Movie: (1964) Teeners in a beach community are oblivious when dumped radioactive waste creates a batch of monsters.
First shown: 9/6/97
Opening: Tom harmonizes his overtones with the fundamental
Intro: Servo’s “fundamental” turns out to be pre-recorded; meanwhile “Apearlo” and “Brainguyus” settle in with a delighted Callipygeas and suspicious Flavia
Host segment 1:The manly beach dance is postponed because Mike’s trunks are a bit small
Host segment 2: Apearlo & Brainguyus’ jam becomes a beef commercial
Host segment 3:Tom’s a newsy with very up-to-date news
End: M&TB sing “Sodium;” meanwhile as Callipygeas and Brainguyus bond, Apearlo and Flavia trade…er…pleasantries
Stinger: A less-than-manly beach dance
(270 votes, average: 4.71 out of 5)
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• I was generally a fan of the “chase through time and space” thing in season eight, and I contend that more host segments worked than didn’t. But when it comes to the “Roman times,” story arc we’re now into, well, for me, not so much. Everybody tries real hard, and I bet it seemed funny in the writing room, but many of the Roman Times host segments just don’t come up to the level I expect from this show. Call it the exception that proves the generally witty and hilarious rule. Fortunately it only lasted a few episodes, and fortunately for this episode, the goofy movie, and the terrific riffing of it, more than make up for any shortcomings elsewhere.
• Paul’s take is here.
• This episode was included in Shout’s Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XXXVII
• References.
• Crow is referred to as a “golden spider duck”—that sounds like something that was in a fan letter, though I don’t think they ever said that.
• One reference the reference guide doesn’t note: Observer mentions “Bitter Dregs,” during segment 2. He’s referring to tune sung in the Star Trek episode “Plato’s Stepchildren.” Watch it here.
• During that bit, they eventually begin playing Aaron Copeland’s “Rodeo,” and Kevin yells “Beef!” That’s a reference to the now-largely-forgotten “Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner” commercial campaign that featured that Copeland piece.
• By the way, the music is actually being played by Lisa Fuglie (of the group Monroe Crossing) and Karen Mueller.
• Movie comments: Did the makers of this movie really think the monsters would look scary? Really? Also: The voice of our heroine Elaine is dubbed. But I’ve never heard an explanation as to why.
• When this movie was in theaters, movie-goers had to sign a “fright release” before they entered the theater.
• I hadn’t seen this one for a while, and I’d forgotten Eulabelle. Wow. Were these kinds of characters really still acceptable in 1964?
• The movie was filmed in the Stamford, Conn. area, (although it has some very nice shots of 1964-era Manhattan, when our hero makes his Sodium run).
• According to this bio, the Del-Aires broke up not long after shooting this movie.
• This movie “was billed as ‘the first horror musical,’ but we MSTies know better. The similarly-hyped 812-THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME MIXED-UP ZOMBIES was released the year before.”
• The great “Sodium” song has one extra joke connected with it—check out the credits where the song’s “lyric” is credited.
• No cast and crew roundup: Nobody involved in this movie worked on any other MST3K movie.
• CreditsWatch: Produced by Jim, directed by Kevin. With this episode Patrick is added to the “Set Design” credit and he will be there for the rest of the run of the series. A Jennifer Turner helped Andrea with hair and makeup. Intern Joseph Olson finished up a four-episode stint. This is the last episode that “The authors of the First Amendment” would be thanked at the end of the credits.
• Fave line: “Look Polish, everyone!” Honorable mention: “Do farts have lumps?” “I had a generally positive impression of white people before this movie.”
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A fine episode. I always lamented that the Del Aires did not have had more “acting” parts. Some of their great (and indeed only) lines include “Heeeey man, what’s hppening?” and “Ever since Tina got killed, like, no action around here”. I suppose I will always have to wonder “what if”… LOL!
One of the greatest riffs “So who is that pipe smoking idiot wandering around your house?” :lol:
Sampo: Most of the film was shot in Greenwich CT, immediately west of Stamford, particularly in the south-eastern-most portions of the town known as Riverside and Old Greenwich. The beach scenes were shot at Greenwich Point ( aka Yodd’s Point ).
If you happen to grow up in Greenwich ( as I did ) this movie becomes part of your mythology early on.
Click on my name above for my full review.
