A Quick Look: GODZILLA VS THE SMOG MONSTER (1972 - color)

   GODZILLA VS THE SMOG MONSTER was the last Godzilla film to get the full AIP treatment. Fans remain split as to whether the film is a classic or a turkey. When a mass of sludge rises from the sea to feed on pollutants and smog, it creates an atmosphere of poison that threatens to destroy all human life in Japan. For the first time officially cast as the hero, Godzilla gives battle to the monstrous Hedrah. As any Carol Burnett fan knows, pollution was a hot topic in the early 70's, and particularly so in Japan. Ecological horror movies became a pretty big subgenre for a few years, with films like FROGS, KINGDOM OF THE SPIDERS, and today's subject. Pollution was one of a dozen things that assured mankind was not to survive the 20th Century, in addition to nuclear weapons, killer bees, and the new Ice Age. Movies, of course, capitalize on the fears of the moment, and this was a successful release for AIP. One wishes AIP had been a bit more willing to edit this one down, though, as it features a true low point* in Godzilla's career: the moment he aims his breath at the ground and flies off like a weird sort of rocket! Notwithstanding, the film is uniquely gloomy. Very dark, and slowly paced, and featuring a somber musical score that keeps things from ever getting very exciting. Another thing AIP should've cut, the film occasionally breaks for some incredibly strange psychedelic cartoon sequences. And then there's a scene in a nightclub where a patron begins hallucinating that the dancers around him are all wearing fish masks -for no reason whatsoever! On the other hand, the film has some incredible effects work, maybe some of the most realistic miniature effects ever put on film (such as an early scene in which Hedrah attacks a crippled oil tanker). As noted, a mix of good and bad keep the film's status in debate. The AIP version was released on VHS in the 80's. It later surfaced scope on the Sci-Fi Channel as the international print, "Godzilla vs Hedrah." That version, sadly, it the only cut currently officially available.

[*On the other hand, there was a moment earlier where Hedrah knocked Godzilla into a pit and then oozed a bunch of sludge over him. I'm not sure what exactly he's supposed to be doing, but he very easily could be doing what it sounds like he's doing... When finished, Hedrah audibly laughs over his foe! Wow.]

A Quick Look: MOON ZERO TWO (1969/70 - color)

   One of Hammer's often overlooked gems, MOON ZERO TWO was an unlikely blending of genres. A space opera/western one can see, but a British one? Basically, the plot is one of land-grabbing and the efforts of bad men to secure a plot where an expensive meteor will crash -or so is my memory of it. Truth is I'm due for another screening. It was briefly issued on disk alongside WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH, until someone noticed the dinosaur movie accidentally used the European print with a Victoria Vetri nude scene! The disk was pulled and now sells for around $200. Anyway, I recall MOON ZERO TWO as being an intriguing picture, but not an overly spectacular one. Even so, I often find myself humming the film's main musical refrain. Check out the space guns shaped like peacemakers! Catherine Schell would shortly go on to play the shape-shifting Maya in the superior second season of Gerry Anderson's Space:1999. It's fun seeing her in a space opera minus the rubber eyebrows.

A Quick Look at TV: UFO

   I've said it before and I'll say it again: if any one television series seems to've been ripped directly from my psyche, it's Gerry Anderson's first live-action show, UFO. UFO combines science fiction, retro-futurism, and espionage glamor into a perfect package. The show details the efforts of top-secret military/spy agency SHADO to protect the Earth from organ-harvesting invaders from a distant planet. In SHADO's arsenal are cutting-edge machines including jets, rockets, submarines, cars, tanks, satellites, computers, and a fully-functioning secret base on the moon! Ed Bishop commands the whole operation, and there's just as much political and bureaucratic action as there is exploding flying saucers and undersea bases -foreshadowing the current run of dramatic science fiction shows, but doing it much better. Reportedly, the show was intentionally structured in such a way that a viewer could come in at any episode and quickly be up to speed.

