Friday, June 5, 2020

ULTRAMAN / "The Mysterious Dinosaur Base" - 1966

So, what's going on at The Dungeon on a Friday you's ax? We'll, turn around and take a look you silly!.. Yay, Ultraman! And the story goes like this... A dinosaur-like monster emerges from the depths of Lake Kitayama. The Science Patrol uncovers a mysterious connection between it and the legend of Loch Ness while investigating the mystery. When they find the giant creature too powerful to subdue by normal means, Ultraman steps in to deal with the unruly hulk.

Here's the cool headquarters building of the Science Patrol, what wild adventure lies ahead?

That gizmo looks like some kinda futuristic disco ball! Wonder what it actually does?

In your face Gerry Anderson! We gots cool models just like you! In fact, we think some of our stuff is better, check out that swingin' sub there for example!!

A nosy news lady and an off duty Science Patrol guy visit a local mad scientist to see if he knows anything about a big monster that lives in the lake.

These two pics are for me and Eegah!!

Oops!! The mad scientist, with pistol in hand, has revealed his dirty little secret, he's been nurturing the beast and there's nothing anybody can do to stop it now.

Now get ready, remember, Toho studios produced Ultraman.

I'll give you one guess as to who the monster is...

Can you tell from this shot? Damn, one of the SP dudes keeps shooting the thing in the face and eyes, this one gets him right on the nose!! Yow, that smaaarts!!

Oh, Mr. Robinson!..

In order to turn into Ultraman, Shin has to have this crazy cork screw shit going on!

Hey maw!.. Somebody took all the money outta my piggy bank!!.. Dammit!!

Come at me bro!..

I pity da' foo.

Look how they changed the big guy, a silly, floppy dinosaur neck piece, to disguise the Godzilla suit! An embarrassing move to save some bucks I suppose.

Well son of a bitch, man!!.. I keep falling for them sucker punches!!..

Then (cringe!), Ultraman rips the monster's 'mate magnet' off from around its neck!! Our hero uses it to mimic a toreador at a bull fight as he laughs away. Look at that wound, yow!

The monster's had a few too many Whoppers, and...

Well, he bites the dust...

I pity da' foo...

Join us tomorrow for something special on a Saturday, here at The Dungeon!!..

Wednesday, June 3, 2020

THE FALCON TAKES OVER - "The Moose & Velma Show Part 04" (1942)

Tonight's Wednesday Weirdness is the fourth and what should be the final segment of shows based on Raymond Chandler's novel, "Farewell, My Lovely." I guess if I ever planned anything I would have done them in chronological order, but that's a different story!

Proving to be a very versatile story, "Farewell, My Lovely" is able to change lead characters at will. "The Falcon Takes Over" from 1942 was actually the first film version. Like the other three versions I've shown you, they take the basic story and cherry pick what details they choose to use!

I guess when you consider Raymond Chandler's methodology, it all makes great sense, since according to Wikipedia, Mr. Chandler liked to  cannibalize his own stories and "Farewell, My Lovely" was actually a combination of three of his other stories, "Try The Girl," "Mandarin's Jade", and "The Man Who Liked Dogs". 

 
It kind of all makes sense to me now how the filmmakers were able to pick and choose what parts of the story seemed pertinent to them in each case.
In the book, the story takes place is Los Angeles, but this version is set in New York instead!

It's a little ritzy for my tastes, but this looks like my kind of place!

Big mean Moose Malloy is played by Ward (Wagon Train) Bond in this version! 
Moose looks even bigger when you shoot from the ground up
The character of Moose is one of the few things that is a constant in all these films, but completely different in Chandler's novel. In the movies, Moose is a fairly dapper dresser, but in the book, he's described thusly!

"He wore a shaggy borsalino hat, a rough gray sports coat with white golf balls on it for buttons, a brown shirt, a yellow tie, pleated gray flannel slacks and alligator shoes with white explosions on the toes. From his outer breast pocket cascaded a show handkerchief of the same brilliant yellow as his tie. There were a couple of colored feathers tucked into the band of his hat, but
he didn’t really need them."

"Even on Central Avenue, not the quietest dressed street in the world, he
looked about as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a slice of angel food." - Raymond Chandler

And even though this Moose isn't dressed as flamboyantly as that description, he's still not dressed well enough to fit in with the crowd in this upper-crust club!

Moose picks The Falcon's unwilling buddy Goldy Locke to be his getaway driver!
Goldy is played by Allen (Singin' In The Corn) Jenkins. Allen was also Officer Dibble's voice in the "Top Cat" cartoon TV series!

