Short: (1956) A fifth-grade girl and boy demonstrate how to have obsessive hygiene habits.
Movie: (1959) Detectives investigate a murder that they suspect is related to a secret porno operation.
First shown: 11/5/94
Opening: M&tB throw Gypsy a shower
Intro: Frank’s missing and Dr. F. begins to worry
Host segment 1: Frank has become a mad bomber, and gives the SOL a taste of what he’s planning for Deep 13
Host segment 2: M&tB check Frank’s background for clues
Host segment 3: There’s little hope until Mike remembers Frank’s weakness
End: Dr. F. stops Frank’s plan, Mike reads a letter, Frank has been deep-fried
Stinger: “Dirk? No that can’t be Dirk…uh-uh…no…that’s not Dirk…no.”
(249 votes, average: 4.51 out of 5)
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• I had a lot of people disagreeing with me the last time around, but I watched it again and I am going to stick with the “good-not-great” rating. It’s an Ed Wood movie, so you know it’s going to be good, and the riffing is fine, but the very topical host segments haven’t aged very well and that drags the overall rating down for me. Great short, though.
• You’ll find this episode in Rhino’s “Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Vol. 9.”
• References.
• Of course that’s Paul as Huggy Bear and Patrick as Rooster. On the basis of these incredibly brief cameos, they’ll make a re-appearance in next week’s “Urkel” segments. In fact I wonder if these appearances were thrown in just to add two more characters to the bits in the next episode.
• The springboard for the host segments was the spate of “mad bomber” movies that hit theaters in ’94, in particular “Speed,” “In the Line of Fire,” and the now-pretty-much-forgotten “Blown Away.” At the time, I didn’t get most of the references, because I don’t go to the movies a lot and I hadn’t seen them on video yet. I do give Frank credit for capturing the tone most of the villains in these movies had. His evil faces are fun.
• Tom says: “I think these scenes are from a completely different movie” and in fact they are. The pizza joint sequences were shot in 1956 for a film that was to be called “Rock and Roll Hell” a.k.a. “Hellborn.” It was never finished, so Ed used the footage for this.
• This movie has no relationship with what the porn industry — even back then — was really like. Sadly, in about 10 years, Ed would know a lot more about what the porn industry was really like.
• Non-spaghetti ball bumpers: datebook, bulletin board, film canister.
• Callback: During a host segment, Frank says: “You’re stuck here!” (Fugitive Alien).
• Speaking of callbacks, Mike refers to the the grinning car as “Jet Jaguar” and Crow whispers: “How would YOU know?” Fans had been doing that sort of thing for a while, so I guess it was inevitable that the writers would do it.
• Tom falls off his theater seat laughing, at one point.
• Cast and Crew Roundup: Cinematographer William C. Thompson (who was nearly blind when this film was made and required assistance) also filmed “Bride of the Monster,” “The Violent Years,” “Racket Girls” and “Project Moonbase.” Score composer Manuel Francisco a.k.a. Mischa Terr also composed music for “The Violent Years,” “King Dinosaur,” “The Unearthly” and “Bloodlust.”
In front of the camera, Harvey B. Dunn was also in “Bride of the Monster,” and “Teenagers from Outer Space.” Reed Howes was also in “The Phantom Creeps.” Harry Keatan was also in “The Violent Years.” Nick Raymond was also in “The Hellcats” and “Red Zone Cuba.” Conrad Brooks was also in “Bride of the Monster” and “Red Zone Cuba.” Kenne Duncan was also in “Radar Secret Service.”
• Creditswatch: Host segments directed by Trace Beaulieu. Interns Wendell Anderson, Julie Van Goethem and Sarah Swanson (though in this episode they gave her first name as “Sara”–they fixed it in the credits of the next ep) begin their stints.
• Fave riff from short: “Remember, people like you better when you’re pretty.” Honorable mention: “Don’t touch that!”
• Fave riff: “Well, THERE’S her hat!” Honorable mention: “I’m just gonna ask: Is this a juniper bush?”
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i think this episode paid more attention to the ‘Speed’ movies or any other ‘mad bomber’ movie than the rest of the general public did.
it was nice to see Frank play the evil genius for a change.
i may be wrong but i could swear i’ve seen the tried and true ‘Arbys super villian destraction’ ploy in one of my Batman comi- Graphic Novels.
it might be said that Ed Wood had a slightly different vision.
oh yeah…..KLIEN!!!
