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| "Revenge
Of The Creature" - 1955 |
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This
first of two sequels to 'Creature From The Black Lagoon'
benefits from the return of director Jack Arnold from the
first movie, he is the best director of 50s Sci-Fi/Horror
films and knows how to keep things moving at a steady,
exciting pace. Another plus is the prescence of hero John
Agar, one of the best scientist-heroes of '50s drive in
fare. The movie suffers slightly for being a sequel, thus
losing its originality; also it misses out on the claustrophobic
atmosphere of the first movie by taking our green scaly
friend out of the Black Lagoon and into a Sea World type
establishment in South Florida, where he eventually breaks
free and runs amok (as conventional wisdom would dictate).
The film has a lot of exciting sequences, including a great
scene where the Creature breaks free from his holding pond
in the park and drives the large crowd into a frenzied
panic, climaxing with the Creature overturning a classic
'50s car! Scenes such as this are where this sequel exceeds
the original; the two movies together take well under three
hours to watch and make a GREAT back-to-back double bill
on the couch. Nothing unexpected with the plot, which is
pretty much the standard formula sci-fi bring-the-monster-back-to-civilization-and-watch-him-break-free
formula plot, right down to a lame and mercifully brief
attempt at a love triangle which we the viewers could give
a hoot about. But when it comes to a fun drive in movie
featuring a guy running around in a rubber suit terrorizing
the population (albeit a superiorly created rubber suit
thanks to the budget of a big-studio), there are not many
movies that are more fun than this near-classic. |
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| "Them
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1954 |
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Police
find a young girl wandering in a catatonic state in the
New Mexican desert.
All they are able to obtain from her is the repeatedly screamed
word ‘them’. Nearby a caravan and general store
are found torn apart. Police and FBI agents discover a nest
of giant-sized ants and it is theorized these have been created
by atomic tests in the area. The nest is bombed with cyanide
gas and the ants destroyed. But then the scientists discover
that two queen ants and male companions have sprouted wings
and escaped. They trace the ants to the storm drains of Los
Angeles where the queens are nesting, ready to hatch.
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| "The
Blob" - 1958 |
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An
alien Blob which grows by absorbing flesh reaches Earth
in a hollow meteorite and begins to consume the inhabitants
of a small US town. Constantly enlarging, it is finally
defeated by a young man who discovers that extreme cold
renders it harmless. The special effects are by Barton
Sloane. Simple, moderately well made, The Blob is now affectionately
remembered as one of the definitive monster movies of the
period. A 1971 sequel, Beware the Blob, was directed by
Larry Hagman, better known as J.R. of the tv soap opera
Dallas. A black comedy spoof, it is only mildly amusing.
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| "The
Colossus Of New York" - 1958 |
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When
a noted scientist/humanitarian is hit by a truck and dies,
his brain is saved and installed in the casing of a robot,
so he can continue his research. However, he begins to
lose his sense of humanity when this happens.This movie
has some truly intriguing ideas behind it, and the idea
that a humanitarian would lose his sense of attachment
to the human race if he resided in a non-human body would
make for a great movie if it were handled well. Unfortunately,
this movie is really clumsy in handling this idea, and
its attempt to be a kiddy movie at the same time seriously
undermines the whole affair. The scientists seem overly
far-seeing at one moment, and utterly short-sighted the
next; they consider the issue that he may lose his humanity,
and then treat him without compassion and with some cruelty
themselves, thereby making matters worse. They install
in him a lever that will destroy him that he can't reach,
and also make him so powerful that he's capable of massive
destruction. Ultimately, this movie has some of the same
problems as THE CATMAN OF PARIS; it doesn't really hang
together or make sense when you think about it.The ending
where he goes off to the United Nations and begins killing
people, and then asks the little boy to turn him off is
just plain unconvincing. This is one of those movies I'd
like to see remade, simply to give someone an opportunity
to explore the questions involved without fumbling the
whole enterprise, as this movie does. Still, as an old
fan of "The Wild, Wild West" (the TV show, not
the movie), it is nice to see Ross Martin, even if it is
only
for the first few minutes of the movie. |
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| "The
Creature Walks Among Us" - 1956 |
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The
creature is captured by a rich scientist who transforms
him into an air-breather. You know, I really can't help
but admire this movie in some ways; it really tries to
take a different direction than the other movies of the
series, there's more meat in the philosophical discussions
than you might expect, and the conversion of the creature
from a water animal to a land one puts the creature in
a position that what he really wants (to return to the
water) will kill him, which is an interesting idea to
play with. Unfortunately, it's hampered by a few drawbacks.
