Commander USA's Groovie Movies!

[son of brain hammer]

Does anyone here remember the Commander?



Commander USA's Groovie Movies was a hosted movie showcase that ran weekend afternoons on the USA Network. The show premiered January 5, 1985, and ran through 1989. It was hosted by Jim Hendricks as "Commander USA" (Soaring super hero! Legion of Decency - Retired), a wacky but slightly seedy blue-collar comic book superhero.

The show originally ran double features of horror and science fiction movies on Saturday afternoons, then later a single feature on Sunday afternoons. Later movies on the show tended to be Mexican wrestling films or heavily edited violent films from Japan.

The Commander's show originated from a secret headquarters located under a New Jersey shopping mall. The Commander was almost always enthusiastic about the films he showed, whether is was a "gem" like Inframan, Blood Beast Horror, or any other number of Grade-Z celluloid oddities.

Brief clips from the show are visible in the films The Color of Money and Scrooged. In all, more than 200 episodes were produced but are unlikely to ever air again because of the complexities in securing rights for the films involved.



Some of the movies shown:

Alligator
Alone in the Dark
An American Werewolf in London
Andy Warhol's Dracula
Andy Warhol's Frankenstein
The Black Cat
Blood and Roses
Bloodbath at the House of Death
The Blood Beast Terror
Blood Song
The Bloody Vampire
The Boogeyman
The Brainaic
The Brute Man
Bug
Captain Kronos,Vampire Hunter
Cat People
Cave of the Living Dead
The Children
Child's Play
C.H.U.D.
The Clonus Horror
Countess Dracula
The Crawling Eye
The Curse of Frankenstein
Curse of Nostradamas
Curse of the Aztec Mummy
Curse of the Cat People
Curse of the Doll People
Curse of the Vampire
Dark Forces
The Day Mars Invaded Earth
The Deadly Mantis
The Death Kiss
Death Valley
Demonoid
The Devil Bat
The Devil Bat's Daughter
The Devil's Gift
The Devil's Nightmare
Devil Times Five
Doctor of Doom
Dracula
Dracula's Dog
Exorcism at Midnight
Fiend Without a Face
Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell
Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed
Fraulein Doktor
Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th Part 2
Friday the 13th Part III
Funeral Home
Genii of Darkness
The Great Alligator
God Told Me To
Hands of the Ripper
Hangar 18
The Hearse
Hercules in New York
Horror of Dracula
Horror of the Blood Monsters
Horror of the Zombies
Horror Planet
House of Psychotic Women
The House of the Long Shadows
House of 1,000 Dolls
The House Where Evil Dwells
I Married a Monster From Outer Space
I Walked with a Zombie
Inframan
In Search of Dracula
Invasion of the Vampires
Island Claws
Island Monster
It's Alive
Laserblast
Let's Scare Jessica to Death
Mako, The Jaws of Death
The Man and the Monster
The Man and the Snake
Mark of the Devil
Mark of the Vampire
Mausoleum
My Bloody Valentine
The Pack
Panic
Q, the Winged Serpent
Rabid
The Return of the Vampire
The Robot vs. The Aztec Mummy
Samson vs. the Vampire Women
Samson in the Wax Museum
Scalpel
Scared to Death
Simon, King of the Witches
Slugs
Space Children
Stranglehold
Student Bodies
Taste the Blood of Dracula
The Terror
Three in the Attic
Trick or Treats
Toxic Zombies

[WIL]

LOL

[son of brain hammer]

I used to watch that show every weekend!

USA Network used to really kick ass. I loved Commander USA, Night Flight, and Saturday Night Nightmares. I saw lots of great horror flicks for the first time on those shows. 

[Amanda By Night]

I loved Commander USA! I used to love Saturdays in the late 80s and early 90s... It's where I got a head's up on some great horror films!

I met Rhonda Sheer (sp?) once. She's hilarious!

[son of brain hammer]

Amanda, you have the best taste in everything. I love you in that creepy internet sort of way! 

[Andrew]

Yeah Amanda.  Can I stalk you?

[Larry]

Dammit guys...don't scare her off!
Commander USA  was great, I used to watch his show all the time.
Brain, where did you get that list of the movies he played?  Don't tell me you remembered them all hahahaha!

[Amanda By Night]

I'm FINALLY getting stalked! YAY!

I saw a list for films played on USA up All Night on Wikipedia, so there might be some Commander USA lists on there too... I remember seeing Mausoleum and Trick or Treat (the one that doesn't have Skippy from Family Ties) on this show. On Saturday Nightmares I saw the Outing and the Unnameable which remain two of my favorite horror films to this day!

[son of brain hammer]

I got the list on wikipedia. Who knows how accurate it is. I do remember seeing quite a few of those flicks though.

[El_Brando_37]

Didn't catch "USA's Groovie Movies", but I was around for it's predecessor, "USA's Up All Night" with Rhonda Shear and Gilbert Gottfried. The show was one of my biggest introductions to horror as a kid, getting me hooked on such flicks as; Class of Nuke 'Em High, Chopping Mall, The Evil Dead, Night of the Creeps, Basket Case, April Fool's Day, Sleepaway Camp, The Return of the Living Dead, Creepshow, and Motel Hell. Not to mention the occasional soft core "edited for TV" porn that was the greatest thing ever to my prepubescent mind.

It makes me sad that there isn't a show around like this anymore. Sure they were edited all to hell, but that just caused you to buy the movie and catch it uncut. 

[WIL]

Rhonda Shear Naked

[son of brain hammer]

Rhonda Sheer used to keep my dick UP...all night when I was a horny teen.

[Larry]

Yep...her and Melissa could be sisters!

[DirrTy_Matt]

d'oh....i guess delete that USA up all night thread i posted

[son of brain hammer]

No worries man.