Conan wrote one of the funniest episodes of the Simpsons ever. When the town comes into money they foolishly spend it when a shyster played by Phil Hartman convinces the the town they need a Monorail system just like Ogdenville and North Haverbrook. Homer becomes the monorail driver and everything goes haywire! The "Monorail Song" is hilarious! One of the funniest lines in a Simpsons song is when Apu asks in song, "is there a chance the track could bend?" Phil Hartman's character answers, "Not on your life my Hindu friend." Leonard Nimoy appears in one of his 2 guest appearances on the Simpsons. I wish Conan still wrote for the Simpsons, it might still be funny if he did.
Reviews
4 Reviews
Van Nuys Blvd.
(1979)
Only has nostalgic value
26 May 2008
This is definitely one of the worst movies ever made. There is really no plot or theme, it's just film footage of kids cruisin' on Van Nuys Blvd in CA. If you didn't actually live thru the 70's and saw this film, you would think that everyone had sex ALL the time, every night and day with multiple partners. In this film, people get naked at the drop of a hat! Not that I'm complaining but this film today really only has nostalgic value in that it does show how life, especially in California was back then. Today, there is no crusin' at all on Van Nuys Blvd or anywhere in CA for that matter and that area is very run down and dangerous. There are some great cars and lots of racing footage in the film but you probably will fast forward thru most of the bad acting scenes. I do know Dana Gladstone's son and he told me that his father hardly was paid anything for his role as Officer Al Zass which explains the low budget and often disconnected feel of the film as if it were spliced together in a hap-hazard manner. But, I am glad this film was made if anything to capture how cruisin' on Van Nuys Blvd really was!
Hot Rod Gang
(1958)
Great Cars
25 May 2008
American International Pictures led by cigar chomping Hollywood stereotype Samuel Z. Arkoff produced lots of these teen exploitation B Movies in the 50's and 60's and Hot Rod Gang is one of them. The formula was simple, hot rods, fights, drag racing, girls and rock and roll music. This film has all of that plus Gene Vincent! The story is about John Abernathy III played by Elvis sound alike John Ashley who is part of society's upper crust who has to keep his "hot rod gang" a secret from his family. He meets Lois Cavendish played by Jody Fair who also played the heroin junkie in "High School Confidential" and helps keep his secret safe and enjoys his hot rod gang. The '32 Ford roadster Ashley drives is the Bob McGee/Dick Sritchfield roadster. The '32 Ford roadster that Ashley's nemesis Steve Drexel drives is actually the famous Pete Hendersen roadster which is the car that had the famous race with a quarter horse that set the blueprint for quarter mile drag racing. These two have a "curb race" in the beginning of the film that will make any car buff cringe! By the way, the opening sequence was filmed on Santa Monica blvd in Hollywood. The other '32 Ford in this movie is Tony LaMasa's chopped and channeled green roadster that was the same car that was featured in an episode of Ozzie and Harriet where Ozzie raced it in a Model T. Gene Vincent plays himself and sings 2 songs and tries to help Ashley's singing career but Ashley declines because he can't risk a public appearance because the police(Russ Bender)are looking for Ashley for splashing the stodgy old man in the beginning of the film with his hot rod while racing through a puddle...for reals!!! If anything, it's worth seeing this just to see Maureen Arthur sing one of the corniest songs ever "Choo Choo Cha Poochie" in the pointiest bra known to man. The Ala-Kart, a show winning hot rod built by George Barris is also in the film but only in 2 scenes and for some reason, hardly noticeable.
Dragstrip Girl
(1957)
Corny but Kool!
24 May 2008
I've seen this film about 25 times, not for the acting or writing but for the cars! Although, Frank Gorshin is hilarious in this film. The plot is simple although not 100% believable, Fay Spain plays a hot rodder who moves from Salt like City to LA or as it's known in the film, "Hotrodville". She has a drag race in her '28 Model A roadster with a triple carb flathead with Tommy Ivo's famous Buick powered T bucket in the first scene. Truth be known, not many chicks had rods in the 50's let alone drag raced them on city streets. The rest of the film is her being wooed by rich kid John Ashley and poor but honest Steve Terrel. There are some great drag racing and circle track racing scenes in this film with real 50's hot rods. Tommy Ivo is in the film as John Ashley's accomplice and there is an ironic scene where he and Ashley break into the garage and steal Ivo's car but in the film the car is owned and driven by Steve Terrel! Tommy Ivo told me that the filming of this movie killed the engine in his car because it overheated between takes because it was idling waiting for the camera to roll. The car John Ashley drives in the film is a chopped and channeled Model a roadster with a 4 carb flathead engine. Frank Gorshin and his sexy Marilyn Monroe look-a-like girlfriend drive a '27 Model T roadster with a flathead engine. I have to warn you, the beginning of the movie has one of the corniest race scenes ever!
Tell Your Friends