This week on SVENGOOLIE...

[Dargo]

In that case are you skipping Capitolfest this year? It's next weekend, and I am desperate for a break from work.

Oh no, I took the weekend off-plan on having my booth in the Dealer’s Room!!
I was hoping to join YOU to see a few movies!

It’s always fun sitting with someone knowledgable who can point out things I miss or just know nothing about.
I understand there will be a demonstration/talk about theremins in movies and will have mine plugged in at my booth for everyone to try!

OMG! What a cute as hell video that is, Tiki! EXCEPT, the cat there is going to need a lot more practice before tackling "Good Vibrations".

(...yeah yeah, I know...the Beach Boys recording used a different type of theremin in it...the Electro-Theremin and of which the operator actually touches the instrument by use of knobs and a slide mechanism)

[Swithin]

There's a great film (1993) about Leon Theremin and his invention. Evidently Theremin was plucked off the streets of New York and taken back to Russia. Nobody knows if he was complicit in that, or not.

Here's a trailer for the documentary.

[LiamCasey]

This month on Svengoolie...

8/3: Cult of the Cobra (1955) w/ Faith Domergue, Richard Long, Marshall Thompson and Kathleen Hughes. Plus William Reynolds, Jack Kelly, Myrna Hansen and David Janssen. And directed by Oscar-winning (but not for this movie and not for directing) Francis D. Lyon.

8/10: The Mad Magician (1954) w/ Vincent Price, Mary Murphy and Eva Gabor. Screenplay by Tyrone Power's cousin, Crane Wilbur. And directed by John Brahm.

8/17: It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955) w/ Kenneth Tobey, Faith Domergue (Twice in one month!) and Donald Curtis. And visual effects by Ray Harryhausen.

8/24: Black Friday (1940) w/ Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Stanley Ridges, Anne Nagel and Anne Gwynne. Screenplay by Curt Siodmak and Eric Taylor. And directed by Arthur Lubin.

8/31: War of the Colossal Beast (1958) w/ Sally Fraser, Roger Pace and Dean Parkin. And directed by Bert I. Gordon.

[Swithin]

This month on Svengoolie...

8/3: Cult of the Cobra (1955) w/ Faith Domergue, Richard Long, Marshall Thompson and Kathleen Hughes. Plus William Reynolds, Jack Kelly, Myrna Hansen and David Janssen. And directed by Oscar-winning (but not for this movie and not for directing) Francis D. Lyon.

I like Cult of the Cobra. Like The Reptile, it's one of those films where someone does something naughty in an exotic place, and as a result, gets punished when they get back home.

[Dargo]

This month on Svengoolie...

8/24: Black Friday (1940) w/ Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Stanley Ridges, Anne Nagel and Anne Gwynne. Screenplay by Curt Siodmak and Eric Taylor. And directed by Arthur Lubin.

Yep, and if I'm not mistaken here, I like 'Black Friday' as well.

And in which Karloff and Lugosi go shopping together the day after Thanksgiving, but end up getting into a tussle with Stanley Ridges, Anne Nagel and Anne Gwynne after discovering the store they're all at at the time only has three of that year's must-have item left in stock.

(...sorry, couldn't resist)

[Swithin]

This month on Svengoolie...

8/3: Cult of the Cobra (1955) w/ Faith Domergue, Richard Long, Marshall Thompson and Kathleen Hughes. Plus William Reynolds, Jack Kelly, Myrna Hansen and David Janssen. And directed by Oscar-winning (but not for this movie and not for directing) Francis D. Lyon.

I like Cult of the Cobra. Like The Reptile, it's one of those films where someone does something naughty in an exotic place, and as a result, gets punished when they get back home.

I just watched Cult of the Cobra. Haven't seen it in a while. I think it's a good film, although a few things bother me:

1. Julia knew that Lisa might be creepy, Did she have to tell her of Paul's suspicions?
2. Why did Pete go to Lisa's flat? Didn't Pete know that you should never confront a monster alone?
3. A common trope in horror films: The animals always know, before the human morphs into whatever. These movie monsters need to remember the old English adage: "Don't frighten the horses."

But all in all, a good horror film, with an excellent performance by Faith Domergue, who gives just the right amount of foreign edge to her voice.

[Dargo]

This month on Svengoolie...

8/3: Cult of the Cobra (1955) w/ Faith Domergue, Richard Long, Marshall Thompson and Kathleen Hughes. Plus William Reynolds, Jack Kelly, Myrna Hansen and David Janssen. And directed by Oscar-winning (but not for this movie and not for directing) Francis D. Lyon.

I like Cult of the Cobra. Like The Reptile, it's one of those films where someone does something naughty in an exotic place, and as a result, gets punished when they get back home.

I just watched Cult of the Cobra. Haven't seen it in a while. I think it's a good film, although a few things bother me:

1. Laura knew that Lisa might be creepy, Did she have to tell her of Paul's suspicions?
2. Why did Pete go to Lisa's flat? Didn't Pete know that you should never confront a monster alone?
3. A common trope in horror films: The animals always know, before the human morphs into whatever. These movie monsters need to remember the old English adage: "Don't frighten the horses."

