Tuesday, April 6, 2010

POLICEWOMEN

Another previously posted review. No - not POLICEWOMAN, the awesome nipple-filled NBC TV series from 1974-78 starring Angie Dickinson - but POLICEWOMEN - a groovy nipple-filled exploitation flick from the same year!







































The story starts at a women's prison - where a jailbreak is set in motion. One of the female guards is pretty redhead who resembles the love child of Marcia Cross and Dixie Carter. She takes control of the situation by putting some karate moves on the would-be escapees. A few of the girls make it out and manage to strip naked and change into sexy skin-tight black outfits. After the women guards call in the male officers for help, the girls throw a grenade at them and set off tear gas. Then they head for the roof and blow something up - escaping down the side of the building. Whew! Did I mention one of the girls has a giant Afro?






Then the credits role...we see Sondra Currie, POLICEWOMEN modeling her uniform, a bikini, a raincoat, a dance outfit and an evening gown. This is one of the best opening title sequences...ever!

After the credits we meet the entire Akerfield, CA police department - three dumb cops - Black Cop, Hunky Honky Cop and Fat Cop. They are all sexist pigs who call our hero, Lt. Lacey Bond "honey," "girl" and "troublemaker". Lacey tells the three piggies that she wants to find out what "gut police work is all about" by going on special assignment for them. They doubt that she's capable of handling the case - so they devise a series of tests for her to pass - similar to what Queen Hippolyta came up with to find an Amazon worthy to come to Man's World. So they test her...

Lacey excels at target practice - so much that she blows the head off the target dummy. She then passes the driving test with flying colors after she drives a police car at 40 MPH backwards!!! If that's not enough, she must take on a martial artist named Bill McLardy, who looks like an extra from CAN'T STOP THE MUSIC. At first Bill kicks her ass and then calls her "honey", but then she goes all KILL BILL on him - kicking him in the balls, knocking him down repeatedly and breaking his tooth. So she passes the tests - and they tell her her assignment: she must infiltrate a female mafia that has been smuggling gigantic amounts of gold into the country! Huh? Then a professor (he wears a lab coat and glasses so you know he's smart) gives her a compact that's also a radio and a cigarette lighter that's a micro-miniature transmitter. Cool, just like Q! They tell her they will have the three pigs monitoring her at all times. She's says she's on her own - and she that's just the way she likes it!

Soon, she's on a stakeout with the pigs. We learn that 70 year old Maude Anderson and her 30 year old lover, Doc are behind the whole gold thing. There's a string of indictments against them, but so far no conviction. Looks like Lacey has a challenge ahead of her.

Soon, a chick in a Cadillac convertible attracts Lacey's attention - and she decides to chase her! Huh? The chick is beeping her horn at an old couple in a red Volvo, but she's cut off by the white van, and her car tumbles over a cliff and explodes! The pigs arrive and tell Lacey that the trunk of the car was laced with heroin and that she's responsible for killing the driver. Huh???

After a heated argument with the pigs, Lacey tries to make peace with them, but they are just not having it. Meanwhile, the two escaped convicts pop out of the trunk of another Caddy. We next meet Maude - who looks like a butch cross between Ruth Gordon and Grandma Walton. Maude is sitting in her backyard counting her money while her scantily clad girls frolic in the background. It's like a twisted HODGE PODGE LODGE. The two prisoners are introduced to Maude. When she learns that the Pam (the girl with the Afro) was a hooker, who escaped using a fake pistol - Maude asks "Since when do whores make guns and get involved in jailbreaks?" Hmmm....since when indeed.








Suddenly a crazy Asian girl shows up and begins the most insane racist tirade I've heard since Marge Schott. This is what she says: "I don't want any blacks around here. Blacks are lazy. They spill their guts when they get caught. They have sore feet and big asses. They shuffle and sing spirituals. They stink. I don't give a god damn shit for n******s!" Pam responds "Why honey, I've always said nice thinks about g***s." This was a scene I just needed to watch over and over again.

