A Quick Look: ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE INVISIBLE MAN (1952)

    Reportedly planned as a straight sequel to THE INVISIBLE MAN before someone decided it would be a good vehicle for Bud and Lou, ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE INVISIBLE MAN was a terrific send-up of murder mysteries and sports pictures. Arthur Franz plays the new Invisible Man, a boxer framed for murder before he takes an injection of the re-developed formula of Dr. Griffin. Bumbling detectives Bud and Lou find themselves hired by Franz to find the real killer. Naturally, this ultimately leads to Lou in the boxing ring! Another score for Universal, the film combines several genres effectively and evenly. Crime stories are a natural for invisible men, and the theme was used several times. Some of the more straightforward examples include THE AMAZING TRANSPARENT MAN and THE HUMAN VAPOR.

A Quick Look: YOURS, MINE, AND OURS (1968 - color)

   Another film in which Hollywood greats have more kids than they know what to do with, YOURS, MINE, AND OURS was a big hit with family audiences and comedy fans. Setting the stage for television's The Brady Bunch, the film finds widowed Lucille Ball falling for career Navy man Henry Fonda, each afraid to tell the other that they have numerous children from previous marriages. Navy know-how and motherly love combine to take charge of a household of over a dozen! It's domestic comedy done epic scale! This film came along near the end of Lucy's full-time career, and it's a high note. Fonda would have a few more shining achievements, but after this largely settled for character parts in films like MIDWAY and METEOR. YOURS, MINE, AND OURS, as well as the earlier CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN, was recently remade.

Crissy Carrots pinup

Now in color by Jim Ludwig!

A Quick Look: JOURNEY TO THE SEVENTH PLANET (1962-color)

   JOURNEY TO THE SEVENTH PLANET details, as the title might suggest, an expedition to the planet Uranus. Upon landing on the world of barren ice and snow, the crew suddenly discover themselves to be in a pristine woodland! What's more, fond memories begin taking shape as familiar locations, houses, and even people begin appearing! But, behind this paradise is a horrifying secret... One of Sid Pink's co-productions with Denmark, the film features much of the cast and crew of REPTILICUS. This time, however, they're all firing in right order. This one is delightful and perfect pulp space opera science fiction, starring John Agar and bombshell Gretta Thyssen (apparently as herself, despite this taking place some years in the future). Perhaps due to the international nature of the film's production, and/or the fact that this was made before the organization became such a scandalous farce, the space flight is a UN operation (though an operation firmly American in much of it's attitudes). The film underwent much editing before reaching it's final form, with major scenes shot and then removed (and reportedly destroyed). The original version featured some full-size monster props which AIP deemed too goofy-looking, so the final form of the film replaced much of this footage with some stop-motion creatures courtesy of Jim Danforth. Although it isn't perfect, the film still delivers. It's everything FIRE MAIDENS OF OUTER SPACE should have been, and even sports some beautiful postcard color to boot! Considered a sequel of sorts to THE ANGRY RED PLANET, though the connection is only behind the camera. By the way, this may be the only film in which Uranus is correctly pronounced. The enunciation actually sounds like "You're on us" which admittedly isn't much better than the more popular version.

A Quick Look: THE BEAST WITH 1,000,000 EYES (1955)

   One of the earliest releases by the studio that would shortly become American International, THE BEAST WITH 1,000,000 EYES has drawn a lot of criticism since the day of it's release. This largely seems to be because everyone who ever saw the film expected a literal million-eyed monster! I'm not sure why that is, either. The film's basic premise is that an intelligence from another world has landed on our planet and taken control of numerous animals to act as it's occupying forces. Since it sees everything through the senses of these slave animals, it figuratively has a million eyes. A solid premise and one that justifies the title, but audiences wanted a monster. This experience would dictate the rules for AIP's genre output for the rest of the decade and well into the 60's. The film itself is pretty threadbare because of it's tiny budget, but it has some moments of genuine suspense. The always welcome Paul Birch heads the cast. The film is notable as the first film to feature the work of Paul Blaisdell. Following the disastrous premier, director Roger Corman hired the illustrator to create a monster that could be spliced into the film. The result is a scene in which one of the Beast's slaves from another planet is briefly seen occupying the spaceship which brings the Beast to Earth (though for some reason this footage is obscured by hypnotic swirls and a single eyeball superimposed over the scene). Both men would fare better with their next film, THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED (which also starred Paul Birch).