But all in all, a good horror film, with an excellent performance by Faith Domergue, who gives just the right amount of foreign edge to her voice.

Ya know Swithin, I'm watchin' this movie at the moment and am at about the halfway point in the film. The soon to become television's "Fugitive" has just bitten the dust right now. AND, ya know WHAT?! Yep, I agree with ya here about its quality and that it IS a lot better than I remember it being after the first time I watched it years and years ago. I think it sure deserves a lot higher rating than the "5.7" the IMDb website has given it, anyway.

And re Faith Domergue here...

While at first watching her and listening to her voice and speech, I couldn't quite place who she was reminding me of. But THEN a commercial for MeTV's morning cartoon program appeared on the screen, and VIOLA, after a shot of Sylvester the cat appeared during it, it suddenly became apparent to me WHO that somebody WAS!

(...yeah yeah, I know its not nice to make fun of other people's speech impediments, but HEY, I've never been all that nice a guy anyway, ya know)

[Dargo]

(...can't resist the following here...)

And now I'm at the part of this flick and after Janssen's funeral, where all the remaining characters are at a party.

Jack Kelly is dancing with Faith and while Thompson, Long and William Reynolds are watching them.

Reynolds then says, "Beautiful girl. Reminds me of someone."

(...uh-huh, maybe Sylvester the CAT there, Bill?!)

[Dargo]

Okay Swithin ol' boy. Now that I've watched this one all the way through, and which once again I too have found it a lot better than how I remembered it, and especially so by all the actors who would go on in short order to become successful television stars, lets tackle the below issues that you said "bothered" you about this movie.

I just watched Cult of the Cobra. Haven't seen it in a while. I think it's a good film, although a few things bother me:

1. Laura knew that Lisa might be creepy, Did she have to tell her of Paul's suspicions?
2. Why did Pete go to Lisa's flat? Didn't Pete know that you should never confront a monster alone?
3. A common trope in horror films: The animals always know, before the human morphs into whatever. These movie monsters need to remember the old English adage: "Don't frighten the horses."

But all in all, a good horror film, with an excellent performance by Faith Domergue, who gives just the right amount of foreign edge to her voice.

As to:
Point-1: I think you meant the character of Julia here, not "Laura". And if you did, then the manner in which these two ladies met and when this happened, I believe played out fairly well and was believable to the extent that I found no false note was made during this encounter between these two women. The information Julia supplied to Lisa just seemed to flow after Lisa noticed Paul's books.

Point-2: Pete's biggest mistake of course was allowing Lisa to leave the room and not keep a close eye on her while she supposedly left to find her passport.

Point-3: That might have indeed been a "common trope in horror films", but I thought this was handled very well by both the film's director AND by all the animal actors involved in the film as well.

Bottom line for me here being and as I've said earlier, I too found this film to a lot better than how I first remember it being, and would readily give it a rating of at least 6.3, and with that being a lot higher than IMDb's current rating of just "5.7".

(...oh and yes, I do also have to admit and agree with you that Sylvester the..ahem..I mean Faith Domerque WAS very effective in her role as well)

[Swithin]

Okay Swithin ol' boy. Now that I've watched this one all the way through, and which once again I too have found it a lot better than how I remembered it, and especially so by all the actors who would go on in short order to become successful television stars, lets tackle the below issues that you said "bothered" you about this movie.

I just watched Cult of the Cobra. Haven't seen it in a while. I think it's a good film, although a few things bother me:

1. Laura knew that Lisa might be creepy, Did she have to tell her of Paul's suspicions?
2. Why did Pete go to Lisa's flat? Didn't Pete know that you should never confront a monster alone?
3. A common trope in horror films: The animals always know, before the human morphs into whatever. These movie monsters need to remember the old English adage: "Don't frighten the horses."

But all in all, a good horror film, with an excellent performance by Faith Domergue, who gives just the right amount of foreign edge to her voice.

As to:
Point-1: I think you meant the character of Julia here, not "Laura". And if you did, then the manner in which these two ladies met and when this happened, I believe played out fairly well and was believable to the extent that I found no false note was made during this encounter between these two women. The information Julia supplied to Lisa just seemed to flow after Lisa noticed Paul's books.

Point-2: Pete's biggest mistake of course was allowing Lisa to leave the room and not keep a close eye on her while she supposedly left to find her passport.

Point-3: That might have indeed been a "common trope in horror films", but I thought this was handled very well by both the film's director AND by all the animal actors involved in the film as well.

Bottom line for me here being and as I've said earlier, I too found this film to a lot better than how I first remember it being, and would readily give it a rating of at least 6.3, and with that being a lot higher than IMDb's current rating of just "5.7".

(...oh and yes, I do also have to admit and agree with you that Sylvester the..ahem..I mean Faith Domerque WAS very effective in her role as well)

Re Point 1: Yes I meant Julia, played by Kathleen Hughes. But there was such suspicion about Lisa, and she was behaving so strangely, and Julia had been warned, that I think Julia gave up too much. Kathleen Hughes will be 96 in November.

