Mystery Science Theater 3000: THE LEECH WOMAN
June 7, 2017 10:13 PM - Season 8, Episode 2 - Subscribe
"Forever Young! Forever Deadly!" "She Lived Off The Life Blood of Male Victims!" Africa! Source of endless 50s movie MacGuffins! All manner of bizarre plot-driving effect can be found there! Here the bizarre secret waiting to be found is that of eternal youth, at only the cost of having to kill people regularly to maintain it. It's all due to the wonders of the human pineal gland, itself the source of many plot-driving mysteries. BTW, the movie's view of the human race is unremittingly horrible. Mike and co. are still hovering above Deep Ape, which has become rather freer in its dress code. BTW: Jeeeeeeeeeed! YouTube (1h32m) Premiered February 8, 1997.
Episode 802 THE LEECH WOMAN
Daddy-O's Drive-In Dirt
Satellite News - Mighty Jack's MST3K Review - War of the Colossal Fan Guide - Annotated MST3K - TVTropes
Kevin Murphy remembers this episode in 802's ACEG entry. Notable quote:
Rotten Tomatoes (Critics N/A, Viewers 12%) - Wikipedia - TVTropes
IMDB (1960, 4.3 stars)
"An endocrinologist in a dysfunctional marriage with an aging, alcoholic wife journeys to Africa seeking a drug that will restore youth."
Directed by Edward Dein. Written by Edward Dein, Ben Pivar and Francis Rosenwald. Starring Coleen Gray, Grant Williams and Phillip Terry.
Notes:
This is the first episode with that immortal line (or some version of it), "I thought you were Dale!" Satellite News explains that the writers had mixed up two commercials in their minds, one for Ivory dishwashing liquid, the other for Grape Nuts. The noteworthy thing about this line is that they would go on to use it 11 more times in this season alone, including in 11 consecutive episodes starting with 805. Watch for them, won't you?
Mighty Jack informs us that the lady who plays Old Malla is in fact Sherman Hemsley's mother!
Dr. Peanut (Mike Nelson) is Professor Bobo's assistant, and while he's only in four episodes yet he's still a favorite character for me. I'm sad that he couldn't be in more episodes, but I'm glad they wrote him out of the story in a way that didn't result in his getting blown up in 804.
This movie contains one of my favorite in-film sequences, the opening bit with the guy and his wife bickering at each other bitterly and evilly over a bottle of whisky. It's like a four-minute-long Lockhorns cartoon.
Episode 802 THE LEECH WOMAN
Daddy-O's Drive-In Dirt
Satellite News - Mighty Jack's MST3K Review - War of the Colossal Fan Guide - Annotated MST3K - TVTropes
Kevin Murphy remembers this episode in 802's ACEG entry. Notable quote:
A word about monkey makeup: Imagine having latex house paint smeared all over your face, on your teeth and in your eyes, then highly toxic industrial adhesives applied, then an entire warm rotting beef liver pressed into the inch-thick layer of glue, then a wig made for a ten-year-old child squozen onto your skull, then being adorned with several layers of thick wool clothing before walking out into a stifling studio filled with ten-thousand watt lights so it's the temperature of a Kenner Easy-Bake Oven. Now, act! And be funny, dammit!Movie
Oh, I'm not griping. I mean it's a great role and a lot of fun to do. But my skin does have the texture of a cantaloupe. Okay, I guess I am griping.
Rotten Tomatoes (Critics N/A, Viewers 12%) - Wikipedia - TVTropes
IMDB (1960, 4.3 stars)
"An endocrinologist in a dysfunctional marriage with an aging, alcoholic wife journeys to Africa seeking a drug that will restore youth."
Directed by Edward Dein. Written by Edward Dein, Ben Pivar and Francis Rosenwald. Starring Coleen Gray, Grant Williams and Phillip Terry.
Notes:
This is the first episode with that immortal line (or some version of it), "I thought you were Dale!" Satellite News explains that the writers had mixed up two commercials in their minds, one for Ivory dishwashing liquid, the other for Grape Nuts. The noteworthy thing about this line is that they would go on to use it 11 more times in this season alone, including in 11 consecutive episodes starting with 805. Watch for them, won't you?
