SUSPENSE TV Show - Season 2, Episode 6 - "A Cask of Amontillado" (1949)

"Suspense" was a TV show that was on the air from 1949 to 1954 and starred such dignitaries as Boris Karloff, Leslie Nielsen, Ray Walston, Jackie Cooper, Henry Hull, Jack Palance, and so many more, including tonight's shining star, Bela Lugosi!

Welcome to a Wobbly Wretched Wednesday in The Dungeon! Our sponsor tonight is Auto-Lite, the makers of fine spark plugs then and now!

  If you care to read the original short story, and you should, because it only takes a couple of minutes, and thanks to some very fine people, you can find it right here!

Speaking of Ray (My Favorite Martian) Walston, that's him right there as the soldier who has to listen to the sordid tale of "A Cask Of Amontillado" first hand. Sorry about the quality of these pictures, but that's what you get for free, so I can't complain!

Romney (Sheena: Queen Of The Jungle, Screaming Mimi) Brent aka Romulo Larralde, is Count Montressor, and he's here to tell the authorities that there has been a murder.

The star of the show is Dungeon perennial favourite Mr. Bela Lugosi!

Our motto is: "If it's gotta Bela in it, then you gotta watch it!" It's just that simple!

The credits read...."By Edgar Allen Poe," but the story is a very loose interpretation. The basic story line is there though, but if you want to get picky, the original story was called "The Cask Of Amontillado," not "A Cask........"

Bela is a Nazi soldier named General Fortunato, and he seems to be really enjoying that glass of wine! Whether he's a maniac or a vampire it doesn't matter, because watching Bela any time is just like hanging out with a good friend!

For a Nazi General, Bela looks like he's having a good time here, so how about some music to celebrate the end of a war, and a fantastic tune from a good friend of mine, the one, the only, Glen Armstrong! Let's hear it for

"The Edgar Allen Polka."

Bela says, I'm warning you, don't listen to that polka song or you will end up just like how Edgar Allen wrote: "I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity."

When I was a senior in high school, I had to take a speech class, and compete in speech tournaments. You could debate, but I chose to do a dramatic interpretation for one tournament, a reading of "The Cask Of Amontillado!" I didn't get to use notes, and had to memorize the whole thing. Needless to say, I ended up in whatever's after last place, and on the bus ride back home, an idiot friend of mine tried smoking a cigarette in the back of the bus thinking he wouldn't get caught. If you guessed that they were my cigarettes, and I got in more trouble than him, you'd be correct! “Et tu, Cesare?” Now go back and read the original story with a little more appreciation!

THE BEES / They Prey On HUMAN FLESH! - 1978

Today we have some vitamin BEE, the story's about corporate smuggling of South American killer bees into the United States, which results in huge swarms of the little pests terrorizing the northern hemisphere! So, a small team of scientists work desperately to destroy the threat, but the bees soon mutate into a super-intelligent species that now threatens the whole world!

It stars John (BLOOD BEAST FROM OUTER SPACE) Saxon, Angel (ALLIGATOR) Tompkins, John (RED ZONE CUBA)) Carradine and Claudio (SANTO IN THE WAX MUSEUM) Brook.

Angel plays Sandra Miller, she's taking some killer bees to her uncle for study but two jerks in the elevator want what's in her case. They take it and get a surprise, a face full of killer bees!

In the meantime, she meets John Norman, her uncle's helper in bee research. He shows her how limber he is, hey, maybe something will come of it... Zoom, zoom, and, away we go!

Rule number 1 in bee keeping is, make sure you have the latest in snappy beekeeping apparel.

Out of nowhere comes huge swarms of killer bees, what in the Hell's going on around here... Anyway?! Filmed in Pasadena.

Uncle Sigmund finally shows up, John tries his best German accent but it ends up being unintentionally funny because it just doesn't work. So, why does he need to be German?

Angel goes out with John to investigate what's going on with those ding-danged bees. They encounter this big old mutant hive that they end up smokin'... Ha ha.

All the fun at a Pasadena parade is shot to shit when more bee swarms show up and sting the crap out of everyone!!.. People are actually dying from the stings!.. GO BEES!!!

