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Post by šrincess šµuvstarr on Oct 28, 2023 10:52:05 GMT
Bela Lugosi Meets A Brooklyn Gorilla was a 1952 Jack Broder Productions film. As well as Lugosi, the main co-stars were Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo, who modelled themselves on the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis double act of the time. Petrillo does sound and look a bit like Lewis. There are a couple of forgettable songs in a plot that makes no sense. Something about Mitchell and Petrillo opening the wrong door on an aeroplane and falling out. Sadly their parachutes worked and they end up in the jungle. There's the requisite mad scientist and Mitchell turns into a gorilla. It is absolutely dire, real bottom of the barrel fare. Poor Bela, it's sad to see him in something as bad as this. Wikipedia says the budget was $12,000--I'm shocked it was that much. Petrillo was only 18 when he made the film. I found his performance irritating and unfunny. However, he was very young here and went on to have a successful stand-up career in night clubs, as well as mentoring Richard Pryor, so it's perhaps a bit unfair to be too harsh on him as I have only seen him in this film. I'm halfway through this, and everything Lord Ripper says about it is true. It's astonishingly unfunny. The most horrifying thing about it is that it was made. It's the worst Bela Lugosi film I've seen so far. Even his cheapest other ones can at least be good/bad or have a few passible scenes. I think the Petrillo character is the main offender, he is just annoying at a level 11 on a dial of 10. Apparently he is on his way to entertain the troops on Guam. I pity the poor troops. After finding it necessary to pause and complain about it to random internet strangers, I shall now attempt part two, or I could wash my hair, or take my duck for a walk...
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Post by ripper on Oct 29, 2023 9:39:07 GMT
Bela Lugosi Meets A Brooklyn Gorilla was a 1952 Jack Broder Productions film. As well as Lugosi, the main co-stars were Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo, who modelled themselves on the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis double act of the time. Petrillo does sound and look a bit like Lewis. There are a couple of forgettable songs in a plot that makes no sense. Something about Mitchell and Petrillo opening the wrong door on an aeroplane and falling out. Sadly their parachutes worked and they end up in the jungle. There's the requisite mad scientist and Mitchell turns into a gorilla. It is absolutely dire, real bottom of the barrel fare. Poor Bela, it's sad to see him in something as bad as this. Wikipedia says the budget was $12,000--I'm shocked it was that much. Petrillo was only 18 when he made the film. I found his performance irritating and unfunny. However, he was very young here and went on to have a successful stand-up career in night clubs, as well as mentoring Richard Pryor, so it's perhaps a bit unfair to be too harsh on him as I have only seen him in this film. I'm halfway through this, and everything Lord Ripper says about it is true. It's astonishingly unfunny. The most horrifying thing about it is that it was made. It's the worst Bela Lugosi film I've seen so far. Even his cheapest other ones can at least be good/bad or have a few passible scenes. I think the Petrillo character is the main offender, he is just annoying at a level 11 on a dial of 10. Apparently he is on his way to entertain the troops on Guam. I pity the poor troops. After finding it necessary to pause and complain about it to random internet strangers, I shall now attempt part two, or I could wash my hair, or take my duck for a walk... The film was made in 1952 when the Korean War was raging. I wonder how many of those troops on Guam would have opted for a transfer to Korea when they learned Sammy Petrillo was coming to entertain them. I can't say that I was very enamoured by Mitchell's singing--barely above pub karaoke night after a few too many. How they had a successful night club career is beyond me based on this film. I would guess that Bela was deep in his addiction at this point and really needed the money.
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Post by šrincess šµuvstarr on Oct 29, 2023 12:20:08 GMT
I'm halfway through this, and everything Lord Ripper says about it is true. It's astonishingly unfunny. The most horrifying thing about it is that it was made. It's the worst Bela Lugosi film I've seen so far. Even his cheapest other ones can at least be good/bad or have a few passible scenes. I think the Petrillo character is the main offender, he is just annoying at a level 11 on a dial of 10. Apparently he is on his way to entertain the troops on Guam. I pity the poor troops. After finding it necessary to pause and complain about it to random internet strangers, I shall now attempt part two, or I could wash my hair, or take my duck for a walk... The film was made in 1952 when the Korean War was raging. I wonder how many of those troops on Guam would have opted for a transfer to Korea when they learned Sammy Petrillo was coming to entertain them. I can't say that I was very enamoured by Mitchell's singing--barely above pub karaoke night after a few too many. How they had a successful night club career is beyond me based on this film. I would guess that Bela was deep in his addiction at this point and really needed the money. Reading this made me swoon again. After having a man kneel next to my couch and hold and pat my hand and say, "there, there, there, it's all over now," and make me a cup of tea, even though it's not long since we had elevenses, I braved the internet and looked up Petrillo's career. Bizarrely his first job seems to have been being hired by Jerry Lewis. Lewis seems to have disliked him from then on and if wiki and Petrillo's recollections are to be believed tried to sabotage his career. I felt sorry for the actress whom Mitchell's character was trying to impress in the film and had to fake happiness at Mitchell's crooning. The smiles seemed forced. The one positive is that the large lady seems to get her man in the end, but as the man is Petrillo's character, perhaps that's not such a positive.
