1 00:00:04,680 --> 00:00:07,840 Speaker 1: Hey, welcome to Weird House Cinema. Rewind. This is Rob Lamb. 2 00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:09,800 Speaker 1: We have another older episode of the show for you 3 00:00:09,880 --> 00:00:11,600 Speaker 1: here today. This is going to be one that published 4 00:00:11,600 --> 00:00:15,920 Speaker 1: three twelve, twenty twenty one. It is the nineteen forty 5 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:22,800 Speaker 1: special effects showcase Doctor Cyclops, from the director of King Kong. 6 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:25,280 Speaker 1: This is a lot of fun. It is a miniaturized 7 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:27,280 Speaker 1: people film. Let's jump right in. 8 00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:36,839 Speaker 2: Welcome to Stuff to Blow your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio. 9 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:44,600 Speaker 1: Hey, welcome to Weird How Cinema. This is Rob Lamb. 10 00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:46,960 Speaker 3: And I'm Joe McCormack, and today we're going to be 11 00:00:47,000 --> 00:00:53,199 Speaker 3: talking about the nineteen forty size related thriller Doctor Cyclops. 12 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:56,320 Speaker 3: You know that line, that classic Hollywood line about how 13 00:00:56,400 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 3: I stayed big it's the pictures that got small. Well, 14 00:01:00,560 --> 00:01:02,920 Speaker 3: you can't say that about this movie, because this movie 15 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:05,400 Speaker 3: is really truly about actors getting small. 16 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:09,319 Speaker 1: That's right. This is our first nineteen forties film. I 17 00:01:09,319 --> 00:01:13,240 Speaker 1: mean barely since it's a nineteen forty release. But yeah, 18 00:01:13,280 --> 00:01:15,440 Speaker 1: this is one I was not familiar with. I've never 19 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:18,560 Speaker 1: heard of it, despite the fact that it has a 20 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:21,320 Speaker 1: pretty famous director who we'll get into more about in 21 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:25,280 Speaker 1: a second. But it's Ernest B. Showedsack, who if that 22 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:27,920 Speaker 1: name doesn't ring a bell, I think his most famous 23 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:30,520 Speaker 1: film will for you. It was, of course King Kong. 24 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:35,720 Speaker 3: Yeah, this movie I thought was a real firecracker, Like 25 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:40,880 Speaker 3: it looks great, it has amazing special effects. The story 26 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:44,000 Speaker 3: isn't as complex as you might hope. But then again, 27 00:01:44,040 --> 00:01:46,040 Speaker 3: I mean this was a I don't know, a horror 28 00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 3: thriller of the nineteen thirties and forties, of the Hayes 29 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:53,720 Speaker 3: Code era, so you can only expect so much moral 30 00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 3: and intellectual complexity. But just as a big special effects thriller, 31 00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:02,440 Speaker 3: the kind of Transformers or Independence Day of nineteen forty, 32 00:02:03,080 --> 00:02:05,160 Speaker 3: it's it's fantastic. 33 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:06,280 Speaker 1: Yeah, And I think that's also only the way you 34 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:08,079 Speaker 1: have to approach it. It is a it is a 35 00:02:08,200 --> 00:02:13,680 Speaker 1: nineteen forty special effects fiasco, and the special effects very 36 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:17,320 Speaker 1: much come first. And you know, by today's standards they 37 00:02:17,360 --> 00:02:20,680 Speaker 1: might not look as you know, as amazing. But if 38 00:02:20,720 --> 00:02:24,120 Speaker 1: you but that's again only if you're looking at it 39 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:26,200 Speaker 1: as a modern viewer and not thinking about the history 40 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:28,200 Speaker 1: of filmmaking. Because I think if you, if you sit 41 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:30,799 Speaker 1: there and watch the film in its entirety and keep 42 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:33,600 Speaker 1: reminding yourself like this is nineteen forty you know, this 43 00:02:33,639 --> 00:02:36,600 Speaker 1: is what had been done before with similar effects, and 44 00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:38,160 Speaker 1: it will impress you. 45 00:02:38,440 --> 00:02:40,600 Speaker 3: Oh, I think the special effects in this movie do 46 00:02:40,639 --> 00:02:44,000 Speaker 3: look fantastic. I mean, I think they look so much 47 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:48,160 Speaker 3: better than the quote realistic CGI that floods the films 48 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:48,640 Speaker 3: of today. 49 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:51,840 Speaker 1: Well that's true, Yeah, I mean it. You know, it's 50 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:54,239 Speaker 1: it's very polished, you know, using the tools of the day. 51 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:57,520 Speaker 1: It creates I think, some high quality visuals. 52 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:01,760 Speaker 3: So this is We've talked about a number of mad 53 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:04,040 Speaker 3: scientist movies, and I'm sure we will talk about many 54 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:07,480 Speaker 3: more mad scientist movies in the future. Mad Scientists are 55 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:11,320 Speaker 3: kind of the hub of the wheel of weird house cinema, 56 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:15,519 Speaker 3: and this particular mad scientist is a mad scientist who 57 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 3: likes to shrink people with radiation. 58 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:22,920 Speaker 1: Yes, the villainous doctor Thorkle. And yeah, he's pretty great 59 00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:27,040 Speaker 1: because he's you know, I guess his real defining characteristic 60 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:30,840 Speaker 1: is he's a complete megalomaniac. You know, he already feels 61 00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:35,200 Speaker 1: himself to be a giant among tiny people, and his 62 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:39,000 Speaker 1: super science just enables him to make that, you know, 63 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:40,800 Speaker 1: an objective reality. 64 00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:44,200 Speaker 3: Now, I think doctor Thorkel would probably shrink you to 65 00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:46,360 Speaker 3: death for the way he pronounced his name. Because of 66 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:48,440 Speaker 3: the one of the funny things in this movie. So 67 00:03:48,520 --> 00:03:52,160 Speaker 3: his name is spelled t h o r k e L. 68 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:54,760 Speaker 3: So I read that in like any other normal American 69 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:56,400 Speaker 3: English speaker, I would think Thorkele. 70 00:03:56,600 --> 00:03:58,240 Speaker 1: Yeah. If I had to go to an appointment with 71 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:00,440 Speaker 1: doctor Thorkell, I would call and be like, yeah, I'm 72 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:01,760 Speaker 1: a patient of doctor Thorkle's. 73 00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:05,320 Speaker 3: But the characters in this movie make a really special 74 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:10,480 Speaker 3: effort to always emphasize the second letter. So it's like 75 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:14,280 Speaker 3: sar Dough, no, mister, accent on the doe. Here we 76 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:18,839 Speaker 3: get thor Kel. No mister, it's doctor accent on the kel. 77 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:22,560 Speaker 1: Doctor thor Kel. Yeah. And in this picture, you can, 78 00:04:22,720 --> 00:04:25,919 Speaker 1: I mean you can basically, well, here's the Elevator Pitch, 79 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:29,400 Speaker 1: a mad scientist working in the South American jungle, miniaturizes 80 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:32,880 Speaker 1: his colleagues when he feels his megalomania is threatened. So 81 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:37,000 Speaker 1: it's basically it's apocalypse now, but with doctor thor Kel 82 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:41,520 Speaker 1: instead of Colonel Kurtz. Science instead of war, and miniaturization 83 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:42,880 Speaker 1: instead of the horror. 84 00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:46,599 Speaker 3: I'd say that's about accurate. Yeah, and well, and instead 85 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:49,960 Speaker 3: of Martin Sheen. It's a ragtag team of the world's 86 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:51,960 Speaker 3: greatest scientists and a mule guy. 87 00:04:52,279 --> 00:04:54,839 Speaker 1: Yeah. And instead of spending like a large portion of 88 00:04:54,839 --> 00:04:57,640 Speaker 1: the film about the journey, that journey is really quick 89 00:04:57,640 --> 00:04:59,880 Speaker 1: in this movie. They just skippy right through it. 90 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 3: Should we hit that trailer audio? 91 00:05:01,720 --> 00:05:02,440 Speaker 1: Yeah, let's hear it. 92 00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:09,680 Speaker 4: Then a crocodile becomes as huge as a prehistoric monster, 93 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:12,800 Speaker 4: a rifle as unwieldy. 94 00:05:12,279 --> 00:05:13,279 Speaker 3: As a siege gun. 95 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:18,440 Speaker 4: A terrifying black cat whose jaws me death. A dog 96 00:05:18,560 --> 00:05:22,520 Speaker 4: looms larger than an elephant, dead in the hands of 97 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:23,600 Speaker 4: a ruthless monster. 98 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:33,120 Speaker 1: All right, So let's talk about the people involved here. Really, 99 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:35,440 Speaker 1: the one we're going to spend the most time on is, 100 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:37,520 Speaker 1: of course, the director Ernest B. Shudsack. 101 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:40,720 Speaker 3: I know almost nothing about the life of shod Sack 102 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:44,279 Speaker 3: except that he is involved with one of the great 103 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:47,840 Speaker 3: early special effects and I don't know what you might 104 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:51,880 Speaker 3: call it science fiction horror films of the big studio era, 105 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:52,919 Speaker 3: which is King Kong. 106 00:05:53,480 --> 00:05:57,560 Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean really, King Kong. Despite being very much 107 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:01,040 Speaker 1: a genre film, it transcends genre like it is it is. 108 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:05,120 Speaker 1: That film is an icon of cinematic history itself. You know, 109 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:07,880 Speaker 1: it's kind of it's kind of difficult to overstate its 110 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:11,839 Speaker 1: importance in the history of film. But he and certainly 111 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:13,920 Speaker 1: I think you, mister you Science Theater three thousand fans 112 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:17,799 Speaker 1: would agree it is a great eight movie. But Shodzak 113 00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:20,520 Speaker 1: also directed another great Epe movie, and that would be 114 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:23,480 Speaker 1: Mighty Joe Young. So if you're not familiar with King 115 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:27,440 Speaker 1: Kong for reasons unimaginable, then perhaps you've heard of Mighty 116 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:27,960 Speaker 1: Joe Young. 117 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:32,320 Speaker 3: Did that get some kind of remake in the nineteen nineties. 118 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:34,719 Speaker 1: Yes, it did. Goodness, I forget who was in it, 119 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:37,960 Speaker 1: but they had. Mighty Joe Young is a and is 120 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:40,799 Speaker 1: an enlarged ape as well, but not nearly as enlarged 121 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:41,480 Speaker 1: as King Kong. 122 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:43,679 Speaker 3: It's a medium enlarged ape. 123 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:48,520 Speaker 1: Yeah, and I think I've seen some account some comparisons. 124 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:51,760 Speaker 1: Just in the same way that Godzilla gets keeps getting 125 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:55,880 Speaker 1: bigger and bigger in films, King Kong also inevitably just 126 00:06:55,880 --> 00:06:58,640 Speaker 1: gets bigger and bigger. But Mighty Joe Young was always 127 00:06:58,760 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 1: a smaller giant ape. 128 00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:03,800 Speaker 3: So some of this guy's big movies seem all focused 129 00:07:03,800 --> 00:07:07,960 Speaker 3: on changes in size perspective, either really big creatures or 130 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:11,600 Speaker 3: really little creatures. Smaller than they're supposed to be. And 131 00:07:11,920 --> 00:07:15,640 Speaker 3: this is funny because I think there were This is 132 00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:18,680 Speaker 3: sort of the A list version of that kind of director, 133 00:07:18,920 --> 00:07:21,360 Speaker 3: but there were also B list versions of that kind 134 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:24,280 Speaker 3: of director, because you get people like bert I Gordon, 135 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:28,080 Speaker 3: who made B movies, almost all of which are about 136 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:31,880 Speaker 3: creatures of unusual size, either like a person or a 137 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:34,960 Speaker 3: creature that gets shrunken down or creatures that get blown 138 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:35,679 Speaker 3: up real big. 139 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:39,239 Speaker 1: Yeah, and you know, I think ultimately bird Eye Gordon 140 00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:43,920 Speaker 1: was able to make some really interesting films, but they're 141 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:46,200 Speaker 1: generally not put on the same pedestal as King Kong. 142 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:50,320 Speaker 3: None of them look as beautiful as Doctor Cyclops does. 143 00:07:50,320 --> 00:07:52,920 Speaker 3: Another thing that Doctor Cyclops really has going for it 144 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:55,320 Speaker 3: with the modern release, especially or at least the blu 145 00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:58,840 Speaker 3: ray of it that we watched, it has three color 146 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:02,960 Speaker 3: Technicolor and the tech color is gorgeous. The colors are 147 00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:04,560 Speaker 3: just dripping off the screen. 148 00:08:04,960 --> 00:08:08,360 Speaker 1: Yeah, in a similar way to Doctor X, though that 149 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:11,120 Speaker 1: was not technicolor. That was what two tone technicolor. 150 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:13,040 Speaker 3: Two color technicolor. Yeah, this is three colors. So this 151 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:16,040 Speaker 3: is like the color you know, color films that would 152 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:16,480 Speaker 3: come later. 153 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 1: Yeah, So there's a certain unreality to it. But it's 154 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:24,120 Speaker 1: beautiful and it certainly I mean, I find it more 155 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:26,360 Speaker 1: engaging than a lot of black and light films of 156 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:29,120 Speaker 1: the period. Just you know, I guess it depends, like 157 00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:31,440 Speaker 1: you wouldn't want to see mad Love and color. Mad 158 00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:33,640 Speaker 1: Love belongs in black and white, like that is the 159 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:36,680 Speaker 1: world of that film, but this one really benefits from the. 160 00:08:36,679 --> 00:08:39,160 Speaker 3: Color well and taking place in the jungle. I feel 161 00:08:39,160 --> 00:08:41,480 Speaker 3: like there are a lot of shots in it that 162 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:45,360 Speaker 3: I wonder if they were only included to take advantage 163 00:08:45,400 --> 00:08:48,600 Speaker 3: of that beautiful three color technicolor, Like like there are 164 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:51,040 Speaker 3: parts where it will just cut away to some kind 165 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:54,120 Speaker 3: of tropical bird that is squawking in a tree, and 166 00:08:54,559 --> 00:08:56,400 Speaker 3: you know, we see all of its beautiful feathers. 167 00:08:56,760 --> 00:08:56,960 Speaker 4: Yeah. 168 00:08:57,040 --> 00:08:59,839 Speaker 1: Yeah, so you know before three D there was there 169 00:08:59,880 --> 00:09:00,599 Speaker 1: was technicolor. 