The Evil of Frankenstein

1964

Peter Cushing as the Baron you know Frankenstein. This was the third of six times that Cushing played the Baron for Hammer films.

What’s this about?

Remember the first two Hammer Frankenstein films? If you don’t that’s okay, but this film kind acts like most of those two films never happened either. Frankenstein and his assistant Hans (aren’t all the secondary guys in this films either Hans or Karl?) get caught accepting a stolen corpse and they flee town only to run back to another town that the Baron was run out of. Not a popular gent that Frankenstein. Anyways in this town the Baron owns a residence. He is returning because he needs cash and he left furniture and artwork there so he hope to sell it off to get money to keep funding his bizarre research. So they get to the castle and find nothing, we’ve been robbed! Oh, well this gives the Baron a chance to fill us in on a back story and pad the film’s length. He tells of a monster he created in the past. The monster loved to eat human flesh ewww yucky. The monster got out which wouldn’t have happened if the baron had a leash on him or a better fence up. Anyways the locals gave chase. The Baron was shot and thrown in jail while the monster was shot and then vanished. Back to present day and the Baron and his assistant put on masks and go in to town where they are having a festival of sorts. The Baron sees the Burgomeister wearing his ring and he freaks out, the police go after the Baron but he gets away. The two run into a deaf girl with poofy carrot colored hair. She leads them to her home in a cave where they discover a monster pop well actually it’s Frankenstein’s old monster only frozen. So they pull out a blow drier and thaw him out. Oh, wait no electricity so they use fire to thaw him out. Dagnabbit the monster won’t respond. Maybe he’s upset about looking like a third rate version of Karloff’s block head style monster or maybe that gunshot years ago hurt him. Anyways the Baron employees a sideshow hypnotist to try and revive the monster. Nothing but the best for the Baron and his creature. However it works but the hypnotist has some power over the monster which he uses to get back at people he doesn’t like. The monster is though of as a uh monster. The Baron socks the hypnotist and throws his hide out of the castle. Unfortunately the Baron soon gets nabbed by the law. Hans and the mute girl try to calm the monster without much luck. The Baron gets free and goes back to the castle where he has a wrestling match with the monster (fitting since the monster is played by a wrestler). The Baron tells Hans and the girl to flee. They go and the castle goes blooey. Roll the credits.

The negatives-I didn’t care for monster’s make-up. They tried to a Universal style monster and it’s rather poor. The plot point with the hypnotist trying to revive the monster seems a bit thrown together. The film seems like a step back in the series compared to the previous two films. It’s not bad, but it lacks the darkness of the previous films and comes across as being a bit too basic.

The positives-Peter Cushing just about always delivers and this movie is no exception. He gives his best. The sets and scenery are mostly quite good.

Upcoming stuff and junk

Happy Thanksgiving. I’m still hoping to have reviews of the Fury of Hercules and the Evil of Frankenstein out by Saturday. For next week I’ll review the first Gingerdead Man film and at least one other movie. Mechagodzilla will drop by to share the monster of the month, Dr. Smith will share and insult and I’ll share theme weeks for December and beyond for 2014.

Have a great Holiday!

Shows that should be on DVD

Or maybe this should be shows that I think should be on DVD but likely they won’t be. Now we all know that the 60’s Batman deserves a DVD release and we all know it won’t get one so I’ll leave that off the list. Here you go, feel free to add any others that you like.

Freddy’s Nightmares

1988-1990, 2 seasons, syndicated

A horror anthology show with Freddie Krueger hosting.

Have I seen it? I saw a handful of episodes when it was first on and liked them.

Chances of a release-It has had a release in another region. Unlike other shows on this list it went 2 seasons and featured a very known character. I thinks odds are against a release, but it’s possible.

The Dark Room

1981-1982, 16 episodes, network

A horror anthology show that hit a couple of years before the anthology explosion of the md-80’s. James Coburn hosted it.

Have I seen it? I recall watching it fairly often with my parents.

Chances of a release-I think this one has also been released on another region. I think chances are slim but other anthology shows have been released in recent years as well.

Cliffhangers

1979, half a season, network

The show was meant to be like the old movie serials. So they had three different stories going. I seem to remember that they only got around to showing the ending to one of the three stories.

