BEAST FROM HAUNTED CAVE - "And Other Sinful Cinema Books By Doug Brunell" (2021)

Just one day over a month ago, this book titled "Beast From Haunted Cave" was published, and is definitely something that anybody who reads a blog like this should enjoy. Not only does it tell you the story, but it goes into as much detail as the author could unearth about the people who were involved in the making of this fantastic film!

 

"Beast From Haunted Cave" was number 6 in the"Sinful Cinema" series created by author Doug Brunell that reaches into the depths of what makes 'bad' movies good! The first book in the series was titled "The Abductors" and came out in 2016.

Number two in the series was titled "Crypt Of The Living Dead" and ventured even further into the world of sleazy cinema!

By the time Doug got to book number three, there was no turning back. It was called "Destruction Kings," and was inspired by Bad Boys and The Monster Squad!

 

Number four in the series is "Laure," "an erotic cinematic adventure of distinct and taboo pleasures." 

Number five is about the story behind "The Amazing Mr. X." 

Yeah, it's as good as it looks!
 "Beast From Haunted Cave," is a short read, so you'd probably do yourself a favor to buy the whole series, cause you're gonna get hooked. Kindle available for about $1.99, or copies you can hold in your hands for an average of six bucks! 

Doug Brunell

And while you're there, check out some of Doug's fiction, and if that's not enough for you, then go check out some of his blogs like.......

THE LAST PICTURE BLOG

or

SATANIC MUSIC FOR GOOD CHILDREN 

or

THE WRITTEN WORD IS A LIE

THE BLACK CAT / Boris And Bela Battle It Out - 1934

Here's a wild one co-written and directed by Edgar G. Ulmer back before Universal ruined his career. I stars our very favorite guys, Boris  as Hjalmar Poelzig and Bela as Dr. Vitus Werdegast, who I will refer to as Boris and Bela. It also stars David Manners as Peter Alison, Julie Bishop as Joan Alison, Egon Brecher and Harry Cording.

In this story, Peter and Joan Alison are honeymooning in Hungary and share their compartment on the train with the strange Dr. Werdegast. When they take the bus to the hotel, there is an accident that leaves Joan injured. The doctor takes them all to the home of an old 'friend' of his, famed architect Hjalman Poelzig, where he treats Joan's wounds. Unfortunately, Hjalmar is a Satan-worshipping priest, what could possibly go wrong?!

Peter and Joan Alison are on their honeymoon in Hungary when Bela comes into their compartment on the train. After Joan falls asleep, Bela tells Peter some very disturbing facts about his life, like, he was just released from prison after 15 years of incarceration as a political prisoner.

On the way to a hotel, the the bus slides off the roan in a hellacious rain storm. The group is near Bela's old friend's place so they head off to his fortress-like home.

Bela is familiar with the place and just comes into the house (where he was going in the first place) and has Joan laid on a bed where he tends to her wounds. Boris walks in on the group and has a very distasteful look on his face, almost evil...

Bela sees a black cat and totally freaks out. He kills the poor cat after he throws an object at it. Still crazy after all these years!

Boris, Bela and Peter are talking when Joan, on medication, comes into the room and seems really out of it. For some reason now, she gives Bela the evil eye while swooning over Boris, a perfect host! When Joan gets frisky with Peter, Boris grabs his statue of a nude woman... It seems like Boris has some special plans for Joan!

What Bela is there for, is, he wants to know what happened to his wife! It seems that Boris was also in love with Bela's wife, he tells Bela that he married her after he went to prison, but she died and hung her in the dungeon so that he could always admire her beauty! WTF!

There's another black cat that Bela has to be afraid of. Love this shot!

Peter and Joan have had it with Boris and want to leave, but, they'll have to get through Thamal first. It doesn't go well for the couple, the brute knocks Peter out and he's tossed into a dark locked room, Joan faints and is carried back to her room.

Bala's the good guy here. He goes in the comfort Joan and reveals to her that Boris is an evil Satan-worshipping priest that has an eye on her, but he's there to help. Bela has had a plan for revenge from the beginning, and is playing along for just the right moment to occur.

In the meantime, Bela's daughter Karen walks in on Joan and they chat until Boris comes in and breaks it up. You see, Boris is either 'married' to her or just living with her!

The night is perfect, a storm is brewing, all his minions are due to arrive any time and get the party started! This scene is similar to the one in CURSE OF THE DEMON.

Wow, Satan-worshippers really have a crazy cool way of looking at things! This works good here... WHAT THE HELL!!

Now get ready for this one, Thamal is actually working for Bela!! Yeah, that's right!

In a tussle after the ceremony to sacrifice Joan is broken up, Thamal has been shot and Boris attacks Bela, trying to choke him out.

