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Episode guide: 618- High School Big Shot (with short: ‘Out of this World’)

618s

Short: (1954) Industrial film aimed at keeping bread truck drivers on the straight and narrow.
Movie: (1959) A high school dweeb agrees to take part in a heist to win the favor of a hot but dumb classmate.

First shown: 12/10/94
Opening: Mike has a headache, and the bots are no help
Intro: Frank clones a dinosaur, while Crow mixes a potion that makes Tom Servo huge!
Host segment 1: M&tB have a suggestion: “specialty breads”
Host segment 2: Crow and Tom egg Mike, and don’t understand what they did is wrong
Host segment 3: Crow and Tom try to break into Gypsy’s diary
End: Mike reads a letter while the bots reenact the end of the movie, Dr. F. gives the dino something to chew on
Stinger: “A million bucks!”
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (217 votes, average: 4.25 out of 5)

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• I’d say this one is hit and miss. Admittedly, the short is strange, but it’s a little long and it feels to me like their riffing kind of runs of out of steam toward the end. The movie is just a bit too drab for me, and while the riffing is great in some places, it kind of dies down in others. The host segments are hit-and-miss as well.
• This episode will come out in the spring as part to Shout’s Vol. XXXVIII.
• Suddenly Crow’s arms work, just in time for cymbal practice.
• Mike really does suffer from chronic headaches, as he said in this New York Times piece.
• “Jurassic Park” had been out for more than a year, so a bit about a cloned dinosaur was hardly a brand new idea, but I do like Frank patiently saying “No…no…bad boy…” as Dr. F is devoured.
• Props to Jef Maynard on giant Servo. Movie bad!
• Servo sums up how the short was used with his line right at the end of the short.
• Segment 1 is sort of a state park joke of a segment. Yes, the bread truck driver was kind of a dork. We get it.
• Segment 2 gets off a cute punchline … then keeps on going for some reason.
• Callback: “Might as well have Mitchell for a dad.”
• Non-spaghetti ball bumpers: Bulletin board, book, beaker.
• That’s Stanley Adams, the poor man’s Jackie Gleason, as they wry safe cracker.
• Segment three is kind of dud, but I do like the obscure reference to the ’60s TV show “T.H.E. Cat” which I absolutely LOVED when I was kid (so of course it was canceled). Oh and props to Jef again for the great blown up bots in this segment.
• Mayhem in the theater: Tom does a “Don’t Pay the Ferryman” joke once too often and Mike hurls him out of the theater.
• That sounds like Kevin as the voice of the dinosaur at the end. Kind of similar to his killer shrew voice.
• Cast and crew round-up: I am not going to do the Roger Corman litany again. Cinematographer: John Nicholaus Jr. also worked on “Attack of the Giant Leeches” and “Night of the Blood Beast.” Editor Carlo Lodato worked on “Attack of the Giant Leeches.” Makeup guy Harry Thomas also worked on “Night of the Blood Beast,” “The Mad Monster;” “Project Moon Base,” “The Unearthly,” “Bride of the Monster,” “Invasion USA” and “Racket Girls.” Set designer John F. Burton also worked on “The Girl in Lovers Lane” and “12 to the Moon.”
In front of the camera: Malcolm Atterbury is also in “I Was A Teenage Werewolf,” Peter Leeds was also in “Girls Town.” Byron Foulger was also in “The Rebel Set.” Bobby Hall was also in “Bloodlust.” Bill Coontz was also in “The Girl in Lovers Lane” and “Bloodlust!”
• CreditsWatch: Host segments directed by Jim Mallon. It’s with this episode that Julie Walker stops being called “Info Club Coordinator” and becomes “Info Club Poobah.” Bagpipe music: Peter B. Dysart.
• Fave riff from the short: “Make sure you stock your TRUCK UP, so that you don’t … well, you know…” Honorable mention: “I’m starring in Forever Plaaaaiiiid.”
• Fave riff from the movie: “How’s the German-expressionist date going?” Honorable mention: “I hate it when his face lights up.”

133 Replies to “Episode guide: 618- High School Big Shot (with short: ‘Out of this World’)”

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  1. swh1939 says:

    “Movie bad. Movie go away!”

