Rare Flix: Musical Mutiny (1970)

This random Film was watched on a whim.  Thanks for suffering through it with me, Bob.  This is Musical Mutiny, a 1970 Film that is half-Documentary, half-narrative Film.  It is hard to really explain this Film, for many reasons.  It comes to us from Barry Mahon, the man who's career includes Nudist Horror Films, a surprisingly-accurate Wizard of Oz Story Adaptation, Children's Films about Christmas, just plain Erotica and the Storybook Parts from Santa Claus & The Ice Cream Bunny.  Oh and he also Directed Errol Flynn in his dying days as he supported Fidel Castro.  Who was this guy?!?!?  In his last days as a Director, he did the Ice Cream Bunny stuff and this.  The common theme- a defunct Theme Park known as Pirates World.  My best guess is that he just lived in the area and could make this stuff on the cheap.  So what is Musical Mutiny?  The best story available is that Iron Butterfly was going to play Pirates World and the Park wanted to get some extra attention.  Disney was breathing down their necks and they needed the help.  In comes Barry Mahon to make a loose-almost-a-Film around the actual events at the Park for them.  Is it good?  No.  Is it bad?  Yes.  Is it the kind of Film that certain people need to see?  To find out, read on...

In a somewhat-confusing bit, a 'Pirate' shows up and tells a guy that 'there is a mutiny.'

You're supposed to get that this is a Pirate GHOST who is mad at the Park's existence.  That's how you advertise a Park- say that it attracts angry Ghosts!

This leads to a VERY extended bit where people go from place to place and tell people about 'the mutiny.'  That's all they need to know, I guess!

Part 2 of the Ghost Pirate's Plan involves tricking the ONE GUY WATCHING THE GATES that the Concert Event with Iron Butterfly is free as a promotional event.

This works.  Also that Balloon.

The hordes of people pack into Pirates World for the Concert.  I love that the Plot of this involves the Owner getting mad about them possibly losing thousands of dollars.

How is he the bad guy here?

Between all of the music- which includes practice sessions and the actual concert- the Film tries to pretend that it has a Plot.

In Part B, they give you this rich kid and his girlfriend.  She says that he relies on his dad's money.

He takes his dad's plane to Pirates World and says that he'll hire The Fantasy (one of the other bands)...with his own money.  Is that supposed to be a Character/Story Arc?

In Part C, these 3 guys make a formula for a drink that is tantamount to mind control.  They try to sell it- mixed in lemonade- at Pirates World.

After hours of rejection, they turn away an actual customer and the 'boss' jumps in the lake.
Did he just try to kill himself?

With that out of the way, here's lots of Iron Butterfly.  They don't play the song you know...yet.

The Concert stops, however, when the Manager stops it due to lack of payment.  How...dare he?

In the meantime, they other Bands play to random shots of Pirates World.  Come visit!

Said Plot Point is ended when a random Hippie writes a check for the $15,000 the Band is owed.  He just has that!

Butterfly goes back on stage and plays the super-duper-extended-plus-riffing version of 'In A Gadda Da Vida' to wrap up the Film.

I highlighted in my screen cap just where the performance starts to show you how long it is.  The End.

What a strange almost-Film this is.  So is this really a Documentary?  I mean, the bulk of the Film is just Concert/Performance Footage.  Stop Making Sense is a Documentary, so why not?  Well, this one also features *some* of the Musicians attempting to act.  Yeah, Iron Butterfly is too big of a name to act in this one.  The whole Film has a strange and confusing narrative built around the actual footage, so it isn't really a Documentary anymore.  Mondo Films, as an example, will stage events that are mixed in with the real footage they have.  Even so, *most* of them don't make up a whole new story to go with their footage.  Good-Bye, Uncle Tom has a framing device- Documentarians coming to visit the South during Slavery- and then features reenactments/exaggerations of actual History.  That's the closest I can come to a Film like this then.  Not the best company you're keeping, Musical Mutiny!  Thankfully, the Film makes up for silliness and bad Acting to a certain degree with Music.  If you like this kind of Music, the Film can be enjoyable.  If you don't, it is just a bad Movie with lots of songs.  It tend to fall into the first category, even as I admit the the Film really gets excessive with just how long they play songs like Da Vida.  As a time capsule, this Film works great.  You can see a Theme Park that hasn't been open since 1974.  You can see what people thought 'hip culture' was like and how strange Mod Music could get.  Plus you'll see Bands you've likely never heard of before or will ever hear of again.  For instance, The New Society Band (below) only has 1 Album...

