Short: (1954) An industrial number showcasing the attributes of grocery store refrigeration units, with the help of shapely model.
Movie: (1957) A paranormal researcher claims he has invented a device that will permit communication with the dead. Oh, it’s true.
First shown: 7/30/94
Opening: Gypsy calls a fire drill
Intro: Dr. F. tries pin-point cigarette marketing on Mike
Host segment 1: Crow’s radio talk show: “The Dead Talk Back”
Host segment 2: M&tB are “The Dead”
Host segment 3: Dr. F. tries his hand at interrogation and Frank quickly cracks; meanwhile, the guitar solo continues
End: Crow is still playing, Tom is acting up, Gypsy starts another fire drill, Mike reads a letter, Dr. F. practices his crossbow skills
Stinger: Woman screams after seeing dead body
(253 votes, average: 4.40 out of 5)
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• This is a weird episode, featuring an odd short and even odder movie. It’s fun, but not a favorite of mine.
• This episode was included on Rhino’s Vol. 8.
• Though clearly made in the ’50s, the movie was never released until it was discovered and purchased by a low-budget video company in the 1990s.
• I wonder if the fire drill segment led to the later fire safety PSA that they did.
• It’s the “umbilicon” again in this episode.
• The short is a bit of departure. This is what is known as an “industrial,” quite a different animal from the mental hygiene shorts they’d mostly done up until now. I’m not sure it always works for MST3K, as in this case. This may be my least favorite short MST3K ever did.
• Callback: “Plenty of lip and tongue action” (from the speech short). Frank says “I killed that fat barkeep” (The Beatniks)
• Spaghetti ball bumpers: beaker, film canister, book.
• Then-current reference: “James Farentino visits Tina Sinatra.” Farentino was charged with stalking his former girlfriend, Tina Sinatra, in 1993.
• “Oh, its true!” became a frequent callback in many future episodes.
• Segment 1 features the voice of Trace, one of the few times he ever did a “guest spot” on the show.
• Say what you want, Churchill was right about the Bills.
• The Rhino release of this episode had some encoding problems and was reissued.
• I was never much of a deadhead. I liked ’em, but a little guitar jamming goes a long way for me. Gypsy seems pretty natural as one, though.
• The closeup on Crow’s guitar gives us a close look at the stick that controls Gypsy’s jaw.
• Later in segment 2, Mike is folding Crow’s sensible slacks. He really DID get a lot of wear out of them!
• I had a nice Twitter DM back and forth with Andy LaCasse, who performed the “cheesy guitar solo.”
LaCasse said: “The director [that would have been Jim, he directed the host segments for that episode] kept laughing out loud and asking me if I could make it more grating and irritating. I said I could, and I did!”
He also recalls: “I brought my 1-year-old daughter, Kayla, with me to the studio. The writers whisked her away for a while. Later, the video guys [that would have been Brad and Tim] let her play with the controls on the video editing machine. The scene had already been shot, so I followed Crow’s hands as he played.”
On the technical side, he notes: “I played a cheap copy of a Fender Stratocaster with EMG pickups through a Big Jam Spit Wah pedal straight into the MST3K video editor.”
“My daughter had a great time and the writers adored her,” he concluded. “I had a blast! Definitely a career highlight for me. It’s still on my résumé.”
• Crow is still wearing his Grateful Dead costume when he reenters the theater. Mike removes it.
• No cast and crew roundup this week. Similar to “Teenage Strangler,” this appears to have been a cast that largely never did anything else.
• Creditswatch: Host segments directed by Jim Mallon. Sarah Wisner does Post Production Coordination with Ellen McDonough for two episodes, instead of Jann Johnson. This is the last of three episodes where Tim Scott gets an audio mixing credit. This is the first of five episodes where Brad Keely gets a lighting credit. This is the last time we see Director of Operations Jeffrey P. Young in the credits. (He lasted all of three episodes and I would LOVE to heard THAT backstage story.) “Cosmic Freight Train” written and arranged by: Michael J. Nelson, Paul Chaplin and David Sussman.