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Post by ripper on Oct 29, 2023 15:20:41 GMT
Just when you thought you could put away the smelling salts after the trauma of Sammy Petrillo, 1952 also gave us Old Mother Riley Meets the Vampire aka Vampire over London aka My Son, the Vampire, with Arthur Lucan as Old Mother Riley and Bela Lugosi as Von Housen. Apparently, according to Wikipedia, Bela came to London to do a stage play of Dracula, which was a failure. He was broke and couldn't afford the fare back to the US. He was hired to play 'the vampire' as it was thought his presence might give the film success overseas. Sadly, no Kitty McShane in this one as she and Lucan had separated by then, and this was the last OMR film. I've not, as yet, seen this one, but will give it a viewing in the next few days--maybe a Halloween movie? I am not expecting much, but there are some very familiar names in the cast list.
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Post by ripper on Oct 30, 2023 13:47:16 GMT
I couldn't wait until Halloween to see Old Mother Riley meets the Vampire, not due to anticipation, more like wanting to get it over with. It has a pretty good cast with some familiar names: Richard Wattis, Dora Bryan, Graham Moffatt, Hattie Jacques, John Le Mesurier, Dandy Nichols and Lawrence Naismith. Bela plays a scientist who thinks he's a vampire, though the opening few minutes establishes he isn't. He wants to create an army of robots to take over the world, but so far has only one. The robot gets sent accidentally to Old Mother Riley and Lugosi uses his remote control to direct it to kidnap her. Don't expect high-brow humour, the OMR films biggest audience were children, so it is fairly broad with a fair dash of slapstick. If you are looking for chills then forget it. The cast does okay and Bela seems to be enjoying himself. By no means is it one of Bela's best films, but imo it is waaaaay better than BL meets a Brooklyn Gorilla. Lucan's wife, Kitty McShane would play OMR's daughter in nearly all the films, but they were separated by the time this one, the final entry, was made.
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Post by šrincess šµuvstarr on Oct 30, 2023 13:57:33 GMT
I couldn't wait until Halloween to see Old Mother Riley meets the Vampire, not due to anticipation, more like wanting to get it over with. It has a pretty good cast with some familiar names: Richard Wattis, Dora Bryan, Graham Moffatt, Hattie Jacques, John Le Mesurier, Dandy Nichols and Lawrence Naismith. Bela plays a scientist who thinks he's a vampire, though the opening few minutes establishes he isn't. He wants to create an army of robots to take over the world, but so far has only one. The robot gets sent accidentally to Old Mother Riley and Lugosi uses his remote control to direct it to kidnap her. Don't expect high-brow humour, the OMR films biggest audience were children, so it is fairly broad with a fair dash of slapstick. If you are looking for chills then forget it. The cast does okay and Bela seems to be enjoying himself. By no means is it one of Bela's best films, but imo it is waaaaay better than BL meets a Brooklyn Gorilla. Lucan's wife, Kitty McShane would play OMR's daughter in nearly all the films, but they were separated by the time this one, the final entry, was made. I watched it last year and didn't mind it. I thought like you Bela was having fun, and he got a decent amount of lines. It seemed to me that both Bela and Arthur Lucan were throwbacks to another age that was ending, in Lucan's case old fashioned music hall. I've never seen the other Old Mother Riley films but plan to. I think they might make gentle Christmas viewing.
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Post by helrunar on Oct 30, 2023 14:34:26 GMT
I finally saw it on youtube a year or so ago. It was better than I'd heard from many fans way back when. Bela did seem to have fun with it and had more to do than was the case in a lot of the wretched Poverty Row stuff. Spotting some of the well known cast added a bit of fun to the proceedings, too.
Hel.