Next time, the Film I was *actually* planning to Review.  I just couldn't resist subjecting Bob to this to make the viewing experience easier.  Stay tuned...

Rare Flix: The Wonderful Land of Oz

A quick 'Thank you' and 'Damn you!' to Rifftrax for this.  This is 1969's The Wonderful Land of Oz.  When we last left Barry Mahon, he had moved from WWII Pilot to Director for Errol Flynn.  When the latter died in 1959, Mahon kept up working, making such 'classics' as Nudes, Inc, Bunny Yeager's Nude Camera and, confusingly enough, Censored.  The Films aren't *actually* Porn, but also kind of are.  Think of Porn as French and Mahon's Nudies as Portuguese.  When people started to want actual Porn, Mahon changed Genres- Ed Wood just took his place.  After directing a dozen Films about topless women, the natural thing to do is...an Oz Film.  Sure, sure.  As noted two Reviews back, the Oz Rights are a bit tricky.  He was able to cheaply do a later Book, but couldn't use stuff made up for the Films (like the Ruby Slippers).  To get the Film made, he had to scrounge up a hefty $50,000 for the Production (and $90,000 to get it distributed).  To get a Cast, he didn't go far- specifically, his own House!  He cast his son Channy Mahon as 'Tip' and got his Wife to the be Script Supervisor.  The rest of the Cast is made up of relative newcomers and unknowns.  I'm sure that being in this helped them break out, right?  Well, one of them was a Character Actor and another worked in the Make-Up Department for stuff like Ghostbusters 2 and Saturday Night Live.  So, yeah...it didn't.  The Plot is *fairly* accurate to the Book and touches upon similar stuff we saw in Return to Oz.  It's also considered to be the worst Oz Film by many, so maybe authenticity only takes you so far.  I only watched this due to the Rifftrax release, so I might as well turn this into a Review and complete the 'trilogy'...

Tipp lives in Oz with Mombi the Witch (who doesn't steal heads or work with the Nome King).

Hating his existence there, he makes a Pumpkinhead to scare the Witch.  She, instead, brings it to life and he gets out of there that night.

He also, confusingly, sings a song about how he wants to be a Boy.  This is because she had threatened to turn him into a Statue FROM A BOY earlier.  Makes sense?

On their trip to Oz, Tipp and Pumpkinhead get separated.  The latter goes on without him- for no good reason- and makes it there.

Boy, does it sure look cheap as hell.

Tipp, meanwhile, finds an army of young women- dressed like Majorettes- who plan to take over the City (now ruled by Scarecrow).

Making Plots about your Children being forcibly-marched- that's the Barry Mahon way!

Skipping ahead, the ladies take over and our Heroes- along with the Tin Woodman and The Wogglebug- are trapped in the Throne Room.

They make the Gump and fly to the Good Witch, who proves to be an Ex Machina for this whole Story.  She makes the ladies leave and reveals the truth about Tipp...

He's actually the transformed version of Ozma, the true Ruler of Oz.  They proceed to undo the transformation, never bothering to ask how 'Tipp' feels about it.

She is back on the Throne and the ancillary Characters hang around, as we see the ladies march away sadly as the Film ends.

A delightfully-bad Movie.  If you have seen either version of Santa Claus and The Ice Cream Bunny, you know what to expect from a Mahon Fairy Tale.  This is more of the same- just longer!  The cheap Sets.  The bad Songs.  The bad Acting.  Hell, one of the Actors here is in Jack and the Beanstalk!  I almost don't believe that they spent $50,000 on this.  It barely looks better than a High School Play.  Poor Channy Mahon clearly didn't want to be an Actor and it shows.  He's just not good, bad Script or not.  He only really Acted this one time, so the proof is in the pudding.  The Songs are also not good here, not helped by stuff like the Singers not having good range.  Poor Channy- again- has to sing when he's not ready or trained for it!  The Costumes look pretty bad for the most part and this seems to be the only real Film to show the Wogglebug.  Oh well- you don't get an iconic look like the Scarecrow or Tin Man!  If you're a fan of 'so bad its good' Films, this one just squeaks by.  It's so inept that you have to laugh.  That said, Rifftrax also has a version- again, the one I watched- and its probably the best way to approach this.  As a final presentation, here's a Poster for the Film that...promises that it will be Live!

