The Bloody Pit of Horror (a.k.a., The Crimson Executioner) (1965).

The Scoop:
In this bargain basement Italian production, a group of models, photographers and assorted hangers-on visit an old castle for a photo shoot, only to run into the demented owner who thinks he's possessed by the spirit of the Crimson Executioner, a 17th century torturer.

Despite the poor acting and technical incompetence, this is charming in its own sleazy way and is most notable for the presence of Mickey (Mr. Jayne Mansfield) Hargitay, who plays the owner. He camps it up big time, and the camera obviously loves his oiled-up body. He's the highlight of the movie, although the torture and titillation, which are very tame by today's standards, hold a certain cheesy charm on their own terms.

Don't you dare call yourself a bad movie lover if you haven't seen this one yet.

Best Line:
"Mankind is made up of inferior creatures, spiritually and physically deformed, who would have corrupted the harmony of my perfect body."

Side Note:
Hartigay won the Mr. Universe title in 1955 and followed that up with a string of B-movies, including "Hercules vs. the Hydra" and "Lady Frankenstein." His rocky six-year marriage to Mansfield was tabloid fodder throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s,, and their daughter Mariska Hartigay has won both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for starring in "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit."

Companion Viewing:
"Baron Blood" (1972) and "Lady Frankenstein" (1971).

Links:
IMDb.
Cool Cinema Trash.
Images Journal.

Take a Look:
The trailer:


Mickey chews some scenery:

The Snow Devils (1967).

The Scoop:
Ah, '60s Italian sci-fi -- a combination of ludicrious plotting, cheesy dialogue and budget effects that come together to form a distinct stylistic departure from run-of-the-mill American B-movies. And then there are the '60s Italian spy flicks -- cheap knock-offs of the James Bond series, full of square-jawed ladies' man heroes, bikini babes, swinging music and dubious dubbing. "The Snow Devils" tries to straddle these two so-cheesy-they're-cool genres, but only winds up combining the worst aspects of each.

In this follow-up to "The Wild, Wild Planet" and "War of the Planets," a Gamma I research station high in the Himalayas is attacked and destroyed, apparently by a Yeti. The agency calls in Commander Rod Jackson (a swinging Bond wannabe played by Giacomo Rossi-Stuart) and his pudgy bald sidekick Capt. Pulasky (Renato Baldini) to investigate. After getting no help at all from eye candy Lisa (played by Ombretta Colli) and a vaguely evil Tibetan sherpa named Sharu (played incongrously by Wilbert Bradley, a black man, who comes off as equal parts Indian coolie and Haitian voodoo priest) there is a boring Alpine climbing sequence. Finally, they uncover an alien plot to take over the earth and freeze it. Defeating these aliens is a two-step process -- first in the mountains, then in outer space -- but our lantern-jawed hero and his bald buddy are up to it.

There is a cool mod visual style and plenty of retro-futuristic techonology. But it never quite gels into an entertaining whole. The mix of poor acting and bad dubbing gives most of the dialogue an awkward, plodding quality that is even more pronounced than in the earlier films.

Best Line:
"He always wanted to be a spaceman. They called them astronauts in those days."

Side Note:
Writer/director Antonio Margheriti (who frequently worked under the Anglicanized name of Anthony Dawson) is a legend of European exploitation filmmaking, having directed or written more than 50 feature films. But shortly after "The Snow Devils" was finished, he took a job doing visual effects for Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey," although he wound up receiving no screen credit.

Companion Viewing:
"The Wild, Wild Planet" (1965), "War of the Planets" (1966) and "The Abominable Snowman" (1957).

Links:
IMDb.
1,000 Misspent Hours.

Take a Look:
The trailer. ("The 21st century explodes with excitement!")