Let the experiment begin!
Experiment #113 ~ THE BLACK SCORPION (1957)Original Air Date: February 13, 1990
Genre: Horror/Sci-Fi
Studio: Amex Productions ~ (Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures)
Starring: Richard Denning, Mara Corday, Carlos Rivas, Mario Navarro, Carlos Muzquiz
Directed By: Edward Ludwig
Theatrical Running Time: 88 Minutes
Tagline: "EVERY HORROR YOU'VE SEEN ON THE SCREEN GROWS PALE BESIDE THE HORROR OF
'THE BLACK SCORPION'"
Film Synopsis: After a series of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes creates a new volcano in a rural Mexican countryside, geologists Arturo Ramos (
Carlos Rivas) and American Hank Scott (
Richard Denning) set out from Mexico City toward the possibly lava-threatened village of San Lorenzo to investigate the strange event.
Along the way they stop at a deserted gas station hoping to find a source of water to fill their Jeep's ailing radiator. They find a demolished police car and nearby, the body of local police Sgt. Vega. In a crib inside the station, they also find an abandoned baby boy. Taking the baby with them, they continue on to San Lorenzo where they are greeted by Father Delgado who is trying to calm the fearful locals. Some citizens of San Lorenzo and a number of livestock have recently disappeared and their mutilated remains have been found. The villagers are spreading rumors among themselves about the return of the "Demon Bull", an ancient demon believed to be the cause of all the recent mayhem.
The next day, continuing on their quest, Hank and Arturo meet Teresa Alvarez (
Mara Corday), owner of a nearby cattle ranch. Arturo finds a curious piece of lava rock. Teresa invites the pair back to the ranch for dinner. They meet the ranch foreman Pio, as well as Florentina the housekeeper and her young son Juanito (
Mario Navarro). After dinner, Arturo breaks open the obsidian rock he collected, revealing a live scorpion inside. Sensing that the livestock are uneasy, Juanito's dog Pancho bolts out the front door of the hacienda toward the cattle stalls. There, Arturo, Hank and Teresa encounter a giant scorpion and realize their guns cannot not stop the rampaging monster. The group flees the ranch and head for the relative safety of San Lorenzo.
In the village, Hank and Arturo are introduced to Dr. Velazco (
Carlos Muzquiz), an entymologist from Mexico City who believes the scorpions are prehistoric survivors that had been living underground until the volcanic eruptions released them, giving them access to the surface. Velazco suggests that the underground nest be found and gas bombed. The military and our adventurous group locate the underground nest and after their scout Mendoza falls to his death in the cavern, they determine that it is too large to be successfully fumigated. While trying to recover Mendoza's remains, Hank and Arturo witness a duel to the death between a giant worm and a giant scorpion. Other giant scorpions are lured by the blood, and they fight amongst themselves until one kills off all other competitors by biting them in a vulnerable spot (
which is apparently just beneath their throat!?).
After a daring escape from the underground cavern by Arturo, Hank and a stowaway Juanito, it is decided to dynamite the entrance to the nest to seal the monsters once again underground. With the threat clearly contained, the crisis is dismissed, and everyone's daily routine is resumed. That is until Army aerial photos show several giant scorpions loose and heading for Mexico City. To avoid a public panic, the military decides to withhold this information to the general public.
The scorpions attack a passenger train killing many people on board and in their blood lust, they attack one each other in a frenzy. The sole surviving scorpion continues to advance toward Mexico City where the military lures it into a large sports stadium. Unleashing a barrage of artillery they attempt to kill it to no avail. As a last resort the humans utilize a weapon devised by Dr. Velazco, a giant harpoon connected to an electrical source in the hopes of destroying the monster. After the first shot misses, Hank takes a second shot successfully lodging the weapon in the creature's throat and electrocutes it.
Intro: Joel introduces himself and explains the premise of the show. The 'Bots are throwing him a party while they await a call from the the Mads, but until then they're going to "party like it's '19
90'!"
Invention Exchange: The party goes awry for Joel when it's revealed that the punch he's been drinking is actually 10w30 motor oil and Tang! Joel presents a 'man-sized' variation on the 11 inch blowout party favor. (You remember, the noisemaker with the coiled paper tube. A classic). Joel's variation is an 8 foot noisemaker, powered by a leaf blower. The Mads present "...oh, never mind." They've copied Joel's invention again. Dr. Erhardt confesses that there has been a little accident in the Mads lab, revealing that both he and Dr. F's heads have mutated into respectively what might resemble a 'Talosian' (except with a
green head and ears) and a shrunken human skull!
Host Segments:Host 1: As most of the cast from today's experiment are of Mexican descent, Joel and the 'Bots see this as an opportunity for a 'cross-cultural learning experience'. Cambot provides subtitles for a disastrous interpretation of "the language of our 'Southern Brethren'". For example...
"Mi casa es su casa. Donde esta tu?" translates to... "Make a thin paste of corn starch, water and birch bark and rub it vigorously into the affected area." Shameless.
Host 2: Crow and Servo discuss human physiology, namely Joel's, and his daily routines (like sleeping, shaving and urinating), as Gypsy mutates into a giant scorpion. Gypsy eats Tom.
Host 3: Joel and the 'Bots pay a fleeting, but heartfelt tribute to pioneering 'stop-motion' animators
Willis O'Brien and
Ray Harryhausen.
End: Joel reads a couple of fan letters. Dr. F. tells Dr. E. to "file this". Larry takes the file, simply says "bye" and exits off-screen.
Items of Note:~ In Host 2, Gypsy's scorpion tail falls off just before she eats Tom.
~ Josh Weinstein (
Dr. Erhardt) is never seen on the series again!
Personal Notes:~ Crow's Dean Martin and Bing Crosby impressions sound, well... alike!
~ In Segment 1, Joel and the 'Bots hold up huge hot dogs on forks, and roast them against the stock footage lava flow.
~ What is with the 'canned applause' each time a character is introduced in the film?!
The 'Riffs':~ (
Servo): "Did you bring the kraut?" (
Crow): "No. I left them in the Volvo!"
~ (
Crow): "Holy buckets!!!". (
Joel): "Oh, well, this isn't good. Not at all, I mean... I''ve
seen good before, and it doesn't look anything like this. Remember that
bad thing we saw?! Well, it looked like this, remember?! This is definitely
bad!"
~ (
Scott and Ramos upon finding an abandoned baby) - - (
Crow): "Alright kid... start talkin'!"
~ (
Scott): "How about this little kid. Not a peep outta him. Ya know, if I ever have any of my own I think I'll feed 'em beans and tortillas too. Then maybe I'll be able to get some sleep nights." (
Joel): "I doubt it!"
~ (
Joel): "Hey! It's Dale Evans! I thought she was stuffed!" (
Crow): "No, only mounted!"
~ (
Crow): "Let me put my new Leonard Nimoy album on. He sings the 'Ballad of Bilbo Baggins!'"
~ Pop culture references ranging from Babe Winkleman, the Orkin man, Tom Sawyer and Wilford Brimley, to Red Adair, Fred Astaire, Schlitz Malt Liquor, the Gallo Winerys and the Wisconsin Dells.
Well, that's it! We've made it to the end of Season 1. Now, things at Best Brains studios begin to get interesting, with changes in personnel and style directly ahead in the
"not-too-distant future".
Rating: 2-1/2 'potentially bean-and-tortilla fed abandoned babies' out of 5 "Keep Trading the Discs (and Tapes)"
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