The Mole People

This is one of Universal's lesser known 50s sci-fi films. Mole People doesn't fit the usual sci-fi formula. Electronics, radiation or rockets don't factor in. Instead, features archeology as the science. It is a variation on Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth. It stars B-movie stalwart John Agar as the lead scientist and Hugh Beaumont (who would be the dad on Leave it to Beaver) as his sidekick. In many ways, Mole People is a typical B-movie, but is still entertaining and even a little thought provoking.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Archeologists working near the Himalayas find a cuneiform tablet that tells of a lost sumerian civilization. They organize a mountain climbing expedition to look for more artifacts. Well above the snow line, they find the ruins of a sumerian temple. One of their party falls down a deep hole. The rescue party find the man dead. A cave-in traps them underground. They follow caves to find a huge cavern, lit by luminous rocks. In it is a similar sumerian temple and small city. While they sleep, mole men capture them. Human guards take them from. The king (of their albino world) orders the strangers executed. They fight the feeble guards and flee back into the caves. Bentley's (Agar) flashlight hurts the guards' eyes. They flee. Mole men get the third scientist, who was claustrophobic. The king rescinds his decree, considers the men semi-divine since they have the "fire of Ishtar". He gives Bentley a servant girl who has normal pigmented skin. As guests, they're toured around. They see that the albinos use the mole men as slaves (abusively) to harvest the mushrooms -- the only food in the underworld. The high priest knows the men are mere mortals and wants their flashlight. When Bentley successfully breaks up a punishment (albinos whipping mole men), his flashlight goes dead. However, a mole man seems touched by the rescue. The mole men revolt, meaning there is less food. To balance the population to the food supply, the high priest orders three women sacrificed to "The Fire of Ishtar". This is a blindingly bright chamber which kills them. Bentley and Bellamin are drugged, then thrown into the chamber too. Servant girl runs for help to the mole men. They rise up and storm the palace. The priest wields the dead flashlight to no avail and is killed. Bentley and Bellamin are rescued, but no need. The Fire of Ishtar is a sunbeam. Joined by the servant girl, they all climb the tall shaft to the surface. All seems like a happy ending until an earthquake hits. A stone column rolls onto Adad, killing her. The quake also fills in the shaft. The two worlds are separate again. The end.

Why is this movie fun?
With so much focus on outer space, an inner space story is refreshing. Sure, it still has all of the usual B-film shortcomings, but the second half moves along pretty well.

Cold War Angle
While full of social commentary, Mole People has little connection to the Cold War. Only the underworld priest's oppression and control of 'the truth' might stretch to suggest communist despotism. This, however, is a bit of a stretch.

Notes
The Face of Science -- Dr. Frank C. Baxter, who gives a longish introduction to the movie, really was a university professor (of English). He had become a bit of a screen celebrity with a "Shakespeare on TV" series on CBS in 1953. He had become an archetype for educational television -- sage but affable, expert but engaging. His intro to Mole People lends the movie an air of credibility (just a bit)

Is it Sci-fi? -- The genre can get pigeon-holed. It must feature a rocket, a saucer, some aliens or techno-gizmo in order to be 'real' sci-fi. That's too narrow of a definition. Science includes chemistry, featured in Man in the White Suit ('51), physics in Magnetic Monster ('53) and biology, as in the many franken-copies. We'll even see geology play a role in Monolith Monsters ('57). In this movie, it's archeology which is the catalyst. Besides, Dr. Baxter says in the intro that the movie is science fiction. If the creators thought so, who are we to argue?

Touchy Allegory -- In the mid-50s, the civil rights issue was just starting to heat up for mainstream America. The underworlders' brutal oppression of the mole men amounts to a careful allegory for the oppression of black Americans. Note how the mole men are not mere beasts. They respond with gratitude at being rescued from the beating. They respond in kind to save Bentley and Bellamin.

Let My People Go -- In keeping with the previous note, notice the similarity between the scene of the underworlder guards whipping the mole men in their little pits, and the iconic scene in The Ten Commandments (playing earlier in 1956) where the egyptians are whipping the hebrews in the mud pits. This parallel further sympathizes the mole men. This scene also connects to the Civil Rights Movement, recalling the black culture's fondness for the song about Moses with the line "Let my people go..."

NOT After our women -- Despite the poster, the mole men show no interest in human women. The one brief scene with a mole man dragging Adad into his pit, is her escaping the guards and seeking out the mole men for help.

Bad Men -- A less obvious social commentary comes in the underworlders' attitude towards their women. There is the usual job status. The women are servant girls and dancers. But also notice that when the population needed thinning, the men sent three women to their deaths in the Fires of Ishtar. A subtle indictment of the chauvinist world?

