Cult Movies #23

Here's issue #23 of "Cult Movies" magazine. This issue includes articles on Harry Langdon's Haunted House, "Lawrence of Arabia," "Ghidrah the Three Headed Monster," George 'Spanky' McFarland, Liz Renay, Bela & Hope Lugosi, sword and sandals flicks, The Three Stooges, Kay Parker, "Japanese Genre Film Mavericks," the Roger Corman/Vincent Price Edgar Allan Poe films, original advertising materials for a variety of Williams Castle schlockers and more! A lot of back issues of "Cult Movies" are still available on the official website, but this one's been sold out for quite some time.

Cult Movies #23, 1997

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I'm sure in 1958 this pic of Ed Fury did "Shock!"
(And wow, I just made my frequently-gay blog 50 times gayer by posting this pic)
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Dance with Dolly!

Not much to say about this one: Disco remixes of two songs from Dolly Parton's 1978 "Heartbreaker" album.

Dolly Parton
Dance with Dolly

01. Baby I'm Burnin'
02. I Wanna Fall in Love

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Believe it, you can SEE a brand new girl!

Just before Kristin Chenoweth crossed over into superstardom playing a starring role in the Broadway play "Wicked," she stepped into another existing movie role, one originated by Geena Davis in the cheesy '80s flick "Earth Girls Are Easy." In 1999, the film's writers Charlie Coffey and Julie Brown were approached by Australian fan Michael Herrmann, who proposed the idea of transferring the film to the stage. In 2001, there was finally a production put together for potential investors. Although reaction to the play was positive, the timing was bad. The first production was staged on September 16, 2001 -- five days after the 9-11 attacks. In 2002, there was another staging, but again the play failed to get financial backing.

The play followed the film's story fairly closely, but there was a lot of new dialogue and few new twists. Several characters were dropped (Woody, Zeebo, nosy neighbor Mrs. Merkin, etc.) and the cops' parts were beefed up and diversified, with them now appearing as bumbling security guards. As with the same year's "Moulin Rouge!," '80s pop songs were injected into the story along with two '70s hits by Blondie ("Heart of Glass" and "Atomic") and Brown's original songs from the film ("Brand New Girl," "I Like 'em Big and Stupid," "'Cause I'm a Blonde"). The stagings were what they call "workshop" productions -- sets, props and effects were minimal and the actors carried their scripts -- it was just to give potential investors a rough idea of what a full-blown production would be like.


Chenoweth didn't look to Geena Davis for inspiration, instead she made the role of Valerie completely her own, injecting her own patented brand of cuteness into the part. Marc Kudisch seemed to be channeling the spirit of the late Charles Rocket (which was quite an accomplishment considering Rocket was still alive at the time), playing Valerie's sleazy boyfriend Dr. Ted with gusto (Kudisch later did the same when he took over Dabney Coleman's role in the stage version of "9 to 5"). Hunter Foster ("Little Shop of Horrors") played alien leader Mac a little softer than Jeff Goldblum, looking like he'd just stepped out an episode of "Miami Vice." As Wiploc, Deven May seemed to be riffing on Jim Carrey's wacky antics from the film (with a little bit of Stovitz from "Voyage of the Rock Aliens" thrown in). And Julie Brown reprised the role of Valerie's loopy Valley Girl best friend, Candy -- who was given more opportunities to shine.


Share time! First up is a video of the September 2002 L.A. production. The video is clear and there's no blackouts... but following Candy's arrest, the opening of the next scene is missing (probably the result of a dead battery), and the video cuts off right before the curtain call (2 hour mark, so the tape probably ran out). This video originated on a now-closed site, it's avi and much higher quality than the version on You Tube. Thanks to the cameraman and the person who first shared it!

Earth Girls Are Easy the Musical
September 30, 2002 Workshop
Video

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Moving right along, here's a different audio recording of the same performance. One track from Act II is missing, but it includes the segments that got left out of the video above. 128 rip. Again, thanks to the original recorder and sharer!