Hilarity! – Sometimes, the funniest riff is to not say anything at all. At the end of the movie, when and injured Eliane is being assisted to the car, complete with very suspisious (porno) breathing, Mike and the bots don’t say much, but Mike’s “Ummm…” floors me EVERY TIME, followed by Tom’s rebuttal, this time with a male voice. Quite possibly, THE FUNNIEST thirty seconds of the ENTIRE MST3K SERIES!
As for the rest of the episode, every time I watch this one, it climbs my chart a little more. Sampo’s right, the host segments are in Roman Times totally suck, but the “Sodium” segment and the “Mike’s Swimsuit” segment are classic!!
@ Ang (#46): “Has anybody figured out yet what the heck that Albert Vitti Permitee sign meant?”
If you want to have a bar, you need to have a liquor permit. The person in whose name the liquor permit is made is the “permittee.” The function of the sign is to essentially say, “This is a properly-licensed establishment, and here’s who takes responsibility for it.” As I understand it, the framed license in a bar serves that function today.
I Googled some of this information, and appropriately enough, one of the first sites to come up was the State of Connecticut.
While we’re talking about signs, does anyone know what the origin of the “Look Polish” sign is? I assume there was a brand of polish (as in floor polish or nail polish) called “Look,” but I can’t find anything about it.
@13&39: I’m also a big fan of the absurdity in the line “Welcome… to Roman times.” God i love that.
There’s really a LOT to like about this first Roman Times bit:
The “and that was just a few seconds ago” weirdness which gets funnier and more absurd as you think about it.
PEARL: “And this is… Braiiin….guyyyy… us.”
OBSERVER: “Brainguyus, yes. How imaginative.”
Go Romulan babe!
The episode itself is fantastic. I especially love the first host segment: “A part of me will never be back. A part of me is gone forever.” Matter of fact, the only thing that stinks about this episode is that it uses a cut print. The extra gore is really no worse than the hand scene in The Brain That Wouldn’t Die.
The best bit with Eulabelle is when the doorbell rings and they say “Oh, I’m black, I’ll get it.”
The movie uses stock music that also showed up in Doctor Who. The first episode of the story The Space Museum uses exactly the same music that you hear near the beginning of the movie when the creature is forming.
I don’t know if anyone commented on this but the end credits by this time show a shuffling/restructuring within the production team. Since Jim moved on to handling the business side of Best Brains (he’s still sole executive producer), Kevin (as the most senior cast member/writer) was bumped up to producer meaning he was probably overseeing the show’s production. Meanwhile Mike and Kevin are regularly rotating as episode directors since Jim also vacated that post early in Season 8.
I very good episode. Great riffing, wacky monsters, insipid scientific explanations, middle aged teenage “girl”, The LaVerne DaFazio Trio and the Del Aires make this a hoot. If the scifi channel hadn’t pushed for a stupid story arc (honestly, how brainless are studio execs?!?), there probably wouldn’t have been a discussion about Roman Times. They seemed a little forced, though they did have a few funny lines/moments.
Great episode, awesome theater segments. The moment where the Professor/Dad asks Hank to call every chemical supply warehouse and then Mike goes “No, don’t want to” is HUGE in my household. That is probably in my top ten theater riffs. Too many great riffs to list but here’s some of my faves:
“And all the flesh lift off my skull!”
“But I just got up!”
“So many toenails he doesn’t even have this many toes.”
The Sodium song is perfection.
Possible Invasion of the Neptune Men – Horror Of Party Beach connection?
Just a silly observation while watching Neptune Men but here goes:
Has anyone noticed that the dubbed voice of the first speaker at the roundtable discussion (in the scene immediately after the reactor explosion and just before the Super Sugar Crisp guy calmly and collectedly introduces Space Chief) is an uncanny likeness to Munroe Wade, the tv newscaster reporting on the strange “beans” (beings) from the Horror of Party Beach?
Steve Pop said “While we’re talking about signs, does anyone know what the origin of the “Look Polish” sign is? I assume there was a brand of polish (as in floor polish or nail polish) called “Look,” but I can’t find anything about it.”
I assumed they were talking about Polish sausage, aka kielbasa. So the sign is saying “look! we have kielbasa! yay!”
But, “everybody….look Polish” is my favorite riff. I don’t think I ever noticed Elaine’s dubbing or the moaning. Now I’m gonna have to watch it again.
I like that “Summer Love” song in this movie. Wish I could find it somewhere.
