Samuel Z. Arkoff Movies

Part of American-International's "Beach Party" series, Beach Blanket Bingo was directed by William Asher. Frankie (Frankie Avalon) briefly deserts Dee Dee (Annette Funicello) in favor of pop star Sugar Kane (Linda Evans). Also around and about is a mermaid, appropriately named Lorelei (Marta Kristen). Scurrilous cycle gang leader Eric Von Zipper (Harvey Lembeck) finds time to sing a tune, while Paul Lynde sneers a lot, Don Rickles insults a lot, Buster Keaton mimes a lot, and columnist Earl Wilson lets everybody know who he is by exclaiming "That's Earl, brother." The whole cast rushes to the rescue when South Dakota Slim (Timothy Carey) binds the lovely Sugar Kane to a buzzsaw. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Beach Party gang is back in this third episode. This time out, the gang is visited by the handsome British pop star Potato Bug (Frankie Avalon in a dual role) who has come to CA for a little r&r. When Potato Bug sees the perky Dee Dee (Annette Funicello), he falls head over heels. This doesn't set well with her boyfriend, Frankie. Later the kids all join forces to keep aged developer Harvey Huntington Honeywagon from buying their beach and using it to build a senior citizen's resort. Honeywagon is assisted by Brandoesque biker Eric Von Zipper while the kids are helped out by the adolescent supporter Big Drag. Songs include: "Bikini Drag", "Love's a Secret Weapon", and "Because You're You". Special guest artists include Little Stevie Wonder, the Exciters and the Pyramids. Boris Karloff has an un-credited cameo. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Shelley Winters, who once played the spoofish "Ma Parker" on Batman, brings the same larger-than-life approach to her portrayal of real-life Ma Barker in Bloody Mama. Presiding over her outlaw gang, consisting mainly of her goonish sons, Ma goes on a Depression-era rampage of bank robbery, murder and kidnapping. Obviously filmed in a hurry-watch as the Barker mob drives past modern shopping centers-- Bloody Mama strives for an entertaingly sleazy aura, especially when dealing with the incestuous subtext of Ma's relationship with her boys. And look who plays the Barker brood: Clint Kimbrough, Robert Walden and Robert De Niro! Bloody Mama was scripted by Robert Thom, whose previous collaboration with producer Roger Corman was the cult classic Wild in the Streets (former 1950s ingenue Diane Varsi appears in both films). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Brian Foster (Wesley Eure) is a young inventor who creates a mechanical dog as part of a home protection system. When he falls out of favor with his boss Ralph Norton (Conrad Bain), the boss' pretty daughter Casey (Valerie Bertinelli) uses her pull to save the company and Brian's job. Mr. Gibbs (Jim Backus) is the rival company president who covets the mechanical mutt. He sends double agent Ken Sharp (Larry Bishop) to do his bidding, and Ken in turn hires a pair of bumbling crooks (Red Buttons), (Chuck McCann) to steal the dog. The real star of this family-oriented comedy is the mechanical dog Chomps. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

This campy remake of Roger Corman's 1957 drama Sorority Girl was part of a series of made-for-cable adaptations of old American International Pictures titles, prepared by original co-producer Samuel Z. Arkoff. Uli Edel captures just about the right over-the-top theatrics in this period drama, set at the end of the 1950s at a small college campus. Jamie Luner of TV's Profiler and Melrose Place, plays Sabrina, a troubled and sadistic co-ed newly arrived at college, who proceeds to try and dominate the students around her, manipulating the men and tormenting and disrupting the lives of the women. She's not above blackmail and fabricating vicious lies to get what she wants, showing a potentially murderous streak as well. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

Keir Dullea dives into a bevy of babes with an open wine bottle as the notorious Marquis de Sade in this low-budget debauch from American International Pictures -- purveyors of fine entertainment morsels for the connoisseur. The film takes place as an extended flashback after de Sade has escaped from a madhouse and taken refuge in the dilapidated mansion where he was reared. In his flashback, de Sade recalls how the Abbe de Sade (John Huston) used to have a maid whip him until he began to like it. Of course, after that, the next step down the primrose path was flagellation and orgies. Finally sent to a French jail for lewd behavior, de Sade begins to write anti-government creeds to while away the hours. After his release, he is compelled to marry the repulsive Renee de Montreuil (Anna Massey). De Sade goes along with the marriage in order to get closer to her sister Anne (Senta Berger). In spite of that, de Sade continues to seek out various forms of softcore sex. But then the Black Plague hits. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

