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SHACK OUT ON 101, Edward Dein's 1955 minimalist masterpiece of Cold War weirdness remains, over 50 years later, one of Hollywood's strangest concoctions.

A dilapidated seaside beanery just north of San Diego is the setting for this outré noir tale about a group of disparate folks who become either directly or peripherally involved with Commie spies and stolen microfilm. The unforgettable cast includes Keenan Wynn as the diner's proprietor, a man obsessed with his "pecs" and always at odds with Lee Marvin as Slob, the animalistic short-order cook who's obsessed with va-va-voom Terry Moore who drives all the guys wild as the put-upon waitress who seems to only have eyes for Frank Lovejoy, "the professor" (of what we're not exactly sure) and Whit Bissell as the annoyingly chatty salesman who wanders in and out of the picture whenever a couple of uninterrupted minutes of bizarre banter is required.

This is not a normal film in any true sense of the word. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense and, apart from aligning itself with the then current trend of pseudo patriotic, anti- communist espionage films, it isn't easy to guess what was really on the minds of those who produced this delirious little oddity. At times hilarious (possibly intentional, possibly not) and grimly somber, SHACK OUT ON 101 defies rational description and should most definitely be experienced at least once, or in the case with some of us, as often as humanly possible.

Amusingly odd second-feature from Allied Artists Pictures stars Terry Moore as a beanery waitress who has high ambitions--studying for her Civil Service exams! Moore and restaurant-owner Keenan Wynn end up tangling with nefarious Lee Marvin, posing as a short-order cook. Hilariously outré mix of moody melodramatics, campy nostalgia, gruff film noir and patriotic flag-waving. Moore is quite appealing spitting out her juicy, hard-bitten purple prose, Wynn also good (if puzzlingly dopey) in a supporting role apparently written for stray laughs. In fact, the entire film is amiably half-witted and almost endearing. Fine cinematography by Floyd Crosby includes an amazing opening shot of Terry on the beach! ** from ****

Wow, what a surprise. Regardless of what I expected, here is what I got...confusion, claustrophobia, tour de force acting, laughs, intrigue, action, and yes...arousal...the arousal coming from the talky kissing scenes involving the very sexy Terry Moore and her scientist boyfriend. One just wants to push him aside and take over where he started. Goofy plot, where virtually every customer in this diner seems to be somehow involved with spying. Especially puzzling is comparing the very Americany, bad boy, fun loving persona of Lee Marvin, to that of his eventually revealed, anti everything American spy. But then again, I've never met a spy. Maybe they're all fun like that! Or maybe I've seen too many 'normal' spy movies. Still, one has to see this performance by a young Marvin. He absolutely makes it clear that as an actor, he has always had it. Even as a very young man, he still has that 'voice' and can be very scary at times. While watching this movie, I found myself thinking, that when Marvin was a fighting marine in real life on those Japanese held islands, his fox hole buddies must have felt pretty safe with him around. Just a strong, strong presence. Best thing about this movie is the racy dialogue, which is mostly very believable, and truly has you wondering what they are going to say next, while trying to figure out the depth of the relationships between the main characters. Can't believe I have never heard of this movie. It's a good one.

I find it tremendously rewarding to see all these enthusiastic comments about this movie here on the IMDb. This is a film that no-one ever seems to have heard of, and it's a guilty pleasure in every way. It makes NO sense, it is essentially claustrophobically confined to one cheap set within which a stream of unlikely characters played by great quirky actors parades by. There is no narrative structure at all, and you're not even sure what the point is by the end, but thanks especially to Lee Marvin and Keenan Wynn, you're fascinated all along the way.

I haven't seen it in years now (something happened to my videotape of it, recorded off of TNT many years ago), but I'd consider it one of my favorite movies on the basis of the fact that I could watch it over and over and always find it satisfying.