Earth Girls Are Easy the Musical
September 30, 2002 Workshop
Audience Recording

01. Intro
02. Earth Girls Are Easy
03. "Eternal Flame" - Kristin Chenoweth
04. Curl Up & Dye
05. "Brand New Girl" - Julie Brown
06. The Doctor Is SO In
07. "(Let's Get) Physical" - Marc Kudisch & Lisa Capps
08. Valerie Busts Ted
09. "Heart of Glass" - Kristin Chenoweth
10. Alien Invasion
11. "Funky Town" - Ensemble
12. Candy Meets Mac & Wiploc
13. "I Like 'em Big and Stupid" - Julie Brown
14. Karaoke Bar/Later That Night
15. "True Colors" - Hunter Foster
16. Mac's Pants Fall to the Floor
17. "Atomic" - Kristin Chenoweth & Marc Kudisch
18. Valerie's Dream
19. "Roam" - Cast
20. The Next Morning
21. "Just Like Fred Astaire" - Hunter Foster & Kristin Chenoweth
22. Operation
23. "'Cause I'm a Blonde" - Julie Brown & Kristin Chenoweth
24. MISSING!
25. "Should Have Known Better" - Marc Kudisch
26. Valerie & Ted Reconcile
27. "Moonblind" - Hunter Foster & Kristin Chenoweth
28. You Boinked This Creature?
29. "Scary Kisses" - Cast
30. Curtain Call

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Pointless factoid: "Earth Girls Are Easy" is the first DVD I ever bought... but it was nearly a year later before I bought my first DVD player. Yes, my life is really that sad.

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Earth Girls can Shake It!

Small share... Here's the 12" single of "Baby Gonna Shake" by Royalty from "Earth Girls Are Easy." I have no insight into the significance of the old Looney Tunes samples that are thrown into all of the mixes, but Bugs Bunny and his cohorts make brief appearances throughout.

Royalty
Baby Gonna Shake 12"

01. Baby Gonna Shake (12" vocal)
02. Baby Gonna Shake (Bonus Beats)
03. Baby Gonna Shake (Radio Edit)
04. Baby Gonna Shake (Dub)
05. Baby Gonna Shake (album version)
06. Throb - Stewart Copeland

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A Personal Music Dialogue with Dolly Parton

To promote her first self-produced album, "New Harvest, First Gathering," Dolly Parton recorded this full-length radio show interview conducted by Mike Harrison. In addition to discussing many tracks in-depth, Parton reflects on her life, career and aspirations for further success (which, of course, soon came to pass...).


My copy of the album didn't include a cue sheet and it was clear that they intended for songs to be included for broadcast, so I had to wing the titles and song placement. Unfortunately, they didn't discuss the oddest cut on the album, "Where Beauty Lives in Memory," a surreal and harrowing song about the final days of a fairytale princess... but it felt right for me to close the share with it. The interview segments are ripped at 320, the songs at 192 (buy the full CD, cheapskate!).

A Personal Music Dialogue with Dolly Parton
Originally Broadcast: February/March 1977

01. Interview (17:02)
02. Interview, Contd. (9:53)
03. "Higher and Higher" intro (4:18)
04. Your Love Has Lifted Me Higher and Higher (2:53)
05. "My Love" intro (2:04)
06. My Girl, My Love (3:42)
07. "Light of a Clear Blue Morning" intro (4:00)
08. Light of a Clear Blue Morning (4:53)
09. "Holdin' on to You" intro (1:42)
10. Holdin' on to You (2:45)
11. "Applejack" intro (1:47)
12. Applejack (3:21)
13. "Applejack" outro/"You Are" intro (2:42)
14. You Are (5:12)
15. "There" intro (1:49)
16. There (5:28)
17. Interview Closing (3:11)
18. Where Beauty Lives in Memory (3:52)

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Krofftapalooza with The Bay City Rollers!

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y morning! "The Krofft Superstar Hour" was NBC's successor to ABC's "The Krofft Supershow," featuring The Bay City Rollers, who replaced hosts Kaptain Kool and the Kongs (though the triple-K's made frequent appearances). In addition to the obligatory musical and sketch performances by the Rollers, this show had two regular segments: "Lost Island" and "Horror Hotel."

"Lost Island" was a bizarro modgepodge that featured characters from all of the previous Sid & Marty Krofft Saturday morning shows thrown together on the Land of the Lost, usually battling the nefarious Dr. Deathray (Jay Robinson, previously known as Dr. Shrinker -- why they changed his name is anyone's guess).


"Horror Hotel" featured H.R. Pufnstuf's nemesis Wilhemina W. Witchiepoo (Billie Hayes) running a hotel where wacky guest checked in and wackier antics ensued. Aiding Witchiepoo was her usual band of cohorts, along with Living Island's Dr. Blinky the owl and Lidsville's Horatio J. Hoodoo (now portrayed by Paul Gale, who took over the role in subsequent Krofft productions because Charles Nelson Reilly proved to be so cantankerous).


