More Spencer Williams

GIRL IN ROOM 20-1946-Daisy Mae Walker (Geraldine Brock) leaves her sleepy little town of Perryville to find a career as a singer in the city, also leaving behind her parents, little sister Mabel and boyfriend Dunbar. She almost has trouble at the start when she accidentally visits a whorehouse run by Mamie but is helped out of the jam by a taxi driver (director Spenser Williams). Daisy gets molested by a guy named Richardson but Dunbar arrives and beats him up. Richardson's wife shoots Daisy but she survives to sing another song. A white producer faints when he can't have Daisy for his new production because she’s marrying Dunbar and going back to Texas. Not as enjoyable as some of Spenser Williams’s other stories. Too much talk.

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Country Western Horror Comedy

HILLBILLYS IN A HAUNTED HOUSE-1967-On their way to Nashville, country and western singers Woody (Ferlin Husky), Boots (Joi Lansing) and Jeepers (Don Bowman) spend the night in a haunted house, actually the hideout of some spies lead by Madame Wong (Linda Ho) with her bodyguard Max (Lon Chaney also in the much more enjoyable SPIDER BABY the same year), Gregor (Basil Rathbone) and Dr. Himmil (John Carradine). After Sonny James and his band visit and sing two songs, the group meets Wong and Max. She lets them spend the night and Merle Haggard shows up on their TV set to do a song (Max also makes a appearance). The spies think the yokels are from an organization called MOTHER and use their pet gorilla Anatole (George Barrows; the veteran man in an ape suit who'd “starred” in ROBOT MONSTER) to frighten them. Mother Agent #30 (Richard Webb) shows up and kills Anatole and Carradine. He and Max scuffle. They are all saved by the ghost of a Confederate war general. 

This crazy nonsense is a sequel to the previous year's LAS VEGAS HILLBILLIES which also featured Husky as Woody but has Mamie Van Doren in the Boots role and Jayne Mansefield. Veteran director Jean Yarbrough who had worked with Abbott and Costello and The Bowery Boys was directing episodes of TV's “Petticoat Junction” at the time.

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Two Blues by Blank

THE BLUES ACCORDING TO LIGHTIN' HOPKINS-1970-Nice cozy 45 minute documentary about the great delta blues man Lightin' Hopkins. He strums his guitar, tells stories and tries to explain “the blues”. It also features many residents of the rural Texas he lived in when this was filmed there in 1967 by Les Blank.

A WELL SPENT LIFE-1972-Sharecropper Mance Lipscomb plays guitar and gives his philosophy on life, love and marriage in Navasota, Texas. He also appears in THE BLUES ACCORDING TO LIGHTIN' HOPKINS. Les Blank co-directed it with Skip Gershon.

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Overage Teenagers

UNTAMED YOUTH-1957-Two hitch-hiking sisters Jane (Mamie Van Doren) and Penny (Lori Nelson; THE DAY THE WORLD ENDED) are arrested for skinny dipping by a local sheriff (Robert Foulk). A corrupted judge (Lurene Tuttle; MA BARKER'S KILLER BROOD) sends them to an "agricultural" work farm to pick cotton. It's just a front to provide cheap labor for the mean owner Mr. Tropp (TV actor John Russell). Almost immediately upon arriving Penny breaks into song when in her under-wear! Then Jane gets into a cat fight with the owner's former mistress (Jeanne Carmen; THE MONSTER OF PIEDRAS BLANCAS). The judge's son Bob (Don Burnett) goes to work there and early rock and roll legend Eddie Cochran leads the male prisoners and sings "Cotton Picker". There's a wild dance number where Jane sings and the old cook calls their dancing "African antics"!  

Tropp gives Penny an "audition" at his house but when he puts the moves on her Bob helps her escape. He sics his dogs on her but once again Bob saves her. When Bob complains to his mom about a female prisoner dying and the conditions at the farm, mom reveals her secret: she and Tropp are secretly married. "Man oh man, this is wild ain't it?". To complecate things Bob and Penny fall in love. In the end Penny gets to do a Calypso number on TV!

