The Man Without A Body

To round out this Digression Week, we go to 1957. Originally, this movie was left off the list as being horror and not sci-fi. But, as the tour of 1958 had included several outer-orbit movies, The Man Without A Body (MwoB) had just as strong (or weak) a cases for inclusion. So, here it is.
MwoB is one of those quirky low budget films which easily confounds the average viewer. It mixes some of the Frankenstein theme of medical science gone wrong, with the evils of the business world with a dose of film-noir. Like many film-noir movies, there are almost no heroic or noble characters. Just about everyone is flawed. W. Lee Wilder, who directed Phantom From Space ('53) and Killers From Space ('54) had some skill at directing low budget films, and does a fair job with MwoB.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Wealthy and rude, business tycoon Karl Brussard's medical troubles are due to an inoperable brain tumor. While getting a second option from a Dr. Merritt, Brussard learns of Merritt's experiments in brain transplants. Merritt has a process to revive long-dead tissue. Brussard, while touring Madame Tussaud's wax museum, gets the idea to use Nostradamus's head as the only one worthy of Brussard. He pays some men to steal Nosty's head, then smuggles it into England. Merritt is surprised, but sets about reviving the head with his special process. Meanwhile, Brussard's neglected paramour and Merritt's assistant, Lew, begin a romance. After 23 days, Nosty's head revives. The scientists enjoy a casual chat with Nosty about the wonders of the 20th century. Brussard tries to browbeat Nosty into becoming the new leader of the Brussard empire. Odette wants Lew to sabotage the head transplant so she'll be free from either Brussard (old and new). Nosty has his own scheme. He gives Brussard intentionally bad business advice that totally ruins him. Odette flees with her gift jewelry to Lew's apartment, but Brussard follows. Enraged, he strangles her. When Lew shows up, Brussard chases him, finally shooting him in the neck at Merritt's lab. Brussard also shoots at Nosty's head, damaging one of the hook-up tubes. Merritt, arrives, surveys the damage and decides to put Nosty's head on Lew's brain-dead, but otherwise sound body. The very heavily bandaged Nosty-Lew hybrid awakens as a moaning brute. Nosty-Lew pursues Brussard (and the other way around too) through the dark, wet, back streets of London. They end up at the top of a bell tower staircase. Brussard gets vertigo (the tumor?) and falls to his death. Nosty-Lew rings the bell a couple times, then Lew's body falls. Nosty's head remained tangled in the bell rope. Everyone leaves. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
The convoluted plot keeps you guessing. Wilder's direction keeps the pace moving. There is enough of the noir side to keep things from getting shallow or trite.

Cold War Angle
There are no Cold War analogies in MwoB. It's film-noir-ish commentary on science and business and love.

Notes
Men Without Souls -- One of the driving themes in MwoB is the unscrupulous nature of both the business world, and the medical world. Brussard is almost a caricature of the greedy businessman. He ignored relationships, plundered a grave, and murdered. Dr. Merritt represented a passionless medical world. He objected only feebly to the theft of Nosty's head, then just got to work on it. No big deal. Later, he cooly takes Lew's head off his body and grafts on Nosty's. Old Dr. Alexander underscores the lack of medical morals with a matter-of-factness, "Hmm. I'd have done the same thing myself." Life is not something personal. People are just a collection of animated tissue. Mix match, add subtract, something is still alive, so the Hippocratic Oath is technically satisfied. Merritt is even "dead" to pretty Jean's romantic interest in him. Neither the medical men, nor the business men are portrayed as having any emotion or soul.

Paean to Nosty -- Nostradamus is given an almost worshipful treatment in MwoB. Through the main characters, the scriptwriters give him credit for predicting much of the wonders of the mid 20th century. Nostradamus's "Prophecies" enjoyed periodic popularity. Henry C. Roberts' book "The Complete Prophecies of Nostradamus," in 1947 sparked a 50s wave of popularity. Nosty would fade again, but become popular again in the early 70s and 80s. Perhaps due to Roberts' english translation, viewers will note that Nosty's head in MowB speaks modern english. Handy for American audiences. Nosty was French. Did he even speak English? It would have been amusing if he spoke in the Tudor english of the 1550s.

Imperial Immortality -- For "Me Generation" viewers, it seems odd that Brussard is so keen to have Nosty's brain placed in his body. Brussard, as a personality, would die with his tumored brain. The writers are capturing part of the soulless man's grappling with mortality. For Brussard, his financial empire was almost synonymous with himself . As his creation, it mattered more that his empire continue and thrive. Monuments were the key to substitutional immortality. Therein is a telling little glimpse into the soulless man. Even his own mortality is taken matter-of-factly (rather like how Brussard scoffs at Odette's empty threat to slash her wrists).

