MST3K Review

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204 - CATALINA CAPER (RHINO DVD Box #1 and VHS)

Genre: ’60s Beach (1967, Color)

More Accurate Title: “Beach Blanket Sucko”

Synopsis: When I first saw the opening animated credits, I knew something was different from a regular MST episode – this time they were watching a movie that was made with an actual budget! After all, most MST features aren’t going to waste precious funds to pay someone to animate the credits! So I knew that, unlike some of the no-budget plotless wonders seen on the show, I would see a movie where at least something happens. Now, after seeing it, I’m not exactly sure what happens. This experiment was sort of like a “Beach Blanket Bingo a la MST.” It stars Tommy Kirk of G-rated Disney fame and is one of those ’60s beach movies where everyone is in bathing suits and swinging it to the music of the day (the gyrating girls in bikinis are definitely one of the highlights of this episode). So there are a few songs here-and-there sung by mostly flash-in-the-pan performers, with the best being a song performed by Little Richard while hocked-up on goofballs. Aside from the “Beach Blanket Sucko” scenes, the plot is about a valuable scroll that is stolen from a museum by some Dom DeLuise wannabe who works for a Boatnik Guy. The Boatnik Guy wants to copy the scroll, sell the copy to a guy named Lakopolous, and then return the original back to the museum. But these not-very-well-thought-out plans go awry when Lakopolous tries to steal the scroll, and it accidentally falls into the water, sinking to the bottom of the bay (was it the fake scroll or the real one? And, more importantly, who cares?). The Boatnik Guy then hires the beach kids to scuba dive and look underwater for the waterproof scroll container. Meanwhile, a new foreign-looking creepy girl shows up and, for some inexplicable reason, draws all of the guys away from all of the other, much better-looking girls. This big boy-vs.-girl dispute can only be solved by someone singing a song, which causes everyone to quickly makeup and shake it on the beach. But back to the “plot” of the movie: the bad guys after the scroll are eventually captured by the Jerry Lewis like Insurance Inspector and, finally, the beach kids return the scroll to the museum so the Boatnik Guy won’t go to jail.

Host Segments:

Prologue: The ’Bots are praying for every robot they know (…including Twiki, after Joel reminds them)
Segment One (Invention Exchange): The Mads invent Beach Turrets; Joel invents the Tickle Bazooka
Segment Two: Joel tells the ’Bots about the ’60s… but he soon loses it
Segment Three: Tom sings “The Creepy Girl Song” to his new love, while Joel and Crow dance in the background
Segment Four: Joel is field stripping Crow, while Frank is throwing a Tupperware party, which falls apart (literally) when Dr. F shows up
Segment Five (End): J&tBs try to figure out the movie, so Joel presents a chart of the film to explain it (but it all falls apart); a letter

(No Stinger)

Don’s Review: While not at the highest level heard on the show, the riffing on this episode is still very good for this campy beach movie. And add to that some good host segments (Tom’s “Creepy Girl” song is a MST classic, although my favorite segment is Joel’s little diatribe on the ’60s). So, overall, an enjoyable episode that is well worth a purchase (thanks, Rhino).

Don’s Rating: