Gene Roth in "The Rebel Set" on MST3K

Justin T · **on:** December 18, 2009, 11:21:07 PM

I'm a big fan of the show "Mystery Science Theater 3000". I've finally started to collect
episodes released on DVD. For those who may not be familiar with it, the basic idea is this guy
named Joel (who is later replaced by Mike Nelson in the 5th season) Who get's trapped by a mad scientist
Dr. Forrester. The evil Doc forces him to watch bad and cheesy movies to see how much awful crap
his mind can take before he goes insane. He and his robot buddies Tom Servo and Crow watch the
movies while cracking jokes and mocking everything they can such as bad acting, horrible special effects
and plot holes the size of Texas. The show lasted 10 seasons on 2 different networks, pretty impressive.

Anyway, So i'm watching an episode from Season 4 where the movie is a 1959 film called "The Rebel Set".
The basic plot is this criminal mastermind (Edward Platt, who played The Chief on Get Smart) gets 3 down
on their luck guys to help him rob an armored car for a million dollars. It's not horrible like Manos the Hands of Fate
or Plan 9 From Outer Space, but it's not good either.

So they get on a train to get out of Chicago after they pull off the robbery, and much to my surprise the
Conductor on the train is played by Bortch himself, Gene Roth! The part isn't major, but he gets alot of lines
and screen time. I thought of him saying to someone "Giff Me Dat Ticket!" is his Bortch voice and laughed.

There is a funny running gag in the episode, where both Joel and Crow think The Conductor is played by
a Merritt Stone, and each time they say so Servo gets angry and exclaims "It's not Merritt Stone!!" and
every time he did I added "Yes! It's Gene Roth, Bortch!" Also, in one scene a Beatnik girl is dancing to some
music and the guys start making Stooge sounds like Woob Woob Woob, and Nyuk Nyuk!

So, you just never know when something your watching is going to have a Three Stooges connection.

metaldams · **Reply #1 on:** December 19, 2009, 08:40:55 AM

I've seen plenty of cheeseball 50's horror and sci-fi flicks in my day, and Gene Roth has appeared in a few of them. Alas, he always plays it straight and never as a Russian spy.

FineBari3 · **Reply #2 on:** December 19, 2009, 09:58:39 AM

I used to be a HUGE MST3K fan! I first saw the show on a trip to Cedar Point, OH in a hotel. This would have been around 1992, and my cable company didn't carry the Comedy Channel. I worked at Carnegie Mellon University then, and a work study student who got the Comedy Channel taped many episodes for me!

I joined their fan club for a couple of years, and bought a tape called 'MST Poopie', which consisted of all bloopers and outtakes from the show. One hilarious segment has Crow's head with a little flame burning, which catches his ping-pong ball eyes on fire, and they erupt in a woosh. Crow screamed throughout the whole thing!

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Justin T · **Reply #3 on:** December 19, 2009, 10:31:35 AM

Quote from: FineBari3 on December 19, 2009, 09:58:39 AM

I used to be a HUGE MST3K fan! I first saw the show on a trip to Cedar Point, OH in a hotel. This would have been around 1992, and my cable company didn't carry the Comedy Channel. I worked at Carnegie Mellon University then, and a work study student who got the Comedy Channel taped many episodes for me!

I joined their fan club for a couple of years, and bought a tape called 'MST Poopie', which consisted of all bloopers and outtakes from the show. One hilarious segment has Crow's head with a little flame burning, which catches his ping-pong ball eyes on fire, and they erupt in a woosh. Crow screamed throughout the whole thing!

Awesome! I didn't get Comedy Central in my area untill the mid 90's so I missed out on MST3K then. The only Comedy Central ep I saw
was Eegah when I was visiting my Aunt and Uncle one time. I became a fan when it moved to the Sci Fi Channel in 1997 while I was in college.
Some friends introduced me to the show and I got hooked. Thanks to DVD i've been able to see alot of episodes from the Joel era and the
early Mike ones on Comedy Central too.