    Priceless.

       9 likes

  2. Kenneth Morgan says:

    One is hard pressed to think of a movie more flat-out depressing than “High School Big Shot”. It’s like the ending of “The Girl in Lovers Lane”, stretched to feature length and minus even the merest amount of hope the latter supplied.

    And I’m sure there must be a market for pointy bread somewhere.

       5 likes

  3. No, Malcolm Atterbury is “Depressing Dad”, also seen in “I Was a Teenage Werewolf.” The wry safecracker is Stanley Adams, who also appeared in a Twilight Zone episode with Buster Keaton called “Once Upon a Time.”

    I love this episode; the bread short is hilarious. The very concept of a special division of angels and devils set to monitor the salesmanship practices of delivery truck drivers is worth about an hour’s worth of riffs, and they don’t disappoint in delivering the best ones. And it’s true, the bread truck driver does get megalomaniacal towards the end. Plus, the “specialty bread” skit is funny as well, though they could have come up with even funnier “specialty breads.”

    The movie IS depressing, but there’s something funny about how heavily they sell the angst in it. The movie just clunks you over the head with how miserable Marvin’s life is. Depressing Dad is a real anchor around Marvin’s neck. And though his evil girlfriend seems to have a little depth, she becomes a shallow backstabber in an instant because she’d rather date an ugly, idiot thug. Mike and the Bots really make the most of the clumsiness of the entire setup. Plus, some of the bad directorial touches are ripe as well:

    “Hey! I’m fake-walkin’ here!”

    and

    Marvin: “Turn out the [head]lights.”
    Crow: “Yeah, they don’t need them now that it’s two in the afternoon!”

       6 likes

  4. Klisch says:

    This is a very bland episode, and viewing it just once is enough. I kind of think of this as eating a bowl of Lucky Charms without the marshmallows. Just not very enjoyable.

       3 likes

  5. MattG says:

    “Beer Wine: wine made from fresh beer.”

    The short is the highlight of this experiment. So many classic riffs in it, such as observing a moment of silence at the bread memorial or using special displays to sell funeral breads and war breads.

       2 likes

  6. Kris says:

    Despite the fact that this movie makes me want to commit suicide, Mike hurling Servo across the theater because he won’t stop singing “Don’t Pay the Ferryman” is one of the funniest moments in all MST history for me. Yes, it’s a cheap joke, but I love it anyway. I hate that damn song. Toss him good, Mike.

       2 likes

  7. GizmonicTemp says:

    I seem to remember something from the ACEG that said that the Brains were required to do certain movies? Like, they wanted to do one in a batch and the distributor required them to do the whole batch? Am I wrong? Anyway, I can’t imagine the BRAINS as actually wanting to do this movie. It’s just SOOOOOO dark and SOOOOOO depressing!

    Son, you have a small winky!

       0 likes

  8. Droppo says:

    Alright, Sampo…I’m proving your theorem correct.

    Not only do I love this episode, but, it is my second favorite Mike episode of all time (only behind Santa Claus) and easily in my top 10 favorite MST3K episodes ever.

    The short is one of the best they’ve ever done. The insane premise of an angel and devil fighting over the soul of a bread delivery salesman is too good to be true.

    The feature is perfect, combining the perfect ingredients for a classic MST3K episode:

    1. Remarkably unappealing lead actor.
    2. It takes itself far too seriously.
    3. Unfunny supporting characters (the bank robbers).
    4. Dumb supporting character (Vince).
    5. Remarkably unappealing lead actress.
    6. Awkward teen romance.
    7. An ill-conceived heist.

    It includes lines that make me laugh out loud every time including:

    “Am I a sweathog now, Mr. Cotter?”

    and

    “Triumph of the bread!”

    For me, High School Bigshot is in the MST3K Hall of Fame.

       14 likes

  9. Only seen the short once thanks to Shorts Vol. 3 and don’t have any intention of seeing the movie anytime soon, so I’ll pass on commentary this week.

    Definitely looking forward to Red Zone Cuba next week though.

       0 likes

  10. itsspideyman says:

    Will always love Mike throwing Servo across the room.