These two they have a HUGE fight - knocking each other all over the lawn furniture while the rest of the girls cheer them on. Pam beats the living daylights out of the Asian racist girl - and we are happy. Maude is pleased as well, responding "Okay black girl, you got yourself a job." Then we meet Maude's body-obsessed boyfriend, Doc - who is like the gross bastard child of Owen Wilson and Larry the Cable Guy.















After the girls go to their barracks, Doc rambles on about the girls to Maude and how he thinks they are all c***s. This guy is quite a catch, Maudie. Later she yells at him, telling him to stop lifting weights cause he's starting to look like a "dod damn gorilla!" Doc responds by telling her he wants to fuck, but she has a headache AND a sore throat!!! Ewwwwwww...

Meanwhile Lacey wins the pigs over by bringing them food and dressing like a stewardess. Then Lacey and the Hunky Honkey guy Frank are assigned to an undercover mission on Catalina! Back at girl camp, the other escapee (Janette) gives Pam a makeover while another girl slips into the shower with Doc. He resists and she calls him a fag. I'm calling GLAAD tomorrow. We're off to Catalina where Frank and Lacey play tourists - riding bikes, sailing a catamaran, eating shrimp cocktail, riding horses, eating wieners, swimming, drinking cognac - all as romantic music plays in the background. Then they fuck and drink Asti Spumanti and have "pillow talk" where he tells her that she's "a lady with a mission"...and a trick pelvis! Later they are tanning and drinking Tabs when Frank notices a call girl that's he's arrested before on another boat! Huh? Then the hooker notices him!!! From another boat- without binoculars!!! Is this possible at all? So then we have a high-speed game of chicken, which ends with Frank jumping on the other boat. The girls soon gang up on him, hitting him with oars and chains. Hot.

Lacey comes to Frank's rescue with her karate-chopping ways. She kicks ALL their asses very handily, takes the 5 girls prisoner and calls for help on her compact! Then a Paul Lynde look-a-like calls Maude to give her some information about the cops closing in on her. Maude is annoyed that she has to leave her tennis match - but escapes in a VW and then a seaplane! They manage to lure Lacey to their lair, where Doc ties her up and beats her mercilessly. Maude declares "that's enough, for now."

The two escaped cons (Janette and Pam) then recognize Lacey - but think she's one of them! Maude offers her a job - and she accepts! The girls then have a party, and over dinner Janette realizes that Lacey's a cop...and SO IS PAM!!! That's why the title is POLICEWOMEN, not POLCEWOMAN!!! Then Pam and Janette have fight and Janette falls off a cliff. Did I mention Pam is wearing a "Black Pride" tee shirt?

So - turns out Pam is working for the Secret Service - tracking Maude's gold shipments. We find out that the gold is coming in via stock footage of submarines!!! Soon the girls are unloading the gold from the sub and dressing in army uniforms - but Doc discovers that Lacey has a tracking device...the lighter! Maude pulls a gun on them and tells them they are going shove them off a cliff. Lots of cliff in this film, no?

In the back of a convoy of Army trucks, Lacey kicks Doc's ass and Pam grabs the gun from Maude. Then Lacey gives a karate chop to the driver...and they jump from truck to truck, hijacking the convoy. Lacey next takes on the racist Asian chick - getting the final word on that one.

Later, Lacey tells the pigs where the rest of the gold is and Frank tells her that hey are going to be working together again soon. Set up for a sequel??? Then they fuck in a cop car. Meanwhile, Maude is hauled off to jail - and tells Doc that next time they'll try diamonds!

This one's a winner. 9 outta 10 in my book. Rent it, buy it, love it.

Monday, April 5, 2010

THE DAYDREAMER Dreams Again

THE DAYDREAMER (1966) is a recently re-discovered obscure feature by *Animagic* inventors Rankin-Bass (of RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER fame). The film opens with a likable title song by recently deceased Las Vegas crooner Robert Goulet and some great Al Hirschfeld caricatures of the all-star cast.

