Starring Richard Garland, Pamela Duncan, Russell Johnson, Leslie Bradley, Mel Welles
Directed by Roger Corman
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
When a team of scientists investigating atomic fallout on an island go missing, a new team is sent to continue their work, and discover the fallout has mutated land crabs into powerful giants.
Although it's hard to take this film seriously, it's an entertaining ride, with a wonderful score by Ronald Stein, a likable cast, and good direction by Corman. Charles B. Griffith's screenplay, in giving the crabs incredibly fantastic powers, and attempting to explain them scientifically, comes off at times as preposterous nonsense, but that's all part of the fun, and the giant crab mockups do look fairly convincing when crawling out of the sea. Leslie Bradley, playing the film's nuclear physicist, really ties everything together with such a serious and urgent delivery of his lines, we can't help but believe in the crabs' dangerous abilities. The rest of the cast, including future Gilligan's Island castaway Russell Johnson, Mel Welles (who affects an entertainingly thick French accent for his role), and young lovers and biologists Garland and Duncan give us characters worth caring about, and Corman and cinematographer Floyd Crosby frame the crab attacks effectively without revealing the limitations of their creature mockups. It's one of my favorites among Corman's many productions.
Saturday, March 31, 2018
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
The Man Who Turned To Stone (1957)
Starring Victor Jory, William Hudson, Charlotte Austin, Jean Willes, Ann Doran
Directed by Leslie Kardos
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A social worker at a women's detention center learns the center's staff is performing deadly experiments on the inmates and covering them up as natural deaths.
One of producer Sam Katzman's several 1950s science fiction pictures for Columbia, I've been rather fond of this film since I first saw it several years ago on a Goodtimes VHS tape. Katzman was known for cheap productions, and although this science fiction film lacks any real special effects, Kardos directs effectively, making the most of some limited makeup and a quality cast to drive the story forward. Jory, as the center's director, is wonderfully creepy while masking his crimes under a benevolent appearance, Austin is believable as the one member of the staff who wants to help the women under their charge, and the always welcome Paul Cavanagh adds gravitas and believability to the revelation of the staff's shocking secrets. It's an entertaining chiller and one that's well-paced and fun to watch.
Directed by Leslie Kardos
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A social worker at a women's detention center learns the center's staff is performing deadly experiments on the inmates and covering them up as natural deaths.
One of producer Sam Katzman's several 1950s science fiction pictures for Columbia, I've been rather fond of this film since I first saw it several years ago on a Goodtimes VHS tape. Katzman was known for cheap productions, and although this science fiction film lacks any real special effects, Kardos directs effectively, making the most of some limited makeup and a quality cast to drive the story forward. Jory, as the center's director, is wonderfully creepy while masking his crimes under a benevolent appearance, Austin is believable as the one member of the staff who wants to help the women under their charge, and the always welcome Paul Cavanagh adds gravitas and believability to the revelation of the staff's shocking secrets. It's an entertaining chiller and one that's well-paced and fun to watch.
Monday, March 26, 2018
Phantom Killer (1942)
Starring Dick Purcell, Joan Woodbury, John Hamilton, Warren Hymer, Mantan Moreland
Directed by William Beaudine
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A prosecuting attorney is convinced a philanthropist is the man behind three murders, but he's a deaf mute, contradicting reports the murderer spoke, and has alibis during the time of each killing.
Monogram Pictures remakes their own 1933 film, The Sphinx, casting John Hamilton in the role played by Lionel Atwill in the original. As much as I like Hamilton, whose performance as newspaper editor Perry White in The Adventures Of Superman TV series has become iconic, I'll say he plays the part well enough, but can't outdo the performance Atwill gave. However, for those who haven't seen the original, it's still a solid mystery. This version of the story seemed to me to also inject a lot more humor into the tale, with Moreland excelling in a small cameo as Purcell's only witness, and Woodbury playing the familiar part of the prosecutor's wisecracking reporter girlfriend with plenty of sass. However, the sequences with Hymer as a police sergeant trying to stay in the good graces of his combative wife take the comedy a bit over the top, especially when her voice is sped up on the telephone to the extreme.
Directed by William Beaudine
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A prosecuting attorney is convinced a philanthropist is the man behind three murders, but he's a deaf mute, contradicting reports the murderer spoke, and has alibis during the time of each killing.
