HANGAR 18 / Sunn Classic Pictures - 1980

Here's a flick that stars Gary (KING KONG vs. GODZILLA) Collins, Robert (THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.) Vaughn, James (TEEN WOLF) Hampton, Philip (THE INVISIBLE BOY) Abbott, William (THE MAN FROM PLANET X) Schallert, Darren (MISSION MARS) McGavin and Joseph (METEOR) Campanella, all popular TV personalities. The story goes like this... After the launch of a satellite from a space shuttle, the satellite collides with a UFO in front of the crew's eyes! Because of an upcoming political campaign, some politicians try to hide the crashed UFO inside, what else, good old Hangar 18. Filmed in Texas.

I have a sound clip for your approval, sooooo, you can push the big red 'GO' button located there by our Hangar 13, NOW, Rufus The Gnat!.. Here's some... HANGAR 18!

It starts when the space shuttle crew watches a UFO enter the scene and collides with the satellite they're deploying, killing the astronaut there!

Then, some hick dude in his vintage Pontiac observes the UFO falling out of the sky.

Here's Robert Vaughn as our president, he's a real ass hole, so...

This is some bitchin' 1980's graphics used to follow the space shuttle that's ready to land.

The good guys get access to the UFO in Hangar 18 and try to figure out how it works and its purpose. Those alien symbols are probably a little confusing to understand..

You can hear in the sound clip where they start the saucer up by mistake, then, shut it down. Darren McGavin yells... Watch what you're doing!!! A little much needed levity.

I included this shot of Darren because, first, nice portrait, secondly, I just love this guy!

Hey, bartender!.. Mix me up a Black Hole... Make it a double, I need to disappear for awhile!

Well, the president has a secret plan to get rid of the saucer and those goddamn whistle blowing good guys. Refer to the last still to see what that solution is!

Okay, I'm showing the UFO again because I like Cerulean Blue, that's all...

Our heroes are slowly analyzing the saucer and determine that it's cataloging all the military, missile, industrial and power plant site around the world.

Marcel Duchamp's "Men descending the stairs."

Well, anyway, wouldn't you know it, the CIA planted a bomb in the remote controlled Lear jet and plowed it into, what else, freakin' Hangar 18, destroying the saucer and killing all the good guys!! Checkmate, matey! Eegah!! haunts this space tomorrow, so, check it out!!

DIAL M FOR MURDER - Alred Hitchcock (1954)

I just don't get it, and I guess I don't care anymore, but 37 very high quality Alfred Hitchcock DVDs post paid from China for 65 bucks is one Helluva deal!

Forget taking classes in film making, just buy this set, watch, and absorb it all, and you might just become the next Master of the Macabre!!

I'm sure that everything there is to be said about all Alfred Hitchcock motion pictures has been said! These movies I'm just enjoying, and taking a moment to remind you that when you're looking for a good movie to watch, almost any Alfred Hitchcock movie will do, and lucky for us all, there are quite a few of them, and they're readily available for the most part!

First, just go out and find yourself a copy of this book where Francois Truffaut interviews Alfred Hitchcock! Everything else will be self-evident after you do that!

I don't even care about musical sound clips any more, because.....right now, that concept is irrelevant!

The always delightful Dimitri Tiomkin composed the music for "Dial M For Murder," and if you like these kinds of superbly orchestrated sound tracks, then go somewhere like here and lay down some cash!

Future Princess of Monaco, Grace Kelly is magnificent!

Grace left this world at the all too young age of 52 in a stupid car accident! Ridiculous!

For me this is one of Alfred's best cameo roles, staring at the camera in a shot from a college yearbook!

Ray Milland is one of my favourite actors for several good reasons like "The Thing With Two Heads," "Frogs," "X: The Man With The X-Ray Eyes," "Panic In The Year Zero," etc. 

But Ray was also in a lot of classy movies too, like "Dial M For Murder," where he plans the diabolical and devious murder of his wife!

Although he's not a real familiar name most likely, Anthony Dawson has some pretty cool creds himself like "Curse Of The Werewolf," and three Sean Connery era James Bond flicks!

Alfred Hitchcock films are just a joy to watch! The man was so meticulous, even a simple scene like this is gorgeous!

One of the most interesting things about "Dial M For Murder" is that you know from the start who the bad guy is, but what is to be determined is whether he's going to get caught or not!

Anthony Dawson's character has been unknowingly recruited, and then blackmailed into killing Ray Milland's wife! The plan has been worked out to the last detail!

1950's stag parties were a bit different from today! Although there was plenty of drinking going on, there were no strippers!

This shot from the attempted murder almost looks like an abstract painting, and I like it!

The murder plan was doomed from the start!

And Anthony Dawson ends up with a pair of scissors in his back!

This is yet another awesome shot!

"Dial M For Murder" moves along at a pretty quick clip, so an intermission is a good chance to grab something to drink or eat!

John Williams played the role of Chief Inspector Hubbard in this movie, on Broadway, and on TV!

He also played William Shakespeare in the "Twilight Zone" episode titled "The Bard!"

Another Dungeon fave Bob (Love That Bob, Saboteur) Cummings has the role of the illicit lover! Since he was a writer of murder mysteries, it was expected that he would solve this puzzle, but then that would have been too easy!

The jig is up, so what's there left to do but have another drink?

So there you go! I like stupid trashy films as well as the next guy, but if you want to watch a good movie, you sure can't go wrong with Alfred Hitchcock, even if they do come from China! Most of the DVDs in this set have titles on the label in English, but this one is a mystery except the silhouette of a phone gives it away!!