Rock and Roll, illegal immigration, corruption and teenage (?) rebellion are combined in this far fetched but entertaining musical drama or drama with music maybe??

Director Howard W. Koch had already made BOP GIRL GOES CALYPSO the same year as UNTAMED YOUTH, and would also directed Van Doren again in THE GIRL IN BLACK STOCKINGS. The next year he'd directed Karloff in FRANKENSTEIN 1970.

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Blues Busters

BLUES BUSTERS-1950-More Bowery Boys craziness when Slip (Leo Gorcey) promotes Sach (Huntz Hall) as the new singing sensation (with a dubbed voice) after he has his tonsils removed. Louie's sweet shop is turned into The Bowery Palace night club where he plays to sold out business. Craig Stevens (future Peter Gunn star) and Adele Jurgens (also in BLOND DYNAMITE) are rival club owners trying to sabotage their success. Phyllis Coates (future first Lois Lane on TV's Superman) is also on hand as Slip's girlfriend (something he didn't usually have in the series) who tap dances.

Little Louie (Bernard Gorcey) and the rest of the usual gang (Billy Benedict, Buddy Gorman and David Gorcey) are there too. Gabriel Dell usually cast as their level headed friend has a more comical role in this one.

Old One Shot, William Beaudine directed this one and Charles Marion penned it.

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HenenHorror

BRAIN DAMAGE-1988-This is the kind of "forgotten" Frank Henenlotter film made between his first two BASKET CASE movies and the incredible FRANKENHOOKER.

It tells the story of "Aylmer", an ancient symbiotic slug like parasite that eats brains to survive. It also secretes a euphoric drug into it's host body that creates an LSD like high. It latches on to Brian (Rick Hearst), an anemic dullard who lives with his brother (Gordon MacDonald). An old couple had been keeping Alymer prisoner in their apartment by feeding him only animal brains to keep him weak but he escapes to find more tasty human grey matter. He talks too! One highlight is him in a sink singing "Aylmer's Song" while Brian rolls on the floor in agony. Aylmer's voice is provided (un-credited) by the one and only Zacherley, the NYC based TV horror host of the '60's (He recently turned 90!).

BD is well made despite it's low budget and there's lots of bloody deaths (in a junkyard, a toilet stall, a club called Hell) and clever dialogue. The funniest scene though takes place in a subway car where BASKETCASE's Kevin Van Hentenryck makes an appearance!

In addition to writing and directing Henenlotter (who should have made more films) co-produced and co-edited this wonderful insanity!

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Strangely, lead actor Hearst went on to become a soap opera star......

Daniel Boone Was a Man...

DANIEL BOONE TRAIL BLAZER-1956-Low budget, color western from Republic Pictures features Bruce Bennett (who was in LOVE ME TENDER the same year) as the famous "trail blazer" trying to convince The Indians (lead by Lon Chaney as Blackfish) that the white man means no harm and just wants to live in peace with them. Trouble is started by a renegade French soldier. Many settlers get scalped.

It's rather violent and graphic for the time but beware! This film includes characters singing!!! Country Western singer Faron Young co-stars. Two directors are credited. One, Ismael Rodriguez directed THE BEAST OF HOLLOW MOUNTAIN the same year.

In fact, 1956 was a busy year for Chaney (who would co-star in the TV show LAST OF THE MOHICANS the next year). He also made THE BLACK SLEEP, MANFISH and THE INDESTRUCTIBLE MAN. Bruce Bennett, a silver medal winner in the 1928 Olympics, was once known as Herman Brix and played the lead role in the Edgar Rice Bourroughs backed THE NEW ADVENTURES OF TARZAN. He and Chaney would meet again in THE ALLIGATOR PEOPLE in '59.

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