It's hard to recommend it for any rational reason, and yet I'd urge any film buff with even a tiny sense of the absurd to watch it some time before you die. You'll never see anything remotely like it, for good reason. But it gives you faith in the concept that just about anything can get produced, if you only believe strongly enough.....

When the producers at lowly but lovable Monogram decided to sell an upgraded product, they replaced their banner with that of Allied Artists. This AA release definitely retains that absurd old Monogram spirit. Is it a comedy/satire? A spy spoof? An anti-commie rant? An Ed-Woodian comment on twisted sex mores? A love story? All these things? None of the above? No one knows for sure. The late David Newman said it best in his seminal "Guilty Pleasures" article for Film Comment -- "at no time is it possible to get a handle on this movie." There's a scene where Wynn and Marvin attack a neon swordfish sign that is as nutty as any George Zucco and a guy-in-a-gorilla-suit nonsense from the studio's glory days. Lee Marvin's outrageous method-acting licks seem to come from another planet, and why is everyone so crazy about Terry Moore? Or are the boys really crazy about each other? Fans of Seinfeld be sure to look out for Uncle Leo when he was a young thespian -- and already doing the annoying shtick he later perfected in that series.

The most important thing about this amazing piece is that despite its limitations from the buck fifty budget to the sledgehammered propagandist overtones to the all-over-the-place acting, this is a highly entertaining and enigmatic movie-going experience. That is not to say that it makes a lick of sense. But when you are treated to as much tear stained laughs and anvil-forged he-man dialogue, does it matter? I didn't even intend to see this one but a revival house ran it as the second feature here in Hollywood a few years back and I sat and watched and was blown away. I can't recall what the top billed film was but I sure recall this quintessential (yet almost unknown) tough guy movie. Screw all the proto-Nietzchean questions of Man and Superman, existential angst and jingoistic integrity discussion. This is pure lusty FUN... the story of good girls gone bad and bad men gone worse!

For starters, here's an object lesson on how someone with screen charisma can overcome incredible problems, including a spotty on-the-nose script and zero production values. In this case, young Lee Marvin (SLOB) absolutely obliterates, yanking all our attention away from whatever else is happening (generally not much) in any given scene. This IS a compliment. His infectiously sullen scowl and alienated bad boy 'tude is so blinding that even Keenan Wynn, quite the smouldering hambone of hate himself, is superseded. I can't really recall all the ins and outs of the thinly veiled communist parablizing (something about smuggled nuclear secrets), but I sure recall Marvin hitting up a very comely Terry Moore and that the sparks fly. Truly, there is as much iconoclastic rebellious poseuring here as in Brando's much more famous (but no better) THE WILD ONE or any three Clint Eastwood movies. There may not have been any visible plot but the dialogue is diamond hard and I promise the blisteringly melodramatic interactions will have you laughing harder than you will at anything Adam Sandler puts out.

Lee Marvin's "Slob" character alone makes this worth viewing, although the espionage film is a bit talky and stagy. Still, Marvin is a real hoot, right from the beginning, and provides a few neat surprises near the end. "Slob" is the name of his character, and it fits.

Otherwise, the film is an insult-fest with everyone trading barbs at one another. Some of them are pretty funny. Keenan Wynn as "George," the diner owner, is involved in many of the put-downs but Terry Moore has a lot of good lines, too. They reminded me some good film noir dialog.

Moore plays the blonde bimbo, "Kotty," a self-proclaimed "hash-slinger" who has good looks and figure and isn't as dumb as she sounds. The guys all call her "tomato" during the story, a popular slang term for babes back in the '50s. All the guys in here are hot for Kotty, and you can't blame them.

Several characters in here aren't who they appear to be, beginning with Frank Lovejoy's professor role, so the movie does keep you guessing.

