Movie Reviews #34: Primitive London (1965)

Primitive London (1965) is a dirty movie disguised as a documentary - and that's what makes it so damn adorable.

The early sixties were chock full of so-called documentaries on nudist colonies pretending to be edifying, when in fact they were just looking for a loophole to show bobbies. I understand it.  They simply couldn't get away with this level of epidermal exposure without pretending to be some sort of scholarly work.  Plus, men could rationalize going to see a documentary, and would feel like hopeless perverts without the academic veneer.

On the other hand, it's all so damn hypocritical.  The narrator in Primitive London is pompous and judgmental, looking at everything through Limbaugh tinted glasses.  We all know this a ruse so male audiences can see some T&A. So, can we skip the virtuous jibba-jabba?

And for God's sake, "primitive"? Really? We're not talking about New Guinea.  I mean, London in 1965 may have been swingin', but it wasn't anything close to primitive.  "Moderately Debased on Occasion" maybe... but Moderately Debased London on Occasion doesn't have the same ring to it.

Just for Laughs #6: Another Monster Party

Retrospace continues to carry the torch of the long standing tradition of monster-loving silliness wherein a speech bubble is added to a movie frame.  It's cheesy, it's lame, and #$%@ dammit, I love it! Will your blog be bold enough to also wear the mantle? I'll be happy to link to you, if you are.  The world needs more monster movie tomfoolery.  I'm convinced.

Mini Skirt Monday #157: Logan's Run TV Series (Part 1)

I admit I'm prone to exaggeration and hyperbole to get my points across, but this time I tell it objectively and factually - Heather Menzies' miniskirt on Logan's Run is the high water mark in the history of miniskirts on television.  No skirt was shorter, more center-stage, or more prone to flying upwards.

Of course, the original movie was no slouch when it came to to miniskirts either.  It falls in line with the grand tradition of the 1950s-70s to depict futuristic women's clothing as miniskirts.  We could postulate all day as to who filled out the costume better: Jennifer Agutter or Heather Menzies.  However, when compared to the television landscape of miniskirts from On the Buses (1969) to The Nanny (1993), Logan's Run reigns supreme.

Indeed, it was the topic of much discussion at the time.  Even smack in the middle of the "jiggle TV" phenomenon, it still raised eyebrows.

"They have to be careful with the camera with this costume... When I bend over they're in trouble"
              - Heather Menzies (from a 1977 article shown below)

Ads #70: Japanese Advertising (Part 2)

Remember back in the late seventies and into the eighties, the space shuttle was 'the big thing"?  It wasn't just Moonraker that jumped on the "shuttle is cool" bandwagon - it popped up in Airplane II, on toy shelves, McDonald's Happy Meals, and evidently in Japanese beer.

I would love to have a bottle of this.  Why is everything from Japan so damnably cool?  Here's some more Japanese vintage ads for your viewing pleasure...

Artful Conception #22: Carried Again!

Okay, we've done two posts already on this well worn theme.  The last one featured only images from Famous Monsters of Filmland which actually had the "monsters carrying chicks" theme featured in several issues.

In 2010, I did an Artful Conception post on the subject and became so overwhelmed with the sheer volume of images that I planted them all in a series of mosaics.  It was a great way to unload hundreds of "carrying" examples, but a bad way to present a post - each images was tiny, too small to appreciate.

In all seriousness, I could devote an entire blog to the subject, the image is repeated so many times in vintage pop culture.  So, where does that leave us? With thousands of examples without a home.  Maybe someday I'll put them all in a PDF (but my file sharing site has banned me for overloading their bandwidth); until then, here's the proverbial tip of the iceberg. Enjoy.