Thursday, April 26, 2018

Oddball Film Report: SINDERELLA AND THE GOLDEN BRA (1964 - color)


SINDERELLA AND THE GOLDEN BRA (1964 - color)

The Short Story: The classic tale of Cinderella is given a burlesque/nudie overhaul in which a golden bra replaces the glass slipper.

The Details:

   For some reason, fairytales lend themselves to burlesque parody, and their aesthetic evidently suits well varying degrees of pornography. I'm sure there are psychological theories for why kiddie fare makes a good foundation for adult fare, maybe something as simple as the notion that men never really grow up, but I leave that for others to figure out. The fact remains that storybook adaptations lend themselves well to more adult (though more frequently sophomoric) interpretations. 

   From a cinematic standpoint, it makes sense in that both share similar limited production practices. Smallish soundstage sets, rudimentary plots, and generally female leads are some elements in common with both children's films and adult movies. Producers of adult fare also, before the introduction of mainstream pornography, needed some sort of hook on which to hang a movie. Since fairytale fare required minimal investment, such a film could fulfill the requirements of the nudie cutie while also offering a more visually interesting scenario than yet another nudist camp picture.

   Fairytale and Arabian Nites elements had been incorporated into various burlesque acts since the beginning of the art form. Dancers needing to distinguish themselves from their competition would adopt various themes and costumes, a practice which became more and more journeyed as time went on. These included such basic themes as cowgirls, jungle maidens, slave girls, high society dames, savage natives, pirates, American Indians, harem girls, outer space girls, atomic girls, and so on. Sometimes it was just a matter of adopting an aesthetic based on the costuming and mannerisms of another country like France, China, or Russia. For a time, there seemed to be hundreds of acts which employed men in gorilla suits to provide a Beauty And The Beast theme.

   Needless to say, storybook characters were quickly included in this parade. Lili St. Cyr, one of the more legitimate performers and an occasional actress/model, was always on the hunt for a more unique act. Sometimes this meant acts which were done on film, and thus subject to editing tricks which enhanced a sequence. One such filmed production was a short film entitled Cinderella's Love Lesson. In this short clip, Lili puts around a painted set of Cinderella's hovel as a mysterious figure uses magic to change her clothing into a high-fashion outfit complete with mink.

   Of course, Tex Avery turned traditional animated fairytales into berserk gag reels which delighted audiences and introduced us to animated dream girl "Red." Red was introduced in the cartoon Red Hot Riding Hood, which opened with a parody of Disney shorts before transforming into a gag-filled burlesque vehicle in which Red was a nightclub entertainer. Red was an immediate hit and her cartoon became one of the most booked products in MGM's library. Sequel cartoons were rapidly released, starting with The Shooting Of Dan McGoo and Uncle Tom's Cabana. Swing Shift Cinderella may've represented the acme of the series. Sadly, Red's popularity slipped after the War and her series ended after a handful of other titles. 

(Although, Walt Disney's animators created a very similar character for the bizarre Donald Duck one reeler Duck Pimples, a cartoon which seems to show Disney under the influence of Tex Avery. She also inspired such pulchritudinous cartoon creations as Jessica Rabbit and Hello Nurse. Red would eventually resurface as a back-up character in a Saturday morning Droopy Dog/Tom and Jerry series produced sometime around 1990, where her shtick was considerably watered down.)

   At any rate, with Red, cheesecake and fairytale characters were now eternally linked. Of course, with most such characters being female, the cheesecake factor was inevitably present. Walt Disney made films for family audiences, but even he took advantage of beauteous characters and gave them a sexiness which helped them stay in mind even as a lad grew up. CINDERELLA was probably Walt's most featured example, with it's elegant and realistically rendered heroine in several stages of modest undress. More aggressively sexy was PETER PAN's Tinkerbell, who became Disney's mascot in the television age. Of course, the emphasis here was on cuteness, nothing salacious. This trend became more pronounced as a wave of princess characters followed in the wake of the wildly successful THE LITTLE MERMAID in 1989.

   More base exploration of this theme can be found in various Nickelodeon shorts, which played to expectations of nudity. Somewhat more mainstream examples evolved with what we might call Glamor Shorts produced in the wake of the War. A typical example might be a short film like Goldilocks Goes Glamorous, in which the titular female comes across the house of the three bears and frolics in their swimming pool after trying on the family's various bathing suits. Films like this were racy but tame, and were usually sold for home projectors.

