ROLLERBALL -- “And may the odds be forever be in your favor” (1975)

Greg Goodsell here. Tonight we have a futuristic big-budget sci-fi quasi-thriller from director Norman Jewison called ROLLERBALL. I saw this when it was first released theatrically with my late father. He was a sports nut, and I liked sci-fi, so it was a good compromise. However, as we shall see, there's a reason why the low-budget cheap knock-off by Roger Corman, DEATH RACE 2000 (1975) rushed into theaters to beat ROLLERBALL's release, is celebrated and adored, while this film is largely forgotten!

Here is Seventies star JAMES CAAN as the king of the Rollerballers, Jonathan E! Jimmy is still very active today, and has been nominated for a highly coveted golden statuette more than just a few times!

Like many sci-fi films of this era, the future is embarrassingly analog and the art direction is now highly ironic! That number font belongs on a flier for a rave!

As in the currently hugely popular HUNGER GAMES, the world of the future is one of bread and circuses, and the main sport is this thing called Rollerball, which involves distaff elements of basketball, motocross, roller derby and a lot of athletes bashing the shit out of each other! SCORE!

Enjoy this action scene, because there's a definite paucity of action in this hyar movie. The Rollerball scenes take up less than 15 percent of the whole movie which is two hours plus long!

DING! Fire in the hole!

Here is JOHN BECK as Jonathan's best buddy, Moonpie! According to the IMDB, Beck was a one-time champion roller skater and performed many of his own stunts in this film. He was also a proficient boxer and won several amateur titles in his life, most notably the heavyweight 'Golden Gloves' of Chicago. His career stumbled a bit when he took the lead in the notorious stink bomb, THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT in 1977, one of Andy Warhol's countless "favorite films."

Here comes the creepy JOHN HOUSEMAN as Bartholomew, one of the chief executives who keeps the blood-and-death sports rolling for a sensation starved populace! He exhorts the athletes that while they may dream to be rich and powerful, the rich and powerful dream to be Rollerballers!

Just to make sure that Jonathan knows his place in this dystopian society, Bartholomew invites Jonathan to his parlor, decorated with these hideous. razor sharp glass mobiles, and --

WHOOPS! As you can see, Bartholomew's interest in Jonathan is not strictly all business! Seriously, Bartholomew and Mr. Deltoid (Aubrey Morris) from A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971) should go shop for drapes together!

Now, the Rollerballers know their place in society, but they make sure to take full advantage of all the crumbs the evil corporations throw at them. Gotta love those rubdowns!

In the future, people will go to these swanky cocktail parties and shoot at trees and watch them blow up! I have no idea. To my eyes, this looks like the line to Studio 54 got SO LONG, the revelers had to wait in some foggy forest in upstate New York.

But there is a price to pay for all this extravagant hedonism, and these jocks-for-hire are going to have to put out sooner or later. Uh oh! Moonpie is going to hit the sky like a big pizza pie, and that WON'T be amore!

Moonpie is about to be sacrificed! AAAAAAHHHHHhhhh!

In the future, hospitals will go for the minimalist look.

Jonathan makes a heartfelt visit to the now comatose Moonpie and wonders what's it all about, Alfie!

Really, what's it all about, Alfie? The guys in the locker room seem to ask.

A few specially placed lights, a burbling aquarium and voila -- the future!

Here we go! In the only funny part in a film that takes itself WAAAAAAY too seriously, Sir John Gielgud presides over a gurgling computer that is the repository of the world's history, and the computer plays the “HAL” card!

When you come right down to it, ROLLERBALL is just another jock story about how you should stay true to your ideals, not throw the game in order to further your growth in the corporate ladder, yadda yadda yadda -- Jonathan stays true to his school, BUT –

ROLLERBALL is SO friggin' boring, SO serious about itself, it fails as entertainment. Eegah!!, the man behind these screencaps at one point just got up and walked away and filed his tax returns in lieu of watching this film, just turning his computer on at random. ROLLERBALL in the manner of FAHRENHEIT 451 creates a vision of the future that is even more boring than the present, and for all of its major talent and big budget, is scarcely remembered today!

BLUE DEMON vs THE SATANIC POWER / Filmica Vergara S.A. - 1966

It's another Friday Night Mexican Fright Fight in May with Tabonga, here at The Dungeon! Our feature stars Blue Demon, Santo and Jaime Fernández in one of the last b/w flicks to come out of Mexico, since they fully embraced (and exploited) color in the coming years...