Mighty Jack informs us that the lady who plays Old Malla is in fact Sherman Hemsley's mother!
Dr. Peanut (Mike Nelson) is Professor Bobo's assistant, and while he's only in four episodes yet he's still a favorite character for me. I'm sad that he couldn't be in more episodes, but I'm glad they wrote him out of the story in a way that didn't result in his getting blown up in 804.
This movie contains one of my favorite in-film sequences, the opening bit with the guy and his wife bickering at each other bitterly and evilly over a bottle of whisky. It's like a four-minute-long Lockhorns cartoon.
Guys
I'm not gonna lie
This is my FAVORITE EPISODE.
As a fan of schlock monster movies and B-flicks I had ALRREADY SEEN IT before emcountering it on mst3k (the swarm doctor is one of Joan Crawford's husbands! He met her gay best friends and told them he was okay with gay guys cause he got along with the army captain that was always hitting on him! Wild!) and it's just a perfect Universal International B-flick, obviously shot in a week, reusing sets, everything juuuust of high enough quality to be shown in a real theatre but all otherwise running co,pletely on rails. It really spikes out the watchability to awfulness ratio.
Also it's a very consistent riff! Not s lot of lulls, good engagement with the shoddy premise, A plus really, show this one to your Classic Hollywood fans to get them on board.
posted by The Whelk at 10:31 PM on June 7, 2017 [3 favorites]
I'm not gonna lie
This is my FAVORITE EPISODE.
As a fan of schlock monster movies and B-flicks I had ALRREADY SEEN IT before emcountering it on mst3k (the swarm doctor is one of Joan Crawford's husbands! He met her gay best friends and told them he was okay with gay guys cause he got along with the army captain that was always hitting on him! Wild!) and it's just a perfect Universal International B-flick, obviously shot in a week, reusing sets, everything juuuust of high enough quality to be shown in a real theatre but all otherwise running co,pletely on rails. It really spikes out the watchability to awfulness ratio.
Also it's a very consistent riff! Not s lot of lulls, good engagement with the shoddy premise, A plus really, show this one to your Classic Hollywood fans to get them on board.
posted by The Whelk at 10:31 PM on June 7, 2017 [3 favorites]
It's MST3K Club time again!
Every night we watch that week's episode together in a shared video room. Lately, we've been watching two (a Season 11 episode then a Classic episode). We usually cap it off with something I've started calling YouTube Potluck, where people can suggest videos to show the group, I queue 'em up and we all have a good time.
Tonight's (Thursday's) show, at https://www.rabb.it/rodneylives:
7 PM Eastern/4 PM Pacific: 1109 YONGARY, MONSTER FROM THE DEEP
9 PM Eastern/6 PM Pacific: 802 THE LEECH WOMAN
10:30 Eastern/7:30 Pacific: YouTube Potluck
Note this week, I have a number of Colbert Late Show bits about the Comey testimony lined up, but as always I'll throw in most things people suggest, so long as they're funny, in keeping with the theme of the evening, and not too long, so as to keep things moving on to the next user's video. A good maximum length is ten minutes. And they don't have to be from YouTube either, most video sites will work.
posted by JHarris at 8:18 AM on June 8, 2017
Every night we watch that week's episode together in a shared video room. Lately, we've been watching two (a Season 11 episode then a Classic episode). We usually cap it off with something I've started calling YouTube Potluck, where people can suggest videos to show the group, I queue 'em up and we all have a good time.
Tonight's (Thursday's) show, at https://www.rabb.it/rodneylives:
7 PM Eastern/4 PM Pacific: 1109 YONGARY, MONSTER FROM THE DEEP
9 PM Eastern/6 PM Pacific: 802 THE LEECH WOMAN
10:30 Eastern/7:30 Pacific: YouTube Potluck
Note this week, I have a number of Colbert Late Show bits about the Comey testimony lined up, but as always I'll throw in most things people suggest, so long as they're funny, in keeping with the theme of the evening, and not too long, so as to keep things moving on to the next user's video. A good maximum length is ten minutes. And they don't have to be from YouTube either, most video sites will work.
posted by JHarris at 8:18 AM on June 8, 2017
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
posted by Chrysostom at 10:21 PM on June 7, 2017 [1 favorite]