170 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:01,160 Speaker 3: Yeah. 171 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:03,520 Speaker 1: Again, it's quite quite a beautiful looking film. So let's 172 00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:07,280 Speaker 1: let's talk about the director behind it again. Ernest b. 173 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:11,239 Speaker 1: Showed Zach who lived eighteen ninety three through nineteen seventy nine. 174 00:09:12,520 --> 00:09:14,160 Speaker 1: We're not going to really be able to touch on 175 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:16,959 Speaker 1: his entire biography here, but if you want a good one, 176 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:18,760 Speaker 1: you know, you can go to the usual places. I 177 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:22,360 Speaker 1: found Britannica had a nice one online. But here's some 178 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:25,200 Speaker 1: of the interesting points, sort of the bullet points of 179 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:28,040 Speaker 1: his life that I think are with driving home here. So, 180 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:29,960 Speaker 1: first of all, he ran away from home as a 181 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:33,920 Speaker 1: teenager and worked as a surveyor in San Francisco. He 182 00:09:33,960 --> 00:09:36,160 Speaker 1: got a job as a cameraman from help with help 183 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:39,760 Speaker 1: from his brother in nineteen fourteen, and then during the 184 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:42,400 Speaker 1: First World War he served as a cameraman in the 185 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:46,160 Speaker 1: Signal Corps in France. He stayed in Europe after that 186 00:09:46,200 --> 00:09:48,880 Speaker 1: he got involved in adventure filmmaking. So this is this 187 00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:52,880 Speaker 1: is interesting because it makes sense given the nature of 188 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:55,480 Speaker 1: films like King Kong. But it also, you know, it 189 00:09:55,559 --> 00:09:58,280 Speaker 1: seems to run, you know, against the grain if you 190 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:01,800 Speaker 1: think about his success in fiction, because earlier on it's 191 00:10:02,080 --> 00:10:05,160 Speaker 1: less purely fictional. There's a certain documentary aspect to it, 192 00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:08,360 Speaker 1: like fictionalized documentary work. So he served with the Red 193 00:10:08,440 --> 00:10:13,120 Speaker 1: Cross in nineteen nineteen, helped refugees from the Russo Polish War, 194 00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:17,120 Speaker 1: and he also filmed this conflict as well as the 195 00:10:17,120 --> 00:10:20,000 Speaker 1: Greco Turkish War of nineteen twenty one through twenty two, 196 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:22,560 Speaker 1: and in this he essentially wound up working as a 197 00:10:22,559 --> 00:10:25,880 Speaker 1: conflict journalist and was then sponsored by the New York 198 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:30,160 Speaker 1: Times as a cameraman on an around the world expedition. Wow, 199 00:10:31,160 --> 00:10:33,480 Speaker 1: so he worked on this. He worked with a pilot 200 00:10:33,520 --> 00:10:35,839 Speaker 1: by the name of Marion C. Cooper, and then began 201 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:38,880 Speaker 1: producing what they called natural dramas, which were a kind 202 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:44,679 Speaker 1: of combination of travelog and drama. This is super fascinating 203 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:47,280 Speaker 1: given what we've covered. Stuff to blow your mind before. 204 00:10:47,280 --> 00:10:50,760 Speaker 1: In nineteen twenty five, he joined William Beebe's expedition to 205 00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:53,640 Speaker 1: the Galapagos Islands as a cameraman. Ah. 206 00:10:53,800 --> 00:10:57,080 Speaker 3: Now William Biebe was if you'll called the was he 207 00:10:57,120 --> 00:11:00,839 Speaker 3: a marine biologist. He was a researcher who who got 208 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:06,400 Speaker 3: down into a basically a gigantic metal ball that just 209 00:11:06,559 --> 00:11:09,160 Speaker 3: was dangled down deep into the ocean to see what 210 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:11,800 Speaker 3: kind of life could be observed through a tiny window 211 00:11:11,920 --> 00:11:15,319 Speaker 3: in this ball at depths that had never before been 212 00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:20,800 Speaker 3: documented firsthand. Yeah, the bathosphere horrifying because this ball had 213 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:24,040 Speaker 3: no means of self propulsion. It was not a submersible, 214 00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:26,160 Speaker 3: It was not a submarine. It was just a hollow 215 00:11:26,320 --> 00:11:30,240 Speaker 3: metal sphere and dangling by a chain. So if the 216 00:11:30,320 --> 00:11:32,880 Speaker 3: chain breaks, you just sink to the bottom. Of the Ocean. 217 00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:36,439 Speaker 1: Yes, but he was as we discussed in past episodes 218 00:11:36,480 --> 00:11:38,400 Speaker 1: of Stuff to Blow Your Mind. He was also notable 219 00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:42,880 Speaker 1: because he tended to surround himself not only with technicians 220 00:11:43,080 --> 00:11:46,120 Speaker 1: on these expeditions, but also artists like people who could 221 00:11:46,120 --> 00:11:49,839 Speaker 1: write about it, people who could illustrate what was going on. 222 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:54,240 Speaker 1: And it turns out Showed Sac was one of the 223 00:11:54,320 --> 00:11:57,240 Speaker 1: creatives that he brought a board to document the work 224 00:11:57,559 --> 00:11:59,000 Speaker 1: at least on one of the expeditions. 225 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:01,280 Speaker 3: Now, I think the bath fear of observations were not 226 00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:03,520 Speaker 3: in the Galapago, so that was somewhere in the Atlantic 227 00:12:03,559 --> 00:12:06,199 Speaker 3: of itself, what Bermuda, or somewhere in the Bahamas. 228 00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:07,839 Speaker 1: Yeah, I believe, So this would have been a yeah, 229 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:10,319 Speaker 1: this would have been a different journey. But still it's 230 00:12:10,320 --> 00:12:12,600 Speaker 1: wonderful how these two came together. I wasn't expecting him 231 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:16,000 Speaker 1: to come up in this so anyway, from here Showed 232 00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:19,560 Speaker 1: Sac and Cooper, they go on to produce a natural 233 00:12:19,640 --> 00:12:22,400 Speaker 1: drama titled Chang, a Drama of the Wilderness from twenty 234 00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:24,720 Speaker 1: set in nineteen twenty seven. This earned a nomination for 235 00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:29,080 Speaker 1: Best Picture at the very first Academy Awards. He then 236 00:12:29,120 --> 00:12:31,880 Speaker 1: directed The Four Feathers in nineteen twenty nine, based on 237 00:12:31,920 --> 00:12:34,920 Speaker 1: the nineteen oh two novel, shot in California and the Sudan. 238 00:12:35,720 --> 00:12:38,640 Speaker 1: And then he shot Rango in Sumatra, which was a 239 00:12:38,679 --> 00:12:44,240 Speaker 1: film about and this just sounds like super ambitious for 240 00:12:44,320 --> 00:12:47,040 Speaker 1: any filmmaker because it's about a boy and a rangutang 241 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:50,280 Speaker 1: and a tiger, filmed in thirty one. Again, then he 242 00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:52,520 Speaker 1: shot The Most Dangerous Game in thirty two. 243 00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:55,760 Speaker 3: Oh okay, wait, didn't we just talk about No, we 244 00:12:55,800 --> 00:13:00,199 Speaker 3: talked about Ernest Dickerson's Survivor Is it Surviving the Game? 245 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:01,439 Speaker 1: Surviving the Game? Yep? 246 00:13:01,559 --> 00:13:04,920 Speaker 3: The Iced Tea movie, which which is sort of a 247 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:08,640 Speaker 3: based on the similar concept the novella or novel The 248 00:13:08,679 --> 00:13:11,520 Speaker 3: Most Dangerous Game, which is about a human who hunts men. 249 00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:14,400 Speaker 1: Yes, and so it's been popular for a while. It's 250 00:13:14,400 --> 00:13:16,280 Speaker 1: one of those those stories that's going to keep getting 251 00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:18,840 Speaker 1: adapted in one form or the other. Now. From here, 252 00:13:18,880 --> 00:13:20,760 Speaker 1: Showtech and Cooper moved on to what would be the 253 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:23,760 Speaker 1: most famous motion picture that they worked on, and that 254 00:13:23,880 --> 00:13:26,719 Speaker 1: was King Kong of nineteen thirty three, and then they 255 00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:30,040 Speaker 1: followed this up with the Sun of Kong, which also 256 00:13:30,080 --> 00:13:34,400 Speaker 1: came out in nineteen thirty three, and then they did. 257 00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:37,800 Speaker 1: They also did a movie titled Blind Adventure, which also 258 00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:40,120 Speaker 1: came out in nineteen thirty three. So it was quite 259 00:13:40,559 --> 00:13:41,079 Speaker 1: for these. 260 00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:43,679 Speaker 3: Two regular Roger Corman over here. This is like Roger 261 00:13:43,720 --> 00:13:46,240 Speaker 3: Corman's in nineteen fifty seven or whatever your year it 262 00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:47,960 Speaker 3: was that he made like fourteen movies. 263 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:52,280 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, so yeah, an impressive year. They were really 264 00:13:52,360 --> 00:13:55,720 Speaker 1: just firing on all cylinders. Now, in nineteen thirty five 265 00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:58,640 Speaker 1: they made a film titled The Last Days of POMPEII, 266 00:13:58,800 --> 00:14:01,400 Speaker 1: and this was an ultimately, at least commercially, a failed 267 00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:05,240 Speaker 1: attempt at an historical epic. So after this, you know, 268 00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:06,920 Speaker 1: they were kind of, I guess in some version of 269 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:11,080 Speaker 1: director's jail. He ended up doing smaller pictures. But then 270 00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:13,680 Speaker 1: he got another shot at a big genre film, a 271 00:14:13,679 --> 00:14:18,079 Speaker 1: special effects feature, and that is nineteen forty's Doctor Cyclops. 272 00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:22,000 Speaker 1: And Cooper was an uncredited producer on this film. Now, 273 00:14:22,240 --> 00:14:24,800 Speaker 1: of course we'll get back to selector Cyclops in depth here. 274 00:14:25,080 --> 00:14:29,240 Speaker 1: But World War II broke out and should Zach was 275 00:14:29,680 --> 00:14:31,760 Speaker 1: like a lot of people sucked into the war machine. 276 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:35,720 Speaker 1: A knew, and while testing photographic equipment at high altitude 277 00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:38,840 Speaker 1: for the US Army Air Corps, he suffered a severe 278 00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:42,280 Speaker 1: eye injury. I was trying to get like a firm 279 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:45,440 Speaker 1: account of it. If there's a good biography about showed Zach. 280 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:47,280 Speaker 1: I wasn't able to find one, like a you know, 281 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:51,040 Speaker 1: like a book length biography. I believe what happened is 282 00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:54,840 Speaker 1: he accidentally dropped his face mask. I'm and I'm a 283 00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:57,840 Speaker 1: little foggy on the exact nature of what the injury was, 284 00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:00,800 Speaker 1: if we're talking about like some sort of a light 285 00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:04,560 Speaker 1: blast based injury or of its pressure based, but the 286 00:15:04,640 --> 00:15:07,800 Speaker 1: end result was severely damaged his eyesight. And he only 287 00:15:07,840 --> 00:15:12,640 Speaker 1: directed a couple of additional films, really only one notable 288 00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:14,600 Speaker 1: film after that, and this was Mighty Joe Young in 289 00:15:14,680 --> 00:15:18,280 Speaker 1: nineteen forty nine, which featured Oscar winning special effects by 290 00:15:18,280 --> 00:15:21,840 Speaker 1: O'Brien and Ray Harry Housen. Oh god, yeah, yeah, so 291 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:25,560 Speaker 1: another big name. And then he finally directed a portion 292 00:15:25,760 --> 00:15:29,280 Speaker 1: of This Is Cinerama in nineteen fifty two, uncredited to 293 00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:33,760 Speaker 1: promote the Cinerama widescreen projection process. But that was pretty 294 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:36,560 Speaker 1: much yet, like after this eye injury, you know, he 295 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:40,160 Speaker 1: just wasn't able and or you know, or didn't want 296 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:41,560 Speaker 1: to direct. I think it was, you know, more about 297 00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:45,600 Speaker 1: ability and then he died in nineteen seventy nine. Cooper 298 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:48,520 Speaker 1: died in nineteen seventy three. He did a bit more 299 00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:52,160 Speaker 1: work after Mighty Joe Young came out, including serving as 300 00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:56,240 Speaker 1: executive producer on nineteen fifty six as The Searchers, directed 301 00:15:56,240 --> 00:15:58,760 Speaker 1: by John Ford and starring, of course John Wayne. 302 00:15:59,560 --> 00:16:03,840 Speaker 3: This is a fantastic coincidence how this story about his 303 00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:07,320 Speaker 3: damaged eyesight connects to the plot of Doctor Cyclops. It 304 00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:09,520 Speaker 3: almost makes me wonder, do you know what exactly the 305 00:16:09,640 --> 00:16:12,880 Speaker 3: time of his injury was. Could it have been before 306 00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:14,680 Speaker 3: Doctor Cyclops or was it after? 307 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:18,480 Speaker 1: I believe that's that's the weird thing about this. I've 308 00:16:18,560 --> 00:16:20,680 Speaker 1: not been able to find like a firm date for 309 00:16:20,920 --> 00:16:23,440 Speaker 1: this injury, you know, like a statement, you know, in 310 00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:25,960 Speaker 1: this year or in this month this is when showed 311 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:29,840 Speaker 1: Sack suffered the eye injury. But it's it's my understanding 312 00:16:29,960 --> 00:16:34,400 Speaker 1: that that the the eye injury occurred after Doctor Cyclops. Wow. 313 00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:37,040 Speaker 3: Because so we'll get into this a little bit more 314 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:39,000 Speaker 3: when we discuss the plot. But one of the main 315 00:16:39,880 --> 00:16:44,240 Speaker 3: uh situation points of Doctor Cyclops is that the the 316 00:16:44,280 --> 00:16:48,720 Speaker 3: titular doctor uh doctor Thorkel is a is a brilliant 317 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:51,840 Speaker 3: scientist but he's limited by damage to his eyes. He 318 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:54,680 Speaker 3: has got poor eyesight already and relies on these really 319 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:55,560 Speaker 3: thick glasses. 320 00:16:56,040 --> 00:16:58,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, so this is this is just mysterious to me, 321 00:16:59,000 --> 00:17:02,800 Speaker 1: Like it's either an amazing coincidence or I have it 322 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:06,520 Speaker 1: wrong and there is more connective tissue here, like you know, 323 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:09,439 Speaker 1: maybe he had you know, previously damaged his eyes in 324 00:17:09,480 --> 00:17:11,879 Speaker 1: some fashion, or his eyesight was already fading. I'm not 325 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:15,119 Speaker 1: sure you know what the answer is here. But as 326 00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:18,720 Speaker 1: it turns out, like his actual biography and in some 327 00:17:18,800 --> 00:17:21,880 Speaker 1: of the plot elements in Doctor Cyclops do line up. 328 00:17:22,840 --> 00:17:26,840 Speaker 3: Now. He did not write Doctor Cyclops though correct right. 329 00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:30,240 Speaker 1: Doctor Cyclops was written by a writer by the name 330 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:34,000 Speaker 1: of Tom Kilpatrick who lived eighteen ninety eight through nineteen 331 00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:36,800 Speaker 1: sixty two, and you can look him up on IMDb. 332 00:17:36,920 --> 00:17:40,240 Speaker 1: But basically he wrote various crime in Western screenplays and teleplays, 333 00:17:40,520 --> 00:17:42,560 Speaker 1: but nothing that really jumped out to me personally. 334 00:17:43,119 --> 00:17:46,480 Speaker 3: I mean, the script here is not really anything to 335 00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:49,280 Speaker 3: write home about, except in the skillful way that it 336 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:54,120 Speaker 3: string that it efficiently strings together excellent special effects set pieces. 