Larry Buchanan, Naughty Dallas, Jada and Jack Ruby

Growing up in Texas, I have always had a side interest- that of exploitation films.  I remember the good old days of independent cable and searching the television listings for anything that involved monsters, zombies and creatures.  That search led me to an interesting film that played one Saturday morning on television called Curse of The Swamp Creature starring John Agar and filmed in the Texas/Louisiana swamps of Lake Caddo.  On a trip to Philadelphia back in 1988, I stumbled upon a book at punk rock record store called Incredibly Strange Films.  The title alone made me buy it and I discovered a bit more about Mr. Buchanan.  Larry Buchanan was a Dallas filmmaker that produced low budget films in that area from the 50s to the 80s.  His 1967 epic, Mars Needs Women, has become a mainstay on the cult film circuit and is considered a time capsule of 1960s Dallas.  So, how does Buchanan have anything to do with the assassination of JFK?  First, let's look at a brief biography of the man.  The following is a clip from his 2005 obituary:


"When Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree asked Oscar Wilde what he thought of one of his performances, Wilde replied: "Good is not the word." The same applies to the films of director Larry Buchanan, who has died aged 81.



Yet surely anyone whose films had titles such as Zontar The Thing From Venus, The Naked Witch, Mars Needs Women, Curse Of The Swamp Creature and Mistress Of The Apes must have set out intentionally to make bad movies. Not so. Despite the title of Buchanan's 1996 autobiography, It Came From Hunger: Tales Of A Cinema Schlockmeister, Buchanan said: "I don't know that I bring any great command of art to my pictures, but I love what I'm doing, and I believe that shows through in the least of my pictures. We certainly weren't trying to make anybody laugh. We meant to entertain, perhaps to provoke, to enlighten - and certainly to defy the customary formulas."



But schlock fans found much to enjoy in many of Buchanan's Z-movies with their asinine scripts and dialogue, stilted acting, cheap sets, stock shots and inept directing. Given their extremely low cost - Buchanan served as producer, screenwriter and editor - nearly all his films made a profit.

Buchanan's failed attempts to provoke and enlighten resided in the several "serious" conspiracy films he made such as The Trial Of Lee Harvey Oswald (a courtroom drama that would have taken place if Oswald had lived to defend himself, 1964), a film which the director claimed was suppressed due to "unwarranted pressures", and Down On Us (in which the CIA murders counterculture pop icons Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison, 1984).


Around 2001, I was fortunate enough to have Mr. Buchanan sign a copy of his autobiography, It Came From Hunger!: Tales of a Cinema Shlockmeister. 



So, again, what does this all have to do with JFK?  Buchanan was a Dallas filmmaker and, in 1961, made a film called Naughty Dallas about a young girl going to Dallas from a Texas farm to make the "big time."  Buchanan didn't have the money to pay the lab bill so the film wasn't released until after the assassination when it gained enough notoriety for him to have the funds to put the movie on the grindhouse/drive-in market.  Naughty Dallas was filmed at the Colony Club and, allegedly, and the  Carousel Club.  I discovered the film back in 90s on VHS from a company called Something Weird Video, who distributes cult films. 

It is my opinion that this movie is an overlooked gem for JFK assassination researchers.  It features Jada and shows the marquee of Ruby's club along with that of the Weinstein's clubs and the dance routines of the strippers.  I threw all my VHS tapes away years ago but apparently the film is still available on DVD and download from Something Weird.  You can find it here.....

https://www.somethingweird.com/product_info.php?products_id=23885

I need to buy another copy and scrutinize who is in the background.  Interestingly, Buchanan also made another film called The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald- also distributed by Something Weird.

edit-sorry for the double post! I think I finally got it right!

Hugh,

for what it's worth, this is what Gary Mack said in '99:

Gary Mack wrote:Contrary to popular opinion, Naughty Dallas was not filmed in the Carousel
Club, although it does have a few shots of the club's exterior.
The new scenes with Jada, Breck Wall and the others were filmed after Ruby
was jailed and were made in Club Montmarte, as the credits indicate.  The
original film the new footage was added to, A Stripper Was Born, was shot
late in 1959, long before there even was a Carousel Club.

If Mack is correct, ii combined footage shot in Dec 63 / early '64 with old footage from a '59 unfinished film and therefore is unlikely to show anyone of interest.

