Colossus of New York

This movie is not especially well known outside of 50s sci-fi fans, which is a shame. It is a cut above the usual B movie herd. At first glance, Colossus of New York (CoNY) appears to be yet another adaptation of the classic Frankenstein story, but it aspires to more than that. It does feature a misguided medical genius and his obedient electrical-genius son who creates a big robot to house the brain of biologist-genius other son. None of it works out as the father expected. A man is more than his mind. CoNY double billed with The Space Children -- also a cautionary tale.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Jeremy Spensser is an up and coming humanitarian genius. His work on food production hold the prospect of world peace. Jeremy steps into a street to retrieve his son Billy's toy airplane. Jeremy is hit and killed by a truck. His father, unwilling to let such a promising genius simply die, operates on the body. He removes Jeremy's brain and keeps it alive. Dr. Spensser persuades his other son, Henry to build an electronic interface for Jeremy's brain. He wants Jeremy to continue his contribution to humanity. Meanwhile, both Henry and Jeremy's friend John have started showing romantic interest in Jeremy's beautiful young widow Ann. Finally, the 8 foot tall robot is complete and Jeremy's brain hooked up inside. It takes awhile for Jeremy's brain to learn to communicate and control the robot. Robo-Jeremy continues his work on frost resistant plants in Dr. Spensser's lab. Robo-J develops ESP, seeing a collision at sea. One year later, Robo-J wants to visit his own grave. Hiding, he sees Ann and Bill. Robo-J furious with his father for lying that they died too. Robo-J catches Henry kissing Ann. Henry runs away. He calls later, asking father for money to run away. Robo-J hypnotizes his father to arrange a remote meeting place. There, Robo-J kills Henry with heat beam. Robo-J wrecks the lab, then goes to the UN where his posthumous work is being honored. There, he kills more with is heat vision until Billy stops him. Robo-J tells Billy how to deactivate him. He does. The giant falls dead. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
Amid the typical love triangle and human drama stuff, are some interesting musings about the nature of man and the soul. It's also interesting the writers showed Jeremy's brain having to learn to communicate artificially and control his new robot body.

Cold War Angle
This connection is fairly subtle. Human Jeremy is the loving humanitarian working for world peace. His alter-ego, Robo-Jeremy becomes the cold intellect of managed societies (i.e. communism). "Why create food for the maimed, the useless and the sick? Why should we work to preserve the slum people of the world? Isn't it simpler and wiser to get rid of them instead?" The cold rationality behind eugenics.

Notes
Ya Gotta Have Heart -- The screenplay spends a fair amount of dialogue exploring the nature of humanity. John asserts that man is the product of body, mind, soul and "the divine spark of the creator." Isolated, a mind would be prone to inhumanity. Even though Dr. Spensser scoffs at such sentiment, the plot proves him wrong, and John correct. There is more to a man than just his mind.

Beyond Frankenstein -- At a superficial level CNY looks like a remake of the classic 1930s Frankenstein story. CNY does have the misguided doctor and his creation -- a tall "monster". CNY goes beyond the 30s classic. Here, the "monster" can speak. We hear his inner turmoil. Perhaps Dr. Frankenstein's creation went through a similar struggle with his terrible new identity. Maybe this was also what drove him into being a monster.

Free Thinking -- Jeremy's mind, given great power via the robot body, develops powers -- both good and evil. He develops ESP such that he can "see" an impending collision of ships at sea. (footage of the Andrea Doria disaster) He also develops a lethal heat vision beam. He could save lives or take them. As the story progresses, we see that his once-altruistic mind, free from the "divine spark" and physicality of humanity, gravitates towards the dark side.

Bottom line? CNY is one of those little-known gems of 50s sci-fi. Overlook the low-budget concessions. Listen to the talky scenes. There's more thought behind the story than a rampaging monster.