The great Vincent Price obviously had fun with his characterization of Dr. Goldfoot in this campy spy spoof directed by Norman Taurog. With his henchman Igor (Jack Mullaney), the demented doctor builds a machine that mass-produces an army bikini-clad babes. Goldfoot programs his vixens to seduce the wealthiest men alive and convince them to sign their fortunes over to him - thus enabling the fiendish doctor to amass tremendous wealth and take over the world. Frankie Avalon co-stars as Secret Agent Craig Gamble, who sets out to destroy the women and bring Goldfoot's plan to a screeching halt. Annette Funicello and Harvey Lembeck provide cameo appearances. Strictly for fans who loved those 1960s drive-in quickies. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

One of Brian De Palma's most divisive films, Dressed to Kill is a spine-chilling Alfred Hitchcock update for the late 1970s. Sexually frustrated wife and mother Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson) visits her New York psychiatrist, Dr. Elliott (Michael Caine), to complain about her unfulfilling erotic life. When she then goes to meet her husband at a museum, she meets an anonymous man whom she follows out to a cab. After an afternoon of satisfying sex, Kate discovers that the man has a venereal disease, but that information becomes a moot point when a razor-wielding blonde woman slashes Kate to ribbons in the elevator of the man's building. Blonde prostitute Liz (Nancy Allen), who caught a glimpse of the murderer, becomes both the prime suspect and the killer's next target. With the police less than willing to believe her story, Liz joins forces with Kate's son Peter (Keith Gordon) to get the psychopath themselves. Steamy material cut to get an R-rating was restored on the unrated laser disc version. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

A man driving along a lonely back road at night is suddenly startled by what he sees, and is promptly killed by something that crashes through his windshield. The next day, in the nearby town of River Falls, teenagers Carol Flynn (June Kenney) and Mike Simpson (Gene Persson) decide to go looking for her father, who didn't get home last night. They find his wrecked truck and enter a nearby cave to begin searching for him. There they find his blood-covered hat and other signs of human remains and, as they go deeper inside, suddenly get trapped in a huge web -- then they spot its maker, a spider the size of a small house. They manage to escape and alert the county sheriff (Gene Roth), who doesn't take them seriously but does heed the warning of Mr. Kingman (Ed Kemmer), the science teacher at the local high school, to bring a pest-control crew along with his deputies, and a tanker loaded with DDT. They encounter the creature, and, after losing one of their men, dispatch it with the insecticide. Kingman persuades the sheriff to bring the carcass into town so that he can arrange to have it studied, leaving it in storage at the high school recreation room, for lack of anywhere bigger to keep it. As it turns out, the creature isn't dead, just stunned. As the local rock & roll band rehearses, the giant spider comes to bloodthirsty consciousness, breaking out of the building and ravaging the town. Bullets won't hurt it -- as Kingman says, you could punch holes in it all day without hitting a vital spot -- and the town is soon cut off when the telephone lines are knocked down. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

In this musical aimed at teenagers, Frankie Avalon, and Fabian battle it out for Annette Funicello's affections on the stock car track. The tale begins when smugglers trick Avalon into taking on contraband during a cross-country race. He catches on to their ploy and helps the Feds capture the crooks. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This hilarious monster mess from the makers of the Godzilla series (including director Inoshiro Honda) essentially recruits Mary Shelley's classic creature into the ever-growing ranks of Japanese city-stomping behemoths -- albeit with a less colorful costume. The only nod to the original Frankenstein involves the monster's reanimated heart, rescued from Nazi Germany and blasted with radiation in the Hiroshima blast. When the heart is accidentally eaten (don't ask) by a Japanese youth, the poor kid bulks up to titanic (though hardly Godzilla-esque) proportions, apparently presenting a threat to Mount Fuji's current guardian, the lizard-monster Baragon. The two duke it out Toho-style while token yank Nick Adams comments on the proceedings. The plot originally pitted the colossal Frankenstein monster against a giant sea creature (the film's original title was Frankenstein vs. the Giant Devilfish), but the alternate opponent was edited out of the final print. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

Beyond a doubt the weirdest chapter in Toho's Godzilla saga, this eco-conscious entry pits the Big Green Guy against a living mass of industrial sludge dubbed "Hedora." Capable of splitting into numerous satellite monsters and secreting sulfuric acid, Hedora grows exponentially larger as it absorbs more pollution and merely divides again when Godzilla tries to attack it. After wiping out a disco with its toxic secretions (from the monster, not the music), Hedora goes airborne and attacks Mount Fuji, where blasts of electricity and Godzilla's atomic breath finally burn it to a crisp. Oddball stylistic touches, including split-screen animation and a hilarious pop ditty called "Save the Earth" (featuring the lyric "Find a solution to stop pollution..."), helped to condemn the film in the eyes of Godzilla purists everywhere. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide