Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam is a 1986 comedy/science fiction film starring Jim Varney

Jim Varney

James Albert "Jim" Varney, Jr. was an American stand-up comedian, actor, musician, writer, voice artist, and comedian, best known for his role as Ernest P...

. It was written and directed by John R. Cherry III

John R. Cherry III

John R. Cherry III is an American film director and screenwriter, most notable for directing virtually every movie starring Jim Varney as Ernest P. Worrell. He based the character on a man who worked for his dad who thought that he knew everything but didn't know anything...

. The film includes the Ernest P. Worrell

Ernest P. Worrell

Ernest P. Worrell is a fictional character most principally portrayed by the late American actor Jim Varney in a series of television commercials, and later in a television series as well as a series of feature films. Ernest was created by the Nashville advertising agency Carden and Cherry and was...

 character, but takes a slightly darker tone than his other films. The film was released on video in 1992 by GoodTimes Home Video

GoodTimes Entertainment

GoodTimes Entertainment, Ltd. was a home video company that originated in 1984 under the name of GoodTimes Home Video. Though it produced its own titles, the company was well-known due to its distribution of media from third parties and classics...

. It was shot in Fall Creek Falls State Park

Fall Creek Falls State Park

Fall Creek Falls State Resort Park is a state park in Middle Tennessee, located between Pikeville and Spencer. The park spans the boundary between Van Buren and Bledsoe counties....

 and Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

.

Plot

Dr. Otto is a mysterious villain with a hand growing on top of his head. He is plotting world domination using his gloom beam, which can delete matter or memory and has the power to destroy the world. The bumbling hero Lance Sterling is the only one who can stop him, but his only clue is a riddle which reads: "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."

Soon Lance and his girlfriend Doris drive by Dr Otto's lair when they have car trouble, caused by Dr. Otto's gloom beam. They set off to find a phone to call for a mechanic. They eventually wander into a day care, run by Dr. Otto, which trains the kids to be soldiers. After a few adventures they finally find Otto's lair and have a fight with the doctor. The lair explodes and it all appears to be over, though Dr. Otto apparently escaped. Lance and his friends push the car to a gas station, where the owner turns out to be Ernest P. Worrel. Lance asks for gas, but Ernest replies they didn't have any. Lance and gang push the car off screen and Ernest lifts his hat to reveal a hand on top of his head and yells "Have a good day, knowwhatimean!"

Cast

• Jim Varney
  Jim Varney
  James Albert "Jim" Varney, Jr. was an American stand-up comedian, actor, musician, writer, voice artist, and comedian, best known for his role as Ernest P...
  
   - Ernest P. Worrell
  Ernest P. Worrell
  Ernest P. Worrell is a fictional character most principally portrayed by the late American actor Jim Varney in a series of television commercials, and later in a television series as well as a series of feature films. Ernest was created by the Nashville advertising agency Carden and Cherry and was...
  
  , Dr. Otto, Rudd Hardtact and others
• Glenn Petach - Otto's Head Hand
• Myke R. Mueller - Lance Sterling
• Jackie Welch - Doris
• Daniel Butler - Slave Willie, Kegler
• Esther Huston - Tina
• Henry Arnold - Bank Officer
• Bill Byrge - Gas Station Attendant
• Mac Bennett - V.P. # 1
• David Landon - Bank President Rutherford
• Mary Jane Harvill - Lance's Mom
• Winslow Stillman - Lance's Dad
• Irv Kane - Herr Vonschnick
• Leslie Potter - Madame Vonschnick

External links