The Haunted House club (Girl In Gold Boots, 1968)

"Girl in Gold Boots" (1968) tells the story of a typical small-town girl who heads off to the big city (Hollywood) to pursue fame and fortune, only to be lured into a seedy underworld of crime, drugs, and go-go dancing.

Directed by Ted V. Mikels ("The Corpse-Grinders", "Blood Orgy of the She-Devils"), "Girl in Gold Boots" is exactly the kind of poorly acted, low-budget, light exploitation film that you might see served up for ridicule on Mystery Science Theater 3000.

And as you can see by the silhouettes in the bottom right, it was.

While the adventures of waitress-turned-exotic-dancer Michelle (not too exotic...the bikini stays on in this picture!), leather-jacketed hoodlum Buzz, and guitar-toting drifter "Critter" aren't terribly interesting, the trio's first stop when they arrive on Hollywood Blvd. is... the "Haunted House".

This is a hip and swinging night club, not a Halloween attraction. The exterior may be covered with spiderwebs--but they're neon! Toss in the rock stylings of Kent and the Candidates and it sounds like they're in for one scary evening.

Don't bother looking for a parking spot. This is a classy joint with valet parking.

Come right on in. There's no cover charge.

Our three protagonists are so overwhelmed by the scene that they don't even notice the fake stalactite.

The main stage is in the mouth of a demonic head. Plenty of girls in gold boots down there!

The show starts out slow but picks up steam...literally. It shoots out of the demon's nostrils occasionally for dramatic effect.

Here's how it looks from the audience.

Between sets, the stage becomes a lively dance floor.

And the wild decor isn't contained on stage. The walls are painted to invoke the cavernous catacombs of Hades itself.

Overhead is a ghoulish chandelier decorated with skulls.

And above that, you'll find an animated figure that appears to be sawing the chandelier's chain!

A tortured skeleton hangs nearby.

I suspected the Haunted House club had to be an existing location. There was no way there was going to be any set-building for this low-budget affair. My suspicions were confirmed during the end credits, where the club is called out.

I haven't had much luck finding any information about The Haunted House, other than that it stood at 6315 Hollywood Blvd. as early as 1966 (it is mentioned in the liner notes of Frank Zappa's 1966 album "Freak Out".)
The club also features prominently in 1967's It's A Bikini World, where it operates under the name "The Dungeon" and is managed by a young Sid Haig playing a hot-rodder named "Daddy" (clearly modeled after real-life 60s custom culture icon Ed "Big Daddy" Roth.

Bikini World gives us glimpses of some other decor, like this suspended bat...

...as well as complete "live" performances (they appear lip-synched to me) by then A-listers The Animals, The Castaways, and others.

The club also earned a spot in a montage of Hollywood nightspots in the 1968 strip-sploitation film A Sweet Sickness.

Girl in Gold Boots has seen a few releases to DVD. You can also see it as it appeared on Mystery Science Theater 3000 here. It's a Bikini World has not been released to DVD but can be found streaming on Netflix as of this writing. A Sweet Sickness can be found as the supporting feature on the DVD for A Smell of Honey, A Swallow of Brine.

"Ed Wood" vs. "Plan 9 From Outer Space"

I developed an appreciation for "camp" (The tragically ludicrous? The ludicrously tragic?) at a pretty young age, probably as a result of having stayed up late too many evenings to watch the weekend creature-feature only to land on a turd like "Robot Monster" or "Son of Blob"...and managing to salvage a fun experience by laughing at an otherwise disappointing film.

So by the time Tim Burton's film "Ed Wood" (1994) opened, I had long been familiar with the works of Edward D. Wood, Jr., particularly "Plan 9 From Outer Space"(1959), which I'd had on VHS for at least a decade prior.

You could of course still enjoy the hilarious and occasionally touching "Ed Wood" without having seen "Plan 9", but those who had were privy to an extra layer of enjoyment in seeing scenes and elements from that film painstakingly recreated.

Since much of Wood's oeuvre seems to be in the public domain, I was hoping when "Ed Wood" finally premiered on DVD (after many frustrating delays...) that it might include side-by-side comparison's of Wood's original films alongside Burton's spot-on recreations. Alas, it was not to be. But take a look at these screen-cap comparisons to appreciate the lengths Burton went to replicating the awesomely awful "Plan 9":

This imposing mothership with orbiting saucers... (Plan 9)


...gets a nod in the opening titles. (Ed Wood)


Criswell predicts...... (Plan 9)


...dramatic lighting! (Ed Wood)


This footage of Bela Lugosi as "The Old Man"... (Plan 9)


...is being reviewed by director Wood in the screening room. (Ed Wood)


Saucers Seen Over Hollywood! (Plan 9)


..and slightly lower over Hollywood. (Ed Wood)


The "aliens" greet their leader aboard the mothership. (Plan 9 and Ed Wood)


Wrestler Tor Johnson as the Police Chief investigates the graveyard! (Plan 9 and Ed Wood)


"The Old Man" (played by a stand-in after Lugosi's death) emerges from a crypt! (Plan 9 and Ed Wood)


Tor rises from the grave. This shot ends in an abrupt jump cut as he struggles to stand. (Plan 9)


But a peek behind the scenes lets us see how Tor finally managed to get to his feet with a little help.(Ed Wood)


Tor and Vampira on the move! (Plan 9 and Ed Wood)


Tor menaces an unwary policeman! (Plan 9 and Ed Wood)


Finally, the saucer meets a fiery end. (Plan 9)


And a slightly lower fiery end... (Ed Wood)


Honestly, if it wasn't for the different aspect ratio, I'd be hard pressed to tell Wood from Burton at a glance. Like "Night of the Living Dead", "Plan 9" has been subject to so many releases of varying quality, it can be frustrating trying to choose a version to buy on DVD. I recommend Legend Films "Plan 9 From Outer Space - In Color". It features a restored print viewable either in the original black and white or in a decent colorized version, along with some Ed Wood trailers, and a humorous commentary track by MST3K's Mike Nelson, if you like that sort of thing.