337 00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:57,320 Speaker 3: But you're not going to like run into interesting character 338 00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:00,200 Speaker 3: development or like super witty dialogue in this movie. This 339 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:04,639 Speaker 3: is very much a sets and special effects driven film, 340 00:18:04,720 --> 00:18:07,840 Speaker 3: but I will give the script credit for connecting each 341 00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:09,880 Speaker 3: one of those things to the next in a very 342 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:12,200 Speaker 3: fast paced and enjoyable way. 343 00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:17,040 Speaker 1: Yeah. All right, well let's talk about doctor Thorkel. In 344 00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:19,440 Speaker 1: this film, he is played by an actor by the 345 00:18:19,520 --> 00:18:21,920 Speaker 1: name of Albert Decker who lived nineteen oh five through 346 00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:26,119 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty eight. He was a Broadway star turn film actor, 347 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:28,600 Speaker 1: and later in his life he served on the California 348 00:18:28,600 --> 00:18:32,840 Speaker 1: State Legislature and largely transitioned back to stage. In his 349 00:18:32,920 --> 00:18:37,280 Speaker 1: later career. He often played aggressive characters, and this is 350 00:18:37,320 --> 00:18:40,600 Speaker 1: probably due to his great size. So he was six two, 351 00:18:40,640 --> 00:18:44,280 Speaker 1: which granted isn't like super tall, but it's I mean, 352 00:18:44,320 --> 00:18:46,840 Speaker 1: it's reasonably tall. I'm six two or so, and I 353 00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:48,359 Speaker 1: bought my head way too often. 354 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:50,280 Speaker 3: It's big in this movie. 355 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:52,199 Speaker 1: Yeah, And I think part of that too, is that 356 00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:55,359 Speaker 1: not only is he six two, but he's he's got 357 00:18:55,440 --> 00:18:58,800 Speaker 1: kind of a thick physique, like not you know, not 358 00:18:58,920 --> 00:19:01,840 Speaker 1: obese or anything, but he has this kind of he 359 00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:04,879 Speaker 1: looks kind of beefy, especially for a mad scientist in 360 00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:09,560 Speaker 1: a movie. Usually they're a bit scrawnier and like doctor 361 00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:11,880 Speaker 1: Thorkel looks like he could really throw down. 362 00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:15,240 Speaker 3: You would not want to tangle with Thorkel, right. 363 00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:20,000 Speaker 1: So, yeah, this guy Albert Decker played him. Notable roles 364 00:19:20,200 --> 00:19:23,200 Speaker 1: for him include roles in Kiss Me Deadly and East 365 00:19:23,200 --> 00:19:26,440 Speaker 1: of Eden, which was fifty five I believe, as well 366 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:29,080 Speaker 1: as his last film role, which was in nineteen sixty 367 00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:30,600 Speaker 1: nine's The Wild Bunch. 368 00:19:30,760 --> 00:19:30,920 Speaker 4: Ah. 369 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:34,280 Speaker 3: Yeah, the hyper violent Sam Peckinpah movie in which I 370 00:19:34,320 --> 00:19:37,399 Speaker 3: think he plays. He plays some kind of like railroad 371 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:42,600 Speaker 3: policeman or like a railway detective. He's hunting the outlaws 372 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:45,399 Speaker 3: in the movie. If I recall, Ah, that's one that 373 00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:45,679 Speaker 3: I have. 374 00:19:46,320 --> 00:19:49,240 Speaker 1: Somehow I managed to get through my twenties and thirties 375 00:19:49,280 --> 00:19:50,800 Speaker 1: without seeing The Wild Bunch. 376 00:19:51,119 --> 00:19:55,080 Speaker 3: It is a dusty, dirty, nasty, violent movie. It makes 377 00:19:55,119 --> 00:19:57,560 Speaker 3: you need a bath. In fact, I would say the 378 00:19:57,960 --> 00:20:01,240 Speaker 3: full vibe of that movie is some up. In one exchange, 379 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:05,080 Speaker 3: the outlaws arrive at the at the compound of this 380 00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:08,600 Speaker 3: powerful guy, and the guy says to them like, you're filthy, 381 00:20:08,680 --> 00:20:11,159 Speaker 3: you need baths. And one of the outlaws says, we 382 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:13,040 Speaker 3: don't want baths, we want women. 383 00:20:16,119 --> 00:20:17,200 Speaker 1: It sounds delightful. 384 00:20:17,760 --> 00:20:20,200 Speaker 3: One sentence that communicates a lot. 385 00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:25,440 Speaker 1: All right, Well in this film, yeah, like like we've said, 386 00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:29,240 Speaker 1: he's he's delightful. He's got this wonderful, imposing physical presence. 387 00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:31,800 Speaker 1: He's got these you know, these scheming eyes that are 388 00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:38,240 Speaker 1: accentuated by his his his glasses, bald head in evil mustache. 389 00:20:38,880 --> 00:20:41,320 Speaker 1: And I have to say he was reminding me of 390 00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:43,479 Speaker 1: somebody as I was watching this, and I figured out 391 00:20:43,520 --> 00:20:47,440 Speaker 1: who it is. It's British actor Julian Barrett, who mighty 392 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:49,919 Speaker 1: boosche fans out there. You might recognize him as the 393 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:53,320 Speaker 1: actor who played Howard Moon, but he also showed up 394 00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:57,800 Speaker 1: on Dark Place with Darth Morangi as a priest, okay, 395 00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:00,520 Speaker 1: and he also was in something recently he was. He 396 00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:04,440 Speaker 1: was the titular character in Mindhorn, which I've heard good 397 00:21:04,440 --> 00:21:05,040 Speaker 1: things about. 398 00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:07,680 Speaker 3: I never caught him in Dark Place, but I should 399 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:10,760 Speaker 3: go back and watch that whole series again in one sitting. 400 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:15,080 Speaker 1: It's ironically it is the ape heavy episode I believe. 401 00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:16,400 Speaker 3: Oh interesting. 402 00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:22,200 Speaker 1: So anyway, Howard Moon or Julian Barrett same height as 403 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:25,960 Speaker 1: as Albert Decker, and I feel like Doctor Thorkel could 404 00:21:25,960 --> 00:21:29,720 Speaker 1: have easily been a Julian Barrett character. I included a 405 00:21:29,840 --> 00:21:32,040 Speaker 1: photos here if you can compare the two like they 406 00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:36,440 Speaker 1: just they have very similar physicality facial features. Both are 407 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:40,000 Speaker 1: prone to wearing a mustache, So I include that for 408 00:21:40,080 --> 00:21:40,560 Speaker 1: what it's worth. 409 00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:44,520 Speaker 3: Yes, I can see and like Doctor Thorkel, he's gonna 410 00:21:44,560 --> 00:21:45,440 Speaker 3: hurt you real bad. 411 00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:50,080 Speaker 1: All right. So there are other humans in this film, 412 00:21:50,119 --> 00:21:53,879 Speaker 1: and we'll touch on them with in less detail because 413 00:21:54,359 --> 00:21:59,080 Speaker 1: there's not much else for non Doctor Thorkel characters to 414 00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:00,000 Speaker 1: do in this film. 415 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:02,560 Speaker 3: I mean, I would say they execute their functions correctly, 416 00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:06,200 Speaker 3: which is to move the plot from one fantastic set 417 00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:09,760 Speaker 3: and prop sort of extravaganza to another. 418 00:22:10,200 --> 00:22:13,240 Speaker 1: Yes, and do so, you know, with a serious look 419 00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:16,040 Speaker 1: on their face. So the first one to mention here 420 00:22:16,119 --> 00:22:19,840 Speaker 1: is Thomas Coley, who plays Bill Stockton. He lived nineteen 421 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:23,840 Speaker 1: thirteen through nineteen eighty nine. This was his very first 422 00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:26,920 Speaker 1: film role, followed by mostly a lot of TV work. 423 00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:32,959 Speaker 1: His partner was actor and writer William Rock and Roorick 424 00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:36,400 Speaker 1: was a theater actor on Broadway who is also in 425 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:37,919 Speaker 1: Not of This Earth. 426 00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:41,840 Speaker 3: Oh wow, So that was the nineteen fifty seven Roger 427 00:22:41,880 --> 00:22:44,600 Speaker 3: Korman movie that we have covered on a previous episode 428 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:48,119 Speaker 3: of Weird House Cinema. It was I believe the b 429 00:22:48,440 --> 00:22:51,240 Speaker 3: side to Attack of the Crab Monsters. So if in 430 00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:53,480 Speaker 3: fifty seven you went out to a drive in theater 431 00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:56,880 Speaker 3: to watch a sci fi double feature, you may well 432 00:22:56,880 --> 00:22:59,320 Speaker 3: have seen Attack of the Crab Monsters and then Not 433 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:02,760 Speaker 3: of This Earth with this guy. What was his name again, 434 00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:03,639 Speaker 3: William Rorick? 435 00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:04,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, William Rourick. 436 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:07,840 Speaker 3: He was the doctor in the movie. I think, not 437 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:10,280 Speaker 3: to be mean, I think we did not draw a 438 00:23:10,320 --> 00:23:12,280 Speaker 3: lot of attention to his performance in the movie because 439 00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:14,840 Speaker 3: there's not much to say about it except his character. 440 00:23:15,640 --> 00:23:18,320 Speaker 3: If you recall, he played doctor Rochelle, who was the 441 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:22,439 Speaker 3: blood clinic doctor who gets hypnotized by the aliens so 442 00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:25,440 Speaker 3: that he's unable to talk about the alien's blood condition. 443 00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:29,040 Speaker 3: So so other characters would you know. They'd be sitting 444 00:23:29,040 --> 00:23:31,720 Speaker 3: at a table in a restaurant and the other characters 445 00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:33,639 Speaker 3: would be like, don't you think it's strange that that 446 00:23:33,760 --> 00:23:36,480 Speaker 3: man had alien blood? And Doctor Rochelle would be like, 447 00:23:36,760 --> 00:23:38,320 Speaker 3: you guys want to get some appetizers. 448 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:43,240 Speaker 1: Yeah. Yes, I wasn't the most memorable of roles, but 449 00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:47,960 Speaker 1: Rock was in a number of interesting films, though several 450 00:23:47,960 --> 00:23:49,919 Speaker 1: of which I've seen. He was in God told me 451 00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:54,520 Speaker 1: to This was the with the Larry Cohen film about 452 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:58,240 Speaker 1: alien Messiah's. He was in Day of the Dolphin, he 453 00:23:58,320 --> 00:24:01,040 Speaker 1: was in The Wasp Woman, and he was a friend. 454 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:03,720 Speaker 1: This is interesting biographically. He was a friend of author 455 00:24:03,760 --> 00:24:08,800 Speaker 1: Iam Forrester and Coley and Rorick. Apparently they would like, 456 00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:10,639 Speaker 1: you know, entertain him when he was in town, that 457 00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:12,560 Speaker 1: sort of thing. They'd go out and see shows and stuff. 458 00:24:13,800 --> 00:24:17,280 Speaker 1: But yeah, that's the connect They're all connected here to Koley. 459 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:20,480 Speaker 1: Coley is the one in this film, not Rorick, but 460 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:23,040 Speaker 1: the two of them apparently collaborated on various projects over 461 00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:24,760 Speaker 1: the course of their careers and lives together. 462 00:24:25,080 --> 00:24:28,840 Speaker 3: Coley plays the like sort of lead love interest in 463 00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:32,199 Speaker 3: the movie. He's the only character who's hunky enough to 464 00:24:32,359 --> 00:24:35,879 Speaker 3: potentially end up falling in love with the one female character, 465 00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:38,040 Speaker 3: so you kind of know what's gonna happen. 466 00:24:38,200 --> 00:24:41,760 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a very g golly role. And again this 467 00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:44,479 Speaker 1: was his first screen role to boot, so the results 468 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:47,480 Speaker 1: are very wooden. There's just not much to this part here, 469 00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:49,800 Speaker 1: but that still it seems like he had an interesting 470 00:24:49,840 --> 00:24:53,240 Speaker 1: life and career. All right, let's talk about the what 471 00:24:53,359 --> 00:24:56,679 Speaker 1: the sole female character in this film. The character is 472 00:24:56,680 --> 00:25:00,440 Speaker 1: doctor Mary Robinson. The actor is Janice Logan was born 473 00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:03,200 Speaker 1: in nineteen fifteen died in nineteen sixty five. She only 474 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:06,480 Speaker 1: appeared in six films, and this was her third. But 475 00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:10,080 Speaker 1: here here's again a nice connection to the previous episode 476 00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:13,480 Speaker 1: of Weird House Cinema. Her last two film roles were 477 00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:17,119 Speaker 1: both Mexican films directed by Renee Cardona. 478 00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:20,520 Speaker 3: The director of Santo in the Treasure of Dracula. 479 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:25,800 Speaker 1: Exactly, yes, a major name in Mexican cinema, so both 480 00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:29,080 Speaker 1: were of these films were from nineteen forty four. One 481 00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:31,560 Speaker 1: the translated name is The Black Ace and the other 482 00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:35,399 Speaker 1: is Summer Hotel. And I was looking this up. The 483 00:25:35,440 --> 00:25:39,800 Speaker 1: Black Ace also featured a Dutch occultist and magician named 484 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:44,199 Speaker 1: David Tobias Bamberg who built himself as Fu Manchu and 485 00:25:44,280 --> 00:25:47,800 Speaker 1: Bamberg also co wrote it. But yeah, which I don't know. 486 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:51,240 Speaker 1: It sounds like he was sort of an occult star 487 00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:54,199 Speaker 1: or would be star of the day, and so he 488 00:25:54,280 --> 00:25:56,359 Speaker 1: just I guess he wound up in Mexico City and 489 00:25:56,440 --> 00:26:00,000 Speaker 1: was like, Hey, let's do a movie anyway. Logan is 490 00:26:00,119 --> 00:26:03,439 Speaker 1: also rather wooden in this role, but it's not like 491 00:26:03,480 --> 00:26:05,520 Speaker 1: the film gives her much to do other than scurry 492 00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:07,800 Speaker 1: around and try not to be grabbed by giant hands 493 00:26:07,880 --> 00:26:11,040 Speaker 1: or eaten by giant cats. Then we have the character 494 00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:14,000 Speaker 1: of doctor Bullfinch played by Charles Halton who lived eighteen 495 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:16,800 Speaker 1: seventy six through nineteen fifty nine. Actor of stage and film. 496 00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:19,359 Speaker 1: I would say he has a little more to do 497 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:22,760 Speaker 1: in this. He's actually pretty funny because he's this stuck 498 00:26:22,840 --> 00:26:25,880 Speaker 1: up professor through and through, even after he's been reduced 499 00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:28,480 Speaker 1: to a tiny human wearing a handkerchief toga. 500 00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:31,280 Speaker 3: Yeah. He refuses a lot of things in the movie, 501 00:26:31,280 --> 00:26:34,000 Speaker 3: like he's constantly being told to do things and saying like. 502 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:39,800 Speaker 1: I refuse yes on scientific grounds, doctor Thorkel. I absolutely, yeah, 503 00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:43,520 Speaker 1: that kind of thing. Yea, let's see. Then we have 504 00:26:44,119 --> 00:26:48,120 Speaker 1: the character of Steve Baker played by Victor Chillian who 505 00:26:48,119 --> 00:26:50,560 Speaker 1: lived eighteen ninety one through nineteen seventy nine. He was 506 00:26:50,600 --> 00:26:53,080 Speaker 1: in films like Only Angels Have Wings and the ox 507 00:26:53,119 --> 00:26:56,840 Speaker 1: Bow Incident. He wound up blacklisted from Hollywood, presumably for 508 00:26:57,040 --> 00:26:59,639 Speaker 1: political beliefs, but he ended up doing a lot of 509 00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:02,640 Speaker 1: TV and stage work instead after that. And I mean 510 00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:04,920 Speaker 1: he's all right in this. He's also it's a very 511 00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:07,800 Speaker 1: typical type of performance and role for this time period. 512 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:11,040 Speaker 3: He's the mule guy. He's all about the mules. 