       5 likes

  11. jjb3k says:

    I love Season 6, but even I have to admit this is an uneven episode. Riffing’s pretty good (“She’s guilty of thought crimes, put the rat mask on her!”), but you’re right, the host segments are surprisingly weak. The “specialty bread” skit doesn’t really have a punchline, and it feels like stuff they could have easily worked into the riffing of the short itself. “The bots egg Mike” does have a punchline, but as Sampo observed, it keeps going after it’s been reached. “Crow and Servo try to blow the lock off Gypsy’s diary” is okay, but still kind of limp. But at least I can get big laughs from giant Servo and Dr. F getting mauled by an itty-bitty dinosaur.

    Really depressing movie. There, I got it out of the way. Episodes like this that feature downers of a film really need top-drawer riffing to save them from being a chore. “The Girl in Lovers’ Lane” and “Teenage Crime Wave” manage to achieve this balance of sad movie and hysterical riffing, but here, the theater segments are just middling.

    I will admit, though, there is one bit in the theater that made me laugh out loud – when Marvin’s dad is talking about his hot date, and Crow and Servo make her out to be some magical fairy princess that he made up (“You see, she lives in the thimble kingdom and she has to defend the mushroom people before we can marry” “Her names Thimbelina, by the way, she milks butterflies, and she’s charmed; if I touch her, I turn to wood”).

       2 likes

  12. Dames Like Her says:

    This episode is ok to sit through again, though it does drag along a bit.
    Poor Mike as the ‘Bots torture him with cymbals and a bagpipe! I hope he no longer suffers from migranes- it’s amazing how he managed to conceal his pain during episodes.
    I love giant Servo! Wonder where he is?
    The dinosaur puppet is great. What talent on this show.
    ‘Out of this World’- I think the riffing is consistently good. The voices used to imitate the Devil entertain. ‘I’ll do community theat-errrrr.’ The short also showcases part of Americana that has mostly disappeared- the neighborhood, independently owned grocery store. I for one would love to shop at a store with a rotating circus carousel of baked goods. And the new little shopping carts at Mr. Marco’s store- Mike’s ‘Be a shame if this ran over your kid,’ always cracks me up. I can’t help but wondering who the target audience was for this short. ‘Triumph of the bread!’
    ‘High School Big Shot’ is creepy from the first frame. ‘[Marvin] has a haunting ugliness,’ indeed.
    The interactions with his father are so sordid. His father’s leering at Betty nauseates. The last thing I want to think of is the father’s love life. ‘Want to get a porn movie?’ The father’s destruction of the ‘lucky’ coffee table- ‘Hand me the remote, son,’ as he lays intoxicated is dark stuff indeed.
    Servo’s determination to sing all of ‘Don’t Pay the Ferryman,’ and his subsequent trip sailing through the air in the Theater is funny.
    Without the short, sitting through this one again would be pretty tough; ultimately, as Mike says ‘That was a rugged movie.’

       6 likes

  13. I'm not a medium, I'm a petite says:

    I gave this a 3.

    Both the short and the movie are too low energy for my tatse, and there is not enough riffing. The riffs that are there mostly pretty solid, but a lot are kind of ‘expected’.

    The short does not hold a candle to the Selling Wizard. Despite dramatis personae that inlcudes an angel and devil, it is actually kind of reasonable and level headed. It lacks the intense enthusiasm of other shorts. But the host segment about specialty breads was good ( a bread studded with bars of butter ! )

    I’ll become Dr. Smith !

    The movie IS depressing, but also lacked any kind of… activity ? action ? Even now I can’t really think of enough events happening to make up a plot, and i just watched it again last night. There was the first 10 minutes and the last ten minutes and something must have happened in between but I can’t think of what.

    Stanley Adams is probably most famous as Cyrano Jones in the Trouble with Tribbles. He also did a turn as Otis’ brother in Andy Griffith. Has a huge body of work.

    ( very ? ) Obscure Riff: Go Home ! Go Home ! is a referencce to the how Tracey Ullman used to end her TV show ( with Betty looking vaguelly similiar )

    There were more riffs that I liked but I can’t think of them.

    Maybe I’ll try watching it again and see if I can get more out of it.