Yes, Sampo, characters like Eulabelle were still fairly rampant in 1964. It would not be until a year later with the premiere of the Robert Culp/Bill Cosby television series I Spy that things would really change. I Spy was the first television series to have white and black male leads that were treated equally in every way(with exception to each one’s individual skills, of course) and was also the first to feature strong, independent black female characters. Thankfully the sufferings of characters like Eulabelle would soon be over.
The Roman Times segments aren’t wonderful overall, maybe, but they contain some of my favorite moments. I laughed at “Welcome to Roman times!” Also there’s Observer’s thinking up a noose for himself and almost everything from Space Mutiny. On the other hand the sniping between Pearl and Flavia got really old really fast.
the monsters ranks right up there with the creeping terror and the the eye creatures. apparently a better budget does not mean better results! :grin:
To Steve Pop,
Thanks so much for solving the mystery of the permittee sign. I was totally bumfuzzled by that. I don’t have a clue about the ‘look polish’ sign but the idea of it being a brand of nail polish makes sense.
Let me be the first to declare my undying love for Tina. The world becomes a little more gray after her demise. What was she was doing with that studious dullard “Hardware” Hank in the first place? “Plain Jane” Elaine is more his speed. She’s obviously pining for him at the beach before Tina’s even started seducing the biker.
Tina’s fiery speech to Hank is loaded with irony : “I have a few experiments of my own I’m just itching to try” and “We’ll see who gets the most out of life. Oh brother, you ain’t seen living ’til you’ve seen Tina swing.” Shortly after, Hank stares out at the water, fixing upon the jetty where Tina will soon meet her “experiment”.
Some viewers have theorized that once killed by the creature, you become one, explaining how two such creatures show up to the slumber party (the original “Horror” plus a transformed Tina) but said party occurs just after her funeral. I doubt it was an open casket affair, but I think the undertaker might have noticed a humanoid amphibian stirring at the funeral home.
Del Tenney is a well-regarded B-movie director and I think this movie’s a near masterpiece of the genre. Plenty of beef and cheese-cake at the beach, some rockin’ tunes, creepy atmosphere, wooden performances (with the exception of Tina and Eulabelle), goofy sexual humor, vague scientific explanations. It has the verve, the spark, that the string of B&W horrors that started Season 8 were lacking.
Watching it recently I was struck by some parallels to David Lynch’s films. All-American small-town struck by a tragedy, a hero caught between a bad girl (brunette) and a good girl (blonde), the stiff line delivery from adults and authority figures. Juxtapositions of humor and horror, such as the extreme tonal shift from the initial glee of the slumber party to the total massacre of the girls with a slow pan across their bloodied bodies. Followed by a graphic news broadcast being watched by parents with their children (Tenney’s own, apparently)! These types of things I would describe as “Lynchian” though more likely he absorbed films like this in his youth and retained them in his unconscious to emerge later in a style we now see as intentionally anachronistic.
Good riff from the opening credits, mainly funny for Bill’s delivery:
Mike: So what is “additional dialogue”?
Crow: Oh, things like “Hey you!”, “Get off that!” and “Why not?”
I always assumed “Look Polish” was two-thirds of a sign saying “Look – Polish Sausage” @ some price per pound.
Mr. Limpet (#64): I have also noticed this soundalike connection.
I forgot there was a(now) unfortunate Taliban militia joke…bummer.
Now, I like this episode. The riffing is great all the way through. But this is one of the few MST3k movies that drives me into an insane rage. The writing is so friggin bad! How will we ever find enough sodium? How about calling that one other chemical warehouse? Gee, you’re right. AAARGGGH! And where on earth could those monsters be? You think in the deepest body of water around where about ten people were killed a few days ago? Hmm, could be. It’s all I can do not to throw things at this movie.
“Ladies and Gentlemen… Scott Scrawny and Hard Gainers!”
“Music by My Three Sons!”
I think Brain Guy’s medley also touched on Seasons in the Sun.
There is something else I noticed. I think they also used that exact “Metal machine music” in Phantom Planet.
I’d just like to brag(?) that as a result of this movie, I am the proud owner of 2 Del-Aires 45s. They’re actually not bad.
Ahhhh! My skull!
