THE SEDUCTIVE INNOCENCE OF LOLITA AND THE SAVAGE HUNGER OF A BLACK WIDOW I once owned an autographed copy of Spider Baby by Jack Hill and gave it to my buddy Matt Gehringer when I left for China. He seemed more addicted to the film than I ever was so I hope he still has that priceless video tape. Also billed as Cannibal Orgy and The Maddest Story Ever Told and The Liver Eaters, Spider Baby is a superbly shot b/w film by Hill that was held up for four years after it was completed (in 1964) as an asset in a bankruptcy case. I have not seen the DVD version but have read on the net that the quality is much better than the video. Stars Lon Chaney Jr as the caregiver of a household of afflicted youngsters who have no qualms about murder due to a heredity disorder. I believe this was Sid Haig’s first role and he spends much of time in the dumbwaiter looking creepy. He would go on to do other Jack Hill films including Pit Stop and The Big Doll House, a women in a Filipino prison movie, where he pretends to be the weirdest gay guy ever in one scene. If you were gay would you fall for Sid Haig in any situation? If you weren't gay would you? THE FANTASTIC STORY OF THE MEN WHO PIT THEIR FLESH AGAINST THE SHREEKING OF TIRES AND THE GRINDING OF STEEL This is a really good and gritty movie about demolition derby drivers, the kind that do the figure 8 style races. It was released in 1969 and like Spider Baby is shot in effective b/w. Unlike some other hotrod movies of the time this film is really rather despairing and well done and has little of the shlocky teenage angst the other films of this short lived genre tried to convey. These are all older guys and this is their life. They are not “rebelling” they just trying to survive by making a living at the only thing they know how to do. The acting is all pretty good with handsome Dick Davalos as the brooding, silent but determined new guy to the track. Sid Haig returns to a Jack Hill production as a really edgy driver who has had his brains jostled around one too many times. There is also a fine early role by Ellen McRae. If the name does not ring a bell she would soon change her name to Ellen Burnstyn and she would become famous for her roles in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and The Exorcist. A really moody movie and one of Hill’s best.
CREEPY COMMIES, NASTY NAZIS AND MISCHIEVOUS MONKEYS HURTING HELPLESS BOUND WOMEN, A FEW WHO ARE SAVED IN THE NICK OF TIME BY A HEROIC WHITE MAN CONSTANTLY SNEAKING UP BEHIND EVERYONE WITH A WEAPON The inside of these old magazines could never deliver the goods promised on the lurid and vivid covers. The teasers on the covers were often written first then a story or bit of "arm-pit journalism" was created to give some credibility to the book and to fill in the space between the advertising sections that promoted body building and private eye correspondance schools. This is really disappointing because I would have liked to have read about the "mad lust of the hypnotized gorilla" or learned what really happened to the ravaged women in the Nazi madhouse zoo. These scans were mostly of good quality and large too which can be rare for this stuff, but there is a glitch that almost made me scrap the entire post. If you notice the corners at the spine are all curved up and that simply drives me nuts because the images are not square the way I like them. It is as if the guy had them laying on something when he took the digital pics and they got all folded. He ought to be fed to flesh ripping weasels or have his arm amputated and then have a gorilla's arm attached to him for such Yankee imperialist abnormal lust driven incompetence. Please check the photo album section for more pictures.
I cannot believe that there is suppose to some distinction between “The Misfits” and “Mistfits”, the latter being the original version of the band with Danzig and the former being the newer version of the band that is recording and touring now. How can you talk about the band and leave out the definite article “the”and make any sense? “Hey, do you like the band Misfits?” “Yea, but I prefer the stuff by The Misfits better?” Could this conversation actually occur in our time space continuum? Which makes me recall in the 70’s as a wee lad seeing articles that would say The Pink Floyd, or The Led Zeppelin or The Yes. What the hell was that all about?
Well in any case I have here two MP3 sample from “Misfits” to hopefully rouse your curiosity. The first one is Attitude and it is a tough rocker with a New York punk feel to it. Danzig is a New Jersey boy and his time of playing with bands like The Ramones at CBGBs and Max’s Kansas City is evident on this misogynistic anthem that tastefully used the “F” word in moderation. The next song, Last Caress, is a slightly more hostile towards women and babies in general and was made somewhat popular to metal heads when it appeared on Metallica’s Garage Days Revisited EP, along with another Misfit tune Green Hell. Very different from the polished, dark metal that Danzig became popular for in the 90’s and I might even say a litte more fun.
