Condorman

The televisual schedule continues to be utter rubbish and short of vintage gems to digest and dissect, Doctor Velvet and Blackout have once again sent Producer Ken round to the video shop to procure some small-screen cinematic entertainment for The Peggy Mount Sunday Matinee Hour...

This week he's returned with a 3L bottle of Rola Cola, a kilo of flying saucers and a well-worn tape of Charles Jarrott's blistering 1981 superhero / spy action adventure comedy, Condorman. Ken has several faults, but his ability to party is not one of them.

How does a comic-book illustrator with zero grasp of physics manage to find someone at the CIA to bankroll development of their ridiculous inventions? How easy is it to get an all-expenses-paid holiday all over Europe by telling Disney you're making a film with yellow costumes and no continuity advisor? And where do we sign up?

Thump your activator button, take a leap of faith and find out...

WE HAVE BEEN WATCHING:

Title: Condorman
Original release: Thursday 02 July 1981 (United Kingdom)
Studio/Distributor: Walt Disney Productions / Buena Vista Distribution
Writer: Marc Stirdivant
Music: Henry Mancini
Producer: Jan Williams
Director: Charles Jarrott
Starring: Michael Crawford, Barbara Carrera, Oliver Reed, James Hampton

...and if you want to read some words about the film which aren't quite so frivolous, you can do that here:

Condorman is available to rent or buy digitally from AmazonPrime (albeit not in the UK) and on VHS or DVD, depending on your physical media preference. The soundtrack is available digitally on Spotify, and on Compact Disc if you have several hundred pounds you think you don't want (no, seriously). A novelisation was also produced, as were a series of comics.


You can Subscribe, Like, Follow, Rate and Review on:

The Peggy Mount Calamity Hour is a free podcast from iPorle Media, which holds production copyright. Opinions and recollections expressed are not to be taken as fact. The title and credit music is by Doctor Velvet, with additional live accompaniments by Ozzy Bognops. Audio segments from television programmes are presented for review and informational purposes only under fair use, and no ownership of these is claimed or implied by this show. Email enquiries to PeggyMountPod@gmail.com

Popeye

The Peggy Mount Sunday Matinee Hour video shop is open and the tapes are simply flying off the shelves. But far from numbing their brains to the latest popcorn-fodder, Doctor Velvet and Blackout prefer to crack open the reserve rum and engage with a maritime marvel from the vintage selection...

Under the critical microscope this week is Robert Altman's seminal 1980 tale of nautical neuroses, Popeye. With its comedy/adventure/musical format and a cast of certified comedy genii, horror movie icons and character actor stalwarts, there's bound to be something in here for everyone. That's what it said on the back of the box, anyway.

Which of our podcast hosts chose what could possibly be the most haunting cinematic voyage of its era? Who will pay for the years of therapy which will now be required by the other one? And who the flipping, ruddy heck was in charge of Disney's live-action quality control processes in the late 1970s?

Lash your hulls to our ports and find out...

WE HAVE BEEN WATCHING:

Title: Popeye
Original release: Thursday 09 April 1981 (United Kingdom)
Studio/Distributor: Paramount Pictures / Walt Disney Productions
Writer: Jules Feiffer
Music: Harry Nilsson / Tom Pierson (arrangements by Van Dyke Parks)
Producer: Robert Evans
Director: Robert Altman
Starring: Robin Williams, Shelley Duvall, Paul L Smith, Paul Dooley, Ray Walston, Donald Moffatt

...and if you want to read some words about the film which aren't quite so caustic, you can do that here:

Popeye is available to buy on VHS, DVD and Blu-ray, with a soundtrack album on CD and Vinyl. A novelisation was also produced.

You can Subscribe, Like, Follow, Rate and Review on:

The Peggy Mount Calamity Hour is a free podcast from iPorle Media, which holds production copyright. Opinions and recollections expressed are not to be taken as fact. The title and credit music is by Doctor Velvet, with additional live accompaniments by Ozzy Bognops. Audio segments from television programmes are presented for review and informational purposes only under fair use, and no ownership of these is claimed or implied by this show. Email enquiries to PeggyMountPod@gmail.com

The Spaceman and King Arthur (aka Unidentified Flying Oddball)

But lo, something is in the air! The evenings are lighter, the breeze is warmer and the studio at MountPeg Towers might even be getting closer to its annual clean (don't hold your breath. Actually, holding your breath in there might be an idea). Yes, spring has sprung and drink will be drunk as Doctor Velvet and Blackout presage the new series of The Peggy Mount Calamity Hour with a quintet of special episodes focusing on big screen entertainment; albeit viewed on a small screen...

The first cinematic gem to stagger through the mists of time is Disney's 1979 live-action historical sci-fi farce, The Spaceman and King Arthur (aka Unidentified Flying Oddball), with a welter of British talent and perhaps more sauce than one might expect for this sort of dish.

Just how loose can The Science be in a script, before it can no longer be legally classified as science-fiction? Just how tense can an auditorium of accompanying adults become as a film tries to balance Arthurian legend hat-tips and a running joke about bongo mags? And which of our impressionable hosts was brainwashed by the film into belting bits of old metal with a hammer in order to make magnets?

Our Feature Presentation is one way to find out...

WE HAVE BEEN WATCHING:

Title: The Spaceman and King Arthur
Original release: 12 August 1979
Studio/Distributor: Walt Disney Productions / Buena Vista Distribution
Writer: Don Tait
Music: Ron Goodwin
Producer: Ron Miller
Director: Russ Mayberry
Starring: Dennis Dugan, Sheila White, Jim Dale, Ron Moody, Kenneth More, John Le Mesurier, Rodney Bewes, Pat Roach, Bruce Boa

---

...and if you want to read some words about the film which aren't quite so flippant, you can do that here:

The Spaceman and King Arthur is on the roster of Disney+ and available to rent or buy digitally from YouTube and Amazon Prime. A DVD release, VHS and novelisation are also available on the secondary-market.

You can Subscribe, Like, Follow, Rate and Review on:

The Peggy Mount Calamity Hour is a free podcast from iPorle Media, which holds production copyright. Opinions and recollections expressed are not to be taken as fact. The title and credit music is by Doctor Velvet, with additional live accompaniments by Ozzy Bognops. Audio segments from television programmes are presented for review and informational purposes only under fair use, and no ownership of these is claimed or implied by this show. Email enquiries to PeggyMountPod@gmail.com