620-Danger!! Death Ray

Film Year:  1967
Genre:  Spy, Action
Director:  Gianfranco Baldanello
Starring:  Gordon Scott, Maureen Delphy, Nello Pazafini, Tullio Altamura
MST Season:  6

The Movie

Well, you can't say they didn't try.  And that's the important thing.  In Danger!!  Death Ray a scientist who develops a death ray for "peaceful purposes" is kidnapped by enemy agents.  Secret agent Bart Fargo is recalled from his vacation to travel to Spain, investigate his disappearance, sleep with a lot of women, and save the day.

Danger!!  Death Ray wants so badly to get those James Bond dollars, but the people who made it just didn't have the resources to pull it off.  The most glaring and memorable thing about the film are the special effects, which are pulled off...interestingly.  I mean it's one thing to have detailed models of your vehicles for special effects, I can accept that (I'm a Godzilla fan after all), but they need to look good and work in the world you've created.  To call Danger!!  Death Ray's special effects "model work" would be to flatter them.  Danger!!  Death Ray looks more like the filmmakers raided a toy store and filmed little toy cars, submarines, and helicopters while they scooted them around.  Trust me, if you think the models in Japanese monster movies are bad (and that's an argument for another time) then Danger!!  Death Ray will have you doubled over in laughter.

Outside of the special effects, Danger!!  Death Ray is more or less another in a long line of Bond clones that came from overseas.  This one was filmed in Europe and stars former Tarzan Gordon Scott (and ex-husband to Psycho actress Vera Miles).  Scott looks the part, though the dub does him little in the long run.  But his suave secret agent is sure to at the very least please fans of these spy pictures, even if the movie around him isn't so hot and its action is laughably bad.

And while a 007 theme it is not, the "buh-buh-buh-buh-bah-bah" theme song is oddly endearing and catchy.   It all adds up in the end to Danger!!  Death Ray being one of those oddly endearing disasters you can't look away from.  It's almost entertaining to watch even without Mystery Science Theater.

The Episode

Calling out Danger!!  Death Ray for what it is it's really a movie that does all the heavy lifting for Mike and the Bots.  It would be easy to just coast and react to it, but nope.  Our riffers go the extra mile and turn this inept film into a laugh riot.  The special effects are of course the big hit in this movie with them, with a ton of riffs calling this movie out as a child playing with his toys.  "Special effects by Billy!" Crow quips in a deliciously dead on deduction.  The style of the spy movie sexiness also comes under fire, noting some questionable styles in the film ("She's painted for a Laugh-In sketch!").  The lackluster action just slowly trudges by in the film, building to a climax that makes up for its lack of suspense by being hilarious.

And the movie concludes on one of the most hilarious editing blunders the film could have possibly made, when Bart Fargo tosses his radio wristwatch out of his window and into the pool, except just as it hits the water a quick cut switches to a hand gently dipping the watch in the water to let it sink.  This scene makes me laugh every single time.  "Cameron Swayze intercepted it!"

From secret agents to talent agents, the host segments kick off with Frank acting as Hollywood's hottest agent in town.  He gets Tom Servo an endorsement deal for sneakers (nevermind he doesn't have legs) and turns down representing Crow's screenplays, meanwhile  he gets Mike a gig dancing in a sailor outfit and singing "Anything Goes."  Also of note are segments as Servo creates a death ray for "peaceful purposes" but then decides to use it on Crow for laughs, and also a segment where Crow demonstrates a feminine line of glasses for men.  The This is Your Life segment for Mike is a bit of a lesser affair, though it's harmless.

There is no question in my mind that Danger!! Death Ray is the best of the spy episodes, and it makes me double over with laughter every time I watch it.  It's a must-see in MST canon and one of the best sixth season episodes.

Classic

Buh-buh-buh-buh-bah-bah,

Buh-bah-bah-buh-buh-bah-dah!

The DVD

Bart Fargo only lived once on DVD in Shout Factory's Volume XXVI collection.  Video was mostly good with a few minor flaw, audio was excellent.  Special features included Life After MST3K:  Mike Nelson, a look at Mike's post MST career.  It covers his novels, web projects, and of course the formation of MST's prolific successor Rifftrax.  There is also a trailer for the film.