Page 33 - The Gluckman Occasional Number Eleven

The Fourth Dementian (Studio Planchette). What if losing your
memory were the only protection against the encroachments of
artificial intelligence? That fascinating premise animates this new
science-fiction thriller based on the classic airport page-turner by
Tanner Hyde (The Space War Conspiracy, The Time Eaters and Runaway
Reactor—all scheduled to be brought to the screen by Planchette).
Special mention should be given to the casting director, Steki
Deshoka: she has assembled a group of unknowns to play the heroic
volunteers in Doctor Hufnagel’s (Eric Jenn, surprisingly effective
without his dentures) last-ditch efforts to find a human brain
impervious to the seductive blandishments of his captive Siren-like
automaton (Gaye Schluffen, who lost 65 pounds to land this coveted
role). More cannot be revealed about the plot, despite its formulaic
denouement. In Somachrome and SuperVision at selected theatres.

Hell Raisers vs. The Hollywood Menace (Pinnacle Pictures). This
reissued 1947 movie serial appropriated as much reflected war-time
glory as possible: its heroes (B-movie stalwarts Rudy Rivoli, Hart
Pierce, Harmon Eisen, Crusty Nubbins) are the survivors of a
commando unit. The sister of one (Effie Cassidy) works in a
Hollywood studio (no budget needed for sets!). All the local movie
moguls, it turns out, are being threatened by a mysterious villain
called The Extra and his gang of non-union grips. If their demands
are not met, accidents during productions occur. The Hell Raisers
must discover who is behind the threats and stop them before one
potboiler after another is put behind schedule. Each of the fifteen
chapters ends with a cliff-hanger, miraculously and summarily
resolved in the beginning of the next one. It’s advisable for anyone
over ten years of age not to watch them all in one sitting. On home
video.

Nudist Hunt, Season 6: the Cactus Garden (Hertz). Who will be
the last one carried out on a stretcher? Big prize money awaits that
lucky or skillful naked navigator of one of the world-class prickly
mazes created by the show’s cactaceous labyrinthologist, Eunice X.
Romper. Cameras concealed among the spines and flying overhead
provide the unedited sights and sounds of victory and defeat.
Fortune does not favor the fleet of foot in this contest; rather the
short of stature and limb have suffered the fewest incapacitating
wounds, at least in the first three weeks of the show. Not for the
squeamish or prudish—but that excludes few these days.