Quote of the week

Today I'll make another trip back into my childhood. I'm not sure if the movie I took the quote from - although it's not a real quote, you'll see what I mean - really scared me, I can't remember, but it sure fascinated me so much that I had to own it.

Let me ask you something first. Have you ever wondered about policemen on TV or in movies who feel the urge to taste every unknown substance they come across? Someone leaves behind a bag with a strange content - hey, let's taste it, maybe it'll knock the shoes off my feet!
The doctor in my movie takes the prize, however. Hat off, doc, you are one brave guy. Or maybe just terribly, terribly dumb. Well, the year was 1955, maybe it's just my long experience of mystery, horror and fantasy movies that makes me feel so superior.
Curious now?

I'll give you a short summary of what has happened until now, but I'll leave out the part that our hero doesn't know, it's more fun for you that way.
We are in a happy little town in the desert.
A professor found dead, colleague blaming a rare disease. Local doc (our hero) sceptical.
Young good looking lady student arriving to help professor with experiments against world hunger. Rats and bunnies growing like crazy after injections.
Doc taking a walk in the desert with young good looking lady student. Sudden unexplainable rock slide.
Young good looking lady student showing doc the professor's animals. Professor not amused.
Dead horses on farm, only bare bones and strange substance (!) left behind.

More dead horses, a crashed pick-up truck .... which takes us to our scene ...

Policeman #1: Take a look at this, Doc.
Everyone looking at large spots of strange substance
Policeman #2: I can't understand why I didn't spot this stuff when I hauled those skeletons out of here and stacked them on the other side.
(Get it? Strange stuff where skeletons were before. Skeletons, remember that!)
Doc - our hero: They were here?
Policeman #2: Yes, Sir. Why?
(Oh, could those skeletons have anything to do with the strange .... naaah.)
Doc - our hero - dipping a finger into the stuff and sniffing it: There doesn't seem to be any distinctive odor.
Doc touching his tongue with the stuff on his finger (!!): Mmm. Wow.

Oh really? Wow? Look at his face! Doesn't taste good? How weird!

You want to know what it was? Well, let me give some of you a good nightmare. I know not all of you are necessarily as fascinated by this as I am ... guess what. Mr Dead Professor and Mr Other Professor tested their injections not only on rats, rabbits and guinea pigs, but also on tarantulas.
And one of them escaped during a lab fire ...

Happy dreams! ;-)

Tarantula, USA, 1955