Crissy Carrots graphic novel expands into continuing series!

All characters and art (c)2018 Rock Baker

And here's a look at the rough scan of what may be the cover inks for the third issue of Cartoon Cuties, coming from InDELLible! Stay tuned...

A Quick Look: SOUND OF HORROR (1964/67)

   With rare exception, dinosaur movies usually find an audience. Here's one of the exceptions, a film that more or less fell through the cracks after it's theatrical run -which itself was likely cut short because it came out at a time when black and white movies were beginning to be eschewed for color ones. A party of scientists discover an ancient cave, and what they think to be fossil eggs. Unfortunately, the eggs haven't turned to stone and soon a monstrous prehistoric beast is on the loose! That much sounds fairly standard, but another look at the title SOUND OF HORROR will remind you that the dinosaurs in this movie are invisible! Only seen in quick flashes, the absence of some solid dinosaur action likely scuttled this import with the kids. What's there, though, is a fairly moody picture with a more interesting premise than it probably sounds.

A Quick Look: HOLLYWOOD OR BUST (1956 - color)

   HOLLYWOOD OR BUST tells of conman Dean Martin rigging a raffle for a new car (it to be sold to pay for a gambling debt), only to have the actual ticket holder -movie nut Jerry Lewis, who plans to drive the car out to Hollywood in order to meet actress Anita Ekberg- challenge Dino's claim. Both men are forced to share the car, and Dino agrees to travel across country with Jerry -plotting to ditch him along the way. Dean's plans are spoiled by Jerry's enormous Great Dane, Mr. Bascomb! Along the way, the boys find themselves helping stranded singer Pat Crowley, she also heading for Hollywood. Directed by former Warner Brothers cartoon man Frank Tashlin, the film is a long series of wild gags and fun musical numbers. The film also features what may be the single most beautiful assortment of girls ever seen on film, as the boys drive by farmlands filled with perfectly-shaped young women waving them along. It's literally dream-like, and in gorgeous Technicolor. The film's opening tribute to movie fans around the world is also a hoot. Dean and Jerry are at the top of their game, but unfortunately, this was to be their final team picture. Critics figured Jerry to be a sure-fire success on his own, while they largely wrote off Dean. Though Dean enjoyed a healthy career throughout the 60's, it wasn't until his triumphant turn in the all-star disaster vehicle AIRPORT that he finally won the critics' favor -for what that's worth. Though still heralded as a comic genius, Lewis' solo films never once reached the enjoyability level of his work with Dino.

A Quick Look: AGENT FOR H.A.R.M. (1966 - color)

   Here's one of my favorite (though admittedly lesser) spy movies. AGENT FOR H.A.R.M. began life as a pilot film for a potential series, but was instead released theatrically. Mark Richman gets one of those sadly rare heroic parts as H.A.R.M. agent Adam Chance, assigned to protect a defected scientist working to prevent his former superior from infecting American crops with a space-born spore which turns human beings into piles of fungus! Along the way, Chance meets up with the Doc's beauteous daughter, played by a frequently bikinied Barbara Bouchet. Martin Koslak plays the bad guy, and he should've done more spy movies. Also in the cast is a young Robert Quarry as one of the enemy spies. Playmate Donna Michelle is Adam's main romantic interest and the secretary to his boss, Wendell Correy. Obscure film is fairly small for a spy movie, limited to California locations already quite familiar to TV and B movie audiences. Still, the cast is good and the music nice and jazzy. Richman makes a good super-spy, though he's more in the vein of a TV detective. Aside from a neat wrist-holster for his gun of choice, there isn't a lot in the way of fantastic gadgets here. Chance has a small radio locator and a pen which acts as a monitor for his heart -so his movements can be traced back at H.A.R.M. HQ, but he mostly has to use his wits. The spore guns also come off a bit lackluster, resembling little more than toy pellet guns (which they probably are). Barbara Bouchet, though, is the best she's ever looked -which is saying something! All in all, an amiable little adventure for a spy nut like me. Adam Chance should've been used again. (Of note, this particular scene pictured in the still isn't in the actual film.) The first posters put out proclaim "Mark Richmond" to be the star! Though it's seen some TV play, AGENT FOR H.A.R.M. is pretty obscure. Last I was aware, it had not been issued on video or disk, officially. The indignity of it all is that the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode which featured the movie HAS been issued on disk!

Happy Independence Day!

GOD BLESS AMERICA!