The direction is pretty uninspired throughout; though
John Sherwood had a long career as a second unit director,
this was one of only three movies he actually helmed.
Also, as much as I like Jeff Morrow, he's playing a fairly
difficult character here, and I feel (IMHO) that it remained
somewhat out of his range as an actor. But the most disappointing
part of the movie is watching the sleek, lithe, classically
designed Creature transformed into the slow-moving, lumbering
and bulky land-walker; it's a little like seeing Fred
Astaire transformed into Tor Johnson, and though I like
Tor, I wouldn't pay to see him dance with Ginger Rogers.
There are certain pleasures here, and it is an interesting
movie to think about after it's all finished, but it's
one movie that really could have been
a lot better.
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| "I
Was A Teenage Werewolf" -
1957 |
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Tony
Rivers, a teenage student at Rockdale High, is brilliant
in his studies but deficient in his deportment. He is moody,
tempermental, hypersensitive, fights at the drop of a wrong
word, and above all, cannot stand for anyone to startle him
with either sudden touch or sudden noise. At the combined
suggestions of his school principal, and a kindly detective,
Sergeant Donovan, who feels that unless Tony learns to adjust
he will be in trouble with the law, and after an explosion
of temper at a teenage Halloween party, Tony consents to
accept medical assistance from Dr. Alfred Brandon, an anaylist
who has volunteered to cooperate with both police and school
authorities in aiding maladjusted students. This decision
is greeted by relief and joy by his girl friend, Arlene,
who now feels more secure in their future.
But, instead of helping Tony, Dr. Brandon uses him as the subject of an experiment
in regression. And after a few sessions, under the influece of hypnosis, diabolically
implanted auto-suggestion and an injection of a secret drug, he succeeds in taking
Tony back in time to a primitive, animal period in his evolution.
As a result, Rockdale is shocked by a series of brutal, unpremeditated murders
of teenagers, which finally point to Tony as the perpetrator. (One of the victims
is Theresa, the girlfriend of his friend Jimmy, in the school gymnasium).
In a suspenseful scene, Tony in his guise as werewolf, seeks and implores help
from Dr. Brandon to restore him to his normal life. When this is refused, Tony,
in a shattering climax, kills both the doctor and his assistant and destroys
all evidence of his transformation and its methods. His savage existence is mercifully
ended by police bullets and in death, he returns to the normal, human appearance
of a teenage student. (Taken from the original pressbook)
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| "The
Deadly Mantis" - 1957 |
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The
story starts in the North Pole where the Air Force finds
a downed military C-47 Douglas airliner in the snow & ice.
The Air Force then sends a rescue team to the crash site,
but their team, led by William Hopper, doesn't find any
survivors or anything that whould determine a act of sabatoge,
but they do find a few pieces of evidence first, large
footprints in the snow,and a large piece of hard animal
tissue that came from a claw!! The large claw is studied
and the scientists come to a chilling conclusion...the
piece of claw came from a giant praying mantis!!!! Then
all heck breaks loose when the big green Paul Bunyan himself
begins to terrorize the local Eskimos, a military outpost
and finally it pays a visit to Washington and New York.
But the U.S. military is hard on the creature's heels as
they try to kill him with all of their hardware, from trying
to burn him to a crisp with flame throwers, to a Air Force
squadron of fighter jets trying to shoot him down from
the sky. How will this awsome creature ever be killed??? |
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| "The
Invisible Boy" - 1957 |
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Yes,
that is Robby the Robot from "Forbidden Planet" who
falls under the control of a superhuman computer that gains
consciousness and is intent on conquering the world by
taking over a satellite. Think of this as sort of a junior
version of "The Forbin Project." So how on earth
do we get from that to the title "The Invisible Boy?" Well,
that is because Dr. Tom Merrinoe (Philip Abbott) a scientist
gives his ten-year-old son Timmie (Richard Eyer) a potion
that turns the boy (you guessed it) invisible, so that
he can stop the robot and save the world. This is pretty
good since Dad starts the movie grumbling that his son
cannot even play a decent game of chess, which is why he
pairs the boy up with the Super Computer, which is how
the Big Brain wakes up and decides to take over the world
and hypnotizes the aforementioned boy to activate the robot
and put its evil scheme into action. Yes, "The Invisible
Boy" is aimed mostly at kids, but some of the scientific
aspects are pretty inventive and smack of good old Fifties
paranoia. There are some missed opportunities here which
make the film worth one look for those of you interested
in the genre in that particular decade of earth history.
