The Secret of the Bermuda Triangle Revealed
Before MST3K we had … The Texas 27 Film Vault! Before Joel and Mike there was Randy and Richard! Balladeer’s Blog continues celebrating the FORTIETH anniversary year of this neglected cult show which debuted Saturday night February 9th, 1985.
MOVIE: The Giant Claw (1957)
ORIGINAL BROADCAST DATE: Saturday April 6th, 1985 from 10:30pm to 1:00am. Broadcast throughout Texas and Oklahoma.
SERIAL: The Lost City (1935) about a mad scientist who rules a high-tech city in the middle of the African jungle.
Randy (right) and Richard way down on Level 31 hosting The Texas 27 Film Vault
Film Vault Lore: Thank you to my fellow T27FV fan Dolores for this episode’s date, the serial and for this quote about Ken Miller, who played “Tex” on the show: “I loved the random bits of madness added by the gung-ho Tex each episode! He always reminded me of Robert Duvall’s character Kilgore from Apocalypse Now.“
The Movie: The Giant Claw is another of those staples of bad movie shows. It’s been presented by just about every Movie Host program at one time or another. Because of the film’s familiarity I will keep this review short.
Global UFO sightings turn out to be sightings of a gigantic (and ridiculous-looking) flying buzzard from outer space. As if that isn’t silly enough the destructive creature is also an ANTI-MATTER gigantic flying buzzard from outer space.
We’ll just ignore the fact that NOTHING made of anti-matter could exist in a universe of matter without instant annihilation.
Eventually the movie’s Bland White Hero comes up with a way of destroying the interstellar menace and wins the love of the movie’s Bland White Woman, but that goes without saying for a 1950s schlocker.
“I want the NBC Peacock!”
The real fun in this flick comes from the hilariously absurd shots of the giant buzzard chowing down on parachuting fighter pilots after destroying their aircraft; the giant buzzard attacking the U.N. building and other landmarks in a sort of “Western Kaiju” series of scenes and … well, absurd shots of the giant buzzard doing ANYTHING.
The poor actors in this mega-turkey seem oblivious to how laughable the special effects shots of the anti-matter buzzard were going to be. They give it their level best to make the creature sound truly terrifying and soul-scarring, but soon we get more shots of that ludicrous buzzard and the players all wind up looking even sillier.
IN THE NEAR FUTURE BALLADEER’S BLOG WILL PRESENT MORE TEXAS 27 FILM VAULT MILESTONES. Be here to share the Film Vault Corp’s mission of “safeguarding America’s schlock-culture heritage”.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFO ON THIS SHOW – https://glitternight.com/texas-27-film-vault/
© Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Edward Wozniak and Balladeer’s Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
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Good luck dear Edward Well done for posting 💞🙏🏻
Thank you so much! Good luck to you, too!
🌹🌹🙏🏻
Thank you very much!
Perhaps the the buzzard could’ve ate the Bland White actors instead? That would have stirred things up! 😊
Ha! There ya go! Would have made quite a surprise ending!
Oona: “The Giant Claw? Oona is not afraid of it. Her claws may be smol, but they are mighty! Also, Oona is pretty sure that thing is just somebody’s hand in a funny-looking sleeve.”
Ha! I think you called it correctly, Oona!