   The big screen more frankly explored this theme with the coming of the nudie cutie genre, where characters from storybooks became the basis for displays of nudity. GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BARES had little to do with the old story (it instead being a drama of sorts in which a night club singer discovers his girlfriend is secretly a nudist) but the title was evocative and typical.

   The play on exposed fairytale characters became more pronounced as pornography developed to it's full state. Most every classic episode found itself the subject of X and even XXX adaptation in the 70's, several characters (Cinderella among them) subject to multiple editions. The first such film is accepted to be a sexed-up version of The Beauty and The Beast produced in Europe. It continues to be a popular theme with pornos, in fact. Of course, there the focus is less on nudity and more on carnal activities. Even so, there remains a link between bedtime stories for children and their use as frames for adult aesthetics. Back to a less explicit period in film history though...


   SINDERELLA AND THE GOLDEN BRA is one of the oddest movies ever made. Even odder is the fact that it really isn't that bad. While it's no classic, it does manage to hold one's interest during it's full 73 minutes of runtime. It's competently produced, and even has moments of being genuinely entertaining in a traditional way. Though made for the raincoat circuit, the film seems more mainstream in it's approach. While technically a nudie cutie (see my intro to NUDE ON THE MOON for a history of the genre), the film doesn't seem as targeted on exposed flesh as one might expect. It plays out in much the same manner as a typical kiddie flick, and even has some legitimate cinematic entertainment value. So much so, I must wonder if the producers set out to make a real children's film and then made a last-minute change into a nudie cutie. I can't confirm this, and, given the audience numbers would be reduced in such a move, I have a hard time accepting this to be the case. However, it's entirely possible the production was seen as too lacking to carry the general audience intended and someone thought instead to target the film at the raincoat theaters where it, by comparison, would come across like a much more expensive epic and thus regain it's production costs with minimal change.

   At any rate, that's pure conjecture on my part. What can be confirmed is that in 1964 was released our current subject: a nudie cutie fairytale musical with modest but solid production values.

   We open with a crowd looking at a crude puppet show which acts out some elements of the Cinderella story while a stand on the small stage houses our actual title cards. There's a brief bit of narration that tells us the story is slightly different from the glass slipper episode we've heard about, and then we get the credits in earnest intercut with footage of the puppets. What strikes me is how legitimate these title plates are, with a full musical score that makes it look like a typical kiddie flick.

   After the credits, we meet the kingdom's royal Adviser. He's overlooking the festivities and occasionally looks over his shoulder to mug at us -though his exact attitude during all this is hard to figure. After the puppet show, he takes in the harem dancers. This is our first flash of nudity, and the camera lingers for a bit on a close-up of the lead dancer's exposed ample bosom. After a quick look at the dancers, we move on to the pickle tasting competition. Though this would seem to be a set-up for some rude humor, this actually turns out to be a harmless laugh bit in which the Adviser must fill in for the absent King and eats so many pickles that it makes him sick.

   Returning to the palace, Adviser is still walking off the pickles parading through his stomach. He inquires of another servant the location and status of Prince David. David has been in a funk as of late, since he's been having dreams of a beautiful girl and he's actually fallen in love with the imaginary figure. On the advice of the staff, he's been walking the kingdom in hopes of finding a flesh-and-blood girl to occupy his mind. No go, as his dreams become more vivid and Prince David begins to worry about his sanity. 

   Not helping is that he's been forced to spend the afternoon in the company of a pretentious widow and her two ugly daughters. This transitions us to the abode of said family, where we find pretty stepdaughter Derella treated as little more than a slave. Derella has been having dreams too, only in her case she knows the target of her affections. Namely, Prince David. It's here that the title is explained, as the rather sweet Derella hasn't been misbehaving any more than a typical Disney heroine might. Mother scolds Derella by telling her that she's sinful in her (false) sloth and wandering mind. Mother will be giving her even more chores to do so as to avoid such free time in future. (One is reminded of what Robert Tayor told Dana Wynter in D-DAY, THE SIXTH OF JUNE -"You're the sweetest, most innocent sinner in the War" I paraphrase as best as I can remember, but I note it's actually true of Derella.)

   At any rate, Derella is smitten with Prince David, though she knows she will never cross his path. Prince David is smitten with Derella, even though he doesn't know who she is or if she's even a real woman. We even see one of their dream-world meetings, a dance number which plays like something out of a traditional (if economic) musical. There isn't a hint of salacious content here, and David is more in love with the mystery girl than ever.