Bottom line? Mole People is pretty "lite" on the science part of science-fiction, but is fairly engaging as an encounter with an "alien" civilization. The social commentaries are good for pondering on. It's still a B-movie, so cinematic expectations shouldn't get too high, but it's still worth watching.

1984

Orwell's novel was written in 1949, but this movie adaptation fits into the fabric of 50s sci-fi. It was not intended to be a fastidious screen version of the book. That would take far more than a feature film audience would tolerate. Instead, the opening credits announce that it is "freely adapted from the novel". The tale is much the same, though significantly thinned for the screen. Nonetheless, Michael Anderson's 1984 is a powerful tale of dystopia, despair and betrayal. It is still a haunting portrayal of The State as supremely sovereign.

Quick Plot Synopsis
From the destruction caused by the nuclear war of 1965, three dominant and supreme police states emerged. They stay in a perpetual state of war as a tool to control their various populations. During a missile attack on London, Winston Smith rushes home to his dingy little apartment, sneaking in a forbidden diary he bought. A neighbor invites him out for a drink. Two "traitors", Jones and Rutherford, are arrested. At work the next day in the Ministry of Truth, Winston comes across a news photo of Jones and Rutherford proving they weren't guilty. His supervisor, O'Connor, denies the photo ever existed and orders him to destroy it. Winston's belief in an objective truth and faith to the state is shaken even more. He finally meets with a woman, Julia, who says she loves him. They begin a surreptitious romance. They have a few secret meetings in distant woods. They rent a room over the little antique shop, supposedly free from the omnipresent cameras, in order to eke out a small life together. Winston wonders about "the underground" and whether his boss, O'Connor, is part of it. When O'Connor invites Winston and Julia over to his house one evening, they decide to trust him. They swear allegiance to the underground. Shortly afterward, they are arrested. Both are interrogated and tortured into mind-breaking submission. The two of them meet briefly after being "rehabilitated" but any love or spirit has been weeded out of them. In the end, Winston chants and shouts at a Hate Week rally just as passionately as the crowd does. The end.

Why is this movie fun?
Fun it isn't. It is powerful and still a relevant tale for today. It gives the viewer much to ponder over, long after the final credits have rolled.

Cold War Angle
1984 isn't an allegory of the Cold War. It's an outright scare story of what would happen if the Communists won. The narrator says, at the end of the film, "This then, is the story of the future. It may be our children's future, if we fail to protect their heritage of freedom." It doesn't get much more plain than that.

Notes
Past Prime -- Edmond O'Brian and Jan Sterling are not the typical Hollywood leading characters. They're both a bit dowdy and past their youthful prime. This bothers some viewers who imagine the furtive love story belonging to young people. However, their past-peak-ness actually fits well. They've lived long enough to have risen into "outer party" positions, and been their long enough for disenchantment to fester. Julia admits to having brought others to her secret glade for rendezvous. She's been around. Winston exhibits a loneliness and quiet frustration that fits a middle-aged man in a dead-end career.

Foolish Trust -- It seems incongruous that Winston so easily trusts people. He not only takes them at face value, (such as the antique shop owner), but especially his supervisor, O'Connor. On very little than wishful projection, Winston takes the leap of faith that O'Connor is a secret member of the resistance. This naive trust has it's own poignance. Winston wanted to believe in this better life so badly, that he was willing to see hope where there was none.

Surprise Sincerity -- Audiences identify with Winston's rebellion against Big Brother's oppression. It's easy to imagine that most people in Oceania dislike the State. Two characters paint a very different picture. Winston's neighbor, Parsons, is turned in by his neo-nazi daughter who said he muttered "Down with Big Brother" in his sleep. He doesn't doubt it. He's proud of her for helping him. Rebellion was sickness needing early treatment.
O'Connor, exhibits a sincere devotion to his work when he's converting Winston -- not a separate sadism. The unbuttoned collar, the dabbing of sweat from his brow. He's not cruelly torturing a man. He's patiently, almost lovingly, trying to help Winston through a sort of mindset de-tox treatment. O'Connor is not a mindless slogan chanter. He is a competent, rational professional who sincerely wants to treat Winston and cure him. Rebellion is an addiction.

Big Brother Is Watching -- One of the lasting impressions from the movie is how pervasively the State was able to watch its citizens. A TV camera in every room, but further, someone obviously watching their monitor's closely. Almost everyone was a real or potential informant. In today's easily monitored world of cameras and phone call logging, etc., such an oppressive control would be easier than what Orwell imagined. Are we "Winstons" in imagining that no one sees our "private" sins?

Bottom line? Anderson's 1956 version of Orwell's story is well worth watching. The movie cannot contain all that was in the book, so get over it. Watch it for what it is. It was remade in 1984 with a rather different spin and feel. This older version has its own merits.

