Movie: (1971) The beloved king Amir of Khalid is dying and
wants to have a brain transplant. His followers
take his body to a doctor in America, where his brain is temporarily given to a
disfigured giant. The doctor is up to no
good, and neither is anyone else, really.
First released: 12/21/2007 (DVD, download)
Premise: The premise is not explained at all in this show,
although they do refer to it as their first production.
Opening: A countdown screen and jazzy theme with bits from
the upcoming movie, while the riffers take the stage. From left to right the Titans are Josh Weinstein, Joel Hodgson, Mary Jo Pehl, Frank Conniff and Trace Beaulieu. All five are shown in silhouette around the
lower screen.
Skit: Frank introduces the “most beloved” sketch of Cinematic
Titanic, “Frank Conniff’s Hollywood Cavalcade.”
Al Hirt tries to play the trumpet, but is overcome by the operation
scene.
Skit: Joel stops to ask if watching someone pour battery
acid on someone’s face is really entertainment.
Skit: Trace helps the lady with her makeup.
Skit: Josh tries to create a theme song for the lovers.
End: Mary Jo drives off in a Brain-of-Bloodmobile, while the
other silhouettes go wild.
Extra: No extras.
Availability: on Hulu, Amazon Instant. The original download service (EZTakes) does
not seem to still be available, nor does the DVD.
Reminds me of: Parts: the Clonus Horror, Atomic
Brain, and The Brain that Wouldn’t Die;
but the lurid color is more like Castle
of Fu Manchu or Blood Waters of Dr. Z.
Joel’s Take: here.
Stray observations:
Five years after the end of MST3K, and closer to twelve
years since Joel left it, it is great to hear those voices riffing again. Josh is a revelation here, as he has matured
into a surprisingly able riffer, certainly better than his season with MST
would suggest. Joel and Trace are as versatile
as ever, although without the Joel/Crow dynamic, and Frank and Mary Jo fill out
the cast with solid work despite having only riffed for one segment in
MST.
The Oozing Skull
(aka Brain of Blood) is darker and
bloodier than MST fare. The dying leader
Amir inspires great loyalty in his subjects, although he does not really seem
that great, and I don’t know if any Middle Eastern monarchs are really so
beloved. Maybe this was more plausible
at the time? His friend Bob is the
default protagonist as most of rest of the cast gets killed. Bob does not really seem to be as smart as
you would want for a doctor, being blind to the ethics of this brain transplant
business and never once seeing through the scheming fiancé/wife Tracy.
A few minutes seem to be edited out (sadly, not the
operation or acid scenes) so maybe there were some resolutions and explanations
missing. Why did the doctor try to have
Bob and Mohammed killed? They were just
coming back later to pick up the body.
How did Gor take over the body, or was Amir just fine with random
violence? Why was Tracy helping the
doctor, when she was already in line to marry Amir? Most of all, what happened to the little girl
chained up in the basement?
The end is a downer—except for the creation of a well-funded
Ministry of Science back in Khalid, which seems almost prescient. It almost makes up for the creation of a race
of immortals ruling the world that Dr. Trenton has now permitted. And I guess Katherine and the boy got
away. Probably.
Cast and crew roundup: The most recognizable cast member,
Kent Taylor (Dr. Trenton), was in The
Crawling Hand. Regina Carol (Tracy)
was married to the director, and they made many films together. John Bloom (Gor) was 7’ 4” in real life, so
actually was pretty imposing! Angelo
Rossitto (Dorro) had a very long and impressive career, including Todd
Browning’s Freaks. Sadly most of the cast has passed away over
the years.
Credits watch: Aside from the five riffers no familiar names
from MST. I count 22 crewmembers in
production roles; again, more than the last season of MST3K.
Fave riff: “Christina’s
World. Look it up.” Honorable mention: “You are the wind beneath
my scabs.”
Next week: Film Crew
checks in with “Killers from Space”!
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