Soulless Sexuality -- A recurring element in MowB is the dark side of sexuality. There is no pure and chaste romance element. Grizzled old Brussard is keeping a young tartish French girl (Odette) as a paramour. She wants Lew to sabotage the experiment so Brussard dies. Clearly no love there. She has been trading sex for jewelry. Odette, for her part, fishes for "love" anywhere -- even coming on to Brussard's chauffeur. Lew, the highly libidinous medical assistant, is all over Odette, even though she is clearly Brussard's "kept" woman. Pretty (and normal) Jane has unrecoited feelings for Dr. Merritt, but he has no feelings for her. Her love is frustrated. The Nosty-Lew hybrid monster even makes a sort of veiled rape attack on Jane. Even Nosty cannot be trusted. He's a beast within. No wholesome romance here.

Bottom line? There's nothing grand about MwoB. It's a B sci-fi / horror / film-noir movie. Yet, as "lite" as it is on the science, the rich it is in complex noir. In this, MwoB is still entertaining and might even spark some conversation.
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Spaceways

For the next installment in Digression Week we go back to 1953 and a movie I couldn't get a copy in time for my tour of 1953. Spaceways is actually a rather early sci-fi / crime drama hybrid. Hammer Films produced it in 1952 and was itself a "freely adapted" version of an earlier radio play. When it was first produced, Spaceways was among its peers with Red Planet Mars, and Rocketship X-M. In that context, it was up to par. However, by the time Robert L. Lippert distributed Spaceways in America in 1953, the bar had been raised. Paramount's blockbuster War of the Worlds was just out. A little sci-fi/drama flick, with little action, was too easily lost in hubbub of "The War." Nonetheless, Spaceways deserves its place in line, in those early days when sci-fi was still taking shape.

Quick Plot Synopsis
The British space program is conducting tests preliminary to launching an orbiting satellite. Their tests succeed enough that the government okays the next phase. At a party to celebrate, it becomes clear that the lead scientist, Dr. Steve Mitchell has a problem with his wife Vanessa. She is keen on the biologist, Dr. Phillip Crenshaw. To complete the triangle, mathematician Dr. Lisa Frank is dotingly keen on Steven. The phase 2 rocket fails in its third stage burn -- perhaps due to a lack of fuel. It goes into orbit instead of coming back down. Phillip and Vanessa have disappeared. The authorities suspect Steve of having killed the two and stashed their bodies in a drained fuel tank aboard the rocket. No bodies. The perfect crime. Steve convinces the authorities to let him go up in a manned rocket and fetch back the crippled one. This would prove his guilt or innocence. They agree and construction on the manned rocket is accelerated. Lisa tricks her way into going with Steve. They blast off before word comes that Phillip, a spy, and Vanessa were found at a coastal cottage. Philip was about to flee. Vanessa has a change of heart. He shoots her dead. The police burst in, but too late. Meanwhile, the shock of stage 3 separation is too much. The ship is damaged and out of control. Lisa radios back her notes to fix the problem for those who must follow. Steve, to avoid a dour ending, un-jams the controls. They can return. Happy ending.

Why is this movie fun?
Even though it doesn't get a lot of screen time, the big-winged rocket is a treat for 50s future-tech fans.

Cold War Angle
Instead of analogies, the Cold War forms a background plot element that shows up in two places. One, is where the General urges the Minister to approve the satellite project with dire undertones "in the event we should not be first." An orbiting station would "keep the earth under constant surveillance." (which, indeed, they do) The second comes nearer the end when Vanessa balks at going "east" with Philip, the spy. "I just got out of one prison," she says, referring to the restrictive rocket base. "I'm not going to a prison with 200 million people in it." A nice oblique reference to the Soviet Union.

Notes
X-M UK -- There is a scene towards the end of Spaceways that has noticeable parallel to Rocketship X-M. A rocket is out of control. Aboard it are a man and woman who recently realized they were in love. The female scientist radios to earth her notes to correct the problem and a little speech that their deaths should not stop others from following. In Spaceways, however, Steve is able to free the jammed controls at the last minute and they're saved. Also, quick-eyed viewers will spot a couple seconds of XM's liftoff footage.

Poster Hype -- The British poster (at left) promised little, so was less apt to disappoint. The American poster, (shown above) however, promised a giant wheel space station. The tag line: "The screen's First Story of Space Islands in the sky!" suggested some space station action. American audiences may have felt a bit let down with the limited space travel scenes -- and no space wheels.

Love Drama -- Most of Spaceways is a spy story with crime drama overtones. It just happens to be set in a rocket research base. There's the complex love web: Steve's wife Vanessa is a disenchanted gold-digger because he's not getting famous enough fast enough. Philip, the spy, is wooing Vanessa. Lisa, the mathematician, has a secret crush on Steve, but he's married.

Spy Drama -- Amid typical Cold War hyper-security, one of the rocket scientists has gone missing. Philip gained the confidence of a corporal who was due to be rotated out, in order slip out. He planned to steal rocket secrets and flee to Russia. Ruthless Philip killed naive corporal Roger and shot naive Vanessa. Nasty spy.

Crime Drama -- When Steve's wife and "lover" go missing on a base no one can get off of, Inspector Smith is led to just one conclusion: the bodies are aboard the rocket which just went into orbit. Steve was the only one alone with the rocket, ergo... Steve planned to take up a second rocket, retrieve the first, and thereby prove his innocence (or at least lack of conclusive proof of guilt).

Old World Craftsmanship -- Notice the instrument panels in both the mission control base and aboard the rocket. Instead of the ubiquitous aluminum, you'll see fancy wavy grain book-matched veneer panels. Pretty fancy old world craftsmanship for the space age.

Bottom line? Spaceways is many movies in one, with the space travel portion being a somewhat minor and late component. For this reason, it will seem rather slow and talky compared to flashier, more action packed sci-fi movies. Watch it with Rocketship X-M and it will fit right in.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

To begin Digression Week, we go back to 1954. This was an 'epic' film in the Disney paradigm, but a somewhat minor star in the 50s sci-fi universe. It was based rather well on Jules Verne's 1870 novel of the same name. Verne is one of the founding fathers of science fiction, but what was 'gee-whiz' in the 1870s did not necessarily retain its sense of wonder. Where 50s audiences were fascinated with flying saucers, a mere submarine was less likely to impress. Nonetheless, Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (20k) is a 50s edition of a 19th century sci-fi classic, so it has an ancestral claim for inclusion in the 50s sci-fi herd.

Quick Plot Synopsis
A mysterious "sea monster" is sinking ships in the Pacific. We get to see one sunk. Crews refuse to sail. This strands Professor Arronax and his sidekick Conseil in San Francisco. The US Government promises him passage to Saigon in exchange for helping search for the monster. They find it. During its attack on the ship, Arronax, Conseil and harpooner Ned Land are knocked overboard and left behind. They drift upon the submarine Nautilus. Captain Nemo considers them prisoners, not guests, but softens when he recognizes Arronax. Nemo sees Arronax as a potential ambassador to the world for Nemo's technology. Nemo shows Aronax many of the wonders of the deep and the marvels of Nautilus. Conceil and Land continually conspire to escape. Nemo shows Arronax an island where slaves mine nitrates from gunpowder. The back story is that Nemo and his crew were once such slaves, but escaped. Hence, Nemo's "war" on the munitions trade. Nemo sinks the ship carrying the nitrates, but its exploding damages Nautilus's rudder. Land throws messages in bottles overboard, with coordinates for Nemo's home base, the island of Volcania. Later, the balky rudder causes Nautilus to get stuck on a reef. Land tries to escape, but is chased back by cannibals. A warship fires on the grounded Nautilus as it escapes. It's hit. It sinks to a record depth before Nemo regains control. At that depth, they are attacked by a giant squid. On the surface, the squid grabs Nemo. Land harpoons it and saves Nemo. They all arrive at Volcania to find it surrounded by warships. Troops swarm to the dormant volcano's summit. Via an underwater cave, the Nautilus gets to Nemo's secret base. There, he plants explosives to cover his secret. Nemo is shot in the back as they flee. Once back out at sea, Nemo prepares for a suicide dive. Land breaks free, fights first mate, and brings Nautilus back to the surface. The three escape in the skiff. The island blows up. Nemo dies of his wound. Nautilus is swamped by the wave and sinks. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
From a regular diet of black & white, and low-budget sets and effects, the colorful big budget Disney production feels almost luxurious. The acting is general A-level. James Mason does a great job as the tormented tyrant. Peter Lorrie is just fun to watch anytime. Fans of steampunk could easily see the Nautilus as the actual star of the film.

Cold War Angle
Verne had no inkling of nuclear power in his original novel. The Disney writers adapted the tale to the Cold War era by having the Nautilus powered by a nuclear reactor. With it, comes the customary cautions. "Such a power could revolutionize the world!" says Professor Arronax. "Or destroy it," retorts Nemo. The movie ends with a softened cautionary moral. Nemo's words are replayed: "There is hope for the future, and when the world is ready for a new and better life, all this will someday come to pass in God's good time..."

Notes
Glorious Steampunk -- The term "steampunk" wasn't coined until the late 1980s, and then to describe tales in which modern technology is accomplished with 19th century means. The Nautilus in 20k is a grand example of the modern (1950s) nuclear submarine rendered in 19th century forms. Actually, Disney made his Nautilus more retro than Verne did. Verne's Nautilus had a sleek electric motor drive. Disney's Nautilus had large steam engine (albiet running on reactor generated steam) It is interesting to keep in mind, however, that when Verne was imagining his Nautilus, 19th century technology was the cutting edge. Big gauges, steam pipes, levers and plate steel with big rivets were to Verne's day, what aluminum and plexiglas were to folks in the 50s. Electricity was the magic marvel of Verne's day. Atomic energy was the corresponding magic marvel for the 50s.

Movie vs. Book -- Many movie adaptations depart significantly from the books their based on. Disney's 20k, however, actually does a fair job of paralleling Verne's novel. Some changes were inevitable, such as the glossing over of the nebulous enemy to downplay Verne's more blatant anti-British attitude. Verne's novels often have a heavy travelogue flavor to them. Disney's 20k managed to retain just enough of that. To Disney's credit, he avoided inserting a female lead to become a love interest -- as many scripts did. Disney also avoided inserting a youngster as audience-identifier star. He would do this in many of his movies, but not in 20k, thankfully.

