Skidoo airing on Turner Classic Movies

Joel Schlosberg says:

Otto Preminger's rarely seen, never-released-on-video psychedelic comedy Skidoo (previously on Boing Boing) will be airing on Turner Classic Movies on January 5 (late night January 4), as part of TCM Underground.

I've been waiting for years to see this. Link

[#1 posted by EricT , January 4, 2008 11:18 AM]

Well That Explains a lot. I was 11 in 68 and I distinctly remember seeint the 1 sheet for that show in the local theater and going HMMMM

Too bad I don't get TCM

[#2 posted by wonderama , January 4, 2008 11:30 AM]

One of my all time favorites - i'll be glad to have a better copy of it! Jackie Gleason on acid and Groucho Marx as God...you really can't ask for more from a movie.

[#3 posted by rollerskater , January 4, 2008 11:43 AM]

i caught this at the Red Vic in SF when it played a few years back... marvelous!!!

[#4 posted by Adam Rakunas , January 4, 2008 11:50 AM]

I got my Tivo set for this. Can we have a follow-up thread for post-film discussion?

[#5 posted by Mark Frauenfelder , January 4, 2008 12:19 PM]

I would love to discuss the movie after we watch it. I'll post a note after it airs.

[#6 posted by mguerena , January 4, 2008 12:24 PM]

Thanks for letting me know this is on. Set my DVR to record. Looks like a lost classic. Now if TCM will air some of the lost 70's comedies like Fire Sale and Rabbit Test I would be even happier.

[#7 posted by EH , January 4, 2008 12:32 PM]

I have an .avi of this from a couple years back. No idea where it came from, but it was likely a torrent from WFMU blog or somesuch.

OK, I just checked it and it's pretty terrible quality and low-resolution to boot. It'll be nice to have a decent copy!

[#8 posted by Joel Johnson , January 4, 2008 12:33 PM]

Nice. I found a version a few months ago but it was almost unwatchably bad quality.

[#9 posted by Jardine , January 4, 2008 12:44 PM]

So this movie has absolutely nothing to do with snowmobiling? I'm confused.

[#10 posted by microdot , January 4, 2008 2:52 PM]

The prison mess hall LSD scene is one of the most disorienting experiences I have ever seen on film.
Imagine an LSD trip as written by the writers of The Beverly Hillbillies....2 old Jewish Comedians playing mind fuck...
The dancing trashcans with the Harry Nillson soundtrack....
Jackie Gleasons first acid trip...
I need a new version of this film!

[#11 posted by bjimba , January 4, 2008 4:39 PM]

Make sure you stick around at the end. Instead of a text crawl, Harry Nilsson sings the entire set of credits. (Harry is also one of the tower guards in the prison.)

[#12 posted by ridl , January 4, 2008 6:20 PM]

Just tried to watch the yootoob trailer. removed due to terms of use violation. anyone have an alternate source?

[#13 posted by nakedandfamous , January 4, 2008 9:17 PM]

I'm not one to request this kind of thing, but I'm still rocking pre-government-digital-mandate rabbit ears, let alone enjoying the cerebral wonders of basic cable. I heard about this from one of my professors two years ago and have been fascinated by the concept ever since. Would some kind soul with a DVR mind putting a torrent up for this after recording it? If anyone takes me up on this, just shoot me an e-mail at nakedandfamous (at) gmail.

[#14 posted by sonny p fontaine , January 5, 2008 2:31 AM]

thanx Mark. That was soooo much better than the tiny download(which i watch constantly) you put lo these several years ago. boing-boing rocks and you sir are a national treasure.

[#15 posted by irregulara , January 5, 2008 6:28 AM]

Google Video, small resolution:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8627569594136856520&q=Skidoo%3A+Otto+Preminger%27s&total=8&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

[#16 posted by johnocomedy , January 5, 2008 11:23 AM]

I set my Time Warner DVR to record it last night and this morning... nothing! Anybody else have this problem? How about you Tivonians? Maybe TCM/Time Warner prevents you from doing this. I suppose my DVR could have malfunctioned, but it would be the first time in 2 years. Hmmmm.

[#17 posted by KinetiQ , January 5, 2008 11:33 AM]

Aah, yes, that good sort of horrible, like "Dr Goldfoot and his Bikini Machine."

Now if we could find a movie where Vincent Price drops acid...

[#18 posted by Adam Rakunas , January 5, 2008 12:32 PM]

Wow.

That was one of the weirdest things I've seen on screen. I now have Carol Channing singing the theme song stuck in my head.

[#19 posted by PeaceLove , January 5, 2008 7:48 PM]

#13: I found a craptastic copy via www.torrent-finder.com. If someone could get a clean copy up, that would be awesome. Gmail me at magicpeacelove with leads.

[#20 posted by Spatch , January 6, 2008 7:24 AM]

Now if we could find a movie where Vincent Price drops acid...

Say, that's not a bad idea! We'd have to rig the backs of our chairs up to deliver electric shocks every now and then, too, for dramatic effect.

SKIDOO was one of my holy grails of horrendous movies. I was so happy to get ahold of a copy of it a while ago and just goggle at it (Borscht Belt comedians and oldschool entertainers trying to pull off "turning on" like the kids? Bring it on! See also: Peter Lawford and Sammy Davis Jr. in SALT AND PEPPER) The theme song is catchy, Carol Channing's seductive boa dance absolutely creepy, the sight of Jackie Gleason tripping balls is hilarious, and Groucho Marx in the boat at the end is actually a funny way to see the old man off (SKIDOO was his last film.)

Now all we need to do is wait until Jerry Lewis kicks it and someone gets to raid his private vault and put THE DAY THE CLOWN CRIED out there for us.

[#21 posted by mjpw , January 6, 2008 10:52 PM]

Really entertaining. My favorite moment, outside of Jackie Gleason's and Carol Channing's antics, is when Richard Kiel, future James Bond and Superman II villain, is grabbing random people during the prison-wide LSD trip, saying, "Loretta! ... you ain't Loretta... Loretta!..."