Maybe it is just me, but most of these titles are at least memorable, or interesting. "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter," "I Dismember Mama" - granted, it doesn't sound like they are promising masterpieces, but they do stand out from anonymous, banal titles that come and go weekly.
i like them all. to me "Sideways" is worse than all of the others put together. and that aint even on the list. it was also a worse movie than all the others. paul giamatti is the kiss of death.
I have a soft spot in my heart/head for most of these titles, as opposed to some that seem simply uninspired, like THE AMAZING MR X, which is a grrat film behind that mundane moniker.
DR. BUTCHER, M.D.* (*MEDICAL DEVIATE) is my all time favorite, followed by ARMORED CAR ROBBERY.
MERCY HUMPPE was an Anthony Newley vanity project. I doubt that anybody remembers it anymore, aside from then-18 and 19-year olds who drooled over the tie-in Playboy spread with Connie Kreski.
Do I hear an "amen" to JJ's comment about Giamatti? "Amen!"
Mary, I agree..the simple error of KRAKATOA puts it up there. I've been aware of I DISMEMBER MAMA since the GOLDEN TURKEY AWARDS book from the Medved Bros. some decades back, and of most of these others, so titles such as ZOTZ! and PLEASE DON'T EAT MY MOTHER (among so many porn parody titles) seem rather worse, though the simple elegance of MARS NEEDS WOMEN is hard to beat.
I rather liked SIDEWAYS, and I rather like Giamatti. De gustibus. Albeit the best part of SIDEWAYS is Virginia Madsen's quiet rhapsodizing on the temporal nature of wine.
I hate to tell you how many of these I've seen - let's just say, most of them. Besides Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter, I've seen Billy the Kid vs. Dracula, starring the inimitable John Carradine, who also appeared in the semi-legendary Hillbillys in a Haunted House, The Astro-Zombies, and Satan's Cheerleaders, all awful and all of which I've seen.
He was not, however, in Jesse James Meets Frankeinstein's Daughter.
I've seen I Dismember Mama too! And Dr. Butcher M.D. (the tag line was "and he makes house calls!"), as well as C.H.U.D. (Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers).
And yes Fred, I do remember the Anthony Newley vanity movie, though I admit I never saw it.
Todd, Mars Needs Women was a classic! Whatever happened to the multi-talented Tommy Kirk?
If I may made this longer by adding a few more titles:
Ilse, She Wolf of the SS Women of the Prehistoric Planet (which my wife always called Planet of the Prehistoric Women, which would have been better!) Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (hard to top Lynda Carter and Marjoe) The Toolbox Murders (you haven't lived until you've seen Cameron Mitchell singing "Nobody Knows tthe Trouble I've Seen" while killing young women) Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla
Come to think of it, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK gave me quite a bad laugh when I first came across the title.
WOMEN OF THE PREHISTORIC PLANET is notable for one of the least surprising twist endings ever, for a strikingly pretty female cast even for a no-budget skiffy film from the '60s (Irene Tsu and Merry Anders alone, after all), and for being a fine early MST3K. It has other variant titles no better than the one Jeff's wife likes to twist.
CAPE CANAVERAL MONSTERS is perhaps a worse film than its title. While I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTER SPACE, mostly thanks to the cast and a few nice touches, is rather better than its title. I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE and CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE might be the worst of the titles Val Lewton was saddled with and transcended. For snappy cheese, INSEMINOID is hard to beat. Another favorite of the Medveds, Norman Mailer's home movie THE MAF[ia] BOYS, is about as inept as any Ray Dennis Steckler title (who calls it/them the Maf?). I've seen chunks of MERCY HUMPE, and Newley's self-indulgence is unsurprisingly nauseating.
I'll let JJ comment on what happened to Tommy Kirk.
That brings back happy memories of watching The Incredibly Strange Creatures and Manos on Mystery Science Theater. "Torgo" from Manos and "Ortega" from Incredibly were so popular they became recurring characters on the show.
13 comments:
All the STAR WARS films could take the place of most of these, at least. Warring Stars, augmented by such brilliant neologisms as Sith.
Maybe it is just me, but most of these titles are at least memorable, or interesting. "Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter," "I Dismember Mama" - granted, it doesn't sound like they are promising masterpieces, but they do stand out from anonymous, banal titles that come and go weekly.