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Post by helrunar on Oct 30, 2023 14:46:36 GMT
Mostly during and after meals these past few days, I've been viewing some episodes of this early 1980s kids' fantasy show, Into the Labyrinth. It features really tacky special effects and almost schizophrenically paced scripts, but some of the sets and costumes are pretty. There is, to me, a kind of fascination for the contrast in the acting styles of the two lead adult actors. Ron Moody as the mostly benevolent sorcerer Rothgo (perhaps somebody's tribute to artist Mark Rothko?) underplays and does it all extremely straight-faced. Evil intergalactic cosmic Witch Belor, portrayed by Miss Pamela Salem, is a scenery-shredding, shrieking force of camp glory and annihilating glamour. Often finding out what kind of wig and costume she's going to show up in next provides what fun there is. Pamela Salem acted in several episodes of the old Doctor Who and showed up on Blake's 7 and various other things I've seen over the years. Complete series available on this playlist: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0B328F71641B2376Series 2 included a couple of outdoor scenes shot at Avebury. Series 3, which I just started watching, began with a shot of one of the few returning actors at Glastonbury Tor. Hel.
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Post by šrincess šµuvstarr on Oct 30, 2023 15:08:28 GMT
Mostly during and after meals these past few days, I've been viewing some episodes of this early 1980s kids' fantasy show, Into the Labyrinth. It features really tacky special effects and almost schizophrenically paced scripts, but some of the sets and costumes are pretty. There is, to me, a kind of fascination for the contrast in the acting styles of the two lead adult actors. Ron Moody as the mostly benevolent sorcerer Rothgo (perhaps somebody's tribute to artist Mark Rothko?) underplays and does it all extremely straight-faced. Evil intergalactic cosmic Witch Belor, portrayed by Miss Pamela Salem, is a scenery-shredding, shrieking force of camp glory and annihilating glamour. Often finding out what kind of wig and costume she's going to show up in next provides what fun there is. Pamela Salem acted in several episodes of the old Doctor Who and showed up on Blake's 7 and various other things I've seen over the years. Complete series available on this playlist: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0B328F71641B2376Series 2 included a couple of outdoor scenes shot at Avebury. Series 3, which I just started watching, began with a shot of one of the few returning actors at Glastonbury Tor. Hel. At least they made drama back then, there is tons of it available, despite the BBC junking policy. You can get away with poverty row sets and effects if the script is strong, which it often is. Nowadays it is the other way around. They murdered Dickens Great expectations recently. I'm baffled when the BBC complains about a lack of money, as I can't work out what they spend the current budget on. Daytime is junk shows about holidays and houses, which are probably excuses to pay large checks to presenters, and the prime-time shows don't bear thinking about.
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Post by Michael Connolly on Oct 30, 2023 15:56:16 GMT
Mostly during and after meals these past few days, I've been viewing some episodes of this early 1980s kids' fantasy show, Into the Labyrinth. It features really tacky special effects and almost schizophrenically paced scripts, but some of the sets and costumes are pretty. There is, to me, a kind of fascination for the contrast in the acting styles of the two lead adult actors. Ron Moody as the mostly benevolent sorcerer Rothgo (perhaps somebody's tribute to artist Mark Rothko?) underplays and does it all extremely straight-faced. Evil intergalactic cosmic Witch Belor, portrayed by Miss Pamela Salem, is a scenery-shredding, shrieking force of camp glory and annihilating glamour. Often finding out what kind of wig and costume she's going to show up in next provides what fun there is. Pamela Salem acted in several episodes of the old Doctor Who and showed up on Blake's 7 and various other things I've seen over the years. Complete series available on this playlist: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0B328F71641B2376Series 2 included a couple of outdoor scenes shot at Avebury. Series 3, which I just started watching, began with a shot of one of the few returning actors at Glastonbury Tor. Hel. Pamela Salem looked great in that series.
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Post by helrunar on Oct 30, 2023 16:08:22 GMT
Pamela was really good in the Who serials The Robots of Death (imo, post 2004 revival Who has produced absolutely nothing to compare with this) and in one of the best Sylvester McCoy stories, Remembrance of the Daleks, in which she was cast as a scientist and was quite plausible in the role.
Hel.
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Post by andydecker on Oct 30, 2023 18:07:42 GMT
Pamela was really good in the Who serials The Robots of Death (imo, post 2004 revival Who has produced absolutely nothing to compare with this) and in one of the best Sylvester McCoy stories, Remembrance of the Daleks, in which she was cast as a scientist and was quite plausible in the role. Hel. Rememberance of the Daleks is a good one, despite the convoluted ending. But I have a soft spot for Ghostlight - which admittedly only makes sense if you read the novelisation :-) Which I did. And nothing beats The Curse of Fenric. (Important parts of which suffered from unclear and muddled story-telling. Hm, the last two seasons suffered a lot of this, when I think of it. :-) Where was I?)