Fire Maidens of Outer Space

This movie is sometimes called a British remake of Catwomen of the Moon -- with an even lower budget. There are several similarities between the two, which support the notion, but there some deviations too. The deviations are usually bits borrowed from other movies. Fire Maidens of Outer Space (FMOS) is occasionally cited as a "worst movie ever made," and not, perhaps, undeservedly. FMOS is one of those films written, produced and directed all by the same person. This seldom spells success. Cy Roth had very limited prior experience as either a screen writer, a producer or a director. As such, his big solo venture has an awkward amateurism to it. He may have just been trying to crank out as cheap a film as possible to make a few bucks. On the other hand, like other one-man-productions, he may have also been including a some personal artistic message. Low-B as it is, FMOS is still a 50s sci-fi, so it's part of the group.

Quick Plot Synopsis
A five man crew of British astronauts are sent to check out Jupiter's 13th moon because it was discovered to have an earth-like atmosphere. They land amid trees and meadows. They rescue a young blonde beauty from a black beast-man, then follow her to a hidden passage in a tall stone wall amid the forest. Two of the men go inside, three wait outside. Inside, an old man named Prasus tells them that he and all the 20-something beauties in short skirts are all that's left of the people of Atlantis who fled earth 3000 years ago. The creature keeps them holed up inside their walls. Prasus wants the earhtmen to kill the creature and be husbands for the love-starved ladies. In gratitude for saving the girl, Hestia, Prasus gives her to the leader: Luther. There is much quasi-ballet dancing. A rival brunette is upset that a younger girl got a husband before she (the eldest) did. So, she incites the other girls to capture Hestia and offer her on an altar (with fire, hence the title) to appease the sun god for the infraction of the eldest marries first rule. Much more dancing ensues. The three outside men are captured and taken to the altar room. The other two men escape their confinement too. The black creature finds his way inside the wall. First, he kills Prasus, then comes to the altar room, disrupting the sacrifice ceremony. Luther and Larson arrive and, with a gas grenade, cause the creature to fall into the flames. All is forgiven and the earth men promise to send back another mission to bring them all to earth to find husbands. The rocket takes off. The end.

Why is this movie fun?
Tracking the many similarities to Catwomen can be amusing. Puzzling over what Cy Roth was thinking with his obvious changes from Catwomen can be amusing too.

Cold War Angle
None. This story is motivated by libido, not nuclear angst.

Notes
Checkers, Rock(et) Star -- Many B-grade sci-fi films have used the same stock footage of the launch of the captured V2 with the checkerboard paint on its fins. Cy Roth goes one better and recycles the Checkers footage used in an obscure B movie, King Dinosaur ('55). That movie used the Checkers launch footage, reversed, superimposed over a pine woods to look like a landing. Roth simply reused it. To his credit, however, Roth had a model V2 Checkers for the "space" shots, and had the aft-with-fins mockup for the disembarking shots made to look like Checkers. At least he was consistent.

Planet of Babes -- An obscure sub-genre (all-women societies) grows just a bit with FMOS. In the sci-fi flavor, it's preceded by Cat Women of the Moon ('53) and Abbott and Costello Go to Mars ('53). It has similarities to both. There are other all-women movies in the sub-genre too, such as Tarzan and the Amazons ('45), Prehistoric Women ('50), Wild Women (aka Bowanga, Bowanga) ('51) and Mesa of Lost Women ('53). All these deal with a group of young pretty women in their prime, who lack men. This odd little sub-genre is worth exploring on its own, but not here. There will be others to come in this sub-genre in the sci-fi flavor too.

Quota Quickie? -- FMOS is sometimes referred to as a "Quota Quickie." This disparaging term stemmed from the British 1927 Cinematograph Films Act, which mandated that at least 20% of films shown in British cinemas were British productions. Many low-budget (and low quality) films which would lose money, were still worth doing because it allowed American distributors to then also market American films which were high profit. They were like loss leaders in the retail market. Cy Roth, an American producer, would certainly appear to have created a low-budget British film with this in mind.

Juvenile Motivation -- Much of FMOS is built upon the juvenile (male) fantasy of there being many available and eager young women starved for male attention. The behavior of the men in FMOS only reinforces this, as they're all (but one) slobbering to be "lost" among the babes. There's nothing deeper or nobler in play -- simply boy wants girl who wants boy. The many low camera angles looking up the girls' long legs, with glimpses of panties, appeals to the voyeur. It was certain that offering audiences dozens of pretty women in short skirts would sell some tickets. Cheesecake sells.