Have I seen it? My brother and I watched this one every week.

Chances of a release-

Fantastic Journey

1977, 10 episodes, network

This show had to do with a group of people from different time periods being trapped in the Bermuda Triangle.

Have I seen it? Nope, only know it from pictures from old issues of Starlog and various online reviews.

Chances of a release-Doubtful given it’s age and number of episodes.

Project UFO

1978-1979, network

This Jack Webb made show took real sightings of UFOs and dramatized them

Have  I seen it? I would watch this show and then go outside and search the sky for UFOs yet I never saw one. I only really remember the spaceships from this one so I am not sure how good the show would be if I saw it now.

Chances of a release-At this point I really don’t think the interest is there.

Wizards and Warriors

8 episodes, 1983, network

A fantasy show with royalty and a wizard and such

Have I seen it? I have faint memories of seeing a few episodes. I was into anything fantasy related so I liked it back then but remember very little about it.

Chances of a release-No way, too few episodes.

Werewolf

1987-1988,  Fox before it was a real network

College becomes a werewolf.

Have I seen it? I watched most of the episodes during it’s original run.

Chances of a DVD release? Actually it was slated for one a few years ago but word is that it was tough to get the rights to the music so it was shelved.

The Munsters-Low cal Munster

1964

Guests-Paul Lynde as Dr. Dudley who can’t see much without his glasses. If you watched Hollywood Squares during the 70’s you would remember him. He was also of course Uncle Arthur on Bewitched, the voice of Templeton the rat in Charlotte’s Web and seemed to be everywhere in the late 60’s-1970’s.

What’s this about?

Herman breaks loose from shackles and goes on a rampage, but then he stops so they can go back and tell us how all of this came to be. Herman wants to go to the reunion for his old army outfit, but he can’t fit in his uniform. Lilly says he can go if he can lose weight to fit into the uniform. The reunion is just 10 days away so Lilly tells Herman he should go to the doctor to get advice on a diet. He does, but his doctor send his glasses away to be fixed right before Herman arrives. So hilarity ensues with gags about eyesight and the doctor thinks that Herman’s comments being made from the parts of others are jokes- hahaha. Eventually the doctor gets his glasses back and falls over when he sees Herman. Herman meanwhile goes home and starts his diet. Lilly worries because he’s just eating vitamins and water. However when Herman is informed that Thanksgiving is coming up his mouth starts to water. That night Grandpa catches Herman trying to sneak food. The Doctor gets to the Munster hours to check on poor Herman. The Doctor thinks Herman is dead and the family thinks the doctor is a quack. Herman still wants to lose the weight so Grandpa ties him down in the basement while the rest of the family goes out for Thanksgiving dinner. Grandpa leaves the TV on for him. Unfortunately a commercial about having a Thanksgiving dinner delivered comes and the salesman goes into great detail about the food. Herman has had it! He breaks out, leaves the house and starts looking around the neighborhood for food. He ends up breaking in to a house right in the middle of a families Thanksgiving dinner and he eats it all. Fortunately the family doesn’t press charges. At home Herman comes downstairs in his Army uniform and everyone wonders how that could be since he ate all that food. Turns out he has grandma’s old corset under his uniform wahahahaha! Roll the credits.

A funny episode of a great series. I love the opening parts of Herman breaking loose like he’s a real Frankenstein monster for us to only find out that this is all about turkey and cranberry sauce. We watch this one every Thanksgiving season.

One year

So this little icon popped on my blog to tell me I have somehow been doing this for one year today. Here is what some celebrities had to say about my blog.

It beats being trapped in a pit full of snakes. -Dr. Henry “Indiana”  Jones Jr.

I dig it. -The Mole People

I’m a doctor not a critic, but I suppose it’s alright. -Dr. Leonard McCoy.

