January 17, 1997
Phreaky Phriday Phun Linx
Ronnie Cramer's Cult Film Page
When was the last time you saw a movie where killer clowns from outer space terrorize a midwestern town or a film about a female biker gang that beats up men? Chances are, if you only go to major motion pictures, you're missing out on a wealth of independent films and cult classics such as She Devils on Wheels, Attack of the Giant Leeches, Shriek of the Mutilated, and Wasted Lives. Read summaries of these underground movies and look at some very amusing video clips of the movies' trailers.
Spring 1997
Sturgis Rally News
Cycling on the Net
If you're looking for information about motorcycles on the World Wide Web, a good place to start is Ronnie Cramer's MOTORCYCLE WEB INDEX (http://sepnet.com/cycle/index.htm). Denver artist and film maker Cramer created the site less than a year ago, but it has already become a favorite starting point for motorcycle-inclined 'web surfers' - boasting over 4,500 links to cycle pages all over the world (including the Sturgis Rally and Races http://sturgisrallyandraces.com/!).
A motorcycle enthusiast since 1966, Cramer currently rides a 1993 Harley-Davidson FXRS Low Rider. He started the Motorcycle Web Index after trying to locate some online information about the bike. 'The Web is huge,' he says, 'and there's a ton of information on it - but it definitely needs all the organizational help it can get.'
Of course, organizing the Web is an impossible task, but Cramer decided to do what he could to make at least one corner of it more manageable, so he began collecting motorcycle-related links and organizing them according to manufacturer, model, etc. Before long he had nearly a thousand motorcycle sites catalogued and put the information online.
With the MOTORCYCLE INDEX now receiving approximately 21,000 hits per day, Cramer spends less time looking for new sites. 'People send me addresses for new links all the time,' he says, 'some days it's hard to keep up with the E-mail.' He began accepting sponsors to help defray some of the cost of running the site, so the logos of several companies now adorn the INDEX.
Cramer is perhaps best known as the director of the cult film hit 'Even Hitler Had a Girlfriend,' which columnist Joe Bob Briggs called 'the best drive-in movie of the year' and 'one of the best independent comedies ever made.'
Cramer's other Web site is the CULT FILM PAGE (http://sepnet.com/rcramer/index.htm), which features information on over 5,000 off-beat films, including works directed by Cramer himself. The film site includes dozens of biker movies, and Cramer has been a fan of this genre for years - 'ever since I saw 'The Wild One' when I was a kid.'
You can reach Ronnie Cramer at rcramer@sepnet.com or check out the MOTORCYCLE WEB INDEX at http://sepnet.com/cycle/index.htm.
July 1997
PC Magazine
Cult Film Site
I know. It's 54 channels of slop and nothing to watch. Where are the wonderful shows of yesteryear - Captain Midnight, The Desilu Playhouse, I Led Three Lives, The Martin and Lewis Colgate Hour? On videotape. And if you surf the Classic Television Programs at Ronnie Cramer's Cult Film Site, you'll find all these plus other shows and films you thought you'd forgotten, most of them available for under 20 bucks.
1997
NCF
Even Hitler Had a Girlfriend
It's about a lonely thirty-year-old security guard who ends up spending all his money on porn and prostitutes. There's a great scene where he's watching a movie about a brain in a jar that falls in love with a beautiful woman: 'Even the brain in a jar has a girlfriend...'. Highly recommended, although it is filled with nudity (this is not a problem for me ;-)) and has the productions values of early John Waters films. The director's website is at http://sepnet.com/rcramer/.
1997
VideoHound's Video Premieres
Even Hitler Had a Girlfriend
This independent production has achieved a rarefied cult status on video.
It's one of those inspired films that clearly comes from the heart and makes a virtue of its low budget.
The reason: Marcus Templeton (Andren Scott). Think Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver without the weapons and the attitude.
Marcus is an overwieght, sexually frustrated Omaha security guard.
He sits around his crackerbox apartment watching the X-rated cable channel, wishing he had some female companionship, and reading the religious tracts that are slipped under his front door.
When it all gets to be too much for him, he peels the plastic wrapper on another Slim Jim. Then he discovers out-call escort services and everything changes...but nothing changes. The box copy proclaims '99 per cent true' and that's easy to believe. Beyond the leering (and self-aware) exploitation angle, David Manning's script is a perceptive examination of loneliness--one of the most moving and funny you'll ever see.
Director Ronnie Cramer gives the film the rough-edged look, irreverence, and unpredictability of a '70s drive-in flick.
And that's exactly the way the story ought to be told. Followed by a sequel of sorts.
Considerable nudity, sexual material, strong language, mild violence.
1991 90m/C Andren Scott, D Ronnie Cramer; W David Manning, VHS SEP