The Devil Bat -- A perfect 10 cult film!

The Devil Bat

The Devil Bat, 1941, Producers Releasing Corporation, directed by Jean Yarbrough. Starring Bela Lugosi, Suzaane Kaaren, Dave O’Brien, Guy Usher, Hal Price. Sixty-nine minutes. Schlock-Meter Rating: 10 stars out of 10 stars. Note: Once sold on some video labels as Killer Bats.

By Doug Gibson

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Okay, I know that the plot of Devil Bat is silly. I know the budget is a $1.89. I know the special effects are ridiculous with rubber bats swooping down to victims’ necks. I’m aware that many critics, including John Stanley (whom I respect) consider Devil Bat an example of Lugosi’s slow side to oblivion, and Ed Wood movies. But Stanley is wrong, wrong, wrong!

Nevertheless, I love this film. It is a great cult movie because it has heart. Lugosi -- and the rest of the cast -- take their job seriously. They take a sow’s ear and turn it into a silk purse. The plot is as follows: A seemingly kindly scientist (Lugosi) has toiled his entire life for a perfume company. The scientist’s discoveries had made millions for the firm’s family, but he remains a salaried employee. For that he is bitter and angry, and has harvested killer bats that will attack the scent of a perfume. Of course, Lugosi gives the perfume to the rich family members, and murders occur. By the end, nosy reporters (including great 40s genre star Dave O'Brien, and cops uncover Lugosi’s crime and he is killed at the end. Of course, as was PRC’s and other minor 40s film companies’ wont, there is also a love story mixed in this thriller between O'Brien's reporter and starlet Suzanne Kaaren's heiress.

Bela Lugosi’s greatest talent was providing an excellent performance no matter the subject matter. His performance as a brooding scientist, bitter, angry, feeling underappreciated, is a masterpiece. There is a scene at the beginning of Devil Bat where the family members of the firm -- who really seem to love the scientist -- throw him an appreciation testimonial and provide him with a $25,000 gift. Lugosi’s scientist is all decorum in this scene, and it’s chilling when he’s alone and the mad, angry, bitter murderer is revealed. It’s an effective contrast, which I don’t think other 40 chiller stars George Zucco or John Carradine could have pulled off.

By all means, rent Devil Bat (I recommend you buy it) and lose yourself in a great actor making the most of a simple story. Lugosi on screen can hypnotize a viewer. One ignores the plot flaws and poor special effects and appreciates a master actor in a great performance.

Devil Bat is now available in a colorized version, and it's a lot of fun to watch. The public domain film can be seen for free on the Internet. I used the UEN Sci-Fi Friday version of the film, along with the educational podcast, in my beginning newswriting class in the University of Utah. It helped the students learn how to write a news feature story.

Star O'Brien was a low-budget western star for most of the 40s but also acted in 40s low-budget Lugosi thrillers, Bowery at Midnight and Spooks Run Wild, a farce with the Bowery Boys. Director Jean Yarbrough was a reliable low-budget film director, making the cult film The Brute Man with Rondo Hatton. He also directed the strange country music western film "Hillbillys in a Haunted House" with John Carradine, Lon Chaney Jr. and Basil Rathbone. Kaaren made about 40 mostly low-budget films between 1934 and 1942. She came out of retirement in 1982 for a role in the big-budget "The Cotton Club." Kaaren died in 2004 at age 92!

More on The Beast of Yucca Flats

By Doug Gibson

When I first reviewed this film, I admit I trashed it. And it is a clunky, badly acted, ridiculously scripted ("FLAG ON THE MOON!") Z-grade flick. But you know what ... it's a cult film, and like my co-blogger Steve Stones says, "these ugly-puppy cult films start to look better after a while..."

My first review: http://p9crotd.blogspot.com/2008/06/review-beast-of-yucca-flats.html

Well, I guess I've seen Beast of Yucca Flats 10 times now, and the last time I watched it, a couple of weeks ago on UEN's Sci-Fi Friday, darn it, I have to admit I like this film. Who cannot love Tor Johnson lumbering through the California desert, even a Tor only a few years from death, weighing 400 pounds and sweating profusely.

The film involves Tor as a defecting Russian scientist, Dr. Joseph Javorsky, ready to meet with Cold War officials. (Some prints have a prologue of Tor killing a naked woman. It makes no sense and was probably inserted so the desperate producers could pitch the film to grindhouse theaters) As Tor arrives near "Yucca Flats" we see a scene with Ed Wood actor Conrad Brooks. (somehow I just bet Ed visited the shoot) Russian agents attack Tor and there's a lame shootout and car chase. Then an A bomb explodes, killing everyone but Tor, who is driven crazy.