This is an odd film, a B-atmosphere with an "A" cast. It includes some strange scenes such as the goofy weight workout at the diner with Marvin and Cobb, and later a dry-land snorkel-thon between Cobb and Whit Bissell. Speaking of the latter, Bissell is a familiar face. He did a ton of TV shows in the 1950s through the 1970s. I saw him on a number of Lone Rangers episodes but he also had multiple appearances of Wagon Train, Peyton Place, The Virginian, Perry Mason, World Of Disney, The Rifleman and many, many more shows.

This is one of those strange films where overall, it sucks - let's face it, but many individual scenes make you just laugh out loud, meaning it had enough entertainment to have made my (and others here) time watching it worthwhile......barely.

Bourgeois snobs who can't just enjoy a movie without trying to categorize it might have a hard time watching this picture without feeling guilty, but this low-budget effort has become a cult classic for delivering 80 minutes of fast-moving entertainment, and whether any of it makes any more sense in terms of a believable story is rather beside the point. What you get is a pretty smart script, a young Lee Marvin showing a comedic side for which his later work provided only occasional outlets, and future industry veterans doing the kind of great character work that results in long Hollywood careers. To pull this off on an Allied Artists budget and have people talking about it 55 years later is no small accomplishment. One is even led to assume that the very experienced Edward Dein and the others involved in putting this together knew exactly what they were doing.

Now here's some trash like it oughta be. Keenan Wynn's greaseball diner becomes the crux of a commie spy ring featuring the much-maligned Slob (suddenly I LOVE Lee Marvin). It's up to babyfaced waitress Terry Moore to set things straight. The rapport between Marvin and Wynn when they're not on the let's-get-into-Terry's-pants bandwagon is something to behold - this movie is casual in a delirious way, feels like it was shot on break from a really fun beach party. In their effort to add variety to what is basically a one-set movie, there is SO much going on - there's a goofy workout scene, Wynn gets uncharacteristically introspective and soft-spoken and then suddenly he's running around in flippers and snorkel, and a pacifist veteran shoots a commie with a spear gun. The plot contrivances have to be seen to be believed, especially the triple-macguffin love interest subplot with the State Department lunkhead and Moore walking straight in and out of the spy conference without being noticed. Lots of political speeches, all somehow overwrought and vague at the same time.

1955, and those Communists were everywhere, even in a diner on 101.

Keenan Wynn stars with Terry Moore, Frank Lovejoy, Whit Bissell, and Lee Marvin in "Shack Out on 101." There is a communist cell apparently operating out of the diner owned by Keenan Wynn. Marvin plays a short order cook who is obnoxious; Lovejoy is a scientist who does secret research. Whit Bissell plays an ex-soldier and buddy of Wynn's who seems to suffer from PTSD.

At one point, Marvin and Wynn lift weights - arched backs - they must have been a mess the next day. Wynn buys snorkeling equipment as a way of building Bissell's confidence up again. They walk around in flippers.

We see Marvin in his room looking at slides with some sort of equations on them. We don't know who else is involved.

This film is a scream. First of all, the dialogue is good with a lot of funny lines. The premise is ridiculous. However, it has a great cast. A real enjoyable antique.

The shack out on Highway 101 just north of San Diego is an oceanside greasy-spoon hung with nautical bric-a-brac like a Red Lobster franchise. It's also the regional headquarters for an subversive spy ring and the claustrophobic setting for one of the oddest fish spawned during the Red Scare paranoia of the post-war years.

Keenan Wynn owns the joint, with short-order cook Lee Marvin and waitress Terry Moore as his live-in help, an arrangement as uncomfortable for Moore as it is convenient for Marvin, who can't keep his hands or lips off her. Regulars include Frank Lovejoy (as an unspecified 'professor' romancing Moore), salesman Whit Bissell, an old fisherman making 'deliveries' right off the boat, and a couple of drivers for theAcme Poultry Company who come in for coffee and cherry pie. In this entrepôt big wads of cash get traded for tiny slivers of microfilm. And operatives losing their nerve or asking too many questions get dead.