War of the Colossal Beast

This sequel to Bert I. Gordon's popular movie The Amazing Colossal Man is actually the third in a giant-bald-man series. In some ways, War of the Colossal Beast (WoCB) is partially a remake of that first movie, The Cyclops ('57). WoCB picks up the story after the inconclusive ending of The Amazing Colossal Man, repeats some plot elements from both prior movies and then finishes the tale.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Something is hijacking trucks of food in Mexico. This attracts the attention of Joyce Manning, sister of Col. Glen Manning (The Amazing Colossal Man) who was presumed lost when he fell off of Hoover Dam. A search reveals large footprints. Manning did survive and is raiding trucks for food. They spike a bunch of bread loaves with sedative. They drive the spiked bread truck in his territory to attract The Beast. It works. He eats and he's asleep. He's flown back to Los Angeles and kept sedated in an airplane hangar. The doctors run tests to see if The Beast is a man needing therapy or just a brain-damaged beast. Even though The Beast has flashback dreams of his former life. He breaks loose, but is gassed and recaptured. He doesn't respond to the doctors' tests. They plan to drop him on a remote island. That night, he breaks his chains and escapes into the hills. Surprisingly, he can't be found. He is eventually found at the Griffith Park observatory. A bus load of junior high school students are trapped there. The Beast picks up the bus to throw at the army search lights, but Joyce drives up and convinces him to put the bus down. He does. "Joyce..." he says in a raspy voice. He walks away despondent, turns and intentionally grabs a high-tension power line, electrocuting himself. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
It's fun to compare the similarities between The Cyclops and The Amazing Colossal Man.

Cold War Angle
The the late 50s, it was becoming almost cliche to assert that radiation can do terrible things. The Beast is yet another personification of radiation ruining lives and posing a destructive hazard to minding-their-own-business citizens.

Notes
Dual Sequel -- WoCB follows the usual route of most monster sequels. The monster is revived and put into a new, but similar, situation. Some original movie footage is replayed. Usually, the end is about the same too. WoCB is true to form. Yet, WoCB also reworks Gordon's The Cyclops plot too. A woman searching for her lost loved one in the wilds of Mexico. Dean Parkin plays the giant in both, both times sporting some mutant face make-up and grunting like a cave man.

Another Kong -- As with the first two bald giant movies, WoCB recycles the King Kong theme of the tragic monster. Gordon tries to ensure that the viewer will feel sympathy for The Beast. The dream sequence, particularly, leaves no doubt that the man, Glen Manning, lives within the mutant Beast. As with Kong, this makes his final destruction a relief, but a tragic one.

Colorful Ending -- A surprise at the end of the movie, when The Beast grabs the power lines, the film shifts from black and white to color. This might be an attempt at some artistic meaning (Manning expressed his "full" humanity by sacrificing himself?), or it could simply be a producers putting in a bit of wow for the sake of wow.

Poster Driven? -- The poster for WoCB has a powerful image, rather like the 50 Foot Woman did. The actual scene is less horrific -- no one falls out of the bus. Perhaps the poster art came first and some sort of bus hefting scene had to be worked in. As a concession to a growing segment of movie watchers, the bus was full of junior high school students.

Bottom line? War of the Colossal Beast is like many other sequels in being a retread. If you liked the original(s), WoCB is another serving.

War of the Satellites

This is a dark and somewhat complex space drama, produced and directed by Roger Corman. The story came from Irving Block and Jack Rabin. Block gained fame from Forbidden Planet ('56), but was also involved in many other, lesser films. The basic premise of this story is similar to The Day The Earth Stood Still ('51) in that aliens warn the Earth that earthlings are not mature enough for space. In War of the Satellites (WotS), the aliens are far from Klaatu's benign Christ-like demeanor. The earthlings are proudly defiant.

Quick Plot Synopsis
A UN space program keeps sending up manned "satellite" missions, only to have them crash into "The Sigma Barrier" and explode. A warning from aliens is delivered and read at a UN assembly. The aliens have deemed earth too immature to venture into space and so have quarantined the planet. (the barrier) Impassioned speeches assert the right of humans to explore, so the program continues. The chief rocket scientist (Dr. Van Ponder) is killed in a car crash (by the aliens) and replaced with a duplicate. The duplicate tries to halt the program by various subterfuges. Some of the staff grow suspicious of Van Ponder. The three rockets are sent up anyway. Once the latest manned ship is assembled in space, the alien kills one of the crew who knows the truth. The alien frames a second crewman who also knows. The alien then kills the ship's physician for having discovered the truth as well. The alien develops "feelings" for the female crew member, Sybil. His plan is to crash the ship into the barrier so that this attempt too will fail. The framed crewman escapes and thwarts the plan. He shoots the alien, who dies, then vanishes. They accelerate the ship to a great rate and break through the Sigma Barrier, into the vast promise of space. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
As a murder-mystery, conspiracy drama, set in space, the story is actually pretty entertaining. There is enough twist to the plot to keep it from being totally predictable. The writers have avoided most of the sci-fi cliches, so even though the sets and effects are almost painfully low-budget, the story is engaging.