   The King and Adviser discuss a therapy for Prince David which involves a handful of topless girls, which is about as randy as the script really gets -though even this is elliptical enough that they may not be speaking strictly carnal relations or anything. These girls are also the first nudes we've seen since the dancers in reel one, which is kinda odd for a film advertised as a nudie. This is what gave me the impression that the film might've been planned as a more legitimate vehicle before a last-minute change to court the raincoat crowd. This looks like a scene crammed into the story almost after-the-fact to make way for such a thing.

   Before turning the maidens over to his son, the King first decides to use the four girls to help him in his knitting. Seriously. The King has been plagued by a general listlessness since the passing of his Queen a couple years back, and his doctor advised him to take up knitting! And it actually worked! The King even gets a musical number about how much he loves knitting before the Prince enters and continues to sulk. David doesn't even notice the girls. This spurs the idea of throwing a royal ball to which will be invited every maiden in the kingdom. (A bit of a running gag is that the Adviser keeps coming up with the ideas, after which the King presents them as his own.)

   Basically, things go as traditional to the story. Derella must stay home as her family heads to the royal palace, but her Fairy Godfather shows up to offer aid. That this character is male rather than female again seems counter to the whole nudie cutie thing. The bit seems like something from a Bob Hope movie, as Fairy Godfather is having union trouble and if he can't help her he's going to be tossed out and made to become human again! This all plays exactly as it might in a normal kiddie flick, even the detail of his wand being a bottle doesn't seem far removed from normal expectations. Honestly, this mirrors fairly closely the Gilligan's Island spoof of Cinderella at times. 

   At any rate, Derella has a chance to go to the ball once she has a dress and carriage. A goof on the dress allows for some mild cheesecake as Derella finds herself covered only by her folded arms until her Fairy Godfather gets the right spell. He also has to make two attempts to change a pumpkin into a coach (something else that happened to Gilligan when he was Cinderella's Fairy Godfather). Here the budgetary limitations keep Derella from entering the coach on screen. All we see of the coach is a fairly neat miniature as the characters look down on it from Derella's window.

   Derella arrives at the ball and immediately catches the eye of Prince David. They dance and fall more evidently in love, but when the clock strikes midnight, Derella must flee before her garments return to their earlier grimy state. Though she never undresses and David never gropes her, he's somehow left holding her golden bra as she escapes. More depressed than ever, David has only the bra to remind him that the girl was in fact real.

   A royal proclamation goes forth that every maiden in the kingdom must try on the golden bra in order to find the perfect fit, and thus find the girl who vanished from the party (it was a masked affair, you see). Here we finally delve fully into nudie cutie territory, as David and a band of men take the bra from house to house for fitting -though the first girl to try on the bra does so with her back to the camera, oddly. One fairly funny digression here involves a stop at one house where a woman's tomboy daughter steps into the scene dressed like a hunter. The royal band assumes a mistake has been made until the girl is ordered to try on the bra and she reveals herself to be fully female.

   Derella is locked away when the band comes to her house and the ugly stepsisters are predictably unable to wear the fitted bra. Thankfully, these girls try on the bra behind a privacy screen and remain in their slips the whole time. Unlike most versions of the story, the Prince leaves without seeing our heroine. Derella sulks in her room before singing the film's best tune, the sweet ballad "My Day Will Come." After this she decides she must take action into her own hands and visit the palace herself.

   At the palace, an embarrassed Derella can't bring herself to tell the Prince who she is, this because he takes her to be a servant girl. Back home in her room, Derella is sure she's failed and is on the verge of giving up her dream romance completely. Her Fairy Godfather reappears, saddened over her resignation. Though he's primarily comic relief, his sadness here is actually quite touching. Derella begs for his help one more time and Fairy Godfather figures a plan to lure Prince David back to the house.

   Fairy Godfather's plan is to pose as a gypsy fortuneteller by name of Madame Boobie. Yes, that sounds like a typically silly anatomy joke in one context, but in another it sounds like something from a three stooges short, so it still feels like kiddie fare. At any rate, "Madame Boobie" is granted a royal audience on the promise that "she" has supernatural knowledge. 

   In his disguise, Fairy Godfather tells the Prince that his lady fair can be found at the house where a silver cross adorns it's door. Said cross looks entirely Christian, by the way. David makes his way to the house, rather unsettled to find it's the house of the loudmouthed widow and her two daughters. When Derella answers the door, however, the mood is lifted. Derella steps behind the privacy screen to try on the bra, providing our leading lady's single nude scene.