ROBOT MOVIES OF THE FIFTIES!!

Here's a look at the movies from the fifties that have robots in them. Up to that point the robots were more goofy and awkward looking than anything, but, in the fifties that all changed... Thank you lord!

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL from 1951 is our first entry. Gort changed the game, his giant presence and futuristic look was a thrill and a half for all the kids back then!

It's almost unbelievable that ROBOT MONSTER from 1953 was shot in 3-D, it seems that the bubbles from the million bubble machine were the main focus of the 3-D effect! But, there's nothing quite like this movie, wow, what an acid trip!

TARGET EARTH from 1954 was a strange little flick, although there's supposed to be an invasion of robots, they only made one robot for the production! Great poster though.

TOBOR THE GREAT came out in 1954, I love this movie, Tobor was a masterpiece of design by the Republic studios. My favorite part is when the spies try to enter the grounds and our heroes turn on the battle attack soundtrack with strobe lights to disorient the intruders!

DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS also came out in 1954, this time, our invaders land in the English countryside to spread terror. Her robot's name is Chanti, and, it has a penchant for disintegrating things!

GOG come out in 1954 and was shot in color. Gog and Magog were robots like no other, designed to help out in the lab with an array of deadly features!

Ahh, my favorite fifties movie. FORBIDDEN PLANET from 1956 featured the greatest robot, Robby, he was a ton of fun! I saw this and the remaining titles at the theater at the time, how freakin' lucky was I...

KRONOS hit the screen in 1957, I'm telling you that seeing this thing at the time was totally amazing. Everything about the movie kept my interest, and, freaked me out a little, too!

Loved THE INVISIBLE BOY from 1957, they brought back Robby for another exciting kids' movie, this time he's controlled by a machine taken over by aliens!

COLOSSUS OF NEW YORK in 1958 was another terrific movie, man, the robot was mind blowing. Of course, he turns evil and must be destroyed at the end. And, we've also reached the end of the post! Tune in Wednesday for more cool junk from the Dungeon Gang...

CRAZY KNIGHTS - "Ghost Crazy" (1944)

Shemp Howard was one of the original Three Stooges, but was replaced by his brother Curly when Shemp decided to pursue a solo acting career, and so it went for years until Curly could no longer go on because of a heart condition!

This 1944 feature titled "Crazy Knights," and later released as "Ghost Crazy" was about three quarters along in Shemp's career that included many colourful zany characters with names like Dopey, Clem, Lefty, Smokey, Shemp, Henry, Knobby, Happy, Wacky, Gabby, Dizzy, Dingbat, and Mumbo!

 

 Shemp and his pals are a bunch of small-time hucksters!

It's a side-show act featuring a super intelligent gorilla named Borneo!

To make the act legit, they have a real gorilla, and his body double in a gorilla suit that Shemp wears when they ask the gorilla questions! (Of course, the REAL gorilla is a guy in a gorilla suit too!)

They might be small time con men, but they have a really nice woody that would make any surfer green with envy!

Any student of 1950's TV will recognize Minerva Urecal who was Tugboat Annie, and Jim Bowie's Mother! Among her 275 credits are a couple of other gorilla suit movies, "The Ape," and "The Ape Man!"

Billy Gilbert played Billy, with Shemp as Shemp, and Maxie Rosenbloom as Maxie, in more than a couple of movies with titles like "Three Of A Kind," and "Trouble Chasers!" 

So it looks like somebody in a ghost outfit is trying to scare the boys!

But then the ghost disappears into the night, and into this grave, and you begin to think that this a story about the supernatural, but after this, it's just guys in ghost costumes again!

Billy finds a ghost costume and proceeds to scare the pants off of Shemp!

The rest of the cast from left to right are Bernard Sell who had small roles in the ultra-classics "The Day The Earth Stood Still," and "Them!" It's pretty amazing how many roles Bernard also had as just a guy somewhere in a bar, or a restaurant, a nightclub, a casino, or a guest at a party!  Then there's the blonde and beautiful Jayne Hazard, whose first role ever was as a party girl in another great ape flick, "The Monster And The Girl," and who, if it hadn't of been for the war years, might have been a name as recognizable as Marilyn Monroe today cause she is drop dead gorgeous, and finally John Hamilton, who even though he had 346 acting credits, I only can think of one thing when I see his face, and that is Perry White in 102 episodes of "The Adventures Of Superman!"

Shemp puts on his gorilla suit to try and stir up some truth, and Barney the gorilla escapes from his cage at the same time, so you can imagine how much havoc that creates! The guy inside the Barney suit was Art Miles who donned the hairy tuxedo in at least three other movies or shorts, "The Gorilla," "Moon Over Vegas," and "A Bird In The Head!"

 Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom might have been a buffoon in the movies, but in real life he was a championship boxer whose career spanned 16 years, and ended with a record of  274 fights, with 207 wins, 39 losses, and 26 draws! Maxie wasn't a big knockout artist and only had 19 KO's out of all those fights, so that means he went the distance in about 90% of those bouts! He was one tough dude!

"Ghost Crazy" comes off as one long extended Three Stooges episode with Billy and Maxie replacing Moe and Larry, and makes you realize why the Three Stooges shorts were so good, because they had the good sense to make them only 15 or 20 minutes long!
If you've got nothing better to do, you can watch "Ghost Crazy" for free on Youtube and transport yourself into better times some 72 years in the past! Pretty amazing we're still here!