150 Movies You Should See Before You Die (36 page)

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The Crappies

The Special “Isn't That the Other Way Around?” award goes to …
The casting director for casting Indian-American Navi Rawat as American-Indian Sue, Geronimo's granddaughter.

And the Worst Director Award goes to …
Glasgow Phillips for telegraphing the film's twist ending so heavily that we see it twenty minutes away.

They Really Said It!

Claypool
: You say another word and I'm gonna shoot your jaw clear off your face. Then I'm gonna take a shit in your chin hole.

Betcha Didn't Know

According to Glasgow Phillips, the roles played by Chris Kattan and James Denton were originally reversed. When it turned out that Denton was an expert horseman, he and Kattan changed parts.

Navi Rawat is a native-born American from Malibu, California. Her father is of Indian descent while her mother's heritage is German.

Trivia Quiz

What long-running animated television series was Glasgow Phillips a writer for?

A:
South Park

B:
The Simpsons

C:
Family Guy

D:
King of the Hill

Answer: A.
South Park
. He worked on the long-running Comedy Central series for the 2002 season, making contributions to eleven episodes.

PRODUCER
Roger Corman

WRITERS
Leo Gordon (script), Kinta Zertuche (story)

DIRECTOR
Roger Corman

STARS
Susan Cabot (
Janice Starlin
), Michael Mark (
Eric Zinthrop
), Fred Eisley (
Bill Lane
), Barboura Morris (
Mary Dennison
), and William Roerick (
Arthur Cooper
)

Cosmetics industry queen and aging “glamor girl” Janice Starlin (Cabot) undergoes an experimental treatment developed from the jelly of queen wasps. She regains her youth, but transforms into a giant flesh-eating wasp woman when the sun goes down.

Why It Sucks

If you look up the word “tedious” in the dictionary, you'll find a poster for
The Wasp Woman
. There isn't a scene that doesn't drag on and on. Although the pace is picked up a little in the film's final twenty minutes, getting there is an experience that makes you wonder if watching wasps build a nest might be more interesting.

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The Crappies

The Worst Actor Award goes to …
Fred Eisley for playing hero Bill Lane as if he were nothing but a pretty face on an empty head.
And the Worst Director Award goes to …
C'mon, Roger. The most frightening thing about the movie is that you'll die of old age before anything interesting happens.

They Really Said It!

Bill Lane
: You can call it male intuition if you like, except there's something about this whole business that doesn't smell right. A private laboratory. A secret experiment. Zinthrop himself. The only thing that's missing is a genie with a lamp.

Betcha Didn't Know

Susan Cabot had a well-publicized romance with King Hussein of Jordan. The relationship ended in 1959 when he discovered she was Jewish.

Susan Cabot retired from acting after making this film.

Trivia Quiz

What cast member was bludgeoned to death by his or her own child?

A: William Roerick

B: Micheal Mark

C: Barboura Morris

D: Susan Cabot

Answer: D. In 1986 Susan Cabot was killed while she slept by her son, Timothy Roman. He claimed he killed her due to years of abuse. He was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and given a three-year suspended sentence.

PRODUCER
Jack Forrest

WRITER
Ernesto Gastaldi

DIRECTOR
Richard Benson

STARS
Barbara Lass (
Priscilla
), Carl Schell (
Dr. Julian Olcott
), Curt Lowens (
Director Swift
), Maurice Marsac (
Sir Alfred Whiteman
), Maureen O'Connor (
Leonor MacDonald
), Mary MacNeeren (
Mary Smith
), Grace Neame (
Sandy
), and Annie Steinert (
Sheena Whiteman
)

Dr. Julian Olcott (Schell), a disgraced research physician, is hired as a science professor at an isolated reform school for girls. Olcott arrives just in time for a series of brutal murders. Together with a spunky “good girl,” he seeks the identity of the killer — possibly the marauding werebeast that appeared on the scene when Olcott arrived.

Why It Sucks

Great title, but a sucky film — it's too bad. But the movie's too talky (and
how
is this possible in a film about werewolves and girls' dormitories?) and one exciting moment turns Monte Python — skit when the victim of the werewolf, after being mauled to death, keeps getting back up. Not to mention that the skimpy nightie quotient is entirely too low.

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