   The bra fits, and Derella is magically in her ball gown again. All celebrate the discovery of the kingdom's new Princess, as David immediately proposes to Derella. Given she's been sharing this dream, her acceptance of the proposal is just as immediate. All are happy except the widow and her daughters -who are shocked to discover this turn of events. Derella intercedes when the women are charged with going against a royal decree (to try the bra on every maiden in the kingdom) when they earlier denied the beauty's existence. Rather, thanks to Derella's abundantly forgiving nature, the women are invited to another royal ball. Fairy Godfather steps in to provide dresses for them, dresses they believe Derella sewed for them.

   At the ball, we get another elliptical joke which could be considered dirty, as the King notes that his knitting has improved since he took the therapy his son declined -the four topless maidens from earlier, if you recall. Still, it seems designed to go over the heads of a younger audience -an audience who wouldn't even see the picture! 

   Mother makes a play for the King, and even gets him to dance with her. Fairy Godfather -still dressed as Madame Boobie- waves his bottle-wand and the three dresses he provided leap to the ceiling (thankfully leaving in place the ladies' slips). The stepsisters run out of the ballroom, but Mother has convinced the King that she should be his new Queen! These dames sure make out a lot better than the characters of the original story, but this may be a nod to the Disney version of the story. At any rate, they all lived happily ever after, but none so happily as David and Derella. The End.

   Watching the film, one finds the events cheaply produced, but competently so. It looks like any relatively modest kiddie flick of the era, if not for the occasional flashes of nudity. Those are so few and far between, one might think the original audience would've felt cheated if not for the fact that the nudie cutie was still more or less a novelty (though on it's way out by '64, as more explicit -and violent- pictures began to emerge about this time). One wonders if there were two cuts of the film, as had sometimes been done. One could feature less skimpy costuming and be targeted for mainstream theaters, while another print could incorporate the nudity and be sold strictly to art house and raincoat theaters. 

   This theory seems to have some merit in the fact that there were two posters for the film, one nude and one non-nude (on the other hand, both posters note the film is for adults only). This wouldn't be uncommon, as you'd hang the non-nude poster outside your theater, and place the more exposed version in lobby. Somewhat more concrete evidence can be found in the lobby still at the bottom of this review, which depicts the early scene of the harem dancers, who now are seen with their tops on. More likely the still was simply for publicity use without limiting it's visibility. (On that note, stills and even screengrabs usable for this article were almost impossible to dig up.)



Suzanne Sybele as Derella

   The film is well-cast, all things considered. Derella is played by beautiful Miss France winner Suzanne Sybele. Despite European bombshells being popular at the time, she seems to've done no other films. That's really too bad, for although a bit stiff at times, she carries with her star charisma and a beauty that shines with freshness and implied innocence. Bill Gaskin plays Prince David, and he likewise didn't do much else, despite having the looks and screen presence to make David more than a stock character.

   Most of the cast did little else, or nothing else at all. One of the stepsisters was Joan Lemmo, who had a sporadic career playing small supporting roles. The most distinguished actor here is Sydney Lassick as Derella's Fairy Godfather. Lassick went on to a rather impressive career spanning decades. Genre fans will remember him as an early victim of the titular ALLIGATOR, while he probably remains most famous as Cheswick in ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST. One doubts he brought up SINDERELLA AND THE GOLDEN BRA very often, though one also doubts he had to worry much about anyone else doing so either.

   The film, one has to figure, passed through theaters with little notice, never saw play on television, and was probably considered too tame to release on home video. On the other hand, EVERYTHING got released on video, so I wouldn't be surprised to learn of a VHS edition pressed in the 80's. It can be found today on a typically loaded down Something Weird Video DVD (though these are out of print now). The film is paired with GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BARES (itself a musical), and included in the features are both shorts Cinderella's Love Lesson (though this one is a bit splicy) and Goldilocks Goes Glamorous. The print for SINDERELLA AND THE GOLDEN BRA shows considerable wear, but isn't too splicy. The color is solid, and all in all is probably the best presentation one could dare dream of. For a film no doubt on the rarer side, it's actually a pretty good showing and I recommend the disk if you're at all interested in actually seeing the film.