Few of those movies which the studios felt constrained to issue in testimony to their rock-solid Americanism were much good (and audiences shunned them like week-old mackerel). But they shared an utter lack of humor and a suffocating tone of moral urgency. This one is more perplexing. The prevailing tone remains light, at times veering toward farce, to an extent that the very real possibility presents itself that the whole thing is a very sly put-on.

One morning when Wynn and Marvin, stripped to their waists, engage in some weight-lifting, Wynn insists that his chest muscles be referred to as 'pecs.' Marvin retorts 'I'm very happy with my pecs,' whereupon they call in Moore to judge which of them has the better legs. In another scene, Moore, lighted through the holes of a hanging colander, looks like she contracted some exotic contagion. But then the movie shifts abruptly into cloak-and-dagger episodes right out of B-movies of the international intrigue genre. Towards the end, the heart sinks as it becomes clear that the movie means us to take it seriously. But serious about what? Never is the word 'Communist' uttered.

Shack Out on 101 is directed by Edward Dein and Dein co-writes the screenplay with Mildred Dein. It stars Terry Moore, Frank Lovejoy, Lee Marvin, Keenan Wynn and Whit Bissell.Music is by Paul Dunlap and cinematography by Floyd Crosby.

An isolated diner on California's 101 highway provides the backdrop of for nuclear secrets, spies, federal agents and sexual boiling points.

What a wonderful hot-pot of the weird and wonderful world of the era's "red scare" momentum. Often inserted into film noir dictionaries or "commie" thriller paragraphs, the truth is, is that it's a film very much of a kinky oblique niece section of film making. This is the kind of picture that will either have you utterly giggling away with a knowing sense of enjoyment, or conversely have you annoyed and possibly thinking you should have spent your time some place else.

It's low budget stuff that's mostly confined to the diner of the title, but Dein brings a joyous combination of genuine menacing thrills and sequences that make you feel you have stepped into another movie (witness the whole snorkel wearing sequences). Moore is a sensuous treat as the waitress babe right in the middle of things who is making every male on the premises unscrew their brain and lob it into the dep fat fryer. There's a slight touch of misogyny in the air, but the female half of the Dein film making duo ensure it's actually kept in check.

Marvin steals the pic, where we get an early glimpse of what we would come to know as a dominant screen presence. Moore would speak very highly of Marvin, which obviously goes against the grain of the character he plays (Slob!), and Marvin and Wynn would form a friendship that lasted their lifetime. These are nice tid-bids form what is a love it or hate it film. So go on, watch it and see if you can pigeon hole it. I loved it. 9/10

Allied Artists, formerly Monogram Studios released this Cold War dinosaur on the American public in 1955. Shack Out On 101 tells the story of a greasy spoon diner that from all appearances looks like a greasy spoon diner, but in reality is the headquarters of a Communist spy ring.

The diner is strategically located near an atomic facility that's on the Pacific Coast highway nearby. Early on in the film, it's revealed that Lee Marvin the short order cook in the place is a spy. The question is, who else is working with him? Terry Moore whose blood is red, white, and blue catches on that all is not right with Marvin who keeps trying throughout the whole film to nail her and not for the Communist cause. You have professor Frank Lovejoy from the atomic facility, diner owner Keenan Wynn, salesman Whit Bissell, fisherman Frank DeKova and a few others come in and out of the Shack Out on 101. Which of them are Americans and which are Communist traitors?

It's a really good group of character actors who got together for this one that played the bottom of many double bills. Of course Lee Marvin was not yet a leading man so he only is fourth billed behind Frank Lovejoy, Terry Moore, and Keenan Wynn. If it was not for the campiness of the whole film, Marvin's career and the rest of the cast's careers might well have gone belly up after this one.

Today's audience will split a gut laughing at the prospect that the evil Communists would be operating from a diner on the Pacific Coast Highway. It's why Shack Out on 101 gets as high as a five star rating.

