“	"Oh, boy. A heel-a-copter airplane!" "Jiminy," thinks Johnny, "if only I could get a ride in one of those." ... Barbara Ann Scott gives Johnny a peck on the cheek. Embarrassed, he puts his head on her chest. "Jiminy," thinks Johnny, "if only I could get a ride in one of those!"	”
	— Narrarator and Crow

419 - The Rebel Set
Air Date	December 12, 1992
Movie Director	Gene Fowler
Year	1959
Cast	Gregg Palmer, Kathleen Crowley, Edward Platt, John Lupton
Short	Johnny at the Fair
Preceded by	418 - Attack of the the Eye Creatures
Followed by	420 - The Human Duplicators

Contents 1 The Short 1.1 Synopsis 1.2 Information 2 The Movie 2.1 Synopsis 2.2 Information 3 The Episode 3.1 Host Segments 3.2 Other Notes 3.3 Obscure References 3.4 Video Release

The Short

Synopsis

At the 1947 Canadian National Exhibition, a young boy ditches his parents and sets off for adventure, meeting some celebrities along the way, including world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis, Canadian figure skater Barbara Ann Scott (who won the gold medal in the 1948 Olympics), comedians Ole Olsen & “Chick” Johnson, and former Canadian prime minister McKenzie King. This short was narrated by Lorne Greene.

Information

• The short was released by Rhino Entertainment on DVD on Mr. B's Lost Shorts, part of The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Volume 6

The Movie

Synopsis

A coffeehouse proprietor recruits three losers: a struggling actor, an unknown writer, and the ne’er-do-well son of a once-famous movie star. His plan: to carry out a million-dollar armored car heist during a four-hour train layover in Chicago.

Information

The Episode

Host Segments

Prologue: Joel attempts to read the Bots a scary story, but Tom and Crow are too jaded and aren't biting, until Joel produces the unrelenting terror that is Life's Little Instruction Book...

Invention Exchange (Segment One): While Dr. F has an even scarier book, Frank introduces the time saving but rather cumbersome Quick Primp Kit styling station, where as Joel removes all the trouble from modern art production with the Mark Rothco Paint-by-Number kit.

Segment Two: "Co-starring with Scott Baio" acting lessons.

Segment Three: Inspired by the movie, Joel asks the Bots what they'd do with a four-hour layover in Chicago, but only Crow gets into the spirit. Rather too into it.

Segment Four: Joel hosts a writing workshop with the Bots using the supposed Merritt Stone method, but seems interested only in stories that reference, take place on or otherwise involve trains.

Closing (Segment Five): Murder on the Orient Express style, Tom "Hercule Poirot" Servo has an elaborate process of elimination to settle once and for all the identity of Merritt Stone, but things end up becoming much more confused and Servo's head explodes. Down in Deep 13, a now also obsessed TV's Frank fares no better.

Stinger: The weird old beatnik poet proclaims, "I am bugged!"

Other Notes

• Tom is correct, Merrit Stone isn't the train conductor and doesn't appear in The Rebel Set, it is in fact fellow Bert I. Gordon regular Gene Roth.
• For the record:
  • Merrit Stone played the spider-eaten dad Pete Flynn in Earth vs the Spider, the clergyman in Tormented, a uncredited role as a cop near the end of War of the Colossal Beast and the king in The Magic Sword.
  • Apart from the train conductor in this movie, Gene Roth played the sheriff in both Earth vs the Spider and Attack of the Giant Leeches as well as the lunch stand guy in Tormented.
  • While Jack Kosslyn played a lieutenant in The Amazing Colossal Man, the KTLA newscaster in War of the Colossal Beast, Fraser in Earth vs the Spider and the ogre in The Magic Sword

Obscure References

• "RUN, VON RYAN!"

A quote from the 1965 World War II movie Von Ryan's Express.

• "Jeez, the horse from 'Equus' had it better than this!"

Equus is a play about a mentally ill stable boy who blinds six horses.

• "He's about so high." "Well, yes, there was a Mr. Barty here..."

A reference to little-person actor Billy Barty.

• "Ya know, the committee to re-elect the president!"

​Richard Nixon's 1972 re-election campaign was run by an organization with the acronym CREEP : the Committee to RE-Elect the President. Its list of prominent members was pretty much a roster of those tried for various crimes revolving around the Watergate scandal.

• "Reverend" "...blue jeans"

A pun on the title of the Neil Diamond song, "Forever In Blue Jeans".

• "Art Linkletter! They all have Art Linkletter on them!"

Art Linkletter was the long-time spokesman for the boardgame The Game of Life, and appeared on the $100,000 bills in that game as late as the 1985 revision.

Video Release

• Commercially released on DVD by Rhino in October 2007 as part of The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Volume 12, a 4-DVD set with Secret Agent Super Dragon, The Starfighters and Parts: The Clonus Horror.
• The DVD features a trailer for the original film and an interview with Don Sullivan, who played George Leland in this movie and Chase Winstead from The Giant Gila Monster, recorded for this release. He discusses how he got into Hollywood, The Rebel Set and even MST3K.
• The DVD packaging incorrectly states that The Mystery Science Theater Hour Jack Perkins wraps are included for this movie, where Secret Agent Super Dragon has wraps based on it instead.

preceded by: Season 3		MST3K Season 4					followed by: Season 5
		1992 - 1993
401	Space Travelers	1992-06-06	409	The Indestructible Man	1992-08-15	417	Crash of Moons	1992-11-28
402	The Giant Gila Monster	1992-06-13	410	Hercules Against the Moon Men	1992-08-22	418	Attack of the the Eye Creatures	1992-12-05
403	City Limits	1992-06-20	411	The Magic Sword	1992-08-29	419	The Rebel Set	1992-12-12
404	Teenagers from Outer Space	1992-06-27	412	Hercules and the Captive Women	1992-09-12	420	The Human Duplicators	1992-12-26
405	Being from Another Planet	1992-07-24	413	Manhunt in Space	1992-09-19	421	Monster A-Go Go	1993-01-09
406	Attack of the Giant Leeches	1992-07-18	414	Tormented	1992-09-26	422	The Day the Earth Froze	1993-01-16
407	The Killer Shrews	1992-07-25	415	The Beatniks	1992-11-25	423	Bride of the Monster	1993-01-23
408	Hercules Unchained	1992-08-01	416	Fire Maidens of Outer Space	1992-11-16	424	Manos: The Hands of Fate	1993-01-30