Amateur Art? -- Cheesecake aside, Cy Roth seemed to be trying to make at least a modest artistic statement as a writer. Roth repeatedly used Borodin's Polovtsian Dance #17, popularized in 1953 as the song "Strangers in Paradise." He seemed to be trying to make the 13th moon into something more than a love-starved sorority house planet. Then there is the Prasus character. He stands as a symbolic father figure, protector and provider for his "daughters." It is he, in father-role, who "gives" Hestia to Luther. Prasus, like most fathers, wants his daughters to marry "good" men. He frets about the black beast-man outside the walls of the happy home -- symbolic of the bad boys "out there" who simply want the girls brutishly. (The fact that we're never told anythig about the Creature -- why he exists, what he wants, etc. -- makes him more symbolic than anything) The climactic scene has the "good" man saving the daughter from the "bad" man. Roth may have been an amateur writer, but he seemed to be trying to do more than a simple exploitation film. A morality play lurks within.

Padding O'Plenty -- One inescapable conclusion in FMOS, is that Roth did not have 80 minutes of script. Tightly edited for a modestly brisk pace, FMOS might run less than 60 minutes. A "feature" film had to be longer than that. You can't help but notice how many scenes are padded with long looks at not much going on.

This Is My Good Side -- The very many close ups of the actors and actresses, in which they look dreamily, or heroically, into the camera, suggests that Roth may have sold many of the "lead" actors and actresses on the idea that the movie (lame as it was) offered them a chance to get their faces on the big screen. All the close ups look like publicity snips, particularly since they do nothing to advance the plot.

Bottom line? FMOS is worth watching only as a representative of the planet-o-women sub-genre, a remake hybrid of two obscure movies, but somehow still trying to have some legitimate artistic reason to exist. If you're impatient with low-quality, slow moving films, it would be best to skip FMOS.

Manhunt in Space

Originally, this story ran as a three consecutive episodes of the TV series Rocky Jones, Space Ranger. They ran in May of 1954. The three episodes were assembled into a "feature" film for theatrical release. While the TV series was fairly cutting-edge for television productions, it was little more than B-grade material in theaters. The producers were probably counting on squeezing the last bit of profit from the Rocky Jones brand. There was the TV show, the product associations (Rocky Jones bread) and the parallel comic book series. All of these were aimed at the young boy market. The feature film was, no doubt, expected to extract a few more coins from that audience in matinee duty.

Quick Plot Synopsis
The United Planets are trying to construct a strategic outpost on the planet Casa 7. Trouble is, the cargo rockets have been disappearing just before arriving. One of those rockets carried Vena, on her way to visit her brother Paul on Casa 7. Rocky Jones is sent to investigate. Space pirates have been disabling the cargo ships, offloading their cargo and leaving them disabled and virtually invisible in geo-synchronous orbits around Casa 7. Nonetheless, Rocky finds the dead ship with Vena on it. He locks his ship to theirs and takes them down to Casa 7. Rocky figures the pirates can only be working from the planet Prah. He flies the Orbit Jet there, equipped with Professor Newton's secret "Cold Light" device which renders his ship invisible. Rocky lands, but gets himself captured. The pirates are actually working for Cleolanta. She wants them to hold Rocky, but he escapes. The pirates plan to simply invade and take over Casa 7, but it turns out their inside man at the control station is discovered. They're about to escape with Vena and Bobby as hostages, but Winky had disabled their engines. Rocky and Winky subdue all the pirates. Cue the silly ending.

Why is this movie fun?
See the notes for Crash of Moons, the previous "feature" film made out of three Rocky Jones episodes. Much still applies. Seeing the simplicity of early TV is interesting. There were a few points. See the Notes section.

Cold War Angle
There's little Cold War in Manhunt. The story line and characterizations bespeak of a pre-Cold War mind set.

Notes
Again, most of the notes to Crash of Moons still apply. See those too. Nonetheless, there are a couple of distinct points to Manhunt.

Western in Space -- The premise and plot of Manhunt is essentially a western. It is little different than a gang of robbers, based out of a remote cave, robbing cargo wagons sent to re-supply a fort. The hero outsmarts the robbers and captures them.

Dazzling Blather -- In an attempt to make the story more science fiction, the writers inserted several scenes with long strings of techno-blather. One of the best is when Rocky is explaining to Winky how the Cold Light device works.

Invisible Advances -- Invisibility was not brand new when the TV series ran in 1954, but Rocky Jones did push sci-fi to a new, higher level. Individual beings had been invisible before: HG Wells' Invisible Man (book, 1897), the alien in Phantom from Space ('53), the incorporeal space creature at the start of Quatermass Xperiment ('55). Manhunt was the first time a ship itself was made invisible by technology. (The high-flying enemy aircraft in Gog ('54) was only invisible to radar.) Once Rocky Jones introduced it, ships with "cloaking devices" (such as the Romulans in the original Star Trek series) would popularize the plot device.