After the song (in a live action segment), we discover it's 1801 Denmark and we meet pathetic Papa Andersen the shoemaker (commie "witch hunt" victim Jack Gilford) and his young son Chris (15 year old Paul O'Keefe of THE PATTY DUKE SHOW) - who we soon discover ALWAYS wears the same snug red polyester tights and suspenders, even underneath his nightshirt! Papa is visited by Elmira Gulch herself when Margaret Hamilton comes a knockin' looking for her shoes, only Papa's such a rotten shoemaker that they are not fixed yet. We also suspect that Chris' mom left Papa cause he's such a loser. Gilford, usually very charming, seems as though he's reading from cue cards here.
After Papa tells him of the legendary Garden of Paradise, narcoleptic Chris is visited by an animated version of the Sandman (voiced by Cyril Ritchard)- who tells him that in order to be happy and successful he MUST find the Garden of Paradise. So Chris falls asleep on a boat - and is transformed into an living, breathing Animagic character! Only it doesn't last too long because his boat crashes and he drowns. The End.

So Chris is dead, and The Little Mermaid (voiced by Disney sweetheart Hayley Mills) discovers his lifeless body. After her father (Burl Ives, phoning it in as Father Neptune) tells her that there's no hope for Chris, she makes a deal with the fabulously goth Sea Witch (Talullah Bankhead, giving Pat Caroll's Ursula a run for her money) who brings Chris back to life. They then swim around and the "Ariel" falls in love with the formerly dead boy. He tells her to fuck off cause he's just not into her, besides he's got a garden to find. So he breaks her heart and wakes up all wet in a boat.
Back in the real world, Chris next befriends an ugly duckling. But then he falls asleep again, this time falling in with two conniving tailors (voiced by Terry Thomas and Victor Borge) who are busy designing the Emperor's New Clothes. Chris and the tailors pull a fast one on the narcissistic king (Ed Wynn), but get exposed themselves when a little kid alerts the townsfolk to their scheme. Chris then awakens (in the real world) and gets arrested for poaching a duck!!!

In the most bizarre live action sequence in the film - Chris is tied up bondage style and dragged through town while singing a show tune about being unlucky while back-up dancers perform an elaborate Fosse-like routine around him. The scene MUST be seen to be believed!

So Chris falls asleep again, this time he meets up with Thumbelina (voiced by Patty Duke as Neely O'Hara). Thumby shrinks him down to her size and the two meet up with a Rat (Boris Karloff) who pimps her out to a Mole, who plans on marrying Thumby. Meanwhile, they find a dead sparrow and Thumby touches it and covers it with her sweater. Didn't she ever hear that children shouldn't play with dead things??? Disturbing. Following a musical number by bats - the dead sparrow comes back to life because of Thumby's sweater. Huh? Somehow the wedding doesn't happen and Chris learns the valuable lesson that "your size has nothing to do with your true happiness." Hmmm...that's not what all those emails in my in-box say...

So eventually Chris gets to his Garden of Paradise - where there are cotton candy trees, monotone peacocks, butterflies, blue marshmallows and the Tree of Knowledge!!! He is told (by an off-screen voice) that he must not eat EVER the blossoms from the tree. This story is starting to sound awfully familiar.
After pledging that he won't eat the blossoms, Chris does a little dance - and is visited by a horny and devilish version of himself. Of course Horny Chris convinces our hero to eat the thing. So he eats it and after a fiery apocalyptic finale - he's banished to The Land of Nothingness!!! Wakes then up in reality, where Papa is arrested and shackled to Chris. Papa saves them both by bribing the warden with his wife's wedding ring. Guess Mama Anderson's not coming back after all. We then learn that Chris grows up to become Hans Christian Andersen!!! Wow...I did not see that coming!

(Not sure if the above photo of Danny Kaye has anything to do with this production, but I'm including it anyways).
I was really hoping to love this film. After recently watching MAD MONSTER PARTY? for Halloween and looking forward to my annual viewings of their Christmas TV classics, Rankin-Bass usually can do no wrong. But I think the uneven performances and choppy storytelling really make parts of this unwatchable. They probably thought they were making the next WIZARD OF OZ or MARY POPPINS - but ended up making something that would alternately bore and frighten little kids, their target audience. I'll give this one 6 outta 10 on my scale mostly for the awesome bondage musical number.
Two interesting notes: In another WIZARD OF OZ nod, Ray Bolger has a brief cameo as The Pie Man. Parts of THE DAYDREAMER were filmed on location at the Denmark Exhibit at the 1964 New York World's Fair.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

If You Must Decorate Eggs...