Sub Star -- As in Verne's novel, so too in Disney's 20k, the submarine Nautilus is one of the stars. Verne often wrote a tale that featured some wonder-gizmo around which the story revolves. Verne had a visionary's eye. In 1870, the submarine was so primitive that it would have been easy to miss. In 1864, the Confederate sub CSS Hunley sank the USS Housatonic. The Hunley was crude. It was essentially a 40 foot long, four-foot diameter plate steel tube. The "engine" was eight men who turned a common hand crank to drive the propeller. The explosive they planted into the hull of the Housatonic succeeded, but the shock from it may have doomed the Hunley as well. It never returned. For Verne to imagine the Nautilus when the Hunley was state-of-the-art, was quite a visionary leap. In the 1950s, complex submarines, driven by atomic reactors, traveling thousands of miles, would be state-of-the-art, so some of Verne's gee-whiz magic was lost.

Bach to the Future -- A fascinating detail in 20k, is the scenes of Nemo playing his ornate pipe organ. With facial expressions of deep inner pain and torment, James Mason pounds out Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Modern movie fans can't help but recognize in this the iconic Phantom of the Opera scene. That scene, however, appears in Hammer Film's 1962 version of Phantom of the Opera. Disney's 20k was eight years prior, and very widely seen. The Nemo-playing-Bach scene could not help but have influenced Hammer, yet the '62 version with the Phantom became the cultural icon associated with the music, not the '54 version with Nemo. Go figure.

Bottom line? Disney's 20k is a classic that should not be missed. The sci-fi component may be a little light in the context of saucers and aliens, yet it touches sci-fi's foundations.

Giant From The Unknown

Here's another bit of digression for a movie which I'd skipped at the beginning of touring 1958, on the grounds that it wasn't sci-fi. After watching it, it had to be admitted that it did have a weak claim for inclusion.

Screencraft Enterprises produced only two movies, this one, and She Demons. Both were in the far outer orbit of the sci-fi solar system. Giant stuffs in just a touch of "science" in its script to explain why a 500 year old conquistador is alive and rampaging in a California hill country. At it's heart, Giant is a monster movie. The 6' 6" giant, like any decent monster, is almost unkillable. This beast happens to be rather blandly human looking (more of a menacing homeless guy), but the monster format is the same. Still, Screencraft gets a few points for a touch of originality in their choice of monsters. Director Richard Cunha does a fair job keeping the story moving and the visuals interesting. Giant also benefits from having two B sci-fi troopers in the cast. Morris Ankrum plays the venerable archeologist. Sally Fraser plays his ravishing daughter.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Mysterious deaths of local livestock, and finally a brutal murder have the citizens of remote Devil's Crag up in arms. The sheriff and townsfolk dislike an outsider Wayne Brooks, a handsome young geologist who has been roving the hills. Suspicion is also cast upon Indian Joe. Professor Cleveland and his daughter Janet come to Devil's Crag to search for traces of Vargas, leader of a spanish expedition that predates all others into California. They meet up with Wayne. He shows them his extinct, living lizard which had been kept in stasis inside a rock. Amid ongoing friction with the sheriff and townsfolk, they search for Vargas. The search seems fruitless, but they finally find an area with spanish armor and some bones, and a huge set of armor, but no giant among them. A lightning storm awakens Vargas from the soil. He finds his armor, suits up and starts his rampage by killing a young woman. Wayne is arrested for it, but the Professor frees him. Vargas has abducted Janet. The sheriff and town mob join the hunt. Vargas drops Janet and retreats to the rocky hill. The men trap him and shoot him many times. Thinking they have him, they stop for the night. Vargas escapes. The others pursue him to a picturesque old mill. Wayne fights with Vargas. The giant eventually falls into the out-wash of the mill dam. Since the out-wash is into a "bottomless" volcanic crater lake, the body will never be found. The world will never know, but all is well as Wayne and Janet smooch in full embrace. The end.

Why is this movie fun?
Enjoy Giant as a not-very-deep monster movie with an off beat monster. Morris Ankrum, veteran of many a sci-fi B movie, is always fun to watch. The earnest zeal of Sally Fraser (who played the "other" wife (Joan) in It Conquered the World ('56) and would go on to star in (War of the Colossal Beast ('58) ) is always fun too. For more points of interest, see Notes below

Cold War Angle
As a simple monster movie, there are no Cold War analogies in place.

Notes
Scrap of Science -- The script of Giant has three small stabs at "science" to support its monster. 1. is the "extinct" lizard supposedly kept alive within solid rock by "suspended animation." 2. is some blather about the tannin in the local soil (due to oak leaves) which act as a preservative for Vargas's body which was only in a coma (not dead). 3. is the old trope of electricity animating a dormant life form. Lighting strikes near the semi-buried Vargas and he awakens. Sure, they're all a bit thin, but this is the script's claim to being "science" fiction.

Pre-Giant Killer? -- One of the interesting plot holes in Giant is all the stage setting of a mysterious killer on the loose at the very start of the movie. Cattle and other animals mutilated, a man similarly brutally murdered. False accusations fly, but who did it? Vargas himself does some killing (Ann, Indian Joe) but he wasn't awakened by the lightning bolt until half way through the movie. Who killed Howard and the cattle earlier? That guy was still on the loose, but no one cares.