The King laments the passing of his Queen

   If the IMDB is to be trusted, the original theatrical runtime was almost ten minutes longer that what we see here. Given that nothing feels missing, one must wonder if (provided this information is correct) a completely unrelated segment had been included in the original release. Some stuff here is glossed over, but that looks to be entirely due to budget reasons moreso than any missing footage. It's likely to remain a mystery, too, as films of this kind were never subject to overmuch documentation or even review.

   Being a nudie cutie rather than a porno, the film is ultimately more sweet than dirty. The romantic elements are handled in just as tasteful a manner as any family film might have them. The comedy bits also seem largely harmless, and the actual nudie bits seem more novel than anything else. If there were ever a clean dirty movie, this would be it. Of course, we sometimes grade movies on a curve. I couldn't help but compare the film to the far more perverse -and ultimately unwatchable- CINDERELLA 2000. That bizarre 1970's Al Adamson release was another nudity-laced musical based on the familiar fairytale, but this time as a science fiction themed exploration of repressed sex in a distant future. Going back to our opening discussion, the European cut of CINDERELLA 2000 even included a bizarre sex scene featuring Snow White and the seven dwarfs! Compared to that mess, SINDERELLA AND THE GOLDEN BRA was downright uplifting! (No pun intended.)

   In the final assessment, SINDERELLA AND THE GOLDEN BRA was likely considered pretty dirty stuff when first released, but with the passage of time has actually evolved into something rather more charming. This probably doesn't speak well of the film as much as it speaks about the degradation of society since it's production. In an essay, it was once put forth that the nudie cuties seemed like "dirty movies for little boys." That seems applicable here, though the film just as often feels as if it were also aimed at little girls, what with the romantic dreams and all that. The film feels very much like someone took a traditional kiddie flick and stuck in a handful of nude scenes, and what's more did so with at least minimal talent and an occasional display of wit. A strange one for sure.


Monday, April 23, 2018

A Quick Look at TV: LOST IN SPACE


   Lost In Space was producer Irwin Allen's follow-up to the successful adaptation of Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea to television. Basically a space-age update of The Swiss Family Robinson, the series followed the adventures of the family Robinson -meant to be the founding family of a colony on another planet. Technical issues sent the ship off course and resulted in the family being lost in outer space. They tried to find their position in space and make their way back to Earth, but kept running afoul of assorted adventures which kept them farther and farther from their goal. The pilot film was a masterful science fiction piece filled with dark, moody photography and earnest survival drama. The executives felt the show needed a little something extra, however, and a new pilot was commissioned to include these elements. One was a robot to serve as a mechanical man Friday. The other was a human villain in the shape of the nefarious Dr. Smith. Smith was an enemy agent tasked with sabotaging the colonization flight by tampering with the robot, but unfortunately for him this included his own entrapment aboard ship before take-off. Johnathan Harris played Smith, and was sure his character would be written out after a couple of episodes. Figuring it wasn't going to hurt things, he began doing his practiced comical heavy routine. This actually endeared him to viewers and Smith became an established fixture of the show, quickly morphing from evil spy to cowardly comic relief. The first season was considered pretty solid TV science fiction. The second season, in full color and airing opposite Batman, went completely wild. The result was some of the most hallucinogenic family programming ever seen. The third season toned down things a bit, and focused more on the family (as Smith and the robot had basically taken over the series in the second season). Cancelled after the third season, the show became a hit in syndication. A lot of credit goes to the cast, which included Guy Williams as the daring scientist father figure, June Lockhart's nurturing mother, and Mark Goddard's man-of-action pilot. Of course, Bill Mumy played young Will Robinson, junior genius who became straight man to Dr. Smith's hysterics. Despite the talent backing him up, Mumy seemed to emerge as the true star of the series. The show was full of technical contradictions. The miniature effects were some of the best ever seen, while the monsters tended toward slapdash goofy. The bulk of spacemen seemed to be regular human beings with silver skin. The family pet, a space creature called the Bloop, was a chimp with a big-eared helmet strapped onto it -something the chimp wasn't very fond of! Still, the show certainly delivered what it's audience came to get! This remained true even when things seemed to indicate the series was in trouble. The most infamous episode was "The Great Vegetable Rebellion" in which humanoid plants menace our heroes. This episode is a scream to watch, as cast members are constantly looking away and composing themselves, lest they break out laughing.