Cold War Angle
This is subtle. It casts the era's staunch nationalism into a new whole-earth planetism. The planetists zealously defy the oppressive outside power's attempt to restrict their freedom. There is also the notion of an important person being "turned" and thereby able to sabotage from within.

Notes
One World Government -- A feature that stands out in WotS is the prominence given to the United Nations. The UN is presented as the credible government of the world. While a few more decades have shown this not to be the case, WotS captures the 50s' optimism for the UN.

Manifest Destiny -- WotS captures a glimpse at human nature -- to want something simply because it's out there, to want something even more because some authority said 'no.' Perhaps by design, or perhaps inadvertently, WotS captures the youthful spirit of rebellion against the higher power over them.

Alien Duplication -- The trope of aliens operating among us, using human form, is a familiar one. Most often, the aliens take over a human. There's still only one "person", but they're changed. Less commonly, they duplicate someone. In 1953, the aliens in It Came From Outer Space made duplicates of townsfolk to repair their ship. In 1956 was the famous pod people of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. In WotS, the aliens kill Dr. Van Ponder and replace him with a nearly perfect duplicate. This alien Van Ponder is also able to duplicate himself so he can be in two places at the same time. Duplication (and replacement) will occur in later movies too.

Glorious Asymmetry -- WotS points out that people are asymmetrical. One half of their face differs from the other. Van Ponder's associates comment that his face is symmetrical. They also note that his finger prints are now identical left-right. The alien copy was perfect (symmetrical), as if it took a copy-and-paste shortcut of half of Van Ponder. Our "imperfection" is part of our true humanity.

Trekkie Sound -- Fans of the original Star Trek series of the late 60s will recognize the shimmery sound the Sigma Barrier makes. This sound was used in many ST1 episodes. Thus far, it appears as though WotS may be this iconic sound effect's debut.

Bottom line? War of the Satellites has a lot of entertaining elements, even if it is a bit light on action and monsters. Through it all, the determination of 50s men to explore space is palpable -- even if only because "it's there."

The Astounding She-Monster

Released in late 1957, The Astounding She-Monster (ASM) was the second feature to an already low-budget "feature" film Viking Women and the Sea Serpent for a sort of babes-appeal double feature. ASM is nominally a sci-fi film in as much as it involves an alien coming to earth. The bulk of the movie is more film noir. At its core, ASM in the family of films of messenger-from-space, like the classic The Day The Earth Stood Still (TDESS, '51), but takes the darker tack. What if the messenger appeared to criminals instead of dignitaries? What if the messenger was only seen as a deadly 'monster'? Robert Clarke stars as the hero/geologist.

Quick Plot Synopsis
The narrator tells us about other worlds which faced destructive crises. An object leaves one planet, headed for earth. A meteor lands in the woodsy mountains of southern California. Emerging from the crater is the svelt she-monster. In the city, a band of three low-grade criminal types kidnap Margaret, a young rich woman, expecting a hefty ransom from Daddy. After a flat tire, they end up at the remote cabin of a geologist named Dick. They cannot flee further, so hole up in the cabin for the night. Brad, the thug driver, goes outside to investigate a noise. He encounters the she-monster. He shoots at her to no avail. She touches him. He dies. The she-monster confronts the rest of them outside the cabin, touching Esther. She dies. Nat dodges a lunge by the she-monster, who rolls down a cliff, apparently dead. Nat makes the three of them drive out in a lightless jeep at night. The she-monster revives and stops them. She touches Nat and he dies. Back at the cabin, Dick theorizes that the she-monster has a thin metal protective coating. He mixes up a flask of acid. She-monster jumps in through the window. He tosses the flask and she-monster dies. Only her locket remains. Inside is a message from "The Master of Planets" offering to help Earth out of its current crisis. Will another messenger come with a repeat of the offer, or for revenge? The End.

Why is this movie fun?
The dark reworking of TDESS is interesting in itself. Having the (presumed) "monster" be a curvaceous young woman is rare enough to be interesting. The hybrid of sci-fi and film noir is intriguing as well.

