Forbidden Tiki Drive-In: "The Odds Against" starring Robert Viharo

Written By Will Viharo



Welcome to Forbidden Island's Tiki Drive-In!
Precious gem unearthed: the 16mm reel of "The Odds Against"
Last Monday, June 18, I hosted a special Forbidden Thrills @ Forbidden Island "Tiki Drive-In Show" in the popular tiki lounge's back lot, featuring films from the incredible 16mm collection of my pal Sci-Fi Bob Ekman, who has been putting on his own Psychotronix film festivals for two decades now. We've worked together a lot over the years, but this gig was something special. In addition to a trailer reel, Bambi Meets Godzilla, and the feature film Horror of Party Beach (1963) - which I've shown a few times - this was most significantly the world re-premiere of my father Robert Viharo's very first film, an Oscar-nominated documentary short called THE ODDS AGAINST (1966), basically an indictment of our penal system, in which he is the only actor amongst a cast of real prisoners. It features a smokin' jazz score and is narrated by Herschel Bernardi, whom I know best as Lt. Jacoby on the Peter Gunn TV series. Though basically an early version of Scared Straight, shown primarily in schools, it remains a gritty, thoughtful portrait of prison life - and how this sentence could possibly be prevented, or at least the conditions improved. The film, directed by veteran documentary filmmaker Lee R. Bobker, sports a pretty progressive if pessimistic viewpoint, and Pop is by turns petulant, pensive, and passionate. 

"Hey, that's not Mom!" Pop with Marisa Mell in "Stuntman"
(suffering for his art...;)
According to this exhibit at Francis Coppola's Winery
in Napa, my father was considered for the role
of Sonny Corleone in "The Godfather"!
After this, Pop appeared as "The Director" alongside Patty Duke and Susan Hayward in Valley of the Dolls (1967); next as a Mexican revolutionary gunslinger alongside Yul Brynner, Charles Bronson, and Robert Mitchum in Villa Rides! (1968); then as the lead swingin' dick in the Italian action flick Stuntman (1968), co-starring Euro sex sirens Gina Lollobrigida and Marissa Mell. Mixed in during this period were lots of TV guest shots (including Dark Shadows and The Mod Squad), live stage, and much more until he retired in the 2000s to pursue his own artistic agenda. He currently lives in New Mexico with his wife Paige. I just sent a copy of The Odds Against to them. Pop's never even seen it, and I never even heard of it until Sci-Fi Bob dug it up, noticing a familiar face in a collector's catalogue, then jumping on the bid. Here's to Bob!

Sci-Bob Ekman sets up his 16mm projectors
My "It Came From Hangar 18" co-conspirator Scott Fulks and Thrill Seeker #1
Larry Kakos showing off their official Thrillville fezes


Anyway, in case you missed it, which odds are you did, here is a virtual replication of 
the Tiki Drive-In Show. Dig. Cheers.

THE ODDS AGAINST (complete film, 22 minutes)
BAMBI MEETS GODZILLA

THE HORROR OF PARTY BEACH (trailer)

NEXT in Forbidden Thrills at Forbidden Island...

Monday, July 23, 8pm, no cover:
All 12 chapters of the classic serial

NOW AVAILABLE:
featuring my regular movie column, but who cares?

Also available for pre-order:
A one-shot celebratory issue featuring my all new Vic Valentine, Private Eye Story
"Private Dick, Public Enemy," and much more, coming later this summer!

Will Viharo

WILL "THE THRILL" VIHARO is a freelance writer and the author of several "gonzo pulp" novels including "A Mermaid Drowns in the Midnight Lounge," "Freaks That Carry Your Luggage up to the Room," "Chumpy Walnut," "Lavender Blonde," "Down a Dark Alley," and the “Vic Valentine, Private Eye” series, the first of which, "Love Stories Are Too Violent For Me," has been optioned for a film by Christian Slater, reissued in 2013 by Gutter Books, which also published the new Vic Valentine novel "Hard-boiled Heart" in December, 2015.

Two science fiction novels, "It Came from Hangar 18" and "The Space Needler's Intergalactic Bar Guide," were written in collaboration with Scott Fulks, who added real science to Will's pulp.

Will's own imprint, Thrillville Press, has issued a three volume anthology series featuring all of his standalone novels called "The Thrillville Pulp Fiction Collection," along with another omnibus called "The Vic Valentine Classic Case Files," which include four novels from the 1990s, "Fate Is My Pimp," "Romance Takes a Rain Check," "I Lost My Heart in Hollywood," and "Diary of a Dick," plus a recent short story, "Brain Mistrust."

More recently published books include the Vic Valentine "Mental Case Files" trilogy comprised of "Vic Valentine: International Man of Misery," "Vic Valentine: Lounge Lizard For Hire," and "Vic Valentine: Space Cadet"; the original story collection "Vic Valentine, Private Eye: 14 Vignettes"; the erotic horror noir novella "Things I Do When I'm Awake"; and a collection of erotic horror noir stories, "VIHORROR! Cocktales of Sex and Death."

Additionally Will has had stories included in a variety of anthologies including "Fast Women and Neon Lights: Eighties-Inspired Neon Noir"; "Mixed Up!"; "Long Distance Drunks: A Tribute to Charles Bukowski"; "Deadlines: A Tribute to William Wallace"; "Dark Yonder: Tales and Tabs"; "Knucklehead Noir" and "Weird Winter Wonderland" (both Coffin Hop Press); and "Pop the Clutch: Thrilling Tales of Rockabilly, Monsters, and Hot Rod Horror."

Viharo's unique brand of "gonzo pulp fiction" combines elements of eroticism, noir, fantasy, and horror. For many years he has also been a professional film programmer/impresario and live music booker. He now lives in Seattle, WA with his wife and cats

https://www.thrillville.net
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