• Fave riff from the short: “But don’t put your tongue on it!” Honorable mention: “Wow, that was close. She was mad!”
• Fave riff from the movie: “Well! I’m going home for lunch.” Honorable mention: “…than springtime are you, sir.”
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The problems on the Dead Talk Back DVD were fixed?
I just got that set for Christmas and mine still had the glitches. I guess it had been sitting on the shelf a while.
I love this episode.
The short, I admit, is very dull, but the movie makes up for it for me. The total lack of any likable characters, the cheap special effects, the main character with the skunkboy hair, the lousy police procedural pace, it’s all funny to me, and gives the guys a great piece to riff on.
The opening segment of the movie, where Krasner is introducing himself may be my most favorite moment of this entire season.
However, this is also one of the movies that is very good to put on when you’re having a hard time sleeping. After the short, and the introduction, the movie does kinda put me out after that, but I still love it.
“It’s the Pizza Dominatrix!”
I thought riffing for The Selling Wizard was great, particularly Servo’s love for freezers.
Great. Now I’ll have Crow’s guitar solo stuck in my head all day.
Thanks, MattG #3. I thought I was the only one who liked the short. With Tom getting excited over the freezer, and the objectification of the pizza dominatrix, it’s great stuff!
The movie was ahead of it’s time. The medium (not a petite) was emo before emo was emo.
My favorite episode? Maybe. It definitely has my favorite riff ( “I’m not a medi…” ), but more on that later.
The cigarette marketing idea seemed dated even then. Cute enough I guess, but Smoking America was already in steep decline then.
Loved the short, Loved HER. On my list for hottest MST women. Industrials work as well as Hygiene films I think, it’s the eagerness, urgency and narrowness of focus. There is less riffing than usual for a short, but the short kind of riffs itself.
Forget the ice cream, I’ll be right back.
Are ya married ?
You ! Minut Bol !
The movie, ahhh the movie…. so very odd. Yes, the dead never DO talk back, in fact there is no paranormal activity at all ( unless you count Aldo Farnese’s hair ), as if the film was some kind of elaborate set-up for a rather bland joke.
A lot of work ( if not talent or skill ) went into this film. It has characters ! Bizarre stereotypes but characters none the less. It has sets, it takes place on locations, it has a chase scene. it has a Bongo band !!!!! A lot of stuff went into this movie. Someone cared. they failed, but they tried.
Lincoln’s voice sounds too much like Kevin, but Churchill’s voice was pretty darn good. The Grateful Dead bit was kinda long, but it was good… ( really, it didn’t seem nearly as long as the endless music loop segment from Creeping Terror )
Recalling the heated Daktari Stool discussion of many months ago, I present “… my stools float ” as conclusive evidence that when MST says ‘stool(s)’ we know exactly what they are referring too.
“I’m not a medium, I’m a petite” Why does this text / riff combo impress me so much ? The standard 3 things that matter :
the wordplay & humor ( he is a tiny little man aint he )
the speed & timing. ( smack us once with the clown hammer then move on )
the voice & delivery. ( kinda sounds like him and it’s so earnest, like he’s proud of it ! ).
It is the perfect riff. Even now I still marvel at its structure. Like a zen ink painting of bamboo. It is what MST3K is all about.
goes without saying, 5 stars from me.
Actually. I love both the short and the movie. The riffing is spot on for both. And the movie is so weird, it is entertaining on its own, mostly because of the odd cast of characters in it.
I especially love the interrogation scenes with the jumpy evangelist (“The Charlie Callas defense!”) and the creepy German dude (“… I find she is… racially impure”).
And that Krasker!
I love this episode, even the short! In general, I love the movies with narrators, especially the ones featured when Trace(‘s Crow) was on the show. He nails those voices every time.
Yeah, Tom’s lust for a fridge really makes it a good short, for me, at least.
i wan’t it NOW! NAME YOUR PRICE!
I really like this episode, even though it tends to get a bad rap from folks who can’t stand the dull movie. And while I know there’s a lot of animosity towards Crow’s ultra-long Jerry Garcia solo, I just think it’s hilarious. Not necessarily the playing itself (though it is very Garcia-esque and Trace’s little bobs and weaves with Crow are a great touch), but everyone’s reactions to them.