Cold War Angle
Between the narrator's comments and the message from "The Master of Planets" there is the understanding that the people of Earth stand at the brink of nuclear destruction. ASM is another tale of warning.

Notes
TDESS Sibling -- After all the crime and horror drama, at the end, the message is similar. Earth is in trouble and aliens want to help us. Here is the message the she-monster had in her locket: "People of earth, you have been under our surveillance for a number of decades. We now feel your civilization has progressed far enough to make you eligible for membership in the council of planets. This council, for your information, is a universal governing body dedicated to the advancement of planetary progress. It is an agency which Earth seriously needs in this period of crisis and chaos which Earth now finds itself. Many of our member plants have experienced the same disturbing problems which confront earth today. We feel that a meeting with the heads of these planets would definitely benefit Earth in the solution of its own global difficulties. If you would like a meeting, so arranged. Relate your wishes to the bearer of this message and she will return with word of your decision."

Scifi Noir -- Much of ASM is film noir. Crime and criminals dominate. Even the criminals themselves are derelicts. There is a femme fatale in the she-monster. A constant note of hopelessness pervades. Even the erstwhile band of criminals are dysfunctional and inept (symbolic of society itself in noir-view). Like many film noir, life is seen as fairly cheap and society somewhat dystopic. The narrator's tone has a snide edge to it. Margaret (the rich kidnapee) is described as spoiled and shallow. The kidnappers, too, are painted as losers. "You're all being taken on a rendevous with fate," the narrator says with a smug and oily voice. "The best laid plans will go astray, this day..."

Wardrobe Malfunction? -- One of the rumors surrounding ASM is that Shirley Kilpatrick's sparkly full-body leotard was so tight that it split a seam (or bust the zipper) up the back and that budgets didn't permit it to be fixed. Circumstantial evidence cited for this, is that Shirley "always" faces the camera, backing away instead of turning to walk away. There is, however, one brief scene nearer the end, where the she-monster is 'attacking' the group of four outside the cabin, and we do see Shirley from the back. Maybe this scene was shot early, out of sequence, but maybe not. What you do see is that the zipper is fairly wide and inelegant-looking. The notion of a tightly conformal metallic coating didn't square well with a fat zipper. It's just as likely that the director kept Shirley facing the camera to avoid seeing the clunky looking zipper. Besides, Shirley's front was better for viewing anyway.

A Dash of Science -- Besides the presence of an alien (albeit a very human looking one), the claim to "science" fiction comes near the end. Dick, the geologist, deduces that the she-monster has a thin coating of radium and platinum covering her (the radium is why her touch is deadly). Dick has on hand several acids he uses for his geology work. He mixes up a batch designed to dissolve the platinum, thereby breaking the she-monster's shell. It works. He throws the bottle of acids at her. She doubles over and dies (without any visible damage). Chemistry triumphs again!

Bottom line? ASM is a typical low-B movie -- The 'star' is a second-tier actor, the rest third-tier. The sets are minimal and the effects aren't all that special. Despite all this, there is an intriguing tone of dystopia, almost as if the hope of The Day the Earth Stood Still was turned on its head. For sci-fi and film noir fans, this is reason enough to give ASM a watch.

Attack of the 50 Foot Woman

Released as the double-bill with Corman's War of the Satellites, Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (A50W) is not a particularly good B movie even by 50s standards. Yet, it lives on in American popular culture -- perhaps more for its poster than the movie itself. It typifies 50s B sci-fi, even for people unfamiliar with the genre. There are oodles of amateur "Attack of the 50 foot (whatever)" posters or images. A50W had enough of a cult following to merit being remade in 1993. The original was typically weak on special effects and sketchy on plot, but it's a camp classic nonetheless.

