“The Abominable Snowman” (1957) was warmly received on last night’s “Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner.” Forrest Tucker and Peter Cushing may be like chalk and cheese, but they each bring their particular strengths to bear on this atmospheric thriller, even as they defy common sense by sharing a smoke in the Himalayas. As a side note, I’m happy to report I was able to figure out where I can purchase some more skunk ape t-shirts. You can watch the archived show here:
For next time, we’ll be throwing it back to you, as it will be another viewer’s choice episode. Leave your suggestions under the post over on Roy’s page as soon as you can, as we’ll have to decide on the topic early in the week. If your movie is chosen, we’re also extending the option for you to join us as our guest, if you’d like to talk with us about your selection.
Three’s our lucky number, on the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. The choice is yours, when we livestream on Facebook, next Friday evening at 7:00 EST!
You think winter in New Jersey is cold? We’ll give you something to cry about.
On the next “Roy’s Tie Dye Sci Fi Corner,” we’re off to the Himalayas with Forrest Tucker and Peter Cushing, in pursuit of “The Abominable Snowman” (1957). This beautifully realized Hammer production was directed by Val Guest, who also helmed the first two films of the apocalyptic “Quatermass” series. Abundant, in-studio polystyrene snow is matched to impressive on-location work shot in the Pyrenees. The film was released the same year as Hammer’s “The Curse of Frankenstein,” which made Cushing an international star.
The music is by Humphrey Searle, the noted British serialist responsible for the hair-raising score to Robert Wise’s “The Haunting.” Here, he plays comparatively nice, with monastic bells and plenty of Vaughan Williams-style polar music.
Don’t let it get it inside your head. We’ll be drinking out of our Yetis on the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. Unpleasant tea will be provided by Tibetan monks in the comments section, when we livestream on Facebook, this Friday evening at 7:00 EST!
Nearly a decade before Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis strapped on their proton packs in “Ghostbusters” (1984), “F-Troop” alumni Forrest Tucker and Larry Storch embraced their inner Bowery Boys to deliver plenty of warmed-over schtick and slapstick as “The Ghost Busters” (1975).
This relic of Saturday morning television will be our topic this week, on the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner, as our special guest will be Roy’s son, Ryan. Roy and I will offer our personal recollections of the era, wallowing in a morass of boyhood nostalgia, while a no-doubt-befuddled Ryan will lend a more clear-eyed perspective, having come to the episodes for the very first time.
Spencer (Storch), Tracy – a “trained” gorilla (actually Bob Burns in a fur suit) – and Kong (Tucker) tackle a different supernatural menace each week. These range from the obvious (Count Dracula, a mummy, and a werewolf) to the fairly offbeat (the Flying Dutchman, Morgan le Fay, Erik the Red and Brunhilde, and the Canterville Ghost).
Make no mistake, this is print-the-first-take comedy, with Tucker occasionally fumbling his lines, but anchoring all the business with his straight man authority and exasperation. Storch, in particular, demonstrates that he can polish even the stalest joke and serve it up on a velvet pillow. But it’s Tracy the Gorilla who gets all the surreal, Harpo Marx bits, putting on funny hats and doling out the prop comedy. At its worst, the show is like live-action, low-budget Scooby-Doo. At its best, it’s latter-day Vaudeville.
Guest stars include Carl Ballantine, Billy Barty, Johnny Brown, Bernie Kopell, Ted Knight, Jim Backus, Joe E. Ross, and proto-Bowery Boy Huntz Hall, along with a rogues’ gallery of familiar faces from sitcoms, movies, and television commercials of the 1960s and ‘70s.
If you’re of an age that you remember Charles Nelson Reilly as a Bic Banana or Timer hankering for a hunk of cheese, you’ll want to be on hand for the next “Roy’s Tie Dye Sci Fi Corner.” Bring your Count Chocula to the comments section. We’ll be chasing the ghosts of our childhood, as we livestream on Facebook ,this Friday evening at 7:00 EDT!
We drift into Season 2 of Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner with a mug of water, a cup of coke, a pistol, and a single shot between us. Marvel at our meandering ruminations on “Marooned,” John Sturges’ 1969 stranded-in-space narrative.
Next Friday, we’ll be joined by Roy’s son, Ryan, for another trip back to 1970s Saturday morning television, and share our impressions of “The Ghost Busters.” No, not Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis. More like an “F Troop” reunion, with Forrest Tucker and Larry Storch, joined by Bob Burns as Tracy the Ape.
The most prevalent specters are those of Vaudeville, the Three Stooges, and the Bowery Boys, with plenty of silly schtick, surreal sight gags, and a forehead-slapping array of recognizable guest stars (including Billy Barty, Johnny Brown, Bernie Kopell, Ted Knight, Jim Backus, Joe E. Ross, and Bowery Boy veteran Huntz Hall).
It’s not every kids’ show that makes allusions to Sidney Greenstreet, Wagner, and Oscar Wilde.
Pour yourself a bowl of Cap’n Crunch and prepare to get busted. We’ll be chasing the ghosts of our youth, when we livestream on Facebook, next Friday evening, at 7:00 EDT!
