Friday, May 25, 2012

CONQUISTADOR DE LA LUNA / Producciones Sotomayor - 1960

This is the last Friday Night Mexican Sci-Fi Drive-In Theater with Tabonga in May, 2012, here at The Dungeon!.. Our feature is one wild and wooly little space flick that stars Clavillazo (CASTLE OF THE MONSTERS) and Ana Luisa (THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERETTA) Peluffo.

Eegah!! gave us a soundclip for our guilty enjoyment, soooooo, we might as well get the show started! You can push the big red 'GO' button located there slightly akimbo from the glowing chartreuse igloo, NOW, Rufus The Gnat! Here's some sound from... CONQUISTADOR DE LA LUNA!

In the soundclip, you hear a series of gadgets going off after the music, that's because Clavillazo is a kooky inventor living in his Rube Goldberg-inspired pad. Here he is getting washed by machines in the bathtub!

Clavillazo's girlfriend is the daughter of the absent-minded professor who's the head of the project. He has to go to the rocket and fix an electrical short before the launch takes place, and, of course, accidently pushes the 'GO' button!

At the launch site, the DESTINATION MOON rocket is shown in various stages of construction. They actually show a freakin' V-2 rocket for the launch (aargh!), then, this nice Sotomayor rocket is inserted as their faces get all bent out of shape from the g-force!

Clavillazo's having a bit of trouble adjusting to no gravity in space!

And, it's back to the DESTINATION MOON rocket for the Moon landing!

Once they land and go exploring, they see a weird elevator appear out of the ground!

They discover a civilization of lizard-like beings who give them pills for sustenance.

Then, there's the evil brain what wants to take over the body of Clavillazo's girlfriend and destroy the Earth with a doomsday missile! Looks like it's urinating a 3-stream out of the top of the brain there, yuck! No offense, but, those Mexicans had some very strange ideas for their vintage horror and sci-fi films! I'm not complaining.

Here's a Moon Lizard sucking on a 1-1/2" clear polycarbonate oxygen tube!

Ready for this?!.. That's the flying saucer from DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS! Must be a composite shot, since it's on the Moon, weird!..

Clavillazo tastes some liquid dripping down the wall and gives an eye-popping response!

WHAT THE HELL?!!.. Now we even have a shot from WARNING FROM SPACE?!

We'll end with this composite shot where they put the Devil Girl saucer in the same scene with the DESTINATION MOON rocket!

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

CULT OF THE COBRA - "She Who Is A Snake" (1955)

They used to show "Cult Of The Cobra" all the time on TV when I was a kid, but I never did really like it! Besides the fact that it's a simple accursed mystery tale disguised as a horror flick, the basic premise is just bothersome!

Here's the basic storyline!! If the stupid American G.I.'s had just done as they were told, there wouldn't have been a problem or a story! They were warned, one guy didn't listen, and now the whole team has to pay the price!

Talent is not a problem as "Cult Of The Cobra" sports an all-star cast that includes Jack (FORBIDDEN PLANET - BART MAVERICK) Kelly, William (109 Episodes of The F.B.I.) Reynolds, David (The Fugitive) Janssen, Marshall (IT! The Terror From Beyond Space) Thompson, Richard (77 Sunset Strip - The Big Valley) Long, and James (Mutiny In Outer Space) Dobson!!!!!! Daru the snake charmer is played by Leonard (The Claw) Strong! In this beginning scene, Daru is telling the boys about the ancient sacred snake ceremony that he will sneak them into for 100 bucks, but there's just one catch, "No Cameras!"

The Asian version of the RCA Victor His Master's Voice logo with a monkey instead of a dog!

I was in The Army! I know what guys do when they're off duty, they get really drunk, and act stupid, no matter what part of the world they're in! Too bad these characters didn't have some pinball machines to keep them occupied and out of trouble!!

"Remember, No Pictures!"

James Dobson's character is an idiot! He thinks he can sneak a picture of the ceremony with one of those old-time flashes that throw a massive white light, and make a big popping sound to boot! Reminds me of the time Tabonga and I smoked a cigarette in the car when my Mom went into the market for five minutes, and we thought she wouldn't notice the smell!!