Quick Plot Synopsis
A TV announcer tells of people around the globe spotting a floating red ball. Nancy Archer is a wealthy but highly troubled woman. She's speeding along the desert roads at night, fleeing her problems. A glowing ball settles on the highway in front of her. A giant man reaches for her, but she runs back to town. No one believes her because of her drinking problem and having been institutionalized before. Her shifty husband is more interested in his floozy. Nonetheless, he pretends to be the good husband in hopes that Nancy will 'snap' and return to the 'booby hatch.' She convinces him to search the desert with her, looking for the "satellite". Eventually, they find it. The giant emerges. Harry flees, leaving Nancy behind. Later, Nancy is found on the roof of her pool house. She's sedated by her doctor. Harry thinks to give her a lethal injection of sedative, but when he goes up to her room, he finds she's grown into a giant. The sheriff and Nancy's butler find and explore the alien's spherical ship. Seems the giant alien needs diamonds, perhaps for fuel. The giant alien interrupts, trashes their car so they walk back. Nancy awakens and breaks free. Determined to find her wayward husband, she breaks through the roof of her house, and stomps off to town. In town, she takes the roof off the bar. A beam falls on the floozy, killing her. Nancy picks up Harry and walks way. The sheriff shoots at her to no apparent effect, but accidentally hits a power line transformer. It blows up near Nancy and kills her. Harry lies crushed in her huge hand. She got her man. The end.

Why is this movie fun?
Weak as it might be, this is one the iconic sci-fi movies of 50s. It is fun to see how much mileage they got out of the simple effects and a giant rubber hand.

Cold War Angle
This is more of cheesecake than commies -- more soap opera than soviets.

Notes
Allison Hayes -- A former beauty queen, Allison had little trouble finding acting roles, but had a hard time breaking out of the B market. She played the troubled beauty (again) in The Unearthly ('57). Giant Nancy's costume of a bandeau top and miniskirt showed off her statuesque pin-up physique very well. A50W was not her best movie, it has proven to be her most memorable.

Dual Deus Ex Machina -- In A50W we get both of the 50s favorite 'ghosts in the machine' to spark the story -- aliens and radiation. The alien is the classic deus ex machina in that he simply drops in, causes the situation and leaves, with no connection to anything. The radiation of his touch provides the necessary magic to make poor Nancy grow to 50 foot size.

Feminist Undertones? -- Some read into A50W feminist metaphors about women becoming empowered, etc. Indeed, this seems to have been the spin taken in the '93 remake. Listening to the scripted dialogue, however, and noting the action, undermine this slant. Nancy is a woman who desperately needs her husband -- no matter how big a louse he is. When she's a giant, her one thought is to reclaim her man, keeping her marriage intact. Not classic feminist ideals.

Giant Fad -- Things-made-big was a recurring feature in 50s sci-fi. Giant ants in Them!, Godzilla stomping a model Tokyo, and other assorted giant critters, were common. Giant people had a brief heyday in '57 and '58 with Bert I. Gordon's three Colossal men. Mark Hanna was a screenplay writer on Amazing Colossal Man. He wrote for A50W, creating a giant babe to balance the books.

Leftover Giant -- The giant alien's costume is quite the anachronism. Instead of silvery suits with big shoulder pads and a lightning bolt on his chest, this alien wears a studded leather vest. To complete the strangely medieval flavor, he has a coat of arms on his chest with three fleur de lis -- proof that the ancient French kings beat the Russians into space.

Fancy Fins -- Car buffs can appreciate Nancy's big '58 Imperial convertible. These were the glory days of chrome-bedecked land yachts. Even her utility car -- the '58 Plymouth station wagon -- has soaring tail fins.

Morph-mobile -- A fun bit of budget saving comes when the giant picks up Nancy's station wagon (which the sheriff was using). The big rubber hand (with hairy knuckles) "grabs" the '58 Plymouth. There's a brief glimpse of giant lifting what looks like a dealer's model of a '51 Nash Deliveryman over his head. Then cut to a rollover clip of a 1952 Chevy Styleline DeLuxe station wagon. Finally, cut back to the sheriff coming up to a damaged '58 Plymouth wagon. Do only car buffs notice such things?

Single-handed Success -- The producers got as much mileage as they could out of their one custom prop -- the eight-foot long rubber hand. They put hair on the fingers and back when it was the giant's hand (reaching for Nancy, wrecking the car). To represent the giant Nancy at home, we get the rubber hand in chains. At the bar, the hand reaches for Harry, finally getting him. No doubt that hand cost a lot for a B-movie, so they got as much use out of it as they could.

Bottom line? People easily upset by low budget productions, or people expecting a gripping story would likely be frustrated. A50W is no epic. For fans of 50s sci-fi, however, it's worth the time to experience the cultural landmark that A50W was.