       2 likes

  14. I'm not a medium, I'm a petite says:

    even more depression, via imdb…. this was Tom “Marv” Pittman’s last film. He was killed in some kind of ‘road accident’ before the film was even released.

       5 likes

  15. DON3k says:

    Love both the movie and the short.

    Then what you have there, Sir, is a specialty bread..

    As for the film, it can be summed up in one frame:
    http://users6.nofeehost.com/thedon3k/mst3k/HDBigShotHanging.jpg

    Any boy, the “title?” character has a really unappealing face. I believe he was killed in a car crash a couple of years after the film.

    Doesn’t that just piles even more misery onto this production’s vibe.

       1 likes

  16. bartcow says:

    Yeah, I like this one (’cause I like ’em all), but it’s certainly not a go-to episode when I want a late-night chuckle. It’s just too dark and depressing. At least Jimmy in I Accuse My Parents was enough of a doofus that you actually kind of enjoy it when he gets beaten up. Marv just makes me want to cry. Maybe the movie could have used a couple of jaunty Livingston/Evans tunes…

       3 likes

  17. Sampo says:

    Thanks for the catch on Adams/Atterbury. That was a brain fart.

       1 likes

  18. bigdaddy320 says:

    Saw this ep for the first time last night and thought it was great. Again, thanks DAP. To me it was like a follow up to the short “Cheating”. I just couldn’t believe how quickly his life fell apart after he cheated. The short for me was one of the best ever. The whole premise is just plain silly. The riffs there were hysterical.
    -Can I split your top and butter your buns?
    -Why does the stripclub need bread?
    -Never put donuts next to the kitty litter.
    -I’m a specialty bread. Eat Me!
    -No thanks. I use toilet paper.

       4 likes

  19. MikeK says:

    “Specialty breads!” Whenever I hear that phrase in real life, I think of the “Out of This World” short.

    I like the riffing on the short and the movie, but the host segments really are hit or miss. I get the feeling that the Brains knew this as well. The host segments have a deliberate randomness to them.

    The first host segment is good, of course. I love Servo Hulk. I first saw the short on the collection of shorts, so seeing Servo Hulk out of context was strange.

    Servo’s second “in theater” action was towards the end of the movie, when Mike throws him. It’s fun to watch.

    The short is a classic. Apparently it’s a generic training film bread salesmen. I wonder if “Staff” was a real brand of bread? If not, then DuPont sure went all the way to make it look real. The campy devil and stiff angel were really weird. I love Mike’s riff, “I’ll win a Tony one day.” The deliveryman’s flashback to how he used to be was very funny. “You want my coffee ring today? It would be a shame if something happened to your store.”

    The movie is, truly, the most dreary movie to have been MSTied. Hamlet is dreary just by way of its production, but High School Big Shot is dreary all around. I agree with Mike, the two criminals were far more interesting than the rest of the movie put together.

    Favorite riff, Mike: “They’re operating under a different theology.” In regard to the weird scene of a devil and angel working in the same office on another plane of existence.

       3 likes

  20. Cliff Weismeyer says:

    I agree with most folks, this one is good, not bad, not great. Still, credit to the writers (Frank picked the movies, but did he pair the shorts?) for tagging the really goofy shorts onto the most turgid blogs of film. Like Mr. B/Colossal Beast, the short saves a dull movie from killing the whole episode.

    That being said, this episode is probably diminished in my memory by what follows:

    “Griffin…..ran all the way to hell. With a penny…and a broken cigarette.”

    “Bart Fargo!”

    “Flag on the moon. How did it get there?”

    “Shine shine, shine your love!”

       2 likes

  21. Roswdower17 says:

    “SERVO KILL?”

       2 likes

  22. Roswdower17 says:

    “SERVO KILL?” Giant Servo is the best thing in this episode. Love it.

       0 likes

  23. MitchellRowsdowerBeardsley says:

    Yeah, get to Bart Fargo and Shining your love. At least they were in color! Season 6 seems so dreary. Lets get to some fun!

       0 likes

  24. Spector says:

    I’ve said before that the darker the movie the tougher the job for the Brains in mining the laughs, and this one is a classic example. It’s just soooo dark and depressing that getting through it is a tough slog. Again, I’m not knocking the Brains as they do their best but this one just doesn’t work out. Certainly isn’t one of my favorite episodes and one best left forgotten.

