Monthly Archives: December 2014

Happy Birthday Kirk Douglas!

Posted by Marisa on

The inimitable Kirk Douglas turns 98 years old today! That’s pretty impressive. Here he is with Timothy in Stanley Kubrick‘s Paths of Glory (1957). Tim is reportedly standing in a hole, so that he would not tower over the film’s star and uncredited co-producer.

Paths of Glory

“Let me tell you an interesting story about Paths of Glory,” Tim said in the Psychotronic interview. “In the execution scene there was no dialogue but I started to speak, so Kubrick said, ‘Bring in the sound!’ I kept saying, ‘I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die’, so Kubrick comes up to me and says, ‘Tim, you better make this good, Kirk Douglas doesn’t like it’, but of course they used it.” We hope that Douglas has forgiven Tim by now for stealing the film from him. We’re pretty sure he has; he recently named Paths as one of the films he is most proudest of. Happy birthday, Mr. Douglas!

Pic of the Day: “Mermaids of Tiburon” revisited

Posted by Marisa on

Today we take another look at John Lamb‘s Mermaids of Tiburon (1962). Pearl-coveting bad guy Milo Sangster (such a great character name) enjoys lunch while plotting his next nefarious enterprise.

Mermaids of Tiburon

The Psychotronica Vol. 3 DVD of Mermaids was apparently supposed to include some commentary by Romeo Carey, but looks like it never happened. It also includes the ridiculous “Aqua Sex” version of the film, which attempts to pass off some topless women with flippers on their feet as mermaids. I guess they figured nobody would notice they weren’t wearing mermaid tails. Let the head-shaking and eye-rolling commence.

Pic of the Day: “Satan, Cyanide and Murder” revisited

Posted by Marisa on

Whoa, I’ve really been slacking this week! My apologies, folks. I always tend to go into hibernation mode during this time of year. However, let’s remedy that with another look at Kenny the Knife, the reformed criminal of “Satan, Cyanide and Murder”. That was the episode of The New Mike Hammer that was first broadcast on April 14, 1984. Kenny’s sudden appearance in Hammer’s (Stacy Keach) back seat was not expected and certainly not appreciated.

Satan, Cyanide and Murder - 1984

Kenny turned up again in the series later that year in “Cold Target,” making this Timothy’s only recurring television role. Unfortunately, further appearances were not forthcoming.

Pic of the Day: “The Velvet Jungle” revisited

Posted by Marisa on

Today’s pic takes another look at the Starsky and Hutch episode “The Velvet Jungle,” first airing on March 5, 1977. Racist diner owner Danny is telling the boys about his “super pancakes,” but Starsky (Paul Michael Glaser) does not appear convinced.

The Velvet Jungle - 1977

Glaser has been a reliable presence on television since the late 1960s. He is closely involved with the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, co-founded by his late wife Elizabeth, who passed away from complications of the disease in 1994. He is now an accomplished author of young adult fantasy fiction. “The Velvet Jungle” airs this Friday, December 5th, on the El Rey network.