The riffing is top-drawer all the way through. All three guys do the Krasker voice amazingly well (Crow’s delivery of “I had just finished my ironing” makes me bust up every time I hear it). And despite what Paul said in the ACEG, I think Krasker is actually kind of a cool character. He never talks to the dead, sure, but he has just the right balance of mystery and creepiness about him, and he does get the killer to confess in the end.
I watched this episode specifically in preparation for this review, but now I can’t think of anything that stood out for me; it’s just another episode. There are others episodes that I truly dislike. I think the short was fine. I never bothered getting a replacement disc as I don’t run this episode up very much. The glitch is somewaht annoying, but the playback never skipped or stopped and for this episode that’s ok.
Here we go, the earliest season 6 episode that I’ve seen enough to comment on (still haven’t watched 601 and 602 even though I have them):
Short:
* I’m in agreement that this is the most dull short they riff on MST3K, but still a good riffing opportunity. The presence of the actual selling wizard makes the difference.
* Kevin Murphy shines once again as Servo becomes frustrated when succumbing to wanting to buy every freezer in sight.
* Perhaps the most nifty thing is that the basic design of those freezers remains the same today.
* Favorite riff: Tie between “You filthy degenerate!” and “The pizza dominatrix!”
Movie:
* Like the Final Sacrifice, this would have worked better as a TV series (with a few changes, of course).
* Despite the slow pacing and god-awful acting, I find it clever how they tricked the murderer into confessing. Though if he wasn’t too chicken to go to the police over being blackmailed we wouldn’t have had a movie.
* People like the crazy evangelical make me feel better when I’m accused of not being a(mainstream) Christian.
* Saying the name “Tony Petini” 10 times fast has become my new tongue twister challenge for people.
* The officer who wanted to beat a confession out of Petini would be happy to know that the police brutality level in this country has sunk even lower than just beatings. Thankfully the lieutenant is more honorable.
* Favorite riffs: “I wrote a story for HIGHLIGHTS!” and “Stop in the name of Eddie Deezen!”
Host segments:
* I decided to start commenting on these since the host segments would sometimes make or break the episode if the movie was bland.
* I highly doubt Abe Lincoln would refer to himself as “The Great Emancipator” since his purpose in invading the South was not to free the slaves.
* The guitar solo is most enjoyable in Segment 2 while it just gets painful over the end credits (and the DVD menu). That segment may also be the only time in the show’s run when anyone is glad to see movie sign.
* Favorite segment: 3 for Frank’s breakdown.
“THIS, IS THIS.”
Not a top tier for me, but one I can watch repeatedly. I don’t mind the short, but there are a number I found much more humorous. Still the movie is so odd that it really works for me. While I find the Jerry Garcia thing to be mildly annoying at times, I absolutely love the first segment with the fire drill.
“I guess there’s really no where to go!”
Crow (as Krasker): “Say, you wouldn’t be interested in a radio that can-naaaaaw….”
Once again, Trace’s delivery is perfect. My favourite riff.
A dull, dull movie and not the funniest episode either. Enjoyable, but not anywhere near top-notch for me. There are some good jokes during the short and the movie, which is amazing considering how dull they both are, but I don’t find this as joke-dense (or laugh dense) as many other episodes. The best part about the movie is it’s so bad you don’t care about it at all, which lets you focus strictly on the jokes. From that standpoint, it has repeat viewing value.
Tom: And remember to but Ed McMahon’s Budweiser Ice Cream.
Crow: Hey-ohhh!
Darn typo…
Lady- I can’t hear anything.
Tom- Maybe that’s because it’s a RAZOR BLADE IN A GLASS!
And are you sure the episode was fixed by Rhino? I seem to remember them stating that this was the condition the episode came in and rather than trying to get rights to better treated episodes they just went with this one.
Middle of the road for me. Short’s pretty good but not in my top 10. Movie’s just painfully dull. I did like the host segments though, especially the one where they were all The Dead.
