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Saturday, December 31, 2016

Saturday Night at the Movies 12/31/16!

Who cares what picture we see?



Robert Ridgely would have - and no one would dare dispute that. Because of that and the date - we're choosing this one for tonight...














I thought this drama about the adult film industry in the 1970's was marvelous. A huge ensemble cast brings to the screen a story somewhat inspired by John Holmes. Burt Reynolds got an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor playing porn director Jack Horner. Unfortunately, it was the same year Robert Forster was nominated for playing Max Cherry in Jackie Brown. I wanted them both to win - but that improbability did not come to pass as Robin Williams took the statue home for Good Will Hunting. (Yawn.)

But I digress.

 The movie is dynamic, and manages to be solid remaining an R Rated movie that's about X Rated movies. It also features a memorable New Year's Eve, which makes it just perfect for viewing tonight. I have it in the video vault on a fine DVD presentation, and we could be watching Dirk use his Diggler at any time - even this very evening, if you'd like to boogie over to my place.









Until 2017, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

Thursday, December 29, 2016

Throwback Thursday 12/29/16!


Okay - let's cast a look back at another older post from LGOOH that shows little traffic - and no comments, more's the pity. This time out it's a Buddha Man post as he reviews a Trick and a Treat...



















Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

Monday, December 26, 2016

Maniacal Movie Poster Monday #244!

Three posters - and this time I've seen and really like all three movies...





Lady in the Lake  (MGM, 1947)




Considering what a wild visual experiment this movie was for 1947 - I'm truly amazed this movie isn't held in higher regard than it is. In this movie, the camera takes the place of Robert Montgomery as the hard boiled detective - and he is only seen a few times when the detective looks into a mirror. Otherwise it's all first person as he talks to people - chases them - fights them. Who cares if the story is standard issue detective fodder? This is Hardcore Henry done almost 70 years before that movie was made!









Deathstalker  (New World Pictures, 1983)



While I do feel the sequel - made by other filmmakers led by this blog's pal - director Jim Wynorski - is the better of the two flicks, this is a fun sword and sorcery entry from the early 80's.









Cast Away  (20th Century Fox, 2000)




This is an entertaining movie in and of itself - but the behind the scenes production is really cool. They had Tom Hanks put on weight so he starts the movie a chunky monkey, then after he gets stranded on the desert island and time passes he is shown to have lost weight. To facilitate this they shot the first half of the movie, then they took a break to let Hanks go off and slim down.

While on this downtime they didn't want the crew to go on to other shows, so director Robert Zemeckis had another script standing by and they proceeded to make What Lies Beneath with Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer before coming back to finish this movie with skinny Minnie Tom Hanks.

Lastly, this movie has my good buddy Nick Searcy who is third billed but is, according to him, "upstaged by a damn volleyball."








Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Throwback Thursday 12/22/16!

Tonight we'll dip into the Video Vault of Mora Tau for some old school TV Christmas special goodness...



Here are two promos airing on NBC from 1979 - with the voice over magic of Casey Kasem...










Here's an interesting night of programming from local channel WPIX 11 out of New York...





And we'll wrap up with one from ABC...








Man those bring back some memories.









Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Dreidel, Cause I Am Outta Here!


Monday, December 19, 2016

Maniacal Movie Poster Monday #243!

It may be the start of a work week, but at least you can check out three movie posters too!










Abattoir  (Dark Web Productions, 2016)




I don't often feature newer posters due to the fact that they're not usually all that great anymore - but this one looks good, as does the movie it promotes.







Star Crystal  (New World Pictures, 1986)


Certainly looks like yet another Alien clone - but it's one I've never seen, I'm pretty sure I've got the VHS in the video vault, though.










Employees' Entrance  (Warner Bros., 1933)




No idea what this one is, but I've seen Warren William playing the Lone Wolf and he's pretty cool, so...








Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

Saturday, December 17, 2016

Saturday Night at the Movies 12/17/16!

Who cares what picture we see?



Jay Underwood allegedly would - while I find out for sure, this will be tonight's choice...













When I heard about a low budget Fantastic Four movie being produced in the mid 90's, I was intrigued. Would they pull it off?


