Walters & Chicken: At The Drive-In

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#1 Post by **J.J. Walters** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 11:27 pm

rubber chicken and I have been enjoying some of the movies featured on Turner Classic Movies (TCM) "Underground" series this past year. TCM Underground airs Saturdays at 2:00AM (i.e. late Friday night) and showcases a variety of largely forgotten cult films (and B movies) of the past. We look at the schedule and come up with a short list of movies that interest us and then discuss them. We found two hidden gems last spring - Two-lane Blacktop (a 1971 Monte Hellman road movie) and Blast of Silence (a gritty 1961 film noir). We really enjoyed both of them. Anyway, rather than PM'ing each other as we've done in the past, we decided to just create a thread here in the 'Beach Bar'. Who knows, somebody might find something interesting.

In addition to the "underground" movies, we also like to view some of the old shorts/documentaries that TCM airs (also usually late at night). They show all kinds of interesting stuff like "More Dangerous Than Dynamite", a 1941 safety film about the dangers of cleaning clothes at home with gasoline(!) and "Time Out For Trouble", a 1961 documentary that examines household accidents to determine their causes. Neat stuff!

If anyone wants to join in the fun, whether it's watching the movies/shorts with us, or just commenting on our comments, please feel free! Our upcoming (tentative) schedule is as follows:

10/10
- 3:45AM - The Haunted House of Horror (1969 Frankie Avalon horror)
- 5:15AM - "More Dangerous Than Dynamite" (1941 safety film)
- 5:30AM - "Time Out For Trouble" (1961 doc)

10/31
- 2:00AM - Zaat (ranked as one of the worst movies of all-time!)

11/14
- 2:00AM - Poor Pretty Eddie (1975 horror w/ Leslie Uggams and Shelley Winters)
- 5:15AM "Booked For Safekeeping" (1961 doc)

In case you're wondering, we don't usually watch these when they air (although I've been known to do it a couple of times). We usually record them and watch them later.

We watched our first movie of Fall 2009 last week - Willie Dynamite, a 1974 blaxploitation film starring Roscoe Orman (Gordon from Sesame Street!). This was followed by "A Day in the Death of Donny B.", a 1969 "anti-heroin" docudrama.

Stay tuned...

SelleckLover · #2 Post by **SelleckLover** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 5:31 am

I prefer movies directed by Ed Wood. Plan 9 from Outer Space & Glen or Glenda are two of my faves. There's a movie made about the director called, Ed Wood! It stars Johnny Depp. Bill Murray and Jeffrey Jones are also in this movie. (Jones played the principal, Ed Rooney, in Ferris Bueller's Day Off) Oh yeah, and my husband is also in this movie as an extra! (I think I saw the back of his head a couple of times!)

#3 Post by **J.J. Walters** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 5:41 am

Willie Dynamite (1974)

Plot: New York City pimp, Willie Dynamite is determined to become the number one pimp in New York, but Cora, an ex-prostititute, is aimed on taking him down. He faces opposition from his league of pimps, the police, and Cora the Social Worker. Eventually he is enlightened and retires from his pimp lifestyle.

I havn't seen that many blaxploitation films in my time (Super Fly, Shaft, Foxy Brown, a few others), but this one appears to be one of the better ones of the genre. It has a good cast (including Diana Sands), a decent story, a couple of good action scenes (including a great car/foot chase), some memorable lines of dialog, and a good ending. Sure, negative stereotypes abound, but I guess that comes with the territory in this genre.

The main reason this movie is so notable in the genre is because of the lead actor, Roscoe Orman. Roscoe Orman has played Gordon on Sesame Street for last 30+ years. As someone who has watched a lot of SS (both as a kid and as an adult), I can't tell you how weird it is to see Roscoe (Gordon!) as a flashy 1970s pimp!

This was his debut film role, but he puts on a good, believable performance. No surprise I guess, as by this time he was already a seasoned stage actor.

The ending is really good, with Willie becoming enlightened and retiring from pimping (and why shouldn't he, as we learn throughout the movie, pimping is hard work). Someone on the IMDb had an amusing observation about the very final scene (Willie catches an errant football pass from a group of kids on the street, then smiles) - At that moment Willie/Roscoe realizes that he must devote the rest of his life to teaching kids how to live a healthy, clean, moral life. He walks just down the block to "Sesame Street" (a place that, in a lot of ways, looks very similar to the environments we see in the movie) and becomes Gordon. The rest is history!

So rubber, surprisingly, I really enjoyed this movie. although truthfully if Roscoe wasn't in it I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it as much. I wouldn't want to watch this type of movie all the time, but its a solid "two thumbs up"!

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(short) A Day in the Death of Donny B. (1969)

This aired immediately after Willie Dynamite, fittingly.