It’s such a large blog. -Robert Scott Carey “The incredible shrinking man”

Good, bad, he’s the guy with an okay blog, oh and shop smart, shop S-Mart. -Ash Williams

Oh, the pain, the pain. -Dr. Zachary Smith

I’ve built better creations out of dead bodies… unless you are with the authorizes then I never did that. -Baron Victor Von Frankenstein

He’s always writing foolish jibba jabba. What a crazy sucker! -Mr. T

It doesn’t suck which or may not be a good thing. -Count Dracula

Graaaaaaahhhhhhhrrrrrr- King Kong

Needs more coverage of giant, floating stone-headed gods. Just saying. -Zardoz

Things to be thankful for

I am of course thankful for my family, my health, friends, my cats and a good school system for my kids. I decided to toss out some genre related things that I am currently thankful for. So here they are.

ME-TV- I live out in nowhere and can’t afford cable so I am glad for ME-TV because they show some great old shows like Gilligan’s Island, F-troop, Bob Newhart and more. I am particularly thankful for their sci-fi Saturday line-up of Batman, Lost in Space, Star Trek and Svengoolie showing old horror films.

The Wal-Mart bargain bin-Okay, I buy too many cheap films but I have found some great collections of bad and decent films at Wal-Mart’s $5 bargain bin. Plenty of films to keep this blog going with material for years to come.

Thrift stores-I am cheap and we have to be. Used is okay by me. We live 20 minutes from five different thrift stores. I have found some great clothing finds for my kids this year including shirts with characters like Wolverine, Mario, Scooby Doo, Spider-man and Harry Potter. As well as some shirts for myself including ones of Ghostbusters, Speed Racer, Harry Potter and more.

My job for allowing me to do programs for kids that allow me to share my interests. I programs at the library that I think kids will come to but some tie to into things I really like. In the past year I have done programs on rockets, Star Wars, Super Heroes, Secret Agent training and other topics including several duct tape craft programs.

Sci-fi, horror and fantasy bloggers and the people who read and comment on these blogs. I try to read as many blogs as I can and comment as well. I appreciate all the blogs I follow. I also appreciate anyone who reads and comments on my blog.

There you go.

Dr. Smith’s insult of the week

 

It appears I may have to run very soon. So here is your insult of the week, dear readers. It is Ill-informed Ignoramus. Certainly an insult to be thankful for. Now I must go. Good day to you!

 

 

CHiPs-Crack-up

1978

Guests-

Phyllis Diller as Wanda, a patient at the hospital. You know doubt saw her using her brand of humor years ago, she was around for ever. I liked her when she loaned her voice to a bride of Frankenstein type character in Mad Monster Party.

Joey Aresco as baddy Niles who hates cops. A character with extensive work in TV over the course of 50 years.

Gary Sandy as Ray who works with Niles at the body shop. You probably know him best as Andy Travis from WKRP in Cincinnati.

The two armored car drivers were Marc Lawrence  and Huntz Hall. Lawrence had over 200 credits stretching across 70 years (he lived to be 95) and acted with everyone from Humphrey Bogart to Bugs Bunny. Hall had over 100 credits across 55 years, but was best known as for being in the Eastside Kids/Bowery Boys films.

Ponch and Jon witness a couple of shaggy haired thirty somethings drag racing and go off in hot pursuit. Both cops end up pursuing the scruffier of the two guys. Jon is in the lead and then the dirty, drag racer backs up and causes Jon to hit the car and go flying into the pavement. Take that, copper. The wild driver gets away as he flees on foot and Ponch checks on Jon. Mr. drag racer runs back to his friend the other drag racer who runs a garage. The guy that hit Jon reports that his car was stolen so they can’t pin the drag race or whacking Jon on him. Ponch ends up being teams up with the Sarge while Jon ends up in the hospital having to listen to Phyllis Diller tell rotten jokes. So they both suffer from this. The drag racer/hit and run guy growls about the cops having it out for him. He has to go an errand and takes the tow truck with him. While on the roads he sees officer Grossman on his motorcycle. The scruffy baddie decides to take out another officer so he lets loose the hook on his truck and begins speeding. Grossman pursues, but it’s a trap and Grossman gets whopped by the hook. This leads to a trip to being Jon’s hospital roomie and also listening to Phyllis Diller. Ponch and the Sarge pursue a speeder who actually abducted his kids.  Ponch gets the guy to stop but by using a method that the sourpuss Sarge didn’t approve so Ponch gets an earful afterwards. Ponch and the Sarge later pursue a speeder who is really the guy that injured Jon and Grossman. The Sarge is being lead in to a trap but Ponch blocks him from getting hurt. The mean fuzz face gets away, but the Sarge thanks Ponch when he realizes that he was being set up to really get hurt. Eventually Jon gets out of the hospital, he says goodbye to Phyllis Diller and he goes back on patrol with Ponch. An armored truck driven by couple of looney, paranoid oldsters flip over on the highway but won’t get out because they think it’s a plot to steal the money. Ponch and Jon try to convince them but they won’t come out not by the hair of their chinny chin chins or something like that. The polics call for a tow truck but when it shows up guess who it is? That’s right the cop smasher. Jon recognizes him so they give chase. The guy tries to whack Jon the way he did to Grossman but Jon dodges it and gets the drop on the not so nice dude. With that wrapped up they return to the armored car where the old guards still refuse to budge even when the Sarge shows up and that’s how it ends. Roll the credits.

