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LICENSED TO LAUGH!!! || THE AMBUSHERS (1967) || THE MOUSE
FROM H.U.N.G.E.R. (1967) || MAKING OF “THE SPY WHO LOVED ME” (1977) ||
A HUNDRED-ODD YEARS FROM NOW (1969), • || THE AMBUSHERS (1967)
PLEASE NOTE, SCREEN TIME IS NOW 7.30pm, FOR THE DURATION!
TONIGHT: STRICTLY MEMBERS-ONLY
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DETAILS BELOW ************ ********* ********* ********* SPLODGE! NOTES: 1st. Mon. in AUGUST (04/08/08) ON THE FIRST MONDAY OF EVERY MONTH (except JANUARYs!)  a community FilmEdSoc project, WE CONTROL THE CONTENT ************ ********* ********* ********* Unusual films of discernment, still presented in convivial surroundings!
ALL PRESENTED ON GROOVY 16 MILLIMETRE FILM! the back room 714 NICHOLSON (CNR. SCOTCHMER) STREET, NORTH FITZROY (<MAP VIEW) splodgeburger@... ************ ********* ********* ********* 3rd. Quartile AUGUST AD 2008 MONDAY, 4th
Registration: 7.00 - 7.30 pm Screening: >>>>> 7.30 (*SEVEN THIRTY*!!!! ) pm <<<<<
TONIGHT: STRICTLY MEMBERS-ONLY MEMBERSHIPS STILL AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR ON THE NIGHT
DETAILS BELOWTONIGHT! - LICENSED TO LAUGH!!! * THE MOUSE FROM H.U.N.G.E.R. , (1967)
* MAKING OF  Tapping into the popularity of the "super-spy" craze that extended, post-WWII into the 1960s - not to mention MGM's ( - the distributor for this cartoon, made by CHUCK JONES' Sib-Tower 12 Productions - ) own landmark TV series THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. , superspy secret agent "Jerry-akin" (a take on David McCallum's character, Illya Kuryakin) sets out to steal a giant refrigerator full of cheese, guarded by the evil Tom Thrush ( - Thrush was the name of the enemy spy organization in THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E., and, in those days when yeast infections were scarcely considered, was said to stand for "The Technological Hierarchy for the Subjugation of Humanity and the Removal of Undesirables" - ), equipped with a vast array of diabolical gadgets and traps to stop him. Of course, Jerry has a few tricks of his own. To stop Jerry, Tom sets up several explosive traps. All backfire, leaving Tom flat on his back, while Jerry drives off with the refrigerator strapped to his roadster. LINK - "SPLODGE! FOR YOU AT HOME":
Possibly of greater interest than this "parody of a parody" is the show it so heavily references - THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. In the series, Napoleon Solo (ROBERT VAUGHN) and Illya Kuryakin (David McCallum) were spies for the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement, aka "U.N.C.L.E." They were given their orders by their chief, the ex-Cosmo Topper - Uncle "UNCLE" himself, the phlegmatic Mr. Waverly (LEO G. CARROLL). Interestingly, CARROLL had already fronted an opposing Cold War team as "The Professor" in Hitchcock's NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959). Solo's and Kuryakin's job was to go to all corners of the globe and prevent all manner of villainy, mostly perpetrated by the nefarious T.H.R.U.S.H. organization. The show aired on NBC from 1964 to 1968 and won a Golden Globe for best television show and several Emmy nominations. Executive producer Norman Felton wanted to do a spy show for television and contacted someone who might know a thing or two about the genre - a fellow named IAN FLEMING. The James Bond author didn’t really contribute a great deal, but he did suggest the name Napoleon Solo, and later sold out his interest to Felton for a pound (£). The rest is television history in that the show spurred a genuine phenomenon - with both Vaughn and McCallum rising to teen idol status!  VAUGHN and McCallum are said to have been overwhelmed by a veritable sea of screaming teenage girls when they arrived at Essendon Airport in the late 1960s on tour to promote the show in overseas markets. Prod Co: Sib-Tower 12 Productions. Prod: CHUCK JONES. Distr: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Dir: Abe Levitow. Anim: Philip Roman, Ben Washam, Ken Harris, Don Towsley, Tom Ray, Dick Thompson. Vocal Artist: MEL BLANC (Tom / Cigar Store Indian – uncredited). Mus: JERRY GOLDSMITH (MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. theme music - uncredited) 7 mins. RM “THE SPY WHO LOVED ME” (1977)