Friday, April 20, 2018

A Quick Look at TV: THE GREEN HORNET


   The producers of television's wacko high pop Batman series branched off into another series based on the popular crime-fighter of radio's golden era. The Green Hornet was in reality Britt Reid, young owner of a media empire spearheaded by the Sentinel newspaper. By night, he would don the trenchcoat of The Green Hornet and cause trouble for the underworld. Officially, the police thought him another criminal, though the chief of police was in on the secret. Of course, his nocturnal crusades were joined in by his crime-busting sidekick Kato, who fronted as Reid's Oriental houseboy. Back at the Sentinel, Britt would be aided by his beautiful secretary Lenore Case and be bothered by gung-ho elder reporter Michael Axford -who may've been the most eager of all citizens to see the Hornet behind bars! In bringing the franchise to television, the producers surprised audiences by not going the pop camp route of Batman. Instead, The Green Hornet was a somber crime series which foreshadowed the 90's show Batman, The Animated Series. A lot of credit goes to the cast, of course. Van Williams was Britt Reid, the adorable Wende Wagner was Miss Case, and vet character actor Lloyd Gough made Axford a much more memorable part than his limited screentime would imply. Obviously, the breakout star here was Bruce Lee as Kato. Word has it Van Williams immediately noticed how vital Kato was to the series and insisted on Lee being an equal star. The human demolition machine quickly became the most popular element of the series. He would go on to become one of the biggest stars in the movies, due to a series of Kung Fu action films. Sadly, The Green Hornet was fairly short-lived on television, but it was a memorable visit.

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

A Quick Look: THE DAY TIME ENDED (1979/80 - color)


   Now here's an interesting one. THE DAY TIME ENDED was basically a student film, or more accurately a showcase project for up-and-coming special effects craftsmen. As result, the plot is kinda hard to follow, but it sets a really moody tone. Basically, we watch as a family returns to their isolated desert ranch which just happens to be ground zero for a cosmic disturbance which has time and space randomly colliding. Spacecraft appear, monsters step out of dimensional warps, spacemen protect and menace the family, family members are transported to other worlds, and so on. Little gets explained, and the ending is not entirely solid, but it's still an entertaining watch. Veteran actors like Jim Davis and Dorothy Malone help ground the film, and keep things moving when it isn't just a bunch of flashy effects work. Think of a feature cramming together every episode of Land Of The Lost and you have an idea of what THE DAY TIME ENDED is like. An early project from producer Charles Band, who in the late 80's would establish direct-to-video B movie studio Full Moon Entertainment.

Monday, April 16, 2018

A Quick Look: SEND ME NO FLOWERS (1960 - color)


   The combo of Rock Hudson and Doris Day was box office gold for several years. Their films remained popular on television for decades, and still pop up from time to time (though with nowhere near the frequency they did when advertised family programming blocks were more common). In SEND ME NO FLOWERS, Rock plays a hypochondriac who mistakenly believes he's about to pass on. In order to help wife Doris with the transition, he tries to find a replacement for himself and get him to fall in love with Doris, and she with he! This leads to some confusion on Day's part, as you might imagine! Tony Randall is Rock's sidekick, and his humorous, tearful reaction to hearing that his friend is as good as dead remains one of the most memorable bits. Day's title song will keep you humming for days. The parody of medicine commercials remains as fresh as ever, though there is direct reference to contemporary ad campaigns. Charming, delightful film.

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

A Quick Look: THE COLOSSUS OF NEW YORK (1958)


   Producer William Alland more or less created the Universal science fiction thrillers of the 50's (aided greatly by director Jack Arnold). Alland found himself at Paramount in the late 50's, and similarly cranked out a string of successful genre pictures for that studio. Among these was THE COLOSSUS OF NEW YORK, considered a certified classic. In the film, a promising young scientist is struck down in motor vehicle accident. His father, a brilliant surgeon, thinks the world will suffer for this loss and keeps his son's brain alive in his laboratory. The brain is then transferred into a mechanical body, but the loss of his human body soon manifests a loss of his humanity as well. The film is a real showcase for actor Ross Martin, despite his limited screentime, amid a strong cast which includes Mala Powers. Although this one features a big robot, it's actually of the living brain genre. The haunting piano score and limited locations give this one a feel more akin to the 40's thrillers.