I really like this one! I think the film is so charming in it’s ineptitude. Kind of like watching kids perform a school play…about a crossbow murder. In fact, I’ve found that while the riffing is good (It’s Pete Townsend!), the movie is pretty hilarious in it’s own right. The acting is sooooo bad! My favorite scene is watching “Ray Rock” grooving to the jazz band at the radio station. I find myself humming that damn tune in my head long after the credits have rolled. In fact, I’m doing it right now! Toot-ta-toot-toot. Toot-ta-toot-toot…
I just watched this one for the first time in years and really enjoyed it. I too remembered it as dull, but after giving it some space, I found it be a really good episode. I believe this to be a pretty good movie and the riffing only makes it better.
Fave Line: The film has taken a Jarmuschian turn.
Jeyl beat me to the punch, but I too remember Rhino stating that this was the only copy available as well.
As far as the Episode goes, it’s a favorite, love the reference to Natalie Merchant when they pan to the big German guy at the beginning.
I love this episode, too. It took me a few viewings before i really started to enjoy it but it’s certainly one of the many highlights of Season 6. I always wondered why this movie was never actually released, while Coleman Francis’ were free to wreck havoc. I kind of enjoy it, in a weird way. :grin:
Does anyone else want Crow to be hit with a clown hammer once his guitar solo goes too long?
Anyway, this movie came up a few months ago when we had the weekend discussion of ineffective movie heroes. I chose Henry Krasker for basically disproving his own studies by staging that elaborate hoax at the end of the movie. The movie was pretty interesting nevertheless.
The Selling Wizard is a good industrial short. The lady hosting it is pretty. There are good riffs and it’s in color.
Did everyone get the Chuck Berry joke they make at Krasker’s classic query about “…strange things on the radio?” The friend I first watched it with had to explain about the tape a lot of morning zoo-crews used to play, of Mr. Berry apparently indulging his appetite for a combination of prostitutes and…um…flatulence. 2 great tastes, that…the Hell?…
Said monologue is likely the most pretentious 3 minutes of anything they ever riffed. Rhino needed a remarkably odd ep to stand out in Vol. 8 between twin-pillars-of-Hell, “Monster A-Go-Go” and “Hobgoblins”, and I laughed just as hard at this one.
“It’s the pizza-dominatrix!” was the only part of the short that stands out for me, though. Not that they shouldn’t have done it: it’s oddness nicely complements the feature.
(After minutes of redundant narration) Crow: “Boy, it’s not gonna’ be very suspenseful when the murder finally happens.”
My favorite riffs:
Servo (sings): Don’t rot away, Renee…
And the aforementioned:
Krasker: I’m not a medium.
Crow: I’m a petite!
I like this episode a lot, mostly for the reason Cabbage Patch Elvis (#20) already mentioned. Also, it moves along at a fair clip.
I’m kind of surprised there wasn’t a Bill Kurtis reference. The lead cop/narrator sounded just like him. I don’t know if Kurtis’ voice had become an A&E staple yet, but he did have some national exposure, and a couple of the Brains would have been familiar with him from time in Chicago.
The problems with the disc aren’t “encoding problems.” They’re clearly problems with the source tape. (DVD encoding errors don’t occur in bands like these do.)
It’s not surprising this film never got released, because it kind of falls between two stools (as it were). It positions itself as a paranormal thriller, but as I’m a Medium (#6) mentions, there’s actually no paranormal activity at all. And as a police procedural it falls down, because the solution ends up being to make all the suspects nervous, and hope the killer blurts out something incriminating.
Still, there’s just something so darn eager and ingratiating about it. You can’t say they just didn’t care.
From this episode I learned:
1. Industrial freezers come in many different attractive sizes.
2. Italian table clothes make a pretty outfit.
3. Fwoopy hair started long before the “Twilight” movies.
4. You can kill someone with a sharpened drape rod.
5. Boarding houses are full of creepy people.
6. ANYONE can make a movie, and did.
Randy
Several very pithy (NOT spoken with a lisp) and insightful comments.