The Poopie Blooper reel is an extra on one of the DVD collections, I plan on getting that one eventually. I have some of the sets that
Rhino released, but I love the new collections released by Shout! Factory due to the fact they put all kinds of extras in them. My best
friend, who is also a big MST3K fan, got the 20th Anniversary set last year. His was the limited edition that came with a Crow figurine.
It's really nice.

Hulu.com has posted a couple of episodes on their website, which is great.

FineBari3 · **Reply #4 on:** December 19, 2009, 10:40:19 AM

I guess somebody posted the entiere MST Poopie video on YouTube, in 4 parts. If you have never seen it and are a fan of the show, you will laugh your ass off!

Here is the 4th segment, which has Crow's eyes catching fire starting at 0:15

[youtube=425,350]3qVWwFmdOIA[/youtube]

Justin T · **Reply #5 on:** December 19, 2009, 10:54:28 AM

OMG that was hilarious!

Thanks for posting that Mar-Jean!

Fake Shemp · **Reply #6 on:** December 19, 2009, 03:01:08 PM

Also, Kenneth MacDonald was in The She-Creature, another MST3K episode on season 8.

Dog Hambone · **Reply #7 on:** December 19, 2009, 04:21:23 PM

Thanks for the tip on THE REBEL SET on MST3K!

Gene Roth also had a good-sized role as the town Sheriff (playing it straight) in ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES, a 1959 "horror" film. I own the original version; I don't know yet if that one is in one of the MST3K collectons. It oughta be. I've collected Volumes 1, 2, & 3 so far & I'll have to start adding to my budding collection soon!

metaldams · **Reply #8 on:** December 19, 2009, 09:02:08 PM

Quote from: Dog Hambone on December 19, 2009, 04:21:23 PM

Thanks for the tip on THE REBEL SET on MST3K!

Gene Roth also had a good-sized role as the town Sheriff (playing it straight) in ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES, a 1959 "horror" film. I own the original version; I don't know yet if that one is in one of the MST3K collectons. It oughta be. I've collected Volumes 1, 2, & 3 so far & I'll have to start adding to my budding collection soon!

YES! ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES was one of the films I've seen in him. He was wasted, as I believe he was playing a sherriff or something, if my memory is correct. Other than a few you tube clips, I have limited exposure to MSTK3, but I've seen plenty of the actual movies.

Really, I've seen so many old movies it's gotten to the point where I've gotten used to seeing Stooge supporting players in other films. I know Bess Flowers was considered "queen of the Hollywood extras," but if I had a penny for evertime I've seen Etherelda Leopold as an extra, I'd be rich.

Justin T · **Reply #9 on:** December 19, 2009, 11:57:28 PM

Quote from: Dog Hambone on December 19, 2009, 04:21:23 PM

Thanks for the tip on THE REBEL SET on MST3K!

Gene Roth also had a good-sized role as the town Sheriff (playing it straight) in ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES, a 1959 "horror" film. I own the original version; I don't know yet if that one is in one of the MST3K collectons. It oughta be. I've collected Volumes 1, 2, & 3 so far & I'll have to start adding to my budding collection soon!

It is, Giant Leeches is in Volume 6. Thanks for the heads up.

Oh and besides being online at Hulu.com, The Rebel Set is on the Volume 12 DVD Collection also

The She Creature hasn't been released on DVD yet, Shout Factory might get to it sometime. They have done a
great job with the MST3K Volumes since taking over from Rhino, it's helpful they kept going with the numbers, they
have released Volumes 13 to 16 so far, 17 is coming out in March.

So far I own Volumes 4 and 8, and the Manos single DVD. Get the Volumes from Rhino while you can, Volumes 7, 8 and 9 are already
out of print. Volumes 1-6 and 10-12 from Rhino are still available. I got super lucky and found a copy of 8 at a Barnes and Noble this
past week. You would have to pay alot of money to get a copy from someone online.