After less than two months on the air, the show was cut down to a half hour, retitled "The Bay City Rollers Show," and the "Lost Island" segments were dropped altogether. The show limped into cancellation, thus ending the Saturday morning reign of Sid & Marty Krofft along with the careers of The Bay City Rollers. The show has never had an official home video release and it hasn't aired anywhere since 1979. Each of the show's segments were taped individually for the entire season, so one can presume there are "Lost Island" skits that have never seen the light of day.


So about the shares... These rips originated on a torrent; major thanks to the original ripper! First up is "The Bay City Rollers Meet the Saturday Superstars." This was the Saturday morning preview show which aired the night before the "Superstar Hour" debuted. In addition to performances by the Rollers and Kaptain Kool and the Kongs, and an original "Horror Hotel" segment, it includes appearances by guests Joe Namoth, Erik Estrada, and Scott Baio. And the latter two sing! Be prepared to be scared when....

The Bay City Rollers Meet the Saturday Superstars
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The Krofft Superstar Hour
(Premiere Episode) September 9, 1978
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The Bay City Rollers Show
November 18, 1978

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The Bay City Rollers Show
November 25, 1978

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Voyage of the Rock Aliens Press Kit

If you haven't seen "Voyage of the Rock Aliens" yet, then what the hell are you waiting for? Since I posted the soundtrack a little over a month ago, the movie and soundtrack has popped up on public torrents, on You Tube, someone started a Wikipedia page (that I've been fleshing out) and more info about the movie's popped up on other websites too. It's funny how word of mouth -- even for 26 year old movies -- spreads on the internet. But if ever there was a special, little-known, '80s cult oddity, this is it.

So today, I've got the press kit for your reading displeasure. In addition to the standard production materials (bios, production notes, press announcements, 8x10s, etc.) which feature some interesting information, I've included several related Pia Zadora newspaper articles and a 1984 Fangoria interview with Michael Berryman (Chainsaw) in which the film is briefly discussed. There's more than 50 pages of bad goodness (or good badness!).

Yes, now you can learn exactly who was so broke they were working behind the scenes (credits range from "Star Wars" to "Dr. Strangelove" to "Swamp Thing" to "A Hard Day's Night" to Michael Jackson's "Thriller"), why they made some of the bizarre creative choices they made (Bubbles!) and who the hell the singers and other musicians in the cast were. It's all here in this totally awesome original '80s press kit!

Voyage of the Rock Aliens
Press Kit

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Issuu

If you hadn't figured it out, I'm nowhere near done covering this movie yet...
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Sam Harris Scans!

See now, isn't that just the gaudiest, flashiest, gayest, most '80sist outfit ever? It's just hideous and and thoroughly unforgettable... and I want one of my very own! But then again, I also like Kaptain Kool's attire, so it's clear that I have bad taste...

Super special thank you to Michael Spielman for sending some scans for the two Sam Harris albums I previously offered!

Sam Harris/Sam I Am Album Scans
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Every Bit Better

I bought Cliff Sarde's "Every Bit Better" because his song "Before the Jupiter Effect" is credited in "Voyage of the Rock Aliens." Damned if I can find it though. If anyone can tell me where in the movie it appears, you'll win a great big, wonderful, only slightly used Depends adult diaper and a hearty, congratulatory thank you!

As for the "Two on One" double-album (released with his followup "Waiting"), I haven't formed a definitive opinion of it. It's very '80s, jazz influenced and muzaky, with some Moogish electronic moments and a few oddball lyrical songs, sung by Gwen Matthews, like "Put Out the Cat." The song that might be in "Rock Aliens" notwithstanding, the music feels like the score from a cheesy '80s movie. Which means many of you blog regulars should like it...

Cliff Sarde
Every Bit Better/Waiting

01. Shotgun
02. Banana Peel
03. No News (Is Good News)
04. Can't Find My Way Home
05. First Attempt
06. Down the Avenue
07. Before the Jupiter Effect
08. Love Feels Right
09. Magic Is the Universal Language
10. Take My Love
11. Sellin' the Store
12. One Tear
13. Waiting
14. Put out the Cat
15. No Name in Tucson
16. October Night

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Krofftapalooza: Kaptain Kool and the Kongs

"The Krofft Supershow" was a showcase for a rotating roster of series including "Dr. Shrinker" (mad scientist with a shrink ray), "Electra Woman and Dyna Girl" (reporters by day, superheroines by night), "Wonderbug" (a live-action "Speed Buggy" clone), "Bigfoot and Wildboy" (do I need to explain?), "Magic Mongo" (teenagers with a bumbling genie) and their earlier stand-alone series "The Lost Saucer" also appeared briefly in reruns. All of these original shows were somewhat rooted in reality, with colorful costumes and cheesy effects but few financially draining sets -- it had been the elaborate production design on previous series that was quickly driving the Kroffts into bankruptcy.