A Quick Look: PREHISTORIC WOMEN (1966 - color)

    The title PREHISTORIC WOMEN was re-used in 1966 by Hammer Film Studios of England. (Actually, the British title was SLAVE GIRLS.) At any rate, this PREHISTORIC WOMEN has nothing to do with the 1950 film. In it, a big game hunter comes across a statue of a great white rhino being worshiped by hostile natives. Then time freezes. Then our hero finds himself in a primitive word populated by sexy cave-girls lorded over by a cruel queen played by Martine Beswick. This is a weird one, and justifiably saw regular rotation on TNT's 100% WEIRD back in the early 90's. Somewhat disappointingly, this is the second PREHISTORIC WOMEN to not feature any dinosaurs! Still, for eye candy fans, the film delivers in spades. The same cannot be said for Hammer's other dinosaur-less cavegirl movie, CREATURES THE WORLD FORGOT.

Cartoon Cuties issue 2 on sale!

Here's the Amazon link...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1690996161?fbclid=IwAR2zVzQL4z6H2E4hD2h-MY5geE3AP6Jd9WnzAa1VVhQJ7qQKFHkVZNe4iS8

Been doing a lot of work for The Cartoon Cuties Log...

   As result, I've done less work for Baker's Log than I have in a while. Regular visitors may notice my new posts here have been few and far between. I hope you'll cut me some slack in this area. Meanwhile, The Cartoon Cuties Log is really starting to come into it's own. The short prose stories for the log have even been collected for a print release by InDELLible. When that book is out, I'll be sure to include a notice here.

A Quick Look at TV: my favorite Westerns

   As a kid, I never cared much for westerns. As I mature, I regret being so unwilling to partake as a youth. The first cowboy show I did watch, and even caught a few episodes as a kid, was The Rifleman. Even as a kid more interested in monsters than oaters, that dynamic opening and triumphant theme music had me hooked. The basic premise of the show was simple. Lucas McCain was a fast gun who wanted only to live in peace and raise up right his young son. I think this was the first show where I saw Alan Hale Jr. as a guest star. Anyway, the show was a hit in it's day, and remained extremely popular in reruns for decades. In fact, the show is still popular with local stations across the country.

   Here's one I really wish I'd gotten into as a kid, for I am a fairly recent arrival to fandom for one of the most popular television westerns ever aired, Bonanza. Bonanza was another series exemplified by a strong cast, good scripts, and very moral characters. The show was based around the adventures of the Cartwright family, wealthy land-owners who operated from the massive Ponderosa ranch. Lorne Greene played father Ben, always there to help his sons Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe. Michael Landon became a super-star as the youngest of the Cartwrights, though it's hard sometimes to really pick a favorite of the bunch. I was belatedly introduced to the series when early episodes fell into public domain and found themselves onto an assortment of DVDs from smaller distributors. A show I very much wish to get in it's official season releases, the series ran for a very long time (I think I read 14 years).

  If I had to pick a favorite western TV series now, it'd probably be The Texan. Rory Calhoun (has there ever been a better name for a cowboy star?) stars as Bill Longley, a former soldier who rides from town to town across the ever-developing post-Civil War West. He continually falls into trouble, despite his being the most level-headed sort. All man, but caring, Longley was usually the last, best hope in whatever situation he found himself in. The show could be highly dramatic, suspenseful, or even light-hearted comedy, and an amazing assortment of guest stars helped out along the way. (In one of my favorite episodes, Longley takes the place of a traveling preacher in order to clean up a town where rough customers have declared open war against any member of the cloth. Prevented from taking along his guns, Longley is harassed by a couple of drunks in the town saloon. They force Longley to turn the other cheek as they strike him before Longley notes that his Lord not only turned the other cheek, but also drove out the money-changers from the temple. In short order, Longley mops the floor with the bums. This puts some starch in the town's collective spine and they side with Longley. Look for Yvette Vickers as a young lass smitten with our hero.) Though the show was good, it ran but two seasons and didn't see a lot of airtime afterward (possibly The Texan wasn't sold for syndication). Some episodes have been lost, but the remaining 70 have been collected into a DVD release. Unfortunately, this release isn't the strongest. About half the episodes look really great, but the other half are reproduced much too bright (the result is that half of the show looks like it was transferred from very nice film prints, the rest as if they were recorded from television). Still, this a very minor detraction, and frankly I'm glad to see the show available in any form!