The rest of the film involves Tor lumbering through the desert terrain killing a couple of people and chasing two boys who ditched their parents while fixing a flat. Two of the MOST INEPT highway patrolmen in film history try and catch Tor, but almost kill the boys' father instead, who is searching for them. Legend has it that the mom and boys are the wife and sons of director Coleman Francis, who narrates and has a cameo as a lazy filling station attendant. (Francis, by the way, has the distinction of having ALL of his films spoofed by MST3K)

I won't give the ending away. Beast of Yucca Flats was shot silent with very bad voice-over narration by Francis and recorded "dialogue" that is always spoken when you can't see the actors' faces. Director Francis actually tries to be arty sometimes. One scene in particular shows a worried mom through a car window from the opposite side. Fellini he isn't.

I guess I'm warming to this film because I have seen it so many times. I can laugh at it, spot Tor Johnson, Conrad Brooks and Coleman Francis and just enjoy the 55-minute film. As is the case with these films, the story behind the film is entertaining as well. The "publicity" for Beast of Yucca Flats was Ted Carcharas. He couldn't find any takers of the Tony Cardoza-produced film. So, the producers rented a theater in San Diego, Calif., and showed Beast of Yucca Flats themselves. Surprisingly, they attracted big crowds for a few days!

Eventually, Beast of Yucca Flats eventually was distributed as a "third feature" in drive-in theaters and all-night grindhouse theaters. The 1961 film was still being booked in theaters well into the 1970s. It's likely this deformed puppy of a cult film made a profit since its negative cost was only about $20,000. The film is in the public domain now as well as spoofed on MST3K. You can see both versions for free on the Internet, although you usually have to pay to find the version with nudity in the prologue. Some versions will snip the nudity and only show the incomprehensible murder in the prologue. Other versions completely omit the prologue.

Director Francis had a sad future after Beast of Yucca Flats. He virtually died a bum. Cult director Ray Dennis Steckler, who recently died, discovered Francis, an alcoholic, living on the streets in the late 1960s and gave him a part in his 1969 cult film noir flick, Body Fever. That's just the kind of nice guy Steckler was.

Review: Tales of Tomorrow: Frankenstein

By Doug Gibson

The Frankenstein episode of early TV show Tales of Tomorrow is a historical curio. It's an example of TV in its infancy. There's nothing spectacular about the 1952 24-minute TV teleplay drama, filmed live. Its fortunate existence today is more teaching tool than art.

Lon Chaney Jr. plays the Monster. He's the only good thing about the plodding show. It has Ed Woodian bargain basement sets and props, as well as overtheatrical wooden acting by indistinguished TV actors of the time. The plot involves Dr. Victor Frankenstein (John Newland) living in a castle on the sea with his husband and wife servants and, for some reason, his young nephew (Michael Mann) is there. Also hanging around but not living in the castle is Mrs. Frankenstein (Mary Alice Moore) and her dad, who is also Dr. Frankenstein's mentor (Raymond Bramley).

Nothing much happens until Dr. Frankenstein unveils his monster (Chaney Jr.). He lumbers around the house, killing the maid and scaring the nephew and butler. This is all rather leaden sans much drama although Dr. Frankenstein offers quite a few long-winded laments. Eventually, the principals plot to do away with the Monster.

Chaney looks nothing like his 1942 performance as the Monster in The Ghost of Frankenstein, but he's an old horror hand and he knows how to roar and generally give a menacing performance.

Now, here's the most interesting part of this creaky curio of a TV show. Apparently, Chaney Jr., a severe alcoholic most of his life, was very intoxicated when the live shoot was being don. In fact, he was so intoxicated that he thought it was the dress rehearsal and refused to throw furniture to the floor. It is true that Chaney, in two scenes, gently places furniture back on the floor that is obviously meant to be tossed! You can also hear him mumble once "save it" as he places the furniture down. Otherwise, his role is mute with grunts.

As mentioned, an interesting curio, directed by TV director Don Medford. It is often in discount DVD packs, the kind sold via oldies.com or in dollar stores. It is free to watch on the Web or you can buy it on amazon.com also.

Here is a YouTube clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zt2Xz95DqjM

Horror fans will enjoy it, completists will want it. It's a chance to see Chaney Jr. in a TV setting. Despite his drinking, he stayed active in films until his death in the early 70s.

Voyage Into Space

By Doug Gibson

Voyage Into Space is an absolutely bizarre 1970 or so Japanese monster-rama that involves a young boy, Johnny Sokko, having control over a crime-fighting, flying Giant Robot. Sokko and Giant Robot work for the Unicorns, a UN-type spy ring trying to save the world from the extraterrestrial evil, Guillotine, his various sidekicks, including "Spider" and Dr. Botanus. The "army" of Guillotine is "the Gargoyle Gang," a group of military types who resemble Nazis.