A great episode, and I love Eulabelle! She’s one of my favorite MST3K characters. Amdist a blander-than-bland cast, she actually shows real (if stereotypical) character. She also seems to be the only one who recognizes the urgency of the situation. Not only does she discover the secret anti-monster weapon, only at her insistence do the oddly unmotivated scientists locate it. Later she directs the characters to the monsters’ secret hideout for the final showdown. All this points to a suspicious cleverness on her part. Could she be some sort of covert operative, or even a divine agent? How did this New England family manage to get a housemaid straight out of Song of the South anyway? Regardless she’s among the more memorable MST3K characters.
one of my faves. the swimsuit host seg is hilarious, another fave. i think the drunks are probably my favorite characters in a movie with a number of decent characters to make fun of. And did Aram Fingle(Overdrawn at the Memory Bank) discover Fingle’s quarry?
“I thought ‘All Nude’ was a dress code.”
“Do farts have lumps?”
“I’m Marisa Tomei and I’m concerned. I’m Joan Kennedy and I’m concerned.”
“Bosco puts hustle in your muscle,
Bosco puts wee in your knee.” I sing this at work a lot for some reason.
“Oh, it’s my Oscar Gamble doll.”
Great episode.
5 Stars!
I’m kind of worn out on this episode, though. And that “soundtrack” (I’m not talking about the Del Aires, they were okay) still gives me a headache.
5 stars! This movie’s even fun without the riffing. The entire first third of the film, with the musical numbers and random “comedy” bits, seems like an attempt to make an east coast version of a Frankie and Annette beach movie. Somehow, though, shooting it in black and white sort of negates the effort, and gives me the feeling that the beach scenes were probably shot in cold weather, WAY after summer was over. The scenes in Fingle’s Quarry suggest that they were shot in late fall.
Gotta agree that Eullabelle is definitely the most enjoyable character. (“Just smile at the stupid white people…”) I want her to come live at my house!
Fave riff: As Tina runs into the ocean past the two little kids…”I can’t get this beer open!”
The sequence where Tina dies is oddly effective; the quick cuts back and forth between the cheering crowd and her dying, alone, makes her seem oddly like a sacrificial victim in a very chilling way. (Sort of like a similar sequence in the movie “Slither”.)
After this episode, I can never hear the start of the song “Chances Are” without continuing it as, “…that I’ll kick your scrawny ass.”
Funny enough, I know the guy who was in the Hot Dog Monster suit.
He had such Bela Lugosi/Lon Chaney/Boris Karloff dreams and ended up with Hot Dog Monster. Very sad.
On the other hand, he did date Elaine for a while!
I’ve seen references to “Look [Nail] Polish” elsewhere.
Although M&TB focused on the babushka wearers at the beach (“Polish immigrant girls”) and “Look Polish”, they never connected the two (“Oh, so THAT’S why they were wearing babushkas! They were trying to look Polish!”). I guess by that point the beach scene was too long ago.
Crow: Part of me will never be back. Part of me is gone forever! Ohhhhh!
fathermushroom and I are of one accord. Trust me…as someone who was actually alive in the 60s, the “Look!” sign was common supermarket advertising. Look (with or without exclamation mark) followed by the special of the week. So the sign is shouting “Hey! We have polish sausage!!!”
One of the very first episodes I saw as a kid, way back in ’97 or ’98. Love the ‘Metal Machine Music’ reference. Add me to the list of people who want to know why the lead actress is dubbed.
John Seavey: ‘The sequence where Tina dies is oddly effective; the quick cuts back and forth between the cheering crowd and her dying, alone, makes her seem oddly like a sacrificial victim in a very chilling way. (Sort of like a similar sequence in the movie “Slither”.)’
Good call. It really is the same scene and I’m wondering if James Gunn has seen this. Everyone should check out “Slither” BTW.
I’m going to watch this one again tonight.
#81 – RockyJones. I felt the same way about the half-hearted attempt at a “beach” movie. It becomes immediately apparent during the jarring scene change from the beach party to Dr. Gavin’s house, where all the leaves are clearly off of the trees in the background, and during the Fingle’s quarry scene as you correctly point out. So unless a couple of months elapsed between Tina’s death and her funeral, the teens were clearly partying at their Connecticut beach in November! I was always surprised that M&TB didn’t comment on that, or the fact that the “beach” angle of the film is abandoned about 1/3 of the way in.
I’ve only gotten to see this one once and even then it wasn’t the complete episode (the recording cut off right after the monsters were destroyed) so I don’t have the full commentary to offer.