The negatives-Phyllis Diller was hard to take, there’s way too much of her here.

The positives-Plenty of action, some good stunts and a chance to see Ponch and the Sarge team up as a sort of odd couple of bikes.

That will wrap up Erik Estrada week, hope you enjoyed it.

Upcoming stuff and junk

I should have a review of another CHiPs episode today to wrap up Erik Estrada week. Dr. Smith will likely be by over the weekend to share another insult. Tomorrow is the first Saturday since like Labor Day weekend that I don’t have work or some event I have to take the kids too. Although I am beginning to look like a mad scientist and my son looks like a bushy coconut so I suppose we may have to go get haircuts, but I can still sleep in a little before that. Next week brings us Thanksgiving so my entry not entre for the holiday week will be a review of a Munsters episode that involves Thanksgiving. Plus I’ll get to a sword and sandal film I hope and maybe one more movie perhaps a sci-fi film of some sorts. Possibly I’ll do a things I’m thankful for list relating to horror, sci-fi and fantasy.

Have a great week!

Guns

1990

Erik Estrada as Juan Degas (the S is silent) a gunrunner and all around not so wonderful fellow.

There are other people in this film, but no one that important for Danny Trejo who plays what else a nasty looking guy with an equally nasty disposition. It’s an Andy Sidaris film so the woman run around half dressed trying to act tough and spouting out cornball lines, the villain’s henchman act stupid and die while the good guys smile and show off their hair while they  normally get saved by the woman or by just dumb luck.

So Degas shows up under his fake hair helmet, I mean the fuzzy rodent on his head um very natural looking hair. Anyways he wants this one female agent dead. So hires these two goons-one looks like French Stewart only with his eye open while the other looks like a young John Saxon (only not nearly as cool). The above ugly hit men become even less cool when they dress as even uglier women to pull off their hits. Back to the star, Degas sets up to buy some weapons from a Chinese weapons dealer. We know the weapons are great because our villain uses tone to set stuff on fire, huh huh huh cool! The hit men kill the wrong girl in Hawaii then everyone goes back to Las Vegas because these Andy Sidaris movies seem to happen in bright colorful places. Guess the film wouldn’t work as well in the winter in Minnesota or something. Anyways there are some airplanes tossed in here and cars driving wildly to fill in time of some sorts. Degas gets tense over the female agents still being around and Estrada does some hammy eyeball popping moments to emphasize this for his character. Degas girlfriend kills some of the good people but then she gets it. Eventually of course the hit men in drag bite the dust as well. Despite the fact that the women in these films can’t run very fast and hold their weapons as awkwardly they still always manage to take down some tough customers. Degas captures this woman and threatens the heroes to get what he wants, but one of the female agents blows him up with what looks like a couple of caulk guns together carrying red and blue cardboard rockets. Yet it’s enough to blow Degas to a million pieces and do no damage to the agent who was just a few feet away. Oh well roll the credits.

The negatives-The film isn’t big on plot and if you expecting witty dialog then you need to search elsewhere.

The positives-Estrada tries and he’s decent enough as a villain. There are plenty of explosions and gun fights too. Nice locations as well.