A Tale of Weird Menace

Performance

The Stones are Rolling

While not my favorite band, that would be either The Byrds or The Velvet Underground, The Rolling Stones are pretty damn close. Having not only released some of the greatest albums of all-time The Stones, along with The Who and T. Rex, have one of the absolute best singles discographies. Great tracks like “Let’s Spend the Night Together” and “I’m Free” littered not only their A-sides but their flip-sides as well. While I might differ from most and prefer The Stones folk-psychedelic period that birthed freak-outs like “2000 Light Years From Home” and “We Love You” every single from their years on London, meaning “Come On” in 1963 through 1971’s “Wild Horses,” is utterly fantastic.

1.“Jumpin’ Jack Flash”/“Child of The Moon”



2.“We Love You”/“Dandelion”

3.“Honky Tonk Women”/“You Can’t Always Get What You Want”

4.“Street Fighting Man”/“No Expectations”

5.“Let’s Spend the Night Together”/“Ruby Tuesday”

6.“She’s A Rainbow”/“2000 Light Years From Home”

7.“Paint It, Black”/“Stupid Girl”

8.“Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing the Shadow?”/“Who’s Driving Your Plane?”

9.“Tumbling Dice”/“Sweet Black Angel”

10.“Mother’s Little Helper”/“Lady Jane”

11.“(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”/“The Spider and The Fly”

12.“Miss You”/ “Far Away Eyes”

13.“The Last Time”/“Play With Fire”

14.“Happy”/“All Down the Line”

15.“19th Nervous Breakdown”/“As Tears Go By”

Willy DeVille 1950 - 2009

The Byrds in '68

From an episode of Playboy After Dark featuring Roger McGuinn, Clarence White, Gene Parsons and John York.

Bad Mags

He's Not Only Smarter Than the Police... He's Doing their Job

Witchcraft Through The Ages

R.I.P. - Mitsuharu Misawa 1962 - 2009

R.I.P. - David Carradine 1936 - 2009

Suzuki and Go To Hell, Bastards!

Equal parts Rock ‘n’ Roll, Russ Meyer, Miles Davis and Comic Books Japanese filmmaker Seijun Suzuki has interested me greatly for years. I first became introduced to Suzuki in the late-90s via the Criterion DVD of Branded to Kill. I kept reading what a strange and wild film Branded to Kill was and decided I had to check it out. Upon first viewing of the film I was taken back. I figured the movie was going to be an above average 60s Yakuza B-Film with occasional moments of brilliant absurdity. Instead what I found was an all-out assault on both visual and aural levels. The movie was like Free Jazz. I sometimes felt Suzuki threw away the script and let the film venture where it needed without caring about logic or the rules of filmmaking. I came away wanting more. Through the years I’ve viewed more of his work and I always find something new to be excited about with his films.



Before Branded to Kill, Tokyo Drifter and Youth of the Beast Seijun Suzuki cut his offbeat teeth with Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell, Bastards! an adaptation of a crime novel by Haruhiko Ooyabu. Having something to do with two rivals gangs wanting to kill a member of a third gang and a Private Detective working with the police to infiltrate the gangs, or something like that. The film’s plotline is sketchy and motives aren’t really revealed but that’s hardly the point. Instead Go to Hell, Bastards! exists solely for bright, vibrant colors, gunplay, cool men on both sides of the law and fast women. Frequent Suzuki leading man Jo Shishido (or as I like to call him the Man with the Big Cheeks) is charismatic and funny as Det. Tajima and the vast array of Japanese character actors who made a career out of playing Yakuza are wonderful in both performance and look.

As usual for Japanese Exploitation films, the score is a great highlight. Showcasing a fantastic jazzy score typical of Yakuza films of the period Go to Hell, Bastards! also features a cool Japanese Rock song by a band possibly call Jazz Man. Jo Shishido also gets in on the musical fun performing an impromptu duet with a showgirl. The real star of Go to Hell, Bastards! however is Suzuki’s eye. The film is full of amazing visual flourishes. Shots filled to the brim with bright color, close-ups of weapons and a Yakuza riot are favorites of mine. Suzuki is a filmmaker that understands the importance of and knows how to properly use a 2.35:1 aspect ratio.



Although not on the level of his later masterworks, Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell, Bastards! is great fun. The film is a fast 90 minutes and it delivers action, laughs, women and excitement not seen in today’s cinema. While not essential Go to Hell, Bastards! is recommended for fans of the genre.

Green Slime

Sleaze

We've Been Reviewed!

Whoa, this is pretty exciting, I just found out the podcast I co-host (Steve And Andy Meet Batman) received a good review from a Batman website. Check it out: Batman Obviously Reviews ...Meet Batman.

The Typewriter, the Rifle and the Movie Camera

Bava

Captain America

R.I.P. - Marilyn Chambers 1952-2009

T. Rextasy

T. Rex, the brainchild of former child actor/model Marc Bolan, released a series of classic singles from 1970,when the band changed from Folk group Tyrannosaur Rex to the Glam Rock band T. Rex, until Bolan death in a car accident in 1977. In my view T. Rex is one of the most underrated bands of all-time, their singles are timeless and still sound fresh and relevant to this day. While the majority of their albums weren’t as strong as the singles, the LPs Electric Warrior, The Slider and Dandy In the Underworld are among the best of the Glam Rock genre.