[Dargo]

Re Point 1: Yes I meant Julia, played by Kathleen Hughes. But there was such suspicion about Lisa, and she was behaving so strangely, and Julia had been warned, that I think Julia gave up too much. Kathleen Hughes will be 96 in November.

Because I have a tendency to Google the names of actors and actresses after noticing them in some old movie or old TV program and especially those I'm not that familiar with, I did in fact do this with Kathleen Hughes' name last night after watching this movie and discovered this fact. She was a pretty little thing back then, don't ya think?!

Btw, I also did this same thing after watching what followed Svengoolie last night. A rerun episode of the original Star Trek series. And, the name I Googled this time was actress Angelique Pettyjohn and who you might remember played this character named Shahna in one episode...


She'd end up having a much shorter life than has Miss Hughes, dying at a mere 48 years of age from cervical cancer.

Turns out she even did some hardcore porn in the 1970s.

(...amazin' the stuff you can learn sometimes while traveling down that ol' internet rabbit hole, ain't it)

[Swithin]

Re Point 1: Yes I meant Julia, played by Kathleen Hughes. But there was such suspicion about Lisa, and she was behaving so strangely, and Julia had been warned, that I think Julia gave up too much. Kathleen Hughes will be 96 in November.

Btw, I also did this same thing after watching what followed Svengoolie last night. A rerun episode of the original Star Trek series. And, the name I Googled this time was actress Angelique Pettyjohn and who you might remember played this character named Shahna in one episode...


(...amazin' the stuff you can learn sometimes while traveling down that ol' internet rabbit hole, ain't it)

I wouldn't remember Angelique, as I wasn't much of a Star Trek fan. Watched it a few times though.

Btw, I googled Kathleen Hughes as well, as I wasn't familiar with her work. I also googled the old guy who played the stage door attendant, since he seemed familiar. His name is William Vedder. He had a long career on film and television. Here he is in The Wild One:

[ElCid]

I don't watch Svengoolie as his interruptions ruin what might have been an entertaining movie and compound the too long commercials breaks.
However, I did come across a movie in a DVD catalog and thought I would see if it is on YouTube. It is, but unfortunately it was on METV as a Svengoolie presentation. Even fast forwarding didn't make me want to watch the movie. Forget what it was.

I too have a habit of searching for information on Wikipedia, YouTube, etc. when I come across interesting actors or actresses. Always surprises me how many TV shows or movies some of them were in, but never made a name for themsleves. Sometimes leads to other entertaining shows to watch.

[Hibi]

This month on Svengoolie...

8/3: Cult of the Cobra (1955) w/ Faith Domergue, Richard Long, Marshall Thompson and Kathleen Hughes. Plus William Reynolds, Jack Kelly, Myrna Hansen and David Janssen. And directed by Oscar-winning (but not for this movie and not for directing) Francis D. Lyon.

I like Cult of the Cobra. Like The Reptile, it's one of those films where someone does something naughty in an exotic place, and as a result, gets punished when they get back home.

I just watched Cult of the Cobra. Haven't seen it in a while. I think it's a good film, although a few things bother me:

1. Julia knew that Lisa might be creepy, Did she have to tell her of Paul's suspicions?
2. Why did Pete go to Lisa's flat? Didn't Pete know that you should never confront a monster alone?
3. A common trope in horror films: The animals always know, before the human morphs into whatever. These movie monsters need to remember the old English adage: "Don't frighten the horses."

But all in all, a good horror film, with an excellent performance by Faith Domergue, who gives just the right amount of foreign edge to her voice.

File it under dumb things characters do in horror films. I also thought Faith did a good job in this. She was able to portray the conflict in her "mission". (She wasn't supposed to fall in love with one of her victims)

[jamesjazzguitar]

I like Cult of the Cobra. Like The Reptile, it's one of those films where someone does something naughty in an exotic place, and as a result, gets punished when they get back home.

I just watched Cult of the Cobra. Haven't seen it in a while. I think it's a good film, although a few things bother me:

1. Julia knew that Lisa might be creepy, Did she have to tell her of Paul's suspicions?
2. Why did Pete go to Lisa's flat? Didn't Pete know that you should never confront a monster alone?
3. A common trope in horror films: The animals always know, before the human morphs into whatever. These movie monsters need to remember the old English adage: "Don't frighten the horses."

But all in all, a good horror film, with an excellent performance by Faith Domergue, who gives just the right amount of foreign edge to her voice.

File it under dumb things characters do in horror films. I also thought Faith did a good job in this. She was able to portray the conflict in her "mission". (She wasn't supposed to fall in love with one of her victims)

Faith did a good job in Cult of the Cobra; her screen persona (which sometimes borders on is-she-all-there), worked well for the role, since she was a in a different culture and such a persona is how many people actually are (e.g. when I'm in Italy with the in-laws!).

The best work I have ever seen from Faith was in a Wagon Train episode where she plays a flirt that plays the field between an uncle (Lyle Bettger), and his nephew (Marvin Milner), while trying to hide her background from former friend, not-good-guy Brad Drexler. Faith was very playful and animated in this episode and charms the pants off all the men on the train. Faith wasn't known for smiling and here she does a lot of that.