But Thamal is one tough SOB and he jumps on Boris to save Bela. He then helps Bela put Boris into some chains to subdue him, then he collapses and dies!

Bela has a good talk with Boris, and lets him know what he has in mind for him...

Thankfully, you only get to see Boris attacked with a scalpel in the shadows!! But you do get to hear all the screams!

But alas, Bela is shot by Peter when Bela tries to help Joan get the door key, because Peter thinks Bela is attacking her! So, since the place was built over an ammo dump, our hero has the solution. He tells the couple to leave quickly, and pushes the lever down to create a short circuit in the electrical systems...

And the place blows to holy Hell, bringing our tale to an end. This was one wild movie, you need to check it out when you get a chance, only 65 minutes long!

THE DELTA FACTOR - "It's All Greek To Me" (1970)

This weeks Saturday Night Special is a real zinger called "The Delta Factor," or in Spanish,

 "El Factor Delta!"

"The Delta Factor" is a Mickey Spillane Production, and it's also based on a story written by Mickey Spillane.

The star is Christopher (Project X) George as a fast talkin' ladies man and thief named Morgan! I'm not quite sure why, but I've never been a big Christopher George fan, maybe it's because he has two first names! Christopher died at the age of 52 from a heart attack that was caused by an injury he got 16 years earlier when his Jeep flipped over while working in one of his most famous roles, that of Sgt. Sam Troy on the very popular TV series, "The Rat Pack."

"The Delta Factor might not be the best movie in the world, but it's got an awesome cast that includes Rhodes (King Kong Escapes) Reason as Dr. Fredericks. Rhodes Reason is the younger brother to another very popular actor Rex (This Island Earth, The Creature Walks Among Us) Reason. One of Rex Reason's finest accomplishments was marrying the sensational Sanita (Missile To The Moon) Pelkey, so Rhodes got to be her brother-in-law.

Morgan has an eye for the ladies, and one of them is Yvonne (Lily Munster) De Carlo in a very small role as Valerie!

Morgan had just escaped from jail where he was doing time for a 40 million dollar heist of unrecovered  money that he claims he's innocent of. After getting caught, he's given a chance to to get a reduction in time if he helps the government rescue a Doctor being held prisoner on a remote island nation. He's assigned to work with an agent named Stacy, who just happens to also be a beautiful woman!

Dungeon Fave Yvette Carmen Mimieux has the role of agent Kim Stacy!

This is about the most excitement I've ever seen at the craps table as displayed by Diane (Pinky Pinkston) McBain. I will always remember Diane for her role as Daphne Dutton on the TV show "Surfside 6."

If they're going to pull this off, Morgan and Kim really have to act like newlyweds when they are out in public!

And that, Ladies and Gentlemen brings us to what I believe is the whole reason for this film even being made!

This is Rosa as played by Sherri Spillane. Sherri was Mickey Spillane's wife at the time, and I think this movie was made mostly just to showcase her talents, and jump start her career. I can't find any corresponding truth to my theory, but it just makes sense, if you think about it!

Five years before this, Sherri had the role of 'girl' on an episode of the TV series "The F.B.I." but no other earlier credits.

But I guess it didn't work, because even though I thought she was pretty good in this role, she only ever had two more credits in the next nine years, one on an episode of "Police Woman," and one on a show called "Hello, Larry." Sherri and The Mick were married for 19 years, and called it quits in 1983.

 This is the scene where they explain the title of the movie. Morgan has been out, and Kim says to him, "You are the X Factor, the essential unknown quantity, and you smell funny, a girl smell. I was wrong, it isn't the X Factor at all, it's the Delta Factor." Morgan replies, "I'm sorry, but that's all Greek to me." Then Kim says, "The Greek letter D, the phallic symbol for woman, the geometric design that identifies the female for the male." What really makes it funny is that I read on IMDB that Christopher George's parents were Greek immigrants, and so he only spoke Greek until he was six years old, because that's the only language they spoke in his home.

Got themselves some pretty fancy spy gadgetry, aka a hotel serving cart!

Time to visit the dark and dank prison where the Doctor is being held!

This long chase scene involves a VW Bug and a Mustang on a windy mountain road, and the VW seems to handle just like a Porsche. 

This shot just cracks me up because these two bad hombres look to me like they just got on a roller coaster ride!

By some kind of miracle, they manage to get the Doctor out and on his way to safety!

Joseph (Hang 'Em High) Sirola is Morgan's two timing old pal Sal Dekker, and the one responsible for most of his misery!

Yep! That's right, believe or don't, Kim and Morgan fall in love, because, you know,

it's "The Delta Factor!"

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!