NOTE: Depending on your connection speed this site is usually pretty reliable. There are two play options: 1)Open the link and wait for the Media Window in the left hand corner to load then select the play button. If it fails to connect then: 2) You can scroll down a little and there is a file download option. Allow time for the file to downlaod then it should open in your default media player. You should be able to save the file from here as well. http://www.4shared.com/file/13633399/85ac13e1/02_Attitude.html
Hello and greetings. The staff and myself here the Uranium Café are elated and proud to announce that we have reached our 100th post. There has been a definite learning curve involved in the development of the look and content of the Café and the going has not always been easy and it is not over by a long shot. The direction of the next 100 posts will be clearer we hope and the look and feel of the site will become more polished. The problem often is not what to promote and comment on but what not to. There is simply too much precious material to choose from. Much time and energy now goes into the editing of images found on the web to raise them to the high standards we promote here a the Café and more time will go into that in the future when we begin our themed photo albums. Imagine if you can a photo album of nothing but fine quality images from Faster Pussycat, Kill! Kill! or Jungle Girls in Bondage comic book covers. Valuable time that could be spent feeding and clothing hungry children goes into searching for good quality video trailers and clips in order to promote classic films such as Astro-Zombies, The Vampire Lovers and Castle of Blood. Expect video samples soon from Ted V. Mikel’s The Corpse Grinders and exploitaion genius Jack Hill's timeless classics Pit Stop and Spider Baby. It is not often easy to choose between my passion to eraditcate illitercy in the 3rd world or to edit pictures of strippers from the 50's and I lose a lot of sleep wondering if I've made the right decision that day, so please be understanding. There have been some set backs in the use of MP3s to promote great muscians like Glen Danzig and Jimmy Page but for the moment the site I am uploading to is relatively reliable and the files can be saved as well. There are always essays and comments in the work and there will be a new focus on film commentaries. I am working on editing a cavalcade of old comic book covers and men’s magazine covers from the days when men could be chauvinistic swine and enjoy a good exploitation magazine for a buck or less… and still get dates with hot chicks! Work is being done as well in editing older posts from as far back as post # 1 itself. We will continue to strive to bring you the highest quality postings on the wild and exciting world of cult film, comic books, pin-up girls, pulp magazine and paperback books, various types of rock music, and who the hell knows what else. For all I know we could do a post on Oscar Wilde, as queer a subject as that may be for the Café, if it tickles our fancy. And we must remember that the world that The Uranium Café honors has not always been a safe and decent world (thank God or what would I write about) and we should take a moment to reflect on times not long ago when the world was on the brink of nuclear conflagration. Please join myself and the staff here at The Uranium Cafe (named in loving tribute to the greasy spoon diner outside Los Alamos New Mexico, home of the world's first atomic bomb test) and safety conscious Bert the Turtle as we remember the good ol’ days when men were men and most knew how to arm a hydrogen bomb as well as change spark plugs on a T-Bird. Take it away Bert, and tell us how we once were taught to duck and cover before PE class...
There are some mythic elements to the life of Ingrid Pitt that is sometimes conflicting, depending on what source you are reading. There is the fantastic story of how she was born Ingoushka Petrov in 1937 to Polish parents while her mother was being transported to a concentration camp in Germany during the war. Another source keeps the concentration camp story but gives the date of 1943 for her birth, while yet another source claims Pitt herself lists her birth date as November of 1945, when the war was well over for Germany as well as Japan and the camps were abolished. YOU CAN'T GO ON KILLING FOREVER She grew up separated until the age of ten from her parents and was reunited with them later in Berlin by the Red Cross. In 1962 she escaped East Germany by swimming across the Spree River and worked as a waitress supporting herself and her daughter while pursuing a career in acting. Whatever is true, false or exaggerated only adds to her dynamic charm and charisma. She has had a few small roles in main stream films such as David Lean's epic Doctor Zhivago and Where Eagles Dare with Clint Eastwood, but it was her work for James Carreras and Hammer films that has helped her achieve and maintain her status as a genuine cult film icon for decades now. Her ample cleavage, east European beauty and perfectly upturned nose made her a perfect Hammer scream queen. A couple of her greatest roles were as the lesbian vampire Carmilla in The Vampire Lovers (with Peter Cushing in yet another great vampire hunter role) and Countess Dracula, where she plays Elizabeth Bathory, the most prolific murderess in history and inspiration for countless b-movies and goth bands.. PERVERTED CREATURES OF THE NIGHT She has authored a couple books about her life in films and is a black belt in karate. I hope the images I found and edited do her the justice she deserves. She was one of the early pioneers of the whole Euro-Lesbian vampire movie craze that flourished in the 70's. She was a real gem and she will no doubt reappear from time to time in the Café. Check her website for more info at:
