WHA?


WHA?


Al Dekker:
Tonight, I had the unique experience of viewing a little-known Smithee opus: WHA? A fascinating effort, WHA? is deftly edited from five films with expired copyrights: MURDER BY TELEVISION, GUNG HO, THE FATAL GLASS OF BEER, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, and IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. Smithee, apparently inspired by these titles turning up again and again in cheap video reissues, saw his opportunity and seized it.

The result is the tale of mad scientist Bela Lugosi creating an army of flesh-eating zombies which attack Randolph Scott and his crack team of American fighting men during the bloody Pacific Campaign of World War II. The suspense mounts and the body count climbs, when suddenly Jimmy Stewart awakes from this dream granted him by his besotted-but-good-natured guardian angel (W.C. Fields), which shows Jimmy what would have happened to his sleepy home town if he had moved to the Yukon those long years ago.

Certainly the juxtapositions are a bit jarring, but the resourcefulness and audacity evidenced by WHA? are inspiring. And who could forget the final confrontation between Fields and Lugosi as they struggle to win the soul of Duane Jones?

*I* will remember it whenever I see a video priced $7.99.

Grey Zone 1:
And I'll bet the heathens at Blockbuster or the other chains don't carry it at any price.

<sigh> Again, we shall be forced to search the dank back alleys of video distribution to find the legacy that is ours.



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Copyright 1996 by the respective authors