Good vs. Evil -- Where Screencraft's other film, She Demons, had a somewhat gritty undertone about humanity (psychopathic Nazi doctor turning pretty girls into ugly beasts), Giant sticks to the simple hero and monster format. All tension between the protagonists is a simple misunderstanding among otherwise noble gentlemen. Vargas, the giant, is pure beastly (he never speaks, not even some old Spanish) and does nothing except kill, oh, and steal a pretty woman. Good triumphs over evil, just the way 50s audiences liked it.

They're After Our Women -- The poster (as usual) promises that the monster is after our scantily clad young women. A minor surprise in Giant comes when Vargas does abduct the female lead. He does not murder the foolish and helpless Janet. She faints when the jeep won't start and Vargas oh-so-slowly approaches. Instead of simply killing her, as he has everyone else he caught, he tosses her over his shoulder and carts her off. Maybe it's because she was a blonde, whereas the equally pretty Ann had black hair. Come to think of it, Vargas killed Indian Joe too, and HE had black hair. Nonetheless, Giant resurrects more than an old conquistador. It keeps alive the old trope of the monster (or aliens) wanting to abduct our desirable women. For that, he must die.

Bottom line? Watch Giant with some snacks and not too critical of a mind. As a monster movie, it's fair. Revived dinosaurs or giant bugs were becoming commonplace. Big mean conquistadors, however, just didn't show up much. Giant is "lite" on science, but a fun bit of fiction.

She Demons

Here is yet another example from the gray area between horror films and sci-fi. As a low-B picture, it's not an especially strong example of either. It double billed with Giant From The Unknown, the only other film produced by Screencraft Productions. It's claim to membership in the sci-fi sphere is thin. Dr. Osler is conducting some vague medical processes and does spew some techno-blather about hormones. He also rambles about extracting electrical energy from the lava beneath the island. That, however, is about as far as the "science" of the fiction goes. True, She Demons has many of the shortcomings which befall most low budget B productions. It is clearly aimed at the young male audience. It stars Irish McCalla (famed for her "Barbie" physique) and the poster's promise of many more babes in short skirts. Yet, She Demons' quirky mixture of tropes and themes has a charm to it. This may explain why it has developed a cult following as one of those "so bad they're good" movies.

Quick Plot Synopsis
A hurricane shipwrecks a spoiled heiress and three men who work for her father. Their uncharted island is used for US Navy bombing exercises, but turns out to be inhabited. One of the men is killed by spears. The others find the island inhabited by both deformed-faced women, and a group of beautiful scantily clad 20-somethings who like to preform interpretive dance. These are all rounded up by some Nazi soldiers and returned to their bamboo cages. Dr. Osler is extracting the beauty from the young women, to try to restore his wife Mona's badly burned face. The process makes the young woman have a 'demon' face for a few days. Fred, Sammy and Jerrie sneak into the lab later, but are caught by Osler's sergeant. Fred and Igor fight, with Igor eventually getting locked into the cage full of she-demons who kill him. The three escape, but are captured by more SS soldiers. In custody, Olser tells all the back story of concentration camp days, Mona and his experiments, etc. Fred and Sammy are locked up. Osler puts the moves on Jerrie as a replacement for poor Mona. Jerrie whacks Olser with a champaign bottle and escapes with the help of Mona. Eventually, all three are recaptured by Osler. Since Jerrie continues to spurn Osler, he has her on the transfer table. Just then, Mona objects and the Navy starts bombing. The explosions free Fred and Sammy. Cracks in the walls cause "lava" to engulf Osler. Mona opts to stay and die with her husband. SS soldiers chase the fleeing three, but they escape. The soldiers do not. At the beach, Jerrie and Fred proclaim their long suppressed love for each other. Confident that the Navy will come to examine the island for all the new lava flows, they row out into the sea for safety. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
Some have moaned about how 'bad' this movie is, but it is chock full of classic trope remakes. More on those below. She Demons is pure B movie, and can be enjoyed as such.

Cold War Angle
This movie is much more of the "mad scientist" genre than anything related to the Cold War.

Notes
Remade Moreau -- There is a strong homage to the 1932 film, Island of Lost Souls. The protagonist(s) arrive on an uncharted island via shipwreck. On the island is a mad doctor and a population of people suffering disfigurement from his experiments. Where Charles Laughton's Dr. Moreau was somewhat ingratiating and smarmy, Rudolph Anders' Moreau-like Dr. Osler pushed ingratiation to extremes. We also get a recast of the '32 manimals mobbing Moreau scene, with the she-demons mobbing cruel sergeant Igor.

From Villain to Henchman -- A small side note is the actor Gene Roth who plays Dr. Osler's chief thug, an SS Oberscharführer (sergeant). In the early 50s, Roth was the chief interplanetary villain -- Vultura -- in the Video Ranger serials. Despite his added age, and fall in rank, Roth manages to still give a suitably villainous performance.