Monday, April 9, 2018

A Quick Look: PLANET OF DINOSAURS (1977 - color)


   In retrospect it's kind of obvious that such a film would be made. Although the theme of prehistoric life in outer space was well traveled before (KING DINOSAUR, WOMEN OF THE PREHISTORIC PLANET, VOYAGE TO THE PREHISTORIC PLANET, etc), it seems odd so direct an approach as this didn't happen until 1977! The producer tried to do some research in making his independent epic, by noting that stop-motion-heavy creature films tended to have longevity at the box office and even longer continued life on television. So, a story about the crew and passengers of a space cruiser being stranded on a planet populated by dinosaurs seemed a perfect cash-in on all things dinosaur and space related. For whatever reason, though, the film inexplicably slipped through theaters almost unseen. Although it did have some television play, it didn't get near the exposure you'd think it would have. The film did slightly better on video. It slid into public domain, however, so there were several VHS releases and the film was later farmed for it's dinosaur footage by other independent productions. It's last major blip on the radar was as a subject for Rifftrax. It was a good idea, blending space opera and dinosaurs, but it just didn't find an audience. A good example of how even the seemingly perfect project can fail if the breaks are against it. (By the way, beware of more recent editions on disk, as they have souped up some of the special effects work -in pointless little ways, like adding blobs of light to the business end of firing ray guns. Those seeking the unadulterated version of the film can find several older VHS editions.)

Saturday, April 7, 2018

A Quick Look: AT WAR WITH THE ARMY (1950)


   Like most comedy teams who came from the stage, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were subject to a bit of experimentation when writers tried to adapt them to the big screen. AT WAR WITH THE ARMY was a service comedy based on a popular stage play, and Dean and Jerry were tossed into a show which really didn't have a headline star or act. As result, Dean and Jerry actually have few scenes together of the type we're all familiar with. With his zany antics, the film seems to favor Jerry and gives him several solo scenes. There's actually not much plot here, as it's more just a series of Army-related scenes played for laughs. One subplot involves a G.I. discovering his girl is That Way and framing Jerry as the father. Honestly, I need to see it again, but one gag that has always stuck with me involves an early scene where the schedule is being made out for the next morning and it keeps getting stretched earlier and earlier on account of several incidental details. The film has since fallen into public domain, and thus was issued on numerous tapes of varying quality. The best print I ever ran across was actually broadcast on TCM.

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

A Quick Look: REPTILICUS (1962 - color)


   REPTILICUS tells the story of a frozen fragment of dinosaur tissue that proves to be very much alive! When a section of the tail of an unknown dinosaur is brought up by a mining drill, the specimen is sent to Denmark. There, it begins to grow... As you might expect, the world is soon trembling under the threat of a gigantic, indestructible monster. A monster generally accepted to be the single goofiest menace the world has ever faced. This is the only giant monster movie made in Denmark, and the level of cooperation the American-backed production received from the Danish government is staggering. Naval warships firing into the sea would normally be stock footage, but here the Danish Navy was actually sent out to fire off some rounds for the movie crew! Still, the movie is pretty inept in just about every technical sense. The script is astoundingly bad, even by the standards of imported kiddie fare. It's charming, though, like seeing a movie put together by a little kid who loved monster movies but didn't have any understanding of how the world actually works. When all is said and done, the film is wildly entertaining. Despite American International being publicly ashamed the film (not that it stopped them from giving it a fully ballyhooed release), it was a huge hit for the studio, and played for years. The monster also became somewhat iconic of drive-in monsters, stock footage representing such turning up on several contemporary sitcoms. For trivia sake, it was (just like KONGA and GORGO) also spun off into a comic book, which changed the monster's name to "Reptisaurus" after only a couple of issues. Another distinction shared by all three films is that they were also adapted into pornographic paperback novels!


Monday, April 2, 2018

A Quick Look: TARGET EARTH (1956)


   I would've adored this film as a kid, and I enjoyed it immensely as an adult. Scattered survivors find themselves the only inhabitants of a large city which has been evacuated overnight. Figuring an enemy invasion is imminent, the group bands together and tries to reach the Army positioned outside the city limits. Then they see the invaders -seven foot robot soldiers controlled from outer space! Richard Denning stars, and character actor Richard Reeves is given a larger-then-usual turn as one of the survivors. Whit Bissell is among the outside scientists trying to find a weakness in the invaders. Wonderful obscure 50's science fiction. I believe it was Image that released a very nice scope DVD some years back (another label released the film since, in a nearly identical box), one of which I hope to pick up eventually. Unfortunately, this earlier disk is long out of print and must've been pressed in limited numbers. They command a hefty price for a disk.