513 00:27:11,320 --> 00:27:15,879 Speaker 1: Yeah, all right. Next, we have an actor by the 514 00:27:15,960 --> 00:27:21,480 Speaker 1: name of Frank Jacanelli who plays the character Pedro. So 515 00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:24,520 Speaker 1: this guy lived eighteen ninety eight through nineteen sixty five. 516 00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:27,040 Speaker 1: He was an Italian born World War One vet who 517 00:27:27,040 --> 00:27:30,320 Speaker 1: became a natralized US citizen, and he was a vaudeville 518 00:27:30,400 --> 00:27:34,800 Speaker 1: performer later a USO tour manager. He played a lot 519 00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:37,000 Speaker 1: of Italian characters, as one might admit, but he also 520 00:27:37,400 --> 00:27:41,160 Speaker 1: expect rather but he also seemed to have a lot 521 00:27:41,200 --> 00:27:45,600 Speaker 1: of roles in films playing stereotypical Mexican characters. And in 522 00:27:45,640 --> 00:27:48,320 Speaker 1: this film he plays Pedro, which is very much a 523 00:27:48,359 --> 00:27:49,959 Speaker 1: goofy stereotype character. 524 00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:52,760 Speaker 3: Yeah, they don't say what nationality Pedro is supposed to be, 525 00:27:52,760 --> 00:27:55,880 Speaker 3: but he is playing a Latin American character. Pedro who 526 00:27:55,960 --> 00:27:58,320 Speaker 3: at least definitely in the first half of the movie 527 00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:02,200 Speaker 3: movie as the butt some jokes yeah about like trying 528 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:04,880 Speaker 3: to find his lost horse, which has actually been shrunken 529 00:28:04,960 --> 00:28:05,680 Speaker 3: with a shrink ray. 530 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:10,000 Speaker 1: Yeah. So you know, this was a you know, a 531 00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:14,320 Speaker 1: casting situation that definitely made me sigh a bit. But 532 00:28:15,080 --> 00:28:17,520 Speaker 1: if you want to know more about the Yack and Ellie. 533 00:28:17,640 --> 00:28:21,680 Speaker 1: I did find a page on Bewesterns dot com like 534 00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:25,119 Speaker 1: bee Hyphenwesterns dot com that that has like seems to 535 00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:27,480 Speaker 1: be the only place I could find online, Like you 536 00:28:27,520 --> 00:28:30,199 Speaker 1: can only find much of a biography of him on IMDb, 537 00:28:30,240 --> 00:28:32,480 Speaker 1: but this site gets a little more into like his 538 00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:35,040 Speaker 1: what kind of audeville acts he was involved in, and 539 00:28:35,080 --> 00:28:37,280 Speaker 1: he did seem to kind of make a career in 540 00:28:37,320 --> 00:28:41,880 Speaker 1: places out of playing a Mexican stereotype, and certainly that's 541 00:28:41,920 --> 00:28:44,640 Speaker 1: what more or less he's doing in this film. Now, 542 00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:50,360 Speaker 1: another interesting character that is involved in this film ultimately uncredited, 543 00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:53,040 Speaker 1: but there's a guy by the name of Charles Gemora 544 00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:56,360 Speaker 1: who lived nineteen oh three through nineteen sixty one, and 545 00:28:56,400 --> 00:29:00,440 Speaker 1: he's an uncredited makeup artist on this film. You familiar 546 00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:03,040 Speaker 1: with this guy before Joe Well. 547 00:29:02,880 --> 00:29:05,120 Speaker 3: I guess by his work, but not by name. 548 00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:07,720 Speaker 1: Okay, So he was born in the Philippines. He was 549 00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:10,720 Speaker 1: a Hollywood makeup artist who became known as the King 550 00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:14,720 Speaker 1: of the Gorilla Men. And it's interesting how this came to be, Like, 551 00:29:14,760 --> 00:29:17,760 Speaker 1: apparently he's a guy who would he would hang around 552 00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:20,280 Speaker 1: outside the studio and he would he would offer to 553 00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:22,520 Speaker 1: paint for you or draw for you, like he had 554 00:29:23,080 --> 00:29:25,160 Speaker 1: sort of an innate and I'm guessing kind of like 555 00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:29,000 Speaker 1: self taught artistic ability. And of course people eventually notice 556 00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:30,400 Speaker 1: this and they're like, Oh, bring this guy in, we 557 00:29:30,520 --> 00:29:33,680 Speaker 1: got some stuff to paint. Let's get him going. And 558 00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:36,240 Speaker 1: and I guess he was up for anything. And at 559 00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:39,000 Speaker 1: one point in one of these films, they busted out 560 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:41,600 Speaker 1: a gorilla suit and he's like, Hey, that should be me. 561 00:29:42,200 --> 00:29:44,240 Speaker 1: I'm the right just the right height. I've got the 562 00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:47,800 Speaker 1: physicality to carry this heavy suit. Let me get in there. 563 00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:51,280 Speaker 1: And so that's what he did. And aside to doing 564 00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:52,920 Speaker 1: a lot of he did a lot of monster makeup 565 00:29:52,960 --> 00:29:55,520 Speaker 1: in other films. But he had and he has sixty 566 00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:59,680 Speaker 1: makeup credits on IMDb, but he also has sixty acting credits, 567 00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:04,080 Speaker 1: most of which are playing gorillas wearing gorilla costumes. And 568 00:30:04,440 --> 00:30:06,320 Speaker 1: so if I do recommend looking him up because it's 569 00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:09,000 Speaker 1: kind of amazing, Like if there was a gorilla costume 570 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:11,680 Speaker 1: in a film, this was often the guy that was 571 00:30:11,760 --> 00:30:15,040 Speaker 1: wearing it. In addition to some you know, aliens here 572 00:30:15,080 --> 00:30:17,440 Speaker 1: and there, he definitely did some alien costumes and other 573 00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:20,880 Speaker 1: kind of like humanoid monster costumes. But his specialty was 574 00:30:20,920 --> 00:30:21,840 Speaker 1: the gorilla costume. 575 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:24,040 Speaker 3: Oh and I see what do you know? He's in 576 00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:27,040 Speaker 3: at least one adaptation of The Murders in the Room Morgue. 577 00:30:27,280 --> 00:30:30,800 Speaker 1: Yeah. In addition to being an actor and an artist, 578 00:30:31,000 --> 00:30:33,360 Speaker 1: he was also an inventor and he held, actually held 579 00:30:33,360 --> 00:30:35,800 Speaker 1: a couple of patents, including a I would look these 580 00:30:35,880 --> 00:30:39,320 Speaker 1: up on Google scholar, a sanitary pad holder, and a 581 00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:44,520 Speaker 1: tissue dispenser. Wow. Yeah, so interesting fella. Now again, he 582 00:30:44,600 --> 00:30:46,560 Speaker 1: was just a you know, makeup guy in this The 583 00:30:46,760 --> 00:30:50,960 Speaker 1: two main special effects names were of Farcio Edward and 584 00:30:51,080 --> 00:30:55,000 Speaker 1: Gordon Jennings. These were the two that were nominated for 585 00:30:55,080 --> 00:30:57,920 Speaker 1: an OSCAR for the special effects in this film for 586 00:30:57,960 --> 00:31:01,640 Speaker 1: the thirteenth Academy Awards. They ultimately lost to the Thief 587 00:31:01,640 --> 00:31:05,680 Speaker 1: of Bagdad. But these are some impressive special effects. Like 588 00:31:05,720 --> 00:31:09,520 Speaker 1: we said, they're impressive for their time. It's not the 589 00:31:09,560 --> 00:31:13,920 Speaker 1: first time that we see miniaturized humans or giant animals 590 00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:17,880 Speaker 1: in a film. Certainly Todd Browning's nineteen thirty six film 591 00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:22,080 Speaker 1: The Devil Doll predates it, but this film makes some 592 00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:26,320 Speaker 1: impressive use of supersized sets, giant hands, creative combinations of footage. 593 00:31:26,480 --> 00:31:29,160 Speaker 3: Yeah, the special effects in this film are really top notch. 594 00:31:29,360 --> 00:31:31,600 Speaker 3: I was trying to think of earlier examples of really 595 00:31:31,600 --> 00:31:35,760 Speaker 3: good looking special effects for miniaturized humans, and I recall 596 00:31:35,920 --> 00:31:37,720 Speaker 3: the main example I could think of there are the 597 00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:41,880 Speaker 3: excellent shrunken human effects in Bride of Frankenstein. Oh Yes, 598 00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:45,320 Speaker 3: by James Whale, which was released in nineteen thirty five. 599 00:31:45,880 --> 00:31:48,640 Speaker 3: Now you might remember in that movie when we first meet, 600 00:31:49,160 --> 00:31:52,560 Speaker 3: you could argue the villain of the film, Doctor Septimus Pretorius, 601 00:31:53,080 --> 00:31:56,360 Speaker 3: also just one of my favorite mad scientists in movies, 602 00:31:56,880 --> 00:32:00,680 Speaker 3: Doctor Thorkel and doctor Septimus Pretorious. They're really up there 603 00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:02,920 Speaker 3: in the canons of mad science in the first few 604 00:32:02,920 --> 00:32:05,640 Speaker 3: decades of studio motion pictures. 605 00:32:06,040 --> 00:32:10,120 Speaker 1: I love doctor Pretorius because in the Frankenstein film, Brider 606 00:32:10,160 --> 00:32:13,680 Speaker 1: Frankenstein's he's such a mad science enabler, you know. Yes, 607 00:32:13,800 --> 00:32:16,120 Speaker 1: Frankenstein is like, I can't do it anymore. I'm emotionally 608 00:32:16,160 --> 00:32:18,239 Speaker 1: rotted from that last film, and he's like, no, no, 609 00:32:18,560 --> 00:32:20,120 Speaker 1: we've got to get you back in there. We've got 610 00:32:20,120 --> 00:32:21,640 Speaker 1: to get you back in there. You can do it. 611 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:22,920 Speaker 1: Let's do some evil. 612 00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:27,200 Speaker 3: There's also a great part in Right at Frankenstein where 613 00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:31,160 Speaker 3: we see doctor Pretorius just going down into a crypt 614 00:32:31,840 --> 00:32:34,280 Speaker 3: just to have like a midnight snack. Like he goes 615 00:32:34,360 --> 00:32:37,240 Speaker 3: down into a crypt at night for a picnic. He 616 00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:40,000 Speaker 3: lays out a spread with like food and wine and 617 00:32:40,040 --> 00:32:42,520 Speaker 3: stuff on a big tombstone. It's wonderful. 618 00:32:42,720 --> 00:32:44,720 Speaker 1: Oh man, I forgot about that part. 619 00:32:45,320 --> 00:32:47,800 Speaker 3: Yeah, but I think it's like, right when we first 620 00:32:47,840 --> 00:32:50,360 Speaker 3: meet doctor Pretorius in the movie, I think, what is it. 621 00:32:50,800 --> 00:32:53,280 Speaker 3: Who is it who's playing doctor Frankenstein in the movie. 622 00:32:53,280 --> 00:32:54,120 Speaker 3: Is it Colin Clive. 623 00:32:54,360 --> 00:32:55,640 Speaker 1: Yes, that's Colin Clive. 624 00:32:55,720 --> 00:32:55,920 Speaker 4: Yeah. 625 00:32:55,920 --> 00:32:59,400 Speaker 3: So he's meeting with Colin Clive and he's like showing 626 00:32:59,440 --> 00:33:03,920 Speaker 3: off his latest work, which are these jars of homemade homunculi. 627 00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:07,560 Speaker 3: So he's got like tiny humans in jars, and I 628 00:33:07,560 --> 00:33:10,600 Speaker 3: think he has like a tiny king in one glass vial, 629 00:33:10,720 --> 00:33:14,160 Speaker 3: and a tiny queen and another. I don't really recall 630 00:33:14,240 --> 00:33:16,960 Speaker 3: this special effect relating to the plot much. Maybe I'm 631 00:33:17,000 --> 00:33:19,240 Speaker 3: forgetting how it connects, But no. 632 00:33:19,320 --> 00:33:21,440 Speaker 1: It doesn't really. It's just like, look at what I 633 00:33:21,480 --> 00:33:25,240 Speaker 1: can do. Yeah, I'm pretty great. You're great. Let's work 634 00:33:25,240 --> 00:33:28,440 Speaker 1: together and you will do great mad sciencey things. 635 00:33:28,600 --> 00:33:28,719 Speaker 2: Well. 636 00:33:28,760 --> 00:33:30,719 Speaker 3: Yeah, it seems like one of those things that I 637 00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:35,400 Speaker 3: suspect often happened in early Special effects driven movies like this, 638 00:33:35,480 --> 00:33:38,760 Speaker 3: which is that somebody had figured out how to do 639 00:33:38,960 --> 00:33:41,720 Speaker 3: a certain kind of effect in a way that looked good, 640 00:33:41,840 --> 00:33:44,040 Speaker 3: so you just find a way to work it into 641 00:33:44,040 --> 00:33:45,840 Speaker 3: the movie. It's like, well, we can do it, why 642 00:33:45,880 --> 00:33:50,760 Speaker 3: not do it? So let's get a homunculus in this movie. Yeah, 643 00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:53,360 Speaker 3: and I didn't look deep into it. But as a 644 00:33:53,360 --> 00:33:56,120 Speaker 3: side note, I think those homunculous effects in Bride of 645 00:33:56,160 --> 00:34:00,520 Speaker 3: Frankenstein were done by John Fulton and David Horseley. Uh, 646 00:34:00,560 --> 00:34:03,080 Speaker 3: and that was but it was done by like combining 647 00:34:03,240 --> 00:34:05,360 Speaker 3: different different shots, so you'd have a you know, a 648 00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:08,640 Speaker 3: shot of people inside full sized glass jars with a 649 00:34:08,640 --> 00:34:11,240 Speaker 3: certain kind of background, and then that was matted over 650 00:34:11,360 --> 00:34:15,080 Speaker 3: the full shot, you know, at normal distance, with with 651 00:34:15,200 --> 00:34:17,560 Speaker 3: the actors looking huge in comparison. 652 00:34:26,160 --> 00:34:28,319 Speaker 1: All right, well let's let's get into the plot of 653 00:34:28,400 --> 00:34:29,440 Speaker 1: Doctor Cyclops. 654 00:34:29,760 --> 00:34:31,600 Speaker 3: Okay, here's the full plot breakdown. 655 00:34:31,920 --> 00:34:32,080 Speaker 4: Uh. 656 00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:34,520 Speaker 3: You know, we always have to comment on the opening credits, 657 00:34:34,680 --> 00:34:38,279 Speaker 3: and this movie also has excellent opening credits. Like a 658 00:34:38,360 --> 00:34:42,360 Speaker 3: lot of the weird older movies we have watched. I 659 00:34:42,400 --> 00:34:46,720 Speaker 3: feel like opening credits used to be really cool for 660 00:34:46,719 --> 00:34:49,719 Speaker 3: for weird sci fi movies, and then they they got 661 00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:52,560 Speaker 3: kind of whatever. You know, it'd just be some like 662 00:34:52,640 --> 00:34:55,640 Speaker 3: words on a starfield background for a few decades, and 663 00:34:55,680 --> 00:34:58,440 Speaker 3: then they just started doing away with opening credits altogether. 664 00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:01,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, but for for while, certainly in this age, it 665 00:35:01,200 --> 00:35:03,720 Speaker 1: feels like the opening credits were treated like the poster, 666 00:35:04,200 --> 00:35:07,160 Speaker 1: you know, as if you might be walking by the 667 00:35:07,520 --> 00:35:10,520 Speaker 1: projection screen and deciding whether you're going to stop and 668 00:35:10,560 --> 00:35:12,680 Speaker 1: finish watching. I mean, that's the ultimate weird. I guess 669 00:35:12,680 --> 00:35:15,400 Speaker 1: you get in the audience revved up, but it's like 670 00:35:15,400 --> 00:35:17,800 Speaker 1: they've already paid their money, they're already in the seat. 671 00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:21,239 Speaker 1: They're clearly they're not going to walk out yet, but 672 00:35:21,480 --> 00:35:24,239 Speaker 1: I guess it's about just preparing them for what's to come. 673 00:35:24,719 --> 00:35:27,799 Speaker 3: Well, there's actually a kind of visual continuity from the 674 00:35:27,840 --> 00:35:30,520 Speaker 3: opening credits to the opening scene in this movie, because 675 00:35:30,640 --> 00:35:33,680 Speaker 3: you've got While the credits are rolling, there is this 676 00:35:33,800 --> 00:35:37,879 Speaker 3: flickering light effect that creates a kind of auroral unease 677 00:35:38,400 --> 00:35:40,759 Speaker 3: that is then replicated again once you get to the 678 00:35:40,760 --> 00:35:44,840 Speaker 3: opening scene. It's like the same shimmering, flickering light effect 679 00:35:44,960 --> 00:35:48,680 Speaker 3: carries over into the scene of a bal deman in 680 00:35:48,760 --> 00:35:52,520 Speaker 3: welding goggles who is leaning over a table examining a 681 00:35:52,560 --> 00:35:56,080 Speaker 3: fluorescent green tube in a room lit by the shimmering 682 00:35:56,120 --> 00:36:00,279 Speaker 3: green light. And of course this is doctor Thorkel, and 683 00:36:00,360 --> 00:36:03,799 Speaker 3: the movie gets right to it because his colleague Mendoza 684 00:36:04,040 --> 00:36:06,480 Speaker 3: enters the room, and of course, I my brain every 685 00:36:06,560 --> 00:36:09,400 Speaker 3: time somebody said Mendoza, my brain kept going to the Simpsons. 686 00:36:10,480 --> 00:36:14,080 Speaker 3: But his colleague Mendoza enters the room and he says 687 00:36:14,120 --> 00:36:17,040 Speaker 3: to doctor Thorkel, how much longer will you struggle before 688 00:36:17,080 --> 00:36:20,320 Speaker 3: you realize you can't do it? And thor Kel says, 689 00:36:20,480 --> 00:36:23,560 Speaker 3: no longer, my dear Mendoza, because I have done it. 690 00:36:23,840 --> 00:36:27,400 Speaker 3: Look for yourself. So, you know, they examine what it 691 00:36:27,480 --> 00:36:30,880 Speaker 3: is that Thorkel has been looking at, and Mendoza is aghast. 692 00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:35,000 Speaker 3: He has shaken. Thorkel says, there should be sufficient radium 693 00:36:35,040 --> 00:36:37,600 Speaker 3: to tear it to shreds, and yet it's still alive. 694 00:36:38,320 --> 00:36:40,640 Speaker 3: And we don't know what they're talking about, but Mendoza 695 00:36:40,719 --> 00:36:45,080 Speaker 3: is horrified. He's terrified of the power of whatever they've discovered, 696 00:36:45,400 --> 00:36:47,680 Speaker 3: and he says he starts saying like you must destroy 697 00:36:47,760 --> 00:36:50,680 Speaker 3: your slides, you must burn your notes, and then we 698 00:36:50,719 --> 00:36:56,440 Speaker 3: get some classic backstory through utterly implausible dialogue. You know, 699 00:36:56,480 --> 00:36:59,360 Speaker 3: when somebody says something to another character that that person 700 00:36:59,440 --> 00:37:02,759 Speaker 3: would have no occasion to say to them, just obviously 701 00:37:02,800 --> 00:37:06,000 Speaker 3: for the benefit of the audience. So Mendoza says, when 702 00:37:06,040 --> 00:37:09,840 Speaker 3: I discovered this gigantic radium deposit, I first thought of you, 703 00:37:10,080 --> 00:37:15,040 Speaker 3: doctor Thorkel, my teacher of Doctor Thorkel, the great biologist. 