SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Numerootno A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

wes-connors Communists have kidnapped some of the most important people in the world. Specifically, the "Snatch List" of favorite personalities is: George Jessel, Dorothy Lamour, Colonel Sanders, Butterfly McQueen, Edgar Bergen, Charlie McCarthy, Xavier Cugat and Johnny Weissmuller. They are being held hostage in the Communist bloc country Albania. Naturally, this shocks the free world. As you would expect, the US secret spy group SSA (as CIA) is called into action. Of course, they ask super-computer MOTHA (or Mechanical Oracle That Helps Americans) for help. Check out her slot. The plan is to, "Form a pop musical group and get invited to Albania." They musical group "Phynx" will be trained as spies, get invited to Albania, and free the hostages...The rock 'n' roll stars selected for spy stardom are the following quartet: bespectacled collegiate protester Dennis Larden, Native American "pansy" Ray Chippeway, handsome young jockey shorted A. Michael Miller, and "Afro-American" TV ad pitchman Lonnie Stevens. During a later orgy, Mr. Chippeway's "pansy" potential is undermined. While the group is being trained, the nasty Communists from Albania kidnap more American leaders. A TV news reporter (Rona Barrett) reveals the new victims as Maureen O'Sullivan, Pat O'Brien and Patty Andrews. Most shocking of all is the kidnapping of Busby Berkeley. Many more disappear, including boxing champion Joe Louis. As was hoped, the Phynx achieves Beatle-like status and is invited to Albania...In a sexy subplot forwarded by Martha Raye, the Phynx and their spy managers must find pieces of a map. The map is painted on the bodies of sexually attractive young women, seen frequently in their bikinis and underwear. At one point, the Phynx lads are given rose-colored X-Ray glasses which magically show everyone in their underwear. The scenes showing random Romans in their underwear is most memorable. In one of the film's highlights, look for what the glasses reveal about the undergarments worn by Catholic nuns. Chippeway also reveals Native Americans may have been secretly Catholic. The final scenes show hostess Joan Blondell and all the important US celebrities and important people among those snatched by Communists...If you've watched until the end of "The Phynx", you know the film is a failure. After some inviting animated opening credits and a good transition to live action, it's a slow and unfunny trip to the finish line. Produced by Bob Booker and George Foster, the movie makes a common mistake. "The Phynx" misunderstands and shows little respect for the "counterculture" it attempts to court, assuming it wanted an audience of movie viewers to line up at box offices around the country in 1970. Adding pseudo-rock music, long-hair wigs, mini-skirts and a sitar doesn't make you a hippie. As directed by Lee H. Katzin, some of the spy stuff is clever, though, especially scenes involving Lou Antonio (as Corrigan) before he's given new threads. Dick Clark was not thrilled...In general, the soundtrack for "The Phynx" is miserable. Astonishingly, those in charge of the music are Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The songwriter/producers' many classics include "Jailhouse Rock" (Elvis Presley) and "Stand by Me" (Ben E. King). An explanation for the substandard work may be that Leiber-Stoller specialized in the 1950s, when this assignment was for a swinging 1960s soundtrack. Of the four actors playing "The Phynx", Dennis Larden, at least, was an accomplished musician. With his group Every Mother's Son, Mr. Larden released a largely undiscovered slice of sunshiny 1960s psychedelia called "The Proper Four Leaf Clover" / "Put Your Mind at Ease" (1967). Too bad they couldn't get Phil Spector...There are many recognizable actors, but most young moviegoers would not have known most of the acclaimed Albanian victims. For some odd reason, the "guest starring" cast is bogged down by long-forgotten celebrities. Colonel Sanders would be familiar from his "Kentucky Fried Chicken" ads, but people like Pat O'Brien weren't even on the fringes of 1970 pop culture. You won't see Greta Garbo or John Wayne, here. You do get "Bowery Boys" Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall, appearing together for the last time. And, when Johnny Weissmuller gives Maureen O'Sullivan a final kiss, their words will ring a bell. That's right, they were "Tarzan" and "Jane". A bell would have been nice for their scenic moment. Alas, "The Phynx" is just a curious old relic.*** The Phynx (5/6/1970) Lee H. Katzin ~ Lou Antonio, Mike Kellin, Dennis Larden, Ray Chippeway