Prop Watch -- Take note of the "space helmets" used when the characters go from one ship to another. You'll see the clear fishbowl helmets used in Abbott and Costello Go to Mars ('53)

Time Capsule -- Most TV shows in the early 50s were performed live, with no record. Rocky Jones: Space Ranger was shot as film for later broadcast (an expensive approach at the time). Film allowed the producers to do somewhat better special effects (such as the invisibility thing), but it also preserved for us an example of what people sat around in their living rooms watching.

Bottom line. Manhunt made for a low-grade B sci-fi movie, even by 1956 standards. As TV, however, it was fairly big budget. Those looking for deep or lavish feature film sci-fi will be disappointed. A fan of the genre, however, can appreciate the spartan innocence of it.

Godzilla, King of Monsters

This is the remixed version of Godzilla that America knew. It's not simply a subtitled or dubbed copy. It takes the original Gojira footage, edits out parts and adds in new footage shot with Raymond Burr and a bevy of asian extras to shoehorn Burr into the original. It's not overly successful, but not that badly done either. If someone had not seen Gojira before, the remix seems smooth enough. That said, the Americanized version is a serviceable, though weaker movie, but it IS the version that American kids grew up watching. For that reason, it's included here.

Gojira came out in '54, but not in America. It wasn't until late 1955 that an American distributor, Edmund Goldman, came across Gojira, bought the rights and set a team of producers onto it. The new producers felt it needed an American star and tapped Raymond Burr to play the role of an American reporter who happened to be in Tokyo when all heck broke loose. Much of the character development of the original was cut out -- to save running time AND because it was a bit long and talky for impatient American audiences. The title needed some juicing up too, apparently. Godzilla, King of Monsters (GKoM) seemed neatly self-explanatory. By April 1956, American audiences had seen many sci-fi movie monsters. They needed a king.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Read the plot synopsis for Gojira for the meat of the story. The story line remains largely intact, though staged as a flashback. GKoM opens with scenes of Tokyo already in ruins and Burr buried in building rubble. Once the flashback story line catches up to the destruction of Tokyo, the story moves on in "real time" to the same ending.

Why is this movie fun?
GKoM is a great deal more fun to watch if you've watched Gojira first. You know what Ishiro Honda had done in '54, and so you can spot what Terry Morse added. Morse actually did some clever shooting to make his new footage fit into the original. You know Burr is NOT there with the others in Japan, but it's quite fun to see how Morse made you think so. Overall, the original story still asserts itself, which has a layer of fun to it anyway.

Cold War Angle
Gojira was all about the dangers of nuclear testing with politely hinted at accusations that the United States was reckless in how it went about "staying ahead" in the Cold War. For American consumption, much of this message is edited out or reduced to easily-missed proportions. One rather telling bit of remix comes when Dr. Serizawa (inventor of the terrible Oxygen Destroyer) is fretting about his invention. In Gojira, he worries about politicians (in general) getting his destructive device and turning it into a superweapon that will be worse for the world than the A-bomb was. In GKoM, he frets (via dubbing) of his secret falling into "the wrong hands." This was more in synch with the American mood.

Notes
Careful Insertion -- One of the interesting features of GKoM is how Morse managed to put Raymond Burr into the original footage. By careful editing, directing and costuming, Burr is wedged into the story. One example is when Dr. Yamane and entourage are examining the destruction of the village on Ohto. Villagers are lined up at the edge of the holes (footprints) watching Yamane. Morse had several Asians wearing similar Japanese peasant costume stand side by side peering down. Burr stands behind them, also peering down inquisitively. Behind them all is generic leafy vegetation. A few quick cuts back and forth like this and you could get the idea that Burr was there, even though he wasn't. Many other such graftings are done much like this one.

Lost in the Herd -- When Gojira debuted in 1954, he was one of the first radiation-mutation monsters. Godzilla has to share the platform with the giant ants in Them! (June '54). By 1956, however, Americans had seen the radiated-boyfriend-beast in The Day the World Ended ('55), the radiation-mutated-minigodzilla in Phantom from 10,000 Leagues ('55) and the giant spider in Tarantula ('55). Radiation mutated monsters were becoming almost commonplace by the time the Americanized GKoM came on the scene. Poor Godzillia looked like just another copy-cat monster, when in reality, he was one of the first.

Lost Love -- The original Gojira had much more footage devoted to the love triangle between Emiko, her 'betrothed' fiancee, Dr. Serizawa and her actual love interest, Ogata. This triangle had more meaning in Gojira, but so much of the character development was cut out of the Americanized version that their actions make almost no sense. This severe editing also reduces Serizawa to a rather minor role so that his sacrifice at the end feels less significant.

