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Wild Guitar (1962)


Cast:

Arch "I'm a singing and acting sensation according to Eegah!"" Hall Jr. is Bud Eagle
Nancy Czar is Vickie Wills
Arch "Did you know my som is an acting and singing sensation"" Hall Sr. is Mike McCauley
Ray Dennis Steckler is Steak


What short IMDB summary says:

A young Arch Hall, Jr. is given a shot at the big time by the unscrupulous owner of a small record company played by Arch Hall, Sr.


Plot:

Bud Eagle is biking around. He reaches Hollywood which leads to the obligatory walk on the Hollywood walk of fame.

Yeah, I'm cool.  No, I'm kewl as ICE...
Yeah, I'm cool. No, I'm kewl as ICE...
The Stock footage of famous Hollywood spots ensues with Mann’s Chinese Theater, Dean Martin’s lounge, etc…

At a little diner, Bud spends the last of his money. He’s automatically befriended by Vickie. She lets him go with her to her audition on a TV show.

Gyratic twisting of Vickie ensues. The musician following her gets sick. The manager is worried about needing to fill the spot. Vickie mentions Bud. The emcee introduces Bud who trips but manages to wield his guitar like an axe and brutally murder the audience. Sorry, he’s playing.

Exit light, Enter night, take my hand...We're off to never never land...
Exit light, Enter night, take my hand...We're off to never never land...
Those actions are so similar. The obligatory 1960s’s pop rock ensues. The audience loves it…

McCauley, the evil manager, sees Bud on TV and the evil wheels of grinding another musician up in the name of greed ensues. He sends his lackey, Steak, to meet Bud. Later, at an apartment, McCauley offers to manager Bud but will handle all the thinking. He has Bud tow the line or else.

Bud agrees to the Mephistolean deal. He is unaware of how McCauley wants to make sure that Vickie is kept from him. McCauley also wants to keep Bud from writing to his brother, Ted, who is at college.

At the café, Steak stops by to handle Bud’s bill and get his suitcase.

I disagree, I think advanced particle physics is a crutch for those who can't comprehend the complexities of Scooby Doo.
Let's twist again like we did on Brokeback Mountain
Let's twist again like we did on Brokeback Mountain.

The next day, Steak explains to Bud how people just want to use him. McCauley begins his “much work needs to be done” speech as Bud assaults us with another song. McCauley’s plan is to keep Bud from seeing a single penny of money.

Vickie confides to the waitress at the café how she can’t stop thinking about Bud.

At a photo shoot, Bud meets with the leaders of his fan club. McCauley explains how they help promote him for being paid. Bud is worried about his brother, Ted, and is also sick of the fake promotions. McCauley tries to explain how fake fan clubs and advertising are so important. Better, yet he plays the blame game about how much he is out for paying Bud so far. The innocent Bud offers to stay long enough to pay the bills of so far before leaving.

The money starts pouring in. Crazed teens are chasing Bud. Later Bud plays the “Vickie” song from Eegah with a group doing interpretive dance. Vickie is watching the performance. .

Later, she runs into Bud. Vickie explains what Steak did. They go to a skating rink. Awww, teen romance so sweet so sickening……………..

McCauley is scheduling a tour for Bud. However, he wants to kill Bud’s romance with Vickie, too.

Later, Don Proctor, McCauley’s old singer, pays a visit to Bud. He tells how he used to live in the same apartment, how McCauley used him, and all the expenses came out of Proctor’s cut. It’ll be the same way for Bud. Steak stops in with Daisy, the cheap floozy.

Dancing Daisy ensues. Cheesecakin’ to give the audience the gams…

Steak spots Proctor and pushes him down a flight of stairs.

Bud and Daisy are dancing as spastically as the a couple doing the Myposian Dance of Joy. Daisy decides to go clothing optional with her bump and grind. Vickie walks in and spots Bud with a half naked woman.

As Bud goes to explains things to Vickie, 3 guys from the café kidnap Bud. Eventually, Bud gets one of their guns. He decides to help them with the kidnapping.

McCauley gets a ransom note. Steak delivers the ransom. The goons get the cash. Back at the cash, Steak starts whooping the goons. They escape without the cash.

Newspaper headlines about Bud Eagle’s disappearance ensue. At the café, Vickie is still pining for Bud. The waitress talks about the new dishwasher: Bud. He explains everything which allows for the swapping of spit.

McCauley keeps claiming that Bud’s disappearance is a publicity stunt. He is getting worried about penalties for Bud not playing the tour. A guy walks in and claims to know where Bud is.

At the café, McCauley finds Bud who explains what he wants to return. A new accountant, to live on his own, etc…McCauley threatens to blackmail or assault Bud if he doesn’t tow the line. Bud reveals he had the conversation taped.

Bud versus Steak to a pseudo-surf beat-down theme. 2 fisted Arch Hall Jr action ensues.

They reveal the guy went to McCauley is Ted. Bud offers to keep McCauley as manager a second chance.

Beach party dance, Bud and dancin’ Vickie ensues to a funky spastic hip dancing.

 Nothing says surfer rock like a bow-tied guitarist.
Nothing says surfer rock like a bow-tied guitarist.


What I say:

What do you say when Ray Dennis Steckler is the director? Most pepople would be scratching their heads trying to figurte out who that is. He's probably most famous for the immensley named The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed Up Zombies? Very little can be said.

The sweet musical tones of Arch Hall Jr., who gave us the "Valerie" song and his amazing stretchy-faced performance in Eegah is back for antother stab at fame that would ahve been better concerted if to cut the eardrums of people to not listen ot him sing. But, Arch Hall has had at least one good movie: Sadist.

The Hollywood expose movie showing how behind all the glitter is gunk. The dangers of celebrity aren't so readily announced like on television today. If I hear some star whine about how they don't have any privacy, have to break something. Unfortunately, my sympathy doesn't extend to those making millions of dollars who complain about how average people should change their ways. Must have missed when everyone who made $3500 a year had a Hummer and and drove it for 7 hours a day.

The naive young singer who gets into the fast paced music industry. He sees how it has turned in and out many people and lately discovers he's going to have to fight in a game where the only rules are there are no rules as long as you can get as much cash off from the other guy. The music industry expose while not quite as popular as the starlet searching for fame in the epic Girl in the Gold Boots or the movie that transcends words such as "epic," "masterpiece," or even "visionary": Showgirls.

For McCauley to be any more evil, he'd need a mustache to twirl as he tied the damsel to the train tracks, must have missed that day at the Snidely Whiplash school for Villainy. He ensures he has total royalty rights and takes all expenses come out of the singer and will drop him faster than Milli Vanilla after the lip synching incident.



2 NINJAS

Quotable Dialogue

"A penny for the governor."
"Are you in show business?"
"You don't belive what you read only what I tell you."
"This is Daisy, she's gonna terach you to swing."
"Alas fooled again."
"There's an elephant of truth, there."
"She's got twist fever."


Morals of the Story

Shaking like you're got a spasm is true dancing.
Touching fire isn't painful.
A 'Diversion' is a unit of the army.
All women love having songs wnamed after them.
Shotgun wielding masked men are commonplace in Hollywood.
Rock stars dress like ice cream soda jerks.


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