This movie DOES have that “crappy, community theatre” feeling to it, doesn’t it? What with the monologue addressed to the audience at the beginning and then what amounts to little more than a magic act at the end. Here in Southern California, there’s a little theatre company that has been doing “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” as a play occassionally. Maybe “The Dead Talk Back” can be their Halloween offering.
Krasker has that kind of voice – like the platinum midget in “Outlaw” – that all of the guys could do so well. “I had to do my i-ron-ying.”
One of my favorites, but definitely in the “Huh?” category.
Rene: “They’re taking a whole crew down to Catalina – models, electricians, photographers – ”
Crow: “Pipe fitters…snake handlers…teppanyaki chefs…”
Now THAT sounds like a fun photo shoot!
Love it when the cop narrator finally formally introduces himself.
Crow:”I probably should have told you that sooner, I admit it, I had something to do…”
This, IMO, continues a string of some of great episodes.
Probably in my top 3 favorite episodes!
“Tag, no tag backs!”
This is one of those really good episodes that is just a few memorable jokes of being great. I think M&TB do these type of movies well: this one being a case where there is seemingly nobody on the cast who has any prior filming experience, so the ineptitude shows clearly. (Although if I were a director, I would admittedly take Aldo Farnese to play my most annoying, ugly character; he seemed very comfortable in front of a camera). The officer/voice-over guy has a voice that sounds forced, like he’s ready to produce a good b.m.
Anyway, the riffing here is very good, host segments were ok (I was never a ‘Dead fan), with Crow’s continuous guitar-playing abit annoying by the end of the show. However, I always enjoyed Frank’s meltdown: “I killed that fat barkeep! And I’m glad I did it!!” while Forrester stares at the camera in horrid disbelief.
One thing I really liked about Season 6 was the effort to incorporate Frank & Forrester even more during the host segments; it seems that almost every episode that season had at least some input from either or both of them in the middle segments of the show. (Not to mention them in the theater during “Last of the Wild Horses”). That helped give the season its own identity.
Sampo: I especially enjoyed the first segment that has since doomed the Buffalo Bills. (I’m a Patriots fan, same division as Buffalo for those who don’t follow the NFL). Jim Kelly was indeed his generation’s Fran Tarkenton… plenty of opportunities to win The Big Game, but nothing to show for it.
Personally I feel that season six is practically flawless, and this episode continues that rationale. Despite the short being, agreed, the worst one they ever did (it’s just not… weird enough, comparatively), the movie more than makes up for it. That doofy religious nut’s my favorite character, outside of Krasker, of course.
Oh, and that little Arnold Stang-esque shoe guy. Him too.
The selling wizard was hilarious.
“A million cubic feet capacity!”
“I’m sorry I ate all my band candy!” :cry: I’ve been thinking about the “action” sequence of Mr. Patini (nerdy guy) running from the law (toothy guy). Is that how they would normally run? The cop especially looks as though he has absolutely no way to control how fast his legs are going!
This is a great, goofy movie all on its own. When you have dialog like “No light may be permitted, except for maybe a little bit,” you know you’re in for a good time. And M&tBs do a fine job with it all. Most of my favorite riffs have been mentioned…this is a solid ep for me.
I always thought that with some major work, and a lot of rewrites, this had the potential to be a “real” movie, a sort of C-level Mystery Street. As it stands now, I agree with the poster who mentioned the Community Theater feel – there’s such a sense of “golly, we’re making a MOVIE, isn’t that nifty?”
The confession segment is one of my all time favorites. The combination of Frank losing it with Clay’s expressions make me rewind and rewatch this segment several times whenever I watch this episode.
“Arrest him for the accent!”
The short is alright. It tends to get better when the guys are riffing on the Selling Wizard herself. “Wow, that was close, she was mad!”
The film itself, well…it starts off pretty good, ends pretty good, it just really really drags horribly for me for most of the middle and so this episode isn’t one of my favourites. The german guy and Skunk Head are great characters to pick on (“You know, not kneeing you in the groin is a constant struggle.”) but they sadly aren’t in it enough, with the rest of the characters being very bland.
