Living and Mechanical Apes? Means One Thing- “King Kong Escapes”-Tonight!

Tonight on MeTV- witness a top secret base in a frigid part of the world (yes, similar to what many of us  in our country have been experiencing lately) where a pre-requisite mad doctor is creating his own mechanical version of the world's most famous giant ape-only to find that he needs the real live original to carry out his dastardly plans!  He underestimates the over-sized simian, and it's a furry versus ferrous face-off when "King Kong Escapes”!

No sonic screwdrivers are among the weaponry of the scheming Dr. Hu- who has stumbled upon the powerful radioactive substance "Element X"- and , using pilfered plans that a U.N. scientist devised to create a mechanical version of the famed Kong ,plans to safely dig up the toxic substance for a rich reward from an unnamed government- whose representative is a sultry mystery woman. However, the radiation  causes a  snag in the plan- it's too much even for the mechanical Kong- so- Dr. Hu decides the only way to succeed is by capturing the real Kong and making him submit to the doctor's will!

The U.N. 's Commander Carl Nelson (no relation to Admiral Nelson of "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea"), joined by Lt. Commander Nomura , and pretty nurse Lt. Susan Watson  are in the vicinity  of the island where Kong resides (note: in most Kong stories, it's known as "Skull Island" but here, it's called Mondo Island) - and, when mechanical problems with their sub result in a trip to the island, encounter the powerful Kong- who, in his usual form, finds himself attracted to Susan! He fights off a dinosaur to protect her- and eventually, reluctantly returns her to the now-operable sub!

But on the horizon is -guess who? Yes- Hu! He carries out his plan to capture and utilize Kong- but things don't go as he planned- and the fiendish scientist kidnaps nurse Susan and her pals , in hopes that Susan can help him control Kong and get him to mine for the powerful radioactive element. Meanwhile, the fetching female agent of the anonymous foreign power makes a play to control Commander Nelson- and that uncooperative Kong makes his play for freedom, resulting in a showdown between  real and Robo-Kong in Tokyo that even Godzilla would approve!

This 1967 film does not have a stop-motion Kong- it's a man in a suit, similar to the classic Godzilla- but it does boast an interesting cast, even as far as the guy dubbing the voice of Dr. Hu ( hopefully, none of our blog commenters will mention it until AFTER the show airs). We'll talk about that, some background on the production, and more. This film is pretty lengthy, so we'll do a little less Sven shtick to provide you with more of the movie."King Kong Escapes" airs tonight on MeTV at 10 pm eastern/pacific, 9 central, or check your local listings. In Chicago, on our sister station WCIU, viewers get another look at "Werewolf of London" at 11 am.

We lost far too many people of note this week- from the world of music,sadly,David Bowie and Otis Clay, and from the ranks of actors-among others,  Alan Rickman and the famed "Tall Man" of the "Phantasm" films, Angus Scrimm. I posted this story on Twitter and Facebook, and wanted to share it with you- when we did our live, on stage talk show at Flashback Weekend a couple years ago, I had planned a bit involving Angus- while I was doing the show, he would walk on unannounced, and say "hey, Mister- can I have my ball back?'- at which point, I'd bring up, from behind the desk, the deadly silver sphere from "Phantasm"! He'd take it and exit- and we'd continue where we left off. Angus liked the gag, and actually laughed out loud when it was told to him- but, unfortunately, the show started later at night, and Angus, at his advanced age , was too tired to come join us on stage. I'll always be sad that it never happened- as we are all sad now with his passing and that of the other talented people who have passed on. the world is a poorer place without them.

On to happier times- let's enjoy the moments we have, and the fun of "King Kong Escapes" tonight.