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Maniacal Movie Poster Monday #257!

We'll stick to the 1930's for this week's trio of posters...

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

Saturday Night at the Movies 3/18/17!

Who cares what picture we see?



Jay Mohr, that's who. And that leads to this as tonight's choice...

This fun film got unfairly overshadowed for its release when Phil Hartman was murdered. They made some changes to the film itself and then it took a hit when people were just not ready to watch Hartman being funny in his last performance.


I skipped the movie in theaters but did catch up with it on home video - and thought it was another marvelous Joe Dante movie. I just scooped it up on DVD from the bargain bin and we could be giving it a watch at any time - even this very evening - if you'd like to come check it out with me.









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

Throwback Thursday 4/16/17!

Let's cast our gaze back to an older post from this very blog...




One quick photographic clue...

Retro Link!

Check it out!









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

Throwback Thursday 3/16/17!

I really do love looking at the old newspaper movie listings...

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

Maniacal Movie Poster Monday #256!

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

Saturday Night at the Movies 3/11/17!

Who cares what picture we see?



Robert Clary would, I do believe - so we will pick this one. And, because Blogger is getting really weird in what clips are available through the Blogger/YouTube interface - I'm going old school and just pasting in a link direct to the trailer in question.



https://youtu.be/KJBKLIi1XLM

I was always fascinated by the story of the Hindenburg disaster - because the day that it happened - May 6th, 1937 - just happens to be my father's date of birth!


Consequently, when this 70's disaster movie came out - I really wanted to see it - and my mom dutifully took me to Toler Cinema in Benton Illinois sometime over the Christmas school break in 1975 to see it.


This many decades on - I couldn't honestly tell you if the movie is any good - but I do have it on DVD ready to check out at any time - even this very evening if you feel like touching down at my house to watch it with me...








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

Throwback Thursday 3/9/17!

Just a quick video clip this week...


Actually, to be honest - this is an AWESOME video clip.

Not only do you have Yvonne Craig - TV's Batgirl - as a contestant on The Dating Game - but John Carpenter fans will most certainly recognize Bachelor Number 3...

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

Maniacal Movie Poster Monday #255!

Still no time for words...

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

Saturday Night at the Movies 3/4/17!

Who cares what picture we see?


Vic Morrow truly would have - despite his gruff exterior - so we will pick this one for this evening...

It's Japan's entry in the Star Wars sweepstakes of the late 70's - it's got imported American actors (Vic Morrow, Philip Casnoff); and an Asian superstar (Sonny Chiba) and it's packed with charming old school effects with that special Japanese flair in the ship miniatures.



The attempts at mythology are clumsy - with our heroes chosen to fight the bad guy by finding a space walnut in their belongings. But who could say no to a movie like this?



I have this one on a fine DVD and you could take this as a message to come watch it with me any time - even this chilly March evening!








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

Throwback Thursday 3/2/17!

I have to say William Castle looks surprised to be featured in this week's look to the past - but it is a post about one of his movies...

Retro Link!

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

Maniacal Movie Poster Monday #253!

Really off on the timing this week - three posters here we go!

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

Saturday Night at the Movies 2/25/17!

Who cares what picture we see?


Royal Dano would, in his kingly way - so this will most certainly be the choice for tonight...

I rented this one along with the 1988 Not of this Earth and a third movie I'm forgetting right now. Three new release flicks on VHS - just for me to watch - and I remember being pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed all three!


It's goofy nonsense - but it's a fun cast and a pile of practical effects and it's on a fine DVD ready to spin at any time - even this very evening - if you'd like to come watch it with me.










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

Throwback Thursday 2/23/17!

Hey - this go-round - let's take a look at some more cool old movie ads from newspapers....

Okay - you gotta love it when the theater owners would go for a promo like this - drive your hearse to the theater on that Wednesday and you got two free tickets to see Let's Scare Jessica to Death! Showmanship was alive and well!

Lots of Vincent Price in this quadruple feature - plus a little Frankie Avalon thrown in for good measure!

Christopher Lee and two Hammer pictures - but no Peter Cushing? How the hell did they manage that?














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

Maniacal Movie Poster Monday #252!

Running behind this week - so let's get to the posters and let the words go for the week!

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

Saturday Night at the Movies 2/18/17!

Who cares what picture we see?



DeForest Kelley most definitely would have - especially when you make his final feature film your choice for the evening...

Although I featured Star Trek III: The Search for Spock in this department just a few weeks ago - having another Trek feature film is a most appropriate choice for this evening - because today at my house we're doing Crazy Movie Shatnerday - the six Original Cast movies.


My movie bud and niece Sandra is working her way through the Star Trek series - and having completed the Classic 60's series I set this day up to let her catch the rest of Kirk and crew's adventures.


This movie will, of course, be the final one for the day - so if you see this post and you're in the neighborhood - why not come over and enjoy it on a pristine Blu-Ray with us?









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

Throwback Thursday 2/16/17!

You know who I've always liked? Paul Hogan! If you only know him from his movies like Crocodile Dundee, Almost an Angel, and Flipper - you should know he had his own sketch comedy show on television in his native Australia in the 70's and early 80's.

