The FANTASTIC FOUR TV Series (1963-64)

Sometimes you stumble over a spot on the old internet that stuns you. Sometimes this sense of being surprised is from shock value alone but infrequently there is a website that is so amazing - so brilliant - in its concept and execution that you simply stare in wonder at the accomplishment. Such is my reaction -even days later- to this incredible site dedicated to the FANTASTIC FOUR TV Series shot but never aired in the mid-1960's. Now, you and I know that there is no way this show was actually produced but the fact that it fooled as jaded an eye as my own for a few minutes is a testament to the craft and intelligence brought to bear on this bizarre idea. This site is genius and the creators of this piece of wish fulfillment should be praised for the intricate detail and sharp thought evident in this multilayered hoax. I wish this show DID exist and I feel sad that something so astonishing has to remain in our mind's eye forever.

Check out this perfect explanation for the casting of Namor the Sub-Mariner -- 

By the early 1960s, Fabian’s music career was virtually over.  He was concentrating on his Hollywood career when he landed the role of Prince Namor, the Sub-Mariner.  Fabian’s makeup in this episode, consisting of slanted eyebrows and pointed ears, predates Leonard Nimoy’s as “Mr. Spock” by two years.  Fabian reportedly hated the little wings glued to his ankles and they are only seen twice in the episode, at his first appearance and again, very briefly, when he returns to the sea.

“Namor’s outfit caused us a lot of grief,” according to costume supervisor Ed Lossman.  “In the comic books, Namor wore skin-tight trunks made from fish skin with large scales.  This look was nearly impossible to replicate, and the material I ended up using didn’t have much give.  The trunks were much tighter than what men were used to back then, and Sargent kept shooting Fabian from the waist up because he feared what the censors might think.  Liz Montgomery blushed any time she and Fabian shared a scene, and Billy Demarest had to be banned from the set.” 

Amazing! Look over the site- there is much more stuff of the same type. So much good work went into this I almost want to pay for it. 

NaschyCast #46 - KILMA, QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE (1974)

It is the summer and once again the NaschyCast hears the call of the wild....jungle wild, that is! Yes- it's time for a Jungle Girl romp through the foliage and the stock footage as we ogle untamed women in fur bikinis and indulge in adolescent fantasies about the fairer sex. Will we ever grow up? Probably not. But while we stumble through the faux African landscape we do talk about this odd but oddly entertaining Naschy effort that marks his first collaboration with the director of THE NIGHT OF THE HOWLING BEAST a.k.a. THE WEREWOLF AND THE YETI. I have to admit that when we covered that film back in episode three I was unaware of this movie so this show serves as proof that Troy and I are still learning about our favorite Spanish Wolfman even now. Think of these podcasts as the strangest series of film history classes of all time! Now I just need to watch the Kilma sequel and see what director Miguel Iglesias brought to the table for a second Jungle Girl film with Blanca Estrada.

We start the show with a few announcements of interest to fans of Spanish Horror and are only interrupted once by a vicious catfight - I guess that is progress, of a sort. The mailbag segment has us being questioned by a female listener who has finally chimed in and wants info on the TV horror host of our youth. If you have questions for us the email address is naschycast@gmail.com or you can join us over on the Facebook page. Thanks for downloading and listening to the show. Come on back now- ya hear?

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Poster Art for SEXY CAT (1973)

I think it is past time I finally watched this Spanish giallo from director Julio Perez Tabernero. Wish there was a good video version out there- everything I've sampled looks like gauzy crap! 

Jess Franco Poster Art - Part 31

The English title for this one is BLOOD ON MY SHOES and it was released in 1983. I had never heard of it until just the other day and since it is listed as a horror film you'd think there would be more chatter around Euro-Cult circles. I mean -Hell- this is great poster artwork! And the IMDb lists it with a 5.2 out of 10 which is almost a 9 on the unskewed  Franco meter. Also, it stars Antonio Mayans, Lina Romay and Howard Vernon - it is worth seeing just to watch that trio run through their paces. 

The Bloody Pit #15 - The Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan films!

Tarzan is one of the best known characters in all of English language fiction. Created by Edgar Rice Burroughs more than one hundred years ago the jungle lord descended from British aristocracy has become one of the most easily recognizable figures in world literature. Along with Dracula and Sherlock Holmes he forms a kind of trinity of classic fiction that is constantly ripe for rediscovery and reimagining. With the huge level of success reached by the ape man novels many, many imitations have been created over the years and even the number of official adaptations are too many to take in easily. There were many attempts to film the story of Tarzan in the silent era but it wasn't until MGM Studio obtained the rights in the early 1930's that a profitable series of movies was produced. Indeed, the MGM series was so successful for so long that there has yet to be a longer, uninterrupted film run for Tarzan onscreen or for a single actor in the title role. Of course, at a certain point RKO Studio took over production of the movies but that doesn't really matter- unless you were concerned about budgets!  

