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Post by teleadm on Nov 4, 2017 22:18:22 GMT
The Phynx 1970 is a rock and roll psychodelia movie that Warner Brothers sneaked up in a few cinamas and then tried to hide. Over the years iit has gained some cult value and is now available for those who want to pay. It was produced by Bob Booker and George Foster, who had never produced anything before this. The story is as follows: A rock band becomes embroiled in foreign affairs when they're sent to go on tour in Albania as a cover to find hostages in a remote castle held by communist enemies of the USA. The interesting thing is that the hostages was played be oldtimers playing themselves, Patty Andrews (of The Andrews Sisters), Rona Barrett, Edgar Bergen, Busby Berkeley, James Brown, Dick Clark, Xavier Cugat, Cass Daley, Andy Devine, Fritz Feld, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Louis Hayward, George Jessel, Ruby Keeler, Patsy Kelly, Dorothy Lamour, Guy Lombardo, Joe Louis (The Boxer), Trini Lopez, Marilyn Maxwell, Pat O'Brien, Maureen O'Sullivan, Richard Pryor, Harold Sakata (as Oddjob), Jay Silverheels (as Tonto), Ed Sullivan, Rudy Vallee, Clint Walker and Johnny Weissmuller. and add to that there was also Colonel Sanders. Plus Joan Blondell and Martha Raye playing roles.  The Whole cast collected in one shot.  Busby Berkley and Ruby Keeler  Maureen O'Sullivan, George Jessel and Edgar Bergen with Charlie McCarthy  Joe Louis, Colonel Sanders and Johnny Weissmuller  One last time, Me Tarzan You Jane, Maureen O'Sullivan and Johhny Weissmuller. Has anyone seen this movie? It got low scores on every movie site....
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Post by Richard Kimble on Nov 4, 2017 22:52:53 GMT
I managed to track down a copy a few years ago.
I got the impression that it had been written during the spy craze of the mid '60s, then dusted off a few years later with the "guest hostages" gimmick added at this time. It plays like a padded Monkees episode.
Note that not all of the guest stars are hostages. Some are there to instruct the band members: IIRC James Brown teaches soul, Richard Pryor teaches comedy, Dick Clark teaches something or other, Clint Walker is sort of a boot camp D.I.
I think this was the last teaming of Leo Gorcey (who looks very bad) and Huntz Hall. And as you posted, there's a memorable moment between Weissmuller and O'Sullivan.
The songs are by the great Leiber and Stoller ("Hound Dog", "Jailhouse Rock") though they must have sounded archaic by the time the film was finally released (or allowed to escape).
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Post by Doghouse6 on Nov 4, 2017 23:11:07 GMT
It's probably unfair to comment on a film I've never seen, but The Phynx (produced in early '69) sounds representative of some producers' late-'60s attempts to somehow tap into - perhaps "cash in on" would be more apropos - the counterculture/psychedelia/youth market of the period.
Even without having seen it, it seems to invite comparisons to another such curiosity, Otto Preminger's 1968 Skidoo, which gathered together the motley roster of Jackie Gleason, Carol Channing, Groucho Marx, Frankie Avalon, Frank Gorshin, Peter Lawford, Burgess Meredith, George Raft, Mickey Rooney, Cesar Romero and lesser-named but equally familiar faces such as Fred Clark, Arnold Stang, Slim Pickens, Richard Kiel and others. The hallucinogenic prison yard production number with dancing trash cans is a highlight.
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Post by teleadm on Nov 4, 2017 23:38:45 GMT
I managed to track down a copy a few years ago. I got the impression that it had been written during the spy craze of the mid '60s, then dusted off a few years later with the "guest hostages" gimmick added at this time. It plays like a padded Monkees episode. Note that not all of the guest stars are hostages. Some are there to instruct the band members: IIRC James Brown teaches soul, Richard Pryor teaches comedy, Dick Clark teaches something or other, Clint Walker is sort of a boot camp D.I. I think this was the last teaming of Leo Gorcey (who looks very bad) and Huntz Hall. And as you posted, there's a memorable moment between Weissmuller and O'Sullivan. The songs are by the great Leiber and Stoller ("Hound Dog", "Jailhouse Rock") though they must have sounded archaic by the time the film was finally released (or allowed to escape). Thanks!! I had totally forgotten that it was Lieber and Stoller  Since I didn't want to repeat myself, I've posted this under a Sgt Pepper thread, but here it is again Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall, one last time together, and as you wrote Gorcey was gone before this movie was ready for distribution. . |
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Post by teleadm on Nov 4, 2017 23:47:51 GMT
It's probably unfair to comment on a film I've never seen, but The Phynx (produced in early '69) sounds representative of some producers' late-'60s attempts to somehow tap into - perhaps "cash in on" would be more apropos - the counterculture/psychedelia/youth market of the period. Even without having seen it, it seems to invite comparisons to another such curiosity, Otto Preminger's 1968 Skidoo, which gathered together the motley roster of Jackie Gleason, Carol Channing, Groucho Marx, Frankie Avalon, Frank Gorshin, Peter Lawford, Burgess Meredith, George Raft, Mickey Rooney, Cesar Romero and lesser-named but equally familiar faces such as Fred Clark, Arnold Stang, Slim Pickens, Richard Kiel and others. The hallucinogenic prison yard production number with dancing trash cans is a highlight. 1968 seems like a fish out of water, as if nobody had any clue what they were doing, and missjudged absolutely everything, I haven't seen it more than a trailer on youtube, but I've read a lot of old reviews, and nobody has anything positive to say... |
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Post by Doghouse6 on Nov 5, 2017 0:00:41 GMT
Skidoo 1968 seems like a fish out of water, as if nobody had any clue what they were doing, and missjudged absolutely everything, I haven't seen it more than a trailer on youtube, but I've read a lot of old reviews, and nobody has anything positive to say... Welllllll, lemme see; I guess the most applicable description I could muster would be....ummm....desperate. |
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Post by petrolino on Nov 5, 2017 0:04:36 GMT
I've not heard of this movie before. Richard Pryor had a habit of turning up in odd, patchy movies at the beginning of his career. Thanks for posting about it.
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Post by Richard Kimble on Nov 5, 2017 0:33:55 GMT
Skidoo is such a bizarre mishmash it almost defies description. Supposedly Preminger heard about the hippies from his son and hurriedly had a script written to satirize them -- he was apparently afraid the hippie phenomenon would end before he could get the film out.
The problem is Skidoo is a comedy in attitude, but not actual humor -- there are few if any actual jokes, even bad ones. I believe Preminger was advised to have the script rewritten by comedy specialists, but he was in too much of a hurry for that.
Some cast members, like Groucho, Michael Constantine, and above all Austin Pendleton (the best performance) realize they are in a film that is at least trying to be a comedy. Gleason however plays his role almost totally straight.
The one sequence that works is the end credits, which are sung by Harry Nilsson, who also appears as a prison guard. I admit, any film that pairs Nilsson and Fred Clark can't be all bad.
File Skidoo with films where Old Hollywood tried to deal with the new youth culture it didn't understand, such as The Phynx, How To Commit Marriage, and in a more general sense Hail Hero, RPM, The Strawberry Statement, Where It's At, etc...
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