Monogram Pictures remakes their own 1933 film, The Sphinx, casting John Hamilton in the role played by Lionel Atwill in the original. As much as I like Hamilton, whose performance as newspaper editor Perry White in The Adventures Of Superman TV series has become iconic, I'll say he plays the part well enough, but can't outdo the performance Atwill gave. However, for those who haven't seen the original, it's still a solid mystery. This version of the story seemed to me to also inject a lot more humor into the tale, with Moreland excelling in a small cameo as Purcell's only witness, and Woodbury playing the familiar part of the prosecutor's wisecracking reporter girlfriend with plenty of sass. However, the sequences with Hymer as a police sergeant trying to stay in the good graces of his combative wife take the comedy a bit over the top, especially when her voice is sped up on the telephone to the extreme.
Saturday, March 24, 2018
The Flying Saucer (1950)
Starring Mikel Conrad, Pat Garrison, Hantz von Teuffen, Earle Lyon, Lester Sharpe
Directed by Mikel Conrad
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A government agent is sent to Alaska to track down reports of a flying saucer, but he doesn't believe the sightings are legitimate, and keeps blowing his cover.
We have here one of the earliest "flying saucer" films, starring, produced, and directed by Mikel Conrad who also is credited with supplying the film's story. Those expecting to see visitors from another planet will be disappointed, but the saucer itself is brought to the screen with some very effective special effects, despite the movie's status as a low budget independent film. Although it's in essence a thriller, with Conrad facing enemy agents trying to capture the saucer for their government, at times it seems more like a travelogue, with some very lengthy scenes of boating or flying through the Alaskan scenery. The scenery is beautiful, but some tighter editing would have helped. I also found Conrad's agent to be among the worst ever, more interested in getting drunk and romancing his partner then looking for evidence, before finally becoming dedicated to the task at hand. Still, it's an entertaining enough watch and Darrell Calker's score is probably my favorite of his, with some lovely interludes for the Alaskan scenery, and more driving cues for Conrad's confrontations with the enemy.
Directed by Mikel Conrad
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A government agent is sent to Alaska to track down reports of a flying saucer, but he doesn't believe the sightings are legitimate, and keeps blowing his cover.
We have here one of the earliest "flying saucer" films, starring, produced, and directed by Mikel Conrad who also is credited with supplying the film's story. Those expecting to see visitors from another planet will be disappointed, but the saucer itself is brought to the screen with some very effective special effects, despite the movie's status as a low budget independent film. Although it's in essence a thriller, with Conrad facing enemy agents trying to capture the saucer for their government, at times it seems more like a travelogue, with some very lengthy scenes of boating or flying through the Alaskan scenery. The scenery is beautiful, but some tighter editing would have helped. I also found Conrad's agent to be among the worst ever, more interested in getting drunk and romancing his partner then looking for evidence, before finally becoming dedicated to the task at hand. Still, it's an entertaining enough watch and Darrell Calker's score is probably my favorite of his, with some lovely interludes for the Alaskan scenery, and more driving cues for Conrad's confrontations with the enemy.
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
The Ghost Of Frankenstein (1942)
Starring Lon Chaney Jr., Cedric Hardwicke, Ralph Bellamy, Lionel Atwill, Bela Lugosi
Directed by Erle C. Kenton
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
The Frankenstein monster and the evil Ygor, after surviving their apparent deaths, make their way to Vasaria, where another son of Dr. Frankenstein lives who might restore the creature to full strength.
The first of Universal's Frankenstein series to not star Boris Karloff as the monster, it lacks the quality of sets, staging, and visual presentation of the earlier films, but that doesn't mean it isn't fun. Chaney, although he can't possibly make anyone forget about Karloff in the role of the Monster, is certainly imposing and fills the screen menacingly especially when his shadow is captured on screen, but his ability to emote is hampered by heavy makeup on his eyelids that don't ever reveal his pupils. He nevertheless has some scenes with young Janet Ann Gallow in which he's able to deliver at least some of the pathos of the monster that Karloff introduced. There's plenty of moody atmosphere, thanks to composer Hans J. Salter delivering an ominous score with some wonderful themes and melodies, and Lugosi's return, reprising his role as Ygor, is most welcome, delivering another rich characterization.
Directed by Erle C. Kenton
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
The Frankenstein monster and the evil Ygor, after surviving their apparent deaths, make their way to Vasaria, where another son of Dr. Frankenstein lives who might restore the creature to full strength.
