Jack and the Beanstalk (1970)

August 23, 2013March 28, 2019 ~ monsterhunter ~ Leave a comment

Fee, fi, fo, fum! I smell the stench of another shabby Barry Mahon kiddie picture! This is the other movie on the DVD from Something Weird that features The Wonderful Land Of Oz, a movie that looks positively big budget compared to this one.

At least Barry’s ill-advised trip to Oz actually had the actors in costume, In Jack And The Beanstalk, most of the folks who wander around the set are dressed up like they were extras on an episode of The Brady Bunch, resulting in some scary striped pants, fringed vests, and a haircut for Jack that Peter Brady would have appreciated. Continue reading “Jack and the Beanstalk (1970)” →

The Wonderful Land of Oz (1969)

August 22, 2013June 16, 2018 ~ monsterhunter ~ 2 Comments

Barry Mahon was a prolific filmmaker, oddly vacillating his directing chores between cheap sex movies like Fanny Hill Meets The Red Baron and Run Swinger Run! and cheap kiddie flicks like Jack And The Beanstalk (also on this DVD from Something Weird), and Santa And The Ice Cream Bunny. This two pronged approach Barry took to his career puts us in the unfortunate position of not knowing exactly what his movie The Girl With The Magic Box is about. With The Wonderful Land of Oz though, Barry is clearly aiming at the cut-rate kiddie matinee market, but manages only to hit his poor son Channy Mahon. Continue reading “The Wonderful Land of Oz (1969)” →

A Scream in the Streets (1973)

August 18, 2013 ~ monsterhunter ~ Leave a comment

I realize that many of you are hoping against all hope that I’ll tell you that this is worth your time and money. You have fond memories of Starsky and Hutch, S.W.A.T., The Rookies and all those other old copper shows with big cars, kicking music and guys that spit Miranda Warnings out like they were hairballs and all you want is a sleazy take on that genre. Well, let me you leave without any doubt in one department – this one is plenty sleazy. For a softcore porn movie that is. Ugh. Continue reading “A Scream in the Streets (1973)” →

Mantis in Lace (1968)

August 16, 2013April 15, 2019 ~ monsterhunter ~ Leave a comment

After watching this less than riveting tale of a go-go dancer who takes LSD and kills her lovers, the biggest question is whether you should categorize what you’ve just seen as a bad trip or merely a bummer. I would submit that while aggressively lengthy in its pointlessness, nothing beyond the expected community playhouse acting, wooden dialogue, and pasty-sized plot occurs that would induce flashbacks years later.

There is of course the memorably bad theme song Lila that our go go dancing heroine (also named Lila) insists on playing while grinding with her johns that she picks up and takes to her daddy’s abandoned warehouse, but soon enough you’ll be humming “Li-la” over and over as you shimmy about your living room suggestively. Continue reading “Mantis in Lace (1968)” →