A few years ago, I gave it a 3 star rating and I stand by that.
I still really enjoy the Frank host segments. His performance is the highlight of the whole episode for me….I think I love every Frank “storyline” they ever did and love when he’s given the spotlight.
I’ve always considered Frank to be such a great comic performer. His delivery just kills me. Somehow when he says “tsk, tsk, Mr. Nelson” it’s funnier than if just about anyone else tried it. In a way, he and Joel are alike in that they both have such unique deliveries and somehow there’s always heart and sarcasm behind what they’re saying. Joel’s feigned enthusiasm over mundane things/events in movies always was guaranteed to make me laugh (ex: Magic Sword: “it’s so neat how everyone has their own little tasks”) and Frank….hmm….whatever it is that makes him so funny is harder to define. He’s just hilarious. That he provokes Dr. F yet is terrified of him….when he nervously exhales and gives a look like “we’re in trouble now”….that his moods range from depressed and totally not engaged (hawking Mike’s cigarettes in The Starfighters) to desperate ( Lederhosen-hosen) to emotional (Nummy Muffin, When Chauffeurs Rules the World)….yes, this has turned into a Frank appreciation post. And I’m proud of it, I tells ya! Proud!!!
According to Conrad Brooks, an Ed Wood regular in very small or even cameo roles, the working title of this “film” was “Rock and Roll Hell”. Because of money problems it was shot years before its release—I’m not surprised.
Favorite lines (Keeping Neat and Clean—1956):
The eighth graders cull the herd.
“Form the habit of getting up in plenty of time.” …to sober up.
“Don’t go to bed with wet hair.” …on a first date.
Favorite lines (The Sinister Urge—1960):
He’s the kindly old pornographer.
[car backing up] This is why Ed Wood gets final cut.
The late 50’s and booze is there.
Ed wood mustered up all his incompetents for this movie.
“Don’t tell me they’re trying to peddle those pictures in church.” That market is saturated.
The Queen Mother could heat up a room more than this.
I’ve seen sexier girdle ads.
Final Thought: A tough slog on this one for me. I give this one 2 out of 5 stars.
Absolutely hilarious episode! The short, the movie, and the host segments, all fantastic! The only thing that confuses me is how pictures of fully clothed women could ever have been considered porn…
I do remember some of those mad-bomber movies from the early 90s, sorta, but I think the host segments in this ep. still hold up, mostly because of Frank–his performance here is first-rate. It was only a matter of time before he went psycho and decided to get revenge on Dr F., and the whole premise works perfectly even without direct reference to the bomber films. I love the pay phone that appears out of nowhere (I know, Crow had it installed, but c’mon…) and the whole conversation at the end over the potato pancake order. I don’t think of this episode very often, which is a shame–it’s a winner all round. They even find a way to make the now-familiar premise of making those squeaky-clean (literally) health shorts into revelations of the sleazy underbelly of the life of fifth-graders still fresh and very, very funny: this is one of the best of the EB/Young America-type shorts they riffed.
I also wonder if Gloria’s voice was the inspiration for the “kajigger” woman in “Futurama”–“Can you scratch my back with your voice” is a line I’m hoping to use in real life someday.
One criticism: was it perhaps a cheap shot to comment on Harvey B Dunn’s missing finger, to the effect that every time he points with his right hand, the M&TB think he’s flipping them off? Maybe I just have a soft spot for Mr Dunn, whom I can’t see without hearing the “New Zoo Revue” theme song, thanks to “Teenagers From Outer Space.”
One other little point: Sampo, my copy, which is DAP version, has intern Ms. Swanson listed as “Sarah”–did they correct the spelling for a rebroadcast or something?
Sampo’s quote: “This movie has no relationship with what the porn industry — even back then — was really like.”
To quote Crow from this movie, Sampo, how do you know? :-P
As for the movie, I always enjoy Ed Wood films on MST and this was no exception, although it may have been the weakest of his films that they did. I loved all the duck jokes and Trace’s impersonation of the Penguin when Gloria was smoking had me laughing hysterically. Somehow Ed Wood could reduce anything to lots of scenes of two guys talking in the police chief’s office. The movie’s morality lesson and rationale for it is so out there it’s insane, as #16 says, “What color was the sky in Ed Wood’s world?”
Ed Wood somehow combined just a little sincerity, insanity, cheapness and incompetence into a witch’s brew perfect for riffing. I have never seen an Ed Wood movie unriffed but I am going to track one down as I bet they are pretty entertaining in their own right.