Marvel did not have a great theatrical track record up to this point - I'd watched Stan Lee touting the crap out of the Captain America movie he was saying was coming out to celebrate Cap's 50th anniversary in 1989. Then he said it was going to come out later due to reshoots - not that anything was wrong with the movie - the filmmakers just wanted to pack it with even more action and awesome stuff. He then stopped talking about the movie altogether. The movie never opened anywhere near me - and I was shocked when I saw it at long last as a VHS new release in 1994 or thereabouts. I thought it was awful. (That fact didn't prevent me from buying the movie on Blu-Ray).


So here comes a Fantastic Four movie in the mid 90's as CGI is in its infancy on a Roger Corman budget. Still hopeful I kept an eye out for the movie to be released.  Then it wasn't. Once again the movie just disappeared without a trace.


Years pass, and I have a friend who lives in New York. He calls me up one day and asks me if I'd like to buy a copy of the never-released Fantastic Four movie for $20 which he'll send me in the mail? I tell him hell yes and not too much later a VHS copy shows up.


What I thought of the movie isn't important here. What this new documentary is about is what we're here to chat about. Twenty-plus years later, nearly everyone involved has gotten together to tell the real story of why this movie was made, how this movie was made - and why it was never officially released and is still only available in those bootleg editions.


I know the story and find it fascinating - but if you don't I don't want to spoil it in any way. I have not watched the documentary yet - but my crowdfunding got me a fine DVD and we could be checking out one of the few movies Roger Corman ever had shelved - even this very evening - if you care to come off your shelf and come check it out with me.










Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Throwback Thursday 12/15/16!

It's time to look back at another historical post from right here - one that garnered little attention.

Today we're adding another dimension to LGOOH - yes, that's right. The THIRD DIMENSION.



























Hope you found the blog to have a little more depth today...








Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Tanks for the Memories!

Breakthrough  (Maverick Pictures International, 1979)








In 1977, Sam Peckinpah directed his only war movie – Cross of Iron – starring James Coburn as German Sergeant Rolf Steiner. Two years later, Andrew V. McLaglen was handed the reins of a sequel, and Richard Burton takes over the role of Steiner. This time out Steiner is prowling around a German village on secret orders of General Hoffmann (Curt Jurgens) – awaiting word that Hitler has been assassinated so they can make a surrender of the entire German army. On the other side of the line, Col Rogers (Robert Mitchum) is prowling around near that German village, working hard to find out what kind of anti-tank capabilities his tank corp is likely to encounter when they invade that village under orders from General Webster (Rod Steiger).






I haven’t seen Cross of Iron, so I have nothing to compare Breakthrough to, but there’s every indication that Cross of Iron is the better of the two movies. Breakthrough combines a fine cast with a production that might have been a little low budgeted for its aspirations. The war action is well handled for all of that – director McLaglen can be depended on for that at least - but the dramatics don’t really go anywhere. Burton makes a pretty game try, but he is too old for the role of Sgt. Steiner. Reports indicate his drinking problem was so heavy here that he periodically had to be carried to set – but I honestly saw no signs of him being drunk on camera – so if he was toodling he hid it well. He has one standout scene where he finds a wounded German soldier left by his squad and not helped to safety as an artillery strike decimates their surroundings – Burton scoops the guy up and carries him down to the relative safety of the cellar the rest of the squad is hiding in. It’s a really nice moment, and if more of the movie could have been like this single scene this might have been a gem of a movie. Of the other actors, Mitchum is stoic as usual – which could be interpreted as quiet cool or paycheck indifference – and honestly, I’ve never been able to figure out which it is. I like him either way, though, so maybe it doesn’t matter. Steiger manages to make a hearty dinner out of his three scenes – chewing the scenery as usual, which is par for the course for him at this stage in his career. The German performers fare better, though most are given one dimensional roles. The two actors who manage to make their time on camera shine are Curd Jurgens as the ill fated General Hoffmann and Michael Parks as Mitchum’s sidekick. The Austrian location shooting works pretty well, though maybe not to those more familiar with German geography.





I’m also confused by the running time here – listed in every resource as 115 minutes – but my VHS tape ended at about 93 minutes – no idea what was edited out – but in the end, the movie seemed long enough and there were no noticeable missing chunks. If you’re looking for some generic WWII action this movie will serve – lots of machine gun fire, tank action, and explosions – but if you require dramatic suspense along with the booms you might want to look elsewhere.












Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

Monday, December 12, 2016

Maniacal Movie Poster Monday #242!

Time is tight this week, so we'll get our three posters but sans words from me...





























Three up, three down!











Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

Saturday, December 10, 2016

Saturday Night at the Movies 12/10/16!