Dog Hambone · **Reply #10 on:** December 20, 2009, 08:50:41 AM

Quote from: metaldams on December 19, 2009, 09:02:08 PM

...but if I had a penny for evertime I've seen Etherelda Leopold as an extra, I'd be rich.

AllMovie.com describes Ethelreda Leopold as "a beautiful blonde bit player", and I agree, she was one good-looking tomato.

metaldams · **Reply #11 on:** December 20, 2009, 10:35:53 AM

Quote from: Dog Hambone on December 20, 2009, 08:50:41 AM

AllMovie.com describes Ethelreda Leopold as "a beautiful blonde bit player", and I agree, she was one good-looking tomato.

No arguments here, she was a very attractive woman. I've always liked the taller ones.

My other Gene Roth sighting was in the 1957 "classic" ZOMBIES OF MORA TAU. This film is available on the Sam Katzman Collection, which as a bonus includes a Columbia Collins and Kennedy Columbia short. Don't walk, but rush to your local retail outfit and demand your Collins and Kennedy. If the 16 year old girl at the counter with multiple facial piercings doesn't look at you like you're a nut case, you're probably having a dream.

So, who here has always wondered what it would be like to see Symona Boniface as an observer in a Satanic ritual? I know I always have, and my wish finally came true when I saw the 1934 Lugosi/Karloff classic (no quotes necessary this time), THE BLACK CAT. It's a very brief shot, but it's definitely Symona.

I may have to pick up some of these MSTK3 DVD's you guys are talking about. I've attempted watching MANOS: HANDS OF FATE (Manos mean hands in Spanish, so it's really, HANDS: HANDS OF FATE), WITHOUT the commentary - big mistake.

Rich Finegan · **Reply #12 on:** December 20, 2009, 01:53:51 PM

Quote from: metaldams on December 19, 2009, 09:02:08 PM

Really, I've seen so many old movies it's gotten to the point where I've gotten used to seeing Stooge supporting players in other films. If I had a penny for evertime I've seen Etherelda Leopold as an extra, I'd be rich.

Yes, if you're into old movies, Ethelreda's everywhere...and how great it is to see her every time!

Seamus · **Reply #13 on:** December 21, 2009, 08:55:14 AM

Huge MST fan here too. If you guys want to supplement your DVD collection with eps not yet available on official release, check out the Digital Archive Project website. You can download the eps with a bit torrent client and burn them to DVD. Very cool. The sources are cleaned-up versions of the eps that were taped during broadcast, which they make available as DVD-burnable .ISO files. They're pretty ethical about the whole thing, removing eps from their site as soon as they're scheduled for official DVD release, so no guilt. Between the DAP downloads and the box sets that have been released over the years, I've got nearly every episode on DVD.

Always enjoyed it when a Stooge reference would come up during the movie riffing. Remember Coleman "Evil Curly" Francis?

"Coleman Francis IS Curly Howard in...The Fugative!"

Justin T · **Reply #14 on:** December 21, 2009, 05:45:39 PM

Quote from: metaldams on December 20, 2009, 10:35:53 AM

I may have to pick up some of these MST3K DVD's you guys are talking about. I've attempted watching MANOS: HANDS OF FATE (Manos mean hands in Spanish, so it's really, HANDS: HANDS OF FATE), WITHOUT the commentary - big mistake.

Yikes, trying to watch Manos without the commentary is nearly impossible. That movie is so bad it can cause you physical pain just watching it.
The MST3K version is available as a single DVD or in The Essentials set where it comes with another bad movie classic: Santa Claus Conquers The Martians.

My friend and I watched the Santa Claus MST3K episode yesterday, the movie is pretty bad but the commentary they do on the movie is freaking
hilarious. A great episode. I'd recomend buying The Essentials set, its only about 20 bucks and you get two classic episodes of the show, good choice
for people new to MST3K.