Yes, before Voorhees, before Krueger, before Myers, even before Bates, there was…DIRK.
It might be nostalgia, but those “mad bomber” sketches still hold up. At the very least you got to admit the argument between Crow & Servo in the Huggy Bear sketch is still hilarious.
At the time I thought it was karma for Ed Wood to end up in the industry he disparaged, but now I feel sorry for him – he was probably just writing to please his producers, and at least with Orgy of the Dead he tried to do something different.
#66: I’ve also found it odd that some men apparently respond to pictures of pretty women with homicidal rage. I never responded that way to seeing a pretty lady. What is the connection?
Well, that’s just it, pretty much nobody really does that. It’s just like how Ted Bundy tried to blame his serial killer career on looking at pornography. Sort of.
Frankly, if someone in my family had been kidnapped, I’d object to the cops diverting more money to the smut squad, too.
So, in the beginning, the first on-screen victim is running for her life from Dirk. That would be slightly more dramatic if we couldn’t, via the road behind her, clearly see that he’s NOT WITHIN A HALF-MILE OF HER. The fact that a semi-dirt road leads directly to a payphone, that I can roll with, but…
addendum:
Dirk WILLIAMS, that is. Not exactly the catchiest serial killer surname in film history but, hey, not only was it the 1950s, it was Ed Wood.
Really, IMHO “Wood” is itself a pretty good surname for a serial killer. “The victim was beaten to death…by WOOD.”
I think the host segs are stull pretty funny, even out of the context of their time. There were several “then-current” references in this one, mostly old commercials: “You are not dealing with AT&T” , etc. I found the movie (well, two movies, I guess) vaguely entertaining. The short is another classic, though. Does anyone else find it a bit creepy that the same male narrator tells the girl how she should clean herself and dress? Seems like it would have been a little racy for the times.
4 stars
Just to be the Yin to everyone’s Yang (let me rephrase that) – this is a middle of the road episode in my least favorite season.
Ah, well, enjoy everyone.
I agree that a lot of bomber movies like Blown Away are forgotten, but Speed is on cable probably every other week and it still holds up fairly well.
Once again, I’m sad to see I didn’t comment in the last go-round. I can see Sampo’s point about the HS not aging well, but honestly I can see them and feel a little wave of somewhat guilty nostalgia for having gone to the theater and seen and even somewhat enjoyed Speed (I think that one’s the ur-Mad Bomber movie of that period, but I could be mistaken).
Anyway, what I love about this episode is the typical Ed Woodian ridiculous approach to handling “serious” material. The photo spreads the “pornographers” are shooting don’t even approach a tenth of a percent of the eroticism of even the laziest, tamest Victoria Secret catalog. Once we’ve established (early in the film) that THIS is the kind of operation these folks are running, you can’t view anything else that follows with anything other than joyous bonhomie. And Gloria, wow man, I think Gloria is the best female character in any Ed Wood movie. Just great.
@#104 I quote, ahem:
“In olden days a glimpse of stocking was thought of as something shocking, now Heaven knows! Anything goes!”
I have to disagree with anyone who says the “mad bomber” host segment plot doesn’t hold up now, it holds up just fine, it’s just that now, instead of recalling older mad bomber films, it recalls more current television shows.
BTW Speed is still a great action film and I DO remember Blown Away as being quite good.
Cornjob (#66) and Touches (#109):
I think porn is supposed to drive some people into a homicidal frenzy in the same way that pot is supposed to send some people into a piano-playing frenzy: ie, only in the world of moralistic Hollywood exploitation films. What I can’t figure out is whether Ed himself actually believed the stuff his characters spout in this film, or whether he thought he was just obeying the rules of the genre.
#102 ITA. The character of TV’s Frank is a joy to watch!
#105 The weird thing is, it took me forever, watching the episodes featuring Dunn, for me to actually notice his unique digital situation.
As for the short…it hurts me to think that girls that age used to spend all that much time on their hair. I mean, using rollers?? As for the movie, for a while I’ve been using the expression “hoary netherworld” whenever I’ve described the concept of not knowing exactly where something is, or where a thing has come from. Totally forgot it’s because it was used in this. I believe “hoary netherworld” translates roughly into “the ancient land of the dead.” Yeah, poor Kline!
BTW, Gypsy’s voice annoyed the heck outta me sometimes.