This is a very powerful "anti-heroin" docudrama, shot cinéma-vérité style. The images of inner city ghetto life circa late '60s are very compelling.

Since this video is in the public domain, I used this as a test to see if I can get something from my Tivo to my computer, then converted to Flash, in order to view online. It worked! Although I have some audio/video sync issues if I crop/edit the video. I'm working on it.

Anyway, if anyone wants to view the (uncropped) 14-minute piece, you can find it here.

rubber chicken · #4 Post by **rubber chicken** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 12:30 am

Ed Wood films are interesting. He had heart, if not talent.

Fine presentation James. Am I supposed to say something clever now like Gene Siskel would?

Nice job with the Donny B. video also, it doesn't look bad uncropped. I wonder if the majority of the TCM shorts are in public domain. What was the name of that early 60s short on San Francisco gangs? I think you might have missed it, but maybe they'll show it again and you can make a video of that too. I'm surprised they're showing Time Out For Trouble again so soon.

Maybe I'll look at the rest of TCM's schedule for this year and see if I can add another movie or two.

On a related note, I thought I'd mention At The Movies with Phillips & Scott, which used to be Siskel & Ebert (and Ebert & Roeper). They've only done five shows so far, but they're doing well. And each week they make a video to be shown online on a topic related to the current show, such as Romantic Comedies, or Paul Newman. If anyone's interested, the videos are located here.

#5 Post by **J.J. Walters** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 5:30 am

It appears that most are in the public domain. Many can be found in the Prelinger Archives. Don't miss "Dating: Do's & Don'ts" (1949), a classic!

How's this for timing, Black Dynamite, a spoof of blaxploitation films of the 1970s, is hitting theaters soon.

Italian Ice · #6 Post by **Italian Ice** » Tue Oct 06, 2009 7:11 pm

If you look on youtube, there's a guy called the Angry Video Game Nerd. He usually reviews really poorly made classic games, occasionally movies and other stuff.

Right now he's reviewing classic horror films as far as 1910!

Italian Ice · #7 Post by **Italian Ice** » Wed Oct 07, 2009 6:27 pm

Here's a sample to the one for Oct 6th

The Invisible Man. You will notice many other reviews and he will add one for each day of October, going forward in time...

http://www.youtube.com/user/jamesninten ... ZialLSxTDA

#8 Post by **J.J. Walters** » Mon Oct 12, 2009 7:39 pm

Next up is...

The Haunted House of Horror (1969)

Plot: Teenagers gathered in an old mansion are being murdered one by one. The survivors must discover who among them is the killer before he finishes off everybody.

Trivia: Selected by Quentin Tarantino for the First Quentin Tarantino Film Fest in Austin, Texas, 1996.

A surprisingly decent (somewhat) British horror flick! It's really more of a slasher flick than a "haunted house" movie, although the house they use is pretty creepy. The film is well shot (for an inexperienced director) and has a wonderful late-60s feel to it (vivid colors, mod clothing, campy dialog). There are a couple of scenes that are pretty intense (and surprisingly gory), especially for a film that has Frankie Avalon in it! It is strange to see Frankie in a horror movie. I kept thinking that the gang should just leave the house and go have a beach party!

The pacing is a little sluggish at times, but this appears to be something that is mandatory in all British horror films.

The ending is unexpectedly good, with a nice twist.

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(educational film) Time Out For Trouble (1961)

Subject: Illustrates the most common accidents causing serious injury in the home and explains that mental attitudes are the real cause of the trouble. Suggests a course of action to eliminate such injuries. "Time Out for Trouble" seeks out the cause of accidents and finds it in the minds of their perpetrators.

This is one of the oddest "educational films" I've ever seen! Produced by the Oklahoma Department of Public Heath, this film features an evil, talking clock to drive home the point that most household accidents could be avoided if only people respected time. If you don't, all sorts of bad things can happen to you - you could trip over an electrical cord, knock over a pot of hot water, etc.

To avoid accidents, you must:

Face your feelings!
Beware of boredom!
Watch for danger!

To illustrate the 'beware of boredom' point, the film uses a shockingly inept (and downright offense) example...

The narrator tells us that "Jeff" feel in love and married "Martha" pretty much only because she was good-looking (they actually focus in on her legs and breasts to make this point). Soon, however, "Jeff" is growing bored of "Martha" and starts spending a lot of time at the local bar getting pounded...

"...only then Jeff found out that there was just one thing wrong with Martha. She didn't have anything in that pretty head of hers but "Buckwheat batter"(?). That's when Jeff really started hitting the bottle. He knows it isn't Martha's fault she's stupid, but she just plain bores him to tears. Trouble is, boredom's a distraction too. If you're living in a dream world, you can't pay attention to reality, and that gives accidents a chance to happen."

