Bobby Pickett Performs “The Monster Mash”
To help us get ready for Halloween tomorrow, today we have Bobby Pickett’s performance of The Monster Mash. You gotta give the guy credit for getting into character when he performs.
Category: Humor
15 Farm-Fresh Facts About “Green Acres”
Stacy Conradt and Mental_Floss present 15 Farm-Fresh Facts About Green Acres. Here are three of my favorites…
2. THE WHOLE RIDICULOUS PREMISE WAS BASED IN REALITY.
If it seems a bit farfetched that a city slicker would leave a lucrative career in finance to rehab a dying farm without knowing a thing about agriculture, well, at least one person has tried it. “I got the idea from my stepfather when I was a kid,” Sommers, the show’s creator, said in a 1965 interview. “He wanted a farm in the worst way and he finally got one. I remember having to hoe potatoes. I hated it. I won’t even do the gardening at our home now, I was so resentful as a child.”
7. IT WAS ONE OF DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER’S FAVORITE SHOWS.
During his retirement years, keeping tabs on the residents of Hooterville became one of the former president’s favorite pastimes. The Eisenhowers loved the show so much that they deemed their valet’s pet pig “Arnold” and allowed it to freely roam their house—even letting it lounge on slip-covered chairs that their grandkids weren’t allowed to sit on.
9. MR. HANEY WAS BASED ON ELVIS PRESLEY’S MANAGER.
Actor Pat Buttram, who played Mr. Haney, met Elvis Presley’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker, on the set of the movie Roustabout, where Buttram played the owner of a carnival. He got the part of Mr. Haney just a year later—and later stated that he used Parker as inspiration for the Green Acres swindler.
Mac King Makes Rope Cutting Fun!
The famous rope cutting trick is probably one of the most boring magic performances of all… unless it is done by Mac King!
You Betcha: 14 Polite Facts About TV’s Fargo
Jake Rosen and Mental_Floss present You Betcha: 14 Polite Facts About TV’s Fargo. Here are three of my favorites…
2. THERE’S A REASON THEY DIDN’T USE MARGE.
One reason Littlefield was more supportive of this spin-off was because creator Noah Hawley had no desire to revisit McDormand’s Marge Gunderson character, the heavily-pregnant sheriff of Brainerd, Minnesota. In 2014, Hawley told IndieWire that he opted for an anthology format with a different narrative every season to avoid the show becoming about the “grim” day-to-day adventures of Marge.
4. THE SERIES IS ALL TAKEN FROM A (FAKE) TRUE CRIME BOOK.
Hawley has been quoted as saying he thinks of the Fargo-verse as being influenced by a big book of Midwestern crime tales, with each season being a different chapter. He cemented that idea in the ninth episode of the second season, opening with a close-up of a book titled The History of True Crime in the Midwest.
5. … WHICH MIGHT EXPLAIN THAT UFO.
Saving Patrick Wilson’s Lou Solverson character during the “Massacre at Sioux Falls” referenced in the first season was the appearance of what appeared to be a UFO hovering over a motel parking lot. Even by Fargo’s standards, it was a strange occurrence. According to Hawley, who was pressed for some kind of explanation during a June 2016 book signing, the scene stemmed from the idea that the show is taking cues from “true crime” books and all of the unbelievable details they often contain.
Speaking of a similar scene that felt disconnected from the narrative of the original film, Hawley said that he asked himself, “‘Why is this in the movie?’ It has nothing to do with the movie—except the movie says, ‘This is a true story.’ They put it in there because it ‘happened.’ Otherwise you wouldn’t put it in there. The world of Fargo needs those elements; those random, odd, truth-is-stranger-than-fiction elements.”
“The Bandit” (2016) / Z-View
The Bandit (2016)
Director: Jesse Moss
Screenplay: N/A
Stars: Mike Henry, Robert L. Levy Robert L. Levy, David Needham, Hal Needham, Burt Reynolds and Paul Williams.
The Pitch: “We could make a documentary about the making of ‘Smokey & the Bandit’… or a documentary about Hal Needham… or we could do both!”
Tagline: “Old Legends Never Die”
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
The Bandit is a well done documentary that takes us behind-the-scenes on the making of Smokey and the Bandit with a focus on Hal Needham the stuntman turned director who came up with the idea and got his best buddy, Burt Reynolds to star in the film.
Rating: 4 of 5 stars.
Mash-up of Fast & Furious 7 with Star Wars
How about the…
VFX Mash-up of Fast & Furious 7 with Star Wars. In this scene Dom faces off against Shaw in an epic street level duel. And the weapons of choice are Lightsabers.
