Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast - Mini-Ep #24: The Tingler and All That Jazz

Episode Date: August 27, 2015

Each week, comedian Gilbert Gottfried and comedy writer Frank Santopadre share their appreciation of lesser-known films, underrated TV shows and hopelessly obscure character actors -- discussing, dissecting and (occasionally) defending their handpicked guilty pleasures and buried treasures. This week: The sex lives of Batman villains! The "cinema" of William Castle! And the return of Herve' Villechaize! If you've got a car and a license, put 'em both to work for you and start earning serious, life-changing money today. Sign up to drive with Uber. Visit http://www.DriveWithUber.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Tennessee sounds perfect. Hey, everybody. We wanted to take a moment to talk to you about driving with Uber again. Yeah, why again? Well, don't interrupt. You know, I'm trying to do something here. Please don't interrupt me. I'm not talking to you.

I'm talking to the audience. Genius shouldn't be interrupted. Yeah, yeah, just stop it. Just keep your mouth shut from now on. Because it really is a great opportunity to make some legitimate money. If you've taken an Uber, you know how great the experience is. And it's the drivers who make the experience great. Seriously, every time I talk to someone who drives with Uber, they always have great things to say.

What kind of things? I don't know. I don't really talk to people. I'm a star. Oh, I forgot that. I don't talk to the average people. You know the thing that's interesting about driving with Uber? They love being their own boss.

You have total independence. They earn great money. And it's actually easy to start. You just need a car, which you have, by the way, and a license, which you don't have, which I find interesting. Yeah. Well, a license I could get. It's that I fall into hallucinations. Is that the problem?

Yeah, I have flashbacks while I'm trying to drive. It's the only thing holding me back. The thing about driving with Uber, Gil, and I don't know if you know this, it's great for anybody who needs flexibility. I mean, if you already have a job and you need to earn some extra money. Like if you want to put your leg behind your head. Yes. Some people, they need some flexibility. Very tall people. Yes. It's great for students because they can make some extra money between classes, pick up some extra coin. It's great for parents because they can make some extra money between classes, pick up some extra coin. It's great for parents because it's an easy way to work around your family schedule.

It's true. And now is the prime time to cash in driving with Uber. And you, not you personally, Gilbert, but our listeners who care, will thank me for telling them how to get paid every week. So, what are you waiting for? You have a car. You have a license. Put them both to good use and start earning serious life changing money today. Sign up to drive with Uber. That sounded very natural. Yes. Not not read at all. Well, I was getting emotional. Another hallucination? Yes.

I'm going to take this part. Visit drivewithuber.com. That's drivewithuber.com. You want to do the last one? Drivewithuber.com. Hi, this is Gilbert Gottfried. Are you sure? Yeah, vaguely.

I need it written down on a piece of paper. I'll put it on a card for you. And I think I might get the title right after having done like a thousand of these. Only 20 or so. Yes, so it's Gilbert and Frank's Amazing Colossal Obsessions. You've got about a 20-episode curve. Yes. I want to put out, too, that we asked a couple of weeks ago for people to submit theme songs for this show. Oh, yes.

They're actually coming in. That's right. We have two now to choose from, so they're not going to be on this episode, but soon. Yeah. Very soon. That's scary. People actually have as much time on this episode, but soon. Yeah. Very soon. That's scary. That people actually have as much time on their hands as we do? Imagine being a respected composer that you're...

You say they were respected composers. Yes, yes. I said they were fans. Why don't you start us off this week? To all your friends, well, I compose the music. Not really the podcast so much, but those other things afterwards. Yeah, that's me. Try to get laid with that one.

It's sort of like saying you compose the incidental music on Gilligan's Island, not the theme song, but the little music they play when. Or the incidental music in The Munsters, which I remember was. Oh, that's great. That's great. Oh, my God. And there was the music on the Andy Griffith show whenever Don Knotts was feeling brave. When he was feeling like a tough sheriff.

When they would play that sort of Dragnet-y theme? Yes, yes. That kind of thing? Yes, yes. Okay. That's it. That's it. That's brilliant. That's brilliant.

That's when Don Knotts would start strutting. And the one on Gilligan's Island, let me see if I can get this. It was... When Gilligan was riding a bike that washed the clothes, the professor had set up, or he was being chased by a giant spider through a cave. People now think we've lost our minds. You know what's interesting about, last thing about incidental music, if you watch the old Batman series, each villain has their own, the main villains have their own little mini musical stings. Oh, that's right.

So the Joker has his little, I'm trying to remember what it was now. I think it's dun-da-da-dun-dun-dun-dun. Do you remember that? Oh, yes. And the Riddler has one, too. And boy, this is really drilling deep. Now, with the exception of Frank Gorshin, were all of the villains on Batman gay? You know, I think almost.

Well, let's see. Michael Rennie, I believe. David Wayne. Yes. The Mad Hatter. Victor Buono, certainly. Yes. Cesar Romero.