"Jeff" then leaves the bar and gets hit by a car. The message is clear though - He gets hit by the car not because he is plastered, but rather because he is bored and not paying attention. And he's bored because his wife is stupid! Polishing off a bottle of whiskey had NOTHING to do with him getting hit!

We also see another couple that features this choice bit of dialog:

"What's going on around here this morning? Arn't you going to get me any breakfast?"

I realize this was 1961, but still.... How insulting!

For those that dare, you can watch it here.

rubber chicken · #9 Post by **rubber chicken** » Tue Oct 13, 2009 8:30 am

The Haunted House of Horror

Before they got to the house I was surprised with how competent the film seemed. But when things started happening in the house the makers sure didn't mind working the plot and characters this way and that in order to allow things to happen. Their actions were pretty unlikely in places, but in a movie like this, the parts that aren't great are at least funny.

I give it an enjoyment rating of 3 out of 4 Kukris.

One question: how did the killer know the older man would be at the house? Did the killer spend his free time there?

Time Out For Trouble

I saw this one the last time it was on, weeks ago now, so it's not perfectly clear in my mind (I did watch a bit of it again in your link James). I give them credit for originality though. Who was it that was sitting somewhere in Oklahoma in 1961 and thought up the plot: an unwanted clock on the family room mantel is possessed and does all it can to cause bodily injury to a mother with two young children. Says the face in the clock: "This time that hussy Jane's gone too far. Call me an eyesore will she? And me a treasured heirloom. A present from her husband's own mother. Well, she'll live to regret it." Hell hath no fury like a clock scorned. I love the clock lady's poor timing and delivery of the final line of "time out for trouble".

More Dangerous than Dynamite
(Did you catch this James?)

I thought we lived in dangerous times. In the good old days people buried frayed lamp wires under carpets, put pennies behind circuit breakers so they wouldn't 'break', and had improperly grounded lamps with metal pull cords over bathtubs. (Haha, got ya this time bro! Bro, you ok?)

All that and more is covered before we arrive in the kitchen of a housewife washing her clothes in a bowl of gasoline! When the predictable explosion occurs the helpful announcer offers his advice: "Don't run, that fans the blaze! That's it, wrap her up! Wait, not over her head, she'll inhale the flames!" Am I weird for liking the special effects of the housewife on fire more than the special effects in, say, Transformers?

And the final line of dialog: "Their pretty mother, withered and scarred for life." Who says American films always end on a happy note?

#10 Post by **J.J. Walters** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 4:17 am

rubber chicken wrote:One question: how did the killer know the older man would be at the house? Did the killer spend his free time there?

Yeah, I wondered the same thing. I think we are supposed to assume that he did.

rubber chicken wrote:More Dangerous than Dynamite
(Did you catch this James?)

All that and more is covered before we arrive in the kitchen of a housewife washing her clothes in a bowl of gasoline! When the predictable explosion occurs the helpful announcer offers his advice: "Don't run, that fans the blaze! That's it, wrap her up! Wait, not over her head, she'll inhale the flames!"

And the final line of dialog: "Their pretty mother, withered and scarred for life." Who says American films always end on a happy note?

I was so taken back by Time Out For Trouble that I almost forgot about this one!

I'll admit it. I had no idea that people dry cleaned their clothes with petrol, so this was a real eye opener for me! I guess it's no surprise, though - great depression, cheap gas prices, a general lack of knowledge on the dangers of gasoline. People just couldn't afford to go out and buy a new shirt if it's heavily stained.

What I don't get is - after they scrub the clothes in a bowl of gasoline, HOW DO THEY GET THE SMELL OUT??

And you're right RC, they don't "sugar-coat" these old educational films, do they. Kids must have been terrified watching these in-between movies at the marquee in the old days. News reel highlights of the latest World War, how to survive a nuclear bomb, burned moms cleaning clothes, possessed talking clocks....

rubber chicken wrote:Am I weird for liking the special effects of the housewife on fire more than the special effects in, say, Transformers?

LOL! No, not at all! That was the best part of the film!

rubber chicken · #11 Post by **rubber chicken** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 5:01 am

What I don't get is - after they scrub the clothes in a bowl of gasoline, HOW DO THEY GET THE SMELL OUT??

I wondered that too. I guess it was a two part job: washing with gas first, then washing the gas out with soap. (?) But even so, wouldn't gasoline harm the clothes in it's own way?

And I was surprised to see that dry cleaners used gasoline themselves. "Just the right amount" said the announcer. The wiki page for Dry Cleaning says...

"Early dry cleaners used petroleum-based solvents such as gasoline and kerosene. Flammability concerns led William Joseph Stoddard, a dry cleaner from Atlanta, to develop Stoddard solvent as a slightly less flammable alternative to gasoline-based solvents. The use of highly flammable petroleum solvents caused many fires and explosions, resulting in government regulation of dry cleaners."

Here's the whole film.