''Stingray Sam'' is a 2009 American space Western

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

serial film A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a film, motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater ...

directed Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''Di ...

by and starring

Cory McAbee Cory McAbee (born August 29, 1961, Santa Venetia, California, US) is an American writer, director, singer and songwriter. Biography Cory McAbee was born in Northern California as the youngest of three children. His father was an auto mechanic and ...

. The film premiered on January 20, 2009 at the

2009 Sundance Film Festival The 2009 Sundance Film Festival was held during January 15, 2009 until January 25 in Park City, Utah. It was the 25th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival. Award winners *Grand Jury Prize: Documentary - ''We Live in Public'' *Grand Jury Prize: ...

as part of the New Frontier program. It is Cory McAbee's latest film after he was not able to secure financing for what was to be his second feature, ''Werewolf Hunters of the Midwest''.

Plot

According to the official website:

A dangerous mission reunites Stingray Sam with his long lost accomplice, The Quasar Kid. Follow these two space-convicts as they earn their freedom in exchange for the rescue of a young girl who is being held captive by the genetically designed figurehead of a very wealthy planet.

The six episodes are entitled: *Episode 1: ''Factory Fugitives'' *Episode 2: ''The Forbidden Chromosome'' *Episode 3: ''The Famous Carpenter'' *Episode 4: ''Corporate Mascot Rehabilitation Program'' *Episode 5: ''Shake Your Shackles'' *Episode 6: ''Heart of a Stingray''

Cast

as Stingray Sam * Crugie as Quasar Kid *

Joshua Taylor Joshua Taylor is a film and television actor. He is also a film director and film producer. Taylor is perhaps best known for his appearance as Blueberry Pirate in the space Western musical film ''The American Astronaut'' (2001). Career ...

as Fredward *Willa Vy McAbee as Girl/The Carpenter's Daughter *

Frank Howard Swart Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curr ...

as Barnaby *Jessica Jelliffe as The Clerk *Caleb Scott as The Artist *Michael De Nola as Scientist *Michael Wiener as Smarmy Scientist *

Ron Crawford Ron Crawford (born October 11, 1945 in Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tam ...

as Old Scientist *Bobby Lurie as Cubby *

David Hyde Pierce David Hyde Pierce (born April 3, 1959) is an American actor and director of stage, film and television. He starred as psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Frasier'' from 1993 to 2004, and won four Primetime Emmy Awards and a Screen ...

as Narrator *Forrest C. "Frosty" Lawson as Scientist *Maura Ruth Hashman as Heaven

Production

As financing was not secured for

's film ''Werewolf Hunters of the Midwest'', McAbee began work on a six-part serialized feature film entitled ''Stingray Sam'' that was created with the intention of being a multi-platform release or as McAbee calls it "for screens of all sizes". The trailer was made available to the public on November 11, 2008. According to Tom Fortunato, one of the extras on the set, told '' The Westfield Leader'' (newspaper for

Westfield, New Jersey Westfield is a town in Union County, New Jersey, United States, located southwest of Manhattan. As of the 2010 United States census, the town's population was 30,316,Richard Elfman Richard Elfman (born March 6, 1949) is an American actor, musician, director, producer, screenwriter, journalist, author and magazine publisher. Early life Richard Elfman was born in the Watts district of inner-city Los Angeles. His mother, B ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

cult classic '' The Forbidden Zone''.

Release

''Stingray Sam'' premiered on January 20, 2009 at the

as part of the New Frontier program. ''Stingray Sam'' was also shown at the

Sarasota Film Festival The Sarasota Film Festival is a film festival located in Sarasota, Florida and is held in April. Its mission is "to celebrate the art of filmmaking and the contribution of filmmakers by hosting an international film festival and developing year-lo ...

on April 5, 2009,

Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival The Imagine Film Festival, formerly Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival (AFFF), also known as Imagine Fantastic Film Festival or simply Imagine, is an annual film festival in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The festival was created in 1991 as the Amsterda ...

on April 20, 2009,

The Downtown Independent The Downtown Independent is a one screen theater and cinema located at 251 S. Main Street in the Little Tokyo area of Los Angeles, California. It is operated by the Downtown Independent and owned by Orange County Orange County most commonly re ...

on April 10, 2009,

Independent Film Festival of Boston The Independent Film Festival Boston is a not for profit film festival in Boston, Massachusetts. History The Independent Film Festival Boston (also known as IFFBoston or IFFB) was created in 2003 by the non-profit organization the Independent ...

on April 26, 2009,

Sci-Fi-London Sci-Fi-London (stylised as SCI-FI-LONDON), also known as The London International Festival of Science Fiction and Fantastic Film or simply SFL, is an annual United Kingdom-based film festival dedicated to the science fiction and fantasy genres. ...

on May 2, 2009, and has continued to screen in numerous festivals throughout the world. The film was supposed to be screened at the Icon International Sci-Fi Film Festival in Tel Aviv in October 2009, but the screening and visit of crew members were cancelled by McAbee in protest of the political situation in Israel towards Palestinians (a similar cancellation also occurred with his film ''The American Astronaut'' three years earlier). On September 15, 2009, ''Stingray Sam'' had its theatrical premiere at The Downtown Independent where it was simultaneously broadcast live from the theater on McAbee's website. DVDs and digital downloads became available from his website on the same day as well. ''Stingray Sam'' continues to play in theaters both nationally and internationally.

Reception

Dennis Harvey of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote that "''Stingray Sam'' leaves one begging for more at one unflaggingly delightful hour."

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 1355599, Stingray Sam 2009 films 2000s musical comedy films 2000s Western (genre) science fiction films 2000s science fiction comedy films American Western (genre) science fiction films American black-and-white films American musical comedy films American science fiction comedy films Film serials Space Western films Space adventure films 2000s English-language films 2000s American films