It's Creature Chuckles and Chaos with "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" and "Invaders from Mars" Tonight!

This week, our “Svengoolie’s Halloween BOO-nanza” double feature goes from the classic to the slightly more contemporary- as we see a beloved duo deal with terrestrial monsters- followed by another duo caught in an infiltration by extra terrestrial creatures- it’s “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” and the 1986 version of “Invaders from Mars”!

First, it’s our annual showing of what may be the most requested films-that our viewers demand to see at least annually! Starring Universal’s perennial top comedy team- who had lost some of their box office power- this film teamed them up with some of Universal’s classic monsters, who had also been declining in popularity- at least with the studio heads. Two of the classic monsters are played by the men who established them as horror legends- Bela Lugosi as Dracula and Lon Chaney Jr. as Larry Talbot, the Wolf Man

Railroad baggage clerks Chick and Wilbur are hard at work -well, one of them is- when Wilbur’s girlfriend, a stunning woman named Sandra, drops by to visit- with Chick dumbfounded as to why this beauty is attracted to his little pal. Wilbur answers the phone, and receives a long distance call from London- from a stranger named Larry Talbot, who unfortunately transforms into his werewolf persona before he can deliver a desperate warning to the boys.

Mr. McDougal, a grouchy customer, arrives, demanding that they deliver a couple boxes from their latest shipment to his “house of horrors” exhibition-supposedly containing the authentic coffin of Count Dracula, and –the body of the REAL Frankenstein Monster! Chick isn’t buying that story, but, regardless, promises he and Wilbur will make the delivery- that evening.

Of course, it happens to be a dark and stormy night as the boys work the late shift to bring the items to McDougal’s “House of Horrors”- the perfect setting for the nervous Wilbur to learn –to his dismay- that the display pieces are indeed authentic! Count Dracula rises from his coffin (or, his “bunk”, as Lou refers to it) and, upon freeing the Monster from his crate, leads their escape from the museum. Arriving after the fact, the furious McDougal thinks the baggage handlers have stolen his valuable exhibits and wants them put in jail!

The next stop for Dracula and the Monster is a castle sanctuary on an island, in which the laboratory notes of the original Dr. Frankenstein are in the hands of a renowned surgeon. Shockingly, that surgeon is none other than Wilbur’s beautiful girlfriend- Sandra! We learn the real reason for her interest in the chubby fellow- she plans to transplant his easily-manipulated brain into the Monster- thus making the powerful creature easier to command, and the perfect pawn for Count Dracula!

Back on the mainland, Wilbur and Chick have been jailed- but are soon bailed out by a woman who they assume was Sandra- until a pretty blonde stranger named Joan shows up, and reveals that she posted the bail! Little do the boys realize that Joan is working undercover with McDougal’s insurance company, investigating the supposed theft of his property in hopes of recovering the missing display items. Meanwhile, the boys run into Larry Talbot, who has just arrived from England and enlists the boys to aid him in finding the two evil creatures of legend, before Dracula carries out his scheme to control the powerful Monster for his evil schemes!

The boys and Joan head to the island castle to pick up Sandra to attend a costume ball- and, at the urging of Talbot, search the place, stumbling onto a hidden lower chamber where Wilbur again encounters the monsters- but can't convince Chick that he's actually found them! When they return to the main level, Sandra introduces them to her associate, Dr. Leighos- who appears to be the spitting (or biting?) image of Count Dracula!

The costume ball seems to be a must-attend event for everyone in the area- that includes nasty Mr. McDougal; Doctor Leighos dressed in a suspiciously spot-on Dracula “costume”; and the always “less than festive” Larry Talbot. The party degenerates into a frantic catastrophe that puts Chick and Wilbur in peril- leading the group back to the island castle, where Sandra prepares her supposed “boyfriend” for the brain transplant- with the Frankenstein Monster restored to full and dangerous power – and the rising full moon having the usual effect on Talbot, pitting Wolf Man against vampire- and the Monster on the loose in pursuit of Wilbur and Chick in a hectic and hilarious conclusion!

We’ll go over the impressive cast list of this film, and present a variety of segments all from our visit to this year’s C2E2 comics and entertainment convention- along with a song and a classic edition of our drawing guessing game “Too Drawn Out”!

Our second feature is a remake of one of the most eerie science fiction films of the ‘50s in which a young boy realizes that earth has been invaded by beings from another world- out to control the minds of Earth people to help them conquer our planet. After an evening of star-gazing, young David is tucked into bed by his loving parents- only to be awakened when a massive spaceship lands in the sand pit located over the hill behind his home! Though he runs to alert his parents to tell them what he saw, the sleepy couple wonder if David was just dreaming- and will check the sand pit in the morning.

The next morning, David is confused by his father- who says he checked the sand pit, and found nothing there. David notices an odd injury on the back of Dad’s neck- topped off by some very odd behavior! Dad suddenly seems more than happy to show David something that lies over the hill- but David is spared that trip by the arrival of his school bus.

That evening, after a day that included David having a run in with nasty teacher Mrs. McKeltch, David’s mom is worried since Dad has not showed up at home. Dad returns- still acting strangely- and assuring David and his mom that “everything’s fine”. Later that evening, Dad takes Mom for a pleasant little walk over the hill- and you can probably guess what the results are!

The next day, after witnessing more odd behavior from the folks at home and people at school, David confides in the one person who seems to be willing to listen to him- the friendly school nurse, Linda Magnusson, who truly wants to help David. Trying to get away from the nasty McKeltch and his parents, the boy accidentally ends up finding a cavern that appears to be the alien headquarters- and soon, he and Linda are fugitives from the invaders and the human pawns they have enlisted- and must convince the military that Martians have arrived- and the earth is in danger!

We have been unsuccessful so far in obtaining the original 1953 “Invaders from Mars” movie- but this 1986 version, directed by Tobe Hooper, with visuals provided by Stan Winston and John Dykstra is actually very effective! We’ll go over the cast list- headed by Karen Black as nurse Linda- interesting casting since the part of young David is played by Hunter Carson- Karen’s real-life son! Among the Sven segments, watch for a visit with an actor who has played a certain hockey-masked monster more than anyone else has!

The “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein”/”Invaders from Mars” double feature begins at 8 pm eastern/pacific, 7 central time. It will be twice the time to join in the live-Tweeting on Twitter during the movies- just use the hashtag #svengoolie- and, stay tuned after our show for an encore of last year’s kind tribute program to us- “Svengoolie: Uncrypted” with some special guests and a look at my history. This morning on CW26 in Chicago, we treat viewers to a second showing of “Killer Klowns from Outer Space” at 11 am!

Check out both our store and the public appearances section of our website for seasonal info! And be ready for two scoops of terror- and two stoops of error- tonight on MeTV!