"Lampoon" means to spoof something, so it is no surprise to learn on the DORM DAZE 2 d.v.d. extras that directors\producers David & Scott Hillenbrand's 2006 flick is a self-conscious parody of the Agatha Christie yarn MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (and since filming on a real train was cost prohibitive, they went on-location with the next best thing: the wooden-decked old Queen Mary ocean liner, moored for decades at a pier in Long Beach, CA). Since it appears really doubtful the Hillenbrands have attained the sixth-grade reading level necessary to tackle Christie's tome, it's clear they based their satire on the 1974 Sidney Lumet-directed film of the same title. Unfortunately, the correlations may be a little subtle to the casual DORM DAZE 2 viewer; as a public service, a smattering of the key tie-ins are listed below:
The role of authority figure Hercule Poirot (Albert Finney on the 1935 train trip recreated by Lumet) becomes scheming drama professor Dean Dryer (Larry Drake), right down to the parlor-style climax scene so common to Poirot mysteries. Michael York's Count Andrenyi from ORIENT morphs into ship's captain Bunkley (Richard Riehl) in DAZE. Sexy Jacqueline Bisset played York's countess on ORIENT; DD porn retiree Jasmine St. Clair portrays Mrs. Bunkley (with a secret identity as porn actress "Summer Solstice") in DAZE. PSYCHO's Anthony Perkins is the shady Hector Willard MacQueen in ORIENT; Nicholas Shake is drink poisoner Dante in DAZE. Sir John Gielgud is ORIENT's Mr. Beddoes; Charles Shaughnessy is DAZE's jewel-thieving archaeologist Cavendish. Lauren Bacall becomes Mrs. Harriet Belinda Hubbard on the ORIENT, while China Jesusita Shavers is the student playwright Robin in DAZE. The Russian on the ORIENT EXPRESS is Princess Dragomiroff (Wendy Hiller); the Queen Mary's Russian--snapping her towel at the boy in the girls' shower--is Olga (Kinna McInroe). The colonels are Arbuthnot on the Orient (Sean Connery) and Eli ("too tall" Jeremy Howard) in DAZE. The pairing of Mr. Ratchett (Richard Widmark) and Greta Ohlsson (Ingrid Bergman) on the ORIENT EXPRESS is echoed by unicyclist Newmar (Tony Denman) and alleged virgin Violet (Vida Guerra) in DAZE. With Rachel Roberts playing the lost Hildegarde Schmidt in ORIENT, it is eerie that Jennifer Lyons (who says she's allergic to penicillin in real life) has the role of DAZE's budding lesbian Lynne. Since Martin Balsam is Signor Bianchi in ORIENT, it's no surprise dead ringer James DeBello plays the ship's pirate bartender and captain-killer Cliff in DAZE. Other tie-ins between these two cinematic efforts are too numerous to mention, but hopefully those touched upon above will be enough to whet the appetite of dedicated celluloid history buffs.
The role of authority figure Hercule Poirot (Albert Finney on the 1935 train trip recreated by Lumet) becomes scheming drama professor Dean Dryer (Larry Drake), right down to the parlor-style climax scene so common to Poirot mysteries. Michael York's Count Andrenyi from ORIENT morphs into ship's captain Bunkley (Richard Riehl) in DAZE. Sexy Jacqueline Bisset played York's countess on ORIENT; DD porn retiree Jasmine St. Clair portrays Mrs. Bunkley (with a secret identity as porn actress "Summer Solstice") in DAZE. PSYCHO's Anthony Perkins is the shady Hector Willard MacQueen in ORIENT; Nicholas Shake is drink poisoner Dante in DAZE. Sir John Gielgud is ORIENT's Mr. Beddoes; Charles Shaughnessy is DAZE's jewel-thieving archaeologist Cavendish. Lauren Bacall becomes Mrs. Harriet Belinda Hubbard on the ORIENT, while China Jesusita Shavers is the student playwright Robin in DAZE. The Russian on the ORIENT EXPRESS is Princess Dragomiroff (Wendy Hiller); the Queen Mary's Russian--snapping her towel at the boy in the girls' shower--is Olga (Kinna McInroe). The colonels are Arbuthnot on the Orient (Sean Connery) and Eli ("too tall" Jeremy Howard) in DAZE. The pairing of Mr. Ratchett (Richard Widmark) and Greta Ohlsson (Ingrid Bergman) on the ORIENT EXPRESS is echoed by unicyclist Newmar (Tony Denman) and alleged virgin Violet (Vida Guerra) in DAZE. With Rachel Roberts playing the lost Hildegarde Schmidt in ORIENT, it is eerie that Jennifer Lyons (who says she's allergic to penicillin in real life) has the role of DAZE's budding lesbian Lynne. Since Martin Balsam is Signor Bianchi in ORIENT, it's no surprise dead ringer James DeBello plays the ship's pirate bartender and captain-killer Cliff in DAZE. Other tie-ins between these two cinematic efforts are too numerous to mention, but hopefully those touched upon above will be enough to whet the appetite of dedicated celluloid history buffs.