The first of Universal's Frankenstein series to not star Boris Karloff as the monster, it lacks the quality of sets, staging, and visual presentation of the earlier films, but that doesn't mean it isn't fun. Chaney, although he can't possibly make anyone forget about Karloff in the role of the Monster, is certainly imposing and fills the screen menacingly especially when his shadow is captured on screen, but his ability to emote is hampered by heavy makeup on his eyelids that don't ever reveal his pupils. He nevertheless has some scenes with young Janet Ann Gallow in which he's able to deliver at least some of the pathos of the monster that Karloff introduced. There's plenty of moody atmosphere, thanks to composer Hans J. Salter delivering an ominous score with some wonderful themes and melodies, and Lugosi's return, reprising his role as Ygor, is most welcome, delivering another rich characterization.
Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Devil Of The Desert Against The Son Of Hercules (1964)
Starring Kirk Morris, Michele Girardon, Manuel Gallardo, Mario Feliciani, Jose Jaspe
Directed by Anthony Dawson
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
After her father is assassinated by an evil usurper, a royal princess flees her city and wins the devotion of the mighty Anthar, who sets out to restore her family to the throne.
Originally titled Anthar The Invincible, per Wikipedia, the film was acquired and repackaged as an episode of The Sons Of Hercules TV series, which is how it gained the "Devil Of The Desert" title. Unlike other sword and sandal efforts, there are no mythical creatures for the musclebound Anthar to fight, but it's not a bad production, with some impressive Italian vistas, a plethora of period costumes, and experienced director Antonio Margheriti at the helm (credited here as Anthony Dawson). The film also has some novel deathtraps for Anthar to face, including a narrow arena featuring a charging rhino, and a hall of mirrors in which villain Feliciani taunts him. Girardon was exceptionally cast as the leading lady, bringing across the true regal bearing of a princess, although for me at least, Morris, didn't come across as well. I'd still call this one of the better films of its genre, although the addition of a monster or two would have charmed me more.
Directed by Anthony Dawson
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
After her father is assassinated by an evil usurper, a royal princess flees her city and wins the devotion of the mighty Anthar, who sets out to restore her family to the throne.
Originally titled Anthar The Invincible, per Wikipedia, the film was acquired and repackaged as an episode of The Sons Of Hercules TV series, which is how it gained the "Devil Of The Desert" title. Unlike other sword and sandal efforts, there are no mythical creatures for the musclebound Anthar to fight, but it's not a bad production, with some impressive Italian vistas, a plethora of period costumes, and experienced director Antonio Margheriti at the helm (credited here as Anthony Dawson). The film also has some novel deathtraps for Anthar to face, including a narrow arena featuring a charging rhino, and a hall of mirrors in which villain Feliciani taunts him. Girardon was exceptionally cast as the leading lady, bringing across the true regal bearing of a princess, although for me at least, Morris, didn't come across as well. I'd still call this one of the better films of its genre, although the addition of a monster or two would have charmed me more.
Sunday, March 18, 2018
Doctor Blood's Coffin (1961)
Starring Kieron Moore, Hazel Court, Ian Hunter, Kenneth J. Warren, Gerald C. Lawson
Directed by Sidney J. Furie
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A medical student kicked out of his studies in Vienna for experimenting on living patients returns home to a British village, where he continues his efforts in secret caves within a coal mine.
This isn't a great film, with a story that largely takes the main themes from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein novel, and applies them to a more modern setting. Interestingly enough, per IMDB, it was written by Nathan Juran (credited here as Jerry Juran), who's better known for directing films like Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman and The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad. I've found Moore to be a fairly solid lead in his other pictures, but he doesn't compare here to the better known cinematic Dr. Frankensteins. Nevertheless, I still found a good deal to enjoy here- Moore is surrounded by a capable supporting cast, with Court delightful as the nurse he romances, and Hunter, Warren, and Lawson standing out in fine character parts. Cinematographer Stephen Dade captures some very picturesque scenery, including rustic homes and green fields descending down into rocky shoals. The makeup on Moore's monster at the climax is also of quality. The picture just lacks originality, and seems best characterized as an attempt to attract the audiences of previous Frankenstein pictures.
Directed by Sidney J. Furie
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A medical student kicked out of his studies in Vienna for experimenting on living patients returns home to a British village, where he continues his efforts in secret caves within a coal mine.
