Monday, April 27, 2020

THE THREE STOOGES / "Squareheads Of The Round Table" - 1948

I'm really not in the mood for any violence, that is, unless The Stooges are in charge... Today we gots a great little episode where our boys get caught up in a plot to overthrow King Arthur by the Black Prince and his pal.

Besides the Stooges, we have Christine McIntyre as Princess Elaine, Jock Mahoney (look how his name's spelled on the title card!) as Cedric the Blacksmith, Philip Van Zandt as The Black Prince and Vernon Dent as King Arthur. Wowzers, what a lineup!!

So, the boys get a visit from some of the king's soldiers, they're looking for Cedric the Blacksmith because of his love for Princess Elaine. The Stooges try to kid around with the soldiers only to receive a 3-face slap from one of them before they leave.

Cedric was hiding in the back room, when he tells them his story, the Stooges ban together with the blacksmith to help him win his princess. Cedric has strong hands!

Besides getting conked in the head by Shemp, Moe also gets a mouthful of fiddle from Larry as they serenade Cedric's beloved Elaine.

But, The Black Prince hears the commotion and chases the guys away. He goes to King Arthur and tells him that some men were outside Elaine's window, serenading her. So, the king decides to put Elaine in another room and he'll sleep in her room in case they came back!

Just as the king is ready to hit the sack, he hears gravel hitting the window. He goes over, opens the window and gets hit in the head with a big rock with a love note on it...

There's still no response from Elaine so Shemp's chosen to climb the trellis to her room. After Shemp steps all over Moe's face, he gets into the room and thinks Elaine is under the covers. Shemp starts telling 'Elaine' that her dad is an ugly old sour puss, then slaps the covers hard as he cracks himself up! Needless to say, the king's getting really angry!!

Well, wouldn't you know it, Cedric and the boys end up behind bars. They are all scheduled to be beheaded by the king's executioner there, sharpening his chopper!

The boys get a going away gift from Elains, a loaf of bread that rattles when shaken. There are a chisel, a hack saw and a sledge hammer inside! So, they work away but get nowhere with their escape. As they plan their next move, the door to their cell open up. Larry says brrr, there's a cold draft coming from somewhere!

The boys get Cedric out of his cell and they vamoose the joint! You gotta throw in one of these Scooby-Doo chase scenes every now and again!

Moe ducks into a room where he overhears The Black Prince and his buddy discussing killing the king and stealing the throne, and then the prince will marry Elaine...

The boys put on armour and go to Elaine to tell her about the plot to kill her father. Elaine and the Stooges pledge their help to each other to expose the prince.

The boys find out that the recaptured Cedric is to be beheaded at the sound of the trumpets, so they toss a pile of fruit into the trumpets before they can play. The trumpeters blow with all their might until the dam breaks, the prince and his pal get sprayed with pieces of mushy fruit!

The prince is exposed and the guards take him away, for good! The king announces that Cedric and Elaine are to be wed, it's a happy time in the old kingdom!

We couldn't finish without Shemp getting hit with the biggest hunk of crap! Tune in Wednesday when Eegah!! will throw you another bone, here at The Dungeon!!..

Saturday, April 25, 2020

DATE BAIT - "One Way Or The Other" (1960)

 This week's Saturday Night Special is a movie from 1960 called "Date Bait."

 "Date Bait" - Kind of like a combination of Jail Bait and Date Rape 1960's style!
What the heck, the words rhyme, so it doesn't really need to make sense.

 Check out the license plate, it looks like it was hand drawn! I found it interesting that both the two main guys in the movie don't drive hot rod Chevy's or Fords, but drive MG's instead.

 So the kids are all down at the club having a good time when psycho drug addict Brad decides to join the party!

 You know when you're just groovin' and dancin' with your girl, it's always a bummer when some weirdo asshole like Brad tries to cut in. The cute couple being hassled is Gary Clarke as Logan and Marlo (Dragstrip Riot) Ryan as Sue.

 Time for big brother to show up and bail out Brad one more time!

 Gary Clarke should be your hero because the three movies he was in prior to "Date Bait" were "Dragstrip Riot," "How To Make A Monster," and "Missile To The Moon." He was also a regular on the TV show "The Virginian" for 63 episodes. If I did the math right, Mr. Clarke will be 87 years old this years, and believe it or not, has a short and a TV movie in production this year.
Have you ever wondered why actors change their names? Gary Clarke is a good example. He was born Clarke Frederic Lamoreaux!

 Years ago I won something like this at a Walther League meeting, but mine wasn't full of heroin! 
Mine was a little cardboard box with a clown on the front that said "Jerk In The Box," and when you opened it, there was a mirror inside that exposed who the real jerk was!

