Red Zone Cuba

Red Zone Cuba
VHS release cover on the Anthony Cardoza Classics label.
Directed byColeman Francis
Written byColeman Francis
Produced byAnthony Cardoza
Coleman Francis
StarringColeman Francis
Anthony Cardoza
Harold Saunders
John Carradine
Lanell Cado
Tom Hanson
George Prince
Frederic Downs
CinematographyHerb Roberts
Edited byJ.H. Russell
Music byJohn Bath
Ray Gregory (theme)
Distributed byHollywood Star Pictures
Release date
  • November 23, 1966 (1966-11-23)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$30,000

Red Zone Cuba, also known as Night Train to Mundo Fine, is a 1966 American neo-noir art[1][2] drama film directed by Coleman Francis, who also wrote and co-produced the film, and played the starring role. It follows the meandering adventures of an escaped convict and two ex-convicts he recruits along the way as they become involved in the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion, and a quest to find a hidden treasure in a tungsten mine.[3]

Red Zone Cuba was Francis's final film as director, and his only starring role; in the other two films he helmed, The Skydivers and The Beast of Yucca Flats, he limited his acting to cameos. Though John Carradine receives fourth billing in the credits, and was prominently featured in the advertising and promotional material for the film, he only appears briefly, during a framing sequence at the beginning of the film. Carradine also sings the film's opening theme song, "Night Train to Mundo Fine" (pronounced "Finé"), with musical accompaniment by Ray Gregory and the Melmen.

In 1994, the film was brought out from obscurity when it was featured as an episode of the movie-mocking television series Mystery Science Theater 3000.[4] Since then, it has been considered by many to be one of the worst movies ever made.

  1. ^ MUBI
  2. ^ FilmAffinity
  3. ^ TV Guide
  4. ^ Vorel, Jim (November 15, 2013). "The 10 Most Unwatchable Films Featured on MST3K". Paste.