Lon Chaney- Mick Foley- and C2e2 Convention Fun- It's All in "Man-Made Monster"- Tonight!

This Saturday night on MeTV- we’ve got a show chock full of entertainment- with Lon Chaney Jr. providing a literally shocking performance-  plus WWE Hall of Famer wrestler Mick Foley- PLUS some of the fun we had at the C2E2 convention! All those “pluses” are wrapped around the tale of a cold cruel scientist who uses Lon’s incredible tolerance for  electricity  to transform him into the “Man Made Monster”!

We join the story on a stormy night- with the dangerous roads slicked by rain, causing a bus to lose control and skid into an electrical tower, resulting in a tragic death toll of the driver and every single passenger. Well, every passenger except one- the survivor is rushed to the hospital, where the medical staff is astounded to find he has not only survived the accident- but is, in fact, hardly affected by it at all! Dr. Lawrence, the attending physician, discovers that the survivor is none other than “Dynamo Dan”- a carnival sideshow star whose act involves him exposing himself to high electrical current as entertainment! All his prior exposure to huge doses of electricity would appear to have played a part in his survival. The doctor is intrigued, and invites Dan to move into his home research facility, just to see if they can ascertain that the “previous exposure” theory is valid.

 Dan does move in, and finds the place to be a great haven for him- especially because the doctor’s pretty daughter also lives there- and – he can play with the family’s dog.  There is a dark cloud in this sunshiny existence, though nobody knows it at first- the doctor's in-house co-worker- Dr. Rigas. Rigas is bound and determined to prove his theory that  living creatures can be altered and mutated to survive on electricity- and ONLY electricity! He’s experimented with lesser life forms, but with "Dynamo Dan” available as a human subject – he sets out to covertly experiment on the sideshow attraction, without revealing his plans to Dr. Lawrence.

Rigas begins to experiment, subjecting Dan to massive amounts of electricity, without revealing the reason to his cooperative subject.  The experimentation, however, changes Dan-both  physically and emotionally.  The Lawrence family takes notice,and are concerned about Dan’s well-being. Regardless, the experimentation continues- and  Rigas charges Dan with such devastating power that he becomes , literally, what his carnival moniker suggested - a  human dynamo! Dan emits an unearthly glow and possesses unfathomable  raw electrical force-  becoming  an electrified zombie, completely under the control of the man who "created" him! Rigas commands Dan to do his bidding, unleashing his power on anyone who gets in Rigas’ way- terrorizing the countryside – unstoppable and seemingly unable to be killed!

This 1941 film has some interesting special effects for its time, and definitely has some frightening moments. For those viewers who are used to Lon Chaney as the brooding, fatalistic Larry Talbot, or as the haunted characters he played in the “Inner Sanctum” series, it may come as a surprise to see Lon portraying such a happy-go-lucky fellow at the start of this film.  It was supposedly this film that actually got Lon his perennial role as Talbot, the Wolf Man. We'll tell you about the film’s cast, and send up some clips from the film in Svensurround.  

Also in store- a visit from our friend, the WWE Hall of Famer, best-selling author, and Santa Claus enthusiast, the one and only Mick Foley- who regales us with stories about himself and his family, his love of the Universal films, and the “20 Years of Hell” tour he’s been on ( chronicling  his astounding wrestling match with the iconic Undertaker, in which Mick took some horrendous falls off the top of a massive steel cage!) I attended his show when he was in town- and it’s an incredible story, plus, as always, it’s loaded with Mick’s humor, which you’ll also see here. We top his visit off, after the short movie, with Mick as the ONLY contestant in a game show especially geared towards him! And- we show some of the highlights of our visit this year to the  amazing C2E2 comics and entertainment convention at Chicago’s McCormick Place- wait until you see some of the costumes!

"Man Made Monster" charges up  MeTV tonight at 8pm eastern/pacific, 7central, or check your local listings (or www.metv.com) for time and channel. Remember that MeTV invites you to support our show by live-tweeting during the program on Twitter- usually making us trend very high nationally every week! Our local Chicago viewers can dig into an encore of "The Mole People” on our sister station, WCIU, the U at 11 am.  

Thanks to everyone who visited with us at the Hardcore Hearse Club’s big event at the Brauerhouse in Lombard, IL last weekend. Always a fun and busy event for us, and a chance to meet so many great fans of our show! More appearances are coming up, starting next month – we’ll be adding the information soon under the “appearances” tab here on our site. Be ready for events for baseball fans – and fans of ‘60s rock and roll!

Join us tonight when voltage becomes revolting- and dangerous when Lon Chaney Jr. is ordered to press “charges”!