The Carlssons get credit for the dance numbers! Good Luck finding out any more info on them!

A huge melee breaks out when the guys are discovered and brain bat Dobson tries to make off with the snake urn, like they're not in enough trouble already!!

The other five stage a daring escape!!

Meanwhile, now in the hospital, Dobson has an uninvited guest! All I can say is that the dumbass ends up reaping exactly what he sowed, "The Curse Of The Cobra!"

The boys all head back to America, and the next thing you know, a beautiful stranger shows up in their town! This stunning beauty is one of Tabonga's favourite actresses, the sultry siren Faith Domergue! Faith is a Dungeon Goddess, and her next three movies after this were "This Island Earth," "It Came From Beneath The Sea," and "The Atomic Man!"

David Janssen is the next to go! After some 97 credits, hard working, fast living David succumbed to a heart attack at the age of 48!

Faith's character is named Lisa Moya, and she just recently moved into an apartment directly across from Marshall Thompson's pad. They've only gone out a couple of times, but she already feels compelled to go to David's funeral!

One by one, the curse takes it's toll! Jack Kelly is the next victim!! Dig that krazy snake eye lens!

There's not a whole lot of suspense here, the viewer knows exactly what's going on from the get go! Looks like they spent a lot on these silhouette images!

They just don't make movies like this anymore because these days somebody would have looked up cults on Google after the first death, and the film would have only been 20 minutes long!

Everybody else is getting it figured out, but Marshall is a little dense, and doesn't realize Lisa is a snake until after he tosses her off a balcony, and in this amazing transformation scene, changes back to her normal self!!

Aw, Man, snake or not, now I'm never going to get any! Damn, Damn, Damn!!!

Beautiful poster!!

Monday, May 21, 2012

LA LOBA / Producciones Sotomayor - 1965

It's yet another Mexican Monster Monday in May with Tabonga, here at The Dungeon!.. Our feature stars the sexy Kitty de Hoyos as the lady werewolf and it has quite a bit of gore. The classic sixties Mexican lobby card there is one I had but sold a few years back.

Eegah!! has given us a nice lil' soundclip for our ears, sooo, you can push the big red 'GO' button located directtly below that big crack in the ceiling, NOW, Ralphie The Tarantula! Here's a sample-o-sounds from... LA LOBA!

The movie begins with this shot of the monster coming out of what looks like an old tomb, and, goes on to kill this woman gathering wood and her husband! There's a lot of extreme jumping and leaping as she terrorizes the countryside, they even use a small trampoline at times.

When she's finished with her attacks, she goes back through the tomb and into her room, aided by her loyal assistant, Crumba, played by Crox Alvarado. Crox was also in THE MIDNIGHT GHOST (1940), THE BODY SNATCHER, TIGERS OF THE RING, FACE OF THE SCREAMING WEREWOLF, THE ISLAND OF THE DINOSAURS, THE BATWOMAN, and, played Pinacate/El Angel in the AZTEC MUMMY trilogy.

At the morgue, they discover that victims' hearts are being ripped out! You can see the dude's rib bones there, smothered in a tasty honey glaze barbecue sauce.

There are also scientists trying to control werewolfism, adding a sci-fi spin to the story.

Bad things can happen to women who get too nosey! She went in the room to help, locked herself in, turned the temperature down so she wouldn't freeze, and, thaws out the wolfman!

The suggestion of nudity during the transformation scenes caused some problems with censors.

Hippity-hop to the barber shop!

Here's La Loba's transformed mate from Hell!

The monster shreds Crumba's face as he tries to contain the beast!

Great shot as Kitty shows her bloodlust! She was only 58 at the time of her death in 1999.

That knife has a lot to do with the plot, but, as you can see, things don't turn out for the best for the doomed lovers!

Monster Music

Monster Music
AAARRGGHHH!!!! Ya'll Come On Back Now, Y'Hear??