THE THREE STOOGES In "Matri-Phony" - 1942

Well, it's Friday and the clock on the Dungeon wall sez it's time for our favorite guys, The Stooges. In this adventure, the boys live in ancient Erysipelas, in the reign of  the Rash Emperor Octopus Grabus! Also with Marjorie (TARZAN'S NEW YORK ADVENTURE) Deanne and Vernon (441 acting credits starting in 1919!) Dent.

What do you know, here we are at Ye Olde Pottery And Stone Works in ancient Rome.

Curleycue goes out to put up his 'Dollar Day' sales sign but gets scared by a snake charmer using a coil of rope instead, and he runs back inside.

In the meantime, Roman soldiers post this proclamation from the Emperor.

Moehicus goes out and pulls down the banner just in time to get caught by a guard. The guard is very angry until redhead Diana comes walking by. The guard tries to get ahold of her but she's really quick and she evades the brute.

She eventually runs into the boys' shop and Mohicus and Larrycus hide her in a large pot, unknown to Curleycus who tries to sell the guard something after he comes in looking for the girl.

The guard ends up crashing head first into the pot and discovers Diana there. He calls the cops with his whistle and everyone's taken to see the Octopus...

Diana will do anything to get away. Here, she stomps the toes of the guards that are holding her and she breaks loose. Funny stuff!

As the boys are kept in place by the soldiers spears, the Emperor calls them mongrels and orders them to be executed! But, they get away anyhow.

The boys need to get rid of this guard, so...

They make it to Diana's room (where a wedding is to take place between the Emperor and Diana) and Curleycue is hungry. He starts with an olive, the main entrée, a crab, takes the olive and replaces it with the pit...

Things get worse though, like the crab squeezing pickle juice in Curleycue's face and being attacked after our hero conks it with a mallet and puts it into a huge bread roll.

Octopus Grabus shows up, ready to go. But he falls down and breaks his glasses, and he can barely make things out. He tells Curleycue, who has replaced Diana, that, without his glasses, 'she' looks ravishing!!

Curleycue plays it up and the Octopus is getting frisky!

Supposedly, they are married now! After Curleycue slaps him in the face, Octopus says I love a girl with spirit...

Locked out, Mohicus uses his sword to try and open the door and Curleycue pushes the Emperor right into it!

It's really not a fun ending as most of the others are. Looks like the boys have met their demise in this one. Oh well, they'll be back in another laff filled adventure real soon!

THE PROTECTORS - "Disappearing Trick" (1972)

It's a Wonderful Wednesday down in The Dungeon, and the focus tonight is on a 1970's British TV show called "The Protectors," that didn't air on broadcast TV in the U.S. so unless you're a fan, you've probably never heard of it, or unless you've got a friend like Lord Litter to tell you about it!

 

Episode four aired in October of 1972, and was titled "Disappearing Trick."

"The Protectors" was on for two seasons, and was only a 30 minute show, so each episode was only 25 minutes long, and because of that, they didn't waste a lot of time. There were three stars, but the one at the top was Dungeon Hero Robert Vaughn as a gentleman named Harry Rule.

Harry Rule's partners were Tony (Space:1999) Anholt as art expert Paul Buchet.....

..........And Nyree Dawn (Madame Bovary) Porter as the lovely Private Detective Contessa Caroline di Contini.

 

"The Protectors" was one of the few 'live action' and non-Science Fiction productions that Gerry (Thunderbirds) Anderson ever produced. The whole series was based on a single line given to him by ITC TV Film Productions mogul Lew Grade that said "There is a small group of private detectives who are able to work more efficiently because they are operating outside of the law."  

That's it! That's the whole premise for 52 episodes!

This episode starts with "The Protectors" busting this idiot coming out of the woman's bathroom dressed like a woman in an attempt to disguise himself!

This dude bets his friend that he can disappear just like that guy was trying to do, but only be successful at doing it! This is Derren (The Giant Behemoth) Nesbitt as spoiled rich guy Brad Huron.