Eegah!! was going to give us a more lengthy soundclip except that there was too much static in the mix, sooo, you can push the big red 'GO' button there by the Static Electricity Machine, NOW, Rufus The Gnat! Here's your dose of... BLUE DEMON vs THE SATANIC POWER!

This jailbird finds out the hard way that Jaime Fernández has wicked satanic powers! Looks like the dude just got off his shift at Fat Burger, I can smell french fries!

Jaime puts himself into a trance and gets buried alive! His pals come later to dig him up and revive him.

In the meantime, the winner is... Blue Demon!!

You think these guys may have an agenda?

Although this is Blue Demon's flick, Santo is there to help out. Blue Demon was also part of The Champions Of Justice which featured Mil Mascaras and Superzan in a trilogy of adventures, all with midget villains, but, did not include Santo.

Back at the ranch, Jaime is using his hypnotic powers to get women to strip off their clothes for him!.. Carrumba!!

He also has some special playrooms in his cellar for entertaining!

Here's the girl singing in the club at the end of the soundclip. I like the skeleton hanging on the wall there, it's so kitsch-a-rooni...

Jaime's using his powers to cause cardiac arrest in some of the wrasslers!

Santo pops in to give Blue Demon some moral support in his battle against the Satanic Power.

But, Jaime knows how to put the screws to anyone who opposes him! At one point, he almost gets Blue Demon to commit suicide by jumping off the roof, only, BD luckily falls onto a ledge, which saves him and snaps him out of the spell. Sheesh!..

Here's the effect they use to show that Jaime's really pouring on the evil!

And, in the end, again, evil has to pay the ultimate price!.. That!

ATOLL "K" - Paul Misraki - "UTOPIA" (1951)

In 1951, the dynamic comedy duo of Laurel and Hardy made their last picture! It was originally entitled "Atoll K," because it was made in France, but it was released in the USA as "UTOPIA"! The credits state that "Utopia" is based on an idea, not a story, but merely an idea, by director Leo Joannon! Monty Collins gets credit for "the gags!"

Stan Laurel was 61 at the time, and Oliver Hardy was 59 years of age when this movie was made, and both were in ill health at the time!

The film begins with Stan Laurel inheriting a small fortune from a deceased Uncle, but by the time this unscrupulous trio gets done, after taxes and fees, all they get is a little cash, a yacht moored in Marseilles, and an island in the South Seas!

Making quite the political statement, Stanley suggests that he would have rather inherited the taxes!!

Introducing the other main characters, here's Max (Tintin's Nestor) Elloy as Antoine, the man without a country! Antoine has no papers, so he can't get off the boat no matter what he tries! The Captain finally offers him up as a mechanic, to Laurel and Hardy, when he finds out they are headed to a private island!

Adriano (They Killed A Corpse) Rimoldi is the stowaway Giovanni Copini, so as you see, they've got one guy trying to get off, and another guy trying to get on!

They don't get too far before they get caught on a newly emerging island, kind of like "Port Sinister" two years later, but without any treasure or giant crabs! It's at this point that they start building and creating a perfect new Utopian society without any rules, laws, OR taxes!!!

After breaking up with her fiancee on the mainland, entertainer Suzy (Chicken Feed For Little Birds) Delair as Chérie Lamour, shows up on the island one day....

The guys are totally mesmerized by the fact that there is now a woman in their presence!!

Being the consummate gentlemen that they are, the guys opt to bunk together, but there's not really that much room, so all kinds of problems ensue!!

Stanley wins this round with the aid of his pet lobster Ferocious!

I just like this shot of the whole ensemble in their straw island hats!!

They christen the island Crusoeland, and elect Ollie as the President, and Stan gets the position of the People!! Somehow it's not long before the new island is discovered by the rest of the world!

There's a massive pilgrimage to Crusoeland by all the seekers of freedom, and all the people fleeing the zealous over-taxation by the government that still exists to this day some 61 years later!!

It only takes one troublemaker to screw the whole thing up!!

Soon a big fight breaks out, and in this great shot, Stan accidentally breaks a bottle over Antoine's head!

Ollie figures he'll just easily change the rules of the game by making a new proclamation that from now on, there will law, and there will be taxes, but it's not quite that easy to stop the revolution!

The music in "UTOPIA" was created by Paul (Alphaville) Misraki!

When they are just about to be summarily executed, the whole island decides to go back where it came from, sinks back into the ocean, and is gone as quickly as it had appeared!!

A razor sharp wit cuts society into ribbons! It's said that Stan Laurel really didn't like this film, and didn't even want it released, and I might be krazy, but I think this movie, and it's take on a prefect society, is pretty damn funny!!!