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Turner Classic Movies is offering a rare broadcast of the silly horror movie spoof The Maltese Bippy (1969) starring Dan Rowan, Dick Martin, Carol Lynley, and Julie Newmar on Monday April 21 at 6:15pm EST. Released at the height of the comedy duo's popularity on TV's Laugh-In, The Maltese Bippy was extremely anticipated but the film received mediocre reviews and bombed at the box office. Not surprising as it was a troubled production and went through various working titles almost up to its release.

I haven't seen The Maltese Bippy in eons, but as I recall Rowan is a producer of nudie films and Martin is his star. Glamour Girl Pamela Rodgers has a small role as a dippy porn starlet. The boys live adjacent to a graveyard in a mansion complete with a beautiful border, a coed (Lynley) who carries a human scull, and a dithering maid (Mildred Natwick). When a creepy family ala The Addams Family (Newmar, Fritz Weaver, Edra Gale) moves in next door Martin begins to think he is turning into a werewolf and a corpse turns up in a dumbwaiter bringing detectives Dana Elcar and Robert Reed to investigate. Turns out nobody is who they appear to be and everyone is after a huge diamond. Very madcap but convoluted. The film is worthwhile viewing to see Rowan & Martin in something else beside their TV show while Lynley is simply gorgeous as the damsel-in-distress. By the way, what's a bippy?