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Post by dem bones on Oct 30, 2023 19:22:10 GMT
Mostly during and after meals these past few days, I've been viewing some episodes of this early 1980s kids' fantasy show, Into the Labyrinth. It features really tacky special effects and almost schizophrenically paced scripts, but some of the sets and costumes are pretty. There is, to me, a kind of fascination for the contrast in the acting styles of the two lead adult actors. Ron Moody as the mostly benevolent sorcerer Rothgo (perhaps somebody's tribute to artist Mark Rothko?) underplays and does it all extremely straight-faced. Evil intergalactic cosmic Witch Belor, portrayed by Miss Pamela Salem, is a scenery-shredding, shrieking force of camp glory and annihilating glamour. Often finding out what kind of wig and costume she's going to show up in next provides what fun there is. Pamela Salem acted in several episodes of the old Doctor Who and showed up on Blake's 7 and various other things I've seen over the years. Complete series available on this playlist: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0B328F71641B2376Series 2 included a couple of outdoor scenes shot at Avebury. Series 3, which I just started watching, began with a shot of one of the few returning actors at Glastonbury Tor. Hel. At least they made drama back then, there is tons of it available, despite the BBC junking policy. You can get away with poverty row sets and effects if the script is strong, which it often is. Nowadays it is the other way around. They murdered Dickens Great expectations recently. I'm baffled when the BBC complains about a lack of money, as I can't work out what they spend the current budget on. Daytime is junk shows about holidays and houses, which are probably excuses to pay large checks to presenters, and the prime-time shows don't bear thinking about. Got a tie-in (think there was just the one?). Peter Graham Scott - Into the Labyrinth (Futura, 1981) Blurb: Down through time the battle has raged - the dark forces have always sought victory. But the power of the mysterious Nidus has proved too great and has held the balance for the white sorcerer Rothgo - until the day it is stolen by the witch of evil, Belor. And when Terry, Helen and Phil are drawn into the caves where Rothgo lies imprisoned, they find themselves sent into the labyrinth of perilous journeys through time in search of the magic Nidus -journeys which will span thousands of years in the history of man.
Into the Labyrinth with... RON MOODY as "Rothgo", PAMELA SALEM as "Belor", SIMON BEAL as Phil, SIMON HENDERSON as Terry, LISA TURNER as Helen. With TONY WRIGHT, PATRICIA DRISCOLL, EWEN SOLON, CONRAD PHILLIPS, PAUL-LAVERS, JUNE BARRIE, EDWINA FORD, JEREMY ARNOLD, JOHN ABINERI, PHILIP MANIKUM, TIM BANNERMAN, DERRICK BRANCHE, DAVID TREVENA, SIMEON ANDREWS. Devised by Bob Baker and Peter Graham Scott. Written by Bob Baker, Ray Jenkins, Andrew Payne and Anthony Read. Produced and Directed by Peter Graham Scott Executive Producer Patrick Dromgoole Think I only saw one episode of this, but it looked exciting enough. Rothgo was sent back to the time of the French Revolution and his arm went a mouldy green or blue because he had plague and was running out of time?
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Post by helrunar on Oct 30, 2023 20:00:50 GMT
Cool cover for that tie-in. The biggest design disappointment, to me at least, was the labyrinth itself. I wondered if the budget just gave out with whatever they were trying to do with that. The set was used only in short scenes here and there; perhaps they felt they couldn't afford to spend some proper cash on it.
The episode where Rothgo shows up in the person of Guy Fawkes was interesting, particularly the final scene where he curses an appropriately foppish James I. Pamela Salem had a great costume and wig in that one, too.
Hel.
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Post by ripper on Oct 30, 2023 20:35:33 GMT
Mostly during and after meals these past few days, I've been viewing some episodes of this early 1980s kids' fantasy show, Into the Labyrinth. It features really tacky special effects and almost schizophrenically paced scripts, but some of the sets and costumes are pretty. There is, to me, a kind of fascination for the contrast in the acting styles of the two lead adult actors. Ron Moody as the mostly benevolent sorcerer Rothgo (perhaps somebody's tribute to artist Mark Rothko?) underplays and does it all extremely straight-faced. Evil intergalactic cosmic Witch Belor, portrayed by Miss Pamela Salem, is a scenery-shredding, shrieking force of camp glory and annihilating glamour. Often finding out what kind of wig and costume she's going to show up in next provides what fun there is. Pamela Salem acted in several episodes of the old Doctor Who and showed up on Blake's 7 and various other things I've seen over the years. Complete series available on this playlist: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0B328F71641B2376Series 2 included a couple of outdoor scenes shot at Avebury. Series 3, which I just started watching, began with a shot of one of the few returning actors at Glastonbury Tor. Hel. Thanks for the link. I didn't see the show at the time it was screened. Pamela Salem turned up in so much stuff back then. I liked her as Moneypenny in Never Say Never Again and I vaguely remember her in Man at the Top--though that was a bit adult for me at the time.
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