brainee

I'm glad I got to see Electra Glide -- never saw it before either. Not perfect, but some strong performances, outstanding direction and cinematography, great music, and a refreshingly different outlook on law enforcement that most late 60s/ early 70s indy movies espoused ... made it very worthwhile. I like the "Easy Rider" parallels, and think its silly that critics at the time slammed this for being fascist (as if its a crime to show a cop who believes in what he's doing). Robert Blake sure took some shots on his height (or lack thereof) in this. He's not really THAT short -- some scenes were done with really tall people around him making him look like a midget (he's 5'4" -- average female height and 4-5" shorter than average male). But I see why they did it -- playing into the concept of a cop struggling with a "little man" complex. The scenes at the ice cream truck and the panning shot (across the faces of all the cops until it comes to Blake and the top of his helmet) were funny. That final shot (and song) is amazing (actually by Terry Kath, early vocalist and guitarist for Chicago -- before they went soft-rock).

lake1951

I have seen both of the Todd Browning productions set up for this weekend. "Freaks" was a cutting edge film in it's time. The special effects have seemed to stick with me yet to this day. Bela of course made the film "Mark of the Vampire" addicting for me to watch and it has a unique surprise ending that makes me enjoy it even more.

Mondo Kane

"Todd Browning, the Godfather of American Horror." Hmm. Never noticed that, but no argument.

Looks like TCM has ditched showing the prologue of Freaks. Both TCM and TNT always opened with it on their showings back in the 90's.

Mondo Kane

I missed the last show (Sadist/Guitar) did anybody check it out?

BTW, the new Fangoria issue has a brief interview with Rob about the show. He said that Coffy will soon appear with Foxy Brown. I already knew that Foxy would appear eventually since they keep having clips of it in the Underground promo, but that's a big surprise if they're gonna show Coffy. Might be the most explicit movie aired on TCM....Yet.

i86time

The Sadist was fairly enjoyable, mostly for the secenery chewing by Arch Hall Jr., haven't watched Wild Guitar yet. I've been extracting all these from my tivo, lord knows when some of this stuff will be released on dvd. Case in point, tonights 'Conqueror Worm' US version. TCM.com has a full 3 month schedule for the channel. It has Coffy/ Foxy Brown down for Jan 5. Sadly, if Underground goes past Jan, it's not on Fri because no cult flicks were listed in Feb, but it looks like it goes out with a bang on Jan 26, Billy the Kid Vs. Dracula and Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter. Zombie's intro's are pretty lackluster and he seems none to pleased to be on camera, that's my only complaint for the series.

Mondo Kane

Interestingly, the article I pointed above gives us a reason for that. Zombie said he was even approached to host the show complete with theatrics and props, but he insisted he wanted everything to be taken seriously. And as we can see, very seriously.

Buford T Pusser

I've taped the last few but still haven't had time to watch them.

lake1951

Hopefully you taped the Conqueror Worm ..... it is a real hidden gem. Vincent Price gave me chills with his protrayal. Hopefully someday it will be available on dvd. Vincent was truly talented.

Neeb

I think this was on MGM/UA's schedule until they got bought by Sony. I was hoping Criterion could get a chance at it...

Mondo Kane

Last night was the first time I saw Honeymoon Killers. The muffled audio was an obstacle, but the film's structure,editing,and acting was able to overcome that.

I've only seen two Truffaut films, so when I heard Zombie say that Truffaut called this his favorite American movie, I wasn't quite surprised. This really had the look and feel of a European masterpiece of it's time.

lake1951

I think that the title of film was supposed to be Dear Martha at one time. The Honeymoon Killers was based on a true story. I hadn't seen the film in a while so I was surprised that Doris Roberts ("Everybody Loves Raymond") was in the film. The lead actresses' character in the film reminded me of something Barbara Stanwyck would protray early in her career.

Mondo Kane

Strange mix-up tonight. Looking at the schedule on page 1 of this thread, I thought Deranged was supposed to come on tonight. But it was the Chaney double feature instead. Plus Zanzibar aired first with Zombie saying "Our second film tonight...".
So was Deranged scrapped altogether?

Anyway, watching Unholy 3 right now. Todd Browning sure never made a boring movie!

Buford T Pusser

DOH! I was thinking they were on break and didn't tape.

lake1951

The Unholy Three is a real cult classic. It starred "the man of a thousand faces"..... Lon Chaney. He starred as a ventrilquist masquerading as a "lady" of a crime ring in the 1925 silent Todd Browning classic. Another plus it also starred the legendary actor Victor McLaglen.

Mondo Kane

Although it's not part of the program, Rock N Roll High School airs tonight before the Vincent Price dbl feature.

Zombie was absent from last weeks show, BTW. Did he shoot as many intros as possible before making the Halloween sequel?

i86time

Zombie wasn't on last night either. I usually FF straight to the movie, but wasn't he usually listed on the TCM Underground title card that intro's the show as 'Hosted By?' If so, I think that's gone too. Whether or not it keeps the name, I hope TCM decides to continue running films like these weekly after Underground ends in Jan.

Mondo Kane

Reminder:
COFFY/FOXY BROWN tonight! Coffy is likely to be the most naughty movie TCM has aired yet!

Man, if Zombie still ain't around, I hope they have a stand-in. These movies need an intro!

Also, IFC appears to be joining in on "Cult Fridays". Their show is called Grindhouse and they're starting with Bubba Ho-Tep tonight. The Coffin Joe trilogy will follow in the upcoming weeks.

Mondo Kane

Just wanted to add a continuation of the schedule:

(Pacific Time)
Friday, January 5
11:00 PM Coffy ('73)
1:45 AM Foxy Brown ('74)

Friday, January 12
11:00 PM The Black Sleep ('58)
1:45 AM The Brain That Wouldn't Die ('59)

Friday, January 19
11:00 PM Curse of the Demon ('57)
1:45 AM House of Usher ('60)

Friday, January 26
11:00 PM Billy The Kid vs. Dracula ('66)
1:45 AM Jesse James meets Frankenstein's Daughter ('66)

dhmac

It seems that Rob Zombie has left the building, because not only are his intros missing from recent broadcasts, but even the theme music (and accompanying opening footage) has been changed from Rob (White) Zombie stuff to something that's more generic.

Mondo Kane

Too busy making the Halloween movie right? Get someone to fill the shoes for the time being!

Buford T Pusser

Were there any intros?

dhmac

Just the new theme music and accompanying credit scene, but no host intro whatsoever.

A real disappointment, because I really liked Rob Zombie's informative intros.

renaldow

Zombie isn't listed on the official TCM Underground website anymore. I'd say they got rid of him, or he got rid of them. Either way, I'd be surprised if he came back.

Too bad, but I don't know how big of a loss it really is. I've heard Zombie talk about film, and he can be very fanatic and passionate about it. With these intros though... he was the stiffest, most boring guy around.

i86time

Yeah, most of the things I remember him saying were already included on that films IMDB page.

Mondo Kane

According to TCM's forums, Underground will be on hiatus all next month but is expected to return later. No word on Zombie coming back as host.