HOUSE OF WAX / Bryan Foy Productions - 1953

It's Monsterous Monday with Tabonga, here at The Dungeon!.. We gots the very first movie filmed in 3-D by Warner Bros. and it stars the awesome Vincent Price as the mad sculptor. This film's budget was a whopping $658,000, but, it grossed an astronomical... $23,750,000!!!

Eegah!! sent over a musical soundclip of the dude with the paddle ball (with screams at the end) from this flick, sooooo, you can push the big red 'GO' button there next to the hot wax machine, NOW, Ralphie The Tarantula! Here's our audio offering for... HOUSE OF WAX!

Roy Roberts plays Matthew Burke, business partner of Professor Henry Jarrod, creator of the magnificent wax figures. The heartless Burke decides to set the place on fire in order to collect insurance money, the same way Wall St. did the American people when they crashed the economy in 2008.

Burke and his high maintenance girlfriend, Cathy, played by Dungeon fave Carolyn Jones, discuss how they will spend all the money they have now!

But, greed is one of the 7 deadly sins and the sinner will soon pay for being a little bitch.

Then, being an accomplice to the crime gets this girlie a quick trip to the old wax works, she'll soon be a new attraction at the House Of Wax!

Jarrod shows patron Sidney Wallace, played by Paul Cavanagh, how his creations are made after an accident that left him crippled. That's his mute helper, Charles (MASTER OF THE WORLD, THE GREAT ESCAPE and DEATH WISH) Bronsan as Igor, working on a bust.

Here's a good look at the intricate wax applying machine.

Jarrod then shows off the newest murder victim to be installed in the House Of Wax, his former business associate, Matthew Burke.

Here's the paddle ball barker right after intermission as heard in the soundclip.

For 1953, this make up job is amazingly creepy!

Phyllis Kirk plays Sue Allen, a friend of Cathy's, she cannot get over how much this wax figure looks like her. This causes trouble for her as Jarrod is watching.

Let's not forget about these two guys, Dabbs Greer and Frank Lovejoy! Dabbs has 307 acting credits and was in THE VAMPIRE, IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE, THE AQUANAUTS, THE OUTER LIMITS, THE INVADERS and MOD SQUAD! Frank played a tough guy detective most of the time, he had 55 acting credits and died at the age of 50 in 1962.

Weird shot of Igor as he prepares the guillotine to decapitate Sue's beau!

Then, it's Sue's turn to taste the wax, Jarrod looks absolutely terrifying here!

In the end, Jarrod falls into the hot wax vat, it causes wax to spill onto the fragile glass tubes, destroying everything!

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THE TERROR OF THE TONGS - Hammer Studios (1961)

Tonight's Saturday night special is part two of my mini-Christopher Lee tribute, an odd film from 1961, "The Terror Of The Tongs!"

"The Terror Of The Tongs" is set in 1910, the movie was made in 1961, and it wasn't until 1984 that England released it's grasp on Hong Kong! That's why the Brits found movies like this so fascinating, and Hammer Studios was more than happy to oblige!

Bottom line was they had some bad Juju going on, with an opium market rife with corruption and greed!

The best advice I could give you would be mind your own business, and stay out of the way if you possibly can, because The Tong ain't messing around!

 

Enter Geoffrey (Dr. Who) Toone as the enterprising Captain Jackson Sale, and Barbara (Gonks Go Beat) Brown, as his sweet and innocent daughter Helena!

When I was about 15 or 16, I always envisioned that someday I would live in an apartment that looked something like this!!

What I didn't envision was these guys being in there too! Christopher Lee as unmerciless Tong leader Chung King, and Dungeon fave ex wrassler Milton Reid as his faithful sidekick guardian!

Hatchets and Pajamas, much better than Guns and Roses!

 

"Shimmy Shimmy Ko Ko Bop!!"

The Tong might be cruel and ruthless, ("Where did Ruth go?") but they still put on a pretty good show;  music, dancing, a jiggler and a juggler!!

