April 28, 2004
Eegah! Whee!
Eegah! Have you seen it? I just caught this MST3K classic for the first time last night. Oh boy, what cheeze. Somebody was inspired enough by this cinematic masterpiece to create
an entire website about it (check it out, unlike the movie it's very well done). Eegah! was directed by Arch Hall as a vehicle for his reptillian singing/acting son
Arch Hall Jr., whom the MST3K guys correctly dub "the Cabbage Patch Elvis".
This flick has too many weird/awful scenes to mention them all. My own favorite is the one where Eegah the Caveman (Richard Kiel), in his mad pursuit of helmet-haired leading lady Roxy, crashes a swanky Palm Springs restaurant. He grabs a big hunk of meat and starts chewing on it. The chef's reaction is priceless enough to earn him a lifetime pass to every 'Inside the Actors Studio' taping. Then Eegah rumbles through the dining room, where the extras (who were probably paid a free meal for their "services") react with a combination of stiff gesticulations, laughter, and boredom. Uta Hagen it ain't.
Posted by mhinrichs at April 28, 2004 12:15 PM
Yeah, I've seen it. I'm not too proud of it, but I've seen it. And not just the edited version of the movie from MST3K; I've watched the actual movie, all the way through. It ain't a pretty sight.
This clunker was one of the original Golden Turkey Award recipients listed in the Medved brothers' eponymous book. I'm amazed that someone would devote an entire website to it, with caricatures of the cast, no less.
Arch Hall Jr. was truly a creepy-looking kid and he went on to use that to good effect in one of his later films, The Sadist.
I ran into Richard Kiel in London about 15 years ago while my wife and I were eating at an Italian restaurant. I approached him and asked him what it was like working with Arch Jr. If he'd been wearing his metal Jaws teeth at that moment, I'm pretty sure he would've bitten my head off..
You can get the original on DVD for 6.99 at your local thrift. They (the Best Brains) cut the scene where Eegah tears Roxy's dress to reveal under garments when she attempts to escape Eegah's cave. However, they left that creepy shaving scene in.
Stop saying Whee. Nobody says Whee!
Yeah, I've got the original too, I'm sorry but,
I hate MST3K versions!!! They take a BAD/GOOD
flick and make it even worse!!! Give me the original any day!!!!You really need to see "WILD GUITAR" if you really bad Arch Hall Jr. WHEEEEEEE!!!!!!!
Yeah, I've got the original too, I'm sorry but,
I hate MST3K versions!!! They take a BAD/GOOD
flick and make it even worse!!! Give me the original any day!!!!You really need to see "WILD GUITAR" if you really bad Arch Hall Jr. WHEEEEEEE!!!!!!!
Wait a minute,I take that back. If you want really really bad Arch Hall Jr. you need to see "the Sadist" And I mean NOW!!!!