Farming Babes -- Another bit of trope recycling is Osler using the young women to make his wife beautiful again. He's farming the young ladies, as it were, to harvest their beauty. This was the trope within The Corpse Vanishes (1942) in which Bela Lugosi is using extracts from dead brides to keep his old wife looking young. The notion of the young being sacrificed to maintain the old, has deep roots.

Lost Women -- She Demons has several of the distinguishing characteristics of the "Lost Women" sub-genre. There have been several of these already in this tour of '50s sci-fi. Catwomen of the Moon ('53), Fire Maidens from Outer Space ('56) and Queen of Outer Space ('58), to name but a few. There were many others outside the sci-fi genre too. Prehistoric Women ('50), Bowanga Bowanga ('51) and Wild Women of Wongo ('58) as just a few of them. They share in common, an isolated or 'lost' group of beautiful 20-somethings who are discovered/found by some outsiders. The lost ladies have a penchant for group dance and are usually endangered by something. She Demons is clearly a member of the Lost Women sub-genre.

Logical Leap? -- To the inattentive, it may seem like a huge hole in the logic of the film (not that B films were famous for tight plot logic), that Fred, Sammy and Jerrie first see the pretty prisoner women doing their sensual group dance before getting rounded up by the SS troops. If the girls escaped their cages, why on earth were they just cavorting around a fire to drums? What kind of escape is that? Later in the film, Dr. Osler explains to Jerrie that the the "character X" transfer removes all memory from the victim. Even though their beauty returns in a few days, their memory never does. As such, all these escaped young beauties have nothing in their heads but the wild sensual inner woman. As Don Henley's song said it, "all she wants to do is dance, dance, dance." Surely, this is a young male fantasy. A bevy of perfect beauties with no past -- no fathers, no boyfriends, no plans. Only their nubile libido remains.

Liberated Über-Nazis -- One of the intriguing bits of She Demons is seeing Nazis liberated from the confines of WWII history and used as generic villains. Nazis had much screen time as villains in tons of war films. They also feature as shadowy villains in many non-war films too, but the stories were almost always set sometime between 1933-1945 (e.g. Casablanca ('42), Sound of Music ("1938"), The Hindenberg ('1937"), Raiders of the Lost Ark ("1936"), etc. etc. In She Demons we get to see generic (almost exaggeratedly stereotypic) Nazis who have broken free from the orbit of the war period -- free to ply their mythic menace anywhere, anytime. They wear pristine SS uniforms (despite being isolated on the island for over 12 years), and spout the usual generic movie-nazi lines like "Raus", "Schnell", "Schweinhund," and "Dumkopf" while doing only evil deeds (such as whipping a pretty young blonde) This freedom from history, by itself, is an intriguing feature.

Bottom line? She Demons will never impress anyone with its acting, sets or for having any deep social meaning. Horror fans and sci-fi fans will need to scale back their expectations, as it's tamely marginal in both genres. It is, however, a fun bit of entertainment if you let it be what it is, a B-movie.

Missile to the Moon

This little B-movie is obviously a remake of Catwomen of the Moon. One wonders why the producers thought this was a good idea. Perhaps their marketing folks said there was some quick/easy money to be made with a film that features a bunch of beauty pageant winners in dance leotards, high heels and tall hair. In that case, the Catwomen script provided a means. The script of Missile to the Moon (MTTM) follows the story of Catwomen pretty closely, but with just enough differences to provide a little interest to B-film fans.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Dirk Green has privately built a rocket for traveling to the moon. The government plans to commandeer the project, because only governments can do space travel. Dirk blasts off that night. Inside the rocket are two escaped convicts, whom Dirk hijacks into being his crew. Dirk's assistant Steve and his fiance June happen to get aboard too. During a meteor storm, a big battery falls on Dirk. Mortally injured, he gives Steve a medallion then dies. When they get to the moon, the four find rock monsters. They escape into a cave only to become prisoners of and the all-female remnant of a civilization living underground in ever-shrinking air pockets. They mistake Steve for Dirk because of the medallion. Dirk came from the moon. The queen plans to take her subjects to earth. Alpha, the second-ranking moon woman rebels and kills the queen. She plans to kill the other earthlings, marry Steve (even though he isn't Dirk) and take her moon girls to a different planet. Moon-babe Lambda falls for the convict named Gary. He's only interested in the cave full of diamonds. Lambda is killed by the cave-dwelling spider monster. Zema, falls in love with the other convict, Lon. During the belly-dancing wedding ceremony, Lon and Gary save June from execution by the spider monster. Alpha, angry at their escape, orders Zema to flood the caves with poison gas. Zema instead tosses a grenade which breaks up their last pocket of air. The moon women dramatically expire. On the surface, Gary is laden down with bags of diamonds. The rock creatures force him into the deadly full sun. He burns up. June, Lon and Steve get to the ship. June asks Steve if she's prettier than Alpha. Only good ol' mother earth is prettier. Har har. The end.

Why is this movie fun?
MTTM is a remake of Catwomen of the Moon, but cranked up a notch or two. It's fun to see how much MTTM matches Catwomen and where it deviates.