The 50's don't come any goofier than this. It's like Senator McCarthy and the Three Stooges stole 50 bucks and decided to commit a movie. But Lee Marvin steals the show in a performance that puts him in the Commie Dishwasher Hall of Fame. When he's not serving up Timex hamburgers, checking out his "pec's", or slobbering over waitress Terry Moore, he's relaying atomic secrets to the Russkies. And here I thought Stalin's boys only spoke in whispers and worked in libraries. Actually this is a Marvin showcase. Watch how effortlessly he moves from laughs to menace and makes you believe both. That weight-lifting scene with Wynn is some kind of screwball classic. It looks improvised to me, like someone said, "Hey, we've only got 3 pages of script! Turn the camera over here." And when Marvin strangles himself in pursuit of "a Really big neck", I heard gym doors slamming all over the city. There must be a story behind this one-set wonder, but it can't be any weirder than what's on screen. I'm just wondering when the outpatient Dein's were due back for further therapy. Anyway, it's an overlooked chance to catch one of our greatest actors in perhaps his most offbeat and unsung role.

The movie starts out with a real cool jazzy score like something you would expect from a movie like "The Gene Krupa Story. The opening scene has Kotty, Terry Moore, lying on the beach getting sun and surf until Slob, Lee Marvin, who notices her from a distance starts getting fresh with her and ends up getting a couple of seashells thrown at him.

You don't really know what the movie is about until the professor, Frank Lovejoy,comes on the scene and from him talking to Knotty you realize that he's working at a top secret government facility just up the road from the diner where Knotty and Slob work.

The movie goes along it's somewhat comical pace with Slob acting like Ed Norton in "the Honeymooners" messing up everything that he does as a cook at the diner until we see the person delivering fish and Slob start whispering with him out of earshot of the diners owner George, Keenan Wynn, and then the fisherman slips Slob something . Later Slob all by himself in his room begins to take on a new look, not kooky and funny but dead serious, as we see him take what the fisherman gave him and put it into a viewfinder. Slob sees some kind of mathematical formula and it's then when you realize that this is a story about espionage.

Not really as corny and obnoxious as most movies about the Communist threat against America was back then in the 1950's with Lee Marvin stealing every scene that he's in as the greasy cook turned top Soviet spy and being very convincing at it.

Frank Lovejoy in a role very similar to his previous Communist fighting movie "I was a Communist for the FBI" is also very convincing as a man torn between the truth and a lie by trying to infiltrate the Communist spy ring led by Slob. Where at the same time not being able to tell his girlfriend, Knotty, who thinks that he's a spy for the Soviets, without blowing his cover. Terry Moore was very good as a naive girl who learned a lot during the movie about who to trust and who not to. Like in the espionage business all that you see is not what you think.

All and all a much better movie about espionage during the cold war then most movies about the subject were back them with a great performance by Lee Marvin, one of his best. "Shack out at 101" sadly showed that in those troubled times the paranoia that griped the USA was so extreme that you couldn't trust anyone when it came to being a Communist spy. Even the cook serving you coffee and apple pie at your neighborhood diner.

This film begins in a small diner in Southern California right off of Highway 101 which runs alongside the Pacific coast. The owner of the diner is a World War 2 combat veteran named "George" (Keenan Wynn) who does his best to keep his slovenly cook he's nicknamed "Slob" (Lee Marvin) from harassing his attractive young waitress "Kotty" (Terry Moore). As far as the customers are concerned the usual clientele consists of a man by the name of "Eddie" (Whit Bissell) who served in combat with George but suffers from post-traumatic stress and a nuclear scientist named "Professor Sam Bastion" (Frank Lovejoy) who works at a top-secret military installation a little further down the road. At first glance everything seems normal but what nobody realizes is that Slob is actually a communist agent who is in the process of collecting secret information from Professor Bastion to send back to the Soviet Union-and he is willing to kill anyone who discovers his identity or gets in his way. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a pretty good spy-drama which incorporated the fear brought on by the discovery of the atom bomb combined with that of Soviet aggression in a bold and direct manner. Of course, because of this particular subject matter the film seems quite dated but it is still entertaining in its own right with good performances by the aforementioned Lee Marvin, Keenan Wynn and Terry Moore. That said, it's worth a look for viewers interested in a film of this sort and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Shot the same year as the better known KISS ME DEADLY, the unusually titled SHACK OUT ON 101 deserves the label of original, as it is pretty much entirely filmed inside a diner by the seafront, with very little exterior photography.