Who cares what picture we see?


Yumi and Emi Ito would - especially if we have peanuts to snack on - so while I go make sure we do this will be tonight's choice...











Toho Studios brings us what would turn out to be their third kaiju superstar (after Godzilla and Rodan) and this one brings on the girls in the form of the adorable Peanuts - the tiny ladies who sing that kickass "Mosura-ya!" song.

It's dubbed actors and lots of miniatures and it's fun in that way only Toho doho soho wellho. I have this one in a swell bargain set with three other giant creature features, and we could be spinning the disc any time - even this very evening - if you feel like coming to check it out with me!







Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

Thursday, December 8, 2016

Throwback Thursday 12/8/16!



We'll look back at 1982 with a quick video clip of a night of late night programming being offered on the CBS network - in this case a rerun of Hart to Hart from the ABC network, and what appears to be the broadcast premiere of a little-known Western comedy called Shame, Shame on the Bixby Boys.








I didn't watch this telecast but I do think I've seen the Hart to Hart episode. I have definitely not seen the movie - but I like the genre and star Monte Markham so I'm on the lookout for it now!







Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

Monday, December 5, 2016

Maniacal Movie Poster Monday #241!

Another new week, three more old movie posters...




Ghost in the Invisible Bikini  (American International, 1966)



Leonard Maltin says the fatigue is palpable by this entry in the series, and I can't exactly deny it - but any movie with that cast is always going to be at the very least watchable, and I've always had a soft spot for these movies anyway.








West of Singapore  (Monogram Pictures, 1933)



I have no idea what this one is all about or who Betty Compson was to rate having her name above the title is same size font but I guess she was a big star.












The Black Windmill  (Universal Studios, 1974)


I haven't seen this one but I don't see how the pairing of Caine and Pleasence could go wrong.









Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

Saturday, December 3, 2016

Saturday Night at the Movies 12/3/16!

Who cares what picture we see?


George Kennedy certainly would - and as the only actor to appear in every film in the series, he's the perfect choice for tonight's very special...


Saturday Night at the Movies Dusk 'til Dawn Show:
The Airport Franchise!


First up - one video clip of all four trailers....







And then we'll get in the posters:














Airport was the movie that touched off the disaster movie craze in 1970, and became the only disaster franchise - the only other disaster flick to even make it to a second entry was 1972's The Poseidon Adventure with Beyond the Poseidon Adventure in 1979. The other nice thing about the four Airport movies is that they span almost the entire 10 years the genre originally lasted - the final film's release in August 1979 putting it just six months ahead of the movie that ended the disaster run - the aptly titled When Time Ran Out in March 1980.

And for this quartet - I have all four movies in a swell "Universal Studios' Franchise Collection" box set - and you could join me to watch the all star casts swing from movie stars to TV actors across the four flicks at any time - even this very evening - if you would care to fly over to my place.





And until the next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!


Thursday, December 1, 2016

Throwback Thursday 12/1/16!

Okay, here's a look back at a couple of posts that did not suffer a lack of traffic - but what the heck - let's feature them again and see if we can drum up some new traffic.

Below the picture you'll find the links to a two part look back at my experiences with the pop culture phenomenon known as Elvira - Mistress of the Dark,







In the early 1980's a California TV station was working on bringing back the notorious Vampira character from 1950's television with a new actress to play her. However, the station manager found working with Vampira's demanding creator and original performer Maila Nurmi too difficult, and they broke off the negotiations.





Shortly after, the station announced auditions for a new horror character called Elvira. A young woman named Cassandra Peterson nailed that audition, and soon after Elvira was born!




Initially conceived to be played as a cold and aloof female vampire - like Vampira -  Elvira was eventually molded into a hip occult Valley girl persona - which Peterson played to a T. The show started out as a local Los Angeles program - but soon expanded nationwide. Eventually Elvira became the Queen of Halloween - hosting Halloween programs, making appearances in Halloween episodes of TV series, appearing in comic books and movies, and being the spokeswoman for several products, including Coors beer.




Elvira continues to be a strong force in entertainment - and still makes my heart go aflutter every time I see her.


That's the basics - and some nice pics of the lovely lady - but if you are really charged up to know more of her history - as filtered through my experiences as her fan - then you can check out these two links to an earlier two part Elvira series. They are considerably longer as I am quite the wordy cuss - as you'll definitely see if you follow the links...














Until next post - you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!