This isn't a great film, with a story that largely takes the main themes from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein novel, and applies them to a more modern setting. Interestingly enough, per IMDB, it was written by Nathan Juran (credited here as Jerry Juran), who's better known for directing films like Attack Of The 50 Foot Woman and The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad. I've found Moore to be a fairly solid lead in his other pictures, but he doesn't compare here to the better known cinematic Dr. Frankensteins. Nevertheless, I still found a good deal to enjoy here- Moore is surrounded by a capable supporting cast, with Court delightful as the nurse he romances, and Hunter, Warren, and Lawson standing out in fine character parts. Cinematographer Stephen Dade captures some very picturesque scenery, including rustic homes and green fields descending down into rocky shoals. The makeup on Moore's monster at the climax is also of quality. The picture just lacks originality, and seems best characterized as an attempt to attract the audiences of previous Frankenstein pictures.
Saturday, March 17, 2018
The Lost World (1925)
Starring Wallace Beery, Bessie Love, Lewis Stone, Lloyd Hughes, Alma Bennett
Directed by Harry O. Hoyt
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
The irascible Professor Challenger leads an expedition to an African plateau hoping to prove his claim that living dinosaurs still exist there.
An early cinematic showcase for the stop-motion effects of Willis O'Brien, who would later supervise the effects for the classics King Kong and Mighty Joe Young, this film is a treasure as well, with O'Brien bringing an allosaurus, a triceratops, a pterodactyl, a brontosaurus, and more to vivid life in footage that had to have amazed audiences of the time. Most of the animation still holds up remarkably well, although the film is dated in other areas, especially in the inclusion of an actor in blackface speaking in fractured English. Otherwise, the cast is fairly entertaining, with Beery ideally cast as Challenger, Hughes very earnest as the young reporter Edward Malone, and Stone a welcome sight years before his memorable run at MGM. Also notable for being an adaptation of a work by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, better known as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, it's not a close adaptation, but remains an important piece of cinema history.
Directed by Harry O. Hoyt
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
The irascible Professor Challenger leads an expedition to an African plateau hoping to prove his claim that living dinosaurs still exist there.
An early cinematic showcase for the stop-motion effects of Willis O'Brien, who would later supervise the effects for the classics King Kong and Mighty Joe Young, this film is a treasure as well, with O'Brien bringing an allosaurus, a triceratops, a pterodactyl, a brontosaurus, and more to vivid life in footage that had to have amazed audiences of the time. Most of the animation still holds up remarkably well, although the film is dated in other areas, especially in the inclusion of an actor in blackface speaking in fractured English. Otherwise, the cast is fairly entertaining, with Beery ideally cast as Challenger, Hughes very earnest as the young reporter Edward Malone, and Stone a welcome sight years before his memorable run at MGM. Also notable for being an adaptation of a work by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, better known as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, it's not a close adaptation, but remains an important piece of cinema history.
Thursday, March 15, 2018
Mysterious Island (1961)
Starring Michael Craig, Joan Greenwood, Michael Callan, Gary Merrill, Herbert Lom
Directed by Cy Endfield
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
During the Civil War, Union soldiers escape a Confederate prison via a hot air balloon, and crash land on an unknown island where they encounter plants and creatures that have grown into giants.
One of my favorite films, the picture combines a strong story (based on Jules Verne's classic novel), with wonderful special effects by stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen. The excellent cast, despite their characters' different backgrounds and heritages, display a real camaraderie that's infectious to the audience, cinematographer Willkie Cooper lenses colorful landscapes, and the great Bernard Herrmann accentuates the action with an adventurous music score that highlights the perils and fantastic creatures encountered by our heroes. Verne's novel was a followup to his 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, and both stories featured his dynamic character Captain Nemo. Fans of Disney's 1954 adaptation of Leagues will be pleased with the similar design of Nemo's equipment and submarine in this film, making it seem like a cinematic sequel, although with Lom playing Nemo this time around. It's a wonderful production, visually and sonically as appealing as Verne's prose was to his audience's imagination.
Directed by Cy Endfield
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
During the Civil War, Union soldiers escape a Confederate prison via a hot air balloon, and crash land on an unknown island where they encounter plants and creatures that have grown into giants.
One of my favorite films, the picture combines a strong story (based on Jules Verne's classic novel), with wonderful special effects by stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen. The excellent cast, despite their characters' different backgrounds and heritages, display a real camaraderie that's infectious to the audience, cinematographer Willkie Cooper lenses colorful landscapes, and the great Bernard Herrmann accentuates the action with an adventurous music score that highlights the perils and fantastic creatures encountered by our heroes. Verne's novel was a followup to his 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, and both stories featured his dynamic character Captain Nemo. Fans of Disney's 1954 adaptation of Leagues will be pleased with the similar design of Nemo's equipment and submarine in this film, making it seem like a cinematic sequel, although with Lom playing Nemo this time around. It's a wonderful production, visually and sonically as appealing as Verne's prose was to his audience's imagination.