Cold War Angle
There aren't really any Cold War metaphors or references in MTTM.

Notes
Catwomen Redux -- Yes, MTTM is a recasting of the story Catwomen of the Moon. Check that link for a recap. In some ways, MTTM is a cheaper copy (most notably in the props). In other ways, MTTM goes further than Catwomen did. MTTM has two loving traitors. Lambda falls for Gary and dies. Zema falls for Lon and dies. A twist in the Zema duplicate is that she causes the end of the moon women. MTTM has a repeat of the greedy-man (Walt with gold, Gary with diamonds). MTTM has the same spider puppet as Catwomen but made more menacing with big toothy mandibles. MTTM adds the laughably slow, but intriguing rock creatures. Like Catwomen, there is a very odd preoccupation with romantic pairings and whether someone loves them or not (or is pretty enough). An alien civilization and bizarre creatures are not important enough. Boy-girl attractions. Now that's important.

Telltale Budget -- MTTM is a typical low-budget production, so it's fun to spot the usual shortcuts. You'll see some V2 footage used many times, and an astoundingly cheap flat prop "rocket" for the on-the-moon shots. The rock creatures are actually kind of fun. A toddler could out run them, yet the actors respond as if they were tigers.

Rare Air -- The moon women supposedly have the last pocket of air, but it's interesting to see that only Air Force jumpsuits, pilot's helmets and oxygen masks are needed on the moon's surface. And, when Gary strays into the sun, he bursts into flames. The lit torch in the cave was 'proof' that there was oxygen earlier in the story.

Green Cheesecake -- One could imagine Producer Marc Frederic starting with the idea of a quick-buck movie whose "hook" was a cast of a dozen beauty pageant winners.
But what to have them do?. The plot of Catwomen provided a venue, so remake it was. Instead of the catwomen's artsy full black leotards, MTTM has the pageant winners in high heels, dance leotards and bangeled up like budget Las Vegas showgirls. Such an obvious pandering to teen male audience tastes is amusing. Watch how all the pageant babes are always striking glamor poses.

Bottom line? MTTM is more fun if you've seen Catwomen already. Compare and contrast, as the professors say. Beyond that, look past the extreme cheapness of the production and take in another (somewhat wacky) installment in the "lost women" sub-genre.

From Earth to the Moon

Later in the 50s, the major studios had shied away from producing big budget sci-fi movies. Movies of classics were safer. Warner Brothers distributed From Earth to the Moon (FEtoM), based on Jules Verne's novel, is one of these. Usually, being shot in color was the hallmark of an A movie. B movies were typically black and white. FEtoM resists this handy formula. It's shot in Technicolor, but shares more in common with the B family. It has spotty acting, weak special effects, stock footage and gaping plot holes. FEtoM also carries a strong Cold War theme, another trait 50s sci-fi B movies are famous for. Director Bryon Haskins (of War of the Worlds and Conquest of Space) did a nice enough job, but could not make a silk purse of it. As one of the last gasps from the nearly defunct RKO studios, there wasn't the budget for greatness.

Quick Plot Synopsis
Victor Barbicane, a wealthy arms maker, addresses a group of other arms industrialists. They grew rich during the Civil War, but the peace is rough on them. Victor proposes a new scheme to restore their wealth. He has a new explosive he calls "Power X," that can propel an artillery shell thousands of miles. Every nation will have to have it just to keep up. To test such a massively destructive force, and to demonstrate it to the world, Victor proposes a giant cannon and an exploding shot on the moon. All the industrialists are in. A southern rival, Mr. Nicholl challenges Victor to a contest. Victor's Power X explosive versus Nicholl's special armor plate. Power X wins. Everyone is sold on Power X and construction begins. President Grant secretly tells Victor that existence of Power X threatens world peace. For his country, Victor must cancel the project. He does, to much ridicule. He decides to do his moon shot anyhow, as a manned mission by Victor, NIcholl and Ben. Nicholl's daughter Virginia stows away. En route to the moon, it is discovered that Nicholl sabotaged the rockets as a final revenge. With much work, the three men jerry-rig some repairs. The aft section lands Victor and Nicholl on the moon. The forward section contains Ben and Virginia. It is implied that no one returns. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
FEtoM is one of the early examples of "steampunk". Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ('54) was an earlier (and better) example, but FEtoM has some steampunk charm too. Morris Ankrum as President Grant is a fun nugget.

Cold War Angle
Verne's story was seriously rewritten to add "Power X" -- a blatant stand-in for nuclear power. Grant says, "You look upon it as a new source of energy. Others look upon it as a new source of destruction." An arms race and dangerous cold war will result. Much of the story is a recast of the nuclear dilemma in Victorian times.

Notes
Based (loosely) On The Book -- Verne's novel endured some pretty major changes for the screenplay. The inevitable Hollywood romance thread was worked in. Nicholl is given a beautiful 20-something daughter. Victor Barbicane is given a hunky young assistant. A huge difference from the novel is that Barbicane's moon ship returns safely. FEtoM borrows Rocketship X-M's dour ending, more in step with atomic age angst.