Tarzan the Apeman 1932/Director: W.S. Van Dyke / Screeplay: Edgar Rice Burroughs (novel)Cyril Hume (adaptation) Cast: Johnny Weissmuller, Neil Hamilton, Maureen O'Sullivan, C. Aubrey Smith, Doris Lloyd, Forrester Harvey, Ivory Williams I recently picked up all the Tarzan movies on DVD here in Beijing and have watched them all a couple times except for Tarzan’s New York Adventure which I never really liked even as a kid, but one night I will pop it in and give it a go. Tarzan the Ape Man was the 1st of the Tarzan films from MGM and Johnny Weissmulller at the time was under contract with the BVD underwear company and MGM had to do some quick bargaining to allow BVD’s spokesman to appear clad only in a loincloth. The movie only generally follows the Edgar Rice Burroughs narrative of the adventures of Lord Greystoke who is the sole infant survivor of a plane crash in the African Jungle, near the fabled Mutia Escarpment. Rather this movie takes up with the arrival of Jane Parker, played perfectly by Maureen O’Sullivan, in Africa to assist her aging father in his duties there. A safari is soon set up to go to the escarpment in search of the elephant’s graveyard, a veritable Fort Knox of ivory. Tarzan comes in to the story gradually and the direction by W.S Van Dyke in some instances is pretty good, but in others pretty shoddy. For instance in the early scenes where the characters are talking about images that are obviously being back-projected as the proportion and contrast is utterly wrong. Johnny Weismuller plays a great Tarzan, the greatest of them all in the first three films by MGM. This went not without protest from Burroughs who objected to the dumbing down of his character and the fact there were no plans for Lord Greystoke to be anything other than a monosyllabic Adonis. And Weissmuller does look great, as does Maureen O’Sullivan. It is a great little movie that caused a stir in its day. Some interesting things to look for are the trapezes Tarzan uses for vines and the men in ape costumes that resemble in some way the costumes that Stanley Kubrick used for the apes in 2001: A Space Odyssey. We are also introduced the recurring “bad bawana” and “good bawana” characters. Some other cool tidbits is that in no film did Tarzan ever utter the oft quoted line: Me Tarzan. You Jane. Also, there is no such thing as an elephant’s graveyard despite the perpetually generated myth that there is. It was a concoction of Edgar Rice Burroughs, and last, the famous Tarzan yell is the voice of sound man Douglas Sheaer. It is normal call that is monkeyed with electronically then played backwards.
In all these movies my favorite parts are usually the elaborate sets and backgrounds that look simply surreal in black and white.
Tarzan and His Mate 1934/Director: Cedric Gibbons / Screenplay: Edgar Rice Burroughs (characters)Leon Gordon (adaptation) Cast: Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen O'Sullivan, Neil Hamilton, Paul Cavanagh, Forrester Harvey, Nathan Curry Tarzan and his Mate was the next Tarzan movie from MGM and it surpasses the original by far. It is considered by many Tarzan fans to the best Tarzan movie of all time, hands down. While Weissmuller still plays a simple minded Tarzan there can be no denying the sexual energy between him and Maureen O’ Sullivan. O’ Sullivan appears so scantily clad it is exhilarating for any time in history, much less 1934 The DVD the deleted nude under footage of Jane swimming with Tarzan. It is not, unfortunately, really Maureen O’Sullivan. She does flash her breasts as she emerges from the water and the nude silhouette undressing in a tent scene. Her costume was so skimpy and revealing it prompted the creation of the Hayes Office, a censorship committee that soon had influence over the entire industry. The jungle scenes are more elaborate and the action is directed better by the more visionary Cedric Gibbons though there were conflicts and in early films two other directors were listed at different times. Some people claim that James McKay actually directed the bulk of the film but on the new DVD version Gibbons is the credited director. It was his first directing job, as he was MGM’s brilliant art director prior to this film. To be honest, along with the blatant sexuality of the film there is a rather strong violent aspect to the movie as well and the next two movies were toned down in both areas considerably. There was not much being done in 1934 that was like thins one. The bad bawana is played creepily by Paul Cavanagh. He is looks down on the savage Tarzan as no more than a real ape and spies on Jane as she undresses in her tent. The action involves a return to Africa by good bawana (although in the 1st film I did not think he was so good really) Harry Holt, played again by Neil Hamilton.
The "natives" are stereotyped to the point of comedy and makes for many unintentional laughs. Most definitely a great movie with lots of history behind it. Check it out if you like ape men and jungle girls... and who doesn't?