Arby’s has potato pancakes? Me, I’m a Perkin’s potato pancake guy, served with some sour cream and a pot of coffee…they were sort of floppy and big, not small, crisp and fried…
Oh yeah, the movie! This is one of my favorites from checkered season 6…short’s great, movie’s terrible (but great!)…the host segs were a bit weak, but they were ambitious…I didn’t think Frank overdid it at all!
“This kid have a job interview?”
That’s no way to treat your clothes! “But that’s how they treat me!”
“Who am I kidding? I’ve hit the glass ceiling at fifth grade!”
I especially love the “snappy but stupid” Ed Wood Dialogue…
“I want action on this thing and I want it quick!!”
“Some characters will steal or kill just to get this stuff! It’s worse than dope for them!”
“You’re the boss…” “JUST you remember THAT!!”
“Then get that hot footage – and brother, I mean HOT!!”
and why did Rob Zombie use the title of this film?
Blast Hardcheese, Cornjob and Touches: I can’t quote the line exactly, but one of my favorite quotes by George Carlin is something like: “If a troubled pervert wants to buy a dirty magazine at 2 in the morning — I say we let him have it.”
#105 – Meh, they make missing finger jokes in Teenagers From Outer Space as well. It just comes with the territory of being a guy missing a finger in a MST3k movie.
@#114: “The photo spreads the “pornographers” are shooting don’t even approach a tenth of a percent of the eroticism of even the laziest, tamest Victoria Secret catalog.”
To be fair, the version of the film shown here is edited and there are several appearances of actual “risque” photos in the uncut film. None of it is particular hardcore or anything, but in 1960 even in a serious film it wouldn’t be. Consequently, I always felt that they were being unfair in that particular criticism, since they weren’t actually showing the whole movie.
I’m pretty sure Crow’s “How would YOU know?” is genuine confusion since Mike wasn’t around when they watched the Jet Jaguar movie. If you listen closely, Crow quietly agrees with Mike (sounds like Crow says “It does”) on the Jet Jaguar riff before realization hits.
I’m going to agree with Sampo on this one, this is a good-not-great episode. Sure, it’s Ed Wood (but kind of boring Ed Wood), and sure it’s nice to see Kline, and sure the riffing is fine, but the Host Segments are, not really dated, just kind of blah in my opinion, which usually happens when they try to do a storyline (I prefer when they’re random and/or movie related). The short is really strong, as the educational shorts usually are, and if it wasn’t for that, I’d give this one a lower score..
RIFFS:
during the whole pinking shears gifting,
Mike: “Frank’s not serious”
Crow: “Yes he is. Those are definitely pinking shears!”
–
short:
–
Servo: “Here’s the ‘shrooms, Billy.”
Mike: “What the hell did I DO last night?”
Servo: “But you’ll never be able to scrub away the stain on your soul.”
Servo: “Use pumice on your tender nipple buds.” —– :laugh:
Crow: “Now to get pantsed and dragged around the track.”
–
movie:
–
Mike: “You don’t direct Kline, you just get out of the way.”
Mike: “He’s the kindly old pornographer.”
Mike: “You could shave with her voice.”
Mike (as gravel voice): “That was a good CRAP.”
Crow: “Eegah!” ———-callback.
Servo (as a duck): “Quack..I can’t have gluten. This has tropical oil, I can taste it…quack…quack.”
–
–
Ed Wood has done better,
so have the Brains,
I give it 3/5
I own a pair of pinking shears. They were not a shower gift, though. :laugh:
Here’s a link to the uncut movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVjHpi2Qu9E You can see Dirk grabbing Courtney Love out of the phone booth and attacking her, and Mary gets the sheet pulled off so you see her nekkid in silhouette. I guess the movie is semi-smut.
The reference to Harvey Dunn’s missing finger reminds me that James “Star Trek’s Scotty” Doohan also had a missing finger. Supposedly, in every episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, they took care to never show his four-fingered hand on camera.
It actually wouldn’t be at all surprising for an ENGINEER to have lost a finger during his work — maybe his finger got turned into antimatter and disappeared into another universe — but, well, there you are.
Thus ends this pointless digression.
Then again, it could also be assumed that, in the 23rd century, reasonably decent prosthetics would be available.
That wouldn’t have necessarily been assumed in the 1960s, though. I mean, look at poor Captain Pike…
Besides, just because Scotty was an engineer, he wouldn’t necessarily want a machine as part of his body. If he can do his job just fine with only nine fingers and that’s what he WANTS to do, let him.