I may be mis-remembering, but I seem to recall that the intension had been to use the Carousel, with the assassination putting an end to that. 

Wouldn't mind See his Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald though... just to see his treatment of it.

greg parker wrote:Hugh,

for what it's worth, this is what Gary Mack said in '99:

Gary Mack wrote:Contrary to popular opinion, Naughty Dallas was not filmed in the Carousel
Club, although it does have a few shots of the club's exterior.
The new scenes with Jada, Breck Wall and the others were filmed after Ruby
was jailed and were made in Club Montmarte, as the credits indicate.  The
original film the new footage was added to, A Stripper Was Born, was shot
late in 1959, long before there even was a Carousel Club.

If Mack is correct, ii combined footage shot in Dec 63 / early '64 with old footage from a '59 unfinished film and therefore is unlikely to show anyone of interest.

I may be mis-remembering, but I seem to recall that the intension had been to use the Carousel, with the assassination putting an end to that. 

Wouldn't mind See his Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald though... just to see his treatment of it.

Greg, Wow!  And I thought I was onto something here!

Knowing Buchanan's taste for exploitation films, Mack is probably correct.  I'll have to reread Buchanan's autobiography and see what he said about it. I guess the only interest for researchers would be seeing how strip joints and the strippers themselves operated at that time and, of course, Jada and Breck Wall.  My memories of my old VHS copy have faded a bit over the years but I remember the dances being very tame compared to what can be seen in a Dallas strip joint today.  I recall becoming rather bored with the whole affair but this was before my interest in the Assassination. 

There is no need to spend money on Buchanan's Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald unless one is a purest and wants the DVD (SW has it).  It has fallen into the public domain over the years and you can watch it on Youtube on David Von Pein's channel here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ThSEbRW1_Y

Thanks for the info.

Again, relying on possibly faulty memory here, but wasn't Ruby's last MC Bill DeMar also in Naughty Dallas? I wouldn't mind seeing his act...

I got him to reveal to me that yes, hypnotism was part of his act.

I emailed him pretending to be a magician looking to broaden into hypnotism and asking for any advice. 

I did that because there were whispers  that he was indeed a hypnotist. I wanted to see if it was true after seeing the description of his act in his WC testimony. It conspicuously left that detail out.

greg parker wrote:Again, relying on possibly faulty memory here, but wasn't Ruby's last MC Bill DeMar also in Naughty Dallas? I wouldn't mind seeing his act...

I got him to reveal to me that yes, hypnotism was part of his act.

I emailed him pretending to be a magician looking to broaden into hypnotism and asking for any advice. 

I did that because there were whispers  that he was indeed a hypnotist. I wanted to see if it was true after seeing the description of his act in his WC testimony. It conspicuously left that detail out.

Greg,

Nice work gaining access to Mr. DeMar!  Subterfuge is sometimes the best way to get people to talk!

To answer your question, I simply don't remember.  I do recall a lot of cheesy acts of "comedy" in Naughty Dallas and thinking how strange the whole thing was compared to what people see in strip joints today.  That stated, I have no financial interest in Something Weird Video and certainly don't want to encourage anyone to buy it unless they want to.  IMDB does list DeMar in the credits as a "bouncer" here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058393/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast

The credits, according to IMDB, also include Bill Peck and His Peckers, Breck Wall, Abe Weinstein and, of course, Jada.  Interestingly, Jada died in 1980 in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the young age of 44 (real name Janet Adams Mole)  I have no idea as to her cause of death but she would certainly have been an interesting person to talk to. 

I could only find one user review on IMDB from 2001:

"Naughty Dallas is the "story" of a young woman who comes to the big city and is enchanted by all the flashing neon. She decides to enter an amateur contest at Dallas' famed Colony Club, and basically ends up happily ever after as the winning stripper. Great for all the footage of Dallas, including the interior of the Colony Club -- and its owner Abe Weinstein. Breck Wall appears in a comedy routine -- he later achieved a bit of fame with his "Bottoms Up" Revue."

I really regret throwing away my old VHS copy but I don't think I'd have a way to play it today.  But, if anyone is interested, it is available and I thought I'd share that.

Interesting that in the 1964 film "the black elevator operator" gives testimony that he took Oswald up. (This occurs around the 19 minute mark). Maybe got included in the script because of the Thayer Waldo article.