These two selection from The Kill Kult come from their 1999 album of remixes called Dirty Little Secrets. It was the 1st album I ever got by the band and it seems like a good place to start. I have the other albums now and the remixes here are pretty good and the selections cover a wide range of their releases. That is New York performance artist, poet Lydia Lunch moaning over the title song. The 2nd song, A Martini Built for Two, is one of my favorites. It has a real lounge feel to it but with a sordid undercurrent as a man sits in a S&M club waiting for his lover who never shows. The songs here are all full of the dark side of things and there is a clever sense of humor that permeates TTKK’s best work that sits them apart from some of their sampling, groove beat competition. As far as being spoke-person’s for the world of sleaze goes they are certainly a class act. NOTE: Depending on your connection speed this site is usually pretty reliable. There are two play options: 1)Open the link and wait for the Media Window in the left hand corner to load then select the play button. If it fails to connect then: 2) You can scroll down a little and there is a file download option. Allow time for the file to downlaod then it should open in your default media player. You should be able to save the file from here as well. http://www.4shared.com/file/17729172/e2b70deb/01_-_Dirty_Little_Secrets_-_Lulas_Lounge_mix.html
A selection of really nice pictures of saultry Tennessee girl Bettie Page (or sometimes Betty Page if you are searching the net). There were really two types of photos from Bettie and one was the cheese cake style that Bunny Yeager did and the other was the “dark” stuff by Irving Klaw that got her into a bit of trouble later on. Some fans are divided on which represented the “true” Bettie while I have always felt both did. I have to admit that I like the dark, bondage stuff with Bettie while I cannot say I usually prefer this style from that period due to the quality. Or maybe I do prefer it but worry what people might say about me behind my back. But some of the dark style images with her were simply great photographs and Bettie’s radiant personality comes out in all of them. Klaw was essentially a "noir" phogograher of sorts but could take good pictures. The bottom two pictures with the stuffed leopard are from Yeager I believe while the others are from her infamous New York City work. She is simply too sexy for words and it is easy to see why she was 2nd only to Marilyn Monroe in the 1950’s as the most photographed model the US. Below is a link to her really excellent looking and easy to navigate webpage. It has improved vastly since the last time I checked it out.
Also included are links to pages for Irving Klaw and Bunny Yeager to show the diversity of their work and how they both saw Bettie from different angles that helped create her angel-devil mystique.
FOUR FINE JUNGLE GIRLS BY DAVE STEVENS Master illustrator Dave Stevens has a natural gift for drawing sexy women in classic poses and so the jungle girl genre suits his imagination just fine. In these four samples you can see he takes the whole thing to a level that is really unreachable by the guys that started all the Tarzan influenced jungle comics back in the 50’s and 60’s. His Sheena work is perfect and the drawing at the top of the page with the bare breasted girl in the tree is so stunning in layout and rendering I do not get tired of looking at it. In same cases I would say it lacks intensity due to the absence of a background but here it works just right the way it is. Takes a true artist to handle empty space.
A SELECTION OF JUNGLE GIRL DRAWINGS AND COMIC BOOK PAGES Of course the whole Tarzan concept alone required some suspension of disbelief in itself, mush less the white jungle girl theme. I am a big fan of the Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan films and you can expect to see posts on them in the future. But the reality is too intense for any of this to be true of course. I read a book recently on the jungle warfare that took place in Burma during WWII and some of the worst elements both the allies and Japanese had to deal with was the jungle itself… insects, leeches, disease, heat and cold, the foliage and terrain and it goes on and on. So it is crazy to see these gals all dressed in bikinis and not covered in mud and grime and insect bites. But I totally love it and it is one of my favorite comic book genres to look at for the quality of the drawings. I enjoy it for the detailed jungle art and crazy stories.
Note: The following comic book pages are not a complete story. The last three are from the same story but not complete. They are posted to show just how good some of the jungle adventure art had become.
A SELECTION OF JUNGLE GIRLS IN BONDAGE COMICBOOK COVERS Subdued bondage of women was a recurrent theme in almost all comic book genres up until recent history. It does not appear often now except maybe in underground or adult titles. I do not know what the intent was but it has been a point of hostile criticism of comics in general from feminists groups and concerned parents. Well, we here at the Café not only do not see what all the hubbub is about but feel ourselves compelled to be purveyors of this sub-genre of comic book expression. There is a sort of humor or innocence about these covers when compared to what is being done now in comics or films. There is no doubt that the women are half naked and tied up, usually in these books by pygmies or cannibals, but it is all in good taste, we assure you. And if there is one thing we here at The Uranium Café know about it is …er… good taste.
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