704 00:37:15,320 --> 00:37:17,799 Speaker 3: I sent for you to counsel me. I began to 705 00:37:17,840 --> 00:37:21,560 Speaker 3: imagine here in the jungle, the Thorkell Institute, a palace 706 00:37:21,600 --> 00:37:24,400 Speaker 3: of healing to which all might come. And it was 707 00:37:24,520 --> 00:37:27,160 Speaker 3: very much like Grandpa Seth has been dead for three 708 00:37:27,200 --> 00:37:29,399 Speaker 3: weeks now, and it's been hard on all of us, 709 00:37:29,440 --> 00:37:30,960 Speaker 3: including me his daughter. 710 00:37:31,560 --> 00:37:34,520 Speaker 1: That is correct Joe, my podcast partner who has podcasted 711 00:37:34,520 --> 00:37:35,479 Speaker 1: with me for many years. 712 00:37:35,480 --> 00:37:42,000 Speaker 3: At this point, but Thorkel is immediately dismissive of Mendoza's concerns. 713 00:37:42,040 --> 00:37:44,600 Speaker 3: He's like, you know, bah, we now have the very 714 00:37:44,640 --> 00:37:47,960 Speaker 3: cosmic force of creation itself. We can shape life like clay. 715 00:37:48,760 --> 00:37:52,800 Speaker 3: And then Mendoza again with the classic sci fi movie line. 716 00:37:53,080 --> 00:37:56,360 Speaker 3: He says, you are tampering with powers reserve to God, 717 00:37:56,760 --> 00:38:00,200 Speaker 3: which is almost verbatim the last line of Bride to 718 00:38:00,239 --> 00:38:01,600 Speaker 3: the Monster by ed Wood. 719 00:38:01,800 --> 00:38:03,920 Speaker 1: You remember that part, Yeah, yeah, I think so. 720 00:38:04,160 --> 00:38:08,799 Speaker 3: The movie with Bella Legosi and Tor Johnson. And at 721 00:38:08,840 --> 00:38:12,279 Speaker 3: the end of the movie, Bella's mansion explodes. I don't 722 00:38:12,280 --> 00:38:16,239 Speaker 3: remember why. There's a giant octopus attack and the mansion explodes, 723 00:38:16,640 --> 00:38:19,200 Speaker 3: and then a guy just kind of soberly looks at 724 00:38:19,200 --> 00:38:22,080 Speaker 3: the camera and says he tampered in God's domain. 725 00:38:24,160 --> 00:38:26,360 Speaker 1: So Mendoza is like, we shouldn't tamper in God's domain. 726 00:38:26,440 --> 00:38:29,520 Speaker 1: But doctor Thorkel was like, yeah, that's what we're doing, 727 00:38:29,680 --> 00:38:30,600 Speaker 1: and we're gonna do it. 728 00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:34,440 Speaker 3: He literally says, he says, like, you're tampering with powers 729 00:38:34,440 --> 00:38:36,800 Speaker 3: were served to God. And Thorkel says, that is good. 730 00:38:37,120 --> 00:38:41,000 Speaker 3: That is just what I am doing. And so Mendoza 731 00:38:41,120 --> 00:38:43,959 Speaker 3: tries to forbid it, but Thorkel he's tasted the God 732 00:38:44,040 --> 00:38:46,520 Speaker 3: power now and there's no going back, so it is 733 00:38:46,600 --> 00:38:50,080 Speaker 3: time to murder. And the Mendoza murder is a very 734 00:38:50,120 --> 00:38:54,799 Speaker 3: cool scene. I thought. Thorkel shoves Mendoza's head through this 735 00:38:54,960 --> 00:38:58,359 Speaker 3: radioactive green tube he's been looking at, and then there's 736 00:38:58,360 --> 00:39:03,080 Speaker 3: a photographic effect where Mendoza's face is just gradually layered 737 00:39:03,280 --> 00:39:04,800 Speaker 3: over by skull paint. 738 00:39:05,239 --> 00:39:08,359 Speaker 1: I liked that. It's a weird scene. Apparently this one 739 00:39:08,400 --> 00:39:12,279 Speaker 1: was removed from some TV airings of the film, so 740 00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:13,799 Speaker 1: I don't know if they found it like maybe it 741 00:39:13,840 --> 00:39:16,680 Speaker 1: was for time or it was just considered too graphic. 742 00:39:16,719 --> 00:39:18,880 Speaker 1: There is a like a severity to it, like it 743 00:39:19,200 --> 00:39:24,080 Speaker 1: firmly establishes doctor Thorkel as a guy who will murder, 744 00:39:25,480 --> 00:39:27,600 Speaker 1: you know, for for his science. And we'll really not 745 00:39:27,680 --> 00:39:29,600 Speaker 1: think twice about It's not like there was a struggle 746 00:39:29,719 --> 00:39:31,600 Speaker 1: or some sort of accidents. It wasn't one of those 747 00:39:31,800 --> 00:39:34,880 Speaker 1: situations where oh, I've stumbled into murder and now this 748 00:39:34,960 --> 00:39:37,080 Speaker 1: is who I am. He's like, got to kill you now, 749 00:39:37,120 --> 00:39:38,279 Speaker 1: and he does it right. 750 00:39:39,040 --> 00:39:41,240 Speaker 3: So next we cut to some guys in a fancy 751 00:39:41,320 --> 00:39:43,800 Speaker 3: study and it's it's a room that sort of reminds 752 00:39:43,840 --> 00:39:47,200 Speaker 3: me of M's office in the Sean Connery James Bond movies. 753 00:39:47,400 --> 00:39:50,440 Speaker 3: But weirdly, despite what you might assume about the sort 754 00:39:50,480 --> 00:39:54,320 Speaker 3: of pipe tobacco drabness of such an environment, the first 755 00:39:54,360 --> 00:39:57,720 Speaker 3: thing I couldn't ignore was how much the colors drip 756 00:39:58,520 --> 00:40:00,840 Speaker 3: just in this scene in a study, because the opening 757 00:40:00,880 --> 00:40:04,640 Speaker 3: scene is very much shimmering green and black. It's actually 758 00:40:04,719 --> 00:40:07,400 Speaker 3: sort of closer to the look of the two color 759 00:40:07,440 --> 00:40:10,440 Speaker 3: technicolor range in Doctor X, which we watched for a 760 00:40:10,480 --> 00:40:13,400 Speaker 3: previous episode. Remember how that whole movie was very had 761 00:40:13,400 --> 00:40:16,880 Speaker 3: a kind of diseased green and orange palette without the 762 00:40:17,200 --> 00:40:20,920 Speaker 3: full range of full color Technicolor. This has all the colors. 763 00:40:20,960 --> 00:40:23,760 Speaker 3: Now now that we're in the office and the greens, 764 00:40:23,880 --> 00:40:27,080 Speaker 3: the reds, blue, and orange, the color is almost violent 765 00:40:27,160 --> 00:40:31,120 Speaker 3: and it is really beautiful. It pops. But anyway, so 766 00:40:31,160 --> 00:40:34,160 Speaker 3: we're in the study now and these two stuffy old 767 00:40:34,200 --> 00:40:38,560 Speaker 3: guys are discussing attempts by Thorkel to recruit them by 768 00:40:38,640 --> 00:40:42,120 Speaker 3: mail for research at his remote institute and the Amazon 769 00:40:42,120 --> 00:40:44,160 Speaker 3: I think it's supposed to be in Peru. And this 770 00:40:44,200 --> 00:40:46,719 Speaker 3: is doctor Bullfinch we're meeting. He's one of these two 771 00:40:46,800 --> 00:40:49,799 Speaker 3: guys here, and they're discussing the pros and cons of 772 00:40:49,880 --> 00:40:53,960 Speaker 3: joining doctor Thorkel's jungle institute. Pros are that he is 773 00:40:54,040 --> 00:40:57,000 Speaker 3: the greatest living biologist, so be good to work with him. 774 00:40:57,400 --> 00:41:01,520 Speaker 3: Cons are at he's a strange man, secretive about his experiments. 775 00:41:02,320 --> 00:41:05,040 Speaker 3: You already get the impression that these guys suspect he 776 00:41:05,080 --> 00:41:09,520 Speaker 3: may kill them. Uh, And I love the strong vibe 777 00:41:09,520 --> 00:41:11,480 Speaker 3: from the very beginning that this is going to be 778 00:41:11,560 --> 00:41:14,520 Speaker 3: like the fire Festival of scientific research. It's just like 779 00:41:14,680 --> 00:41:18,120 Speaker 3: lure everybody to a remote location and then just watch 780 00:41:18,160 --> 00:41:19,000 Speaker 3: it all go to hell. 781 00:41:19,400 --> 00:41:21,799 Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, Like it's it's pretty obvious where this is, 782 00:41:21,920 --> 00:41:24,600 Speaker 1: at least in general, where this is going, Like mad 783 00:41:24,640 --> 00:41:27,000 Speaker 1: scientist is up to bad stuff in the middle of nowhere, 784 00:41:27,040 --> 00:41:30,480 Speaker 1: where where there is no law but his own. Let's go, 785 00:41:30,640 --> 00:41:32,480 Speaker 1: let's go hang out with him and see what happens. 786 00:41:32,760 --> 00:41:35,319 Speaker 3: Yeah, and then there's a sort of recruiting montage. 787 00:41:35,560 --> 00:41:38,520 Speaker 1: These scenes are they're brief, there's not much to them. Yeah, 788 00:41:38,600 --> 00:41:41,799 Speaker 1: it's kind of like, hey, if you paid your hotel bill, no, 789 00:41:42,080 --> 00:41:44,439 Speaker 1: well better join up with us then, right. 790 00:41:44,480 --> 00:41:46,600 Speaker 3: So we get doctor Bullfinch and then we get doctor 791 00:41:46,640 --> 00:41:49,879 Speaker 3: Mary Robinson who's writing a letter saying she's joining the team. 792 00:41:50,440 --> 00:41:54,560 Speaker 3: I think letter, Yeah, I think the letter says something 793 00:41:54,719 --> 00:42:00,319 Speaker 3: like should should be no problem or something. And then 794 00:42:00,320 --> 00:42:03,320 Speaker 3: we see the recruitment of a good for nothing, deadbeat 795 00:42:03,400 --> 00:42:07,560 Speaker 3: geologist named doctor Bill Stockton. This is the guy played 796 00:42:07,560 --> 00:42:10,239 Speaker 3: by Thomas Coley, and he has pulled in on the 797 00:42:10,280 --> 00:42:14,279 Speaker 3: promise of having his mini IOUs remitted. So when we 798 00:42:14,360 --> 00:42:18,080 Speaker 3: meet him, he's lounging in a patio recliner and I 799 00:42:18,120 --> 00:42:20,520 Speaker 3: don't know if you noticed this did you notice that 800 00:42:20,560 --> 00:42:22,760 Speaker 3: there are just in at least one of these shots, 801 00:42:22,800 --> 00:42:26,040 Speaker 3: there are bugs crawling all over his lap. 802 00:42:26,640 --> 00:42:27,840 Speaker 1: No, I did not notice that. 803 00:42:28,320 --> 00:42:30,879 Speaker 3: I mean, it's easy to miss. It goes by pretty quick, 804 00:42:30,880 --> 00:42:32,520 Speaker 3: and I don't think it's supposed to be like that. 805 00:42:32,640 --> 00:42:34,439 Speaker 3: I think it's just something that happened to get caught 806 00:42:34,480 --> 00:42:36,520 Speaker 3: by the camera. But in one of the shots there 807 00:42:36,520 --> 00:42:40,360 Speaker 3: are at least three flies simultaneously. A couple are on 808 00:42:40,440 --> 00:42:42,759 Speaker 3: his belt buckle, ones kind of to the side of 809 00:42:42,800 --> 00:42:45,480 Speaker 3: his crotch. And it makes me wonder, like, what did 810 00:42:45,480 --> 00:42:48,200 Speaker 3: he spill sugar water and his lap or something in 811 00:42:48,239 --> 00:42:49,040 Speaker 3: an earlier take. 812 00:42:49,960 --> 00:42:52,000 Speaker 1: I don't know. I mean, is he suretless in the scene? 813 00:42:52,400 --> 00:42:53,880 Speaker 3: No? No, no, no, he's got a shirt on. 814 00:42:53,960 --> 00:42:55,799 Speaker 1: Yeah, okay. I was thinking maybe they oiled him up 815 00:42:55,800 --> 00:42:58,759 Speaker 1: a bit, you know. Okay, but who knows. 816 00:42:59,400 --> 00:43:02,480 Speaker 3: But yeah, they're recruiting him because I think there was 817 00:43:02,520 --> 00:43:06,240 Speaker 3: supposed to be another mineralogist or geologist and that person 818 00:43:06,320 --> 00:43:09,000 Speaker 3: fell through, So now they're trying to get the deadbeat guy. 819 00:43:09,040 --> 00:43:11,560 Speaker 3: But he's a handsome dead beat. And then finally they're 820 00:43:11,600 --> 00:43:15,120 Speaker 3: out in the field in Peru and Bullfinch, Robinson and 821 00:43:15,200 --> 00:43:20,200 Speaker 3: Stockton recruit a minor slash mule wrangler named Steve who 822 00:43:20,280 --> 00:43:22,480 Speaker 3: has a lot of mule thoughts and he wants to 823 00:43:22,480 --> 00:43:26,040 Speaker 3: get rich. And there's a mule haglin scene between Bullfinch 824 00:43:26,080 --> 00:43:28,480 Speaker 3: and Steve, which is pretty funny. Steve's like, you can't 825 00:43:28,480 --> 00:43:31,120 Speaker 3: have the mules. I need him for something, and then 826 00:43:31,160 --> 00:43:33,799 Speaker 3: all these eggheads are like, but doctor Thorkel is the 827 00:43:33,840 --> 00:43:38,320 Speaker 3: greatest living authority on organic molecular structure, and the muleman 828 00:43:38,440 --> 00:43:40,560 Speaker 3: is not very impressed. But eventually they get him to 829 00:43:40,600 --> 00:43:44,200 Speaker 3: go along by promising him riches and saying that he 830 00:43:44,280 --> 00:43:46,960 Speaker 3: can come with them to I guess make sure the 831 00:43:47,040 --> 00:43:48,880 Speaker 3: mules are okay, yeah. 832 00:43:48,680 --> 00:43:52,480 Speaker 1: It's it didn't make tremendous amount of sense, but okay, 833 00:43:52,480 --> 00:43:53,080 Speaker 1: he's coming. 834 00:43:52,920 --> 00:43:55,879 Speaker 3: Along, right, So they journey through the jungle. They arrive 835 00:43:55,920 --> 00:44:01,080 Speaker 3: at doctor Thorkell's compound Thorkel's assistant Pedro to inform him 836 00:44:01,160 --> 00:44:05,440 Speaker 3: that they've arrived, and when Thorkel is interrupted, I just 837 00:44:05,480 --> 00:44:08,560 Speaker 3: want to say he's wearing an awesome helmet slash suit. 838 00:44:09,239 --> 00:44:11,560 Speaker 3: Rabbi attached a picture I found of the helmet for 839 00:44:11,600 --> 00:44:12,120 Speaker 3: you to look at. 840 00:44:12,120 --> 00:44:12,319 Speaker 4: Here. 841 00:44:12,400 --> 00:44:16,000 Speaker 3: It is it's just like it's just like a can, 842 00:44:16,200 --> 00:44:19,479 Speaker 3: just like a straight up thick can with two eye 843 00:44:19,560 --> 00:44:23,120 Speaker 3: holes surrounded by glass and then a kind of rounded top. 844 00:44:23,440 --> 00:44:26,160 Speaker 3: It's not very elaborate, but it looks great. 845 00:44:26,480 --> 00:44:28,319 Speaker 1: Yeah, it looks kind of I mean, it reminds me 846 00:44:28,360 --> 00:44:31,200 Speaker 1: a lot of some of the stock rocketmen and robot 847 00:44:31,320 --> 00:44:34,239 Speaker 1: costumes of the of the day. You know. It looks 848 00:44:34,239 --> 00:44:36,080 Speaker 1: a little bit like a medieval night as well. 849 00:44:36,360 --> 00:44:38,560 Speaker 3: Oh, it's kind of the night guarding the bridge and 850 00:44:38,680 --> 00:44:40,080 Speaker 3: Monty Python and the Holy Grail. 851 00:44:41,000 --> 00:44:41,239 Speaker 1: Yep. 852 00:44:41,600 --> 00:44:43,840 Speaker 3: And so they get there and they all meet doctor Thorkel, 853 00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:47,360 Speaker 3: and Doctor Thorkel is a creep from the first minute. 854 00:44:47,400 --> 00:44:50,120 Speaker 3: They do not like ease into it. He's got the 855 00:44:50,200 --> 00:44:53,920 Speaker 3: unholy combo of a huge head with tiny glasses, and 856 00:44:54,280 --> 00:44:58,040 Speaker 3: he's he's huge in general. But it's just this like large, 857 00:44:58,080 --> 00:45:01,240 Speaker 3: bulky bald man grabbing people by the arm and moving 858 00:45:01,280 --> 00:45:04,239 Speaker 3: them around and saying like, I'm so glad you've come. 859 00:45:04,320 --> 00:45:06,480 Speaker 3: He might as well be saying, you know what lovely 860 00:45:06,600 --> 00:45:09,920 Speaker 3: cells you're made out of. And so we find out 861 00:45:09,960 --> 00:45:12,839 Speaker 3: that doctor Thorkel sent for the assistance of the other 862 00:45:12,920 --> 00:45:16,600 Speaker 3: scientists because of damage to his eyes. The damage to 863 00:45:16,640 --> 00:45:20,239 Speaker 3: his eyes no longer allows him to use the microscope, 864 00:45:20,640 --> 00:45:23,200 Speaker 3: but I was wondering, Wait a minute, then, if that's 865 00:45:23,239 --> 00:45:26,359 Speaker 3: the only problem, why did he send for three different scientists? 866 00:45:26,360 --> 00:45:29,680 Speaker 3: Then it almost seems like the implication is that doctor 867 00:45:29,719 --> 00:45:32,680 Speaker 3: Thorkel thinks that if he had fully functioning eyes, he 868 00:45:32,719 --> 00:45:34,920 Speaker 3: would be worth four scientists put together. 869 00:45:36,280 --> 00:45:39,239 Speaker 1: Yeah, that makes sense, or you know, or maybe it's 870 00:45:39,280 --> 00:45:43,200 Speaker 1: it's he doesn't expect all of them to live that long. 871 00:45:43,280 --> 00:45:45,920 Speaker 1: You know, it needs multiple sets of spare eyes. 872 00:45:46,480 --> 00:45:49,080 Speaker 3: Well, this is weird because so here's a question I have. 873 00:45:49,239 --> 00:45:52,440 Speaker 3: He is a creep from the beginning, but the movie 874 00:45:52,480 --> 00:45:55,280 Speaker 3: does not suggest that he planned to kill them all along. 875 00:45:55,480 --> 00:45:58,680 Speaker 3: Like the fact that he kills them does genuinely seem 876 00:45:58,719 --> 00:46:01,880 Speaker 3: to be an unexpect to development for him. He kills 877 00:46:01,920 --> 00:46:04,560 Speaker 3: them because they discover his secrets. 878 00:46:04,640 --> 00:46:08,400 Speaker 1: Basically, yeah, yeah, I mean, I guess he what he 879 00:46:08,560 --> 00:46:10,440 Speaker 1: I think, has revealed that he he sort of needed 880 00:46:10,640 --> 00:46:15,040 Speaker 1: a mineralist, a mineral specialist, uh to uh, to weigh 881 00:46:15,120 --> 00:46:17,520 Speaker 1: in on some of his work. He needed somebody with 882 00:46:17,560 --> 00:46:21,680 Speaker 1: a bio biology background. But I don't know about the professor, 883 00:46:21,719 --> 00:46:23,600 Speaker 1: did he I mean just sort of brought him into 884 00:46:24,360 --> 00:46:27,359 Speaker 1: to boast to him about like maybe part of it 885 00:46:27,400 --> 00:46:30,560 Speaker 1: is like ultimately he needs an audience, like he's he's 886 00:46:30,600 --> 00:46:33,799 Speaker 1: doing amazing thing. So yes, I need I need a 887 00:46:33,840 --> 00:46:36,640 Speaker 1: basically a team of judges to come here and tell 888 00:46:36,680 --> 00:46:37,520 Speaker 1: me how great I am. 889 00:46:37,719 --> 00:46:39,960 Speaker 3: I think we're sort of rewriting the script as we go. 890 00:46:40,040 --> 00:46:42,440 Speaker 3: But that's I think you're onto something there that that 891 00:46:42,560 --> 00:46:45,440 Speaker 3: is part of it. Like he as a megalomaniac, he 892 00:46:45,520 --> 00:46:47,719 Speaker 3: needs people to witness his greatness. 893 00:46:48,040 --> 00:46:50,840 Speaker 1: Yeah, so that that's one of the downsides to working 894 00:46:50,840 --> 00:46:53,600 Speaker 1: out in the jungle, is that in the jungie is 895 00:46:53,600 --> 00:46:56,799 Speaker 1: you occasionally have to bring people in to recognize your greatness. 896 00:46:57,040 --> 00:46:59,840 Speaker 3: Right, And so they're there and they recognize his greatness, 897 00:46:59,840 --> 00:47:02,239 Speaker 3: but he wants them to get right to work. So 898 00:47:02,320 --> 00:47:04,359 Speaker 3: he has them look at some stuff in a microscope 899 00:47:04,760 --> 00:47:08,560 Speaker 3: and Stockton, the deadbeat hunk, he sees some iron crystals 900 00:47:08,640 --> 00:47:11,440 Speaker 3: under the microscope. This is like minutes after they've arrived, 901 00:47:11,960 --> 00:47:15,120 Speaker 3: and he says, yes, it's iron crystals in the microscope. 902 00:47:15,400 --> 00:47:18,440 Speaker 3: And doctor Thorkel is like, ah, eureka, Okay, that's it. 903 00:47:18,480 --> 00:47:22,600 Speaker 3: Well I'm done with you guys now. But Bullfinch, which 904 00:47:22,719 --> 00:47:25,920 Speaker 3: is funny, I mean very funny, Bullfinch is mad. He 905 00:47:25,960 --> 00:47:29,239 Speaker 3: immediately gets super indignant and starts yelling and he's like, 906 00:47:29,280 --> 00:47:33,920 Speaker 3: you can't do this to us. At one point, Bullfinch 907 00:47:34,000 --> 00:47:36,279 Speaker 3: is like, are you are you intimating that you brought 908 00:47:36,320 --> 00:47:39,400 Speaker 3: us here just for five minutes of work? And Thorkel 909 00:47:39,560 --> 00:47:42,240 Speaker 3: is like, I am not intimating. I am merely stating 910 00:47:42,280 --> 00:47:46,600 Speaker 3: a fact. Which that's man. That's one of my favorite 911 00:47:46,600 --> 00:47:50,040 Speaker 3: types of statements in English, the like I'm merely stating 912 00:47:50,040 --> 00:47:52,719 Speaker 3: a fact like that wasn't a threat, it was a promise. 