At this point in the story, it's time for a little breather... Ahhhhh...

Wake up! Back to the action! Welp, all the scientific brains trying to solve the riddle of the little killers decide to just spray pesticide in the affected areas.

Uncle Sigmund gets a visit by some corporate dildos that don't like what he's up to, so, they shoot his ass!! Uncle gets his revenge when some bees get loose and attack, attack, attack!

The freakin' bees ain't goin' nowhere neither, Nancy! Things are getting worse, in fact, they're blowin' things up and even crashing airplanes!!.. WTF?!!

John and Angel try to tell these idiots in charge (kinda like congress) that the bees have mutated and are able to destroy humanity unless they can live in harmony with humans... I'm lost, what?? Anyway, the dummies want the two thrown out of the meeting.

But, the good old mutant killer bees show up and prove John and Angel's point, surrender you puny humans, or, DIE!!.. Wow, there you go, like clockwork, we're back Wednesday with the start to yet another month full of surprises, here, at The Dungeon!

PEEPING TOM - "An Adventure Into Terror" (1960)

Time for another Saturday Night Special down here in The Dungeon, and a movie I've been wanting to see for a long time, and it wasn't a disappointment, which is novel, to say the least! "Peeping Tom" was directed by Michael Powell who among his many accomplishments, was the Director for Disney's "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" segment in the movie "Fantasia!"

"Peeping Tom" is a film about a demented tortured soul making a documentary about a demented tortured soul he knows very well, himself! He kills women while filming the whole thing, and then he likes to go out and film stuff like the police investigating the murders! He's a pretty sick puppy!

"Peeping Tom" is filmed brilliantly, and is totally atmospheric like this great shot!

In the 1960's London was swinging in more than one way! This bureaucratic perv needs his special purchase wrapped incognito!

Pamela (Legend Of The Werewolf) Green is a model named Milly! Pamela was a real artist and painter, and was co-creator of a popular magazine called "Kamera." From what I am to understand, these scenes were shot in Pamela's own studio, or she at least had a whole lot to do with the way it all looked!

Susan (The Abominable Dr. Phibes)Travers is the beautiful model that can only be shot as a profile for a very specific reason. Isn't it funny how a person can have such a predominate place on the poster, but isn't even credited in the movie?

The fabulous Karlheinz Böhm is Mark Lewis aka "The Peeping Tom." I like it when they let you know who the evil character is out front, and the movie unfolds to see just how long it takes him to get caught. No suspense here, Mark Lewis is one VERY messed up cat! He's got issues, and issues, and back issues! He's like a collector of problems!

Mark's neighbor Helen who he likes to look in on is having a birthday party! Helen is played by the always great Anna (Bunny Lake Is Missing, Frenzy, The Vault Of Horror) Massey. The swingin' music throughout the film was composed by Brian (Happy Deathday) Easdale!

The building they all live in is Mark's ancestral home. When his Father died, he inherited it, but needed to rent out rooms to be able to afford the upkeep. That's why he is able to have enough room to develop and view his movie projects! Helen drops by for a glass of milk, and Mark allows her to watch some footage that his Father had made. 

Mark was a test subject for his Father's inquires into the subject of fear, and he recorded him on film and tape recorders his whole life!

The books in Mark's library are a living testament to the work of his Dad!

Mark has a different way of dealing with the subject of fear !

In 1981 after working with the Director Ranier Werner Fassbinder, Karlheinz devoted his life to raising money for the poor people of Ethiopia, and in 2003, he was declared an honorary citizen of that country for all his worthwhile contributions!

But as Mark Lewis, the authorities are keeping a pretty close eye on him. I don't know if it's just the way he talks, or his accent, but his affected speech patterns continually reminded me of Peter Lorre in this movie!

This is a great shot that shows you how lonely and alone Mark Lewis was!

Mark's even filming the police that are supposed to be watching him, not the other way around!

Helen, you really don't want to do that, because Mark actually likes you!

For some women, love is more important than the truth! "Stand by your man," I guess!

I won't go so far as to tell you where this relationship and movie are going for those of you who have never seen the "Peeping Tom!!"

But believe me, it was all very well documented by Mark!

Right up until THE END!