I particularly like I Dismember Mama.
i like them all. to me "Sideways" is worse than all of the others put together. and that aint even on the list. it was also a worse movie than all the others. paul giamatti is the kiss of death.
I have a soft spot in my heart/head for most of these titles, as opposed to some that seem simply uninspired, like THE AMAZING MR X, which is a grrat film behind that mundane moniker.
DR. BUTCHER, M.D.* (*MEDICAL DEVIATE) is my all time favorite, followed by ARMORED CAR ROBBERY.
MERCY HUMPPE was an Anthony Newley vanity project. I doubt that anybody remembers it anymore, aside from then-18 and 19-year olds who drooled over the tie-in Playboy spread with Connie Kreski.
Do I hear an "amen" to JJ's comment about Giamatti? "Amen!"
My vote is for "Krakatoa, East of Java," which is not only a silly title, but untrue. Krakatoa is west of Java.
Mary, I agree..the simple error of KRAKATOA puts it up there. I've been aware of I DISMEMBER MAMA since the GOLDEN TURKEY AWARDS book from the Medved Bros. some decades back, and of most of these others, so titles such as ZOTZ! and PLEASE DON'T EAT MY MOTHER (among so many porn parody titles) seem rather worse, though the simple elegance of MARS NEEDS WOMEN is hard to beat.
I rather liked SIDEWAYS, and I rather like Giamatti. De gustibus. Albeit the best part of SIDEWAYS is Virginia Madsen's quiet rhapsodizing on the temporal nature of wine.
I hate to tell you how many of these I've seen - let's just say, most of them. Besides Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter, I've seen Billy the Kid vs. Dracula, starring the inimitable John Carradine, who also appeared in the semi-legendary Hillbillys in a Haunted House, The Astro-Zombies, and Satan's Cheerleaders, all awful and all of which I've seen.
He was not, however, in Jesse James Meets Frankeinstein's Daughter.
I've seen I Dismember Mama too! And Dr. Butcher M.D. (the tag line was "and he makes house calls!"), as well as C.H.U.D. (Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers).
And yes Fred, I do remember the Anthony Newley vanity movie, though I admit I never saw it.
Todd, Mars Needs Women was a classic! Whatever happened to the multi-talented Tommy Kirk?
If I may made this longer by adding a few more titles:
Ilse, She Wolf of the SS
Women of the Prehistoric Planet (which my wife always called Planet of the Prehistoric Women, which would have been better!)
Bobbie Jo and the Outlaw (hard to top Lynda Carter and Marjoe)
The Toolbox Murders (you haven't lived until you've seen Cameron Mitchell singing "Nobody Knows tthe Trouble I've Seen" while killing young women)
Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla
Jeff
All the Ilsa/Ilse titles are contenders.
Come to think of it, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK gave me quite a bad laugh when I first came across the title.
WOMEN OF THE PREHISTORIC PLANET is notable for one of the least surprising twist endings ever, for a strikingly pretty female cast even for a no-budget skiffy film from the '60s (Irene Tsu and Merry Anders alone, after all), and for being a fine early MST3K. It has other variant titles no better than the one Jeff's wife likes to twist.
CAPE CANAVERAL MONSTERS is perhaps a worse film than its title. While I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTER SPACE, mostly thanks to the cast and a few nice touches, is rather better than its title. I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE and CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE might be the worst of the titles Val Lewton was saddled with and transcended. For snappy cheese, INSEMINOID is hard to beat. Another favorite of the Medveds, Norman Mailer's home movie THE MAF[ia] BOYS, is about as inept as any Ray Dennis Steckler title (who calls it/them the Maf?). I've seen chunks of MERCY HUMPE, and Newley's self-indulgence is unsurprisingly nauseating.
I'll let JJ comment on what happened to Tommy Kirk.
Word verification: boncl. James Boncl.
Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla is actually pretty fun. And the title (if I remember correctly) is very accurate indeed!
This is a very disturbing site. You can spend you're entire coffee break look at weird ...
Throwing Mama from the Train?
B.Barrett
That brings back happy memories of watching The Incredibly Strange Creatures and Manos on Mystery Science Theater. "Torgo" from Manos and "Ortega" from Incredibly were so popular they became recurring characters on the show.
For titles, what about Scudda Hoo, Scudda Hay?
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