Red Skelton: The Lost Episodes on DVD

Red Skelton, the clown prince of classic television, dominated U.S. airwaves for 20 years. In fact, when CBS cancelled the The Red Skelton Hour in 1970--after its 19th season--Red's show still ranked in the Top Ten in the Nielsen ratings. CBS's decision was driven by its desire to attract younger, more urban viewers (for the same reason, it canceled The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, and other hits). Red promptly moved over to NBC for his 20th season, but his revamped show never found an audience and thus ended an amazing run for his variety series.

Red Skelton's diehard fans probably already own Red Skelton: The Collector Edition, an 18-disc DVD set containing 63 shows that was released by Timeless Media in 2010. However, for classic TV fans interested in a sampling of some of Red's best sketches, Timeless Media will release Red Skelton: The Lost Episodes on February 11th.

Red, as Deadeye, with Terry Moore.

This new set consists of 16 episodes culled from seasons 8 through 11 when the show was a half-hour long. There are also two "extras" from the 1960-61 season which featured guest hosts for several episodes while Skelton was recuperating from back surgery. Jackie Gleason and Arthur Godfrey banter back and forth in the first of these extras, while the second one contains snippets of an episode hosted by Danny Thomas.

San Fernando teaches Fabian how
to perform like Fabian.

The 16 Skelton episodes feature all of Red's best-known characters: Freddie the Freeloader; Sheriff Deadeye; country bumpkin Clem Kadiddlehopper; con man San Fernando Red; and bespectacled husband George Appleby. Red's guest star line-up includes Eve Arden, Marilyn Maxwell, Charles Ruggles,Gordon & Sheila MacRae, Vivian Vance, Sebastian Cabot, Fabian, and Amanda Blake. As with many classic TV shows, you can also spot future stars who were then unknowns, such as George Kennedy, Jamie Farr, and Jack Albertson.

My favorites of the 16 episodes were "San Fernando and the Phony Fabians" and "Mr. K. Goes to College." In the former, San Fernando Red plays an agent who makes a fortune by sending "phony Fabians" to countries who have never seen the pop singing idol (e.g., New Zealand, Peru, Japan). He supplies each impersonator with a "Fabian kit," consisting of a record player and a Fabian record ("You supply the body, we supply the voice"). San Fernando's con works well until the real Fabian shows up.

Clem mailed himself to college
to save money.

In "Mr. K. Goes to College," Clem Kadiddlehopper enrolls in Kadiddlehopper College, which was founded by one of his ancestors. Unfortunately, after meeting the not-so-bright Clem, the dean realizes that the college's chances of winning a $5 million academic grant are in peril. This sketch provides Red with an opportunity to display his natural talent for physical comedy, whether nailing his thumb to the wall ("Now, I have six nails on this hand") or pushing a peanut with his nose. And, of course, all the episodes feature such Skelton trademarks as laughing at his own jokes or delivering a funny impromptu line when guests flub their dialogue or a prop fails to work.

All of the footage is in black and white (some of Red's earlier and later shows were shot in color). The image quality is good, considering that some episodes are almost 55 years old. If you own a previous Red Skelton Show collection, I recommend that you check the titles on The Lost Episodes DVD set to minimize overlap.

The bottom line is that, at a list price of $14.93, Red Skelton: The Lost Episodes will appeal to Red's fans who can't afford the more expensive Collector Edition. Other classic TV fans should welcome an opportunity to watch one of the medium's true pioneers of comedy.

Timeless Media provided the Cafe with a review copy of this DVD set.

Chicks Dig Guys Who "Ride the Wild Surf"

This surprisingly entertaining teen pic sounds like a rip-off of American-International’s Beach Party films. Yet, while it was made in the midst of those movies, Ride the Wild Surf chose to catch an altogether different wave. Stars Fabian and Shelley Fabares don’t sing a single song—in fact, there are no musical numbers (though Susan Hart provides a provocative hula dance and Jan & Dean croon the closing song). In lieu of grainy stock shots of surfing, we’re treated to am amazing display by real-life champs like Mickey Dora gliding across huge waves. And most surprisingly, the young cast even manages a couple of effective dramatic scenes.

Fabian and Shelley Fabares.

The premise, borrowed freely from Three Coins in the Fountain, has three young men arriving in Hawaii in search of the “big wave” at Waimea Bay. What they find initially are three pretty girls and plenty of teen angst. Jody (Fabian) wants to be “surf bum” until college girl Brie (Shelley) convinces him there’s more to life. Chase (Peter Brown) is a stick-in-the-mud who clashes with the free-spirited Augie Poole (Barbara Eden as a redhead). Steamer (Tab Hunter) falls in love with island girl Lily (Susan Hart), but must convince her surf-hating mother that his intentions are honorable. And to top it all off, there are a couple of unlikable rival surfers (James Mitchum, who resembles his dad Robert, and Roger Davis) and a climatic surf championship.

Peter Brown and Barbara Eden.