Have a wonderful, and hopefully eggless Easter.

Friday, April 2, 2010

John Forsythe 1918-2010

Born Again in the DCU

Easter season seems like a good a time as any for a dozen resurrections. In issue #8 of BLACKEST NIGHT, the DC Universe welcomes back to life 12 characters who previously were cosmic zombies.

From left to right we have: former Justice League leader Max Lord (died at the hands of Wonder Woman during INFINITE CRISIS), Professor Zoom (killed by The Flash in FLASH Vol. 1 #324), Hawk/Hank Hall (became Monarch/Extant, later was killed by Atom Smasher in JSA), Jade (killed during the RANN/THANAGAR WAR), Captain Boomerang (died during IDENTITY CRISIS), Firestorm/Ronnie Raymond (also died during IDENTITY CRISIS), Martian Manhunter (murdered by The Human Flame in FINAL CRISIS), Arthur Curry/Aquaman (died several times, most recently in AQUAMAN: SWORD OF ATLANTIS), re-incarnation addicts Hawkman & Hawkgirl (died again in BLACKEST NIGHT #1), Boston Brand/Deadman (originally died during his first appearance in STRANGE ADVENTURES #205, October 1967), and young Osiris (died during the 52 megaseries). It will be interesting to see how these characters' revivals play out in the upcoming BRIGHTEST DAY series and throughout the DC Universe. I, for one, look forward to Osiris to be reunited with his sister Isis and the rest of the much-maligned Marvel Family.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

A Rankin-Bass Easter

Concluding my look at animated holiday specials with three fun Rankin-Bass holiday classics.
HERE COMES PETER COTTONTAIL (1971)Originally airing on ABC, this Rankin-Bass Stop-motion classic was adapted from the song by Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins. The story is narrated by Danny Kaye and features the voices of Casey Kasem, Paul Frees and Vincent Price. Even Santa Claus makes a cameo. The show moved to CBS in 1976.
THE FIRST EASTER RABBIT(1976) NBC aired this half-hour traditional Cel animated special from Rankin-Bass featuring Irving Berlin's classic holiday song "Easter Parade". Narrated by holiday cartoon favorite, Burl Ives. Other voices include Robert Morse, Stan Freberg, and Paul Frees. Moved to The Disney Channel in the 1990s.
EASTER BUNNY IS COMIN' TO TOWN (1977) Animagic classic, narrated by Fred Astaire, recreating his mailman role from SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN' TO TOWN. Debuting on ABC, this also moved to The Disney Channel in the 1990s. For much more on Rankin-Bass, don't forget to visit Rick Goldschmidt's Enchanted World of Rankin-Bass.

Monday, March 29, 2010

RHODA Returns!

In stores tomorrow: our good friends over at Shout! Factory bring us Season Two of RHODA, the popular MARY TYLER MOORE spin-off created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns. At the request of fans, this season's collection is completely remastered and features all 24 full length episodes!
Guest stars in this season include both John Ritter and Norman Fell , Vivian Vance, Joan Van Ark , Ruth Gordon, Eileen Heckart, Melanie Mayron and Tim Matheson.
It's really good to see our old friend Rho again. And if you are the first reader to correctly answer the trivia question at the bottom of this post, you can WIN your very own copy of RHODA Season Two! UPDATE: We already have a winner!The character of Rhoda Morgenstern first appeared in 1970 as Mary Richards' frumpy and sharp-tongued upstairs neighbor. Since saying to Mary, "Hello, get outta my apartment", Valerie Harper's portrayal has always been one of our favorite TV neighbors. RHODA begins with our heroine returning home to New York after living several years in Minneapolis (where it's cold and she figured she'd keep better).  By the time Rho moved back home, she had lost weight and now dressed in designer duds. The brilliant Nancy Walker and Harold Gould recreated their MARY TYLER MOORE guest roles of Ida and Martin Morgenstern, joining newcomer Julie Kavner as Rhoda's younger, frumpier sister Brenda, a bank teller. (Ignoring Rhoda's other sister - who got married in Episode 75 of MARY TYLER MOORE - which also featured Bret Somers as Rhoda's Aunt Rose).
Ida and Martin were typical Jewish parents. Ida was outrageous, overbearing and manipulative – and she covered her furniture in plastic! And Martin was Rhoda's sweet, dutiful father.

