Oh My Goodness!

 

 

 (imdb)

PAUL LYNDE HALLOWEEN SPECIAL-ABC-1976-I've read about this special and how awful and bizarre it is but really it's probably not much different than any other TV variety special being produced at the time. It reeks the '70's with everyone trying to be hip, disco dancing and Kiss. Yes, Kiss is the musical guest and they do three songs! There's bits involving truckers, rhinestone cowboys, etc. But the guest list besides Kiss includes Tim Conway, Billy Barty and some woman who was on Happy Days at the time (she was fired after a couple of episodes) and cameos by Betty White and Donny & Marie! In a strange move two witches are thrown in. Billie Barnes as Witchie Poo (from TV's “H.R. Pufnstuf”) and Margaret Hamilton reprising her role as the Wicked Witch! 

Lynde made several specials under his ABC contract after none of his sit-com pilots were picked up. He seems very sincere in his closing monologue. Director Sid Smith made most of anything Bob Hope later did on TV.

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Sign The Book

 

 (imdb)

THE UNDEAD-1957-After a sinister intro by The Devil (Richard Devon), a weird guy named Quintas Ratcliff (Val Dufour) returns from Tibet to confront his former teacher with his regression experiments. Quintas regresses hooker Diana (Pamela Duncan) to a past life in some medieval time when persecution of witches was trending. She finds herself a condemned witch named Elaine, locked in a dungeon awaiting execution. She escapes but is accidentally locked in a coffin (with a corpse played by Paul Blaisdell) by feeble gravedigger Smolen (Mel Welles). Meanwhile Pendragon (Richard Garland) searches for proof of Elaine's innocence. A woman named Livia (Allison Hayes) pretends to care but is really a witch with imp companion (Bobby Barty) who's after Pendragon's heart. 

(Metaphorically speaking…).

 After Smolen frees Elaine from the coffin she meets Maud (Dorothy Neumann), a kind of witch who hides Elaine and tells Pendragon. Maud then challenges Livia. Bruno VeSota plays a pub owner who's decapitated. When Quintas realizes he's changed the past he goes back to try and fix things up. Livia convinces Pendragon the only way to help Elaine is to make a pact with the devil but Qunitas now a knight who somehow the devil knows dissuades Pendragon from signing. But if Elaine doesn't die by dawn all her future lives will cease to be. Will she submit to the executioner's axe? And what of Quintas? Will he make it back to the present? Dick Miller appears in one scene as a leper. 

This is a great low budget AIP production directed of course by Roger Corman with a lot of flair and imagination. There's some nice SFX and spooky settings. Screenwriters Charles Griffin and Mark Hanna also collaborated on Corman's best sci-fi/horror film NOT OF THIS EARTH the same year. Corman also made ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS in '57, written by Griffin and and starring Garland and Duncan.

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He-Man

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE-1987-I always heard a lot of negative things about this Sci-Fi movie based on the popular '80's toys but I kind of liked it!

Dolph Lundgren is He-Man who with his companions Duncan (Jon Cypher), Teela (Chelsea Field) and Gwildor (Billy Barty) is transported to Earth through Gwildor's invention called "a tonal key". The evil Skeletor (Frank Langella) wants the key and sends a bevy of super baddies with names like Beastman, Saurod and Blade (Anthony De Longis) to get it. Evil-Lyn (Meg Foster) leads them in the hunt. Courtney Cox is the earth girl who helps the good guys.

There's lots of action and crazy monster costumes and some of the dialogue is pretty funny. Despite all the battles there are really no deaths so a scene where He-Man is flogged seems a little out of place.

James Tolkan is a hot headed cop and Stanley Livingston (Ernie on TV's MY THREE SONS) is thrown in for comic relief. The part where Skeletor receives some power made me think of a scene with Langella, (an obvious ham), in the later THE NINTH GATE!).

Future TV director Robert Duncan McNeill is Cox's boyfriend and Christina Pickles is the imprisoned Sorceress of Castle Greyskull. Director Gary Goddard had written the Bo Derek version of TARZAN OF THE APES and later worked on things like HERSHEY'S REALLY BIG 3-D SHOW.

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