MINIKILLERS - "Your Guess Is As Good As Mine" (1969)

Diana Rigg may have left us, but I've still got some unanswered questions for her like What in the Hell was this all about! Tonight's feature is a legitimate Double WTF?! Wednesday presentation!

"Minikillers" is series of short Super 8 MM movies that were made in 1969 in Spain!

"Minikillers" stars Diana Rigg and is fairly difficult to find any solid information about!

"Minikillers" is basically the only credit there is for brothers Wolfgang and Michael Chmielewski.

Wolfgang did direct one other film and was a writer for the German TV show "Sonne, Wein Und Harte Nüsse."

 

Lots of binoculars! Lots of spying going on!

 

The Boss of whatever the Hell is going on is played by José Nieto. He's up to no good!

 

Basically you have no idea what is going on, and then Diana Rigg strolls into the scene headed for the Hotel swimming pool, and Jose is watching her!

The swingin' soundtrack was written by
Hans Rettenbacher!

 

Another very interesting thing about "Minikillers" is that it is a silent movie! There is music, but there is no diaglogue at all! Zero, Nada, Nichts, Zilch!

Moisés Augusto Rocha, along with José Nieto, were in a number of Jess Franco films which leads some people to speculate that Jess was also somehow involved with this project, but I have my doubts! The IMDB has Moisés billed as the "Bowled henchman." Do you think I should let them know that I think it's supposed to be "Bald?" 

 

I think this project came from the heart and soul of the Chmielewskis, and nobody else should get the blame or the credit, and besides the fact that you'll surely wonder what in the Hell is going on, there is no blame to be had!

This remote controlled creepy doll comes walking up poolside, and when this one guy picks it up, it squirts acid or something in the fellow's eyes!

 

Diana Rigg just sits there looking gorgeous watching the whole deal unravel!

 

After that, she calmly strolls over and picks up the doll and takes it back to her room.

At this point you have no idea who she is or what's she's doing, nor will you later!

Diana ponders the whole situation!

Somebody on a website some years ago had this to say about why these films exist!

"During the late 60s, people stayed sitting in their cars at the gas station, waiting for their fuel, and having their oil checked etc. So the idea was to "entertain" them by showing
short 4 or 5 minute films."

Personally I don't get it! What? They would wheel out a projector and a screen like being at a mini-drive-in? Sounds dubious to me at best!

Her door opens and another creepy doll comes wandering in, but Diana doesn't notice!

She's got somewhere to go and doesn't even see the doll waddling along across the floor!

It's too late, but the doll squirts some more deadly liquid from it's eyes. Diana is gone and the episode is over. Once again, you can thank Lord Litter in Berlin for finding this jewel for us!

Lord Litter's Website

Lord Litter's Radio Shows

THE OUTER LIMITS / "The Premonition" - 1965

In today's Outer Limits episode, a test pilot crashes in his experimental X-15 rocket plane and discovers that him and his wife are in a reality where time has slowed down to nearly a standstill. Returning to the airbase, the two are horrified to see their daughter on a tricycle in the path of a moving truck, and seem to be unable to prevent her death...

This one stars Dewey (THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD, LAND OF THE PHARAOHS) Martin, Mary (WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE, THE ATOMIC CITY) Murphy, Emma (GREEN ACRES, FAMILY AFFAIR) Tyson, William (THE AQUANAUTS, WEST SIDE STORY) Bramley and Dorothy (THEM!, MAN-TRAP) Green.

There goes test pilot Jim Darcy off in the X-15 rocket plane on another test flight.

Jim's wife Linda drives out to the landing site to watch, everything seems fine at the moment...

The plane breaks into pieces but Jim is unharmed in the wreckage. He sees Linda, who crashed the car, and runs to her aid. Hey, they stole that tumbleweed from "Cry Of Silence!"

But something is definitely wrong here, there are two cars and two planes! The car in the background and the plane in the air are both frozen in time... Like, help Mr. Wizard!!

Even the emergency landing crew are frozen in their positions. Hey, a Ford Econoline, drove one of those when I was a courier at Fort Lewis in 1968.

Jim and Linda hoof it back to headquarters only to find the people there also frozen like a bunch of mackerels. What else could go wrong?