Ten Favorite T. Rex Singles:
1.20Th Century Boy (1973)

2.Ride A White Swan (1970)

3.Celebrate Summer (1977)

4.Solid Gold Easy Action (1972)

5.Dandy In the Underworld (1977)

6.Telegram Sam (1972)

7.Children of the Revolution (1972)

8.Jeepster (1971)

9.I Love to Boogie (1976)

10.Hot Love (1971)

1-800 Hotlines

Today I read a piece on sex hotlines and it made me nostalgic. It made me think of all of those old commercials I’d see on shows like USA Up All Night. The number my friends and I always loved was 1-800-Wet-Wett. This also made me think of the horrible state TV is in these days. Gone are the days of TNT’s MonsterVision, Night Flight and 100% Weird. These days watching late night TV on Friday and Saturday night you’re more likely to see Maid in Manhattan or Two Weeks Notice than The Bikini Carwash Company or Squirm. Well, here’s to the memories.

Eve And The Handyman

Following the international success of The Immoral Mr. Teas filmmaker Russ Meyer returned with what I thought was going to be another nudie-cutie film but was actually a straight comedy, Eve and the Handyman. This time around the auteur cast his Playmate wife Eve Meyer as the creatively named Eve and WWII pal Anthony-James Ryan as the dim-witted Handyman. Released in 1961, Eve and the Handyman, like The Immoral Mr. Teas, contains no dialogue other than voice-over narration and features a score of library music and goofy sound effects. The film has surprisingly little nudity.

Mysterious Eve is on the case following the Handyman over the course of a day. Who is the Handyman and why is she following him? Well, to be honest I don’t know. He seems to be a normal, everyday handyman.
We see him wash windows, sweep floors, clean toilets and do other handyman/janitorial jobs while Eve delivers a film-noirish narration. It turns out Eve is impressed by the Handyman and its not because of his cleaning skills. No, Eve is awed by his ability to keep his cool around beautiful, shapely women, most of who are played by Eve. He isn’t concerned with the buxom secretary while he’s cleaning windows from a ledge and he only wants the nude hitchhiker to put on some clothes. While all of this is played for laughs none of it is funny. There are no punch lines only set ups and this gets tiresome without plentiful female nudity we came to expect. Thankfully, the film is short clocking in at a scant 65 minutes.

The Handyman seems to enjoy the female form, he watches a woman passionately play pinball, but appears to be disgusted at the sight of a nude body, he shields his eyes when encountering a nude bathing beauty. The film seems to have the same affliction. It stares fervently at Eve in her various costumes but pulls away when we get a chance at seeing her in her naked glory. Shockingly it takes 55 minutes before we see a fleeting shot of a frontal nude breast and it doesn’t even belong to Eve.

Eve and the Handyman unfortunately was a set back for Russ Meyer, it’s not as funny, fast paced or titillating as The Immoral Mr. Teas. Eve Meyer was a beautiful woman but her looks alone can’t save a film from unfunny comedy and zero plotline. The film’s problems could be excused if there was nudity because at least that would explain why the film was made but as it is I’m not sure what the point was.

Shake Hands With Danger

For lack of anything to write about I'm going to post my all-time favorite safety film, Shake Hands With Danger. Shake Hands... is a real hoot with its downhome folksy narrator and unforgettable theme song; the film also contains death, limbs being chopped off, a man set ablaze and many other sorts of mayhem. All-in-all I find it impossible to not enjoy Shake Hands With Danger and its catchy theme song.

The Walker Brothers - Nite Flights

Nite Flights by the Walker Brothers featuring the great Scott Walker.
This wonderful song, from their final album also titled Nite Flights, is said to have inspired the Berlin Trilogy by David Bowie and Eno.

Adventures of Superman, season 1

Consensus is the first season of The Adventures of Superman is the best of the six. Although I enjoy the entire series I agree with that sentiment. Season one offers a darker, film noirish tone, while still remaining light hearted and fun when needed, the other seasons lack. The best and most memorable episodes of the series are found in this season and here is my personal top-five favorite episodes of season one.



#5 "No Holds Barred" original airdate: 11/28/1952
Although not one the best episodes of the seasons "No Holds Barred" is a favorite of mine because the plot deals with wrestling and it's a ball for me to see Superman delve into the wrestling world. In this episode, Superman helps a young wrestler expose a crooked promoter. Pro-Wrestling in the film noir world wasn't a new idea as it had been previously done in Jules Dassin's classic Night And the City (1950).


#4 "The Human Bomb" original airdate: 2/6/1953
"Bet-A-Million" Butler chains himself to Lois Lane while carrying a bomb in a scheme to keep Superman away from a real crime at the Metropolis Museum. "The Human Bomb" is a truly fun episode which highlights both the best TV Lois Lane Phyllis Coates and the astonished crowd during the series opening credits.


#3 "The Haunted Lighthouse" original airdate: 9/26/52
Jimmy Olsen calls on Clark Kent to help solve a mystery while on vacation visiting a distant aunt. The great Jack Larson is the star of this episode and he totally makes the most of it. Larson is hands down is the best Jimmy Olsen as he has the best mix of awkward geekiness and spot-on comic timing. "The Haunted Lighthouse" also shows the series' great mixture of light comedy and film noirish mystery.


#2 "The Evil Three” original airdate: 1/23/1953
Jimmy and Perry stop at a hotel whose other inhabitants include a crazy old woman and two murderous men. "The Evil Three" is another great Jimmy Olsen episode and also is a great spotlight for John Hamilton's Perry White. The two together have great chemistry and I personally would have loved to see a show starring these two with Superman as a supporting character saving them at the episode's end.


#1 "The Stolen Costume" original airdate: 12/12/1952
Superman's costume is stolen! I always loved the idea that Clark just put his Superman costume in the closet when it wasn't in use. "The Stolen Costume" has the best ending of any episode in the series with Superman leaving the costume-stealing crooks at the top of a mountain alone to die, which they do by falling.