Hugh Jorgan wrote:

greg parker wrote:Again, relying on possibly faulty memory here, but wasn't Ruby's last MC Bill DeMar also in Naughty Dallas? I wouldn't mind seeing his act...

I got him to reveal to me that yes, hypnotism was part of his act.

I emailed him pretending to be a magician looking to broaden into hypnotism and asking for any advice. 

I did that because there were whispers  that he was indeed a hypnotist. I wanted to see if it was true after seeing the description of his act in his WC testimony. It conspicuously left that detail out.

Greg,

Nice work gaining access to Mr. DeMar!  Subterfuge is sometimes the best way to get people to talk!

To answer your question, I simply don't remember.  I do recall a lot of cheesy acts of "comedy" in Naughty Dallas and thinking how strange the whole thing was compared to what people see in strip joints today.  That stated, I have no financial interest in Something Weird Video and certainly don't want to encourage anyone to buy it unless they want to.  IMDB does list DeMar in the credits as a "bouncer" here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058393/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast

The credits, according to IMDB, also include Bill Peck and His Peckers, Breck Wall, Abe Weinstein and, of course, Jada.  Interestingly, Jada died in 1980 in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the young age of 44 (real name Janet Adams Mole)  I have no idea as to her cause of death but she would certainly have been an interesting person to talk to. 

I could only find one user review on IMDB from 2001:

"Naughty Dallas is the "story" of a young woman who comes to the big city and is enchanted by all the flashing neon. She decides to enter an amateur contest at Dallas' famed Colony Club, and basically ends up happily ever after as the winning stripper. Great for all the footage of Dallas, including the interior of the Colony Club -- and its owner Abe Weinstein. Breck Wall appears in a comedy routine -- he later achieved a bit of fame with his "Bottoms Up" Revue."

I really regret throwing away my old VHS copy but I don't think I'd have a way to play it today.  But, if anyone is interested, it is available and I thought I'd share that.

Hugh, I felt that subterfuge was warranted given that if the rumors were true, the information had been suppressed.

Interesting that Wall is also listed as a "bouncer" yet according to the review, appears in a comedy routine. 

Maybe the comedy routine involved two bouncers?

Anyhow, that answers the question. Yes, DeMar was in it. No. he was not performing as himself. 

This, for me, is the most interesting part of his testimony:

Mr. HUBERT. So it was after you left the service that you entered the entertainment field? 
Mr. CROWE. I continued with the entertainment field. I did it while I was in the service also. 
Mr. HUBERT. You did it there also; I see. Have you ever had a partner in any of your acts or entertainment endeavors? 
Mr. CROWE. No; not really. 
Mr. HUBERT. Can you give us by way of description what sort of entertainment act you have done in the past? 
Mr. CROWE. Primarily a ventriloquist; also do a little standup comedy, impressions. 
Mr. HUBERT. Can you name for the record some of the places that you have played in--is that the professional term--or appeared in? 
Mr. CROWE. Well, I have been over a great part of most of the United States and around Germany, and Western Canada and Eastern Canada. Like the T-Bone Supper Club in Wichita. Let's see, the Larue Supper Club in Indianapolis, the Orchid Club in Tulsa. Club dates in Seattle, Washington, Atlanta, Georgia, New York. 

He goes on later to describe one other part of his act, but plays it down. Put aside the so-called Oswald sighting. It was either a patron or Crafard.  

