HELL BOUND - Les Baxter - "Va Va Voom!" (1957)

HELL BOUND!! 

I say HELL YEAH!!

Welcome to the Hell Bound Wednesday version of The Dungeon and tonight's feature from the year 1957! "Hell Bound" is a pretty nifty little movie that clocks in right under and hour and fifteen minutes, so there's not a lot of time to goof around! It's gritty as Hell, and I enjoyed it a lot!

John "The Lawman" Russell is a shifty crook named Jordan! Now Jordan's got a plan, and in order to sell his act, he made a movie about how he can rob this cargo ship to show to investors!

 

It's a complicated plan that includes one guy acting as a sailor lost at sea that needs rescuing, and another fellow, the Health Inspector who happens to be diabetic! When the Health Inspector comes on board, he feigns illness, so instead of disembarking, he gives himself a shot of insulin! Meanwhile the rescued sailor lifts some two million dollars worth of WWII surplus narcotics from a locked room, and puts it in the Health Inspector's Jacket, and then when an ambulance comes and gets him, another plant, the nurse in the ambulance, takes the jacket, and everybody gets rich, so they think anyway!

So Jordan sells his plan to this dude, and it gets OK'd by his girlfriend Paula, who suddenly is too tired to put her own shoes on! Paula tells her man that in order to keep Jordan honest, that she should be the one to play the nurse instead of Jordan's girlfriend! That way she'll be the one picking up the drugs! Paula is played by June Blair who was in "The Fiend Who Walked The West," and "Island Of Lost Women." She stopped acting in 1966 after being in 26 episodes of "Ozzie And Harriett" as David Nelson's wife June! She was also his real wife at the same time!

In the same year "Hell Bound" was made, June was the Miss January Playmate Of The Month!

The ambulance driver named Eddie Mason is played by the always entertaining Stuart Whitman! Now Eddie isn't privy to what's happening, all he knows is that the regular nurse has a substitute for a couple of days! Here's a cool fact, Stuart Whitman's first two roles were bit (uncredited) parts in two of the best Science Fiction movies of all time, "When Worlds Collide," and "The Day The Earth Stood Still!" Both Stuart Whitman and June Blair were born in San Francisco, California, and they are both alive and well today! Must have something to do with growing up in all that fresh air!!

I thought it was important in case you ever go there, that you should know that the Hi-Ho Motel is Air Conditioned!

Cut to my favourite part of the movie down at the old El Rancho Burlesque club!

Introducing Virginia De Lee as the strip tease artiste at the club! This might have been her only movie appearance, but Virginia was a cover girl on many of the men's magazines of the time like Stag and Caper! I'll give her some credit, she's got some moves, and right here's a good spot to insert a little bit of the superbly greasy music she's dancing to composed by another Dungeon hero, Mr. Les Baxter! Type Mr. Baxter's name into the search engine on the side bar to see a small sampling of his massive body of work! Phenomenal!

 Enjoying the strip show and a glass of milk, on the right is American Indian actor Dehl (WOLFEN) Berti as the drug dealer Daddy! On the left is George E. (GALAXINA, RING OF TERROR) Mather as loser junkie Stanley Thomas, the guy who is going to be the lost at sea sailor!

So what do you think? A blind man in a strip club! This has got to be one of the best moments in cinematic history since the Throne Room in "Fireball Jungle!"

So everything is literally not only Hell bound, but going to Hell in a handbag real fast! After having to play real nurse to a dying boy, and a couple of nights on the job, Paula is falling for Eddie! Now that's gonna put a hitch in the diddly-widget real fast!

Jordan catches wind of what's happening, and in his own gentlemanly way, shanks poor Paula in the gut! Previous to this event, as a thank-you, he snuffed the guy who lifted the key for the boat's safe room for him! Jordan is what you might say, "HELL BOUND!"

Absolutely every part of this fail proof plan falls apart! Junkie Stanley gets on the ship all right, but then he goes into withdrawals, and totally freaks out basically blowing the whole scene right then and there!

