HOLLYWOOD STEPS OUT - "Ciro's Was The Place To Be" (1941)

It's a Holly Weird Wednesday in The Dungeon, and tonight's short feature is a 1941 cartoon called

"Hollywood Steps Out." And where do the rich and famous go in 1940's Hollywood? 

A club named Ciro's!

Ciro's opened on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood in January 1940, and it closed its doors in 1957!

In the 1940s and 1950s, It was one of "the" places to be seen!

 In 1968, Ciro's became a rock and roll club called It's Boss, then Ciro's Le Disc in 1965, and The Kaleidoscope in 1967. It became the Comedy Store in 1972! Much of the information I have came from Wikipedia, and if you want to keep free information alive, then you should send them a buck or two, because otherwise the internet is going to turn back into what it was before there was no internet!

There is probably not another nightclub location in history that has hosted a variety of talent this magnanimous over the years!

I'm talking about people like Cab Calloway, Frank Sinatra, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Marvin Gaye, Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday, Spike Jones, Little Richard, Carmen Miranda, Ike and Tina Turner, etc. etc. etc! The list goes on and on and on!

Here's an album by Dick Dale and his Del-Tones from 1965 that was recorded live at Ciro's!

One of the most amazing things about this cartoon is that there are only credits for four animation artists who have only about 800 credits between them! So let's give them credit first thing!

The winners are William Scibner, Ben Shenkman, Robert McKimson, and Virgil Ross!

Some of these caricatures are simply amazing, so let's get this party started, first up, here's Cary Grant!

Johnny Weissmuller checks his coat!

If I'm counting right, Johnny Weissmuller was the star of  twelve different Tarzan movies before moving on to be Jungle Jim!

Paulette (Modern Times, The Ghost Breakers) Goddard is the coat check girl!

Here's James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart, and George Raft enjoying the nightlife at Ciro's!

Harpo Marx gives cigarette girl Greta Garbo a hot foot to which she responds.....
 "Ouch."

Probably the most disappointing of all the caricatures is the Frankenstein monster. I mean, look at those feet, it's just stupid!

The Three Stooges are pretty realistic!

Oliver Hardy is so big that he gets to dance with two girls at once!

Peter Lorre is just lonely!

Clark Gable is following around this blonde all night long!

But for some reason she turns out to be Groucho Marx in drag!
In the original release, Clark Gable gives Groucho a kiss anyway, and says "I'm a BAD boy," but it was cut because Gable thought it would damage his career!

For decades, 8433 Sunset Boulevard has been the place to be, unfortunately, I've never been there!

THE GHOST OF SIERRA DE COBRE / Villa Di Stefano - 1964

Mr. KD informed me about this one, so, when the price was right, I bought myself a copy. This TV movie was supposed to be the pilot for a series called THE HAUNTED, but scenes were added after it was thought to be too scary and was cancelled. I don't remember seeing this movie at the time...

It stars Martin (SPACE: 1999) Landau, Judith (CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF) Anderson, Diane (STRAIT-JACKET) Baker, Tom (PIRANHA) Simcox, Nellie (THE LIGHTNING RAIDER, her first acting credit in 1919) Burt and Leonard (TOYS IN THE ATTIC) Stone.

Nelson Orion, a wealthy art collector and disbelieving ghost hunter, is at the Mandore estate to assess the situation there. Vivia Mandore explains to him that her blind husband is convinced that his late mother is calling him out from beyond the grave.

As Vivia sits talking to Orion, well, a ghastly wind blows through the room until he screams for the mayhem to stop!! It stops.

Later, the ghost shows herself. It looks as if the weird makeup is the same as in THE GALAXY BEING, where, they paint the face and hands gloss black and then show it in negative.

Here's Orion with his ultra cool house on the hill at Malibu beach!

In his art collection, Orion has a painting named Sierra de Cobre. As he talks with his housekeeper, he sees the ghost appear in the painting, so, he takes it over to his coffee table to study and read up on the history of the place.

Henry and Vivia Mandore show up at Orion's place. they want to discuss the recent events. He tells them that he does not believe that the ghost is after either of them and the spirit is that of an American teacher that was killed in Sierra de Cobre!

Anyway, Paulina wants to leave. She sits in the back seat waiting for Vivia, when, the car starts rolling backwards toward the ocean cliff. Orion runs out and tries to hold the car back, and, it only stops just before it goes off the cliff. phew!! And guess what?.. Vivia and her mom Paulina are both from Sierra de Cobre!.. Also, notice that Orion is turned the wrong way to try and stop the thing. He's just being dragged!

Back in the house, Vivia spills the beans on Paulina, and, she was responsible for the murder! Orion wants Paulina to turn herself in, but, she has other ideas.

Just as she's ready to stab Orion, the ghost appears again, out of the painting...

Well, the ghost is coming for Paulina and gives her a death swipe with her hand, and, the woman stabs herself instead of Orion!!

Then, Vivia leaves the place. Unfortunately, the ghost of Paulina is along for the ride, the car swerves and goes off the cliff!

It's a rough and tumble ride to the bottom, Vivia can now join her mom... There you have it, a tooth for a eyeball I guess. Anyway, Eegah!! is back on Wednesday with only Hell knows what, don't want to miss that, so, later bots!

TERMINAL CITY RICOCHET - "Don't Touch That Dial" (1990)

Ludicrous, ridiculous, and yet somehow, 29 years later, more pertinent than ever, tonight's Saturday Night Special is a 1990 flick called "Terminal City Ricochet."

Some things just don't change. Government has been a scary joke for quite a while now!

Just like this blog, "Free Cheap Bargains" are plentiful!

What's your favorite flavour of Pie in the Sky?
 Apple, peach, lemon, grape?

The concept of a "Mass Murder Magazine" is really sick, but the headline of "Rock Star Kills Audience" is pretty funny!

What can I tell you about a movie like this? 

Well, it was made in Canada, and "The Terminal City Richochets" were a real hockey team, and I think that about wraps it up!

Remember, "The Firesign Theatre" said it best!

"The Future is Now!"

From beginning to end, the movie is obsessed with space junk falling from the sky!

Peter Breck is mesmerizing as Mayor Ross Gilmore, a man of dreams, and other people's nightmares.

I could be wrong, but it looked like Peter was having fun with this role.

Peter was in everything from "The Crawling Hand," to 112 episodes of "The Big Valley."

Some of the sight gags are pretty funny!

"Terminal City Ricochet" also has a terrific soundtrack with real bands like D.O.A., The Beatnigs, Jello Biafra, Nomeansno, The Grooveaholics, etc. performing or just providing the music. This guy reminds me too much of "The Cat In The Hat."

Eric Reed Boucher aka Jello Biafra himself has the role of wormdog Bruce Coddle.

So just let it out! Let it all out!

What a campaign! 

It goes on way too long, but it has to, so you can try and take in everything that's going on here!

What a charismatic guy! C'Mon, you know you'd vote for him too!

And that's just the way it is!

Here's D.O.A. with the song from the ending credits called "Behind The Smile."