Still hoping for a successful music deal (something that hadn't happened with their earlier series "The Bugaloos" and wouldn't happen with this one either), the Kroffts assembled an original band for the Supershow. Kaptain Kool and the Kongs hosted, provided comic relief between shows, and they also performed musical numbers. Originally the band members were slathered in face paint ala KISS, though this trend was short-lived. Each had a distinctive style: Kaptain Kool (Michael Lembeck) donned a cabbie hat and had outfits covered with prisms; Turkey (Mickey McMeel) had suns on his attire; Nashville (Louise DuArt) was clad in butterflies and Superchick (Debra Clinger) in hearts... and then there was Flatbush (Bert Sommer), who wore a giant pimp hat, complete with feather. Strangely, Flatbush was dropped early into the run of the show and his mug doesn't appear in many of the promotional photos and merchandise that's circulating.

The opening title sequence was filmed at The World of Sid and Marty Krofft, an ill-fated indoor theme park the brothers opened in Atlanta that's now home to CNN (and that is a whole other story that I'm not gonna get into). Initially the Supershow ran 90 minutes; after three months on the air, it was cut back to an hour and "Lost Saucer" was dropped for good.

Kaptain Kool and the Kongs wound up becoming a staple of Krofft productions for a few years. They first appeared on "ABC's Saturday Sneak Peek" the day before the Supershow premiered, and they went on to make appearances in the next year's special, "ABC All-Star Saturday," as well as on "ABC Silver Anniversary," "Donny & Marie," "The Bay City Rollers Show," "The Brady Bunch Hour," the unsold pilot "The Krofft Komedy Hour," and even "American Bandstand."

After the Supershow ended, Kaptain Kool and the Kongs went on to have drastically different careers. Michael Lembeck starred as Julie's husband on "One Day at a Time" before setting his sights on directing sitcoms ("Friends," "Major Dad," "Flying Blind" "Over the Top") and movies ("The Santa Clause 3"). Debra Clinger starred in the culty Disney comedy "Midnight Madness," then ultimately left show business to raise a family. Louise DuArt became a comedian and impressionist and continued to collaborate with the Kroffts for many years. Bert Sommer got himself addicted to drugs (since it's never been spoken of, I surmise that's the reason for his dismissal) and died of liver failure in 1990. And nowadays Michael McMeel is affiliated with the Inner City Slickers U.S. organization.

Two albums were released by KK & the K (whew! Good thing there's an "and" there). One is basically a storybook album with some korny sketches by the Kongs and audio-only tales of "Magic Mongo" and "Bigfoot and Wildboy." The other album --this one -- is a record filled with music by the Kongs, featuring a lot of funky disco beats. My own rip, cleaned and remastered from vinyl. Also included are rips of songs from the Kongs' various appearances in varying (aka mostly poor) quality.

Kaptain Kool and the Kongs
Self-Titled

01. And I Never Dreamed
02. This Time
03. You Put Some Love in My Life
04. When You Feel It
05. True Love Is On Its Way
06. The Whole World Will Be Dancin'
07. Crazy Girl
08. You Saved Me
09. Melanie
10. Free
11. Sing Me a Song
BONUS!
12. Names (from "The Brady Bunch Hour")
13. Donny & Marie Show medley
14. The Krofft Supershow Theme Song (Season 2)
15. Stagefright
16. Krofft Supershow Bumper
17. We Look for You All Over the World
18. Summer
19. Get Dancin'
20. The Kiddie Stars Forever Disco March
21. Kaptain Kool and the Kongs Theme Song
22. The Krofft Supershow Theme Song (Season 1)
23. The Krofft Supershow Closing Theme Song

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It's just a little, bitty pissant country place...

You know how you spend years looking for something you think you'll never find, and then when you finally do find it, it's a complete and utter disappointment? Well, that's exactly how I feel about "The Best Little Special in Texas." This snoozefest chronicles the Austin, Texas two-day celebration of the premiere of the film "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas."