913 00:47:53,480 --> 00:47:57,279 Speaker 3: I'm not suggesting anything. I'm merely stating a fact. I 914 00:47:57,320 --> 00:47:59,120 Speaker 3: wonder when was the first instance of that. 915 00:48:00,160 --> 00:48:03,040 Speaker 1: I don't know, but yeah, this seems like at least 916 00:48:03,080 --> 00:48:05,160 Speaker 1: an early variation on the theme. 917 00:48:05,440 --> 00:48:08,319 Speaker 3: But anyway, Bullfinch and Robinson they are mad and they 918 00:48:08,320 --> 00:48:10,520 Speaker 3: want to know what it is that that Thorp is 919 00:48:10,560 --> 00:48:14,360 Speaker 3: working on before they leave. Steve the mule guy, he 920 00:48:14,440 --> 00:48:16,759 Speaker 3: thinks he knows. He thinks the answer is that there 921 00:48:16,840 --> 00:48:19,719 Speaker 3: is a mind full of precious ore somewhere around here. 922 00:48:20,480 --> 00:48:22,799 Speaker 3: Stockton doesn't seem to care much. It seems like he's 923 00:48:22,840 --> 00:48:25,239 Speaker 3: fine to just like get his bill settled and then leave. 924 00:48:25,800 --> 00:48:25,960 Speaker 1: You know. 925 00:48:26,000 --> 00:48:27,600 Speaker 3: All he wants to do is lay around in a 926 00:48:27,719 --> 00:48:28,600 Speaker 3: chair basically. 927 00:48:29,080 --> 00:48:30,759 Speaker 1: Yeah, but the other two It is kind of like 928 00:48:30,840 --> 00:48:33,200 Speaker 1: they thought they thought this was going to be Thorkel 929 00:48:33,320 --> 00:48:35,879 Speaker 1: at all. Yes, you know, they thought they were. 930 00:48:35,800 --> 00:48:38,400 Speaker 3: Going to go author credit, Yes exactly. 931 00:48:38,080 --> 00:48:41,239 Speaker 1: But no, there's only one author on Thorkel research, and 932 00:48:41,280 --> 00:48:42,360 Speaker 1: that's doctor Thorkel. 933 00:48:43,000 --> 00:48:45,080 Speaker 3: Now you might know more about this than me. I 934 00:48:45,160 --> 00:48:49,640 Speaker 3: was kind of curious about this movie's abundance of unflattering pants. 935 00:48:50,000 --> 00:48:53,520 Speaker 3: There are multiple characters wearing pants that have like big 936 00:48:53,680 --> 00:48:57,160 Speaker 3: saggy butt and thigh areas that sometimes make it look 937 00:48:57,200 --> 00:48:59,880 Speaker 3: like they're wearing like a weird sort of diaper or 938 00:49:00,120 --> 00:49:02,600 Speaker 3: just sort of just have a saggy butt in the pants. 939 00:49:02,840 --> 00:49:06,160 Speaker 3: Are these some specific kind of rugged outdoor pants of 940 00:49:06,200 --> 00:49:10,319 Speaker 3: the era, like the go into the Jungle pants. I 941 00:49:10,320 --> 00:49:11,640 Speaker 3: didn't know what the deal with this was. 942 00:49:12,239 --> 00:49:14,560 Speaker 1: I don't know. I just I just thought maybe that 943 00:49:14,640 --> 00:49:16,040 Speaker 1: was the style of the day. You know, he just 944 00:49:16,040 --> 00:49:19,760 Speaker 1: wore big balloony pants. But I could be wrong. Maybe 945 00:49:20,160 --> 00:49:21,960 Speaker 1: the pants experts out there can weigh in. 946 00:49:22,320 --> 00:49:22,440 Speaker 4: Well. 947 00:49:22,440 --> 00:49:25,399 Speaker 3: Anyway, Steve the mule guy goes out snooping at night 948 00:49:25,800 --> 00:49:28,440 Speaker 3: the day before Thorkell has told them they're supposed to leave. 949 00:49:28,600 --> 00:49:31,000 Speaker 3: Thorkell says you need to leave tomorrow, and so is 950 00:49:31,040 --> 00:49:33,399 Speaker 3: that night, and Steve goes out snooping around. I think 951 00:49:33,440 --> 00:49:37,280 Speaker 3: he wants to track down the mine. So while Thorkel 952 00:49:37,360 --> 00:49:41,720 Speaker 3: is inside wearing his crazy helmet and doing science works, 953 00:49:42,000 --> 00:49:44,560 Speaker 3: Steve is snooping around this big hole in the ground 954 00:49:44,640 --> 00:49:47,319 Speaker 3: that has a giant like rigging over it and with 955 00:49:47,360 --> 00:49:49,760 Speaker 3: some kind of rope dangling something down in the hole. 956 00:49:50,320 --> 00:49:53,160 Speaker 3: And then he's almost caught by Thorkell. Thorkell comes out 957 00:49:53,200 --> 00:49:56,920 Speaker 3: and Baker hides, and it is revealed that Thorkell is 958 00:49:56,960 --> 00:50:01,080 Speaker 3: operating some kind of awesome giant copper ill in the 959 00:50:01,160 --> 00:50:04,279 Speaker 3: Thorkel Super Deep borehole. He's like drilling down into the 960 00:50:04,320 --> 00:50:07,160 Speaker 3: earth and getting something out of the earth. I don't know. 961 00:50:07,719 --> 00:50:09,640 Speaker 3: I think maybe it's the radium samples. 962 00:50:10,440 --> 00:50:14,240 Speaker 1: Yeah, there's this. They don't talk about it that much, 963 00:50:14,280 --> 00:50:19,120 Speaker 1: but there's this sense that he's somehow absorbing radiation out 964 00:50:19,160 --> 00:50:24,520 Speaker 1: of the ground itself, you know, by lowering this probe 965 00:50:24,600 --> 00:50:28,200 Speaker 1: down into it. That's kind of the sense I was 966 00:50:28,239 --> 00:50:28,839 Speaker 1: getting from it. 967 00:50:29,239 --> 00:50:32,120 Speaker 3: Yeah, and then we see at some point Thorkel is 968 00:50:32,160 --> 00:50:34,960 Speaker 3: alone in his lab later and it reveals that he 969 00:50:35,040 --> 00:50:38,279 Speaker 3: has created a tiny pony. This is very much like 970 00:50:38,320 --> 00:50:43,760 Speaker 3: the Septimus Pretorious images so there is somehow they've superimposed 971 00:50:43,800 --> 00:50:47,880 Speaker 3: footage of a full sized pony kind of neighing and 972 00:50:47,920 --> 00:50:51,520 Speaker 3: clumping around, but they have matted that onto the shot 973 00:50:51,600 --> 00:50:54,160 Speaker 3: of Thorkel sitting at a table, and so it looks 974 00:50:54,200 --> 00:50:57,640 Speaker 3: like the pony is on the table and it looks great. Yeah, 975 00:50:57,680 --> 00:50:59,279 Speaker 3: but then later we check in. I guess this is 976 00:50:59,320 --> 00:51:03,200 Speaker 3: The next morning, Bullfinch is examining some pig remains that 977 00:51:03,280 --> 00:51:06,359 Speaker 3: he came across, and it claims he claims that he's 978 00:51:06,400 --> 00:51:08,919 Speaker 3: discovered a new species of pig that is only four 979 00:51:08,960 --> 00:51:12,279 Speaker 3: inches long at maturity. And Bullfinch tries to name the 980 00:51:12,320 --> 00:51:18,120 Speaker 3: species after himself, like you do, and then Thorkell rolls 981 00:51:18,200 --> 00:51:21,319 Speaker 3: up on them and he's immediately like, haha, you weak 982 00:51:21,360 --> 00:51:25,120 Speaker 3: minded fool, you think you've discovered a new pig. And 983 00:51:25,160 --> 00:51:28,480 Speaker 3: he said, I wrote down this quote. Strange how absorbed 984 00:51:28,560 --> 00:51:31,680 Speaker 3: man has always been in the size of things. 985 00:51:34,040 --> 00:51:36,040 Speaker 1: Because of course he knows what this is. This is 986 00:51:36,080 --> 00:51:38,160 Speaker 1: not a new species of pig. This is just a 987 00:51:38,200 --> 00:51:40,040 Speaker 1: normal pig that he shrank down. 988 00:51:40,520 --> 00:51:44,000 Speaker 3: He's been shrinking pigs for months. And they're all here amazed, 989 00:51:44,000 --> 00:51:47,080 Speaker 3: thinking they've discovered new species of pigs, and he's like, ah, 990 00:51:47,239 --> 00:51:50,480 Speaker 3: you idiots. You don't understand pig shrinking. I'll tell you 991 00:51:50,520 --> 00:51:55,840 Speaker 3: about pig shrinking. But Bullfinch retorts, he says that size 992 00:51:55,880 --> 00:51:58,880 Speaker 3: is the chief difference between mammals. I wrote down this 993 00:51:58,960 --> 00:52:01,920 Speaker 3: quote as well. He says, in all essentials, a mouse 994 00:52:02,000 --> 00:52:08,399 Speaker 3: and a whale are identical. Yeah, so Bullfinch, I guess 995 00:52:08,440 --> 00:52:10,600 Speaker 3: he's supposed to be like the second best biologist in 996 00:52:10,600 --> 00:52:13,120 Speaker 3: the world. But I'm not sure about that one. 997 00:52:13,160 --> 00:52:15,560 Speaker 1: There was a big gap between first and second greatest 998 00:52:15,600 --> 00:52:18,200 Speaker 1: biologists of the time. I guess, yeah, No, I don't 999 00:52:18,239 --> 00:52:20,759 Speaker 1: think there were. I think Gray Bao just in real 1000 00:52:20,800 --> 00:52:24,520 Speaker 1: life before these guys would have argued, no, a mouse 1001 00:52:24,560 --> 00:52:27,800 Speaker 1: isn't in a whale or not essentially the same creature. 1002 00:52:27,640 --> 00:52:29,800 Speaker 1: There are some major differences. 1003 00:52:30,800 --> 00:52:33,640 Speaker 3: But after this, I like this. Thorkel, like we said, 1004 00:52:33,680 --> 00:52:36,200 Speaker 3: even though he is very much a creep from the beginning, 1005 00:52:36,760 --> 00:52:39,000 Speaker 3: he does seem to give them another chance. He tries 1006 00:52:39,040 --> 00:52:41,000 Speaker 3: to send them away again. He's like, be on your way, 1007 00:52:41,080 --> 00:52:44,399 Speaker 3: but Bullfinch is just so mad. He refuses to leave 1008 00:52:44,560 --> 00:52:47,520 Speaker 3: until he finds out what's going on, and then Thorkel 1009 00:52:47,680 --> 00:52:50,120 Speaker 3: begins to threaten them. He's like, if you do not 1010 00:52:50,239 --> 00:52:52,960 Speaker 3: leave within the hour, you will remain at your own peril. 1011 00:52:55,320 --> 00:52:58,480 Speaker 3: So there's some snooping around After this, Thorkell goes back. 1012 00:52:58,560 --> 00:53:01,400 Speaker 3: I guess, assuming that there's they're gonna leave, but they 1013 00:53:01,480 --> 00:53:04,240 Speaker 3: end up investigating. They're too curious for their own good. 1014 00:53:04,520 --> 00:53:07,680 Speaker 3: They hear some horse sounds and they end up spying 1015 00:53:07,719 --> 00:53:10,960 Speaker 3: on Thorkel, appearing to like search around for a horse 1016 00:53:11,040 --> 00:53:13,920 Speaker 3: in tall grass. So they all start to think, Okay, 1017 00:53:13,960 --> 00:53:18,520 Speaker 3: Thorkell has gone mad, but Pedro explains that actually he 1018 00:53:18,640 --> 00:53:21,400 Speaker 3: has delivered a bunch of animals to Thorkel, and he 1019 00:53:21,440 --> 00:53:23,880 Speaker 3: doesn't know where they are now. He's delivered rats and 1020 00:53:24,000 --> 00:53:27,319 Speaker 3: chickens and dogs and cats, and he doesn't know where 1021 00:53:27,320 --> 00:53:33,160 Speaker 3: they are now except for there's this cat, Satanas, and 1022 00:53:33,440 --> 00:53:36,439 Speaker 3: oh my god, Satanas is a good cat. 1023 00:53:37,120 --> 00:53:41,800 Speaker 1: Yeah. Upon just mere introduction of Satanas by doctor Thorkel, 1024 00:53:42,040 --> 00:53:44,879 Speaker 1: I instantly laugh, in part because just seeing a cat 1025 00:53:45,000 --> 00:53:47,759 Speaker 1: just sitting there looking slightly bored in a film is 1026 00:53:47,800 --> 00:53:52,279 Speaker 1: always it a light but also because it doesn't take 1027 00:53:52,400 --> 00:53:55,759 Speaker 1: much to realize where this is going. You know that 1028 00:53:55,880 --> 00:53:58,200 Speaker 1: cat is going to try and eat a tiny person 1029 00:53:58,200 --> 00:54:00,920 Speaker 1: at some point in this film, oh yeah, which. 1030 00:54:00,760 --> 00:54:03,040 Speaker 3: Is a brilliant idea for for a horror movie. By 1031 00:54:03,040 --> 00:54:05,799 Speaker 3: the way, I mean, a cat of sufficient size to 1032 00:54:05,840 --> 00:54:08,440 Speaker 3: attack you is a terrifying proposition. 1033 00:54:09,040 --> 00:54:11,960 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, Like anybody who owns a cat can can 1034 00:54:11,960 --> 00:54:14,880 Speaker 1: attest to this because you know, sometimes they will they 1035 00:54:14,880 --> 00:54:18,399 Speaker 1: will hunt the feet of full sized adults like me. Uh, 1036 00:54:18,440 --> 00:54:23,160 Speaker 1: and their their speed, the reflexes are terrifying despite how 1037 00:54:23,320 --> 00:54:25,760 Speaker 1: much time they spend, you know, laying around doing nothing 1038 00:54:26,080 --> 00:54:29,520 Speaker 1: and sleeping. When they want to move, they can do 1039 00:54:29,640 --> 00:54:32,880 Speaker 1: so with just incredible speed. So it's easy to imagine 1040 00:54:32,920 --> 00:54:37,000 Speaker 1: yourself as a small creature and having to face you know, 1041 00:54:37,040 --> 00:54:41,360 Speaker 1: the ferocity of a domestic cat. You know, you wouldn't 1042 00:54:41,360 --> 00:54:43,960 Speaker 1: you wouldn't stand a chance your your only chance really 1043 00:54:43,960 --> 00:54:45,960 Speaker 1: would be that it would grow bored and torturing you 1044 00:54:46,000 --> 00:54:46,359 Speaker 1: to death. 1045 00:54:46,760 --> 00:54:49,760 Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, I would say seek out water because 1046 00:54:49,800 --> 00:54:51,520 Speaker 3: you know, a lot of a lot of domestic cats 1047 00:54:51,560 --> 00:54:54,879 Speaker 3: don't don't really like getting too wet. I guess there's 1048 00:54:54,920 --> 00:54:56,960 Speaker 3: some exceptions, but you know they can be scared about 1049 00:54:57,000 --> 00:54:59,200 Speaker 3: getting too close to water. But then again, if you're 1050 00:54:59,360 --> 00:55:02,600 Speaker 3: very small, I guess water would probably like a shrunken 1051 00:55:02,680 --> 00:55:05,800 Speaker 3: human might very well be in extreme danger from water. 1052 00:55:06,200 --> 00:55:07,719 Speaker 3: We can talk about this more as we go on. 1053 00:55:07,880 --> 00:55:10,880 Speaker 3: But I recall again the JBS Halliday and Essay, you know, 1054 00:55:10,960 --> 00:55:14,080 Speaker 3: on being the right size, where he talks about how 1055 00:55:14,280 --> 00:55:17,720 Speaker 3: getting wet is an entirely different proposition for a small 1056 00:55:17,800 --> 00:55:20,480 Speaker 3: animal than it is for a larger animal, because like 1057 00:55:20,480 --> 00:55:23,160 Speaker 3: if if a rat gets wet, like a huge percent 1058 00:55:23,320 --> 00:55:26,160 Speaker 3: of its body weight is now clinging to the outside 1059 00:55:26,200 --> 00:55:26,400 Speaker 3: of it. 1060 00:55:26,800 --> 00:55:27,720 Speaker 1: Yeah. 1061 00:55:27,719 --> 00:55:30,359 Speaker 3: But anyway, so there's this question like where did all 1062 00:55:30,360 --> 00:55:33,520 Speaker 3: the animals go, you know, all the animals that Pedro delivered, 1063 00:55:33,840 --> 00:55:36,160 Speaker 3: and where are they now? Pedro says, I don't know. 1064 00:55:36,280 --> 00:55:38,800 Speaker 3: But Satanas every day she gets more fat. 1065 00:55:39,320 --> 00:55:41,960 Speaker 1: She is really living her best life here. She's getting 1066 00:55:41,960 --> 00:55:46,239 Speaker 1: to kill, to hunt, and kill so many animals that 1067 00:55:46,320 --> 00:55:47,520 Speaker 1: she wouldn't get to otherwise. 1068 00:55:47,640 --> 00:55:52,239 Speaker 3: Shrunken pigs, shrunken horses. It's all gravy for Satanas. 1069 00:55:52,560 --> 00:55:53,400 Speaker 1: Yeah. 1070 00:55:53,400 --> 00:55:56,479 Speaker 3: But anyway, so they're packing up to actually leave this time, 1071 00:55:56,520 --> 00:55:59,760 Speaker 3: I think, But then they discovered that they keep finding 1072 00:55:59,800 --> 00:56:03,759 Speaker 3: re to stay. They discovered that the ore that they've 1073 00:56:03,800 --> 00:56:06,759 Speaker 3: been finding around this place contains radium, which at this 1074 00:56:06,880 --> 00:56:09,200 Speaker 3: time they're like, WHOA, that's worth a lot of money 1075 00:56:09,239 --> 00:56:12,480 Speaker 3: and it's very important for scientific research. I guess this 1076 00:56:12,480 --> 00:56:14,719 Speaker 3: would have been on the cusp of the era of 1077 00:56:14,760 --> 00:56:17,000 Speaker 3: the discovery of nuclear power. 1078 00:56:17,360 --> 00:56:20,319 Speaker 1: Yeah, so certainly you know that. The scientists are like, 1079 00:56:20,400 --> 00:56:23,840 Speaker 1: this is great for science. And then mule guy is like, like, 1080 00:56:23,920 --> 00:56:27,080 Speaker 1: there's there's that's some expensive radium. I want a piece 1081 00:56:27,080 --> 00:56:27,359 Speaker 1: of it. 1082 00:56:27,520 --> 00:56:30,120 Speaker 3: Yes, get me the money. And so they start snooping 1083 00:56:30,160 --> 00:56:33,120 Speaker 3: around in Thorkel's stuff and then there's a big confrontation. 1084 00:56:34,040 --> 00:56:37,720 Speaker 3: They find records of him saying that he has shrunk things, 1085 00:56:37,760 --> 00:56:41,600 Speaker 3: and they're like, well, he's obviously lost his mind, and 1086 00:56:41,640 --> 00:56:44,120 Speaker 3: they and then he comes in and discovers them going 1087 00:56:44,160 --> 00:56:47,799 Speaker 3: through his stuff that they have a confrontation and he's like, here, 1088 00:56:47,880 --> 00:56:50,319 Speaker 3: well let me explain everything to you. Come into this 1089 00:56:50,400 --> 00:56:52,920 Speaker 3: room and look at my condenser. And so they all 1090 00:56:52,920 --> 00:56:58,480 Speaker 3: go in there, Robinson, Bullfinch, Steve Stockton, and Pedro. 1091 00:56:58,760 --> 00:57:01,160 Speaker 1: Yeah. At last he's like, Heyedro, get in here this room. 1092 00:57:01,239 --> 00:57:04,359 Speaker 3: Yeah sure, yeah, everybody cram into this into this room. 1093 00:57:04,360 --> 00:57:07,080 Speaker 3: Don't be suspicious. Just look at the condenser. And then 1094 00:57:07,120 --> 00:57:09,680 Speaker 3: he slams the door on them and shrinks them. And 1095 00:57:09,719 --> 00:57:13,480 Speaker 3: now we've reached the situation of the film. Everybody except 1096 00:57:13,520 --> 00:57:25,840 Speaker 3: Thorkel has been shrunk to about thirteen inches tall, and 1097 00:57:25,920 --> 00:57:28,680 Speaker 3: so After this, you know, they're trapped in a room 1098 00:57:28,720 --> 00:57:32,600 Speaker 3: having been shrunk, and Thorkel is like doing some playful diagnostics, 1099 00:57:32,600 --> 00:57:35,520 Speaker 3: saying like, wow, you know, oh your your vocal cords 1100 00:57:35,600 --> 00:57:38,440 Speaker 3: still work, and oh you're you're of this size, and 1101 00:57:38,480 --> 00:57:41,880 Speaker 3: he's crowing over his victory over them, while the rest 1102 00:57:41,880 --> 00:57:44,560 Speaker 3: of the main characters scamper around on the floor trying 1103 00:57:44,560 --> 00:57:47,400 Speaker 3: to hide and escape. And here's where the special effects 1104 00:57:47,440 --> 00:57:50,000 Speaker 3: just get wonderful, because a lot of what you have 1105 00:57:50,080 --> 00:57:55,440 Speaker 3: here are fully built sets to make actors that normal 1106 00:57:55,560 --> 00:57:58,760 Speaker 3: size appear to be like, you know, somewhere between like 1107 00:57:58,800 --> 00:58:02,400 Speaker 3: six and thirteen inches according to perspectives. So there were 1108 00:58:02,400 --> 00:58:04,520 Speaker 3: like giant chairs and they'll go up to one of 1109 00:58:04,520 --> 00:58:06,960 Speaker 3: the legs of the chair and crouch behind it, and 1110 00:58:07,040 --> 00:58:08,880 Speaker 3: giant books and things like that. 1111 00:58:09,680 --> 00:58:12,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, I love it when films would do this, and 1112 00:58:12,600 --> 00:58:15,800 Speaker 1: I guess they still do variations on this. But I 1113 00:58:15,880 --> 00:58:20,080 Speaker 1: talked to a guy once in real life who had 1114 00:58:20,120 --> 00:58:24,200 Speaker 1: previously worked in special effects, and he had worked on 1115 00:58:24,320 --> 00:58:27,440 Speaker 1: the film Stephen King's Cat's Eye, which you might remember 1116 00:58:27,720 --> 00:58:30,640 Speaker 1: doesn't have any miniaturization occurring, but it does have a 1117 00:58:30,720 --> 00:58:33,520 Speaker 1: troll creature, which was of course played by like an 1118 00:58:33,560 --> 00:58:36,040 Speaker 1: adult in a full size costume. In order to make 1119 00:58:36,120 --> 00:58:38,560 Speaker 1: him seem like a tiny creature, they had to build 1120 00:58:38,600 --> 00:58:43,640 Speaker 1: like an enormous child's bed for this actor to prance 1121 00:58:43,680 --> 00:58:46,320 Speaker 1: around on. So I got to see some behind the 1122 00:58:46,320 --> 00:58:48,280 Speaker 1: scenes photos of that. He had an album and it 1123 00:58:48,320 --> 00:58:48,959 Speaker 1: was super cool. 1124 00:58:49,240 --> 00:58:52,200 Speaker 3: I love it. I love it. I really really missed 1125 00:58:52,200 --> 00:58:56,920 Speaker 3: the era of special effects through built sets and built environments. 