This is a weird movie but unbelievably entertaining for young kids and nostalgic adults who recall seeing it when they were young kids. I saw this film when I was 7, 8 or 9 and we used to talk about it on the playground in school. It stars no one you ever heard of, the special effects are pretty bad, the acting terrible, the dubbing weak, but it's strangely cool. There's a 1960s' counterculture aura to this film. Several of the baddies dress like they stepped out of a Roger Vadim film. Guillotine raises a whole host of monsters and some are pretty interesting. One is a giant plant; another is a giant eyeball (I kid you not).

But still, this film, released by American Independent Films to TV only, is woefully cheap. The battling monsters don't match up to the same size in close ups and far-away shots. In one scene, Johnny Sokko and a Unicorn agent wash up on the beach with their clothes fully dry and pressed and their hair neat. Johnny Sokko's dubbed voice sounds a little like Bea Arthur of The Golden Girls. The Giant Robot hero is very cool, though, and the film's theme song is catchy. My four year old son, who like his dad loves the film, hums the theme song daily.

Here's the big secret to Voyage Into Space. It's actually about four episodes, including the first and last, culled from a 30 or so-episode series from the late 60s called Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot. That show also aired on TV, including on long-forgotten Channel 52 in Southern California when I was a kid. You can catch Johnny Sokko episodes today on http://www.hulu.com/ For more than a generation, you couldn't find Voyage Into Space on VHS or DVD. I spent decades wondering what had happened to my favorite Japanese color monster film. Finally, last year Sinister Cinema http://www.sinistercinema.com/ started selling the film. Since that occurred the floodgates have opened and Voyage Into Space, a public domain film, has many sellers.

It's a great film, particularly if you have a fondness for the Japanese monster genre, and your kids will love it.

Review: American Movie

American Movie: The Making of Northwestern, color, 107 minutes, Northwest Films. Directed by Chris Smith. Starring Mark Borchadt, Mike Schank and Bill Borchadt. Rating: Nine stars out of 10.

American Movie: The Making of Northwestern is the most original slice of Americana captured on film since Michael Moore chronicled the corporate-caused decay of Flint, Mich. in Roger and Me more than a decade ago. Judged top documentary film at Sundance a few years ago, it’s the best of its genre since Waco: The Rules of Engagement managed to snag an Oscar nomination several years ago.
It’s the story of Mark Borchardt a wannabe film-maker, who redefines the word persistence. He lives in Wisconsin. Mark is, by most definitions, a loser. He failed to finish high school. He’s unmarried but has three children. He’s under-employed. He’s a border-line alcoholic. He owes several thousand dollars in child support and thousands more in other debts. He lives at home with his mom, sleeping on a thin mattress. His best friend is a dazed ex-stoner musician named Mike who’s addicted to scratch lottery. His family scorns his goals, suggesting that he’s fit at best to be a factory worker.
Mark has no prospects, but he has a goal. To be a feature film-maker. His almost-obsessive pursuit of that dream and his infectious optimism is captured by director Chris Smith. You want to see reality on film? Ignore the “Big Brother’ and “Survivor” garbage heaped onto television screens recently. American Movie is a primer on micro-budget film making and the fragile dreams of its creators.
Mark’s been making short films with his friends since he was a teen. Horror is his preferred genre. He counts The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as a major influence in his life. Mark wants to make a feature film called Northwestern. The first part of the film focuses on Mark and his team’s fruitless effort to get the production off the ground. Kitchen-table production meetings provide only pessimism and finally the project is shelved for lack of funds.
Not deterred, the rest of the film concerns Mark’s efforts to finish and release Coven, a 40-minute psychological horror drama that he started years earlier. Despite setback after setback, the film gets finished, thanks largely to Mark’s dying, lonely Uncle Bill, who lives in a trailer park and has $280,000 in the bank. The scenes between Mark and his curmudgeon uncle are touching. Mark exploits him to be sure, but he’s not fooling Bill, who knows Mark has pipe dreams but is nourished from the attention Mark pays to him.
There are priceless scenes in American Movie. They include a desperate Mark pleading with his mom to put on a costume and play an extra in Coven. “But I need to go shopping today,” she protests. There’s the 30-plus take scene of Uncle Bill delivering a few lines in Coven. Another is Mark’s glee at unexpectedly receiving a credit card offer in the mail. There’s Mark’s “office,” the front seat of his car parked at the airport. Another is the poverty-inspired panic which results in post production when a few seconds of film are discovered missing. Also, there’s a hilarious scene from the filming of Coven where several takes are required to smash a hard-headed actor’s skull through a kitchen cabinet.
A serious side to this film adds to its strength. Film-maker Smith provides viewers a peek in Mark’s personal life. It’s dysfunctional. While watching the Super Bowl with his family, a drunken Mark allows some of the bitterness he usually hides to come out in the surface. It’s tough to watch, but important as it rounds out his character and offers a peek into inner demons that have kept him from success.
Besides Uncle Bill, Mike Schank, Mark’s best friend, is an asset to American Movie. His blank stare, accompanied by monotone voice, might lead viewers to think he’s suffering from an acid flashback. However, Mike grows on you, and before the end of the film he’s shown to be a talented musician.
Despite no formal training, Mark is a talented self-taught film-maker, and you can’t help cheering for him once he finally finishes Coven and stands outside the theater, amidst a long line of people waiting to see his film. He may not have a home of his own, but he’s a director with a film under his belt, a colleague of Steven Spielburg. He has triumphed. Note: The DVD version of American Movie contains Mark’s film Coven. I have seen it and it's not too bad. Very low budget but with a cold, dark nihilism feel.

