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Daily Nebraskan
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Friday, 9 a.ra. VVTBS, ch. 4 or Saturday,
noon KPTM, ch. 9
"Terror in the Wax Museum" (1973)
Ray Milland, Broderick Crawford
It's full of old movie stars and it's really
crapppy. Ray Milland runs a wax museum where
murders have been occurring. Hard-drinkin'
Broderick Crawford drinks and tries to solve the
crime. After drinking some more he tries to
bridge the generation gap by chasing after a
buxom barmaid half his age. When she refuses
he calls her a tramp. John Carradine has bad
dreams and hangs out with his deformed assist
ant, Karkov. At the end a guy swan-dives into a
vat of molten wax. Are you surprised? Supposed
to be in London, circa 1860, but looks more like
CBS television studios, 1973.
Saturday, 10 a.m. KPTM, ch. 9
"Might Joe Young" (1948) Terry Moore,
Robert Armstrong.
It's a lot like "King Kong," so this should be a
real simian weekend. It's even got Robert Arm
strong from the original King Kong in the same
role as a showman! Mighty Joe and his pal Terry
Moore are brought to Hollywood where drunk
guys bean Joe with champagne bottles. He gets
sore and starts kicking butt. Great special
effects by Willis O'Brien and Ray Harryhausen,
who did "Jason and the Argonauts" and "The
Seventh Voyage of Sinbad."
A couple of years back Moore claimed she was
married to Howard Hughes and entitled to his
fortune except that she didn't have the marriage
certificate. WTien nobody believed her she was so
mad that she went and posed nude in Playboy.
That'll show us.
Saturday, 11 a.m. USA, Ch. 17
"The Alligator People" (1959) Beverly
Garland, Lon Chaney
Before you start laughing about the title, let
me explain a couple of things. First of all, this
flick was distributed by a major studio, 20th
Century Fox. It was even directed by Roy Del
Ruth, a reliable old Hollywood "B" director, and
the approach by all concerned was one of sincer
ity and earnestness.
Beverly Garland, the undisputed scream queen
of the '50s, goes to an old plantation in Louisiana
to search for her husband, who dashed off on
their wedding night. She meets up with Lon
Chaney, who looks really boss as a dipso planta
tion worker in desperate need of a shave. He's
also got a cool "hook" hand and he's bitter: "I
hate them dirty stinkin' gators, they bit off my
hand!" growls Lon as he fills stray reptiles full of
lead with his trusty handgun.
After the spinster and the token mad doctor
prove uncooperative, Bev discovers her husband
in the parlor playing piano, wearing a trenchcoat
and beginning to look pretty darn gatory. His
voice is gravelly, which evidentally means that if
you ever become an alligator you'll wind up
talking like David Janssen.
Finally it's time for Bev's husband to undergo
a new laser operation that will turn him back
into regular old run-of-the-mill actor. "I know
when you come out of there you'll be your old
handsome self," she tells her hubby, whose face
looks like very expensive luggage. Chaney, full of
Boone's Farm, bursts into the laboratory ready to
tear the guy a new snout. Smoke bombs go off,
and Paul emerges from the table with a full
Gator head (which actually looks like a huge
grinning duck). Lon gets electrocuted, Beverly
screams, his mom faints, and Paul runs out and
drowns in some quicksand. See ya later, Alliga
tor. Thank you for your cooperation, you may now
start laughing.
The Glassy Eye is pleased as punch that one of
Lincoln's oldest Theaters, the State, is reopen
ing after two or three months of inactivity. It's at
1415 0 St. right next to the Fun Shop, so you can
buy piles of fake vomit (known as "OOPS!") and
fake dog crap (known as "Fake dog crap") before
you take in a flick. This will be appropriate since
the State Theatre is reopening with "King Kong
Lives," the newest big-ape saga produced by
Dino de Horrendous, who brought you "King
Kong" (1976), a bastardization of the 1933 clas
sic. The State is a great theater and is one of the
few places where you still buy your ticket out
side at the booth. You can even talk to the
cashier through the little vent! I expect all loyal
readers to attend the grand opening at 7 p.m.
Dec. 19. Get a bucket of popcorn with hot yellow
oil on it. Look for me, I'll be the one throwing Jujy
Fruits at the screen.