The Art of Being Kurt Russell
Kurt Russell makes every movie he’s in a little bit better. Fans love the guy and Russell’s played in so many cult classics that it’s no wonder he recently had an art show dedicated to him.
The Thing piece above was created by Marko Manev. You can see more at XombieDierge and io9.
31 Things We Learned from “The In-Laws” Commentary
Rob Hunter and Film School Rejects present 31 Things We Learned from The In-Laws Commentary. Here are three of my favorites…
7. The infamous “Serpentine! Serpentine!” line came from Bergman’s time at college playing touch football with friends. One of his friends used to say it as they left the huddle.
10. Marlon Brando was a huge fan of the film and told Arkin at dinner once that he’d seen it over twenty times. “And then he started doing imitations of me.” Bergman adds that this is the reason why Brando agreed to do The Freshman with him.
30. Hiller had difficulty finding enough American-looking performers to play the dozens of CIA agents who come to the rescue in Mexico. He ran across some American medical students in town and cast them as the extras. Over half of the agents are those students.
Step Brothers (2008) / Z-View
Step Brothers (2008)
Director: Adam McKay
Screenplay: Will Ferrell & Adam McKay from a story created by Will Ferrell & Adam McKay & John C. Reilly.
Stars: Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Mary Steenburgen, Richard Jenkins, Adam Scott, and Kathryn Hahn.
The Pitch: “What if Ricky Bobby and Cal Naughton, Jr. were middle-aged losers who didn’t race and were forced to become stepbrothers?”
Tagline: “They grow up so fast.”
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
When Brennan Huff’s [Farrell] mom [Steenburgen] marries Dale Doback’s [Reilly] dad [Jenkins] the two boys become stepbrothers and are forced to share a room. Of course the “boys” are actually middle-aged men who have never been forced to grow up. That all is about to change…
Craig says: Ferrell and Reilly are spot on. If you go with the set-up and you don’t mind that it is Rated R for crude and sexual content, and pervasive language then you’re in for a fun ride.
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Aurora’s Monster Scenes Scandal!
When I was growing up most boys went through a model building phase. Some kids liked cars others planes or ships, but I was always a fan of comic, movie, tv characters and monster models.
Aurora was the main company producing the model kits and in an effort to promote their product Aurora would hold…
…contests for custom kits, highlighting winners in monster magazines. By the 1960s, they had started noticing that a lot of submissions revolved around expansive, morbid scenarios: a mad scientist’s laboratory, or an execution motif. To Aurora, it was a clear indication that their consumers wanted context for their models… They began developing a line dubbed Monster Scenes. Using generic characters like the Victim, designers concocted elaborate scenarios that put the unfortunate captives in mortal peril.
What followed was a series of missteps…
- Models featuring torture scenes
- A Vampirella model that shipped unpainted and appeared nude
- Labeling each box “Rated X for Excitement!”
- and more
The model kits began shipping in 1971 and were an instant hit with kids, but parents and activist groups were up in arms even leading to a California law prohibiting the sale of torture toys.
If you’ve read this far you might want to check out Jake Rossen’s Nabisco’s X-Rated Toy Scandal of 1971 at Mental_Floss which provides a more in-depth look.
Doctor X (1932) / Z-View
Doctor X (1932)
Director: Michael Curtiz
Screenplay: Robert Tasker & Earl Baldwin based on a play by Howard Warren Comstock & Allen C. Miller
Stars: Lionel Atwill, Fay Wray and Lee Tracy
The Pitch: “How about a horror-comedy set in a creepy mansion?”
Tagline: “Mightier than words can describe!”
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
A sadistic cannibalistic murderer known as The Moon Killer has been busy earning his name. When the trail leads to Dr. X [Atwill], the cops give him 48 hours to figure which of the scientists working at creepy mansion is the killer. Wisecracking reporter Lee Taylor [Tracy] sneaks into the mansion and is soon part of the story.
Dr. X is one of the few films shot in two-strip Technicolor which registers colors in only shades of red and green. [Check out Nitrate Diva’s review to learn more about the process and Dr. X.] This process along with the sets really give the film a unique feel and adds to the atmosphere.
If you like your horror with a bit of comedy, hidden rooms, panels that open to reveal eyes watching or hands reaching to strangle, then Dr. X is for you!
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Invisible Agent (1942) /Z-View
Invisible Agent (1942)
Director: Edwin L. Marin
Screenplay: Curtis Siodmak based on a character created by HG Wells
Stars: Ilona Massey, Jon Hall and Peter Lorre.
The Pitch: “Hey, I’ve got an idea on a new Invisible Man movie!”
Tagline: “Today’s most amazing sensation!”