I thought the Enterprise series made a mistake (beyond its, you know, very existence, and anybody who wants to debate anything about it should please proceed without me) by not backward extrapolating (reverse-engineering, if you will) what the decor of a hundred years prior to The Original Series might have looked like. I mean, okay, not an easy thing to do, but they could have tried. For one thing, more bright colors. In the 23rd and 24th centuries, Starfleet at least understood the importance of workplace environment. Who wants to spend years in space surrounded by nothing but drab? That’s what the Borg do and look how THEY turned out…
Again, I know, a total digression. Sorry about that.
Cabbage Patch Elvis said, of Gloria, at #86:
Fyeah! Every gal’s got sumpin!!!!
May I please have the permission to have this printed on a tee shirt? Pretty please?
So I guess the message of this movie is that if young men with a penchant for knives watches enough moving pictures of young women launching around in bathing suits, lying perfectly still on a marble block, occasionally changing positions, and moving pictures of a young woman in a long, diaphanous, Roman-style robe, said young man will go insane and chase the women in those movies to a park with a knife and kill them? And sometimes when the ‘actresses’ aren’t available, he will attempt to kill sturdy looking women who are actually male police officers in disguise? Yeaaaah… not sure I get it, Mr. Wood.
Pretty sure that intern Julie Van Goethem (now Julie Van Goethem-Lund) became a news anchorwoman in Wisconsin. I remember seeing her on the Rhinelander station, then later at one of the Madison channels in the 2000s.
Kline rules!
And yes, the riff is “Regarding Hynie” as it’s a riff on porn movies who spoof the titles of legitimate movies (i.e., Pulp Friction, Edward Penishands, Blazing Boners, etc.).
I’m with Sampo on this one; good but not great. My least faves of the Ed Wood movies. The riffing is consistent, but no huge laughs for me. The host segments were good as well, but not really the type that you want to show a newbie.
3 of 5.
I guess this discussion is going a little stale from old age, but to all of you who are insinuating that the smut racket portrayed in this film should considered in light of its era, I agree, but please remember that there was legitimately dirty smut produced in that decade; indeed, in all decades, in all times. It might not have been so easy to procure, definitely, but it existed and you could get it if you wanted it and if you were not afraid of the potential consequences. Yes, the hint of a stocking used to be enough to titillate, but that’s different than saying a hint of a stocking = smut. No, it would not have, even in the straightlaced 50s. So, my point being that the smut racket in this film STILL looks ridiculous EVEN IF you attempt to view it through then-contemporary eyes.
I don’t know much about smut rackets from any era, nuh-uh, nope, nuh-uh. I agree with the good-but-not-great comments — a good way to spend 90 minutes and get some laughs, but certainly not a desert island episode. Actually, I can barely remember any of the riffs so maybe not all that funny, either.
On the other hand, I found the short creepy. I know they weren’t as hypervigilant about such things back in the ’50s, but the shower and underwear stuff with real kids doesn’t seem right to modern eyes.
Oh, if only Gloria’s voice could be weaponized, MSTies could take over the world!
When she’s talking with the Syndicate in her apartment, she’s wearing a frilly, tiered dress that does, as M&tBs comment, look like a prom gown. It definitely doesn’t suit her age, job with the smut industry, or pointy, cigarette-raspy voice. No point there, I just think it’s out of character, unlike most of the other outfits she wears. Did Ed have an old prom dress on hand? Did the starlet lend her prom gown to Gloria? Questions, questions.
“Dirk! No, that can’t be Dirk. Uh-uh, no, that’s not Dirk! No.”
“AND DON’T TOUCH THE BOOZE!”
Yes, and it was probably his, for relaxing around his apartment. I agree that some of Gloria’s clothing choices were… unusual.
The Sinister Urge passes the Bechdel Test. Gloria berates Mary for her reluctance to play ball, who in turn grovels pathetically.
Not much point in discussing color combinations for your clothes in a black and white short.
Seeing as how it was a phone booth rather than a police box, a Bill and Ted riff might have been more appropriate than a Doctor Who riff.
Who’d have thought that pizza joints and ice cream parlors would be hot spots for porn?