I know nothing about Director Edward Dein but he makes the most of pedestrian cinematography, and a not particularly catchy screenplay or dialogue. That said, Lee Marvin's memorable performance as a treacherous spy hiding under cover of a mediocre and deliberately sloppy cook, fittingly nicknamed "Slob", gives life to the whole movie.

Keenan Wynn is the only other actor who stands out in a rather comic show, especially when he lifts weights and shows muscle, and goes about with goggles, flippers and a fishing gun. I have a notion that it may have inspired Mike Nichols when he directed THE GRADUATE 12 years later.

Like KISS ME DEADLY, SHACK reflects the hysteria of the day over the commie threat, with a subtext relating to Senator McCarthy and HUAC wreaking havoc with witch hunts, and suspicion pervading US society.

Though no masterpiece, I find that SHACK OUT IN 101 to take an unusual angle and so reward it with 8/10.

When I heard the jazz score to the background of the opening credits, I knew I was in for something good. This is probably the most unconventional noir I've seen so far. It doesn't have the typical setting of a city with jaded detectives and a femme fatale, but a seaside greasy spoon in California that's owned and operated by a war veteran (Keenan Wynn), who's always fighting with the short-order cook, nicknamed Slob (Lee Marvin) for his sloppy appearance, and personality to match. There's a host of other characters: Eddie (Whit Bissell), Artie (Jess Barker), Pepe (Donald Murphy), Perch (Len Lesser), and Lookout (Fred Gabourie), all customers. Waitress Kotty (Terry Moore) is the only woman, and she has to put up with a group of rambunctious men. They're often yelling, shouting, trading insults, and horsing around with each other. She's constantly getting harassed and touched without her permission. The movie opens with her sunbathing on the beach, laying on the sand with her eyes closed. Slob walks up, bends down and kisses her. I won't go into a rant about her getting sexually assaulted, and how he wasn't fired for his inappropriate behavior towards her, because it was a different time compared to now (and really, perpetrators still don't experience any consequences in most cases, so it's not like much has changed). It set the ambience of the story. A young woman living and working at an isolated diner with the atmosphere of a frat house. Doesn't exactly sound safe. Studying for her civil servant exam is her one way ticket out of her crappy work environment and towards a better life. She's also having a romantic fling with college professor Sam Bastion (Frank Lovejoy). She puts herself in serious danger when she takes it upon herself to be a whistleblower after witnessing a conversation one night between Slob and Sam. I usually include spoilers for movies I loved, but whoever is reading this, I want you to go into it having no idea what's around the corner. The mystery factor adds to the excitement, and believe me, you will be surprised when you find out who the antagonist is this time around. I have no complaints with the pacing. Loved the sarcastic dialogue. A must see if you're a huge fan of noir, and you're open to something avant-garde.

This film was supposed to star Frank Lovejoy and Terry Moore is supposed to be the hot number that every man wants (not me). Neither lead star makes it to the finish line in tact. Lee Marvin steals the movie from both of them as he gives his best Brandoesque impersonation as a dumb cook in a second rate restaurant on the beach owned by Keenan Wynn, who does an excellent job with his role.

The rest of the cast is fine as well. The production values come in well under budget, but that really doesnt matter. Despite the dry, boring performance of Lovejoy (what a misnomer), the film succeeds because of Marvin, who may not be the dumb slob we think he is.