
The Private Lives of Adam and Eve
Albert Zugsmith and Mickey Rooney’s 1960 film about a band of misfits transported back to the Garden of Eden plays like a sexploitation farce written by Rod Serling. The movie never lives up to the salacious possibilities of its title but with its wacky casting coups (including Rooney as the devil and Mamie Van Doren as Eve!), who can complain? Boasting a B-movie dream cast including Tuesday Weld and Mel Torme, it was written by Robert Hill, the scribe behind Zugsmith’s similarly gonzo Confessions of an Opium Eater.
About Joe Dante
Joe Dante is a lifelong film buff who turned his obsession into a career. He got his start cutting trailers for Roger Corman and later directed the hit movie Gremlins, as well as Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Innerspace and Small Soldiers for producer Steven Spielberg. His feature films include The Howling, Piranha, Matinee, The ‘burbs , Looney Tunes Back in Action, The Hole (first winner of the 3D Persol Award at the Venice Film Festival) and the zom-com Burying the Ex. His TV directing work includes: Police Squad, Amazing Stories, the HBO film The Second Civil War, the Masters of Horror titles Homecoming and The Screwfly Solution, and episodes of Eerie, Indiana, CSI: NY, Hawaii 5-0, Witches of East End, Legends of Tomorrow and Salem. His most recent big screen credit is an episode of the anthology film Nightmare Cinema. He’s currently consulting producer on the Amblin Television/Warner Bros. Animation hit, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai.
Joe is also the frequent co-host of Trailers From Hell’s official podcast, The Movies That Made Me, available everywhere podcasts are streamed and downloaded!
I can’t believe that I’ve only ever seen one Mamie Van Doren movie (Sex Kittens Go to College).