Brad Huron tries to get "The Protectors" to make him disappear, and although Harry Rule isn't interested in the job, The Contessa decides to take him up on it, just to prove a point to Harry!

The Contessa is taking Brad to this place in the country where even Harry and Paul won't find him, and they need to stop for gas. Brad shows that he's got a weird side to him when he kills the gas station attendant just for fun, but The Contessa doesn't know it happens! 

Nice shoes!

Brad's Father lets Harry know that Brad ain't right in the head, and could possibly be quite violent, so they try and find The Contessa as soon as possible. After a series of incidents and a long chase, they find the dead guy and are now hot on the trail, using a couple of dirt bikes that were at the gas station.

Harry does his best to convey the information to The Contessa, because she doesn't know that Brad is a freak!

But that all changes soon enough, when Brad shows his true colours!

And The Contessa pretty quickly sees the error of her ways!

Let's just say that Brad gets what's coming to him!!

If you'd like to know more than you could ever think of about "The Protectors," then check out this page from The Official Gerry Anderson Website, and while you're there, don't forget to listen to the ending credits music sung by Tony Christie.

LOS FANTASMAS BURLONES / The Mocking Ghosts - 1965

Here's a wild one that stars four comedians, Antonio Espino as El Manitas, German Valdez as ghost Cyril Ludovico Curchill, Adalberto Martinez as El Ojitos and Manuel 'Loco' Valdez as ghost Francois de Lavalier.

In this story, two ghosts are invoked by accident from the beyond by the scam artist El Ojitos, who, along with his pal El Manitas, attempt to use the presence of the ghosts in order to marry their girlfriends. What could go wrong?

El Ojitos, on the left, has just accidently summoned two ghosts that appear out of nowhere, and scares the crap out of him and his partner Manitas.

Ojitos and Manitas have a fantasma hut at a carnival where they do their business. The crowd outside hear all kind of crazy sounds coming out of the building, like, what the Hell?!!

Inside, the two ghosts are putting on a ghostly show, and the crowd eats it up!

In a strange twist, the ghosts dress up as regular people and flirt with Manitas and Ojitos's girlfriends. The girls join them in an attempt to make their boyfriends jealous!

Manitas and Ojitos don't like what they see and follow the ghosts and their girls. They are hiding in a Ferris wheel seat and the ghosts make it go ninety miles an hour with the boys holding on real tight as they spin around! Pretty funny!

The ghosts get their own show, and here's part of the old time saloon set... Nice! Really says can-can, if you know what I mean.

This is one strange looking ghostly dancing character, love that pop-eye.

Manitas gets in on the scam train and starts predicting disasters, and they all come true!

Now, here we go, this is so cool and my favorite part, these girls dancing in the Octopus ride pods, and...

This guy does some wild dance moves while a crazy cool circus tune with a sixties keyboard playing the melody, wild and weird!

In the meantime, the ghosts (actual brothers) have zeroed in on their favorite gal and tell how wonderful it is to fly around the world and dance to the music from other countries!

It's also fun the be a ghost when you can do stuff like this!.. Wheeeee! I'm intrigued by the background in this scene.

Well, they take her for a ride and dance to the different kinds of music from all around the world.. In one night!!

There's another story going on with some jewel thieves. When Manitas and Ojitos confront them, the tough guys pull out their pistols and fire at the boys. Luckily, the ghosts are there to even up the score, and more.

The ghosts stop the bullets and give them to Manitas and Ojitos, who fire back through their fingers, knocking the the guns out of the bad guys' hands!

So, the tough guys pull out their knives and close in on the boys, but!..

The ghosts knock the crap out of the bad guys and take them to the courtroom, where they're taken away by the authorities. Of course it's a perfect ending, the boys are going to marry their sweethearts and the lady gets to go on another world tour with the ghosts!!