Cesar Romero. Butch Romero. We've discussed many times. Van Johnson. Jury's out. I have a friend who says Van Johnson. Yeah, definitely. Yeah.

How about Walter Slazak? Probably not because he had an acting daughter, Erica Slazak. But you never know. Yeah. Well, Cliff Robertson was straight. Ah. And Gorshin, you said, was straight. And I think as far as we know, who else?

Burgess Meredith. Burgess Meredith was married to Paulette Goddard. Yes. So there's a straight actor. Yes. Who else? Oh, well, let's see. Vincent Price?

No, I'm going the other direction now. Yeah. That's also one of those... Well, he was married. Yeah. Married, but you always wondered. There's those people you always wondered. You never heard anything. Kind of like Dom DeLuise always struck me that way those people you always wondered. You never heard anything.

Kind of like Dom DeLuise. Also married with kids. Yeah. And you never heard any stories. What about Roger C. Carmel? He was a Batman villain. Which one was he? He was Colonel Gum in the Green Hornet episode.

Oh, jeez. I know way too much. Yeah. Anyway, I think we've made our point. Okay. Maury Sevens. Oh, my. Oh. Maybe not gay, just English. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

He could be one of those. Boy, we really went down a rabbit hole. Do you want to tell us what film you picked this week? I'm going to pick a film I've discussed many times on this show, and it's certainly not a quality film by any stretch of the imagination. So this isn't even with reservations.

This is just. It's not intelligently written, and don't expect to be awed by the special effects. I can imagine. Ladies and gentlemen, from William Castle. I know where you're going. Ladies and gentlemen, Vincent Price in The Tingler. I would say don't be awed by the special effects.

The Tingler itself looks like it's a rubber centipede. Pretty much. And there are some scenes you could basically see the string pulling it along the floor. Wasn't that part of its charm, though? Yes. Those William Castle films were just fun. House on Haunted Hill. Yeah, everything.

There were so many of them. But it's based on scientific evidence. The Tingler, right. Yes, because it's been proven that if you're scared, when you're scared, you have a Tingler living in your body, folks. Everyone, that's been described in the film. This is in the Mayo Clinic. You can look this up. Yes.

I had my spine x-rayed. Sure enough, there was a tingler on it. Well, that's the premise. You should briefly explain the premise. Yes. So when you get scared,

if you don't scream, see, the tingler starts squeezing your spine when you get scared. And you've got to scream so the tingler will let go of your spine. Pretty much. Yeah. And the gimmick was they rigged the movie theater seats to give people a shock. Yes, they had buzzers.

And so there's one part of the movie. This is my favorite part of the movie. We've talked about this with David Tell, but worth repeating. Where the tingler gets loose in a movie theater. And so it's a double thing where both movie and reality collide. That's right. And so the screen goes dark. That's right.

And so the screen goes dark, and Vincent Price starts screaming out to both the movie audience and, of course, us, the audience. Scream, scream for your lives. The tingler is loose in the theater. Scream, scream for your lives. And then everyone has to start screaming. And my favorite part afterwards is after a monster is loose in the theater and he's telling people to scream or the monster will kill you,

he goes, our movie will resume now. Everybody return to their seats. Yeah, yeah. So in the 50s, audiences are sitting, is it early 60s or late 50s? Yeah. Audiences somewhere in America are sitting in a movie theater watching a scene of people sitting in a movie theater.

Yes. With a tingler loose. And they're watching a blank screen. And they, watching a scene of people sitting in a movie theater with the Tingler loose. And they're watching a blank screen. And they're watching a blank screen when the Tingler is on the loose. You know, it was one of those movies where Price just did his best. Yes. And you could just see the...

It is... I watched it because TCM had a William Castle salute over Halloween, and I happened to be sick. And I watched House on TCM had a William Castle salute over Halloween and I happened to be sick and I watched House on Haunted Hill I think Mr. Sardonicus there was another one I can't think of right away and my god

I have never seen The Tingler and I watched it this is terrible but it's still fun to watch but it's fun and there's a guy oh there It actually... It's a lot, and there's a guy, oh, there's a woman who's a mute.

That's right. So she can't scream. I forgot about her. I forgot about her. And there's a whole other plot with Price trying to kill his wife. Oh, yes. Because she's cheating on him.

Anyway, the tingler. Yeah. We'll get mail about this one. Yeah. The Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast Producer of the Month for August is Kate Jones. Thank you, Kate. Be just like Kate and get rewarded for supporting our podcast. Head over to patreon.com slash Gilbert Gottfried.

For a small amount each month, you can get some colossal benefits, such as access to new podcast episodes before anyone else, exclusive video hangouts, shout outs from me on Twitter. I will even read something that you send me, and it'll sound just like this. Go to patreon.com slash Gilbert Gottfried. That's Patreon. P-A-T-R-E-O-N dot com slash Gilbert Gottfried. We thank you for your generosity. I'm going to go pretty far afield here and talk about a movie that I talked about on a friend's podcast. My friends Tim Merrill and Maurice Bershtinsky who are big fans of this show. You just made up those.

