The Girl Scouts of America, Nancy Davis's birthday was just 4 days ago, I do believe the tide is high for "Donovan's Brain" to make it's grimy little appearance!

Nancy Davis, here as Janice Cory, married President-to-be Ronald Reagan the year prior to making this movie, and after the way she gets treated in this film by her husband, Lew Ayres as Dr. Patrick J. Cory, I'm sure Ronald was a breath of fresh air. A lot of people don't know that Nancy was already 3 months pregnant when her and Ron tied the knot!

Lew Ayres was a very interesting character for a number of reasons! He was a big band pianist before getting into the movies, a conscientious objector during the war, an action that didn't win him any fans at all, and almost completely destroyed his career, even though he did serve under fire as a medic, and he is buried in Los Angeles next to Frank Zappa, of all people!

Ain't it funny that both Ronnie and Nancy made movies with monkeys? Once they got into politics, it would be standard operating procedure!

The composer of the music for "Donovan's Brain" was Eddie Dunstedter, who was also a songwriter and musician, but who is known mostly for his incredible organ, and his renditions of classic X-Mas songs!!

Why is it that brilliant scientists don't know how to do basic things like wash their car?

Sacrifices have to be made in the name of science, and so sadly, Nancy's little pal gets turned into cream of brain in formaldehyde soup!

Methinks that Eddie got the job, because after all, the brain is an organ too!

So just in case for some unknown reason you have never seen this film, the bottom line is there was a rich guy named Donovan in an airplane crash, and all they could salvage of his existence was his brain, and since they were working on brain out of body experiments anyway, up rose the prefect opportunity! Co-Star Gene Evans as drunken lout Dr. Frank Schratt still has enough wits about him to question the whole thing! Gene Evans was possibly in every cowboy TV show in the 50's and 60's, many times in recurring roles including 39 episodes of the Saturday morning series, "My Friend Flicka" as Rob McLaughlin!

Just to see Nancy in a shot with a brain is good enough for me!!

Gene decides to make his bid for Vice President!!

BEX62677 - Madison 1234 - Yellow 1001! They're trying to tell us something, can you figure out what it is?

Bank Manager John Hamilton was none other than Perry White in 102 episodes of the TV show, "Adventures of Superman!"

Gene and Nancy can't believe that Mr. Donovan's brain has remotely but completely taken over Dr. Cory, but it's true, I tell you!!

When he attempts to shut off the juice to the brain, Gene finds the good stuff!!

This one is dedicated to A Daft Scots Lass because we like to make people quiver!!

Twin beds for married couples seem criminally unjust until you get punched in your sleep a couple of times!! Married couples in twin beds always makes me think of "The Dick Van Dyke Show," and who would be the one to make the move?

By this time in the film, Dr. Cory is dressing exactly like Mr. Donovan, and smoking his same brand of cigars. Believe it or not, people are starting to get suspicious!

The creepy lighting throughout the whole feature is deftly provided by genius Cinematograper Joseph F. Biroc. At this point Nancy has had enough, just can't take it anymore, and decides to answer her true calling as First Lady of the United States!