There's thoroughly unrelated musical performances by Jerry Reed, Mel Tillis, The Statler Brothers and star Dolly Parton (who, in a total WTF moment, sings "Rocky Top Tennessee"); an interesting but tediously overlong glimpse of the parade leading up to the film's premiere; and a post-show banquet emceed by Burt Reynolds. The director and numerous supporting stars are nowhere to be found (not even Marvin Zindler -- aka THE REAL Melvin P. Thorpe). There's no history of The Chicken Ranch nor of the stage musical. No deleted scenes or behind the scenes glimpses, save for a set of bloopers (a few of which didn't make it to the DVD). Despite appearances by a handful of stars there's no interviews or notable anecdotes about the making of the movie. There were a ton of great making-of specials that aired on TV in the '80s but this certainly isn't one of them. It's simply a video-chronicle of the film's Austin premiere.

The rarely-seen bloopers (there's more than in the clip above), musical performances (if you're a fan of the artists) and vintage commercials are certainly worthwhile, but fans of the film itself shouldn't be expecting anything too "special."

The Best Little Special in Texas
1982. Not Rated. 58 mins.

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Just as a P.S., it's worth noting that this special has ties to another of my grand obsessions: Sid & Marty Krofft. This special was directed by Jack Regas, who directed many episodes of The Lost Saucer, Dr. Shrinker, Electra Woman and Dyna Girl, Wonderbug, The Brady Bunch Hour, and The Bay City Rollers Show. Interesting how many of my obsessions intersect.

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Down at the Chick-Chick-Chicken Ranch!

Years and years ago, I put together an "expanded" soundtrack for 1982's "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" and leaked it online. Ripped at 128, the quality wasn't great, though I decided to share it here soon after I started this site. It's been on my to-do list for quite some time to redo it. Since a remake's been announced, my timing seems right. This time around, I've ripped it at 320, included the bulk of the score (no 5.1 on the DVD, so dialogue is included on several tracks), and did some creative editing to sneak in a few extra verses that were cut out of the film.


While I've got your attention, a request: an anonymous visitor commented that there was an extended video version of "The Aggie Song" on You Tube which has since vanished. My first reaction was that it was from a TV print (as I've never seen the same print on TV twice -- each version is edited a little differently) but this person claimed that there was additional nudity (which would make sense since the missing verse directly followed the shower scene) and a running counter for editing, meaning it was duped off a workprint. If anybody managed to snag that clip (or if the workprint's circulating somewhere and I simply haven't stumbled on it yet), I'd appreciate a share!

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
(Expanded Soundtrack)

01. 20 Fans - Jim Nabors & Chorus
02. Ed Earl & Miss Mona (score)
03. A Lil' Ol' Bitty Pissant Country Place
04. Narration - Jim Nabors
05. Car Ride (score) - Patrick Williams
06. Ed Earl Comes Home (score) - Patrick Williams
07. Sneakin' Around - Burt Reynolds & Dolly Parton
08. Japanese Slingshot (score) - Patrick Williams
09. Ed Earl Goes to Houston (score) - Patrick Williams
10. Watchdog Report - The Dogettes
11. Texas Has a Whorehouse in It - Dom DeLuise & the Dogettes
12. To the Gilbert Courthouse (score) - Patrick Williams
13. Texas Has a Whorehouse in It (reprise) - Dom DeLuise & the Dogettes
14. The Celebrated Cussin Sheriff of Lanville County (score) - Patrick Williams
15. Slicker Than Catshit on a Linoleum Floor (score) - Patrick Williams
16. The Aggie Game (score) - Patrick Williams
17. The Aggie Song - The Aggies
18. Courtyard Shag (Instrumental)
19. Texas Has a Whorehouse in It - Jim Nabors
20. Raiding the Ranch (score) - Patrick Williams
21. Where Stallions Run Transition (score) - Patrick Williams
22. The Sidestep - Charles Durning
23. Melvin Thorpe Has Done It Once Again/The Sidestep (reprise) - Charles Durning & The Dogettes
24. Hard Candy Christmas Intro
25. Hard Candy Christmas - Dolly Parton & the Whores
26. End of an Era - Jim Nabors
27. Ed Earl Proposes (score) - Patrick Williams
28. I Will Always Love You (movie version) - Dolly Parton
29. Leaving the Chicken Ranch - Jim Nabors
30. Finale
31. End Credits
32. The Celebrated Cussin Sheriff of Lanville County (alternate)
33. 20 Fans (partial instrumental)
34. Down at the Chicken Ranch - Dolly Parton
35. Where Stallions Run - Burt Reynolds
36. Featurette Intro (20 Fans alternate)
37. TV Spot

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