Sunday, March 11, 2018
The Son Of Hercules In The Land Of Darkness (1964)
Starring Dan Vadis, Spela Rozin, Carla Calo, Ken Clark, Maria Fiore
Directed by Alvaro Mancori
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
The mighty Argoles rescues a beautiful princess and is promised her hand in marriage, but warriors from a warlike kingdom burn her village and take her prisoner, with Argoles in quick pursuit.
According to IMDB, this was originally released as Hercules The Invincible and did star Vadis as Hercules, but the DVD I watched this on featured a public domain print of the repackaged version for television, under a series called The Sons Of Hercules which split a series of sword and sandal films in two halves so they could be presented in an hour time block. I found the first half far more interesting than the second, with Argoles/Hercules taking on a savage lion, a dragon in a creature costume that looked pretty decent, and a trained bear, who apparently just wanted to give the hero a hug. The second half was less fresh, relying on more intrigue and backstabbing in the warlike kingdom, leading to the inevitable conclusion where the kingdom is destroyed by our hero, which had been used multiple times before this film was released. Nonetheless, it was a pleasant enough adventure, with well-done special effects and costumes, and Vadis looked good in the lead.
Directed by Alvaro Mancori
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
The mighty Argoles rescues a beautiful princess and is promised her hand in marriage, but warriors from a warlike kingdom burn her village and take her prisoner, with Argoles in quick pursuit.
According to IMDB, this was originally released as Hercules The Invincible and did star Vadis as Hercules, but the DVD I watched this on featured a public domain print of the repackaged version for television, under a series called The Sons Of Hercules which split a series of sword and sandal films in two halves so they could be presented in an hour time block. I found the first half far more interesting than the second, with Argoles/Hercules taking on a savage lion, a dragon in a creature costume that looked pretty decent, and a trained bear, who apparently just wanted to give the hero a hug. The second half was less fresh, relying on more intrigue and backstabbing in the warlike kingdom, leading to the inevitable conclusion where the kingdom is destroyed by our hero, which had been used multiple times before this film was released. Nonetheless, it was a pleasant enough adventure, with well-done special effects and costumes, and Vadis looked good in the lead.
Saturday, March 10, 2018
The Walking Dead (1936)
Starring Boris Karloff, Ricardo Cortez, Edmund Gwenn, Marguerite Churchill, Warren Hull
Directed by Michael Curtiz
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A gang of racketeers frame an innocent man for their murder of a judge, but after the man is executed, a scientist is able to bring him back to life.
One of Warner Brothers' few early ventures into horror, the picture is masterfully directed by Curtiz, and perfectly framed around another memorable performance by Karloff. Believable as a decent man wrongfully convicted and looking for work after his prison sentence, Karloff's John Ellman is noble and a gentleman, a fine reflection of Karloff's craft and his own personality. His performance changes but is just as expert after his resurrection, to a man silent and almost zombie-like, with one eye tearful and another simmering with hatred when he recognizes the men who did him in. Standing somewhat off kilter as he walks like a somnambulist, the role shows off his talents, and it's a shame Warners weren't able to showcase him in more features like this while he was under contract. He's supported by Gwenn as the well-meaning scientist who nevertheless is ready to take terrible risks to secure Karloff's knowledge of the afterworld, and Cortez, wonderfully slimy as the attorney behind Ellman's framing. Curtiz and his crew also enhance the story and its themes with a number of atmospheric touches, from expressionistic lighting in the prison, to a violent thunderstorm during a showdown in a gangster's apartment, to the haunting image of Karloff wandering among the graves of a cemetery.
Directed by Michael Curtiz
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
A gang of racketeers frame an innocent man for their murder of a judge, but after the man is executed, a scientist is able to bring him back to life.