  An episode from the THE MAKING OF JAMES BOND - 007 BBC-TV series. This ep, the fifth from the series, takes a look at the filming of scene #341, - an action scene, necessitating the construction of a huge and expensive set - for the BOND film, THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977), and includes, fly-on-the-wall footage of direction, rehearsal and shooting of the scene, plus commentaries from the director LEWIS GILBERT, the director of photography, the stunt co-ordinator, and old Roger Moore himself. It also details camera and lighting set-ups, wide shots, close ups and camera angles, cinematography, scheduling and planning, costs and budgeting, fight arranging and stunt work, and the various roles of the relevant production crew personnel. This is OU Film No. 516; Project Number: 00525/2352 in the MASS COMMUNICATION AND SOCIETY Series (OU = Open University). Prod Co: BBC-TV. Prod: Nell Smith. Ed: Ron de Mattos. Cast: LEWIS GILBERT, ROGER MOORE, Claude Renoir. 25 mins. ALC * A HUNDRED-ODD YEARS FROM NOW, (1969)
 An advertising film with a difference: yes, the Australian film and advertising industries really did make stuff like this, and 1969 was the year (which explains a lot!) And in this case, we have the directorial labours of industry veteran FRED SCHEPISI - on behalf of the Australian Dried Fruits Association - to thank for it! Into a strange, computerized future, where women "run things" by controlling huge, colourful computers that go bleep booble bob bob ping et c., comes Yockoo, the boy from the bush, with his satchel of dried fruits! Slowly the women overcome their cold, futuristic ways in light of Yockoo's size, shape and general androgynousness. Eventually they resurrect their core femininity and cook Yockoo a feast of dried fruit dishes - using cooking utensils from their local museum! Prod Co: Film House Production / Australian Dried Fruits Association. Dir: FRED SCHEPISI. Wr / Design: Weatherhead & (ALEX) STITT. Phot: Lars Gundlach. Mus: Frank Smith. 18 mins. ALC followed by: * • THE AMBUSHERS,
(1967)
 After the public had become quite comfortable with post- WWII spy dramas, of the kind which the JAMES BOND stories typified - around the time of the mid-1960s - a curious phenomenon occurred – the genre went into “parody” mode, yielding such examples as the DEREK FLINT films, the GET SMART TV series, and the MATT HELM film series. This latter series was cooked up by producer IRVING ALLEN. ALLEN started his film career in 1929 as an editor. He turned to directing in the 1940s, and two shorts he made, FORTY BOYS AND A SONG (1941) and CLIMBING THE MATTERHORN (1947), won Academy Award ™s. His feature film output, however, was not particularly successful, and in the 1950s he and producer ALBERT R. BROCCOLI formed Warwick Films in the UK to produce films there. His partnership with BROCCOLI was strained by their disagreement over the possibility of bringing the JAMES BOND series to the screen. BROCCOLI was interested, Allen was not. The pair met with BOND creator IAN FLEMING in 1957, but ALLEN proclaimed ( - according to various accounts, including some included in documentaries on Bond movie DVDs!) that FLEMING's novels weren't even "good enough for television" . Some years later, ALLEN - with egg on his face - cast about for his own spy series, and acquired the rights to DONALD HAMILTON's "Matt Helm" stories. Allen's Helm series had one major effect on BROCCOLI's BOND movies ( - produced at the time in partnership with HARRY SALTZMAN): In order to get DEAN MARTIN on board as Matt Helm, Allen had to make DEAN a partner in the enterprise. MARTIN ended up making more money on THE SILENCERS (1966) - the first entry in the series - than SEAN CONNERY made on THUNDERBALL (1965) - a fact that did not go unnoticed by Connery! Of all the MATT HELM films, THE AMBUSHERS is frequently, but unfairly, given the shortest shrift. Over time, this movie has been critically viewed as silly-harmless trash, but on release it was thought to be racy and provocative, with the warning "Not Suitable For Children" appearing on promotions and posters. And there is still plenty for a post-‘60s world to tut-tut at - as the producers knew they were beginning to mine the realm of the new era of on-screen sexuality. As the Sexual Revolution of the ‘60s reached it's full crest circa '67, THE AMBUSHERS in many ways represents the link from restrained studio-produced Tease and Titillation to the full-blown sex in cinema that would soon flood the movie market. And for some Children of the '60s, whose parents did not heed the warning and took their kids to the movie anyway, with