1126 00:58:57,720 --> 00:59:00,000 Speaker 3: I do feel like something really is lost, no matter 1127 00:59:00,160 --> 00:59:03,520 Speaker 3: how good an animated environment can look. I mean, the 1128 00:59:03,560 --> 00:59:06,880 Speaker 3: green screen world, I do feel like has lost something beautiful. 1129 00:59:07,840 --> 00:59:09,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, there's a craftsmanship to it. I mean not to 1130 00:59:09,680 --> 00:59:12,400 Speaker 1: say there's not a craftsmanship in creating virtual environments, but 1131 00:59:14,000 --> 00:59:18,600 Speaker 1: there's a physical craft to it that perhaps is kind 1132 00:59:18,600 --> 00:59:19,520 Speaker 1: of lost. You know. 1133 00:59:19,560 --> 00:59:21,800 Speaker 3: One thing I noticed at the very beginning is that 1134 00:59:22,040 --> 00:59:23,720 Speaker 3: as soon as we come on the new characters, I 1135 00:59:23,720 --> 00:59:26,000 Speaker 3: guess they are too small for their original clothes now. 1136 00:59:26,040 --> 00:59:29,120 Speaker 3: So instead the characters have all replaced their original clothes 1137 00:59:29,160 --> 00:59:32,760 Speaker 3: with like togas. They're like little torn pieces of cloth 1138 00:59:32,840 --> 00:59:36,439 Speaker 3: that they're wearing like togas and stuff. And this really 1139 00:59:36,520 --> 00:59:38,800 Speaker 3: I think heightens the connection to the odyssey. 1140 00:59:39,480 --> 00:59:42,240 Speaker 1: That's right, And of course this the film will continue 1141 00:59:42,240 --> 00:59:44,640 Speaker 1: to it will let you know that it is referencing 1142 00:59:44,720 --> 00:59:47,480 Speaker 1: the Odyssey. It's going to be very direct about it. 1143 00:59:47,880 --> 00:59:49,800 Speaker 1: But yeah, this may be the first sign that they're 1144 00:59:49,840 --> 00:59:52,400 Speaker 1: going in that direction. So I love this because they 1145 00:59:52,520 --> 00:59:56,040 Speaker 1: their clothes were not shrunk. Doctor Thorkel is picking up 1146 00:59:56,080 --> 00:59:58,320 Speaker 1: their clothes and putting them in a bag later. But 1147 00:59:58,480 --> 01:00:01,840 Speaker 1: I guess he left either are pristine handkerchiefs in there 1148 01:00:02,000 --> 01:00:05,800 Speaker 1: and some sewing equipment at scale for them, or he 1149 01:00:05,920 --> 01:00:10,640 Speaker 1: had pre arranged clothing made from handkerchiefs for them, one 1150 01:00:10,680 --> 01:00:12,400 Speaker 1: or the other, because they seem to fit rather well. 1151 01:00:12,680 --> 01:00:15,400 Speaker 3: Yeah, and so Thorkel says that, you know, he's like, well, 1152 01:00:15,440 --> 01:00:17,720 Speaker 3: I've been working for days without rest, and now I'm 1153 01:00:17,760 --> 01:00:20,479 Speaker 3: going to fall asleep. So he falls asleep, and while 1154 01:00:20,480 --> 01:00:24,320 Speaker 3: he's asleep, they escaped the room by building a tower 1155 01:00:24,400 --> 01:00:26,720 Speaker 3: out of books and using a match stick to draw 1156 01:00:26,800 --> 01:00:29,120 Speaker 3: back the bolt on the door. And then there's a 1157 01:00:29,240 --> 01:00:31,200 Speaker 3: there's a great moment I loved where they're trying to 1158 01:00:31,240 --> 01:00:34,560 Speaker 3: sneak around outside once they've gotten out, and there are 1159 01:00:34,560 --> 01:00:38,480 Speaker 3: some chickens just like ye, giant chickens and giant chickens 1160 01:00:38,680 --> 01:00:40,880 Speaker 3: that would be really scary. I mean, that's like a dinosaur. 1161 01:00:41,520 --> 01:00:45,400 Speaker 1: Yeah, I would be terrified, Yes, like a big feathered 1162 01:00:45,440 --> 01:00:47,760 Speaker 1: t rex. And you know, I guess with any of 1163 01:00:47,800 --> 01:00:49,560 Speaker 1: these animals, you have to ask yourself, what is the 1164 01:00:49,600 --> 01:00:54,320 Speaker 1: threshold of miniaturization at which I am identified as potential 1165 01:00:54,360 --> 01:00:55,720 Speaker 1: prey by this animal? 1166 01:00:55,960 --> 01:00:58,840 Speaker 3: Right, And the chickens never try to eat them, but 1167 01:00:58,880 --> 01:01:01,120 Speaker 3: the implication is there, I mean I really do. Yeah. 1168 01:01:01,160 --> 01:01:03,160 Speaker 3: So if you were thirteen inches tall and you were 1169 01:01:03,200 --> 01:01:05,680 Speaker 3: walking past a chicken, I mean, that'd probably be like 1170 01:01:05,760 --> 01:01:09,800 Speaker 3: a a human walking past a dynonicus or something like 1171 01:01:09,880 --> 01:01:12,000 Speaker 3: therapod dinosaur, the predatory one. 1172 01:01:12,320 --> 01:01:14,120 Speaker 1: Yeah, if it decided you were worth a pack, I 1173 01:01:14,160 --> 01:01:15,640 Speaker 1: mean that could that would be death. 1174 01:01:15,920 --> 01:01:17,760 Speaker 3: But they do a thing that really did make me laugh. 1175 01:01:17,800 --> 01:01:20,400 Speaker 3: They do the justac natural walk while they walk past 1176 01:01:20,400 --> 01:01:24,040 Speaker 3: the chickens, like pretend like we're supposed to be here, 1177 01:01:25,280 --> 01:01:28,680 Speaker 3: and then they get attacked by Satanas the cat, and 1178 01:01:28,720 --> 01:01:31,280 Speaker 3: they have to hide among a bunch of cactus, which 1179 01:01:31,440 --> 01:01:32,680 Speaker 3: I thought was a cool idea. 1180 01:01:33,040 --> 01:01:33,240 Speaker 4: Yeah. 1181 01:01:33,320 --> 01:01:36,920 Speaker 3: Yeah, And Pedro's dog Tipo eventually comes to the rescue, 1182 01:01:37,040 --> 01:01:40,600 Speaker 3: chases off Satanas, and here we get we here we 1183 01:01:40,640 --> 01:01:43,640 Speaker 3: get the movie. I guess offering thoughts about how you 1184 01:01:43,640 --> 01:01:46,880 Speaker 3: would be treated differently if you were miniaturized by a 1185 01:01:46,920 --> 01:01:48,520 Speaker 3: cat versus by a dog. 1186 01:01:49,160 --> 01:01:51,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, this was fun because I've heard this this many 1187 01:01:51,880 --> 01:01:54,600 Speaker 1: times before, people commenting that, Okay, if you were to 1188 01:01:54,640 --> 01:01:58,520 Speaker 1: suddenly be you know, an inch tall or whatever, you 1189 01:01:59,240 --> 01:02:02,040 Speaker 1: your dog would'll be your friend, but your cat would 1190 01:02:02,160 --> 01:02:06,840 Speaker 1: just eat you immediately. And I don't disagree with that principle, 1191 01:02:07,520 --> 01:02:10,640 Speaker 1: though I do. If I'm gonna seriously consider the question, 1192 01:02:10,680 --> 01:02:12,400 Speaker 1: I'm gonna wonder if a dog would be able to 1193 01:02:12,440 --> 01:02:16,480 Speaker 1: recognize you by side or by smell in a miniaturized form, 1194 01:02:17,360 --> 01:02:20,280 Speaker 1: like if you start asking hard scientific questions about all 1195 01:02:20,320 --> 01:02:20,440 Speaker 1: of this. 1196 01:02:21,280 --> 01:02:23,440 Speaker 3: I don't know. I am a dog lover, but I 1197 01:02:23,480 --> 01:02:24,680 Speaker 3: kind of think the dog would eat you. 1198 01:02:25,160 --> 01:02:28,520 Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, I guess it's we're more inclined to believe 1199 01:02:28,560 --> 01:02:31,360 Speaker 1: and want to believe. The dog would be like, oh, master, 1200 01:02:31,440 --> 01:02:33,520 Speaker 1: why are you so small? Let me help you, whereas 1201 01:02:33,840 --> 01:02:35,919 Speaker 1: there's no doubt with the cat, like the cat would 1202 01:02:35,920 --> 01:02:39,680 Speaker 1: be like, sorry, the table has turned, and you know 1203 01:02:39,760 --> 01:02:40,560 Speaker 1: what I have to do. 1204 01:02:40,840 --> 01:02:43,120 Speaker 3: The cat would one hundred percent each you. I feel 1205 01:02:43,120 --> 01:02:45,360 Speaker 3: like I'm at about eighty percent, and the dog would 1206 01:02:45,360 --> 01:02:45,720 Speaker 3: eat you. 1207 01:02:46,040 --> 01:02:48,720 Speaker 1: Yeah. In a way, it's like that slight level of 1208 01:02:48,840 --> 01:02:51,200 Speaker 1: uncertainty that makes it more terrifying. Like if you were 1209 01:02:51,240 --> 01:02:53,480 Speaker 1: suddenly miniaturized in your home, you'd be like, oh crap, 1210 01:02:53,520 --> 01:02:55,440 Speaker 1: I got to avoid the cat at all costs because 1211 01:02:55,440 --> 01:02:57,080 Speaker 1: that is death. But then you're like, I don't know 1212 01:02:57,080 --> 01:02:59,320 Speaker 1: about the dog. The dog could be my savior, but 1213 01:02:59,400 --> 01:03:01,320 Speaker 1: the dog might just eat me anyway, or at least 1214 01:03:01,320 --> 01:03:02,760 Speaker 1: put me in his mouth for a while. 1215 01:03:03,200 --> 01:03:03,520 Speaker 3: Yeah. 1216 01:03:03,600 --> 01:03:04,080 Speaker 1: Yeah. 1217 01:03:04,320 --> 01:03:06,880 Speaker 3: So after this we get a little interlude where we 1218 01:03:06,920 --> 01:03:09,760 Speaker 3: see the humans sort of adapting to their new scale, 1219 01:03:10,000 --> 01:03:13,480 Speaker 3: and it sort of turns into one of those recapitulation 1220 01:03:13,720 --> 01:03:16,880 Speaker 3: of the discovery of technology narratives like you get in 1221 01:03:17,360 --> 01:03:20,200 Speaker 3: stories like the Swiss Family Robinson. I think that's really 1222 01:03:20,680 --> 01:03:23,040 Speaker 3: part of the pleasure people get in a lot of 1223 01:03:23,160 --> 01:03:26,720 Speaker 3: castaway stories. Is they really like that, like watching people 1224 01:03:27,480 --> 01:03:31,920 Speaker 3: rebuild technological capability out of the materials available to them. 1225 01:03:32,200 --> 01:03:36,200 Speaker 1: Yeah, like a Robinson Crusoe or to a certain extent, 1226 01:03:36,240 --> 01:03:38,480 Speaker 1: Flight of the Phoenix was like that. I think they 1227 01:03:38,560 --> 01:03:40,720 Speaker 1: remade it at some point, but the original was like 1228 01:03:40,760 --> 01:03:43,520 Speaker 1: a god, was it a be not to be twenty four? 1229 01:03:44,080 --> 01:03:46,520 Speaker 1: It was a b oh, it was a B twenty nine. 1230 01:03:46,520 --> 01:03:49,640 Speaker 1: Of course, B twenty nine crashes in the desert and 1231 01:03:49,680 --> 01:03:53,520 Speaker 1: then they have to take it apart and try and 1232 01:03:53,520 --> 01:03:56,880 Speaker 1: build a new airplane out of this four prop engine 1233 01:03:56,920 --> 01:03:59,040 Speaker 1: airplane and then fly out of the desert in it. 1234 01:03:59,360 --> 01:04:03,120 Speaker 3: Yeah, obviously, the fact that this type of narrative recurs 1235 01:04:03,160 --> 01:04:05,440 Speaker 3: so much, I mean, I do think it's clear that, like, 1236 01:04:05,520 --> 01:04:08,120 Speaker 3: some people really enjoy watching this sort of thing happen. 1237 01:04:09,040 --> 01:04:12,120 Speaker 3: It's some kind of fantasy fulfillment. And this movie has 1238 01:04:12,160 --> 01:04:14,240 Speaker 3: stuff kind of like this, except instead of a desert 1239 01:04:14,280 --> 01:04:18,320 Speaker 3: island where you're trying to recreate known technology and solutions 1240 01:04:18,360 --> 01:04:20,880 Speaker 3: and stuff out of I don't know, coconuts or whatever. 1241 01:04:21,120 --> 01:04:23,560 Speaker 3: Instead it's on a tiny scale, so you see them 1242 01:04:23,600 --> 01:04:26,480 Speaker 3: figuring out how to use a needle as a giant drill, 1243 01:04:27,040 --> 01:04:29,680 Speaker 3: or a scissor handle as a sword and stuff like that. 1244 01:04:30,240 --> 01:04:31,920 Speaker 1: Oh man, you know, I have to jump back in 1245 01:04:31,960 --> 01:04:34,360 Speaker 1: and say, I'm mistaken. It was not a B twenty 1246 01:04:34,440 --> 01:04:36,040 Speaker 1: nine and Flight of the Phoenix. It was a C 1247 01:04:36,160 --> 01:04:39,960 Speaker 1: eighty two. But I think I'm confusing it with some 1248 01:04:40,120 --> 01:04:42,640 Speaker 1: Disney film that came out where they the characters did 1249 01:04:42,640 --> 01:04:45,320 Speaker 1: a similar thing and turned a B twenty nine into 1250 01:04:45,600 --> 01:04:48,280 Speaker 1: a sailing vessel of some sort. But at any rate, 1251 01:04:48,360 --> 01:04:50,720 Speaker 1: it's a it's a trope. It's a fun thing that 1252 01:04:50,760 --> 01:04:51,800 Speaker 1: you see in a lot of films. 1253 01:04:52,000 --> 01:04:52,880 Speaker 3: Is that water World. 1254 01:04:53,600 --> 01:04:55,080 Speaker 1: They might have had one of these in water World, 1255 01:04:55,080 --> 01:04:57,000 Speaker 1: but it was a different film that I don't think 1256 01:04:57,040 --> 01:05:00,640 Speaker 1: I ever saw, but I vaguely remember the VHS box 1257 01:05:00,680 --> 01:05:00,920 Speaker 1: for it. 1258 01:05:01,120 --> 01:05:04,840 Speaker 3: Wait, it's the version of Noah's Arc made made with 1259 01:05:04,920 --> 01:05:07,960 Speaker 3: John Voight. I'm pretty sure that had some aircraft in it. 1260 01:05:08,400 --> 01:05:12,200 Speaker 1: Actually, I've looked it up, Joe, and it is the 1261 01:05:12,320 --> 01:05:15,800 Speaker 1: Last Flight of Noah's Arc from nineteen eighty. He had 1262 01:05:15,840 --> 01:05:19,280 Speaker 1: starred Elliott Gould and a B twenty nine. 1263 01:05:19,520 --> 01:05:21,560 Speaker 3: The Last Flight of Noah's Ark. You're not kidding. 1264 01:05:21,920 --> 01:05:23,320 Speaker 1: I'm not kidding. That was the name. It was a 1265 01:05:23,320 --> 01:05:25,240 Speaker 1: Disney film. I don't think this one has been added 1266 01:05:25,280 --> 01:05:26,280 Speaker 1: to Disney Plus yet. 1267 01:05:26,880 --> 01:05:29,320 Speaker 3: I was joking the John Voight Noah's Ark does have 1268 01:05:29,400 --> 01:05:31,480 Speaker 3: pirates in it, but I don't recall aircraft. 1269 01:05:31,840 --> 01:05:37,080 Speaker 1: Yeah, all right, anyway back to miniaturize people. They're making tools, 1270 01:05:37,080 --> 01:05:39,640 Speaker 1: they're rediscovering what they can use for a weapon, et cetera. 1271 01:05:39,720 --> 01:05:44,400 Speaker 1: They're making new clothes all while Doctor Thorkel is snoozing 1272 01:05:44,480 --> 01:05:45,920 Speaker 1: off his latest science bender. 1273 01:05:46,160 --> 01:05:48,960 Speaker 3: Yeah, and when he does wake up from the science bender. 1274 01:05:49,040 --> 01:05:51,560 Speaker 3: He has got a bit of a science hangovers. He's 1275 01:05:51,640 --> 01:05:54,520 Speaker 3: kinda he's kind of frisky, but he's also kind of mad, 1276 01:05:54,560 --> 01:05:56,160 Speaker 3: and he's like, what is he going to do with 1277 01:05:56,200 --> 01:06:01,280 Speaker 3: these these with these shrunken people, And doctor Bilfinch starts 1278 01:06:01,760 --> 01:06:05,040 Speaker 3: he's still just like mouth and off to Thorpell, he's like, 1279 01:06:05,280 --> 01:06:08,880 Speaker 3: he's like, we are prisoners in cyclops cave, again recalling 1280 01:06:08,920 --> 01:06:12,960 Speaker 3: the story from the Odyssey where Ulysses or he calls 1281 01:06:13,040 --> 01:06:15,320 Speaker 3: him Ulysses in the movie Ulysses may be better known 1282 01:06:15,320 --> 01:06:20,240 Speaker 3: today as Odysseus and his crew are captured within the 1283 01:06:20,280 --> 01:06:24,120 Speaker 3: cave of Polyphemus the Cyclops I don't remember on some 1284 01:06:24,240 --> 01:06:27,440 Speaker 3: island and they have to find a way to escape, 1285 01:06:27,480 --> 01:06:30,160 Speaker 3: and they end up blinding the Cyclops by stabbing in 1286 01:06:30,200 --> 01:06:32,680 Speaker 3: the him in the eye. But Odysseus has said that 1287 01:06:32,760 --> 01:06:36,160 Speaker 3: his name is no One, So when somebody comes to 1288 01:06:36,200 --> 01:06:39,960 Speaker 3: ask if the Cyclops needs help, the Cyclops says, no 1289 01:06:40,040 --> 01:06:45,600 Speaker 3: one is hurting me. Very clever, yes. But doctor Thorkel 1290 01:06:45,840 --> 01:06:48,520 Speaker 3: ends up catching Bullfinch in a net oh after a 1291 01:06:48,520 --> 01:06:51,720 Speaker 3: part where Bullfinch tells off a chicken, He's like, go away, 1292 01:06:51,760 --> 01:06:57,000 Speaker 3: you ridiculous vowl and Bullfinch, as always, is extremely uncooperative. 1293 01:06:57,040 --> 01:06:59,800 Speaker 3: Thorkel is like, he brings him inside to measure him 1294 01:06:59,840 --> 01:07:03,480 Speaker 3: in various ways, and then Thorkel expresses disappointment. This is 1295 01:07:03,520 --> 01:07:06,000 Speaker 3: privately just between him and Bullfinch. All the other people 1296 01:07:06,040 --> 01:07:09,280 Speaker 3: are still outside. He says, you know what, Your bodies 1297 01:07:09,320 --> 01:07:12,480 Speaker 3: are growing. Your bodies are reacting as if you have 1298 01:07:12,560 --> 01:07:15,800 Speaker 3: reverted to childhood, and you will eventually grow back to 1299 01:07:15,880 --> 01:07:20,120 Speaker 3: regular size. And Thorkel, of course can't allow this because 1300 01:07:20,160 --> 01:07:23,760 Speaker 3: then they would interfere with his work again. So Thorkel 1301 01:07:24,160 --> 01:07:27,800 Speaker 3: turns to murder once again. We've seen him. We've seen 1302 01:07:27,880 --> 01:07:29,760 Speaker 3: him murder to solve a problem at the beginning of 1303 01:07:29,800 --> 01:07:32,760 Speaker 3: the movie. And his eyes, his eyes become cold, and 1304 01:07:32,800 --> 01:07:34,840 Speaker 3: he's like, I'm gonna do it again. And he gets 1305 01:07:34,880 --> 01:07:37,080 Speaker 3: a cotton swab and puts it in some kind of 1306 01:07:37,120 --> 01:07:40,120 Speaker 3: chemical and smothers doctor Bullfinch with it and kills him. 1307 01:07:40,640 --> 01:07:43,680 Speaker 3: And there's like a giant fake hand for Bullfinch to 1308 01:07:43,720 --> 01:07:45,040 Speaker 3: be held in. It's pretty good. 1309 01:07:45,280 --> 01:07:49,800 Speaker 1: It's a great scene and again very brutal. You know, 1310 01:07:50,240 --> 01:07:53,000 Speaker 1: despite the sanitized nature of this film as a whole, 1311 01:07:53,240 --> 01:07:56,320 Speaker 1: it's just a cold murder of the of this professor, 1312 01:07:57,680 --> 01:08:00,000 Speaker 1: you know. But also during this scene, I was thinking 1313 01:08:00,040 --> 01:08:03,240 Speaker 1: about what the doctor Thorkel said about how you're gonna 1314 01:08:03,240 --> 01:08:05,880 Speaker 1: grow as if you were children into adult form again, 1315 01:08:06,160 --> 01:08:08,600 Speaker 1: which in this movie all it means is you're gonna 1316 01:08:08,600 --> 01:08:10,280 Speaker 1: get big again by the end of the film and 1317 01:08:10,320 --> 01:08:12,600 Speaker 1: the and it's saying like, if you had hidden, you 1318 01:08:12,600 --> 01:08:15,040 Speaker 1: would have just returned to normal anyway, but instead you 1319 01:08:15,080 --> 01:08:16,720 Speaker 1: came back to me and now it will kill you. 1320 01:08:17,120 --> 01:08:19,600 Speaker 1: But I had a moment there where I was imagining, 1321 01:08:19,920 --> 01:08:23,360 Speaker 1: like what does this mean? Because a baby is not 1322 01:08:23,520 --> 01:08:26,479 Speaker 1: like a miniature adult, you know, it changes a lot 1323 01:08:26,520 --> 01:08:29,040 Speaker 1: as it becomes a grown person. So I was trying 1324 01:08:29,080 --> 01:08:31,240 Speaker 1: to just contemplate, like what would that mean if you 1325 01:08:31,240 --> 01:08:34,000 Speaker 1: were a miniaturized person and then you grew, like what 1326 01:08:34,200 --> 01:08:37,519 Speaker 1: monstrous full sized forms would they grow into. 1327 01:08:37,800 --> 01:08:40,720 Speaker 3: You're gonna have skull plates fusing together again, Like what's 1328 01:08:40,760 --> 01:08:41,760 Speaker 3: going like? 1329 01:08:41,840 --> 01:08:44,280 Speaker 1: So I that was kind of a nightmare scenario that 1330 01:08:44,360 --> 01:08:46,639 Speaker 1: this film does not explore. But I had a moment 1331 01:08:46,640 --> 01:08:47,519 Speaker 1: there I was like, oh my. 1332 01:08:47,479 --> 01:08:50,840 Speaker 3: God, doctor Bullfinch say hello to a second round of 1333 01:08:50,880 --> 01:08:57,840 Speaker 3: baby teeth. Yeah, And then so we mentioned that scene 1334 01:08:57,920 --> 01:09:01,160 Speaker 3: is kind of brutal. There's another there's a lot of imployed, 1335 01:09:01,320 --> 01:09:03,680 Speaker 3: Like this is not a bloody film, but there's a 1336 01:09:03,680 --> 01:09:07,519 Speaker 3: lot of implied violence in it that is very brutal 1337 01:09:07,560 --> 01:09:10,080 Speaker 3: in its suggestions. So you see that the other humans 1338 01:09:10,120 --> 01:09:13,479 Speaker 3: after Bullfinch is murdered, they're hiding in this big thicket 1339 01:09:13,479 --> 01:09:16,200 Speaker 3: of cactus and then Thorkel comes out and I guess 1340 01:09:16,200 --> 01:09:18,160 Speaker 3: he's trying to kill them, and he starts chopping up 1341 01:09:18,200 --> 01:09:21,639 Speaker 3: the cactus with a shovel. It's messed up, but uh, 1342 01:09:21,680 --> 01:09:23,599 Speaker 3: we find when he chops it all up, and then 1343 01:09:23,640 --> 01:09:26,439 Speaker 3: finds they've escaped through a hole in the wall out 1344 01:09:26,479 --> 01:09:29,880 Speaker 3: into the jungle, and Thorkel taunts them over the wall, 1345 01:09:30,000 --> 01:09:32,200 Speaker 3: saying that they will never live half an hour out 1346 01:09:32,200 --> 01:09:35,200 Speaker 3: in the jungle, and sure enough there comes along a storm, 1347 01:09:35,280 --> 01:09:38,880 Speaker 3: which again to think about how terrifying of a threat 1348 01:09:38,960 --> 01:09:41,880 Speaker 3: a storm would be if you were tiny, if you 1349 01:09:41,920 --> 01:09:44,000 Speaker 3: were like, you know, six inches tall or a foot 1350 01:09:44,000 --> 01:09:44,759 Speaker 3: tall or whatever. 