None of the cast will be mistaken for great thespians, but they’re likable and energetic. They also hold a certain nostalgic appeal for me. Peter Brown, Barbara Eden, and Roger Davis all went on to star in TV series I watched (Laredo, I Dream of Jeannie, and Alias Smith and Jones, respectively…with Roger also in Dark Shadows). The lovely Susan Hart appeared in a handful of Beach Party movies, married AIP co-founder James Nicholson, and retired from acting. Fabian, after pleasant turns in films like Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation, starred in some awful films and faded quickly. I was never a big Shelley Fabares fan, but she certainly established a lengthy career on television and had a #1 pop hit with "Johnny Angel."

Susan Hart.

Much of Ride the Wild Surf appears to have been shot in Hawaii. The tropical locales are scenic and the color photography exceptional for this kind of movie. The surfing scenes are incredible, although the big championship goes for about ten minutes too long. After about the seventh wipe-out, they all look the same!

James Mitchum (Robert's son).

I caught Ride the Wild Surf on late night TV in the early 1990s. I didn’t see it again until it was unexpectedly released on DVD about a decade later. To my delight, I found it as charming as the first time. It made me want to go out and taking surfing lessons. But, by the next day, I felt more practical and quenched my thirst for ocean waves by taking my wife to the Red Lobster for some tasty seafood.

Drive-in Theatre: Switchblade Sisters and Thunder Alley

Switchblade Sisters (aka The Jezebels) (1975)

In the opening scene, Lace (Robbie Lee), the tough leader of the Dagger Debs, sharpens her switchblade in her bedroom and then gently dabs cologne on her neck. She's a paradox: she's loyal to her gang members but also bullies them; she's wildly violent but also writes love poems to her boyfriend Dominic, gang leader of the Silver Daggers. Lace has trust issues, but surprisingly befriends a new girl named Maggie (Joanne Nail) who shows spunk during a diner encounter and later in juvenile detention.

Unfortunately, Dominic takes an immediate interest in the pretty Maggie. Patch (who does indeed wear an eye patch) hates Maggie, who has taken her place as Lace's de facto deputy. When Patch keys in on Dominic's smoldering looks toward Maggie, she makes sure that Lace is aware of it. Yes, Switchblade Sisters is a lurid, violent, engrossing gender-reverse variation on Shakespeare's Othello with Lace as the Moor, Dominic as Desdemona, Maggie as Cassio, and Patch as Iago.

Patch turns Lace against Maggie.

Yet, there's more to this cult classic than just an unexpected dose of the Bard. It starts out as a film that exploits women--just as its male characters do--and ends as one that empowers them. The closing scene carries a wallop when one of the bloodied girls growls at a police officer: "You can beat us, chain us, lock us up. But we're gonna be back, understand? And when we do, cop, you better keep your ass off our turf..or we'll blow it off. Ya dig? We're Jezebels, cop."

Switchblade Sisters is a personal favorite of Quentino Tarantino, who re-released it in the 1990s and paid subtle homage to it in Kill Bill. Sadly, neither of the female leads, who are quite good, had meaningful film careers. Robbie Lee--who reminded me of a cross between Kristy McNichol and Tuesday Weld--later supplied some of the voices for the Rainbow Brite cartoon series. Joanne Nail guest-starred in TV series like Harry-O and The Rockford Files.

Thunder Alley (1967)

This poster makes Thunder Alley 
sound much racier than it is!

Fabian stars as Tommy Callahan, an up-and-coming stock car driver who blacks out every time he gets boxed in during a race. When that leads to the death of another driver during the Daytona 500, NASCAR suspends Callahan. The disgraced Callahan ends up working in the Madsen Thrill Circus, which features low-budget auto stunts and staged races. It's not all bad, though--Madsen's tomboy daughter Francie is played by Annette Funicello!

Thunder Alley was a transitional picture for American International Pictures. The preceding year's Ghost in the Invisible Bikini put an end to the profitable Beach Party series. The same year also saw the release of The Wild Angels, which would kick-start a series of violent motorcycle gang films. Thunder Alley lacks the innocence of the Frankie & Annette films, but it's a far cry from Peter Fonda in a black leather jacket! Thus, we get the incongruousness of Annette singing a Guy Hemric-Jerry Styner song in one scene and experiencing a hangover in another.

Diane McBain and Fabian.

While the stock footage of the stock cars holds a certain nostalgia, it's the two female leads --Annette and Diane McBain--that make Thunder Alley watchable. McBain's career got stuck in second gear while she was under contract with Warner Bros. Granted, the studio gave her a couple of juicy parts--the bad girl in Parrish, a lead role in the underrated Claudelle Inglish--but it also buried her in the TV series Surfside 6 as a flighty socialite.

In Thunder Alley, McBain plays Callahan's lover, who thinks his current gig in the thrill circus is "dullsville." She views Callahan solely as an ends in a means (i.e., a celebrity lifestyle). However, that doesn't stop her from threatening Francie when Annette's character expresses her interest in Callahan. At that point, I was hoping for a catfight, but none materialized and I surmised that perhaps Fabian wasn't worth it.

Annette singing her one song.

As for Annette, Thunder Alley was her last theatrical film--except for a cameo in Head with The Monkees--until Back to the Beach in 1987. Some reviewers try to make it sound like Annette played a slightly darker role in Thunder Alley, but that's not so. There is the hangover scene and Warren Berlinger calls her a "track tramp," but she's still the sweet innocent from the Disney and Beach Party movies. And that's just fine with her legion of fans, which includes me.