Doug Gibson

RIP: Ray Dennis Steckler

Ray Dennis Steckler died on Jan. 7 at the age of 70 (almost 71). Active almost to the last, the famed cult film director had a few words to say in November at a tribute in Los Angeles to Academy Award-winning cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond. Steckler gave him his start, as well as dozens of others. Steckler, like all true cultists, stayed obscure and more or less free of great wealth.
(The photo to the left is from his MySpace page)

I enjoyed reading his interviews and articles published in Cult Movies magazine. He was funny, humble and unique. I loved the quote, "What they have I don't need," in describing former associates now well off who were afraid to return his friendly phone calls.

Steckler also had a sense of humor when dealing with the mockers, including the MST3K crowd who wittily mocked "Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies." He took it in stride, likely just happy to see his best-known film on TV. (One thing I love about ISCWSLABMUZ is that much of it was filmed at the old Pike amusement park in my hometown, Long Beach, Calif.) Steckler was a serious craftsman, who late in life took many of his features and condensed them into hour B&W features. Those efforts, including his series of shorts, "The Lemon Grove Kids ..." underscored his love of the old, forgotten C-film genre. Steckler loved the Bowery Boys, the old PRC and Monogram films and particularly, the hour-long cowboy films of that genre.

I wish I had met the man. His interviews in 'zines and in Sinister Cinema DVD extras reveal a talented actor and filmmaker with the certain uniqueness that leaves a legitimate cult legacy. He was also cool. Who can forget the words in "Wild Guitar," from Steckler's "Cash Flagg" character "Steak": "This is Daisy, she's gonna teach you how to swing." You have to see and hear it to do it justice. Steckler was a trooper too. He directed that film as well, indulged his cinema love by using Bowery Boys-type characters and survived broken teeth when a punch from star Arch Hall Jr. was too realistic.

I'm glad that Steckler's films "Wild Guitar," Incredibly Strange Creatures..." and "Rat Pfink a Boo Boo" made it on Turner Classic Movies the last couple years of his life. He deserved the recognition. It's time to get more Steckler on TCM Underground. My vote would be for "Body Fever," Steckler's film-noir classic in which he and ex-wife Carolyn Brandt are perfect in their roles as private eye and jailbait thief. Other candidates include "The Thrill Killers," "Blood Shack" and "The Hollywood Strangler Meets the Skid Row Slasher." The Independent Film Channel could also benefit with some Steckler films on its roster.

So, RIP Ray Dennis Steckler, I hope you have had plenty of time to catch up with Liz Renay, Titus Moede, Forrest J. Ackerman, Coleman Francis, Arch Hall Sr., John Andrews and other cult icons long gone from Earth who once crossed your path.

-- Doug Gibson

Review: Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

Santa Claus Conquers the Martians" — This 1964 film was shot in an abandoned airport hangar in Long Island, N.Y., using many minor cast members from a NYC stage production of "Oliver Twist." It has a catchy theme song, "Hurray for Santy (sic) Claus," that you'll hum afterward. The plot involves Martians coming to earth, kidnapping Santa and whisking him away to cheer up the Martian kiddies. Two earth children are kidnapped along with Santa. Santa and the earth kids fight off a Martian baddie, prep a goofy Martian to become that planet's Santa, and launch off to earth in the spaceship. We never know if they made it home — perhaps the budget didn't allow that. The acting has to be seen to be believed, but the film has a goofy charm. It was a big hit on the now-gone "weekend matinee" circuit and played theaters for years. Pia Zadora, who was briefly a sexy starlet in the 1980s, plays one of the Martian children. John Call, as Santa, does a mean "ho, ho, ho." Film was also spoofed by MST3K.

-- Doug Gibson