The Flame Barrier

The spring of 1958 started with an obscure sci-fi movie, produced as the B half of a double bill with Return Of Dracula. As such, the intended market for The Flame Barrier (TFB) was more inclined towards shock and horror than science. The poster itself speaks to this, with much fire, some skeletons and a promise of hell on earth. Much about TFB shouts of low-budget, with all the usual pitfalls and shortcomings. The plot, for one, wavers between a traditional jungle flick, a mystery and comic commentary. Even though the sci-fi fan may find much in TFB to be tedious, confused, or slow, it has a few nuggets for the patient viewer.

Quick Plot Synopsis
A satellite is launched to go beyond a much vaunted "Flame Barrier" about 200 miles above the earth. The satellite is presumed lost to the barrier, but has instead crashed back to earth in the jungles of southern Mexico. Carol Dahlmann comes to seek her husband who went looking for the fallen satellite four months earlier, but has not returned. She hires a couple Americans working locally. There is abundant human drama involved. With the expedition underway, natives tell of strange things in the jungle. Further in, an abandoned village adds mystery. Frightened natives tell of the Dahlmann expedition going through. They press on, finding a skeleton (said to be burned). They later find the tents of Dahlmann's camp, all empty except for the chimp which rode in the satellite. Natives drag in a wounded native, burns on his chest. He stammers of a fire god, then bursts into flame, reduced to a skeleton. Dave, Carol and Matt press on to the cave of this fire god. They find another skeleton, but also Mr. Dahlmann, frozen inside a glowing blob of goo which spread from the Sputnik-like satellite. The chimp runs forward and is vaporized by an electric field. This field doubles in size every 2 hours. They can't flee, so set about trying to electrocute the blob via metal ore veins in the cave walls. Time runs out before the next field increase. Matt gives his life to give Dave time to act. He does. The blob is electrocuted. Dave and Carol leave arm in arm. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
While there's not a big fun factor, it is interesting to see another installment of the blob-from-space trope. It's the usual man vs. monster story.

Cold War Angle
As more of a monster/horror movie with just a dash of sci-fi, there's little of the Cold War mood involved. Instead, TFB draws from pre-Cold War themes in its patchwork plot.

Notes
Plot Medley -- TFB hints at its quick creation and low budget for having recycled several well-worn plot elements. George Worthing Yates wrote for many other sci-fi films, such as Them! ('54) and Earth vs The Flying Saucers ('56). Yates' nugget of a story might have been more sci-fi if there was time and/or budget. Pat Fielder wrote the screenplay for the top-of-the-bill movie Return of Dracula and may have been pressed by United Artists to whip up a B script. Ample use of copy-and-paste is evident. TFB is 70% a cliche jungle flick with the main characters spending a lot of time hacking through brush or camping or dealing with natives. Interwoven are some predictable comic moments and the traditional sissy-woman in the wild moments. The sci-fi last act is also fairly traditional stuff. Plot holes (such as why the natives burst into flame, and what's that electric force field all about?) abound. Not Fielder's best work, but it satisfied his bosses.

Space Contagion Angst -- When the movie gets down to the sci-fi element, it is a continuation of the theme of deadly contamination coming from man's ventures into space. We saw this in The Quatermass Xperiment ('53 UK, '55 USA). We'll see it again a couple more times later in 1958 with the "blood rust" in Space Master X-7 and the very famous The Blob. People in the 50s sincerely worried that traveling into space would bring back deadly dangers. Perhaps they recalled how contact with Europeans brought deadly small pox to Native Americans. Might not trips into space bring back a similar pox?

Kilowatt Savior -- Another well-worn plot element is that the protagonists "kill" the monster by electrocuting it. Ever since The Thing was fried with electricity in 1951, it's been the quick traditional solution.

Solar Cell First -- One item of interest is the debut of photovoltaic technology. Howard Dahlmann used a photocell array to charge his big battery box to power his camp. This is the power source which kills the monster. Photocells were very new in the late 50s, but they did exist. A solar powered car was exhibited in Chicago in 1955. Cells were being developed for future satellites. TFB gets some credit for being the first sci-fi to show off this new technology.

Bottom line? TFB will bore or annoy folks looking for aliens or saucers or even much action. A fan of B jungle flicks might find it appealing. The appearance of the space blob life form and the solar cells give the movie some historical value.

