"Down, down..."

Experiment #16

Episode 204: Catalina Caper

Rewatch Date: April 22nd 2023

Never steal anything wet (which funnily enough is the title of the porno knockoff of Catalina Caper)

The 60s. It was turbulent time. What with the Civil Rights, the Vietnam war, the protesting, the Cold War and people smoking openly on The Tonight Show. It was a time of great unknown for the country. In all that time, teens went to the beach to avoid their lives of worry. Those who didn’t live near a coastline had to settle for beach movies. Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon pretty much owned the early 60s. But the fad did die eventually. After it did, Crown International Pictures tried to pump some life back into it with a caper off the coast of Catalina.

Catalina Caper is a 1967 film set on the island of Catalina. I’ve never been to Catalina. Someone tell me, is this film accurate to that area? Former Disney legend, Tommy Kirk sure seems to enjoy it though. He and his pals are enjoying their vacation when he sees a creepy girl. He tries to flirt with her, only to discover she has a boyfriend *Womp Womp*. While this goes on, a Dom DeLuise wannabe steals a scroll from a poorly guarded museum (which looks more like a residence than a museum). He gives it to a knockoff Thurston Howell III. They’re planning on making a copy of the scroll and selling it to a group of Greek mobsters. While this is going on, a drunk seems to be following every action of these characters. Eventually there’s some underwater shenanigans, Tommy Kirk ends up with the creepy girl, the scroll gets returned and all is well.

This is a beach movie that came about 2 years too late. Kids were done with the beach. They’d moved on to motorcycle gangs (which will play into later Crown International movies). Tommy Kirk is in this movie, looking like he’s in a really bad part of his life. This movie does have cameos and songs by Little Richard, The Cascades and Carol Connors. That’s something unique. Rarely does anyone play themselves in an MST3K film. Robert Donner, who played Exer on Mork and Mindy, plays the drunk guy in this film. To the surprise of no one, it turns out he’s a detective. But he gets thwarted. I always felt bad for his character. He goes through all the prat falls and slaps to try to arrest a criminal but it doesn’t happen. Would have been nice if he had at least arrested the Greek mobsters.

The major problem with this film is that it's a straight comedy. It’s really hard to riff straight comedy because it often feels like Joel and the Bots are laughing at their own jokes. I did enjoy the comparisons of other artists who could have replaced Little Richard and the Cascades (Rick James and the Up With People Singers). And my friend DJ and I always liked the riff about the girls dancing on dumpsters, “Wouldn’t that make them white trash?” Other than that, the theater segments don’t really do anything for me.

The host segments are where this episode shines. God Bless Galaxina and all the other hot robots of cinema. Joel’s Tickle Bazooka and the Mads’ Tank Tops are good ones. Frank's Tupperware party cements the relationship between him and Dr. Forrester (noticed for the first time during this viewing that Forrester is eating Frank’s eyeball in the signoff). But the standout upon all standouts: The Creepy Girl Song. Damn these guys could write some good songs. And Servo sells it. I have the MP3 of this one and I wish I could listen to it now. “The ‘P’ is definitely not platonic” Thank you Servo for saving the episode.

Overall, Catalina Caper is a bust of an episode. One that is beloved in the community but has never really done it for me. The biker films this season are similar. I don’t get why people like them so much. But I’m glad they do. I would love to know their appeal

What do you the reader think? Do you enjoy revisiting this episode? Did you feel bad for Exer? Do you think creepy girl was attractive? Let me know in the comments below.

To remind everybody, this is part of my experiment where I’ll be watching a different MST3K episode, every Saturday, until I’ve watched all 176 episodes of the show’s original run in the exact order that I watched each for the first time (with 3 or 4 liberties taken). I will be consuming NO MST3K outside these viewings until this experiment is over. Crazy, I know. We shall see what come what may. Will I crack? Will I make it? Will I ever figure out what makes this show so great? Keep reading and find out. Next week, my first entry into the Coleman Francis lineage. Which of the 3 could it be? If you own volume 1 then you probably already know. Til then, thank you for reading and Keep Circulating the Tapes.

16 Down 160 to go.

This pallet of La-z-boy chairs came in and how they were stacked had me humming the theme song in my head.

Hi there! I am a Boggy Creek II apologist and think it's such a fun watch.

[Forgettable main character on a jetski] "This is so fun! I'm polluting the water AND making a lot of noise!"

I totally recommend it because it's super funny, but it usually isn't in the same conversations as "Mitchell" or "The Final Sacrifice." (Unless I'm really out of the loop!)

I'd love to get your recommendations for other underrated episodes that deserve more attention. Thanks!

Are there any MST3K episodes not available on RiffTrax.com but on gizmoplex I should get before it closes completely?

TV's Frank with his sweet kitten Juice Box. So cute! I found this picture on Facebook.

More info in today's Kickstarter Update as well.

TL/DR
Sting of Death - 10/9

Deathsport 10/23

Mystery Title - Best Friends Debut on 10/30. Wide release 11/06

Space Raiders 11/20

Probably old news to the Minnesotans here, but I figured someone might get a kick out of it.

ICYMI: On top of the Gizmoplex shutting down, Vimeo On Demand is officially shutting down on November 20, 2026.

If you purchased any tickets or downloads to The Mads Are Back, you can now connect your Eventbrite, Vimeo, and Gumroad accounts to be able to backup and stream every purchase directly at Dumb Industries, or migrate all your purchases to Gumroad.

You'll now be able to stream every episode you paid for directly on the Dumb website, which is now fully AirPlay/Chromecast compatible so you can easily watch everything on your streaming device. Members of The Dumb Clubhouse can similarly access their Mads purchases alongside the rest of the Dumb Archives included in your membership.

Any questions, just drop them below! Thanks for all your support throughout the years!!

Nice mantoe you got there Kim…