The Clip and Save Dept.
As a special service to readers, here's a guide
to good and bad flicks during the Christmas
Holidays:
"Werewolf of London" (1935) The first
sound werewolf flick. (WOWT, Sat., midnight)
"Captive Wild Woman " (1943) A doctor
turns an ape into a woman. Starring Aquanetta,
the woman whose name sounds like a hair spray.
Thursday, December 11, 1986
(WOWT, Sat., 5 a.m.)
"Fighting Youth" (1935) A college quar
terback fights the commies that have infiltrated
his campus. (USA, Dec. 17, 3 a.m.)
"Anatomy of a Murder" (1959) Otto
Preminger's courtroom drama incurred the wrath
of censors in '59 for words such as "underpants."
James Stewart is excellent. (WTBS, Dec. 18,
7 p.m.)
"To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962) Great
novel, wonderful film. Gregory Peck won the
1962 Oscar for Best Actor for his portrayal of
Atticus Finch. (WTBS, Dec. 18, 10 p.m.)
"Cool Hand Luke" (1967) One of many
great Newman performances that went unrecog
nized by the Motion Picture Academy (WTBS,
Dec. 20)
"The Frozen Ghost" (1945) Lon Chaney
stars in this Inner Sanctum mystery based on the
popular radio series of the '40s. The film is
introduced by a evil head in a water cooler. Lots
of whispering voiceovers. (WOWT, Dec. 20,
midnight)
- "Meet John Doe "(1941) Directed by Frank
Capra (It's a Wonderful Life"). It is like most
Capra films, corny but entertaining. Gary Cooper
stars as a man who, because of all the injustice in
the world, vows to commit suicide on Christmas
Eve unless people of the world wise up. Presi
dent Reagan likes to quote from Capra films as a
reinforcement of his policies. They aren't. (USA,
Dec. 24)
"Touch of Evil" $) Considered a minor
classic by some, it also stars Orson Wells
directed after a long hiatus. Sleazy, fascinating
and well-photographed. (WGN, Dec. 26)
"Man with a Synthetic Brain "(195671)
Another piece of trash from trashmeister Al
Adamson, featuring go-go dancers, ex-Disney
stars, John Carradine, and most important of
all a zombie guy with an electronic brain.
Three films pieced together, it was also released
as "Blood of Ghastly Horror." (USA, Dec. 27)
"Son of Godzilla " 1969) Godzilla teaches
his son Minya to blow smoke rings. (WTBS,
Dec. 30)
On a further Godzilla note, watch WOWT Jan.
10 at midnight for "Godzilla vs. the Smog Mons
ter," an environmentalist epic in which our hero
fights an evil pollution monster. Right to Lifers
will be appalled when 'Zilla performs an abor
tion on the nasiy bilge pile. Great Japanese rock
tunes like "Save the Earth." Merry Christmas.
Cray's album is bluest of blues in 19
86
BLUES from Page 7
crafted, smooth LP with masterful
songwriting backed up with Cray's
powerful and soulful voice.
Cray's guitar doesn't overwhelm
this LP, although it certainly could
if he wanted it to. Even more impor
tant than his cool picking, are the
stories Cray tells. Sure, almost 90
percent of the songs on "Strong
Persuader" are about "those chea
tin' women." Cheating women are a
time-honored tradition in blues lyr
ics. But Cray doesn't go for the
hackneyed "My baby left me and
found somebody new blah, blah,
blah" approach.. On "I Guess I
Showed Her," Cray sings:
"I pay the clerk and move
right in A single room with a
twin Room 16 ain't got no
view But the hotplate's brand
new 1 guess I showed her. "
On the next song, "Right Next
Door (Because of Me)," Cray tells
the story of how a man breaks up a
couple just so he can "put another
notch on my guitar." He hears the
couple's hearts breaking and feels
the guilt. All the best songs on
"Strong Persuader" are stacked on
the first side. A local critic called
Cray's latest the blues album of the
decade.
Side two doesn't do much for me.
The quality of songs aren't nearly as
high, and the betrayal theme starts
to be redundant. Blues LP of the
decade, no; blues LP of 1986, yes.
