''J-Men Forever'', originally titled "The Secret World War", is a 1979 comedy film by
Philip Proctor
Philip George Proctor (born July 28, 1940) is an American actor and a member of the Firesign Theatre. He has performed voice-over work for video games, films and television series.
Early life
Proctor was born in Goshen, Indiana, on July 2 ...
and Peter Bergman of the
Firesign Theatre
The Firesign Theatre (also known as the Firesigns) was an American surreal humour, surreal comedy troupe who first appeared on November 17, 1966, in a live performance on the Los Angeles radio program ''Radio Free Oz'' on station KPFK FM broad ...
. The film is a
pastiche
A pastiche () is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking ...
using film clips from
Republic
A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...
serials, re-dubbed with comic dialog to tell a tale of world conquest by sex, drugs and rock and roll.
Summary
In the film, the ''Lightning Bug'', embodied by garish villains from several serials, attempts to take over the world with rock and roll. He later adds sex and drugs when music alone doesn't work. He explains his changing appearance by saying, "I'm bringing all five of my costumes!" The Lightning Bug is voiced by legendary radio
DJ M.G. Kelly (also called "Machine Gun" Kelly).
Peter Bergman plays ''The Chief'' and Philip Proctor plays ''Agent Barton''. They appear in period-style black and white sequences that are used to frame the re-dubbed clips of car chases, explosions, flying men, sinister villains and villainesses, fights, and various other perils that are strung together in a somewhat incoherent
plot
Plot or Plotting may refer to:
Art, media and entertainment
* Plot (narrative), the connected story elements of a piece of fiction
Music
* ''The Plot'' (album), a 1976 album by jazz trumpeter Enrico Rava
* The Plot (band), a band formed in 2003
...
.
Plot
The Bug's first victims are square record moguls
Lawrence Milk and
Jive Davis, who are hypnotized or otherwise prodded into killing themselves, and bandleader
'Screen' Dorsey, whose car is booby trapped and then run off a cliff. The Bug, his henchmen and henchwomen (including the villainess Sombra) are opposed by the J-Men, a group of government agents hired by the legendary
J. Eager Believer.
Besides the Chief and his bumbling sidekick, Agent Barton, the J-Men include Agents Spike, Claire and Lance, Buzz Cufflink, Yank Smellfinger, James Armhole, Rocket Jock (clips of
Commando Cody
Commando Cody is the hero in two 12-chapter science fiction serials made by Republic Pictures, played by George Wallace in ''Radar Men from the Moon'' (1952) and Judd Holdren in '' Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe'' (1953).
''Zombi ...
from ''
Radar Men from the Moon
''Radar Men from the Moon'' is a 1952 Republic Pictures' 12-chapter movie serial, the first Commando Cody serial starring newcomer George D. Wallace, George Wallace as Cody, Aline Towne as his sidekick Joan Gilbert, and serial veteran Roy Barcr ...
''), the Lone Star (clips from ''
Captain America
Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...
''), the Caped Madman (clips of
Captain Marvel from ''
Adventures of Captain Marvel
''Adventures of Captain Marvel'' is a 1941 American 12-chapter black-and-white movie serial from Republic Pictures. The serial was produced by Hiram S. Brown, Jr., directed by John English and William Witney, and stars Tom Tyler as the super ...
''; who transforms by using the phrase "
Sh-Boom
"Sh-Boom" ("Life Could Be a Dream") is a doo-wop song by the R&B vocal group the Chords. It was written by James Keyes, Claude Feaster, Carl Feaster, Floyd F. McRae, and William Edwards, members of the Chords, and was released in 1954. It is som ...
"), Spy Swatter (clips from ''
Spy Smasher
Spy Smasher is the name of two fictional characters appearing in comics published by Fawcett and DC Comics. The first is a superhero that was formerly owned and published by Fawcett Comics. The second is a female anti-terrorism government agent a ...
''), Sleeve Coat, Juicy Withers, and
Admiral Balzy. Many of them appear to die horrible, inescapable deaths in the course of the film.
The J-Men work in cooperation with the
F.C.C.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains ju ...
(Federal Culture Control), opposing the Lightning Bug with Muzac (created by
M.U.S.A.C., the Military Underground Sugared Airwaves Command), then with a bomb to blow up the Lightning Bug's base on the Moon. However, the Lightning Bug beats them to it, by turning his stereo up too loud and blowing up the Moon himself (and all of
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in the process, which the J-Men consider a "double victory").
At the end of the film, Agent Barton mournfully recites the list of J-Men who supposedly gave their lives in the epic struggle against the Bug. The Chief laughs, then starts choking on a cigar he is smoking. After he stops choking, The Chief points out that J-Men are flexible enough to survive any life-threatening situation, and the final clips (from the following week's edition of the serial) show exactly how each J-Man escaped their particular peril.
Soundtrack
The movie's
classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...
soundtrack
A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...
features music from
Budgie,
The Tubes
The Tubes are a San Francisco-based rock band. Their self-titled 1975 debut album included the single " White Punks on Dope", while their 1983 single " She's a Beauty" was a top-10 U.S. hit and its music video was frequently played in the ear ...
,
Head East
Head East is an American rock band from Illinois. The band was formed by singer John Schlitt, guitarist Danny Piper, keyboardist Roger Boyd, bassist Larry Boyd, and drummer Steve Huston. They met and formed the band while John, Roger, and La ...
and
Billy Preston
William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, backing Little Richa ...
.
Release
The film did not get notice during its theatrical run, but two years afterwards was popular enough when it was brought up by International Harmony head Stuart Shapiro on the
USA Network
USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...
show ''
Night Flight'' to the point of a
cult following
A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...
. It was released on DVD November 19, 2002 by Cult DVD.
DVD Savant Review
/ref>
See also
*''What's Up Tiger Lily
''What's Up, Tiger Lily?'' is a 1966 American comedy film directed by Woody Allen in his feature-length directorial debut.
Allen took footage from a Japanese spy film, '' International Secret Police: Key of Keys'' (1965), and overdubbed it with ...
''
*''Hercules Returns
''Hercules Returns'' is a 1993 Australian comedy film directed by David Parker, starring David Argue, Michael Carman, Bruce Spence and Mary Coustas. The film has become a cult film in Australia and other countries. It has been released in DVD ...
''
*'' Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid''
References
External links
*
*
{{Firesign Theatre, state=expanded
1979 films
1970s parody films
American collage films
1970s spy comedy films
1979 comedy films
1970s English-language films
American spy comedy films