The scene where Gloria breaks in the new actress brings to mind the gang rape scene from The Violent Years. I imagine at least a few of the performers for porn back then (when it was more underground) were hired under false pretenses and later coerced when they learned the actual details. However, Wood ends up taking something that could/should have been dark and troubling and made it come across as farcical instead.
Perhaps it’s just me, but hearing the name Huggy Bear makes me titter like a Japanese schoolgirl.
Some of you may recall a project of mine on determining how frequently the host segments were relevant to the movie. For this episode, I can see arguments on how the storyline of Frank being influenced by all those Mad Bomber films of the Nineties is meant to parody Dirk being driven to murder through his exposure to porn (as suggested in post #69). But I’m not entirely convinced. What do you people at home think?
@ #5: But definitely as the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance.
@ #72: Who knows. Maybe Bundy got the idea from having seen The Sinister Urge.
@ #92: Are you sure you don’t mean angora?
Favorite riffs
But you’ll never be able to scrub away the stain on your soul
Why couldn’t they have had Mamie Van Doren star in this thing?
“You can make one like this yourself, you know.”
But that’s a whole ‘nother film.
“That’s no way to treat your clothes.”
But that’s the way they treat me.
“Don’t go to bed with wet hair.”
Or a first date.
And now back to the drudgery that is your life.
He’s the kindly old pornographer.
Behind the scenes at Easy Riders magazine. Not that I’d know.
Teens come running for the good taste of porn.
Somebody hit someone, or we’re going back to our porn.
All chili dogs must use rear entrance.
Bela Lugosi’s brother Shemp Lugosi.
Or Forest Hump.
The guidance councilor is steering her towards smut.
“I don’t know how to thank you.”
Oh yes you do.
“Did you get that dress?”
In Mr. Wood’s size.
Thank you, Gloria. Now our next guest is a naïve actress from Podunk. Won’t you welcome her?
Next film, we may show her elbow.
This smut was placed here by the Gideons.
Say the secret word and get killed by a psycho.
We’ve got a duck giving a statement in the next room.
“Don’t worry.”
Be trampy.
Must be a real emergency smut shipment.
Nowadays, these folks would have legitimate jobs for the USA network.
I had no idea porn would be so stressful.
I toast your sleaziness.
Right in the sinister urge.
The Princess and the Piece.
Johnny, let’s show her who she shot!
Would our mystery stiff enter and sign in, please?
“I’ve writ-ten a let-ter to dad-dy!” One of my all time favorite riffs.
This one’s evergreen for me. It’s so hilariously stodgy, stupid and surreal at once, and I love how M&TB handle it.
The most I’ve ever found out about the film, so far at least, is the relevant section in Rudolph Grey’s brilliant Nightmare of Ecstasy, his oral history of Ed Wood. (The Tim Burton movie was based in large part on it.) There’s not much about it — just a couple of pages — but it has some interesting bits, such as how Dino Fantini was cast as Dirk and the like, plus more on the whole “Hellborn” thing. The one thing I distinctly remember is this: Jean Fontaine, aka the glamorous Gloria, was apparently a bored rich housewife, IIRC, who ended up having a nightclub act in LA around that time, late 50s/early 60s. (I still wonder what the heck the act exactly was…did she SING?) I bring this up because all her various insane outfits throughout the film are apparently from said nightclub act. I can only imagine what exactly happened onstage — versions of “Cry Me a River” to wake the dead, I assume.
“Jean Fontaine, aka the glamorous Gloria, was apparently a bored rich housewife, IIRC, who ended up having a nightclub act in LA around that time, late 50s/early 60s….[A]ll her various insane outfits throughout the film are apparently from said nightclub act.”
Well, that explains the prom dress. Thanks, Ned Raggett!
Yer welcome! Maybe it WAS her prom dress.
Jean Fontaine is regarded as a superstar in France – even appearing on French postage stamps!
Whoops.
Apparently the one who’s famous in France and on stamps & stuff is Jean de la Fontaine (1621-1695).
Sorry.
Welcome to ConSleazeCo!
Never seen this one full through before, and now I’m hoping Shout is able to reissue Vol. 9 so I can see it again. I’m glad I finally saw the context of Crow’s riff during the short about the girl cutting her toenails (‘Better still, cut ’em pointy! Get a pinking shear!’). I was also surprised to hear a needledrop music cue that was also heard in ‘Eegah’. Didn’t see that coming.
Fave short riff:
Things that are clean enough to wear again should be put away.
Crow: Or just have your mom do it!