King of Sequels -- Godzilla proved so popular (even from the weaker GKoM platform) that he became almost a franchise. American audiences would be treated to (or subjected to) dozens of Godzilla vs. (whatever) flicks of mostly declining quality. Several other rubber-suit-monsters would become popular too, such as Gamera, primarily on Godzilla's coat tails. Ishiro Honda had no idea his metaphoric monster would be such a hit.

Bottom line? If you can get it, watch the original 1954 Japanese version (with English subtitles). It is a more cohesive movie. If you can't find the original, this 1956 American remix will (barely) suffice, but you should plan on cutting the movie a lot of slack.

Beast of Hollow Mountain

This movie is sometimes categorized as sci-fi, but it really isn't. Beast of Hollow Mountain (BoHM) is a monster movie. There is no "science" to explain the existence of the beast. Instead, as was typical of the monster genre, he simply exists, and the characters must deal with him. A dinosaur monster movie and western hero / romance movie hybrid, is an odd mix. Even though it doesn't really qualify as sci-fi, it's included here only because the title shows up in other people's lists of 50s sci-fi.

Very Quick Plot Synopsis
An rancher in Mexico is losing cattle. He suspects a rival rancher who is trying to put him out of business. The locals say it is a "beast" which comes out of Hollow Mountain whenever the swamps surrounding it dry out enough. A love triangle develops between the two rival ranchers and a pretty seniorita. The feud between the two ranchers is interrupted when the beast, a T-Rex, appears. The T-Rex first stampedes the cattle, threatening the village. It then tries to get the seniorita and a little boy. It chases the two ranchers into a cave, finally getting the sinister rancher. The good rancher leads the beast towards the swamp and lures it in. The beast sinks in the quicksand. All is well and the triangle resolved. The end.

Why is this movie fun?
As a simple monster film, BoHM has its own quirky appeal. Dinosaur vs cowboy! The pace in the last 20 minutes of the movie is brisk. This last part has much affinity to more sci-fi movies like Beast from 20,000 Fathoms ('53), It Came From Beneath The Sea ('55), Revenge of the Creature ('55), The Snow Creature, ('54) etc. Monsters running amok among people. This may be why BoHM gets lumped into the sci-fi genre. Still, the animation has its amusing moments to watch: T-Rex carrying off a steer in his mouth, and that crazy flailing tongue!

Cold War Angle
As a hybrid of the western genre (which has no Cold War baggage) and the monster movie (which also has no Cold War heritage), there's no allegories to commies or nukes.

Notes
Timeless Dinosaurs -- True to the monster genre, the beast simply exists. Given the narrator's talk of old legends, that T-Rex had lived in that mountain for centuries. Not a self-sustaining population of Ts, just this one, who can apparently go without food for years at a time. All this points ton almost mystic view of dinosaurs -- a creature beyond mere biology.

Budget Beast -- The stop-motion animation of the beast was passable. It was certainly not up to Harryhausen standards. While not as smooth, it wasn't too bad. What was more fun, was the big rubber T pants. There were two or three scenes where the monster's approach was shown with an actor taking big steps in a waist-down costume of T-Rex legs. Given how much prop recycling has gone on already in B-movies, it will be interesting to see if the rubber T pants show up in some other low budget film.

Typical B Western -- The western tale portion of this hybrid had all the usual ingredients. There was a clear good guy and clearly bad bad guy. There was a knock-down fist fight between them. There a full-gallop scene, a stampede and, of course, a beautiful young woman for the good guy and bad guy to fight over.

Remake -- As obtuse as a dinosaur & cowboy movie might sound, it was apparently credible enough to be done again in 1969. The Valley of Gwangi is a more complex tale and a better done film. Of course, coming 13 years later gives people some time to polish the brass.

Bottom line? BoHM really doesn't belong in sci-fi movie lists. It really offers none of those thoughtful moments or allegories or even social commentary. It's just plain old entertainment. If you like old westerns, and like rampaging dinosaur movies, BoHM is just the hybrid for you.

Satellite in the Sky

This little British sci-fi movie, brought to you by the people who gave us Devil Girl from Mars, ('54) is almost impossible to find these days. It was released in America in July of 1956, but seems to have failed to linger in fan memory enough to keep it even nominally active in the late-late-show runs, or sci-fi DVD collections. This obscurity is undeserved. Satellite in the Sky (SitS) tried to be a serious sci-fi genre commentary on the nuclear arms race. It has rockets and astronauts and some respectable sets (for a B movie). What it lacks is an alien or a monster. Perhaps it is this lack of a monster (absurd or impressive) which hurts SitS. It's not silly enough to laugh at (MST3K-style). Instead, it's a serious topic set in a space-flight story with technology being fairly credible, as in Conquest of Space.