If that's not bad enough, Stanley (THE GRASSHOPPER, THE CLONES) Adams as the Health Inspector, has been told by his Doctor that he doesn't need insulin any more and that if he uses any, he very well might die, but he needs the money real bad so...........You can guess what happens!

After the Health Inspector dies, the junkie gets arrested, and Paula didn't die, Jordan decides it time to run! What a cool junkyard they found to wrap the whole thing up in!

After cutting in and out of old buses and stacks of old motors, Jordan finally climbs into and hides in an empty rail car!

It just so happens that same car was just being loaded with tons of scrap metal! 

Jordan is bound for Hell, no doubt!

I found "Hell Bound" streaming on Amazon Prime! They seem to be the only ones willing to invest in old movies like this, so thumbs up to them in my book!

THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN / Hammer Film Productions - 1958

So, here's your belated Easter surprise, it's Hammer's second Frankenstein offering about Baron Frankenstein escaping from the guillotine and then going to Germany where he names himself Dr. Stein and plans to restart his experiments by using parts of dead bodies... Again! I saw this one at the theater with my neighbors in 1958.

We gots a sound clip from this classic tale, sooooo, you can push the big red 'GO' button located there by our miniature mad lab, NOW, Ralphie The Tarantula!.. Here's... THE REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN!

You think that the Baron is going to lose his head at the beginning but everyone's been paid well for the charade and...

He goes to Germany as Dr. Stein and ends up working as a friend to the sick and dying.

Dr. Stein gets a visit from Dr. Hans Kleve, he knows the dirty little secret and wants to join the team. Dr. Stein needs another helper and shows Kleve the hidden lab and all its wonders.

Then, he shows him his latest creation, Karl, this time, one that's perfectly normal in appearance. Michael Gwynn was chosen to play Karl probably because of his 6' 4" frame.

I threw in a shot of this lit up machine just because it looks so damn cool!

As heard in the sound clip, this big brute pummels Karl from pillar to post before...

Karl's rattled brain snaps and he chokes the life out of the fat slob bastard.

Then, the worst part of the movie for me is this scene where the hospital inmates find out that Dr. Stein is actually Dr. Frankenstein and attack and beat him within an inch of his life. We love Peter Cushing, man, c'mon!!

Anyway, there is only one solution to the problem. The authorities have come to see the dead body of Dr. Frankenstein, but, is he really dead?!..

HURRAY!!.. We'll be back on Wednesday with another dose of the Dungeon Drug...

CARNIVAL ROCK - Roger Corman Rocks (1957)

I've been holding onto this one for a long time, and I thought coupled with "Carnival Of Crime," "Carnival Rock" would make for a nice carnival week during this festive time of the year, but then "Carnival Of Crime" turned out to be such a piece of crap! So it goes, Welcome to the Saturday Night Special in The Dungeon, and a special tribute to the man that, well, this blog wouldn't exist without, Mr. Roger Corman!

 Roger Corman has produced over 400 movies, and has two titles in post production right now, if you can believe that, and has the man mellowed out at all? Not with titles like "Cobragator" and "Sharktopus vs. Mermantula" coming out sometime in the not too distant future, but let's get back to tonight's feature! I love "Carnival Rock" and I hate "Carnival Rock!" How's that for confusing? I love this movie because it features a bunch of the Roger Corman regulars of the time, and like Roger, it rocks! Roger Corman was and obviously still is, ahead of his time!

 Welcome to The Carnival kids! Probably the closest thing you'll find to having this much fun today is Fremont Street in Las Vegas! Fun, Tricks, Shows, and Rides, what the Hell more could you possibly want? Here's the theme performed by the dynamic Blockbusters who also contributed to Corman's "Rock All Night!" Hell Yeah!

 They don't have a huge crowd, but the joint is jumpin' down at Christy's Club!