Attack of the Puppet People

Bert I. Gordon was very busy in 1957 and 58. He was writing, producing, directing and doing technical effects on several movies. He is best known for his Amazing Colossal Man. Attack of the Puppet People (APP) is the other side of Gordon's coin. Here, he makes the people small. Many of the techniques are the same. The effect works a bit better in most instances.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Foreshadowing opens the story. Dolls Incorporated has a receptionist named Janet. A young woman answers a help-wanted ad at Dolls Incorporated. Sally becomes the romantic interest of salesman Bob Westley. A new mailman delivers a registered letter for Janet, and tells of the old mailman just disappeared. Franz says he'll give it to her. Sally finds the torn up letter in the trash. Bob asks Sally to marry him the next day. The next morning, Franz calls Sally and says Bob just went to St. Louis. She's crushed. Sally doesn't believe Franz and goes to the police. Sergeant Patterson scoffs at first, but they confront Franz to no avail. Patterson leaves. Franz locks Sally in. Fade to white. Sally awakens only 8 inches tall. Franz brings out shrunken Bob and explains his matter projector device which can shrink things. He also revives four others for a welcoming party. Sergeant Patterson visits again, asking questions. Franz's old friend, Emil, brings him a broken marionette for repairs. Franz, worried that the police were closing in on him, decides to kill himself and his little people so they could be together forever. He takes them to the theater to put on one final show with the marionette. A break comes and the six little people escape. Bob and Sally travel back to Franz's shop to try the machine in reverse. After several trials and escapes, they succeed. Both are full sized again. Franz pleads for them not to leave him alone. They leave anyway. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
With the spate of giant movies, it's interesting to see a miniature people movie. Some of the fun situational scenes from Incredible Shrinking Man get more screen time. The pacing is good.

Cold War Angle
APP is a parable on despotism, but told with some sympathy for the despot. As such, it doesn't draw from or play to Cold War anxieties very much.

Notes
Big or Small -- Bert I. Gordon had a specialty. Common things large or common things small. Both used the same techniques. The huge props, like the big telephone or big machine dials, make the effect smoother. APP used fewer of the less-effective matte shots and didn't suffer from the transparent giant problem. The many split screen scenes worked well for a low budget film.

Sympathetic Villain -- Mr. Franz is written and acted as a tragic tyrant. His wife left him and he has no family. Lacking, is the usual sinister villain qualities. Mr. Franz doesn't want to take over the world, or kill or inflict harm, etc. Also lacking is the lasciviousness. He's just a lonely old man who has abused his power (the shrinking projector) to assuage his loneliness. At the end, when Bob and Sally (restored to full size) rush out of his shop, Franz calls after them "Don't leave me. I'll be alone..." Mr. Franz makes for a much more interesting villain this way. He's harder to hate.

Thin Science -- It is interesting that a man whose background was marionette theater was able to devise and build a machine which sonically dissolved matter and reassembled it at a different size. Further, Mr. Franz was also able to devise a "suspended animation" pill (or gas) which preserved his little people in perfect stasis. No back story is given to explain these leaps in technical knowledge. They just are.

Product Placement -- Gordon played with his audiences a bit. When Bob and Sally go out for a date at a drive-in theater, they're watching Amazing Colossal Man. Beyond mere self-promotion, Gordon uses his giant movie as a not-too-subtle foil. The sound track cranks up when giant Manning says, "I'm not growing...you're shrinking..." Big and small are relative.

Bottom line? APP is a fairly watchable movie with a refreshingly different villain. The effects are typical of the period and budget. If that annoys you, be forewarned. If you liked Incredible Shrinking Man, APP can be fun.

Terror from the Year 5000

This somewhat obscure low-B film might show up on people's "worst film ever" lists, if it were better known. Terror From the Year 5000 (TFY5K) has most of the usual things people complain about: weak acting, slow pacing, cheap props and effects, plot holes galore. Many of these perceived flaws may stem more from the trouble inherent in having the same man be writer, producer and director. There's no one to buffer the "artist's" vision with marketing input. While the many shortcomings are all valid enough, the film still has some interest to the fan of 50s B sci-fi. It features two-way time travel. It's also a member of the post-apocalyptic angst sub-genre.