Quick Plot Synopsis
The British space agency is about to launch it's first space mission, "Operation Stardust." First, it needs to test the engine design one last time -- one being installed in a small jet plane. The test is successful. At a press briefing afterward, a prickly anti-space-program lady reporter named Kim gives the pilot a hard time. He tries to charm her. She asks to see the Stardust up close. He shows her. She notices the serious lack of security within the base and sneaks back later to get into the Stardust and hide in an equipment locker. Meanwhile, there are several romantic back-stories spun out about the various crew members. When it's time for launch, the secret is revealed that the Stardust is to carry aloft a "Tritonium" bomb, more powerful than the H-bomb. It's to be exploded in space for the whole world to see the folly of continuing notions of wars. The crew balk, but comply. Once in space, Kim is discovered. She spews a few anti-nuke phrases. The crew deploy the bomb, but it's internal thrusters fail after a short burst. The bomb drifts back to the ship, magnetically attracted. They can't fly away from the bomb. It stays stuck on them. Attempts to fling it away fail. It just drifts back to them. With only a short while remaining before the bomb goes off (timed fuse they can't stop), two of the crew (one with guilt, the other with a tragic love life) sneak out in space suits. They use their suits' thrusters to carry the bomb away. The Stardust is able to power away to safety. The bomb blows up impressively. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
Firstly, British sci-fi has a certain charm to it. Secondly, the sets and models are pretty good for B-grade productions. The pace is pretty good, despite the interjections of love-life back story. More tidbits in the Note section.

Cold War Angle
SitS is in-your-face blatantly about the Cold War. It's all about a nuclear bomb co-developed by the US and UK, intended to deter others (i.e. the Soviets).

Notes
Nuclear Irony -- SitS is an interesting time capsule of Cold War thinking. The whole point of the Tritonium bomb explosion in space was to shock and awe the "other side" into giving up on ideas of war. Ironically, this is the same rationale that underlaid all the previous nuclear weapons test demonstrations. (which all failed to accomplish this same goal) The writers clearly still believed the (flawed) reasoning.

Plane Crazy -- Stock footage of airplanes is standard fare for B-movies. Usually, they're P-80s or B-47s. SitS gives the viewer something special. First off is ample footage of the Avro Vulcan, Britain's huge delta-winged bomber -- symbolic of its nuclear might. For Americans, this is rare footage. The second is even more rare. The little test jet that Mike Hayden flies is the Folland Midge. Though given an underpowered engine, the little jet was able to break the sound barrier in a dive (which they do in the movie too). The particular prototype in the footage first flew in August of 1954 but crashed on September 26, '55, about the time production on the movie began. For fans of old airplanes captured in B-movie stock footage, these are two rare treats.

Space Soap -- One feature of SitS that stands out is its soap opera quality. The crew, and their various love interests, are given a prominence that Hollywood typically didn't. In that regard, all the relationship back story seemed tedious, but it did suggest that the writers were trying to paint their characters as fuller than the usual two-dimensional hero / heroine sort that Americans were growing accustomed to.

Mixed Feminism -- A recurrent sub-theme in SitS toys with women's place in the world. The reporter, Kim, is a strong willed, capable woman. Yet, when they're all trapped aboard the Stardust, Kim (like a good girl) cheerfully makes and serves the men coffee. Professor Meritty rankles at her for having stowed away, "You attractive young women think all you've got to do is smile and wave your hips and all will be forgiven you." The writers got in their digs.

Bottom line? SitS is a drama about the risks, and human toll, of nuclear supremacy. It uses space and rockets as a setting, but in a more realistic tone. The sets actually aren't that bad for a B-movie, and at least they didn't re-use someone else's props. Overall, it's not riveting entertainment, but for a fan of the genre, it has it's own little rewards.