Favorite riff: “Do farts have lumps?”
Favorite host segment lines: “She thinks I’m average-looking!” and “Extrie! Extrie! Mike starting to lose patience with newspaper gag!”
@88 good lord, going to one of the CT beaches in November and dancing around in bathing suits. I’m surprised that they weren’t shaking. And when the exgirlfriend goes out to swim and let her hair out?
Well, the shooting probably took place over several months.
In general though, this is one of my favorite episodes. The movie is just so goofy, and it feels like the stereotype of that genre. Goofy monsters, Lantern jaw numbskull hero, “science” saving the day, and unfortunate racism. I’m pretty sure that’s what people would guess without seeing this movie.
Soundtrack not available. You’ll thank us.
Listening to this now at work and burst out laughing at IAMCOMPRISEDOFASERIESOFONESANDZEROES. :lol:
I’d forgotten just how much I really loved this episode!
Fantastic episode. But I actually find myself disturbed at Elaine’s “moaning” at the end. It really does sound like what it sounds like! I have this creepy feeling that the filmmakers may have recorded a “casting couch” session and put it on the soundtrack as a inside joke. Seeing as how the filmmakers’ obviously viewed women as objects, it wouldn’t surprise me.
This is my second or third favorite ep of all time, depending on my mood. I admit to not watching it for a while as I don’t want the magic to wear off too much.
But it’s pretty perfect.
The riffing is non-stop great and the film gives them so much to work with.
In fact, I would argue that even more than Manos this is the quintissential movie for the show. I mean: silly monster with costumes, dumb scientists, dumb hero, goofy rock band…you could go on and on.
My fav bits: anything with Eulabelle; the entire opening with the Jean-Paul Satre gang; the panty raid slumber party massacre; the three girls from downstate getting killed scene; the irrelevant but fun tour of New Yawk City; and there are some riffs when they are killing the monsters that always knock me out of my chair.
As for the host segs…yeah, not so great. But I have an ability to just zone them out when they are not so good, and they never affect my enjoyment of a particular episode.
Elain was probably dubbed because her voice sounded horrible when they saw the rushes. But she was the daughter of (fill in the blank) and they needed her in the film. It happens quite a bit. It might even be her actual voice dubbed badly later on…who knows.
I have an orginal poster of this film. Given to me as a gift a few years back.
A+
Love this one! 5 stars. Night of the Living Dubbed. This one is a good example of how wide ranging the humor was on the show. I think it is during the scene with the 2 unfunny drunks – there is a reference to “Waiting for Godot”, and the next joke is about farts. Something for everyone.
Horror of Party Beach has always been one of my favorite episodes.
“I don’t go to slumber parties any more…”
“…now that I’m in my 40’s”
“He’s been badly burned, but he’ll be alright”
That last line kills me every time. and it’s not even a riff.
Here’s a review site which practically lets you watch the movie just by reading it because it’s THAT detailed:
http://www.jabootu.com/hopb.htm
He found plot holes that even M&TB didn’t notice…
My favorite riffs:
The several-times-aforementioned “Do farts have lumps?” I like that in the middle of this painful drunk-humor scene, the Brains casually blow the film’s “humor” completely out of the water.
Eulabelle: It’s a HUMAN thing, Dr. Gavin!
Mike (as Eulabelle): You wouldn’t understand!
Trivia time! (and maybe some more bad spelling)
The bizzar Japanese sounding Music near the end of the movie is indeed Japanese. It’s from the 60’s Cartoon series “8 MAN”.
#64-> you might be right, There are only so many studios that can do ADR for movies so maybe the same studio that dubbed “8 MAN” and “Neptune Men” also did the sound re-recording for “Party Beach.” (If the work was done in New York City, there is a chance the studio was owned and operated by Ben Stern, Howard Stern’s dad).
I see someone already brought up my other observation that some movies are so boring that you notice the scenery and signs while ignoring the actors.
“ALBERT VITTIE PERMITTIE”?
“LOOK POLISH!”
These were put on screen on a bet by the crew to see if the director was really paying attention.
“OH! FLAVIA…”
I’ve also noticed the leafless trees at Dr. Gavin’s house, but in the scene with the two doomed drunks, you’ll see a shot with forsythia blossoms. That says “April” to me. So, they filmed the beach scenes in summer, and the rest before or after.