John Carradine is a seminal figure in cinema. He appeared in hundreds of movies and TV shows from Stagecoach to Fantasy Island. He fathered an amazing brood of actors including David (Kung Fu), Keith (Dexter) and Robert (Revenge of the Nerds). He was a giving man in so many ways over his 82 years. Even after his passing, John Carradine was still giving as Mystery Science Theater 3000 feasted on two of his lesser films. After falling out of print for a few years, The Unearthly and Red Zone Cuba have been re-issued as solo DVDs.
The Unearthly is a film is so short that they had to add two education films to fill out the time slot. “Posture Pals” talks about the importance of not slouching. “Appreciating Our Parents” dares children to realize mom and dad clean up the house after bedtime. The Bots spoof this short by reminding Crow how much Gypsy does around the Satellite of Love. The Unearthly puts Carradine in his classic role as the mad scientist. He believes the secret to eternal youth is in the 17th gland. He’s got a lot of failed experiments around his lab including Tor Johnson (Plan 9 From Outer Space). Joel and the Bots pay tribute to the emotional range Tor displays in the film. The stand out segment is when Joel and the Bots stage their own violent scene for America’s Funniest Home Videos. The Unearthly was originally part of the Volume 3 boxset.
Red Zone Cuba isn’t merely a bad film. It’s a “what was the point in them making it” badness. The easy answer is that it was a way for director Coleman Francis to give himself a starring role in a faux war film. A bunch of lowlifes and criminals are hired to invade Cuba. Why? So there can be plenty of scenes involving training in the desert. When their invasion of Cuba goes bad, the guy return to America and go on a major crime spree. Carradine is engineer of the train the guys jump on during their terror trip. Although his role is a recollection at the start of the film. This movie is all about Coleman Francis as the triple threat of actor, director and writer. The man behind The Beast of Yucca Flats seemed to pick up plenty of emoting tips from Tor Johnson. The highlight of the film is John Carradine singing “Night Train to Mundo Fine.” The sketches revolve around how TV’s Frank owes a lot of money to mobsters. Dr. Forrester unwittingly takes the beating for his assistant. Mike goes nuts and becomes Carol Channing to avoid the pain of Red Zone Cuba. The film was originally released as a solo DVD in 2002.
The Unearthly and Red Zone Cuba aren’t close to John Carradine’s finest hours which is perfect for Mystery Science Theater 3000. They are able to properly roast the actor’s performance. His ability to look like he was born at 55 years old. It’s nice to now that his MST3K legacy has been restored to DVD so fans don’t have to pay a premium price for a used copy.
The video is 1.33:1 full frame. The video transfer looks fine. You’ll take in all the detail of Mike’s Carol Channing transformation. The audio is stereo for the Bots and mono for the movie. Both films sound rough, but the riffs are crystal clear.
No bonus features.
< i>Mystery Science Theater 3000 dips into the bottom of John Carradine’s career with The Unearthly and Red Zone Cuba. From these painfully weird films comes such sheer lunacy as Joel, Mike and the Bots get to crack wise over the dumbness.
Shout! Factory presents Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Unearthly and Red Zone Cuba. Starring: Joel Hodgson, Mike Nelson and John Carradine. Running Times: 92 minutes. Released on DVD: August 23, 2011.