Besides, this film was ahead of its time in one regard:
early on the mother of this fun little household asks her
husband, "Well, did you have a tiring day at the computer,
dear?" I figure that has to be the first time anybody
said that line. Final Note: It took me a while to figure
out where I had seen Richard Eyer before: he was the son
in the original version of "The Desperate Hours" with
Humphrey Bogart. |
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| "The
Mole People" - 1956 |
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In
Asia, archaeologists Roger and Jud are looking for some
artifacts when they find a tablet that describes a lost
kingdom. A little later they receive a lamp from a little
boy which explains more about the mysterious lost kingdom
and how it might be located on the top of the mountain.
So they head on up the mountain and find a temple that
seems to be abandoned and no city to speak of. Walking
along one man falls through a hold in the ice and plummets
to his death hundreds of feet below. Climbing down after
them, the rest of the team is trapped below and must look
for an alternate exit out of the caverns. Soon they encounter
the city of albinos and their slaves, which are the `molemen'
in question. First the head priest convinces the king that
they must be executed but soon changes his mind when they
find that the archaeologists carry a flashlight which has
the light of god in it. But the newfound peace that Roger
and Jud find does not last for long because the batteries
of their flashlight are losing power. Excellent monster
flick with some pretty good effects to highlight the film.
Great story and acting make the film highly enjoyable and
is one that is not to be missed. |
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| "The
Monolith Monsters" - 1957 |
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Meteor
fragments from deep space grow gigantic and mobile after
contact with plain water. What is worse, they absorb the
silica out of human flesh and turn people into stone. (Silicon
Valley nothwithstanding, I had to look up "silica," too).
This nifty-'50s sci-fi flick is unique because the "monster" is
a bunch of rocks. Not giant bugs or radioactive dinosaurs,
mind you, but rocks with an attitude of deadly intention.
Giant rocks that crush buildings and steadily move down
the canyon toward the helpless desert town. The authorities
run around with more than the usual B movie incredulity
because they can't fathom what space-age menace is on the
loose now. Our favorite scene is after Grant Williams figures
out that water gives the rocks mysterious power, it starts
raining heavily in an arid area that probably hadn't seen
more than a passing shower for months. The script includes
the obligatory mysterious deaths and enough suspense to
keep classic sci-fi/horror fans amused. Sighful-eyeful,
Lola Albright lends her considerable talents to the story.
Sadly, her role as a "Miss Landers"-type schoolteacher
means she dresses modestly, and there is no cleavage or
cheesecake. Filmed in glorious B&W, this Universal
entry is an entertaining second string effort. Fine for
collectors and die-hard
fans of '50s sci-fi. |
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| "This
Island, Earth" - 1955 |
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A
mysterious, pilotless plane carries scientist Rex Reason
to a colony of America's best and brightest minds. They
have been kidnapped by a dying alien race, the Metalunians,
to repair their defence shield before their enemies destroy
their world completely, and are to be found toiling under
their spying eyes and futuristic security cameras (two-way
TVs that dominate every room). Jeff Morrow, under a raised
forehead, bronze tan, and snow-white hair, philosophises
as Exeter, the thoughtful Metalunian torn between his duty
and his morals as he forces the plucky humans to labour
in his race's defence. The moody mystery of the first half
turns to pure pulp adventure when the humans are transported
across the galaxy to the battle-scarred world of Metaluna,
under the threatening watch of a monstrous bug-eyed monster
with a giant brain for a head and massive claws for hands.
There is a genuine sense of wonder to Joseph Newman's intergalactic
adventure, one of the most ambitious science fiction films
of the 1950s. The story is simple space opera, but the
futuristic designs of glass and metal, the marvellous alien
makeup, and grand-standing special effects invest the film
with a Technicolor splendour. Faith Domergue co-stars as
a nuclear physicist and Gilligan's Island's Russell Johnson
makes his first professorial appearance as a scientist.
Science-fiction auteur Jack
Arnold was an unbilled co-director. |
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| "It
Came from Outer Space" - 1953 |
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When
a huge object streaks across the sky and smashes into the
Arizona desert, amateur astronomer John Putnam (Carlson)
initially believes he has witnessed nothing more than a
monstrous meteor crashing to Earth. However, when he, his
fiancee Ellen Fields (Rush) and a helicopter pilot investigate
the site, Putnam unexpectedly discovers a huge spherical
spaceship. Unfortunately, before he can alert his companions,
a rock slide buries the vessel at the bottom of the impact
crater.
