Wednesday, January 11, 2012

THE BODY STEALERS - Reg Tilsley - "Thin Air" (1969)

It's truly amazing what people find interesting these days! Take a movie like "Port Sinister" for example! It took me almost four years to track down a copy of that sucker, and sure, it wasn't the greatest movie in the world, but it was a lot more exciting that a soccer match or a soap opera! I'm not sure what I'm trying to say, I guess we're just latent historians, but tonight's feature is another one of those kinds of films, not that great, but from a historical perspective, pretty damn interesting!

There's a big air show, but there is one little problem, three guys in parachutes never came back down, hence the alternate title, as they vanished into "Thin Air!"

If you check out the detail and nuance of this shot, then you will surely agree that it's one of the best damn crowd scenes you've seen lately!

All the big chiefs and cheeses have a big pow wow, and come to the conclusion that they need help from an outside source, enter our hero, Patrick (Island of the Burning Damned) Allen as major horn dawg Bob Megan!

Of course, George (The Man Who Could Work Miracles) Sanders is in on the action as General Armstrong!

Sean Connery's baby brother grabs the role of Jim Radford! Believe it or don't, Neil Connery's first film, this was his second, was a spy flick titled "Operation Big Brother!" Yeah, they were really pushing it!

Bob was out standing in the field where the empty chutes came down, and has found a fascinating and mysterious buckle that holds the answers to a lot of questions!

They couldn't come up with a room at The Hilton, so Bob has to be satisfied with staying at a coastal inn, and while walking on the beach at night, he happens on a young lady who catches his eye, and even though he's in charge of finding out what's going on, a mysterious woman named Lorna on the beach would be the last thing to set his radar off!

Bob's libido is a different story! Bob meets a gal, and he's ready to get it on, right then and there! He's a real, wham, bam, thank-you mam, kinda guy!

Back at the inn, it means nothing to him when Shelagh Fraser as Mrs. Thatcher, the local barkeep, tells him that she knows everybody in the area, and there's no woman by the name of Lorna living around these parts! Shelagh, now that's a cool name you don't hear too often! Shelagh was also in "The Witches," and had the role of Aunt Beru in "Star Wars!" Mrs. Thatcher is the only babe Bob doesn't try and bed, not that she wasn't willing!

Lorna was portrayed by none other than herself! Lorna Wilde has only seven acting credits to her name, and the last one was as Countess Dracula in "Son Of Dracula" in 1974!

Here's a look at Bob's first encounter with the gorgeous Hilary Heath as the scientist Julie Slade! This cat doesn't give up!

"So, how does it feel to be walking around in the shadow of your brother all the time?"

The talent in this film is endless! Here is Maurice Evans as big shot know it all Dr. Matthews. Maurice Evans was The Puzzler on the "Batman" TV series, he was Hutch in "Rosemary's Baby," and underneath all that makeup, he was Dr. Zaius in the series of "Planet Of The Apes" movies!

If this shot doesn't say "Stalemate" then I don't know what to say!

Of course the #2 guy in charge of the whole operation, who is supposed to be working late, is also another horny bastard! To his credit, his secretary has had enough, and walks out on him! Allan (Performance) Cuthbertson is two-faced big shot Hindsmith!

Meanwhile, Bob and Lorna meet on the beach again! The swingin' music throughout "The Body Stealers" was composed by Reg Tilsley who in the same year composed the music for the Frankie Avalon slasher flick "Horror House!"

I've read that people think this film is boring! What's so boring about a guy who is going to make a parachute jump to replicate what happened to his buddies, and still finds time to meet up with a strange woman right outside the security gates! It's really hilarious!

Well, that whole parachute thing did work out so well after all!!! At least somehow he lived through it!

Great scene! "No, I don't know anything, why are you calling me?"

Julie finally comes face to face with the dreaded creature from outer space!

Well, DAMN! It's her boss, Dr. Matthews!

The creature from space is not exactly Dr. Matthews anymore, as his body had been taken over by an alien some time earlier! "Body Stealers" get it?? Check out the ray gun, it looks like a video camera!