The dozen Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan films are the way the character was burned into the world's popular consciousness and I honestly doubt that Tarzan would be as famous and well known if not for this hugely popular film series with him as the star. Perhaps the character endures because the black & white images from these films were absorbed into the brains of a generation or two of children hungry for adventure in the trees? Maybe one of the biggest reasons the original 24 Tarzan novels never go out of print is that young boys were inspired to seek out more of the jungle man’s thrilling tales than the films can provide? Regardless, these movies are a large amount of fun for the adventure fan hungry for jungle action.

Joining me to discuss (briefly) all twelve of Weissmuller's run is my buddy Chris Herzog. Chris is a freelance writer and all around nice guy - it was he who proposed the idea of doing this episode of the podcast. In fact, it was all his idea and I wash my hands of it! No, no. Chris was able to convince me this was a good idea pretty easily even though I knew I would have to finally finish watching the series and then refresh my memories of the early entries. That took time but it was great fun. I hope that he and I will be able to collaborate on more shows in the future even if it might only be once a year.

If you have any comments or suggestions please write to us at thebloodypit@gmail.com and we just might incorporate your ideas into a later show. I apologize for the near constant background buzz in the audio but it was either have that noise in the show or fry in the oppressive May heat- we opted for the buzz. Sorry! The show ends with a song from the late, lamented Boston band The Cavedogs called Tarzan and his Arrowheads- the lyrics always struck me as quite ERB inspired. Enjoy!

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Poster Art for Walter Hill movies

RESIDENT EVIL (2002)

Hidden deep under Raccoon City is a secret experimental complex called The Hive. It is owned and operated by the Umbrella Corporation, a huge multinational that controls a major part of all commerce on earth. The Hive is used to carry on and control dangerous and illegal experiments of both a biological and viral nature. As Resident Evil begins, someone is stealing one of these experimental viruses; this unknown person intentionally exposes the complex to the contagion as he leaves. The Hive's controlling computer, known as The Red Queen, detects the contamination and locks the facility down to keep the virus from spreading outside — killing everyone still trapped inside in the process. From here the film cuts to a gothic mansion in which Alice (Milla Jovavich) has just awakened in the shower, her mind affected with amnesia. A young policeman, followed by a black-clad commando squad from the Umbrella Corporation, invades the house. The squad takes Alice and the cop prisoner, explaining that she's an employee of the Corporation stationed in the house to guard a secret entrance to The Hive. (As part of the Hive's automated defense mechanism, she was incapacitated by stun gas pumped into the house to knock out intruders. The amnesia is a short-term side effect.) The squad proceeds into the underground complex to discover the reason for the lockdown and take back control of the facility from The Red Queen. This turns out to be harder than they hoped. Although the virus has now been cleaned out of the Hive's air system, the effect of the virus on the dead bodies inside has turned them into murderous zombies with a taste for human flesh. Couple that problem with The Red Queen's attempts to kill off the invaders and a strict two-hour time limit before the entire complex is sealed from the outside - permanently - and the tension level skyrockets.

RESIDENT EVIL is a damned good junk-food movie. This film is never going to be anyone's idea of a classic, but it does work on a strong entertainment level. There's a nice central mystery and enough violent surprises to keep your eyes off the clock. I can't comment on how fans of the various video games it's based on will like it, but as a horror movie fan I found it to be great fun. The long sad cinematic history of movies based on video games is littered with so many bad films that a sane man turns from thinking about them lest he be locked away begging for death by joystick or Tetris block. When I learned that Paul W. S. Anderson had written and directed this one I despaired for I have seen his previous movies and have disliked them all. I know Mortal Kombat, Event Horizon, and Soldier have their defenders, but I can find next to nothing good to say about them. So imagine my surprise when I found myself actually enjoying this film! Not that there aren't problems. There is at least one point right after the initial zombie attack where it appears that a bit of narrative has been cut out to speed the pacing at the expense of clear storytelling. Overall I was happy with the film even though at times it felt like a game of 'spot the film reference'; many scenes are homages to other movies (if you're charitable) or outright steals (if you're not). Often this type of thing will anger me but here it didn't. I attribute this to the confidence and forceful momentum of the story. Every few minutes we are introduced to a new situation or problem that pushes the characters around like rats in a maze. One criticism I've heard from others is that for an R-rated zombie movie, RESIDENT EVIL is very light on gore and I have to agree  - there should have been a good deal more graphic violence. Unfortunately it looks like the producers were afraid to go too far, knowing that, since it's based on a popular video game, parents' groups just might have a fit should little Billy see entrails flying about. It's too bad, really, because the potential was there for a better movie had more daring filmmakers been in charge. 

Anyone who sat through Tomb Raider knows that live action movies based on video games are probably never going to be a great idea, but RESIDENT EVIL avoids most of that film's dreadful pitfalls. It's not a great movie; it's not even one of the better zombie movies... but it is fast and fun - the cinematic equivalent of hot buttered popcorn that you can't stop eating until it's gone. I just wish it had worked harder for that R rating.

Maybe I need to review each film in this series? Dumb fun is the short form call.