And while we're on the subject of jerks, if you looked it up in the dictionary, there might be a picture of Brad as an example! Dick Gering had the role of Brad. With only 13 credits to his name, Dick was in some TV shows like "Mike Hammer," and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents."

 1960's L.A. with a classic Studebaker parked out front!

Sue's parents are uptight social racists, as I like to call them. The proper term is 'Classism,' or people who are prejudiced against someone not because of race or color, but merely because of social position! In other words, they don't like their daughter Sue going out with Logan because he's from the wrong side of town, even though he drives an MG!

 Brad's badass big shot brother has to sit at a midget table which doesn't make him look like such a big tough guy!

 Life is pretty crappy these days but the air was literally this bad in Los Angeles back in the 1960's from smog!

 There's still enough ime to cut a rug!!

Logan and Sue can't take it any more and decide to run off to Las Vegas to get married, even though they are both underage. This is not going to make her parents or psycho Brad very happy.

Sue emerges from the gas station bathroom all decked out and ready to tie the knot!

The happy couple gets hitched but can't find a place to stay because they lack I.D.'s

I just had to throw in this classic Mary Kaye Trio album cover!

Logan and Sue finally get a room at the "Motel Glen Capri."

 Upgraded room has a radio in it, but you still have to put a quarter in if you want it to work, and no free Wi-Fi!

Sue's a little trepidatious about her first night in the sack with her new husband, but she's glowing the following morning!

All you needed was a couple of Cokes, a cigarette machine, and a juke box, and 1960 was like paradise!

Brad is such a junkie loser, but don't worry, he gets what he deserves, and I'm not talking about treatment!


Associate Producer Nicholas (Missile To The Moon, Frankenstein's Daughter, The Astro-Zombies) Carras is also responsible for the cool soundtrack, and the title song was written by John Neel and Oscar Nichols, was performed by Reggie Perkins, and released on Raynote Records.

Friday, April 24, 2020

THE HOWDY DOODY SHOW / Cartoon Strip - 1950

Here's a show we kids all watched after friends and relatives started getting televisions in the early fifties. In this episode, Buffalo Bob and Howdy have a lot to talk about...

Before we get going though, it's time to sing the 'Howdy Doody' song. C'mon kids, sing along!..

Then the kids sing four rounds of Howdy's theme song. In case you didn't know, these are the lyrics to the song ~ It's Howdy Doody time, it's Howdy Doody time, it's Howdy Doody time, it's Howdy Doody time... Pretty easy to remember the words.

Then Clarabelle (why a girl's name?) joins in and carries out a big box of Halo Shampoo just in time for a commercial. Clarabelle is played by Bob Keeshan until 1952, who of course became Captain Kangaroo in 1955. I used to spend some Friday nights at a friend's house and would get up and watch Captain Kangaroo in color on a new color set, what a treat that was!

Anyway, they play a cartoon featuring Goldilocks and the Three Bears!

The bears don't believe it's really Goldilocks, her hair looks like crap! So, the only way to solve this problem is to wash her hair with Halo shampoo! They're really mean to her!

OMG, look! It's really Goldilocks!! What a twisted way to shame kids into using Halo shampoo!! Yeah, Mama Bear looks all nice and sweet, but, she's a little B!

In the meantime, Clarabelle has got herself into a peck o' trouble!

You see, she drew on this painting by one of the two men that are going to produce a Howdy Doody cartoon strip for the newspaper. Now, the artists refuse to draw the crazy clown in the strip, and Clarabelle is mighty sore about it...

So, it's time to get out the old seltzer bottle and spray Buffalo Bob in the old mush yet again!

Now, Buffalo Bob tells everyone that Howdy Doody will now be aired in twelve new cities across the US. Boy, TV in its infancy.

Hey kids, time for another lengthy commercial where you'll have to sing another jingle, this time for 3 Musketeers candy bars. If you had that wrapper in good condition, probably worth about $500 today, maybe more!

Finally, the artists show the kids how the characters will look in the strip. They both draw the face at the same time, to save time!

Clarabelle gets a big surprise when the artists say they will include her in the strip, but, they pay her back by adding a goatee!

Then Buffalo Bob runs a silent movie (as always) while he tells the kids what's going on. This one's pretty funny, it's about a crazy magician and the little girl that gets involved in the act.

Wait, there's time for one last commercial... Okay you kids, old Buffalo Bob is gonna show you how to break a 3 Musketeers bar into thirds!

So, like, join us for more tomorrow kids, here at The Dungeon!!..

Monster Music

Monster Music
AAARRGGHHH!!!! Ya'll Come On Back Now, Y'Hear??