Christopher 'Christy' Cristakos as portrayed by David J. Stewart is the big problem with this film! It's very difficult to identify with a character this stupid and weak-minded, but that's what Roger decided for some reason, so I'm able to pass it by, even though he's pretty much the main focus of the film! The problem is that Christy is way gone in love with a girl that basically doesn't love him at all, but she's been leading him on for years! He wants to propose, she wants to split! Christy's best buddy and business associate is Dick Miller as Benny! Dick is a major Dungeon hero, and probably one of our top five favourite actors! Maybe even number one, for "Bucket Of Blood" if nothing else!

Susan (THE Wasp Woman) Cabot is Natalie Cook, the woman that Christy is madly in love with! Natalie is performing a song called "There's No Place Without You," and how about a big round of applause for those sharply dressed cats in the band? Damn, life was good back in 1957!

This shot is a grade Z film lover's dream! A trio of Roger Corman starpower unsurpassed to this day! On the left is Ed (ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS, INVASION OF THE SAUCER MEN, TEENAGE DOLL, TEENAGE CAVE MAN, NIGHT OF THE BLOOD BEAST, THE BRAIN EATERS, A BUCKET OF BLOOD, DEVIL'S PARTNER) Nelson, in the middle is Bruno (THE WILD ONE, DEMENTIA, THE UNDEAD, ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES, A BUCKET OF BLOOD, THE WASP WOMAN) VeSota, and Dick Miller too!  And if just having the three of them on screen together isn't enough, the background is a side show belly dancer and a barker in a carnival! That's just about as good as it can possibly get!

Here's a good closeup of Ed and Bruno, as a guy who Christy owes money to, and his shifty lawyer!

Christy is as dense as 36 inches of frozen tundra, and even when Natalie comes right out and tells him that she doesn't love him, he just won't fuckin' give it up! He's in debt past his ears, but he wants to still spend money on a ring for her! He's an idiot of the highest caliber!

Did I not tell you this movie has the greatest Corman cast of all time? Yep, that's Jonathan (Little Shop Of Horrors) Haze on the left as little rat Max!  The fellow on the right is Stanley, the cheap hustler guy that Natalie is really in love with! Stanley was played by Brian (King Creole) Hutton in what might have been his only Corman appearance! In the pretty freakin' werid department: Both Ed Nelson and Brian Hutton passed away in August of last year, 10 days apart!

Bob Luman and his guys known as The Shadows are the house band at Christy's club! These guys are pretty damn dynamic and would pack any house these days! Bob Luman had a pretty good career, and his biggest hit made it to number four in 1972, called "Lonely Women Make Good Lovers!" I put "Sue" in the sidebar on the jukebox so you can enjoy Bob's manic style! Check it out!

"Carnival Rock" isn't really a monster movie, but Christy is really turning into a demented Jekyll and Hyde Character!

Christy gets all mouthy with Stanley when he finds out that Natalie loves him, so they start gambling in one of the most simplest forms imaginable, pick a card, high card wins! 

Five or six cards later, and Christy has lost everything, including his club that he was over his head in debt for anyway!  Loser dude still can't face reality! It's a good thing the rest of the cast and the music is so damn good!

The new owner Stanley brings in one of the top vocal groups of the time, The Platters, and just like that, the joint is jumpin' again! That's like Fleetwood Mac performing down at your local 7-11!

Instead of just kicking Christy to the curb, Stanley shows his tender side, and gives Christy a job as a clown at the carnival! Mr. Hyde is becoming even more visible!

Natalie and Stanley are truly in love, and are about to get married when Christy crashes the party before it even gets started, and decides to set the whole place on fire! He really IS a monster!

Christy is saved, but he is still one of the biggest losers on the planet while the rest of the cast watches the place burn down! What a dumbass!

Bob Luman's band plays a song called "The Creep," the same title as the movie we made that if anything, was influenced by "Bucket Of Blood!" Coincidence or just another moment of time in The Twilight Zone? I've had my "Carnival Rock" disc so long that I don't even remember where I got it! I thought it was available on The Internet Archive, but that's "Carnival Story" so your guess is as good as mine, but if you can find it, do it, and you won't be disappointed, and that's a guarantee I'm willing to stand behind! If nothing else, somebody really needs to release a soundtrack of "Carnival Rock," the music is THAT good!