Quick Plot Synopsis
On a remote Florida island, Dr. Erling and his patron, Victor, experiment with a time machine booth. They beam in a small statue from the future. Erling's daughter, Claire, sends the statue to Robert Hedges, curator of a New York museum for dating. He determines that the statue is from the year 5200. He flies to Florida to investigate. A stormy romance triangle begins between Victor, Claire and Bob. Victor has been surreptitiously using the time machine. He succeeds (unawares) in almost bringing a mutant woman from the future. Her radiation levels give Victor burns on his arm before he closes the door. Bob uncovers evidence of Victor's reckless use of the time machine. Bob tries to expose Victor's deeds. Victor tries to kill Bob. Bob beats the stuffing out of him. They take him to the mainland hospital. Bob, Claire and her dad spend the evening in town (movie and supper) awaiting the radiologist's report. Victor slipped out, back to the house. He cranks up the time machine again. An ugly-faced woman with sequin body suit and long silver claw-nails jumps him. The other three return to find Victor amid the shambles of the lab. They send for a nurse to tend Victor. When the nurse comes, future woman chases and kills her. She steals the nurse's face and clothes. Future woman-as-nurse keeps Victor hypnotized with her sparkly nails. She tells him about the radiated future and rampant mutations. They need his pre-atomic genes in the future. Bob and Erling search the woods and find the faceless dead nurse. Future woman coaxes hypnotized Victor into the time machine, but Claire interrupts. They argue and struggle. Bob intervenes and shoots future woman. She dives for the time machine. Victor holds the door open causing both to be electrocuted. Bob, Claire and Erling muse about preventing the terrible future by being more responsible in the present. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
There are several points of interest. See the Notes section for details. Post-apocalyptic time travelers who can steal faces is not your typical saucers or monsters story line.

Cold War Angle
Ultimately, this is a cautionary tale of what might happen if nuclear proliferation goes unchecked. When Bob Hedge's wonders aloud how they might help those poor people in the future, Dr. Erling's closing monologue sums it up. "Whether there will be creatures like her, depends on us...on all us. On mankind. On what we do today, in the present."

Notes
First Time (Travel) -- TFY5K has the distinction of being the first American sci-fi movie to use a time travel machine. A couple other movies touched on travel to the future, such as World Without End ('56), but that was a one-way deal. In TFY5K, objects are sent from the 20th century to the year 5200. The people of the future send back objects to the 20th century. Finally, a woman from the future travels back to 1958 to bring back with her a "pre-atomic" man.

Apocalyptic Vision -- TFY5K joins a sub-genre of films which imagined earth having a bleak future because of uncontrolled nuclear war. Captive Women ('52) (a.k.a. "1000 Years From Now") was set in 2500 AD New York, where radiation from nuclear war had created a civilization of mutants. World Without End ('56) posited the world of 2508 AD America, in which radiation from nuclear war created a caveman civilization of mutants. In all three of these movies, the purported solution was the infusion of untainted genes to break the mutation cycle.

Identity Theft -- An interesting, and pivotal plot device is that the woman from the future is able to "take" the face of the dead nurse and wear it as a perfect mask. This gets no explanation. The future woman has a face-lifter mask with her. Perhaps the mutants of the future use these to operate outside the isolated mutant colonies?

Scatter Plot? -- There are sub-plots which do not (obviously) feed the primary story line. Why the suggestion of a plot to kill Hedges? Why Angelo as the loner-peeping-Tom? Why have the bucolic evening in town? Gurney wrote the screenplay for Invasion of the Saucer Men. He wrote the screenplay of TFY5K from a short story titled "Bottle Baby" by Henry Slesar. Gurney must have had something in mind with those sub-plots. A victim of tight budgets?

Carbon Error -- A science fact mishandled in TFY5K is the idea that a metal statue could be carbon dated. (Miss Blake does specifically say "Carbon-14") That test only applies to things once alive. Nevermind. Assume there is a test that can place an article on an objective timeline.

Edsel Star -- An inadvertent, minor, "star" is the 4-door hardtop Edsel Corsair which Hedges rents from Hertz. The Edsel debuted on Sept. 4, '57 amid great media hype. Perhaps typifying the hubris of the late 50s, the Edsel could not live up to the expectations and its times. It fell flat with the public. The brand was dropped in 1960. But, while TFY5K was being filmed in late 1957, the Edsel was hot news.

Bottom line? TFY5K is unpolished enough to annoy people who expect bigger budget productions. Fans of 50s B sci-fi will find it interesting, if they can view the original, not the MST3K version. Fewer distractions (amusing though they were).