1351 01:09:44,800 --> 01:09:46,680 Speaker 1: This is, Yeah, I mean just on top of the 1352 01:09:46,960 --> 01:09:50,040 Speaker 1: jungle itself. Like when Thorkel said that, I was like, no, 1353 01:09:50,120 --> 01:09:52,599 Speaker 1: he's absolutely right, Like to go into the jungle at 1354 01:09:52,600 --> 01:09:55,920 Speaker 1: this size is just death, Like everything is going to 1355 01:09:55,960 --> 01:09:56,800 Speaker 1: potentially eat you. 1356 01:09:57,240 --> 01:09:57,559 Speaker 3: Yeah. 1357 01:09:57,840 --> 01:09:59,960 Speaker 1: But and then on top of that the storm right. 1358 01:10:00,080 --> 01:10:01,960 Speaker 3: And again this comes back to the hall day and 1359 01:10:02,040 --> 01:10:04,280 Speaker 3: essay I mentioned earlier on being the right size. The 1360 01:10:04,320 --> 01:10:09,000 Speaker 3: thing about how when you have a much larger surface 1361 01:10:09,040 --> 01:10:12,720 Speaker 3: area to mass ratio as smaller creatures do. There are 1362 01:10:12,760 --> 01:10:14,960 Speaker 3: advantages to that, Like you can fall off of a 1363 01:10:15,040 --> 01:10:17,280 Speaker 3: roof and probably not be hurt because you know the 1364 01:10:17,880 --> 01:10:21,559 Speaker 3: amount of air resistance provided by the surface of your 1365 01:10:21,560 --> 01:10:23,880 Speaker 3: body will be enough to keep you going pretty slow 1366 01:10:23,960 --> 01:10:26,799 Speaker 3: actually as you fall compared to the mass in your body. 1367 01:10:27,120 --> 01:10:30,440 Speaker 3: But the downsides are like getting wet is a terrifying 1368 01:10:30,479 --> 01:10:33,880 Speaker 3: proposition when you are tiny, Like the surface tension of 1369 01:10:33,920 --> 01:10:37,800 Speaker 3: water clings to you like a kind of slime. And 1370 01:10:37,840 --> 01:10:40,040 Speaker 3: so imagine, yeah, you're out in the jungle and the 1371 01:10:40,120 --> 01:10:44,120 Speaker 3: rain is coming down and there's rivulets everywhere. Very scary. 1372 01:10:45,439 --> 01:10:47,360 Speaker 3: So they end up coming across a boat in a 1373 01:10:47,479 --> 01:10:50,360 Speaker 3: river later on, and they try to use technology to 1374 01:10:50,400 --> 01:10:52,920 Speaker 3: free it, and they get attacked by a crocodilian. I 1375 01:10:52,920 --> 01:10:55,400 Speaker 3: think it's a crocodile, might have been an alligator. I 1376 01:10:55,439 --> 01:10:58,600 Speaker 3: didn't check the nose shaped too well, but the crocodile 1377 01:10:58,640 --> 01:11:01,559 Speaker 3: attack sequence is great. Trying to fend it off with fire, 1378 01:11:01,720 --> 01:11:04,400 Speaker 3: but they've got these like little tiny sticks that are 1379 01:11:04,439 --> 01:11:06,679 Speaker 3: on fire that are just not enough fire. 1380 01:11:06,960 --> 01:11:09,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, they're just kind of dropping it on the creature 1381 01:11:09,160 --> 01:11:10,479 Speaker 1: and doesn't seem to particularly care. 1382 01:11:10,800 --> 01:11:13,160 Speaker 3: Yeah, and then eventually, after they chase it off by 1383 01:11:13,200 --> 01:11:16,919 Speaker 3: throwing a bunch of flaming sticks on it, Thorkel returns. 1384 01:11:16,920 --> 01:11:21,559 Speaker 3: He comes and finds them, and again it's brutal. Pedro 1385 01:11:21,760 --> 01:11:26,679 Speaker 3: heroically leads his dog away from them, drawing off the smell, 1386 01:11:26,800 --> 01:11:30,000 Speaker 3: and so he saves the rest of the people, but 1387 01:11:30,120 --> 01:11:33,280 Speaker 3: Thorkel sees him and shoots him, and so Pedro has 1388 01:11:33,320 --> 01:11:35,960 Speaker 3: been murdered. And then after that, the rest of the 1389 01:11:35,960 --> 01:11:39,440 Speaker 3: people are hiding in some grass and Thorkel starts stomping 1390 01:11:39,479 --> 01:11:41,920 Speaker 3: through the grass, and then when he can't find them, 1391 01:11:41,920 --> 01:11:43,200 Speaker 3: he burns the grass. 1392 01:11:43,560 --> 01:11:48,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, so there's this inferno that he starts here, just 1393 01:11:48,400 --> 01:11:50,960 Speaker 1: trying to flush them out. Yeah, but he doesn't quite work, 1394 01:11:51,080 --> 01:11:54,920 Speaker 1: because they find another place that they can hide themselves, right. 1395 01:11:55,120 --> 01:11:58,320 Speaker 3: They stow away in his specimen box, the box that 1396 01:11:58,400 --> 01:12:00,599 Speaker 3: he was going to put them in when he found them. 1397 01:12:01,439 --> 01:12:04,720 Speaker 3: And so Robinson, Stockton and Steve the mule Guy are 1398 01:12:04,760 --> 01:12:07,640 Speaker 3: the three people left alive, and they ride back in 1399 01:12:07,720 --> 01:12:11,360 Speaker 3: this box to Thorkell's hut, and once they get there, 1400 01:12:11,400 --> 01:12:14,880 Speaker 3: they get out and Stockton decides, no, I'm gonna stand 1401 01:12:14,920 --> 01:12:17,040 Speaker 3: my ground this time. I'm not gonna try to escape. 1402 01:12:17,080 --> 01:12:20,040 Speaker 3: We've got to kill Thorkel and the other to agree. 1403 01:12:20,439 --> 01:12:22,960 Speaker 3: So first they try to aim a shotgun like a 1404 01:12:23,000 --> 01:12:26,320 Speaker 3: cannon at his pillow in his bed, but then Thorkel 1405 01:12:26,400 --> 01:12:29,080 Speaker 3: doesn't go to bed. Instead he falls asleep in his chair. 1406 01:12:29,920 --> 01:12:32,880 Speaker 3: And then it really gets into the blinding of Polyphemus 1407 01:12:32,960 --> 01:12:35,760 Speaker 3: in the Odyssey because they steal his glasses. Remember it 1408 01:12:35,760 --> 01:12:38,719 Speaker 3: said at the beginning that he called them there because 1409 01:12:38,880 --> 01:12:41,639 Speaker 3: his eyes were so damaged he really couldn't see without 1410 01:12:41,640 --> 01:12:44,600 Speaker 3: his glasses. And they they know where he keeps his 1411 01:12:44,680 --> 01:12:46,920 Speaker 3: extra pairs of glasses because they find them when they're 1412 01:12:46,960 --> 01:12:49,439 Speaker 3: going through his stuff earlier, and they hide those. 1413 01:12:49,960 --> 01:12:51,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, they stick them through like a hole on the 1414 01:12:51,680 --> 01:12:53,960 Speaker 1: floor of the wall. So now he has the only, 1415 01:12:54,120 --> 01:12:57,719 Speaker 1: only the one pair, and they remove those as well. 1416 01:12:57,800 --> 01:13:02,479 Speaker 1: So yeah, suddenly you have this this blinded polythemous trope 1417 01:13:02,560 --> 01:13:03,240 Speaker 1: going on here. 1418 01:13:03,680 --> 01:13:07,439 Speaker 3: Yeah, and so Thorkel is enraged. He's smashing, you know, 1419 01:13:07,479 --> 01:13:11,040 Speaker 3: he's running around trying to destroy them. He does recover 1420 01:13:11,240 --> 01:13:14,320 Speaker 3: one pair of glasses, but one of the lenses is smashed, 1421 01:13:14,560 --> 01:13:17,400 Speaker 3: and he says, now you can call me Cyclops because 1422 01:13:17,400 --> 01:13:18,559 Speaker 3: I have one good eye. 1423 01:13:19,120 --> 01:13:21,639 Speaker 1: Thank you for being clear about the title the film, 1424 01:13:21,680 --> 01:13:22,439 Speaker 1: Doctor thorp Kel. 1425 01:13:22,880 --> 01:13:26,720 Speaker 3: I think they could have done without that. Yeah, But 1426 01:13:26,760 --> 01:13:30,720 Speaker 3: so there's a final confrontation in the end. I won't 1427 01:13:30,760 --> 01:13:34,000 Speaker 3: spoil exactly how it happens, but they are victorious. They 1428 01:13:34,040 --> 01:13:37,360 Speaker 3: end up they end up defeating doctor Cyclops here and 1429 01:13:37,439 --> 01:13:41,160 Speaker 3: in the end, the three remaining characters they regrow to 1430 01:13:41,240 --> 01:13:45,240 Speaker 3: full size and they travel back to civilization. And the 1431 01:13:45,280 --> 01:13:48,200 Speaker 3: main things now we find are that Stockton and Robinson 1432 01:13:48,280 --> 01:13:50,840 Speaker 3: are now in love because of course, and we find 1433 01:13:50,840 --> 01:13:53,880 Speaker 3: that Steve the mule guy does not like cats. Like 1434 01:13:53,960 --> 01:13:56,080 Speaker 3: he sees a cat back in the town they go 1435 01:13:56,160 --> 01:13:58,200 Speaker 3: to and he's like, scram. 1436 01:13:58,160 --> 01:14:00,720 Speaker 1: Well, maybe you remember this. I watched it last week, 1437 01:14:00,720 --> 01:14:02,720 Speaker 1: and I think you watched it this morning. Did we 1438 01:14:02,760 --> 01:14:05,920 Speaker 1: ever get any real payoff with Satanas? Like, like, it's 1439 01:14:05,920 --> 01:14:08,640 Speaker 1: not like they had a big throwdown with the Like 1440 01:14:08,680 --> 01:14:10,320 Speaker 1: they didn't have a big fight with the cat. They 1441 01:14:10,320 --> 01:14:12,320 Speaker 1: didn't have to like slay the cat or I think 1442 01:14:12,360 --> 01:14:14,760 Speaker 1: the dog just chased Satanas off and that was it. 1443 01:14:14,960 --> 01:14:16,720 Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm glad they didn't have to kill the cat 1444 01:14:16,720 --> 01:14:18,280 Speaker 3: because I mean, the cat's just being a cat. 1445 01:14:18,479 --> 01:14:20,840 Speaker 1: It's true, yeah, I mean, but but I also wonder 1446 01:14:20,960 --> 01:14:23,320 Speaker 1: like was that like maybe something they wanted to do 1447 01:14:23,720 --> 01:14:26,120 Speaker 1: but they just didn't have the effects, Like maybe that 1448 01:14:26,200 --> 01:14:28,160 Speaker 1: was just too much of an effects asked to have, 1449 01:14:28,200 --> 01:14:31,160 Speaker 1: like a big fight with a giant cat. I don't know, Yeah, 1450 01:14:31,200 --> 01:14:33,920 Speaker 1: I don't know. Because of you know, there there were 1451 01:14:33,960 --> 01:14:36,400 Speaker 1: films that you know, they would later go more in 1452 01:14:36,400 --> 01:14:39,320 Speaker 1: that direction of having you know, the cat to aggressively 1453 01:14:39,920 --> 01:14:41,599 Speaker 1: go after tiny humans. 1454 01:14:42,280 --> 01:14:44,040 Speaker 3: Well like Cat's Eide the one you mentioned. 1455 01:14:44,240 --> 01:14:45,160 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, that's true. 1456 01:14:45,160 --> 01:14:48,080 Speaker 3: Well not a tiny human, an evil troll and the 1457 01:14:48,120 --> 01:14:50,759 Speaker 3: cat there is the hero going that's right, the evil 1458 01:14:50,800 --> 01:14:51,479 Speaker 3: tiny monster. 1459 01:14:51,960 --> 01:14:55,200 Speaker 1: So yeah, this is this is absolutely a fun film. 1460 01:14:55,560 --> 01:14:57,840 Speaker 1: You know, there's not not a you know, tremendous amount 1461 01:14:57,880 --> 01:15:00,680 Speaker 1: of depth to it. There's not a huge amount of 1462 01:15:00,680 --> 01:15:02,559 Speaker 1: monster science to discuss about it. I mean, you can 1463 01:15:02,600 --> 01:15:04,960 Speaker 1: take various saying. You can certainly get really pedantic on 1464 01:15:05,040 --> 01:15:07,720 Speaker 1: the idea of miniaturizing organisms and then how does that 1465 01:15:07,760 --> 01:15:15,280 Speaker 1: miniaturize organism react and fit in with an immediate environment 1466 01:15:15,360 --> 01:15:18,599 Speaker 1: that it was not miniaturized, And depending on how small 1467 01:15:18,640 --> 01:15:22,519 Speaker 1: you go, those problems can be you can be quite extreme. 1468 01:15:23,800 --> 01:15:26,240 Speaker 1: But then there are other directions as well. You know, 1469 01:15:26,479 --> 01:15:28,880 Speaker 1: we found this interesting paper that we were both looking 1470 01:15:28,920 --> 01:15:33,440 Speaker 1: at titled Human Engineering and Climate Change by LALs Sendberg 1471 01:15:33,520 --> 01:15:37,799 Speaker 1: and Roche. This was from twenty twelve published in Ethics, 1472 01:15:37,840 --> 01:15:40,640 Speaker 1: Policy and Environment, and it's pretty wild read. You can 1473 01:15:40,680 --> 01:15:44,200 Speaker 1: find it for free online. I think we found it 1474 01:15:44,200 --> 01:15:48,320 Speaker 1: at BLC dot Arizona dot edu. And one of the 1475 01:15:48,320 --> 01:15:49,800 Speaker 1: things they get into is like, if you were to 1476 01:15:49,840 --> 01:15:53,840 Speaker 1: shrink humans down, they would have less of an environmental footprint, 1477 01:15:53,920 --> 01:15:55,839 Speaker 1: so it would ultimately be better for the environment. 1478 01:15:56,400 --> 01:15:59,960 Speaker 3: This paper is this is something doctor Thorkel would write. 1479 01:16:00,479 --> 01:16:02,840 Speaker 3: I started reading it and I was just like, what 1480 01:16:03,479 --> 01:16:07,960 Speaker 3: it is interesting, but it is nuts and I don't know. 1481 01:16:08,040 --> 01:16:10,439 Speaker 3: I mean, it seems like there may be more direct 1482 01:16:10,439 --> 01:16:12,920 Speaker 3: things that could be done about climate change than saying, 1483 01:16:12,960 --> 01:16:15,320 Speaker 3: like what if we were to shrink humans so that 1484 01:16:15,360 --> 01:16:17,000 Speaker 3: they consume fewer resources. 1485 01:16:17,360 --> 01:16:21,799 Speaker 1: Yeah, there are other levers we should pull first. Certainly 1486 01:16:22,720 --> 01:16:25,000 Speaker 1: we shouldn't take the thor kelp that path, the thor 1487 01:16:25,080 --> 01:16:27,799 Speaker 1: Kel way on that particular problem. 1488 01:16:27,920 --> 01:16:29,719 Speaker 3: I mean, it's at least got to go like solar 1489 01:16:29,760 --> 01:16:31,560 Speaker 3: panels before shrinking. 1490 01:16:31,160 --> 01:16:36,920 Speaker 1: People absolutely all right, Well you might be wondering where 1491 01:16:36,920 --> 01:16:40,479 Speaker 1: can I watch Doctor Cyclops. Well, these things are always 1492 01:16:40,520 --> 01:16:42,720 Speaker 1: subject to change. But we actually had a hard time 1493 01:16:43,000 --> 01:16:45,559 Speaker 1: tracking this one down. We couldn't find it streaming anywhere, 1494 01:16:45,680 --> 01:16:48,240 Speaker 1: or for digital purchaser rental. We couldn't even find a 1495 01:16:48,280 --> 01:16:50,879 Speaker 1: We couldn't find a physical rental either. So we actually 1496 01:16:50,920 --> 01:16:54,280 Speaker 1: bought it on special edition blu ray from KL Studio 1497 01:16:54,320 --> 01:16:58,840 Speaker 1: Classics aka Keno Lorber. It's a brand new four K Master. 1498 01:16:59,200 --> 01:17:02,280 Speaker 1: It also has an audio commentary by film historian Richard 1499 01:17:02,280 --> 01:17:04,519 Speaker 1: Harlan Smith. I didn't I didn't have a chance to 1500 01:17:04,560 --> 01:17:06,680 Speaker 1: listen to it, but it sounds like it would be 1501 01:17:06,720 --> 01:17:09,679 Speaker 1: pretty cool. The box art on this one is great, 1502 01:17:10,120 --> 01:17:12,400 Speaker 1: Unlike some of the other previous releases that have come 1503 01:17:12,439 --> 01:17:14,600 Speaker 1: out that had kind of like cheesy box art, like 1504 01:17:14,680 --> 01:17:18,080 Speaker 1: this one has that that weird probe mechanism in the 1505 01:17:18,080 --> 01:17:20,759 Speaker 1: center that is lowered into the earth. You have a 1506 01:17:20,800 --> 01:17:24,879 Speaker 1: picture of doctor Thorkel there with it looks like lasers 1507 01:17:24,880 --> 01:17:26,400 Speaker 1: coming out of his eyes. It's pretty good. 1508 01:17:26,840 --> 01:17:28,000 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's really good art. 1509 01:17:28,600 --> 01:17:30,680 Speaker 1: But then again, this is also a classic film by 1510 01:17:30,720 --> 01:17:34,120 Speaker 1: a notable director, so it's it's it's entirely possible. You 1511 01:17:34,200 --> 01:17:36,120 Speaker 1: might be able to catch this one on you know, 1512 01:17:36,160 --> 01:17:38,640 Speaker 1: one of like I don't know Turner Classic Movies or 1513 01:17:38,680 --> 01:17:40,880 Speaker 1: something to that effect. I know we've we heard from 1514 01:17:40,920 --> 01:17:43,120 Speaker 1: some people after we did our episode on Mad Love, 1515 01:17:43,840 --> 01:17:45,960 Speaker 1: chiming in and saying, oh, they're showing Mad Love tonight, 1516 01:17:46,000 --> 01:17:48,120 Speaker 1: so who knows. Maybe check your local listings. This is 1517 01:17:48,120 --> 01:17:51,400 Speaker 1: what I'm saying, Well, let's do it. Then let's go 1518 01:17:51,439 --> 01:17:54,960 Speaker 1: ahead and call it done. We're done with Doctor Cyclops here. 1519 01:17:55,000 --> 01:17:56,599 Speaker 1: But this was a This was a fun one to watch, 1520 01:17:56,640 --> 01:18:00,120 Speaker 1: a fun one to discuss, and if if you would 1521 01:18:00,160 --> 01:18:02,880 Speaker 1: like to listen to us discuss other films. You can 1522 01:18:02,880 --> 01:18:06,000 Speaker 1: catch other episodes of Weird House Cinema every Friday in 1523 01:18:06,080 --> 01:18:09,240 Speaker 1: the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast feed. So our 1524 01:18:09,240 --> 01:18:12,559 Speaker 1: core episodes are about science and culture and those published 1525 01:18:12,560 --> 01:18:14,960 Speaker 1: on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We do an artifact episode on 1526 01:18:15,000 --> 01:18:18,800 Speaker 1: Wednesdays listener mail on Mondays. But Friday that's when we 1527 01:18:18,840 --> 01:18:21,880 Speaker 1: get to cut loose and discuss some sort of weird 1528 01:18:21,960 --> 01:18:25,000 Speaker 1: cinematic gem, generally from Yesterdayear. 1529 01:18:24,520 --> 01:18:27,719 Speaker 3: That's right, so keep tuning in. Huge thanks as always 1530 01:18:27,720 --> 01:18:31,479 Speaker 3: to our excellent audio producer Seth Nicholas Johnson. If you 1531 01:18:31,520 --> 01:18:33,320 Speaker 3: would like to get in touch with us to let 1532 01:18:33,360 --> 01:18:35,840 Speaker 3: us know feedback on this episode or any other, to 1533 01:18:35,880 --> 01:18:38,320 Speaker 3: suggest a topic for the future, or just to say hello, 1534 01:18:38,400 --> 01:18:41,240 Speaker 3: you can email us at contact that's Stuff to Blow 1535 01:18:41,280 --> 01:18:49,680 Speaker 3: Your Mind dot com. 1536 01:18:49,760 --> 01:18:52,720 Speaker 2: Stuff to Blow Your Mind is production of iHeartRadio. For 1537 01:18:52,800 --> 01:18:55,599 Speaker 2: more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 1538 01:18:55,760 --> 01:18:58,519 Speaker 2: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.