    The short was okay, not among the best, but did have its moments, and I thoroughly enjoyed the host segments, but for me they weren’t enough to save this episode.

    Fortunately Season Six had far more hits than misses and this one was among the rare ones.

    Two stars out of five.

       2 likes

  25. rcfagnan says:

    One of the first few MSTs I ever saw, I caught it on it’s debut shortly after Thanksgiving. On the first couple viewings I just couldn’t watch the movie (the short was hilarious) but as I got older, the movie became more bearable. I enjoyed the episode and liked the host segments a lot (I didn’t think they were hit or miss, the way some folks seem to). It shows how well the played the third host segment that I laughed at it even though I had no idea that they were satiring something at all (I’d never even heard of T.H.E. Cat until reading this thread!) A good, not great, episode.

       1 likes

  26. jason says:

    First this guy is suppose to be smart but he falls so easily for this above average lady’s con? Then her boyfriend is actually just as ugly as the main character is. They all get caught up in a stupid caper. what a great idea for a movie. let’s go with it. This is good episode not great.

       0 likes

  27. R.A. Roth says:

    I thought they pulled off the difficult task of making light of a VERY downbeat film full of overacted teenage angst, dense comic relief and an ending so over the top it makes It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World look like My Dinner With Andre. I gave it 5 to balance out some of the goof balls who scored it below a 4, which it is. A solid sampling of the show in its prime where the movie is not necessarily conductive to riffing. Hamlet, anyone?

    Randy

       1 likes

  28. A few other notes about how goofy the main picture is:

    If Marvin is supposed to be so smart, how come he couldn’t conceal the fact that he wrote Betty’s paper better? What’s more, why didn’t he take time to brief her on what it was about? The whole term paper cheat was ridiculously planned from the start.

    Tom Servo also chuckles a bit when the teacher says “I can’t even blame you” to Marvin about writing Betty’s paper. I mean, what the hell? Considering that he pretty much rails against the pair of them during the entire scene over it, this odd bit of “empathy” comes completely out of nowhere.

    Then, when Marv finally sees the light (“You were just using me!” Crow: “Ding ding! We have a winner!”) he STILL chases after this useless tramp, draining me of my last bit of sympathy. And seriously, how far is $550,000 in stolen money going to take them, even by 50s standards?

       5 likes

  29. This Guy says:

    Let’s not forget about Stanley Adams’s turn as Cyrano Jones in Star Trek‘s “The Trouble with Tribbles.”

    I’ve only seen the movie once, and can’t remember anything too specific about it, but the short is beautiful. Speaking of Star Trek, the devil in the short makes me think of a (very) poor man’s Q.

       4 likes

  30. I'm not a medium, I'm a petite says:

    $550,000 in 1955 has the same purchasing power as $4.4M today ( per the US Dept of Labor / CPI calculator ).

    That’s more than enough to do some serious damage. Sure he’d burn through a cool million on the cow-town tart before he got bored with her but then he’d move on with plenty in the old mattress.

       7 likes

  31. GersonK says:

    Re: Malcolm Atterbury – his next release was North by Northwest – he’s the guy who points out the cropduster. He follows up a film with a 1.7 rating in IMDB with an 8.6. Is that a record?

    Is segment #1 really a state park joke? Yes, it riffs on two obvious themes (the guy is boring, specialty breads are silly), but it does a little more than just state the truth (“this movie looks like it was shot in state park”). Or do I just have too rigid a definition?

    And here’s a link to the unriffed short.

       0 likes

  32. Roman Martel says:

    Haven’t seen the film, but the short is one of my favorites. There’s lots to work with here and they do a great job with it. I love the moment where the devil says in a mocking voice, “Plus Volume? Grocer Goodwilll? Pah!” Now, I can’t enter a grocery without mentioning a line from this short… well that and “Buying Food”. :)

    I’d love to see this episode on DVD so I can have the short (I missed out on the Shorts Vol3 on DVD).

       3 likes

  33. MikeK says:

    In Marvin’s defense, it was a good plan. However, if it weren’t for Marvin’s stupidity, that caper would have been successful. He thought with the wrong head and was over-confident when it came to when they should leave to steal the money.