It Conquered the World

The final product of It Conquered the World (ICTW) is typical of low B-grade 50s sci-fi. It aspires to some lofty literary goals, but is hamstrung by a tiny budget. At its heart, ICTW could have been a somewhat thoughtful tale of a scheming invader playing on the bruised ego of a man, to turn him into an unwitting traitor. There could have been some eerie tension as people become "possessed" by the invader, etc. etc. Director Roger Corman does a fair job directing, with a few notable missteps. However, there is only so much one can do with a sow's-ear budget. The acting of Peter Graves, Lee Van Cleef and especially Beverly Garland do a lot to keep ICTW from falling apart.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Tom, a scientist who has become discredited for having too many wild theories, tries to warn the authorities not to launch a satellite. They do anyway. It is lost, but returns mysteriously. Tom reveals to his friend Paul (a rocket scientist) that he has been communicating with a being from Venus, who is coming to earth in the errant satellite. Paul does not believe him. After the satellite comes down, the venusian takes up residence in a steamy cave. It somehow manages to stop all power sources. Electricity, steam, hydro, even mechanical watches stop. It releases eight manta-like flying creatures who 'bite' their intended target person in the back of the neck, implanting an electronic control device. The alien then directs them to do its bidding. The Army General of the rocket base is bitten, and so is the police chief of the town. They become emotionless tools of the alien. Paul's wife Joan is also bitten, but Paul eludes and kills his manta-bat. When he realizes that his wife has been taken over by the alien, he shoots her. Tom feels much inner turmoil. He believed that the alien was coming to earth to improve mankind, but events have caused him to doubt. The alien orders him to kill Paul, but he can't. The doubts have grown. Tom's wife, Claire, (Beverly Garland) takes matters into her own hands, drives to the cave and tires to shoot the alien. Bullets are useless. The alien kills Claire, which Tom hears over his radio. This is the turning point for Tom. He drives to the cave. A squad of soldiers tried to shoot the alien, also to no avail. Tom uses a kerosene torch on the alien's eyes. It grabs Tom in its claws. They die together. Paul (Peter Graves) gives a longish epilogue speech about imperfect man needing to find his own answers. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
By modern movie standards, ICTW could almost be annoyingly bad. However, its fun to see where it almost rises towards its lofty intentions. It tries to evoke the disconcerting mood of Invaders From Mars ('53) and the dark conspiracy of Invasion of the Body Snatchers ('56), but just never quite makes it. There are many story threads, which could, if explored better, and with better funding, could have made good movies.

Cold War Angle
There is an undercurrent similar to Invasion of the Body Snatchers in which a hostile force is taking over people, (especially authority figures) turning them into emotionless puppets of the future new world order. The cautionary moral of the story is how a man can be seduced by the pretty lies of an invader, and unintentionally doom his people. Beware of commie smooth talkers.

Notes
Getting All Emotional -- A familiar trope is that people "possessed" by the alien lose their emotions -- their ability to love and "dream". Instead they are passionless tools of the master. This appeared The Man From Planet X ('51) with zombi-fied towns folk. Again in It Came From Outer Space ('53), and of course Invasion of the Body Snatchers ('56). A closer precedent to ICTW is in Invaders From Mars ('53) in which the alien implants a control device in the back of the victim's neck.

Ego: Achilles Heel -- The alien flattered Tom, praised his work, while his fellow humans derided him as a crackpot. With flattery, the alien got his foot (or claw) in the door. By promising to do good for mankind, the alien wooed Tom into helping him come to earth and begin the invasion. He persists in believing the pretty lie until Joan is killed and finally his wife, Claire, is killed by the alien. This is the real core of ICTW -- a man's well intended, but misguided trust.

Small World -- It must be inferred that the alien's power to stop all power applied to the entire world. That must be the "conquering" in the title, since the alien only takes over a few people in a small town before being killed.

Cheap Exploitation -- Notice that the poster for ICTW is very similar to others, especially The Beast With a Million Eyes in which an ugly monster face menaces a scantily clad damsel. This had become a stock formula for low-grade B-movies. Promise a menaced babe, and they will buy a ticket.

Killer Carrot -- The "lame" monster is a sore point for many viewers. Paul Blaisdell created the alien costume. This venusian, which resembles a demon-possessed giant carrot. It was a more ambitious costume than his mutant "Tommy" in Day the World Ended ('55) and the little critter alien in Beast With a Million Eyes ('55). Blaisdell was an illustrator. Many of his monsters come across as sculptures of illustrations, rather than plausible beings. . Corman erred in allowing audiences too long and good a look at the monster suit. It looked too absurd.

Safe Sax -- An absurd little touch can be seen when the crowd of townsfolk are fleeing in a mild panic, out of town. One of the men running at the camera is carrying a saxophone. If you had time to grab just one thing, would it be your saxophone?

Lame Comic Relief -- Corman includes comic relief with the hispanic soldier. Unfortunately, he uses it too much. Any spooky or poignant moment he had been building, is trashed by the comedic moment.

Secular Humanism Ascendant -- Previously, it was customary to include (somewhere) that God has a hand in the world (even a world with aliens). Peter Graves' epilogue speech shows an interesting shift, then underway in sci-fi. Man, all by himself, would solve his own problems. He (man) was the only answer. This is interesting, given Tom's earlier speech about how mankind has done nothing but screw things up since the dawn of mankind.

Bottom line? Don't watch ICTW with any expectations that it's in the same league as Body Snatchers or Forbidden Planet. It is a very low budget affair, with minimal sets, cheap effects, and mixed acting. Instead, watch it as a low-B-movie which has dreams of being something bigger.