First I read that Ward Bond was 6'6", but Google has him at 6'1" and IMDB says he was 6'2".
George Sanders was almost 6'3" himself!

The "lady with a face like a bucket of mud" is played this time by Anne (The Devil Commands) Revere.

A very young Ringo Starr makes an appearance as Marriot. Actually, of course, this is everybody's favorite piano teacher, Hans (Fractured Flickers) Conried!

Looks like you could expect Dracula to show up any second!

Lovely Lynn (The Amazing Mr. X) Bari has the role of Ann Riordan.

At least being a ravishing blonde was an accurate portray from the book for the role by Helen (Girls In Prison) Gilbert! Being beautiful wasn't enough for Helen, she was also a performing cellist!

The always mysterious Turhan Bey is the phony psychic Jule Amthor.

I couldn't find Allen Jenkins' height anywhere, but he looks like he was at least a foot shorter than Ward Bond!

Velma, Velma, Velma!
This gal has caused more problems lately!

George Sanders is always great as The Falcon Gay Lawrence, but he's not so good as filling Philip Marlowe's shoes. George Sanders is so proper and debonair, I don't think they were able to use even one line of Philip Marlowe's. Forgetting all that, and adding the fact that it's a comedy of sorts, it's still a fun movie to watch on it's own. Just don't try comparing it to the other versions!

Monday, June 1, 2020

DEVIL DOG: The Hound Of Hell - 1979

Welp, gots a weird one for you today, it's a TV movie directed by Curtis Harrington with a big cast of stars. The story's about a devil cult that forces a female dog to give birth to ten pups fathered by the devil, if you can process that...

Tons of stars including Richard (WAIT UNTIL DARK) Crenna, Yvette (THE TIME MACHINE) Mimieux, Kim (RETURN TO WITCH MOUNTAIN) Richards, Ike (ESCAPE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN) Eisenmann, Lou (THE OTHER) Frizzell, Ken (THE SEVEN UPS) Kercheval, Martine (DR, JEKYLL & SISTER HYDE) Beswick and more. Curtis Harrington directed six shorts between 1942 and 1956 and got his break in 1961 when he directed his first feature film, NIGHT TIDE.

The Barry's are a happy well to do family in LA. Daughter Bonnie wants a dog for her birthday or something, so, she picks up a pup from a weird dude out in the country...

The dog's name is Lucky, here he is after a year or so, he watches Mike, the dad, as he works on the lawnmower. The dog hypnotically tries to force Mike to stick his hand into the turning blade! Hmmm, wonder if there's a problem here...

This scene shocked me, mom's snooping around in one of the kids' rooms, they have both been acting strangely lately. She sees a drawing that creeps her out, when, Bonnie and Charlie show up with Lucky. They say things like "I said, what are you doing sneaking around in here?!" and "Leave my things alone. Get out of my room and forget all about this. I mean it!" Lucky licks Charlie's hand and the kids turn all nicey-nice, oh, we're sorry, we had just sat on a tack and were all angry and the such... We love you!

Yvette's still hot 19 years after The Time Machine, but, she plays a royal bitch after the Devil Dog gets control over her. The stuff she says to Mike, wow.

Then, the kid's principal is a target because he's concerned they have turned into sadistic bullies at school. The Devil Dog pays him a visit one night, the man runs into the street trying to get away, he's hit and killed by a passing car...

Dad decides to do some snooping of his own in the attic and is baffled by what he finds.

He also finds a drawing in blood, he turns around to see what had once been his adoring family. They all have some choice words for him...

Mike goes to see a lady that know a lot about the occult, she fills him in on a bunch of stuff, like, how to tell if a person is possessed by the devil. Bonnie is definitely possessed!!

So, Mike heads to Ecuador by himself to find some answers to his problem.

This dude just wanders into the scene, and for some reason, he knows why Mike is there in Ecuador. Mike gets the same tattoo on his palm that the old man has, but whyever for?..

Back home now, Mike gets access to an industrial facility (obviously for effect, I mean, you could fight a freakin' Devil Dog in a vacant lot!). Cool damn place though!

Once inside, it's not long before the Hound of Hell shows up to dispose of measly lil' Mike!

But remember that ding-danged tattoo, he holds up his hand and creates a counter force to the monster's ominous power.

He touches the thing and it starts burning the Hell out of itself until it evaporates... The spell is broken and the family's normal again, but Charlie asks dad, what about those other nine pups?!.. Okay then, here we go with another month of thrills, here at The Dungeon!!..

Monster Music

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