       2 likes

  34. I love the short in this one! Just so wierd and goofy, and the jokes were spot on.
    The movie though was quite depressing. Almost everyone dies. It also features one of the most violent scenes in MST3K history, when the guy empties a gun into the girl at point blank range. Yikes!

       0 likes

  35. I'm not a medium, I'm a petite says:

    ( Sorry, I had 55’s on the brain. Those 1958 dollars convert to just over $4M. But my point still stands )

       2 likes

  36. CMWaters says:

    31: Eh, I dunno…I kinda think that the scientist from “The Brain That Wouldn’t Die” getting his neck eaten off is a bit more violent than what was described.

       0 likes

  37. I'm not a medium, I'm a petite says:

    RE 31 & 33 ( and others )

    Sampo : A weekend discussion maybe ? most violent, upsetting or disturbing subject film.

       1 likes

  38. fireballil says:

    Gonna do my rememberances later, but I have to do this:

    Re: ‘Triumph of the bread!’ I thought it was ‘Try and pump the bread!’

       1 likes

  39. The Professor says:

    For me, Season 6 is punctuated by some actually decent films. Girls Town, The Dead Talk Back, Bloodlust, and Kitten With a Whip are pretty fun movies on their own in my opinion. While this one isn’t “fun” by any means, it did draw me in the first time i watched it…if not just to see what else the movie would do this poor kid. To the Brain’s credit, the riffing is pretty damn good considering the overwhelmingly dark material. I actually found the main feature to be a bit funnier than the short, which runs out of steam pretty quickly. All in all, a good episode if you’re in the right mood.

       5 likes

  40. rockyjones says:

    Yep….great short (love the ones with that “Once Upon A Honeymoon”/”Design for Dreaming” surreal quality), but the movie’s just too dark and dismal to mine for very many big laughs.

    The two “secondary crooks” are definitley the only remotely likeable characters anywhere to be found. Like some others, I’m also baffled at the utter stupidity that Marvin repeatedly displays, after being setup as such a “brainiac” earlier in the movie. Apparantly, the ability to knock out a killer term paper doesn’t particularly go hand-in-hand with common sense, I guess.

    Love the “diary heist” host segment (“Like a cat!”) and the progression of the bots step-by-step self-destruction.

       1 likes

  41. Trilaan says:

    Keep in mind while reading this that I agree with Crow that “This is my own private Idaho…potato!” is hilarious.

    I admit it, I love a lot about this episode, even the movie. The host segments, while not the greatest, give me a laugh and a chuckle everytime. I think the specialty breads segment is much less about parodying the delivery man than it is about parodying specialty breads.
    My favorite is the one with the shampoo and conditioner built right in(so you don’t have to!).

    Huge Servo, excellent. Lemony hollandaise, love it. Progressively more destroyed ‘Bots, excellent.

    I think for an MST’d movie this one is one of the best from the dark mood to the fairly competent acting it comes together just right for me. I sure hope our “hero”, Marv had a fulfilling and successful life after his troubles in this film.

       3 likes

  42. Zee says:

    Another typical Season six episode- bizarro depressing B&W movie choice (which I like- this movie scrapes levels of Coleman Francisity) paired with goofy, playful short. Really strong opening host segments… and then disappointing inter-interstitial segments. Again, the brains were stretching themselves pretty thin at this point…. I like this one.

       0 likes

  43. Nicolletta says:

    This episode kind of grew on me. So dismal yet so unintentionally hilarious. The way Marvin keeps chasing after that trollop Betty just makes me shake my head. He probably would have got away with stealing the money if he hadn’t blabbed to her. His dad would still be swinging by his neck from the chandelier, but still…

    Anyone else notice that during the scene when Marvin first asks Betty out, she suddenly has a black eye?

       1 likes

  44. H says:

    This is definitely uneven. The short and ensuing host segment are great and so ridiculous that I had trouble believing the short was real. Movie, I have to agree, doesn’t do much for me.
    As for host segments, they start out strong (I especially like Big Servo in the theater) but are just okay for the rest of the show. It’s good, just not great.

