''Stingray Sam'' is a 2009 American

space Western Space Western is a subgenre of science fiction that uses the themes and tropes of Western (genre), Westerns within science-fiction stories in an outer space setting. Subtle influences may include Deep space exploration, exploration of new, law ...

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

serial film A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, gene ...

directed Direct may refer to: Mathematics * Directed set, in order theory * Direct limit of (pre), sheaves * Direct sum of modules, a construction in abstract algebra which combines several vector spaces Computing * Direct access (disambiguation), a ...

by and starring

Cory McAbee Cory McAbee (born August 29, 1961, Santa Venetia, California, US) is an American writer, director, singer and songwriter. Biography Cory McAbee was born in Northern California as the youngest of three children. His father was an auto mechanic and ...

. The film premiered on January 20, 2009 at the

2009 Sundance Film Festival The 2009 Sundance Film Festival was held during January 15, 2009 until January 25 in Park City, Utah. It was the 25th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival. Awards *Grand Jury Prize: Documentary - '' We Live in Public'' *Grand Jury Prize: Drama ...

as part of the New Frontier program. It is Cory McAbee's latest film after he was not able to secure financing for what was to be his second feature, ''Werewolf Hunters of the Midwest''.

Plot

According to the official website:

A dangerous mission reunites Stingray Sam with his long lost accomplice, The Quasar Kid. Follow these two space-convicts as they earn their freedom in exchange for the rescue of a young girl who is being held captive by the genetically designed figurehead of a very wealthy planet.

The six episodes are entitled: *Episode 1: ''Factory Fugitives'' *Episode 2: ''The Forbidden Chromosome'' *Episode 3: ''The Famous Carpenter'' *Episode 4: ''Corporate Mascot Rehabilitation Program'' *Episode 5: ''Shake Your Shackles'' *Episode 6: ''Heart of a Stingray''

Cast

as Stingray Sam *

Crugie Crugie (born Christopher Riccio) is an American-born guitarist, singer-songwriter and visual artist from Princeton, NJ. He is known for his ‘90s Hoboken, NJ rock band Cycomotogoat, his work on the John Popper (of Blues Traveler) solo album '' ...

as Quasar Kid * Joshua Taylor as Fredward *Willa Vy McAbee as Girl/The Carpenter's Daughter *

Frank Howard Swart Frank, FRANK, or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a Germanic people in late Roman times * Franks, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusa ...

as Barnaby *Jessica Jelliffe as The Clerk *Caleb Scott as The Artist *Michael De Nola as Scientist *Michael Wiener as Smarmy Scientist *

Ron Crawford Ron Crawford (born October 11, 1945 in Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa ...

as Old Scientist *Bobby Lurie as Cubby *

David Hyde Pierce David Hyde Pierce (born David Pierce; April 3, 1959) is an American actor. Known for his portrayal of psychiatrist Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Frasier'' from 1993 to 2004, he received four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting A ...

as Narrator *Forrest C. "Frosty" Lawson as Scientist *Maura Ruth Hashman as Heaven

Production

As financing was not secured for

's film ''Werewolf Hunters of the Midwest'', McAbee began work on a six-part serialized feature film entitled ''Stingray Sam'' that was created with the intention of being a multi-platform release or as McAbee calls it "for screens of all sizes". The trailer was made available to the public on November 11, 2008. According to Tom Fortunato, one of the extras on the set, told '' The Westfield Leader'' (newspaper for

Westfield, New Jersey Westfield is a Town (New Jersey), town in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located southwest of Manhattan. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 31,032, an increase of 716 (+2.4% ...

) that despite not reading the script, he feels that production will be similar to

Richard Elfman Richard Elfman (born March 6, 1949) is an American actor, musician, director, producer, screenwriter, journalist, author and magazine publisher. Early life His younger brother is musician and film composer Danny Elfman, with whom Richard woul ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

cult classic '' The Forbidden Zone''.

Release

''Stingray Sam'' premiered on January 20, 2009 at the

as part of the New Frontier program. ''Stingray Sam'' was also shown at the

Sarasota Film Festival The Sarasota Film Festival is a film festival located in Sarasota, Florida and held in April. Its mission is "to celebrate the art of filmmaking and the contribution of filmmakers by hosting an international film festival and developing year-long ...

on April 5, 2009,

Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival The Imagine Film Festival, formerly Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival, also known as Imagine Fantastic Film Festival or simply Imagine, is an annual film festival in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The festival was created in 1991 with a focus mainly on ...

on April 20, 2009,

The Downtown Independent The Downtown Independent (formerly the ImaginAsian Center) was a one screen theater and cinema located at 251 S. Main Street in the Little Tokyo area of Los Angeles, California. It was operated by the Downtown Independent and owned by Orange C ...

on April 10, 2009,

Independent Film Festival of Boston The Independent Film Festival Boston is a not for profit film festival in Boston, Massachusetts. History The Independent Film Festival Boston (also known as IFFBoston or IFFB) was created in 2003 by the non-profit organization the Independent F ...

on April 26, 2009,

Sci-Fi-London Sci-Fi-London (stylised as SCI-FI-LONDON), also known as the London International Festival of Science Fiction and Fantastic Film or simply SFL, is an annual United Kingdom–based film festival dedicated to the science fiction and fantasy genre ...

on May 2, 2009, and has continued to screen in numerous festivals throughout the world. The film was supposed to be screened at the Icon International Sci-Fi Film Festival in Tel Aviv in October 2009, but the screening and visit of crew members were cancelled by McAbee in protest of the political situation in Israel towards Palestinians (a similar cancellation also occurred with his film ''The American Astronaut'' three years earlier). On September 15, 2009, ''Stingray Sam'' had its theatrical premiere at The Downtown Independent where it was simultaneously broadcast live from the theater on McAbee's website. DVDs and digital downloads became available from his website on the same day as well. ''Stingray Sam'' continues to play in theaters both nationally and internationally.

Reception

Dennis Harvey of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote that "''Stingray Sam'' leaves one begging for more at one unflaggingly delightful hour."

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 1355599, Stingray Sam 2009 films 2000s musical comedy films 2000s Western (genre) science fiction films 2000s science fiction comedy films American Western (genre) science fiction films American black-and-white films American musical comedy films American science fiction comedy films Film serials Space Western films American space adventure films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films English-language Western (genre) films English-language science fiction comedy films English-language musical comedy films 2009 musical films