Very peculiar ambiance in this one, what with the Swedish exchange students, soda shop owner-slash-doomsday prophets...and having 'The Bird is the Word' playing on the jukebox during a strangling is just plain weird, even for a MST3K movie. (Not that the hand's reign of terror is all that terrifying, mind you. As Crow comments late in the film, 'He's the world's worst strangler - he runs around the city givin' people Indian rubs.')
Anyway, love the Alan Hale (Skipper on Gilligan's Island, here playing a hick sheriff) riffs:
'Where's the little body, little buddy?'
"Paul, why don't you come back and stay with us?" '...I've got a couple of hammocks and a sailor hat i'd like you to wear..."
lots of bad mascara jobs too. although the kid did seem like he was tripping on acid.
Alan Hale can never escape his Skipper role.
I love when Hale's reading a note and Crow said "Dear Skipper, why haven't you sent help? signed, the castaways."
SKIPPER!!!
From a recent viewing, some more favorite lines:
(The lovers discover the title character on the beach)
Joel: Did he just offer her his hand in marriage?
Servo: Well, not exactly his hand...
Sheriff (Alan Hale): Paul, you're filthy dirty!
Servo: Yeah, well you're stocky tubby!
Crow: Joel, did they do these credits on a typewriter?
Joel (pointing at background): No...see, look, that's the Helvetica constellation up there.
Joel: You've had a hard day loading bodies, and you've got one more than you bargained for...it's Miller Time.
Crow: It's Harriet Nelson's evil twin!
Joel: Hey, they've all got stripes in their hair!
Servo: Yeah...'hairstyles by Gordon of Gotham'.
(Later in the same conversation)
Scientist: Steve...
Joel: Have you ever considered frosting your hair?
Scientist: Steve, wait -
Joel: I know you don't have a widow's peak now, but...
Scientist: Well, look, come by my office tomorrow morning.
Joel:...I'll give you a protein rinse.
The skit where the giant hand grabs Crow was so funny. Heh heh heh...
One thing I don't get: During the first host segment, Crow says something about bowling shoes making your feet 'smell funny'. Joel immediately reacts - "I didn't know you could smell?!"
Whereupon Servo clears his throat loudly, and Crow hastily backtracks - "Did I say 'smell'? Heh, heh, um, I meant..." etc.
What goes on here? Why would the 'bots feel the need to hide from Joel? Or is this just a one-off gag?
oh, it's just a play on the bots gaining sentience or something, kerri. i guess Joel is surprised because they evolved or something. plus, when he expects them to obey, they don't which makes them the great Crow and Servo we know and love!
"next time, no free will...."
some other great lines are:
"The crawling hand...you too will believe a hand can crawl."
"See, you can tell it's a low budget film when they can't afford to crash the car."
"I slept with that??"
"Tell him I'm smoking..."
COP: "He's just a kid!!"
HALE: "Sure he's just a kid. I've seen
plenty of kids like him in prison."
CROW: "Sal Mineo impersonators??"
"Tripping...remind me...not to do acid...after school." (possibly the worst acting in entire film)
I guess I was the only one that found this episode to be severely lacking of humor. This is the first MST3K that I've seen that didn't have me laughing at something different every two seconds. Oh well.
There was one exception:
scientist waves geiger counter thingy over Paul and announces "We're reading zero" (or something to that effect).
Joel: Must be a talent meter.
It was weird hearing the voice of the original Servo!
This episode had possibly the sickest line I’ve yet heard. Although I was a bit appalled at the Def Leppard line, nevertheless I still couldn’t help laughing in a guilty sort of way!
Other great lines:
“I wonder if there’s an abridged version of this movie?” “If there is, let’s burn it.”
“Oh magic lamp, help me find the hand.”
“It’s an Elvis zombie!”
“Can’t he ever use the stairs?”
Ok, Callie, lets hear the "sickest line."
Curse you, Merat! I had today off work and was going to do some housework but ended up rewatching The Crawling Hand instead! Hold on … perhaps that should say Thank you, Merat. Any excuse to get away from chores!
More great lines:
Steve: “I can’t take much more of this, doc.”
Crow (as Steve): “Yeah, soon I’ll have to move off the corner of this formica.”
“Push that and he’s an astronot.”
Steve: “A substitute for oxygen.”
Crow: “New Oxygen Lite!”
Crow: “Hey, is this ‘From Here To Eternity’?”
Tom: “No, just seems like an eternity.”
“She needs about 150 hours of beauty sleep.”
Sheriff: “You know the way he’s been acting.”
Crow: “Like us – bad.”
And no, I’m still not quoting the Def Leppard line!
They used a line very similar to that eternity one in Herc vs. the Moon Men.
Wow, no wonder Best Brains was embarrased by the first season. This took a LOOOOOOOOONG time to get funny.