       0 likes

  45. Jacob says:

    Classic short!
    “Make sure you stock your truck up, so that you don’t– oh you know…”
    “I’ll be keeping a close eye on these guys from now on– Especially when they’re showering!!”

    The movie itself did suck on toast, tho’. Even worse than “Riding with Death”

       0 likes

  46. Miqel says:

    Wow! What a depressing & bleak film, no wonder I couldn’t remember much about it. I’d rather watch all three Coleman Francis films in a row! The riffing doesn’t really make it tolerable for me, although they gave it a good try. I tried watching this twice this week and fell asleep and/or lost interest both times.
    Season 6 is a great run but this (for me) is the worst of the bunch. 2.99999998 stars.

       0 likes

  47. hamilcar says:

    easily one of my top ten. “let’s see… how else can i scar him? son, you have a tiny winky.”

       2 likes

  48. CJBeiting says:

    Actually, this episode has a special place in my heart, as it was the very first MST3K episode I ever saw. And I saw it under some kinda unusual conditions.

    I was in grad school in England at the time, a difficult experience for anyone, but particularly for a married guy with not much money and a family to boot. This was pre-Internet, so isolation and homesickness were particular problems, along with the usual grad student angst. Anyway, I had heard about this highly-praised TV show back in America that lampooned bad movies, and wanted to see some for myself. I eventually asked my brother to tape a few samples and send them to me (he worked in a video production lab at the time, so he was able to convert the tapes into a format I could use on my English VCR, since Europe’s on a different video format than America is).

    So, eventually I got a box of tapes, but the thing is, I didn’t know quite what to expect when I finally got them. I knew of the show’s basic schtick–mad scientists, bad movie torture, guy and two robots keeping sanity through quips, and so on, but nothing else. In particular, I didn’t know that they sometimes added shorts to films which were not long enough to fill out an episode. So, the first tape I pulled out of the box was “High School Big Shot”, and while I was expecting a movie, I was _not_ expecting a short to go along with it. Any good comedian will tell you that comedy often depends on surprises, so the big surprise to me was the “Out of this World” short, my first MST3K experience.

    Ah, I remember that day well. At the time, my family and I were living in the married student housing apartments of an Anglican seminary (I wasn’t studying for the priesthood or anything, it was just a nice place to live). My wife was at her office job in the evening, and I had just put the kids to bed. It was also Lent, and I was tired, cold, lonely, and crabby. So I decided to treat myself with a snack and one of these new tapes from America.

    Maybe it was the circumstances, or maybe the freshness of the MST3K experience, but “Out of This World” blindsided me Mack truck. The short was pretty surreal all on its own, with that mixture of earnestness and daffiness so common to little filmlets from that era, combined with the weird theme of an angel and devil contending over the work habits of a bread delivery truck driver–it all would have been a stitch entirely on its own. But having riffing added to the mix . . . oh, man, that was an experience. At the end, I really _was_ lying on the floor, I was laughing so hard (a quip like, “This doesn’t match any theology with which I’m familiar” has a lot more punch when one’s neigbors are, in fact, studying theology). It was all so much fun that even “High School Big Shot” was funny as a follow-up, no matter how depressing it was.

    I’ve loved the show ever since!

       17 likes

  49. pearliemae says:

    Ok, I can’t stand it anymore. I have to make a public confession. I thought the actor playing the lead was kind of cute. There, I said it, and I won’t take it back. If I had been in high school with him, I would have had a big crush on him. I would have maybe eventually dug up enough courage to have one of my girlfriends ask him if he liked me, and then maybe we would have gone on a date to the malt shop. If he only had a dollar, or whatever, it would have been ok. We would have studied together, I would have made him Rice Krispy treats, I would listen in sympathy about his creepy, icky, depresso-dad. He would realize how lucky he was to have me instead of the town tramp. Then, we would have gone to the same college, gotten married, had a nice little family. And he NEVER EVER would have gone on a stupid heist and gotten himself killed. Now, wouldn’t that movie have been a lot less depressing? Oh yeah, and I would have served a lot of specialty breads in our home. Sigh.

       22 likes

  50. 1 adam 12 says:

    I’ll go with the good-not-great crowd on this movie, but I love Love LOVE the short. One of my top 5 shorts, in fact.

       0 likes

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