The last I read here at Satellite News was Rhino saying that was the condition in which they received the master and there was no plans to do anything about it. I also remember having to wait for Rhino to investigate the matter and get back with you guys…when they finally did get back with a verdict I seem to remember one of you guys (Sampo or Erhardt) saying you kind of expected their decision.
If there was an update since then I guess I missed it. As a fanatical collector who is heartbroken with the slightest imperfections, I’d love to know how to make sure I’m buying the fixed version as opposed to the glitchy one.
This *is* one of my favorites. It eludes me exactly why. It’s existence is so inexplicable.
“I’m so lonely! *sob*”
Pretty solid episode all around. I’m siding with those that like the short, strong riffing throughout, particularly Tom’s losing it “Wait, the one I bought doesn’t have that?” The movie is hopeless, but provides so much fodder for the M&TB’s, it’s perfect.
While I’m a long way from being a true Deadhead, I did have the honor of seeing them in concert before Jerry Garcia died, and Crow’s guitar solo is pretty close to the real thing. The only things missing from the segment were a dense cloud of intoxicating smoke, an extended Micky Hart drum solo and the skinny girl with greasy hair whirling like a dervish in the aisles. I love Mike’s non-sensical lyrics for Cosmic Freight Train, too.
I’ll have to re-watch the episode for more thoughts…
the narrator’s “countdown” to death was so well riffed, i loved this ep and the short is hilarious- a million thimble sized pints!
I’m also a fan of this ep., but for reasons I can’t fathom. That said, my favorite bit in the short is Mike’s goofy laugh of glee as tha narrator explains how the defroster works on the freezer. I have to say that between Fritz Kruger and Henry Krasker, the accent fodder is too good to miss! Any impressions of these two by M&TB sends me into fits of laughter!
How about Mike and TBs go back in time (what’s one or two more extra crows?) and have a Dead-Off with Crow, Brain Guy, and Bobo against the
originals? (Obviously Tom Servo could be the
manager, and Gypsy would outdance any girl with greasy hair-although I doubt Richard Basehart would approve of her being at such an event).
And what was the episode where Brain Guy was a
sort of psychodelic hippie?
Speaking of the Dead, a friend of mine commented during today’s Rifftrax Live that Kevin is turning into Jerry Garcia. All he needs is to chop off two of his fingers and he’s all set!
ck (#45) – I think you’re thinking of Future War, where Brain Guy and Bobo play psychadelic music to help the bots halucinate.
And Gypsy dancing like the girl I remember from the concert would truely be a masterpiece of distruction. Greasy hair was spinning at about 10,000 rpm.
Sorry, but I agree with those that didn’t think the short was very good. A few good lines, but in the lineage of MST shorts, this is FAR down the list.
The movie is pretty good though, and I fell into the trap of actually getting into the movie. Therefore, this is to me one of the better movies they have done. There is still plenty of crappiness to riff on though, especially the dreadfully boring first ten minutes or so.
“She now had 2 and one half minutes to live.”
I just watched it again – and fell asleep!
I’ll chalk it up, in part, to having had a long day, but someone mentioned earlier that this movie (not necessarily the Episode) is a real Sominex-inducing piece of film. They might be on to something.
I’ve also noticed – as I’m sure many/most of you have as well – that each Season tends to have a general rhythm, or theme to it. Like Season 3’s “Film Ventures/SandyFrank/Roger Corman” Combo Punch (man, that hurts).
Season 6’s theme seems to be the “Teenage Angst/Bizarre, Unfinished Movie/Coleman Francis” Kick to the Groin (ouch.)
Cop: “What was the charge?”
Crow: “Uh, cross-bow killing. But I didn’t do this one!”
Yes this is a hard movie. The short was kinda stupid but the whole dead thing (with the guitar solo that never ends) really did it for me in this episode. We all either know “that” person, was “that” person, or went to school with “that” person. I really don’t like the dead however the conversation they have at the start of that segment reminds me of some conversations I heard in my last two years of high school (also known as the bad-er ones). My favorite moment of this movie is the whole “ha oh no you just tricked me into confessing and I should kinda act as if I didn’t just say the things that you heard me just say that incriminated me”.