For Teeth Like These, One Must Have Good Dental Coverage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

                         Girls, I am telling you, last Saturday's "Svengoolie Halloween Boo Nanza" was the most fun the series has had since it last aired "Sventoonie."  What a treat to see the entire 1975 "Trilogy Of Terror," which I am still not sure I had seen in its entirety.

                           Of course, everyone remembers the famous Zuni fetish doll story.  But this final shot is priceless, as Karen Black, now possessed, awaits her mother's visit to wreak vengeance.  How nasty and wicked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  And the Richard Matheson short story, "Prey," from 1969, which I happen to have in an anthology of his writings, is just as brilliant.  But Karen Black really livens it up!

                             I connected with the first story, "Julie," because, during my single years--what I now refer to as my spinsterhood period--I did some regrettable things; not nearly as regrettable as Julie--I feared I would end up a spinster permanently.  Somehow, from childhood on, I had gotten the idea that this was the worst.

                            The middle story, "Therese and Millicent," was predictable, and I guessed it right off.  But I could tell Miss Black was having a fun time playing the evil sister, Therese.  Right down to that obvious blonde wig!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                             Following all this was an interesting chronicle of Svengoolie's travels and the people he met, and yes, there really is a town of Berwyn, ("BERWYN!") Illinois.  It almost made me want to visit there!

                               But "Sventoonie" really pulled one out of the bag!  Even I couldn't anticipate what bottom of the barrel fillm he would attempt to reconstruct, and for the premiere he really hit rock bottom!

                                   The season opener was 1962's "Eegah!," which I had not seen since 1964 when it was shown on TV.  I seem to recall it as nothing more than people in a desert fleeing a caveman, in present time.  No expedition, just a ride where they happen to run into Eegah!  The name comes from the sound he makes.  He is played by actor Richard Kiel, who, interestingly enough, is the only one here who, while not going far, got somewhere, career-wise.

                                   But wait!  There is a California house, with a pool, and from the repeated shots of Marilyn Manning, as Roxy, swimming around, one can tell she had her sights set on being the next Elizabeth Taylor. Fat chance on that, though I am sure, having seen the final cut of "Cleopatra," Liz would have gladly handed Manning the role!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                     Then there is Arch Hall, Jr., as Tommy Nelson, whose singing is awful, but whose pompadour steals the show.  Not since Judy Jetson's ponytail have I seen such a hair piece stay in place!!!!!!!!!!!!  I swear, every time he appears on screen, one watches that pompadour!  This should have made him famous, but he was sorely lacking in talent.

                                   Which brings us to Eegah!  This is pretty much his entire performance throughout the picture, so if Kiel was the only actor who got somewhere, either something went wrong, or the stars were aligned in his favor.  I think the film was made on a budget of $15K, and it looks every bit of it.  It also looks as though the whole thing were made up and improvised.

                                        Truly rock bottom, but a solid "Sventoonie" offering, with he, Blob E. Blob, and Trevor to liven things up.  They were better than the performers in "Eegah!"

                                  I just cannot resist ending this post with a close-up of the Zuni fetish doll.  Isn't he cute?  And, girls, you can buy him online--for only six hundred dollars!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                   Dig into those purses now, dears!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!