Fave movie riff:
‘Why Can’t’ Johnny Ride: Someone’s been tipping off the cops about our operation.
Servo: I suspect me.
This is like a transitional movie for Ed Wood – it points the way toward the REAL smut he’d peddle (as an author, screenwriter, and, far less frequently, a director) in his later years.
I love Ed Wood so much.
In Episode 323 The Castle of Fu Manchu, Frank mentioned that at his previous workplace, Arby’s, he was nicknamed “Zeppo” because of his sense of humor.
Zeppo Marx had a FEW funny moments in the Marx Brothers films, so maybe they meant that Frank was funny, just not all THAT funny. :-) At least they didn’t nickname him “Gummo,” the fifth Marx Brother who was never in the films at all.
I’m not sure but I think he began his first conversation with Joel by instinctively saying “Welcome to Arby’s” OSLT.
Kind of an odd thing to be technical about, though.
(how’d THAT happen?)
I meant for the Brains to have “pointed out” that Mike “hand’t been around” for Jet Jaguar. That’s what I thought was kind of an odd thing for them to be technical about. Just teaches me to not wait around and see how my post comes out, I guess. :-|
You can’t be afraid of your own hair.
Although, really, when you think about it (“So don’t think about it.”), going to bed with a first date and thereby immediately finding out whether or not getting you into bed was ultimately ALL that your date wanted, you can save yourself the time and turmoil of several more dates it would otherwise take to find that out. Clearly communicating one’s wants and needs is crucial to a relationship, and if that results in the relationship lasting only twenty-four hours or so, well…
It occurs to me for the first time to wonder in what city Deep 13 is located. Maybe it’s a weird enough place that such a sight wouldn’t raise many eyebrows.
Crow, Tom, and Gypsy only wish they had that problem…
Can you blame him?
Ah, yes, “Pink Boy,” as “Time Chasers” taught me to think of him as. Even if he’d been a film reviewer in 1960, I think he’d have been unlikely to give any porn film a “thumbs up.” Although that’s probably not what a good review for a porn film is called, anyway…
“Hollywood vs. America.” TEH. More like “Hollywood vs. People Who Think Exactly Like Michael Medved and Absolutely No One Else.”
For a little context, 1960 also gave us Horrors of Spider Island, The Leech Woman, Tormented (“Tom Stewart killed me!”), Village of the Damned, The Playgirls and the Vampire, Jigoku, Blood and Roses, Atom Age Vampire and Eyes Without a Face (*both* of which are variations on “The Corpse Vanishes” theme), and a version of The Tell-Tale Heart in which the killer is “obsessed with erotica.” Wow, what are the odds, huh? Isn’t context fun? :-)
1960 also gave us two of filmdom’s earlier and more startling serial killers: Tom “The Peeping Tom” Lewis and Norman “Psycho” Bates; Ed and Dirk just couldn’t compete.
And Mary identifies it as a “gangster picture” (when she asks. a little condescendingly, if gangster films and monster films are all that Johnny produces, and Tom sarcastically notes, “Oh, she’s *picky*!” It doesn’t matter what genre, Mary, an actor ACTS.); yes, I suppose that the mob did cast its subtle shadow over that film, just as with this one. What she obviously failed to realize that is that appearing in a monster film guarantees you a certain level of immortality, because sci-fi fans (you know, overall) never forget a film or an actor, as demonstrated by the fact that The Beast of Yucca Flats was relatively well-known or even infamous long before MST3K debuted. Why, if she’d made such a film and lived long enough, she could’ve earned a bit of spare cash on the convention circuit. Michael Berryman has been a guest of honor at Star Trek conventions as the result of appearing in ONE episode.
If you mean “Orgy of the Dead,” well, he only WROTE that one, he didn’t DIRECT it. Be fair. ;-)
Ironically, that’s one of the deepest religious references in all of 1950s sci-fi filmdom.
So, in effect, Ed Wood set the US military against “believers.” Whoa.
The insinuation was probably meant to be that they were trying to cleanse their souls of their filthy, smutty, sinister urges, much as, in “Reefer Madness,” even some of the “pushers” were shown to have moral qualms about selling to “kids.”
Maybe, the next time someone re-makes/mocks “Reefer Madness,” they can at least cast actual teenagers in the “kid” roles. That’d make for at least a little variety.
I still can’t get over how laughably tame the “smut” is in this movie
“So they put her in more clothes than she’s ever had on in her life!”