Besides, Cray has three years to out
do himself.
Lonnie Brooks, "Wound Up
Tight". (Alligator Records).
It shouldn't be a surprise that
Texas guitarist Johnny Winter makes
a guest appearance on Lonnie Brook's
latest LP. Both are former rock 'n'
roll guitarists turned bluesmen and
Brooks was one of Winter's guitar
heroes from his childhood in Texas.
But where Winter has turned whole
heartedly back into pure blues,
Lonnie is keeping a beautiful me
lange of rock 'n' blues.
Brooks has been playing on the
road for 30 years, touring as Sam
Cooke's guitarist, a rock 'n' roller, a
top-40 player and country-western
picker, and of course, some Cajun
zydeco music from his native Loui
siana. He played whatever payed the
bills for years until signing on Alli
gator in the late '70s.
On "Wound Up Tight" the rock
influence remains. "Got Lucky Last
Night," the opening song rocks out
with a rift lifted from "The Crawl"
and searing licks from Winter. Brooks
rarely slows down for a slow tempo
song. He boogies Texas style on
"Bewitched" and "Boomerang," ma
king some of the most danceable
blues rock around. What make Brooks
more blues than rock, no matter
what his guitar is doing, is his pow
erful, bluesy voice. He growls and
moans with an intensity unmatched
by present-day blues singers.
His voice and with his rock 'n'
blues guitar make Brooks report
edly one of the most exciting live
acts on the circuit. "Wound Up
Tight" successfully captures some
of this performance energy, which is
a difficult task.
Albert Collins, "Cold Snap"
(Alligator Records).
Albert Collins, "The Master of the
Telecaster," has been called the
greatest blues guitarist in the world.
Personally, with all the great blues
guitarists around and with all their
different styles, I could never bring
myself to call one better than the
other. But if I were to make up some
kind of top-1.0 list, Collins would
definitely be near the top.
Collin is also widely known for
mixing in some jazz and funk to
break up straight blues tedium. To
get funky, two ingredients are neces
sary, a great bassist and some pow
erful horns. "Cold Snap" has both.
Collins' regular bassist, Johnny B.
Gayden, who filled in for Magic
Slim's bass player last month at the
Zoo Bar, snaps the bass strings on
"Cash Talkin' (The Working Man's
Blues" and "Bending Like A Willow
Tree," the first two blues-funk songs
on the LP. From there, Collins
stretches out into some big-band
jams with the "Uptown Horns" and
jazz organist extraordinaire Jimmy
McGriff.
All this jazz, funk and blues
makes a fun LP. Collins' choice of
songs is no accident, either. Besides
a couple of slow, traditional blues
songs, Collins picked out some bop
pin' songs with humorous lyrics. In
"I Ain't Drunk," Collins plays the
alcoholic's denial game.
"I ain't drunk I'm just drinkin',"
he lies. "But you're so high You
stay drunk all the time," the chorus
chides. On side A Collins tells his
woman to stick with him because
"A Good Fool is Hard to Find."
Collins could simply blow away
the listeners with his stinging gui
tar solos, but that would get old.
Thankfully, he's more concerned
with making fun, danceable music,
and that's what "Cold Snap" is.
The blues in Lincoln
If final exams and papers are giv
ing you the blues, dead week and
finals week is a perfect time to see
two great blues guitarists practice
their art. Chicago's Magic Slim and
the Teardrops make their final
appearances of 1986 tonight through
Sunday. Sunday will be the now
traditional "Blues and Bar-b-que
Night." Ernie will park his famous
barbecue truck outside the Zoo, and
the audience is encouraged to eat
the best ribs and chicken in town
while enjoying Magic Slim, the giant
of Chicago Blues.
Next week, Matt "Guitar" Murphy,
the Blues Brothers' guitarist on all
their albums and in the movie, jams
Monday through Saturday.
If you're interested in hearing
any of the artists mentioned in this
article, KZUM, 89-5 or 99.3 on the
FM dial, has several excellent blues
shows that encourage requests.
Tonight and all Thursdays Jim
Anderson, Lincoln's blues guru, is
host of "Nothin' But theBlues" from
midnight to 3 a.m. or later.