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Frank Raymond [Hall], grandson of the man who created the invisibility formula is approached by Nazi and Japanese agents who want to buy the formula. Raymond refuses and escapes. Soon enough Raymond is an Invisible Agent for the US of A behind enemy lines!
Invisible Agent is more of a comedy than horror film and works well enough. Who doesn’t love to see Nazi’s looking foolish?
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13 Nostalgic Facts About American Graffiti
Eric D. Snider and Mental_Floss present 13 Nostalgic Facts About American Graffiti. Here are three of my favorites…
3. CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF, THERE IS NO ACTUAL CONNECTION BETWEEN AMERICAN GRAFFITI AND HAPPY DAYS.
Happy Days premiered five months after American Graffiti was released. It was set in the ’50s, had Ron Howard playing a teen very similar to his American Graffiti character, used “Rock Around the Clock” as its theme song, and even borrowed the American Graffiti font for the credits. You’d think that Happy Days was somehow a spin-off of the movie, but you’d be wrong. It actually began as an unsold pilot in 1971 and aired in 1972 as part of the anthology series Love, American Style. (Lucas watched it at some point when he was considering casting Howard in American Graffiti.) After the movie took off, and with ’50s nostalgia in high gear (Grease was burning up Broadway), ABC reconsidered the Happy Days pilot, ordered a series, and did everything they could to make it remind people of American Graffiti. It ran for 10 years and was one of the most popular sitcoms in TV history.
8. THE PRODUCER HAD TO BECOME MACKENZIE PHILLIPS’ LEGAL GUARDIAN FOR THE SHOOT.
Mackenzie Phillips was just 12 years old when she arrived to make the film, and though she had showbiz experience (her father, John Phillips, was in The Mamas & the Papas), neither she nor her parents realized that California law required her to have a guardian present. “They were almost going to have to recast me, but Gary Kurtz”—a producer on the film—”and his family said, ‘We’ll take her,'” Phillips said in 1999. ” So they went to the courts in San Francisco and got guardianship of me.” Phillips lived with the Kurtzes for the duration of the shoot and described it as a happy experience.
2. IT WAS SAVED FROM BECOMING A TV MOVIE BY THE GODFATHER.
Universal Pictures gave Lucas a budget of $600,000, or about $3.5 million in 2016 dollars, to make the movie—in other words, not very much. When Coppola came onboard as a producer shortly after the release of The Godfather, Universal gave Lucas another $175,000. Later, when the film was finished and had test-screened positively, Universal inexplicably wanted to drastically re-edit it and release it as a TV movie. Lucas objected but had no clout. Coppola, on the other hand—by this time an Oscar-winner—could make studio executives listen. He convinced them to do only a little bit of trimming (the deleted scenes were reincorporated for home video release) and to release the film theatrically.
Cabin in the Sky (1943) / Z-View
Cabin in the Sky (1943)
Director: Vincente Minnelli, Busby Berkeley (uncredited)
Screenplay: Joseph Schrank based on the musical by Lynn Root
Stars: Ethel Waters, Eddie ‘Rochester’ Anderson, Lena Horne, Butterfly McQueen, Louis Armstrong, Rex Ingram, Kenneth Spencer, and Duke Ellington.
The Pitch: “Let’s make a movie version of ‘Cabin in the Sky!’”
Tagline: “Broadway’s big, fun-jammed music show is on the screen at last–crowded with stars and songs and spectacle in the famed MGM manner!”
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Little Joe [Anderson] dies after being shot during a night of gambling and fast women. Before his soul can be claimed, Little Joe’s wife, Petunia [Waters] prays so hard for Little Joe that angels show up just as the Devil’s soldiers prepare to wisk him away. A decision is made that Little Joe will be returned to the living and have six months to earn his way heaven or be claimed by the devils. The catch is Little Joe will remember none of this.
The devils plot to place every obstacle possible in Little Joe’s path from fast women like Georgia Brown [Horne] to fast cash and no-account friends. Will Joe make it to the Cabin in the Sky?
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Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953) / Z-View
Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953)
Director: Charles Lamont
Screenplay: D.D. Beauchamp and Howard Christie from a story by John Grant.
Stars: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Robert Paige and Anita Ekberg.
The Pitch: “How about Abbott & Costello go to Mars?”
No Tagline: “THEY’RE OUT OF THIS WORLD ON A MISGUIDED MISSLE!”
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Abbott and Costello accidently launch a rocket destined for Mars. It ends up in New Orleans at Mardi Gras. Bud and Lou think they’re on Mars after interacting with locals. When they get back on the rocket they’re joined by two escaped cons and all four of them end up on the planet Venus which is ruled by women. Will Bud and Lou get back to Earth? Will they even want to?
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