MST3K: 112 - Untamed Youth

A youth, untamed... out in the wild.

Joel Robinson is trapped in space and forced to watch bad movies by a pair of mad scientists.  His only companions are the robots he made from some of the spare parts.  A cult classic of the 90's, this is Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Original air date: January 27, 1990

This episode begins with Joel once again stating the premise of the show.  Joel is doing some work on Servo's torso, and his still functioning head sits on the desk.  Joel finds a virus, and Crow says it looks like a magnetic tape worm, which is a nice play on words.

Joel's invention exchange is a pipe that prevents itself from being lit.  This is the second time this season Joel has done a smoking-related invention exchange.  Was smoking that much more of a thing in 1990?  The Mads present tongue puppets, which are really just those plastic finger puppets you get at the dentist's office.  Not a very inspiring invention exchange this week.

The movie, Untamed Youth, is a 1957 teen exploitation movie about a corrupt prison work camp.  It stars Mamie freakin' Van Doren and Lori Nelson as sisters Penny and Jane Lowe.  Penny and Jane are making their way to Los Angeles but they are arrested in some podunk town when they are caught skinny dipping.  The girls are sentenced to 30 days in jail for hitchhiking, vagrancy, and skinny dipping.  Harsh!  Judge Cecilia Steele gives them the choice of county jail or working on a ranch.  The girls, along with some of the other young adults sentenced that day, are sent to a ranch owned by Russ Tropp (John Russel) where they will spend their time picking cotton.  We learn not everything about this deal is on the up and up, since Tropp gives a $20 per person kickback to the local sheriff (Robert Foulk).

I have nothing snarky to say about this picture

We learn not only does Tropp pay the sheriff for his workforce, he also takes some home, if you get my drift.  Lilibet (Jeanne Carmen) is another worker, but had been given the job of Tropp's "housekeeper."  However, she is thrown out of the house when it is discovered she was also locking lips with Jackson, a farmhand.  Jackson is fired, Lilibet is sent back to the dorm, and a fight breaks out between Lilibet and Penny over one of the beds.  Since this is a exploitation film, of course the girls were only half dressed.

The first host segment is a pageant about the life and times of Greg Brady.  Apparently one of the girls at the ranch looks shockingly like the oldest of the Brady boys, and Joel and the Bots started calling her Greg during the film.  This lead to the pageant.  They stumble over a few lines, but generally speaking it was a funny bit.

With Jackson fired, Tropp needs another new farmhand.  Bob Steele (Don Burnett), son of Judge Steele, has just returned from military service and needs a job.  It turns out that Tropp's farm used to belong to Bob's father, but they sold out to Tropp.  Bob is hired to run a harvester.

We are "treated" to a cotton picking scene (ain't they all?), where Bong (Eddie Cochran) sings a song.  Trivia time:  Eddie was an up and coming musical star but died tragically at the age of 21 in a traffic accident in London while on tour.  What's even weirder is that Eddie was good friends with Buddy Holly and Richie Valens, who died only two years earlier in a plane crash.

We learn that Judge Steele and Tropp are having an affair!  Shock!  Awe!  Not only that, he used his own money to get Judge Steele elected.  So this Tropp character is a real piece of work:  Bribes the sheriff to arrest under-30's on trumped up charges,  gets them to work for him for .75 a day, all while having an affair with the judge and at least one of the female prison workers.

The second host segment was a bad idea executed badly.  Crow has a flashback to a time when Joel hooked Gypsy's brain to Cambot to see what she was thinking about.  The result:  Richard Basehart and ram chips.  Gypsy was a one-trick pony in these early seasons.

The movie wastes a ton of time with songs and dance scenes.  If this were a musical, I'd understand, otherwise, it's just another 50's teen exploitation trope.   But wait.... there's a subplot here.  Pinky, the cook, overhears Penny's singing and convinces Tropp to let her audition for him for a spot on his tv station (what?  Next thing you know, this guy will own the local newspaper, too).

Tropp, of course, makes a move on Penny (who can blame him?  It's Mamie freakin' Van Doren!).  He's interrupted by Bob, who was sent to the house by Jane, because she was worried about Penny being gone so long.  Bob tells Tropp about Baby, who fell ill out in the fields the day before.  Penny takes the opportunity to run away, and Tropp sicks his dogs on her (what is he, Mr. Burns?), but Bob saves her by chasing them away.

The next day, Baby faints again while in the field.  Bob drives her to the local hospital, where it is discovered that Baby was pregnant.  She had a miscarriage during the trip to the hospital dies.  Bob goes to his mother and tells him about Baby.  Cecilia is surprised to hear this, because Tropp was supposed to get all of the prisoners a medical exam when they arrive at the ranch.  Bob also tells his mother that Tropp is feeding the prisoners dog food for dinner.  Ick.  Cecilia confesses to her son that she married Trop four months ago.

Gypsy makes a surprise appearance in the theatre to show Tom what cotton feels like.  It's a weird little bit while Bob and Jane have a heart-to-heart conversation that ends in a kiss.  This leads to the third host segment, where Gypsy can't turn off her replicating feature.  The console room is covered in cotton.  Crow is having fun, and Tom decides to get Gypsy to create other items -- saltwater taffy, paper towels.  Joel is having a hard time keeping a straight face during this bit.  It's funny up until the end when it kind of falls apart.

Judge Steele has one of the local deputies drop Jane off at her home, and Jane tells the judge everything that happens in the farm, including the part about Tropp getting handsy with the ladies.  And then we have another Mamie Van Doren musical bit.  This is kind of like a Elvis movie, only Elvis is a blonde girl (and what a girl!).

Bob finds out that Tropp is looking for illegal immigrants to work more fields.  Tropp catches Bob and Margarita, a spanish speaking  field hand, and tries to have one of his henchman dump them over the border into Mexico.  At this point a full on riot breaks out as the prisoners decide they had enough of this nonsense.  Jude Steele finally shows up and has Tropp and his men arrested.  The prisoners sentences are commuted.  Bob and Jane end up together running the ranch, and Penny goes on perform a Calypso song on TV in a cute little Mexican-themed dress.  The end!

The episode ends with Joel explaining the purpose behind the goofy character in teen exploitation movies.  Joel does a shockingly good impression.

A strong episode for season one.  Good riffs, good host segments (except for the second one).  The movie itself wasn't that bad.  And of course:  Mamie Van Doren.  Can't go wrong there.

Favorite Riffs:  "At least they aren't unbathed youth.",  "Somewhere out there is the Ark of the Covenant.",  "Boardwalk, Park Place!  Think of it!  And I'm using the shoe.", "If only Beatniks stuck with pumpkin pie.", "Sauron's dark army?", "It's reaper madness.", "Oh, use drywall screws.  They're much better.", "But she fumbled on the fourth down."

This episode was included in the Vol 29 boxed set and can be found online on YouTube and at the Digital Archive Project.