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See, the movie has finally thrown up its hands and said "I just don't know."!
- Tom Servo


I want to hurt this movie, but I could never hurt is as much as it hurt me.


The Short[]

Speech: Platform Posture and Appearance

Synopsis[]

0619s1

Through liberal use of the knee test, looking good and standing tall, the secrets of public speaking are revealed.

Information[]

  • This short was part of a series produced in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The subsequent short in the series - Speech: Using Your Voice - had been used in Earth vs the Spider.

The Movie[]

Main article: Red Zone Cuba (film)

Synopsis[]

A small group of escaped convicts participates in an attempt to invade Cuba and overthrow the Communist government.

The Episode[]

Host Segments[]

Redzonehost

The Lotto Draw

Prologue: Mike arrives just in time for tonight's Lotto Draw, learning that Tom is a great lotto machine and that you need a lot of lotto numbers.

Segment One: While Mike gets the all important power ball, 509, Frank reveals he's in deep to the mob for 50 large. But thanks to some minor re-direction, Dr. F gets the beating intended for Frank.

RedZone

Segment Two: Frank tries to convince Dr F that he still has so much to live for and rouses the horribly injured man from his death bed, but questions his posture...

Segment Three: While the strain of the movie causes Mike to believe that he's Carol Channing, Frank reads and relays the mountain of the "hope you die" cards and calls Dr F has been receiving due to his imminent death.

IMG 0592

Frank tries to announce Dr F's passing

Segment Four: As the strain of the movie causes Mike to cycle through yet more celebrities he believes himself to be, Frank tries to announce Dr F's passing, but he yo-yos between life and death. At least until the mob come back for a second go at him.

Closing (Segment Five): Mike and the Bots sing a happy perky song to lift their spirits after the movie, while Dr F has recovered enough to "thank" Frank.

Stinger: Blind lady plays the piano.

MST3K cast[]

Trivia[]

  • The movie in this episode is the source of the frequent callback, "I'm Cherokee Jack." In context, the character is a bit of fifth business, an okie who convinces the gang to fly to Cuba. M&TB are bowled over by his pie-eyed delivery of this introductory line. The riff is often repeated when a new character appears unannounced or says something unexpected.
  • There is a full, un-MST'ed version of 'Night Train to Mundo Fine' available on YouTube: click here to listen. (Between this song and his use of rockabilly pioneer Jimmy Bryant in The Skydivers, it can be said that Tony Cardoza picked interesting music for his films.)
  • Cherokee Jack's sign says (presented as shown on the screen, with all misspellings and punctuation intact):
    • "CHEROKEE-JACK"
    • WILL FLIE YOU ANYWHERE?
    • RATES-PRETTIE-REASONEBLE¡
    • SIGNED
    • --Cherokee Jack
  • Starting with this episode, Frank Conniff is listed in the credits under the title Script Consultant.
  • Magic Voice is heard for the last time in a Comedy Central-era episode here, and it also marks the last time she's voiced by Mary Jo Pehl. She wouldn't be mentioned again until Laserblast, where she doesn't speak.

Callbacks[]

Obscure References[]