If you sense a bit of "The Invasion Of The Body Snatchers," you probably wouldn't be very far off, as a matter of fact, another alternate title is "Invasion Of The Body Stealers!"

Time for the mothership to show up, and take everybody back to where they came from!

"The flying saucer is gone, there is no threat of an invasion, however, the flying saucers are still around!" - Buchanan & Goodman

Monday, January 9, 2012

THE WASP WOMAN In Color / Film Group Feature - 1959

Welcome to Monster Monday with Tabonga, here at The Dungeon!.. I'm pulling out all the stops with this colorized redo of a post we did back in 2007! Eegah!! and I actually saw this one when it came out, we even gave it a bad review in our self published monster rag in 1964, Dwrayger Dungeon. It stars Susan (WAR OF THE SATELLITES) Cabot, Anthony (THE NAVY vs THE NIGHT MONSTERS) Eisley, Barboura (A BUCKET OF BLOOD) Morris, Michael (RETURN OF THE FLY) Mark and William (NOT OF THIS EARTH) Roerick with Bruno (DEMENTIA) VeSota and Frank (BEAST FROM HAUNTED CAVE) Wolff, and, the screenplay was written by Leo (THE HAUNTED PALACE) Gordon! It looks sooo cool in color, too!

The beginning theme for this flick is a real favorite of mine, it's by the inimitable Fred Katz, and, we remember his work in A BUCKET OF BLOOD, BEAST FROM HAUNTED CAVE, THE LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS and CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA. We Love Fred, here at The Dungeon!!

Letz bring in our fuzzy little Dungeon helper and button pusher, you know him, you love him, Ralphie The Tarantula! He's joined us for one reason, to start our Eariffic soundclip. So, push the big red 'GO' button there next to the hamster wheel, now, Ralphie! Listen to some sounds from... THE WASP WOMAN!

Nice shot of LA traffic and architecture in the late fifties.

These were typical secretaries back them, it wouldn't fly today... "How'd you like to have this phone wrapped around your ear, wise guy!"

Janice Starlin hires mad scientist, Eric Zinthrop, to help try and save her cosmetics company with his wacky ideas.

He injects her with his special queen bee serum, which is supposed to start reversing the aging process.

But, things begin to go wrong, like, this experimental kitty cat has not only grown younger, it's become an attacking nightmare!

Stunned, dazed and confused, Zinthrop wanders aimlessly into the street only to be hit by a car. That's Roger Corman as the doctor, and, there's Frank (MONSTROSITY) Gerstle, too.

Janice continues taking the serum as Zinthrop has lost most of his memory from the accident. Co-worker, Arthur Cooper, snoops around in the lab to try and find clues to the recent mysteries in the company...

And, becomes her first victim!

Hey, Bruno, watch out, yer next!!

It doesn't just end there, that night, when she trys to get some answers about what's happening to her...

She gets upset and changes into the monster, then, takes care of the nurse!.. Get it?

Mary tries to help out but she rattles Janice into yet another transformation!

No telling who's responsible for creating the monster head.

Bill and the old man wait impatiently for the elevator to come down to their floor... Bill finally gets fed up and takes the stairs.

The shadows here, as Wasp Woman drags Mary down the dark hallway, are both weird and mesmerizing.

Bill has to quickly defend himself from the charging creature, she's quick as Hell!!

Zinthrop picks up a bottle of carbolic acid and scores a direct hit on Wasp Woman's head just before he keels over, dead!

Then, Bill uses his stool to push her back through the lab window on the 46th floor!

"And... Wasper Woman was dead!" *Hermanos Guzanos quote from their 'tune' of the same name.

This half hour colorized version is from Elvira's ATTACK OF THE KILLER B-MOVIES. It also features shortened colorized versions of KILLERS FROM SPACE and MONSTER FROM GREEN HELL along with THE NAVY vs THE NIGHT MONSTERS!

We'll end with this very desirable Mexican lobby card... Oh yeah, Eegah!! used to have the 1 sheet poster.

Monster Music

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