Rich Finegan · **Reply #15 on:** December 22, 2009, 11:16:29 AM

Quote from: Seamus on December 21, 2009, 08:55:14 AM

Huge MST fan here too.
Always enjoyed it when a Stooge reference would come up during the movie riffing.

Another MST3000 fan here. And yes I always enjoy the occasional Stooges references, which are actually all the more appreciated because they don't do it TOO MUCH. So each reference is less expected and much funnier than if we knew they'd be mentioning The Stooges every five minutes of every show.

As fans of MST3000 surely know, the talents in and behind the show have carried on in other projects, one of which is called Riff Trax. They have done a couple live theatrical Riff Trax shows, such as their recent "tribute" to the notorious "Plan 9 From Outer Space". Did anyone else attend the Riff Trax show last Wednesday night, Dec. 16, in which the guys tackled an assortment of vintage Christmas-themed shorts? Before the show, various novelty recordings were being played for the listening enjoyment of those of us who arrived early. One of these songs was all about Larry Fine! I can't recall what the title may have been, from hearing it just that once, probably something like "Larry He's Fine" or something like that. But it was a great tribute to Larry. Has anyone else heard this? My friend Patty (the most devoted Riff Trax expert I know) thinks the song was by Riff Trax regular Kevin Murphy. The Riff Trax website offers recordings for download, but that song doesn't seem to be there. Highly recommended listening for all Stooges fans...if you can find it!

Seamus · **Reply #16 on:** December 22, 2009, 12:24:23 PM

Yeah, loved Wednesday's live Rifftrax show...hilarious! I much prefer the work the Rifftrax guys have been doing over what I've seen from their old cohorts at Cinematic Titanic. Love everyone involved in CT, but I think the sharpest riff writers ended up in the Rifftrax camp...

The boys' tender musical tribute to Larry ("I Think Larry's Fine") brought the smiles. Your friend has it right - the song was written and performed by the Rifftrax guys (Kevin Murphy on lead vocals) under their musical alter-ego The Rifftones. They've recorded a few songs based on some of the movies they've riffed over the years, and made them available either as downloads or as extras on some of their DVD releases - "Sparkly Vampires" (Twilight), "When a Man Loves a Shark" (Jaws), Plans 1-8 (take a guess!), etc.

The Larry song is available on their DVD release of Swing Parade. Haven't been able to find the song online anywhere, but the DVD is highly recommended. It performs a valuable service for Stooge fans by rendering the non-Stooge scenes in Swing Parade not only bearable but even funnier than the Stooge bits. And you get the Larry song free with purchase, so there you go!

metaldams · **Reply #17 on:** December 22, 2009, 03:03:19 PM

Quote from: Justin T on December 21, 2009, 05:45:39 PM

Yikes, trying to watch Manos without the commentary is nearly impossible. That movie is so bad it can cause you physical pain just watching it.
The MST3K version is available as a single DVD or in The Essentials set where it comes with another bad movie classic: Santa Claus Conquers The Martians.

My friend and I watched the Santa Claus MST3K episode yesterday, the movie is pretty bad but the commentary they do on the movie is freaking
hilarious. A great episode. I'd recomend buying The Essentials set, its only about 20 bucks and you get two classic episodes of the show, good choice
for people new to MST3K.

SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS! Now there's there's a movie I've seen without the commentary and highly enjoyed. Martian children need toys too, y'know. Love that theme song! S-A-N-T-A, C-L-A-U-S, hooray for Santy Claus! Cinema just doesn't get better than that. I think I'll pick up that Essentials set.

Rich Finegan · **Reply #18 on:** December 22, 2009, 03:11:55 PM

Essential MST3000?

Two words:
Mister B.

Justin T · **Reply #19 on:** December 22, 2009, 11:51:59 PM

Quote from: Rich Finegan on December 22, 2009, 11:16:29 AM

Another MST3000 fan here. And yes I always enjoy the occasional Stooges references, which are actually all the more appreciated because they don't do it TOO MUCH. So each reference is less expected and much funnier than if we knew they'd be mentioning The Stooges every five minutes of every show.