Let's take a look at a few clips...

Funny stuff!









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

Maniacal Movie Poster Monday #251!

A bit of a theme week as we'll stick to the decade of the 1930's for this week's trio of movie posters.

I'll save a little time and get my chatting about these movies in up here. I haven't seen any of them; given the chance I'd watch any or all. The only other thing I'll mention is that Men in White inspired a Three Stooges short - Men in Black - and it became their only short to be nominated for an Academy Award. Sadly, it lost to a short called La Cucaracha.






Sky Giant  (RKO Radio Pictures, 1938)

Men in White  (MGM, 1934)

The Gold Racket  (Grand National Pictures, 1937)

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

Saturday Night at the Movies 2/11/17!

Who cares what picture we see?


Natalie Schaefer wasn't planning on it - but I still feel she would have...so this will be the pick from the depths of the VHS section of the video vault...

One of the funnier trends in movies of the late 90's was the plethora of movies with the words "Beverly Hills," "Ninja," or "Academy."


Yes, eventually we certainly had Beverly Hills Ninja AND Ninja Academy. Nobody saw fit to grace us with Beverly Hills Academy OR Beverly Hills Ninja Academy.


But I digress.


First off - scan that poster - is there a replacement director's name kind of taped on? Well, in any case, it's a fun cast in a big pile of late 80's nostalgia led by a five-years-older Ralphie from A Christmas Story. I have it in a sweet VHS cassette and we could be firing up the old combo VCR/Blu-Ray player st any time - even this very evening if you'd like to come check it out with me.








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

Throwback Thursday 2/9/17!

Let's cast a look back at an old post tonight! As always - a visual clue...

Retro Link!

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

Opie Makes a Movie!

Ron Howard’s directorial debut might have a more interesting story offscreen than the one onscreen – but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Ronnie plays Sam, a honest hardworking young fellow in love with Paula (Nancy Morgan – John Ritter’s then wife). Sam and Paula want to get married, but Paula’s rich pop Bigby (Barry Cahill - Coffy) will have none of it, pressuring Paula to marry Collins Hollingsworth (Paul Linke - C.H.I.P.s), whose social standing and riches will be beneficial to Bigby’s gubernatorial run in the coming months. After a quick opening scene establishing this and giving Bigby a chance to yell at Sam, Paula impetuously steals Daddy’s prized Rolls Royce, and she and Sam take off for Las Vegas and a quickie wedding.

Unfortunately, Collins gets wind of this, and he takes off in pursuit, and Bigby sics a hired security team led by Rance Howard (Ron’s Papa) on the couple, and the chase begins. They are joined by Collins’s mother (Marion Ross – the only Happy Days cast member Howard put in the movie – I wonder why?) trying to rescue her son from his impulsive pursuit. Eventually Collins’s mom and Bigby each offer $25,000 to stop the kids. At that point several yahoos put the pedal to the metal, including Hoke Howell (Kingdom of the Spiders), Ken Lerner (Gas Pump Girls), Leo Rossi (Hit List), and the tag team of Pete Isaaksen (CPO Sharkey) and Clint Howard (Ron's bro). Ron's TV boss - Garry Marshall - pops up for a cameo, and you also get the so-right-for-radio-and-so-wrong-for-movies face of super radio personality "The Real" Don Steele, Car stunts and slapstick abound as the motley crew race to Sin City.

Ron Howard was in the midst of a very successful run as the star of the popular Happy Days TV series when Uberproducer Roger Corman approached him to star in a PG-rated car crash comedy called Eat My Dust!. As Ron tells it - he asked if he could direct. Roger said no to that for Eat My Dust! but did say he would allow Ron to direct a second car chase movie. (Corman's brilliance on display: get two movies with a name star instead of one). It’s a very simple story, scripted by Ron and his father Rance, strategically engineered to allow Ron to star but allow his scenes to be quickly block shot so he could be done in front of the camera after only a couple of days and then concentrate on the rest of the movie for the remainder of the schedule.

So how is the movie? Well, as a straight up movie - it's not that great. But as an exercise in nostalgia and as a historical record marking the beginning of a very successful and profitable directing career - it's gold. The stunt work is impeccable and it's nice seeing all the familiar faces.


One of my very favorite quotes about making movies came from this production - when Roger Corman told Ron Howard: "Do a good job directing this movie for me and you'll never have to work for me again." Ha!


The car stunts got featured in other, later, Roger Corman flicks, of course, But mainly, this is the movie that launched the directing career of the man who brought us Night Shift and Splash. (Okay, and A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13.) So it gets a definite recommendation as long as you know what to expect. I guess that poster up there sums it up - 43 cars get wrecked. In between, a lot of familiar faces mug through some strenuous slapstick. And sometimes that's all you need.










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

Maniacal Movie Poster Monday #250!

Wow! Today marks a milestone in this department! #250! Yowza!




Monster from the Ocean Floor  (Lippert Pictures, 1954)

Roger Corman's debut flick - but he was the producer, not the director for this one. It's not much; but it is indispensable as a historic artifact if for no other reason.










