Sunday, March 24, 2013

Microspook ! 1949



Hey there mad monkey fans !
Today were talking about a silly little old dark house-ish comedy called Microspook.
Microspook stars veteran radio comedian Harry Von Zell, Christine McIntyre, and Emil Sitka.

Von Zell, made a name for himself playing a practical joke addicted goofball radio announcer.
In Microspook, Harry's co-workers are so fed up with his antics that they talk one of Harry's sponsors into wanting Harry to do a live broadcast from an authentic haunted house.

His co-workers later sneak into the house intent on scaring the heck out of Harry with an ape suit worn by the great Emil Sitka. ( Sitka was a staple in the Three Stooges shorts, and considered by Moe Howard to be the fourth Stooge)
Needless to say, things don't turn out quite as expected as the house is already inhabited by a killer gorilla ( Ray Corrigan) and his eccentric keeper.

One of the classic gags in gorilla movies is the old " real gorilla is mistaken for a fake gorilla gag".
To pull this off properly, you need the "fake Gorilla" to a fairly low quality suit.
Well, in Microspook, the producers spared no expense in procuring the worst looking gorilla suit on the planet, from the Columbia wardrobe department.
The suit literally is made of fur and gaffers tape and in some stills, it really shows !
( photo from the collection of Bob Burns)

The weird thing is that I really like that goofy suit !
It has that same quirky charm as a tie made of construction paper and macaroni noodles that small children would make for their dad on fathers day.
 The badness of Emil's suit shines like a spotlight when put next to Ray Corrigans awesome suit,
 and makes old Crash's suit all the more real.


This leads to mass hilarity that I can only imagine since I haven't seen Microspook yet !
We can get an idea of what it is like through a wonderful article and photos on a website devoted to Emil Sitka , created  by his son,  Saxon Emil Sitka.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Twistin' gorilla

Like most movie gorillas, I have a decided weakness for a pretty girl...or Three!
Burlesque and gorillas have gone together like apple pie and ice-cream for decades, and the concept is still going as strong as ever.
Now throw in some awesome surf guitar performed by guys wearing Mexican Wrestler Masks, and you have an impossibly cool combination that's hard to beat!
The burlesque cuties in this equation are "The World Famous Pontani Sisters".
The band, "Los Straightjackets".
The gorilla here is our old friend, "Gorilla Bob". http://www.hollywoodgorillamen.com/2010/03/i-dream-of-bananas.html
Stir these ingredients together and top with the great Coney Island Amusement park, and you have,
Twistin" Gorilla !





Tuesday, March 12, 2013

E-Gor's Gorilla Goodies...A pre-Crash Corrigan !

Old E-Gor has dug to the deepest depths of monkey memories to unearth this fantastic Crash Corrigan autograph...with a twist!
This is PRE-Corrigan,,,that's right, long before he came to be known by the moniker Crash Corrigan, he was known as Ray Benard!
Ray wrote on the autograph,"Double for Johnny Wiesmuller", which with his size and athleticism Ray was ideally suited for.
In the interest of keeping things Ape-ish, here is a nice shot of Rays original suit (Bonga) from around this same time.
What will E-gor dig up next ?.....Only Bonga Corrigan knows...

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Mad Science...

Charlie Gemora in "Stark Mad" 1929.
 
 
 
 

Saturday, March 2, 2013

E-gor's Gorilla Goodies....Spook Show Gorilla!

Hiya Gorilla Gang,
Old E-gor has unearthed a gaggle of ghostly goodies for us with these great shots from Dr. Silkini's Asylum of Horrors!
Silkini, a great stage magician, made a specialty out of live Spook Shows, appearing at theaters across the country.
The shows usually consisted of a series of skits, and full size stage illusions performed in a macabre setting.
No floating ladies here folks...floating heads, yes. Frankensteins monster ? Absolutely! . One of the highlights was a classic Peppers Ghost illusion, where a girl turns into a gorilla. The gorilla, or Apeman as he was billed ,was played by Bob Smith , and you'll never find a ghastlier Apeman .


 E-gor is the proud owner of the Ape-mans autograph, as well as Silkini himself, Frankenstein, and Silkini's evil assistant Egor....Any relation E-Gor?
 
 

Feast your eyes here folks, on the magic of Silkini !