THE
LEMON GROVE KIDS MEET THE MONSTERS
(1965)
Directed By Ray Dennis Steckler/Peter
Balakoff
Media Blasters/Guilty Pleasures
DVD
THE FILM
In 1999, I caught a few minutes
of a 40s-era Bowery Boys film on
cable. It's no surprise that I can't
remember the title. After about
five minutes of humor that was clearly
set in a different universe than
my twenty year old head, I reached
for the remote.
Today, I've finally caught up with
Ray Dennis Steckler's The Lemon
Grove Kids Meet The Monsters,
after years of vieing-but-not-giving-in
to Sinister Cinema's old VHS release.
So what's the connection? Lemon
Grove Kids is Steckler's homemade
homage to Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall,
and the rest of the Bowery Boys
gang. I still don't get the B-Boys'
sense of humor; couldn't care less
at this point. Lemon Grove Kids
though? To be blunt, this is random,
bizarre genius. Steckler's cartoon
spaz-out is a beautiful insight
into the culture, mindset, and creativity
of the early 60s. Imitation really
is the sincerest form of flattery,
eh?
Initially conceived as a full length
feature, Lemon Grove Kids
turned into a short lived series
of half-hour episodes (four total,
but the final short was never finished)
that hit screens on Saturday morning
kiddie matinees. This film collects
the three episodes (The Lemon
Grove Kids, The Lemon Grove
Kids Meet the Green Grasshopper
and the Vampire Lady from Outer
Space, and The Lemon Grove
Kids...Go Hollywood!) and splices
them together, complete with knock-out
individual opening and closing titles.
Ok, got it? Enough with the backstory.
It's time to let loose and marvel.
Gopher (Cash Flagg aka Ray Dennis
Steckler) and Slug (Mike Kannon)
lead a ragtag group of Hollywood
kids (normal and overgrown) through
a series of caffeine-fueled adventures,
tinged with drug store monsters,
French saboteurs, grasshopper aliens,
and Tex Avery’s sound effects
library. Along the way, we meet
the villainous Duke Mazaratti, glistening
movie star Cee Bee Beaumont (Steckler's
then-wife Carolyn Brandt), and the
psychic Swamy Marvin! As the Lemon
Grovers get into mischief (a foot
race against the West Lemon Grove
Kids, outwitting monsters, and foiling
gangsters, respectively), Steckler
bombards the screen with rapid edits
and a "living cartoon"
sense of invincibility. No one gets
hurt, despite the completely fantastic
situations. There’s even a
“black out” section,
featuring lightning and a stalking
mummy -- the A-1 cue for some hired
local schlub to stalk the theater
aisles with a cheap monster mask.
Each episode wraps up with a wacked
out ending and I get the feeling
that Mr. Steckler is infinitely
more talented than his later exploitation
legacy might have us believe.
Don’t try looking for parallels
to other films. Aside from the intended
Bowery Boys influence, this is unlike
anything I’ve ever seen. Steckler
manages to combine a manic pace
with effective editing and truly
eccentric characters; one hundred
different diverging ideas, all corralled
into a time bomb of energy. There’s
shades of Ray’s nutty Rat
Pfink A Boo Boo from 1966,
but even that schizo gem wasn’t
this far gone. It’s an impossible
melding of Mad Magazine, Famous
Monsters, and Inspector Clouseau
-- all on a 16mm budget in Steckler’s
California neighborhood. Although
the shorts are aimed at kids, featuring
many children in roles (Steckler’s
included), the weird subject matter
defies that point. Like a beat-era
Krofft show, but a million times
cooler. The third episode seemed
to take a dip with original ideas
and a lack of fantastic elements,
but that’s a minor bump. I
mean, where else can you see director
Coleman Francis (Beast Of Yucca
Flats) and Bob Burns (professional
ape-man and monster historian) strut
their stuff against a color Rat
Pfink? Ready, steady, GO!
AUDIO AND VIDEO
Since R.D.S. has retained control
of a majority of his filmography
for the last thirty years, it’s
no wonder this full frame print
looks like a million bucks. The
first episode appears to be shot
with a more grainy film stock, while
the subsequent shows take a step
up in terms of clarity and production
values. Regardless, the prints are
incredibly clean and bold as a whole.
The mono sound was equally clear
and nice on the ears. Overall, a
fantastic presentation.
EXTRAS
The cream of the crop here is a
new 22 minute interview with Ray
Dennis Steckler, decked out in sunglasses
and baseball hat at his Las Vegas
office while reminiscing about Lemon
Grove and other early films.
Ray relates some interesting, if
somewhat unfortunate, details regarding
Huntz Hall and even delves into
a couple of future movie plans.
In addition, Steckler provides an
audio commentary for the film. Somewhat
of a disappointment, the track veers
from on-screen discussion to corny
jokes to some interesting comments
relating to the production. It takes
Ray about twenty minutes to warm
up to some solid facts, but I would
have loved to hear more about the
film’s history, development,
other influences, etc.
Pulling up the rear are four trailers
for other Media Blasters releases
(including one for Steckler’s
Rat Pfink, which is just
a chunk of footage from early on
in the film) and a 40 second still
gallery which is a bit frustrating
in its design; photos appear in
a tiny word balloon, which makes
for squinted viewing. There’s
also a fantastic original trailer
for the feature.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Lemon Grove Kids is not
only a testament to the effectiveness
of creative discount filmmaking,
but a living polaroid of the ginchy
times in which it was produced.
Oh yeah...it’s a ton of fun
too. A tip of the hat to you, Mr.
Steckler. Truly unique films like
this one make the world a much better
place.
— Joseph A. Ziemba, 03.30.05 |
High five
Jaques Saboteur
Grasshopper gift
Where it's at
|