Next time, a break from Oz and/or Politics.  Instead, it involves evil Hippies and lots of blood.  Stay tuned...

Rare Flix: Cuban Rebel Girls (1959)

This one didn't age well!  This is 1959's Cuban Rebel Girls aka Assault of the Rebel Girls.  This is part-real and part-fake.  It's confusing, but stay with me.  Back in these days, a famous Actor named Errol Flynn was having not so good days.  He had 'personal demons' and his Film Career was not doing so hot.  On top of that, he was hanging out with Barry Mahon and nothing good could come from that!  He became really interested in Politics and it mainly involved one place- Cuba.  He was a big supporter of a young upstart named Fidel Castro.  That scrappy Rebel was trying to overthrow a bad Dictator who had the support of America- Fulgencio Batista.  No, not the Wrestler.  As a show of his support, Flynn decided to get a Movie made about Castro's Army.  That led to the creation of this Film, the first big credit for Mahon.  This is the same Barry Mahon who would go on to direct the Thumbelina and Jack and the Beanstalk portions of Santa Claus & The Ice Cream Bunny.  Naturally, he got his start with a pseudo-Documentary about a Cuban uprising!  A mere 5 years later, he was making stuff like Nudist Camp Horror Films.  What a strange life this man led!  In THIS Film, Errol Flynn plays...himself...kind of.  Him and his *way too young* girlfriend end up in Cuba as the fighting seems to be winding down.  Will they help the revolution?  Is this just confusing to add a fake narrative to real-life events?  Will Che Guevara or Casto even appear in this?  To find out, read on...

I just have to immortalize this moment in time.

To be fair, Flynn also died in 1959, so he never saw what happened AFTER Castro took power.

Flynn is here- as noted- playing a version of himself.  This version is apparently a War Reporter, which allows him to be our Narrator and barely show up.

Another note: Mahon became friends with Flynn when he became his Pilot.  Did he fly him in here?

The main Plot involves Bevery Aadland- Flynn's 18-year old girlfriend- learning the story of Cuba and its Rebels, focusing on the titular girls.

Hear such fun stories as Cuban funneling guns out of Florida and realize that they are supposed to be the good guys here!

Batista and his men are very mean, torturing and killing people.  The man himself does also not appear, but is that a surprise?

This Movie- which is just over an hour- feels very long as you watch Aadland awkwardly-act as a dumb blonde learning about The Revolution.

Shane Douglas once famously said 'There is no 'I' in The Revolution,' but I prefer to say that 'There is no pointless Bystander in The Revolution.'

Even when they find a dead body, she does the least Acting.  So sad.

To make a not-so-long story short, all seems to be going right for the Revolution, except for Beverly's missing Rebel man.

Yes, despite the Title, this is mostly about a woman trying to be with a Cuban Rebel Boy.

I was going to give the Film credit for leaving a dark bit in, but...he's alive.  Hurray?

Afterwards, Flynn appears one last time (literally his last time!) to thanks the Rebels and say that he supports them- nay, we all do.

Again- he didn't live to see the Cuban Missile Crisis.  The End.

A weird and very dated Film.  The Film's conceit- that Flynn is a War Reporter covering the Events- is already a little weird.  Throw in his super-young girlfriend in their only Film appearances together (only like 2, to be fair) and you have more spice for this crazy gumbo.  Seeing her take the Lead here is...not good.  Like I said, she barely emotes and she's working from a Script that makes her act like a dumb blond.  Was that how she was IRL?  I don't know.  It would be a shame if her Boyfriend hand-picked her for a role and then gave her something so bad for no reason.  Yes, she is supposed to have an Arc.  She goes from 'I don't know the War' to 'I want to stay with the Rebels.'  The problem is that her turn is SOLELY based on the guy she likes and being around him.  If you know the history, this one is very awkward.  After all, Batista was the President (the first time) when Cuba joined the Allies in WWII.  Did you know that?!?  This one is slightly-less awkward than Rambo III's Plot of 'Let's fight for the Rebels in Afghanistan' given the Bin Laden connection to all of it.  I'm not going to *really* pick sides here, since, of course, why would you even care?  FYI there will be far less dark historical discussion in the next Post- honest!  If you don't know the history, Cuban Rebel Girls is alright, but pretty dull.  It is the Film that introduced the World to the man who would one day give us Fanny Hill Meets Lady Chatterly, so that's something.

