This rarely shown camp classic needs to be seen to be believed. Mix a Lana Turner "soaper" like Imitation of Life"(59) with an American International 60's exploitation film and you've got THE BIG CUBE. Distributed by Warner Brothers, the film was made in Mexico, the esteemed Gabriel Figueroa(Los Olvidados,The Night of the Iquana) was the cinematographer, and the film, which "introduced" Karin Mossberg in the role of Lana's stepdaughter, is Mossberg's last film credit. Mossberg's indeterminable accent is faintly reminiscent of Zsa Zsa Gabor's,and at times she resembles a glamorous version of Judith O'Dea from Night of the Living Dead(68). No one else in the cast sounds anything like her, and she doesn't resemble Dan O'Herlihy who plays her father. O'Herilhy appeared with Turner in "Imitation of Life". It's not hard to believe that this was Mossberg's last film; she's laugh-inducing. Did she take acting lessons from Lana Turner? George Chikiris of West Side Story(60)fame plays Mossberg's sleazy medical student boyfriend who spikes Lana's sedatives with LSD in a hilarious plot to drive her crazy. The plot has overtones of Gaslight(44), The Heiress(49), and Wild in the Streets(68). Further hilarity ensues from the straining to be "hip" dialog, the "trippy" FX, Turner's emoting, the shoddy production which seems to include 1 automobile, some stock footage, and a supposedly hip club "LeTrip" that looks like the junior prom. All of this is topped off with the plot's absurd resolution, an impromptu striptease, a wedding orgy, and the totally camp Pamela Rogers from TV's "Laugh-In" as "Bibi", an unlikely friend to "Miss goody 2 shoes" Mossberg. Fortunately, The Big Cube has finally been released on DVD. Like The Legend of Lylah Clare(68), Skidoo!(69), and Angel,Angel Down We Go(69),it's a genuine oddity that should be experienced. Surprisingly, the trailer, included on the DVD, shows Pamela Rogers' topless. If you've never seen The Big Cube, I'd advise you to watch the feature before the trailer. "The trip that starts with a giggle and ends with a scream" "The Big Cube" starts and ends with a big giggle. Enjoy!
Review of The Big Cube