One of Warner Brothers' few early ventures into horror, the picture is masterfully directed by Curtiz, and perfectly framed around another memorable performance by Karloff. Believable as a decent man wrongfully convicted and looking for work after his prison sentence, Karloff's John Ellman is noble and a gentleman, a fine reflection of Karloff's craft and his own personality. His performance changes but is just as expert after his resurrection, to a man silent and almost zombie-like, with one eye tearful and another simmering with hatred when he recognizes the men who did him in. Standing somewhat off kilter as he walks like a somnambulist, the role shows off his talents, and it's a shame Warners weren't able to showcase him in more features like this while he was under contract. He's supported by Gwenn as the well-meaning scientist who nevertheless is ready to take terrible risks to secure Karloff's knowledge of the afterworld, and Cortez, wonderfully slimy as the attorney behind Ellman's framing. Curtiz and his crew also enhance the story and its themes with a number of atmospheric touches, from expressionistic lighting in the prison, to a violent thunderstorm during a showdown in a gangster's apartment, to the haunting image of Karloff wandering among the graves of a cemetery.
Friday, March 9, 2018
The Witchmaker (1969)
Starring Anthony Eisley, Thordis Brandt, Alvy Moore, John Lodge, Shelby Grant
Directed by William O. Brown
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
Ritual slayings of young women in a backwoods swamp brings a paranormal research team to investigate, and they discover a satan worshipper with real demonic powers is behind it all.
A low budget but well acted supernatural horror film, which concentrates less on special effects and more on the characterizations of its cast, the picture features an unusual role for familiar television comedian Alvy Moore as the serious leader of the expedition, and he impresses. At times it's a bit exploitative with Brandt falling out of her clothes on more than one occasion, although there wasn't any frontal nudity on display. Eisley, playing the lead as a reporter accompanying the team who doesn't quite believe in the supernatural, is solid, but I was more intrigued by Moore, and Lodge as the film's villain, a barbaric killer who tries to add Brandt to his coven of witches and warlocks. At times the script stretches credibility, in one example claiming that if you wear garlic around your neck, witches can't see you. However, for a low budget film, it's well-assembled with some disturbing imagery and creepy moments, and I left it with a favorable impression.
Directed by William O. Brown
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
Ritual slayings of young women in a backwoods swamp brings a paranormal research team to investigate, and they discover a satan worshipper with real demonic powers is behind it all.
A low budget but well acted supernatural horror film, which concentrates less on special effects and more on the characterizations of its cast, the picture features an unusual role for familiar television comedian Alvy Moore as the serious leader of the expedition, and he impresses. At times it's a bit exploitative with Brandt falling out of her clothes on more than one occasion, although there wasn't any frontal nudity on display. Eisley, playing the lead as a reporter accompanying the team who doesn't quite believe in the supernatural, is solid, but I was more intrigued by Moore, and Lodge as the film's villain, a barbaric killer who tries to add Brandt to his coven of witches and warlocks. At times the script stretches credibility, in one example claiming that if you wear garlic around your neck, witches can't see you. However, for a low budget film, it's well-assembled with some disturbing imagery and creepy moments, and I left it with a favorable impression.
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
Zombies Of The Stratosphere (1952)
Starring Judd Holdren, Aline Towne, Wilson Wood, Lane Bradford, Stanley Waxman
Directed by Fred C. Brannon
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
Martians come to Earth in an attempt to use an H-bomb to blow the planet out of its orbit, but are opposed by government agent Larry Martin, who uses his flying suit to thwart their schemes.
The third of the "Rocket Man" movie serials from Republic Pictures, the production is arguably better than the previous year's Radar Men From The Moon, but not by much, with many "cheater" cliffhanger resolutions, and a bland hero in Holdren, who isn't able to project much of a personality in his screen time. It's still fun though, with well-executed stunts and good special effects by the Lydecker brothers, plus the recycling yet again of the familiar robot from Mysterious Doctor Satan and other past serials for the Martians to employ. I love that robot. Of historical note is the presence of Leonard Nimoy in the credits, playing a Martian years before being cast as the alien Mr. Spock on Star Trek.
Directed by Fred C. Brannon
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)
Martians come to Earth in an attempt to use an H-bomb to blow the planet out of its orbit, but are opposed by government agent Larry Martin, who uses his flying suit to thwart their schemes.
The third of the "Rocket Man" movie serials from Republic Pictures, the production is arguably better than the previous year's Radar Men From The Moon, but not by much, with many "cheater" cliffhanger resolutions, and a bland hero in Holdren, who isn't able to project much of a personality in his screen time. It's still fun though, with well-executed stunts and good special effects by the Lydecker brothers, plus the recycling yet again of the familiar robot from Mysterious Doctor Satan and other past serials for the Martians to employ. I love that robot. Of historical note is the presence of Leonard Nimoy in the credits, playing a Martian years before being cast as the alien Mr. Spock on Star Trek.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)