Oh crap, that's all I had to say! Anywho, this phantasm pops in from out of nowhere but is repelled by the flame of Jim's lighter, and it disappears.

Jim and Linda have to trek back out to the crash site, they notice that the men there have moved a bit from their previous positions. So.....

The two run back to headquarters to check on their daughter and to see if they can figure out what's going on. They encounter the ghostly figure again and he tells them that they will become like him if they don't get back to the car and plane and be in position for when the time elements will merge together. Boy, this story will make you dizzy!!

But, Jim has one last thing to do, and that's to run back to the base with the seat belts he cut out of the crashed car, because that one's not frozen in time.

He ties them together, attaches it to the back wheel hub, then ties it to the parking brake that's not engaged. Since he has to go back to the plane, he hopes this will save his daughter!

Jim makes it back in the nick of time, Linda gets herself ready for the moment...

Oh man, I've been holding this in the whole time!..

So, time has synchronized and Jim's plan works, the line pulls the brake, and viola!.. Their daughter is safe! Wow, could you imagine if that didn't work and the kid gets it! Maybe today, but not back then.

And to prove that she's just fine, check it out... No tread marks!

ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE - "R.I.P. Diana Rigg" (1969)

 

This week's Saturday Night Special was the sixth, and probably the strangest, of all the James Bond franchise films!

I'll come right and say it, I never saw this film until just a couple of days ago. I was kind of busy back in 1969, having just gone into the Army, and I was one of those guys who thought the only real James Bond was Sean Connery, so I probably wouldn't have watched it even if I had a chance.

But it ain't necessarily so! 

The guy who plays James Bond is this film is named George Lazenby. George was the number one male fashion model in the world from 1964 to 1968 whose only previous acting was done in TV commercials, and so considering all that, I think he did a pretty good job. I guess that's why the movie is almost two and a half hours long, because you need about an hour before you start believing this guy is really James Bond!

For me the real star of the show is Diana Rigg who I have been in love with ever since I saw my first episode of  "The Avengers" back in the 60's.

Diana was born on July 30, 1938 and just left us two days ago on September 10, 2020, but she will remain in our hearts forever!

There are 255 grand photos of Diana throughout the years on IMDB, and even if you have something better to do,  I still suggest you go look at all of them!

George Lazenly wasn't even British, but instead was actually born in New South Wales, Australia, and he was also the youngest actor to ever play James Bond!

I think another reason I never saw this film before is because of the title. After titles like "Dr. No," Goldfinger," and "Thunderball," "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" just did not sound that exciting to me. What was Ian Fleming thinking?

George Lazenly was also a trained martial arms artist who studied under Bruce Lee, and was going to co-star in a film with Bruce, but two weeks before filming started, Bruce Lee died of a heart attack.

 

I just like this shot for some reason!

Diana Rigg was in 51 episodes of "The Avengers" from 1965 to 1968 as the always engaging Emma Peel! It this film, she is known as just Tracy!

Surrounded by beautiful women, James Bond still finds the time to peruse this issue of Playboy that he stole from a guy's office!

 Piz Gloria, Kanton Bern, Switzerland.

What a location!

 

 

Of course there is a bevy of International beauties included!!

 

Geoge Lazenby was offered a seven film deal as James Bond, but opted to be in only this one feature, because he thought the dapper Bond character was a dying breed that people would soon be losing interest in, as the slovenly hippie lifestyle was gaining popularity!

Telly "Kojak" Savalas, one of the most famous chrome domes of all time, has the role of the evil Blofeld!

What can't he do? George Lazenby has raced dirt bikes and stock cars, he's an avid golfer, and was also a very accomplished skier, which I'm sure helped a great deal in filming some of this stuff!

Another one of the strangest things that has ever happened in a James Bond movie, is that he actually falls in love with a woman, and asks her to marry him! Of course, it's Diana Rigg, so how can you blame him?

For all you people who aren't old enough to remember "The Avengers," then I'm sure you will know Diana Rigg from later in her career, and her eighteen appearances as Olenna Tyrell  in "Game Of Thrones!"

 

James Bond and Tracy actually do get married in what has got to be one of the happiest/saddest endings ever in a spy movie because Tracy gets murdered soon after the marriage, and now 51 years later, Diana Rigg has died for real! At least we had her around for 82 years to enjoy!!