a "How harmful can a DEAN MARTIN flick be?" attitude ("After all, we watch him every week on TV"), this was the first exposure to 'sexual fetishes as entertainment' for many young boys and girls! And this IS one of the most extraordinarily, er, sexiest movies of the Sexties! From the opening credits onwards, it's basically all about how Incredibly, Unbelievably Gorgeous Women overwhelm and attack dumb men, breathtakingly presenting an array of international beauties, with either sleek “model” good-looks or voluptuous playboy physiques, decked out in uber-hip ‘60s fashions, enticing / “ambushing” unsuspecting / unprepared males! The preview to THE AMBUSHERS states, "You'll actually see DEAN MARTIN save the world!" The addition of the qualifying adverb "actually" in that sentence indicates that there may be some doubt here - that the event is unlikely or even absurd. But - if anyone was paying attention – they might recall they’d actually seen DEAN MARTIN save the world twice already, in the two previous films in the series. What's to doubt?  The opening credit sequence features a theme tune by TOMMY BOYCE and BOBBY HART, which implies that women themselves are the true "ambushers." As the song states, women are "like Injuns in the grass ... Then, buster, you're General Custer!" (I'm really not sure what is worse here: the misogyny or the cultural insensitivity. And, amazingly enough, this is not the most culturally insensitive thing said in a MATT HELM theme song!). *** SPOILER ALERT!!! ***  The plot of THE AMBUSHERS involves the theft of an experimental interplanetary flying saucer developed by the US government and flown by ICE (Intelligence and Counter Espionage) agent Sheila Sommers (JANICE RULE). As later explained in the movie by ICE boss MacDonald (JAMES GREGORY) - in perhaps the most incomprehensible conversation ever set on film - the experimental craft operates on the principle of electromagnetism, and "the electromagnetic field has a strange effect on the male of the species - it kills them, dead!" I don't know what about having a penis makes one vulnerable to electromagnetic fields, but I'm not willing to take a chance, either. I think this is one of those circumstances where we just have to accept science without questioning it.  On its maiden voyage, however, the saucer is stolen by the villainous Jose Ortega (ALBERT SALMI), using, what one infers to be, a powerful laser. SALMI, as the chief nemesis, is almost too sinister for this type of movie, with his odd looks and intense demeanor. He is, however, a natural villain, but perhaps more suitable for realistic thrillers. His flunky is played by KURT KASZNAR, hamming it right up - KASZNAR was the regular “stock” silly-villain / troublemaker on IRWIN ALLEN ( - no relation to IRVING ALLEN - )’s LAND OF THE GIANTS tv show. (SALMI, also, would also appear several times in another IRWIN ALLEN production – LOST IN SPACE, as the space pirate, “Captain” Alonzo P. Tucker.)  As is also the case with the other MATT HELM movies, the opening scenes feature some of the best parts of the film. The story shifts from the flying saucer abduction to the ICE Rehabilitation Center, where we get to witness the awesomeness of SLAYGIRLS training. The SLAYGIRLS are currently being taught how to use a device that dissolves metal. Such a device would be extremely useful if one of the SLAYGIRLS were faced with a firearm, or if she had to break into a locked door. However, the primary purpose of the device appears to be dissolving the buckles on the belts which hold up men’s trousers, thus causing their pants to fall down. Ho ho! And we just know we'll be seeing this device again later.  Another key element of SLAYGIRLS training appears to involve making out with MATT HELM, which shouldn't come as any surprise. Actually, I need to clarify that: the training involves making out with MATT HELM while listening to DEAN MARTIN records! (Interestingly enough, a similar technique was used at the Los Angeles police academy in the early ‘80s, where female cadets were required to make out with T. J. HOOKER while listening to WILLIAM SHATNER's, er, music album, THE TRANSFORMED MAN!) It turns out that the training isn't solely about making out with MATT HELM; instead, this particular SLAYGIRL is being trained on the use of a bra gun, which prematurely goes off during the session. To this near-death experience, Helm responds, "When you say you're a 38, you ain't kiddin'!" And then - so as to