If they open up a "TONG" casino in Las Vegas, I might go there for the food, but I am definitely not gambling there!

I forget exactly why The Tong kills off the Captain's Daughter, but it didn't exactly win them a lot of friends! Now, the Captain has some serious investigating to do!!

 Enter the beautiful Yvonne Monlaur as Lee! If she looks a little familiar, it's because Yvonne was also in "Brides Of Dracula," and "Circus Of Horrors!" I think in almost every scene she's in, she has a different colored dress on!

I had to get a shot of the main Tong logo!

"I said Captain, I said What?" The Captain starts snooping around a little too much, and quickly finds himself in a passel of hot water!

Milton Reid gets the job of scraping the Captain's bones! Milton is that guy that you've seen in "Blood Of The Vampire," "Night Creatures," and "Dr. No." Just like all our favourite characters, Milton was also a professional wrassler! What I wrote about him a couple of years back is still the story: Milton started wrestling in 1952 as Jungle Boy, and as his career progressed, he became best known as The Mighty Chang! After his career fell apart, Milton went to India to act, and sometime in the late 80's, he mysteriously disappeared, and they still haven't figured out what happened to him! A bona fide WTF!? situation!

 The Captain escapes, and Milton is in hot pursuit until he misses the catch in the hatchet throw competition!

While he's resting up from that little episode, this evil Doctor impersonates a good Doctor and almost gets away with shooting up the Captain in his juggler vein with some vile substance!!

As you would expect, the Captain prevails and only leaves you with one last burning question, where was Tennille the whole time?

CHAMBER OF HORRORS / John Argyle Productions - 1940

It's Edgar Wallace Friday the 13th Theatre with Tabonga, here at The Dungeon!.. We gots another classic tale to tell from the pen of the master of horror, our hero, Mr. Edgar Wallace, who had died 8 years earlier at the very young age of 56. To illustrate his influence in the film industry, he has 212 writing credits with a film currently in production!!.. What a man!!!

Eegah!! sent over a soundclip of the theme with an excellent mad laugh at the end for our earjoyment, sooooo, you can push the big red 'GO' button there next to the bloody laff box in a jar, NOW, Rufus The Gnat! Here's an earfull from the... CHAMBER OF HORRORS!

THE DOOR WITH SEVEN LOCKS was the original title of the story and of this film version.

The story starts with this old rich dude on his death bed, his heirs are there for his final moments. Leslie Banks as Dr. Manetta, the family's doctor, is in the background there.

In one of my favorite scenes, June, played by Lilli Palmer, reads an article to her BFF, Glenda, as she takes a bubble bath. I used to watch the Mexican channel on cable in the early eighties to see the wild Puerto Rican bombshell, Iris Chacon, because she always sang a song while all bubbled up in a tub!

A secret panel in this picture frame opens up and fires a silent poison dart into the victim!

June and Glenda go to Scotland Yard after June's relative is murdered. Here's Inspector Sneed and his helper, Dick Martin, listening to June's story.

Dick joins June to go to Dr. Manetta's to claim her inheritance along with Glenda and the Inspector. They almost drive off the cliff because of the fog.

Dick gets caught in a deadly device in the doctor's horror chamber and is saved at the last second when Manetta pulls a lever.

German born Lilli Palmer looks great in that dress, she's another lady I had a crush on when I was growing up.

The doctor's mute vampire-like servant pulls a gun on Dick, so, Inspector Sneed pulls the rug out from under him!

Dick has to do battle against the evil Dr. Manetta, but, the doc gets caught up in his own death device! We remember Leslie Banks as the hunter of humans, Zaroff, in THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME with Fay Wray from 1932.

Dick saves the doc from the device, but, now everyone knows who the murderer is. Manetta asks for a drink in his special glass that releases poison with a small switch on the side, so, does not have to face execution and any time in prison!!

Here's what the whole thing was about, all seven keys are now on just one chain!

Happy Friday the 13th, Everbloody!!