Next time, I segue from Oz to Politics and BACK to Oz.  Yes, Barry Mahon did an Oz Film, so I might as well cover that too!  Stay tuned...

Rare Flix: Barry Mahon's The Beast the Killed Women (1965)

After the tease I gave and the vague title of the film, I bet you're wondering what is going on.  Well, I'll lay it out for you.  In the 1960s, there was a fringe genre known as the 'Nudey Cutey.'  Basically, these films were about excuses to show, well, naked women.  One of it's biggest proponents was Doris Wishman, a great exploitation director and the woman behind Deadly Weapons.  This led into the further fringe sub-genre of the Nudist Camp films.  Yes, Doris made about half a dozen of those.  This led to an even further fringe sub-sub-genre known as the Nudist Camp Horror films.  Yes, these are real.  As to how many of them there really are, I can't say.  I can, however, tell you that there are at least two of them.  Join me now in this two-part look at a fringe off-shoot of a fringe genre.  First up is an American film that is more Nudist Camp than Horror, but it tries.  Aside from curiosity value though, is it actually good?  Get out your high-hanging towels for my review of...

The film jumps right to the point- let's go to the Nudist Camp.  There is a little set-up, but not all that much.  It's pretty much fluff, people.  Case in point: an early scene has two women trying to reach a towel that is placed high up on a wall...for some reason.  This requires them to jump up and down for a couple of minutes. Inspiration for The Man Show, eh?  In addition to that, many scenes involve naked people just randomly walking by.  

One scene actually pretends to have ancillary dialog taking place between two women in a clearing while people just walk through the scene.  I do also feel the need to note that this film does not feature full-frontal nudity.  I'm happy about that, but a little confused.  What's the point of making a film about people being naked if you're going to self-censor?  

In regards to the actual plot, that involves a man in the hospital explaining how everything- including his stay there- came about.  Never mind that his character was nowhere near most of the events when they actually occurred or anything...

* Come for the shots of Nature.  Also butts. *

The actual horror aspect comes from an escaped and angry gorilla.  No, really.  You were expecting Dracula or something?  He chases a few people around and eventually attacks our hero.  Despite someone being killed the first night, everyone stays at the camp.  I guess taking off all of your clothes means that you turn your brain off as well!  

This is just an excuse to show more nudity- big surprise- as women sit around either topless or fully-naked to discuss the situation.  At one point, two women talk to each other while in bunk beds, making sure to have the covers pulled down past their breasts.  Yes, prioritize ladies! 

 Right around the halfway mark, our narrator is attacked and sent to the hospital.  Oh good, you're 'here's how everything happened' tale doesn't actually wrap up the story!

Eventually, the police finally decide to get a bit proactive.  They set a trap for the ape using- what else- a woman as bait.  

At this point, I feel like I should note that the cops never interact with the nudists at all.  When people talk to them, they're always clothed.  Did you guys film a killer ape film without informing those actors what the rest of your film was about? 

 Anyways, after the woman cries 'bloody murder,' the police arrive with a nice, delayed reaction.  'Oh right,' they must have thought, 'we were sitting here with guns drawn for a reason!'  They kill the ape, signifying that all is right with the world.  Cue the nudists sitting in a field!  

Oh right, we still have to wrap up a B-Plot that nobody cared about.  The police go talk to the owner of the ape and arrest her.  Thanks- I needed to know that part.  The End.

*The threat is over.  Resume nudity!*

This movie kind of sucks.  On one hand, it is a silly and harmless romp with a bunch of nudists.  Although the movie barely moves its plot along, I can't get too mad at that.  However, it's attempts to be a horror film fall flat on its face.  There's more terror in your average episode of I Spy!  I have to wonder if this was just an excuse to put all of this nudity in for no reason.  Oh wait, I don't really need to wonder!  As a horror film or even a thriller, it's just terrible.  Given the odd combination of genres, something really unique and crazy could have come about.  Instead- we get a Nudist Camp film where an ape runs around for a while between scenes.  In case you question this film's motive, one three minute scene involves people talking off-screen while a woman is filmed at chest level (while covering her nether regions with a towel)!  Is she talking?  It doesn't appear so.  No, they just wanted to show breasts for a few minutes with no distractions from the plot!  Ugh.

Up next, the second part of this double-feature arrives in...black and white.  This film is British, so I'm sure that it will be much classier.  Stay tuned...