I made them up. Yes. I was on their podcast which is called See Here. It's a great podcast. Check it out. And we talked about a movie called All That Jazz

which you and I were discussing not too long ago. Yeah. Because what I heard about this film I guess you're familiar with this too. It's like

the original actor Right. It's like the original actor. Right. It was not Roy Scheider. It was his co-star in Jaws, Richard Dreyfuss. Correct. Who was hot. Who was coming off The Goodbye Girl. He had an Oscar.

And Richard Dreyfuss was going to play the Bob Fosse part. Yeah, Joe Gideon. Right. Dreyfuss was going to play the Bob Fosse part. Yeah, Joe Gideon. And he couldn't get along with Fosse on this. He disagreed. So he used to like talk to his pal, Roy Scheider,

over dinner and say, I'm not getting along. I just, we can't come to an agreement on this. I'm miserable. And Roy Scheider would show old sympathy. And then Roy Scheider gets offered the part and he takes it. You should have sucked up to Billy Barty when you were up for that.

You were both up for that same part. It was very interesting. I think it was a combination of Fosse and Dreyfus not clicking and Dreyfus realizing that he maybe could not carry a musical. There's a great book about Fosse. The author's name is jumping out of my head right now. It came out maybe a year or two ago. And there's a line attributed to Dreyfus where he says he's panicking at the thought of his, quote, fat, chewy ass dancing around, dancing around on a screen.

I think it was a combination of a lack of chemistry between the two men and his realization that maybe he that he wouldn't look good. That he wouldn't look good. He wasn't going to sell this at all. And yeah, it is interesting how Scheider stepped in. When they were casting Fantasy Island, I would confide to my friend, Herve Villages. Oh, really? And he would pretend to be sympathetic and go, Oh, Gilbert, I feel for you. Oh, Gilbert, I have nothing but sympathy for you.

And stole the damn part right out from under you. That's sawed off a little. Yeah, and then he called me when he got it, and he goes, Oh, look, Gilbert, I have success with series now. Ha, ha, ha. Oh, God. I can't get enough of that one. So you were glad when he checked himself out.

Yeah, yeah. He had it coming. This is the all tangent show, by the way. A few words about all that jazz. See it or listen to the episode of See Here where I talk about the film. If you can find it, you can find it online. It's a wonderful podcast. It's a brilliant, self-indulgent, masterfully

directed film. I mean, it's one of those films that people love or hate because it's very... Again, the word is self-indulgent. And you know, I've just started to realize something. His name is Gideon. Yeah, Gideon. Yeah. So is that like, you know,

blow Gideon, blow... You know what? I think it was named after a play that Paddy Chayeski had written. Because Fosse was friends with Paddy Chayeski. I think that was the origin of the name Gideon. You could find some trivia on this film or go to IMDB.

Can you look it up and just tell me? We don't have the time right now. It's a warts and all biography. I mean, it's a very dark look at himself, brutally honest at his philandering, at how difficult he was to work with, his

substance abuse. But it's a great film. It's a versatile film. It's a biopic. It's a drama. It's a black comedy. It's a musical. A fun cast. Cliff Gorman turns up playing the Lenny Bruce part that he played in the play. That's right, because Cliff Gorman in the play Lenny, and they say he was great as Lenny. But then when the studio...

They wanted a star. Correct. When it became a feature film, they wanted Dustin Hoffman. But he brings Cliff Gorman back to basically play the character, which in the film is called, in all that jazz, that movie within a movie is called the stand-up. And then Cliff Gorman then was also successful in the play, and I guess he was in the movie, of Boys in the Band. Oh, Boys in the Band, sure. And then he was desperate. the movie of boys in the boys in the band sure and then he was desperate he spent the rest of his life trying to prove to everyone that he wasn't gay he was so convincing yeah in the park yeah and i remember him uh being on in a magazine article and look or life where he's like got a

big cigar in his mouth like trying to look like like tough guy. Like Bob Guccione or something? Yes, yeah, with a cigar. And you're thinking, hmm, that cigar looks like a penis. That's funny. He was a good actor. He died fairly young. John Lithgow turns up in the movie. Jessica Lange is the angel of death.

And is Anne Reinking? Anne Reinking, playing basically Anne Reinking, playing Fosse's girlfriend, but she was an ex-girlfriend at the time. And Ben Vereen is wonderful in the film. Okay, so that's all that jazz. Yeah, and the tingler. And the tingler. And in one episode, we managed to talk about Cliff Gorman,

Hervey Villachez, and incidental music from the Andy Griffith Show. Yes. We cover everything here. So this was Gilbert and Frank's Amazing Colossal Podcast. See the Tingler and Ola Jazz. They're very similar. Very similar. Indistinguishable.

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