bkoganbing The Phynix in the movie is a new rock and roll group created by the SSA (CIA) for the purpose of penetrating Communist Albania with the universal language of rock and roll. As for the movie itself, The Phynx is one ghastly comedy which features a whole bunch of folks from the big and small screen some playing themselves and some playing small supporting roles.A great many of our celebrities of the past have been kidnapped and are being held by the Albanian government in a nation starved for entertainment. So it is reasoned that if we manufacture a new rock and roll group, but have them trained as James Bond type spies as well as musicians, these people can crack security in Albania and rescue the American pop culture heritage.In charge of the operation is Michael Kellin with his brain dead assistant Lou Antonio as the handler and Brian Epstein for the Phynx. The four guys who play The Phynx have never been heard from since, two of them have no other screen credit.As for all of yesterdays stars, some of them no doubt needed paycheck, but they all embarrassed themselves mightily. A lot of them looked they wanted to be just about anywhere but on the set of The Phynx.For nostalgia lovers only and you might be offended.

jrnolan I finally bought a copy of this film on DVD from an online seller, and it is truly dreadful. It has a running time of 81 minutes but it felt like 4 hours. I only bought it to see the many cameo appearances of stars young and old, but some of them are so brief that you have to watch every second of the film to catch them. Richard Pryor introduces himself and then he's gone! The best part of the film is at the end when Pat O'Brien is reunited with former Dead End Kids Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall. Leo looks positively ancient, even though he was only 51 at the time. He died of liver failure shortly after shooting his scenes. His heavy drinking really took its toll. The writing on this film is horrendous, and the acting is worse than any Ed Wood film. I completely agree with Warner Brothers' decision to shelve this film and never release it, even though they probably spent a good deal of money to make it. It's an embarrassment and painful to watch. I hope to someday see Jerry Lewis' never-released "The Day the Clown Cried," another legendary bad film, so I can compare it to "The Phynx."

dbborroughs Odds are you have never seen The Phynx and for good reason. This is the deformed beast of a child that Hollywood wants to keep locked up in the attic. Its the hell-spawn of the youth movement and the old embalmed generation coming together to make ... something.The basic plot concerns the SSA (Super Secret Agency) attempting to rescue the icons of American culture that have been kidnapped and brought to Albania. Who are the great icons? George Jessel, Rudy Vallee, Edgar Bergan, Huntz Hall, Leo Gorcey, Joe Louis, Col. Sanders, Xavier Cugat and probably a dozen others (all I can say is I hope they were paid a lot). SSA decides that the best way to get them out is top form a rock band (think Monkees and Beatles singing songs by Lieber and Stoller) and have them invited into the country. They then kidnap Two white guys an Indian and a black guy and force them to be spies and a rock group thus allowing for some surreal bits as other stars show up to train the band (Richard Pryor, Dick Clark, James Brown among others).My jaw dropped and stayed down for a good portion of the films running time.I'm not sure how to rate this film. Its occasionally funny, has some good songs and proves that not everyone needs drugs to have their brain smashed like an egg.This is a clear warning about who and who should not be mating. Clearly its a movie that wants to appeal to the youth market while at the same time doing everything it can to attack and make fun of the same market. Its as if your stuffed shirt of an uncle made your choices in current popular culture, clearly you wouldn't want to see his choices. At the same time the film is clearly about youth and what was then current culture so it wouldn't appeal to the old folks. Its a movie that will appeal to no one.Actually not no one, bad movie lovers, fans of surrealism, those who must see every movie made by their favorite star, masochists, mental patients and those who want a unique (but not necessarily good) viewing experience will want to check the film out.I've given it a 5 out of 10 because there is some good and some bad mixed in with the "I don't believe this" material so its the fairest rating I could come up with. Your reaction will be your own and with a movie like this I don't even want to guess what that is going to be. Take this review as either and invitation or a warning, its your choice.