Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam

19851985
PGPG
1h 37m

IMDb RATING

5.0/10

621

YOUR RATING

Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam (1985)

Comedy

Sci-Fi

Dr. Otto grows a hand out of the top of his head and tries to destroy the world.Dr. Otto grows a hand out of the top of his head and tries to destroy the world.Dr. Otto grows a hand out of the top of his head and tries to destroy the world.

IMDb RATING

5.0/10

621

YOUR RATING

Director
- John R. Cherry III
Writers
- Daniel Butler(additional dialogue)
- John R. Cherry III
- Steve Leasure(additional dialogue)
Stars

Top credits

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Ernest P. Worrel tries out a strange contraption he bought cheaply called the Changing Coffin. The machine turns him into his opposite - a mad scientist and supervillain bent on world domination called Dr. Otto. He plans to use his Gloom Beam to render all the computers that keep people's financial records and bank accounts useless which would make him the only one with access to all this dough. Bumbling hero Lance Sterling and his cautious sidekick Doris are sent to Dr. Otto's lair to stop him. There, they must face various scary alter egos of Dr. Otto as well as his manservant, Willie the Robot.

cult film

robot

madness

madman

insanity

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Did you know

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Trivia
This is the only film featuring Ernest P. Worrell (Jim Varney) in which he is not the title character.

Quotes
Dr. Otto: [the Riddle] When the money is scrambled to the very last cent,riots and hatred soon will commence.When all the world's commerce will be put in a bind,from the evil that lurks where the sun never shines.It is I,Dr.Otto von Schnick -ick-ick-ick,who has played on you this trick-ick-ick-ick. "But who's Dr.Otto?" you may well ponder,while all your magnetic cash is squandered.It's he who had an eye,and yet couldn't see.It's he who served bouillabaisse,when he was a she.It's he who gambled with brains,and a gun.It's he who had all,and yet had none.And to stop this horrible twisted trick,just exchange the poles of old Saint Nick.And if that doesn't do to save the day,put another quarter in and try another play.

Crazy credits
Any resemblance to anyone living or otherwise is purely coincidental. The events and characters portrayed are purely fictional. Honest.

Connections
Followed by The Ernest Film Festival (1986)

Soundtracks
If I Were A Carpenter
Written by Tim Hardin
Published by Faithful Virtue Music ©1967

User reviews20

Review

Top review

6/10

That was odd

This is officially the first film in the long running Ernest series. It was based on a series of commercials. Ernest himself actually only has two minutes of screen time in the entire movie. He turns into this supervillain named Dr. Otto. At least I think that's him or does he turn into Ernest? He tries to take over the world by destroying the economy.

A lot of this seems to be filmed in the dark, but it also surprisingly has a lot of color. My favorite part is when there's a newspaper that says "Francs Collapse", only for a guy named Frank to literally collapse. I thought this was a compilation film at first. It kind of was, as we got to see Jim Varney in all these different personas that did seem like separate parts. The film isn't memorable, but is completely harmless. It's the highest rated Ernest movie here, but I'd probably say "Ernest Saves Christmas" is the best, not that any of them are technically good. **1/2

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