CRACK IN THE WORLD - Johnny Douglas - "Thank God It's Only A Movie!" (1965)

Tonight's Saturday Night Special is an interesting film! There's not a lot of 60's science fiction left for us to explore out there, and "Crack In The World" is okay as far as it goes, but they could have used a good rubber monster to perk it up a little! I mean why not? The premise is totally unfathomable already!

Mr. "Living Strings" himself Johnny Douglas composed the music for "Crack In The World," and while it's a bit much for my meager tastes, this theme does set the scene quite nicely! Johnny was also responsible for the music in "Psycho Circus," and the 80's TV shows "G.I. Joe," and "The Transformers!"

"Project Inner Space" where they are looking for a way to bring a new energy source to the world!

This is an awesome matte painting!

The star of the show is Dana (Curse Of The Demon) Andrews as Stephen Sorenson, the Doctor in charge of the project! Here he's showing how if they do it right, they can send a nuclear bomb right through the layers of the earth and bring up an unlimited supply of magma for future energy creation! Dana also starred in the "Twilight Zone" episode titled "No Time Like The Past!"

Dr. Sorenson is dying, but he doesn't want to share that information with his wife of one year, Janette (The Day Of The Triffids, Paranoiac) Scott as Dr. Maggie Sorenson, and it's putting quite a strain on their relationship! In real life, Janette was married to the Velvet Fog Mel Tormé for 11 years! Nice underground pad they have here, you have to admit!

Kieron (Dr. Blood's Coffin, The Day Of The Triffids) Moore is the hero of the movie, Dr. Ted Rampion! Dr. Rampion is the ex-lover of Maggie Sorenson, and is also at odds with Dr. Sorenson on how the project should be handled! He's pretty sure Dr. Sorenson's theory is dangerous, and he's going to be 100% correct!

Would you just look at this place? You just know this guy is important by how many fancy phones he has, not to mention that killer library!

Despite Dr. Rampion's opinion, they shoot a rocket loaded with a nuclear warhead straight down toward the middle of the earth! No, it didn't really seem like a good idea to me either!!

Kablooie!!

Well, that all went pretty good considering..........but then, Uh, Oh! Trouble in paradise! It appears that a giant crack has formed!

There's more than just a little bit of rivalry going on here! I forgot to mention that Dr. Sorenson is also a real ass!!

Here's a different takeoff on the olde 'arrow through the head' routine!

Even though there's only two elevators, they must be clearly marked individually when the Brainiacs of the world take over!

Dr. Sorenson admits he rushed the whole project because of his poor health, and now thousands and thousands of people have died!

Dr. Rampion volunteers to help drop another nuclear bomb into a volcano to attempt at stopping the crack they've created before it splits the whole world in two! Dig those crazy Mickey Mouse ears, twin headlight helmets! Too bad their suits were never tested at this high of a temperature!

For me this movie would have been a lot better if it would have ended right about here, but unfortunately that last little trick didn't work so they have to come up with yet another plan, and the soap opera between the Doctors continues!

Then it gets down right stupid as fleeing villagers get on a train as the Doctors yell at them, "Stop, Stop, you're heading for the crack!

One last attempt at stopping the crack from growing larger, sets off an explosion so big that it creates another moon!

The new Adam and Eve! 

"Crack In The World" is a pretty good movie for at least 45 minutes, and is another film that can be viewed on Amazon Prime if and when you're in the mood for something a little different!

THE DEMONS OF LUDLOW / Ram Productions, Titan International Productions - 1983

Welp, it's time for a little visit to Wisconsin, so, pack your bag! Here's a crazy little flick all about a murderous demon that lurks inside an antique piano in a picturesque coastal town. It's directed by Latvian born Bill Rebane who also manned the helm for the schlocky MONSTER A-GO GO, INVASION FROM INNER EARTH, THE GIANT SPIDER INVASION, THE ALPHA INCIDENT, THE CAPTURE OF BIGFOOT, RANA: THE LEGEND OF SHADOW LAKE and BLOOD HARVEST.

I've got a little sound clip from this movie for your approval, sooooo, you can push the big red 'GO' button over by our haunted Casio, NOW, Rufus The Gnat!.. Here's a tangy little taste of... THE DEMONS OF LUDLOW!

I swear, the craziness at the end of the sound clip sounds almost exactly like our band, Hermanos Guzanos, doing one of our digitally delayed noise pieces from around 1988!

Lets start with this super hot spoiled chick on her visit to Ludlow, a high spot in the story.

You can hear these guys playing a pretty cool lil' tune in the sound clip, yee-haw y'all.

There are plenty of kookie characters, like this weirdo with a jacket that should have never been in style at any time, anywhere, EVER!!

Then, this scantily clad girlie gets a visit from a subterranean glowing green hand that I guess is pulling her guts out, or, it could also be giving her a beauty treatment for her tummy.

Here's a sleepy little bar scene with a good old Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer neon sign in the background.

Here's the haunted piano and the crazy lady who likes to summon the demons to come out and play with the out-of-towners currently in Ludlow.

Her seriously whacko daughter likes to play with the dolls in her bedroom.

Here are two of the demons who have those threatening 1980's sensibilities working for them.

I threw in these two stills because I thought they were interesting for no particular reason!

This guy tries to blow up the demons resting places, they hide in old tree stumps.

Bill!.. What the Hell am I supposed to be holding here?!

The demons like to fight amongst themselves when there's nothing else to do!

It looks like Bill was stealing from THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE and VIDEODROME, but, fails miserably. If you compare this and the still above, it looks like the guys fighting are making the dent in the piano's panel, pretty funny.

The demons also like to dance and frolic to the music from the piano.

This is a nice looking still from the end of the story, don't ask me to e'splian what's going on here, please! We're back tomorrow with more from The Dungeon...

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!