Low Budget Anthology

 

 (looper.com)

HOUSE OF THE DEAD: ALIEN ZONE-1978-Talmudge (John Ericson), a married man having an affair with a married woman is dropped off by a cab on the wrong street on his way back to his hotel in the pouring rain. He's taken in by an odd guy (Ivor Francis) who turns out to be a mortician. He then relates the story of Miss Sibiler (Judith Novgrod), an uptight teacher who doesn't seem to like kids, who when she gets home seems to have an intruder in her house. Little children in Halloween masks seem to be the culprits…but are they really children? In the second, a serial killer kills 2 women while filming it. He's arrested by the police and we learn he was executed. Goes nowhere. Then America's greatest detective Malcohm Tolliver (Charles Aidman) meets Scotland Yards’ greatest detective Inspector McDowal (Bernard Fox) after Tolliver receives a mysterious threatening letter. When he investigates, McDowal tags along. They wind up killing each other. In the next one, a corporate office worker ignores a homeless man. He gets trapped in a building where a trash compactor and a wall of nails almost kill him. When he gets out, he's now like the homeless man. 

Finally, it appears the mortician is Death. Talmudge runs away and is shot by his lover's husband. The mortician is in the ambulance that takes his corpse away. Filmed in Oklahoma. The director Sharron Miller worked on lots of TV show episodes.

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Angel Angel

 

ANGEL, ANGEL DOWN WE GO-1969-Wacky hippie drug mess about Tara (folksinger Holly Near), the dumpy headcase daughter of decadent gay father (Charles Aidman) and self obsessed ex-porno actress mom (Jennifer Jones) who winds up taking drugs and having sex with weirdo rock star Bogart (Jordan Christopher) and freaky friends Joe (Lou Rawls), Santoro (Roddy McDowall) and Davey Davidson (Anna Livia). Bogart seduces mom and after she dies skydiving he whips dad to death with a chain. 

This movie is not very good and it's a shame to see Academy Award winning actress Jennifer Jones in such a sleazy production, one of the last produced by the legendary Sam Katzman and released through AIP. It's the only directing credit for screenwriter Robert Thom (it's based on an unproduced play he wrote) who was no stranger to off beat films previously writing WILD IN THE STREETS and THE LEGEND OF LYlAH CLARE. He later wrote DEATHRACE 2000 and CRAZY MAMA. Star Christopher had been the lead singer in "The Wild Ones" who after he left the band recorded the original version of "Wild Thing". 

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Unsold TV Pilot

DESTINATION SPACE-1959-In the future a space station nicknamed "Benedict's Billions" is ready to launch a manned rocket ship when it's hit by a meteor. No one is killed but this gives a headline seeking senator (Robert Cornthwaite) another reason to criticize it. Jim Benedict (Harry Townes) head of the project comes under a lot of personal criticism especially from Kim (Gail Kobe), the wife of the station's captain (Charles Aidman). John Agar is his associate Col. Matthews. Cecil Kellaway is the outspoken Dr. Andrews. Dr. Logan (John Lormer) is also aboard. After Jim gives a nice speech that kind of wins everyone over, a scientist Dr. Easton (Edward Platt) is sent along as an independent observer. Jim's girlfriend June (Whitney Blake) fits into a love triangle Jim gets caught in while trying to clean the ice build up preventing the launch. 

There's not a lot of info available on DESTINATION SPACE but now it's pretty much agreed this was actually an unsold pilot before it was released as a feature film. It certainly has that feel to it although former actor Joseph Pevney had directed many feature films (like THE MAN OF A THOUSAND FACES in 1957) by the time this was made he had already take “the leap” into TV (where he worked on many TV shows for many years to come). 

Producer/writer Rip Van Ronkel had written the screenplay for the excellent DESTINATION MOON in 1950. Much stock footage from 1955's CONQUEST OF SPACE was used too.

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