In the very first episode of RHODA, we meet Joe Gerard (the sexy, swaggering David Groh), who seven episodes later would be her husband! The classic hour-long episode "Rhoda's Wedding" aired on October 28, 1974 and featured guest turns by the gang from Minneapolis.

In addition to Mary, Lou Grant (Edward Asner), Murray Slaughter (Gavin MacLeod), Georgette Franklin (Georgia Engel), and Phyllis Lindstrom (Cloris Leachman) all attended the wedding - winning huge ratings in the process.
After the wedding, Rhoda returned to her career as a freelance window dresser by starting her own business called "Windows by Rhoda" with her old high school friend Myrna Morgenstein (the underrated Barbara Sharma).
Like many 1970s marriages, Joe's and Rhoda's did not last, nor did her career as a window dresser. By season 4, Rhoda was divorced and working at a costume company. Perhaps in an attempt to make RHODA different than MARY TYLER MOORE, they may have married her off too soon - and then when they ran out of story ideas for newlyweds - they split them up!

Viewers were unhappy and abandoned the show in droves. What started out a promising run ended mid-way though the show's 5th season when CBS pulled the plug on the show.
Valerie Harper and Mary Tyler Moore were eventually reunited as Rhoda and Mary in an excruciatingly painful two-hour TV-movie for ABC on February 7, 2000. The less said about it, the better.

Valerie received 4 Emmys playing Rhoda, 3 for the MARY TYLER MOORE show and 1 for RHODA in 1975. Julie Kavner also received an Emmy for her supporting role in 1978. RHODA also received two Golden Globe Awards (one for Valerie and the other for the show itself) in 1975.

TRIVIA QUESTION: What was the name of Rhoda's other sister? UPDATE: The answer is "Debbie".

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Monday, March 22, 2010

PRETTY Season Finale

PRETTY, the web series that I produced through my company, Velvet Candy Entertainment reaches it's season one climax...and you can watch all the drama right here or at prettytheseries.com

Sunday, March 21, 2010

87% of Criswell's Predictions Have Come True!

The Amazing Criswell (1907-1982) was a psychic who was famous for his bizarre and inaccurate predictions...even though the back of his book claims that 87% have come true! Criswell also became famous for appearing in a few films by Ed Wood including the classic PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE (1959), and the unwatchable  ORGY OF THE DEAD (1965). Criswell as also immortalized on screen by actor Jeffrey Jones in the brilliant Tim Burton biopic, ED WOOD (1994).
So, he may have predicted that Reagan would be governor of California and that JFK wouldn't finish his first four years in office–but he also claimed that Denver would be destroyed by aliens, Fidel Castro would be assassinated and there would be HOMOSEXUAL CITIES!!! Yee-haa! (He also prophecized that the world would end on his 92nd birthday - August 18, 1999 - but, sadly, he died when he was only 75).
That's right, HOMOSEXUAL CITIES near Des Moines and Columbus! "Perversion will parade shamelessly" - did that ever happen? Oh yeah, they cities "will be complete with stores, churches, bars and restaurants which will ...(have)...organized orgies"! Wow, Criswell - maybe bars - but ORGIES in stores, churches, and restaurants?! It sounds like a uber-gay version of Walt Disney's original plans for EPCOT. Oh, Criswell if only you were 99% accurate...

PS- The Onion A.V. Club ran a great piece on Criswell back in 1999. Check it out.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Spring is in Vogue

Let's welcome in the season with this VOGUE magazine cover from March 1960 -  FIFTY YEARS AGO!!!

Friday, March 19, 2010