  •  "You must think tall, talk tall, stand tall, and walk tall..." "What if you're Robert Reich?"
Robert Reich is the former Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration. Mr. Reich is 4 feet 11 inches tall.
  • "Wouldn't it be loverly?!"
Song from the musical My Fair Lady.
  •  "Do do do DOOOO..... DO do do doooo...."
Tom is humming the theme to My Three Sons, a sitcom from the 1960s with an iconic drawing of three pairs of legs and feet as part of the opening credits.
  • "...Except by Denny Dillon."
Denny Dillon is a comedic actress and improv instructor who spent one season on Saturday Night Live, and later co-starred on the HBO comedy series Dream On. She is not very tall.
  • "John Carradine for Viceroy!" "Sal Mineo for Viceroy!"
Viceroy is a brand of cigarettes. Sal Mineo was an actor best know for appearing opposite James Dean in the film Rebel Without a Cause.
  • "Then I joined the Crash Test Dummies."
Crash Test Dummies are a Canadian rock band best known for their 1993 hit song "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" and vocalist Brad Roberts' bass-baritone voice. The term is derived from a pair of popular 1980's cultural icons sponsored by the US department of transportation named Vince and Larry who modeled proper seat belt procedures, and spawned toys and TV shows.
  • "This was just after he was drained of life by the succubus."
A succubus is a female demon whose victims (usually men) have their life forces drained by her while they sleep. She is also used as an allegory to describe sleep paralysis.
  • "Drink Night Train, go to the basketball game... throw up under the bleachers..."
Night Train Express is a flavored fortified wine that is 17.5% Alcohol By Volume.
  • "Oh, Moe's gonna kill me!"
A reference to Curly Howard from The Three Stooges. Coleman Francis somewhat resembles him.
  • "Going down the road, trying to loosen my load/I got Coleman Frances on my mind..."
A reference to the song "Take It Easy" by the Eagles.
  • "Hey, Petey the Plane!"
A reference to a running gag from an earlier Coleman Francis film, The Skydivers, used in Episode #609.
  • "It's a Shining Path fantasy camp!"
The Shining Path is a Peruvian guerrilla/terrorist group.
  • "Hi-Cuba!"
A play off of the popular MST3K catchphrase "Hi-keeba!"
  • "It's either Castro or Stuart Margolin."
Stuart Margolin was an actor and director who is probably best known for playing the conniving Angel on the TV series The Rockford Files. He appeared in Women of the Prehistoric Planet.
  • "Hey, Tony, did you bring The Book of Questions?"
The Book of Questions is a collection of hypothetical scenarios and ethical questions compiled by biophysicist and ethicist Gregory Stock.
  • "This train is bound for glory, this train..."
Lines from "This Train", a traditional gospel song that has been covered by many artists.
  • "It's Fee Waybill!"
A guy in the movie vaguely resembles Fee Waybill, lead singer of The Tubes.
  • "He's a regular Mycroft Homes."
Mycroft Holmes is the brother of Sherlock Holmes. He is generally depicted as being smarter and more accomplished than Sherlock. Probably a dig at how the character in the movie is not a brilliant detective.
  • "I guess I'm a dreamer." "...Montreal."
This is a reference to a Groucho Marx joke about a pun on the song title, "I'm a Dreamer, Aren't We All".
  • "Fuzzy Thurston is the Fugitive!"
Fred 'Fuzzy' Thurston was an NFL player, spending most of his career (1958 - 1967) with the Green Bay Packers.
  • "Under the spreading Coleman Francis..."
A sarcastic misquote of the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem "The Village Blacksmith".
  • "Apple's Way is different than I remember."
A short-lived series in the mid 1970s, Apple's Way started as a sitcom, then changed into a light drama.
  • "You want a video? We got some super violent Asian triple X cartoons."
A reference to the perception of Japanese animation (Anime) as full of over-the-top violence and gratuitous sex and nudity.
  • "Mother of Mercy, is this the end of Curly?"
A parody of the line "Is this the end of Rico?" spoken by Edward G. Robinson as Little Rico in the 1931 gangster movie Little Caesar.
  • [A character says "Guard."] "It's me, Margaret!"
A reference to the young-adult novel, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
  • "Things you'd say to a guard... things you'd say in a prison... Pass, pass..."
A reference to the game show Pyramid (which started as The $10,000 Pyramid and changed its name several times as the top prize grew), in which contestants try to guess the category that a series of words or phrases given to them by their partner have in common.
  • "You know, I still like this movie better than Havana." 
Havana is a poorly received 1990 film starring Robert Redford.
  • "The Master says you can't stay here."
A reference to "Manos" The Hands of Fate.
  • "Have you guys ever read The Total Film-Maker by Coleman Francis?"
The Total Film-maker is a 1971 book by Jerry Lewis.
  • "Oh, this is the Cuba/Bemidji border."
Bemidji is a small town in Minnesota on the shores of Lake Bemidji. Crow is referring to the fact that the landing craft is obviously on a lake, not the ocean.
  • "It's not without its charm."
Imitating the voice of Simpsons character Moe Szyslak, speaking a line from the episode "Flaming Moe's".

Memorable Quotes[]

[The platoon of seven mercenaries is fired upon and one of them is shot. Griffin checks on him quickly.]
Mike [As Griffin]: Well... I'm pretty sure you're dead.
Crow: They just lost a third of their "force."
[As Griffin runs towards the airplane to escape Cuba, his resemblance to Curly of the 3 Stooges is brought up again by Mike and the bots.]
Mike: Hey Moe! Moe!
Crow: Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Whoop! Nyyyaaahhhahhhahhh!!
[The scene where Griffin is beating up on Cook quickly jumps to the next scene.]
Mike: AGH! I think my neck got broken in that jump cut!
Tom: See, the movie has finally thrown up its hands and said "I just don't know!"
Crow: I want to hurt this movie, but I can never hurt it the way it hurt me!
[The hunting party of four runs toward the small helicopter.]
Servo: Whoa! Whoa!! Back up and think guys! Are we ALL going to fit in here!?
[Scene where Griffin is running away from the posse hunting him.]
Crow: The male Curly can run for hours on little water.
Mike: Native beaters are used to flush out "The Curly."
[Crow's frustration becomes too much after the appearance of another drab set.]
Crow: I think the location scout was a spaz!
[Mike and the bots exit the theater once the movie ends.]
Crow: I thought they portrayed 1961 quite well.
Servo: Not too hard since they made it in 65!!
Crow: D'OH!


Crow: You know, aside from the fact that I'll never experience joy in my life, I don't think Red Zone Cuba had any kind of negative effect on me...
Mike: Yeah, even being Carol Channing didn't shield me from the effect of this one.

Video Release[]

Redzonedvd

MST3K DVD COVER

  • Commerically released on VHS by Rhino Entertainment in October 1997.
  • Commerically released on DVD by Rhino in April 2002.
    • Re-released on August 16, 2011 as a single DVD by Shout! Factory's Shout Select imprint.


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