wring out all the comic potential from this scene - he adds, "An agent should always keep abreast of the times." He does not, however, refer to the bra gun as a "booby trap," as that joke was used to describe Tina (DALIAH LAVI)'s bra holster in THE SILENCERS (1966) - The MATT HELM movies are just too classy to repeat the same breast joke. When HELM leaves that particular training session, he walks out to the quad to find another SLAYGIRL offering him a ride on her scooter. She warns him, "I go pretty fast - better find something to hang on to!" To which Matt responds by looking at the camera and saying, simply, "Crazy." Clearly, no punchline is necessary, as we all know exactly what he will be hanging on to.  Matt then goes to get a massage from another of the SLAYGIRLS, and during this treatment his assistant, LOVEY KRAVEZIT, arrives. Lovey and Matt decide to move their "debriefing" into the steam-bath. As Matt makes the moves on Lovey by beginning to unclasp her bra, MacDonald's voice suddenly breaks in. MacDonald has pulled the ultimate spy cockblock by hiding HELM’s orders in Lovey's bra clasp. As with the orders hidden in the booze during MURDERERS' ROW (1966), Mac explains that he used this particular medium because he knew this would be the best way to get the orders to Matt. ICE has connected the theft of the flying saucer with the Dos Equis beer factory in Mexico. The evidence includes a song used in a Dos Equis TV ad that also appears on an album of military marches called "Songs Men Have Died For," which I believe was originally available through K-Tel. I'm not sure how this all fits together, but the beer commercial features women in bikinis, and that's all that is really important in this film. Matt is then ordered to pose as Sheila Sommers's husband and travel to Mexico under his photographer cover to investigate the Dos Equis beer factory. Really - setting a MATT HELM movie in a beer factory is nothing short of brilliant! In fact, during a gunfight later in the film, Matt falls into a vat of beer, and he considers the option of drinking himself to safety. And as gunshots miss their targets and hit various tanks and pipes, Matt often gets distracted from the fight by putting his mouth to the spilling beer.  A common occurrence in MATT HELM movies: Matt gets drugged by the female villain (in this case, Francesca, played by SENTA BERGER - who also starred as the femme fatale in another great ‘60s spy film, THE QUILLER MEMORANDUM, 1966). Here, it's lipstick instead of booze, but the effect is the same: MATT HELM also gets some amazing gadgets in this film, including cigarettes filled with laughing gas ( - which get him out of a firing squad late in the movie), a belt that turns into a sword when it gets wet (!?!?), and a trick camera. One of the better MATT HELM gadgets also appears here: the inflatable spy pad. (I love that this inflatable camouflage tent includes a refrigerator!)  My, what a big flying saucer ORTEGA plans to sell the saucer to the highest bidder, and the bidders include the evil BIG O organisation ( - represented by Francesca), the Chinese, and an unnamed Middle Eastern nation. The Chinese make the highest bid, leading Jose to declare, "The first man on the moon will be eating chow mein!" We also find out here that BIG O stands for "Bureau of International Government and Order," which has to be the least threatening sounding acronym for a global criminal cartel. (Which is probably pretty accurate in the real world too, as these things go!) The film ends with MATT HELM engaging in some more "training" for ICE's SLAYGIRLS. Matt explains to his trainee that she may be put into a position where she has to "give herself to the enemy," and he shows her the right way to put herself in the mood for such a duty. He starts, of course, with some DEAN MARTIN music, but this does not seem to help her. He then puts on some FRANK SINATRA, and that really does the trick! It's pretty clear that the film isn't aiming for “greatness” (whatever that is!), and certainly not “seriousness”, when the two primary weapons are a bra that shoots bullets and a device that makes men's pants fall down! The latter device is deiciously ridiculous in that it melts belt buckles and somehow that leads to men's buttons, hooks and zippers also failing, so that an army of henchman are forced to reach for their dangling trousers, rather than catch their man. As mentioned earlier, there's the groovy BOYCE and HART “The Ambushers” title-song played over the opening credits, wherein is displayed a huge array of bikini-clad, heavily made-up beauties.  