Some great new DVDs were released last month by MGM as part of their Midnite Movie series. I recommend you immediately rush out and buy them!

The first double bill is Fireball 500/Thunder Alley. Fireball 500 (1966) stars Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello in their last film together until they re-teamed for Back to the Beach in the 80s. The sand and surf are no where to be found as Frankie and Fabian play rival stock car racers on the track and off as both pursue the buxom Annette. This film is the last to feature most of the Beach Party gang including Harvey Lembeck, Ed Garner, Salli Sachse, Mary Hughes, Patti Chandler, and Sue Hamilton. Dark-haired Julie Parrish went blonde to play a vixen who uses the pre-occupied boys to run moonshine for her without their knowing.

Remarking why the hair color change, Julie said in Fantasty Femmes, “I was a blonde because Annette Funicello did not want to work with another brunette. Maybe she thought the picture would look better with two contrasting women, I don’t know. But they told us that at the last minute. They tried to bleach my hair but the hairdresser said, ‘It’s not going to work because her hair is going to fall out of her head.’ They then dyed it red. So I reported to the set the next day and they went crazy—‘No! No! No! We said make it blonde!’ So they had to get a wig at the last minute—not a great wig. I hated how I looked in this film.”

In Thunder Alley (1967) Fabian and Annette are re-united in another fun stock car racing drama, which featured sexy Fantasy Femme Salli Sachse on the movie’s poster art. Diane McBain is the bad girl in this one playing Fabian‘s ex who uses his rival (pudgy and totally miscast Warren Berlinger ) to get back at him. When asked to recall anything about making this movie Fantasy Femme Diane McBain laughed and quipped, “I don’t remember much because most of my off screen time was spent watching them film In the Heat of the Night with Sidney Poitier being filmed next door.”

Though I am loath to recommend watching anything on American Movie Classics since they added commercials and stopped broadcasting movies in widescreen, they are showing an great quadruple bill chock full of starlets beginning Wed. morning July 27 at 6:00AM EST. First travel with Ann-Margret, Carol Lynley and Pamela Tiffin as they set Madrid on fire as single gals far from home in The Pleasure Seekers (1964). Then spiral down into the Valley of the Dolls (1967) with those gorgeous pill-poppers Barbara Parkins and Sharon Tate, and the not so gorgeous Patty Duke who thankfully never sang again on the big screen.

At 10AM, Diane Varsi is good girl Alison MacKenzie, Lana Turner is her secretive mom Connie, and Hope Lange is rape victim Selena Cross in the dreary Peyton Place (1957). Better is the trashy 1961 sequel Return to Peyton Place at 1PM. Carol Lynley in her Sandra Dee period takes over as Alison, Eleanor Parker is Connie, and Tuesday Weld is the new Selena. The town throws a hissy fit when Alison writes an expose about her beloved Peyton Place and includes “the whole dirty story of Selena Cross.” Lynley and Weld strive to outdo each other and both come off wooden. Mary Astor steals the movie as a bigoted mother who calls Alison’s novel “a piece of trash” before dumping it in the waste basket. You may want to do the same with your TV after watching all four of these camp classics.

Well it was Emmy nomination time again yesterday and once again the Academy succeeds in disappointing us. The snubbing of Nicolette Sheridan and Harriet Harris of Desperate Housewives is the Academy’s biggest blunder since they failed to nominate Carol Lynley for Outstanding Guest Actress for her riveting performance as a high fashion model shot and parallyzed by Crocker in “Kiss It All Goodbye” on Kojak way back in 1977!

My Lost boys too were overlooked by Emmy. Only the well-deserving Naveen Andrews and Terry O’Quinn got nominated but Matthew Fox, Josh Hollaway (for smouldering sexiness like no else can and for his near exposed butt shot in the lake) and Dominic Monaghan too should of been named along side them. As for the Lost ladies Yunjin Kim broke hearts as the put-upon Korean wife who secretly learned English and should have been nominated in place of those tired old broads Tyne Daly from Judging Amy and Stockard Channing of The West Wing.

Finally what’s up with all those nominations for Will and Grace! This show is soooo over and was literally unwatchable this year save for the Bobby Cannavale episodes. Wolf, wolf!