Mr. HUBERT. Wasn't there some aspect of the story that had to do with a memory act that was supposed to be your specialty or one of your specialties? 
Mr. CROWE. Well, it is one of the bits that I did to fill time, but-- 
Mr. HUBERT. What are the facts concerning that? 
Mr. CROWE. They asked me in what--how I had seen him in the club, and I said I thought I had used him as one of the people that was--that I would use him in my memory bit.
Mr. HUBERT. What was your memory bit. Would you describe it, please, sir? 
Mr. CROWE. I have 20 people cross the front, those that I can see by the stage there, and call out an object and then I have them raise their hand at random and I call the object back to them. That was it. 
Mr. HUBERT. Is there a gimmick to this or does it-- 
Mr. CROWE. Association. 
Mr. HUBERT. In other words, it is a special form of training; do you have to train yourself to associate? 
Mr. CROWE. To a small degree. 
Mr. HUBERT. What mental process do you actually go through actually to accomplish this? 
Mr. CROWE. What system do I use? 
Mr. HUBERT. Yes. 
Mr. CROWE. Or how is it done? 
Mr. HUBERT. Yes. I don't want to get your professional secrets. 
Mr. CROWE. That is what you are asking. [Laughter.] 
Mr. HUBERT. On the other hand, what I am trying to get at is whether or not your memory bit, as you call it, would enable you to recognize or remember faces more than the ordinary person? 
Mr. CROWE. No. No, my memory actually is no better, maybe it is as good as the ordinary persons. I know the system which is Spencer Thorton's to use in this memory bit and I concentrate on using it, and after it is over I have forgotten. 
Mr. HUBERT. I am sure you recall that the press shortly after 24th played up, snowballed, I think perhaps, as you called it, the fact that your memory act or memory gimmick as you now call it, gave you a special expertise, if it is called that, or special ability, in remembering faces that you had seen. Is that a fact or not? I mean, is it a fact that your act does give you that extra abnormal ability or not? 
Mr. CROWE. No; it does not give me anything special. Using a gimmick or a method to do the memory stunt and that is it They built up the memory thing and they built up the bit of having seen Oswald in there, and I never stated definitely, positively, and they said that I did, and all in all, what they had in the paper was hardly even close to what I told them. 


Here is how it is done:
http://www.biosyntrx.com/articles.php?id=853

But getting back to the earlier part of his testimony, he stated that he performed his act while in the army and that places he has performed included Germany. But was Germany one of the places he performed while in the army? Cnanda, whre he also toured, was another MKULTRA hot-spot.

I have tried periodically to find out if the military used stage hypnotists in its "mind control/interrogation/truth serum" experiments but it's a difficult area to research properly because of the attraction this stuff holds for the tin-foil hat brigade and the fantasies they weave around it on-line.

Greg,

Good stuff, as usual.  I reread Crowe's testimony and believe he did see LHO in the Carousel.  He apparently died broke and his son's set up a Go Fund Me account for his funeral expenses in 2015.

https://www.gofundme.com/mbjxp8

Concerning MKULTA, I believe Mark Lane was a lawyer for the Reverend Jim Jones who coaxed his followers to go to Guyana in his communist utopian dream and commit mass suicide by drinking cyanide laced Kool Aid.  Many believe this was an MKULTA government run operation and there is certainly evidence that the CIA was involved in this.  Lane was in Guyana at this time (if my memory serves me right) and was allowed to leave while around 1000 followers died. 

It all begins to connect and I'd be interested to know what you heard from Crowe.

Hugh wrote:Greg,

Good stuff, as usual.  I reread Crowe's testimony and believe he did see LHO in the Carousel. 

 Yeah, I'm pretty much in a minority on that.

Colin Crow wrote:Interesting that in the 1964 film "the black elevator operator" gives testimony that he took Oswald up. (This occurs around the 19 minute mark). Maybe got included in the script because of the Thayer Waldo article.

Colin, Waldo was given the story on the way to escorting Marguerite to the airport when she was leaving Dallas to give her WC testimony. Marguerite gave her first lot of testimony on February 10. Waldo published around then, give or take. So it all depends on when the film was scripted and shot. No way of knowing.

There were however, stories published prior to that which simply stated Oswald was escorted up and asked about going back down with his escort to watch the parade and declined.

This version was published on Nov 24
 

The only "porter" who claimed to watch the motorcade from the first (ground) floor was Eddy Piper.

The thing is , there was no elevator operator at the TSBD - and no need for one. And especially not to take workers up  to get stock. Why this was never questioned is beyond me.  The TSBD had a passenger elevator - but from memory, it only went up as far as the 2nd or 4th floor - can't remember which, but it was only the freight elevators which went right up. 

Where they did have an elevator operator was the place that had housed the TSBD in recent history - the DAL-TEX.

Here is the real source of BOTH stories:

 

This is part of the Waldo story. Here the person is named as a janitor - which was Piper's actual job.  Yet the part about hiding behind boxes sounds like the 3 blind mice. 

The part about being shit scared seems to come however, from the Dal-Tex elevator operator.

I lean toward Waldo's story being essentially true - but taking place in the Dal-Tex - with parts of it later allotted to different workers in the TSBD in order to both account for it AND make the real story and it's location, disappear.