Adventures of a Taxi Driver  (Icon Film Distribution, 1976)

There was along running series of movies - much like the Carry On films - with titles featuring "Adventures" or "Confessions" of some job in England. I've not seen any of them. This one never played theaters in America - but I think you can get it on DVD these days.










She-Devil Island  (First Division Pictures, 1936)

No idea what this one is all about - but as the writer and director of a movie called Island of the She-Devils made 56 years later - I'd like to check this one out! If you are interested in reading about my version - HERE is a link to part one of the two parts I posted.












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

Saturday Night at the Movies 2/4/17!

Who cares what picture we see?



Jenny Agutter is leaning towards yes, while we wait for her to decide we'll make this the pick for this evening...

If I'd been asked in 2009 - after the first couple of Marvel movies had come out - if those movies would still be hitting on all cylinders by the time they got to the seventh or eighth movie in the cycle - I'd have been doubtful.


Then - after Iron Man and Thor and The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man 2 and Captain America: The First Avenger and The Avengers - I saw this movie - and damn it was good!


Captain America - a man out of time - continues adjusting to the 70-years-later world he's been revived in - and he's not pleased when he starts to realize that nearly everyone in this new world has a hidden agenda. And a really big hidden agenda is about to rear its head when the villainous group Hydra takes their shot at taking over the world. It's a good thing Cap has buddies like Nick Fury, the Black Widow, and new buddy Falcon who have his back - even if they don't always see eye to eye.


It's a big sprawling superhero action movie - and I have it on a spiffy Blu-Ray ready to spin like Cap's shield at any time - even this very evening, if you'd care to soldier through this winter's evening and come watch it with me.




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

Throwback Thursday 2/2/17!

Let's cast an eye back at some cool old newspaper ads for genre movies playing at local theaters back in the day.



Here's some great ads for The Abominable Dr. Phibes. First a "Major Studio Preview" with two different second features depending on which theater you saw it in.

American International Pictures touted Phibes as Vincent Price's 100th film (Was it? Hard to say.) But to celebrate AIP went all out with a big world premiere event including a television special hosted by Steve Allen. I wish that show survived somewhere.

And here you get an amazingly long list of names they had lined up from both "past and present."

They sure don't promote 'em like they used to!







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

Maniacal Movie Poster Monday #249!

The Towering Inferno  (Warner Bros./20th Century Fox, 1974)

One of my favorite disaster movies from the 70's - and the behind the scenes stories are just as interesting (to me, anyway). Warner Bros. was putting together a disaster flick based on the novel The Tower (by Richard Martin Stern) and 20th Century Fox and producer Irwin Allen got the rights to the novel The Glass Inferno (by Thomas Scortia and Frank Robinson). Rather than face having their big productions battling it out for ticket sales, for the first time ever the two studios combined forces to make the movie - each putting up half the budget. Screenwriter Stirling Silliphant culled seven characters from each book, and wove both climaxes into one for the script. Upon release, Fox got the American box office and Warner got the international ticket sales.








Paradise Canyon  (Monogram Pictures, 1935)

The great John Wayne is listed with 178 credits on the IMDB. Fully a third of those were B movies he made in the years 1930 until his big breakout role in Stagecoach in 1939. This is one of those flicks from right in the middle of this run. I've grabbed up fistfuls of these public domain movies on various cheapie DVD sets - I'm not sure if I've seen this one or not.








Star Wars: The Force Awakens  (Walt Disney Compamy, 2015)

I have been a Star Wars fan since my mom took me to the theater to see the first movie. I enjoyed this one. I do feel the franchise is in good hands.













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

Saturday Night at the Movies 1/28/17!

Who cares what picture we see?


Eva Gabor would, dahlink, so let's pick this flick for tonight...

Yes, it's a lesser light cash-in on House of Wax - but the second horror flick on Vincent Price's resume' certainly gives it the old college try - and it's also in 3-D - just like HoW!


This time out Vinnie P is a hard working magician whose new illusion gets taken away by his wicked employer. That just won't do - so - murder! From there the story does get weird as Vincent starts impersonating the dead guy using a rubber mask (really fantastic makeup from Gordon Bau and Gustav Norin - with Price actually playing the masked character - not the other actor pretending to be Price wearing the mask).


Of course, murder here is like Lay's potato chips - you can't do just one. More masks, more magic tricks, and more murders ensue, It's fun because it's Vincent Price - and while my DVD is only 2-D, we could still be watching stuff get poked at the camera at any time - even this very evening if you care to come join me.









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

Celebrity Endorsement Redux: Tom Atkins!

I've been enjoying Tom Atkins since I first encountered him in John Carpenter movies like The Fog and Escape from New York.

To reintroduce this monthly department I decided to repost Mr. Atkins's video as it seems to have slipped through the cracks when it went up the first time - no one even commented on it!

"I hate when people don't comment my endorsement videos!"

"Thrill me...with a comment!"

"That's what blogs are for, babe!"

"COMMENT, for God's sake! Before he runs this joke any further into the ground!"

Thankfully, even the second time around - Tom Atkins knows good pop culture blogging when he sees it!

Thanks, Mr. Atkins!









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