ORTEGA’s chief gadget is a dopey-looking satellite dish that shoots out sparks ( - also comes in a handy hand-held version). It seems it serves its greatest purpose pouring drinks for everyone.  For those eager to see one of the type of kooky, colourful romps which lent inspiration to MIKE MYERS in creating the AUSTIN POWERS films, this is required viewing. ( - Check out how Dino's car trunk pops out an inflatable tent complete with bed, nightstand, lamp and metal chairs! I want one! Also, the feast of a real Splodge! favourite – a lot of obvious, klunky “rear” (back-screen) projection, amidst the chase scenes towards the end.)  This isn’t exactly RIO BRAVO (1959) here for DEAN MARTIN, but he was playing into his image as a boozy womanizer at the time, and he never did it better. All of the kicky, funky music is by television tunesmith HUGO MONTENEGRO and this is but one of the film's many assets. THE AMBUSHERS introduced MONTENEGRO as the new composer for the final two entries, and marked the third and last appearances of both JAMES GREGORY as MacDonald ( - replaced by John Larch in THE WRECKING CREW (1969) - ) and of BEVERLY ADAMS as HELM’s secretary – who, in the grand tradition of BOND girls, like PUSSY GALORE - is named LOVEY KRAVEZIT.  SENTA BERGER is unbelievably luscious. Wearing what have to be the cinema's largest-ever earrings, and sporting an impossibly golden tan, hair piled high and an aquamarine lounging gown ( - it’s just amazing what you can do with a length of curtain material from the 1960s! - ), she is one of the most underrated beauties on record. There's a poolside fashion show of far-out ultra-‘60s OLEG CASSINI creations, and most of the women wear false eyelashes so heavy they must almost be unable to open their eyes. THE AMBUSHERS stands for a time that can never be repeated, and perhaps never should be, so one should relish films like this as the time capsules that they are. Prod: Irving Allen. Dir: Henry Levin. Wr: Donald Hamilton (book "The Ambushers" and “The Menacers”), Herbert Baker (screenplay). Cast: DEAN MARTIN(Matt Helm), SENTA BERGER (Francesca Madeiros), JANICE RULE (Sheila Sommers), JAMES GREGORY (MacDonald), ALBERT SALMI (Jose Ortega), KURT KASZNAR (Quintana), BEVERLY ADAMS (LOVEY KRAVEZIT), David Mauro (Nassim), Roy Jenson (Karl), John Brascia (Rocco), Linda Foster (Linda). The SLAYGIRLS: Tomiko Ishizuka (as Yumiko Ishizuka), Karin Feddersen (as Karin Fedderson), Ulla Lindstrom, Marilyn Tindall, Lena Cederham, Susannah Moore, Terri Hughes, Penny Brahms, Kyra Bester, Jan Watson (as Jann Watson), Annabella Incontrera (as Annabella), Dee Duffy, Alena Johnston (uncredited). Mus: Hugo Montenegro. Phot: Edward Colman, Burnett Guffey. Ed: Harold F. Kress. Art Dir: Joe Wright. Cost. Des: OLEG CASSINI. Sp FX: Danny Lee, Marlowe Newkirk. Stunts: Nick Dimitri, Joe Gray, John Indrisano, Carey Loftin. 102 mins. AM Minor programme changes may occur due to unforseen circumstances. Feature runs last; shorts order may vary from listing. * Acknowledging ACMI Inc. & National Film and Sound Archive ;) *  ************ ********* ********* ********* ADMISSION IS RESTRICTED TO MEMBERS FOR THIS PROGRAMME THIS IS A FILM SOCIETY SCREENING OPEN TO MEMBERS
BUT IF YOU WISH TO BECOME A MEMBER, THE JOINING FEE IS SO LOW, IT MIGHT AS WELL BE FREE! ************ ********* ********* ********* MEMBERSHIP RATES: Quarterly*: Generally Socially-Advantaged : $7.00 Generally Socially-Oppressed: $6.00 *annual and half-yearly memberships available on request
If you wish to join on the night, we strongly advise you to arrive well-prior to the time listed for the screening to commence! ************ ********* ********* ********* LOCATION MAP ************ ********* ********* ********* For e-mail notification, spam your Subscribe-Request to: splodgefilms-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or visit: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/splodgefilms/ or register* via snail-mail (address below). ************ ********* ********* ********* To exit the mailing list, or for general correspondence, dispatch to: http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/splodgefilms/ 714 NICHOLSON STREET (CNR. NICHOLSON & SCOTCHMER STREETS), NORTH FITZROY. PHONE 04 25 74 28 01 ************ ********* ********* ********* |
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