Rat Pfink a Boo Boo

If you've seen Ray Dennis Steckler's cult classic 'The Incredibly Strange Creatures...' and thought it was a silly, unbelievably bad mess, you haven't seen anything yet!! 'Rat Phink a Boo Boo' actually surpasses it! It is even sillier, more incoherent, cheaper and basically makes absolutely NO SENSE at all. At least '..Creatures..' had a semblance of a plot, 'Rat Phink..' doesn't even bother trying! The movie begins like a thriller with the kidnapping of a rock singer's girlfriend by some heavies then... well I won't spoil the experience for you! Let's just say things don't turn out QUITE like you might think...

This is one of the strangest low (and I mean LOW!) budget movies of the 1960s. Watching it is like watching a car crash. You know you should stop looking at some point but you just can't tear your eyes away!

Makes Ed Wood look like Sam Fuller.

I don't think I've ever laughed more in a movie theatre than the first time I saw "The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living And Became Mixed-Up Zombies" (1963) at NYC's Thalia some years back, and have wanted to see Ray Dennis Steckler's legendary 1965 follow-up, "Rat Pfink A Boo Boo," ever since. And the good news is that, to my not-so-great surprise, this turns out to be an extremely entertaining short film in the superhero genre. Filmed on the supercheap for only $20 (as Steckler tells us in an excellent interview on this DVD)--although every penny of that is evident on screen--the picture tells a simple story, in which Cee Bee Beaumont, girlfriend of rock star Lonnie Lord, is tormented and kidnapped by a trio of thugs. Good thing that Lonnie is actually costumed crime fighter Rat Pfink, and that Cee Bee's doofus gardener is actually his cohort Boo Boo, who hop aboard their sidecar motorcycle to rescue her from the villains, as well as an escaped gorilla! The picture features remarkably fine photography and editing, and although there is no synchronized dialogue whatsoever, I was able to quickly adapt, especially when being thrilled by some very frenetic dukeouts and no less than four upbeat rock 'n' roll numbers. The varicolored tinting of the film only enhances the already impressive lensing, and, at a mere 65 minutes or so (not the 90 minutes widely stated), the movie never even begins to wear out its welcome. By turns amusing, suspenseful, exciting and ludicrously funny, "Rat Pfink A Boo Boo" is a worthy successor to filmdom's "first monster musical." And Steckler, in his lengthy interview, proves to be just as bright and funny as his films would lead one to believe. The man has a remarkable memory, and his articulate stories round out this DVD very nicely indeed.

RAT PFINK A BOO BOO (5 outta 5 stars)

I have been dreaming about seeing this movie ever since I heard it mentioned in an old issue of Castle of Frankenstein Magazine when I was like 10 years old. It never plays on TV, never ever made it to any repertory cinemas in my neck of the woods... and not even the more eclectic video stores around here ever carried it. God bless the amazingly fast growth of DVD technology which allowed me to finally *purchase* the movie for my very own at a ridiculously low price! Even so... after purchasing it, I was scared to watch it at first. After having dreamed about this movie for so long could it possibly live up to my expectations? Or would it be just another in a long list of disappointments? Well, I needn't have worried... this movie... as low-budget and cheesy and downright STRANGE it is... it is absolutely brilliant! Infused with incredible passion from the director and the cast... it transcends its monetary limitations and is wildly infectious in its creativity! Rat Pfink and Boo Boo, our two low-rent superheroes, are obviously inspired by Batman and Robin... but actually created and filmed BEFORE the popular 60s TV show! A bunch of psycho delinquents are terrorizing women... when they begin to pick on the girlfriend of rockabilly musician Lonnie Lord (secret identity of Rat Pfink) they cross the line and incur the wrath of our heroes! Genius filmmaking! Just imagine what director Ray Dennis Steckler could do with a budget!

What can you say about this infamous mess? Steckler had a strange sense of humor but he was smart enough to keep putting Carolyn Brandt in his films. Brandt couldn't act much but she was a hot piece of ass and was always sexy in her roles. The dubbing is especially bad as there was no microphone during filming so all dialogue and sound effects were put in later like the sound of a toilet flushing when they tried to start the motorcycle! Rat Pfink's voice sounds like a drunk Bullwinkle or Yogi Bear. You know your in for a cheap movie when it has a narrator for no reason at all. The fight scenes are phony and what was up with having a gorilla in the film? The gorilla handler was a real strange guy, he sounded real gay and had a big round butt. Why was Rat Pfink always pointing his finger when they rode in the motorcycle? And Boo-Boo cannot fight to save his life. And when the thugs wanted to get money all they did was make crank calls to Brandt before they kidnapped her. Why? Movies that are this low budget and inept are interesting to watch and I wouldn't be telling the truth if I said I wasn't entertained by this nonsense. Good shots of Hollywood in the mid sixties. If you love really bad films than you have to see this one!

So what do you do for a movie when you've got no script, no stars, and no money. First, you get a cast with tight pants and shoot them from the rear; then, you make sure everything and everybody stays in constant motion even if you get a headache; lastly, you throw in a spoof and hope it all comes out like camp. I'll say one thing for impresario Steckler--he knows how to wield a camera even if to no overall purpose. No, this isn't camp. It's more like a student film, with all the energy in the world, a pass to Griffith Park, and a 1940's gorilla suit. One thing for certain, Steckler's mania sure puts the 'motion' in motion picture. Too bad it left me with a headache, and a tug for poor Carolyn Brandt who gets one heckuva workout. Anyway, I think Steckler has proven something, I'm just not sure what.