As fans of MST3000 surely know, the talents in and behind the show have carried on in other projects, one of which is called Riff Trax. They have done a couple live theatrical Riff Trax shows, such as their recent "tribute" to the notorious "Plan 9 From Outer Space". Did anyone else attend the Riff Trax show last Wednesday night, Dec. 16, in which the guys tackled an assortment of vintage Christmas-themed shorts? Before the show, various novelty recordings were being played for the listening enjoyment of those of us who arrived early. One of these songs was all about Larry Fine! I can't recall what the title may have been, from hearing it just that once, probably something like "Larry He's Fine" or something like that. But it was a great tribute to Larry. Has anyone else heard this? My friend Patty (the most devoted Riff Trax expert I know) thinks the song was by Riff Trax regular Kevin Murphy. The Riff Trax website offers recordings for download, but that song doesn't seem to be there. Highly recommended listening for all Stooges fans...if you can find it!

Like you and Seamus, I have been to both the Live Plan 9 and Christmas shows. The Plan 9 one was awesome, the Christmas one was fun too. I went
with my friend James, another MST3K fan, and we had a blast. I think im going to buy the Live Plan 9 DVD eventually from Rifftrax.com.

We also caught the Larry song, I hadn't heard it before I was laughing good. I need to get a copy of that song on my computer.

Justin T · **Reply #20 on:** November 17, 2010, 11:24:30 PM

It's been almost a year since I started this thread, I thought I would
give a little update on my MST3K watching.

I've been able to buy most of the single episode DVD releases and I have 14 out of the 19
box sets. Volume 19 came out just last week (with a nice Gypsy figure to boot) I've also taken
advantage of the Digital Archive Project to watch episodes not on DVD yet.

As mentioned before, besides The Rebel Set, Gene Roth also appeared as The Sheriff
in Attack of the Giant Leeches which was also done in Season 4. Since this thread was last active
I have discovered that Gene appeared in two more movies that were mocked on the show.

He played The Sheriff (again) in Earth vs the Spider (Season 3) and appeared as a lunch stand operator
in Tormented (Season 4). So in total he appeared in 4 movies shown on MST3K, amazing.

Fake Shemp also alerted me to the fact that Kenneth MacDonald was in The She-Creature from Season 8.
I recently watched that episode and he's in it all right, has a small part as a scientist.

I have enjoyed both of the Rifftrax Live shows this year, Reefer Madness and then The House on
Haunted Hill just before Halloween. They are so much fun, the short films they do before the
movie are such a treat.

I have also bought some DVD's of the other project run by the rest of the show's cast headed by
Joel called Cinematic Titantic. I purchased two of their live shows, East Meets Watts and The Alien Factor.
They are both hilarious.

For fans of the show, we are very lucky that with both Rifftrax and Cinematic Titanic, they keep on
giving bad movies the mocking they deserve, while we just sit back and enjoy the laughs.

And of course, I've noticed alot more Three Stooges references in various episodes. One of the biggest
was in Red Zone Cuba from Season 6. They had alot of fun pretending director/actor Coleman Francis
was Curly.

Seamus · **Reply #21 on:** November 18, 2010, 06:48:19 PM

I got a kick-ass deal on three MST3K box sets on Woot a couple months ago. Fun times. Shout Factory is doing a terrific job with their MST3K DVD releases. Where else are you going to find a lovingly crafted documentary on the making of THE BEAST OF YUCCA FLATS except as an extra on an MST3K DVD?

I've been revisiting season 8 myself, which I still think is one of their best. Unfortunately a big chunk of season 8 will probably never see DVD release, since they riffed a lot of Universal properties at the beginning of the season, and I can't imagine Best Brains ever getting the rights to release REVENGE OF THE CREATURE or THE MOLE PEOPLE on DVD. Thank goodness for the Digital Archive Project.

Wednesday nights are always Beer 'n' Rifftrax night for me and my buds. Last week's AVATAR riff had us in stitches.