Bad FX -- Perhaps too much of FEtoM's budget went to the TechniColor processing. The special effects suffered. Note particularly, the model shots of the capsule "in flight." Positioned upright, the flames from the aft curl and smoke upward, killing any suggestion of a projectile in motion. Watch for the angled shot of the model. The power and gas supply boom supporting the model is blatantly visible.

Columbiad -- Virginia christens the moon capsule "Columbiad". By the 1950s, audiences were accustomed to space ships having names. But, the shell has no name in the book. Actually, in the book, Verne refers to the giant gun itself as a columbiad. This is a type of cannon used from the early 1800s to the late 1800s. In the mid 1800s, it was the state-of-the-art weapon -- the ultimate in muzzle loading, smooth bore artillery. Yet, like most technologies, it had its heyday but became obsolete.

Bottom line? FEtoM is a Hollywoodized remix of one of Verne's lesser sci-fi novels. It aspired to be an A movie, but amounts to a Technicolor B. Fans of steampunk can enjoy the sets and gizmos. Fans of saucers and aliens will probably find FEtoM slow and somewhat underwhelming. The actual moon trip comes too near the end to satisfy the average rocket fan.

Fiend Without A Face

In December 1958 Eros Films, Ltd. had another British B sci-fi movie touring American. Fiend Without A Face (FwoF) ran as the B feature to "Haunted Strangler." Both were British productions being marketed in America by MGM. This is another example of the blurry line between sci-fi and horror. FwoF itself exists in that blurry zone. Mysterious, invisible "mental vampires" killing their victims takes up the bulk of the film. The final showdown with the creatures is classic monster movie. Yet, the tie-in to the customary misguided scientist and atomic energy keep FwoF in the sci-fi orbit.

Quick Plot Synopsis
A Canadian farmer is killed just outside of an American Air Force base in remote Canada. The villagers were already up in arms over the mere presence of the base (jets frightened their cows) so are convinced there is a mad GI on the loose. Major Jeff Cummings befriends the slain farmer's sister, Barbara. The base tests their super radar system again, but like before, it falters just as it seems to be succeeding. Something is draining off the atomic energy. More murders stir up the towns folk to revolt. Jeff is certain that a reclusive genius, Professor Walgate, is the key. Yet more murders occur, each preceded by a rhythmic thumping and squishing sound. Eventually, Walgate confesses that he was working on Thought Materialization -- telekinesis. He needed more power, so fabricated an energy hijacking device to siphon off the air base's transmitted power. (that's why the tests always failed) The extra power worked, but created separate beings rather than intensifying Walgate's own thoughts. The invisible beings escaped his lab and began to 'feed' on townsfolk by sucking out their brains. They need the reactor's power to exist. Jeff rushes to blow up the control room. The reactor is going into overload, so the beings become visible. Dozens of the brain and spinal cord things surround the house. They break in, kill a few people, but can also be killed. Many are. Just as one of the beings has got Barbara, the reactor is shut down. It falls limp. The brain things dissolve into foam. Jeff kisses Barbara. The End.

Why is this movie fun?
The monster murder mystery element is fairly well played so it keeps interest up. Once visible, the brain-things have some interest too. As a monster movie, it has some merit. Killer brain-creatures are quirky enough to stay interesting.

Cold War Angle
The Cold War provides a backdrop, but isn't the focus. The Air Force base's mission is early radar detection of Soviet aircraft coming over the pole. One could see the brain-things as manifestations of deadly atomic energy. (the invisible killer)They seem to fit better the usual science-gone-wrong theme.

Notes
Bad Doctor -- Dr. Walgate fills the archetypal role of the naive scientist. He meant well with all his research and work. But, like many naive scientists who had gone before him, his assumptions prove wrong. His work gets away from him and becomes a force of destruction, not one of good for mankind. It has been fairly customary for the naive scientist to die at the hands (or whatever) of his creation. Walgate makes the noble sacrifice at the end, letting the creatures attack him while Jeff gets away.

Bad Thoughts -- The brain-creatures are akin to the "Id Monster" in Forbidden Planet. Man's most basic thoughts, if given independence, prove primal and ruthless. As a nuclear cautionary tale, the brain-creatures, man's primal thoughts, prove deadly if given atomic power. The stop-motion animation of the brain-creatures is not too bad. It's not Harryhausen, but it works.

You Are What You Eat -- We're told that the brain-creatures suck out the brains and spinal cord of their human victims. So, it interesting that the brain-creatures are depicted as brain shaped. They have a segmented spinal column which they use inch-worm-style for locomotion. They ARE what they eat.

Nuclear Naivety -- The brain-creatures break the atomic reactor's control rods so people can't shut it down (the creatures need the radiation to exist). It is curious that screenwriters solve the problem with good old dynamite. Jeff blows up the control room to shut down the reactor. ?? The reactor core was already out of control. Why would less control help?

Bottom line? Most of FwoF is a fair horror flick with "mental vampires" and agonizing victims. Things get more interesting when the brain-creatures surround the house. Sure, the movie has its flaws, but is an entertaining 50s sci-fi.