Of course, no one in the local community believes Putnam's story, but it soon
becomes clear that strange creatures are roaming the area. A couple of telephone
linemen (Joe Sawyer and Russell Johnson) inexplicably disappear, only to turn
up later under the apparent control of the aliens. When Putnam confronts them,
the two ask for his trust and emphasize that the otherworldly visitors will only
be on Earth for a short time. He reluctantly agrees to go along with them and
attempts to convince the local sheriff (Drake) of their peaceful intentions. Although
willing to listen to Putnam at first, as people continue to vanish the sheriff
forms a posse to track down the extraterrestrial menace. The aliens take over
Putnam's wife-to-be and use her to warn him to keep the townspeople away from
a local mine, where their ship is being repaired. With the sheriff and his gang
already heading toward the area, Putnam must to figure out a way to outwit the
posse and allow the visitors to safely leave the planet. |
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| "War
Of The Colossal Beast" - 1958 |
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The
sister of the Amazing Colossal Man believes him to still
be alive in Mexico.About halfway through this movie they
run a six-minute montage of the most memorable scenes from
THE AMAZING COLOSSAL MAN, the movie to which this is a
sequel, and despite that movie's flaws, there's no doubt
it has some quite memorable scenes. Unfortunately, it also
made me realize how unnecessary this sequel is; it spends
about half of its time turning him into a standard giant-monster
threat (though the rampage is even less substantial than
the one in the original) and the other half trying to work
up sympathy for his plight. Unfortunately, the actor playing
him is stripped of both voice (he utters one word at the
end of the film) and facial expression (the hideous makeup
is shocking, but leaves him little to work with as an actor),
and this gives us little chance to really care about him
as a character other than our memories of the first film.
None of the other characters in the first movie appear
in this one, with his fiancee having been replaced by a
sister, though I do notice some of the actors in the original
are back in this one; unfortunately, almost all of the
new characters are uninteresting and bland, with the possible
exception of the Mexican police official who vanishes from
the story at about a third of the way through in a sequence
that fades out too soon. This would be the second one-eyed
giant that Bert I. Gordon would give us, the first being
in THE CYCLOPS, which, in all honesty, is not as good as
this one. |
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| "War
of the worlds" -
1953 |
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The
inhabitants of a dying Mars arrive on Earth in projectiles
which are taken to be meteorites by astronomers. While
on a fishing trip, scientist Dr Clayton Forrester is asked
to investigate one of the meteorites that comes down in
the area. A trio of locals go to greet the meteorite with
a white flag but are incinerated by a heat ray. The military
promptly move in. The meteorite, and all the others worldwide,
then opens up, producing Martian flying machines which
move across the countryside, destroying all in their path
with their deadly heat rays. The military throw everything
in their arsenal against them, including the atomic bomb,
to no avail.
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| "The
Day the Earth Stood Still" - 1951 |
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A flying saucer has been orbiting
the Earth, eventually landing in Washington, D.C. The intention
of the alien within is to inform Earth of a very important
message - a message of peace. The occupant, a powerful alien
known as Klaatu (Michael Rennie), steps out and is shot by
a nervous soldier. This leads Gort (Lock Martin), a large
and very powerful robot, loyal to Klaatu, to save him. The
machine is able to melt tanks with the slightest bit of its
power, causing terror among the human populace. The wounded
Klaatu orders Gort to stop, and is taken to a hospital from
which he escapes n order to learn more about this planet,
even moving in as a boarder with an Earth family. When they
begin to suspect him, he reveals himself, along with the
news that Gort will destroy the Earth if provoked...
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| "The
Monster That Challenged The World" - 1957 |
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There
is an earthquake in the ocean near an army base one day
and something is released. Two navy guys go out in a boat
to pick up a buddy who parachutes down from a plane and
they are killed by something that leaves some kind of white
mucous. The Commander of the base investigates and finds
that the mucous has come from some kind of overgrown bug
that was mutated by radiation. Is it just me, or all giant
animals and bugs and fish and lizards that way because
of radiation? So the commander has all the beaches and
lakes and things all cordoned off so people will not go
swimming and be killed by the giant bug. But the commander
has more things to worry about such as the giant bug laying
eggs and multiplying. Excellent monster classic from yesteryear,
where monster movies could still be enjoyable and innocent
at the same time. Now we have movies like the Relic and
Virus to contend with, where even if they are okay, they
are not as good as something called The Monster That Challenged
the World. Watch it and love it. |
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