Batman on Mars

Adam West tries to coax Mona the astro-monkey into eating

The late Adam West (Batman, that is) didn't just sear his portrayal of the Caped Crusader indelibly into the public psyche. He was in a lot of other movies and TV shows, including one of my all-time favorites Robinson Crusoe on Mars.

Unfortunately for culture, many people react to that title in much the same way as they do to Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, which, interestingly, came out the same year -- 1964. But this film is much better, getting a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes (Santa gets a measly 24%, FYI). In fact Robinson Crusoe on Mars is good enough that it's included in the Criterion Collection of swanky films, which is no mean feat.

Adam West on Mars

Two astronauts, Dan McReady (Adam West) and Kit Draper (Paul Mantee), along with handy experimental subject Mona the Monkey (Barney the Woolly Monkey), crash land on Mars. Two of them survive but unfortunately neither one is Col. McReady, so West doesn't get a lot of face time in this movie. But he seems very astronaut-like (both actors do, actually) and is a ringer for Neil Armstrong, although he -- like Adam West -- wasn't famous yet.

I notice that West's jaw muscles get very tight during scenes where he feeds Mona the Monkey and pulls her space helmet off. It makes me wonder if there was any actor/sharp-toothed monkey tension on the set.

Paul Mantee as Kit Draper

After burying their fellow astronaut, Kit and Mona head off into the rusty desert wilderness of Mars, doing their best to survive during adventures paralleling Robinson Crusoe's. Given the science of the time, long before we had probes and rovers everywhere on Mars, the way they portrayed the Red Planet's environment is pretty good. Most of it was filmed at Zabriskie Point near Death Valley, and with a reddish tint added in post-production the landscape is remarkably similar to photos beamed back by the Curiosity rover.

Few other movies of the time tried so hard to duplicate what science said Mars was like. Of course the rocks that burned like coal AND produced oxygen (one of Mona's insightful discoveries) were a stretch. And rescuing the alien slave Friday along with his supply of air pills was a happy accident. And by 1964 almost nobody thought Mars had canals filled with water anymore. And so on. But, as a bonus documentary the Criterion Collection includes on their DVD points out, Robinson Crusoe on Mars got a lot of things right, or at least as right as can be expected.

Side Note

A little over a year after this film debuted, Adam West would be rocketing to super-stardom as Batman. Meanwhile Paul Mantee, despite being the lead in Robinson Crusoe, never really got his "big break." Instead he did what Wikipedia articles on 2nd string actors frequently term "working steadily." This he did for decades before turning to writing in the late 1990s.

As an interesting side note, he appeared in an episode of his former co-star's show playing a henchman of Catwoman who wears a Batman costume to frame him for a crime. Maybe Adam West threw a little work his way for old time's sake?

Paul Mantee passed on in 2013. No word on the fate of Barney the Woolly Monkey.

RIP Zsa Zsa Gabor

Zsa Zsa Gabor (apparently Gábor Zsazsa in her native Hungary), who married one husband for every decade she lived (i.e., 9), has passed away at the age of 99.  Of course she started marrying husbands after she was of legal age, so some of them had to double up. The reason I mention her husbands rather than some other of her achievements is that, whenever her name came up during her prime, her multitudinous marriages (and divorces) came up too, usually first. It seemed to be her claim to fame.

Here is a list of all those husbands with photos.

She did seem to be a pioneer in the now popular state of 'being famous for being famous.' In fact, Paris Hilton, one of the most famous persons famous for being famous is Zsa Zsa's step-great-granddaughter by way of her 2nd husband, Conrad Hilton.

Zsa Zsa on the Island

But Ms. Gabor had some other achievements under her diamond-encrusted belt. She was a movie and TV actress, appearing in Gilligan's Island and Batman (my two favorite roles!), and was the lead actress in Moulin Rouge in 1952, for which she got decent reviews. She was also in Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil and the great and awe-inspiring Queen of Outer Space, which no one should finish their life without seeing.

She was also Miss Hungary in 1936, but unfortunately too young (19) to go on and compete for Miss Europe. In 1989 she slapped a Beverly Hills policemen for giving her a ticket, and had to serve 3 days in jail for it.

Zsa Zsa had declared her intention to return to Hungary for her 100th birthday (which would have been this February 6th) and spend her final days there. It's sad that she didn't quite make it.

RIP, Ms. Gabor.

"Never Fear, Smith is Here!"

Separated at birth?

Parker Posey photo by Arnold Gatilao

Netflix, which has basically replaced TV for us and keeps coming up with neat shows, is doing a reboot of one of my all-time favorites as a kid, Lost In Space. And of course you couldn't possibly have Lost in Space without that ultimate whinner ("Oh, the pain, the pain!") and loathsome general troublemaker, Dr. Zachary Smith, played in the 60s and for the rest of his life by the inimitable Jonathan Harris.

There's been a bit of a modification to the "good doctor's" character in the new program, though: Smith will be played by Parker Posey.  She is an excellent actress, known as the "Queen of the Indies," but can even Ms. Posey live up to this iconically aggravating role?

Probably depends on how they do the Robot.

Farewell, Beautiful Bat

See? We're not really the same person
after all!

Wow, not posting since Patrick's Day certainly has its downside. There are so many epic events I missed blogging on, like the author of Don Quixote finally getting buried or Donald Trump ascending to ever greater glory.

But the story I most regret not being here for is the death on August 17th of Batgirl -- Yvonne Craig. A lot of comic fans don't realize that the character of Batgirl, today a mainstay of the Batman Universe, was originally created specifically for Ms. Craig. Ratings for the old Batman TV show were slumping after two seasons so the producers and DC comics created Batgirl to add pizzazz to the third.

To play "the masked maiden" (and her secret identity, Barbara Gordon) they chose an ex-ballarina who'd played opposite Elvis and James Coburn in the movies. Wearing a skin-tight purple uniform and fetching black mask, Batgirl fought shoulder to shoulder with the "Caped Crusaders." Her graceful-but-deadly kicks and other ballet moves she used in combat made Craig a formidable and highly attractive crimefighter.

Although Batman did go belly-up after one more season, Batgirl (the comic character) continued on to the present day, and millions of young boys were left dreaming of Yvonne Craig and her masked alter ego -- me included. I had a gigantic crush on her in Junior High, and while several actresses portrayed the "Dominoed Daredoll" (yeah, the writers back then gave her a lot of odd nicknames) since the 60s, for me she is the one and only Batgirl.

RIP Ms. Craig.

RIP Mickey Rooney

What more need I say?

Links

With Kirk Douglas

Patrice Wymore, actress and Errol Flynn's final wife, just passed Saturday at the age of 87.

Frankly, I never heard of her until just now. But it always touches me when these links to old Hollywood die. RIP Ms. Wymore.